JEWISH ANTIQUITIES, GEOGRAPHICAL, DOMESTIC, POLITICAL, AND RELIGIOUS : FOR THIS USE OF SUNDAY- SCHOOLS. BY MRS. D. C. WESTON, AUTHOR OP Synopsis os the Bible" and "Calvary Catechism," etc. FEW YORK: <§w. |)r0t. ®grsc. S. Union nub e n 1 1) . EDUCATION OF CHILDREN. Q. How was the birthday of a son regarded ? A. It was celebrated as a festival, which was sol- emnized every succeeding year with increasing fes- tivity and joy. Q. When was a son named ? A. On the eighth day, when he was also received into the Church by circumcision. Q. What did the first-born son inherit? A. Ho inherited peculiar rights and privileges ; he was- the ruler over his brothers and sisters, and received a double portion of the estate. Q. How long did a son remain under the care of the mother ? A. Until his fifth year, when the father had him instructed in. the arts and duties of life, and also in the Mosaic law and in religion. Deut. vi. 20, xi. 19. 3* 30 JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. Q. If he were to bo further instructed in the sciences, what was done ? A. He was sent to some priest or Levite who had other children to instruct. Q. What schools are spoken of in the time of Samuel ? A. There was a school near the Tabernacle, called the School of the Prophets. Q. What else was taught to the Jewish children ? A. They were taught some trade, so that in case of misfortune they could support themselves. Q. How were daughters educated? A. They had no education except in domestic duties, music, singing, and dancing. Q. Were they ever seen in public ? A. They rarely went abroad, and never without being closely covered with a veil. Q. How was an estate divided, on the death of the father ? Deut. xxi. 17. A. The sons divided it equally between themselves, except that the eldest son had two portions. Q. Could a son legally demand his portion during his father's life? Luke, xv. 12. A. Yes ; and the father could not refuse him. Q. Did the daughters inherit any thing? A. No, unless there were no sons; in which case they had the property. Q. What were daughters usually considered ? JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 31 A. They were consMered part of the estate, and were sold into matrimony by their brothers. Q. What was the law in regard to a widow ? A. The widow of the deceased, like his daughters, had no legal share in the estate, but the sons were bound to support her. Q. If she was not satisfied with the support, what was customary ? A. She sometimes returned to her father's house. Gen. xxxviii. 11. CfSSOtt (EtDElftl). SERVANTS AND SLAVES. Q. Was slavery common among the Jews ? A. Yes, and before the time of Moses, who made various salutary laws concerning it. Gen. ix. 25. Q. Plow were slaves acquired? Deut. xx. 14. A. By captivity, and by debt, when the person was sold for payment of the debt. 2 Kings, iv. 1. Q. In what other way were persons made slaves ? A. By committing a theft, without the power of making restitution;* and by birth, when the children of slaves were born in the house.f * Exod. xxii. 2, 3. f Gen. rai. 10. 32 JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. Q. What was the punishment for stealing a free- born Israelite to sell him as a slave ? A. It was punished with death. Exod. xxi. 16. Q. What did slaves receive from their masters ? A. Food and clothing, but of the meanest quality. Q. If a slave lost an eye or a tooth by a blow from his master, what was the consequence ? A. He acquired his liberty. Q. What was the consequence if a slave died by the hand of his master ? Exod. xxi. 20. A. The master was punished by a magistrate. Q. What privileges had slaves ? Exod. xx. 10. A. They rested on the Sabbath and on the greater festivals, and were invited to certain feasts. Q. When were all slaves freed ? A. In the year of Jubilee all were made free. Q. If a slave of another nation fled to the Jews, how was he received ? A. He was kindly received, and on no account given up to his master. Deut. xxiii. 15, 16. Q. Were slaves brought up as members of the Jewish Church ? A. Yes; and were instructed in the worship of the true God. Q. What privileges had hired servants ? A. They rested on the Sabbath day, shared in the produce of the sabbatical year, and their wages were paid every day at sunset. Lev. xix. 13. JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 33 • Q. What were the usual wages of a day-laborer ? A. A denarius, or fifteen cents of our money.* Q. To what were servants entitled by law? A. They were entitled to receive an adequate sup- port from those for whom they worked. Q. What length of time was a servant bound to serve one master ? A. He was not obliged to serve longer than six years ; at the end of which time he was to be dis- missed with presents. Q. Were house-servants ever made heirs ? Prov. xvii. 2. A. A person had the right to make them his heirs if he chose to do so, and it was sometimes done. ££0son ft Ijirteentl). LAWS RESPECTING STRANGERS. Q. What two descriptions of strangers are men- tioned in the laws of Moses? A. One class were those who had no home, wheth- er Israelites or foreigners. * Home's Introd., vol. ii., p. 167. 34 JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. Q. What were the others ? A. The others were those who, though not na- tives, had purchased houses in Palestine. Q. What did the Mosaic law enjoin with regard to all strangers ? Lev. xix. 34 ; Num. ix. 14. A. The duties of humanity and kindness were enjoined, because the Israelites themselves had once been strangers. Q. Could strangers be naturalized ? A. Yes ; by renouncing idolatry, and becoming members of the Jewish Church. Q. What two nations were absolutely refused the right of citizenship ? A. The Ammonites and Moabites. Q. Why ? A. Because of their bitter hostility to the Israelites while they were in the Wilderness. Q. How were strangers treated in later times ? A. In the days of Solomon many of them were compelled to labor on religious edifices. 