for the honour of his sovereignty. After their departure from Egypt, the whole of the men, from twenty years and upwards until the age of fifty, (when they might demand their discharge if they chose,) were liable to military service, the priests and Levites not excepted. (Numb. i. 3. 22. 2 Sam. xxiii. 20. 1 Kings ii. 35.) Like the mili tia in some countries, they were always ready to assemble at the shortest notice. If the occasion were extremely urgent, affecting their existence as a people, all were summoned to war; but ordinarily, when there was no necessity for convoking the whole of their forces, a selection was made. This mode of choosing soldiers, to which there are numerous allusions in the Scriptures, accounts for the rapid formation of the vast armies, of which we read in the Old Testament. There were, however, certain exemptions in favour of particular persons, which are specified in Deut. xx. 5-8, xxiv. 5. The officers, who were placed at the head of the Hebrew forces, appear not to have differed materially from those whom we find in ancient and modern armies. The most distinguished was the Captain of the Host, (2 Kings iv. 13,) who possessed great power and influence, sometimes indeed nearly equal to that of the sovereign, and who appears to have been of the same rank with him who is now termed the commander in chief of an army. After the establishment of the monarchy, this officer, and also the captains of thousands, hundreds, &c., received their commissions from the sovereign; (2 Sam. xviii. 1. 2 Chron. xxv. 5;) who at first went to war in person, and fought on foot, like the meanest of his soldiers, until David being exposed to great danger, his people would no longer allow him to lead them on to battle. (2 Kings xxi. 17.) There were no horse in the Israelitish army before the time of Solomon; nor, though mention is made in Scripture of the military chariots of other nations, does it appear that the Hebrews ever used war chariots. Solomon, indeed, had a considerable number, but no military expedition is recorded, in which he employed them. No information is given us in the Scriptures concerning the order of encampment adopted by the Israelites after their settlement in Canaan. During their sojourning in the wilderness, the form of their camp, according to the account given in

Numb. ii. appears to have been quadrangular, having three tribes placed on each side, under one general standard, so as to enclose the tabernacle, which stood in the centre. Between these four great camps and the tabernacle, were pitched four smaller camps of the priests and Levites, who were immediately in attendance upon it; the camp of Moses and of Aaron and his sons (who were the ministering priests, and had the charge of the sanctuary,) was on the east side of the tabernacle, where the entrance was. The following diagram, which is reduced from the author's larger work, will give the reader an idea of the beautiful order of the Israelitish Encampment, which extorted from the mercenary Balaam, the exclamation related in Numb xxiv. 2. 5. 6.

During the encampment of the Israelites in the wilderness, Moses made various salutary enactments, which are recorded in Deut. xxiii. 10-15. Anciently, the Hebrews received no pay for their military service: the Cherethites and Pelethites appear to have been the first stipendiary soldiers. During the monarchy, however, both officers and privates were paid by the sovereign, who rewarded them for distinguished achievements. (See 2 Sam.

xviii. 11. Jos. xv. 16. 1 Sam. xviii. 25. 1 Chron. xi. 6.) In the age of the Maccabees, the patriot Simon both armed and paid his brave companions in arms at his own expense. (1 Mac. xiv. 32.) Afterwards it became an established custom, that all soldiers should receive pay. (Luke iii. 14. 1 Cor. ix. 7.)

From various passages of Scripture, and especially from Isa. ii. 4, and Mic. iv. 3, it appears that there were military schools, in which the Hebrew soldiers learned war, or, in modern language, were trained by proper officers in those exercises which were in use among the other na tions of antiquity. Swiftness of foot was an accomplishment highly valued, both for attacking and pursuing an enemy. The Hebrews do not appear to have had any peculiar military habit; as the flowing dress, which they ordinarily wore, would have impeded their movements, they girt it closely around them when preparing for battle, and loosened it on their return. They used the same arms as the neighbouring nations, both defensive and offensive; and these were made either of iron or of brass, but principally of the latter metal.

At first every man provided his own arms; but, after the establishment of regal government, the sovereigns formed depôts, whence they supplied their troops. (2 Chron. xi. 12, xxvi. 14, 15.) The defensive arms consisted of a helmet, breast-plate, shield, military girdle, and greaves, or boots to protect the feet and legs from stakes, which were stuck into the ground to impede the march of a hostile force. Their offensive arms were, the sword, spear, or javelin, bows and arrows.

