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Holy of Holies, at the west end, was twenty cubits square on the inside, ver. 4. The holy place, or outer eourt at the east end, was forty cubits, ver. 12. The length of the porch on the north side was twenty cubits; the breadth was eleven cubits, chap. xl. 49; and the width of the separate place on the south side twenty cubits. On each side of the temple, towards the four gates in the outer wall, stood two courts, eight in the whole, each one hundred cubits square, chap. xl. 19, 23, 27. In each of these were thirty-six little chambers or buildings, about six cubits square, viz., six at the entrance of the gate, chap. xl. 7, 17, 20, &c., and thirty on the pavement, ver. 17, &c., which were for lodgings for the priests, for hanging up their garments, and their part of the sacrifices, chap. xlii. 13."

Calmet has constructed a map to show the position of the tribes, and the quantum of space each was to possess. As this will give a better view of the subject than any written description can, I have inserted one constructed for this work, which, consulting the places said to be connected with the possessions of the different tribes, shows that the tribes did not all possess the same quantum of space, five of the southern tribes possessing only one half as much as those of the north. Verse 35. The name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord is there.]. It would have been better to have retained the original words :

.YEHOVAH SHAMMAH יהוה שמה

This is an allusion to the shechinah, or symbol of the Divine Presence, which was in the first, but most certainly was not in the second temple; but Ezekiel tells us that the Divine Presence should be in the city of which he speaks; and should be there so fully and so powerfully, that it should give name to the city itself; and that the very name, Jehovah shammah, should remind all men of the supereminently glorious Being who had condescended to make this city his habitation.

Two points must be considered here:-1. That the prophet intended that, when they should be restored, they should build the temple, and divide the land as he here directs, if the thing could be found to be practicable. 2. That he had another temple, another holy city, another Promised Land, in view. The land of Immanuel, the city of the New Jerusalem; and his temple, the Christian Church, which is the house of the living God, 1 Tim. iii. 15, in which the presence of Christ shall ever be found; and all its inhabitants, all that believe on his name, shall be temples of the Holy Ghost. Nor can there be any reasonable doubt that the prophet here, by the Spirit of God, not only points out the return of the Israelites from the Babylonish captivity, and what was to befall them previously to the advent of Jesus Christ; but also the glorious spread of the Gospel in the earth, and the final conversion of the tribes of Israel by the preaching of that Gospel.

In conclusion, I think it necessary to state, that there are but few of the prophets of the Old Testament who have left a more valuable treasure to the Church of God than Ezekiel. It is true, he is in several places obscure; but there is a great proportion of the work that is in the highest degree edifying; and several portions that for the depth of the salvation predicted, and

of Ezekiel's temple.

the accuracy and minuteness of the description, have nothing equal to them in the Old Testament Scriptures On such portions, I have felt it my duty to be very particular, that I might be able to point out spiritual beauties and excellencies in this book which are beyond all praise; while I passed slightly over prophecies and symbols which I did not fully understand; but have left to time, by the fulfilment of the events, to prove to successive generations with what heavenly wisdom this much neglected prophet has spoken. And I take this opportunity to recommend this book to the serious perusal of every pious man; and while he wonders at the extent of the wisdom by which Ezekiel has fathomed the depth of so many Divine mysteries, let him give God the glory for this additional testimony to the unsearchable riches of Christ, and that plenary salvation which he has purchased for, and freely offers to, the vilest of the vile, and to the whole of the descendants of Adam.

MASORETIC. NOTES.-Number of verses, 1,273. Masoretic sections, 29. Middle verse, chap. xxvi. 1. DESCRIPTION OF THE PLAN OF EZEKIEL'S TEMPLE. As I utterly despair of making the prophet's description of this temple intelligible without a plan, I have introduced one drawn up with great labour and skill by Dom. August. Calmet, where the measurements, distances, gates, chambers, courts, inclosures, &c., are all carefully entered as far as they could possibly be ascertained from Ezekiel's description; which, it must be allowed, though wondrously circumstantial, is in several respects obscure. But by referring to the places, both in Kings and Chronicles, as well as in this prophet, where the same things are mentioned, this obscurity will be considerably diminished, if not entirely removed. At the same time, for a description of the temple in general, I beg leave to refer the reader to 1 Kings vi., at the end, where this subject is considered at large.