2 Chron. ii. IV, 18. Q. Quote the passage. A. And Solomon numbered all the strangers that were in the land of Israel, and he set threescore and ten thousand of them to be bearers of burdens, and fourscore thousand to be hewers in the mountains. Q. From whom were these laborious services re- quired ? JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 35 A. Probably from those only who had been taken prisoners in war. Q. What were the rights of war in regard to pris- oners ? A. They could be employed in any offices, how- ever low and laborious, which the conqueror thought proper to impose. Q. What did the Jews understand by the word neighbor, in later times? A. Their personal friends only ; and they restricted their benevolence accordingly. Q. How did our Lord illustrate their real duty ? A. By the parable of the good Samaritan. Q. Where are beggars first mentioned? A. They are first spoken of in the 109th Psalm, 10th verse. Q. Where were they found in the time of Christ ? A. They usually sat near the doors of the rich, at the gates of the Temple, and in the street, but did not beg from door to door.* Q. What peculiarity have the oriental beggars ? A. They do not ask alms as a favor, but appeal to the justice of their benefactors, and ask it as their right. Job, xxii. 7 ; Prov. iii. 27. * Jalin's Arch., p. 197. 0 30 JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. Cesson ifourtemtl). AGED, DEAF, AND BLIND PERSONS. Q. What command did Moses give, concerning respect to aged persons ? A. " Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the old man." Lev. xix. 32. Q. What instance is there in Scripture of the prompt and terrible punishment of those who mocked one of God's prophets? 2 Kings, ii. 23. A. When the children mocked Elisha, God sent two bears, which killed forty and two of them. Q. What statute was made in regard to deaf and blind persons? Lev. xix. 14. A. " Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling-block in the way of the blind." Q. Give another text from Deuteronomy xxvii. 18. A. " Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wan- der out of the way." Q. What did Moses enjoin upon the Jews in re- gard to the poor? Dcut. xv. 11. A. " Thou shalt open wide thy hand ... to thy poor, to thy needy, in thy land." Q. What did he also exhort them to do for an Is- raelite who had become poor? A. Sot to harden their hearts, but to lend him sufficient for his need JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 37 Q. What was commanded during harvest? A. The owner of a field or vineyard was com- manded not to glean, but to 'leave what grew in the corners," and the scattered ears or sheaves, for the poor. Lev. xix. 9, 10. Q. What command concerning olive-trees is found in Deuteronomy xxiv. 20 ? A. After a man had shaken his olive-trees once, he was not to touch them again, so that the fruit which ripened after the season of gathering should go to the poor. Q. What liberty was given to all, during the sab- batical year ? A. The poor had an equal right with the owners of the land to whatever grew in that year. Q. What else were the Jews commanded to do tor the poor ? A. After deducting the priests' portion of the sacrifice, the remainder was appropriated to the sacrificial feasts, to which they were bound to invite the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. Q. What other provision was made for the poor ? A. They received a portion of the tithes, which was expressly set apart for them. Q. Whose business was it to look after the poor, and distribute the tithes to them? A. That of the Levites. 38 JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. C£50O1t Jtftfftttl). GENEALOGIES. Q. What were genealogies ? A. The history of the succession of families. Q. Why -were genealogies considered of great im- portance by the Jews ? JYwn. xxxvi. V. A. Because God had commanded that the tribes should he kept distinct from each other. Q. Who had charge of the genealogical tables? A. The Shoterim or Scribes, of the tribe of Levi. Q. What does Josephus say of these genealogies? A. He says that " the Jews had an uninterrupted succession of high-priests for two thousand years." Q. Were these genealogies preserved through the captivities ? A. Yes ; they were preserved with the greatest care. Q. What rule was made after the captivity, in case a priest could not trace his genealogy back to Abra- ham ? A. He was excluded from the priestly office. Q. What genealogy did St. Luke derive from these public registers ? A. The genealogy of Christ from Adam, a period of four thousand years. JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 39 Q. What was one of the principal reasons for keeping these records so carefully ? A. It had been prophesied that Christ should be born of the tribe of Judah, and of the family of David. Q. Upon what did the Jews pride themselves especially ? , A. Upon tracing their pedigree back to Abraham. Qj. How did the Jews preserve the memory of great events in their history ? Gen. xxxi. 45 ; Josh. iv. 20. A. At first by raising a heap of stones on the very place where the event occurred. Q. Did they give names to these places ? A. Yes ; they gave names which indicated the nature of the transaction that had taken place; Q. What did Moses command the Israelites to erect, after they had crossed the river Jordan ? A. An "altar of great stones, plastered with plas- ter," on which the laws received from God were to be inscribed. Q. What monuments were raised in later times ? A. Fine monuments, with symbolic memorial names given them. 1 Sam. xv. 12 ; 2 Sam. xviii. 