him and being instructed by him; but they were not very careful to reduce his instructions to practice. (Ezek. viii. 1. xiv. 1. xx. 1.) It is not improbable that from the schools of the prophets God chose such persons as he deemed fit to exercise the prophetic office, and to make known his will to the people. The greater prophets employed these scholars or young prophets to carry prophetic messages. In 2 Kings ix. 1., Elisha sent one of the sons of the prophets to anoint Jehu king of Israel: and in 1 Kings xx. 15., the young prophet, who was sent to reprove Ahab for sparing Ben-Hadad, king of Syria, is by the Chaldee paraphrast called one of the sons or disciples of the prophets. Hence Amos relates it as an unusual circumstance, that he was no prophet, not one of those distinguished men who presided over these seminaries, -neither a prophet's son, educated from his youth in the schools of the prophets; but that he was an herdsman and a gatherer of sycamore fruit, who did not pursue the studies and mode of living peculiar to the prophets, when the LORD took him as he was following the flock, and commanded him to go and prophesy unto his people Israel. (Amos vii. 14, 15.) To the schools of the prophets succeeded the synagogues; but it appears that in the time of Jesus Christ eminent Jewish doctors had their separate schools; as Gamaliel, the preceptor of St. Paul, and probably also Tyrannus. II. Various APPELLATIONS were anciently given to learned men. Among the Hebrews they were denominated on (HaKOMIM), as among the Greeks they were called cou, that is, wise men. In the time of Christ, the common appellative for men of that description was paμares, in the Hebrew DID (SOPHER), a scribe. They were addressed by the honorary title of Rabbi, 7 (Rab, RABBI), that is, great or master. The Jews, in imitation of the Greeks, had their seven wise men, who were called Rabboni, jɔr. Gamaliel was one of the number. They called themselves the children of wisdom; expressions which correspond very nearly to the Greek cos. (Matt. xi. 19. Luke vii. 35.) The heads of sects were called fathers (Matt. xxiii. 9.), and the disciples, on (TALMUDIM), were denominated sons or children. The Jewish teachers, at least some of them, had private lecture-rooms, but they also taught and disputed in synagogues, in temples, and, in fact, wherever they could find an audience. The method of these teachers was the same with that which prevailed among the Greeks. Any disciple who chose might propose questions, upon which it was the duty of the teachers to remark and give their opinions. (Luke ii. 46.) The teachers were not invested with their functions by any formal act of the church or of the civil authority; they were selfconstituted. They received no other salary than some voluntary present from the disciples, which was called an honorary, Tin, HONORARIUM. (1 Tim. v. 17.) They acquired a subsistence in the main by the exercise of some art or handicraft. According to the Talmudists, they were bound to hold no conversation with women, and to refuse to sit at table with the lower class of people. (John iv. 27. Matt. ix. 11.) The subjects on which they taught were numerous, commonly intricate, and of no great consequence; of which there are abundant examples in the Talmud.3 III. After the Jews became divided into the two great 1 Calmet, Dissertation sur les Ecoles des Hebreux, Dissert. tom. i. pp. 272-376., and Dictionary, voce Schools. Stillingfleet's Origines Sacræ, pp. 92-101. 8th edition, Basnage's Hist. of the Jews, pp. 410, 411. Witsii Miscellanea Sacra, lib. i. c. 10. § 10. p. 79. Bp. Story's Essay concerning the Nature of the Priesthood, pp. 39-42. "It was anciently the custom of preceptors to address their pupils by the title of sons: thus, the disciples of the prophets are called the sons of the prophets. (1 Kings xx. 35. 2 Kings ii. 3. iv. 38) St. Paul styles Timothy his son. (1 Tim. i. 2. 2 Tim. i. 2.) St. John styles those, to whom his first epistle was sent, his children (ii. 1. v. 21.); and thus the royal sage (Prov. i. 8.) addresses his young hearers, exhorting them not to contemn the advice and admonition of their parents; because obedience to parents is a duty, second only in importance to obedience to God." Holden's Transla tion of Proverbs, p. 88. A sort of academical degree was conferred on the pupils in the Jewish seminaries, which, after the destruction of Jerusalem, were established at Babylon and Tiberias, and of which Basnage has given a copious account in his History of the Jews, book v. c. 5. pp. 410-414. (London, 1708. folio.) The circumstances attending the conferring of this degree are described by Maimonides (Jadchazaka, lib. vi. 4) as follows:-1. The candidate for the degree was examined, both in respect to his moral character and his Literary acquisitions. 2. Having undergone this examination with approba tion, the disciple then ascended an elevated seat. Matt. xxii. 2. 3. A writ ing tablet was presented to him, to signify, that he should write down his acquisitions, since they might escape from his memory, and, without being written down, be lost. 4. A key was presented, to signify that he might now open to others the treasures of knowledge. (Luke xi. 52.) 5. Hands were laid upon him; a custom derived from Num. xxvii. 18. 6. A certain power or authority was conferred upon him, probably to be exercised over his own disciples. 