logies. The temple is in a grove-a thing forbidden in Scripture: every individual is bareheaded, whereas the Jews never worshipped but with covered heads: the man who blows the trumpet is sitting, whereas it is a received maxim among the Jewish doctors that no one could sit in the temple courts, excepting only the king, for the time being, of the house of David. The most important difference, however, is the presence of the congregation on each side of the altar, ranged in lines between it and the sanctuary. This is evidently a mixed congregation, including even women; but among the Hebrews the congregation was not admitted at all into the court immediately before the sanctuary, which was appropriated solely to the priests and Levites; and moreover the women did not assemble in the same outer court as the men, but had a separate one of their own. So different indeed were the practices in this matter, that we see in the present example that one of the three most con

spicuous of the officiating personages (those at the top of the steps) is a female, a priestess of Isis. Among the Hebrews, also, the space between the porch and the altar was accounted, after the sanctuary itself, the most holy part of the mountain of the Lord's house,' and hence, when an act of worship commenced, all persons entitled to be in this court, withdrew from that part, and ranged themselves below the altar. The present cut exhibits exactly the opposite custom. These observations, suggested by the engraving we now give, will serve to point out some of the more remarkable of the agreements and differences found in the external forms of worship among the Hebrews as compared with those of their heathen neighbours. It is more than probable, that when the Jews fell into idolatry, they worshipped some of their idols after the fashion shewn in the cut, and particularly 'the queen of heaven' and the idols borrowed from Egypt.

CHAPTER XLVII.

1 The vision of the holy waters. 6 The virtue of them. 13 The borders of the land. 22 The division of it by lot.

AFTERWARD he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.

2 Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.

3 And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the 'waters were to the ancles.

4 Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.

5 Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.

6 And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.

7 Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many 'trees on the one side and on the other.

8 Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go

1 Heb. waters of the ankles. 6 Heb. two rivers.

10 Or, for bruises and sores.

down into the 'desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.

9 And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the 'rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.

10 And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.

11 But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof 'shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt.

12 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed : it shall bring forth 'new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for "medicine.

13 Thus saith the Lord GOD; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel Joseph shall have two portions.

:

12

14 And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another concerning the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance.

15 And this shall be the border of the land toward the north side, from the great sea, the way of Hethlon, as men go to Zedad;

11 Rev. 22. 2.

3 Heb. lip. Rev. 22. 2. 5 Or, plain. 8 Heb. shall come up. 9 Or, principal. 13 Gen. 27. 7, and 17. 8, and 26. 3, and 28. 13.

16 Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; "Hazar-hatticon, which is by the coast of Hauran.

17 And the border from the sea shall be Hazar-enan, the border of Damascus, and the north northward, and the border of Hamath. And this is the north side.

18 And the east side ye shall measure 15 from Hauran, and from Damascus, and from Gilead, and from the land of Israel by Jordan, from the border unto the east sea. And this is the east side.

19 And the south side Tamar even to the waters of the river to the great sea. south side southward.

18

14 Or, the middle village.

16

southward, from

strife in Kadesh, And this is the And this is the

15 Heb. from between.

Verse 1. Behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward.'-Whatever be thought of the description contained in these chapters, as a whole, it is generally admitted that the account contained in this chapter of the waters issuing from the temple, deepening and widening as they went, blessing the land through which they passed, and healing the sea of death to which they came, must be figuratively understood. And, thus understood, most commentators seem inclined to apply the allegory to the spread and the blessings of the Christian faith. It is indeed impossible to understand the account literally; yet it is certain that this figurative description is founded upon circumstances proper to the place and country, and which are applied and sustained with great felicity in this very beautiful parable.

It must be evident that a great quantity of water must have been required for the service of the temple. How this supply was obtained appears from the Rabbinical writers, and still more distinctly from Aristeas, whose book

20 The west side also shall be the great sea from the border, till a man come over against Hamath. This is the west side.

21 So shall ye divide this land unto you according to the tribes of Israel.

22 And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you; and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.