18. Q. What monument did Absalom erect during his life ? A. lie " reared for himself a pillar," to keep bis 40 JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. name in remembrance, because lie bad no son — and it was called Absalom's pillar. Q. What monument is spoken of in 1st Samuel, vii. 12? A. Samuel erected a stone at Mizpoh, to com- memprate the discomfiture of the Philistines at that place. Q. In what other way was the memory of great events perpetuated ? A. The great festivals instituted by Moses, as well as the feasts and fasts of later times, were memorials of important transactions. Cesboii 0i*t££ntlj. TREATIES, CONTRACTS, AND OATHS. Q. What is a treaty or covenant ? A. It is a compact or agreement between two parties. Q. Did the Jews ever make treaties with heathen nations ? A. Yes; as in the case of Solomon with Hiram, king of Tyre (1 Kings, v. 12), and David with the king of Hamath. 2 Sam. viii. 9. Q. Give another instance. A. Joshua made a league with the Gibeonites. Josh. ix. 15. JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 41 Q. What ceremonies were used at the conclusion of a treaty ? A. Sometimes simply joining hands, sometimes raising a heap of stones. Esek. xvii. 18; Gen. xxxi. 44, 50. Q. What did Jacob in the latter instance ? Gen. xxxi. 48, 54. A. He raised a heap of stones, called the place Ga- leed, offered sacrifice, and made a feast for his brethren. Q. In what way did Abraham make a covenant with the king of Gerar ? Gen. xxi. 22, 32. A. The covenant was ratified by the oath of both parties, by a present from Abraham to Abimelech, and by giving a name to the well which had caused the controversy. Q. What was customary at the conclusion of a covenant ? A. They offered sacrifices and made a feast. Gen. xxvi. 30, 31. Q. What covenant is spoken of in Numbers, xviii. 19 ? A. " A covenant of salt." (Also, 2 Ghron. xiii. 5.) Q. What did that mean ? A. They deemed the eating together as a bond of perpetual friendship. il. Of what was salt considered an emblem ? • A. It was considered an emblem of incorruptibility and permanence. 4* 42 JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. Q. What did the contracting parties on these occasions ? A. They ate together of the sacrifices oft'ered, and the whole transaction was considered as a league of endless friendship. Q. . What was a later custom, under the Mosaic law ? A. The parties to the covenant were sometimes sprinkled with the blood of the victim sacrificed. Q. What did the Jews in their peace-offering? A. They feasted, in their peace-offerings, on a part of the sacrifice, in token of their reconciliation with God. Q. Give an instance. JSxod. xxiv. 6, 8. A. Moses sprinkled part of the blood on the Israelites, and part of the blood on the altar, to show that God was a party to the covenant. Q. What was this called? A. The blood of the covenant. Heb. ix. 19, 20. Q. What covenant is mentioned in Genesis, ix, 13-17 ? A. God's covenant with mankind that the earth should not be again destroyed by a deluge. Q. What was the sign of this covenant? A. The rainbow in the heavens. Q. What covenant did God make with Abraham ? A. That his descendants should be as the stars of heaven in multitude, and be a mighty nation. Gen. xxii. 17. JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 43 Q. What did God promise he would give them ? Gin. xvii. 8. A. The Land of Canaan for an everlasting pos- setfsion. Q. What was the whole Mosaic constitution ? A. It was a covenant between God and the Is- raelites. Ccason 0£oent*mtl). COVENANTS AND OATHS. Q. Where were contracts between individuals made ? A. Contracts of bargain and sale were made at the gate of the city, and the price was paid before all who went out and came in. Ruth, iv. 1, 2. Q. What do we learn further from Ruth, iv. "7 ? A. That .in confirming the transfer of property, the proprietor took off his shoe, and gave it to the new owner. Q. What other mode of ratifying a contract or pale is mentioned in Job, xvii. 3, and Prov. vi. 1 ? A. That of joining or " striking hands." Q. Where do we first read of written instruments, sealed and delivered ? Jer. xxxii. 10, 12. A. Jeremiah speaks of written instruments for the 44 JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. disposal and transfer of property about six hundred years before Christ. Q. What did Jeremiah command Baruch to do ? A. He told him to bury a document in an earthen vessel, in order to preserve it, to be produced at a future period as evidence of the purchase. OATHS. Q. What was the custom of the Jews in the matter of oaths ? A. Those who appealed to the Deity in attesta- tion of any thing, held up their right hand towards heaven. Q. What did the person making oath signify by this action ? A. He appealed to God to witness the truth of what he said. Q. What instance is found in the Revelation of this form of taking an oath ? Rev. x. 5. A. The Angel of the Apocalypse " lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware by Him that liveth forever and ever." Q. By what was an oath sometimes accom- panied ? A. With an imprecation, as in Ruth, i. 17. The Lord do so unto me, and more, if aught but death part thee and me. Also, 1 Kings, ii. 23. JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 45 Q. What was another form of taking an oath ? A. "Let God be a witness." "As the Lord liveth." 1 Sam. xiv. 45. Q. When an oath was exacted by a judge, how was it put ? A. It was put in form, and the person to whom it was put, responded by saying : "Amen, so let it be ;" or, " Thou hast said." Matt. xxvi. 64. Q. What other form of adjuration was common? A. " I adjure thee by the living God" to answer whether this thing be so or not. Matt. xxvi. 64. Q. Was there still another form of swearing ? A. Yes ; Joseph swore " by the life of the King ;" and Elisha said, " As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee." 2 Kings, ii. 2. Q. How were the Jews in the habit of swearing, in the time of Christ ? A. They swore by the altar, by Jerusalem, by heaven, by the gold of the Temple, and by their heads. Q. Why did they do this? Matt. v. 34, 35. A. Because the name of God was not mentioned, they considered their oaths less binding ; and against this kind of swearing Christ expressed His dis- pleasure. 