his restoration, by some appropriate action. Thus when Josephus was taken by the Romans, after the storming of Jotapata in Galilee, he was bound, like Paul, with a chain; but having prophesied that Vespasian would become emperor, at a time when there was no appearance of his prophecy being fulfilled, the emperor's son, Titus, after the event had justified the prediction, besought his father, on Josephus's falling into their hands, not only to loose, but to cut in pieces his chain, as the completest evidence that he had been unworthily treated. Accordingly the historian tells us, that a person was introduced, who cut his chain in pieces, as was the usual method with those who had been bound without cause, and thereby restored him to liberty and honour." b d But after having spoken of their marks of honour, we shall also notice their marks of disgrace. These were many, but the chief of them were the following. Sometimes they condemned men to the employments of women, like the Jewish youth to grind corn in Babylon. Cutting off the beard, was accounted a great insult; and plucking off the hair, was adding cruelty to insult. To spit in the face of a person, was also accounted disgraceful, and is still practised in the East. For Hanway tells us, that in the year 1744, when a rebel prisoner was brought before Nadir Shah's general, "the soldiers were ordered to spit in his face, an indignity," adds the historian," of great antiquity in the East." Clapping the hands, making a e a War, iv. 10. b Lam. v. 13. c2 Sam. x. 5. Luke xviii. 31, 32. d Is. l. 6. wide mouth, pushing out the tongue, and hissing, were likewise the marks of malignant joy and contempt. Accordingly Job says, "Men shall clap a e с d their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place." And Jeremiah mentions clapping their hands, hissing, wagging their heads, and gnashing their teeth, as the tokens whereby the inhabitants of Jerusalem showed their hatred. Whilst Isaiah says of Israel, "Against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue ?"-We formerly noticed the conduct of Shimei to David, in throwing dust in the air, and may now add, that the Jews insulted Paul, many centuries after, in a similar manner: for it is said of them, that " they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth-and they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air." On which conduct of theirs, the following extract from Captain Light's Travels forms an excellent commentary: "They, (viz. the inhabitants of Galabshee, a village on the Nile,) seemed more jealous of my appearance among them, than any I had seen. I was surrounded by them, and a present, a present,' echoed from all quarters, before they would allow me to look at their temple. One more violent than the rest threw dust in the air, the signal both of rage and defiance; ran for his shield, and came towards me dancing, howling, and striking the shield with the head of his javelin to intimidate me. A promise of a present, however, pacified him." a Ezek. xxv. 6. b Ch. xxvii. 23. e Lam. ii. 15. d Ch. lvii. 4. f Travels into Egypt, &c. p. 64. Acts xxii. 22. But, perhaps, the greatest insult which could be given, apart from bodily injury, was the contempt that was cast on their mother. Hence the cutting reproach of Saul to his son Jonathan, for the friendship he had shown to David, "Thou son of the perverse, rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thy own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother's nakedness?" David, likewise, when reproving Joab, his nephew, uses similar language." These men, the sons of Zeruiah, be too hard for me.' And when Abishai, the brother of Joab, wished to kill Shimei for cursing David, the king replied, "What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah ?" which Zeruiah was David's full sister." This tenderness for a mother's character, and desire to resent any affront that was cast upon her, was owing to polygamy; where the children of the same mother became naturally more attached. to her, and to each other. And it is for the same reason, that we have the names of the mothers of the kings of Israel, so frequently mentioned.' It distinguished them from the other children of the kings, by their other wives; and served to ascertain their descent and propinquity.-But marks of disgrace were not confined to the living. They often extended to the dead, by refusing them the rites of sepulture; raising them after they had been interred;h forbidding them to be publicly lamented; allowing them to become the prey of a 1 Sam. xx. 30. c 2 Sam. xvi. 10; xix. 22. e e Parke's Travels in Africa, ch. iv. f 1 Kings xiv. 31 ; xv. 2, 10, &c. 8 Rev. xi. 1-12. b 2 Sam. iii. 39. d] Chron. ii. 15, 16. h Jer. viii. 1. b ravenous animals; casting them, like Urijah's, into the graves of the common people; and burning their bones into lime, as Moab did the king of Edom's. Josephus, when deserted by his soldiers, through the intrigues of John of Gischala, while governor of Galilee, showed his sense of the disgrace which they had put upon him as their general, in the following striking manner: "He leaped out of his house to them, while they were going to set it on fire, with his clothes rent, and ashes sprinkled on his head, with his hands behind him, and his sword hanging at his neck." At this humbling sight, they pitied his situation, repented of their fault, and returned to their duty." This suspending the sword from the neck, is several times mentioned in Sir John Malcolm's History of Persia, as the mark either of degradation or deep supplication; and the same thing may be said of those who, with sackcloth on their loins, and ropes on their necks, supplicated the conquerors for mercy." SECT. IX. Jewish Measures. 1. Of length. A finger; a handbreadth; a span; a foot; a cubit; a fathom; a reed; the measuring line; a furlong; a sabbath day's journey; a mile; a Berè; a Parsa; a common day's journey; an Egyptian aroura; the Levitical cities. 2. Liquid measure. Their a Jer. xvi. 5-7; xix. 7; xxii. 18, 19. b Jer. xxvi. 23. c Amos ii. }. 2 Macc. v. 10. d War, ii. 21. e 1 Kings xx. 31, 32: and Josephus's account of it in his Antiq. viii. 14. quadrans; log or sextarius: firkin; hin; measure; bath; cor. 3. Dry measure. Their cab; omer, or tenth deal; seah; ephah; lethec; humer. 4. Weights. The shekel; manè, or minah; talent. 5. Money. The shekel; bekah; diner, or denarius; meah, gerah, or zuz; pondion; assar; semissis, or mesimes; farthing; mite.-Maneh or mina; talent; shekel of gold; talent of gold; drachma; didrachma; stater; Daric, Suidas's table of Jewish money. Relative value of gold and silver; their original form in commerce; usury between Jews prohibited; allowed with strangers. Money changers, their origin, utility, abuse. The custom of transacting money in sealed purses common in the East. I. Measures of Length. A finger, YN Atzebo, was the breadth of the thumb, or of six barley corns laid beside each other, where they are thickest. Bishop Cumber. land makes it the twenty-fourth part of a cubit, and equal to 912 parts of an inch, adopting the finger in place of the thumb, which the Jews used. A hand-breadth, Thepheh, was equal to four fingers' breadth, or 18 barley corns, because the width of the four fingers was reckoned equal only to three thumbs. It was the sixth part of a cubit, and equal to three inches and 648 parts of an inch, according to Bishop Cumberland. A span, ♫ Zeret, σlaun, was equal to the width between the top of the thumb, and the top of the little finger 'when extended; or about nine a Godwin. b To prevent the frequent quoting of authorities, it may be proper to add, that the following account of Jewish measures is drawn up from a careful examination of the meaning of the words as used in Scripture Lightfoot's Harmony of the Four Evangelists, on Johu ii. 6; his Hebrew and Talmudical Exercitations on Matth. v. 26; his Prospect of the Temple, ch. x.; Godwin's Moses and Aaron, book vi. ch. 9; Bernardus Lamy, lib. i. cap. 8, 9; Bishop Cumberland's Essay on Jewish Measures and Weights; and Leusden's Philologus Hebræo-mixtus, dissert. 28-32. |