7. Finally, he was saluted in the school of Tibe. rias, with the title of Rabbi, ɔ, in the school of Babylon, with that of sects of Sadducees and Pharisees, each sect had its separate school. The METHOD OF TEACHING in these schools may be easily collected from the Gospels and Acts. The Doctors or Teachers generally sat. Thus our Lord sat down previously to delivering his sermon on the mount (Matt. v. 1.); as Gamaliel also did in his school. (Acts xxii. 3.) Sometimes, however, the Jewish teachers, like the Greek philosophers, were accustomed to have their disciples around them, wherever they went, and to discourse, as occasion arose, on things either human or divine. In this way our Lord delivered some of his most interesting instructions to his apostles. Allusions to this practice occur in Matt. iv. 20. x. 38. xvi. 24. Mark i. 18. xvi. 24. The Pupils generally sat belowtheir preceptors. St. Paul tells the Jews that he sat or studied at the feet of Gamaliel. (Acts xxii. 3.) Philo relates that the children of the Essenes sat at the feet of their mas ters, who interpreted the law, and explained its figurative sense, after the manner of the ancient philosophers. The author of the commentary on the first Epistle to the Corinthians, published under the name of St. Ambrose, says, on ch. xiv., that the Jewish rabbins sat on elevated chairs; while scholars who had made the greatest proficiency sat on benches just below them, and the junior pupils sat on the ground on hassocks. But in the Talmud,4 it is stated that the masters sat down while the scholars stood.5 IV. The Jews did not become distinguished for their intellectual acquirements before the time of David, and especially of Solomon, who is said to have surpassed all others in wisdom; a circumstance which was the ground of the many visits which were paid to him by distinguished foreigners. (1 Kings v. 9-12.) His example, which was truly an illustrious one, was, beyond question, imitated by other kings. The literature of the Hebrews was limited chiefly to religion, the history of their nation, poetry, philosophy, ethics, and natural history; on which last subject Solomon wrote many treatises, no longer extant. The Hebrews made but little progress in science and literature after the time of Solomon, During their captivity, it is true, they acquired many foreign notions, with which they had not been previously acquainted: and they, subsequently, borrowed much, both of truth and of falsehood, from the philosophy of the Greeks. The author of the book of Wisdom, with some others of the Jewish writers, has made pretty good use of the Greek philosophy. It is clear, notwithstanding this, that the Jews after the captivity fell below their ancestors in respect to History; as the published annals of that period are not of a kindred character with those of the primitive ages of their country. In 1. That the art of HISTORICAL WRITING was anciently much cultivated in the East, the Bible itself is an ample testimony; for it not only relates the prominent events, from the creation down to the fifth century before Christ, but speaks of many historical books, which have now perished; and also of many monuments erected in commemoration of remarkable achievements, and furnished with appropriate inscriptions. The Babylonians, also, the Assyrians, the Persians, and Tyrians, had their historical annals. Among the Egyptians there was a separate order, viz. the priests, one part of whose duty it was to write the history of their country. the primitive ages the task of composing annals fell in most nations upon the priests, but at a later period the king had his own secretaries, whose special business it was to record the royal sayings and achievements. The prophets among the Hebrews recorded the events of their own times, and, in the earliest periods, the genealogists interwove many historical events with their accounts of the succession of families. Indeed, it should not be forgotten, that ancient history generally partakes more of a genealogical than a chronological character. Hence the Hebrew phrase for genealogies in (TOLDOTH) is used also for history (Gen. vi. 9. x. 1.); and hence no epoch more ancient than that of Nabonnassar is any where found. In the Bible, however, this defect, in regard to a regular chronological system, is in a manner com pensated by the insertion in various places of definite periods of time, and by chronological genealogies. In giving a concise account of the genealogy of a person, the Hebrews, as well as the Arabs, took the liberty to omit, according to their own pleasure, one or more generations. (Ruth iv. 18-22. Ezra vii. 1-5. Matt. i. 8.) It was considered so much of an honour to have a name and a place in these family annals, that the Hebrews, from their first existence as a nation, had public genealogists, denominated, WY (SHOTER, SHOTERIM). i Not only the Hebrews, but, if we may credit Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus, the Egyptians also assigned a certain period to a generation. According to their estimation, three generations made an hundred years. In the time of Abraham, however, when men lived to a greater age, an hundred years made a generation. This is clear from Gen. xv. 13. 