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.dt Helon's Pilgrimage to Jerusalem Volume 2, by Frederick Strauss
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Transcriber’s Note:
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.h1
HELON'S PILGRIMAGE | TO | JERUSALEM.
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HELON'S PILGRIMAGE
TO
JERUSALEM.
A PICTURE OF JUDAISM,
IN THE CENTURY WHICH PRECEDED THE ADVENT
OF OUR SAVIOUR.
TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN OF
FREDERICK STRAUSS,
WITH NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE TRANSLATOR.
.nf-
.hr 25%
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[Greek: Ê( SÔTÊRIA E)K TÔN I)OGDAIÔN E)STIN.]
.ce
VOL. II.
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LONDON:
PRINTED FOR J. MAWMAN, LUDGATE-STREET.
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1824.
.bn 004.png
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LONDON: PRINTED BY A. APPLEGATH, STAMFORD-STREET.
.sp 4
.bn 005.png
.h2
CONTENTS.
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VOL. II. BOOK III.
Chapter I.
| Page.
The Sacerdotal Office | #1#
Chapter II.
The Journey to Joppa | #19#
Chapter III.
The Feast of the New Moon | #50#
Chapter IV.
The Admission into the Priesthood | #75#
Chapter V.
The Essenes | #124#
Chapter VI.
The Betrothment | #151#
Chapter VII.
The Feast of Pentecost | #176#
.bn 006.png
.pn +1
BOOK IV.
Chapter I.
The Journey to Dan | #193#
Chapter II.
The Nuptials | #234#
Chapter III.
The Avenger of Blood | #248#
Chapter IV.
The Water of Jealousy | #267#
Chapter V.
The Day of Atonement | #290#
Chapter VI.
The Feast of Tabernacles | #312#
Chapter VII.
The Conclusion | #339#
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HELON'S PILGRIMAGE
TO
JERUSALEM.
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.h2
BOOK III.| THE FEAST OF PENTECOST.
.h3
CHAPTER I. | THE SACERDOTAL OFFICE.
.sp 2
The feast of the Passover was ended. The
multitude had returned to their homes, or resumed
their occupations in the city. The ashes
on the altar of burnt-offering, whose gradual
accumulation, during the week of the Passover,
had raised them at last into a lofty pyramid,
had been cleared away. The days of unleavened
bread were past; the people had returned
.bn 008.png
.pn +1
to their ordinary food, and all the glory of
the festival seemed to have disappeared from
the city.
Helon stood on the roof, on the following
morning, contemplating the rising sun. His
eyes turned towards the temple, and he remembered,
with a feeling of disappointment and
regret, that on this as on the preceding day,
only a single customary sacrifice would be presented
there. He looked down upon the streets—the
exhilarating commotion of the festival
had vanished, and all was solitary and still, save
where a Tyrian merchant was seen hastening
through the gate with his empty sacks, or a
Galilean dealer in cattle, driving before him the
remnant of his herd, for which he had been
unable to find a purchaser. No pilgrim from
Hebron or Libna, no stranger of the Diaspora
was to be seen.
A deep melancholy took possession of Helon’s
mind, and this day seemed likely to pass even
more gloomily than the preceding. The dejection
of mind which for several years past had
been his habitual companion, had suddenly
.bn 009.png
.pn +1
vanished during the paschal week. The enthusiasm
which began at Beersheba, when he
knelt down to greet the land of his fathers, had
gone on constantly increasing; and he had felt
within himself a resolution, which it seemed as
if nothing could daunt, to keep the law of
Jehovah. But now, though still in the Holy
Land and in the city of God, his spirits sunk at
every moment; his feelings had been too highly
excited, and this depression was the natural
consequence. He could not descend to the
ordinary occupations of life in Jerusalem, in
which, as the city of Jehovah, it seemed to him
that a perpetual festival ought to prevail.
In the preceding days only the psalms, with
their tone of cheerful and exulting piety, or the
joyous prophecies of Isaiah, had been in his
heart and on his lips; now the plaintive strains
of Jeremiah, his former favourites, recurred to
his mind, and he began to feel how removed he
still was from that inward peace for which he
longed, and which he thought that he had found
in the first days of the festival. When he
looked down upon the streets, whose compatative
.bn 010.png
.pn +1
emptiness seemed to him absolute desolation,
the beginning of the Lamentations came
to his mind,
.pm start_poem
How doth the city sit solitary that was full of people!
How is she become as a widow!
.pm end_poem
And he could scarcely forbear adding from
the same prophet,[1]
.pm start_poem
My soul is removed from peace,
And I said my confidence is perished
And my hope in Jehovah.
.pm end_poem
.fm rend=t
.fn 1
Lam. iii. 18.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
With such feelings he wandered up and down
on the roof, in the cool air of morning. Suddenly
the smoke of the morning-sacrifice arose
on mount Moriah, and the sound of a solitary
trumpet was heard from the hill of the Lord.
All Helon’s feelings returned with the associations
of this sight and sound. “There is
then,” he exclaimed, “one occupation in Jerusalem,
which is a perpetual festival. It is
theirs who dwell in the house of the Lord and
minister at his altar. Why do I delay my
resolution?”
.bn 011.png
.pn +1
At this moment the door of the Alijah opened,
and the venerable Elisama issued from it. He
had been performing there his morning devotions.
Helon went up to him, wished him
peace, and with kindling looks thus addressed
him; “My uncle, often hast thou told me that
Israel is Israel only in the Holy Land, yet
even here I cannot remain, unless I become a
priest.”
“Restless youth,” said Elisama smiling;
“is it not enough for thee that thou art in the
city of Jehovah?”
“But,” replied Helon, “even in the city of
Jehovah, the priests alone keep a perpetual
festival; and I fain would keep it with them.”
Elisama looked at him in joyful surprise. It
had been his own wish that Helon, whose dislike
of commerce he perceived, should become
a priest, but wishing that it should be his
spontaneous choice, he had forborne to suggest
it to him; and he had not hoped for so speedy
and so decisive a declaration. Scarcely able to
repress his joy, he replied, “In a son of Levi
the wish is natural; but what has suggested it?”
.bn 012.png
.pn +1
Helon related to him what he had felt on the
second day of the Passover, when offering the
burnt-offering; how the desire of entering into
the sacerdotal order had ripened into resolution,
and how ever since that time the words of the
prophet,[2] “the priest is an angel of the Lord,”
had been perpetually before his mind, till at
length his painful feelings on seeing the deserted
city, and the joy which had revived in
him on hearing the trumpet from Moriah, had
convinced him that he could be happy only by
entering into the priesthood.
.fm rend=t
.fn 2
Mal. ii. 7.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
Elisama embraced him, and both remained
for a time weeping. At length Elisama, breaking
silence, said, “We will go to-morrow to
the high-priest; he knows our family and me.
In truth,” he continued, “Jehovah has blessed
our house with much wealth in a foreign land,
and thou, alas, art its only heir. It is right
that thou shouldest revive the priesthood in our
family, in which it has slept for four hundred
years. This is the curse which rests on Israel
.bn 013.png
.pn +1
in foreign lands. The privilege to be anointed
to Jehovah by birth, and to have the right of
ministering before him, is despised, and a Levite
becomes but like another man. This I have
often thought; the pursuits of commerce have
indeed prevented my acting on this conviction,
but all my wealth has been an inadequate consolation
to me.”
“My second father,” exclaimed Helon,
“my heart overflows with joy to hear that you
think so; and with gratitude, that you permit
me to revive the priesthood in our family.”
“Yes, Helon,” said Elisama, “I feel, too,
that the priest is an angel of the Lord of Hosts.
In the hour in which thou didst resolve to
make a journey to the Holy Land, I framed in
my heart the blessing which my lips now pronounce
upon thee. But let us go to the grave of
thy father, that thou mayest receive his blessing.”
Without entering the house, they descended
, and so into the street.
Passing along the Broad-street they came immediately
from the Higher City into the valley
.bn 014.png
.pn +1
of Jehoshaphat, and its cedars, and proceeded
beneath their solemn shade, till they reached the
well-known sepulchre of the Egyptian pilgrim.
Both stood before it awhile in silence, and
seemed to expect that some voice should still
issue from it, or that the spirit of the beloved
father and brother should come forth.
“O! hadst thou lived to see this hour,” at
length exclaimed Elisama, “how had thy
paternal heart rejoiced!”
Helon wept, whether in joy or sorrow he
himself scarcely knew—but such tears are of a
higher kind. He threw himself upon the grave,
and long remained there praying and weeping.
Elisama too gave free vent to his tears.
“Arise,” he said, at length, to Helon, “and
let us repeat together the 90th psalm. Thy
father will answer thee in this song of Moses,
and bless thee in the words of the man of God.”
Helon arose, and they both said together,
.pm start_poem
Lord, thou hast been our refuge
From generation to generation.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
Or ever thou hadst fashioned the earth and the world,
From everlasting to everlasting, thou art God!
.bn 015.png
.pn +1
Thou turnest man to destruction,
And sayest, Return ye children of men:
For a thousand years are in thy sight
As yesterday when it is past,
And as a watch in the night.
Thou sweepest them away; they sleep.
In the morning they are as grass that groweth up,
In the morning it is green and flourishing,
In the evening it is cut down and withereth.
For we are consumed by thine anger,
And by thy wrath we are troubled.
Thou settest our iniquities before thee,
Our secret deeds in the light of thy countenance.
Our days are wasted by thy anger,
Our years are spent as a breath.
The days of our years are threescore years and ten,
And if by reason of strength they be fourscore years,
Yet is their strength labour and sorrow;
For it is soon cut off and we flee away.
Who knoweth the power of thine anger
Which is terrible that thou mayest be feared?
So teach us to number our days,
That we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
Return to us, O Jehovah—how long?
Be again gracious to thy servants.
O! satisfy us speedily with thy mercy,
That we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us,
And the years wherein we have seen evil.
Let thy work appear unto thy servants
And thy glory unto their children.
May the favour of the Lord our God be upon us
.bn 016.png
.pn +1
And prosper thou the work of our hands;
Yea, the work of our hands may thy goodness prosper!
.pm end_poem
“Be that the blessing of thy father upon
thee,” said Elisama when they had finished.
“Does not this psalm seem to have been composed
to suit our circumstances; beginning
with lamentation on account of death, and confession
of sin; yet even in the midst of these,
calling on Jehovah, on him who has been our
refuge from generation to generation? Yes,
Helon, such has he been to the whole series of
our ancestors even to him who, with the prophet
Jeremiah, was compelled to flee into
Egypt; and on this we found our prayer,
Return to us O Jehovah! The Lord has
heard thee, happy youth! Thou shalt behold
the works of Jehovah! And from the sepulchre
of thy father, from beneath these primeval
cedars, his spirit blesses thee and says, The
favour of the Lord thy God be upon thee. May
he prosper all the work of thy hands, yea the
work of thy hands may his goodness prosper.
And now let us go. We will return home by
Zion and by the spring of Siloah.”
.bn 017.png
.pn +1
At the south-east corner of Jerusalem, near
, lies the valley
of Hinnom, where once sacrifices were offered
to Moloch on Tophet. They bent their course
around the Water-gate and went through this
valley which lies on the southern side, along
the aqueduct of Siloah, which had been erected
by Solomon. They came first to the lower
pool, then to the remains of a noble garden,
and at last, opposite to the south-west side of
the city to the upper pool, near which was the
highly-prized fountain of Siloah, which Manasseh,
on his return, had connected with the
city by means of a well. Isaiah describes the
waters of Siloah as “flowing softly.”[3]
.fm rend=t
.fn 3
Isaiah viii. 6.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
This is the holy spot where the wisest king
of Israel was anointed. David, then grey with
years, said, “Set Solomon my son on my own
mule, and bring him down to Gihon (so this
fountain was then called) and let Zadok the
priest, and Nathan the prophet, anoint him there
king over Israel. So Zadok and Nathan, and
.bn 018.png
.pn +1
Benaiah and the Kerethites and the Pelethites
went down thither, and Zadok took a horn of
oil out of the sanctuary and anointed Solomon,
and they blew the trumpet, and all the people
came up after him piping and rejoicing, so that
the earth was rent with their sound.”[4]
.fm rend=t
.fn 4
1 Kings i. 33.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
“It was not without reason,” said Elisama,
“that I brought thee hither to-day. As the
king is the anointed of a people, so is the
priest of a family. For thy own sake I led thee
to the valley of Jehoshaphat; it shall serve as
an omen to myself that I have brought thee
hither.”
They were both silent. Passing by the Fuller’s
Field,[5] as it was called from ancient times,
and bending round the western side of the city,
by the ruins of the aqueduct of Hezekiah, they
entered the valley of Siloah. Between the
gate of the Fountain and the gate of the Valley
they saw the tower of Zion, formerly called
the tower of the Jebusites,[6] and now the city
.bn 019.png
.pn +1
of David, rising in the midst of the Higher City
which had been built around it. The Higher
and Lower City were separated by a valley,
which was called the Tyrop[oe]on (valley of the
cheese-makers.) They entered by the gate of
the Valley and thus reached again the house of
Iddo, in the Higher City, and in the Broad-street.
.fm rend=t
.fn 5
2 Kings xviii. 17. Isaiah vii. 3.
.fn-
.fn 6
Judges i. 21.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
How did Iddo sympathize in the joy with
which Elisama announced to him the determination
of Helon! He was standing in the
outer court, and had just taken leave of some
acquaintance, when they entered. Leading
them with exclamations of joy to the inner
court, he called his wife from the apartment of
the women, made the slaves place cushions
around the fountain, and repeatedly exclaimed,
“What a happiness for a family! The priest
is indeed an angel of Jehovah of Hosts.”
The day was spent in domestic festivity, but
Helon could not be present at the evening sacrifice,
because he had made himself unclean by
contact with a grave.[7] It seemed somewhat
.bn 020.png
.pn +1
strange to him, that he should have been defiled
by a visit to his father’s tomb, and be unfit
to appear in the temple of Jehovah, because he
had shed there tears not of earthly sorrow but
of heavenly hope. But he consoled himself
with the thought that the priest was more
secure even in this respect.
.fm rend=t
.fn 7
Numb. xix. 16.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
In the afternoon, as he could not go up to the
temple, he strayed, accompanied by his host,
through the Higher City, the Lower City, and
came at last into the New City. The artisans
were at their labours, in shops open to the
street, and presented a picture of animated
activity. They passed the ruins of the palaces of
David, in the Upper City, and Solomon in the
Lower City, and saw the tower of Baris, where
Helon was to appear on the following day, before
the high-priest, and at length turned in the
New City around the hill Bezetha, by the Gate
of the Corner which lay in the north-east side
of the city. ,[8] a
splendid work, hewn out of the rock, was near.
.bn 021.png
.pn +1
Helon and Iddo proceeded, and winding round
the west side of the city came into the vale of
Gihon. “Yonder,” said Iddo, “is Golgotha,”
as they came to an open space.
.fm rend=t
.fn 8
2 Chron. xxi. 20.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
A dim remembrance of the connection of this
place with some past event of his life came into
Helon’s mind, and he at length recollected his
dream. “I have had,” said he to his host,
“an extraordinary dream, which I have been
unable to shake off and which ended with .”
When he had related it to him, Iddo
replied, “Remember the words of Elihu,
.pm start_poem
In a dream, in visions of the night,
When deep sleep falleth upon men,
In slumberings upon their bed
God giveth instruction unto men.—Job xxxiii. 15.
.pm end_poem
A part of the dream is on the point of being
fulfilled, in your receiving the sacerdotal unction,
and we will hope that the rest portends
only good. What Golgotha should mean I do
not understand.”
Helon purified himself in the evening, by the
prescribed ablutions, from the uncleanness which
he had contracted by the contact of the grave.
.bn 022.png
.pn +1
Still he was not permitted to enter the temple
for seven days to come; for so long the uncleanness
lasted which was produced by touching
a sepulchre. But the prohibition applied
only to the temple.
The following day was a sabbath. Elisama
took the presents which he had destined for the
high-priest, and Helon and he went together to
the . It was a stately edifice
erected by Hyrcanus. It stood at the north-east
corner of the temple, on a steep rock fifty
cubits high, and formed a quadrangle, in the
midst of which a splendid palace stood. Besides
a court, it was surrounded with a wall, on
the four corners of which were towers, that on
the south-east side being the highest, for the
purpose of commanding the temple from it.
The high-priest received the stranger, sitting
in the inner court, by the fountain, and bade
them welcome. Elisama had been known to
him before, and Hyrcanus rejoiced to see him
after an interval of many years. With lofty
panegyrics of his government, and the heroic
deeds of himself and his progenitors, Elisama
.bn 023.png
.pn +1
laid his Egyptian presents at his feet, consisting
of valuable or curious productions of nature
and art from that country, and then made application
for Helon’s admission into the priesthood.
The high-priest lent a favourable ear
to the request, but observed, that as the triumphal
entry of his sons was to take place on the
approaching new moon, he could not before
that time admit Helon to the temple service,
and he recommended it to Elisama to employ
the interval in examining the genealogical table
of the young candidate. Having promised them
all necessary aid in carrying their purpose into
effect, he dismissed them.
The first step had now been taken. Helon
left the castle, full of exultation, and congratulating
Israel that such a hero as Hyrcanus
sat upon its throne. On their return home
Elisama announced to Iddo his intention of
making a journey with Helon to Joppa, where
the keeper of the genealogical register of their
family dwelt. “Since you are now to be an
inhabitant of the Promised Land,” said he to
Helon, “it is right that you should become
.bn 024.png
.pn +1
acquainted with it and with your kinsmen who
dwell in it. We shall return in time to witness
the triumphal entry.” Helon requested
that they might take Anathoth in their way, a
place which he felt an indescribable longing
to see, as being the native town of his prophet
Jeremiah. Elisama agreed, and as soon as the
sabbath was ended preparations for the journey
were hastily made.
.bn 025.png
.pn +1
.sp 4
.h3
CHAPTER II. | THE JOURNEY TO JOPPA.
.sp 2
had already announced
the near approach of morning, yet all
was still in the streets of Jerusalem and in the
temple, when Elisama, Helon, and the faithful
Sallu, their upper garments girt short around
them, with sandals on their feet, and staves in
their hands, passed through the gate of Ephraim,
and took the road to Anathoth.
They entered the territory of the tribe of
Benjamin as soon as they had passed the gate.
Jerusalem lay on , as the metropolis of the whole people,
and not belonging to any one tribe exclusively.
Since the return from the captivity the distinction
of the tribes had been obliterated, with the
.bn 026.png
.pn +1
exception of that of Levi, and, strictly speaking,
only the name remained in the case of the
others, as a cherished memorial of former
times.
, yet with something
of declivity, lay before them, the only
level ground in the immediate vicinity of the
city. On whichever side you quit Jerusalem,
the ground falls, for Jerusalem stands elevated
and conspicuous on the surface of the earth, as
it does in the history of the world. It was
growing light when they came into the King’s
valley, so called because it was here that Melchisedec,
priest of the Most High God and
King of Salem had met Abram,[9] returning
triumphant from his battle with Chedorlaomer
and his confederate kings, and brought wine
and bread to the patriarch and blessed him, and
said, “Blessed be Abram of the Most High
God, the possessor of heaven and earth, and
blessed be the Most High God, who hath delivered
thine enemies into thy hand.” Here too
.bn 027.png
.pn +1
the king of Sodom came to meet Abram.
They passed along this beautiful valley, which
was beginning to be brightened by the first
beams of the sun; the sickle of the reapers was
heard on every side, and they congratulated
themselves on being permitted to visit scenes
where holy men had walked. “These,” said
Elisama, “are truly consecrated spots; the
memory of the events which passed here lives
from generation to generation, and has outlasted
the pillar which Absalom raised yonder,
hoping to perpetuate his name by this monument,
when he had no son to preserve it.[10] He
had no son, because he had shown that he could
not teach him to honour a father; his monument
has disappeared; no man mentions ; but the friendly meeting of
the kings will be handed down to the latest
posterity, in the name which this valley
bears.”
.fm rend=t
.fn 9
Gen. xiv. 18.
.fn-
.fn 10
2 Sam. xviii. 18.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
Helon was silent; for he perceived that his
uncle had involuntarily awakened a thought in
.bn 028.png
.pn +1
his own mind, which never failed to give him
pain. Elisama had no children, and he regarded
this as a grievous punishment from
heaven, for some unknown sin which he had
committed. With an agitated voice he turned
to Helon and gave him his hand; “Be thou,”
he said, “my son! Like Absalom, I have
sinned. I did indeed honour my father to his
dying day; but the ways of the Lord are unsearchable;
he is righteous, and it becomes me
to say with David, 'Who can tell how often
he transgresseth! Cleanse thou me from secret
faults.'”
“I am thy son,” replied Helon, and pressed
Elisama’s hand. “But here while Israel rejoices
around us, in this lovely valley, in the
blessing of the harvest, let joy and thankfulness
alone occupy our minds.”
They proceeded on their way. The fields of
barley stood, golden ripe, on either side of the
road; troops of reapers were on their way to
the harvest, and the sound of the sickle, the
song of the labourer, and the rolling of the
threshing-wain resounded through the air.
.bn 029.png
.pn +1
While rows of the reapers were busy in cutting
down the grain, others were binding up the
sheaves, tying the stalks not far from the ears.
Here a corner of the field was left for the
poor;[11] there a field already reaped was affording
them a gleaning. Some were carrying their
sheaves to the , others were
loading them on waggons to convey them
thither. They past one of these threshing-floors:
it was an open place in the fields, where
the soil had been made hard and smooth by
stamping; the width was on an average from
thirty to forty paces, and oxen, unmuzzled,
according to the law, were treading out the
grain.[12] In another, which belonged to a rich
man, a servant sat upon the threshing-wain,
guiding the beasts, who dragged this machine,
with its iron-shod wheels, over the sheaves,
while another, following behind, shook up the
straw with a fork. All were enlivening their
various labours with a song; and such passages
as these might frequently be heard,
.bn 030.png
.pn +1
.pm start_poem
He watereth the hills from his chambers,
The earth is satisfied with the fruit of his works.
He causeth grass to grow for cattle,
And herb for the service of man,
Bringing forth bread out of the earth.—Ps. civ.
.pm end_poem
Or this,
.pm start_poem
Thou crownest the year with thy goodness;
Thy paths drop fatness.
They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness,
And the little hills rejoice on every side.
The pastures are clothed with flocks,
The vallies also are covered over with corn,
They shout for joy and sing.—Ps. lxv.
.pm end_poem
.fm rend=t
.fn 11
Lev. xix. 9.
.fn-
.fn 12
Deut. xxv. 4.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
The travellers joined in these festive songs,
and, according to ancient custom, pronounced,
at every field which they passed, the benediction,
.pm start_poem
The blessing of Jehovah be upon you!
We bless you in the name of Jehovah.—Ps. cxxix. 8.
.pm end_poem
Helon felt now the full force of the prophecy of
Jehovah by Isaiah;[13] “They joy before thee,
according to the joy in harvest.” They had
travelled about three sabbath-days' journies
through this exhilarating scene, when they
.bn 031.png
.pn +1
reached the little town of ; their road
to Joppa did not necessarily take them through
it, but it was the birth-place of Jeremiah, and
Elisama and Helon could not refuse themselves
the pleasure of hallowing the remembrance of
the prophet, who had been the guest of their
family, on his own natal soil. It was here that
this man of God had spent his childhood—here,
as a youth, he had received the call of Jehovah;
and when Helon, in his boyish days, had heard
from his father or his mother, or his uncle, any
anecdote of their prophet, the names of Jeremiah
and of Anathoth bad always been connected
together.
.fm rend=t
.fn 13
Isaiah ix. 3.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
They halted at the gate, and asked to be
shown the field of Hanameel, which Jeremiah
bought from the son of his father’s brother,[14]
when the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem,
a transaction which Jehovah designed to
be an omen that the people then dispersed
should be again collected together, and return
to occupy their ancient possessions. “For
.bn 032.png
.pn +1
thus saith Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel,
they shall still buy houses, fields, and vineyards
in this land.” One of the severest denunciations
of the prophet, was that delivered against
Anathoth, in which, as his own city, he was
least held in honour.
.fm rend=t
.fn 14
Jer. xxxvii. 7.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
.pm start_poem
Thus saith Jehovah against the men of Anathoth,
Who seek thy life and command thee,
“Prophesy not in the name of Jehovah
Lest thou die by our hand.”
Therefore thus saith the Lord of Hosts,
Behold, I will punish them:
The young men shall die by the sword;
Their sons and their daughters shall die by famine,
And there shall be no remnant of them.
For I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth
In the time when I visit them.—Jer. xi.
.pm end_poem
It was fearfully accomplished on this city of
the priests; but so was also the word spoken
at the purchase of the field of Hanameel; for
at the return from the captivity one hundred
and twenty-eight men undertook to rebuild the
city of their fathers.[15]
.fm rend=t
.fn 15
Ezra ii. 23.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
Helon’s ancestors, strictly speaking, derived
.bn 033.png
.pn +1
their extraction from this city of the priests in
the tribe Benjamin, and therefore he regarded
this as his own city. He imagined a resemblance
between himself, as he was now about
to assume the sacerdotal office, and the calling
of the prophet Jeremiah, and repeated the
account of it to his uncle, as they returned from
seeing the field of Hanameel.
.pm start_poem
The word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
“Before I formed thee in the womb I knew thee,
And before thou camest forth out of the womb I had chosen thee,
And I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”
And I replied, “Ah, Lord God!
Behold I cannot speak;
For I am a child.”
But the Lord said unto me,
“Say not, I am a child:
For thou shalt go to all to whom I shall send thee,
And thou shalt speak whatsoever I command thee.
Be not afraid of them;
For I am with thee to help thee;”
So saith Jehovah.
Then Jehovah put forth his hand
And touched my mouth,
And said to me,
“Behold I put my words into thy mouth.
See, I have this day set thee before nations and kingdoms,
To root out and to pull down,
.bn 034.png
.pn +1
To destroy and to overthrow,
To build up and to plant again.”—Jer. i.
.pm end_poem
But he had scarcely repeated this passage,
when he began humbly to feel that it would be
better for him to keep all such comparisons out
of view. He left this remarkable place with
regret; but it had ceased for several generations
to be the abode of his ancestors;
had neither kindred nor even acquaintance
there, and they had a long journey still before
them.
They left Mizpah, , Rama, and
Kiriath-jearim to the north. Helon lamented
that they could not visit them all, but must
bend their course directly from Anathoth to
Bethshemesh. Bethshemesh is the ancient city
of the priests in Judah, to which the alarmed
Philistines brought back the ark of the covenant,
and where blamable curiosity respecting
sacred things was severely punished.[16]
.fm rend=t
.fn 16
1 Sam. vi. 19.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
From Bethshemesh they followed the road
to Modin, a spot which their admiration and
.bn 035.png
.pn +1
loyalty towards the Maccabees would not allow
them to pass without notice. What could be
more interesting to sons of Israel, who had just
come from a land which was still a house of
bondage to their nation, than the place where
the heroes who had emancipated Judah had
begun their work in the might of Jehovah, and
with his blessing. In this little village of
Modin lived the pious father with his five
valiant sons, whose family bore the name of the
Hammerer, Maccabæus. When the frenzy of
Antiochus Epiphanes had arisen to the highest
pitch, and Jerusalem bent beneath his oppression,
the aged Mattathias, in this insignificant
spot, declared, “Though all nations in the dominions
of the king obey him, so that every one
falleth away from the worship of his fathers,
and obeyeth the commands of the king, yet I
and my sons and my brothers will not depart
from the law of our fathers.”[17] So he spoke,
and punished the first apostate whom he saw,
and overturned the altars of the king, not in
.bn 036.png
.pn +1
blind unauthorized fury, but in holy zeal for
the rights of his people. He and his family
quitted their abode, took refuge in the mountains,
and collected around them the noblest
and the bravest of the nation. The father died;
but his spirit rested upon his sons; one after
another fought and conquered for the law of
Jehovah; until at length, the son of Simon, our
Hyrcanus, obtained the meed of so many exploits,
in the united dignities of prince and priest.
.fm rend=t
.fn 17
1 Maccab. ii.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
Simon, in the brilliant days of his prosperity,
caused the sepulchre of his family to be enlarged,
and made it one of the most splendid
works of architecture in the country. Elisama
and Helon hastened to visit it, and admired the
lofty work of hewn stones, the seven pyramids
raised upon it in honour of the five sons and their
parents, the tall columns which surrounded it,
and the emblems of their victories carved in
stone upon the monument.[18]
.fm rend=t
.fn 18
1 Maccab. xiii. 27.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
“May Jehovah increase them a thousand
times!” said Elisama. “May Jehovah bless
.bn 037.png
.pn +1
this heroic family of priests!” exclaimed Helon:
and as they pursued their way and looked
back on the lofty monument, they observed to
each other, that even in the destruction of
Samaria, that is to the third generation, God
continued to prosper them. Reclining under
the shadow of a few lofty palms, which stood by
the road side, where they could see the towering
mausoleum, they refreshed their bodies in
the shade, and cheered their minds with the
thought of Jehovah’s mercies.
At length they arose and set forward on their
way, and reached the limit of their first day’s
journey, , which bears also the names of
Lod and Diospolis. In a direct line they were
forty sabbath-days’ journies from Jerusalem,
but their circuitous route made it amount to a
good deal more. In the neighbourhood of this
city, the rich corn-land of bordered on the
fertile pastures of Sharon, which extends northward
from the Mediterranean sea. Close to the
gate was a large house, where men in festal
attire were going in and out, and the open gate
seemed to invite the presence of the stranger.
.bn 038.png
.pn +1
“Let us turn in hither,” said Elisama; “hospitality
never fails among those who are celebrating
a feast.”
The master of the house came to the outer
court to receive them, and conducting them to
the house, bade them welcome to the feast of
the winnowing, which he was celebrating.[19] As
the threshing-floor where this feast was usually
held was very near his house, he was accustomed
to transfer it thither. He led them into
the inner court, where his guests were assembled;
the slaves untied the latchets of their
sandals, and washed their feet. Elisama was
much fatigued and enjoyed repose; but he
was not allowed to enjoy it long, for they were
speedily called to the meal. A great abundance
of dishes was placed upon the table, , and
milk, honey, wine, fruit, cheese, rice, and flesh,
were so plentifully supplied, that they could not
be consumed, though the appetite of the guests
was keen.
.fm rend=t
.fn 19
Ruth iii. 1, 2.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
.bn 039.png
.pn +1
“Our doctors of the law,” said the master
of the house, “reckon the making a feast among
good works, and I feel this doubly at the feast
of the winnowing, which I make for my servants.”
Helon attached himself to the priests
and Levites of the place, who, according to the
ancient custom of Israel, had also been invited;[20]
they received him into their circle and
related to him at his request the history of
Lydda. This town had been taken possession
of by those who had returned from the captivity
of the tribe of Benjamin;[21] it had afterwards
been reckoned with Samaria, and finally along
with Rama and Apherama had been restored to
the hero Jonathan by Demetrius Soter.[22] From
this subject it was an easy transition to the
victory over the Samaritans which the sons of
Hyrcanus had just achieved. All these particulars
arrested his attention, but none more
than a description which an aged Levite gave
of the desolation caused by a flight of locusts
.bn 040.png
.pn +1
which he had witnessed in his youth. are of about the length and thickness of
a finger; their numbers are countless, and they
form swarms which extend for several leagues
in breadth. Such a swarm, when approaching,
appears like a mist; when it is arrived, it resembles
the falling of thick flakes of snow: the
air is darkened and filled with a fearful murmur:
they cover the ground and all that grows
on it, often to a foot in height, devouring every
green thing, grass, corn, and the trunks of
young trees. They creep into the houses, destroy
clothes and furniture, and besides this,
lay their eggs in the ground, which in the
course of fifteen or sixteen days become young
locusts. The south-east wind brings them, and
it is happy for the land when it also drives
them into the sea.
.fm rend=t
.fn 20
Deut. xii. 17, 18.
.fn-
.fn 21
Ezra ii. 33.
.fn-
.fn 22
1 Maccab. xi. 34.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
The aged Levite had retained such a lively
impression of the misery of those times, that
he could not cease from describing the plague
itself, and the still more dreadful evils of pestilence
and famine which it left behind. Helon
listened to him with shuddering, and then broke
.bn 041.png
.pn +1
out in the words in which the prophet Joel
describes them:
.pm start_poem
Blow ye the trumpet in Zion,
And sound an alarm in my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble.
For the day of the Lord cometh—it is nigh at hand.
A day of darkness and gloom—
A day of clouds and thick darkness.
As twilight spreads over the mountains,
So now a people, great and strong.
There hath not been ever the like,
Nor shall be from generation to generation.
A flame devoureth before them,
And behind them a fire burneth.
The land is as the garden of Eden before them,
And behind them a desolate wilderness:
Yea, nothing shall escape them.
Their form is as the form of horses,
And they leap as horsemen leap.
They run like the noise of chariots on the mountain tops,
Like the noise of fire that devoureth the stubble.
They are a strong people, arrayed for battle.
Before them nations tremble,
And all their faces glow.
They run like mighty men,
They climb the wall like men of war;
They march every one straight forward,
And they shall not break their ranks.
No one shall thrust another,
They shall walk every one in his own path.
They break through the midst of swords,
And interrupt not their march;
.bn 042.png
.pn +1
They run to and fro in the city,
They mount the wall and climb up the houses,
They enter the windows like a thief.
The earth quakes before them,
The heavens tremble,
The sun and moon are darkened,
And the stars withdraw their light.
Jehovah thunders before his army:
For his hosts are very great
And mighty is he that executeth his word.
The day of the Lord is great and terrible,
Who can abide it?—Joel ii.
.pm end_poem
It was late when our travellers retired to
rest; yet they arose early, to reach Joppa before
the heat of the day. Elisama left a present
with the master of the house, as a return
for his hospitality, and they took leave of each
other, one saying, “God reward thee;” the
other acknowledging it as a gift of God, that
such guests had taken up their abode with him.
They had not travelled more than seven
sabbath-days’ journies, when , the Beautiful,
as its name implies, rose before them.
It is close to the sea, is built upon a rising
ground, and offers on all sides picturesque and
varied prospects. Towards the west the open
sea extends; towards the east spreads the fertile
.bn 043.png
.pn +1
plain of Sephela, reaching as far as Gaza,
in which are the fifteen principal cities of the
Philistines: towards the north, as far as Carmel,
the flowery meads of Sharon are seen,
and through the dark summits of the hills of
Ephraim and Judah on the east, a piercing
sight can even discern . A thin veil of morning vapour lay
on the blue hills, on the distant plains and the
boundless sea. Our travellers gazed on the
scene with such a fulness of tranquil delight,
that it was long ere they remembered that they
had business in the city. Elisama inquired at
the gate for his friend, and going to his house
was received by him with a hearty greeting.
His first question was respecting the residence
of the genealogist. He was told that he no
longer lived in Joppa, but was gone to Ziklag.
Elisama was provoked that he should have
received false information in Jerusalem, but
Helon pacified his uncle, by reminding him that
they had enjoyed a pleasant journey and this
mistake would afford him an opportunity of
seeing the south-west side of Judah. Elisama
.bn 044.png
.pn +1
would gladly have taken his departure instantly,
and Helon have followed him; but their host
insisted that they should remain with him
till the morrow. Elisama agreed, on condition
that he should furnish Helon with a guide, to
conduct him to the harbour, and show him what
was remarkable in it. He called for this purpose
one of his sons, who was of nearly Helon’s
age, and they went down to the shore. Here
Solomon had landed his cedar-wood from Lebanon,[23]
to be used in his works of architecture,
and it was by the same haven that the materials
for the building of the second temple were
imported. Simon the Maccabee had improved
the harbour and fortified the city, which
Jonathan had taken from a Syrian garrison.[24]
Helon, well acquainted with the celebrated
harbours of Egypt, examined it critically, and
not being in his present mood inclined to praise
any thing connected with commerce, he excited
some displeasure in the mind of his companion,
by observing how inadequately it was sheltered
.bn 045.png
.pn +1
from the north wind. It was about noon when
they arrived at home, and found the elders
sitting around the fountain in the court. “Do
you remember,” said Elisama to Helon, “that
this was the place at which the prophet Jonah
embarked on a voyage, which had nearly terminated
fatally for him, when he endeavoured
to escape from the mission to which God had
appointed him.”[25] Helon was about to answer,
when he saw his host knit his brow and start
up. “You remind me,” said he, “of an accursed
heathen, who arrived here lately with a
Ph[oe]nician caravan, a lively and acute Greek,
who kept himself aloof from all the rest, and
amused himself by turning the Tyrians into
ridicule. This son of Belial had the assurance
to ask me, if the history of our prophet was not
a new version of the ,
who was exposed here to the jaws of a
sea-monster, and delivered by Perseus. What
his Grecian fable may be I know not, but I was
so enraged at his insinuation,
.fm rend=t
.fn 23
2 Chron. ii. 16.
.fn-
.fn 24
1 Maccab. xiv. 5, 6.
.fn-
.fn 25
Jonah i. 3.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
.bn 046.png
.pn +1
“This can be no other than our Myron,”
said Elisama. “How long since was he ”
“About three weeks,” replied his host. “It
is the same,” said Elisama. “He came with
us from Egypt as far as Gaza. The Greeks
are a nation of scoffers, but it shall one day fare
with them, praised be Jehovah, as it has fared
with Samaria in our days.”
“Were that glory also reserved to our Hyrcanus,”
said his host, “I would do what this
man has done,” pointing to a Nazarite who
had just entered the court.
It was a wild looking figure which presented
itself to their view. His upper garment was
of rough hair, and his locks hung far down upon
his shoulders, tangled and neglected, and showing
that it was long since they had been shorn.
Helon had never yet seen , for they
were seldom to be met with but in the Holy
Land. But he was acquainted with all the
passages in the law relative to this kind of vow,[26]
by which a man for a time consecrated himself,
.bn 047.png
.pn +1
abstained from wine and from all the produce
of the vine, and allowed no razor to come upon
his person, nor any contact of a dead body to
pollute him. This Nazarite was a Jew of Maresa,
who had been one of those that had lost
their house and home, when, a year and a half
before, the Samaritans, at the command of the
king of Syria, had inflicted great injury on the
Jews, who had settled again in , subsequently
to its devastation by Judas Maccabæus.
In his wrath he had vowed himself to
Jehovah, till the time when the atrocities of the
Samaritans should cease and Samaria be razed
to the foundations. He was just come from
the camp of Israel, and was expressing his joy
and gratitude that Jehovah had so soon accomplished
the object of his vow. He had seen
,
amidst the songs of the soldiery, and the spot
on which the city had stood furrowed with
trenches of water and converted into a desert.
He had much to relate of the preparations
which Hyrcanus had made for the reception of
his victorious sons, and he announced his
.bn 048.png
.pn +1
intention of going up to the Holy City, at the
next feast of the new moon, to have his head
shorn there, and offer a sacrifice for the termination
of his Nazarite’s vow. This led them
into a wide field of discourse, and the Nazarite
remained to partake of the evening meal, though
he could not taste the choice wine with which
the citizen of Joppa regaled his guests. One
remark of the Nazarite threatened to destroy
the harmony of sentiment which had hitherto
reigned between him and Elisama. He praised,
among others, Hilkiah and Ananias, (the sons of
that Onias who had built Leontopolis) who,
being the principal advisers of Cleopatra the
queen of Egypt, had prevailed on her not to
consent to the sending of the auxiliaries whom,
to the amount of six thousand men, her son
and joint regent, Ptolemy Lathyrus, had despatched
to Antiochus Cyzicenus, to raise the
siege of Samaria. Every thing which was connected
with the Hellenists of Egypt was intolerable
to Elisama, and above all, to hear
their chiefs mentioned with praise in the Holy
Land itself. Their host made peace between
.bn 049.png
.pn +1
them, remarking that Jehovah had himself
decided in this case, by the miserable and
ignominious fate which had befallen these auxiliaries;
and they were completely reconciled
when the Nazarite spoke of Iddo as his friend.
They separated in peace and love, and with the
hope to meet again in a few days in the presence
of Jehovah, at the rejoicings for the
victory. On the following morning, Elisama,
quite refreshed, grasped his staff, and, with
Helon and Sallu, set out for Ziklag.
.fm rend=t
.fn 26
Numb. vi.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
Their road led them first through ,
which had been a city of the Philistines, burnt
after they were conquered, and rebuilt by Solomon,[27]
and very recently strongly fortified by
the Maccabees;[28] next to Noba, celebrated for
the terrible vengeance which Saul took there
upon the priest Ahimelech, and on all the
other inhabitants, for their crime in giving to
David, when he fled from before Saul, the loaves
of the shew-bread and the sword of Goliath.[29]
.bn 050.png
.pn +1
Leaving this place they descended from the
hills into the plain of Sephela. They here came
again into the scenes of harvest, and reached
the town of Gath, which stands at the limit of
the territory of Dan, hearing on every side
shouts of joy and pious thankfulness. Gath
was once the fourth among , and in later times an apple of
discord between them and the Israelites, passing
from the hand of one party to that of the
other. The giant Goliath was a Philistine of
Gath. It had been razed by king Uzziah,[30] and
since that time had been a very insignificant
place.
.fm rend=t
.fn 27
1 Kings ix. 15.
.fn-
.fn 28
1 Maccab. ix. 52.
.fn-
.fn 29
1 Sam. xxii. 19.
.fn-
.fn 30
2 Chron. xxvi. 6.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
When they reached Gath, they had travelled
twelve sabbath-days’ journies: they now entered
the tribe of Judah, and had half that distance
to travel to , a small village.
Their road led them through the region which
lies in the middle between Maresa and Morescheth.
They quickened their pace and
arrived late in the evening at Ziklag, having
.bn 051.png
.pn +1
past through Agla, which was twelve miles
distant from Eleutheropolis. Ziklag had been
the favourite abode of David; Achish, the king
of Gath, had assigned it to him for his residence;[31]
its destruction by the Amalekites had roused
him to take exemplary vengeance upon them,
and he had afterwards rebuilt it.
When they arrived at Ziklag, they inquired
for the house of the genealogist, and went
directly to it. It had long been dark, and Elisama
was very weary; and when the genealogist
had given them a friendly reception, as
his Egyptian kinsmen, and expressed high
approbation of Helon’s determination to become
a priest, they laid themselves down to rest.
may be traced
up to the earliest times of Israel’s existence as a
nation. Jehovah was their true and only ruler.
Under him the people lived in families, which
together formed tribes, the families themselves
being subdivided into houses. Each tribe had
its own prince, chosen probably by the heads of
.bn 052.png
.pn +1
families, who were themselves chosen by the
heads of houses. The princes and the heads of
families were called elders; , and besides them there were judges,
and genealogists who kept the registers of the
different families. Although at various times the
supreme power was by turns in the hands of
heroes, kings, princes and high-priests, yet the
fundamental principle of the constitution was,
that Jehovah was sole and absolute monarch of
his people Israel, and that they obeyed him,
under all intermediate magistrates, whatever
their titles or offices might be. In earlier
times the heads of families, the judges, and
genealogists of each tribe, assembled occasionally
together, under the presidence of the prince
of the tribe, for the purpose of joint deliberation;
sometimes these officers assembling from
all the tribes formed a species of Diet.
.fm rend=t
.fn 31
1 Sam. xxvii. 5.; xxx.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
The genealogist of each family was a very
important person, and especially in the tribe of
Levi, in which so many privileges were attached
to purity and certainty of extraction.
He who wished to serve as a priest before
.bn 053.png
.pn +1
Jehovah, must not only descend on the father’s
side from Aaron, but be of irreproachable birth
on that of the mother. The series of Helon’s
paternal ancestors had been very exactly carried
on in Egypt, and Elisama had brought
documents thence with him to establish it. But
his mother was also the daughter of a priest,
and as her family lived in Judah, it was necessary
that the genealogy on this side should be
examined into, and the descent shown to be
regular.
