exercise of their functions by "filling their hands," as the Scriptures term it; that is, by making them perform the offices of their order. But when the priests had departed from their religion, or had been a long time without discharging their functions, (which happened under some of the later kings of Judah,) it was deemed necessary to sanctify anew such priests, as well as those who had never exercised their ministry. (2Chron. 29. 34.)

The priests were not distinguished by their sacerdotal habits, unless when engaged in the service of the altar. Of these garments there are four kinds mentioned in the Books of Exodus (ch. 28), and Leviticus (ch. 8). Some additional information is communicated to us by Josephus, but the dress of the priests, as he describes it, may have been in some respects of recent origin. It was as follows:

(1.) A sort of hose made of cotton or linen, D michnisi bad, which was fastened round the loins, and extended down so as to cover the thighs. (Levit. 6. 10; Ezek. 44. 18.)

(2.) A tunic of cotton, in kitoneth shish, which extended, in the days of Josephus, down to the ankles. It was furnished with sleeves, and was fabricated in one piece, without being sewn. (Exod. 28. 39,41; 29. 5.)

(3.) The girdle, abnit, according to Josephus, was a hand's breadth in width, woven in such a manner as to exhibit the appearance of serpents' scales, and ornamented with embroidered flowers in purple, dark blue, scarlet, and white. It was worn a little below the breast, encircled the body twice, and was tied in a knot before. The extremities of the girdle hung down nearly to the ankles. The priest, when engaged in his sacred functions, in order to prevent his being impeded by them, threw them over his left shoulder. (Exod. 39. 27-29.) (4.) The mitre or turban, a migbaah, was originally pointed in its shape, was lofty, and was bound upon the head. (Exod. 28. 8,40; 29. 9; Levit. 8. 13.) In the time of Josephus the shape of the mitre had become somewhat altered; it was circular, was covered with a piece of fine linen, and sat closely upon the upper part of the head, so that it would not fall off when the body was bent down. This kind of mitre was called in Hebrew mitznepheth.

The Hebrew priests, like those of Egypt and other nations, performed their sacred duties with naked feet; a symbol of reverence and veneration. (Exod. 3. 5; Josh. 5. 15.)

As the number and variety of their functions required the priests to be well read in the Law, in order that they might be able to judge of the various legal uncleannesses, this circumstance caused them to be consulted as interpreters of the Law, (Hosea 4. 6; Mal. 2. 7; Levit. 13. 2; Numb. 5. 14,15,) as well as judges of controversies. (Deut. 21. 5; 17. 8,13.) In the time of war, their business was to carry the ark of the covenant, to sound the holy trumpets, and animate the army to the performance of its duties.

In order that the priests, as well as the Levites, might be quite at liberty to follow their sacred profession, they were exempted from all secular labours, and a suitable maintenance also was provided for them. There were thirteen Levitical cities assigned for the residence of the priests, with their respective suburbs, (Numb. ch. 35,) the limits of which were confined to a thousand cubits beyond the walls of the city, which served for outhouses, as stables, barns, and perhaps for gardens of herbs and flowers. Beyond this they had two thousand cubits more for their pasture, called properly the fields of the suburbs. (Levit. 25. 34.) So that there were on the

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whole three thousand cubits round the city; and in this sense we are to understand Numbers 35. 4,5, where the word "suburbs" comprehends both the houses without the walls, and also the fields.

But though the tribe of Levi had no portion in Canaan assigned them in the first division of it, yet its members were not prevented from purchasing land, houses, goods, or cattle, out of their own proper effects. Thus we read that Abiathar had an estate of his own at Anathoth, to which Solomon banished and confined him, (1 Kings 2. 26;) and the Prophet Jeremiah, who was also a priest, purchased a field of his uncle's in his own town. (Jerem. 32. 9.)

