No. 369. ST. MATTHEW i. 18.

Espoused.

ESPOUSING or betrothing was a solemn promise of marriage made by two persons, each to the other, at such a distance of time as they agreed upon. The manner of performing this espousal was, either by a writing, or by a piece of silver given to the bride, or by cohabitation. The writing that was prepared on "On such a day of these occasions ran in this form: such a month, in such a year, A. the son of A. has said to B. the daughter of B. be thou my spouse according to the law of Moses and the Israelites, and I will give thee, for the portion of thy virginity, the sum of two hundred zuzim, as it is ordained by the law. And the said B. has consented to become his spouse upon these conditions, which the said A. has promised to perform upon the day of marriage. To this the said A. obliges himself; and for this he engages all his goods, even as far as the cloak which he wears upon his shoulder. Moreover he promises to perform all that is intended in contracts of marriage in favour of the Israelitish women. Witnesses A. B. C." The promise by a piece of silver, and without writing, was made before witnesses, when the young man said to his mistress, "Receive this piece of silver, as a pledge that you shall become my spouse." The engagement by cohabitation, according to the rabbins, was allowed by the law, (Deut. xxiv. 1.) but it had been wisely forbidden by the ancients, because of the abuses that might happen, and to prevent the inconvenience of clandestine marriages. After such espousal was made, (which was generally when the par

ties were young) the woman continued with her parents several months, if not some years, before she was brought home and her marriage consummated. (Judges xiv. 8.) CALMET's Dictionary of the Bible, art. MARRIAGE.

No. 370.-ii. 11. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh.] Some of the ancients are of opinion, that in the presents which these eastern sages made, they had a mystical meaning, and designed both to signify their acknowledgment both of the divinity, royalty, and humanity of our Lord; for the incense, they say, was proper to be given him as a God; the gold, as a king; and the myrrh, as a mortal man, whose body was to be embalmed therewith. It is certain that the eastern people never came into the presence of their princes without some presents, and that their presents were usually of the most choice things that their country afforded. All that they meant therefore, was to do homage to a newborn prince of a neighbouring nation, in the best manner they could; and if what naturalists tell us be true, that myrrh was only to be found in Arabia, and frankincense in Sabæa, which is a part of Arabia, and that this country was not destitute of gold, (2 Chron. ix. 14.) and at the same time was famous for men conversant in astronomy, it makes a very probable argument that the wise men came from thence.

No. 371.-iii. 4. Wild honey.] This is obtained from wild bees, frequent in Palestine, in hollow trunks or branches of trees, and the clefts of rocks. Thus it is said, "honey out of the stony rock." (Psalm lxxxi. 16. Deut. xxxii. 13.) Some have supposed this to be the honey-dew, or liquid kind of manna exuding from the leaves of trees, as of the palm or fig-tree, of which the rabbins speak much. Josephus (Bell. Jud.vol.iv.p.27.) speaks of honey pressed from the palm trees near Je

richo, as little inferior to the real, and Pliny, of honey flowing from the olive tree in Syria. (Nat. Hist. xxiii. 4.) But neither the honey-dew nor expressed juice, if dif ferent, being somewhat unwholesome, is thought so probable as the genuine honey.

No. 372.-iii. 12. He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.] There is, in what the Baptist here declares, an evident allusion to the custom of burning the chaff after winnowing, that it might not be blown back again, and so be mingled with the wheat. There was danger, lest, after they had been separated, the chaff should be blown again amongst the wheat by the changing of the wind. To prevent this they put fire to it at the windward side, which crept on and never gave over till it had consumed all the chaff. In this sense it was an unquenchable fire. See also Psalm lxxxiii. 13, 14. Isaiah v. 24. (Vide HAMMOND and DODDRIDGE in loc.)

No. 373. v. 1. And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain.] The first generation of men had neither temples nor statues for their gods, but worshipped towards heaven in the open air. The Persians, even in ages when temples were common in all other countries, not thinking the gods to be of human shape, as did the Greeks, had no temples. They thought it absurd to confine the gods within walls, whose house and temple was the whole world. The Greeks, and most other nations, worshipped their gods upon the tops of high mountains. Hence Jupiter in Homer commends Hector for the many sacrifices which he had offered upon the top of Ida. (Iliad x. ver. 170.) The nations which lived near Judea sacrificed also upon the tops of mountains. Balak, king of Moab, carried Balaam to the top of a mountain to sacrifice to the gods,

and curse Israel from thence. (Num. xxiii. 1.) Abraham was commanded by God to offer Isaac his son for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains in the land of Moriah. (Gen. xxii. 2.) In later ages, the temples were often built upon the summits of mountains. Both at Athens and Rome the most sacred temples stood in the most eminent part of the city. It is further observable, that very high mountains were commonly held sacred to the gods, the reason of which custom was probably because the tops of mountains approached nearest to the heavens, the seat of the gods. It certainly was not with any design to sanction the superstition of the heathens, that our Lord chose to deliver his first discourse from a mountain; it was a convenient and eligible situation for that purpose; but the conformity of his conduct with the general practice is singular and deserving attention. It might inculcate an useful lesson, that as the heathens supposed themselves to be nearer to their gods in such stations, so the doctrines which he delivered were really able to effect that approach to Jehovah, to which the superstitions of the surrounding nations only pretended.

No. 374.-v. 13. If the salt bas lost its savour.] Our Lord's supposition of the salt losing its savour is illustrated by Mr. MAUNDRELL, (Journey, p. 162.) who tells us, that in the Valley of Salt near Gebul, and about four hours journey from Aleppo, there is a small precipice occasioned by the continual taking away of the salt. "In this," says he, "you may see how the veins of it lie. I broke a piece of it, of which the part that was exposed to the rain, sun, and air, though it had the sparks and particles of salt, yet had perfectly lost its savour. The innermost, which had been connected to the rock, retained its savour, as I found by proof."

a cause.

No. 375. v. 24. Leave thy gift before the altar.] This delay was unusual in gifts offered at the altar in such The oblation of a sacrifice presented even at the altar has indeed been delayed, and the sacrifice rejected, for at that time it might be discovered that the beast had a blemish, or was on some account an improper sacrifice; or the person himself, who came to make the offering, might through uncleanness or some other cause be disqualified for the present. But among all these things, we do not meet with this concerning which Christ speaks in this passage, so that he seems to enjoin a new matter: and, as the offended brother might perhaps be absent in the furthest parts of the land of Israel, and could not be spoken to for some time, it may ap pear an impossible thing which is commanded. What is to become of the beast, in the mean time, which is left at the altar? To obviate this difficulty, it is answered, that it was a custom and a law among the Jews, that the sa crifices of particular men should not immediately, as soon as they were due, be brought to the altar, but that they should be reserved to the feast next following, whatsoever that were, whether the passover, or pentecost, or tabernacles, and be then offered. At those times all the Israelites were present, and any brother, against whom one had sinned, was not far off from the altar. To this time and custom of the nation it is probable that Christ might allude. LIGHTFOOT's Works, vol. ii. p. 143.

No. 376.-v. 41. Whosoever shall compel thee.] Our Lord in this passage refers to the angari, or Persian messengers who had the royal authority for pressing horses, ships, and even men, to assist them in the business on which they were employed. In the modern government of Persia there are officers not unlike the ancient angari, called chappars, who serve to carry dispatches between the court and the provinces. When a chappar sets out,