46 JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. £ * 0 0 o n <£igl)tecntl). MODE OF COMPUTING TIME. Q. How did the Jews compute their days ? A. From evening to evening ; their days com- | menced at six o'clock in the afternoon. Lev. xxiii. 32.! Q. Where is this mode first spoken of? Gen.l i. 5. A. In the account of the creation : "The evening) and the morning were the first day." Q. Where are hours first mentioned in Scrip- ture ? A. In the Book of Daniel (iii. 6, 15). Q. Who are the inventors of this division of the day? A. The Chaldeans, from whom the Jews probably derived it. Q. How were hours measured by the Jews! 2 Kings, xx. 11. A. By the sun-dial, which was introduced from Babylon. Q. How did the Jews compute the hours of their civil day? A. From six in the morning till six at night. Q. What was their first hour? A. Their first hour corresponded with our seven JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 47 o'clock, their second with eight, their third hour with our nine o'clock. Q. What were the sixth, ninth, and eleventh hours ? A. The sixth hour was twelve at noon ; the ninth was three after noon ; and the eleventh was five after noon. Q.. How did they divide the night ? Mark, xiii. 35. A. Into four watches : " Even, midnight, cock- crowing" (which was three in the morning), "and morning." Q. What constituted a week ? A. Seven days. Q. What was their day of rest and Holy Day 3 A. The seventh day, called the Sabbath. Q. With what did the Sabbath correspond ? A. With our Saturday. Q. What was their first day ? A. It was what we call Sunday. Q. What did the Jews call Sunday ? A. " One of the Sabbath ;" and Monday, " two of the Sabbath ;" Tuesday, " three of the Sabbath," and so on. . Q. What was Friday called ? A. "The eve of the Sabbath." Q. What constituted a month ? A. The months of the Hebrews were lunar months, and consisted of twenty-nine and thirty days alter- nately. 48 JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. Q. Were the months and years of the Jews settled by astronomical calculations? A. No ; but by the actual appearance of the new moon : and as soon as they saw the moon they began the month. Q. How did they fix the time ? A. Persons were appointed to watch on the tops of mountains, for the first appearance of the moon after the change ; and when they saw it they informed the Sanhedrim. Q. How was public notice given of the time ? Ps. Ixxxi. 3. A. First, by the sounding of trumpets, and after- | wards lighting beacon-fires throughout the land. Q. What were months called, before the Deluge ? I A. They had no names; but were called first I month, second month, and so on. Gen. vii. 11; viii. 5. | Ccsaon Jfinetcfntl). COMPUTING TIME CONTINUED. Q. How were years first regulated ? A. By the return of winter and summer. Q. What modes existed among the Hebrews of reckoning time ? A. Two : the civil year and the sacred year. JEWISII. ANTIQUITIES. 40 Q. When did the civil year begin ? A. It was reckoned from the first new moon in the month Tishri — i. e., October.* Q. When did the sacred year begin ? A. On the fifteenth day of the month Nisan, or the first new moon in April. Exod. xii. 2, 18. Q. Why was this ? A. To commemorate the departure of the Israel- ites from Egypt. Q. Which is the more ancient reckoning ? A. The civil year, which is used only in civil and agricultural concerns. Q. W r hat was the first month of the sacred year called \\ JEsth. iii. 7. A. Nisan, reckoned from the first new moon in April. Q. What was the second month called ? A. Zif or Ziv, reckoned from new moon of May. Q. What was the third month I Estk. viii. 9. A. Sivan, reckoned from the new moon of June. Q. What was the fourth month ? A. Tammuz, from the new moon of July. Q. What was the fifth month ? A. Ab, from the new moon of August. Q. What was the sixth month ? Neh. vi. 15. A. Elul, from the new moon of September. * Jahn's Archseology, p. 112. f lb. 5 50 JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. Q. What was the seventh month ? A. Tishri, the first month of the civil year, from the new moon of October. Q. What was the eighth month ? 1 Kings, vi. 38. A. Bui, from the new moon of November. Q. What was the ninth month ? A. Kislev, or Cisleu, from the new moon of De- cember. Q. What was the tenth month ? U.sth. ii. 16. A. Tebeth, from the new moon of January. Q. What was the eleventh month ? Zcch. i. 7. A. Shebat, from the new moon of February. Q. What was the twelfth month I Esth, iii. 7 A. Adar, from the new moon of March. Q. Repeat the names of the months. A. Nisan, Zif, Sivan, Tammuz, Ab, EIul, Tishri, Bui, Kislev, Tebeth, Shebat, Adar. Q. What were dated from the first month of the sacred year? A. They computed their feasts, and prophets dated their visions and oracles, from that time. Q. What were dated from the first month of the civil year? A. From this year the Jews dated their contracts, computed their jubilees, noted the birth of children, and the reign of kings. JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 51 Cesson Stoenttttl). LITERATURE. Q. What evidence is there that the Jews had schools for education ? 2 Kings, xxii. 14. A. There was a " College" at Jerusalem, and there were schools called the Schools of the Prophets. 2 Kings, vi. 1 ; iv. 38. Q. In what were the youth instructed ? A. In religion, the knowledge of the law, and in sacred music. Q. To what was the literature of the Jews limited ? A. To religion, the history of their nation, poetry, ethics, philosophy, and natural history. Q. Was the art of historical writing much culti- vated by the Jews ? A. Yes; as the Bible itself is an ample testimony. Q. Was arithmetic well understood ? A. No; only the more simple methods of arith- metical calculations are spoken of in the Pentateuch. Q. What was known of astronomy ? A. The Egyptians, Babylonians, and Phoenicians made great progress in astronomy, and from them the Jews obtained a knowledge of it. Q. What did the Jews know of astrology ? A. Very little, as it was interdicted to the He- brews, but it was highly esteemed among the neigh- boring nations. 