23 And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord GOD.

was written while the second temple stood, and whose account we give as quoted by Lightfoot (Prospect of the Temple, ch. xxiii.): There was a continual supply of water, as if there had been an abundant fountain under neath. And there were wonderful and inexpressible receptacles under ground, as appeared five furlongs' space above the temple; each one of which had divers pipes, by which waters came in on every side; all these were of lead, under ground, and much earth laid upon them. And there were many vents on the pavement, not to be seen at all but to those that served; so that in a trice, and easily, all the blood of the sacrifices could be washed away, though it were never so much. And I will tell you how I came to know of these underground receptacles: they brought me out more than four furlongs space out of the city, and one bade me stoop down at a certain place, and listen what a noise the meeting of the waters made.' From this it seems that the waters were collected from many neighbouring sources; but the Rabbins inform us

CHAP. XLVII.]

that the principal supply was derived from the fountain of Etam. It appears that these streams, after having passed under the temple and filled its cisterns, went out on the east side, and there uniting with each other, and with the waters of Siloam, Kidron, and other streams, that seem to have been more numerous and abundant about Jerusalem in ancient times than at present-the whole formed a considerable body of water, augmented by other streams as it passed, till it ultimately fell into the Dead Sea. In this climate, we may be sure that this stream, in proportion to its extent, fertilized the land through which it passed, and was lined with shrubs and bushes, if not trees also; supplying the comparison or statement in v. 7. We are not to suppose that this stream had any considerable effect in healing' the waters of the Dead Sea, for even the stream of the Jordan has not; but as the stream of living water did enter the salt and bitter waters of the Dead Sea, the figurative account, which follows, of the blessed effects of the fresh stream upon the waters of death, is most naturally and beautifully applied. The sea is supposed thus to receive that healing which it did and does still require: and the reader who has perused the accounts of this sea will not fail to observe how remarkably the healing effects are stated, so as to convey distinct intimations of the peculiarities by which that lake was distinguished from others; such as that it should abound in fish-intimating that it naturally did not; that, in consequence, fishers should frequent all its shores, which never happened in the natural state of the lake; and that its banks should be lined with trees of nourishment and health, of which it was naturally destitute.

11. The miry places...and the marishes...shall be given to salt. See the note on 2 Kings xiv. 7.

16. Hauran.'-This name occurs only here and in v. 18; and denotes a district to the south of Damascus, and east of the half tribe of Manasseh and the tribe of Gad, beyond Jordan. Its extent seems to have varied at different times. Colonel Leake supposes that it was of inconsiderable extent in the time of the Jews, but enlarged its boundaries under the Greeks and Romans, who modified its name to Auranitis. It has been still further increased since that time, and the district which now bears the name includes not only Auranitis but Ituræa also, together with the greater part of Bashan, or Batanæa, and Trachonitis; extending, in its greatest length, from about twenty miles to the south of Damascus to a little below Bozra.

Very little was known of this tract of country till the ample accounts which have been furnished by Burckhardt and Buckingham, in their respective Travels. As it is but slightly mentioned in Scripture, we may content ourselves with a reference to the descriptions which these travellers supply; although some further notice of this territory may be taken under Luke iii. 1, where the ancient districts which form the most considerable portion of the modern Hauran are particularly mentioned.

18. The east sea.'-This, as we have seen, is the Dead Sea. This name, which is given to it also in Joel ii. 20, it derives from its situation on the east of Judæa, and also to distinguish it from the West Sea, or Mediterranean. It is also called the Sea of the Plain' (Deut. iii. 17; iv.), from its situation in the great hollow or plain of the Jordan; and the Salt Sea' (Deut. iii. 17; Josh. xv. 5), from the extreme saltness of its waters. By Josephus and the classical writers in general it is called Lacus Asphaltites, from the quantities of asphaltum found in it or on its shores. Mare Mortuum, or 'the Dead Sea,' was another of its names, and that by which it is now generally known in Europe; but by the natives of the country it is now known as the Bahr Lút, or the Sea of Lot,' and sometimes Bahr Mutneh, 'the Stinking Sea.' This lake is from its size the most important, and from its history and qualities the most remarkable, of all the lakes of Palestine. It was long assumed that this lake did not exist before the destruction of Sodom and the other cities of the plain' (Gen. xix.); and that before that time the present bed of the lake was a fertile plain, in which these cities stood. It was also concluded that the river Jordan then flowed

through this plain, and afterwards pursued its course through the great valley of Arabah, to the eastern arm of the Red Sea. The careful observations of Professor Robinson have now, however, rendered it more probable that a lake which, as now, received the river Jordan, existed here before Sodom was destroyed; but that an encroachment of the waters, southward, then took place, overwhelming a beautiful and well-watered plain which lay on the southern border of the lake, and on which Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim, and Zoar were situated. The promontory, or rather peninsula, towards the south which is so distinct a feature of this lake, probably marks its original boundary in that direction, and shews the point through which the waters broke into the plain beyond.