The following day was occupied with these
researches. The genealogist showed the pedigree
of his family to Helon; his name was
formally entered under that of his mother, and
he thus stood on her side among the children
of the course of Abia, as on his father’s he
belonged to the course of Malchia.
On the fifth day our travellers returned to
Jerusalem. Helon, rejoicing in the success of
his journey, compared his own lot with that of
the children of Habaiah, Hakoz, and Barzillai,
of whom Ezra and Nehemiah write, that after
their return from the captivity they sought for
.bn 054.png
.pn +1
their registers, and not being able to find them,
forfeited their sacerdotal office.[32] On their
return they past through , which Helon
had not seen before, of which the prophet
Micah said, “Thou art the beginning of sin
to the daughter of Zion.”[33] This town was
taken by Joshua from a Canaanitish prince;[34]
it was fortified by Rehoboam.[35] Amaziah was
put to death in it;[36] and the ambassadors of
Hezekiah came hither with presents to Sennacherib.[37]
Next he saw Libna,[38] which, like
Lachish, was situated in the plain of Sephela,
and was memorable for its defection from king
Joram. At last they came to Socho, near
which is , where David
fought with Goliath. In the earlier part of their
day’s journey they had also seen the cave of
Adullam, doubly memorable as having afforded
a hiding-place to David, and as being the place
where Judas Maccabæus kept the first sabbath,
.bn 055.png
.pn +1
which we read of as having been celebrated
after the atrocities of the king of Syria.[39]
.fm rend=t
.fn 32
Ezra ii. 61. Neh. vii. 63.
.fn-
.fn 33
Micah i. 13.
.fn-
.fn 34
Josh. x. 32.
.fn-
.fn 35
2 Chron. xi. 9.
.fn-
.fn 36
2 Kings xiv. 19.
.fn-
.fn 37
2 Kings xviii. 14.
.fn-
.fn 38
2 Kings viii. 22.
.fn-
.fn 39
1 Sam. xxii. 1. 2 Maccab. xii. 38.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
Happy in having stored his memory with
many pleasing pictures of the Land of Promise,
infinitely more happy in the thought that there
was now no obstacle to his admission into the
priesthood, Helon greeted the Holy City a
second time.
.bn 056.png
.pn +1
.sp 4
.h3
CHAPTER III. | THE FEAST OF THE NEW MOON.
.sp 2
Elisama and Helon, as they drew near the
gates of Jerusalem, soon perceived from the commotion
among the people, from the triumphal
preparations, some wholly, some only partially
finished, and from the influx of strangers,
that a public rejoicing was at hand. It resembled
the preparation for the Passover, but
there was more of mirth, and altogether a more
worldly character in it. The acclamations of
joy which had been heard on the first intelligence
of the victory were now renewed, on
the evening before the victors were to make
their solemn entry into Jerusalem.
Iddo was standing at the gate of his house, a
place in which, according to the custom of the
.bn 057.png
.pn +1
Jews, the father of the family was seldom seen,
not even Iddo, lively and active as he was.
On this occasion, however, he had stationed
himself there, in order to lose none of the animating
sights which the busy and crowded
streets exhibited. Beside him stood the Nazarite,
who had already arrived, in his coarse
garments and unshorn locks.
The feet of the guests were washed and the
supper served up. The conversation turned on
what the travellers had seen during their
journey, and what had passed in Jerusalem
during their absence. All were in eager expectation
of the spectacle of to-morrow, and as
Elisama was weary, they speedily separated
and retired to rest. On the following day, as
early as the commencement of the morning-sacrifice,
the multitude streamed towards the
gate of Ephraim, by which the victorious army
was to enter. The streets of the New City and
the Lower City, as far as the castle Baris, were
strewed with fragrant flowers; tapestry of
various colours hung from the parapets of the
roofs, and banners were displayed from the
.bn 058.png
.pn +1
Alijahs, while on the pinnacles of the temple were
hung the curtains which in former years had
closed the entrance of the sanctuary. A chorus
of virgins passed out at the gate of Ephraim,
under a splendid triumphal arch, to meet the
victorious army. Messengers were hastening
to and fro, the crowd increased, and every one
was endeavouring to find himself a commodious
place. The music of the temple was heard
between. Sallu had secured one of the highest
places for his masters, from which the whole scene
lay before their eyes. In this way several hours
had passed; the messengers, mounted on horseback,
went and returned more frequently—at
length, from thousands of voices was heard the
exclamation, “They come!”
The chorus of virgins arose with their psalteries
and tabrets, and sung in bold strains the
valour of the conquerors, the fall of Samaria,
and the mercy of Jehovah to his people. When
they reached the advanced guard of the army,
way was made for them, till they reached the
car on which the youthful Maccabees were
seated. Standing before it they began an ode,
.bn 059.png
.pn +1
the burthen of which recalled the immortal song
of Miriam, the sister of Moses, the first of the
female singers of Israel.
.pm start_poem
Sing unto Jehovah, for he has triumphed gloriously:
He hath filled Samaria with trenches of water!
.pm end_poem
Then the hymn took up the praises of the
princes and the warriors and the whole people,
and the defeat of Samaria; and at the close of
every strophe, all with united voice and instruments,
raised the chorus of Miriam.
The victorious princes thanked the virgins,
who advanced before them to the triumphal
arch at the gate of Ephraim. Here stood the
high-priest with the whole of the Sanhedrim,
and a great multitude of the priests and Levites.
To the sound of the temple music they sang
the following psalm:
.pm start_poem
I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart,
I will show forth all thy marvellous works.
I will be glad and rejoice in thee,
I will sing praise to thy name, O thou Most High!
My enemies were turned back,
They sunk and perished at thy presence.
For thou maintainest my right and my cause,
Thou sittest on thy throne judging rightly.
.bn 060.png
.pn +1
Thou hast rebuked, thou hast destroyed the wicked,
Thou hast blotted out their name far evermore.
The swords of the enemy are come to an end,
Their cities are destroyed, their remembrance is perished\
with them.
Jehovah shall endure for ever,
He hath prepared his throne for judgment;
He judges the world in righteousness,
He administers judgment in uprightness to the nations.
Jehovah is the refuge of the oppressed,
A refuge in time of trouble.
They that know thy name put their trust in thee:
For thou, Lord, forsakest not those that seek thee.
Sing praises to the Lord who dwelleth in Zion!
Declare among the people his doings.
As the avenger of blood he remembereth them,
He forgetteth not the cry of the humble.
Have mercy upon me, O Jehovah!
Consider my trouble among my enemies;
Lift me up from the gates of death
That I may show forth thy praise,
That in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in\
thy salvation.
The heathen are sunk into the pit which they made,
In the net which they hid is their own foot taken.
Thus it is known that Jehovah executeth judgment.
The wicked are snared in the work of their own hands,
The wicked are cast into hell,
And all the nations that forget God.
The needy shall not always be forgotten,
The hope of the poor shall not perish for ever.
Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail,
Let the heathen be judged by thee.
.bn 061.png
.pn +1
Set a ruler over them, O Lord,
Let the nations know that they are but men!—Ps. ix.
.pm end_poem
Priests, warriors, and citizens listened to the
psalm in silent veneration. The aged man who
wore the insignia of the high-priest’s office
looked at times with moistened eyes upon the
car in which his sons were seated, as if the
remembrance of his own youthful heroism revived
in his mind, and as if he would have said,
“My Aristobulus, my Antigonus, sons of Mattathias,
noble Maccabees, perform deeds in
Israel, like those of the brethren Judas and
Jonathan!”
When the psalm was ended, he approached
his sons: they descended from their chariot
and hastened to throw themselves into the arms
of their father, who embraced and blessed them.
The music began again; the triumphal procession
arranged itself and advanced through
the city, which resounded on every side with
songs of congratulation. The maidens with
their tabrets and psalteries headed the procession:
they were followed by a multitude of
victims for the sacrifice, adorned with flowers,
.bn 062.png
.pn +1
branches and fillets, designed to be offered as a
thank-offering on the morrow. Then came the
prisoners in fetters, and the huge elephants
which had been taken from the Syrians. Each
of these animals bore a wooden tower upon his
shoulders, in which were thirty-two warriors,
besides the Ethiopian who guided him.[40]
.fm rend=t
.fn 40
1 Maccab. vi. 37.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
After these came the high-priest with the
Sanhedrim, the priests, the Levites, and the
temple-music. The two sons of Hyrcanus, on
their car, formed the centre of the procession,
and after them came the military music of
flutes, horns, , and trumpets.
itself followed, adorned with branches of laurel
and palm. First came the heavy-armed infantry
with shields and lances, in companies of hundreds
and thousands. They had no upper
garment, and their under garment, which was
girt up short, was of various form and colour,
as the fancy of each individual dictated; but all
had a sword hanging at their girdle; their feet
and arms were protected by metal greaves and
.bn 063.png
.pn +1
arm-pieces, the body was covered with a coat
of mail, the head with a helmet, and over the
back hung the large shield. The light-armed
infantry followed in like manner, but with less
cumbrous defensive weapons, and slings, bows,
and darts for offence. The cavalry were few in
number and lightly armed: the Jewish state
had never maintained any large force of this
description. The followed, of
which the Israelites had learnt the use from the
Ph[oe]nicians and Syrians; catapults, bows
which were bent by machinery and threw beams
of wood to a great distance; balistæ, levers
with one arm which hurled masses of stone of
many hundred weight into a fortress; battering
rams, consisting of the trunks of trees,
armed at the extremity with an iron head of a
ram, swung in chains, which were set in motion
by warriors who stood beneath a moveable
pent-house, and thus driven with great force
against the walls. The people, crowding
behind, closed the whole procession. When
they arrived at the castle of Baris, the youthful
warriors entered their father’s palace,
.bn 064.png
.pn +1
and the army dispersed itself through the
city.
Helon had beheld with pride this display of
the martial power of his nation. War and its
pomp and circumstance had hitherto possessed
little interest for him, who, from his youth, had
been devoted to the peaceful pursuits of science,
and had now turned all his desires to the
priesthood; yet, on this occasion, an ardour
was excited in him which he had never felt
before. These troops were the conquerors of
the Samaritans, that apostate people, who had
opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem with such
bitter hostility, and been a thorn in the side of
the people of Israel. At the same time memory
recurred to the manifestations of God’s power
in behalf of his people in earlier times, to the
triumphs of Uzziah and David, to the songs of
the virgins in honour of him and of Saul, of the
daughter of Jeptha, of Deborah, and Miriam.
What youth is there whose bosom does not
glow at the sight of a victorious army of his
countrymen?
While the city was filled with tumultuous
.bn 065.png
.pn +1
rejoicings, Helon drew aside a relation of Iddo,
who had served in the war, and led him home,
questioning him respecting all the events of the
campaign. The rejoicings of the inhabitants
continued till the evening. But suddenly the
trumpets were heard to sound, to announce the
appearance of the . The high-priest
and the Sanhedrim had scarcely attended the
warriors home, when they had to assemble in
their hall in the temple, and fix the commencement
of the festival. They were accustomed
always to meet here on the evening of the new
moon. Men were stationed on all the heights
and watch-towers, who, as soon as they perceived
the new moon, hastened to announce it
to the Sanhedrim; on this the high-priest said,
“The new moon is hallowed,” and the Sanhedrim
replied, “It is hallowed.” Fires were then
kindled upon all the hills, or messengers sent to
different parts, and on the following day the
people celebrated the feast of the new moon.
For the first time for many years past, the
fire was lighted on this occasion on the mount
of Olives. For several years, it had been the
.bn 066.png
.pn +1
practice of the Samaritans, always watching to
do injury to Israel, to light the fire on the wrong
evening, and thus to mislead the people in the
distant towns. The custom of making the fire
therefore had been discontinued, and messengers
sent through the country instead. Now,
however, that Samaria was destroyed, no
deception was feared, and the fires could be
lighted as in old times; the citizens of Jerusalem
hastened to the roofs of their houses, to watch
the blaze on the mount of Olives, to which
others soon answered on the more distant hills.
This new moon introduced the second month
of the ecclesiastical year, . The civil
year began with the new moon of October, as
the natural commencement of the annual circle
of agricultural operations.
When the morning came, the people crowded
to the sacrifice through the gate of Nicanor into
the temple. All the courts were filled, and the
warriors supplied in some measure the place of
the pilgrims. Elisama and Helon remembered,
that if they wished not to defile the temple, and
bring on themselves the punishment denounced
.bn 067.png
.pn +1
by the law, of ,
they had a special duty to perform.[41] Before
their journey they had of
Helon’s father, in the valley of Jehoshaphat,
and had thus become unclean. This did not
prevent them from appearing before the high-priest,
or from entering on their journey, or
from performing their morning and evening
prayer; but they were not allowed to go further
into the temple than the court of the Gentiles,
and had they knowingly ventured even to enter
the court of Israel, they would have made
themselves obnoxious to this terrible punishment.
Levitical uncleanness had reference
exclusively to appearing before Jehovah, in the
place where his honour dwelt. The rigid
demand of the performance of a purifying ceremony
conveyed this intimation, that what is
deemed pure by men, is not so regarded by
Him, whose eyes are as a flame of fire, until it
has been again made holy by the rite which he
has ordained. After both had bathed themselves
.bn 068.png
.pn +1
and washed their clothes, they presented
themselves, as they had already done the preceding
day, on the steps which lead from the
court of the Gentiles into that of the women;
and underwent a sprinkling. This was performed
by one, who was himself clean, on those
who were unclean, and with a bunch of hyssop
dipped in the water, mixed with the ashes of
the red heifer.[42] Helon thought of the words
of David,
.pm start_poem
“Purify me with hyssop, that I may be clean;
Wash me, that I may be whiter than snow.”—Ps. li. 7.
.pm end_poem
.fm rend=t
.fn 41
Numb. xix. 20.
.fn-
.fn 42
Numb. xix. 17.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
On this day, as on every other day of the year,
the daily service before the altar of Jehovah
began by the sacrifice of a lamb, with the meat
and drink offerings which belonged to it.[43] When
this had been done, the burnt-offering and the
sin-offering which Moses had appointed on the
new moon, for the whole people, were offered
up,[44] and finally the thank-offering for individuals.
The burnt-offering consisted of two
.bn 069.png
.pn +1
young bullocks, a ram, and seven lambs of the
first year, with their meat and drink offerings.
The meat-offering to each bullock was three
ephas, to the ram two ephas, to each of the
sheep a tenth of an epha of flour, (the epha was
equal to forty-three and a half egg-shells.) The
drink-offering to each bullock was half a hin of
wine, to the ram a third, and to the sheep a
fourth of a hin. (The hin contained as much as
seventy-two egg-shells.) Besides this was
added, to each meat-offering, the same quantity
of oil as there was of wine in the drink-offering,
and also a handful of incense. The sin-offering
consisted in a goat. While the burnt-offering
was presented, the great Hallel was sung, and
the priests on the pillars blew the trumpets.[45]
.fm rend=t
.fn 43
Exod. xxix. 38.
.fn-
.fn 44
Numb. xxviii. 11-15.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
After this the high-priest presented his thank-offering
for the victory, consisting of a vast
multitude of bullocks, rams, and sheep, with
the appropriate meat and drink offerings; his
sons also testified their gratitude by considerable
sacrifices, and some of the principal officers of
.bn 070.png
.pn +1
the army took the same method of expressing
their gratitude or discharging their vows. The
victims which had been seen in the procession
of the day before, adorned with flowers and
fillets, were brought to the altar; their blood
was sprinkled upon it, the entrails with the fat
waved to the Lord, towards the four winds of
heaven, and then burnt upon the altar. The
breast, the right shoulder, the jawbones, the
tongue, and the stomach came to , the rest was prepared as a feast for
the person who offered the sacrifice. During
the sacrifice the priests blew their silver trumpets,
and the Levites on the fifteen steps sung
the following psalm of David:
.pm start_poem
Blessed be the Lord, my strength,
Who teacheth my hands to war
And my fingers to fight.
He is my friend and my fortress,
My protector and my deliverer,
My shield in whom I trust,
Who made the nations subject to me.
Lord! what is man, that thou carest for him,
Or the son of man, that thou makest account of him?
Man is like vanity;
His days are a shadow that passeth away.
.bn 071.png
.pn +1
Bow the heavens, O Jehovah, and come down!
Touch the mountains and they shall smoke.
Cast forth lightnings and scatter them,
Shoot thine arrows and destroy them.
Stretch thine hand from above,
Save me, deliver me from great waters,
From the hand of the sons of foreigners,
Whose mouth speaketh falsely;
Perjury is their right hand.
I will sing a new song unto thee, O God,
Upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings I will sing praises unto thee.
Thou givest victory to kings,
And deliverest David thy servant from the sword of the enemy.
Save me, deliver me from the hand of the sons of foreigners,
Whose mouth speaketh falsely;
Perjury is their right hand.
Our sons grow up in their youth as plants,
Our daughters, as polished columns, after the fashion of a palace.
Our granaries are full, affording all manner of store.
Our sheep bring forth thousands,
And ten thousands in our streets:
Our oxen are strong to labour.
There is no breaking in, no robbery,
No complaining in our streets.
Happy is the people that is in such case!
Happy is that people whose God is Jehovah!—Ps. cxliv.
.pm end_poem
.fm rend=t
.fn 45
Numb. x. 10.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
Towards the end of all these offerings, which
were so numerous that it would not have been
.bn 072.png
.pn +1
possible to have accomplished them all in so
short a time, but for the practised dexterity
and systematic procedure of the priests, the
Nazarite made his appearance: he had already
laid aside his coarse garment, and he was now
to be solemnly . It was
necessary for him to present all the three principal
kinds of offerings, a lamb for a burnt-offering,
a yearling sheep for a sin-offering, and
a ram for a thank-offering.[46] To these was
added, besides the drink-offering, a basket full
of unleavened cakes, of the finest meal, of which
a part were kneaded with oil, a part had only
had oil poured upon them. The burnt-offering
was wholly consumed on the altar; the sin-offering
was the portion of the priests; the
thank-offering served in a great measure to
furnish a festive meal, which was prepared for
the Nazarite and his friends, in a small court in
the south-east corner of the court of Israel,
called the court of the Nazarites.
.fm rend=t
.fn 46
Numb. vi. 13.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
Helon, Elisama, Iddo, the relation of Iddo,
.bn 073.png
.pn +1
who had returned from the war, and many others
were invited to partake of this meal, and accompanied
him to the court of the Nazarites.
The excavation in which the fire was burning
was cleared, and fresh coals heaped upon it.
Then the Nazarite, returning thanks in a prayer
to God, took the knife, and cutting off the hair
from his head, threw it on the coals to be consumed.
The flesh of the thank-offering was
then roasted, and when it was ready, a priest
took the shoulder, together with a cake mixed
with oil, and another on which oil had been
poured, and placed them in the hands of the
Nazarite. They went together to the front of
the sanctuary: the priest placed his own hands
beneath those of the Nazarite and waved what
he held in them before Jehovah, towards the
four winds of heaven, and then received it for
his own portion.
His vow was thus completely ended, and all
the prescribed solemnities had been observed.
But not contented with this he offered several
special thank-offerings, which were sacrificed
in the usual manner, and the flesh prepared for
.bn 074.png
.pn +1
the feast. The table was spread in one of the
galleries over the porticoes in the court. Iddo
and Helon were made to take the seats of
honour, one on each side of the Nazarite. He,
relieved from the cumbrous and unseemly load
which he had borne for a year, had anointed his
head, and was clad in a splendid caftan. The
servants of the temple waited on them during
the whole of the meal.
The Nazarite spread his hands over the bread,
and as a blessing ascribed praise to Jehovah.
Then, with more than ordinary solemnity, he
took the cup with both his hands, lifted it
high above the table with his right, and said,
“Blessed be thou, O Lord our God, thou King
of the world, who hast given us the fruit of the
vine.” The company said Amen! He then,
in a long draught, drank the first wine which
he had tasted for a year, and as the guests followed
his example, he exclaimed, “It is time
that wine maketh glad the heart of man, as the
Psalmist teaches us; but he who would feel the
full force of the saying, must have drank it for
the first time at the close of a Nazarite’s vow,
.bn 075.png
.pn +1
before the face of Jehovah, after the destruction
of Samaria. This is the time to enter into the
full force of what the Preacher says, 'Eat thy
bread with joy and drink thy wine with a merry
heart: for thy work is pleasing to God. Let
thy garments be always white and thy head
lack no oil.'”[47]
.fm rend=t
.fn 47
Eccle. ix. 7.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
“I perceive,” said Iddo, “that you and I
have reason to congratulate ourselves, that we
are children of Israel and not Rechabites, who
after the example and command of their ancestor
Jonadab, refused to drink wine, when it
was set before them by the prophet Jeremiah.”[48]
.fm rend=t
.fn 48
Jer. xxxv.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
“I have found by experience,” said the
Nazarite, “that zeal for Jehovah makes abstinence
easy, and burdensome observances
light.”
“That may be seen,” said one of the company,
“in the case of the high-priest, who
leads in some respects the life of a Nazarite
perpetually. He is not allowed to drink wine,
or any strong drink in the temple;[49] for the
.bn 076.png
.pn +1
spirit of the Lord, and not intoxicating liquors,
must gladden his heart. He must not touch a
corpse; for he must have no communion with
sin, or death which is its punishment. He
must not make his head bald; for that which
in ordinary life might be a burden must be an
ornament of his head.”[50]
.fm rend=t
.fn 49
Lev. x. 9.
.fn-
.fn 50
Lev. xxi. 10-12.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
“This motive,” said Iddo, “makes many
things light, that would otherwise be grievous,”
casting his eyes towards his young relative,
who had just returned from the war. “It is
true,” said the youth, “I declined to avail
myself of the indulgence which the law would
have granted me, I had been just betrothed,
when the war broke out. The keeper of the
genealogical register assembled our youth and
read to us the law, as spoken by the Lord our
God to Moses. ‘When thou goest out to
battle against thine enemies, and seest horses
and chariots and a people more than thou, be not
afraid of them: for the Lord thy God is with
thee, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt.
.bn 077.png
.pn +1
And it shall be when ye are come nigh unto the
battle, that the priest shall approach and speak
unto the people, and shall say unto them; Hear,
O Israel: ye approach this day unto battle
against your enemies: let not your hearts faint:
fear not and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified
because of them. For Jehovah your God
goeth with you, to fight for you against your
enemies, to give you victory. And the officers
shall speak unto the people, saying, Who is
there that hath built a new house, and hath not
dedicated it? Let him return to his house, lest
he die in the battle and another man dedicate
it. And who is there that has planted a vineyard,
and hath not yet eaten of it? Let him
also go and return unto his house, lest he die
in the battle and another man eat of it. And
who is there that hath betrothed a wife, and
that hath not taken her? Let him go and
return unto his house, lest he die in the battle
and another man take her. And the officers
shall speak further unto the people, and shall
say unto them, Who is fearful and fainthearted?
Let him go and return unto his house, lest
.bn 078.png
.pn +1
his brethren’s heart faint, as well as his. And
when the officers have made an end of speaking
unto the people, then shall captains place themselves
at the head of the people.’[51] On this
proclamation being made, a multitude of persons
withdrew, who had built houses, or planted
vineyards, or been betrothed to wives. I however
refused to avail myself of this privilege,
nor would my bride allow me to claim it. My
father had served when, twenty years before,
our prince, John Hyrcanus, had conquered
Sichem and destroyed the temple on Gerizim,
and he had talked to me a thousand times of
his campaigns and his victories. So I thought
it became his son to be with the sons of Hyrcanus,
when they marched for the destruction
of Samaria, and I went therefore joyfully to the
field.”
.fm rend=t
.fn 51
Deut. xx. 1-9.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
“And are you not now in haste to return
home?” asked Iddo.
“I shall remain here till the fourteenth of
this month Ijar, and then with my comrades
.bn 079.png
.pn +1
celebrate the latter Passover, not having been
able to keep the feast at the proper time.[52]
Then I will return home and relate to my bride
the valiant deeds of Aristobulus and Antigonus,
how we defeated Antiochus Cyzicenus, who
came to raise the siege of Samaria; and how
Jehovah strengthened my arm, so that I smote
his general Callimander in battle, whom he had
left to command his army, when he himself
retired to Tripolis. She will laugh the Syrians
to scorn, and become my faithful wife.”
.fm rend=t
.fn 52
Numb. ix. 6.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
When he had said these words, the whole
company were loud in his praise. “Never,”
exclaimed Iddo, “may the altar of Jehovah be
without an Hyrcanus; never may the chief of
Israel when he goes to battle be without such
soldiers!”
The conversation respecting the events of
the war continued during the rest of the meal.
The young soldier related to them the particulars
of the defeat of Antiochus and his
generals, and the ravages which he had committed
.bn 080.png
.pn +1
upon the country when he dared not,
even with the six thousand Egyptian auxiliaries,
attack the Jewish army. At length the last
cup was blessed, and they left the temple full
of joy and gratitude. As they descended, they
heard the shouts of joy from the castle Baris,
where the high-priest had made a great banquet
for his sons.
.bn 081.png
.pn +1
.sp 4
.h3
CHAPTER IV. | THE ADMISSION INTO THE PRIESTHOOD.
.sp 2
“O thou dream of my childhood and my
youth, art thou then really about to be fulfilled?
O pride and sorrow of my forefathers, sacred
priesthood, art thou indeed about to be revived
in their descendent? Praised be Jehovah!”
Such were the exclamations of Helon, when,
a few days after the feast of the new moon, the
morning dawned of the day on which he was to
appear before the Sanhedrim, and to undergo
their scrutiny, preparatory to his admission
into the priesthood. The following day was
the sabbath, when he was to offer his first
sacrifice. He opened the door of the Alijah on
Iddo’s house, while it was yet twilight, and
.bn 082.png
.pn +1
after the performance of the Kri-schma threw
himself on the ground before Jehovah, and
thus prayed:
.pm start_poem
Behold thou desirest truth in the inward part,
Teach me then hidden wisdom!
Cleanse me with hyssop, that I may be pure;
Wash me, that I may be whiter than snow.
Make me to know joy and gladness,
That the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
Hide thy face from my sins,
And blot out all mine iniquities.
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
And renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from thy presence,
Take not thy holy spirit from me,
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation,
And may a cheerful spirit support me.
Then will I teach transgressors thy ways
That sinners may be converted unto thee.—Ps. li.
.pm end_poem
The sun was rising as he quitted the Alijah.
He looked towards the east, where his father’s
sepulchre lay in the valley of Jehoshaphat, and
then to the south-west towards Egypt, where
the reflection of the rising sun streaked the
edge of heaven with a ruddy glow, and mentally
greeted his mother. Next to the image
of his parents according to the flesh, that of
.bn 083.png
.pn +1
Aaron, the great progenitor of the sacerdotal
order, took possession of his mind, on this day,
which was to witness his admission into their
society. Elisama came to fetch him from the
roof, and with a step of conscious dignity and
pride conducted him to Iddo and the guests,
who were assembled in the inner court.
Having received their hearty congratulations,
Elisama conducted his Helon to the temple-hill.
Not even on the day when he made his
first pilgrimage, and passed through the Beautiful
gate and the gate of Nicanor, had the old
man felt as he did on this morning, in which his
kinsman was to revive the priesthood in his
family. His heart beat not less high than
Helon’s, and his aged eye was lighted up with
youthful exultation and hope. He blessed Jehovah,
who had given to him and to his deceased
brother firmness to withstand all the solicitations
which had been addressed to them, to
assume the priesthood at Leontopolis.
Helon entered, with trembling steps, into
the courts of the Lord. The Sanhedrim was
standing along with the course of priests for
.bn 084.png
.pn +1
the week, in the court of the Priests, and the
morning-sacrifice was performed with the customary
rites. As the priests on the pillars
blew their trumpets at the pouring out of the
drink-offering, and the Levites sung on the
fifteen steps, the sound of their voices and their
instruments seemed to him like the call of
Jehovah to him. “To-day,” thought he, “I
stand for the last time, as one of the people in
the court of Israel, to-morrow I shall minister
before the face of Jehovah!” When the sacrifice
was over, the high-priest and the Sanhedrim
withdrew into their hall of judgment.
No meeting of this body was ever held for
merely secular business, either on the sabbath
or the day of preparation, but they often assembled
to transact what related to the service
of God.
With deep emotion Helon entered the hall;
it was one of the largest and most splendid of
all which the courts of the temple contained.
It lay partly in the court of the Priests and
partly in that of Israel, and was called also
, because it was paved with marble.
.bn 085.png
.pn +1
There, was an entrance from both courts, one
called the Holy, the other the Common. In
this all the courses of the priests were exchanged,
and here the great council, or Sanhedrim,
held its sittings.
consisted of seventy-one persons,
partly priests, partly Levites, partly
elders. In extraordinary cases the elders from
all the tribes were convoked, who then formed
the great congregation. The high-priest occupied
the place of president, and was seated at
the western end; he bore the title of Nashi,
or Chief. On his right sat the Ab-beth-din,
Father of the Council, probably the most aged
man among the elders, and on his left the
Wise Man, probably the most experienced
among the doctors of the law. The remaining
sixty-eight sat in a half circle, on either side,
with a secretary at the end of each row. As
the three chief persons belonged respectively
to the sacerdotal order, to the body of the
citizens, and the profession of the law, so the
remaining members were made up of these
three elements. The twenty-four courses of
.bn 086.png
.pn +1
the priests were represented here by their
heads, the elders were a deputation from the
chiefs of families and of houses; the doctors of
the law were the most learned of the Levites.
The whole assembly was seated, with crossed
feet, on cushions or carpets. The Sanhedrim
was the supreme judicial and administrative
court in Israel; every thing relating to the
service of God, foreign relations, and matters of
life and death, came under its cognizance. It
was further their business to , who wished to enter as a priest
into the service of Jehovah.
Elisama entered the hall attended by Helon.
He announced the name of the young man and
of his father, and produced extracts from the
registers, which ascertained the legitimacy of
his birth. The tribe of Levi, when numbered
in the wilderness, contained 22,000 males above
a month old,[53] and 8580 males between thirty
and fifty;[54] they were all devoted to the service
of Jehovah; but only a single family, that of
.bn 087.png
.pn +1
Aaron, had the privilege of furnishing priests
for the altar; the rest of the Levites were only
the servants of the priests.[55] In David’s time
the number of the Levites from twenty years
and upwards was 38,000;[56] that of the priests
perhaps not 6000. Aaron had four sons, two
of whom were punished with an early death
in the wilderness, for their presumption: the
other two, Eleazar and Ithamar, had such a
numerous posterity, that these were divided
into sixteen and eight, or twenty-four courses
or families.[57] As only four were found among
those who returned from the captivity, these
were divided into the original number of twenty-four,
which bore the name of the ancestor of
each family.[58] Helon, by his father’s side, belonged
to the course of Malchia, which was the
fifth; and by the mother’s to that of Abia, which
was the eighth.
.fm rend=t
.fn 53
Numb. iii. 39.
.fn-
.fn 54
Numb. iv. 48.
.fn-
.fn 55
Numb. iii. 5-10.
.fn-
.fn 56
1 Chron. xxiii. 3.
.fn-
.fn 57
1 Chron. xxiv. 4.
.fn-
.fn 58
Ezra ii. 36-39.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
Next, the passage of the law was read, in
which Jehovah commands that no descendent
.bn 088.png
.pn +1
of Aaron should ever be admitted to the priesthood,
who had any natural imperfection or
deformity of body, although he might still
claim a subsistence from the provisions of the
temple.[59] Helon was examined and found free
from any of those imperfections which the law
enumerates. Had he proved otherwise, he
would have been , and dismissed,
being only allowed in future to discharge menial
offices about the temple. The outward worship
of Jehovah was to be a mirror and emblem
of the inward dispositions demanded from the
worshipper; and therefore he required, that
both his sacrifices and those who offered them
should be without blemish.
.fm rend=t
.fn 59
Lev. xxi. 17.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
Helon having undergone the necessary scrutiny,
and having been found not only of pure
descent but free from all bodily infirmity, was
committed to the care of one of the ministering
Levites, and conducted by him into the vestry,
which stood near the gate of Nicanor. Here
the Levite put on him the white , which one of the same body had made.
They consisted of drawers reaching to the leg,
the under-garment fitting close to the body and
descending to the ancles, woven of one piece
without a joining or a seam; the girdle of four
fingers’ breadth, which went twice round the
body, and, being tied in front, both ends hung
down nearly to the feet;[60] it was woven so as to
resemble a serpent’s skin, and embroidered with
flowers, purple, dark blue, and crimson; lastly,
the turban, which was wound firmly around the
head in the form of a crown. The feet were bare.
.fm rend=t
.fn 60
Exod. xxviii. 39-43.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
After being robed, Helon returned into the
hall of the Sanhedrim, and the law of Moses
relative to the priests was read to him;[61] “And
the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto the
priests, the sons of Aaron, and say unto them,
None among them shall defile himself with a
dead body among his people, except for the
nearest of his kindred, for his mother and for
his father, and for his son and for his daughter,
and for his brother and for his sister, while she
.bn 090.png
.pn +1
is still a virgin and lives with him, having no
husband; for her he may defile himself. But
he shall not defile himself for any one that
belongeth to him among his people, least he
desecrate himself. They shall not make their
heads bald, nor shave off the extremity of their
beard, nor make incisions in their flesh. They
shall be holy to their God, and not profane the
name of their God, for the offerings of Jehovah
made by fire, the food of their God, they are to
offer; therefore must they be holy. They shall
not marry a woman that is a harlot, nor one
that has been polluted, for they are holy to their
God. And thou shalt esteem them holy for
they offer the food of thy God; they shall be
holy unto thee; for I Jehovah who sanctify them
am holy.” When this passage had been read,
the high-priest blessed the candidate for the
priesthood, and said, “Praised be God that no
blemish hath been found in the seed of Aaron,
and praised be he who hath chosen Aaron and
his sons to stand and minister before God in
his holy temple.” And all the members of the
Sanhedrim said Amen! The sitting was thus
.bn 091.png
.pn +1
ended, and Helon was led into the court of the
Priests. Those of the course which was then
on duty were standing there, and, greeting him,
received him among their body.
.fm rend=t
.fn 61
Lev. xxi.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
The family of Aaron was consecrated once
for all in the wilderness, when they offered on
eight successive days the sacrifice of initiation.[62]
Since that time it had been only renewed, and
each new priest began his ministration by a
meat-offering,[63] on his presenting which . This
Helon was to do on the following morning, and
it fortunately happened that, owing to the delay
occasioned by the return of the victorious
army, the course to which he belonged entered
on duty on this very sabbath.[64]
.fm rend=t
.fn 62
Lev. viii. ix.
.fn-
.fn 63
Lev. vi. 20.
.fn-
.fn 64
2 Chron. xxiii. 4-8.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
Elisama offered on this joyful occasion a
magnificent thank-offering of several bullocks,
and invited the whole course of priests, who
gradually arrived to be in readiness to begin
their functions, to feast upon the sacrifice.
.bn 092.png
.pn +1
Among the rest he had invited the old man of
the temple. He who bore this name was a
venerable priest, nearly one hundred years old,
of the course of Jojarib, to which the Maccabees
also belonged. Engaged, since his twenty-fifth
year, in the service of Jehovah, he had
now past eighty years in the house of his God,
and in the course of them had witnessed very
eventful times. He had entered the temple,
in the life of the excellent high-priest Onias III.,
and had endured the alternate yoke of the
Syrians and the Egyptians; he had seen Antiochus
Epiphanes, and known the victims of
his sanguinary fury; he had been one of those
who followed the valiant Mattathias to the
wilderness; he had admired the heroic deeds
of the members of the family of the Maccabees,
Judas, Jonathan, Simon, and John Hyrcanus,
and had served them in succession. In Egypt,
where he had frequently dwelt, he had seen,
forty years before, the foundation of the temple
of Leontopolis, and he had beheld that of Gerizim
levelled with the ground. As a doctor of
the law, he was master of all the knowledge of
.bn 093.png
.pn +1
divine or earthly things which Israel then possessed,
and had been able to compare his experience
with the word of God. He knew
accurately the opinions of all the sects into
which Israel was divided, and though he joined
himself to none of them, yet was honoured by
them all, and almost reckoned by all to belong
to themselves. For a considerable time, during
the last years of the high-priest Simon, and in
the first years of Hyrcanus, he had discharged
the honourable office of the Wise Man in the
Sanhedrim, and in every year of the thirty-four
that had elapsed since the new era of Israel’s
emancipation began, some important affair had
been decided by his counsel. In consequence
of his increasing years, he had laid down all his
offices, resigned his house and property to his
children’s children, and taken up his abode in
a single apartment in the temple, where he discharged
the duty of a priest of the permanent
course, as it was called, that is of those who
dwelt in Jerusalem and supplied the place of
any one in the other courses who could not
serve in his turn. His piety, his wisdom, his
.bn 094.png
.pn +1
earnest longing for the advent of the Messiah,
and his affection for the house of the Maccabees,
were become proverbial. He united so well
the mild dignity of age with the fresh sensibility
of youth, that he possessed a most
decided influence over the principal persons in
the state, but more especially on all the younger
priests, whose teacher he might be considered,
and who very generally adopted his opinions.
Even the heathens admired the vigour and
originality of his mind. What most surprised
many of his countrymen was, that he, whom
they would, before all others, have called a
Chasidean, that is a man of extraordinary piety,
laid no claim to so high a title, and contented
himself with the humbler name of a just man.
The old man made his appearance, but declared
that he came only to bid the youth
welcome to the courts of the Lord. A feast,
even in the temple, he said, did not befit a
man over whom one hundred winters had
already past. All rose up when he appeared,
and, falling at his feet, kissed the border of his
robe. Helon had heard of him in Alexandria,
.bn 095.png
.pn +1
and Elisama had pointed out his venerable form
to him, as he assisted at the sacrifice; and
when he saw him appear in the banqueting
room, for his sake, overpowered by such kindness
and condescension, he too fell, in silent
reverence, at his feet, and kissed the border of
his garment. The old man raised him up, and
said, “Praised be the God of Israel, who
bringeth the seed of Aaron out of Egypt, to
the place where is the memorial of his name.”
He spoke of his grandfather, whom he had
known at Alexandria, and said that Jehovah
would bless that house for ever, on account of
the zeal which every member of it had displayed
for the honour of his law. He then called
Helon from the company, observing to the rest,
that before he partook of their feast, he would
regale him with food of another kind. Helon
with profound veneration followed the old man,
who led him through the court of the Gentiles
to Solomon’s porch, which with its lofty pillars
formed the eastern boundary of this court.
Here he placed himself on the ground and
Helon beside him. He made the youth relate
.bn 096.png
.pn +1
to him the history of his life, and the manner
in which the desire of becoming a priest had
been first awakened in him. He afterwards
addressed a few of those questions to him, by
which one who knows mankind penetrates into
the bosom of a youth. His countenance
gradually assumed an expression of pleasure and
good-will, which led Helon to hope that his
answers had been satisfactory.
“It cannot be said my son,” he at length
began, “that the Hellenists have been wholly
wrong in their allegories. They are right in
the principle from which they set out, that the
service of Jehovah contains a hidden and deeper
wisdom. Does not David say,
.pm start_poem
in secret things,
Teach me therefore thy hidden wisdom.—Ps. li. 6.
.pm end_poem
and Solomon in the Proverbs, ‘His secret is
with the pious.’ Their error lay in this, that
they sought to discover in heathen and human
wisdom the secret meaning of our ordinances
and laws. Here,” he continued, “is the place
which Jehovah hath chosen; since he brought
his people out of Egypt he has never fixed on
.bn 097.png
.pn +1
any other city, among any other of the tribes, in
which a house should be builded for his name
to dwell in. I brought thee hither, that thou
mightest see it in all its glory. Look how its
courts rise one above another, from the place
on which we stand to the altar of burnt-offering,
and then to the sanctuary of Jehovah! Look
and wonder! This Moriah is the place where
Abraham was commanded to offer up his son
Isaac, and where also was the threshing-floor of
Araunah, at which the angel of Jehovah stretched
out his hand over Jerusalem, to punish the sin
of David.[65] David purchased the threshing-floor
and built an altar there and offered sacrifice
upon it, and when Jehovah heard him he
exclaimed, ‘Here shall be the house of Jehovah,
and the altar of the burnt-offering for
Israel;’ and his son Solomon built the house
and the altar. Dost thou know, Helon, the
prayer which he offered at the dedication of the
temple?” Helon without the least hesitation
began: “And Solomon stood before the altar
.bn 098.png
.pn +1
of the Lord, in the presence of all the congregation
of Israel, and spread forth his hands
toward heaven; and he said, Lord God of Israel,
there is no god like thee in heaven above or on
earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy
with thy servants, that walk before thee with
all their heart: who hast kept with thy servant
David, my father, that thou promisedst him: thou
speakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled
it with thine hand, as it is this day. Therefore
now, Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant
David that thou promised him, saying, There
shall not fail thee a man in my sight, to sit on
the throne of Israel; so that thy children take
heed to their way, that they walk before me, as
thou hast walked before me: and now, O God
of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified,
which thou spakest unto thy servant David my
father. But will God indeed dwell on the
earth? Behold, the heaven and heaven of
heavens cannot contain thee, how much less
this house of prayer that I have builded! Yet
have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant
and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to
.bn 099.png
.pn +1
hearken unto the cry and to the prayer which thy
servant prayeth before thee to-day: that thine
eyes may be open toward this house night and
day, even toward the place of which thou hast
said, My name shall be there; that thou mayest
hearken unto the prayer which thy servant
shall make toward this place. And hearken
thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of
thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward
this place, and hear them in heaven, thy dwelling-place,
and when thou hearest, forgive. If
any man trespass against his neighbour, and
an oath be laid upon him to cause him to
swear, and the oath come before thine altar in
this house; then hear thou in heaven, and do,
and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked,
to bring his way upon his head, and justifying
the righteous, to give him according to his
righteousness. When thy people Israel be
smitten down before the enemy, because they
have sinned against thee, and shall turn again
to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and
make supplication unto thee in this house:
then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin
.bn 100.png
.pn +1
of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto
the land, which thou gavest unto their fathers.
When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain,
because they have sinned against thee: if they
pray towards this place, and confess thy name,
and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest
them: then hear thou in heaven, and forgive
the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel;
that thou teach them the good way wherein
they should walk, and give rain upon thy land,
which thou hast given to thy people for an
inheritance. If there be in the land famine, if
there be blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be
the caterpillar; if their enemy besiege them in
the land of their cities, whatsoever plague,
whatsoever sickness there be; what prayer and
supplication soever be made by any man, or by
all the people of Israel, which shall know every
man the plague of his own heart, and spread
forth his hands towards this house; then hear
thou in heaven thy dwelling-place, and forgive,
and do, and give to every man according to his
ways, whose heart thou knowest, (for thou,
even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the
.bn 101.png
.pn +1
children of men,) that they may fear thee all
the days that they live in the land which thou
gavest unto their fathers. Moreover, concerning
a stranger that is not of thy people Israel,
but cometh out of a far country, for thy name’s
sake, (for they shall hear of thy great name,
and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched-out
arm,) when he shall come and pray towards
this house; hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place,
and do according to all that the stranger
calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth
may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy
people Israel, and that they may know that this
house which I have builded, is called by thy
name. If thy people go out to battle against
their enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send
them, and shall pray unto the Lord, toward the
city which thou hast chosen, and toward the
house that I have built for thy name; then
hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication,
and maintain their cause. If they sin
against thee (for there is no man that sinneth
not) and thou be angry with them, and deliver
them to the enemy, so that they carry them
.bn 102.png
.pn +1
away captives, unto the land of the enemy, far
or near; yet if they shall bethink themselves,
in the land whither they were carried captives,
and repent, and make supplication unto thee in
the land of them that carried them captives,
saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely,
we have committed wickedness; and
so return unto thee with all their heart and
with all their soul, in the land of their enemies,
which led them away captive, and pray unto
thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto
their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen,
and the house I have built for thy name; then
hear thou their prayer and their supplication in
heaven, thy dwelling-place, and maintain their
cause; and forgive thy people that have sinned
against thee, and all their transgressions wherein
they have transgressed against thee, and give
them compassion before them who carried them
captive, that they may have compassion on
them; for they be thy people and thine inheritance,
which thou broughtest forth out of
Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron,
that thine eyes may be open unto the supplication
.bn 103.png
.pn +1
of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in
all that they call for unto thee. For thou didst
separate them from among all the people of the
earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest
by the hand of Moses thy servant; when thou
broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord
God.”[66]
.fm rend=t
.fn 65
2 Sam. xxiv. 16.
.fn-
.fn 66
1 Kings viii.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
“Praise Jehovah,” said the old man, when
Helon had finished, “for the blessing of a
father who has so well instructed thee in the
holy Scriptures. It becomes a young priest to
be able to give an answer from them to every
question that is put to him. Thou hast repeated
Solomon’s dedication prayer: his temple
was founded amidst acclamations, and destroyed
amidst tears: this was founded amidst tears,
but its glory shall surpass that of the first
temple, when He comes, for whom we wait.