52 JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. Q. Where did the prophet Daniel study astrology ? A. In Babylon, during his captivity, but he did not practise it.* Q. What is the character of the Hebrew poetry ? A, It has no rhyme, but is often grand, sublime, and full of pathos. Q. Give some instances. A. The song of Moses (Exod. xv.), David's lamen- tation on the death of Saul and Jonathan (2 Sam. i. 19), Hezekiah's song of praise (Isa. xxxviii.), and the prayer of Habakkuk (Hab. iii). Q. What are there besides these single hymns ? A. The Book of Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Canticles, and Lamentations of Jeremiah. Q. Where may traces of the ethics of the Jews be found ? A. In the Book of Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Book of Wisdom. Q. In what study were the Jews much interested ? A. The subject of natural history. Q. What was said of Solomon in this respect? 1 Kings, iv. 33. A. That "he spake of trees, from the cedar in Leb- anon to the hyssop that springeth out of the wall ; and also of beasts, of fowls, of creeping things and fishes." * Home's Intro., vol. ii., p. 186. JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 53 Q. What is plainly shown in the Book of Job ? A. It is evident that the author possessed an in- timate knowledge of the works of nature. Q.. Was oratory cultivated by the Jews? A. No; not to any extent, although the sacred writers have left specimens which the most distin- guished orators might imitate with advantage. Ccsson Sumitjj-firat. MUSIC AND MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. Q. Did the Jews cultivate the art of music ? A. Yes; and introduced it upon all solemn and special occasions ; at public festivals and in the Temple. Q. On what other occasions? Judges, xi. 34; 2 Chron. xxiii. 13. A. At the coronation of their kings, and on the tri- umphal return of their generals after victory. Q. What were the musical instruments of the Jews ? A. They were of two kinds, pulsatile and wind in- struments. Q. What were the pulsatile, or beaten instruments ? A. They were three in number : the tabret, the cymbal, and the sistrum. Q. What was the tabret or timbrel ? A. It was a hoop covered with parchment, and 5* 54 JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. hung round with small bells like a modern tam- bourine. Q. What was the cymbal ? A. It consisted of two plates of brass, which, being struck together, made a hollow, ringing sound. Q. What was the sistrum ? A. It was a rod of iron bent into an oval shape, and furnished with moveable rings which were shaken or struck with a rod of iron. Q. What wind instruments had the Jews? A. The organ, dulcimer, horn, and trumpet, and pipes. Q. What was the organ ? A. It is supposed to have been a kind of flute con- sisting 'of seven pipes, made of reeds of unequal length joined together. Q. What was the dulcimer ? Dan. iii. 5. A. It was a wind instrument made of reeds. Q. What was the horn ? A. It was made of the horns of oxen, cut off at the small end, and chiefly used in war. Q. What was the trumpet ? A. It was made of metal, straight, and was used by the priests in the temple service. Q. What were pipes ? A. They are supposed to have been the flute and hautboy. Q. What were the stringed instruments ? JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 55 A. The harp and the psaltery. Q. What was the harp ? A. It was like a modern harp, had ten strings, and was played with the hand or a small bow. Q. What was the psaltery ? A. It was an instrument of ten or twelve strings, in the shape of a triangle, and was played with the hand. Q. Who had charge of the music of the temple service ? JSccles. ii. 8. A. The Levites sung and played upon instruments ; female musicians were also admitted, and were gen- erally the daughters of the Levites.* Q. Who was supposed to have been the inventor of musical instruments ? A. Jubal. Gen. iv. 21. Cfsson Stoentg -second. ARTS AND SCIENCES. Q. Where are any of the arts mentioned in Scrip- ture ? A. Artificers in brass and iron, and musical instru- ments, in the fourth generation from Adam, are men- tioned in Genesis, iv. 22. Home's Introd., vol. ii., p. 183. 50 JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. Q. What nation excelled all others, in the eariy ages of the world, in a knowledge of the arts? A. Egypt ; and the sojourn of the Israelites there for four hundred years taught them many things. Q. What may illustrate this ? A. The manner in which the tabernacle was built, which wa-< adorned with gold, silver, precious stones, and embroidery. Q. From whom is it supposed the Jews received their alphabet ?* A. From the Phoenicians. Moses wrote the Pen- tateuch in Phoenician characters. Q. Where is writing first mentioned ? A. The copy of the law, " which was written by the finger of God," is the first spoken of in Scripture. Q. What is therefore probable ? A. It is probable that the art of writing was already understood by the Jews. Q. What seems to have been the most ancient way of writing ? A. Engraving. " Holiness to the Lord" was en- graved on a golden plate, and worn by the high-priest. Q. Upon what did the ancient Jews write ? A. Upon tablets made of wood, covered with wax, upon which they wrote with styles of gold, or silver, or brass. Q. What did they use in later times? * Calmet's Dictionary, p. 617. JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 57 A. They used the broad flags which grew in Egypt, and leaves of palm-trees. Isa. xix. 7. Q. What was afterwards used ? A. Thin parchment, made of the skins of animals, which was rolled up like a scroll. Jcr. xxxvi. 