16., and from the circumstance, that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob dwelt two hundred and fifteen years in the land of Canaan, and yet there were only two generations. The study of history among the Jews was chiefly confined to the affairs of their own nation. Much information, however, may be obtained from their historical and other writings, for the better understanding the states of other foreign nations with which they became very closely connected and the most ancient historical documents of the Hebrews throw more light upon the origin of nations, and the invention and progress of the arts, than any other writings that are extant. 2. POETRY had its origin in the first ages of the world, when undisciplined feelings and a lively imagination naturally supplied strong expressions, gave an expressive modulation to the voice, and motion to the limbs. Hence poetry, also on the sabbath in the synagogues, which had been recently erected, in order, to make the people understand what was read. These interpreters learnt the Hebrew lan guage at the schools. The teachers of these schools, who, for the two generations preceding the time of Christ, had maintained some acquaintance with the Greek philosophy, were not satisfied with a simple interpretation of the Hebrew idiom, as it stood, but shaped the interpretation so as to render it conformable to their philosophy. Thus arose con tentions, which gave occasion for the various sects of Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes. In the time of our Saviour, divisions had arisen among the Pharisees themselves. No less than eighteen nice questions, if we may believe the Jewish Rabbins, were contested, at that period, between the schools of Hillel and Shammai. One of which questions was an inquiry, "What cause was sufficient for a bill of divorce?" If the Shammai and Hillel of the Talmud are the same with the learned men mentioned in Josephus, viz. Sameas and Pollio, who flourished thirty-four years before Christ, then Shammai or Sameas is undoubtedly the same with the Simeon who is mentioned in Luke ii. 25. 34., and with the Gamaliel mentioned in Acts v. 34. xxii. 3. were in all in the Talmud, is the same in their origin. As the nature and genius of the poetry of the Hebrews has already been discussed at some length in the first volume of this work, it is sufficient here to remark, that the effusions of the inspired Hebrew muse infinitely surpass in grandeur, sublimity, beauty, and pathos, all the most celebrated productions of Greece and Rome. Not to repeat unnecessarily the observations already offered on this topic, we may here briefly remark, that the eucharistic song of Moses, composed on the deliverance of the Israelites and their miraculous passage of the Red Sea (Exod. xv. 1-19.), is an admirable hymn, full of strong and lively images. The song of Deborah and Barak (Judg. v.), and that of Hannah the mother of Samuel (1 Sam. ii. 1.), have many excellent flights, and some noble and sublime raptures. David's lamentation on the death of Saul and Jonathan (2 Sam. i. 19.) is an incomparable elegy. The gratulatory hymn (Isa. xii. and Hezekiah's song of praise (Isa. xxviii.) are worthy of every one's attention. The prayer of Habakkuk (iii.) contains a sublime description of the divine majesty. Besides these single hymns, we have the book of Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Canticles, and Lamentations; all of which are composed by different poets, according to the usage of those times. The Psalms are a great storehouse of heavenly devotion, full of affecting and sublime thoughts, and with a variety of expressions, admirably calculated to excite a thankful remembrance of God's mercies, and for moving the passions of joy and grief, indignation and hatred. They consist mostly of pious and affectionate prayers, holy meditations, and exalted strains of praise and thanksgiving. The allusions are beautiful, the expressions tender and moving, and the piety of the authors is singularly remarkable. The Proverbs of Solomon are a divine collection of many admirable sentences of morality, wonderfully adapted to instruct us in our duty to God and man. The book of Ecclesiastes teaches us, in a very lively manner, the insufficiency of all earthly enjoyments to make a man happy. The Canticles or Song of Solomon, under the parable of a man's affection to his spouse, in very tender yet elegant expressions, shows us the ardent love of Christ to his church and people; and the Lamentations of Jeremiah contain a very mournful account of the state of Jerusalem, as destroyed by the Chaldeans. 3. ORATORY does not appear to have been cultivated by the Hebrews; although the sacred writers, following the impulse of their genius, have left such specimens in their writings, as the most distinguished orators might imitate with advantage. Want of eloquence was objected as a defect against the apostle Paul (1 Cor. i. 17.), who, notwithstanding, possessed a highly cultivated mind, and was by no means deficient in strong natural eloquence. 