ble materials, were rolled round a stick, and, if they were very long, round two, from the extremities. This is the case in the vignette inserted in page 71,* which will convey some idea of the manner in which the Synagogue Rolls are unrolled. It is taken from the original and very valuable manuscript in the British Museum, which is described at length in p. 71, supra.

Those who had been guilty of any notorious crime, or were otherwise thought unworthy, were cast out of these synagogues, that is excommunicated, and excluded from partaking with the rest in the public prayers and religious offices there performed; so that they were looked upon as mere Heathens, and shut out from all benefit of the Jewish religion, which exclusion was esteemed scandalous.

CHAPTER II.

SACRED PERSONS.

SECTION I. Of the Jewish Church and itsMembers.

FROM their covenant relation to Almighty God, the whole Jewish nation are, in the scriptures, frequently termed holy; and the apostles, being Jews by birth, (though they wrote in Greek,) have often applied to Christians the phraseology of the Old Testament, in order to convey to them accurate ideas of the magnitude of God's love to them in Christ.

The first members of the Jewish Church were the immediate and lineal descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; who professed the Jewish religion and used the national language wherever they might reside, and whom St. Paul (Phil. iii. 5,) terms Hebrews of the Hebrews, as opposed to the Hellinists, or those Jews who lived among the Greeks and spoke their language, and niany of whom (as Timothy, Acts xvi. 1,) were descended from parents, one of whom only was a Jew. They did not, however, exclude such persons as were willing to qualify themselves for participating in their sacred rites. Hence they admitted Gentile converts to Judaism, who are often termed strangers and sojourners, or proselytes. The Libertines,

• Hence is derived the term volume, or thing rolled up, from the Latin word volvo, to roll.

mentioned in Acts vi. 9, were the descendants of the Liberti, or those Jews, who, having been taken captive at different times and carried into Italy, had subseqently acquired their liberty. The Devout men who feared God, of whom we frequently read in the New Testament, were Gentiles; who, though they did not qualify themselves for full communion with the Jewish church, had, nevertheless, acquired a better knowledge of the Most High than the Pagan Theology furnished, and who, in some respects, conformed to the Jewish religion. Of this description was Cornelius the Centurion. (Acts x.)

All these persons, with the exception of the last class, were members of the Jewish church, participated in its worship, and regulated themselves by the law of Moses, (or at least professed to do so,) and by the other inspired Hebrew books, whence their sacred rites and religious instruction were derived. No person, however, was allowed to partake of the sacred ordinances until he had undergone the rite of circumcision: which sacrament was enjoined to be observed on the eighth day after the birth of a male child, who then received a name. (Gen. xvii. 12. Luke i. 59, ii. 22.)

In the initiation of proselytes to the Jewish religion, according to the rabbinical writers, the three following observances were appointed, namely, circumcision, baptism, and the offering of sacrifice.

All these rites, except circumcision were performed by the women, as well as the men, who became proselytes; and it was a common notion among the Jews, that every person, who had duly performed them all, was to be considered as a new-born infant.

SECTION II.-On the Ministers of the Temple, and other Ecclesiastical, or Sacred Persons.

On the establishment of the Jewish Commonwealth, the tribe of Levi was specially devoted to the service of God, instead of the first-born of the tribes of Israel, and was disengaged from all secular labours. The honour of the priesthood, however, was reserved to the family of Aaron alone, the rest of the tribe being employed in the

inferior offices of the temple: so that all the priests were Levites, but all the Levites were not priests.

Originally, the LEVITES, or tribe of Levi, were divided into the three families and orders of Gershomites, Kohathites, and Merarites; (1 Chron. vi. 16, &c. ;) but afterwards they were divided by David (1 Chron. xxiii.) into four classes.

Their principal office was to wait upon the priests, and be assisting to them in the service of the tabernacle, with its utensils, (which, during the migrations of the Israelites in the wilderness, they alone were permitted to carry and to set up when the camp rested,) and afterwards in the service of the temple; so that they were properly the ministers and servants of the priests, and obliged to obey their orders. (Numb. iii. 9. 1 Chron. xxiii. 28.) It was their duty to open, close, and guard the temple, to cleanse the sacred vessels, to have the charge of the sacred loaves, &c. &c. Some of them also sang psalms, while others played on instruments, but all were divided into companies, over whom a president was placed. The Levites had under them persons called Nethinims, who performed various laborious services in the temple.

