Incidentally from the Book of Chronicles, we find that the same practice continued for an unknown period among the Hebrews; in the very curious and interesting genealogical tables at the commencement of the Chro nicles, we find mention of this practice: "The sons of Shelah, the son of Judah, were, Er, the father of Lecal, and Laadah, the father of Mareschah, and the families of the house of them that wrought fine linen, of the house of Ashbea." (1Chron. 4. 21.) But the custom had fallen into disuse when the Chronicles were compiled, for the historian immediately afterwards adds, "These were ancient things." the loom. There can be no doubt that the weaving art | embroidery were hereditary in certain Egyptian families. is more ancient than the spinning; its first productions were in the form of matting, and were simple interlacings of shreds of bark, strips of lacustrine plants, or vegetable stalks, such as straw and rushes. These mats are to the present day a substitute for cloth among the uncivilized nations of the Pacific Ocean, and the interior of Africa. The process of invention must have been naturally directed, in hot countries, to the obtaining a lighter and more flexible material for the weaver than the cumbrous bark or the heavy straw, and the fibres of various water-plants most probably were the earliest subject of experiment. The want of beauty in these fibres must have led to trying the effect of rolling several of them together, and also to a search for plants which would yield fibre of long staple, and, at the same time, sufficiently fine to allow of several being united together. The flax and hemp tribe afforded facilities for the preparation of thread from vegetable fibre superior to any other species of plants, and their valuable properties seem to have been first discovered in Egypt. In the description of the destruction caused by the Ten Plagues, the flax-crop is mentioned as one of not less importance than any of the grain-harvests, and even so late as the time of Solomon we find that flax-yarns were imported into Palestine from Egypt. The formation of thread from the twisting together of vegetable substances must soon have led to the trial of animal productions, such as wool and hair, for the spinning of yarns. We find it recorded in the description of the labours of the pious Hebrew women who worked the decorations for the Tabernacle that "those who were wisehearted spun goats' hair," and indeed the long hair of some of the breeds of goats peculiar to Asia furnishes materials for the production of yarn at the present day. Homer is the first who decisively mentions wool; this material, which subsequently became the most common of all, was in the age of the Trojan war so very precious that its preparation was entrusted to the hands of queens and princesses. Their spindles, or distaffs, were made of the most precious materials, and the prepared wool, ready-dyed of some bright hue, was brought up in a costly vase, so as to render it worthy of being touched by royal or aristocratic fingers. When Menelaus stopped with his frail consort at the court of Polybus, king of Egypt, on his return from Troy, rich and rare gifts were bestowed by the representative of the Pharaohs on the wandering son of Atreus. The Egyptian queen resolved not to be surpassed in generosity by her husband: Alcandra, consort of his high command, A golden distaff gave to Helen's hand, The dyeing of the wool facilitated the production of those "garments of many colours" which we find from the history of Joseph to have been very highly valued in patriarchal ages. We refer to the article APPAREL for a representation of the horizontal loom, in which chequers or plaids were woven with threads of wool, previously coloured, a task usually assigned to male operatives. The loom was held fast by four blocks, securely imbedded in the ground; the workmen sat on the part of the web already finished, and after each shot of the shuttle used a heavy beam to drive the thread of weft quite home. It must have required considerable experience and practice to acquire manual dexterity and expertness in the use of such cumbrous apparatus; indeed, we learn from ancient historians that the arts of weaving and Weaving, however, was, for the most part, a domestic employment, and if we may judge from the aspect of those delineated as engaged in it on some of the Egyp tian monuments, it was far from being regarded as a pleasing or exhilarating occupation. The countenances of too many, from their melancholy aspect, remind the spectators of the description which Homer gives of the sorrowing Penelope, whiling away the tedious and weary time of her husband's absence by the labours of the loom. The description would most probably apply to many a Hebrew wife and mother during the long wars in which their commonwealth was so often engaged. Full opposite before the folding gate, Odyssey xvii. But the sombre aspect of the persons thus engaged is easily explained when we remember that most of those work-women were captives taken in war, fallen from their former high estate, and forced to bear the contumely of an imperious mistress. It will be remembered with what bitterness of feeling Hector forebodes such a fate for his beloved Andromache: Thy woes, Andromache, thy grief I dread, And woes of which so large a part was thine.