THE PLAN.

[Let it be observed that the Hebrew cubit is about twenty inches and a half.]

AAAA The first inclosure, or wall of six hundred cubits, i. e., one thousand and twenty-five royal feet in length on each side, chap. xlv, 2; and six cubits or ten feet three inches high, and as many in breadth, chap. xl. 5.

BBBB The court of the Gentiles, or first court, fifty cubits in breadth, or eighty-five feet five inches, chap. xl. 2.

CCCC The outward wall of the court of Israel, or inclosure, five hundred cubits square, i. e., eight hundred and fifty-four feet two inches. This wall might be thirty cubits high, taken from the level of the threshold of the gate.

DDDD The court of Israel, one hundred cubits, or one hundred and seventy feet ten inches broad, chap. xl. 19. EEEE The outer wall, or inclosure of the court of the priests, two hundred cubits, or three hundred and forty-one feet eight inches square, is supposed to be thirty cubits, or fifty-one feet three inches in height.

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FFF The court of the priests, one hundred cubits, or one hundred and seventy feet ten inches square, chap. xl. 7; xli. 14, 15.

G

The Sanctuary, or Holy of Holies, twenty cubits, or thirty-four feet two inches square, chap. xli. 4; 1 Kings vi. 2.

H The holy place, forty cubits long by twenty broad, or sixty-eight feet two inches long by thirty-four feet two inches broad, chap. xli. 2, and 1 Kings vi. 2. I The vestibule or porch, twenty cubits in breadth, by ten (or according to Ezekiel, eleven) cubits in length, i. e., thirty-four feet two inches long by seventeen feet one inch broad, chap. xl. 48; 1 Kings vi. 3.

K The altar of burnt-offerings, twelve cubits, or twenty feet six inches square, according to Ezekiel, chap. xliii. 12, 13, &c., or ten cubits high by twenty broad, i. e., seventeen feet one inch high, and thirtyfour feet two inches broad, according to 2 Chron. iv. 1.

LLL The wall of separation which encompassed the Temple, and the altar of burnt-offerings, of which the Scriptures do not give the dimensions. It was twenty cubits from the buildings in the court of the priests, and five from the Temple, chap. xli. 9, 10. Josephus makes it three cubits high, Antiq. lib. viii.

c. 2.

MMMMMM Gates of the court of Israel, and of the court of the priests, all of the same dimensions, chap. xl. 1, 22, 36. Each of the porches was fifty cubits long, i. e., eighty-five feet five inches (as much as the depth of the aisles, chap. xl. 15) and twentyfive cubits, or forty-two feet eight inches and a half in breadth in the opening, and sixty cubits high, i. e., one hundred and two feet six inches, chap. xl. 14. On each side of the porches there were three chambers, each six cubits square, chap. xl. 6. And the separations between the three chambers were five cubits in thickness, chap. xl. 6. NNNNNNNN Galleries around the court of Israel, chap. xl. I place there thirty pillars on a line of two hundred cubits in length, which is the same proportion as those given for one hundred cubits long, 1 Kings vii. 2, 3, 4, for the court of the palace of Solomon.

00000000 Chambers or apartments round the court of Israel; there were thirty on both sides of the gate, or fifteen on each side, chap. xl. 17. PPPP The kitchens of the Temple, forty cubits, or sixty-eight feet four inches long by thirty cubits, or fifty-one feet three inches broad, chap. xlv. 21, 22, 23, 24.

Q

The north gate of the court of the priests, where the victims were prepared, and where they slew the animals designed for sacrifice, chap. xl. 38, 39. RRRR Galleries around the court of the priests, chap. xlii. 3.