2. Q. Arc epistles or letters mentioned in Scripture ? A. Very rarely in the earliest ages. Q. Where is the first one spoken of ? A. David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 2 Sam. xi. 14. Q. Give another instance. 2 Kings, v. 6.* A. The king of Syria sent a letter to the king of Israel, asking him to cure his servant Naaman of the leprosy. Q. How were letters usually sent ? JYehem. vi. 5. A. Unsealed, except when sent to persons of high rank ; then they were put in a valuable purse, closed with wax, and sealed with a signet. 1 Kiwjs, xxi. 8. Q. How did the most ancient epistles begin and end ? A. Without either salutation or farewell ; and un- der the Persian monarchy they were very prolix. Q. How were books written ? A. They were written on long rolls of parchment, which were rolled upon a stick or cylinder; the writing only on one side. * 2 Kings, xix. 14 ; Ezra, iv. 7. 53 JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. £e0Bon (EiMcntp-tljirfr. CARVING AND PAINTING. Q. Did the Jews attain to much excellence in carv- ing or sculpture ? A. No; though it was carried to some extent, as is evident from the cherubim which were placed in the Temple. Q. Give another instance. 1 Kings, x. 20. A. The twelve lions which were on each side of Solomon's throne. Q. Give another from Isaiah, xliv. 13, 17. A. Isaiah gives there the description of the man- ner in which idols were made. Q. What was forbidden by the Mosaic law besides images ? Ex. xx. 4. A. The painting of pictures which were used for idolatrous purposes by the neighboring nations. Q. Where is painting first spoken of in Scripture ? A. Jeremiah speaks of apartments which were painted with vermilion. Jar. xxii. 14. Q. What does Ezekiel say of painting? 'EzeJe, xxiii. 14. A. lie speaks of " men portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilio r " Q. Whence were these pictures copied ? JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 59 A. Probably from their heathen neighbors, after they had been corrupted by them. Q. What were the Jews commanded to do in their wars with heathen nations? Nam. xxxiii. 52. A. They were commanded to "destroy all their pictures, and all their molten images." Q. Do the books of Moses speak of the mechanic arts ? A. No express mention is made of them ; and yet we early see signs of skill in the building of Noah's Ark and the Tower of Babel. Q. Give another instance. A. There was the use of balances in the time of Abraham ; and chariots are spoken of in Genesis, xli. 43. Q. Where did surveying take its origin ? A. In Egypt, whence the Jews brought it, and it enabled thcin to divide the land of Canaan. Q. What do we find in the Book of Ezekiel, in reference to this subject? Ez. xl. 3, 5. A. A line, or rope, for the purpose of taking measurements, is alluded to. Q. Where are measures of length first spoken of? A. God gave Noah the dimensions of the ark, the length three hundred cubits, the breadth fifty cubits, and the height thirty. Gen. vi. 15. Q. Where do we find weights spoken of for weigh- ing solid bodies ? 60 JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. A. Abraham " weighed to Ephroii five hundred shekels of silver, current money," for the field of Machpelah. Gen. xxiii. 16. £fS0 Q. How many kinds of oblations were there? A. Three ; ordinary, prescribed, and voluntary. Q. What were the ordinary oblations 2 A. The shew-bread and incense. Q. What was the shew-bread ? 12 134 JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. A. Twelve loaves; which wei'e placed hot every Sabbath day upon the golden table in the Sanctuary. Q. What was incense ? Exod. xxx. 34. A. It consisted of fragrant spices, stacte, onycha, galbannra, and frankincense, an equal quantity of each, which was burnt morning and evening on a golden altar. Q. What were voluntary oblations ? A. They were the fruits of promises or vows. Q. What were prescribed oblations? A. Tliey were offerings which all persons were obliged to bring of the first-fruits of their corn, wine, oil, ind fruits, which were consecrated to God. Q. What else were Jews obliged to give for the worship of God ? A. Besides the first-fruits, they gave a tenth of their income for the year. £c0son JTiftg-foitrtl). VOWS AND PRAYERS. Q. What was the nature of the vows which the Jews made ? A. They w.ere promises made to God voluntarily, but which could be enforced by the priest. 7)eut. xxiii. 23,. 24. JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 135 Q. What is the earliest vow spoken of in the Bible? A. It is that of Jacob, when he vowed to give a tenth of all he possessed to the Lord. Gen. xxviii. 22. Q. What was required of things devoted to God ? A. That they should be the best of the kind which the person offering possessed. Mai. i. 8. Q. Could a vow be redeemed ? A. In certain cases, Moses permitted the annulling of a vow. Lev. xxvii. 1, 25. Q. How were vows uttered? Num. xxx. 11. A. They were uttered audibly, and confirmed by an oath. Q. How many sorts of vows were there ? A. Two ; the Cherem and the Nederim.* Q. What was the first — the Cherem ? A. It was the most solemn, and could not be re- deemed. Q. What was this vow sometimes called ? A. "The irrevocable curse;" and it was generally uttered in respect to enemies, and was designed to bear only upon the wicked. Q. What furnishes an example of this vow ? A. The history of the taking of the city of Jericho by the Israelites, under Joshua. * Home's Introd., vol. ii., p. 130. 136 JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. Q. Describe it. Josh. vi. 17, 19, 21. 