-Iliad vi. If the common tradition be true, that the Bayeux tapestry was worked by Saxon ladies at the command of the queen of William the Conqueror, this curious piece of work, which records the principal events of the Norman conquest, will shew, that even in the middle ages, the woes of the vanquished were cruelly embittered by their being compelled to emblazon the causes of their captivity in order to gratify the pride of their victors and masters. The upright loom used by women was simply a strong beam, over which the web was passed. The warp was introduced by a shuttle nearly resembling a strong The Upright Loom. knitting needle, and then pressed and held in its place Hence we WEAVING wily Delilah, after having deceived her by a false statement of the secret on which his superhuman power depended. "And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me and told me lies; tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web. And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web." (Judges 16. 13,14.) A vest of ornamental work seems to have been a favourite present from a fond wife to her husband. In almost every example of embroidery pictured on the Egyptian monuments or recorded by ancient writers, we find the mistress of the house either superintending the work or actually engaged in it. Homer records that Andromache was engaged in this occupation when she received intelligence of the death of Hector: Far in the close recesses of the dome, Now from the walls the clamours reach her ear," And all her members shake with sudden fear; Forth from her hand the wary shuttle falls, Alarm'd, astonish'd to her maids she calls.-Iliad xxii. Surcoats woven in varied colours or ornamented with embroidery, formed no small part of the ancient warrior's pride. An allusion is made to the custom in the most striking passage of Deborah's triumphal hymn. "The mother of Sisera looked out through a window, and cried through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the wheels of his chariot? Her wise ladies answered her, yea, she returned answer to herself, Have they not sped? Have they not divided the spoil? To every a man a damsel or two; to Sisera, a prey of divers colours, a prey of divers colours of needle-work, of divers colours of needle-work on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take the spoil." (Judges 5. 28-30.) The repetition of the divers colours" in this passage, is a strong proof of the value that was anciently set on this embroidered work. Their value indeed was so great that the most minute directions are given for the preparation of the sacerdotal robes to be worn by the high-priest: "And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat; and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office. And they shall take gold and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. . . . . And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, of purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen." (Exod. 28. 4-8.) Moses is the first who mentions the preparation of gold as threads to be interwoven with the more precious cloths: "And they did beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires, to work it in the blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, with cunning work." (Exod. 39. 3.) Cloth of golden tissue is not unfrequently delineated on the Egyptian monuments, and specimens of it have been found rolled about the mummies; but it is not easy to determine whether the gold thread was originally interwoven or afterwards inserted by the embroiderer. Solomon was very anxious to introduce textile manufactures amongst his subjects, and for this purpose, he imported linen-yarn from Egypt, and opened an export trade with the Eastern seas through the port of EzionGeber, and with the Mediterranean through the allied state of Tyre. His desire to protect domestic industry was further shown by the prominence he has given to | King Lemeul's description of a virtuous woman, which he has inserted in the Book of Proverbs: "Who can find a virtuous woman, for her price is far above rubies? The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. She seeketh wool and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. She is like the merchant ships, she bringeth her food from afar. She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household and a portion 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 perceiveth that her merchandise is good; her candle goeth not out by night. She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. She stretcheth out her hand to the poor, yea she reacheth her hand to the needy. She is not afraid of the snow for her household; for all her household are clothed with scarlet. She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple. Her husband is known in the gates where he sitteth among the elders of the land. She maketh fine linen and selleth it, and delivereth girdles unto the merchant." (Prov. 31. 