SSSSSS Apartments continued round the court-of the priests. The aisle, which was to the south of the eastern gate, was for the priests employed as guards of the Temple, chap. xl. 45. The aisle on the north side of the said gate was appointed for the singers, chap. xl. 44; the aisle that was on the eastern side of the south gate was for the priests employed about

of Ezekiel's temple.

the altar, chap. xl. 46; the aisles which were to the west of the north gate and of the south gate, contained the halls where the priests ate, chap. xlii. 13.

TT The kitchens of the court of the priests were those where they dressed the trespass-offering, sinoffering, and the meat-offerings, forty cubits, or sixty-eight feet four inches long, and thirty cubits, or fifty-one feet five inches broad, chap. xlvi. 20. He speaks only of that on the north.

VVVV Flights of steps which led to the court of the people. In each flight there were seven steps, chap. xl. 22-26.

XXX Flights of steps which led to the court of the priests; in each there were eight steps, chap. xl. 31, 34, 37.

YY

aaa

bb

с

A flight of steps which led to the porch of the Temple, eight steps in each, chap. xl. 49.

Chambers about the Temple, thirty-three in number, Ezekiel makes them four cubits in breadth, chap. xli. 5; but in 1 Kings vi. 5, 6, they are stated to be five cubits in the lower stage, sit in the second, and seven in the third.

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Flights of steps opposite to the chambers, which were continued round the temple, chap. xli. 7, and 1 Kings vi. 8.

The steps of the altar of burnt-offerings turned toward the east, chap. xliii. 15, 16.

dddd Tables of hewn stone, which were in the portico of the north gate of the priests' court, where they slew, flayed, and cut up the victims. Each table was one and a half cubit square, chap. xl. 38, 39-41..

The great walls of the temple were all six cubits, or ten feet three inches thick. These walls were: 1. That which formed the first inclosure; 2. The wall of the court of Israel; 3. The wall of the court of the priests; and, 4. The walls of the Temple. But the outward wall of the thirty-three chambers, which were around the holy place and the sanctuary, was only five cubits broad, and fifteen high; i. e., eight feet six inches and a half in thickness, and twenty-five feet seven inches and a half in height, chap. xli. 9, 12.

The

All the gates of the two courts, that of Israel and that of the priests, are of the same dimensions. wall where was the opening was six cubits, or ten feet three inches in thickness. The gate was eight cubits, or thirteen feet eight inches wide; and the opening of the gate was one cubit, and the gate was thirteen cubits, or twenty-two feet two inches and a half high, chap. xl. 9, 11.

The western gate of the Temple is not mentioned by Ezekiel, because, according to his plan, the king's palace was not to be near the temple; and consequently this gate, which was the gate of the king, did not exist. But this was not followed, as we find that, after the return from Babylon, there were gates on the western side of the Temple, according to Josephus; and before the captivity the western gate did most certainly exist, see chap. xliii. 8; 2 Kings xi. 6; xvi. 18; 1 Chron. ix. 24; xxvi. 16, 18. •

1. The gate of the porch of the holy place was fourteen cubits wide, i. e., twenty-three feet eleven inches, chap. xl. 48; 1 Kings vi. 3.

Description of the plan

CHAP. XLVIII.

of Ezekiel's temple.

2. The gate of the holy place was ten cubits, or | bits; for the temple was not higher, neither was Soloseventeen feet one inch wide, chap. xli. 1, 2. mon's palace. See 1 Kings vii. 2.

3. The gate of the sanctuary was six cubits, or ten

feet three inches wide. The wall of the separation EXPLANATION OF THE PLAN FOR the division of the was only two cubits, chap. xli. 1, 3.

4. The east gate of the court of the priests was shut all the week, and was not opened but on the Sabbath and new moons, according to Ezekiel. It was there that the king had his seat, a sort of tribunal, chap. xliv. 2-4; xlvi. 1, 2, &c.