Such were the residences allotted to the priests. Their maintenance was derived from the tithes offered by the Levites out of the tithes by them received from the first fruits, from the first clip of wool when the sheep were shorn, from the offerings made in the Temple, and from their share of the sin-offerings, and thanksgiving-offerings sacrificed in the Temple, of which certain parts were appropriated to the priests. Thus in the peaceofferings, they had the shoulder and the breast, (Levit. 7. 33,34;) in the sin-offerings they burnt on the altar the fat that covered certain parts of the victim sacrificed, but the rest belonged to the priests. (Levit. 7. 6,10.) To them also was appropriated the skin or fleece of every victim; and when an Israelite killed an animal for his own use, there were certain parts assigned to the priest. (Deut. 18. 3.) All the first-born also, whether of man or beast, were dedicated to God, and by virtue of that devotion belonged to the priests. The men were redeemed for five shekels, (Numb. 18. 15,16;) the first-born of impure animals were redeemed or exchanged, but the clean animals were not redeemed. They were sacrificed to the Lord; their blood was sprinkled about the altar, and the rest belonged to the priests; who also had the first fruits of trees, that is, those of the fourth year, (Numb. 18. 13; Levit. 19. 23,24,) as well as a share of the spoils taken in war. (Numb. 31. 28,41.) Such were the principal revenues of the priests, which, though they were sufficient to keep them above want, yet were not (as some writers have imagined) so ample as to enable them to accumulate riches, or to impoverish the laity; thus their political influence, arising from their sacred station, as well as from their superior learning and information, was checked by rendering them dependant on the people for their daily bread. By this wise constitution of Moses, they were deprived of all power, by which they might injure the liberty of other tribes, or in any way endanger the Israelitish polity, by any ambitious views or prospects; for not only were all the estates of the Levites and priests, but also their persons, given into the hands of the other tribes, as so many hostages, and as a security for their good behaviour. They were so separated from one another, that they could not assist each other in any ambitious design; and they were so dispersed among the other tribes, that these could attack the whole subsistence as well as arrest all the persons of the Levites and priests at once, in event of any national quarrel, or if they were suspected of forming any evil designs against the other tribes of Israel. Hence we may perceive, that whatever power or influence the Mosaic constitution gave the Levites to do good, the same constitution carefully provided, that they should have no power, either to disturb the peace, or to endanger the liberties of their country.

The priesthood in Egypt was hereditary, but we have no decided information respecting the principles by which the right of succession was regulated. There was, however, a solemn form of investiture on admission

into the sacred office; the most remarkable ceremonies used on this occasion were the purification of the neophyte with water, clothing him with sacred robes, and above all anointing him with holy oil; ceremonies also enjoined under the Levitical law: "And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and wash them with water. And thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, and anoint him, and sanctify him; that he may minister unto me in the priest's office. And thou shalt bring his sons, and clothe them with coats; and thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office; for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations. Thus did Moses: according to all that the Lord commanded him, so did he." (Exod. 40. 12-15.) Professor Jahn states, that "the Egyptian priests were a separate caste, divided into three subordinate classes. They performed not only the religious rites, but the duties of all the civil offices for which learning was necessary. They, therefore, devoted themselves in a peculiar manner to the cultivation of the sciences. This learned nobility, so to speak, was strictly hereditary, and no one from another tribe could be received among its numbers. They studied natural philosophy, natural history, medicine, mathematics, particularly astronomy and geometry, history, civil polity, and jurisprudence. They were practising physicians, inspectors of weights and measures, surveyors of land, astronomical calculators, keepers of the archives, historians, receivers of

the customs, judges and counsellors of the king, who himself belonged to their caste. In short, like Jethro the priest of Midian, and Melchizedek the priest and king of Salem, they formed, guided, and ruled the people by establishing civil regulations, performing sacred services, and imparting religious instruction. They were liberally rewarded for the discharge of these important duties; not only by possessing large estates in land, which, if we may credit Diodorus Siculus, occupied a third part of all Egypt, but also by receiving from the king a stated salary for their civil employments. However suspicious such an order may appear to many at the present day, it was admirably adapted to those times, and by means of it Egypt was raised far above all the nations of antiquity, both in regard to her civil institutions and her advancement in the sciences. Hence, even the Greeks, in ancient times, were accustomed to borrow their politics and their learning from the Egyptians. If, then, an institution in many respects so useful, could be adopted by the Hebrews in such a manner as to retain its advantages, and reject as far as possible its faults, it was evidently the wisest measure which that people could adopt."

