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No. 1235.-ST. MARK v. 38.

And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly.

THE assembling together of multitudes to the place where persons have lately expired, and bewailing of them in a noisy manner, is a custom still retained in the East, and seems to be considered as an honour done to the deceased. Chardin, MS. informs us that the concourse in places where persons lie dead is incredible, Every body runs thither, the poor and the rich; and the first more especially make a strange noise."

HARMER, vol. ii. p. 135.

No. 1236.-vi. 56. They laid the sick in the streets.] Maximus Tyrius tells us, (in his fortieth Dissertation, p. 477.) that the medical art, as reported, had its rise from the custom of placing sick persons on the side of frequented ways, that so those who passed along, inquiring into the nature of their complaint, might communicate the knowledge of what had been to themselves useful in the like case.

No. 1237.-vii. 3. Except they wash their hands oft.] Εάν μη πυγμή νίψωνται, except they washed with their fist. Theophylact translates it unless they washed up to their elbow, affirming that yun denotes the whole of the arm from the bending to the ends of the fingers. But this sense of the word is altogether unusual; for muyun properly is the hand, with the fingers contracted into the palm and made round. Theophylact's translation, however, exhibits the evangelist's meaning. For the

Jews when they washed held up their hands, and contracting their fingers, received the water that was poured on them by their servants, (who had it for a part of their office, 2 Kings iii. 11.) till it ran down their arms, which they washed up to their elbows.

MACKNIGHT'S Harmony, vol. ii. p. 352.

No. 1238.-vii. 5. But eat bread with unwashen hands.] Amongst the ridiculous superstitions of the Jews, it is curious to mark the rule which they established concerning eating with their hands washed or not washed. Bread might not be eaten unless they had first washed their hands, but they were allowed to eat dry fruits with unwashen hands. This circumstance should be particularly noticed, as bread is emphatically mentioned by the Evangelist. See Wootton's Miscell vol. i. p. 166.

No. 1239.—ix. 43, Into the fire that never shall be quenched.] This is a periphrasis of hell, and is an allusion to the valley of Hinnom, from whence hell has its name here and elsewhere. Kimchi (on Psalm xxvii. 13.) says "that it was a place in the land near to Jerusalem, and was a place contemptible; where they cast things defiled and carcasses; and there was there a continual fire to burn polluted things and bones; and therefore the condemnation of the wicked in a parabolical way is called Gehinnom."

No. 1240.-x. 12. If a woman shall put away her husband.] This practice of divorcing the husband, unwarranted by the law, had been (as Josephus informs us) introduced by Salome, sister of Herod the Great, who sent a bill of divorce to her husband Costobarus ; which bad example was afterwards followed by Herodias and others. By law it was the husband's prero

gative to dissolve the marriage. The wife could do nothing by herself. When he thought fit to dissolve it, her consent was not necessary. The bill of divorce which she received was to serve as evidence for her that she had not deserted her husband, but was dismissed by him, and consequently free.

CAMPBELL'S Translation of the Gospels, note.

No. 1241.-xiii. 35. Or at the cock-crowing.] The ancients divided the night into different watches; the last of which was called cock-crow; wherefore they kept a cock in their tirit, or towers, to give notice of the dawn. Hence this bird was sacred to the sun, and named Alwg, which seems to be a compound out of the titles of that deity, and of the tower set apart for his service; for these towers were temples.

HOLWELL'S Mythological Dict. p. 16.

No. 1242.-xiv. 15. A large upper room furnished and prepared.] The English word which comes nearest the import of sgwμevov is carpeted: but when the term is used, as here, of a dining room, it is not meant only of the floor, but of the couches on which the guests reclined at meals. On these they used, for the sake both of neatness and of convenience, to spread a coverlet or carpet. As this was commonly the last thing they did in dressing the room, it may not improperly be employed to denote the whole.

CAMPBELL'S Translation of the Gospels, note.

No. 1243.-xiv. 61. The high-priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the son of the blessed?] It is observable that the peculiar attribute of deity is here used to express the divine nature. Supreme happiness is properly considered as belonging to God and as all comfort flows from him, suitable

ascriptions of praise and glory are his due. But this form of speech was conformable to the ancient custom of the Jews, who, when the priest in the sanctuary rehearsed the name of God, used to answer, "Blessed be his name for ever." The title of the blessed one in their language signified as much as the holy one; and both, or either of them, the God of Israel. Hence such expressions are very frequent in the rabbins. See also Rom. i. 25. 2 Cor. xi. 31.

No. 1244.-xvi. 1. Had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.] This was the practice of the Jews: hence we read of the spices of the dead. It was one of the things that was customary in Israel to perform to the dead. Maimonides observes, that they anoint them with various sorts of spices.

GILL, in loc.

No. 1245.-xvi. 5. And entering into the sepulchre.] The sepulchres of the Jews were made so large that persons might go into them: the rule for making them is this: " he that sells ground to his neighbour to make a burying-place must make a court at the mouth of the cave, six by six, according to the bier, and those that bury." It was into this court that the women entered. Here they could look into the sepulchre and the several graves in it, and see what were in them.

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VOL. II.

No. 1246.-ST. LUKE i. 9.

According to the custom of the priest's office.

"As the great number of the sacerdotal order occasioned their being first divided into twenty-four companies, so in after times the number of each company grew too large for them all to minister together. For there were no less, according to Josephus, than five thousand priests in one course in his time. The ministry of each course was divided according to the number of the houses of their fathers that were contained in it. If a course consisted of five such houses, three served three days, and the other two two days a piece. If it contained six, five served five days, and the other two days: if it contained seven, the priest of each house served a day. The particular branches of the service were assigned by lot to each priest, whose turn it was to attend on the ministry."

JENNINGS's Jewish Ant. vol. i. p. 269.

No. 1247.-i. 63. And he asked for a writing-table.] Dr. Shaw (Travels, p. 194.) informs us, that the Moorish and Turkish boys in Barbary are taught to write upon a smooth thin board slightly daubed over with whiting, which may be wiped off or renewed at pleasure. Such probably, for the Jewish children use the same, was the little board or writing-table that was called for by Zacharias.

No. 1248.-ii. 7. And laid him in a manger.] A grotto or cave must to them that live in tents be the most convenient stable they could have: nor would it be a despicable advantage to those who live in more fixed

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