Calmet observes, with respect to his plan, that he assigns only two galleries to the apartments which were around the court of Israel; but those which were around the court of the priests had three, chap. xlii. 3, 5, 6. There is another difference between the palace (atrium) of the court of the priests, and that of the court of Israel. The walls of the first were built with three rows of hewn stones and one of cedar alternately, 1 Kings vi. 36; but this is not said to be the same in the structure of the outward court, or that of the people. In the Old Testament we find no mention of the court of the Gentiles. Only two courts are mentioned there, one of the priests, the other of the people; one the inner, the other the outer court; but it is certainthat such a court did exist, and is here marked BBBB.

The height of the aisles, or apartments that were around the two courts, is not mentioned any where in the Scriptures; but they are here fixed at thirty cu

A

LAND OF CANAAN, ACCORDING TO EZEKIEL'S VISION, chap. xlviii.

The Temple of the Lord, five hundred cubits square, chap. xlv. 2.

BB The city of the Levites, four thousand five hundred cubits square, and eighteen thousand in compass, chap. xlviii. 16.

CCCC Suburbs of the city of the Levites, two hundred and fifty cubits in breadth, chap. xlviii. 17. dddd The twelve gates of the Levitical city, four on each side, chap. xlviii. 31-34.

EE City of the lay persons or workmen employed in the service of the priests and of the Levites, five thousand broad by twenty-five thousand cubits long, chap. xlv. 6.

FF

Cultivated ground for the maintenance of the lay artisans, chap. xlviii. 15.

GG Portion of the prince of Israel, twenty-five thousand cubits long by twelve thousand five hundred broad, chap. xlviii. 21.

The whole extent of the land from Kadesh-barnea south to Hethlon or Hamath north, was about two hundred and twenty miles, its mean breadth about one hundred.

559

INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK

OF THE

PROPHET DANIEL.

DANIEL is said to have descended from the royal family of David; and he appears to have been carried into Babylon when very young, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim king of Judah, A. M. 3398, B. C. 602, or 606 before the vulgar era. He and his three fellowcaptives, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, being likely youths, were chosen to be about the king's court, and were appointed to have an education suitable to the employments for which they were destined. As they had been carefully bred up in the Mosaic institutions, they regulated their conduct by them, even in the court of a heathen king, where they were in the capacity of slaves; hence, though ordered to be fed from the royal table, they would not touch that food, because the Chaldeans ate of meat forbidden by the Mosaic law; and probably even that which might be denominated clean became defiled by having been sacrificed to idols before it was prepared for common use. At their earnest request, the officer under whose care they were placed permitted them to use vegetables only; and finding that they grew healthy and strong by this aliment, did not oblige them to use the portion sent from the king's table.

Daniel appears to have been instructed in all the wisdom of the Chaldeans, which was at that time greatly superior to the learning of the ancient Egyptians; and he was soon distinguished in the Babylonish court, as well for his wisdom and strong understanding as for his deep and steady piety.

His interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the variously compounded metallic image raised his credit so high at the court that he was established governor of the province of Babylon, and made chief of all the Magians, or wise men in that country. The chief facts and incidents of his history are so particularly woven throughout the book bearing his name, and undoubtedly written by himself, that they need not be detailed here.

The reputation of Daniel was so great, even in his lifetime, that it became a proverb. "Thou art wiser than Daniel," said Ezekiel ironically to the king of Tyre, chap. xxviii. 3; and by the same prophet God ranks him among the most holy and exemplary of men, when he declares, speaking relative to Jerusalem, which had been condemned to destruction, "Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own lives by their righteousness," chap. xiv. 14, 20.