10-24.) Isaiah represents King Hezekiah as declaring, “I have cut off like a weaver my life." (Isai. 38. 12.) This passage, which has perplexed many of the commentators, obviously alludes to the custom of cutting away the thrums by which the warp is attached to the loom so soon as the piece is completed. W. WEB. See WEAVING. WEDDING. As this subject has been already so fully treated of, we will refer the reader to the article MARRIAGE, and merely quote from Herschel's Sketch of the Jews the following account of a Jewish wedding:– "The ceremonies attending a Jewish marriage illustrate many important parts of Scripture, especially those referring to the union between Christ and the Church. In ancient times the ceremony of betrothing was the solemn engagement by which two persons were united for life; and this, in the Talmud, is directed to take place at least twelve months before the parties live together. Thus, Mary, the mother of Our Lord, was ‘a virgin, espoused to a man whose name was Joseph,' yet would have been treated as an adulteress had she formed a connexion with any other man. In process of time, this law became less strictly observed; and, although the betrothing still takes place some time before the marriage, (in many cases two or three years previous, if the parties are young,) yet it is not now done by giving a ring, but by a written agreement. This contract, if not dissolved by mutual consent, is so far binding, as to involve the party breaking it in a pecuniary penalty. "The night before the celebration of the marriage is called the 'watch-night,' and is kept as such by the family of the bride, and the maidens who attend her on the occasion. If the bridegroom's residence be at a distance from that of the bride, he usually arrives some time in the course of this night, or very early in the morning. The bridemaids watch anxiously for his arrival, and as soon as they are apprised of his approach by the joyful shout set up by some of the members of the family, who have been on the look-out to catch the first glimpse of him, 'The bridegroom cometh!' they go forth to meet him. The precision with which this answers to the parable in the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew's Gospel, scarcely requires pointing out. "The bride and bridegroom do not meet at his arrival; each being engaged apart until the afternoon of the marriage day. The morning is observed as a fast by both, and each should spend a great part of it in devotion-he with his male friends; she with her parents and bridemaids. A due time before the hour fixed for the ceremony, the bride begins to make herself ready,' decking herself in the most splendid attire that her means enable her to procure. Glittering jewels, the 'golden embroidery, and raiment of needle-work,' mentioned in the forty-fifth Psalm, are by no means confined to those who are really opulent; but the utmost efforts are made by the friends of every bride to render her wedding garments as splendid as possible. She and her bridemaids are usually dressed in white. The hair of the bride is cut off with much ceremony, and a veil placed upon her head; while her mother and other matrons give her exhortations suitable to the first assumption of this mark of being in subjection. "The Huppo is a canopy supported on four posts, large enough to admit under it the bride and bridegroom, with their special attendants, and the nearest relatives of the parties. This is usually erected in a garden, where there is one; but, in towns, is sometimes to be seen in the public street or square. When all thirgs are ready, the bridegroom, accompanied by his friends, first repairs to the Huppo, where he is joined by the bride, closely veiled, and led by her bridemaids and female relatives. The rabbi reads the contract of marriage, and then gives them an exhortation; the company sing a hymn, and the ceremony concludes by the bridegroom placing a plain gold ring on the fore-finger of the bride's left hand, saying, 'Behold, thou art set apart to me with this ring, according to the laws of Moses and Israel.' "The whole party then return to the house, the newly-married pair walking first, arm-in-arm. As soon as they arrive, they sit down to breakfast together, both having fasted until that time. A short time after this, the chief-feast, or what may be called the marriagesupper, takes place, which is a very joyful scene. The bridegroom sits at the head of the table, with his bride at his right hand. In former times it was usual to continue the festivities for seven days; but this custom is now very rare, and confined to a few of the wealthy families. "I may here mention a custom which throws light on Our Lord's words in Matthew 9. 