4. Traces of ETHICS, that is, of the system of prevailing moral opinions, may be found in the book of Job, in the 37th, 39th, and 63d Psalms, also in the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, but chiefly in the apocryphal book of Wisdom, and the writings of the son of Sirach. During the captivity, the Jews acquired many new notions, and appropriated them, as occasion offered, to their own purposes. They at length became acquainted with the philosophy of the Greeks, which makes its appearance abundantly in the book of Wisdom. After the captivity, the language in which the sacred books were written was no longer vernacular. Hence arose the need of an interpreter on the sabbatic year, a time when the whole law was read; and 5. PHYSICS, or NATURAL PHILOSOPHY, has secured but little attention in the East; but a knowledge of the animal vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, or the science of NATURAL HISTORY, was always much more an object of interest. Whatever knowledge of this science the Hebrews subsequently had, they most probably derived partly from the Canaanitish merchants, partly from the Egyptians, and other nations with whom they had intercourse. The book of Job evinces that its author possessed an intimate knowledge of the works of nature. The agricultural and pastoral habits of the Hebrews were favourable to the acquisition of this science; and how much they loved it will be evident to any one who peruses the productions of the sacred poets, especially those of David. But no one among the Hebrews could ever be compared to King Solomon; who spake of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon, even to the hyssop that springeth out of the wall, and also of beasts and of fowl, and of creeping things and of fishes. (1 Kings iv. 33.) The numerous images which our Saviour derived from the works of nature, attest how deeply he had contemplated them. 6. ARITHMETIC.-The more simple methods of arithmetical calculation are spoken of in the Pentateuch, as if they were well known. The merchants of that early period must, for their own convenience, have been possessed of some method of operating by numbers. 7. MATHEMATICS.-By this term we understand Geometry, Mensuration, Navigation, &c. As far as a knowledge of them was absolutely required by the condition and employments of the people, we may well suppose that knowledge to have actually existed; although no express mention is made of these sciences. 8. ASTRONOMY.-The interests of agriculture and naviga tion required some knowledge of astronomy. An evidence that an attempt was made at a very early period to regulate the year by the annual revolution of the sun, may be found in the fact, that the Jewish months were divided into thirty, days each. (See Gen. vii. 11. viii. 4.) In Astronomy, the Egyptians, Babylonians, and Phoenicians exhibited great superiority. We are informed there were magicians or enchanters in Egypt (Exod. vii. 11. Lev. xx. 27. xix. 31. Deut. xviii. 20.), denominated in Hebrew Dow, because they computed eclipses of the sun and moon, and pretended to the people, that they produced them by the efficacy of their own enchantments. Astronomy does not appear to have been much cultivated by the Hebrews: the laws of Moses, indeed, by no means favoured this science, as the neighbouring heathen nations worshipped the host of heaven; hence the sacred writers rarely mention any of the constella tions by name. See Job ix. 9. xxxviii. 31, 32. Isa. xiii. 10. Amos v. 8. 2 Kings xxiii. 5. 9. ASTROLOGY.-It is by no means surprising that the Hebrews did not devote greater attention to astronomy, since the study of astrology, which was intimately connected with that of astronomy, and was very highly estimated among the neighbouring nations (Isa. xlvii. 9. Jer. xxvii. 9. 1. 35. Dan. ii. 13. 48.), was interdicted to the Hebrews. (Deut. xviii. 10. Lev. xx. 27.) Daniel, indeed, studied the art of astrology at Babylon, but he did not practise it. (Dan. 1. 20. ii. 2.) The astrologers (and those wise men mentioned in Matt. ii. 1. et seq. appear to have been such) divided the heavens into apartments or habitations, to each one of which apartments they assigned a ruler or president. This fact 11. THE MECHANIC ARTS.-No express mention is made of the mechanic arts; but that a knowledge of them, notwithstanding, existed, may be inferred from the erection of Noah's ark, and the tower of Babel; from the use of balances in the time of Abraham; also from what is said of the Egyptian chariots, in Gen. xli. 43. xlv. 19. 1. 9. and Exod. xiv. 6, 7.; and from the instruments used by the Egyptians in irrigating their lands. (Deut. xi. 10.) It is implied in the mention of these, and subsequently of many other instruments, that other instruments still, not expressly named, but which were, of course, necessary for the formation of those which are named, were in existence. 12. GEOGRAPHY.-Geographical notices occur so frequently In the Bible, that it is not necessary to say much on this point; but see Gen. x. 1-30. xii. 4-15. xiv. 1—16. xxviii. 2-9. xlix. 13, &c. Perhaps, however, it deserves to be repeated, that in the time of Joshua, the whole of Palestine was subjected to a geographical division. (Josh. xviii. 9.) It is evident, then, from their geographical knowledge, as well as from other circumstances already mentioned, that there must have existed among the Hebrews the rudiments, if nothing more, of geographical science. SECTION IV. ON THE COMMERCE AND NAVIGATION OF THE HEBREWS. viz. one along the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea, from Gaza to Pelusium, which was about three days' journey; and the other from Gaza to the Elanitic branch of the Arabian Gulf, which now passes near Mount Sinai, and requires nearly a month to complete it. Although chariots were not unknown to the ancient inhabitants of the East, yet they chiefly transported their merchandise across the desert on camels, a hardy race of animals, admirably adapted by nature for this purpose: and lest they should be plundered by robbers, the merchants used to travel in large bodies (as they now do), which are called caravans; or in smaller companies termed kafilés or kaflés. (Job vi. 18, 19. Gen. xxxvii. 