On this fiftieth year every one resumed possession of his inheritance, whether it were sold, mortgaged, or alienated in any way; and Hebrew slaves of every description were set free, with their wives and children. Houses and edifices, in walled towns, were the only kind of property that did not return to the original owner in the year of the Jubilee. Various.

X.-The Tabernacle.-The Ark of the Covenant.— The Temple.

THE Tabernacle, which Moses erected at Sinai by the express command of God, was of an oblong rectangular form, 30 cubits long, 10 broad, and 10 in height; that is, 55 feet long, 18 broad, and 18 high. The two sides and the western end were formed of boards of shittimwood, overlaid with thin plates of gold, and fixed in solid sockets, or vases of silver. On the east end, which was the entrance, there were no boards, but only five pillars, over which hung a richly embroidered curtain. The covering of the tabernacle consisted of four carpets or curtains; the first of fine linen magnificently embroidered with figures of cherubim, in blue, purple, and scarlet: this formed the beautiful ceiling. Above this was a curtain of mohair (goat's hair), and above this two coverings of skins. The tabernacle was divided into two apartments: the outer and larger one at the entrance, called the sanctuary or holy place, contained the altar of incense, the table for the shew-bread, and the golden candlestick: whilst the inner and smaller apartment, one-half the size of the outer, and separated from it by five pillars over which hung a veil, was called the most holy place, and contained the ark of the covenant, with the mercy-seat, and the cherubim. Ex. xxvi. &c. &c.

The tabernacle stood in an open space or court of an oblong form, 100 cubits long and 50 broad, surrounded by pillars of brass, with hangings of fine linen. Within this court, and in front of the tabernacle, stood the altar of burnt-offerings, and the laver with its foot.

The tabernacle was so constructed as to be taken to pieces and put together again as occasion required. As often as the Israelites changed their place of encamp

ment, it was taken down, and borne in regular order by the Le'vites.

The ARK OF THE COVENANT, in which were deposited the Tables of the Law, was a small chest or coffer, of shittim-wood, overlaid with plates of gold, two cubits and a half in length, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high; that is, three feet nine inches in length, two feet three inches in breadth, and the same in height. Its covering of solid gold was called the mercy-seat, and had two cherubim, one at each end, facing each other, and whose expanded wings met near the middle. On this rested the Shekinah, or symbol of the Divine presence. The ark had four rings of gold, two on each side, through which were put staves overlaid with gold, when it was to be carried by the priests. After the passage of the Jordan, the ark remained for some time at Gil'gal, from whence it was removed to Shiloh, where it remained for 328 years. It was then taken by the Philistines, who, after keeping it seven months, returned it with presents. Having been twenty years at Beth'shemesh, it was deposited at Kirjathje'arim. In the reign of Saul it was at Nob. David had it conveyed from Kirjathje'arim to the house of O'bed-e'dom, and thence to his own palace at Si'on; and lastly, Solomon brought it into the temple at Jerusalem. The ark was probably destroyed in the sacking of the Temple, as we hear no mention of it after that event.

The TEMPLE, planned by David, under the special direction of God, and erected by Solomon, was built in the same form as the Tabernacle, but was of much larger dimensions. The foundations of this magnificent edifice were laid by Solomon, in the year 1027, B. C., and it was finished in seven years and six months. The front, or entrance to the Temple, was on the eastern side, facing the mount of Olives, which commanded a noble prospect of the building. The Temple itself, which comprised the portico, the sanctuary, and the holy of holies, formed only a small part of the sacred edifice; the side chambers surrounding these on all sides save the side, were of three stories; and in front of all were several spacious courts, each on a lower level than the one immediately within it, and communicating by various flights of steps. These

different terraces appear to have been levelled out of the rugged and sloping surface of Mount Mori'ah at great expense; and they certainly contributed to give to the noble and sacred structure on its summit a most imposing appearance. The first, or outer court, comprising upwards of fourteen English acres, was called the court of the Gentiles; and into it persons of all nations were permitted to enter. It was from this court that our Saviour drove the money-changers-(namely, those who, for a small gratuity, furnished people in exchange for other coin, with half-shekels, for payment of the annual tribute which every Israelite was to give into the sacred treasury), and the merchants who were there to supply with sacrifices, those that came from a distance. Their offence seems to have been not only that, under the influence of mercantile competition, they intruded on the sacred precincts of the temple, but also that they overreached and defrauded those who traded with him. ("It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves." Matt. xxi. 13.)