He shall walk through this temple, stand in this
porch of Solomon, pass through this Beautiful
Gate, approach the altar of burnt-offering, and
give this house its highest consecration.
.bn 104.png
.pn +1
Helon, the whole earth lies under a curse; it
bears thorns and thistles, and the ground is
accursed on account of man, who has sinned
thereon. Jehovah will take away the curse,
when he comes to his temple, and from this
spot the change is to begin. It has been for
nearly a thousand years a holy land, free from
the curse, a type of what the whole earth is
one day to become. This Naaman the Syrian
felt, when he had discovered, by the cleansing
of his leprosy, that there was a prophet in
Israel, as he showed by carrying away three
mules’ burden of earth into his own country.[67]
.fm rend=t
.fn 67
2 Kings v. 17.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
“Learn too from this prayer, how holy is the
place in which thou art, and in which thou shalt
in future serve Jehovah. Pray to him in his
temple, that his eyes may be open towards thee,
and that he may make the light of his countenance
to shine upon thee. Go now to the feast,
and if thou desirest to hear more, come to the
old man in the temple. There is his apartment.”
.bn 105.png
.pn +1
The venerable man blessed him, and then
crossed the court of the Gentiles. Helon
watched him, till he disappeared, and then
remained for a long time wrapt in thought, till
some one came to summon him to the company.
The feast concluded early, for the course
of Malchia had to prepare, on the evening before
the sabbath, for entering upon its office.
About the ninth hour all labour had ceased, the
trumpets had announced the sabbath, the Levites
had baked the shew-bread, in solemn procession to
the porch, and hence two of them had taken it
into the holy place, and had deposited it upon
the table of shew-bread: the old shew-bread
had been removed, and the two censers of
incense of the preceding week had been replaced
by two new ones. The rest of the
priests and the Levites laid themselves down
betimes to sleep. Helon could not sleep. The
past and the future were both too interesting.
A feeling of mingled joy and awe shot through
his frame when he heard the bars of the temple
gates closed, and found himself shut in within
.bn 106.png
.pn +1
the sanctuary of Jehovah; it seemed as if he
were here protected from every earthly evil, as
if nothing could now prevent him from fulfilling
the law of the Lord, and becoming complete
in his obedience. Often was he disposed to
have cried aloud, “Better is a day in thy
courts, than a thousand elsewhere!” At times
lost in thought, at times wrapt in devotion, he
passed the sleepless hours, while the priests
slumbered around him. , in the court of the
Gentiles, or when the guard of priests, as they
went their rounds in the court of Israel, with
lighted torches in their hands, approached the
place where he lay, he envied the happy persons
who were not only allowed, but whose duty
it was, to traverse the courts and porticoes and
palaces of the sanctuary, beneath the stars of
heaven. When the two companies of the
priests, uniting after their separate rounds,
greeted each other with the words, “All is
peace,” the sounds came to his mind with a
significance that was indescribable.
At an early hour the watch came again to
.bn 107.png
.pn +1
waken those who slept. The priests bathed
themselves, and went to the vestry to put on
their robes. Next they assembled in the hall
Gazith, for the division of the offices
for the day. The first lot, which decided who
should cleanse the altar of burnt-offering from
the ashes of the preceding day, fell upon Helon,
to his great astonishment. Then followed the
lots of those who were to sacrifice the lamb, to
sprinkle the blood upon the altar, to trim the
lamps, to bring the parts of the victims to the
altar of burnt-offering, to burn incense in the
holy place, &c.
One of the priests now opened the curtain of
the portico, and another the gate of Nicanor,
and some of the Levites threw open the outer
gates of the temple, that the children of Israel
might enter. The crowing of the cock announced
the time when the cleansing of the
altar of burnt-offering was to take place. The
priests called out to Helon, “Beware of touching
any vessel, before thou hast washed thy
hands and feet and sanctified thyself.” He
washed himself again, mounted with trembling
.bn 108.png
.pn +1
steps , which was
fifteen cubits high. He cleared the burning
coals from the ashes and collected these in a
heap at an appointed place. This was his first
service as a priest. As he performed it, he
could not help inwardly praying that the flame
in his heart might in like manner be purified
from every thing that made it burn dim.
When the wood for the offering of that day had
been prepared, and the watches and the singers
chosen, after a short interval some of the priests
exclaimed, “Light, light!” the others replied,
“Is it light towards Hebron?” and when the
question was answered in the affirmative, and
the first beam of dawn struck upon the roof of
the sanctuary, the chief of the course of priests
exclaimed, “Priests, to your duties! Levites,
to your steps! Children of Israel, to your
station!”
The last words did not refer to the whole
people of Israel, but only to the Men of the
Station, who represented the people at the sacrifice,
in the same way as there were substitutes
for the priests in the temple, chosen out of all
.bn 109.png
.pn +1
the courses of priests. These substitutes of the
people resided in Jerusalem, and were divided
according to the twelve tribes.
All hastened to their respective posts. The
service of Jehovah began with the cleansing
the altar of incense in the holy place, and laying
the wood on the altar of burnt-offering.
A male lamb of a year old, without blemish, was
brought to the north side of the altar of burnt-offering,
the men of the station laid their hands
upon it, in the name of the people; one priest
killed it, another received the blood, a third
sprinkled the altar with it, while others first
extinguished five of the lights in the seven-branched
lamp in the holy place. Incense was
then brought in and burnt upon the altar of
incense, and the remaining lights extinguished.
: the pieces of the
animal which had been killed, the usual meat-offering,
as well as that which the high-priest
offered daily, and that which Helon was to
present, and the drink-offering, were all brought
to the place between the altar of burnt-offering
and the sanctuary, heaved before Jehovah, and
.bn 110.png
.pn +1
then brought to the opposite side of the altar.
The pieces were sprinkled with salt, the Kri-schma
was prayed, and the flesh laid upon the
altar and offered as a burnt-offering to the Lord.
The meat-offering which belonged to it was
next burnt, and the high-priest’s meat-offering
followed. Helon had already heaved the offering,
by which he renewed the priesthood in his
family, and now brought it to the altar. It
consisted of incense and the half of a tenth-deal
of an epha of wheat-flour, baked in oil.[68] He
salted both and then threw all the incense, but
only a handful of the meal, into the fire; for all
the rest belonged to the priests.[69] Lastly, the
drink-offering of wine was poured into a pipe,
which ran from the altar to the brook Kedron,
and the daily burnt-offering was closed. While
the drink-offering was pouring out, the Levites
played and sang upon the fifteen steps the
92d psalm, it being the sabbath day, and the
two priests, upon the pillar near the altar,
accompanied with their trumpets.
.fm rend=t
.fn 68
Numb. xv.
.fn-
.fn 69
Lev. vi. 14.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
.bn 111.png
.pn +1
.pm start_poem
It is a good thing to give thanks unto Jehovah,
To sing praises unto thy name, O thou Most High,
To show forth thy loving-kindness in the morning,
And thy faithfulness every night,
Upon an instrument of ten strings and upon the psaltery,
Upon the harp with a solemn sound.
For thou, Lord, makest me glad through thy work;
I will triumph in the works of thy hands.
O Lord, how great are thy works,
And thy thoughts are very deep!
A brutish man knoweth it not,
A fool doth not understand it.
Though the wicked spring as grass,
Though the workers of iniquity flourish,
Yet they shall be destroyed for ever.
But thou, Jehovah, art Most High for evermore.
For lo, thine enemies, O Lord,
Lo, thine enemies shall perish;
All the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.
But thou wilt exalt my horn as an unicorn’s,
I am anointed with fresh oil;
Mine eye shall see my desire on my enemies,
Mine ear shall hear it on the wicked that rise against me.
The righteous shall flourish like the palm-tree,
He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Those that are planted in the house of the Lord,
They flourish in the courts of our God.
They still bring forth fruit in old age,
They are fresh and full of sap:
To show that Jehovah is upright.
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.—Psal. xcii.
.pm end_poem
.bn 112.png
.pn +1
After this daily-offering, the special-offering
for the sabbath-day, consisting of two lambs of
the first year, was offered,[70] accompanied with
other psalms. At the close, the chief priest of
the course gave his blessing,[71] and the people
replied by similar benedictions.
.fm rend=t
.fn 70
Numb, xxviii. 9, 10.
.fn-
.fn 71
Numb. vii. 23.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
Helon had been present at many sacrifices,
but this was the first time that as a priest he
had stood beside the altar of burnt-offering.
Seen so much more nearly than before, every
thing appeared in a new light to him; he felt
that something more profound must be hidden
under this veil of outward ceremonies, and he
longed to be able to interrogate on this subject
the old man of the temple, who, when the sacrifice
was over, had betaken himself to his cell.
Helon had several times watched his countenance
during the sacrifice, that he might read
in it if possible the interpretation of the rite.
The priests dispersed after the sacrifice was
over. Helon also left the court of the Priests,
and as he was entering the court of Israel, he
.bn 113.png
.pn +1
met Elisama, who with feelings of the most
animated pleasure had stood there the whole
morning, to watch the first ministrations of his
Helon. He pressed his hand, and would have
embraced him but for the sanctity of the place.
Helon regarded him with a look which expressed
the fulness of his happiness, and tears
stood in the eyes of both. “I have to greet
thee in the name of Iddo,” said Elisama.
“And I thee in the name of the old man of the
temple,” said Helon. “Art thou going to
him?” replied Elisama. “Go, and the God of
thy fathers go with thee!”
The old man was sitting before a roll of one
of the prophets, and invited Helon to seat himself
beside him. After a time he asked him,
what had seemed most impressive to him in
the psalm which he had heard sung that day on
the fifteen steps?
“The close,” replied Helon, “in which it is
said, of those who are planted in the house of the
Lord, that they continue green even in old age.”
“And who are they?” asked the old man.
“The sons of Levi,” Helon replied. “Repeat
.bn 114.png
.pn +1
to me, if thou knowest it, the blessing with
which Moses blessed them before his death.”
Helon began,
.pm start_poem
Moses said unto Levi,
Thy holy one beareth thy light and thy truth,
He whom thou didst prove at Massah,
With whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah;
Who saith unto his father and his mother, I see them not;
And to his brother, I acknowledge him not;
And to his sons, I know nothing of them.
For they have observed thy word
And kept thy covenant.
They teach Jacob thy judgments,
And Israel thy law.
They shall put incense before thee,
And whole burnt-offerings on thine altar.
Bless, O Jehovah, his substance,
And accept the work of his hands.
Smite through the loins of them that rise against him,
That those who hate him rise not again.—Deut. xxxiii. 8.
.pm end_poem
“Thou hast said what is required of the tribe
of Levi,” said the old man. “It was not without
reason that to the whole tribe no portion
was given in Israel: for, ‘Jehovah is their
heritage.’ He had first of all chosen the eldest-born
in every family to be his ministers, and
still the priesthood so far rests upon them that
they must be ransomed for five shekels on the
.bn 115.png
.pn +1
thirtieth day.[72] In this way the office is transferred
to the tribe of Levi. Others have so
much to do with worldly things, that they
could not instruct their children from their
infancy in the knowledge of the law. But the
sons of Levi with their children are to live only
for the temple and the laws, and on this account
the rest of the people give up three-tenths of
their income, of which one-tenth supports the
Levites, the second is for the expenses of sacrifices
and feasts, and for coming up to Jerusalem
at the festivals; the third is for the
maintenance of the king.[73] Thus the priest and
the Levite, free from the ordinary cares of life,
are devoted exclusively to Jehovah. They are
to present the offering of Jehovah, the bread of
their God. Hence the purity which they are
so carefully to preserve, not allowing themselves
to come in contact with any thing which
might defile them. . Yet its dignity lies
.bn 116.png
.pn +1
not in any preeminence of its own; but in
God’s choice of it, to preserve and make known
his law. Be not thou therefore unduly exalted,
but rejoice that thou art permitted, as a priest
of Jehovah, to minister in his temple. Before
the full light of day is spread over heaven and
earth, some one spot is brightened by a partial
gleam. But has that spot done any thing to
merit this distinction? Give thanks then to
Jehovah that thou standest in the earliest beams
of that dawn which is the harbinger of light to
all mankind. When He comes for whom we
wait, the brightness of his rising shall illuminate
the whole earth, and the heathens shall
walk in his light.”
.fm rend=t
.fn 72
Exod. xiii. 12-16; Numb. iii. 12, 13.
.fn-
.fn 73
Lev. xxvii. 30-33; Numb. xviii. 21-32; Deut.
xii. 17-19; xiv. 22-29; xxvi. 12-15; 1 Sam. viii. 15.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
The old man ceased, and departing, left Helon
alone, who remained till near the ninth hour,
when the evening-sacrifice began; and he
hastened forth, that he might not be too late
for his duties. The evening-sacrifice on the
sabbath was in no respect different from that
on ordinary days. The priests had prepared
the incense, the Levites the meat-offering;
Helon arranged his own, which consisted of the
.bn 117.png
.pn +1
other half of the tenth-deal of the epha, of
which he had offered one-half in the morning.
The ceremonies and sacrifices already described
were repeated; the lamb was killed and its portions
burnt, the daily meat-offering, the meat-offering
of the high-priest, and lastly, that of
Helon, were presented; incense was burnt again
in the holy-place, and the seven-branched lamp
lighted for the night. The drink-offering was
poured out upon the altar, accompanied by the
songs of the Levites, and the trumpets of the
priests, and followed by the benediction, which
closed the service of the day. It was about
the twelfth hour. But the flame continued
long after it was dark to shoot up from the altar
of burnt-offering, and even through the whole
night the embers continued glimmering. The
consecrated vessels were restored to their places:
the whole course of Malchia had been in attendance
this day, as it was the sabbath, but
of them prepared themselves
for service on the morrow. When all was
finished in the temple, the priests prepared their
meal and then laid themselves down to rest.
.bn 118.png
.pn +1
So closed the first day of Helon’s sacerdotal
life; his heart was agitated, as it had been at
his first entrance into the land of his fathers;
but the sanctity of the place forbade every
violent expression of his emotions. He had
become more serious, it might almost be said
more manly; and his joy and gratitude, instead
of dissipating themselves in words, seemed to
reserve their energy for action and the fulfilment
of duty. A new life seemed to have
begun in the temple of Jehovah.
As on the following day he attended the
usual morning-sacrifice, although only as a
spectator, he observed a woman who was undergoing
the ceremony of purification after
childbirth. She had bathed herself at home,
first on the seventh and afterwards on the
fortieth day, and she now brought to the temple
a burnt-offering and a sin-offering—a lamb of
the first year for the former, a turtle-dove for
the latter.[74] The priest sprinkled her with the
blood of the sin-offering, and she was purified,
.bn 119.png
.pn +1
and praised the Lord, who had done great
things for her, had preserved her own life, and
had given a son into her arms. Helon beheld
the ceremony with profound attention. The
old man approached him, and after the rites of
the morning-sacrifice were ended, turning to
Helon, said to him, “Son of Adam, remember
that for thee, too, a mother once offered a sin-offering
and a burnt-offering.”
.fm rend=t
.fn 74
Lev. xii.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
“I know it,” replied Helon, “but I have
been in vain endeavouring to discover what is
the import of this purification of the mother.”
“Compare it,” said the old man, “with what
thou thyself didst, to obtain purification at the
festival of the new moon, after having touched
a grave. Since man defiles, at his death, those
who lament his departure with the tears of
affection, and by his birth those who embrace
him with joy, can he himself be pure by
nature?”
Helon started. After a pause the old man
continued: “Does not David say, I was shapen
in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive
me! And did not God say to the first man,
.bn 120.png
.pn +1
In the day that thou eatest of the tree, thou
shalt die the death? Is any thing more necessary,
in order to prove that the birth of man is
in sin, and that his death is the wages of sin?
Forty days, after the birth of a male, eighty, after
that of a female, (the sex which first sinned,) is
the mother unclean. For a burnt-offering she
brings a lamb, for a sin-offering a turtle-dove,
and reconciled by the blood of these innocent
animals, she is permitted to appear before Jehovah.
See what are the consequences of our
birth!
“A red heifer, without blemish,[75] that has
never borne the yoke, is brought before a priest,
led by another priest out of the Holy City, and
killed yonder on the mount of Olives. The
priest dips his finger in the blood and sprinkles
it seven times towards the temple; then he burns
the cow with the hide and the hair, and throws
upon it cedar-wood, hyssop, and a red thread.
Another priest collects the ashes, and carries
them to an appointed place. All the three are
.bn 121.png
.pn +1
rendered unclean. When any one who has
denied himself with a dead body is to be made
clean again, these ashes are mixed with water,
and one who is himself clean sprinkles it upon
him upon the third and the seventh day; and
while thus he that was unclean becomes clean,
he that was clean becomes unclean. See what
are the consequences of our death!”
.fm rend=t
.fn 75
Numb. xix.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
The old man continued his walk in the court
of the Priests, and left Helon standing in the
greatest astonishment at the new and profound
views which had been opened to him. He saw
him not again till after the evening-sacrifice on
the second day after the sabbath, when the family
of the course of Malchia, to which Helon belonged,
had been called to take its turn in
ministering at the altar. He found the old
man engaged in prayer, and was invited by him
to place himself beside him on the carpet. After
a short silence he began; “I trust that from
our previous conversations you have clearly
perceived, that the earth with all its inhabitants
is unholy, and every individual a sinner!
Is Jeremiah still the favourite prophet of your
.bn 122.png
.pn +1
house?” Helon replied that he was. “Do you
understand a passage in his prophecies, in which
the same thought is twice repeated, ‘Behold
the days are coming, saith Jehovah, that I will
raise up unto David a righteous branch, and
a king shall reign and act wisely, and shall execute
justice and judgment in the land. In his
days Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell
in security; and this is the name by which
he shall be called, .’[76]
What means this?” “Instruct me,”
replied Helon. “This is the Messiah: on the
earth which lies under the curse, man, himself
sinful, cannot exhibit that righteousness which
is acceptable to God. Therefore Jehovah himself
will be our righteousness in the Messiah.
He is the great object of prophecy, from its
commencement in the days of our first parents
to the present day, a period of near four thousand
years, till the appearance of him for whom
we wait, the Consolation of Israel. But on account
of the dulness of the people’s heart this
.bn 123.png
.pn +1
intimation is given in a twofold way, audibly by
the words of holy writ, and visibly in the sacrifices.
The sacrifices are visible prophecies of the
Lord who is our righteousness. How often does
Jehovah declare, that he has no pleasure in sacrifices
and burnt-offerings, i. e. when they are not
presented with a reference to the Messiah. Taken
in this connection, they have a reconciling virtue.
Every sacrifice, therefore, has a double import.
The sacrificer lays his hand upon the victim’s
head, and thus transfers his own sin to it, and
so far sacrifice is a memorial of the offerer’s
guilt: but on the other hand, when Jehovah
accepts the sacrifice and permits the blood to
be sprinkled and the flesh to be burnt upon his
altar, he confirms the promise which Moses
made at the establishment of the covenant in
the wilderness. ‘Behold, this is the blood of
the covenant which Jehovah maketh with you
concerning all these laws.’[77] The Messiah will
be the true offering. As Isaiah prophesies
that God will ‘Lay our sins upon him and
.bn 124.png
.pn +1
inflict chastisement upon him that we may have
peace,’[78] so by this means he will become our
righteousness, and the promise of God is confirmed
and fulfilled in him. But these are dark,
sacred, unfathomable thoughts, who can comprehend
them in all their extent? Thus much
is certain, that in his sacrifice all others will be
united, and what are now called by different
names, will form only one. Till he comes,
there are various sacrifices according to our
various necessities; some for the people collectively,
as on the day of atonement and at the
Passover; others for individuals; morning and
evening sacrifices for each day; sabbath-offerings
for the week; offerings at the new moon
for the month, and at the annual festivals for
the whole year. There are trespass-offerings
for sin; thank-offerings of gratitude for blessings
received. But enough of these things, on
which it is so easy but so dangerous to enlarge.
Yet hope not to understand them, till light
from heaven has beamed upon thee here. Keep
.bn 125.png
.pn +1
these principles in view, pray for divine illumination,
and the dark shall become light to thee.
Thou knowest, even from those heathens who
were the objects of thy former admiration, that
there are things the knowledge of which cannot
be learnt, but must be given.”
.fm rend=t
.fn 76
Jer. xxiii. 9.; xxxiii. 16.
.fn-
.fn 77
Exod. xxiv. 8.
.fn-
.fn 78
Isaiah liii. 5.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
While they were speaking, Elisama came to
the door and announced that Selumiel of Jericho
was standing without, and that he wished to
speak with the old man. He himself called
Helon aside, while Selumiel conversed with the
old man, and told him that in the ensuing week
he was going to Jericho, and wished him to
accompany him, as his week of service would
expire on the morrow. Helon was unwilling
to leave Jerusalem, but he bethought himself
that it became a priest to honour his father and
his mother, or those who stood in this relation
to him, that his days might be long upon the
earth. He therefore assented to the proposal
of his uncle, especially as he heard that their
journey would take them near the Oasis of
the Essenes, whom he had a great desire to
see. Elisama left him well pleased, and
.bn 126.png
.pn +1
Helon hastened back into the court of the
Priests.
On the fifth day the old man called Helon
after the morning-sacrifice, and commanded
him to follow him to his apartment. Both of
them seated themselves on the carpet, and the
old man began with unusual energy.
“Thy week of service is drawing to a close,
and Selumiel tells me that he purposes to take
thee to the pleasant city of Jericho. The angel
of the Lord encamp on the journey about those
that fear him! But as I foresee that he will
introduce thee to the knowledge of the Essenes,
I must, ere thou depart, give thee one admonition;
and O, young man! remember that it is
written, ‘Days should speak and length of
years should give understanding.’
“Eighty years have now passed over me,
since I began to be acquainted with men of
every variety of religious opinion among my
people. I was then, as thou art now, young,
without an adviser, and easily attracted and
deceived by every new wisdom which appeared.
I wish to guard thee against errors into which
.bn 127.png
.pn +1
I fell; for it is a bitter feeling at last to discover
that we have been wandering from the truth.
Thou rejoicest in Israel and the temple, and
holdest the Hellenists alone in abhorrence. But
believe me that there are things yet more to be
abhorred in Israel itself, nay even in those that
are within the walls of the temple. There is a
fearful division and confusion in Israel; seven
sects wage war against each other. May it
fare with thee as with the old man! Thou
wilt find many things in all of them which will
not displease thee, but pray to God that thou
mayest be enabled to see, that each of them
has more or less departed from the right way,
and mingled human wisdom with the divine
law. Thou wilt find in all, honourable and upright
men, but also among all, the proud man
and the hypocrite; and all, without exception,
are deficient in the humility and the simplicity
which are essential to the knowledge of divine
truth. I do not reckon among them the proselytes
of the gate, whom we have in all
nations; and I mention them only that I may
omit none, and may begin where I have least to
.bn 128.png
.pn +1
blame. Praise Jehovah that their number is constantly
increasing, and pray that he would guide
them yet further—that they may renounce every
thing that is heathenish, and become proselytes
of righteousness. It is still worse with the Hellenists,
who have been punished, by the blindness
with which they have plunged into allegory, for
that worldly-mindedness which made them disdain
to return to the land of Promise. This
the Essenes did in some measure, and for this,
and for their rigid obedience to the law, I
praise them—but why do they imitate foreign
manners in the land of Jehovah, pride themselves
on vain wisdom, drawn from their ancient
books, and despise the temple of our God?
The Pharisees are their opponents, and while I
justly praise their zeal for the faith of our
fathers, I must blame them for mixing oral
traditions so lightly with the written law, and
for the pride which has prompted them to do
it. For this fault they are justly reproved by
the Sadducees: but much greater is their departure
from the truth, who reject the prophets
of Jehovah, and resemble more the disciples
.bn 129.png
.pn +1
of a heathen Epicurus, than of the Lord who
spake on Sinai. I say nothing of the Samaritans,
who like ourselves expect a Messiah,
but prefer the desolate Gerizim to our Moriah.
What confusion in Israel! What dissension
and mutual hatred! There is still a small
handful, whom I will not call a sect, men of
pious, peaceful minds, who wait in simplicity
and humility for the appearance of the Messiah,
who reject every other word but that of God,
and keep his ordinances in his temple. Of
their number I reckon myself one—Elisama
also belongs to them, as do nearly all the
Aramæan Jews who live in the Diaspora. In
Jerusalem, however, there are few such to be
found. Now thou art forewarned, go, and
Jehovah bless and keep thee!”
This was the last interview which Helon at
this time had with the old man. On the sixth
day, the last before the new sabbath, the course
of Malchia finished its term of service after the
evening-sacrifice. Helon quitted the temple,
and hastened to join his friends in the house of
Iddo.
.bn 130.png
.pn +1
.sp 4
.h3
CHAPTER V. | THE ESSENES.
.sp 2
The impression which the first week of his
sacerdotal duties had made upon Helon was
quite different from all that he had experienced
before. Hitherto his mind had been excited,
and his curiosity and expectation raised; what
he had lately seen and felt had given a quiet
sober calmness to his mind, which was only
broken at times by the eager desire of further
knowledge on those subjects, on which his
conversations with the old man in the temple
had turned.
The following sabbath he attended the morning
and evening sacrifice, in a portico, which
lay on the northern side of the court of the
Priests, and opposite to the altar of burnt-offering,
.bn 131.png
.pn +1
and was called .
This was a distinction allotted to the
course of priests who had been on duty the
preceding week, and were now resting from
the noblest of all occupations, the service of
Jehovah.
The sun was rising on the Holy City on the
first day of the week, when Iddo took leave of
his guests at the Water-gate. They took the
road to Jericho, which leads over the mount of
Olives. They had before them , or about twenty-four
sabbath-days’ journies. Passing the dry
bed of the brook Kedron, they walked under
the shade of the cedars, till the road wound up
the side of the mount and led them through
rows of olive-trees over the easternmost of the
three summits. It is loftier than any of the
hills on which the city stands. As they ascended
it, Helon cast back a look of gratitude
and regret on the sacred spot, where God had
shown him so much good. The summit commanded
on one side a view of the temple, the
castle Baris, Zion, and the wide-stretched city;
.bn 132.png
.pn +1
on the other, the eye could reach to the Dead
Sea and the glittering line of the Jordan’s
course, which winds on the other side of the
walls of Jericho and falls into the Dead Sea.
Towards the east, the exhalations rose from the
sea, at the place where once Sodom and Gomorrah
stood—a terrible memorial of Jehovah’s
vengeance on the transgressors. Towards the
west the smoke of the morning-sacrifice was
ascending from the altar of burnt-offering in the
temple. “See,” said Elisama, as he pointed
to Moriah, “the fulfilment of the words of
Moses, the glory of the Lord appearing to all the
people in the fire that comes from before him
and consumes the burnt-offering on the altar.”[79]
And then turning to the clouds of pitchy smoke
that hung over the Dead Sea; “Behold there
the fulfilment of another word of Scripture,
'The Lord thy God is a consuming fire and a
jealous God.'”[80]
.fm rend=t
.fn 79
Lev. ix. 23, 24.
.fn-
.fn 80
Deut. iv. 24.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
They proceeded in silence. At length Helon
observed, “When the flame ascends upon our
.bn 133.png
.pn +1
altar of burnt-offering, or the seven-branched
candlestick is lighted at evening in the holy place,
I cannot but think of Jehovah’s comparison of
himself to a light, in our psalms and prophets.
Fire is the most ethereal of the elements, and is a
symbol as well of the grace of God to the pious,
as of his indignation against sinners.”
“Beware,” interrupted Selumiel, “of making
to thyself any likeness of God.”
“I understand,” said Helon, “what you
mean. Even the doctrine of Zerdusht is superstition,
because he has disfigured, by human
additions, the knowledge which is handed down
in its purity in our sacred writings. Yet it is
remarkable that the children of the east have
selected precisely this point from the divine
wisdom of their forefathers, worshipping, alas,
the visible sun, instead of the eternal light.”
“Be satisfied,” said Selumiel, “those whom
thou art about to see to-day, have already prayed
some hours ago for the return of the heavenly
light. They do so every morning, and every
morning their prayer is heard. You shall see
my Essenes.”
.bn 134.png
.pn +1
“Thy Essenes!” said Elisama. “Thou
hast already thrown out hints of this kind more
than once, Selumiel, greatly to my surprise. I
remember when we were young together in
Egypt, thou hadst a similar passion for the
doctrines of the ; and an early
passion, it seems, never dies.”
“I confess,” said Selumiel, “that in my
youth I often looked with veneration towards
the hill beside the lake Mareotis, where they
had their favourite abode. But at a later period
of my life I perceived that the contemplative
life of the Therapeutæ, their profound solitude,
and their enthusiastic passion for allegory, are
not to be compared with the pious but active
life led by the Essenes. I could say much
to you of this people, but I will reserve it till
we have passed through Bethany.”
This was indeed a spot more adapted for seeing
than for listening. Bethany was a village
on the eastern slope of the mount of Olives,
and about two sabbath-days’ journies from Jerusalem.
It was a still and lovely spot, surrounded
with olives, palm-trees, figs, and dates,
.bn 135.png
.pn +1
so that it seemed to stand in the midst of a
large garden. They often turned to look back
upon it, when they had passed through it. As
they crossed a sparkling brook which ran at
the foot of a steep hill, Selumiel exclaimed,
“I will first quench my thirst, according to the
manner of the Essenes, from this pure stream,
and will then tell you, as I proposed just now,
what I think of this people.”
A wild and dreary region lay before them,
called the desert of Jericho. “I know,” said
Selumiel, “that our Sadducees ridicule the
Essenes, and our Pharisees curse them. But
however the former may ridicule the idea of
self-communion and moral strictness, it is certain
that there is a deeper foundation for this
self-communion at least, than individual inclination
or caprice. The aged are generally
inclined to it, and I know not what more genuine
happiness one who has seen the world
can propose to himself, in declining years, than
the undisturbed society of persons like minded
with himself, engaged in the united worship of
Jehovah. And as there is a period of life, in
.bn 136.png
.pn +1
which almost all men feel the disposition to
turn the thoughts inward, circumstances may
arise to produce this inclination at an earlier
period. Calamity and sorrow respect no age;
and as it may be said of some men that they
are children even in their grey hairs, so is it
true of others, that even from their childhood
they show the contemplative and serious character
of age. Why then should not a whole
society, consisting of such youths and such old
men, unite to devote themselves to self-communion?
It has been said of the Greeks, that
they are always children; it may be said with
equal truth and more honour of the Essenes,
that they are always old men.”
“But,” said Elisama, “they never appear
in the temple.” “That is what the Pharisees
condemn in them, and I will not undertake to
decide upon the question: but thus much is
certain, that they fulfil all the other precepts of
the law so much the more zealously, and appeal,
on this point, to passages of holy writ,
which teach the inefficacy of any ritual of
sacrifice. But I will not defend them for not
.bn 137.png
.pn +1
coming to mount Moriah; and I am so far from
agreeing with them in this respect, that I am,
as you know, a punctual visiter at all the festivals.
Let us rather consider what both Sadducees
and Pharisees blame in them, and see
whether this blame does not really redound to
their praise. You know that the Sadducees in
their folly maintain, that the whole course of
the events of life depends upon man’s own free
will, that fate has no influence over human
affairs, and that it rests with ourselves to be the
authors of our own weal or woe. The Pharisees,
with more reason, teach that some things
in our lives are the work of fate, but not all, and
that in some cases it depends upon ourselves
whether events shall happen or not. But how
many rulers of the world must they then suppose
to exist, or how would they contrive to
keep this host of rulers in order and in harmony?
How much more just and consistent is the doctrine
of the Essenes, that fate disposes of all
events, that nothing happens to man without
its appointment, and that the great and the
trifling in events, what is necessary and what is
.bn 138.png
.pn +1
apparently arbitrary, all is alike subject to a
predestined order!”
“Nay,” Elisama exclaimed, “these are subjects
on which only the Messiah when he
comes can instruct us fully—but this doctrine
is horrible.”
“Myron would say,” observed Helon,
“that the Essenes were Jewish Pythagoreans;
as the Pharisees might be called Jewish Stoics;
and the Sadducees, Jewish Epicureans.”
Their conversation broke off here, all parties
being a little out of humour, an effect to which
the desert on which they had now entered perhaps
contributed. It was a long, hilly, . Deep ravines without verdure opened
beside serrated cliffs, sometimes of a chalky
whiteness, sometimes of sand. No fountain,
no shrub, was to be discerned, as far as the eye
could reach; scarce here and there a stunted
plant or a dry blade of grass. The rocks were
rent and thrown in such wild confusion, that
Helon thought an earthquake must have torn
up the bowels of the earth, in this abode of desolation
and of death. Towards the east, between
.bn 139.png
.pn +1
the ragged summits of the hills, the thick clouds
of smoke from the Dead Sea arose, as from the
bottom of the abyss. From the higher ground
the region around Jericho might indeed be seen,
but it served by the contrast rather to aggravate
the dreariness of the nearer scene.
Selumiel was the first to resume the discourse.
“You remarked,” said he to Helon,
“that the Essenes are Jewish Pythagoreans;
and there are in truth many points of resemblance
between them. Both practise community
of goods, both hold in abhorrence every
kind of effeminacy and voluptuousness, both
love white garments, forbid to take an oath,
drink only water, pay extraordinary reverence
to old age, enjoin silence for a stated time upon
their novices, offer only unbloody sacrifices,
and teach that destiny is supreme and uncontroulable
in human affairs. They agree besides
in this, that both believe the soul alone to be
immortal; while the Sadducees deny that any
thing of man is imperishable, and the Pharisees
maintain the resurrection of the body. This
coincidence in so many remarkable points may
.bn 140.png
.pn +1
give us a clue to the common source of their
doctrines and institutions. Pythagoras is said
to have been in Babylon at the time of our
captivity, and Zerdusht to have known Israel
on the banks of Chebar—may not these both
have drawn from the same source as our Essenes?
For my own part, I consider the
Essenes to be those who have preserved the
original knowledge of divine things in the
greatest purity. Hence it is that they so zealously
observe the law, that they keep the sabbath
with peculiar sanctity, that they consider
agriculture as the most honourable of all occupations,
that they hold Moses in the highest
veneration, and endeavour to observe the precepts
of the law with unusual strictness,
directing their attention to its inward fulfilment
in the heart, rather than the outward act of
conformity to its commands. Of their mode of
life you shall judge for yourself, when we visit
their village; are
known from the recent history of our country.”
Helon’s attention and interest were very
powerfully excited, but the last warning of the
.bn 141.png
.pn +1
old man of the temple resounded in his ears, and
to interrupt the panegyrics of Selumiel, he
asked him, “Can you tell me when they made
their first appearance, and what is their origin?”
“Some,” said Selumiel, “suppose them to
descend from Jonadab, the son Rechab, who
lived before the captivity; others, from those
who fled into the desert with Judas Maccabæus,
during the oppression of the Syrian kings;
while others deduce them from Egypt, and from
some of its sects of heathen philosophers. I
hold them, however, to be of very high antiquity.”
While he was thus speaking, they saw a
wanderer hastening over one of the naked
hills which were near them. He was an aged
man, of a spare form and long white beard, who,
supporting his steps with a staff, kept on his
way without looking around him, the human
counterpart of this ungenial region. “This,”
said Selumiel, “is one of them: I know him
by his clothing, and by his only spitting behind
him.” As he approached they greeted him, and
he gravely returned the salutation. According
.bn 142.png
.pn +1
to the custom of the Essenes he was clad only
in white garments, and carried nothing but a
staff on his journey.
“Wilt thou guide us to the Oasis of the
Essenes?” asked Helon.
“Follow me,” he replied abruptly.
“How many are there of you?” asked
Helon, endeavouring to engage him in conversation.
“There are four thousand of us in this
country.”
“But I am surprised that you travel without
any wallet.”
“I am come, curious youth, from a distance,
to assist at the trial of one of our body, which
cannot be held by fewer than one hundred persons.
Among us every thing is in common.
We avoid great cities, but where we go we
trust to the hospitality of our brethren.”
“Who is the transgressor on whom ye are
to sit in judgment?” asked Selumiel.
“A man who had scarcely completed his
probation, and was not able to keep the secret
of our institution.”
.bn 143.png
.pn +1
“Tell me,” said Helon, “I beseech you,
what is the probation which must be gone
through, before any one can be received as a
member of your society.”
“He receives a white garment, a girdle of
peculiar sanctity, and a spade, after which he
must labour for a year, and practise self-examination.
He is then received into our society,
but for three years is not admitted to the common
table. If in this time he gives evident
tokens of being discreet, just, temperate, and
chaste, an oath of tremendous sanctity is demanded
from him, that he will before all things
honour and serve the Lord, that he will be just towards
men, that he will hate all unrighteousness,
assist the pious, keep his faith and word towards
every man, and pay profound obedience to the
magistrate, who rules not but by the ordination
of God; that he will not himself abuse power if
he should be in possession of it, that he will
keep his hands pure from theft and his mind
from the desire of unlawful gain; that he will
conceal nothing from his brethren, nor reveal
their secrets to any other, even when threatened
.bn 144.png
.pn +1
with tortures and death; that he will not communicate
the doctrines of the body to any one,
in any other form than that in which they have
been taught to him, and that he will keep with
equal care . When he has sworn to do all
this, he is admitted to a participation in the
bath, in the common meal, and all the secrets
of the society.”
The gravity of the man, the solemnity of his
words, and the earnestness with which he spoke,
thrilled through Helon’s frame, combined as
they were with the peculiar character of the
scene.
They proceeded without further speaking,
till they came within sight of an , a fruitful
spot amidst the waste. A fountain rose here
from a cleft in the rock, and a few cottages,
surrounded by cultivated fields, stood under the
shade of palm-trees. Beyond the immediate
neighbourhood of the fountain all was wild,
desolate, and barren, an emblem, according to
the Essenes, of the soul of an unrighteous man,
and the naphtha-smoke which rose in the
.bn 145.png
.pn +1
distance from the Dead Sea, they regarded as a
type of the future punishment of the wicked.
This was the settlement of the Essenes. As
they approached, they perceived by the multitude
of persons who were going to and fro,
that the trial had occasioned an unusual resort.
Yet, in spite of this, every thing went on with
such a stillness, as if single individuals were
pursuing some noiseless occupation. An Essene,
an acquaintance of Selumiel, told them
how great was the consternation and horror of
the whole body, at the discovery that a traitor
had divulged their secrets. This offence was
to be visited by the most fearful penalty of their
code, expulsion from their society. Its terror
consisted in this, that having bound himself by
an oath, which even the unworthy dared not
violate, never to use ordinary food, nor even
to receive food at all from other men, there was
nothing left him, but to support himself on
roots and herbs till he died.
They arrived about the fifth hour (eleven
o’clock) the time when they took their meal in
common. They had risen before daylight,
.bn 146.png
.pn +1
had conversed together briefly, but only concerning
divine, never concerning human things,
and had then greeted the sun as if imploring
him to rise. After this every one had been
dismissed by the person under whose superintendence
he was placed, to pursue his labour
for the day, and having now pursued it for
several hours, they had bathed themselves in
cold water a second time, and girded themselves
with the sacred linen dress. Assembling in a
hall, the entrance to which was forbidden to all
but the members of their own order, they had
thence proceeded, as carefully purified as if
they were in a temple, to their refectory, where
, not reclined as
was the custom of the east. Bread and vegetables
were placed before them; a priest prayed
before and after the meal; while eating, a
solemn silence was preserved, and when they
had finished, they laid aside the holy garment,
and each prepared himself to pursue his labour
without intermission till the evening.
Food was placed before the strangers, Essene
fare, bread and hyssop. : for the Essenes on this Oasis belonged
to the highest class, in which marriage was
forbidden: it was allowed in the inferior classes,
only with strict limitations and restraints. They
must speedily have become extinct, had it not
been that they received many children among
them for education, and that many grown-up
persons constantly joined their society, weary
of the cares and vicissitudes of busy life. Thus
they formed a society which never died out,
although no child was born among them. They
allowed no traffic in their community, because
it must have been carried on through the medium
of gold, which they considered as the root of
all moral corruption; they had no servants, for
each ministered to the other; and they took no
oath, that which they had taken at their admission
rendering every other superfluous.
Although our travellers were not admitted
into the refectory of the Essenes, they were not
alone. They found a multitude of sick persons
assembled, who had come in hope of relief from
the secret wisdom of the Essenes. They performed
their cures by means of mysterious
.bn 148.png
.pn +1
formularies, and recipes carefully preserved in
their ancient books. These books had come to
them in times of venerable antiquity from remote
regions of the east, and were carefully
studied by them, especially on the sabbath,
which they held even more sacred than the
other Jews. Their cures were wrought chiefly
by enforcing temperance, self-command, and
the dominion of the soul over the body; and
with these means they performed wonders.
The simplicity of their lives preserved their
health to extreme old age, and not a few boasted
that the spirit of prophecy had been wakened
in them.
When Selumiel and Elisama had laid themselves
down after the frugal repast, to rest
beneath the palms, Helon went about to examine
the whole arrangement and economy of
this establishment. He would gladly have
entered into conversation with some of the
Essenes, but no one addressed him, and the
determined taciturnity of their looks, and the
profound stillness which reigned around these
cottages, deterred him from making the attempt.
.bn 149.png
.pn +1
He silently followed an aged man, who
with his staff was making his round through the
fields, when about noon every one was already
again at his labour, and who seemed to be
superintending their operations. The bending
of the men, the prostration of the youths, as he
approached them, showed to Helon that reverence
for age was here inculcated and practised
as a part of the duties of religion. Every thing
here was done by command; no man followed
a will of his own; indeed the will itself appeared
to be social not individual, one thing
only was excepted—beneficence. If those who
were in need were not his own kindred, every
one might assist and relieve them without asking
permission or waiting for a command. The
fields were covered with luxuriant crops, but the
cultivators themselves were spare and pale.
Selumiel and Elisama had rested themselves,
the heat of the mid-day was past, and there was
no more to be discovered in a day than in an
hour respecting the Essenes. The simple exterior
of their habits and customs was easily
seen. To learn any part of their secrets, it
.bn 150.png
.pn +1
was necessary to listen in silence for years
together. Our travellers therefore broke up
immediately after the mid-day, and continued
their tedious way through the desert to Jericho.
Selumiel had requested his friend, the Essene,
to be their guide, as the road was intricate even
to those who had frequently travelled it. The
Essene, at home amidst these solitudes, readily
complied, and led them through ravines, amidst
precipices, through sandy plains destitute of
vegetation, and over naked hills. Always alert
and ready to assist, he went before them, gave
them his hand in difficult parts of the way, supported
the elder men in the steeper ascents,
and answered every question that was addressed
to him, but so briefly that he seemed to weigh
every word, and to be in perpetual apprehension
of allowing one that was superfluous to
escape his lips.
In answer to the question of Elisama, whence
the name of Essene was derived, he informed
them that it was Persian, and denoted the resemblance
of their life to that of bees. “We
learn from them to be unwearied in our
.bn 151.png
.pn +1
diligence, to live in brotherly union, to be without
distinction of sex in respect to desire, and
to gather stores for the supply of others.”
