that is cast upon her. It is owing to polygamy, where the children of the same family become naturally more attached to her, and to each other; and it is to the same source that we have the names of the mothers of the kings of Israel so frequently mentioned. It distinguished them from the other children of the kings by their other wives, and served to ascertain their descent and propinquity.—But marks of disgrace were not confined to the living; they often extended even to the dead, by refusing them the rites of sepulture, or raising them after they had been interred; or forbidding them to be publicly lamented; or allowing them to become the prey of ravenous animals; or casting them, like Urijah's, into the graves of the common people; or burning their bones into lime, as Moab did the king of Edom's."

Josephus, when deserted by his soldiers through the intrigues of John of Gischala, while governor of Galilee, showed his sense of the disgrace they had put upon him as their general, in the following striking manner: "He leaped out of his house to them, while they were going to set it on fire, with his clothes rent, and ashes sprinkled on his head, with his hands behind him, and his sword hanging at his neck." At this humbling sight, they pitied his situation, repented of their fault, and returned to their duty. This suspending the sword from the neck is several times mentioned in Sir John Malcolm's history of Persia, as the mark either of degradation or deep supplication; and the same thing may be said of those who, with sackcloth on their loins, and ropes on their necks, supplicated the conquerors for mercy.i

■ Parke's Travels in Africa, ch. iv. Rev. xi. 1-12.

1 Kings xiv. 31. xv. 2. 10, &c. d Jer. viii. 1.

f Jer. xxvi. 23. i 1 Kings xx, 31, 32.

• Jer. xvi. 5—7. xix. 7. xxii. 18, 19. 2 Maccab. v. 10.

Amos ii. 1,

h War. ii. 21.

SECT. IX.

Jewish Measures.

1. Of length. A finger; a handbreadth; a span; a foot; a cubit; a fathom; a reed; the measuring line; a furlong; a sabbath day's journey; a mile; a Berè; a Parsar; a common day's journey; an Egyptian aroura; the Levitical cities. 2. Liquid measure. Their quadrans; log or sextarius; firkin; hin; measure; bath; cor. 3. Dry measure. Their cab; omer, or tenth deal, seah; ephah; lethec; humer. 4. Weights. The shekel; manè, or minah; talent. 5. Money. The shekel; bekah; diner, or denarius; meah, gerah, or zuz; pondion; assar; semissis, or mesimes; farthing; mite.-Maneh or mina; talent; shekel of gold; talent of gold; drachma; didrachma; stater; Daric, Suidas's table of Jewish money. Relative value of gold and silver; their original form in commerce; usury between Jews prohibited; allowed with strangers. Money changers, their origin, utility, abuse. The custom of transacting money in sealed purses common in the East.

I. Measures of Length.

A finger, y Atzebo, was the breadth of the thumb, or of six barley corns laid beside each other, where they are thickest. Bishop Cumberland makes it the twenty-fourth part of a cubit, and equal to .912 parts of an inch, adopting the finger in place of the thumb, which the Jews used.

b

A hand-breadth, no Tepeh, was equal to four fingers' breadth, or 18 barley corns, because the width of the four fingers was reckoned equal only to three thumbs. It was the sixth part of a cubit, and equal to three inches and 648 parts of an inch, according to Bishop Cumberland.

a Godwin.

b To prevent the frequent quoting of authorities, it may be proper to add, that the following account of Jewish measures is drawn up from a careful examination of the meaning of the words as used in Scripture: Lightfoot's Harmony of the Four Evangelists, on John ii. 6; his Hebrew and Talmudical Exercitations on Matt. v. 26: his Prospect of the Temple, ch. x: Godwin's Moses and Aaron, book vi. ch. 9: Bernardus Lamy, Lib. i. cap. 8, 9: and Bishop Cumberland's Essay on Jewish Measures and Weights.

A span, Zereth, orudaun, was equal to the width between the top of the thumb and the top of the little finger when extended, or about nine inches. In Ezekiel xliii. 13. 17, however, the span is said to be half a cubit; and as he measures the altar by the larger cubit, of a common cubit of 18 inches and a hand-breadth," or about 21 inches, so Parkhurst makes the span about 10 inches, and Bishop Cumberland 10.944 inches.

A foot, y Pom, was equal to 12 inches, or 72 barley corns laid by the side of each other.