24. A. The city was accursed by Joshua, because he intended to destroy it utterly. No booty was al- lowed ; the silver and gold were devoted to the Sanctuary, and every thing else was burnt to the ground. Q. What were the Nederini, or common vows? A. They were vows of dedication, and vows of ab- sti nence. Q. Give an example of the first vow. Num. xxi. 3. A. A person would promise to bring an offering to God. Q. What was the vow of abstinence 1 A. The person vowed to abstain from some article of food, or some other thing. Q. What was the custom of the devout Jews in re- gard to prayer ? A. They usually prayed three times a day. Dan. vi. 10. Q. What were their times of prayer called ? A. Public, private, and stated hours of prayer. Q. What were the public prayers ? A. Those offered in the Temple and synagogues by the priest. Q. What were private prayers ? Luke, xviii. 13. A. Those offered by individuals, in alow voice, by themselves, in the Temple or elsewhere. Q. What were the stated hours of prayer ? JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 137 A. The times of offering the morning and evening sacrifice. Q. What fast was instituted by Moses? A. He instituted but one public fast, that of the Day of Atonement. Q. Were any other fasts observed? 1 Sam. vii. 5, 6 ; 2 Chron. xx. 3. A. Occasional fasts were appointed by the civil magistrates. Q. How did the Jews keep their fasts ? A. They clothed themselves with sackcloth, put ashes on their heads, and rent their garments. Cesson Jiftji-fiftl). PURIFICATIONS OF THE JEWS. Q. What were the Jews obliged to do before they could offer an acceptable sacrifice to God? A. They were obliged to purify themselves. Q. What was the design of these purifications? A. To inculcate the necessity of inward purity, and also to preserve the health and morals of the Jews. Q. How were these purifications performed ? A. Sometimes by dipping the hands and feet in 12* 138 JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. water; sometimes by sprinkling with blood, or anoint- ing with oil. Lev. viii. 10; Heb. ix. 21. Q. What was sometimes mixed with the water ? A. The ashes of a red heifer. Num. xix. 3, ft. Q.. How was the sprinkling performed ? Lev. xiv. 4, 6. A. Either with the finger, or with a branch of hyssop and cedar, tied together with scarlet wool. Q. How were priests purified before their conse- cration ? Ex. xxix. 4. A. They were washed with water. Q. How often were they obliged to purify them- selves? A. Every time they went into the Tabernacle or Temple to offer sacrifices or prayers. Exud. xxx. 20. Q. How were the Tabernacle and sacred vessels purified ? A. They were anointed with oil, or sprinkled with blood. Q. What oonstituted uncleanness, and required purification also ? A. Touching a dead body, touching a leper or the dead body of an animal that had died of disease, and other things mentioned in Lev. xii. to xvi. Q. What was the result of this law in regard to dead animals ? A. The bodies of beasts were buried immediately, that passers-by might not be injured. JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 139 Q. What good effect bad these wise enactments ? A. The spreading of contagious diseases was pre- vented, which, in hot climates, are peculiarly rapid and fatal. Q What rule was made in regard to earthen ves- sels which had been left in a tent where a person had died ? A. They were to be broken, in order to avoid con- tagion. • Q. Were the priests also bound to obey all these laws? A. Yes ; the high-priests, priests, and Levites were commanded to purify, not only themselves, but their clothes, before executing their respective offices. Q. What were tithes ? A. A tenth part of all one's produce or gains was devoted to the Lord. Q. Where is the first mention made of tithes? Gen. xiv. 20. A. Abraham gave to Melchisedek, the priest of the most high God, tithes of all he had taken from the enemy. Q. By whom were the tithes collected and dis- bursed ? A. By the Levites. 140 JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. Q. What were also consecrated to God ? A. The-first fruits of corn, wine, oil, and of the flock were considered sacred unto the Lord. Ce00on jFtftg-siill). IDOLATRIES OF THE JEWS. Q. What is idolatry? A. It is the superstitious worship of idols or false gods. Q. Where is idolatry first spoken of in Scripture ? A. Laban, the father-in-law of Jacob, was an idol- ater. Gen. xxxi. 30. Q. What did the Israelites while they were in Egypt 3 A. They worshipped the deities of Egypt. Josh. xxiv. 14. Q. What did they after their departure from Egypt? A. While Moses was in the mount, the people caused Aaron to make them a golden calf, which they worshipped. Q. What did the Jews again after the death of Joshua ? A. They worshipped the gods of the Canaanites, Baal and Ashtaroth. Judges ii. 12 13. JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 141 Q. What else did the Jews worship? A. The brazen serpent, which was preserved as a monument of the Divine mercy., was afterwards wor- shipped as a god. Q. What idols were made by Jeroboam, the first king of Israel, after the secession of the ten tribes ? A. Two golden calves, which he set up at Dan and Bethel. Q. What were Teraphim ? 1 Sam. xix. 13. A. They were carved images, in human form, and household deities. Q. Who was Moloch ? 1 Kings, xi. 7. A. He was the principal idol of the Ammonites, to whom Solomon wickedly built a temple on the Mount of Olives, in his old age. Q. Who was Baal l J eor, spoken of in Numbers, xxv. 1, 5. A. He was a deity worshipped by the Moabites and is supposed to be the same as Chemosh, to whom Solomon also erected an altar on the Mount of Olives. Q. Who was Kiinmon? 