Their contempt for the female sex and aversion
from matrimony displeased Elisama, who called
the latter an ordinance of God, and pronounced
it a vain and presumptuous thought of man, to
wish to annihilate the distinction of sex, when
the Creator had made the human race male and
female.
Selumiel endeavoured to silence Elisama, by
reminding him that nearly all the members of
this community were old men. But the Essene
himself would not accept this explanation; he
maintained that this opinion was intimately
and necessarily connected with the rest of their
system. “The body as ye see,” said he, “is
perishable and its elements for ever changing;
the soul is immortal and unchangeable. Sprung
from the purest ether, it is drawn down to
the body by a certain natural impulse, and
kept as it were imprisoned there while the body
continues to exist. When freed from the fetters
of the flesh, it rejoices like those delivered
.bn 152.png
.pn +1
from a long and galling bondage, and wings its
flight upwards. The souls of the just are conducted
to an abode, beyond the ocean, of indescribable
delight, where neither rain nor
snow deforms the sky, and mild sea-breezes
temper the rays of the sun. The wicked, on
the contrary, are condemned to eternal thraldom
and torment in a dwelling of frost and
darkness. Should not then every soul abhor
and shun intemperance and pleasure, as its
worst enemies, and renounce every gratification
which would give the body an ascendency
over it, while it cultivates sobriety and
chastity as the means of making its present
captivity more tolerable, and of being ultimately
delivered from it?”
The Essene spoke thus, animated in the
defence of his doctrines, and almost forgetting
the ordinary conciseness of his discourse. When
he had ended, he turned abruptly round, after
a brief salutation to the travellers. A hill
higher than any in the desert, and equally bare,
though on its verge, stood before them. They
looked back, and saw the Essene vanishing
.bn 153.png
.pn +1
among the intricacies of the path which they
had just quitted, carefully holding his garments
together, and hastening back to his brethren,
without looking to the right hand or to the
left. Helon seemed to breathe more freely as
they emerged from this region of desolation.
Selumiel, looking back towards the Oasis, and
leaning on his staff, asked his companions,
“Now, then, how like ye my Essenes?”
“Call them not thy Essenes,” said Elisama,
“for, Jehovah be praised, there is a wide difference
between them and thee.”
“Allow me this,” said Selumiel, “and I
will in return allow thee to speak of thy Pharisees.”
“That,” said Elisama, very earnestly, “I
shall never be; call me an Aramæan Jew, and
I shall gladly accept the title.”
“What difference should one or the other
make in our friendship?” said Selumiel. “Cannot
we attach ourselves to different opinions,
without any breach of our mutual good-will?
Iddo takes it ill if I call him a Sadducee.”
“Alas for Israel,” said Elisama; “shall
.bn 154.png
.pn +1
peace never come to thee? It has been a melancholy
reflection to me, that in the land where
alone Israel is truly Israel, I have scarcely
found a single old friend who does not lean
to one sect or other. What will be the end of
these things?”
The young priest, dissatisfied with the turn
which their conversation had taken, said hastily,
and in a manner which neither of the old men
understood, “In my service in the temple one
thing only displeased me, that the turn of duty
comes to each course of priests but once in
twenty-four weeks. I fain would live the life
of a priest every week and every day.”
“You might have discovered the method of
doing so this very day,” said Selumiel.
“The Essenes do not sacrifice,” said Helon;
“how then shall I find among them a perpetual
priesthood?”
Elisama looked at him with astonishment.
Selumiel, rejoiced as if he had come over to his
opinion, replied, “You may find it in the daily
mortification of your body and obedience to the
law.”
.bn 155.png
.pn +1
“No,” said Elisama, “I will tell you—the
conjugal and domestic life is the perpetual
priesthood. You know that the patriarchs sacrificed
with their own hands, and even now the
master of the house becomes a priest, when,
at the feast of the Passover, he kills the lamb,
blesses the bread, and praises Jehovah. In
spite of all the Essenes and their admirers,”
said he, looking significantly at Selumiel, “it
is my opinion, that the true Chasidean must be
the father of a family.”
Selumiel stretched out his hand to the friend
of his youth; they turned round, and scarcely
had they advanced a few steps further when
they had reached the summit of the hill, and
, lay
before them. The towers of the city arose
from amidst the fertile fields, through which
the silver Jordan wound its course. From
the valley of death through which they had
just passed, they had emerged into a scene
where life displayed itself in all its luxuriance
and fulness. The wide meadows through which
the Jordan rolled were adorned by groups
.bn 156.png
.pn +1
of towering palm trees and balsam bushes; the
hills on both sides closed in the landscape with
a beautifully picturesque effect. The air was
fragrant with the odour of the roses which bear
the name of Jericho. The note of the quail
was heard in the corn-fields, the eagle swept
his majestic way through the air, and the stork
and the pelican strode stately beside the flood.
.bn 157.png
.pn +1
.sp 4
.h3
CHAPTER VI. | THE BETROTHMENT.
.sp 2
Selumiel led his friends from Egypt through
the gate of Jericho. Not far from it stood a
house distinguished from all in its neighbourhood
by its size and the style of the architecture.
It was the house of Selumiel, who
filled the office of an elder in Jericho. He had
scarcely bidden his guests welcome in the outer
court, and invited them to enter the inner by
the covered way, when his son met him with
his new-born grandson. The joy of the old
man was indescribable. “You see,” said he to
his guests, when he had led them to the fountain
under the palms, and had called the slaves
to wash their feet, “you see by my joy at the
sight of my grandchild, that notwithstanding all
.bn 158.png
.pn +1
I have said in their praise, I do not belong to
the highest class of the Essenes. While the
slaves do their duty, allow me to take a short
walk into the Armon.”
Helon, in the mean time, viewed with admiration
the splendour and wealth of the mansion.
Its general arrangement was that which is common
to houses in the east; but the solidity of
construction and elegance of finish which characterised
each part, showed that it was the
residence of a wealthy man. Marble, cedar of
Lebanon, brass, gold, silver, ivory, silk, and
whatever else contributes to the splendour
of an oriental house, glittered here on every
side.
Selumiel’s house was built in such a way,
that it enclosed a large open quadrangular space,
called Chazer, or Thavech, (the middle or inner
court,) which, under a sky that was almost uninterruptedly
serene, served as a great chamber,
even on great and festive occasions. The pavement
was composed of variegated marble, tastefully
disposed. In the middle, where in houses
of humbler construction a simple basin stood,
.bn 159.png
.pn +1
was a fountain, enclosed with marble and surrounded
with lofty palms, which cast such a
cooling shade beneath, that our travellers felt
themselves instantly refreshed. In the angles
stood rows of vases filled with flowers, especially
the roses of Jericho, and many other
odoriferous shrubs, planted in bowers. Their
grateful shade, and the ever fresh and green
turf around the fountain, made the coolness as
it were visible, which in the hottest days was
to be found there. On the sides of this quadrangle
stood three rows of pillars, forming two
parallel porticoes. The floor of them was
covered with carpets and cushions of very elaborate
workmanship, and before some of the
pillars hung curtains, which gave the space
behind the convenience of an enclosed chamber.
The cushions were embroidered with gold and
silver, and the curtains were of silk, red, white,
green, and blue. Against the interior sides of
the porticoes were divans and sofas, elevations
of the height of from two to three feet, which
were surrounded with a lattice, and in the day
time were covered with carpets and served as
.bn 160.png
.pn +1
seats, in the night were used as beds. Above,
the porticoes were covered by three galleries
one above another, for the house had three
stories, and each gallery had a parapet breast-high
towards the court.
Round this court the principal parts of the
house were disposed. The side which adjoined
the street contained a small court, separated
from the inner only by a wall and a door, contrary
to the common mode of building, according
to which this court lay beyond the outer
wall and in front of the house, being connected
with it by a covered way: some houses again
had both the small internal court, which we have
described in Selumiel’s house, and the larger
exterior court, the latter then serving to receive
horses and camels. In Selumiel’s house the
court was furnished with a sofa, visitors were
received here, and only those whom the master
of the house specially invited into the interior
went any further. The house-door, which was
in the wall of the house and was covered with
inscriptions, led to the outer court. In this
court was a staircase, which led to the upper
.bn 161.png
.pn +1
stories of the house and immediately to a little
building directly over the small interior court,
called Alijah, which rose like a tower upon the
flat roof. An awning was fastened to the parapet
of the roof in such a manner, that it could
be drawn over the whole of the innermost court,
and produce complete shade in the brightest
sunshine.
The side of the court which was furthest from
the street formed the communication with the
Armon, or house of the women. The apartments
of the females were universally in the
east separate from those of the men, and in
Selumiel’s mansion they formed a distinct house,
divided and arranged much in the same way as
we have already described, so that there were
in fact two houses, having one side in common.
Elisama and Helon had been so much occupied
with the splendour which they beheld
around them, that they had allowed the slaves
with their silver ewers to wait, without performing
their office. Selumiel re-entered, and said,
smiling, to Elisama, observing how he was
.bn 162.png
.pn +1
occupied, “Doubtless you are used to see more
splendid edifices in Alexandria.” “Nay,” said
Elisama, laughing, “I recall what I said on the
way. An elder of Israel who dwells so sumptuously
and tastefully is assuredly no Essene.”
Selumiel led his guests into one of the bowers,
and after they had rested here a short time, to
the richly spread table. When the dishes were
taken away, and the dessert set on, the mother
and her daughter appeared, to bid a solemn
welcome to the guests from Egypt—a condescension
which showed the esteem in which
Selumiel held them. The mother, though advanced
in years, was active and still handsome;
but Sulamith her daughter, who stood by her
side, was glowing in all the freshness of youthful
beauty, and united in herself every charm
by which a daughter in Israel could fix the
attention of the beholder. From beneath the
large eyebrows, coloured of a brilliant black,
dark eyes, like those of the gazel, sent forth
their quiet brilliancy, through the transparent
veil which descended from the turban. Her
tall and stately form was clad in a robe of fine
.bn 163.png
.pn +1
cotton, which flowed down in folds like a wide
mantle; the sleeves hung loose, except where
they were fastened with costly bracelets; the
ears and the nose were adorned with rings of
gold, in which rubies, emeralds, and topazes
were set. Helon, dazzled by so much beauty,
on which he hardly dared to gaze, and agitated
by an emotion which he had never felt before,
thought he read in the looks with which the
old men regarded his surprise, the interpretation
of some words which had occasionally
escaped Elisama and Selumiel, and which till
now he had not understood.
When the females had retired, and the men
continued their conversation, Selumiel’s son
addressed himself to Helon, and proposed to
him that in the coolness of the early morning
on the following day he would be his guide
through the region round Jericho, and as far as
to the Dead Sea. Helon, lost in feelings to
which he had hitherto been a stranger, had
scarcely heard the conversation of the elders;
but he was roused from his reverie by this offer,
which it was the more difficult to decline without
.bn 164.png
.pn +1
discourtesy, as an oriental seldom imposes
on himself the fatigue of a walk. Yet it seemed
to him as if he were forcibly torn from that
world of delightful illusions, to which he had
been just transported.
At the first dawn of the following day, the
two young men issued from the mansion of
Selumiel, into the streets of Jericho. The city
is about six sabbath-days’ journies from Jordan,
and three sabbath-days’ journies in circumference.
It was considered at this time as the
second city in Judea, and had been in ancient
times one of the thirty-one royal cities of
Canaan. It was ,
whose number was estimated by some as high
as 12,000.
The son of Selumiel was well acquainted with
the ancient history of his nation, and had discovered
Helon’s enthusiasm for every thing
which recalled it. As they quitted the city
he pointed to the other side of the Jordan.
“There,” said he, “our forefathers encamped
in the fields of Moab, opposite to Jericho, and
thither Balak the king of Moab summoned
.bn 165.png
.pn +1
Balaam to curse them.[81] The blue hill seen
far in the distance is the hill of Abarim, and
part of it is Nebo, to which Jehovah led Moses
and showed him the land which he was not
permitted to enter,[82] the future heritage of the
children of Israel. Thence Joshua sent out
spies to explore the land, and especially Jericho,
when Rahab saved them by her humanity.[83]
There,” pointing to the banks of the Jordan itself,
“our fathers crossed the flood, Jehovah renewing
the miracle by which they had passed through
the Red Sea.[84] They destroyed the city, and not
only exterminated every living thing, but their
leader laid a curse on him who should rebuild
it, which six hundred years afterwards fell on
Hiel of Bethel, whose eldest son died when he
laid the foundation of it, and the youngest when
he set up the gates.[85] Yet its sanctity was recovered
by the residence of the prophets Elijah
and Elisha, who long dwelt here, and the schools
of the prophets which they superintended. In
.bn 166.png
.pn +1
later times we must confess, with grief, that it
was here the valiant chief and high-priest Simon,
father of Hyrcanus, fell by the hand of his son-in-law.”[86]
.fm rend=t
.fn 81
Numb. xxii.
.fn-
.fn 82
Deut. xxxiv.
.fn-
.fn 83
Josh. ii.
.fn-
.fn 84
Josh. iii.
.fn-
.fn 85
Josh. vi. 26.; 1 Kings xvi. 34.
.fn-
.fn 86
1 Maccab. xvi. 14.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
Helon thanked his companion for his information,
dissatisfied with himself that the present
and the past contended with each other
for the possession of his mind. They continued
their way to an eminence, from which they had
a prospect scarcely to be equalled even in the
Holy Land itself. They had here a view of
the course of the Jordan. In its progress from
its source in Antilibanus, a course of about
one hundred sabbath-days’ journies, it had attained
a breadth of thirty paces; it is about the
depth of a man, and in the neighbourhood of
Jericho it has a strong current. It abounds in
fish, and its banks were overgrown with sedges,
reeds, willows, and tamarisks, among which,
jackals, lions,[87] and other wild beasts harboured.
The river had just overflowed its banks,[88] in
.bn 167.png
.pn +1
consequence of the melting of the snows of
Lebanon, and this annual exundation greatly
promoted the fertility of the adjacent fields.
On the banks of Jordan lies Gilgal, the place
where the people of Israel crossed over under
Joshua, and erected twelve stones as a memorial.
A little further on was , where the
pilgrims from Galilee crossed to the eastern
side of the Jordan, in order to avoid going
through the country of the Samaritans. Thus
a great part of the beautiful valley of the Jordan
lay before them, whose fertile fields are
enclosed by hills on each side, on the east by
the mountains of Judah, on the west by Abarim,
with the summits of Pisgah and Nebo on Peor,
followed by the mountains of Moab. Southward
they beheld the plain of Jericho, ten sabbath-days’
journies in length, and almost three in
breadth, extending to Engeddi, containing the
celebrated grove of palms,[89] adorned with
olives and , and known in all
the ancient world for its honey and its roses.
.bn 168.png
.pn +1
Joining this plain extended itself
far to the south, called also the Sea of the Plain,
from its vicinity to the plain of Jordan; the
Salt Sea, from the taste of its waters; and the
Eastern Sea, in contradistinction from the Mediterranean,
which lay westward of Palestine.
It was formed in the time of Lot and Abraham,
by the destruction of the towns of Sodom,
Gomorrah, Adama, and Zeboim, the place
of which this lake now covers.[90] Its length
amounts to eighty-three, its breadth to twenty-one
sabbath-days’ journies; its waters, being
impregnated with naptha and asphaltus, are salt
and bitter; and all around it had the appearance
of conflagration, because the frequent exundations
of the lake covered the adjacent soil with
a coating of salt. The fruits correspond with
the water; the son of Selumiel related to Helon,
that the , as they are called,
were beautiful to the eye, but bitter and unfit
to eat, and that when they were dried, they
were nothing but dust.
.fm rend=t
.fn 87
Jer. xlix. 19.
.fn-
.fn 88
Josh. iii. 15.
.fn-
.fn 89
Deut. xxxiv. 3.
.fn-
.fn 90
Gen. xix. 24-26.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
.bn 169.png
.pn +1
The world of external nature is but the mirror
which reflects to us what interests our feelings
in the world of man. Helon had never
looked on the beauties of nature with so true a
relish for them, as now that they gave him back
the image of his own fond hopes and gay imaginations;
nor had he ever felt so deeply the
impression of her awful scenes, as now when
they harmonized so well with the trembling
anxiety which chastised his hopes.
On their return to the house they found all
busy with preparations for the solemnity of the
circumcision of Selumiel’s grandson, which was
to take place on the following morning. At
the third hour accordingly of the next day,
a large company assembled in Selumiel’s house.
Besides the two witnesses, who must be married
persons of either sex, ten men were necessary,
in whose presence the circumcision was
to take place, and besides these had been invited
the heads of all the courses of priests who lived
in Jericho, the elders and the friends of Elisama.
The family remembered the command of God
to Abraham, when he spoke to him, and said,
.bn 170.png
.pn +1
“This is my covenant which ye shall keep between
me and you, and thy posterity after thee:
every male child among you shall be circumcised,
when he is eight days old; and the uncircumcised
male child shall be cut off from his
people, because he hath broken my covenant.”[91]
.fm rend=t
.fn 91
Gen. xvii. 9.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
in the largest apartment
of the house, and by the hand of the
grandfather, in the presence of the whole assemblage.
When the child was born and had
been washed, rubbed with salt and wrapped in
swaddling-clothes, the father had placed it on
his bosom, as a sign that he acknowledged it as
his own. He now fetched it from the apartment
of the mother, who had been purified, by
bathing, from the impurity of the first seven
days after childbirth, and brought it to the
room where the company was assembled. A
psalm was sung, alluding to the covenant
which God had made with his people Israel,
and then the song of Moses after the deliverance
from Egyptian bondage. The rite was
.bn 171.png
.pn +1
then begun; in the midst of it, the father of the
child said, “Blessed be thou, O Lord our God,
king of the world, who hast sanctified us by thy
precepts, and commanded us to enter into the
covenant of Abraham.” Those who stood
around replied, “Lord, as thou hast permitted
this child to enter into the covenant of our
father Abraham, grant also that he may enter
into thy law, into the marriage-state, and into
good works.” Selumiel then laid his hand
upon the child’s head, and asked the father what
its name should be. The name was commonly
derived from the circumstances under which
the child was born or circumcised. The father,
in honour of the guests from Egypt, who were
then present, replied, “His name shall be
called Mizraim.” The grandfather then prayed,
“O Lord our God, God of our fathers,
strengthen this child and preserve him to his
parents. His name shall be called in Israel,
Mizraim, son of Abisuab, the son of Selumiel.
May his father rejoice in the son of his loins and
his mother in the fruit of her womb!”
The boy was then carried back to his mother,
.bn 172.png
.pn +1
and all who were present congratulated the
father and the grandfather. Selumiel invited
them to the inner court, where they partook
of refreshments and remained till afternoon,
when a splendid banquet was served up, consisting
of every thing which one of the wealthiest
citizens of Jericho could collect for such an
occasion. Two oxen, twenty lambs, and twelve
fatted calves were killed; for the master of the
feast was thought to show his wealth and his
hospitality by the unexpected abundance of every
kind of food that was produced. , which
he put on for the feast, and deposited there again
on his departure. These garments were always
in readiness to be worn on festive occasions, and
their number and costliness was one of the surest
pledges of the master’s wealth. The guests, after
their feet had been washed, were anointed with
costly ointment, and when they took their leave
they were perfumed, especially the beard.
Sulamith and her mother did not appear to-day,
but confined themselves to the chamber of
Abisuab’s wife, and celebrated the festival there.
.bn 173.png
.pn +1
Helon had seen Sulamith only once and in
passing on the preceding day, but her image
had remained involuntarily imprinted upon his
mind. In the midst of the lively conversation
which passed at the banquet, the proverbs
which were quoted and the riddles which were
propounded, she was always present to his
thoughts, and so animated the powers of his
mind, that his eloquence and ingenuity drew on
him the attention of all. His was the
most pregnant and striking; his riddle, the
most ingenious; his solution the readiest and
most happy. When he laid himself down on
the divan beside his uncle, he could not sleep
nor rest, and to calm the tumult of his breast,
he arose, and passing through the courts ascended
the Alijah, in which at Alexandria he
had passed many a sultry night, and there, kneeling,
prayed to the God of his fathers. But his
prayer partook of the general state of his feelings;
unable to collect his thoughts sufficiently
for meditation, he could only pour out before
Jehovah the fulness of a grateful heart.
It was just beginning to dawn when he left
.bn 174.png
.pn +1
the Alijah, and walked up and down upon the
roof. The stars were dim; the hills of Moab
lay in darkness, and the Dead Sea was wrapt
in vapour, but on the summits of the hills of
Judah the first distant beam of light appeared to
break. “What are they doing now in the
temple?” he asked himself; “perhaps they
are changing the watch, or clearing the altar,
or opening the gates that Israel may come up
and appear before Jehovah. And how is the
venerable old man of the temple employed?”
He remembered with gratitude how much light
he had derived from his conversations with
him, and then the warning recurred to his
mind which he had received from him. He
now fully comprehended its meaning. In the
journey through the desert, in the visit to the
Essenes, in the discourse of Elisama and Selumiel,
and the conversation of the priests at the
banquet, he had found abundant proofs of the
truth of the old man’s assertions respecting the
parties by which Israel was distracted. He
grieved to think that the highest and the noblest
in Israel were arrayed against each other in
.bn 175.png
.pn +1
hostile sects; that simplicity of faith and purity
of life were so little honoured, and heathen
philosophy, in a Jewish garb, exalted to the
throne. “Should the Messiah come,” said he,
“I verily believe that, after having disputed
about his claims, they would finish by all rejecting
him. The priests themselves descend
from their dignity, as the appointed conservators
of divine knowledge, to the wranglings
of human philosophy, and the light of heavenly
truth, which they should transmit pure and
direct, is absorbed or diverted by the gross
medium through which it passes; and thus
this unhappy land, so awfully chastised by the
justice of God, so graciously received back to
favour by his mercy, is deprived of the bliss
which Providence designed for it. Who could
have believed,” he continued, “when a few
weeks ago I approached Jerusalem, when I saw
for the first time the temple and the priests,
and all my wish was to be enrolled among them
and to dwell on the hill which Jehovah has
chosen for his peculiar presence, who could
have believed that so short a time would have
.bn 176.png
.pn +1
made every thing appear to me so tame and
common? Is the fault my own, that I pass too
easily from the one extreme to the other; or
am I disappointed, that, instead of a perpetual
ministration before Jehovah, I am only called
at long intervals and for a short time to appear
in his temple? Yet surely even this might
be sufficient to keep alive my zeal, were it not
that the moment he quits the temple the
dreams of Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes
again take possession of the mind of a priest,
and seduce him into transgressions of the law.
What hope then, under such circumstances, of
becoming a Chasidean? There was another
priesthood of which Elisama spoke, as we stood
together at the foot of that pointed hill. O
that I could but be assured that I was not mistaken
in the meaning of his often repeated
hints!” As he spoke his face turned involuntarily
towards the Armon. Some one came
behind him and touched him on the shoulder;
it was Elisama. He started, as if it were possible
that he might have heard his soliloquy,
and could scarcely return his uncle’s salutation,
.bn 177.png
.pn +1
“I am glad,” said Elisama, with a serious look,
“to find you here alone: for some days past I
have wished for an opportunity of speaking to
you alone on important matters. Let us go
into the Alijah, we shall be most secure there
from the danger of interruption.
“When we left Egypt it was all thy wish to
see the land of thy fathers: thy mother had
another wish. Thou art of that age when the
youth of Israel take to themselves wives.
Doubtless we are all agreed in this, that thy
wife should not come from any Hellenistic
family. Among the Aramæan Jews of Alexandria,
there was none with whom so near a
connection would have been honourable for us.
Besides it is thy mother’s wish that her daughter-in-law
should be, as she herself was, a
native of the Holy Land. I have been occupied
in looking round for a wife for thee.
What sayest thou to Sulamith, the daughter of
Selumiel?”
Helon fell at his uncle’s feet, and embracing
his knees exclaimed, “Is it possible? Ah!
give me Sulamith!”
.bn 178.png
.pn +1
“Rise,” said Elisama. “May Jehovah bless
you both! I have already settled the conditions
with Selumiel in Jerusalem, and we kept
silence, only that we might see whether Sulamith
would please you. He wished to have a
priest for a son-in-law, and one who should not
come empty-handed.”
“O give my whole fortune, if he demands
it,” said Helon.
“At this moment he is speaking with Sulamith.”
Looking through the lattice of the
Alijah, he saw Selumiel passing along the court,
and called to him to come up to them. He
came and Helon fell before him on his face.
“I know enough,” said he, “I will call my
wife and daughter—follow me to the large
saloon of the Armon.”
He led them from the Alijah through the
outer and inner court to the Armon, which no
foot of a male stranger had ever trodden before.
He left them standing in the richly adorned
saloon, and went to call Sulamith and her
mother. They came with him, and the brother
also made his appearance. The mother was in
.bn 179.png
.pn +1
tears: Sulamith stood with her face completely
veiled. Elisama then came forward and said,
“If ye will deal kindly and truly with my
nephew Helon, tell me, and give him this your
daughter Sulamith to wife; and if not, tell me,
that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.”[92]
Then Selumiel and Abisuab answered, “The
thing proceedeth from the Lord, therefore we
cannot speak unto thee bad or good. Behold
Sulamith is before thee; take her and go thy
way, that she may be the wife of thy nephew
Helon.” Elisama and Helon bowed themselves
to the earth; and Elisama said, “I will
pay thee for thy daughter 10,000 shekels.”
“I give them to her for her dowry,” said
Selumiel, “and add to them 10,000 more.”
Then Selumiel, turning to Sulamith, said, “Wilt
thou go with this man into the land of Egypt,
or remain with him in Jericho, as Jehovah
shall appoint?” Sulamith, sobbing, answered,
“Yes.” Then the mother led her daughter to
Helon, whose joy was without bounds; she
.bn 180.png
.pn +1
bowed down before him, and he took her by
the hand and raised her up. The father, the
mother, and the brother of the bride, along with
Elisama, then drew near to them, and blessed
them both, and said, “May ye grow and multiply
a thousand times, and may your seed
possess the gate of your enemies!”
.fm rend=t
.fn 92
Gen. xxiv. 49.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
The company which had assembled on the
preceding day was again invited, and Selumiel
said to his astonished guests, “Rejoice with
me, my friends, and bless the God of our fathers.
I have received from Jehovah two children, a
grandson and a son-in-law.”
Elisama remained in Selumiel’s house. Helon,
so propriety required, took up his abode in a
neighbouring house; but through the day he
was chiefly in the Armon of his Sulamith.
The more intimately he became acquainted
with her, the higher his love and admiration
rose. Every day discovered to him some new
excellence, her deep piety, her gentle temper,
her quick sensibility, her sound understanding,
and playful, harmless wit. He looked on with
delight when, in the course of her daily occupations,
.bn 181.png
.pn +1
she prepared the meal for bread,
kneaded it in flat round cakes, and baked it in
the deep oven. He stood beside her when,
as became a female, she wove cloth for the
garments of the men. He lent his aid when
she prepared the perfumed ointments, and
rubbed upon a smooth marble stone the sandalwood,
the juice of the date-palm, the kernel of the
Behen-nut from Egypt, oil of sesame, fragrant
reed from Lebanon, oil of myrtle, cypress, and
mastix, and the juice of the pomegranate-rind.
In whatever occupation he had seen her, whatever
had been the subject of their conversation,
he always returned home at evening more
grateful to God. The sabbath and the new
moon, the solemnities of religion had become
more interesting to him, and his confidence
revived that with such a daughter of Israel by
his side, he should be able to keep the whole
law, and perhaps even become a Chasidean.
.bn 182.png
.pn +1
.sp 2
.h3
CHAPTER VII. | THE FEAST OF PENTECOST.
.sp 2
The feast of Pentecost drew near. It derived
this name, which is Greek, and its Jewish
name of the Feast of Weeks,[93] from
elapsed between it and the day after the Passover,
on which the first-fruits of barley were
offered, so that it was the fiftieth day from that
time. It fell on the sixth day of the third month
Sivan, and the days between the offering of the
sheaf and it were solemnly reckoned every
evening, at the time of supper. The master of
the house, rising up with the rest of the company,
said, “Blessed be thou, O Lord our
.bn 183.png
.pn +1
God, king of the world, who hast sanctified us
with thy precepts, and commanded us to count
the days of harvest,” adding, this is the fifth
day, or one week, and the third day, and so on.
In this way they thought that they were fulfilling
the command of the law, “Seven weeks
shall ye reckon; begin to reckon the seven
weeks from the time when thou beginnest to
put the sickle to the corn; and thou shalt keep
the Feast of Weeks to the Lord thy God.”[94]
.fm rend=t
.fn 93
Exod. xxxiv. 22.
.fn-
.fn 94
Deut. xvi. 9.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
Helon wished, in virtue of his priestly office,
to travel to Jerusalem; Abisuab and his wife
were going up to present their new-born child
before Jehovah; Sulamith was glad to join
herself to her brother and sister-in-law; and
Selumiel and Elisama had to comply with the
law, which enjoins that all males should appear,
thrice in the year, at each of the great festivals,
before Jehovah. The preparations were already
made, and the day of the pilgrimage was very
near.
On the forty-seventh day Helon was sitting
.bn 184.png
.pn +1
with Sulamith beside the fountain in the inner
court of the Armon. They were conversing
on the office of the priest: Sulamith expressed
her joy in the thought that she should see her
betrothed husband ministering at the altar of
Jehovah; and Helon declared what increased
delight he should have in every service, when
he reflected that the eyes of his Sulamith accompanied
him from place to place. As he
spoke he saw in imagination her cedar-form,
conspicuous among all who filled the court of
the Women, and her dark eye watching him as
he moved. As they conversed thus together,
the well-known sound of cymbal and flute was
heard, accompanied by
human voices. “It is the Galileans going up
to the festival,” said Sulamith, listening as the
sacred sounds seemed to descend from heaven
into the court where they were sitting. Helon
hastened forth to greet them. Although Samaria
was destroyed, they still took their
ancient road by Bethabara and Jericho, in preference
to that by Sichem, especially as in
the former track their train was swollen by
.bn 185.png
.pn +1
accessions from every village through which
they passed. They were now about to pass
through Jericho, and to encamp at the western
gate. Welcomes and greetings met them from
every house.
On the following morning, when the pilgrims
from Jericho were going to unite with them, the
long-standing hatred between the Jews and the
Galileans displayed itself. , who
occupied the country which had formerly made
a part of the kingdom of Israel, had adopted
many customs from the heathens among whom
they lived; inhabiting a fertile region they
lived in the possession of many physical comforts,
but neglected the cultivation of literature
and knowledge, and their uncouth pronunciation,
by which the guttural letters were confounded,
bore witness to the low state of refinement
among them. Their Jewish brethren
were proud of superior knowledge, as the Galileans
of superior wealth, and they seldom came
together without some explosion. The present
dispute was about precedence in the march.
The men of Jericho claimed it, as genuine Jews
.bn 186.png
.pn +1
and inhabitants of a city of priests, reproaching
the Galileans that their ancestors were only the
common people of the land, left behind when
the great and noble were carried into captivity.
The men of Jericho at length prevailed: Selumiel,
as elder of the city, led the march with
the heads of the courses of priests; the Levites
struck up their music, and all the people sung
together.
.pm start_poem
The city whose foundation is in the holy mountains,
The gates of Zion, Jehovah loves
More than all the dwellings of Jacob.
Glorious is it to speak of thee
O City of God!
Of Zion it is said,
This and that man was born in her.
He, the Most High buildeth her.
When God reckoned up the people
He wrote, This man was born there.—Ps. lxxxvii.
.pm end_poem
Thus the train quitted the smiling fields of
Jericho, and entered on the wilderness, which
they crossed by a nearer way than that which
led by the Oasis of the Essenes. By mid-day
they had reached a verdant spot, shaded with
palm-trees, and, encamping beneath them,
opened their wallets, and distributing their
.bn 187.png
.pn +1
provisions, endeavoured to exhilarate themselves
amidst the desolation which surrounded them.
Sulamith, sitting between her father and her
bridegroom, had taken her sister’s first-born
from her arms and playfully placed it on her
lap, when a Galilean approached them and
asked Selumiel, if Elisama and Helon from
Alexandria were with him. Selumiel having
pointed them out to him, he informed them
that he was charged with the salutations of a
young Greek of Alexandria, of the name of
Myron, whom he had recently seen in his visit
to Damascus. Myron had commissioned him
at the same time to say, that his affairs would
not allow him to come to Jerusalem at Pentecost.
He regretted that he must thus lose
their society on his return to Egypt, which had
been a source of so much pleasure to him on
his journey thence. If, however, they could
wait, he requested to be informed by this Galilean,
who was about to return to Damascus
immediately after the feast.
“A fair opportunity,” said Selumiel’s son,
“for you, Helon, to meet him in the north of
.bn 188.png
.pn +1
Judea, and bring him to the festivities of the
marriage; while you at the same time visit that
part of the Holy Land which you have not seen.
I know what you are going to object—but
while preparations for the nuptials are going
on, no one can be more easily spared, even by
the bride, than the bridegroom.” Selumiel
agreed; and, notwithstanding the remonstrances
of Helon and Sulamith, it was finally arranged
that the Galilean should carry back word to
Damascus, that Helon would meet Myron, in
three weeks time, at Dan, the frontier town of
Judea on the north.
The pilgrims resumed their march, the desert
was soon left behind, and Bethany with its
gardens and olive-yards appeared. The train
ascended the mount of Olives and wound along
its western descent, among the cedars in the
valley of Jehoshaphat. The temple, which was
seen from this side under its most imposing
aspect, was brightened with the glow of sunset;
and the whole city, with its hollows and eminences,
and the white tents which in some
places were erected, and in others erecting,
.bn 189.png
.pn +1
partook of the illumination of the evening lights.
Companies of pilgrims hastened from all sides
to the city, but none drew the attention of the
spectators more than that which was descending
the mount of Olives.
Selumiel and his party were received with
undiminished hospitality into the house of Iddo,
who poured out his hearty congratulations to
Sulamith and Helon, telling the latter that from
the time when he had first seen him, he had
anticipated that they should be more nearly
related. In the midst of his friendly greetings
and compliments, however, it was plain that
something weighed upon his mind; and when
the women had retired into the Armon, and the
men were sitting around the fountain in the
court, he asked whether they had heard of the
event which had occurred in their absence.
They asked him of what kind, and he replied
respecting the high-priest. They had heard
imperfect rumours of it on the way, and requested
him to relate the circumstances more
fully.
“You know,” he began, “that Hyrcanus
.bn 190.png
.pn +1
has from his youth inclined to the party of the
Pharisees, though with moderation. I must
confess that I have been astonished how he,
who himself possesses the gift of foreknowledge,
uniting, as the Messiah shall hereafter
do, the triple office of high-priest, king, and
prophet, and to whom a voice foretold the
approaching victory of his sons over the Samaritans,
when he came out of the Holy of Holies,
on the last day of atonement, how such a man
should not have seen through these hypocrites.
It is true, he was brought up by them, and their
influence, which since the time of Jonathan has
been unfortunately on the increase, has been
very serviceable to him in the support of his
government. They have now scandalously
repaid his over-confidence in them. At one of
the feasts which were held in the castle of
Baris, in celebration of the victory over the
Samaritans, the pious prince, moved by gratitude
towards Jehovah, called upon those who
were present to tell him if there were any
point in which he had neglected to fulfil the
commands of God, and his duties towards men.
.bn 191.png
.pn +1
As was natural, they broke out into the warmest
encomiums on his administration. One of
them only, the haughty Eleazar, whom you
know, Selumiel, alleged that he could mention
an instance of his violation of the law. Hyrcanus
urged him to speak, and he said, ‘Thou
canst not legally be high-priest, for thy mother
was a bondwoman.’ : Hyrcanus was
stung by it to the quick, and even the rest of
the Pharisees blamed him who had made it, for
uttering a falsehood. The banquet was interrupted;
Jonathan, the confidential friend of the
high-priest and a zealous Sadducee, advised
him to call the council together, and lay the
matter before them. He did so, but the Pharisees,
who predominate there, proposed only
the imprisonment of the offender; and the
high-priest chose rather that the indignity
offered to him should pass unavenged, than
that this inadequate punishment should be inflicted.
He has now, however, seen the Pharisees
in their true colours, and he and his sons,
it is to be hoped, will in future be on their
.bn 192.png
.pn +1
guard against these hypocrites. They will seek
to do him mischief, but the conquerors of
Samaria may set them at defiance.”
All were astonished and shocked at the recital;
Selumiel strengthened Iddo in his displeasure.
Elisama lamented that Israel should
be distracted by such dissensions, and that a
canker should be at the root of its fair appearance
of prosperity. Helon rejoiced in the
prospect of that domestic felicity with his Sulamith,
which should remove him from the scene
of these unholy contentions of party spirit.
They repaired to supper, and Iddo counted the
forty-eighth day from the offering of the first-fruits.
The following day was the preparation for
Pentecost, and was passed in bathing, cutting off
the hair, and other purifyings. An hour after
the evening-sacrifice Helon went up to the
temple and knocked at the door of the old
man’s cell. “Welcome to Azereth!” he exclaimed,
as Helon entered. , or Day of
Assembly was the name given to the day of
Pentecost as well as to the seventh of the
.bn 193.png
.pn +1
Passover, and to the eighth of the Feast of
Tabernacles. “Will it in truth be Azereth to
Hyrcanus and the Pharisees?” said Helon.
“Did I not tell thee, young man,” he replied,
“that it would be so? Believe me, this scene
is only the commencement of long and ruinous
dissensions between the council and the prince.
God grant that I may not live to see them!
But for thee, at least, priest and bridegroom
both, it is truly Azereth, and in a different sense
from the seventh day of the Passover.” “Give
us thy blessing,” said Helon; and as he knelt
down the old man stretched out his hands upon
his head and blessed him. Helon then asked
him to explain the design of the feast which
was about to commence. “As,” said he,
“when the first barley sheaf was offered, we
prayed to Jehovah for his blessing upon the
harvest, so now that both the barley and the
wheat are gathered in, we thank him that he has
given us the early and the later rain, and dew
from heaven, and the appointed weeks of harvest.
Thus the Pentecost is a harvest feast:
but it is also a commemoration of the giving
.bn 194.png
.pn +1
of the law: for it was on this fiftieth day, the
sixth after Israel’s arrival in the wilderness of
Sinai, and the third after the purification of the
people, that Moses led them out of the camp to
meet Jehovah, and to receive the law amidst
the thundering and lightning, and the sound of
the trumpet. But pray to God that he would
disclose to thee the sublimer meaning which
lies hidden under these more obvious purposes.
Bethink thee of that approaching time, when
all the gifts of Jehovah shall be poured out
upon his kingdom on earth, when all prayers
shall be granted, and the law shall be universally
known and kept in its purest and most
spiritual sense. Let this thought guide thy
devotions at the feast. And now, if thou art
pure, go to the evening-sacrifice. Hark! the
trumpets announce that the Pentecost is about
to begin.”
Helon departed, was present at the evening-sacrifice,
and remained in the temple through
the night with all the priests who had assembled
at Jerusalem for the festival. On the
following day the principal duty fell to the
.bn 195.png
.pn +1
course whose week was just beginning; but
there was so much to be done beyond the common
offices, that they needed the aid of the
others. The dissensions of the Pharisees and
Sadducees were more visible than ever, and
ceased not even in the temple and on the holy
night.
The gates were opened, and among the rest
who filled the courts before the crowing of the
cock, Iddo, Selumiel, Abisuab, and Elisama
presented their victims to the priests; and Sulamith
with the wife of Iddo and her own sister-in-law
were in the court of the Women. The
ordinary morning-sacrifice was first offered, then
the special offering of the festival, consisting of
seven lambs of the first year, a young bullock
and two rams for a burnt-offering, a goat for a
sin-offering, and two yearling sheep for a
thank-offering. The difference between the
offerings on this occasion and at the Passover
was, that there were then two bullocks and one
ram offered, and now two rams and one bullock.[95]
.bn 196.png
.pn +1
When the drink-offering was poured out, the
priests blew upon their pillars, the Levites sung
on the fifteen steps, and the whole congregation
sung the great Hallel.
.fm rend=t
.fn 95
Lev. xxiii. 18.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
Now came the special-offering of the Pentecost.
It consisted of two loaves and a tenth of
an epha of fine wheat flour, the first-fruits of
the harvest, which a priest had waved before
Jehovah towards all the four winds of heaven,
in the open space between the altar and the
sanctuary. When this offering had been presented
to Jehovah, the sacrifices of individuals
began. Selumiel, his son, and Elisama, brought
their noble victims; thousands followed them,
and among the rest, Helon offered his thank-offering,
and paid to the Lord the vow which
he had formed in the happy hour of his
betrothment. Selumiel’s son offered for the
purification of his wife, as it chanced to be the
fortieth day from her delivery, a lamb of the
first year as a burnt-offering and a turtle-dove
as a sin-offering. She prayed while they were
slain, and a priest, bringing the blood of the
sin-offering in a dish, sprinkled her with it, and
.bn 197.png
.pn +1
thus she became clean. She had brought her
first-born in her arm, and presented him before
Jehovah; and her husband redeemed him, according
to the law, by the payment of five
shekels.[96] For thus said Jehovah, “Behold I
have taken the Levites unto myself among the
children of Israel, instead of all the first-born;
therefore the Levites shall be mine. For the
first-born are mine, since the time when I slew
all the first-born in Egypt: then did I set apart
all the first-born in Israel, both of man and
beast, that they should be mine. I am
Jehovah.”[97]
.fm rend=t
.fn 96
Numb. xviii. 15.
.fn-
.fn 97
Numb. iii. 12.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
When all these were ended, and the blessing
given to the people in the name of Jehovah,
Iddo, with the assistance of his own slaves and
of Sallu, presented his own thank-offering.
The wife of Abisuab, Sulamith, and the wife of
Iddo, partook of the feast which the sacrifice
furnished in one of the apartments of the
temple, and in addition to them some priests
and Levites who had been bidden. Helon,
.bn 198.png
.pn +1
once more in the temple, in sight of the crowds
of worshippers who poured in streams along its
courts, within hearing of the solemn sound of
the temple music, surrounded by all the circumstances
which made this consecrated spot a
little world within itself, and seated by his
Sulamith, forgot his native country Egypt, his
longing for his mother and his home, the factions
of Pharisees and Sadducees; and nothing
occupied his thoughts, but the wish to live in
the Holy Land as a priest of Jehovah, and to
endeavour to fulfil the law, with all his soul,
and with all his mind, and with all his strength.
The Feast of Pentecost lasted only one day.
.bn 199.png
.pn +1
.sp 4
.h2
BOOK IV.
.sp 4
.h3
CHAPTER I. | THE JOURNEY TO DAN.
.sp 2
On the day which followed the feast of Pentecost,
Helon stood upon the highest of the three
summits of the mount of Olives, and with a
heavy heart and weeping eyes watched the
train of the pilgrims from Jericho, as they disappeared
among the groves and gardens of
Bethany, and listened to their songs, in which
the voice of Sulamith seemed to warble to him
a farewell, full of affection and regret. It had
cost him many a struggle, to resolve to undertake
this journey to Dan—but Selumiel had
determined to put his self-command to this
proof, and Helon was forced to comply. There
.bn 200.png
.pn +1
was a certain hardness in Selumiel’s natural
disposition, which the influence of an amiable
wife had not entirely mollified; he had been
compelled in his youth to practise much self-denial
and bear many mortifications, and he
could not deny himself the pleasure of making
even those he loved undergo a similar discipline,
persuading himself perhaps that he was improving
their tempers, while he was indulging
his own. “The path of obedience is arduous and
rough,” said Helon with a sigh, as he turned
from where the Jordan wound its way through
the meadows of Jericho, to the northern hills
of Ebal and Gerizim, over which his destined
journey lay; “the path of obedience is rough,
but it shall be trodden.” He called to mind
the first commandment with promise, and he
thought that when he had made this sacrifice to
the sense of duty, he should be able, without
difficulty, to fulfil the rest of the commandments,
and become a Chasidean. Ambition
came to the aid of virtue, and he returned
towards the city, resolved, though not satisfied.