15. Besides the appointed fasts of the Jewish church, voluntary fasts are kept by those who are, or wish to be thought, particularly pious. Many, like the Pharisee, fast twice in the week; namely, on the second and fifth days,our Monday and Thursday. It would be considered very wrong, in those who are in the habit of observing such fasts, to omit them for frivolous reasons; but if they are invited to a marriage, they are specially exempted from the observance of them. Hence Our Lord refers to the impropriety of fasting in the presence of the bridegroom, as to a custom well known among the Jews. “When a Jew reads, that the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready,' he is forcibly reminded of the song, with which he has been accustomed from his youth to commence every sabbath: Go forth, my beloved, to meet the bride. By the bride is meant the congregation or assembly of Israel, which conveys precisely a similar idea to a Jew that the words 'the Church' do to a Christian. It is on the sabbath of blessedness, in the days of the Messiah, that this meeting between him and his bride is to take place; and the weekly sabbath, on which this song is sung, he regards as the type of that 'rest that remaineth for the people of God.” The Rev. Pliny Fisk, the missionary to Palestine, in the description of a Jewish wedding which he had witnessed, writes, "At the opposite end of the court was a kind of gallery, where the bride was making preparations for the ceremony, and in front of which hung stripes of different coloured paper, red, pale red, and yellow, some of them covered with gold leaf. Now and then the bride showed herself through the lattice, or wooden net-work, which stood in front of the gallery. It reminded us of Solomon's Song,'My beloved looketh forth at the windows, showing himself through the lattice.' A. WEDGE, one of the most common of the mechanical powers, is formed by the junction of two inclined planes, and is used for splitting wood, rocks, &c., by inserting the narrow edge, and driving the wedge into a fissure. In Scripture, wedge is used to express a mass of the unwrought precious metal; see Josh. 7. 21, where Achan saw "a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight;" and Isaiah 13. 12, "I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir." A. WEEDS, suph. This rendering of the Hebrew word occurs only in Jonah 2. 6 of our translation of the Bible; but the word suph is to be found also in the following places in the original: Exod. 2. 3,5; 13. 18; 15. 4; Numb. 14. 25; 21. 4; Judges 11. 16; 1Kings 9. 26; Psalm 106. 7,9,22; 136. 13,14; Isai. 19. 6; and Jerem. 49. 21. According to Parkhurst, as a collective noun, it means plants or weeds, which grow on the borders of a river or sea, and are continually brushed or swept by the waves. What is now called the Red Sea is, in Hebrew, Jam Suph, the "Weedy Sea," and it has been thought that this appellation was given it from the great quantity of weeds with which it abounded. Thus both Diodorus Siculus and Artemidorus in Strabo (cited in Bochart, vol.i., p.282,) have taken particular notice of the priov mniou, and puкos, fucus, moss and seaweed (alga), with which this sea abounds, and from which they account for its remarkably green colour. Dr. Shaw also in his Travels, is for translating Jam Suph, "the Sea of Weeds," from the variety of alge and fuci which grow on it, and at low water, particularly after strong tides, winds, currents, are left in great quantities upon the shore. A. WEEK, Y shabuang, a period of seven days. Under the usual name of a week, shabait is mentioned as far back as the time of the Deluge, (Gen. 7. 4,10; 8. 10,12; 29. 27,28. It must therefore be considered a very ancient division of time, especially as the various nations among whom it has been noticed, for instance, the Nigri in Africa, appear to have received it from the sons of Noah. The enumeration of the days of the week commenced at Sunday. Saturday was the last or seventh, and was the Hebrew sabbath or day of rest. The Egyptians gave to the days of the week the same names that they assigned to the planets. From the circumstance that the sabbath was the principal day of the week, the whole period of seven days was likewise called shabat, in Syriac, shabta, in the New Testament, | Florus, whose exactions drove the Jews into rebellion, sabbaton, and sabbata. The Jews accordingly in desig- according to Josephus." (Antiq. xx. 10. 