25. Isa. xxi. 13.) III. Although the land of Canaan was, from its abundant produce, admirably adapted to commerce, yet Moses enacted no laws in favour of trade; because the Hebrews, being specially set apart for the preservation of true religion, could not be dispersed among idolatrous nations without being in danger of becoming contaminated with their abominable worship. He therefore only inculcated the strictest justice in weights and measures (Lev. xix. 36, 37. Deut. xxv. 13, 14.); and left the rest to future ages and governors. It is obvious, however, that the three great festivals of the Jews, who were bound to present themselves before Jehovah thrice in the year, would give occasion for much domestic traffic, which the individuals of the twelve tribes would carry on with each other either for money or produce. From Judg. v. 17. it should seem that the tribes of Dan and Asher had some commercial dealings with the neighbouring maritime nations; but the earliest direct notice contained in the Scriptures of the commerce of the Hebrews does not occur before the reign of David. This wise and valiant prince, by many victories, not only enlarged the boundaries of his empire, but also subdued the kingdom of Edom (which he reduced into a province), and made himself master of the two ports of Elath and Ezion-geber on the Red Sea. Part of the wealth acquired by his conquests he employed in purchasing cedar-timber from Hiram I. king of Tyre, with whom he maintained a friendly correspondence as long as he lived: and he also hired Tyrian masons and carpenters for carrying on his works. This prince collected, for the building of the temple, upwards of eight hundred millions of our money, according to Dr. Arbuthnot's calculations. On the death of David, Solomon his successor cultivated the arts of peace, and was thereby enabled to indulge his taste for magnificence and luxury, more than his father could possibly do. Being blest with a larger share of wisdom than ever before fell to the lot of any man, he directed his talents for business to the improvement of foreign commerce, which had not been ex Commerce of the Midianites, Egyptians, and Phænicians.pressly prohibited by Moses. He employed the vast wealth measures. 1. THE Scriptures do not afford us any example of trade, more ancient than these caravans of Ishmaelites and Midianites, to whom Joseph was perfidiously sold by his brethren. These men were on their return from Gilead, with their camels laden with spices, and other rich articles of merchandise, which they were carrying into Egypt; where, doubtless, they produced a great return, from the quantities consumed in that country for embalming the bodies of the dead. From their purchasing Joseph, and selling him to Potiphar, it is evident that their traffic was not confined to the commodities furnished by Gilead. But the most distinguished merchants of ancient times were the Phoenicians, who bought the choicest productions of the East, which they exported to Africa and Europe, whence they took in return silver and other articles of merchandise, which they again circulated in the East. Their first metropolis was Sidon, and afterwards Tyre, founded about 250 years before the building of Solomon's temple, or 1251 before the Christian era; and wherever they went, they appear to have established peaceful commercial settlements, mutually beneficial to themselves and to the natives of the country visited by them. The commerce of Tyre is particularly described in Isa. xxiii. and Ezek. xxvii. xxviii. II. The commerce of the East appears to have been chiefly carried on by land: hence ships are but rarely mentioned in the Old Testament before the times of David and Solomon. There were two principal routes from Palestine to Egypt; Jahn's Archæologia Biblica, by Upham, §§ 98-100. 104. 106. Parcau, Antiquas Hebraica, pp. 432-438, amassed by his father in works of architecture, and in strength- The great intercourse of trade and friendship, which Solomon had with the first commercial people in the western world, inspired him with a strong desire to participate in the advantages of trade. His father's conquests, as we have already seen, had extended his territories to the Red Sea or the Arabian Gulf, and had given him the possession of a good harbour, whence ships might be despatched to the rich countries of the south and east. But, his own subjects being lib. ix.), says that David built ships in Arabia, in which he sent men skilled 2 Eupolemus, an ancient writer quoted by Eusebius (De Præp. Evang. in mines and metals to the island of Ophir. Some modern authors, improving upon this rather suspicious authority, have ascribed to David the honour of being the founder of the great East Indian commerce Tables of Ancient Coins, pp. 35. 208. 