A cubit, Amè, from a comparison of Exod. xxxvii. 1. 10, with Josephus, Antiq. iii. 6, was equal to two ordaμo, or spans, somewhat less than 18 inches, or the length of the human arm of a middle sized man, from the elbow to the top of the middle finger. But Bishop Cumberland makes the Mosaic cubit the same as the Egyptian, and larger cubit of Ezekiel," and consequently equal to 21.888, or 213 inches nearly.

A fathom was 4 cubits, or 7 feet 3.552 inches, according to Bishop Cumberland, being 7 feet, and rather more than 3 inches.

A reed, Kenè, was equal to 6 cubits, and a hand-breadth to each cubit: accordingly, it will correspond with 6 of the long cubits of 21.888 inches, and be equal to 10 feet 11.328 inches, or 10 feet 11

nearly.

inches

The measuring line, Hebel, was used for measuring land, but thought by Godwin to be of uncertain length. Bishop Cumberland, however, states it at 80 cubits, or 145 feet 11.040 inches, nearly 146 feet.

A furlong, cladiov, stadium, was reckoned equal to 125 paces, of three Roman feet each. Bishop Cumberland makes it 400 cubits, or 729 feet.

• Ver. 13.

b Ezek. xl. 5.

c

Pliny, Lib. xiii. cap. 23.

A sabbath day's journey was 2000 cubits," founded, probably, on Josh. iii. 4, where it was commanded that 2000 cubits should be betwixt the Israelites and the ark, and which, at 21.888 inches to a cubit, make 1216 yards, or nearly three quarters of an English mile.

A mile milliarium, among the Romans was equal to 1000 paces; but the eastern mile, according to Bishop Cumberland, was equal to 4000 cubits, which, at 21.888 inches to the cubit, make 7296 feet, or nearly an English mile and a half. A Talmudic mile was only 7 furlongs.b

The Berè,

2, among the Jews, was as much as they could walk easily between meals.

A Parsa, no Persè, was equal to 4 miles. They made the whole land of Israel a square of 400 parsæ, or 1600 miles; and in the Arabic version of Rev. xiv. 20, the words which in our translation are rendered 1600 furlongs are rendered 1600 miles.

c

A day's journey at the equinox, or a diet as it is sometimes called in the Talmudic writings, was usually 30 miles, of 7 furlongs each, but sometimes 40 miles, or 10 parsæ, divided thus: 5 miles from dawn to sunrise; 15 from sunrise till noon; 15 from noon till sunset; and 5 from sunset till the stars appear. A day's march to the festivals was only 30 miles for individuals, and 10 miles for companies. Bishop Cumberland makes a day's journey to have been 96,000 cubits, or 33 English miles, 1 furlong, 544 yards.

An Egyptian Aroura was equal to 100 cubits long by 100 cubits broad, or 10,000 square cubits. Accordingly the court of the tabernacle, which was 100

cubits by 50, was equal to 5000 square cubits, or half an aroura; and the mountain of the Lord's house, which was 500 cubits square, was equal to 250,000 square cubits, or 25 arouras.

The Levitical cities, as we saw them treating of the glebes of the priests and Levites, had each 76 English acres, 1 rood, 20 poles, and 80 feet, on each side of the city, or 305 acres, 2 roods, 1 pole in all; so that the whole land that was attached to the 48 cities was equal to 14,664 acres, 1 rood, 8 poles, or about the 1321st part of the whole of Judea, supposing it to have been 200 square miles; far less than they would have been entitled to had their tribe got a share like the rest, and therefore requiring all that provision, in form of stipend, which the law enjoined, to make up the deficiency of their worldly right.

II. Of Liquid Measure.

As barley corns were the standard of measures of length, so egg shells were the standard of measures of capacity, thus:

The Quadrans, y

Rebioith, or smallest measure, was equal to 1 egg shell full."

The Log, Lug, or Sextarius (ɛσTOS, Luke vii. 4.) was equal to four quadrantes, or 6 egg shells full. Bishop Cumberland makes it equal to 24-3 solid inches.

The Firkin, (μɛpnns, John ii. 6.) is stated by Bishop Cumberland at 7 English pints of 29 solid inches each nearly, and 4.9 solid inches; but Lightfoot makes it the same as the bath or ephah.

The Hin, , was equal to 12 logs, or 72 egg shells full; and Bishop Cumberland makes it equal to 1 gallon, 2 pints, 2.5 solid inches.