1.) nating the successive days of the week, were accustomed to say, the first day of the sabbath, that is, of the week; the second day of the sabbath, that is, Sunday, Monday, &c. (Mark 16. 29; Luke 24. 1; John 20. 1,19.) In addition to the week of days, the Jews had three other seasons denominated weeks. (Levit. 25. 1-17; Deut. 16. 9. 10.) 1. The day of weeks. It was a period of seven weeks, or forty-nine days, which was succeeded on the fiftieth day by the feast of Pentecost. (Deut. 16. 9,10.) 2. The week of years. This was a period of seven years, during the last of which the land remained untilled, and the people enjoyed a sabbath or season of rest. 3. The week of seven sabbatical years. It was a period of forty-nine years, and was succeeded by the year of jubilee. (Levit. 25. 1-22; 26. 34.) Of the seventy weeks in Daniel 9. 24, it is agreed that these are weeks of years, and not of days. They consist of seven lunar or Hebrew years; by which reckoning the seventy, weeks made up four hundred and ninety years. This way of reckoning years by days is not unusual in the sacred writings. (Levit. 25. 8; Ezek. 4. 45; Rev. 12. 6.) There are many different hypotheses concerning the beginning and end of Daniel's seventy weeks even among Christian writers, who believe this prophecy marks out the time of the birth and death of Our Saviour Jesus Christ. Some begin them from the first year of Darius the Mede, which is the epocha of Daniel's prophecy, and make them to determine at the profanation of the Temple, which happened under the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes. Others begin them from the first year of Cyrus at Babylon, and place the end of them at the destruction of the Temple by the Romans. Others fix the beginning at the first year of Darius the Mede, in which this revelation was made to Daniel, and fix the end at the birth of Christ. Julius Africanus places the first year of the seventy weeks at the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes Longimanus, who gave a commission or decree to Nehemiah, to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. From thence to the last week, in which the Messiah was put to death, are reckoned seventy weeks, or four hundred and ninety lunar years. This entire period of seventy weeks of years is in the ensuing verses (Dan. 9. 25-27,) historically divided into sixty-two, seven, and one weeks, and the one week subdivided into half a week. The following observations on these divisions are from Hales, who, however, acknowledges his obligations for the adjustment of the chronology of the seventy weeks to Hans Wood, Esq., published by him (1787) in an anonymous commentary on the Revelations. "After the sixty-two weeks, but not immediately, the Messiah was cut off; for the sixty-two weeks expired A. D. 14; and the one week, or passion week, in the midst of which Our Lord was crucified, A. D. 31, began with his public ministry, A. D. 28; and ended with the martyrdom of Stephen, A. D. 34. The passion week began, therefore, two weeks (fourteen years,) after the sixty-two weeks, or at the end of sixtyfour weeks; and there were five weeks, or thirty-five years, after the passion week to the destruction of Jerusalem. So that the seventy weeks must be chronologically divided into sixty-four, one, and five weeks: for the one week of the prophecy is evidently not the last of the Jewish war, and cannot therefore follow in the order of time, the sixty-two and seven weeks. The commencement of the war, which ended with the ruin of the city and Temple, seems to be fixed at the expiration of the 62+7=69 weeks, or 483 years, and accordingly the Jewish war commenced in the last, or seventieth week, A. D. 65, during the administration of Gessius The greatest difference among chronologers in the calculation of these years does not exceed nine or ten. Petavius, who has treated of this matter, in his twelfth book De Doctrina Temporum, reconciles all these differences, by showing that the words of the prophecy of Daniel, "from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem," ought to be understood of the complete execution of the order to rebuild Jerusalem, which was not performed but by Nehemiah. He shows also, that the twentieth year of Artaxerxes, mentioned in Nehemiah 2. 