5.) yet many others appear to nave gained their subsistence by buying and selling. Hence, immediately after their restoration, there were Jewish traders, who, regardless of the rest of the sabbath-day which was enjoined by Moses, not only bought and sold on that sacred day (Neh. xiii. 15.), but also extorted unjust usury. (Neh. v. 1-13.) In later times, foreign commerce was greatly facilitated by Simon Maccabæus, who made the fortified city of Joppa a commodious port (1 Macc. xiv. 5.), and by Herod the Great, who erected the city of Caesarea, which he converted into a very excellent harbour, which was always free from the waves of the sea by means of a magnificent mole Lotally ignorant of the arts of building and navigating vessels, ne again had recourse to the assistance of Hiram. The king of Tyre, who was desirous of an opening to the oriental commerce, the articles of which his subjects were obliged to receive at second hand from the Arabians, entered readily into the views of the Hebrew monarch. Accordingly, Tyrian carpenters were sent to build vessels for both kings at Eziongeber, Solomon's port on the Red Sea; whither Solomon himself also went to animate the workmen by his presence. Solomon's ships, conducted by Tyrian navigators, sailed in company with those of Hiram to some rich countries, called Ophir (most probably Sofala on the eastern coast of Africa), and Tarshish, a place supposed to be somewhere on IV. Respecting the size and architecture of the Jewish the same coast. The voyage required three years to accom- ships, we have no information whatever. The trading vessels plish it; yet, notwithstanding the length of time employed in of the ancients were, in general, much inferior in size to it, the returns in this new channel of trade were prodigiously those of the moderns: Cicero mentions a number of ships great and profitable, consisting of gold, silver, precious stones, of burden, none of which were below two thousand amphovaluable woods, and some exotic animals, as apes and pea- ræ, that is, not exceeding fifty-six tons; and in a trading cocks. We have no information concerning the articles ex-vessel, in all probability of much less burden, bound with ported in this trade: but, in all probability, the manufactures corn from Alexandria in Egypt to Rome, St. Paul was of the Tyrians, together with the commodities imported by embarked at Myra in Lycia. From the description of his them from other countries, were assorted with the corn, wine, voyage in Acts xxvii. it is evident to what small improve and oil of Solomon's dominions in making up the cargoes; ment the art of navigation had then attained. They had and his ships, like the late Spanish galleons, imported the no anchors, by which to moor or secure their vessels; and bullion, partly for the benefit of his industrious and commer- it is most probable that the crew of the vessel on board of cial neighbours. (1 Kings vii.-x. 2 Chron. ii. viii. ix.) which the apostle was embarked, drew her up on the beach Solomon also established a commercial correspondence with of the several places where they stopped, and made her fast Egypt; whence he imported horses, chariots, and fine linen- on the rocks, as the ancient Greeks did in the time of Hoyarn: the chariots cost six hundred, and the horses one hun- mer, which practice also still obtains in almost every island dred and fifty, shekels of silver each. (1 Kings x. 28, 29. of Greece. Further, they had no compass by which they 2 Chron. 1. 16, 17.) could steer their course across the trackless deep; and the sacred historian represents their situation as peculiarly distressing, when the sight of the sun, moon, and stars was intercepted from them. (Acts xxvii. 20.) The vessel being overtaken by one of those tremendous gales, which, at certain seasons of the year prevail in the Mediterraneans (where they are now called Levanters), they had much work to come by the ship's boat, which appears to have been towed along after the vessel, agreeably to the custom that still obtains in the East, where the skiffs are fastened to the sterns of the ships (16.); which having taken up, that is, having drawn it up close to the stern, they proceeded to under-gird the ship. (17.) We learn from various passages in the Greek and Roman authors, that the ancients had recourse to this expedient in order to secure their vessels, when in imminent danger; and this method has been used even in modern times.10 After the division of the kingdom, Edom being in that portion which remained to the house of David, the Jews appear to have carried on the oriental trade from the two ports of Elath and Ezion-geber, especially the latter, until the time of Jehoshaphat, whose fleet was wrecked there (1 Kings xxii. 48. 2 Chron. xx. 36, 37.) During the reign of Jehoram, the wicked successor of Jehoshaphat, the Edomites shook off the yoke of the Jewish sovereigns, and recovered their ports. From this time the Jewish traffic, through the Red Sea, ceased till the reign of Uzziah; who, having recovered Elath soon after his accession, expelled the Edomites thence, and having fortified the place, peopled it with his own subjects, who renewed their former commerce. This appears to have continued till the reign of Ahaz, when Rezin, king of Damascus, having oppressed and weakened Judah in conjunction with Pekah, king of Israel, took advantage of this circumstance to seize Elath; whence he expelled the Jews, and planted it with Syrians. In the following year, however, Elath fell into the hands of Tiglathpileser, king of Assyria, who conquered Rezin, but did not restore it to his friend and ally, king Ahaz.2 Thus finally terminated the commercial prosperity of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel. After the captivity, indeed, during the reigns of the Asmonæan princes, the Jews became great traders. In the time of Pompey the Great there were so many Jews abroad on the ocean, even in the character of pirates, that king Antigonus was accused before him of having sent them out on purpose. During the period of time comprised in the New Testament history, Joppa and Cæsarea were the two principal ports; and corn continued to be a staple article of export to Tyre. (Acts xii. 20.)3 Much ingenious conjecture has been hazarded relative to the nature of the rudder-bands, mentioned in Acts xxvii. 