.bn 201.png
.pn +1
On the following morning he took his departure,
in company with the Governor of
Samaria, whom Hyrcanus had just appointed,
and some Galilean Jews, who preferred returning
into their own country by the nearer way.
Iddo accompanied his friend as far as to the
gate of Ephraim, not without a secret dissatisfaction
at the ill-nature of his brother. The
travellers were mounted, and attended by such
a train as became the rank of the principal
person in the party. They entered the King’s
valley, and directed their course between
Mizpa and Nob towards Geba, which lay not
far from , the city where Samuel judged,[98]
called in latter times Arimathea. The road
was stony; the conversation of the party turned
wholly on worldly topics. This Geba is also
called Geba of Benjamin, to distinguish it from
another of the same name: it was celebrated
for David’s victory over the Philistines.[99] It
lay on a rising ground, six sabbath-days’
journies from Jerusalem, and was one of the
.bn 202.png
.pn +1
cities of the priests.[100] As they had been late
in quitting Jerusalem, they halted here for their
rest at noon, and as most of the party were
disposed to consult their own ease, they remained
till late in the afternoon. The road
to Michmash was more steep and rocky than
that which they had travelled. Here they had
to traverse a defile, between two abrupt and
rugged rocks, in the mountains of Ephraim,
forming a pass which had been rendered celebrated
by the exploits of Jonathan in Saul’s
first expedition against the Philistines,[101] and
by the residence of the Maccabee prince Jonathan.[102]
They halted for the night at Bethel, a
place of which the name often occurs in the
sacred writings. This city was sixteen sabbath-days’
journies from Jerusalem, and Helon
called to mind that from the mulberry-trees in
its neighbourhood it had been named Luz, when
Abraham dwelt there; that Jacob here saw the
vision of the ladder on which the angels ascended
and descended, and that rising upon the
.bn 203.png
.pn +1
following morning he built an altar to Jehovah,
and called the name of the place Bethel.[103] The
ark of the covenant had long stood here; and
it was here too, alas, that Jeroboam had set up
the worship of the golden calves which he had
learnt in Egypt, causing Israel to sin.[104] The
prophets so much abhorred its idolatries that
they changed its name into Bethaven, place of
unworthiness; and to go to Bethel, came to
signify the same thing as to apostatize from
Jehovah to idolatry.[105]
.fm rend=t
.fn 98
1 Sam. vii. 17.
.fn-
.fn 99
2 Sam. v. 25.
.fn-
.fn 100
1 Chron. vi. 60.
.fn-
.fn 101
1 Sam. xiv. 4.
.fn-
.fn 102
1 Mac. ix. 73.
.fn-
.fn 103
Gen. xxviii. 19.
.fn-
.fn 104
1 Kings xii. 29.
.fn-
.fn 105
Hos. x. 5; Amos iv. 4.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
On the following morning, instead of taking
the usual road by and Gophna, they
went by Shiloh, where the governor had
business. Shiloh was the first town in Samaria,
and peculiarly interesting to Helon, from the
circumstance that Joshua came thither from
Gilgal,[106] and that the tabernacle had long stood
there. It was very pleasantly situated on a hill,
whence the mountains both of Judah and
Ephraim might be seen. For nearly three
.bn 204.png
.pn +1
hundred years it was the place in which the
tribes assembled, till the tabernacle was removed
to Nob[107] and Bethel; afterwards by
Saul to Gibeon;[108] and finally by David to Jerusalem.
It was here that in the times of the
Judges the maidens were carried off by violence;[109]
here Eli had fallen from his seat, at
the news of the capture of the ark by the
Philistines.[110] After the mid-day rest at Shiloh,
the governor hastened to his residence at
Sichem, which was sixteen sabbath-days’
journies from Shiloh, thirty-six from Bethel,
and more than fifty from Jerusalem.
.fm rend=t
.fn 106
Josh. xviii. 1.
.fn-
.fn 107
1 Sam. xxi. 1.
.fn-
.fn 108
2 Chron. i. 3.
.fn-
.fn 109
Judges xxi. 16.
.fn-
.fn 110
1 Sam. iv. 18.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
Iddo had strongly recommended Helon to
the good offices of the governor, who, to do
honour to the recommendation, invited him to
take up his abode in his own house, which
displayed every luxury of furniture, and a numerous
train of servants. The pompous condescension,
the free life and licentious conversation
of the governor, who was a Jew by birth,
.bn 205.png
.pn +1
but a Samaritan in sensuality and worldly
mindedness, were so displeasing to Helon, that
he would instantly have departed; but his host
would not allow him to go without passing a
few days with him. He endeavoured to console
himself by exploring every object of interest
in the neighbourhood, for which purpose
the governor furnished him with attendants and
guides.
lay in a plain, or to speak more accurately,
in a valley, which extended to the east
and west. On the and southern sides
of the long line of the city rose the two mountains,
Ebal and Gerizim, separated by so small
an interval, that the voice might be heard from
the summit of the one to the summit of the
other. Thus sheltered from the pernicious
winds of the north-west and south-west, it lay
stretched out in picturesque beauty, at the feet
of the gigantic guards that seemed stationed
for its protection. It was half a sabbath-day’s
journey in length, but so narrow, that it consisted
only of two parallel streets, with an open
space between them. The fruitful plain into
.bn 206.png
.pn +1
which the valley expanded was watered by
several mountain streams, and diversified by
vineyards and olive-yards, plantations of mulberries,
and orchards of figs, citrons, and pomegranates.
About a sabbath-day’s journey from
the city, on the road to Jerusalem, was the
well of Jacob, situated in the field or plain
which Jacob had purchased from the children
of Hamor.[111] The well is nine feet in diameter,
and a hundred deep, with five feet of
water. It was cut in the rock, and a flight
of steps descended to the water. In the
midst of this lovely plain stood the grove of
.[112]
.fm rend=t
.fn 111
Gen. xxxiii. 19; Josh. xxiv. 32.
.fn-
.fn 112
Gen. xii. 6.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
From every part of the plain Sichem and its
hills of Ebal and Gerizim were seen. The city
seemed more closely connected with Gerizim
which lay on the south, than with Ebal on the
north. Gerizim was fruitful, abounding in
springs and covered with vines and olives; its
principal face being turned to the north, it
escaped that parching heat which made Ebal
.bn 207.png
.pn +1
scorched and bare. The latter, on the side
adjacent to the city was full of caverns, which
served the inhabitants as sepulchres.
The natural beauties of this exquisite scene
were combined with a multitude of historical
associations. The grove of Moreh had been
the first resting-place of Abraham, when he
entered the Land of Promise. Jacob had dug
the well, purchased the plain, and buried the
idols of his wives beneath the terebinth.[113] The
outrage committed by his sons Simeon and
Levi had compelled him to retire to Bethel,
through fear of the men of Sichem.[114] Joshua
had called the tribes together for the last time
to this place,[115] and had caused a stone to be
erected on Ebal, as a memorial of the renewal
of the covenant with Jehovah. It was Sichem
which proclaimed Abimelech king, after he had
murdered his seventy brethren; it had also been
the first to revolt from him, in consequence of
which it was destroyed and sowed with salt.[116]
.bn 208.png
.pn +1
At Sichem the schism between Israel and Judah
was consummated, and Jeroboam made it the
metropolis of the new kingdom.[117] After the
erection of the temple on Gerizim, which Hyrcanus
had destroyed, Sichem had been for
three hundred years the chief seat of the Samaritan
idolatry.
.fm rend=t
.fn 113
Gen. xxxv. 4.
.fn-
.fn 114
Gen. xxxiv.
.fn-
.fn 115
Josh. xxiv. 1.
.fn-
.fn 116
Judges ix.
.fn-
.fn 117
1 King xii. 25.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
Helon dismissed his guides as soon as they
had pointed out to him the particular spots, and
every morning wandered alone for several hours
over the neighbourhood. Now he lingered
beside the well of Jacob, or traversed the field
of the patriarch, or rested in the grove of
Moreh; now, from the lofty side of Ebal or ,
beheld the whole landscape spread at his
feet. His hours flowed on without his being
conscious of their lapse, while, in the dreams of
thought, he pictured to himself his approaching
happiness, not without a secret feeling of pride
in his virtuous resolution, in having quitted
Sulamith for a time, in compliance with her
father’s command. He returned unwillingly
.bn 209.png
.pn +1
towards evening, to take his place among the
guests at the luxurious table of the governor,
and hear their heartless jests.
Once however, during his rambles, he found
the governor’s protection of great importance
to him. He had joined some who had
laid themselves down in the shade of some olives
on the sloping side of Gerizim, and were conversing
about their temple and their worship,
the rites of which were still celebrated amidst its
ruins. They reviled Hyrcanus and his sons, and
exalted the memory of Sanballat and Manasseh.
This was more than Helon could endure. He
started up and exclaimed, “Where is your
temple? When Moses commanded that on
the entrance of the tribes into the promised
land, one half should stand on Ebal to curse
the ungodly, and the other half on Gerizim to
bless the godly, (as was done under Joshua,)
he said, ‘When ye go over the Jordan ye
shall raise up stones upon mount Ebal, and
plaster them with lime, and there build an altar
of stones to Jehovah your God.’[118] And ye,
.bn 210.png
.pn +1
contrary to the express command of God, have
built a temple upon Gerizim!”
.fm rend=t
.fn 118
Deut. xxvii. 4; Josh. viii. 30.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
The Samaritans arose, and in violent anger
exclaimed, “Thou art a Jew, one of those who
through hatred against us have corrupted the
law, have effaced the name of Gerizim and inserted
that of Ebal.”
“It is false,” said Helon.
“We alone possess the genuine law,” exclaimed
the Samaritans. “And ye have the
curse,” replied Helon with equal emotion.
The dialogue was growing so warm, that
Helon might probably have suffered some personal
violence from them, had not the officers
of justice made their appearance, who carried
them all before the governor. He speedily
decided the matter, dismissed the Samaritans
with scorn—giving Helon at the same time
many sarcastic admonitions, to controul his
zeal and enthusiasm more carefully in future.
At the evening’s banquet he had again to endure
his raillery; and when he was alone he could
not help exclaiming, “Sichar' 204.23>, for it is in truth the
place of drunkenness and lies!”
.bn 211.png
.pn +1
On the following morning he took his departure.
The governor politely gave him an
escort as far as Samaria; fearing, as he said,
that he should expose himself to the same
dangers as on mount Gerizim: Helon accepted
the offer, but shook off the dust of Sichem
from his feet when he had quitted it.
Samaria was in the former territory of the
tribe of Manasseh. Omri, the sixth king of
Israel, and father of Ahab, built it, and called
it after Samer, the possessor of the ground.[119]
Thirza, which had before been the royal residence,
having been reduced to ashes, Samaria
became the capital of the kingdom of Israel,
and remained so till its destruction. At that
time it was a league in circumference, was
called the head of Ephraim, and contained a
magnificent temple of Baal which Jezebel had
erected.[120] It slighted the warnings of Elijah and
Elisha, and was destroyed by the Assyrian
Salmanasser, after a siege of three years.[121]
.fm rend=t
.fn 119
1 Kings xvi. 24.
.fn-
.fn 120
1 Kings xvi. 32.
.fn-
.fn 121
2 Kings xvii. 5.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
.bn 212.png
.pn +1
At this time it was a picture of desolation.
The lofty hill on which it once stood, with a
view towards Joppa, Carmel, and the Mediterranean
sea, was covered with heaps of ruins
and water-courses diverted from their channels.
Its commanding prospect only made it a more
conspicuous monument of the valour and the
vengeance of the heroes of Judah and of the
wickedness of its inhabitants. A second time
the prophetic word of Hosea and Micah had
received its accomplishment.[122] Helon looked
down at once with exultation and gratitude to
God upon the scattered huts in which the children
of were hiding themselves, while
the sons of Jerusalem were praising Jehovah
in their houses and their palaces.
.fm rend=t
.fn 122
Hos. viii. ix. x.; Micah i. 6.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
He dismissed the escort of the governor and
pursued his way to Thirza, the limits of this
day’s journey. He had purposed to reach
Megiddo, but his progress was arrested by a
spectacle equally new and interesting; , who were making their
.bn 213.png
.pn +1
annual migration from the plain of Sharon to
mount Hermon. They had been detained later
than usual, for they commonly remove early in
the spring. The flocks and herds led the way,
behind them came camels laden with their tents,
baggage, and poultry, and the young of the
flocks, which as yet were too weak to accompany
the march. The women and children followed,
mounted on other camels; some of the females
were spinning as they rode, others grinding in
their hand-mills, others tending their infant
children. The boys ran by the side of the
camels, playing or fighting. Lances, from eight
to ten feet in length, were every where seen
above the heads of this tumultuous train; and
on all sides were heard the hoarse voices of the
men who carried them, some of whom were
endeavouring to maintain order, and others
surrounded and protected the line of march.
When they reached their ordinary place of
encampment, a new scene began; the sheep
and goats laid themselves in the grass, the
camels knelt down, the poultry flew from their
backs. In two hours the dark brown tents
.bn 214.png
.pn +1
were erected. Helon made Sallu assist them,
while he himself looked on and enjoyed the
animated confusion of the scene. With upright
and cross poles a large tent of an oblong
form was erected. The coverings were of a
thick brown stuff made of goats’ hair, and the
door of the tent was nothing but a curtain of
this cloth, which could be lifted up or drawn
aside. In the middle was the tent of the chief of
this nomadic tribe; the rest were pitched around
it, to the distance of thirty paces. Every one of
the larger tents was divided into three parts by
curtains; in the outermost were the young
and tender cattle which required shelter, in
the next the men, and in the innermost the
women. The mattresses, pillows, and coverlets
for sleeping were laid in one corner; the
weapons were hung on the sides of the tent;
carpets were spread upon the floor, a hole
dug in the middle for the fire, and the few and
simple articles of household furniture, wooden
dishes, vessels of copper, a hand-mill, and bottles
of leather, easily found their appropriate place.
Helon beheld, with admiration, the rapid
.bn 215.png
.pn +1
erection of this moveable town. The number
of the tents was about thirty, that of the men
and women above two hundred, and the cattle
amounted to some thousands. Always reminded
of the past by the present, he thought
he saw the Rechabites, or Israel journeying in
the wilderness, or the pastoral wanderings of
Abraham and Jacob. “How much more
agreeable to nature, how much more favourable
to virtue,” thought he, “is this life of simplicity
and freedom, than the constraint and
luxury of the governor’s palace!” He laid
himself down beside the well, and thought
“what would be wanting to the happiness or
to the purity of life, if here, with Sulamith, I
could spend my days, far from the cares and
the temptations of the busy world!”
The chief of the tribe received him and
Sallu hospitably, with their horses and camels,
and killed a calf for their entertainment, which
the women prepared by roasting in small square
pieces. Milk, butter, and cheese formed the
rest of their repast. At the first dawn of
morning the whole encampment was in motion,
.bn 216.png
.pn +1
to milk the cattle and lead them out to their
pasture. Helon often cast his eyes towards
the spot where a few scattered cottages marked
the place on which the ruins of Thirza stood.
Though the city had disappeared, the loveliness
of the site still showed why Thirza had been to
the Hebrews an emblem for beauty.[123] Baasha
governed Israel from this hill, and Zimri the
murderer of his son, after seven days’ enjoyment
of the fruits of his crime, consumed himself
along with the royal palace.[124] “These,” said
Helon, “are all passed away; the capital and
the kingdom are alike become a tradition; yet
the tribes of migrating shepherds still pursue the
track which their forefathers kept in ages past!”
.fm rend=t
.fn 123
Cant. vi. 4.
.fn-
.fn 124
1 Kings, xv. xvi.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
About noon a small caravan of merchants
arrived, which usually followed the shepherds:
they pitched their white tents, and spread their
wares out around them. The shepherds came
and purchased what they wanted, giving in
exchange skins, wool, goats’ hair, cheese, and
even cattle. Helon purchased some ornaments,
.bn 217.png
.pn +1
which he designed to be a present to his hospitable
entertainer. He remained some days
among them, delighted beyond measure with
their mode of life, and entering with the liveliest
interest into all their occupations. He
helped the shepherds to water their flocks from
the well, played with the children, and related
stories in the evening, when they gathered with
their camels around the fire.
Only a few days now remained to the time
when he was to meet Myron at Dan. After
taking a friendly leave, he directed his course
to , which lies between the fragrant
plain of Sharon on the south, and the great
plain of Jezreel on the north. Megiddo is
celebrated for the battle in which the kings
Ahaziah and Josiah were killed fighting against
Neco, king of Egypt.[125] Helon had come hither
to see of the Ph[oe]nician commerce,
which pursued a course parallel to the
sea. He passed , a small and
now almost abandoned town, but possessed, as
.bn 218.png
.pn +1
he remarked, of an incomparable harbour.
Here he was a hundred stadia from Jerusalem.
Keeping to the north from Turris Stratonis,
he came to Dor, which is also on the sea-coast,
and thence by Magdiel to the foot of
Carmel.
.fm rend=t
.fn 125
2 Kings, xxiii. 29.
.fn-
.fm rend-t
Carmel joins the plain of Sharon to the south,
and the hills of Ephraim to the south-east; and
on the north the bay of Acco and the plain of
Jezreel or Esdraelon, through which the Kishon
runs, rising in mount Tabor, and falling into
the sea at the foot of Carmel, after having
divided the lands of Issachar and Zebulon.
Helon ascended the mountain; it is of great
height, and has a wide and beautiful prospect
both by land and sea. It is distinguished, as
its name expresses, by its fertility. Its very
summit is crowned with pines and oaks; its
lower regions abound with olives and laurels.
Helon, as he stood on it, thought with sacred
awe of the victory which the worship of Jehovah
had gained over that of Baal, through
the energetic zeal of Elijah of Thisba, and of
the slaughter of the priests of Baal, which
.bn 219.png
.pn +1
made Kishon run purple to the sea.[126] As he
descended, he found a multitude of Ph[oe]nician
fishermen engaged in taking the shell-fish from
which their is made. There
are two species of this fish; one is caught by
bait, the other, which is particularly abundant
on the shore of Carmel, is gathered from the
rocks. The die is contained in a white vein
or bladder in the neck; the Ph[oe]nicians made
from it fourteen shades of purple, of which
the most highly prized, the bright red and the
violet, were manufactured with inimitable skill
at Tyre. A shepherd’s dog which had fed upon
the fish, and had thus stained his mouth of a
beautiful colour, is said to have furnished the
first hint for this lucrative article of commerce.
.fm rend=t
.fn 126
1 Kings, xviii.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
Helon did not proceed from Carmel to ,[127]
a Ph[oe]nician city on the river Belus, for he had
resolved to enter no heathen place on this
journey, devoted to exploring the regions of
the promised land. Leaving Carmel to the
south, a high hill to the north, which bears the
.bn 220.png
.pn +1
name of the Tyrian Climax, (or stair) and the
hills of Galilee on the east, he entered the
plain of Zebulon. But he often turned to look
on the kingly head of Carmel, and to admire
the structure of the hills which form the Tyrian
Climax, descending, as by a flight of steps,
from their highest elevation to the level of the
sea. The city of Tyre lay behind these hills.
.fm rend=t
.fn 127
Judges, i. 31.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
Quitting Samaria, and entering Galilee, the
plain of Zebulon brought him to Gathhepher,
the birthplace of the prophet Jonah; and
thence he proceeded through the land of Naphthali
to Thisba, where in ancient times the
prophet Elijah, and more recently the pious
Tobit,[128] had been born. But neither beautiful
scenery nor the gratification of beholding the
places where eminent men had lived, could
efface from Helon’s mind the painful feeling
that every step which he took carried him
further from Jericho. His pride in the consciousness
of fulfilling a duty became less and
less able to support him; he thought that he
.bn 221.png
.pn +1
had carried his obedience a point too far, and
was angry with Selumiel, with Elisama,—with
himself. He was therefore rejoiced when he
saw in the distance Antilibanus, the southern
branch of a chain of mountains, of which the
other branch lay in Ph[oe]nicia. This was consequently
the boundary of the promised land.
Its name, , was derived from the
whiteness of its rocks and peaks, especially
from the perennial snow[129] which covered the
head of Hermon, its highest summit. The
morning sun was shining on its brilliant peak,
as Helon crossed the lesser Jordan, and entered
, the frontier town of Judæa on the north.
He inquired his way to the caravansera, and had
just halted before it with his horses and camels
when Myron came out and embraced him.
.fm rend=t
.fn 128
Tobit, i. 2.
.fn-
.fn 129
Jer. xviii. 14.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
Helon joyfully returned his salutation. “And
you will be ready,” said he, “to-morrow, to set
off for Jericho?”
Myron burst into a laugh. “It is true, I see,
what the Galilean said, on his return, of the
.bn 222.png
.pn +1
good fortune which has befallen you there.
My own good star has brought me to be the
witness of your nuptials. Receive my hearty
congratulations. How does my venerable
Elisama? But our first care must be to give
your beasts rest and shelter.”
The Grecian levity of Myron’s manner was
a relief to Helon. They entered the court of
the caravansera; in the middle of it was a
large cistern of water, from which the horses
and camels drank; the baggage was deposited
in rooms behind the portico, and fodder for the
beasts, with a scanty supply for themselves,
was to be purchased of the attendant in the
caravansera. When these things were done,
Myron and Helon seated themselves in a corner
of the portico, where they should be most free
from interruption, and Helon related to his
friend his adventures since they separated.
When his narrative was ended, Myron said,
“After you left the caravan at Gaza, I had
a melancholy life in the midst of my merchants,
none of whom had a single thought in
common with me. My freedom of speech was
.bn 223.png
.pn +1
perpetually involving me in disputes, out of
which I sometimes found it difficult to extricate
myself. I remember particularly at Joppa”—
Helon interrupted him to say, that he had
heard of the offence which he had given to a
citizen of that place, and expressed his regret
at Myron’s want of caution.
“There is no malice,” said Myron, “in my
pleasantries; and for the rest be assured, that
not one Greek in a hundred really feels such
veneration for your religion and your people When I had seen the singular Tyrian
Climax, I had a great curiosity to visit Tyre
and Sidon. They were the parents of Carthage,
Thebes, Gades in Spain, and many other powerful
colonies. Arithmetic, astronomy, geography,
navigation, were either invented by them, or
at least taught by them to the Greeks. It was
Hiram, king of Tyre, as you have told me, who
built the eighth wonder of the world, the
temple of your king Solomon, at Jerusalem.
Even the great invention of alphabetical writing
was probably made by them; that of the
purple die is not disputed. There is something
.bn 224.png
.pn +1
too in the situation of , in the midst
of the sea, obliged to supply by her own activity
and ingenuity what a narrow and rocky
country denied, which made me very desirous
of seeing by what institutions she had been able
to contend so successfully against natural disadvantages.
I found manufactures of glass and
purple in full activity, docks crowded with ships,
and markets full of silk, wool, cotton, ivory,
ebony, and cedar, of all the precious and the
useful metals, of wine and oil, of horses, dromedaries,
and slaves: but the character of the
inhabitants pleased me not; their sagacity is
cunning; their polish, the want of force and individuality
of character; their pride, the ignoble
pride of wealth. I did homage in my own mind to
the wisdom of your lawgiver, who chose to form a
nation of agriculturists, rather than of merchants.
“How exactly,” said Helon, “does your
account of the new Tyre agree with that which
our prophet gives of the old. Shall I repeat
you a part of it?”
“I shall listen to it most willingly,” said
Myron. “Since our separation I have wished
.bn 225.png
.pn +1
to hear more of your psalms and prophets, though
when we were together I was disposed to complain
of excess rather than deficiency.”
“Hear, then,” said Helon, “what Ezekiel
spoke:
.pm start_poem
The word of Jehovah came to me saying,
“Son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyre,
And say of Tyre;
O city! that art at the entrance of the sea,
Merchant of the nations in many islands,
Thus saith the Lord Jehovah:
Thou, O Tyre, sayest, I am mightiest (of cities)
Thy borders are in the sea;
Thy builders have made thee perfect in beauty,
They have made all thy planks of firs of Shenir,
They have fetched cedars from Lebanon to make thee masts,
They made thine oars of oak of Bashan;
Thy benches, inlaid with ivory,
They made with box from the islands of Chittim.
Embroidered byssus from Egypt thou didst spread forth,
It served thee for a sail;
Thy coverings (canopies) were blue and purple,
From the isles of Elisha.
Sidonians and men of Arvad were thy rowers;
The most skilful, O Tyre, were from thyself;
They were thy pilots;
The oldest and most skilful men of Gebal were thy ship-wrights.
All the ships on the sea and their mariners
Came to thee to purchase thy merchandise.
.bn 226.png
.pn +1
Persians, Lydians, and Lybians served as warriors in thine armies,
They hung up their helmets and shields in thee;
They upheld thy splendour.
The men of Arvad with thine own warriors were upon thy walls,
The Gammadæans in thy towers.
They had hung their shields around on thy walls,
They made thy splendour complete.
Tarshish dealt with thee
Through the abundance of thy merchandise of every kind:
They brought silver, iron, tin, and lead for thy traffic.
Grecians, Tibarenians, and Moschians dealt with thee,
They brought men and vessels of copper to thy markets;
From Togarmah they brought for thy traffic
Horses of various breeds and mules.
The men of Dedan trafficked with thee,
(For many isles offered thee the hand for traffic)
They brought ivory and ebony-wood
In exchange for thy commodities.
Idumea dealt with thee
Through the multitude of thy fabrics;
They brought rubies, purple, and embroidery,
Corals, and crystal for thy traffic.
Israel and Judah dealt with thee
They brought wheat from Minnith and Pennag;
Honey, oil, and balsam to thy mart.
Damascus dealt with thee
Through the multitude of thy fabrics,
Through the abundance of thy riches;
(They brought) wine of Chalybon and white wool.
Vedan and Javan brought from Usul
Polished steel for thy traffic;
.bn 227.png
.pn +1
Cassia and cinnamon were in thy mart.
Dedan dealt with thee
With coverings of horses and chariots.
Arabia and the princes of Kedar dealt with thee
With lambs, and rams, and goats.
The merchants of Sheba and Rama dealt with thee;
They brought for thy traffic
The best of spices, precious stones, and gold.
Haran and Cane, and Eden, and the merchants of Sheba,
Assyrians and Chilmedians dealt with thee;
They dealt with thee in costly clothes,
In blue and embroidered mantles,
With store of clothes
Which, bound up with cords,
They brought to thy mart.
But the ships of Tarshish were chief in thy mart,
(By them) thou wast filled with treasures and renowned in the midst of the seas.”—Ezek. xxvii.
.pm end_poem
“A splendid, but not an exaggerated picture,”
said Myron, “of the commerce of Tyre. Yet
with all its luxury and splendour it was so
little to my taste, that I left it and went to
. But how, Helon, shall I describe
to thee this eye of the east, this terrestrial
Elysium? Imagine a lovely plain, fruitful,
well watered, full of trees and meadows, bordered
on both sides by hills, but at a considerable
distance; by Antilibanus on the one hand,
.bn 228.png
.pn +1
and the Arabian chain on the other. From
Antilibanus descends a stream which is called
Chrysorrhoas; on entering the plain it divides
into three branches, of which the principal flows
straight towards Damascus, and separating its
amber waters into a multitude of little streams,
refreshes every street of the city. Reuniting
below the city with the other two branches,
they all form a lake of great extent on the
eastern verge of the plain. In the red soil of
which this plain is composed, every variety of
fruit-tree grows in greater perfection than elsewhere.
The city itself is one of the oldest in
the world. I had passed my time there most
happily, and nothing would have drawn me from
it so soon but your friendly invitation. I have
been waiting here for you since yesterday.”
On the following morning early they left
the caravansera, and turning from Hermon’s
snowy peak, they passed between the hills of
Antilibanus, of which Hermon is only a part,
and bending eastward, came first to Paneas.
It lies at the foot of a hill, which also belongs
to Antilibanus; and the Jordan flows from
.bn 229.png
.pn +1
caverns in the rock. They were wondering at
its copiousness, so near its apparent source,
when an inhabitant of Paneas approaching, said,
“Strangers, this is not the real head of the
Jordan. It has already flowed sixteen sabbath-days’
journies under the earth. At that distance,
to the east of Paneas, is a little lake,
called from its form , which is constantly
receiving the influx of streams, yet, without any
visible outlet, never overflows. The reason is,
that its waters by a subterraneous channel pass
to the hill of Paneas, and break forth there as
the Jordan, which from this cause appears of
such magnitude at its source.” They asked
him how the existence of this subterraneous
channel was known, and he told them that
things which had been thrown into the lake of
Phiala had reappeared in the Jordan.
From Paneas they followed the course of the
Jordan to the lake Merom,[130] called also .
Before it reaches this lake it receives
the lesser Jordan, which rises near Dan; and the
.bn 230.png
.pn +1
Daphne, whose source is not far from the place
where it issues from the rock. The lake Merom
is ten sabbath-days’ journies long, and five
broad, and full of sedge and oozy water. In
summer it is so much dried up, that only the
bright line of the Jordan’s current is visible;
and lions, tigers, bears, and other wild animals,
harbour in the reeds and bushes with which the
rest is overgrown; till, when the snow of Lebanon
begins to melt, the Jordan overflows, and
fills up the whole basin of the lake.[131] It was
now full. Not being able, owing to the inundation,
to take the nearest way to the lake of
Genezareth, they struck into the desert, thinking
thus to reach Bethsaida, which was at the
distance of sixteen sabbath-days’ journies.
.fm rend=t
.fn 130
Josh. xi. 5.
.fn-
.fn 131
Jer. xlix. 19; Eccles. xxiv. 26; Josh. iii. 15.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
They had ridden a long time in this desert,
under the burning rays of the sun, and at last
discovered that they had missed their way.
Perceiving some living figures in the distance,
which they took for shepherds, they made towards
them in the hope of obtaining information.
.bn 231.png
.pn +1
As they came nearer to them the men warned
them by gestures to keep at a distance, with
hoarse and broken voices, and melancholy looks,
uttering the words, Unclean, unclean![132] “They
are ,” said Helon, with a look of horror,
and turning his horse’s head fled with precipitation,
followed by the others.
.fm rend=t
.fn 132
Lev. xiii. 45.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
The huts in which these unhappy victims of
a loathsome disease dwelt were hard by in the
desert. As our travellers were hastening from
the scene, they met the relations of the lepers,
who dwelt in Bethsaida, and who were bringing
them the food by which their miserable existence
was to be protracted. The lepers set
down their vessels and retired out of sight; the
others then came, placed provisions in them
with the greatest caution, and carefully avoiding
to touch them; and then hastened away, as
from the region of death. Father and mother,
brother and sister, children and wife, all forsake
the miserable leper; scarcely will one of
those who are clean venture to bid him peace
.bn 232.png
.pn +1
from afar; and when the provision is no longer
fetched away, they rejoice that his sufferings
are terminated.
These men had been attacked by the elephantiasis,
the most virulent of all the kinds of
leprosy. It is gradual in its approaches, a scaly
scurf overspreading the body; the nervous
system loses its sensibility, the touch grows
duller and duller, till it is lost altogether. Little
pain is felt by the afflicted person, but dejection
and despondency take possession of his
mind. The breath becomes corrupt, swellings of
the size of a nut are formed, and ulcers cover the
body. The nails fall from the fingers and the
toes; in some cases these parts themselves drop
off; the hair turns grey and falls; all the joints
become stiff; and yet, while the unhappy person
becomes a burthen to himself and loathsome to
all around him, he eats and drinks as usual.
This terrible disease is not only in the highest
degree contagious, but also hereditary, sometimes
continuing in a family to the fourth generation.
No wonder that it should be regarded as a
judgment of God for some enormous crime.
.bn 233.png
.pn +1
Helon and his companions continued their
hasty flight, till they reached the Jordan, which
soon conducted them to , which
stood at the place where it falls into the lake of
Genezareth. Bethsaida is almost wholly inhabited
by fishermen, whom they found busily
employed with the angle and the net. They
called some of them, and were conveyed in one
of their boats across the lake to The
, called also the lake of
Chinnereth,[133] and the lake of Galilee, is twenty
sabbath-days’ journies long, and six broad. Its
waters abound with fish, and are so clear that
the stones at the bottom can be seen. Aromatic
bulrushes and reeds grow along the
shores. The form of the lake is nearly oval,
and it lies in a deep vale, which on the east
and west is closed in by high mountains, on
the north and south expands into a plain.
As Helon and Myron sailed on its transparent
waters, they saw first of all, on its western side,
, which, as its name implies, was
.bn 234.png
.pn +1
delightfully situated, between the lake and the
hills, lower down to the east Chorazin, and a
multitude of smaller places. The celebrated
region of Decapolis lay on the eastern side,
beyond the hills.
.fm rend=t
.fn 133
Josh. xiii. 27; Numb. xxxiv. 11.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
Arrived at Magdala, they quitted their boat,
and traced the shore as far as where the Jordan
issues from the lake, crossed the river, and
being joined by the slaves with the horses and
camels, took the road to , which lies at
the end of the plain of Jezreel, over against
Carmel. Notwithstanding Helon’s impatience,
he could not pass so celebrated a mountain
without a nearer examination, and Myron
willingly came into his plans.
This lofty hill rises out of the middle of the
plain, wholly unconnected with any other. Its
base is composed of an ash-coloured stone, and
as the upper part is covered with trees, it has
the appearance of a tall pillar with a verdant
capital. The ascent to the summit is nearly
five sabbath-days’ journies, and on the top is a
plain of about four in circumference. Wild
animals and birds abound on it; and Hosea
.bn 235.png
.pn +1
alludes to the fowling which was carried on
here to a great extent.[134] Barak assembled an
army of 100,000 men on Tabor from Zebulon
and Naphthali, before he engaged with Sisera;[135]
and indeed a fitter position for a camp can
scarcely be imagined. Helon and Myron were
astonished at the extent of the view. The
snowy peak of Hermon and the dark exhalations
of the Dead Sea can both be discerned
from it. “And there,” exclaimed Helon,
transported with delight, “are the towers of
Jericho!” The sea of Galilee, the Jordan and
the Peræa, spread themselves on the east; on
the west the prospect reached to the Mediterranean
and to Carmel; near which the Kishon,
which rises in Tabor, falls into the sea; a
small branch of it discharges itself into the
lake of Galilee. Near Tabor, to the north-west,
was , situated on the slope of a
hill and extending into a little valley, shut in
on every side. To the south lay Endor, famed
in the history of Saul; and near to each other
.bn 236.png
.pn +1
Shunam,[136] the scene of Elisha’s miracle, and
Jezreel, fifteen sabbath-days’ journies from
Samaria, on which was the vineyard of Naboth.[137]
From this place the whole plain derives the
name of Jezreel, or Esdraelon. Further in the
distance, a dark shade lowered on the hills of
Gilboa. Helon called to mind the lamentation
of David for Jonathan and Saul, who had
been slain in battle here against the Philistines;
and he repeated it to Myron, assuring him that
he had never heard a more pathetic elegy.
.fm rend=t
.fn 134
Hos. v. 1.
.fn-
.fn 135
Judg. iv. 12.
.fn-
.fn 136
2 Kings iv.
.fn-
.fn 137
1 Kings xxi.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
.pm start_poem
And David spoke this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son:
“Is the pride of Israel fallen on thy high places?
So are the mighty fallen.
O tell it not in Gath,
Publish it not in the streets of Askelon,
Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,
Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph!
Ye mountains of Gilboa,
No dew, no rain be on your field of slaughter!
For there has the shield of the mighty been thrown away,
The shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil.
From the blood of the slain, from the marrow of the mighty,
.bn 237.png
.pn +1
The bow of Jonathan turned not back,
The sword of Saul returned not empty.
Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives,
And in their death they were not divided.
They were swifter than eagles,
They were stronger than lions.
Ye daughters of Israel, weep for Saul!
He clothes you no more in purple,
Nor puts ornaments of gold on your apparel.
How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle!
O! Jonathan, thou wast slain on thine high places;
I am distressed for thee my brother Jonathan;
Very dear wast thou to me:
Thy love to me was wonderful, surpassing the love of women.
How are the mighty fallen!
How are the weapons of war cast away!”
.pm end_poem
Myron did justice to this pathetic elegy; and
they descended Tabor together.
Their journey was now directed to Bethshan
or , the place at which the Galilean
pilgrims were wont to cross the Jordan, in
order to avoid the Samaritans, by keeping on
the other side as low down as Bethabara, where
they crossed it again. The line from Dor on
the Mediterranean to Bethshan formed the
boundary between Samaria and Galilee. Galilee
contained two hundred larger and smaller
.bn 238.png
.pn +1
towns, some of the latter having as many as
15,000 inhabitants. Agriculture, fishing, and
pasturage, the culture of the vine and the olive,
all were carried on with success in this country,
which is diversified with hills and plains, both
of them abounding in water. The inhabitants
were characterised by their love of freedom,
though both their language and their manners
were corrupted by their great intercourse with
foreign nations.
They quitted Galilee at Bethshan, and crossing
the Jordan pursued their journey along
the numerous windings of the stream, which
from Bethsaida to the Dead Sea has a course
of seventy-two sabbath-days’ journies. Succoth,[138]
where Jacob built huts, near Mahanaim,[139]
a town on the Jabbok, (so named by
him from the vision which was granted to him
there) Debir[140] and Bethabara, were hastily
passed. At length the Jordan opened into
the plain of Jericho; they passed through the
city gate and soon reached the hospitable
.bn 239.png
.pn +1
mansion of Selumiel. ,[141] opened to receive them; Myron
was astonished at the splendour of the house;
while Helon thought only that this was his
happy home.
.fm rend=t
.fn 138
Gen. xxxiii. 17.
.fn-
.fn 139
Gen. xxxii. 2.
.fn-
.fn 140
Josh. xiii. 26.
.fn-
.fn 141
Deut. xi. 20.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
.bn 240.png
.pn +1
.sp 4
.h3
CHAPTER II. | THE NUPTIALS.
.sp 2
Helon found no one in the front court, and
hastily entered the inner court, followed by
Myron. The slave came to tell them, that
there was no one in the house.
“Where are they, then?”
“In Helon’s house,” said the slave with a
smile; and informed him that Selumiel, Elisama,
Iddo, the wife of Selumiel, Sulamith, and
Abisuab with his wife, had gone out a few
hours before, in order to receive him in the
newly-purchased house. They had justly calculated
that he would return this evening.
Helon heard this intelligence with joyful surprise,
and easily divined the fact, that out of
his affection for Sulamith, who wished not to
be separated from her parents, Elisama had
.bn 241.png
.pn +1
purchased a house for him in Jericho; and if
not in Jerusalem, where could he be better
pleased to dwell than in the City of Palms?
The splendid mansion was to be a nuptial present
to his beloved nephew. It is true that the
property must return to its owner in the year
of Jubilee, and the contract for it was therefore
rather a lease than a purchase; but a considerable
price had nevertheless been set upon it, which
Elisama’s wealth enabled him easily to pay.
The slave showed them the way to the house
which stood near the opposite gate, so that they
had to traverse the whole length of the city.
A slave had been waiting for some hours before
the gate, and upon a signal given by him to
those within, all the males of the company were
in waiting to bid him welcome.
“See,” said Selumiel, “the rewards of self-denial!”
“Welcome, my brother, and henceforth fellow-citizen
of Jericho,” said Abisuab.
Helon, with moistened eyes, threw himself
into the arms of Elisama. All stood around,
pouring out congratulations and blessings.
.bn 242.png
.pn +1
“What more do we want,” said Elisama,
“but that thy mother from Alexandria were
here?”
Helon looked around with inquiring eye.
Selumiel took him by the hand, and led him
through to the richly furnished inner court.
Her mother and sister-in-law came with Sulamith
from the Armon. After their greetings
had been exchanged, Helon, at the command of
Elisama, as now the master of the house, re-conducted
them to their apartments. Bewildered
with joy, he could scarcely speak. After
a short interval they all returned to the house
of Selumiel, to the evening meal, and at night
Elisama, Helon, and the Greek, returned to the
house of Helon, where they thenceforth resided.
Myron was in astonishment at all he
saw, and began to form a very different idea of
Israel from that which he had entertained before.
On the following morning Helon arose early,
and traversed the house which was to be the
scene of his future happiness and duties. No
other feeling in life resembles that with which
the youth, on the point of emerging into manhood,
.bn 243.png
.pn +1
wanders in solemn musing through the
house in which he is to sustain the duties of
husband and father. As he explored its courts,
its porticoes, and chambers, by turns, he admired
the commodious arrangement and tasteful
architecture, and the costly furniture, or
blessed the generous Elisama; or raised his
thoughts in pious gratitude to Jehovah, and
implored the continuance of his mercies. He
ascended the roof, and looked westward towards
the hills of Judah, and eastward to Nebo and
Abarim. Entering the Alijah, he consecrated it
as the future scene of his devotions by prayer
to Jehovah. As he arose from his knees, turning
involuntarily towards Jerusalem, he broke
out in the words of the psalm:
.pm start_poem
Unless Jehovah build the house,
They labour in vain that raise it;
Unless Jehovah guard the city,
The watchman waketh but in vain.
In vain ye rise early and sit up late,
And eat the bread of care;
.
Lo! children are a heritage from Jehovah,
The fruit of the womb is his reward.
As arrows in the hand of a mighty man,
.bn 244.png
.pn +1
So are the children of youth:
Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them!
They shall not be ashamed
When they speak with their enemies in the gate.—Psal. cxxvii.
.pm end_poem
As he turned round, Elisama was behind him
at the door, and was wiping the tears from his
eyes. “May Jehovah bless thee,” said he.
“His counsel is wonderful, and he will bring
it to pass.”
“God grant me,” said Helon, “that I may
keep his law with a perfect mind.”
“May he give thee what thy psalm says,”
replied Elisama. “Now that thou art a priest
and a husband in the promised land, I doubt no
longer. Marriage is a divine ordinance, and
the divine blessing rests upon it. This I myself
experienced, alas, for too short a time!
God said, It is not good that man should be
alone; I will make him a helpmate to be with
him.[142] And the Preacher says, There is one
alone, and not a second; yea, he hath neither
child nor brother, yet is there no end of all his
.bn 245.png
.pn +1
labour, nor is his eye satisfied with riches. For
whom do I labour (he should ask himself) and
bereave my soul of good? This also is vanity
and a fruitless travail.”[143] Elisama sighed and
proceeded, “Two are better than one: they
have a good reward for their labour: for if they
fall the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to
him that is alone! for when he falleth he hath
not another to lift him up. Helon, I had
once a wife and a child—and I was happy.
What have I done that such bliss—? but I will
say no more. The children of my brother are
my children; thou art my son; and I rejoice
in thy happiness as my own. The marriage
state is a service of Jehovah, and one of the
most effectual means of the fulfilment of his
law. By this image he has denoted the relation
between himself and the people of his covenant.
But let me hear thine own lips describe
the blessing that awaits thee. Rehearse to me
the conclusion of the book of Proverbs; and
bethink thee what is implied in this, that the
.bn 246.png
.pn +1
great master of wisdom could devise no better
termination of his precepts, than the praises of
a virtuous
.fm rend=t
.fn 142
Gen. x. 18.
.fn-
.fn 143
Eccles. iv. 8.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
Helon began:
.pm start_poem
Who can find a virtuous woman?
Her price is above rubies,
The heart of her husband trusts safely in her,
And he shall have no want of spoil.
She will do him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
She seeketh wool and flax,
She worketh willingly with her hands;
She is like the merchants’ ships,
She bringeth her food from afar;
She riseth while it is yet night,
And giveth meat to her household and tasks to her maidens.
She considereth a field and buyeth it,
With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard;
She girdeth her loins with strength,
And strengtheneth her arms;
She enjoyeth the fruit of her labour,
Her lamp goeth not out by night;
She stretcheth forth her hand to the distaff,
Her fingers hold the spindle.