1, ought to be explained, not of the twentieth year of the reign of Artaxerxes alone, but of his twentieth year beginning from the time that his father associated him with himself in the kingdom, ten years before his death. These ten years being deducted from the number of years that elapsed from the decree of Artaxerxes in favour of Nehemiah, to the death of Jesus Christ, deliver the chronologers out of their perplexities, and dispel the difficulties which arose from the ten supernumerary years given by their calculation of the four hundred and ninety years contained in the seventy weeks of Daniel. The modern Jews are not agreed among themselves, fearing to be convinced from this prophecy that the Messiah is already come, and that their expectation of him is in vain. Some pronounce a curse against them that compute the time, saying, it is in vain to expect the Messiah, who hath been come a long while ago: others say he is not yet come, but that he would have come long since if the sins of the Jews had not prevented him. Others again place the beginning of the seventy weeks at the destruction of the first Temple by Nebuchadnezzar, and the end at the destruction of the second Temple by Titus. Between these two events they reckon but two hundred and ninety years, which is a proof of their great ignorance in matters of chronology. But, however Jews of the present day may regard this prophecy, there is no doubt that anciently they believed it to predict the appearance of the Messiah, and at the very time when he did appear though they knew him not. So clear indeed is its specification of the time of the Messiah's appearance, that, says Gill, (quoting T. Bab. Bava, Buthra, fol. 15. 1,) "One of the Rabbins who lived about fifty years before the coming of Christ, asserted, that the coming of the Messiah, as signified by Daniel, could not be deferred longer than those fifty years." In fact, all the history of the Jews about that time evinces. the prevalence of this belief among them. But the Messiah they expected was one who should appear as a conquering king, establish the Jewish monarchy all over the world, and deliver them from the dominion of the Romans. It was this belief which inspired them with courage in their contest with the Romans, and enabled them to prolong the defence of Jerusalem. They lived in daily, even hourly expectation of the appearance of the Messiah, whom they fully believed would change all their sorrow to joy, and defeats to victories. That this was the case is testified by Josephus, (7. 12,) who states, "That which chiefly excited them to the war was an obscure oracle found in the holy writings, that about that time, one coming out of that land should rule over the entire world, which they interpreted of one of their own nation, and many of their wise men were deceived therein. But this oracle signified the empire of Vespasian." This was a very courtly and convenient explanation for the Jewish priest to find. Suetonius and Tacitus also state that there was in the world, at this time, a general fame that one coming out of Judea should rule over the whole world. This belief could only have come from the Jews, who had it from Daniel; and the succession of Vespasian, the general commanding against the Jews, to the Roman empire, suggested that application of it to him, which even Josephus sanctions, though his sincerity in making it may very well be questioned. A. WEEKS, FEAST OF, Лy an chag chashbuhoth. This was one of the three great annual festivals of the Jews, and thus called on account of its being seven weeks, or, according to the Hebrew phrase, a week of weeks, from the first day of the Passover festival. It is also called the Feast of Pentecost. See PENTECOST. This is the "Feast of Pentecost" of the New Testa ment, which is celebrated by Christians in memory of the miraculous outpouring of the Holy Spirit at that season upon the apostles and first disciples of Christ. (Acts 2.1-13.) The Rabbins call this feast "the day of the giving of the Law," and believe, as do the modern Jews, that it was intended, at least in part, to celebrate that event, which they are perhaps correct in supposing to have taken place on the fiftieth day from the departure from Egypt and the first Passover. The feast The feast seems, in some places, to be mentioned as if only the only the festival of a day; it, however, lasted a week, but the first day only was distinguished by peculiar solemnities. A. WEEPING. The ancient Hebrews wept and made their trouble to appear openly, in mourning and affliction; they were not of opinion that courage and greatness of soul consisted in seeming to be insensible in adversity, or in restraining their tears. It was even looked upon as a great disrespect for any one not to be bewailed at his funeral. Job says of the wicked man, "His widow shall not weep." (Job 27. 15.) And the Psalmist, speaking of the death of Hophni and Phinehas, says, "Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation." (Psalm 73. 