The chief duty, however, of the priests was to offer up the appointed sacrifices: certain lay attendants, or at least priests of inferior rank, assisted the high-priest in slaying the victims and arranging the offerings upon the altar; but none but priests of high rank were permitted to offer up incense to the Deity. The priests engaged in this task are generally represented as wearing a leopard

skin, to which probably some notions of peculiar sanctity were attached; and from various circumstances depicted on the Monuments and recorded by historians, it is clear that to this act of homage, greater importance was ascribed than to any other function belonging to the priestly office. We find that the offering of incense was equally limited among the Israelites to the priests of the highest rank, for it was the test selected by Moses to determine which family God had chosen from among the Levites, to superintend the national worship, when Korah and his companions disputed the supremacy of Aaron. (Numb. 16. 17.)

Priestly dresses of all kinds are represented on the sculptures and paintings of ancient Egypt, and though there are some points of similarity with those of the Hebrew priests, there are many others dissimilar. The dresses of the Egyptian priests were frequently charged with idolatrous symbols, which could not be permitted in the priestly attire of the Hebrews. The dresses of the Egyptian priests also varied according to the god they served and the office they exercised; but in Israel

there were but two dresses, that of the priests and that of the high-priest. Thus the Hebrew model was of a more simple and austere character: at the same time, the Hebrews were acquainted with no other forms of ritual worship, no other priestly institutions and attire, than those of Egypt.

The

The priesthood of Jesus Christ and of the new law is infinitely superior to all others, in its duration, its dignity, its prerogatives, its object, and its power. priesthood of Aaron was to end, but that of Jesus Christ is everlasting. That of Aaron was limited to his own family, was exercised only in the Temple, and among only one people; its object was sacrifices and purifications, which were only external and could not remit sins; but the priesthood of Jesus Christ includes the entire Christian church, spread over the face of the whole earth, and among all nations of the world. Those who would comprehend the excellence of the priesthood of the new law above that of the law of Moses, must diligently study the Epistle to the Hebrews. Schulze; Horne. See AARON; HIGH-PRIEST.

PRINCESS. The term sarah, "princess," occurs but seldom in the Scriptures; but the persons to whom it alludes, the daughters of kings, are frequently mentioned, and often with some reference to the splendour of their apparel. Thus we read of Tamar's "garment of divers colours," (2Sam. 13. 18,) and the dress of the Egyptian princess, the wife of Solomon, is described as "raiment of needlework," and "clothing of wrought gold." (Psalm 45. 13,14.) See EMBROIDERY, where one figure of a daughter of the Pharaohs has been given, in her royal robes. Our present wood-cut represents an Egyptian princess performing some sacred duties in the temple. From Sir

The Daughter of Sesostris officiating as n Priestess in the Temple. From the Tombs at Thebes.

John Gardner Wilkinson we learn that, as gods are represented officiating at the investiture of a king, goddesses in like manner placed upon the heads of queens the peculiar insignia they wore, which were two long feathers with the globe and horns of Athor, and they presented to them their peculiar sceptre. Respecting the office they held, though we are unable to ascertain the exact duties they performed, it is evident that they assisted in the most important ceremonies of the temple, in company with the monarch himself, holding the sacred emblems which were the badge of their office; and the importance of the post is sufficiently evinced by the fact that the wives and daughters of the noblest families of the country, of the high-priests, and of the kings themselves, were proud to enjoy the honour it conferred." In another place the same writer states, "Sistra were often held forth, generally by the queens and princesses, in the presence of the gods, as well as the emblematic instruments, surmounted by the head of Athor; and the privilege of bearing them in the temples was principally confined to those who held the office of pallacides. They frequently presented flowers at the same time that they performed the peculiar rites required."

The dresses of the ladies of Egypt were generally very splendid, and the articles depicted on the Monuments are so varied and numerous, that it would be no easy task to affix their appropriate designation. It may be sufficient here to say that all the articles enumerated by the Prophet Isaiah may be identified. We see "the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon; the chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, the bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the head-bands, and the tablets, and the ear-rings, and nose-jewels, the changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping-pins, the glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails." (Isai. 3. 18-23.) See CLOTHES; DRESS.