She openeth her hand to the poor,
Yea, she stretcheth forth her hands to the needy.
She feareth not the snow for her household,
For all her household are doubly clad:
She maketh herself coverings,
She is clad in fine linen and in purple.
.bn 247.png
.pn +1
Her husband is honoured in the gates,
When he sitteth among the elders of the land.
She maketh costly garments and selleth them,
She delivereth girdles to the merchant,
Strength and honour are her clothing;
She feareth not for the future;
She openeth her mouth with wisdom,
On her tongue are precepts of kindness.
She looketh well to her household,
And eateth not the bread of idleness.
Her children arise up and call her blessed,
Her husband and he praiseth her (saying)
“Many daughters have done virtuously,
But thou excellest them all.
Comeliness is deceitful and beauty is vain,
But a woman that feareth Jehovah shall be praised.
Praise her for the fruit of her hands;
Let her works praise her in the gate.”
.pm end_poem
were
speedily made in both houses. The numerous
female companions of Sulamith assembled in
Selumiel’s Armon. The bride, who had just
completed her fourteenth year, was conducted
to a bath, at which, gratification for all the
senses was properly provided for her, and for
all her young companions. After bathing, she
was anointed with the choicest perfumes, and
her friends brought their gifts, consisting of
clothes and costly articles, most of them made
.bn 248.png
.pn +1
by themselves. Her hair was perfumed and
braided, her eyebrows deepened with a powder
of brilliant black, and her nails coloured red.
Next, the young maidens, her companions, arrayed
her in the nuptial robes, of the finest
texture and most brilliant colour, which flowed
with ample folds to her feet. The girdle was
clasped around her waist, the veil hung down
from her head, and high above all her other
ornaments rose a crown, from which the bride
was called the crowned.
The evening was come, and the stars twinkled
on the court, where all was prepared for festivity.
Now appeared Helon, anointed and
crowned in a similar manner, with the sons of
the bride-chamber. They were the young
priests and Levites of Jericho, who had been
invited for this purpose; and Myron was among
them. Each of them, to the number of seventy,
bore a staff in his hand, on which was fixed a
shallow vessel filled with burning oil and pitch.
The festal train was admitted into Selumiel’s
inner court; the bride and the virgins came
forth from the Armon, and the youths and
.bn 249.png
.pn +1
maidens, with aduffes and guitars, sung, in
alternate strophes, the praises of the bridegroom
and the bride.
Now began the ceremony of conducting the
bride to the bridegroom’s house. The seventy
youths, with their flambeaux, headed the
procession; the bride was surrounded by her
bridemaidens. Thus Sulamith left her father’s
house: arrived at the threshold, the feelings
which she had struggled to suppress, the mingled
emotions of hope and fear, of regret and
joy, overpowered her, and she burst into a
flood of tears. The mother too wept, pressed
her beloved daughter to her breast, and blessing
her said, “Be thou the mother of a numerous
posterity, like Rachel and like Leah!” Selumiel
supported his child in his strong paternal
arms, and said, “God, I thank thee that I have
lived to see my child happy!”
The sounds of joy were heard from the companions.
Sulamith was placed in a litter, and
her nurse beside her. All the females were
closely veiled; Sulamith in a veil of flame-colour.
The long train moved through the
.bn 250.png
.pn +1
streets of Jericho. A multitude of persons
preceded, carrying the clothes, trinkets, and
new furniture of the bride. As each carried
only one thing, the procession was very long.
Next came the friends of the bridegroom with
Helon; then the bride in her litter, accompanied
by the virgins. The rest of Helon’s friends,
male and female servants, and children, closed
the train. All the inhabitants of Jericho hastened
from their houses, or looked down from
their roofs.
Thus at length they reached the house of
Helon. The bride paused at the threshold of
the dwelling, in which so much happiness or
misery might await her, as if with a timid irresolution.
She adorned the door-posts with
woollen fillets, and anointed them with oil, and
at length the virgins suddenly lifted her over the
threshold, the boundary between her past and
her future life. The nuptial train entered the
courts, and the bride solemnly took possession
of the Armon, while the male part of the company
remained in the outer apartments, where
a splendid feast was served up to them. When
.bn 251.png
.pn +1
all had eaten and were satisfied, males and females
assembled in the inner court; the virgins
presented the bride, the youths the bridegroom,
to Selumiel. In evident agitation, he said,
“Blessed be thou, O Lord our God, who didst
create Adam and Eve! Blessed be thou, O
Lord our God, who causest Zion to rejoice in
her children! Blessed be thou, O Lord our
God, who makest the bride and the bridegroom
to be glad together!” Then taking the right
hand of his daughter, he placed it in the right
hand of Helon, and :
“The God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob be with you, and
help you together, and give his blessing richly
upon you! Jehovah make the wife that comes
into thy house like Rachel and like Leah, who
built up the house of Israel![144] May thy house
be as the house of Malchia, thy fathers’ father,
and your sons be priests to minister before
Jehovah in his temple!”
.fm rend=t
.fn 144
Ruth, iv. 11, 12.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
Selumiel, while he pronounced this blessing,
.bn 252.png
.pn +1
struggled with an emotion which he was unwilling
to betray; and Elisama stood near him,
giving freer vent to his feelings. The bride
sobbed beneath her veil, and Helon was melted
into tears.
Kindred and friends now approached the
married pair, and bestowed on them their congratulations.
The feast ended with the usual
ceremonies.
On the following morning the nuptial festivities
began afresh, and lasted for seven
days,[145] each distinguished by some new expression
of joy. Numerous presents were
brought to the newly married pair by the
guests; and others given to them in return.
The company exercised their ingenuity in riddles
and maschals; or a grave and learned
rabbi would discourse on the sanctity and duties
of the marriage state, and the honour and happiness
of those who might thus be appointed
to give birth to the Messiah.
.fm rend=t
.fn 145
Judges, xiv. 17, 18; Tob. xi. 19.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
This protracted festival was at times wearisome
.bn 253.png
.pn +1
to Sulamith and Helon, who longed to
begin their tranquil, solitary, and domestic life.
In the mean time, Helon was delighted to discover
every day some new perfection in Sulamith,
some new resemblance to the maidens
and mothers of Israel in times past. Her
domestic virtues assimilated her to Sara; her
poetical imagination to Miriam, the sister of
Moses; her disinterestedness and self-devotion
to the daughter of Jephthah; and her artless
piety to Hannah, the mother of Samuel.
.bn 254.png
.pn +1
.sp 4
.h3
CHAPTER III. | THE AVENGER OF BLOOD.
.sp 2
It was determined that the young married
pair should proceed with Myron, immediately
after the marriage, to Alexandria, to fetch Helon’s
aged mother from Egypt, in time to attend
the feast of Tabernacles. Elisama was to remain
in the mean time at Jericho, least, as he
observed, he should bring on her the imputation
of being a false prophetess. Alas! he
little knew what a melancholy accomplishment
her prediction was about to receive, and in his
own person. The departure was delayed—neither
Sulamith nor Helon was impatient for
it, and Myron was very willing to remain.
Helon found scarcely any thing left him to
wish. All his expectations of outward prosperity
.bn 255.png
.pn +1
were fulfilled, and he flattered himself
that he was as near the summit of spiritual
perfection as of earthly bliss. The deep veneration
which Sulamith expressed for his purpose
of becoming a Chasidean, regarding him
as already being all that he purposed to become,
inspired him by degrees with a high opinion of
his own righteousness. His present happiness
seemed to him a sign of the favour of Jehovah.
Accustomed to regard all calamity as a divine
judgment for sin, all prosperity as the reward
of virtue, he considered his present condition
as a mark of the distinguished approbation of
God. His conscience seemed to join the
league and promote his self-deception; his
tenderness for Sulamith, his readiness to make
little sacrifices of his wishes to hers, his gratitude
and affection towards her parents and his
own benefactor Elisama, were magnified by
him into a complete obedience to the divine
commands, into something more than mere
righteousness. As those are apt to do who
have experienced hitherto uninterrupted success,
he began to think that every thing which
.bn 256.png
.pn +1
he undertook must be successful—that his
mountain stood strong and should never be
moved. He never, alas, thought of inquiring
how much youth and good fortune, the sense
of pleasure and pride of heart, had to do in the
construction of this showy edifice of self-righteousness.
Myron, during the first days of his residence
at Jericho, found himself in circumstances so
different from what he had expected, that he
held it prudent to keep back as much as possible,
and become better acquainted with the
scene and its personages, before he trusted
himself to act upon it. Hence during the festivities
of the nuptials, he had been a quiet
and unobtrusive spectator, and had recommended
himself to the Jewish youths by the
easy flexibility of his manners. He had particularly
attached himself to Selumiel, after
the tumult of rejoicing had subsided, and those
who were left together had leisure to seek out
the persons who were most congenial to themselves.
If he ever offended Elisama, by some
expression savouring of heathenism, which
.bn 257.png
.pn +1
now and then seemed to drop from him involuntarily,
Selumiel took his part. He soon
discovered Selumiel’s partiality for the Essenes,
and completely won his heart by telling him,
that the Tomuri of Dodona, , the Curetes in Crete, were either degenerate
branches of these Jewish devotees,
or had endeavoured to form a similar association
of wisdom and sobriety, but had remained
at a much lower point in the scale of perfection.
Selumiel took him with him everywhere, even
when he went in the evening to the gates of
the city, where the men of Jericho assembled
to pass the cool hours in conversation. Helon,
of whom he stood most in awe, happened to
turn the discourse upon the superiority of Israel
to the worshippers of idols, and pointed out
the absurdity of the worship of the Egyptians
and , among whom Apis was
revered under the form of a bull; Moloch of a
mixed figure, partly man, partly calf; Dagon was
represented as having the lower part of a fish;
Tartac, as an ass; Nibbaz, as a dog. All expected
to see Myron provoked by this attack
.bn 258.png
.pn +1
upon his religion; but to their great astonishment
he not only assented to all that Helon had
said, but entertained the company, the whole
evening, with ludicrous tales of the adventures of
the Grecian gods. The grave Orientals were
delighted with him, because his manners were
diametrically the reverse of their own. While
they sat immoveable in the position which they
had once taken, he on his light and nimble feet
turned this way and that, alert to seize every
opportunity of mirth; ready to converse with
those who were disposed for conversation, or
to talk alone when others were silent. Amused
with his lively sallies, they encouraged him to
proceed from one freedom to another, till he
thought that every thing was allowed to him.
It chanced that a man passed by, loaded with
a heavy burthen, and hanging down his head
like one conscious of ignominy. He had been
detected in frauds a few days before, and as a
punishment his beard had been cut off. The
finger of scorn was pointed at him by the whole
assemblage, and the unfortunate man slunk
hastily away. “How strange,” said Myron,
.bn 259.png
.pn +1
“that you should set so much value on a huge
tuft of hair upon your chins, that one who has
been deprived of it dares not show himself in
your presence; and yet you seldom have taste
enough to give it an elegant form! Look
for example at Elisama, who thinks so much
of his beard; what an unsightly encumbrance
it is to him.” Encouraged by the laughter which
arose from the younger part of the assembly, he
approached Elisama, and ; little aware that to an Oriental, and
especially a Jew, such an action was one of
the grossest outrages that could be committed—an
attack upon the very sanctuary of his
personal dignity. Helon sprung to interpose—but
it was too late. Elisama arose, with
glowing cheeks, and a look in which the expression
of the wildest rage grew every
moment stronger. His limbs trembled; his
features were distorted, his hair stood on end,
and his breast heaved with a feverish gasp.
“Accursed heathen!” he exclaimed in fury,
“accursed heathen!” he repeated, and drawing
his sword, aimed a blow at Myron. The
.bn 260.png
.pn +1
offender, awakened to a consciousness of what
he had done, saw the weapon about to fall on
him and evaded the stroke; a citizen of Jericho,
whom the tumult of the assembly had pushed
forward, received it, and fell mortally wounded
at Elisama’s feet. In silent horror all stood
around, and looked by turns on the murderer,
the corpse, and the author of the mischief.
The whole city hastened to the spot; Myron
escaped; and Selumiel, taking the unconscious
Elisama by the hand, led him home. Helon,
preceding them, burst with a cry of horror into
the house, exclaiming, “Woe, woe—homicide—Elisama!”
The women hastened from their
apartments, and knew not the cause of the confusion.
Selumiel entered with Elisama—one
in eager haste, the other bewildered, with
fixed eye and open mouth. “Bring horses,
bring camels, bring any beast of burden,” exclaimed
Selumiel. “Thou hast slain him,
Elisama, and must flee before the avenger of
blood.” “Whither?” asked Helon. “To a
city of refuge—to Hebron in Judah—to Bezer in
Reuben—to best of all.” At
.bn 261.png
.pn +1
these words Elisama awoke from his trance.
Tears flowed from his aged eyes as he exclaimed,
“Merciful God, must I in my old age
flee as a murderer, and die by the hands of
the avenger?” His voice was choked with
sobs.
Two rapid , ships of the desert,
were brought. Helon accompanied the unhappy
man. It was already night, and they
passed unobserved out of Jericho. Without a
salutation, or an adieu, they urged their flight,
in dread lest the avenger should be on their
traces; Elisama with his hair loose, his turban
floating on the wind, and death on his
countenance.
It was one of the most terrific customs of the
east, that the next of kin of any one who had
been slain, even unwittingly, was deemed infamous
if he did not avenge him, by putting to
death the man who had killed him. Moses,
unable to eradicate this custom, had mitigated
it by the appointment of six cities of refuge,
three on each side of the Jordan, in which the
unintentional homicide might be safe from the
.bn 262.png
.pn +1
vengeance of the .[146] In these cities,
and for a thousand yards around, he could
not be touched—if he ventured beyond these
limits, before the death of the high-priest,
the Göel might lawfully kill him. The roads
and bridges leading to the city of refuge were
to be kept in repair, that the fugitive might
not be impeded in his flight. The avenger was
called Göel, as being stained and impure, till
he had acquitted himself of his obligation. The
son of the citizen of Jericho whom Elisama
had killed, had been fetched from the field, and
had gone forth to avenge his father; but he
was too late: Elisama had already reached
Ramoth Gilead in safety.
.fm rend=t
.fn 146
Numb. xxxv.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
On the following morning a judicial investigation
was held. The seven judges took their
places in an apartment at the gate, crouching
on carpets; beside them sat two Levites; Selumiel,
who represented the accused person,
stood on the left; the avenger of blood, as the
complainant, on the right. Selumiel was clad
.bn 263.png
.pn +1
in mourning and with disordered hair. Behind
him were the witnesses whom he had brought
with him; and who, before they delivered their
testimony, took an oath, and replied Amen,
Amen, to the which the judges
laid upon them, if they should not speak the
truth. They bore witness that Elisama had
harboured no malice against the deceased, and
had not intended to smite him, but had been
provoked by the insult of a young heathen.
The judges did not decide, but on
the following morning a second sitting was
held, at which they pronounced that Elisama,
of Alexandria, had committed an involuntary
homicide, and that the privilege of the city of
refuge was decreed to him. As he had already
taken refuge in Ramoth Gilead, a Levite was
sent with a letter to the judges and elders
of that place, commending him to their protection.
Selumiel, who had remained behind to attend
the judicial proceedings, determined to go
and see Elisama; and Sulamith could not be
dissuaded from accompanying him. Ramoth
.bn 264.png
.pn +1
Gilead lay on the other side of Jordan, in the
country called in ancient times Gilead; a country
not so fruitful as this side, from its many mountains
and sandy deserts, yet rich in pasturage
for cattle, and watered by two considerable
streams, the Arnon and the Jabbok; the former
empties itself into the Dead Sea, and the latter
into the Jordan. The hills of Basan, Gilead,
and Abarim, extending from Antilibanus, send
their branches through this country. It was
given on the conquest of Canaan to the tribes
of Gad and Reuben and the half tribe of Manasseh,[147]
as their residence. Ramoth, situated
on the Jabbok, was the principal city, celebrated
in history by the vow of Jephthah,[148] and the
battle between Ahab and Jehoshaphat and the
Syrians.[149]
.fm rend=t
.fn 147
Numb, xxxii.; Josh. i. 12.
.fn-
.fn 148
Judg. xi. 29.
.fn-
.fn 149
1 Kings xxii.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
On their arrival they learnt that Elisama was
dangerously ill. The agitation of mind and
fatigue, attending on his flight, had overpowered
his feeble frame; he had been attacked by a
.bn 265.png
.pn +1
fever, under which he was hourly sinking. A
Levite, who was the physician of Ramoth, and
possessed great knowledge of the human frame
and the virtues of plants, had been summoned.
Strengthening baths had been employed, and
applied externally
and internally. These were the two chief
remedies of the Hebrews.[150] But here they had
lost their power; Elisama fell into a deathlike
slumber. When he was delirious, the
image of Myron seemed to be constantly before
his eyes; and he upbraided him with his ingratitude,
and warned his son Helon to beware
of him, as it would not be the last of his misdeeds.
On the following day his reason returned
for some hours, and he spoke calmly and clearly.
It was the last revival of the flame of life. He
requested Helon to repeat to him the prayer
of Moses, the man of God. “Lord, thou hast
been our refuge in all generations,” Ps. xc.
He heard it with great attention, and the
emotions of his heart were visible, at many
.bn 266.png
.pn +1
passages, in his looks and his clasped hands.
He lay for a long time with closed eyes, but
his lips were in motion, and it was evident he
was addressing himself to God, probably in a
penitential psalm; for once, when his voice
grew stronger, he was heard to say,
.pm start_poem
My days pass away as a shadow,
And I wither as grass;
But thou, Jehovah, shalt endure for ever,
And thy name remaineth from generation to generation;
Thou wilt arise and have mercy on Zion.
For the time is come that thou shouldest favour her,
The appointed hour is come.
.pm end_poem
.fm rend=t
.fn 150
Jer. viii. 22; xlvi. 11.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
His voice again became faint, and it was
after some interval that he was heard to say—
.pm start_poem
He weakeneth my strength in the way,
He shorteneth my days.
.pm end_poem
And then with a firmer tone—
.pm start_poem
The children of thy servants shall continue
And their seed shall prosper before thee.—Ps. cii.
.pm end_poem
He turned with an expression of the deepest
affection to Helon, and said, “Greet thy mother
from me—when the high-priest dies, carry my
bones to the valley of Jehoshaphat, and lay
.bn 267.png
.pn +1
them beside thy father’s—wait on the Lord,
and thou shalt obtain”—his words became
inaudible. Helon held his cold hand, and
bathed it with his tears; and all who stood
around his bed in mournful silence, thought
him already dead. But the dying eye opened
once more,—gazed around on them all—then
fixed itself on heaven. His head sunk
back in Sulamith’s arms. Twice the mouth
was distorted in the bitterness of pain—then
once again. The body became rigid—respiration
ceased.
After a solemn pause, each reading in the
countenance of the rest the confirmation of his
fears, all uttered at the same moment a piercing
shriek of grief. , beat their breasts, threw their turbans
on the ground, strewed dust and ashes on
their head, put on sackcloth, covered their chins,
and went barefoot. Helon was hurried away,
least, being a priest, he should contract pollution
from the dead body.[151] The eyes of the
.bn 268.png
.pn +1
corpse were closed, and it was carried into the
Alijah by the nearest relatives. As it had been
the custom in Judæa, since the captivity, to
bury very soon, the night was passed in
making preparations. , the head bound with a napkin,
and then the whole from head to foot swathed
with a broad bandage, and each foot, each
hand, each finger separately. At midnight
came the Levites with their musical instruments:
the female mourners began their office
by lifting up their voices and lamenting, strewing
ashes on their heads and singing a dirge.
On the following morning the house was filled
with neighbours and friends, expressing their
sympathy. Sulamith ran about weeping and
wringing her hands above her head. The
men sat in another apartment upon the ground
and mourned in silence. Sulamith was conducted
to the apartment of the women, where
she placed herself on a carpet in the middle,
and the rest of the females of the family sat
round her. The hired mourners formed a wide
circle at a little distance. Each of the women
.bn 269.png
.pn +1
held a handkerchief in her hand by two of the
corners. The mourners, who knew a variety
of funeral songs, began one which expressed
the virtues and calamities of the deceased.
Sulamith gave them a sign and they ceased;
and all the females of the family began to weep
along with her. They arose, twisted their
handkerchiefs together, and ran shrieking round
the room, while Sulamith, sitting motionless in
the middle, wrung her hands and tore her
beautiful dark hair. When she ceased the
mourners resumed their song, till she again
gave them a signal, and the relatives renewed
their lamentations. This lasted till towards
evening, when the inhabitants assembled at the
door, and the corpse was carried to the grave.
Those who carried the bier proceeded with
such hasty steps that they seemed rather to
run than walk—an usage which was said to
bear this meaning,—that death is the most
terrible punishment of sin. Every one who
met the procession joined the mourners, and
bore part in the cries of the women.
.fm rend=t
.fn 151
Numb. xix. 14.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
Before the gate of the city, in a garden
.bn 270.png
.pn +1
planted with trees, stood the sepulchre of Elisama’s
host, hewn out of the rock; and in this
the corpse was deposited; for by the Jews, and regarded
with abhorrence. The bearers threw
aloes, myrrh, and other fragrant substances, upon
the body, so as to cover it, and the sepulchre
was closed with a stone, which was annually
whitened with lime. The friends and relatives
having remained standing awhile before the
closed sepulchre, bowed themselves thrice to the
earth and prayed; then taking up a sod threw
it behind them, and said, “Remember, O man,
that dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return.”
The procession returned with a repetition of the
funeral lamentations.
On reaching home they washed their hands,
and the neighbours brought them the bread of
mourning. A beautiful and humane custom
in Israel! No victuals were prepared in the
house which death had visited, but the neighbours
and friends came with delicate viands
and invited the mourners to partake of them,
to recruit their strength and spirits. This was
.bn 271.png
.pn +1
called ; and the cup,
which was handed round, the cup of consolation.
, during which
it was held indecorous to wash the garments, to
bathe or anoint the body, or to wear the sandals
or the turban. Every day Sulamith went with
the women of the family to lament, at the tomb
of the deceased, his true affection and his
calamitous fate. When the days of mourning
were ended suitable presents were made to the
friendly host, and Helon, Sulamith, and Selumiel
returned from the Peraea over the Jordan
to Jericho. The bones of Elisama were to
repose in the precincts of Ramoth Gilead till the
death of the high-priest, when they should be
transferred to the valley of Jehoshaphat, to rest
there till the joyful morning of the resurrection.
He was at length at peace, after a life, to which,
like that of the patriarch Jacob, tranquillity had
been a stranger. He had died in the city of the
daughter of Jephthah, a victim to his indulgence
of Helon’s wish to retain the friend of his youth;
as she had been the victim of her love to her
country. The secret anticipation which had
.bn 272.png
.pn +1
always kept him at a distance from the heathen
was now fulfilled; as well as the prophecy of
Helon’s mother, when she parted from them in
tears at Alexandria, and declared her apprehension
that they would not all return. “Oh!
that such a righteous man should have died the
death of the sinner,” exclaimed Helon, in the
bitterness of his grief, as he stood beside the
stream of the Jabbok. “Doth Jehovah then
punish the righteous as the sinner? O Elisama,
Elisama, where shall I find light?”
“He has fulfilled his destiny,” said Selumiel.
“Who may escape what fate has ordained for
him?”
.bn 273.png
.pn +1
.sp 4
.h3
CHAPTER IV. | THE WATER OF JEALOUSY.
.sp 2
Let him beware who thinks that he has attained
the highest pinnacle of temporal prosperity!
The ball is in ceaseless vibration,
and the moment in which it reaches its greatest
elevation is that in which its descent must
necessarily begin.
The death of Elisama had so disturbed the
mind of Helon that Selumiel’s wisdom and
Sulamith’s affection could only for a moment
yield him consolation. Calamity had come
like a flash of lightning, and revealed to him
the obscure recesses of his own character;
but with what a convulsive shock had this illumination
entered, and how painful the contemplation
of the objects which it disclosed. The
.bn 274.png
.pn +1
fabric of self-righteousness, which for some
months he had built up with so much care, was
overthrown; the vision which he had cherished
was gone; what would he not have given to
have been able to arrest its flight?
The perverted state of his feelings showed
itself most of all in his fury against Myron. If
his conscience ever remonstrated, he persuaded
himself that it was not Myron as an individual,
but heathenism that he abhorred. All those
passages in the psalms and the prophets in
which Jehovah is implored to pour out his
wrath upon the heathen, and is declared to
bring their counsels to nought, became his
favourite theme of meditation. By an incredible
delusion he applied to his own personal injury
the denunciations of Jehovah’s wrath against
apostasy from himself. Even the love of Sulamith,
who anxiously marked the state of his
mind, hardly availed to pacify and soften him.
In the mean time the joyous season of the
vintage, and the gathering of the olives and the
fruit began. With shouts of joy they climbed
, of which the plain of Jericho
.bn 275.png
.pn +1
was full, and gathered the dates, which grew
in large bunches of fifteen to twenty pounds in
weight. They were afterwards divided according
to their different degrees of ripeness; some
were eaten fresh, others were pressed to obtain
from them the celebrated palm-wine. This
was done amidst festive shouts, and the praises
of the tree were celebrated, of which every part
is applicable to some use of man. From the
terebinths, some of which had seen the lapse
of centuries and were still vigorous and verdant,
they plucked the red and fragrant berries, or
climbed the pistachio to bring down its delicious
nuts, or stored up the resin which spontaneously
exudes from both these trees. The figs and
the pomegranates were gathered, , or expressed
from its seeds. Later in the season the olive
trees, some of which yielded a thousand pounds
of oil, were stripped of their yet unripe
berries, which were gently pressed that the
virgin oil might run from them; or crushed in
the press that they might furnish oil for the
necessary purposes of food and anointing.
.bn 276.png
.pn +1
Even the vintage was beginning here and
there.
Sulamith was careful to accompany Helon to
all these exhilarating scenes; but it was long
before the luxuriance of nature and the happiness
of man had any other effect upon him
than to make him more painfully conscious of
his loss of inward peace; and the more he
scrutinized his own performance of the divine
commands, the more was he dissatisfied with
himself.
One morning he was walking with Sulamith
and Abisuab through a vineyard and seeking
the ripe bunches among the loaded trees. His
mind was more cheerful and more composed
than it ever had been since the death of Elisama.
A slave of Selumiel’s came hastily to him and
summoned him to the house, saying, that a
messenger from Gaza had arrived with letters
that required a speedy answer. He had brought
letters from Myron addressed to Selumiel and
to Helon.
On the unfortunate evening when the homicide
of Elisama had occurred, Myron had
.bn 277.png
.pn +1
hastily taken the road to Gaza, designing as
speedily as possible to return to Alexandria.
With all his levity he joined a great deal of
good-nature, and when he reflected on his conduct,
his conscience found much to reproach
him. He was compelled to wait at Gaza for
an opportunity of conveyance to Egypt, and
during his stay the news of what had happened
in Jericho, soon followed by that of Elisama’s
death, was made public there, and excited a
very general feeling against him, both among
Jews and heathens. The first effect was to
make him wish for a speedy departure—but
then again the thought of his conduct towards
the friend of his youth smote him to the heart,
and he could not go, till he had sought his forgiveness.
Thus he allowed several opportunities
of making the journey in company to
pass by, and yet he could not summon courage
to go to Jericho. At length he resolved on the
following plan. He came to a place in the
neighbourhood of that city, and thence dispatched
a messenger to Selumiel, to whom he
testified his sincere sorrow for what he had
.bn 278.png
.pn +1
done, and earnestly requested his good offices
in reconciling him to Helon. To him also he
wrote a letter, which he entreated Selumiel to
deliver to him.
Selumiel was much affected on reading the
letter; he sent for Helon and gave him that
which was destined for him. It was with difficulty
that he could be prevailed on to receive
it. Myron reminded him of their youthful
friendship, and earnestly supplicated for an
interview.
“That,” said Selumiel, “would be an act
of heroism well worthy of an Israelite.”
“The heathens are threatened with Jehovah’s
curse,” said Helon, “and we reap
nothing but misery from their friendship. I
will not see him.”
“Did not Solomon pray even for the
heathens,”[152] said Selumiel; “and will not the
Messiah be the light of the heathens? Thou
must not be implacable, if thou wishest to
fulfil the law of the fathers. Was not Joseph
.bn 279.png
.pn +1
reconciled to his brethren? did not David show
mercy to Saul his enemy? did not Jehovah
himself on Sinai command, ‘If thou seest the
ox or the ass of thine enemy going astray thou
shalt lead him back;’ and is not a heathen of
more estimation than an ox or an ass?”
.fm rend=t
.fn 152
1 Kings viii. 41.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
“Forgive Myron,” said Sulamith, fondly
laying her head on his bosom, “forgive him,
priest of Jehovah! Leave vengeance to him
who hath declared that he will repay; and
think what joy thou wouldest feel, if through
thy means he became a proselyte of the gate.”
Helon’s former spirit revived, and he resolved
that he would perform the heroic act to which
he was called. The messenger was sent back
to Myron, with permission to him to return.
He soon made his appearance; for he had
wandered near the confines of the city while
uncertain of the issue of his embassy. He
fell before the feet of his injured friend,
clasped his knees, and supplicated forgiveness,
with all the force of Grecian eloquence, and
the emotion of sincere penitence and sorrow.
Their reconciliation was soon accomplished.
.bn 280.png
.pn +1
Sulamith had the delight of seeing her husband
restored to the same peace and joy as in the
first happy days of their union.
Myron was received again into the house,
and, in the freedom of their renewed confidence,
Helon informed him how much he was indebted
for his return to the good offices of Sulamith.
Myron, as the remembrance of the mischief
which he had done began to be obliterated
from his volatile mind, resumed his gaiety, and
with it the hasty thoughtlessness which was his
characteristic.
Helon had gone one day to the gate of the
city alone; for Myron had never since his return
accompanied him thither. It suddenly
occurred to him that he had never duly expressed
his gratitude to Sulamith, for her
mediation in his favour, and he went straightway
to the Armon, in the warmth of his
feeling, without reflecting on what he was
doing.
The citizens of Jericho, who sat in the gate,
saw in the mean time that red mist gathering
in the north-west, which is the usual prognostic
.bn 281.png
.pn +1
of the approach of the pernicious wind of the
east. This wind is felt in all its pestilential
fury in the desert, where it sweeps over the
surface, often to the height of a foot, destroying
every thing which it encounters. It is
there called . In Palestine its
effects are not destructive to life, but in the
highest degree oppressive and disagreeable.
All the citizens of Jericho arose hastily from
the gate, and hastened to their homes.
Helon, on his arrival at his home, went immediately
to the Armon, to warn Sulamith of
the approach of the simoom. At the door he
met Myron, whose visit Sulamith had not received,
but had warned him instantly to withdraw,
if he would not bring ruin on himself
and her.
Helon started with surprise and horror when
he saw Myron in his Armon, which no foot of
male, save his own, had ever trodden before.
Wild jealousy and furious anger took possession
of his mind, and agitated his whole frame.
“Vile heathen,” he exclaimed, in a voice of
thunder, “is this thy return for my hospitality
.bn 282.png
.pn +1
and friendship? Was it not enough that thou
didst murder Elisama?”
Myron’s protestations of his innocence were
unheard or unheeded in the whirlwind of Helon’s
rage. His cries soon brought together the slaves
of the house. Seizing Myron by the arm, he
fiercely thrust him towards them, and they, laying
hold of him, drove him with blows and curses
from the house. Sulamith had hastened from
the Armon, and endeavoured to calm her husband;
but at the sight of her his fury burst
forth more violently than ever, and thrusting
her back into the Armon, he ran like one frantic
through the streets of Jericho to find Selumiel,
to whom he related what had happened. They
returned together, Selumiel’s indignation scarcely
less fierce than his own. Selumiel on entering
went immediately to his daughter, and
laying hold of her exclaimed, “Monster! am I
then the father of an adulteress? Didst thou
learn from thy mother or from me to break thy
marriage vow with a godless heathen?” She
had been sitting sobbing and in tears, her face
hidden in the veil with which she had wrapped
.bn 283.png
.pn +1
her head. At these words, however, uncovering
herself and looking up at her father, she
said with a firm voice, “I am innocent!”
Helon and Selumiel were yet more provoked
by this assurance. “If thou art innocent,”
said Selumiel, “thou shalt drink . I will know that my daughter is pure,
or if not, may all that the law has denounced
against the adulteress light upon thee!” With
these words he went forth to call the elders
together, and Helon shut himself up in the
Alijah. All the happiness of his life was fled;
he wept, he complained, he inveighed against
the heathens, against Sulamith, against himself.
In the agony of his grief he threw himself
on the ground, rent his clothes, and tore
his hair. Then again he sat in fixed and moping
silence, or opened his lips only to recite passages
of Scripture, which describe the harlot
and the adulteress. “Yes,” he exclaimed,
“the Essenes are right, it is because they
know the inconstancy of women that they have
excluded them from their society. Unhappy
Israel, what shall become of thee, when thy
.bn 284.png
.pn +1
matrons are corrupt and thy wives give themselves
up to folly! No wonder that the once
holy people is fallen even below the heathens
themselves.”
A moment after, reflecting on what he had
said aloud, he started with terror as from a
frightful dream. “Can that be Sulamith?” he
said with a sigh. The image of his wife, in
all her gentleness and loveliness, stood before
his mind, and softened, he exclaimed, “It is
impossible.” Had Sulamith at that moment
spoken but a word to him, he would have forgiven
her all. He even quitted the Alijah to
go to her: but when he looked down on the
door of the Armon, and the thought flashed
on him that through it the man had passed by
whom he had been dishonoured, every returning
thought of love and compassion was banished
from his mind.
The inferior court, which was held on the
spot where the offence was alleged to have
been committed, assembled in this instance on
the following morning at the gate of the city;
Selumiel, appearing as accuser of his own
.bn 285.png
.pn +1
daughter, stood on the right of the judges, and
Sulamith on their left. The whole gate was
filled with citizens of Jericho, among whom the
news of this affair had rapidly spread, and excited
universal curiosity.
Sulamith felt, at her first entrance, overpowered
by the solemnity of this venerable assemblage,
of which she had heard so much, but
which she had never seen; that feeling having
subsided, she regained her self-possession.
Helon stood with a bewildered countenance,
not venturing to look at his wife, or he must
have read her vindication in her countenance,
in which the pride of conscious innocence
struggled with the feeling of ignominious exposure,
and in her bright eyes now red with
weeping, but untroubled by any expression of
guilt or fear.
The father related what had happened, and
Helon confirmed his statement. The judges
turned to Sulamith, and asked her if she acknowledged
the truth of what was alleged
against her. “I call Jehovah to witness,” she
replied with lofty tranquillity of manner, “that
.bn 286.png
.pn +1
I am innocent, and will take the oath of purgation.”
“Be it unto thee,” said the elder,
“as thou hast desired.” Two assessors were
selected to accompany her to the Sanhedrim,
before whom alone the oath could be taken, to
protect her on the way from the fury of the
men, and to lay the whole affair before the
supreme council.
They departed from Jericho immediately.
The whole city was assembled, men, women,
and children. Sulamith’s mother stood among
the crowd wringing her hands. Most of the
females sympathized with their suffering sister;
but the whispers of malice and the taunts of
malignant joy were also heard.
Helon followed them at a distance, by the
same road by which at Pentecost he had gone
up to Jerusalem an affianced bridegroom, full
of joy and hope. Then the desert had seemed
to be converted into a paradise. How was his
condition changed! Elisama was dead, the
land of promise had proved a land of chastisement
to him; his enthusiasm for the sacerdotal
office was dead within him; his wife went before
.bn 287.png
.pn +1
him as an adulteress. With what regret
did he look towards the distant Oasis of the
Essenes, and long to bury himself in it, without
a wife, without the priesthood, a stranger
in the land of promise, solitary and single
among the people of Israel!
They arrived in the evening at Jerusalem.
Iddo was sitting in the gate, but when he saw
them, and discovered the purpose for which
they were come, he fled with averted head, and
hands stretched out as if to repel some threatening
evil. They ascended the temple-hill; all
who met them were astonished to see her, who
at the feast had been the object of universal
admiration, brought up as a transgressor. She
was confined for the night in a chamber of the
temple; and Helon and Selumiel passed it in
dejection and gloom in the house of Iddo.
The morning, the fearful morning came!
After the usual sacrifice, the Sanhedrim assembled
in the hall Gazith. All its seventy-one
members were present, the high-priest, the
elders, and the Levites sitting in a semicircle.
Sulamith was led through the multitude that
.bn 288.png
.pn +1
filled the courts, and placed before the tribunal.
The assessors of the court of Jericho then laid
the matter before the Sanhedrim, and Selumiel
and Helon confirmed their statement. The father
and husband were commanded to withdraw,
and Sulamith, in her mourning garments, remained
standing alone, in the midst of the judges.
They addressed her at first in a friendly tone,
and endeavoured to bring her to confession,
alleging grounds of excuse from her youth and
her husband’s own culpability. “Daughter,” said
one of the Sanhedrim, “glorify the great name
of God, and do not allow that this sacred name
should be washed with water and blotted out.”
At other times they assumed an angry tone,
blamed her silence, which they interpreted as
an evidence of guilt, and bade her beware that
she did not by her obstinacy plunge herself
into an untimely death. Sulamith adhered to
her denial, and, as they often urged her to
confession, replied, “I am innocent and falsely
accused. Put me to what test ye will, but ask
of me no other confession than this, that I am
innocent.”
.bn 289.png
.pn +1
The Sanhedrim, convinced by her noble
firmness, ceased to importune her, and decreed
that she should drink the water of jealousy,
and take the oath of purgation. “Daughter,”
said one of them, “if thou art innocent, put
thy trust in Jehovah and drink boldly. It is
with the bitter water as with poison, which
laid upon a wounded part produces death, but
has no effect when the flesh is sound.”
She was led from the hall Gazith to the gate
of Nicanor, not however by the direct road, but
by a long circuit, that she might still have time
to reflect and to confess. The crowd formed
a lane through which she had to pass, not only
exposed to their gaze, but plucked scornfully
by the arms, enduring their taunts and blows.
Only here and there some one of more generous
disposition, struck with her free and noble
carriage, exclaimed, “The water of jealousy
cannot injure thee; thou mayest drink it without
fear.” At length they reached the gate of
Nicanor, opposite to the sanctuary, and the
priest, who had been appointed for the purpose,
began the appalling ceremonies of the oath of
.bn 290.png
.pn +1
purgation. Laying hold of her garments, he
rent them from the top of the neck to the
breast with expressions of horror, tore the veil
from her head, and threw her turban on the
ground. He dishevelled her braided hair and
let it float upon the wind, and then turning his
face from her, said, “Thou hast forsaken the
manner of the daughters of Israel who cover
their heads, and hast followed the manners of
the heathens who go with their heads uncovered.”
The men spat on the ground before her: the
women uttered cries of abhorrence, and a deep
murmur of Woe! woe! ran from rank to rank
among the people, which even the unconcerned
spectator could not hear without shuddering.
Helon stood with averted head, and stupified
with horror. Selumiel wept aloud.
The priest threw all the rest of Sulamith’s
ornaments, her necklace, ear-rings, and bracelets,
to the ground, and girded her rent garments
over her bosom with a strip of bark. The more
ignominious the outrages to which she was
subject, the more striking appeared the contrast
.bn 291.png
.pn +1
of her dignified air and demeanour. The
husband was compelled to reach to the priest
the offering of jealousy, consisting of a tenth
part of an epha of meal, in a basket of osier.
The meal was of barley, the meanest grain,
neither oil nor incense was mingled with it.
Helon could not bear to look, but reached it to
the priest with averted head, least his eyes
should encounter those of Sulamith.
The priest took an earthen vessel that had
never been used, filled it with water from the
laver beside the altar of burnt-offering, and
carrying it into the holy place put into it some
of the dust of the floor. When he returned,
he exhorted her once more to reflect what she
was about to do, and if she were guilty not to
drink, but to confess her sin. The accused
replied distinctly and firmly, “I am innocent.”
Again the deep murmur of Woe! woe! spread
along the shuddering multitude, who thronged
the temple courts.
The priest then with an elevated and solemn
voice said, “If thou art innocent, and hast not
gone aside to uncleanness with another, instead
.bn 292.png
.pn +1
of thy husband, be thou free from the curse of
this bitter water, and let it not harm thee.
But if thou hast gone aside to another and
hast been defiled, then may Jehovah make thee
a curse among thy people, and bring on thee
all the curses which are written in his law.”[153]
.fm rend=t
.fn 153
Numb. v. 19.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
Sulamith thus adjured, answered firmly, supported
by the power of God, Amen, Amen.
And the murmur of Woe! woe! rolled deeper
and more awfully along the ranks of men and
women.
The priest now wrote the curses on a roll.
Helon took the barley meal from the basket,
placed it in a sacred vessel, and gave it into his
wife’s hands. Her look met his and pierced
him to the heart, and roused from the stupor
in which he had been sunk during the preceding
part of the ceremonial, he made his way
through the people, and rushed down from the
temple-hill. A pause of a few moments ensued,
and then the priest, laying his hand under
the hand of Sulamith, waved the offering of
.bn 293.png
.pn +1
jealousy in the customary form before Jehovah,
then took it from her, carried it to the altar of
burnt-offering, and, ascending it, mixed the
meal with salt, and burnt it in the fire. He
then descended again to the gate of Nicanor,
took the roll, and washed the writing with the
water in which the dust of the sanctuary had
been mixed. The assembled crowd stood in
deep and breathless attention. The priest
reached to Sulamith the vessel which contained
the water of cursing: she took it, lifted her
eyes towards the holy of holies, and drank it
off. There was a stillness as of death amongst
all who stood around, as if they were conscious
of the presence of Jehovah, to clear the innocent
or punish the guilty.
Sulamith stood in the midst of the people,
firm, and with her looks fixed on the holy of
holies; all eyes were directed towards her, and
watched what would be the effect of the draught.
But when they saw that she was unharmed by
it, and that God had justified her from the accusations
of her enemies, they burst into a cry
of joy, and Hallelujah resounded from the
.bn 294.png
.pn +1
temple to the city. Selumiel rushed to his
daughter, and folded her in his paternal arms.
With shouts of triumph and exclamations,
“Blessed be Jehovah, she is innocent!” they
accompanied her into the inner court of the
temple, where the priest formally pronounced
her acquittal. Thronging around her, all offered
her their congratulations. Her hair was braided
anew, her turban, her veil, her jewels were restored
to her, and the dark garments of mourning
exchanged for festal attire. Sulamith descended
from the temple with modest and
downcast looks. Iddo, who had heard the shouts
of joy and had rightly interpreted them, opened
his gates and received her. The people who
had accompanied her remained long assembled
on the open place before the Water-gate.
But where is Helon? When he had fled
from the temple, overpowered by the look of
Sulamith, he wandered about, shunned as one
frantic by all who observed him, and unconscious
whither he was going, till his feet carried
him to the grave of his father in the valley of
Jehoshaphat, where, exhausted by fatigue and
.bn 295.png
.pn +1
strong excitement, he fell before the sepulchre
and remained long insensible. Longer might
he have remained, but that he was roused from
his stupor by voices which cried, He is here,
he is here! He opened his eyes and saw Iddo,
who had come out with several others to seek
him. Iddo embraced him, repeating to him,
She lives, she is guiltless! while Helon, like
one awakening from a dream, scarcely understood
the meaning or the reference of the words.
When fully restored to the consciousness of
what had passed, joy, remorse, and shame rushed
in such a torrent upon his mind, that he would
have fallen again to the earth if they had not
supported him. In this state they led him
home.
.bn 296.png
.pn +1
.sp 4
.h3
CHAPTER V. | THE DAY OF ATONEMENT.