40.; but the supposed difficulty will be obviated by attending to the structure of ancient vessels. It was usual for all large ships (of which description were the Alexandrian corn ships) to have two rudders, a kind of very large and broad oars, which were fixed at the head and stern. The bands were some kind of fastenings, by which these rudders were hoisted some way out of the water; for as they could be of no use in a storm, and in the event of fair weather coming the vessel could not do without them, this was a prudent way of securing them from being broken to pieces by the agitation of the waves. These bands being loosed, the rudders would fall down into their proper places, and Josephus, Ant. Jud. lib. xv. c.9. $6. Pareau, Antiq. Hebr. pp. 418, 419. During the Babylonish captivity, the Jews seem to have applied themselves much more than they had previously done to commercial pursuits; for though some of them cultivated the soil at the exhortation of Jeremiah (xxix. 4, sages of Acts xxvii. will derive elucidation from the above practice: it will Emerson's Letters from the Egean, vol. ii. p. 121. The following pas be observed that at setting sail there is no mention made of heaving up the anchor; but there occur such phrases as the following:-And entering into a ship of Adramyttium, WE LAUNCHED, meaning to sail by the coast of Asia. (verse 2.) And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, LOOSING THENCE, they sailed close by Crete. (13.) And again, And when we had LAUNCHED FROM THENCE, We sailed under Cyprus, because the winds were contrary. (4.) Ibid. pp. 121, 122. It is certain that under Pharaoh Necho, two hundred years after the time of Solomon, this voyage was made by the Egyptians. (Herodotus, lib. iv. c. 42.) They sailed from the Red Sea, and returned by the Mediterranean, and they performed it in three years; just the me time that the voyage under Solomon had taken up. It appears likewise from Pliny (Nat. Hist. lib. ii. c. 67.), that the passage round the Cape of Good Hope was known and frequently practised before his time; by Hanno the Carthaginian, when Carthage was in all its glory; by one Eudoxus, in the time of Ptolemy Lathyrus, king of Egypt; and Celius Antipater, an historian of good credit, somewhat earlier than Pliny, testifies that he had seen a mer-See also Dr. Harwood's Introduction, vol. ii. pp. 239, 240. chant who had made the voyage from Gades to Ethiopia. Bp. Lowth, however, supposes Tarshish to be Tartessus in Spain. Isaiah, vol. ii. pp. 34, 35. During this period, the Jews seem to have had privileged streets at Damascus, as the Syrians had in Samaria. (1 Kings xx. 34.) In later times, during the crusades, the Genoese and Venetians, who had assisted the Latin kings of Jerusalem, had streets assigned to them, with great liberties and exclusive jurisdictions therein. See Harmer's Observations, vol. iii. pp. 439-492. Jabn, Archæol. Heor. $$ 107-111. Macpherson's Annals of Commerce, vol. i. pp. 22-24. 26. Prideaux's Connection, vol. i. pp. 5-10. Sth edit. Mr. Emerson has described the phenomena attending one of these gales in his Letters from the Ægean, vol. ii. pp. 149–152. Raphelius and Wetstein, in loc. have collected numerous testimonies. 10 The process of under-girding a ship is thus performed:-A stout cable is slipped under the vessel at the prow, which the seamen can conduct to any part of the ship's keel, and then fasten the two ends on the deck, to keep the planks from starting. As many rounds as may be necessary may be thus taken about the vessel. An instance of this kind is mentioned in Lord Anson's Voyage round the World. Speaking of a Spanish man-ofwar in a storm, the writer says,-"They were obliged to throw overboard all their upper-deck guns; and take six turns of the cable round the ship to prevent her opening." (p. 24. 4to. edit.) Bp. Pearce and Dr. A. Clarke on Acts xxvii. 17. Two instances of under-girding a ship are noticed in the Chevalier de Johnstone's Memoirs of the Rebellion in 1745-6. London, 1822. 8vo.) pp. 421. 454. serve to steer ne vessel into the creek which they now had in view.1 It was the custom of the ancients to have images on their ships both at the head and stern; the first of which was called Пapons, or the sign, from which the vessel was named, and the other was that of the tutelar deity to whose care it was committed. There is no doubt but they sometimes had deities at the head: in which case it most likely, that if they had any figure at the stern, it was the same; as it is hardly probable, that the ship should be called by the name of one deity, and be committed to the care of another. The constellation of the Dioscuri, that is, of Castor and Pollux (Acts xxviii. 