64.) God forbids Ezekiel to weep or to express any sorrow for the death of his wife, to show that the Jews should be reduced to so great calamities that they should not have the liberty even to mourn or bewail themselves. (Ezek. 24. 16.) (See MOURNING; TEARS.) A. WEIGHTS; WEIGHING. In Oriental countries, as far back as the time of Abraham, the value of goods was estimated at a certain quantity of silver, the purity of which was taken into account by the merchant. (Gen. 23. 16.) But there is no trace of stamped silver or coin previous to the captivity. Nor indeed was it at that early period divided into pieces of a certain size. It was commonly weighed out in balances, though its weight was sometimes ascertained by means of an instrument of weighing answering to our steel-yards. Merchants were accordingly in the habit of carrying about with them balances or weights in a sort of pouch or bag. The weights were stones, hence they are called DN 8 eben abanim, words which commonly mean stones. (Levit. 19. 36; Deut. 25. 13-18; Prov. 2. 1; 16. 11; Micah 6. 11.) Persons who were disposed to be fraudulent sometimes carried two sets of weights, a heavier and a lighter set, using sometimes one and sometimes the other, as best suited their interest. Gold, even as late as the time of David, was not used as a standard of value, but was considered merely as a very precious article of commerce, and was weighed like other articles. The oldest weight that is mentioned is denominated in Hebrew Up keshitah. The same word is applied also to a piece of silver or gold, but the amount or quantity designated by it is, in both cases, unknown. (Gen. 33. 19; Josh. 24. 32; Job 42. 11.) In the time of Moses, the weight most in use was the shekel, its half, ypa bekang, and its twentieth part, gera. An hundred shekels made a maneh, (2Chron. 9. 16; compare 1 Kings 10. 17;) and thirty minæ, or two thousand shekels, made a talent, kikar. (Exod. 38. 25,26.) The Greek talent varied in different countries; the Athenian was estimated at six thousand drachms. The Jewish Rabbins, in their statements in regard to weights, estimate them, like the modern Persians, according to the number of grains of barley to which they are equivalent. That is to say, they make a grain of barley the smallest weight. This is the method of the Rabbins. The ancient Hebrews undoubtedly, as well as certain nations of profane antiquity, selected a seed of pulse (siliqua) as the representative of the smallest weight with which they were acquainted. The Hebrew name for this weight is gerah. Fannius, a contemporary with Augustus, says that six such seeds made a scruple, and three scruples a drachm. Hence a drachm_contained eighteen siliqua, or Hebrew gerahs, which Eisenschmid, in his treatise on Weights and Measures, (p. 23,) finds equal to eighty-seven or eight Parisian grains. Consequently, twenty of them, which are equivalent to a shekel, would be equal to ninety-six or seven Parisian grains, or about ten pennyweights English valuation. Besides the common legal, or sacred shekel, there was another in the time of the kings called the "king's shekel." The hair of Absalom was weighed with this sort of shekel, and amounted to two hundred of them. The heaviest head of hair that has been found in Eng land weighed five ounces. Absalom's, as we may well supposition would lead us to the conclusion that the suppose, could not have weighed more than ten. This royal did not amount to more than a fourth, perhaps not to more than a fifth or a sixth part of the legal shekel. mentioned, but its value, for instance, the value of a Gold was dealt out by the weights which have been gerah, or shekel, of gold, cannot be accurately estimated, because we do not know precisely what its worth was when compared with that of silver. The shekel used in weighing gold was the royal one, The difficulty of ascertaining the true worth of any quantity of gold mentioned in the Scriptures is increased by the circumstance that the gold itself possessed different degrees of purity; in some instances it was adulterated, and in other instances more fine than usual. (See Jahn's Biblical Archæology.) During the captivity of the Jews, and after their return from it, they made use of the weights and coins of other nations. (See art. COIN.) It must be remembered that silver and gold anciently were more scarce than at present, and consequently of greater value. Its value in the fourth century before Christ was to its value in England in the year 1780, as ten to one. So that four hundred and forty grains of silver would purchase as much at the last-mentioned period, as four thousand four hundred would at the first. The following are the Jewish weights reduced to troy, and are taken from Horne's Introduction to the Scrip tures, who informs us that he has chiefly extracted them from Dr. Arbuthnot's Tables of Ancient Coins, Weights, |