The Dead Sea is about thirty-nine or forty geographical miles long from north to south, and nine or ten miles wide from east to west; and it lies embedded very deep between lofty cliffs on the western side, which are about 1500 feet high, and mountains on the eastern shore, the highest ridges of which are reckoned to be from 2000 to 2500 feet above the water. According to the accurate measurements of Lieut. Symonds, R.E., it has been found that the Dead Sea is not less than 1312-2 feet below the level of the Mediterranean. The water of the lake is much salter than that of the sea. From the quantity of salt which the water holds in solution it is thick and heavy, and no fish can live, or marine plants grow in it. The presence of shell-fish upon the shore was thought to disprove the opinion that no fish could live in these waters; but Dr. Wilson remarks that the few shell-fish to be found on the shore are of fresh-water species, and had without doubt been brought down into the sea by the waters of the Jordan. The waters have been subjected to chemical analysis, formerly by Dr. Marcet, and more recently by Dr. Gregory, who operated upon some of the water brought home by Dr. Madden. The results exhibit only such difference as the difference of the places or of the time of the year in which the two portions of water were taken from the lake may account for.

Muriate of lime Muriate of magnesia Muriate of soda Sulphate of lime

MARCET.

3.920

10.246

10.360

0.034

24.380

When taken up in a glass the water appears perfectly clear; but when viewed en masse under a cloudless sky, though in some parts it reflects imperfectly the azure hue, yet in others it is quite brown, owing probably to variations in its depth. The taste is described by Mr. Elliot as indescribably nauseous, salter than the ocean, and singularly bitter, like sea-water mixed with Epsom salts and quinine, or, as Madden describes, like a solution of nitre mixed with an infusion of quassia. It acts on the eyes as pungently as smoke, and produces on the skin a sensation resembling that of 'prickly heat,' leaving behind a white saline deposit.

The quantity of salts which this water holds in solution accounts for its remarkable specific gravity, which every writer, from Josephus downward, has noticed. This has been found, by experiment, to exceed that of rain-water by more than sixteen per cent. We found it practically,' says Mr. Elliot, for our whole party, consisting of five persons, plunged in and remained some time in the water. Although the assertion be not true that a flat dense mass of iron will be sustained on the surface, yet a man who cannot float elsewhere, finds no difficulty here. Having 571

proceeded some way into the lake till his shoulders are nearly immersed, his feet are actually borne off the ground, and he walks, as it were, on water; or else his legs are forcibly raised, and he is compelled either to float or swim. To sink or dive would require some effort.' The specific gravity of the water accounts also for its reputed immobility; it is less easily excited than any other known lake, and sooner resumes its wonted stillness. The old stories about the pestiferous qualities of the Dead Sea and its waters are mere fables or delusions; and actual appearances are the natural and obvious effects of the confined and deep situation, the intense heat, and the uncommon saltness of the waters. Lying in its deep cauldron, surrounded by lofty cliffs of naked limestone rock, exposed for seven or eight months in the year to the unclouded beams of a burning sun, nothing but sterility and

solitude can be looked for upon its shores: and nothing else is actually found, except in those parts where there are fountains or streams of fresh water; in all of which places there is a fertile soil and abundant vegetation. Birds also abound, and they are observed to fly over and across the sea without being, as old stories tell, injured or killed by its exhalations. Professor Robinson was five days in the vicinity of its shores, without being able to perceive that any noisome smell or noxious vapour arose from the bosom of the lake. Its coasts have always been inhabited, and are so now; and although the inhabitants suffer from fevers in summer, this is not more than might be expected from the concentrated heat of the climate in connection with the marshes. The same effects might be experienced were there no lake, or were the waters fresh instead of salt.

CHAPTER XLVIII.

1, 23 The portions of the twelve tribes, 8 of the sanctuary, 15 of the city and suburbs, 21 and of the prince. 30 The dimensions and gates of the city. Now these are the names of the tribes. From the north end to the coast of the way of Hethlon, as one goeth to Hamath, Hazar-enan, the border of Damascus northward, to the coast of Hamath; for these are his sides east and west; 'a portion for Dan.

2 And by the border of Dan, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Asher.

3 And by the border of Asher, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Naphtali.

4 And by the border of Naphtali, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Manasseh.

5 And by the border of Manasseh, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Ephraim.

6 And by the border of Ephraim, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Reuben.

7 And by the border of Reuben, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Judah.

8 And by the border of Judah, from the east side unto the west side, shall be the offering which ye shall offer of five and twenty thousand reeds in breadth, and in length as one of the other parts, from the east side unto the west side and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it.

9 The oblation that ye shall offer unto the LORD shall be of five and twenty thousand in length, and of ten thousand in breadth.

10 And for them, even for the priests, shall be this holy oblation; toward the north five

Heb. one portion.

and twenty thousand in length, and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south five and twenty thousand in length: and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in the midst thereof.