RIALS.

PRINTED. See WRITING AND WRITING MATE

PRISCA or PRISCILLA, ПIρtokα, (2Tim. 4. 19,) ПIрiokiλλa, (Acts 18. 2,) the wife of Aquila; a Christian woman, with whom and her husband the Apostle Paul for some time resided, working at their trade of tent-making. She is more than once mentioned in the Acts and in Saint Paul's Epistles.

PRISON, D' beth hasohar, (Gen. 39. 20,) literally "the house of confinement," a prison, or castle, as being the abode of prisoners.

Imprisonment does not appear to have been imposed by Moses as a punishment, though he could not be unacquainted with it; for he describes it as in use among the Egyptians. (Gen. 39. 20,21.) The only time he mentions it, or more properly uses it, is solely for the purpose of keeping the culprit safe until judgment should be given on his conduct. (Levit. 24. 12.) In later times, however, the punishment of the prison came into use among the Israelites and Jews; whose history under the monarchs abounds with instances of their imprisoning persons, especially the prophets, who were obnoxious to them for their faithful reproofs of their sins and crimes. Thus Asa committed the Prophet Hanani to prison for reproving him, (2Chron. 16. 10;) Ahab committed Micaiah, (1Kings 22. 27,) as Zedekiah did the Prophet Jeremiah for the same offence. (Jer. 37. 21.) John the Baptist was imprisoned by Herod, (Matt. 4. 12,) and Peter by Herod Agrippa. (Acts 12. 4.) Debtors (Matt. 18. 3,) and murderers (Luke

22. 19,) were also committed to prison. We read also οἱ τηρησις δημοσια, a common prison, or a public gaol, (Acts 5. 18,) which was a place of durance and confinement for the worst sort of offenders. In their prisons there was usually a dungeon, (Jer. 38. 6,) or a pit or cistern, as the word bor is rendered in Zechariah 19. 11, where it unquestionably refers to a prison; and from this word we may conceive the nature of a dungeon, viz., that it was a place in which indeed there was no water, but in its bottom deep mud; and, accordingly, we read that Jeremiah, who was cast into this worst and lowest part of the prison, sunk into the mire. (Jerem. 38. 6.)

In the prisons also were stocks, for detaining the person of the prisoner more securely. (Job 12. 27; 33. 11.) Michaëlis conjectures that they were of the sort by the Greeks called TEνTEOUρiyyov, wherein the prisoner was so confined that his body was kept in an unnatural position, which must have proved a torture truly insupportable. The cowrepa pulakη, or inner prison, into which Paul and Silas were thrust at Philippi, is supposed to have been the same as the pit, or cistern, above noticed; and here their feet were made fast in the wooden stocks, TO Uλov. (Acts 16. 24.) As this prison was under the Roman government, these stocks are supposed to have been the cippi, or large pieces of wood in use among that people, which not only loaded the legs of the prisoners, but sometimes distended them in a very painful manner. Hence the situation of Paul and Silas would be rendered more painful than that of an offender sitting in the stocks, as used among us; especially if (as is very possible) they lay on the hard and dirty ground, with their bare backs lacerated by recent scourging.