.sp 2
Sulamith was waiting for her husband at
the door, surrounded by her friends. As he
entered she threw herself at his feet, and implored
his forgiveness for the uneasiness which
she had caused him. He raised her up, and
then throwing himself on his face before her,
implored her forgiveness with a look which
penetrated her soul. To ask pardon in words
was beyond his power. The friends conducted
them to the inner court. Sulamith placed
herself beside Helon, and endeavoured to tranquillize
him, but he sat with eyes fixed upon
the ground. He could scarcely even rejoice in
the acquittal of his wife, so bitter was the remembrance
that it was by him she had been
.bn 297.png
.pn +1
unjustly accused. For the first time in his life
he despised himself. It was in vain that Iddo
advised him to efface the remembrance of what
was past, and enjoy the present good; there
was too much of Sadducean levity in this exhortation
to pass instantaneously from sorrow
to joy, to suit a mind so deeply agitated as
Helon’s. Equally unavailing was the advice
of Selumiel, to regard it all as the result of inevitable
destiny, and to resign himself to it as
the will of Jehovah. To reach the sublimity of
this Essene philosophy required a more buoyant
spirit than his, who was so oppressed by the
sense of his own unworthy conduct.
Thus the day passed on. At evening the
feast of the commencement of the civil year
was announced by the . It
was the new moon of the seventh month, or
Tisri, and was called the feast of Trumpets,
because from morning to evening trumpets of
rams’ horns were blown in the temple, according
to the command of Moses.[154] “In the
.bn 298.png
.pn +1
seventh month, on the first day of the month,
ye shall have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing
of trumpets.” Helon resolved to pass this day
and the succeeding eight days of penitence,
before the great day of Atonement, which fell
on the tenth of the month Tisri, with the old
man in the temple. While he remained with
Sulamith, he was so painfully reminded of the
injury which he had done her, that he could
have no hope of consolation or tranquillity.
.fm rend=t
.fn 154
Lev. xxiii. 23.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
As soon as the gates were opened he went
up to the temple, and as he crossed the court
of the Gentiles, the old man was coming from
his chamber. He went up to him and bade
him welcome. “I purpose,” said Helon, “to
spend the next ten days in the courts of Jehovah
and to present a sin-offering.” “Come
then to my chamber,” said the old man, “and
remain there.” He returned thither, and Helon
followed him. “Elisama,” said Helon, “is
dead at Ramoth Gilead, whither he had fled
from the avenger of blood.”
“I know it,” replied the old man.
“I have accused my wife unjustly, and made
.bn 299.png
.pn +1
her unhappy.” “I was present yesterday, and
saw how nobly she vindicated her innocence by
the water of jealousy,” the old man replied.
“Alas, I am no Chasidean,” said Helon
mournfully, “and never shall be one!” “It
is true,” said the old man; “but you should
be more than a Chasidean.”
“All on earth is vanity and deception—happiness,
hope, and love—all is deception,” exclaimed
the youth. “And the greatest deception
of all is that which as yet thou dost not
suspect,” rejoined the old man. “Remain
here till thou art purified. I go to the sacrifice,
for this day shall no work be done, but offerings
be offered to the Lord.”[155]
.fm rend=t
.fn 155
Lev. xxiii. 25.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
Helon remained in the old man’s chamber.
As every festival was first consecrated generally
by the customary sacrifice, afterwards specially
by its own, the morning-sacrifice was first presented.
Next came the sacrifice of the new
moon, two young bullocks, a ram, seven lambs
of the first year as a burnt-offering, with their
.bn 300.png
.pn +1
appropriate meat and drink offering, and a
young goat as a sin-offering. Last of all the
special offering of the seventh new moon was
sacrificed, a young bullock, a ram, and seven
lambs of the first year, with meal and wine, and
a goat as a sin-offering.[156] The law was afterwards
read and explained in the synagogue.
.fm rend=t
.fn 156
Numb. xxix. 1-3.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
Helon heard in his cell the blowing of the
trumpets and the song of the people; and in his
solitude repeated after them the eighty-first
psalm which they were singing:
.pm start_poem
Sing aloud unto God, our strength,
Make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob!
Take psalms, strike the timbrel,
The pleasant harp with the psaltery.
Blow the trumpet in the new moon,
On the solemn day of our feast:
For this is a custom in Israel,
A law of the God of Jacob,
Which he ordained for a testimony in Joseph
When he came out of the land of Egypt,
Where I heard the voice of the unknown:
I took the burden from his shoulder,
His hands were delivered from the basket.
Thou calledst in trouble and I delivered thee;
.bn 301.png
.pn +1
I answered thee in the thunder cloud,
I proved thee at the water of Meribah.
Hear, O my people, I testify unto thee,
O Israel, would that thou listenedst to me!
Be there no strange god among thee,
Worship not any strange god!
I, Jehovah, am thy God,
Who brought thee out of the land of Egypt:
Open thy mouth and I will fill it.
But my people would not hearken to my voice,
Israel would not follow me.
So I gave them up to their own desire
And they walked according to their own counsels.
O that my people would hear me
And Israel walk in my ways!
I would soon subdue their enemies
And turn my hand against their oppressors.
They that hate Jehovah should have submitted themselves to him,
And their prosperity should have endured for ever;
I would have fed them with the finest of the wheat,
I would have satisfied them with honey from the rock.
.pm end_poem
After the evening-sacrifice the old man questioned
him respecting the state of his mind.
Helon laid open his whole heart to him with
filial simplicity and unreservedness, and as he
spoke he could have fancied that Elisama, returned
to life, was sitting before him. “Once
only in my life,” said he, “have I been happy,
.bn 302.png
.pn +1
when I quitted Egypt and entered the promised
land, and kept the Passover in the temple of
Jehovah. I was then happy in sanguine anticipation.
But I soon discovered imperfections
where I had thought every thing faultless; I
found the truth, the melancholy truth of the
account which thou hadst given me of the
priests. I thought to find a sanctuary of pure
happiness and virtue in my own house. Jehovah
bestowed on me a virtuous wife, but I
proved myself unworthy of her. Elisama died
under the imputation of homicide, and we all
were guilty of injustice towards the excellent
Sulamith. Thou art right; Israel is a disobedient,
sinful people. I condemn others freely,
because I include myself in the same condemnation.
Jehovah has given us his law, and
the only fruit of it is that we are more criminal
than the heathen who live without a law. O
that I had lived in Solomon’s or David’s days!
In our present condition it cannot be fulfilled.
What God has enabled thee to do is a miracle,
as all the people regard it.”
The old man heard him calmly as he uttered
.bn 303.png
.pn +1
all this and much more, and then in a grave
and serious tone began. “Thou talkest like a
young man, hastily and ignorantly, and in all
that thou hast said scarcely any thing is true,
except the sinfulness of Israel. We are disobedient,
as thou hast described us, thou and I,
and the whole people; in the days of Solomon
and David it was no better; and hadst thou
lived in those times thou wouldst have been as
far as thou art now from the fulfilment of the
law. The law was given us to convince us of
our sins, not to serve as the basis on which our
pride might build its towering edifice. When
it has convinced us of our sin, it awakens also
our longing for help and consolation. It is the
lot, or rather the privilege, of Israel, that it alone
has the consciousness of sins, and the hope of
a certain atonement for them. If both are
united in thee, if thou mournest truly for thy
sins, and truly desirest reconciliation, do what
thou hast purposed and offer thy sin-offering:
afterwards we will discourse further.”
Helon purchased ;
this was the victim which a ruler and a priest
.bn 304.png
.pn +1
was to present; the high-priest, on the other
hand, a bullock; and a common Israelite, a
sheep.[157] He carried it through the gate on the
northern side of the altar of burnt-offering;
standing behind it he laid his hands on the
head of the animal between the horns, and said,
confessing his sins, “O Jehovah, I have transgressed
against thee! forgive my transgression
and my sin which I have committed.” Then
he slew the goat: a priest received the blood
in a basin and carried it to the altar of burnt-offering,
dipped his finger in it, and touched
the four horns of the altar, letting a few drops
trickle down each of them. He then ascended
it, and poured the remainder of the blood down
the pipe. Helon took off the skin of the victim
and taking the internal fat gave it to the priest,
who waved it with the liver and the kidnies
between the altar and the temple, salted it, and
burnt it on the altar. The rest of the flesh
belonged to the officiating priest. Helon had
offered this sacrifice, in expectation that his
.bn 305.png
.pn +1
conscience would be tranquillized by it; but he
did not experience the result which he had
promised himself. He found himself as full of
sorrow and fear after the offering as before.
He complained to the old man, that he had
desired to walk in the way of the Lord, and had
offered a sacrifice in pursuance of it, but found
no blessing follow it.
.fm rend=t
.fn 157
Lev. iv.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
“Has not David said,” replied the old man,
“even he who so delighted in the service of the
sanctuary,”
.pm start_poem
Thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it,
Thou delightest not in burnt-offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.—Ps. li. 16.
.pm end_poem
“I would,” said Helon, “that my whole
heart belonged to Jehovah, then should I have
peace and joy. But how may I attain this
state?”
“Tell me,” said the old man, “when, as
priest, would you declare the leper cleansed
from his leprosy?”
“When no spot of leprosy remains in him
.bn 306.png
.pn +1
from head to foot,” said Helon, “but all is
sound, as far as the priest can see.” “So judge
then of the sinfulness of your whole state, from
a single sin. Read the penitential psalms, and
tell me what you find in them most applicable
to your own condition.” Helon obeyed his injunctions,
but for several days the old man came
and went without noticing him. One evening,
however, when he returned from the sacrifice,
and was about to withdraw again, Helon
earnestly entreated him to stay. “I have
found,” said he, “the words which too truly
describe my own condition,
.pm start_poem
There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger,
Nor any health in my bones because of my sins;
For mine iniquities rise above my head;
They weigh me down as a heavy burden.—Ps. xxxviii. 3, 4.
.pm end_poem
“What a new light has opened upon me
from these words! in what a condition do I
now appear to myself! How did I deceive
myself when I supposed that, a learner as I
was, I had already attained the rank of a Chasidean!
What miserable self-deception was I
.bn 307.png
.pn +1
practising, when I professed to renounce those
things to which my heart so strongly clung!
What contemptible pride, to imagine that I
could reach the summit of perfection by ascending,
step by step, from the fulfilment of
one commandment to that of another! And
when one frail support of my self-conceit gave
way, how eagerly did I catch at another, to
prop myself up. I must confess with Cain
‘My sin is too great to be forgiven,’ and I
tremble at the words of the children of Korah,
‘No man can by any means redeem his brother
nor give to God a ransom for him.’[158] I am
under the curse pronounced from Sinai, 'Cursed
be he that fulfils not all the words of this law
to do them.'” “Praised be Jehovah,” said the
old man, “that thou hast at length discerned one
part of the eternal truth; the other will not
be withheld from thee in due season. Israel
is a people mourning for sin, but also hoping
for forgiveness. If our sins separate between
God and us, we have the more need of a mediator.
.bn 308.png
.pn +1
The Messiah comes who shall also remove
our sins.[159] Say not therefore ‘My sins are
too great to be forgiven.’ Thou knowest that
the mercy of Jehovah is like his nature, infinite.
Pray then for faith, and even now thy offering
on his altar shall reconcile thee, by virtue of
the future sacrifice of the Messiah. Thou hast
partaken of the sin of thy people, partake also
with them in the atonement which is to be
made on the morrow.”
.fm rend=t
.fn 158
Ps. xlix. 7.
.fn-
.fn 159
Dan. ix. 24.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
On the following day Helon was early in the
temple. The high-priest had been already
seven days there, preparing himself for the
great solemnity of atonement on the tenth day
of Tisri, and along with him his substitute,
who was to fill his place, if any accidental impurity
should disqualify the high-priest. . It was the
greatest fast in the year, lasting twenty-four
hours, from evening to evening. The people
assembled in the temple as soon as it was light.
The high-priest had watched all night and had
.bn 309.png
.pn +1
bathed himself in the morning. He was on
this occasion the representative of the whole
people before Jehovah, and performed those
services at the altar which were usually the
office of the priests. He offered the morning-sacrifice
and the meat-offering for himself as
high-priest. Having again bathed himself, he
put on his under robe of byssus, his drawers,
his upper garments, and his girdle and turban.
Once more he washed his hands and feet, and
then offered a bullock for a sin-offering for himself
and his house, and a goat for the sins of the
people, at the door of the sanctuary.
He laid his hand behind on the head of the
bullock, and said, “O Jehovah, I have sinned
against thee, both I and my house! Forgive
my sins wherewith I have sinned against thee,
I and my house, as it is written, 'On this day
is your atonement made, to cleanse you, that
ye may be clean from all your sins before
Jehovah.'”[160] Thrice he uttered the name of
Jehovah in this confession, and thrice all the
.bn 310.png
.pn +1
priests, the Levites, and the whole people, fell
on their faces and said, “Praised be the holy
name of his kingdom for ever and ever!”
.fm rend=t
.fn 160
Lev. xvi. 30.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
From the bullock he went to the two goats
on the north side of the altar, and placing
himself between them, shook a box in which
were two small tablets, one inscribed “For
Jehovah,” the other “For Azazel.” He drew
a lot for each, and placed it on the head of the
goat for which he had drawn. When he drew
that which was for Jehovah, he said aloud
“For Jehovah;” and all the priests, the
Levites, and the people, fell upon their faces to
the earth. The goat Azazel was then taken to
the gate of Nicanor. The high-priest returned
to the bullock, made a new confession over it
for the sins of himself and his house, and the
sons of Aaron, then slew it, and another priest
received the blood in a basin. The high-priest
took coals from the altar of burnt-offering, and
laying incense upon it, went through the holy
into the most holy place, to burn incense before
Jehovah. He returned into the court, keeping
his face towards the holy of holies, and then
.bn 311.png
.pn +1
taking the blood, carried it as he had done the
incense, and dipping his finger in it, sprinkled
it once in the air, and seven times on the
ground towards the place where in the former
temple the ark of the covenant had stood.
When he returned into the court the goat
for Jehovah was brought to him. He slew it,
carried the blood into the holy of holies for the
sins of himself, his house, and the sons of Aaron,
as well as of the whole people, and sprinkled it
as before. Retiring from the most holy into the
holy place, he sprinkled the veil which was between
them seven times; first with the blood of
the bullock, and then with that of the goat. Then
mingling their blood, he dipped his finger in it
and let a few drops trickle down the horns of the
altar of incense. He cleared the altar from ashes,
and sprinkled the place seven times with blood.
The remainder of the blood he poured out at
the bottom of the altar of burnt-offering. The
high-priest went next to the goat Azazel, laid
his hands upon his head, and confessed over
him the sins of the people, as he had before
confessed those of himself and his house. As
.bn 312.png
.pn +1
often as the name of Jehovah recurred, the
people fell on their faces and said, “Praised
be the holy name of his kingdom for ever and
ever!” The goat was then carried by an
Israelite into the wilderness of Zuk, twelve
thousand paces from Jerusalem, and full of
rocks: from the summit of one of these that he might bear the
sins of the people into the desert.
The high-priest then took the skin and inward
parts of the goat which was for Jehovah,
with the rest of the body, and sent it to be
burnt outside the city. The men who performed
this office, as well as he who carried the
scape-goat to the wilderness, were unclean the
rest of the day.
These ceremonies made a deep impression
upon Helon. He followed the high-priest into
the court of the Women, where he read the following
portion of the law. “And Jehovah
spake unto Moses, saying, On the tenth day of
this seventh month shall be the day of atonement:
it shall be a holy convocation unto you
and ye shall afflict yourselves and offer an offering
.bn 313.png
.pn +1
made by fire unto Jehovah. And ye shall
do no work on that day: for it is a day of
atonement, to make an atonement for you
before Jehovah your God. For whosoever
shall not afflict himself on that day shall be cut
off from among his people; and whosoever
doeth any work on that day him will I destroy
from among his people. Ye shall do no manner
of work: it shall be unto you a statute for
ever, in all your dwellings. It shall be unto
you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your
souls; on the ninth day of the month, from even
unto even shall ye celebrate your sabbath.”[161]
The high-priest bathed himself, laid aside his
garments of byssus, and put on his pontifical
array, , his ephod, his breastplate, and
his turban with the name of Jehovah. In these
garments he approached the altar and offered a
ram as a burnt-offering for himself, and another
for the people; with seven lambs of the first
year, and the fat of the sin-offering for himself
and the people. The people remained fasting
.bn 314.png
.pn +1
in the temple; the hearing the law was the
principal occupation between the sacrifices.
The fast continued from evening to evening.
.fm rend=t
.fn 161
Lev. xxiii. 26.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
When evening came the high-priest offered,
before the usual sacrifice, a bullock for a burnt-offering
and a goat for a sin-offering. After
the evening-sacrifice he bathed himself, washed
his hands and feet, changed his pontifical robes
for his garments of byssus, went again into
the holy of holies and brought out the censer.
This was the fourth time that he entered it on
this day, the only day in the year when he
appeared before the ark of the covenant. Having
bathed again and put on his pontifical
array, he burnt incense in the holy place and
lighted the lamps, concluding by giving his
benediction to the people, who prostrated themselves
while they received it. Helon had felt
during the solemnities of this day the weight
removed from his mind which had so long
pressed upon it. He prayed in the words of
the Psalmist:
.pm start_poem
Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
.bn 315.png
.pn +1
Blessed is the man unto whom Jehovah imputeth not iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no guile.
When I kept silence my bones waxed old
Through my groaning all the day long.
For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me;
My moisture was turned into the drought of summer,
Yet I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and my iniquity I did not conceal.
I said, I confess my transgressions unto Jehovah;
Thou forgavest the burthen of my sin.
For this let every one that is godly pray unto thee
While mercy may yet be found;
The floods of mighty waters shall not come nigh unto him.
Thou art my hiding-place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble;
Thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance.
Many sorrows shall be to the wicked:
But he that trusteth in Jehovah shall be surrounded with mercy.
Be glad in Jehovah, and rejoice, ye righteous;
And shout for joy, all ye upright in heart.—Ps. xxxii.
.pm end_poem
His peace and joy increasing, as he poured
out his soul in prayer before the Lord, he
continued;
.pm start_poem
Bless Jehovah, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless his holy name!
Bless Jehovah, O my soul,
And forget not all his benefits;
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities,
Who healeth all thy diseases,
.bn 316.png
.pn +1
Who redeemeth thy life from destruction,
Who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercy,
Who satisfieth thy desire with good things,
So that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Jehovah executeth righteousness
And judgment for those that are oppressed.
He made known his ways unto Moses,
His acts unto the children of Israel.
Jehovah is merciful and gracious,
Long suffering and plenteous in mercy.
He will not always call to judgment,
Nor keep his anger for ever.
He dealeth not with us according to our sins,
Nor rewardeth us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is his mercy towards them that fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
So far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
As a father pitieth his children,
So Jehovah pitieth those that fear him.
For he knoweth our frame,
He remembereth that we are dust.
As for man, his days are as grass;
As a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone;
And the place thereof knoweth it no more.
The mercy of Jehovah is from everlasting to everlasting upon those that fear him,
And his righteousness unto children’s children;
To such as keep his covenant,
To those who remember his commandments to do them.
Jehovah hath established his throne in the heavens;
And his kingdom ruleth over all.
.bn 317.png
.pn +1
Praise Jehovah, ye his angels,
Mighty ones, that do his commands,
Hearkening to the voice of his word!
Praise Jehovah, all his hosts,
Ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure!
Praise Jehovah, all his works,
In all places of his dominion!
Praise Jehovah, O my soul!—Ps. ciii.
.pm end_poem
At evening he returned to the cell of the old
man. A calm peace had overspread his mind,
to which he had long been a stranger. He no
longer prided himself in his imaginary self-righteousness,
but he felt the satisfactory assurance
that his “transgression was forgiven,
that his iniquity was pardoned;” and in the
midst of his gratitude to Jehovah, he did not
forget the filial effusion of thankfulness towards
the venerable man, whose counsels had taught
him how to seek rest to his soul.
.bn 318.png
.pn +1
.sp 4
.h3
CHAPTER VI. | THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES.
.sp 2
The Feast of Trumpets, on the first day
of the month Tisri, had been the beginning of
a series of solemnities crowned by the Feast
of Tabernacles, which began on the fifteenth
and lasted till the twenty-second day. While
some of the people of Israel were gathering in
the latest gifts of the earth, and others preparing
for the pilgrimage to Jerusalem; while some,
who were compelled to remain at home, were
beginning to dress their green bowers, and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem to collect branches
from the adjacent country, to decorate their
tabernacles in the vallies around the city; Helon
returned to his friends in the house of Iddo.
He said nothing of what had passed, but they all
.bn 319.png
.pn +1
perceived immediately that he was become a
new man. He embraced Sulamith with a pure
affection, and a humbled consciousness of his
past injustice; his manner towards all around
was full of mild benevolence. There was none
of the outward warmth and vehemence of manner
which he had exhibited before, yet his mind was
full of activity and joy. The calm composure
of his whole demeanour was that of a man to
whom the mysteries of life are solved, and who
feels that omnipotent love defends and guides him
through time and eternity. His thoughts and
desires seemed all directed towards an invisible,
eternal, future good; and yet never had his
heart been more open to all the joys of nature,
or more susceptible to the tenderest feelings of
human affection. Sulamith had never loved
him so much, nor ever been so beloved by him.
The true happiness of her married life now
began; all that had passed was in the strictest
sense forgotten. She bloomed again, in more than
her former beauty, like the rose of Jericho, when
the morning sun drinks from its fragrant leaves
the heavy dew which had weighed them down.
.bn 320.png
.pn +1
On the thirteenth day of the month Tisri,
the companies of pilgrims began to arrive from
every side. The native of Lebanon, the inhabitant
of Beersheba, of Peræa, and Galilee,
those that dwell on the seashore, and the
stranger from Syria, Asia Minor, Cyprus, and
Lybia, after their toilsome journies, greeted the
temple and city of their God. From the roof of
Iddo’s house, Helon and Sulamith looked down
on the festal throng.
The sight which they witnessed on the following
day, the day of the preparation for , was peculiar to the precincts of Jerusalem.
The courts of the temple, all the roofs
of the houses, the mount of Olives, as far as its
highest pinnacle, the valley of the Kedron, and
the whole environs of the city were covered
with a sudden verdure. The gardens and fields
had already assumed the yellow hue of autumn,
but the palms, the firs, the myrtles, and the
pomegranates had been compelled to yield
their more durable foliage for this occasion.
The whole neighbourhood was parched by the
heat of the sun, and the vineyards had been
.bn 321.png
.pn +1
already stripped, but at once spring and summer
appeared to return with all their variety
of colours. The busy hands of men and women
were every where in full activity, the children
waited on the builders, and, as if by magic,
Jerusalem seemed all at once filled and encircled
by an encampment of green bowers, a
lively and refreshing contrast to the mournful
barrenness of the hills which were in the distance
of the picture.
By the evening all was ready. The citrons
and apples of Paradise glowed amidst the dark
green of the bowers, their walls were hung
with tapestry and their floors covered with
carpets, and the large lamp burnt in the middle.
When the evening star appeared in heaven
above the western sea, every family, after the
customary ablutions, left its dwelling to occupy
its tabernacle. Iddo had resigned his house
to strangers, and had erected himself a tabernacle
in a vineyard on the mount of Olives, to
which he and the family of Selumiel repaired,
and placed themselves around the richly furnished
table. He prayed, “Blessed be thou,
.bn 322.png
.pn +1
O Lord our God, thou king of the earth, who
hast sanctified us by thy precepts and commanded
us to dwell in tabernacles.” He then
emptied the cup, the rest followed his example;
and the same thing was done almost at the
same instant in the surrounding tabernacles.
The thousands of lamps in the bowers on the
mount of Olives, in the vale of Kedron, and on
the roofs of the houses in the city, seemed like
stars of the earth, answering to those by which
the heavens were already overspread. A gentle
wind just stirred the leaves of the bowers, and
the sounds of festivity and mutual congratulation
echoed on every side, amidst songs and
the music of cymbals and aduffes. Well may
they rejoice whose sins are removed: if the
people afflicted themselves before the atonement
was made, it was natural that after it
they should indulge in the mirth of the Feast of
Tabernacles.
Towards midnight the lamps were gradually
extinguished, and all was silent in the tabernacles.
The women, the children, and the
weakly persons returned to their houses, and
.bn 323.png
.pn +1
the men laid themselves down to rest on the
floor. But scarcely had the first beams of
morning reddened the summits of the Arabian
hills, when they all left their bowers to fill the
courts of the temple. The usual ceremonies
of extinguishing the lamps, killing the lamb,
burning incense in the holy place, and offering
the morning-sacrifice, were first gone
through. The eight priests then ranged themselves
on the sloping ascent of the altar, each
with that part of the sacrificial instruments
which was intrusted to his care, the last being
he who bore the golden vessel with the wine
of the drink-offering. At once all the instruments
of music struck up together, the Water-gate
was opened, and through its lofty folding-doors
a priest entered with a golden ewer full
of water which he had drawn from , whose softly flowing stream runs at
the south-eastern foot of mount Moriah. All was
silent, except the sound of the silver trumpets.
The people made a wide opening for the priest,
who approached the altar of burnt-offering and
was met by him who bore the vessel of wine.
.bn 324.png
.pn +1
As soon as they saw each other they both exclaimed,
“With joy we draw water from the
wells of salvation;”[162] and the people around
repeated, “With joy we draw water from
the wells of salvation.” The priest who had
descended from the altar then took from the
other the ewer of water, and mingled it with
the wine. The Hallel was sung in the mean
time by the Levites, the people who filled the
courts holding a citron in the one hand and a
bundle of palm, willow, and citron branches in
the other.
.fm rend=t
.fn 162
Isaiah, xii. 3.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
This was the solemnity of which it was commonly
said in Israel, “He who has not seen
the joy of the drawing of water has seen no
joy.” Helon regarded it as not only an expression
of thankfulness for the early and the
latter rain, to which the fruits of the earth
now gathered in had owed their abundance, but
as a memorial of the water which gushed
forth in the wilderness at the stroke of
Moses’ rod; besides that still higher meaning
.bn 325.png
.pn +1
which it remained for the Messiah fully to
disclose.
The special offering of this day,[163] consisting of
thirteen bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs
of the first year, with their meat-offering and
drink-offering, and a goat for a sin-offering.
On this day priests of all the courses were on
duty, and at least four hundred and sixty-four.
A multitude of Levites, skilful in their art were
disposed on the fifteen steps, and the great
Hallel was sung by them and the assembled
myriads of the people. When they came to
the Hosanna in the 118th Psalm, the people
and priests moved around the altar, imitating
the journey of Israel through the wilderness,
holding, as before, a citron in one hand and a
bundle of palm and myrtle branches in the
other, repeating, “O Lord help, O Lord grant
success.” As they passed the high-priest, they
upon
him, heaping the choice gifts of the earth upon
the person of highest sanctity among the people.
.bn 326.png
.pn +1
To the worshippers in general this solemnity
combined a grateful acknowledgment of the
gift of the fruits of the earth, with a memorial
of the most important event in the history of
God’s chosen people. But Helon looked forward
to a time when all the promises of Jehovah
should be fulfilled, and when to the shouts
of Hosanna should be added, “Blessed is he
that cometh in the name of the Lord!”
.fm rend=t
.fn 163
Numb. xxix. 12.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
When the circuit of the altar was completed,
and the high-priest from the summit of the
fifteen steps had given his benediction to the
people, one part of them presented their own
thank-offerings, another repaired to the porticoes,
to hear the law read and expounded.[164]
In the sabbatical year the whole law was read
at the Feast of Tabernacles.[165]
.fm rend=t
.fn 164
Neh. viii. 18.
.fn-
.fn 165
Deut. xxxi. 10, 11.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
Immediately after the evening-sacrifice, when
the water of Siloah had been again mingled
with the wine of the drink-offering, the multitude
crowded to the court of the Women, which was
illuminated by lamps of unusual size, disposed
.bn 327.png
.pn +1
on four candelabra, fifty cubits in height. The
Levites with their instruments stood on the
fifteen steps, which led from the court of the
Women to the court of Israel, and from the
galleries over the porticoes the women were
spectators of what passed below. The members
of the Sanhedrim, the elders and chief
men of the people took torches in their hands,
sung psalms, and , in
honour of Jehovah; the youths displayed feats
of corporeal strength and dexterity; and the
festal assemblage did not disperse till a late
hour of the night.
The feast lasted eight days: in the first
seven the ceremonies of the commencement
were repeated, but with this difference, the
number of bullocks for the burnt-offering was
diminished by one every day,[166] and in the six
following days civil occupations might be pursued,
which were forbidden on the first. The
traffic, which took place at all the great festivals,
was especially active at this time. The
.bn 328.png
.pn +1
curious productions of Egypt, the imports and
manufactures of Tyre, the spices of the east,
the balsam of Gilead, and the corn and cattle
of Galilee, were bartered or sold; and every one
purchased what was necessary against the approaching
season of winter. Helon, however,
had no pleasure in seeing what he considered
as a profanation of the house of God, and withdrew
from the sight of it to pass his days in
the tabernacle of Iddo, on the mount of Olives.
On the third day he presented his thank-offering,
which was truly to him what its name
implied, an offering of peace. While Sulamith
was engaged in preparing the meal from that
part of the victim which belonged to the
offerer, Helon availed himself of the permission
which the priests enjoyed on festival days,
to go into the holy place and see its magnificence.
.fm rend=t
.fn 166
Numb. xxix.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
Standing at the altar of burnt-offering, which
was itself raised forty-two steps above the
court of the Gentiles, a space of twenty-two
cubits intervened between the spectator and
temple building. The altar, therefore, was
.bn 329.png
.pn +1
not within but in front of the temple, the blood
of atonement which was to reconcile man to
God being thus shed between them. Twelve
steps ascend from the level of the base of the
altar to the temple; and where the pillars
Jachin and Boaz stood in the temple of Solomon,[167]
the portico began. The building consisted
of three parts, the portico, the holy
place, and the holy of holies. The portico was
a hundred cubits high, a hundred long, and
twenty broad: the entrance, which was seventy
cubits, and twenty-five broad, stood open without
folding-doors. Within, the portico was
ninety cubits in height, fifty in length, and
twenty in breadth, from east to west. Every
part of it was gilded. Opposite to the entrance
was the curtain which closed the passage into
the holy place, fifty-five cubits in height and
sixteen in breadth, exhibiting the colours of
the four elements, white, dark blue, crimson,
and purple. A large vine, with golden clusters,
of the size of a man, was represented over the
.bn 330.png
.pn +1
entrance. The holy place had not the same
proportions as in Solomon’s; it was twenty
cubits in breadth, sixty in height, and forty in
length. In it stood the golden candlestick, the
golden altar of incense, and the golden table of
shew-bread. The holy of holies, before the
entrance to which a second curtain hung, was
a cube of twenty cubits. In this temple it was
empty; but in that of Solomon it had contained
the ark of the covenant with the tables of the
law, above which was the cover or mercy-seat,
and over that the two cherubims, between
which the glory of Jehovah dwelt. There were
chambers of three stories high on the sides, and
over the holy and most holy place, entered by
doors in the portico, which served as repositories
for the treasures and other valuables.
The whole of this part of the building was
ceiled with plates of gold, and the flat roof
furnished with gilded iron spikes, to prevent
the birds from settling upon it.
.fm rend=t
.fn 167
1 Kings, vii. 21.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
Helon contemplated with sacred awe the
dwelling place of God. In company with the
other priests he ascended, in mental prayer
.bn 331.png
.pn +1
and with deep humility, the twelve steps; and
was led through the apartments which are
around and over the holy and most holy place,
and then descended again into the portico.
The curtain before the holy place was withdrawn.
Helon in his ministrations in the court
of the priests had often seen thus far, and with
veneration contemplated the abode of the glory
of Jehovah; but now his trembling foot entered
its hitherto unknown precincts. The
golden lampstand was on the southern side,
whose seven lamps were kindled every evening;
towards the north, the table of shew-bread, on
which the loaves of the presence were placed
every week; and in the middle the altar of incense,
of acacia wood, a cubit in length and
breadth, and two cubits in height, on which,
morning and evening, a priest burnt incense,
while the lamb was offered. Only the foot of a
priest might enter the holy place; into the
holy of holies none but the high-priest’s, and
that only once in the year, on the day of atonement.
What gave a higher interest to the
indescribable feelings which occupied Helon’s
.bn 332.png
.pn +1
mind, as he stood before the veil of the holiest
place, was the company of the old man of the
temple, who had dissuaded him from entering
on the festival of Pentecost, promising to be
his guide at the Feast of Tabernacles. He
had prepared himself and Helon by a long and
fervent prayer. The old man manifested an
unusual degree of emotion. On ordinary occasions,
the frame of his mind seemed equally
removed from grief and joy, from emotion and
apathy, but now he was visibly agitated, and his
venerable form seemed to acquire a supernatural
dignity from the feeling with which he laboured.
In passing through the sacred building profound
silence was always observed; but when
they returned from it he still remained silent;
and Helon, much as he wished to ask him
questions respecting the import of all he saw,
durst not speak to him while he saw him
in this mood. The old man led him to Solomon’s
porch, where he had received him on the
first evening, and pointed with his hand to the
courts of the temple which were within their
view. After a long silence, during which he
.bn 333.png
.pn +1
was strongly agitated, he said, “Kneel down,
my son! I will give thee my blessing. I
promised thy father and thy uncle to do for
thee what I have done: I am hastening to
where they already are; may we meet there
again! Jehovah has guided thee by my means;
be thine own spirit henceforth thy guide; for
thou wilt see me no more on earth.” Helon,
astonished and overpowered, sunk upon the
ground and received the old man’s blessing;
and while he lay weeping on the earth, he had
disappeared. Helon went to his cell; it was
open, but there was no man within. He
hastened to Selumiel, who told him that the
old man often disappeared for a long time
together, and that his words were always true.
They returned together after the meal to
Iddo’s tabernacle on the mount of Olives.
When they had seated themselves, the figure
of a stranger appeared among them, whom they
did not at first recognise. It was Myron. In
the first moment of their surprise they seemed
doubtful how to act; Iddo was inclined to
thrust him out by force; when Myron, whose
.bn 334.png
.pn +1
pale face and shrunk figure had prevented their
knowing him at first, exclaimed, “Let Helon
decide!” He turned to him and said; “On
the day when my foolish thoughtlessness a
second time gave a wound to the happiness of
your life, I fled into the wilderness of Judah.
A priest found me wandering, brought me back
to Jerusalem, and received me hospitably. He
told me what had befallen you; and I testified
to him my deep remorse and penitence. He
seized the opportunity to persuade me to
abandon the fables and follies of the religion
in which I had been brought up, and to turn to
the worship of the one true God. This evening
an aged and venerable man entered the
house of my host, and bade me seek thee out,
and tell thee, in his name, that thou shouldest
receive me not only into thy friendship, but
into thy faith. Behold me ready to become a
proselyte!”
“This,” said Helon, “must be the old man
of the temple; his word shall be obeyed.”
He embraced the friend of his youth, and
begged him to forgive his groundless suspicions.
.bn 335.png
.pn +1
“O,” said he, “had Elisama but lived to see
this day! He had always hope that thou
wouldest be one of us. Did I not too always
predict, that if thou shouldest see Israel in all
its glory in the Land of Promise, thou wouldest
desire to become a partaker in their hopes?”
“The God who made heaven and earth hath
done this,” said Myron; “he has severely
punished my folly, and in the midst of my
chastisement made me to know your law and
your hopes. I now understand why in every
land I have found for their accomplishment.”
“Praised be Jehovah,” exclaimed Iddo,
“who increaseth his people Israel, and hath
spoken by his prophet the word of which this
day we behold the accomplishment, 'Arise,
shine for thy light is come and the glory of
Jehovah riseth upon thee. For behold darkness
shall cover the earth and thick darkness
thy people: but Jehovah shall arise upon thee,
and his glory shall be seen upon thee, and the
Gentiles shall come to thy light.'”[168]
.fm rend=t
.fn 168
Isaiah, lx. 1.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
.bn 336.png
.pn +1
Myron, in his usual hasty and decided manner,
pressed his speedy reception as a proselyte,
and his friends were desirous that this festival
should be made still more solemn by his conversion.
In later times accessions from among
the heathens to the Jewish religion had become
very common, and they were regarded as a pledge
of the approach of the time when the promises
of God should be fulfilled, which, as they understood
them, implied the dominion of Israel
over the whole earth.
Iddo and the priest with whom Myron had
lodged endeavoured to prevail on him, by , and baptism to become
one of the family of Abraham and an heir of its
promises, after which, on the offering of three
turtle-doves, he would become a proselyte of
righteousness, and be permitted to bring his
sacrifice, like a native Jew, into the court of
the priests. Myron was more inclined to become
only a proselyte of the gate; and Helon
took his part, and asked what more was necessary,
since he could thus enjoy the benefits of
the law, could partake in all the civil privileges
of Israel, and dwell in their gates? “Would
.bn 337.png
.pn +1
there not too,” he asked, “be danger that he
should be seduced by the Hellenists to join
the worship at Leontopolis, if he returned to
Egypt in every respect a Jew?”
On the following morning they conducted
Myron before .
In the presence of three
witnesses, Helon, Selumiel, and the priest his
host, he solemnly abjured idolatry, professed
his belief in all the truths which are revealed
in the law, and promised obedience to the
seven Noachic precepts, as they were called;
namely, to abstain from idolatry, to worship only
the true God, to avoid incest, not to commit
theft, or robbery, or murder, to maintain judgment
and justice, and to abstain from blood and
all that contained blood, consequently from
things strangled. He then presented his offering,
but he was not allowed to come any further
than to the enclosure between the court of the
Gentiles and the court of Israel. From this
time he bore the name of a devout man, one
that feared God, a stranger or proselyte of the
gate.
.bn 338.png
.pn +1
As Helon and Myron spent the last day but
one of the feast in Iddo’s tabernacle on the
mount of Olives, Helon read to him the description
which Nehemiah gives of the first
celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles after
the captivity:[169]
.fm rend=t
.fn 169
Neh. viii. 13.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
“And on the second day were gathered together
the chief of the fathers of all the people,
the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the
scribe, even to understand the words of the law.
And they found written in the law which the
Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children
of Israel should dwell in booths in the
feast of the seventh month. And that they
should publish and proclaim in all their cities,
and in Jerusalem, 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. So the people went
forth, and brought them, and made themselves
booths, every one upon the roof of his house,
.bn 339.png
.pn +1
and in their courts, and in the courts of the
house of God, and in the street of the Watergate,
and in the street of the gate of Ephraim.
And all the congregation of them that were
come again out of the captivity made booths,
and sat under the booths; for since the day of
Joshua, the son of Nun, unto that day, had not
the children of Israel done so. And there was
very great gladness. 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.”
“It is not to be denied,” said Myron, when
it was finished, “that
have considerable resemblance
to the Feast of Tabernacles; the mixt offering
of water and wine reminds me of the gift of
Bacchus; the bundle of palm, myrtle, and willow
branches, of the Thyrsus; the Hosanna, of the
Evoe; the procession round the altar, of the
Dionysian train; the dance in the court of the
Women, of the dances of the Grecian youths.
The torch too is in both cases found in the
.bn 340.png
.pn +1
hands of the votary. But the resemblance of
the Dionysia of the Greeks to the Feast of the
Tabernacles is that of a distorted image to the
faithful picture.”
“You might have gone further,” said Helon,
“and have added that such is the relation
generally of heathenism to Judaism. The
heathens have mingled poetry and fable with
the tradition which they received from the
family of Noah; they have disfigured by human
inventions the divine truths which they learnt
from the Jews. How indeed could it be otherwise,
since Jehovah found it necessary to
preserve this knowledge pure in Israel, by
renewing and impressing more deeply the
communication of it by means of the law?”
“I understand now,” said Myron, “what
you alluded to before, and I see the history of
antiquity in an entirely new light. The Greeks
differ from the Egyptians only in this, that
they have given their distorted images a more
graceful form.”
“Bless Jehovah,” said Helon, “that thou
hast returned at last to the true source; and
.bn 341.png
.pn +1
pray to him that all the heathens may come to
draw from it. The advent of the Messiah, who
shall accomplish this, cannot be far distant.
He shall be the light of the Gentiles and the
consolation of Israel. The sceptre is already
departed from Judah[170] and is in the hand of
Levi; and the seventy weeks of Daniel are
hastening to their close.”
.fm rend=t
.fn 170
Gen. xlix. 10.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
“And tell me,” said Myron, “my former
friend, but now my brother in faith, shall my
heathen brethren in those days become proselytes
of the gate, or proselytes of righteousness?
To me it seems, if I may venture to confide to
you my opinion on such a subject, that this
distinction points to an important difference in
the laws of Jehovah themselves. I have bound
myself by an oath to obey those precepts of
universal morality, which are contained equally
in the Noachic and Mosaic law; and I have
professed my belief in all the truths which your
lawgiver taught; but I have not bound myself
to all the rites and ceremonies which your
.bn 342.png
.pn +1
nation practises. How then, if the former
were what is truly valuable, what all nations
alike need; and in the days of which you speak
shall alike know; and if the latter were only
important for their tendency to preserve the
others?”
“It may be so,” said Helon, musing. “The
old man in the temple has taught me, that the
sacrifices are but a visible prophecy, commanded
to the people from their want of a
more spiritual faith. But I will neither deny
nor affirm any thing in this matter. The
Messiah comes who will remove all our doubts.
Meanwhile let us rejoice in the belief, that in
the manner which Jehovah in his counsels has
decreed, 'the law shall go forth from Zion and
his word from Jerusalem; and he shall teach
the Gentiles his ways and they shall walk in
his paths.'”[171] The friends embraced each other,
and descending from the mount of Olives Helon
went up to the altar in the temple.
.fm rend=t
.fn 171
Micah, iv. 2.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
of Tabernacles was
.bn 343.png
.pn +1
the most joyous of all. The drawing of the
water, the Hosanna, the nightly illumination
and dance had been repeated every day; the
seventh day was called the great Hosanna and
the day of Willows. The altar of burnt-offering
was decked with branches of willow, all bent
inwards, as an emblem that earthly glory must
bow before the majesty of God. Instead of
once, the people went seven times around the
altar with their branches and their citrons.
The last meal was taken in the tabernacles,
whose green decorations had already begun to
fade; but to the freshness which had charmed
the eye when the feast began, succeeded the
mind’s remembrance of seven happy days which
had been passed in them. The father of the
family pronounced the blessing over the last
cup of wine which they were to drink here,
and when it was emptied gave his benediction
to the company, who left the tabernacle with
that melancholy with which we quit a spot
where we have enjoyed much happiness. The
women and children, and even Myron and
Helon, carried away a citron, a pomegranate,
.bn 344.png
.pn +1
a branch, or a leaf, as a memorial of the festival.
In the evening the illumination and the dance
as before described were repeated. This part
of the festivities, as well as the drawing of the
water, ceased on the eighth day, which was
added as a special sabbath to the full week of
the feast. On this day no circuit was made
around the altar, and the offering consisted only
of one bullock, one ram, and seven lambs of a
year old, as a burnt-offering, with their usual
meat and drink offerings, and a goat for a sin-offering.
Besides Azareth, Day of Convocation,
it was called the ,
because every year on this day the reading
of the law and the prophets ended, and
began afresh on the following sabbath. Thus
what every one had begun in his own synagogue
at home, he completed here in the midst
of the assembled people. This took place on
the twenty-second day of the month, in which,
up to this point, there had been only four
common days.
.bn 345.png
.pn +1
.sp 4
.h3
CHAPTER VII. | THE CONCLUSION.
.sp 2
The tabernacles were broken up, and only
the scattered leaves, flowers, and fillets testified
that they had been. The pilgrims were preparing
for their departure, and exchanging their farewell
salutations. Many took leave of Jerusalem
never to behold it again. The autumn wind
blew chill, and where a solitary tabernacle still
remained as a monument of the festival, its
green was changed to an autumnal yellow. The
circle of the Jewish feasts was closed, the half
year of harvest was at an end, and the dark and
rainy season of winter was fast approaching,
when no pilgrim’s song was heard on the
roads to Jerusalem; a winter which to many
would prove the winter of death.