2 Kings, v. 18. A. Iiimmon was an idol of the Syrians, but not worshipped by the Israelites. Q. What was Ashtaroth ? Judges, ii. 13. A. It was the moon, worshipped by the Jews at one time. 142 JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. Q. Who was Baal, mentioned in connection with Ashtaroth ? A. He was one of the chief of the heathen deities, also worshipped by the Jews. Q. Who was Dagon ? Judges, xvi. 23. A. He was the god of the Philistines, the people of Ashdod. Q. Who was Baal-berith ? Judges, viii. 33. A. He was the idol of the Shechemites. Q. Who were Bel and Nebo, spoken of by Isaiah, xlvi. 1? A. They were Babylonian deities. Q. What were idols made of? , A. At first, they were made of wood and stone ; afterwards, of ivory and metal. Q. What were those made of wood covered with ? A. " They were covered with laminae of gold and silver, or were clothed with precious vests." * Q. What were the principal parts of the idol wor- ship ? A. Sacrifices, prayers, and festivals, and purifica- tions. Q. Of what did the sacrifices consist?! A. Of salt, honey, incense, cakes, beasts, and men. By the Canaanites, the most promising of their chil- dren were sacrificed. Dent, xviii. 10. * Jahn's Arch., p. 509. \ Ibid., p. 511. JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 143 £c0son JFifts-seomtf). JEWISH SECTS. Q. Were there any sects among the Jews before the captivity ? A. No ; not until the time of the Maccabees. Q. What were the principal sects among the Jews? A. The Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Es- senes. Q. When were they first known ? A. Josephus says "they were distinct sects in the reign of Jonathan," B. C. 144. Q. What is known of the Pharisees ? A. They were the most numerous and powerful of the Jewish sects, and made great pretensions to pe- culiar holiness. Luke, xviii. 11. Q. Did they belong to any particular tribe I A. No ; there were Pharisees of every tribe and every family. Q. What were some of their peculiar tenets or doctrines ? A. They ascribed all things to fate, believed in the existence of angels and spirits, in the resurrection of the dead, and the transmigration of souls.* * Horne's Introd., vol. ii., p. 144. 144 JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. Q. What effect had the latter doctrine on the minds of the Jews in regard to Christ? A. They thought the soul of Elias or Jeremiah might have been in the body of Jesus Christ. Q. What is said of the Sadducees? A. They are supposed to be the most ancient of the Jewish sects. Q. What were the principal tenets of the Sadducees ? A. They denied the resurrection of the body and the existence of angels or spirits, and maintained that the soul of man died with the body. Q. Mention other things that they denied, which were believed by the Pharisees. A. They did not believe in an overruling Provi- dence, or in the traditions of the Pharisees, but kept strictly to the letter of the Scriptures. Q. Was the sect numerous? A. No ; in point of numbers, it was small. Q. What was the third principal sect? A. The Essenes. Q. What was their character ? A. They were moral, abstemious, exemplary in every way, and very rigid in their observance of the Sabbath. Q. What were their tenets ? A. They believed in the immortality of the soul, and in future rewards and punishments, but denied the resurrection of the body. JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 145 Q. How did the Esscnes live ? A. They held their property in common, and things which were needed were distributed from the common stock.* Q. What were the Zealots? Num. xxv. 6-13; 1 Mac. ii. 24, 25. A. An association of persons, who undertook to maintain the purity of Divine worship by inflicting punishments, without form of trial, upon all who vio- lated any institution which they held sacred. Cesson Jiftg-digljtl). JEWISH SECTS CONCLUDED. Q. Who were the Scribes, spoken of in the time of Christ? A. They were the persons who transcribed the law, and took their name from that employment. Q. Were they a sect by themselves ? A. No; they were of different sects; some were Pharisees, and some were Sadducees. Q. Who were the Hellenists?* *.Tahn's Arch., pp. 410, 411. 13 146 JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. A. They were the Jews who, not only in Asia Mi nor, and Greece, and Egypt, but in all places, spoke the Greek language. Q. Who were the lawyers ? A. Some persons suppose them to have been the Scribes; others think they were a distinct class of men, who expounded the text of the law, and disre- garded all traditions. Q. What were Proselytes? A. They were persons, once idolaters, who had been converted to the Jewish Church ; and both men and women were baptized in the presence of three witnesses. Q. Who were the Samaritans? A. They were a race of people composed of the descendants of the ten tribes, and some of the Gen- tile nations, with whom they had intermarried. Q. What did they desire, on the return of the tribe of Judah from the captivity ? A. They wanted to be acknowledged as Jewish citizens, and to be permitted to assist in rebuilding the Temple. Q. What was the result of the application ? A. It was rejected by the Jews of the tribe of Judah, and a bitter enmity sprang up in conse- quence. Q. What did the Samaritans then ? A. They built a temple on Mount Gerizim ; and JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 147 the national hatred grew to such a height, that all intercourse ceased between them. Q. W as their worship like that of the Jews ? A. Yes ; they kept the Sabbath and the Passover ; but they worshipped idols also.* Q. Who were the Herodians ? A. They were a political faction, rather than a re- ligious sect, and derived their name from Herod the Great. Q. What were their doctrinal tenets ? A. They were chiefly those of the Sadducees, who were the most indifferent to religion of all the Jews. Q. How were the Herodians distinguished from other Jewish sects? A. They copied the Eomans in many of their heathen practices, such as erecting temples for idol- atrous worship. Q. Who were the Galileans ? A. They were a political sect, that originated from the Pharisees, and they endeavored to shake off the Roman yoke by refusing to pay tribute to Rome. * Jahn's ArclvTO^ffior * F UNION SENUNARV THE BURKE LIBRARY 5 0224 143