The second court, 240 feet square, was called the court of the women, because women were not allowed to approach nearer to the temple, unless they brought a sacrifice, when they might enter the court of Israel. In the court of the women stood the treasure-chests for receiving the free-will offerings of the people; and it was in this court, called the treasury, that our Saviour delivered his striking discourse related in John, viii. Here also the Jews laid hold of Paul, when they judged him a violator of the temple, by taking Gentiles within the sacred fence. As the court of the women was on a higher level than the court of the Gentiles, so the court of Israel was higher than that of the women, from which it was gained by an ascent of 15 steps, that is, thirteen feet. Within the court of the Israelites, and four and a half feet above it, was the court of the priests, in which stood the brazen altar whereon the sacrifices were offered, the ten brazen lavers, and the molten sea in which the priests washed. Within the temple itself stood, as in the tabernacle, the altar of incense, the table of shew-bread, and the golden candlestick, in the sanctuary; while in the holy of holies within the veil stood the ark of the covenant.

The Temple of Solomon retained its pristine splendour only thirty-three years, when it was plundered by Shi'shak, king of Egypt. In after times it underwent sundry profanations and pillages, and was at length utterly destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, after it had stood 424 years. B.C. 588. After lying fifty-two years in ruins, it was rebuilt by Zerubbabel and the Jews who returned from Babylon by permission of Cyrus. It was brutally profaned by Antiochus Epiph'anes, B.C. 163, but repaired and purified by Judas Maccabae'us. Her'od, having slain all the Sanhedrim except two in the first year of his reign-to atone for his crime, and to grat、 ify his taste for architectural splendour, resolved to repair and beautify the Temple. The structure which he reared after a labour of nine years and a half, is highly praised for its beauty by all the Jewish writers. It was built of white marble exquisitely wrought, and with stones of large dimensions, some of them twenty-five cubits long, eight cubits high, and twelve cubits thick. To this there is reference in Mark, xii. 1; Luke, xxi. 5, "Master, see what manner of stones, and what buildings are here!"

Extracted from CALMET and JONES.

XI. Explanation of Terms.

Nazarite, or Nazarene', means (1) a native of Naz'areth, in which sense we find the term applied to Christ, in Matt. ii. 23. (2) A Naz'arite under the ancient law, was a man or woman engaged by vow to abstain from wine and all strong drink, to let the hair grow, not to enter any house polluted by having a dead body in it, nor to be present at any funeral. Some were Nazarites for their whole life, as Samson and John the Baptist; others only for a time, as those mentioned in Num. vi. 18. Paul having made the vow of a Nazarite, had his hair cut off at Cen'chrea, but deferred the complete fulfilment of his vow till he came to Jerusalem, A.D. 58. Acts, xviii. 18, xxi. 23, 24. (3) Nazarite is sometimes expressive of distinction and dignity, in which sense it is applied to Joseph, in Gen. xlix. 26, and Deut. xxxiii. 16; though in these passages the word is rendered in our translation by the periphrasis, "a man separate from his brethren."

Apocrypha, "hidden," applied to certain books sometimes bound up with the Old Testament, but which are not admitted to be canonical.

Apocalypse, "Revelation."

Abad'don, or Apollyon, the "destroyer."

Gog and Magog, terms generally joined in Scripture, seem to denote certain nations of northern barbarians, probably the Goths and Scythians, or Tartars.

E'phah, a measure of capacity among the Hebrews, equal to about sixty English pints. The O'mer or Io'mer was the tenth part of the Ephah, or about six English pints. The Ephah was a dry measure, that of the same capacity for liquids was called a Bath.

The Hebrew She'kel of gold was equal to about 18s. 3d. of our money; and the shekel of silver, to about 2s. 3d. The Hebrew talent of gold was equal to £5475, and the talent of silver to £342: 3: 9.

The Hebrew Cubit was equal to about twenty-one inches of our measure; but some estimate it at only eighteen inches.

Saba'oth is a Hebrew word, signifying hosts or armies; Jehovah Saba'oth is "The Lord of Hosts."

U'rim and Thum'mim, "Light and perfection," or, "doctrine and judgment," is thought to have been an ornament in the high priest's habit, which was consulted as an oracle upon important and difficult questions. The breast-plate worn by the high priest was a piece of rich embroidery, ten inches square, set with twelve precious stones, having the names of the twelve tribes engraven upon them. When the U'rim and Thum'min was to be consulted, the high priest put on his robes, and going into the holy place, stood before the curtain of the holy of holies, with his face directly towards the ark and the mercy-seat, and the Jews say that the answer was signified by the rays of light from the Shekinah falling on the stones and gold of the breast-plate.

The Eph'od was a kind of girdle worn by the Hebrew priests. Passing from behind over the shoulders, it crossed the breast, and being carried round the waist, girt the tunic, and was then tied in front, the extremities hanging to the ground. The Eph'od of the priests was