.bn 346.png
.pn +1
The companies of travellers arranged themselves
for their departure. Selumiel and his
family, with Myron and Iddo, took the road by
Bethany to Jericho. As they passed through
the hollow between the southernmost and the
middle summit of the mount of Olives, Helon
thought of the tears which he had shed on that
spot at Pentecost, when he exclaimed, “The
path of obedience is difficult.” Now returning
a happy husband, with the peace of God in his
heart, he was inclined to say, “Easy is the
path of obedience to him who walks in it with
faith.” They halted at noon at the Oasis, beneath
the palms, and arrived late in the evening
at Jericho. On the following day the Galileans
crossed the Jordan on their return home.
Helon, Sulamith, and Myron began to make
preparations for their departure to Alexandria,
from which they were to fetch the mother of
Helon. When they were about to begin their
journey symptoms of the plague showed themselves
at Jericho. This is the most terrific of all
diseases, as rapid in its operation as the leprosy is
slow, and producing an equally miserable death.
.bn 347.png
.pn +1
Those who are seized with it are suddenly
attacked by pains in the head and loins; the
speech becomes inarticulate, and not unfrequently
is lost altogether, as well as the sense
of hearing. The eyes become dull and heavy;
lethargy succeeds, the strength is prostrated,
fever, delirium, and melancholy seize the sufferer,
and he commonly dies on the third day,
unless a plague-boil preserves him for a miserable
existence. If the disease spreads, all intercourse
is at an end. The streets, the fountains,
and the houses are heaped with dead;
infected persons are abandoned by their nearest
relatives; and despair and licentiousness walk
hand in hand. The people call the plague the
arrows of God.
As the plague commonly rages most destructively
on its first breaking out, Selumiel
considered this circumstance as a divine warning
to withdraw from Jericho with his whole
family, and go into Egypt. Preparations were
speedily made, friends and household were
commended to Jehovah, and the city of palms
abandoned as if a curse were upon it. They
.bn 348.png
.pn +1
hastened by Bethel, Gibeon, and Lydda, to
Joppa, where Helon’s host was requested to
procure for them, as speedily as possible, an
opportunity of sailing to Alexandria in a Ph[oe]nician
ship.
Helon looked from the heights of Joppa to
the hills of Judah, and blessed the beloved land
which had been to him not only a land of promise
but a land of fulfilment. The image of
his pious mother, all whose expectations he
was about to accomplish and surpass, her joy
at seeing him again, and the prospect of returning
to the land of her fathers and visiting the
grave of her husband, her blessing bestowed on
him and Sulamith—all these things occupied
his mind with delightful anticipations.
His host seemed uneasy. Helon supposed he
might apprehend that they had brought infection
with them, and might communicate it, and
he hastened to set him at ease on this point.
His host shook his head in answer to Helon’s
assurances, and looked sorrowfully at him. At
length he said, “It is not to myself but thee
that my grief relates. Collect all thy firmness;
.bn 349.png
.pn +1
in vain dost thou go to Alexandria to bring
back thy mother. She is dead! The tidings
of the death of Elisama and the rumour of thy
wife’s unfaithfulness reached her together, and
her heart broke with its double weight of
sorrow.”
Sulamith uttered a piercing shriek, and Myron
wept in grief and shame. Helon felt what an
affectionate child feels when bereaved of a
mother, but he knew that the hand of Jehovah
guided him; that the Lord woundeth, but also
healeth; that his ways are not our ways, nor his
thoughts our thoughts. “Comfort me, O Jehovah,”
he exclaimed, his eyes raised to
heaven, “comfort me as one is comforted by
his mother!” Then seating himself in a corner
he gave vent to those tears which soften the
anguish of the heart to a tender sorrow.
It was determined, notwithstanding this intelligence,
that they should continue their
voyage to Alexandria, where Helon’s presence
was necessary. Selumiel with his wife, his
son, his daughter-in-law, and his grandson,
Helon, Sulamith, Sallu, and Myron, embarked
.bn 350.png
.pn +1
on board a Ph[oe]nician vessel. They ran swiftly
along the coast, and Jamnia, Ashdod, Ascalon,
Gaza, and Raphia were soon left behind. The
mind of Helon was as clear and calm as the
mirror in which the sea reflected the bright
blue heavens. His grief for the death of his
mother had only increased his trust in the
Divine compassion, which had bestowed on him
that perfect peace of mind, which neither in
death nor life sees any thing to fear. One
morning they were watching the broad red
dawn announcing the approach of day. All
were in an unusual frame of mind. Helon, full
of tranquil joy, was relating to his friends, as
they sat around him on the deck, the course of
Divine Providence with respect to him in the
year that was just completed, and how it had
conducted him to that true peace which he had
sought in vain before: “I could call upon the
whole world,
.pm start_poem
Praise Jehovah, all the world,
Serve Jehovah with joy!
Come into his presence with rejoicing,
Confess that Jehovah is God.
He has made us and we are his,
.bn 351.png
.pn +1
His people and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
His courts with songs of praise.
Bless him, praise his name!
For Jehovah is good, his mercy is everlasting,
And his faithfulness from generation to generation.—Ps. c.
.pm end_poem
“And through all the vicissitudes of my life,
in calamity and in death, these words shall be
my comfort, which the last of the prophets
spoke, when the oracle of prophecy was about
to be closed in silence:
.pm start_poem
The Lord whom ye seek will come speedily to his temple,
And the Angel of the Covenant whom ye desire,
Behold he cometh, saith Jehovah of Hosts.”[172]
.pm end_poem
.fm rend=t
.fn 172
Mal. iii. 1.
.fn-
.fm rend=t
While he thus spoke, delightful anticipations
of futurity seemed to take possession of his
soul. All who sat around him were silent; for
the power of his faith seemed to communicate
itself, by an indescribable operation, to their
minds. All at once, confused voices exclaimed
throughout the ship, A storm, a storm! The
heavens grew black with clouds, the tempest
rose, and the waves beat on every side of the
.bn 352.png
.pn +1
ship. They endeavoured to avoid the shore,
which was rocky and produced breakers
which threatened every moment to overwhelm
the vessel. The Ph[oe]nician mariners called on
their gods, the children of Israel prayed to
Jehovah. Helon stood in the midst of threatening
waves and terrified men, tranquil and
full of confidence. At once the ship received a
violent shock, and sprung a leak. Their efforts
were in vain. Sulamith flew to Helon’s arms,
and each repeated to the other passages from
the Psalms. All hope of safety was at an end,
and sounds of terror and lamentation were
heard on every side. Suddenly, the ship struck
violently upon a rock and went to pieces. The
crew sunk, and no one could bid another farewell.
Helon supported himself for a short
time upon a plank, and looking round saw Sulamith
and her father sink. Alone, and scarcely
conscious, he struggled for a few moments
with the stormy waves. One of tremendous
height came rolling onward; Helon exclaimed
amidst the uproar of the elements,
.bn 353.png
.pn +1
.pm start_poem
“The Angel of the Covenant—
Behold he cometh, saith Jehovah of Hosts,”
.pm end_poem
and was buried in the waters.
After an hour the storm had ceased. And
the storms of this world, too, had ceased for
those who had found death in the waves, and
life in the bosom of their God.
.bn 354.png
.pn +1
[Blank Page]
.bn 355.png
.pn +1
.sp 4
.h2
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
.il fn=i_355.jpg w=100px ew=20%
.ce
BOOK III.
—The staircase from the roof to the outer court.]
See Bishop Pearce on Mark ii. 4. Matt. xxiv. 17. Shaw’s
Travels, p. 210, 214. The bishop supposes the staircase
to have gone immediately into the street, but Shaw says
that he never observed an instance of this.
—The termination of the Kedron.] The author
means by this expression the point where the Kedron,
after skirting Jerusalem on the east, turns off towards the
Dead Sea. See what was said in the note on p. 244,
vol. i. of the locality of Siloah, and its identity with Gihon.
The valley of the Son of Hinnom, in which Tophet was a
high place, (2 Kings xxiii. 10. Jer. vii. 31.) appears to
have been on the southern side of Zion and without the
city. If it had been, as some suppose, the same with the
Tyrop[oe]on, which separated Acra from Zion, it would have
been within the city, which is incredible, considering its
pollution. What the author afterwards (p. 12) calls the
valley of Siloah, appears to be the western end of the
Tyrop[oe]on, at the eastern end of which was the fountain
Siloah.
—Sepulchres of the kings.] See in Maundrell,
p. 76, the description of their still magnificent remains.
.bn 356.png
.pn +1
“For what reason they go by this name is hard to resolve,
since it is certain that none of the kings of Israel or Judah
were buried here, unless it may be thought perhaps that
Hezekiah was buried here, and that these were the sepulchres
of the sons of David. 2 Chron. xxxii. 33.”
—Golgotha.] This spot, called also Calvary,
according to the common opinion of travellers, is included
within the present city of Jerusalem. See the plan in
Shaw’s Travels, p. 277.
—Castle of Baris.] Baris בירה is an appelative,
signifying a tower, (Joseph. Ant. x. 11.) used as a
proper name of the castle which John Hyrcanus built,
(Jos. Ant. xviii. 6.) as the royal residence. It was afterwards
enlarged by Herod and called Antonia. (Jos. Ant.
xv. 14.) In the text, “north-east corner of the temple”
has been inadvertently substituted for north-west, which
was its real position.
—The crowing of the cock.] It has been asserted,
on the authority of the Rabbins, (see Lightfoot on
Matt. xxvi. 34.) that no cocks were kept in Jerusalem;
but this appears to have been a later and groundless tradition,
(Kuinoel. Matt. xxvi. 74.) to exalt the purity of the
Holy City. For the same reason they said that no gardens
were allowed within the walls, Lightfoot, Matt.
xxvi. 36.
—Confines of Judah and Benjamin.] See Reland,
840. It is sometimes spoken of in Scripture as
included in the territory of Benjamin; Judges i. 21.
Sometimes of Judah; Josh. xv. 63. The Rabbins say that
the boundary line passed through the temple. Josephus
(Ant. v. 1. 22.) reckons it to belong to Benjamin.
—A beautiful plain.] “Jerusalem is surrounded
by precipices on the south-east, east, and west, having
.bn 357.png
.pn +1
only a small level towards the south, and a larger one to
the north, which forms the summit of the mountain over
which is the road to Jaffa.” Travels of Ali Bey, ii. 240.
—Absalom’s pillar.] A monument, in part of
the valley of Jehoshaphat, which passes by the name of
the pillar of Absalom, is represented by Pococke, vol. ii.
p. 22. It is cut out of the rock, and the front is adorned
with Ionic columns. It is probably a sepulchre of much
later origin.
—Modes of threshing.] See Russell’s Aleppo,
i. p. 76. Lowth on Isaiah, xxviii. 27, 28. Fragments to
Calmet, No. xlviii.
—Anathoth.] “Civitas sortis Benjamin, sacerdotibus
separata, in tertio ab Ælia milliario: de qua
Hieremias propheta.” Hieronymus in locis.
—Elisama had neither kindred nor even acquaintance
in Anathoth.] The author appears to have forgotten
what he had said, vol. i. p. 16.
—Emmaus.] This is not the Emmaus mentioned
Luke xxiv. 13., but a town afterwards called
Nicopolis. See Reland, 146. The Emmaus of the gospel
history was a village, and nearer to Jerusalem. Rama,
too, must not be confounded with the town of this name
now called Ramla, about three leagues from Joppa, on
the road to Jerusalem. Pococke, ii. 4. The ruins of
Modin are said to be still visible on the top of a high
mountain to the south of the road from Joppa to Jerusalem,
(Richardson, ii. 26.) but I am not aware that any
modern traveller has explored them.
—Lydda.] It is still known by the name of
Loudd. It lies about a league east-north-east of Rama,
and in the same fertile plain. Poc. ii. 4.
—Ono.] See Lightfoot’s Works, ii. 320. Reland,
.bn 358.png
.pn +1
Cat. sub. voce. It was three miles from Lydda.
1 Chron. viii. 12. From a passage quoted by Lightfoot
it appears to have abounded in figs. Sharon was a continuation
of the great plain of Sephela mentioned before.
The whole coast of Palestine, from Carmel to the limits of
Egypt, is level. “Pro campestribus in Hebræo Saron
ponitur. Omnis regio circa Lyddam, Joppen, et Jamniam
apta est pascendis gregibus.” Hieronym. ad Jes. lxv.
1 Chron. xxvii. 29. Reland, 370.
—The servants were treated as the chief persons.]
The genius of the Mosaic law was considerate of the comfort
of servants, who were to join in the festive meal made
upon the unsacrificed portions of the free-will-offerings,
Deut. xii. 18. and in the feast of Pentecost, Deut. xvi. 11.
But I am not aware of any direct authority for representing
it as a Jewish custom to make a feast for the servants,
in which they were treated as the chief persons. Yet it is
not probable that our Lord (Luke xii. 37.) would have
represented the master as girding himself and waiting on
the servants whom he wished to reward for their fidelity,
if such a thing were wholly unknown. Bishop Pearce, in
his note on this passage, explains it of the custom of the
bridegroom’s waiting on the company as a servant, which
he says was common not very long since in our own
country. It would still remain to be explained how the
servants came to be included in the company on which he
waited. The Roman Saturnalia, however, may show that
such an inversion of the customary relations of life was
not altogether foreign to ancient manners.
—Flight of locusts.] Blumenbach’s Nat. Hist.
Art. Gryllus migratorius. The epitome of Livy, lib. lx.
mentions a pestilence as breaking out in Africa, about this
time, in consequence of the putrefaction of a vast swarm
.bn 359.png
.pn +1
of locusts. According to other accounts nearly a million
of persons perished. Oros. v. 11. Prid. Conn. An. 125.
Of their devastations, see Shaw, 187. who illustrates
almost every particular in the description of Joel, from his
own experience. Hasselquist, 444. Bryant’s Plagues of
Egypt, p. 133-152.
—Joppa.] The author supposes this name to
be derived from the Hebrew יפה beautiful. Under the
name of Jaffa, this port is celebrated in the history of the
middle ages, and in that of the late war. Josephus speaks
of the badness of the anchorage, (Bell. Jud. iii. 8. 3.)
and modern travellers confirm the account.
—One of the towers of Jerusalem can be discerned.]
[Greek: Io/ppê—e)n y(/psei i(kanô~s, ô)/ste a)phora~stha/i phasin a)p’
au)tou~ ta\ I(eroso/lyma, tên tô~n Iouda/iôn mêtro/polin.] Strabo,
lib. xvi. 759. This circumstance is not confirmed by
modern travellers. Pococke, ii. 3. “Joppa stood upon
and under a hill, from whence, as Strabo relates, but impossible
to be true, Jerusalem might be discerned; having
an ill haven, defended on the south and west with eminent
rocks, but open to the fury of the north.” Sandys, p. 118.
Yet Josephus relates, (Bell. Jud. v. 4.) and in this he
could hardly be mistaken, that the sea was visible from
one of the towers of Jerusalem.
—Grecian story of Andromeda.] “Est Joppe
ante diluvium, ut ferunt condita: ubi Cephea regnasse eo
signo accolæ adfirmant, quod titulum ejus, fratrisque
Phinei veteres quædam aræ cum religione plurima retinent.
Quinetiam rei celebratæ carminibus ac fabulis servatæque
a Perseo Andromedæ clarum vestigium, belluæ marinæ
ossa immania ostendunt.” Pomp. Mela, i. 11.
—A Nazarite.] See Lightfoot on Luke i. 15.
.bn 360.png
.pn +1
1 Cor. xi. 14. Jennings’s Jew. Ant. i. 415. Mich. Mos.
Law, § 143.
—Maresa.] See Josephus, Ant. xiii. 10. 2.
Its capture by Judas Maccabæus is mentioned, Ant. xii.
7. ad fin. It was at Maresa that Asa defeated the Ethiopians.
2 Chron. xiv. 10. Jerome and Eusebius place it at
two miles from Eleutheropolis. Cellarius, iii. 13. p. 359.
—Destruction of Samaria.] See Jos. Ant. xiii.
10. 3. Prid. Conn. An. 109. Antiochus Cyzicenus, who
commanded the Egyptian auxiliaries, had fallen into an
ambuscade, and lost many of his men. Callimander,
whom he had left in command, was defeated and killed.
—Gazera.] This place, called also Gezer, or
Gadara, (to be distinguished from Gadara in the Peræa
mentioned in the New Test.) is several times spoken of
by Josephus in connection with Joppa. Ant. xiii. 9.
Reland, 778, 801. Strabo mentions it in connection with
Ascalon and Ashdod, xvi. p. 759. It was the western
boundary of the portion of Ephraim. The root of the
word (גדר) denoting an enclosed place, gave rise to
several names of towns; among others the Ph[oe]nician
[Greek: Ga/deira], Cadiz.
—The five cities of the Philistines.] Gath,
Ekron, Ascalon, Gaza, and Ashdod, (Azotus.) Jos. Ant.
vi. 1.
—Eleutheropolis.] Though scarcely mentioned
in the times of the Old or New Testament, it became
afterwards a place of considerable importance, and the
episcopal see of Palestina prima. Epiphanius was born
there. Reland, 749.
—Institution of genealogists.] Michaelis supposes
that the שטרים (called officers in our translation,
.bn 361.png
.pn +1
Josh. xxiii. 1, 2.) mentioned Exod. v. 10. were the genealogists
of the Israelites. Mos. Law, § 51. Of the
division into families (משפחות), houses of the fathers
(בתי אבות), and heads of the houses (ראשיבתאבות), see
Numb. i. 2. Jos. vii. 14. 16. 17. Mich. § 46. Lowman,
Heb. Gov. chap. v. Thus in the affair of Achan, first the
tribe of Judah is taken, then the family of Zerah, then
the house of Zabdi, and lastly the individual Achan. Josh.
vii. 16. The political institutions of the Jews, the right to
landed property, &c. all depended on birth; and the keeping
of accurate genealogies was of the very first necessity.
Josephus, c. Ap. i. 7. describes the means which were
taken to preserve the registers and to repair any mutilations
or imperfections which might have been occasioned by
political disturbances.
—Their number was seventy-one.] There were
twelve princes and fifty-eight heads of families. Num.
xxvi. The supreme ruler for the time being, under Jehovah,
would naturally preside. Whether the princes and
heads were elective is doubtful. See Lowman, p. 77.
The assembly of Israel at Shechem by Joshua, (xxiv. 1, 2.)
is an example of such a Diet as the text mentions.
—Lachish.] Rehoboam is said (2 Chron.
xi. 9.) to have built Lachish, but it is evident from the
connection that this means fortified: for he is said to have
built Hebron and other cities, which were in existence
long before. So when Solomon is said to have built
Tadmor or Palmyra, the meaning probably is not that he
founded, but that he fortified and garrisoned it. Michaelis,
Mos. Law, § 23.
—The grove of terebinths.] In the valley of
Elah. 1 Sam. xvii. 2, 3. Dr. Clarke, iv. 421. describes it
as being three miles from Bethlehem, on the road to Jaffa.
.bn 362.png
.pn +1
—Aduffes.] The Aduffe (a word which
through the Spanish and the Arabic appears to be connected
with the Hebrew תף) is formed of a circle of metal,
over which a skin is stretched, and hung with bells at the
circumference. Mich. Mos. Law, § 197, note. Russell’s
Aleppo, i. 152. where it is called Diff.
—Jewish army.] In the times of the Maccabees
the Jews, who had frequently served in the armies of
the Grecian kings, appear to have adopted the Grecian
armour and discipline, as far as they could. But we
have few details of their military system in Josephus or
the Apocrypha. Their triumphs had been celebrated
from early times with dance, song, and sacrifice, and continued
to be so under the Maccabees, 1 Macc. xiii. 51.
iv. 34. Jos. Ant. xii. 7. 5. Judith xv. xvi. and probably
in this respect, mutatis mutandis, they imitated the heathens.
So at least our author presumes.
—Military engines.] The battering ram (כר)
(Ezek. xxi. 22.) and other engines (xxvi. 9.) are said to have
been used by the Babylonians, and the use of them might be
learnt by the Jews. Uzziah is said (2 Chron. xxvi. 14.) to
have constructed machines for throwing darts and stones.
Calmet, Mil. des Héb. Diss. i. 237. Under the Maccabees
they appear to have been in common use. 1 Macc.
xiii. 43.
—New moon.] Of the annunciation of the
new moon and the fraud of the Samaritans, see Lightfoot,
Works, i. 950. “The Bairam,” or feast which succeeds
the fast of Ramadan, “is announced at Aleppo by the
castle guns, as soon as a declaration on oath has been
made of the appearance of the new moon. The person
who bears this testimony commonly comes from one of
the villages.” Russell, i. 189.
.bn 363.png
.pn +1
—Sid or Ijar.] See the note, vol. i. p. 260,
respecting the Jewish calendar.
—Being cut off from the people.] It is probable
that in all cases where this is denounced as the
punishment for violations of the Levitical law, it was
supposed that they were committed presumptuously; and
the omission of purification from forgetfulness would not
have entailed the punishment. Mich. Mos. Law, § 249.
Comp. 2 Chron. xxx. 18. “Quidquid de p[oe]nâ excisionis
statuendum fuerit, certius nihil est quam eam nec a Talmudicis
nec a Karæis inter humanas aut forenses p[oe]nas
censeri, sed pro divinitus tantum infligencâ accipi.” Selden
de Synedr. p. 95. This is not probable.
—Touching a grave.] According to the law respecting
impurities contracted by this means, (Num. xix. 19.)
there should have been a purification on the third day.
—Share of the priests.] See Deut. xviii. 1-5.
Lev. vii. 28-38. Num. xviii. 8-20.
—Removal of the Nazarite’s vow.] Numb. vi.
13-21. comp. Acts xxi. 24. Reland, Ant. Heb. 287.
Id. 328. of the sacrifices which might or might not be
eaten. Of the court of the Nazarites, Lightfoot, Works,
i. 1092. As these sacrifices were expensive, it appears to
have been a usual act of pious benevolence, to “be at
charges” for poorer Nazarites. So Josephus (Ant. xix. 6.)
relates, that Agrippa, on his coming again to his government,
caused many Nazarites to be shaved. If the Apostle
Paul’s vow was really a Nazarite’s, which many doubt, it
should seem as if it sometimes extended only to seven
days, the term during which, according to the original law,
he remained unclean by funereal defilement, while his vow
was upon him.
—Gazith.] According to Reland, Ant. Heb.
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p. 104, half of this hall was in the court of the priests,
half in the Chel. (See vol. i. p. 253.) The reason for this
division was, that the court of the priests was within the
precincts of the sanctuary, in which no one was allowed to
sit, except kings of the family of David. The Sanhedrim
sat therefore in the part which was not in the court of the
priests. See Maimon. de Æd. Templi, vii. 6. Lightfoot,
Works, i. 2005. It is said to have been built by Simeon
Ben Shetach, a little later than the time of John Hyrcanus.
—The Sanhedrim.] When Moses found the
burden of judging the people too great for him, (Numb.
xi. 16.) he appointed seventy men, elders of the people, to
assist him. In the succeeding times of the judges and
kings, the traces of this institution disappear; but after
the captivity a great council (Synedrium) was formed, on
the model and consisting of the same number as this,
uniting the political functions of the diet and the juridical
duties of Moses’s judges. Lowman, Heb. Gov. ch. ix.
Mich. Mos. Law, § 50. Seventy was a favourite number,
Jos. B. J. ii. 20. 5.
—Scrutiny of the priests.] Reland, Ant.
Heb. 184. Maim. de Rat. ad. Templi. c. vi.
—Clad in black.] Josephus (Bell. Jud. v. 5. 7.)
says, those who were excluded from the priesthood for
bodily defects, wore common garments.
—Sacerdotal robes.] Lightfoot, Works, i. 2049.
Of the position of the vestry, see Reland, 104. The girdle
was hollow like a purse: this is what is meant by being
like a serpent’s skin.
—The unction was imputed to him.] “Sacerdotes
gregarii semel modo in solitudine adspersi fuere, uti Judæi
tradunt, sic ut vi unctionis illius vel adspersionis posteri
eorum consecrati censerentur.” Reland, Ant. Heb. 148.
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—Behold thou delightest in the truth in secret
things.] Such is the turn which the author gives to the
words, which in our version are rendered, “Behold thou
desirest truth in the inward parts; and in the hidden
part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.” The whole
connection is unfavourable to this interpretation, for
David is evidently praying for moral purity. “Truth
in the reins” is, probably, sincerity in virtue; and wisdom,
in the book of Proverbs, is often used in the same
sense. It may be observed here, once for all, that the
author appears to put into the mouth of the old man of the
temple, his own opinions respecting the typical nature of
the ordinances and sacrifices of the law. Into this much
controverted question the translator does not consider
himself called upon to enter. Every reader will judge according
to his own interpretations of the language of
Scripture.
—Carrying the shewbread into the sanctuary.]
Reland, Ant. Heb. 225. who, however, represents only
eight priests as engaged in this office. So Lightfoot,
Works, i. 1082.
—The nightly watch of the priests and Levites.]
Maim, de Æd. Templi, c. viii. Fasc. Hist. et Phil.
Sacr. vi. 69. Lightfoot, i. 941.
—Casting lots.] Lightfoot, i. 942. Reland, 198.
—Sloping ascent to the altar.] The altar of
burnt-offering was not to be ascended by steps, (Exod. xx.
26.) but by an inclined plane. Of the men of the station
(אנשי מעמד), see Reland, p. 186. Of the priests who
resided constantly in Jerusalem. Lightfoot, i. 917.
—The sun had risen.] It is commonly supposed
that nine in the morning and three in the afternoon
were the hours respectively of morning and evening sacrifice,
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as they were the two principal hours of public prayer.
Lewis, Ant. i. 501. Josephus, however, represents the
morning sacrifice as offered, [Greek: prôi\], which, according to the
common use of the word, (Larch. Herod, ii. 173.) must
mean in the earliest of the morning, and this was the time
of private morning prayer. Jos. Ant. v. 8.
—The sacerdotal order is the most exalted in
the world.] The priesthood was the Jewish aristocracy.
[Greek: Ô(/sper dê\ par’ e(ka/stois a)/llê ti/s e)sti eu)genaias y(pothesis, ou(/tôs
par’ ê(mi~n ê( tê~s i(erôsy/nês metousi/a tekmêri/on ê(sti ge/nous lampro/têtos.]
Jos. Vit. i.
—Only a sixth part.] “Quælibet sacerdotum
curia dividebatur in familias septem, ex quibus unaquæque
unum hebdomadæ diem obibat altaris munia.” Crenius,
Fasc. Hist, et Phil. Sacr. vii. 795.
—Jehovah our righteousness.] “Laudant qui
in scriptis Rabbinorum Messiam Jovam nuncupari contendunt,
Echa R. ad Thren. i. 16. fol. 59. 2. Quodnam
est nomen regis Messiæ? R. Abba f. Cahana dixit,
Jova est nomen ejus, sec. Jer. xxiii. 6. יהוה צדקנו (ubi
tamen hoc nomine symbolico Israelitæ insigniuntur et
Jer. xxxiii. 15. Hierosolymæ id ipsum nomen tribuitur)
quod dixit R. Levi, Bonum est civitati si nomen habet
quod rex et regi si nomen habet quod Deus ejus, sec.
Ezech. xlviii. 35. Etiam Justi qui Dei favore perfruuntur,
Dei nomine insigniuntur, Bava Bathra, fol. 75. 2.
Tria sunt quæ nomine ipsius Dei veniunt, nimirum Justi,
Jes. xliii. 7. Messias, Jer. xxiii. 6. Hierosolyma, Ezec.
xlviii. 35. Quo autem sensu Messias in Rabbinorum
scriptis nuncupetur Jehovah Zidkenu docet R. Albo in
Sepher Ikkarim (v. Schoettgen. Hor. Heb. ii. 200.)
Scriptura nomen Messiæ vocat Jehovah Zidkenu, quia
mediator Dei est, per quem justitiam a Deo accipiemus.
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Kimchi: Israelitæ vocabunt Messiam hoc nomine Jehovah
Zidkenu, quia temporibus ejus justitia Dei nobis firma et
stabilis erit, quæ nunquam recedet.” Kuinoel ad Joh. i. 1.
—Covert of the sabbath.] See Lightfoot, i.
2028. 2 Kings xvi. 18.
—Distance of Jericho from Jerusalem.]
[Greek: A)pe/chei de\ I(erosoly/môn me\n stadio/us e(kato\n pe/ntê/konta, tou~ de\
Iorda/nou e)xê/konta.] Jos. Bell. Jud. iv. 8. The view from
the Mount of Olives is described by most travellers in the
Holy Land.
—The Therapeutæ.] Philo, who is the only
ancient author who speaks of the Therapeutæ, says, (de
Vit. cont. Op. 892.) that there were many of them in all
parts of Egypt; but that their favourite residence was a
hill near the lake Mareotis. The Therapeutæ were, according
to him, the contemplative Essenes. Op. 889.
They were great allegorists; [Greek: E)ntyncha/nontes toi~s ie(rôta/tois
gra/mmasi, philosophou~si, tên pa/trion philosophi/an a)llêgorou~ntes.]
They were called Therapeutæ, [Greek: a)/po tou~ therapeu/ein to\ O)n],
p. 890. The account of the Essenes and the other Jewish
sects, the Pharisees and Sadducees, may be seen in Philo,
Op. 876. Joseph. Bell. Jud. ii. 8. Ant. xiii. 5. xviii. 1.
or Prideaux, Conn. An. 107. who has translated great
part of what Josephus says.
—A dreary waste.] “After some hours travel
you arrive at the mountainous desert into which our
blessed Saviour was led, to be tempted by the devil. A
most miserable, dry, barren place it is, consisting of high
rocky mountains, so torn and disordered as if the earth
had here suffered some great convulsion, in which its very
bowels had been turned outward. On the left hand,
looking down in a deep valley as we passed along, we saw
some ruins of small cells and cottages, which they told
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us were formerly the habitations of hermits, retiring hither
for penance and mortification. And certainly there could
not be found in the whole earth a more comfortless and
abandoned place for that purpose. From the top of these
hills of desolation, however, we had a delightful prospect
of the mountains of Arabia, the Dead Sea, and the plain
of Jericho.” Maundrell, p. 80. The reader will observe
with what propriety this region has been chosen for the
scene of the parable of the good Samaritan. See Buckingham,
292.
—Valour of the Essenes.] Philo (Op. 877.)
represents them as holding war in the utmost abhorrence,
and never fabricating any instrument which could be employed
in it. Josephus praises (Bell. Jud. ii. 8. 10.) the
constancy which they displayed in the Roman war, but it
was in enduring torture. He speaks of them, however,
as carrying swords for their defence against thieves; and
Philo mentions that the Therapeutæ united for mutual
protection, if their settlements were attacked. Op. 893.
—Oasis of the Essenes.] It is placed in this
neighbourhood on the authority of Pliny, who represents
them as living near the Dead Sea, on the western side, but
at such a distance as to avoid the effects of the pestilential
effluvia. N. H. v. 17.
—The books of doctrine and the names of the
angels.] [Greek: Syntêrê/sein o(moi/ôs ta/te tê~s ai(re/seôs au)tô~n bibli/a
kai\ ta\ tô~n a)nge/lôn o)no/mata.] Jos. Bell. Jud. ii. 17. Thus
rendered by Prideaux, “to preserve with equal care the
books containing the doctrine of their sect, and the names
of the messengers by whose hands they were written and
conveyed to them.”
—Seated themselves at table.] This was the
primitive custom of the Jews, (as of the heroic times of
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Greece, Athen. lib. i. p. 11.) See Gen. xxvii. 19. 1 Sam.
xx. 5. 24, Amos ii. 8. is the first passage of Scripture in
which the recumbent posture is mentioned.
—No women were to be seen.] “Gens sola,
et in toto orbe præter ceteras mira sine ullâ feminâ, omni
venere abdicatâ, sine pecuniâ, socia palmarum. In diem
ex æquo convenarum turbâ renascitur, large frequentantibus
quos vita fessos ad mores eorum fortunæ fluctus agitat.
Ita per seculorum millia, incredibile dictu gens æterna est
in qua nemo nascitur.” Plin. N. H. v. 17.
—The garden of God, the plain of Jericho.]
See the description in Josephus, B. J. iv. 8. Huds. [Greek: Ô(s
ou)k a)n a(martei~n tina e)/iponta, thei~on ei~)nai to\ chôri/on, e)n ô~(| dapsilê~
ta\ spaniô/tata kai\ kalli/sta genna~tai]. Other particulars respecting
the city and the region which surrounds it may
be found in Reland, 829. Most modern travellers to the
Holy Land also describe it. See Maundrell, p. 80. seq.
Pococke, ii. 31. Epiphanius describes Jericho as having
a circuit of twenty stadia. It is generally supposed that
the village of Rihhah, about three miles from the Jordan,
marks the site, as it evidently bears the name of Jericho.
But Rihhah has no ruins, such as might have been expected
on the site of so considerable a city. Hence it has
been thought that the ancient Jericho stood nearer the
mountains, at a place where many broken shafts and other
traces of buildings are visible, and at the distance of six
miles from the Jordan. Buckingham, 295.
—Chiefly inhabited by priests.] This circumstance
serves still further to illustrate the local propriety
of the parable of the good Samaritan.
—Bethabara.] [Greek: Bêthabara\] בית עברה denotes
a place of passage. John i. 28. Engeddi was called,
from its palms, Hazazon Thamar, 2 Chron. xx. 2. It was
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a large village. Pliny, who calls it the second town in
Judæa after Jerusalem, (v. 17.) must have confounded it
with Jericho. It was about three hundred stadia from
Jerusalem.
—Balsam shrubs.] Pliny N. H. xii. 25. ii.
672. Hard. “Omnibus odoribus præfertur balsamum, uni
terrarum Judæa concessum, quondam in duobus tantum
hortis utroque regio, altero jugerum xx non amplius, altero
pauciorum. Opes Judæis ex vectigalibus opobalsami crevere,
quod in his tantum regionibus gignitur. Est namque
vallis quæ continuis montibus velut muro quodam ad instar
castrorum clauditur. Spatium loci ducenta jugera
nomine Hierichus dicitur. In ea sylva est et ubertate et
am[oe]nitate insignis; palmeto et opobalsamo distinguitur.
Arbores opobalsami formam similem piceis arboribus
habent, nisi quod sunt humiles magis et in vinearum morem
excoluntur. Hæ certo anni tempore balsamum sudant”
Justin, xxxvi. 4. The balsam tree appears to be a
native of Arabia Felix, (see Bruce’s Travels, v. 19-24.)
and, according to Josephus, the queen of Sheba brought
it into Judæa, [Greek: Le/gousi d’ o(/ti kai\ tê\n tou~ o)pobalsa/mou r(izan,
ê(/n e)/ti kai\ ny~n ê(mô~n ê( chô/ra phe/rei, do/usês tau~tês tê~s gynaiko\s
e)/chomen.] Ant. viii. 6. Various ancient authors describe the
shrub. See Dr. T. M. Harris’s Nat. Hist, of the Bible, published
at Boston, N. A. Beneath the desolating sway to
which Palestine is subject, the balsam has disappeared
from the plain of Jericho. Pococke, 32. Volney, Voy.
en Syrie, ii. 187. Arabia now supplies what is imported
under the name of Balsam of Mecca. Hasselquist, 293.
What is now called the rose of Jericho is a species of
thlaspi, according to Pococke. Mariti describes it as a
small plant, having a number of stems which diverge from
the earth; they are covered with few leaves but loaded
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with flowers, which appear red in the bud, but turn paler
as they expand, and at length become white entirely. The
flowers, he says, have a great resemblance to those of the
elder, but have no smell. This can hardly be the plant of
which Wisdom says, (Eccles. xxiv. 14.) “I was exalted
like a palm-tree in Engaddi, and a rose plant in Jericho.”
—The Dead Sea.] Of the ancient geographers,
Strabo has given the fullest account of the Dead Sea, but
strangely confounding it with the lake of Sirbonis, (xvi.
p. 763. 4.) He particularly mentions the tradition of the
country, that the cities had been destroyed by an earthquake
and an eruption of sulphur and fire. It is not
surprising that where there was so much to astonish,
imagination should have exaggerated even the real wonders
of the scene. What is mentioned in the text is
agreeable to the observations of the latest travellers, except
that it does not appear that those dark clouds of smoke
rise from the surface, which the author has described,
p. 133. What has given rise to the account has probably
been the exhalations which often hang in a dense cloud
over the stagnant waters. Volney, i. 182. 3. Irby and
Mangles, p. 447. By far the most accurate account of
the Dead Sea, is that which is given by the authors last
referred to, in their unpublished Travels in Syria. Hitherto
it had scarcely been explored by an European traveller on
the southern side, and consequently its extent, in that direction,
had been very much overrated. Including what they
call its back-water, a shallow bay forming a prolongation
of it on the south, (p. 454) it cannot exceed, they say, thirty
miles at the utmost, though the ancients have assigned to
it a length of from seventy-five to eighty. Nor is it possible
that it should anciently have extended much further than
it now does; because at the distance of about eight or
.bn 372.png
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ten miles to the south of the present limit of the backwater,
a range of cliffs completely closes the valley of the
Ghor, (p. 454.) This is therefore the utmost extent that
the lake can have had in ancient times.
The saltness and bitterness of the water mentioned in
the text does not arise from a mixture of naphtha and
asphaltes, but from the large quantities of the muriates of
magnesia, soda, and lime, which it contains, amounting to
a fourth part of the weight, according to Dr. Marcet’s
analysis. Phil. Trans. 1807, p. 296. Hence the great
specific gravity of the water, which has been exaggerated
as if the human body could not sink in it. Tac.
Hist. v. 6.
—Apples of Sodom.] Wisdom x. 7. (where,
however, the land is only described as “bearing fruit that
never comes to ripeness.”) Tac. Hist. v. 7. Jos. Bell.
Jud. iv. 8. “Poma Sodomitica, are the fruits of the
Solanum Melongena, Linnæi; these I found in plenty about
Jericho, in the vales near Jordan, not far from the Dead
Sea. It is true they are sometimes filled with a dust, yet
this is not always the case, but only when the fruit is attacked
by an insect (tenthredo) which turns all the inside
into dust, leaving the skin only entire, and of a beautiful
colour.” Hasselquist, p. 287.
—Ceremonies of circumcision.] These are
described from the practices of the modern Jews; see
Buxtorf. cap. ii. p. 79.
—Every guest found in the fore-court a
splendid caftan.] Comp. Matt. xxii. 11. the parable of
the wedding garment; it has been reasonably concluded
that so severe a punishment would not have been inflicted
on the man who was not in a wedding garment, if it had
not been offered to all the guests.
.bn 373.png
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—Mashal.] This name the Hebrews gave to
those sententious and figurative maxims of moral wisdom
of which the Proverbs of Solomon are a specimen. See
Lowth, Prel. 24. Samson’s wedding affords an example
of such “wit-trials” as are here described, Judges xiv.
—Reckoning of the days from the Passover.]
See Maimonides, ap. Cren. Fasc. vi. 477.
—The Galileans.] Josephus (Bell. Jud. iii.
3.) describes the extent and the fertility of Galilee. Lightfoot,
Works, vol. ii. p. 78, has collected from the Rabbins
several instances of the false pronunciation of the Galileans.
Wetstein on Matt. xxvi. 73. The contempt in
which they were held by the learned inhabitants of Jerusalem
is sufficiently known from the New Testament.
—Insult offered to Hyrcanus by the Pharisees.]
This circumstance is related by Josephus, (Ant. xiii. 10.)
The reason alleged by the Pharisees, if it were their real
motive, was honourable to them. [Greek: Ou) ga/r e)dokei loidori/as
e(/neka thana/tô| zêmiou~n; a)/llôs te kai\ phy/sei pro\s, ta\s kola/seis
e)pieikô~s e)/chousin oi( Pharisai~oi.]
—Azereth.] See Lightfoot, “of the Pentecost,
עצרת,” Works, vol. ii. p. 970. Josephus, Ant. iii.
10. 6. This name is given to other festivals in Scripture,
but never to this, except by the Rabbins. It is not said in
Scripture that the law was given on this day, but it is
inferred by calculation of the time. The Israelites came
out of Egypt on the fifteenth of Nisan, and they reached
the foot of Sinai on the new moon of the third month from
their departure, (Exod. xix. 1.) adding the fifteen remaining
days of Nisan to twenty-nine of Siv, the first day of
Sivan would be the forty-fifth from their departure. Five
days more elapsed, (Exod. xix. 3. 7, 8. 11.) before the
law was actually given. Jennings’s Jew. Ant.
.bn 374.png
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—Rama.] This, which signifies high, was a
name borne by so many places in Palestine, that it is difficult
to discriminate them. Reland, p. 581, 964, supposes
that the Arimathea of the New Testament was near
Lydda. 1 Macc. i. 34.
—Lebona.] Now Leban, on the road from
Jerusalem to Naplosa. Maundrell, p. 63.
—Sichem.] Of its position see Buckingham,
p. 63. Reland makes Sichem or Sichar (John iv. 5.)
to be ten miles from Shiloh, and forty from Jerusalem,
p. 1007. The town of Neapolis, called by the inhabitants
Mabortha, (Jos. Bell. iv. 8.) was built so nearly on
the site of Sichem, that it is generally spoken of as the
same. The name is retained in the modern Naplosa or
Nablous. Dr. Clarke bears testimony to the romantic
beauty of the situation, (iv. 268.) Maundrell, p. 62, supposes
that the city may have anciently extended nearer to
Joseph’s well, as a mile seems a great distance to come
to draw water. Mr. Buckingham, however, says that
there are traces of sepulchres between the well and the
city, which must have been without the walls. Travels,
p. 543.
—Moreh.] Like Mamre, it was celebrated
for its terebinths, (Deut. xi. 30.) and the two places have
sometimes been confounded together.
—The Samaritans.] A remnant of this people,
escaping the persecutions of the emperor Justinian, (Gibbon,
viii. 323.) has still continued to inhabit Sichem, and
to celebrate their festivals on mount Gerizim. Basnage,
vii. c. 25, 26. Had the despot effected his purpose of
exterminating or converting them, Revelation would have
been deprived of the evidence which their copy of the
Pentateuch furnishes of the general integrity of the Mosaic
.bn 375.png
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writings. This invaluable document was first brought
into Europe about 1640 A. D. About forty of them still
remain at Naplosa. Jowett’s Christian Researches, p.
425. No ancient authority supports the Samaritan reading
of Gerizim for Ebal, Deut. xxvii. 4. Josh. viii. 30. Had
the Jews corrupted the reading out of hatred to the Samaritan
worship, they would have made Gerizim the Mount
of Cursing, Deut. xxvii. 12.
—Well may Shechem be called Sychar.] שכר,
Sicar, signifies in Hebrew to be intoxicated, and שקר to
lye. Isaiah xxviii. 3. The Jews, even in their most
serious compositions, delighted in this play on words.
Isaiah x. 30.
—Samaria.] Dr. Richardson’s Travels (ii.
p. 414) contain the fullest account which any modern
traveller has given of the present state of Samaria. There
are still many magnificent remains of the buildings
erected by Herod when he raised it from its ruins and
named it in honour of Augustus, Sebaste. Jos. Ant. xv.
8. 5. The historian relates its destruction by Hyrcanus,
Ant. xiii. 10. 4.
—A tribe of wandering shepherds.] Compare
the picture of the Bedouin Arabs in Volney (Voyage en
Syrie, i. 235, 239, 40.) Clarke, vi. 248. and of the Turkmans,
Russell, i. 388.
—Route of the Tyrian commerce.] The remains
of this paved road leading towards Tyre are still
distinctly visible along the coast. See Irby and Mangles,
Travels, p. 197.
—Megiddo.] Called [Greek: Magdo/los] by Herodotus,
ii. 159. in his narrative of the victory of Pharaoh Necho.
—