11 It shall be for the priests that are sanctified of the sons of Zadok; which have kept my charge, which went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.

12 And this oblation of the land that is offered shall be unto them a thing most holy by the border of the Levites.

13 And over against the border of the priests the Levites shall have five and twenty thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth all the length shall be five and twenty thousand, and the breadth ten thou

sand.

14 And they shall not sell of it, neither exchange, nor alienate the firstfruits of the land for it is holy unto the LORD.

15 And the five thousand, that are left in the breadth over against the five and twenty thousand, shall be a profane place for the city, for dwelling, and for suburbs: and the city shall be in the midst thereof.

16 And these shall be the measures thereof; the north side four thousand and five hundred, and the south side four thousand and five hundred, and on the east side four thousand and five hundred, and the west side four thousand and five hundred.

17 And the suburbs of the city shall be toward the north two hundred and fifty, and toward the south two hundred and fifty, and toward the east two hundred and fifty, and toward the west two hundred and fifty.

18 And the residue in length over against the oblation of the holy portion shall be ten

thousand eastward, and ten thousand westward and it shall be over against the oblation of the holy portion; and the increase. thereof shall be for food unto them that serve the city.

19 And they that serve the city shall serve it out of all the tribes of Israel.

20 All the oblation shall be five and twenty thousand by five and twenty thousand ye shall offer the holy oblation foursquare, with the possession of the city.

21 ¶ And the residue shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy oblation, and of the possession of the city, over against the five and twenty thousand of the oblation toward the east border, and westward over against the five and twenty thousand toward the west border, over against the portions for the prince: and it shall be the holy oblation; and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the midst thereof.

22 Moreover from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, being in the midst of that which is the prince's, between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, shall be for the prince.

23 As for the rest of the tribes, from the east side unto the west side, Benjamin shall have a portion.

24 And by the border of Benjamin, from the east side unto the west side, Simeon shall have a portion.

25 And by the border of Simeon, from the east side unto the west side, Issachar a portion. 26 And by the border of Issachar, from

Heb. one portion.

the east side unto the west side, Zebulun a portion.

27 And by the border of Zebulun, from the east side unto the west side, Gad a portion. 28 And by the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar unto the waters of 'strife in Kadesh, and to the river toward the great sea.

29 This is the land which ye shall divide by lot unto the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their portions, saith the Lord GOD.

30 And these are the goings out of the city on the north side, four thousand and five hundred measures.

31 And the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates northward; one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi.

32 And at the east side four thousand and five hundred and three gates; and one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan.

33 And at the south side four thousand and five hundred measures: and three gates; one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun.

34 At the west side four thousand and five hundred, with their three gates; one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali.

35 It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, "The LORD is there.

Verse 16. These shall be the measures thereof.—That is, of the city; which, it will be seen, was an exact square, measuring 4500 on each side, and being 18,000 in circumference, and each side of the square having three gates, called after the tribes of Israel. The dimensions have occasioned some discussion; for the measure, in which the estimate is made, not being mentioned, has been variously supplied. Many suppose that the measure was the reed,' in which the other measurements were taken; and our translators appear to have been of this opinion, as they supply the word in verse 8. This, according to the usual computation of Ezekiel's 'reed,' would make the circumference about thirty-six miles. Others suppose the cubit to be intended, which would reduce the dimensions so as not to greatly exceed the thirty-three stades which Josephus gives as the circuit of Jerusalem. There have however been some who interpret the dimensions in such an extent that, as they state, not all the land of Israel, nor even all Europe, if all the world could contain it: and then allege this impossibility as an argument for the figurative interpretation of the whole account contained in these final chapters of Ezekiel. Luther, for one, makes

:

the circumference of the city to be thirty-six thousand German miles each being equal to four and a half of our own miles and this computation is really moderate compared with some that we have seen. Our own impression is, that the reed' is the highest measure which can in this instance be taken; and that very probably the cubit rather than this reed is to be understood. Whatever measure be taken in this instance, must of course be applied to the other parts, describing the lands of the priests, and the Levites, in the neighbourhood of the city. The whole of this, it appears, formed one great square containing five rectangles-thus; that for the priests (verses 9, 10) was 25,000 by 10,000; that for the Levites (verse 13), also 25,000 by 10,000; that for the city and suburbs (verses 16, 17), 5000 by 5000; adding two on each side of 10,000 by 5000 (verse 18), equal to 10,000 by 10,000-making altogether, a rectangle of 25,000 by 25,000, which would, by Ezekiel's reed, afford a circuit of about 200 miles, but only of about thirty miles by the cubit. This statement serves for little more than to shew the uncertainty in which the whole subject is involved.

573