In order to enable the Levites to devote themselves to that service, forty-eight cities were assigned to them for their residence, on the division of the land of Canaan; thirteen of these were appropriated to the priests, to which were added the tithes of corn, fruit, and cattle. (Numb. xviii. 21-24.) The Levites, however, paid to the priests a tenth part of all their tithes; and as they were possessed of no landed property, the tithes which the priests received from them were considered as the first fruits which they were to offer to God.

Next to the Levites, but superior to them in dignity, were the ordinary PRIESTS, who were chosen from the family of Aaron exclusively. They served immediately at the altar, prepared the victims, and offered the sacrifices. They kept up a perpetual fire on the altar of the burnt sacrifices, and also in the lamps of the golden candlestick in the sanctuary; in short, performed, first in the tabernacle, and afterwards in the temple, every thing directly connected with the service of God. And, as the number and variety of their functions required them to be

well read in their law, in order that they might be able to judge of the various legal uncleannesses, &c.; this circumstance caused them to be consulted as interpreters of the law, (Hos. iv. 6. Mal. ii. 7, &c. Lev. xiii. 2. Numb. v. 14, 15,) as well as judges of controversies. (Deut. xxi. 5, xvii. 8-13.) In the time of war, their business was to carry the ark of the covenant, to sound the holy trumpets, and animate the army to the performance of its duties. To them also it belonged publicly to bless the people in the name of the Lord.

The priests were divided by David into twenty-four classes, (1 Chron. xxiv. 7—18,) which order was retained by Solomon, (2 Chron. viii. 14,) and at the revivals of the Jewish religion by the kings Hezekiah and Josiah. (2 Chron. xxxi. 2, xxxv. 4, 5.) As, however, only four classes returned from the Babylonish captivity, (Ezra ii. 36-39. Neh. vii. 39-42, xii. 1,) these were again divided into twenty-four classes, each of which was distinguished by its original appellation. One of these classes went up to Jerusalem every week to discharge the sacerdotal office, and succeeded one another on the Sabbathday, till they had all attended in their turn. To each order was assigned a president, (1 Chron. xxiv. 6-31. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 14,) whom some critics suppose to be the same as the chief priests, so often mentioned in the New Testament. The prince, or prefect of each class appointed an entire family to offer the daily sacrifices; and at the close of the week, they all joined together in sacrificing. And as each family consisted of a great number of priests, they drew lots for the different offices which they were to perform. It was by virtue of such lot, that the office of burning incense was assigned to Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, when he went into the temple of the Lord. (Luke i. 9.)

For the residence of the priests, thirteen of the Levitical cities, already mentioned, were assigned, around each of which they had three thousand cubits of land: their maintenance was derived from tithes, and various other offerings enumerated in Levit. vii. 6. 10. 33, 34, Deut. xviii. 3, Numb. xviii. 13. 15, 16, Levit. xix. 23, 24, and Numb. xxxi. 28-41.

Over all the priests was placed the HIGH PRIEST, who

enjoyed peculiar dignities and influence. He alone could enter the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle, and afterwards in the temple: the supreme administration of sacred things was confided to him; he was the final arbiter of all controversies; in later times he presided over the sanhedrin, and held the next rank to the sovereign, or prince. His authority, therefore, was very great at all times, especially when he united the pontifical and regal dignities in his own person. In the Old Testament he is sometimes called the priest, by way of eminence, (Exod. xxix. 30. Neh. vii. 65,) and sometimes the head, or chief of the high priests, because the appellation of high priests was given to the heads of the sacerdotal families, or courses.

The pontifical dignity, in its first institution, was held for life, provided the high priests were not guilty of crimes that merited deposition. During this period the high priesthood is supposed to have been elective.

The first high priest, after the return from the captivity, was Joshua, the son of Josedek, of the family of Eleazar; whence the succession went into a private Levitical family. The office was then filled by some of the princes of the Maccabean family. According to the law, it was, or ought to have been held, for life; but this was very ill obeyed under the Roman government, especially during the time of our Saviour, and in the latter years of the Jewish polity, when election and the right of succession were totally disregarded. The dignity, sanctity, and authority of the high priest were then almost annihilated; and this office was not unfrequently sold to the highest bidder, to persons who had neither age, learning, nor rank to recommend them; nay, even to individuals who were not of the sacerdotal race; and sometimes the office was made annual. The knowledge of this fact will explain the circumstance of several high priests being in existence at the same time, or rather of their being several pontifical men, (Annas and Caiphas, for instance,) who, having once held the office for a short time, seem to have retained the dignity originally attached to the name.

The high priest, who was the chief man in Israel, and appeared before God, in behalf of the people, in their sacred services, and who was appointed for sacrifice, for blessing, and for intercession, was a type of Jesus Christ,