The onset of battle was very violent, and was made with a great shout. (Numb.xxiii. 24. Exod. xxxii. 17. 1 Sam. xvii. 20, 52, &c.) When the victory was decided, the bodies of the slain were interred, (1 Kings xi. 15. 2 Sam. ii. 32. 2 Mac. xii. 39,) but sometimes the remains of the slain were treated with every possible mark of indignity; (1 Sam. xxxi. 9-12 ;) and various cruelties were inflicted upon the unhappy captives, from which not even women and children were exempted. (2 Sam. iv. 12. Judg. i. 7. Isai. iii. 17. 2 Kings viii. 12. Psal. cxxxvii. 9.)

On their return home, the victors were received with every demonstration of joy. (Exod. xv. 1-21. Judg.

xi. 34. 1 Sam. xviii. 7, 8. 2 Chron. xx. 27, 28.) Besides a share of the spoil and the honours of a triumph, various rewards were bestowed on those warriors who had pre-eminently distinguished themselves: allusions to them occur in 1 Sam. xvii. 25. 2 Sam. v. 8, and xviii. 11. 1 Chron. xi. 6.

II. At the time the apostles and evangelists wrote, Judæa was subject to the dominion of the Romans, whose troops were stationed in different parts of the country. Hence numerous allusions are made to the MILITARY DISCIPLINE OF THE ROMANS, in the New Testament, particularly in the writings of Saint Paul. See especially Eph. vi. 11-17, in which the various parts of the armour of their heavy troops are distinctly enumerated and beautifully applied to those moral and spiritual weapons with which the true Christian ought to be fortified.

The strictest subordination and obedience were exacted of every Roman soldier, who was also inured to great hardships, and was not allowed to marry. To these circumstances there are allusions in Matt. viii. 8, 9, and 2 Tim. ii. 3, 4; and Rev. iii. 5, probably refers to the practice of expunging from the muster-roll the names of those who died, or were cashiered for misconduct. Upon those who pre-eminently distinguished themselves, were conferred rich and splendid crowns, frequently of gold, to which there are allusions in Rev. ii. 10, James i. 12, 1 Pet. v 4, and 2 Tim. iv. 8. But the highest military honour which any one could receive, was a Triumph: in which, besides great numbers of wagons full of the arms and the richest spoils which had been taken from the vanquished foe, the most illustrious captives-sovereigns not excepted -were led in fetters before the victorious general's chariot, through the streets of Rome, amidst the applause of the assembled multitudes. After the triumphal procession was terminated, the unhappy captives were generally imprisoned, and, if not put to death, were sold for slaves. The knowledge of these circumstances beautifully illustrates the allusions in 1 Cor. ii. 14-16, and Col. ii. 15,

214

BOOK III-SACRED ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS, AND OF OTHER NATIONS MENTIONED IN THE SCRIPTURES.

CHAPTER I.

OF SACRED PLACES.

THE Patriarchs, both before and after the flood, were accustomed to worship Almighty God, before altars, and also upon mountains, and in groves. (Gen. viii. 20, xii. 8, xxi. 33, and xxii. 2.) In the wilderness, where the Israelites themselves had no settled habitations, they had, by God's command, a moving tabernacle; and as soon as they were fixed in the land of promise, God appointed a temple to be built at Jerusalem, which David intended, and his son Solomon performed. After the first temple was destroyed, another was built in the room of it, (Ezra iii. 8,) which Christ himself owned for his house of prayer. (Matt. xxi. 13.) There were also places of worship, called in Scripture High Places, used promiscuously during the times of both the tabernacle and temple, until the captivity; and, lastly, there were Synagogues among the Jews, and other places used only for prayer, called Proseuchæ, or oratories, which chiefly obtained after the captivity of these various structures some account will be found in the following sections.

SECTION I. Of the Tabernacle.

Mention is made in the Old Testament of three different tabernacles, previously to the erection of Solomon's temple. The first, which Moses erected for himself, is called the tabernacle of the congregation; (Exod. xxxiii. 7;) here he gave audience, heard causes, and inquired of Jehovah; and here also at first, perhaps, the public offices of religion were solemnized. The second tabernacle was that erected by Moses, for Jehovah, and at his