Josephus, Ant. lib. x., c. 12, says that God bestowed many favours on him that he was advanced to the rank of the most considerable prophets; that he enjoyed the favour of princes, and the affection of the people during his life; and that after his death his memory became immortal. He observes also that, in the complexion of his predictions, he differs widely from all other prophets; they foretold scarcely any thing but disastrous events; on the contrary, he predicts the most joyous events, and fixes the times of accomplishment with more circumstantial precision than they did. And this is so true, that we cannot help thinking that God had given this eminent man a greater degree of light to fix the times when his predictions should issue, than he had given in general to all his predecessors, who simply declared the mind of God in relation to things future, without attempting to indicate the distance of time in which they should be fulfilled. There are but very few exceptions to this either in Isaiah or Jeremiah. And in this respect the prophecy of the seventy weeks of Daniel exceeds all that

INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF DANIEL.

have gone before, as the incidents and transactions relative to its fulfilment were so various, and yet so fixed and declared six hundred years before the time, that when the time came in which they were predicted to take place, they were expected, and occurred exactly according to the prediction, and the expectations founded upon it. This prophet therefore, far from occupying a lower place among divinely inspired men, deserves to be placed in the front rank with all those who have been most distinguished among the men who have partaken most largely of the prophetic gift.

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The rabbins have endeavoured to degrade Daniel, and have placed his prophecies among the hagiographa, books which they consider to possess a minor degree of inspiration; and it is probable that he meets with this treatment from them because his prophecies are proofs too evident that Jesus Christ is the true Messiah, and that he came at the very time that Daniel said the Prince Messiah should come. But the testimony and sayings of such men are infinitely overpowered by the testimony of Ezekiel, which has been produced above; and the testimony of our LORD, who gives him the title of prophet, Matt. xxiv. 15, without the slightest intimation that he was to wear this title with abatement.

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It is very probable that Daniel did not return at the general restoration from the Babylonish captivity. At that time, if alive, he must have been an old man; and it is most likely that he finished his days in Babylon, though some Asiatic authors hold that he returned to Judea with Ezra, came back afterward to Persia, and died in the city of Susa.

Josephus speaks of his skill in architecture, Antiq. lib. x., c. 12, and that he built a famous tower at Ecbatane or Susa, which remained to his time, and was so exquisitely finished that it always appeared as if newly built. In this tower or palace the kings of Persia were interred; and in consideration of its founder, the guard of it was always chosen from the Jews. Daniel is famous among the orientalists. The author of the Tareekh Muntekheb says that Daniel flourished in the time of Lohorasp, king of Persia; and consequently in that of Ceresh, or Cyrus, who gave him the government of Syria; that he taught these two princes the knowledge of the true God; that he preached the true faith through the whole of the Babylonian Irak; and was, on the death of Nebuchadnezzar, sent by Bahman, (Artaxerxes Longimanus,) son of Asfendiar, who then reigned in Persia, into Judea; and that, having returned, he died at Shouster, or Susa, the capital of Persia, where he lies interred.

Some have supposed that the Zoroaster or Zeradusht of the Persians is a confused picture of the Prophet Daniel. The account given by Abul Pharaje, in his fifth dynasty, may be. considered favourable to this opinion. He says, "Zeradusht, author of the Magiousciah Magism, or sect of the worshippers of fire, flourished in the reign of Cambasous, (Cambyses ;) that he was a native of the province of Adherbigian, or Media, or, according to others, of Assyria; that he foretold to his disciples the coming of the Messiah, who should be pointed out by a star which should appear in the day time at his birth; that they should have the first information of his advent; that he should be born of a virgin; and that they should present him with gifts; because he is the WORD that made the heavens." See Pococke's Abul Pharajius, p. 83 of the Arabic, and 54 of the Latin.

D'Herbelot, on this account, makes the following remark: "We may see by these words of the historian, that the prophecy of Balaam was pretty generally known throughout the east, and that the Magi, who came to worship our Lord, were the true Magians of Persia, and not Arab kings."

The account given by Abul Pharaje makes Daniel and Zeradusht contemporary, and thus far is favourable to the opinion that the history of the former may be disguised under that of the latter. There have been several Zoroasters, of whom many fables are told; and no wonder, when the persons themselves are generally fabulous.

The Asiatics make him the inventor of remel, or geomancy ; and among them he passes for the author of a work entitled Assoul ol Tabeer, "The Principles of the Interpretation of Dreams." I have in my own library a very ancient work which pretends to be drawn from this, and is entitled Somnia Daniel; it was printed in the infancy of printing,

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