The keepers of the prison anciently had, as in the East they still have, a discretionary power to treat their prisoners just as they please; nothing further being required of them than to produce them when called for. According to the accurate and observant traveller, Chardin, the gaoler is master to do as he pleases; to treat the prisoner well or ill; to put him in irons or not, to shut him up closely, or to hold him in easier restraint; to admit persons to him, or to suffer no one to see him. "If the gaoler and his servants receive large fees, however base may be the character of the prisoner, he shall be lodged in the best part of the gaoler's own apart ment; and, on the contrary, if the persons who have caused the prisoner to be confined, make the gaoler greater presents, he will treat his victim with the utmost inhumanity." Chardin illustrates this statement by a narrative of the treatment received by a very great Armenian merchant. While he bribed the gaoler, the latter treated him with the greatest lenity; but afterwards, when the adverse party presented a considerable sum of money, first to the judge, and afterwards to the gaoler, the hapless Armenian first felt his privileges retrenched; he was next closely confined, and then was treated with such inhumanity, as not to be permitted to drink oftener than once in twenty-four hours, even during the hottest time in the summer. No person was allowed to approach him but the servants of the prison. At length he was thrown into a dungeon, where he was in a quarter of an hour brought to the point,-a large present, to which all this severe usage was designed to force him. What energy does this account of an Eastern prison give to those passages of Scripture, which speak of the soul coming into iron, (Psalm 105. 18, margin,) of the sorrowful sighing of the prisoner coming before God, (Psalm 79. 11,) and of Jeremiah's being kept in a dungeon many days, and supplicating that he might not be remanded thither lest he should die. (37. 16-20.) Horne.

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Persons who were committed to prison were subjected to the further evil of being confined with chains, which occur under the Hebrew words, 'pi zikim, bɔɔ kebel, and barzel; likewise under the word 'n nichushtaim, implying that they were made of brass. (Jerem. 40. 4; 52. 11; Psalm 105. 18; 107. 10.) The Jews, after the Captivity, followed the example of other nations, and shut up in prison those who failed in the payment of their debts. They had the liberty likewise to put in requisition the aid of tortures, and to punish the debtor with stripes. (Matt. 5. 26; 18. 28-34.) It was not unfrequently the case that the keepers of prisons, when those who were committed to their charge had escaped, were subjected to the same punishment which had been intended for the prisoners, (Acts 12. 19;) this was a practice with the Romans, and the fact explains the conduct of the gaoler at Philippi, which was a Roman colony. (Acts 16. 27.)

There still exist at Rome two prisons, which have for very many ages been dedicated, as churches, to Saints Peter and Paul, from a tradition at least as old as the time of Constantine the Great, that in them the two Apostles were confined for some time previous to their martyrdom under Nero. In the lower prison is a well, which perhaps furnished drink to the prisoners, and is therefore now an object of pilgrimage, particularly to the female peasantry of the neighbourhood of Rome, who at each visit take a quantity of this supposed hallowed liquid, conveying it to their mouths by means of a ladle. The prisons are termed, from their reputed founder, the Mamertine, and even if their connexion with the Apostles be doubted, are places of great interest, from their antiquity, their gloomy and desolate appearance, and their having unquestionably been the scene of the death of the associates of Catiline, of the Numidian Jugurtha, and of many others, whose deeds form eras in the history of Rome.

The Mamertine prisons, constructed on the descent of the Capitoline Hill, towards the Forum, are probably the oldest monuments of antiquity in Rome; they consist of two separate cells, one over the other. Tradition assigns to them a very remote origin, affirming that the upper prison was founded by Ancus Martius, the third successor of Romulus, and that the lower cell was constructed by Servius Tullius, sixth king of Rome, and from him termed Tullianum, a name, however, often used, like Mamertine, to describe both.

The front of these prisons is open to the street; but above, and resting on them, is built the church of San Giuseppe Falegnani. It has an appearance of great solidity, being composed of immense masses of stone, put together without cement; almost every one of the blocks is upwards of nine feet long, and in height nearly three feet. The length of the front is forty-three feet, but its height does not exceed seventeen; along the upper part runs an inscription, intimating that Caius Vibius Rufinus and Marcus Cocceius Nerva, (who were consuls in the year 23,) by a decree of the senate, repaired, enlarged, or did something to the prison. Two modern entrances have been made, by breaking through the thick walls; one leads from the street, and the other from the church. The traveller descends by the aid of stairs into the upper cell, which is about twenty-seven feet long, nineteen in breadth, and fourteen feet high. Nearly in the middle of the vaulted roof he may perceive an aperture, large enough to admit the passage of a man's body, and directly under it in the floor, or stone pavement of the cell, he will see another opening of a similar character. This affords a direct communication with the lower prison; but he descends, at another point, by a second flight of steps, modern like the former. The