11.), was deemed favourable to mariners; and, therefore, for a good omen, they had them painted or carved on the head of the ship, whence they gave it a name, which the sacred his V. Commerce could not be carried on without COIN, nor without a system of WEIGHTS and MEASURES. Although the Scriptures frequently mention gold, silver, brass, certain sums of money, purchases made with money, current money, and money of a certain weight; yet the use of coin or stamped Money appears to have been of late intro duction among the Hebrews. Calmet is of opinion, that the ancient Hebrews took gold and silver only by weight, and that they regarded the purity of the metal, and not the stamp. The practice of weighing money is stated by M. Volney to De general in Syria, Egypt, and Turkey: no piece, however effaced, is there refused. The merchant draws out his scales and weighs it, as in the days of Abraham, when he purchased the cave of Machpelah for a sepulchre. (Gen. xxiii. 16.) The most ancient mode of carrying on trade, unquestionably, was by way of barter, or exchanging one commolity for another; a custom which obtains in some places even to this day. In process of time such metals as were deemed The WEIGHTS AND MEASURES were regulated at a very early period in Asia. Moses made various enactments concerning them for the Hebrews; and both weights and measures, which were to serve as standards for form and contents, were deposited at first in the tabernacle, and afterwards in the temple, under the cognizance of the priests.10 On the destruction of Solomon's temple these standards necessarily perished; and during the captivity the Hebrews used the weights and mea sures of their masters. For tables of the weights, measures, and money used in commerce, and which are mentioned in the Bible, the reader is referred to No. II. of the appendix to this volume CHAPTER VIII. ANUSEMENTS OF THE JEWS.-ALLUSIONS TO THE THEATRES, TO THEATRICAL PERFORMANCES, AND TO THE GRECIAN GAMES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. I. Rectations of the Jews in domestic Life.-II. Military Sports.-III. Introduction of gymnastic and theatrical Exhibitions among the Jews.-IV. Allusions to the Theatres and to theatrical Performances in the New Testament.-V. Allusions to the Grecian Games, particularly the Olympic Games.-1. Qualifications of the Candidates.-Preparatory Discipline to which they were subjected.-2. Foot Race.-3. Rewards of the Victors.-4. Beautiful Allusions to these Games in the New Testament explained. THE whole design of the Mosaic institutes, being to pre-feast on the day when Isaac was weaned. (Gen. xxi. 8.) serve the knowledge and worship of the true God among the Israelites, will sufficiently account for their silence respecting recreations and amusements. Although no particular circumstances are recorded on this subject, we meet with a few detached facts which show that the Hebrews were not entirely destitute of amusements. I. The various events incident to DOMESTIC LIFE afforded them occasions for festivity. Thus, Abraham made a great 1 Elsner and Wetstein on Acts xxvii. 40. 2 Valpy's Gr. Test. vol. ii. on Acts xxviii. 11. Ex ipso quidem papyro navigia texunt. Pliny, Hist. Nat. lib. xiii. 11. papyro. Pharsal lib. iv. 136. The same fact is attested by Lucan: conseritur bibula Memphitis cymba Bp. Lowth on Isaiah xviii. 2. The Hon. Capt. Keppel, giving an account of an excursion up the river Tigris, thus describes the boat in which he embarked:-"It was in shape like a large circular basket; the sides were of willow, covered over with Ditamen, the bottom was laid with reeds. This sort of boat is common to the Euphrates and the Tigris, and is probably best adapted to the strong curents cominon to these rivers. May not these boats be of the same kid as the vessels of bulrushes upon the waters alluded to by Isaiah (viii. 2.)" Narrative of Travels from India, vol. i. pp. 197, 198. In a piece of sculpture discovered by Captains Irby and Mangles at El Cab, the ancient Eleethias in Egypt, there was represented a pair of scales: at one end was a man writing an account, while another was weighng some small articles, probably loaves of bread. The weight was in the form of a cow couchant. Travels in Egypt, Nubia, &c. pp. 130-132. Volney's Travels in Syria, &c. vol. ii. p. 425. In considerable payments an agent of exchange is sent for, who counts paras by thousands, rejects pieces of false money, and weighs all the sequins either separately or together (Ibid.) This may serve to illustrate the phrase, current money ith the merchant, in Gen. xxiii. 16. Weddings were always seasons of rejoicing (see pp. 161, 162. supra): so also were the seasons of sheep-shearing (1 Sam. xxv. 36. and 2 Sam. xiii. 23.); and harvest-home. (See p. 177.) To which may be added, the birth-days of sovereigns. (Gen. xl. 20. Mark vi. 21.) Of most of these festivities music (see p. 183.) and dancing (see p. 184.) were the accompaniments. From the amusement of children sitting in the market-place, and imitating the usages common at wedding feasts and at funerals, Jesus Christ takes occasion to compare the pharisees to sullen children who will be pleased with nothing which their companions can do, whether they play at weddings or funerals; since they could not life of John the Baptist, or to the milder precepts and habits be prevailed upon to attend either to the severe precepts and of Christ. (Matt. xi. 16, 17.) The infamous practice of gamesters who play with loaded dice has furnished St. Paul with a strong metaphor, in which he cautions the Christians at Ephesus against the cheating sleight of men (Eph. iv. 14.), whether unbelieving Jews, heathen philosophers, or false |