is represented the form of the GOLDEN CANDLE-STICK as it was actually carried in the triumphal procession of the Roman General Titus; and the following engraving exhibits the TABLE OF SHEWBREAD, (on which were placed twelve loaves, according to the number of the tribes of Israel,) with a cup upon it, and with two of the sacred trumpets, which were used to proclaim the year of Jubilee, as they were also carried in the same triumph. They are copied from the plates in Reland's Treatise on the Spoils of the Temple of Jerusalem', the drawings for which were made at Rome towards the close of the seventeenth century, when the triumphal Arch of Titus was in a much better state of preservation than it now is, from the injuries of time and weather.

(3.) The HOLY OF HOLIES was twenty cubits square. No person was ever admitted into it but the high priest, who entered it once a year on the great day of atonement. (Exod. xxx. 10.; Levit. xvi. 2. 15. 34.; Heb. ix. 2-7.)2

Magnificent as the rest of the sacred edifice was, it was infinitely surpassed in splendour by the Inner Temple or Sanctuary. "Its appearance," according to Josephus, "had everything that could strike the mind or astonish the sight: for it was covered on every side with plates of gold, so that when the sun rose upon it, it reflected so strong and dazzling an effulgence, that the eye of the spectator was obliged to turn away, being no more able to sustain its radiance than the splendour of the sun. To strangers who were approaching, it appeared at a distance like a mountain covered with snow, for where it was not decorated with plates of gold, it was extremely white and glistering. On the top it had sharp-pointed spikes of gold, to pre

Hadr. Relandus de Spoliis Templi in Arcu Titiano Romæ conspicuis. Trajecti ad Rhenum, 1775. 8vo.

2 Godwin's Moses and Aaron, book ii. ch. 1.; Jennings's Jewish Antiquities, book ii. ch. 1.; Schulzii Archæologia Hebraica, pp. 204-220.; Beausobre's and L'Enfant's Introduction. (Bp. Watson's Theol. Tracts, vol. iii. pp. 145-150.) Pareau, Antiquitas Hebraica, pp. 196-203.; Brunings, Antiq. Hebr. pp. 165-172.

vent any bird from resting upon it and polluting it. There were," continues the Jewish historian, "in that building several stones which were forty-five cubits in length, five in height, and six in breadth.' When all these things are considered, how natural is the exclamation of the disciples when viewing this immense building at a distance: Master, see what MANNER of STONES (TOTATTOì ío, what very large stones), and what BUILDINGS are here! (Mark xiii. 1.); and how wonderful is the declaration of our Lord upon this, how unlikely to be accomplished before the race of men who were then living should cease to exist. Seest thou these great buildings? There shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. (Mark xiii. 2.) Lord Nugent (who travelled in Palestine in 1844) thus describes some of the largest of those stones which formed the ancient wall of the temple: "Dug up to the foundations by Titus, the walls of the temple area are now composed, for the most part, of the ancient stones. Some of those. . . . in the second tier from the ground are more than twenty-five feet long; but now disposed in the wall after a manner which shows that the whole has been rebuilt, not one retaining the position for which it was first hewn, and where in the first building it was laid. The prophecy has been completed to the very letter."3 Improbable as this prediction must have appeared to the disciples at that time, in the short space of thirty-seven years after, it was exactly accomplished; and this most magnificent temple, which the Jews had literally turned into a den of thieves, through the righteous judgments of God upon that wicked and abandoned nation, was utterly destroyed by the Romans A. M. 4073 (A. D. 73), in the same month, and on the same day of the month, on which Solomon's temple had been rased to the ground by the Babylonians!

Both the first and second temples were contemplated by the Jews with the highest reverence. Of their affectionate regard for the first temple, and for Jerusalem, within whose walls it was built, we have several instances in those psalms which were composed during the Babylonish captivity; and of their profound veneration for the second temple we have repeated examples in the New Testament. "They could not bear any disrespectful or dishonourable thing to be said of it. The least injurious slight of it, real or apprehended, instantly awakened all the choler of a Jew, and was an affront never to be forgiven. Our Saviour, in the course of his public instructions, happening to say, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again (John i. 19.), it was construed into a contemptuous disrespect, designedly thrown out against the temple; his words instantly descended into the heart of a Jew, and kept rankling there for several years; for upon his trial, this declaration, which it was impossible for a Jew ever to forget or to forgive, was immediately alleged against him as big with the most atrocious guilt and impiety: they told the court they had heard him publicly assert, I am able to destroy this temple. The rancour and virulence they had conceived against him De Bell. Jud. lib. v. c. 5. §§ 1-6.

1 Josephus, Antiq. Jud. lib. xv. c. 11. § 3.

2 Dr. Harwood's Introd. to the New Test. vol. iì. pp. 159. 161.

Lord Nugent's Lands, Classical and Sacred, vol. ii. p. 83. London, 1846.

4 Matt. xxvi. 61. "This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days."

for this speech, which they imagined had been levelled against the temple, was not softened by all the affecting circumstances of that excruciating and wretched death they saw him die: even as he hung upon the cross, with infinite triumph, scorn, and exultation, they upbraided him with it, contemptuously shaking their heads, and saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself! If thou be the son of God, come down from the cross. (Matt. xxvii. 40.) The superstitious veneration, which this people had for their temple, further appears from the account of Stephen. When his adversaries were baffled and confounded by that superior wisdom and those distinguished gifts which he possessed, they were so exasperated at the victory he had gained over them, that they suborned persons to swear that they had heard him speak blasphemy against Moses and against God. These inflaming the populace, the magistrates, and the Jewish clergy, the holy man was seized, dragged away, and brought before the Sanhedrin. Here the false witnesses, whom they had procured, stood up and said, This person before you is continually uttering the most reproachful expressions against this sacred place', meaning the temple. This was blasphemy not to be pardoned. A judicature composed of high priests and scribes would never forgive such impiety.

"Thus, also, when St. Paul went into the temple to give public notice, as was usual, to the priests, of his having purified and bound himself by a religious vow along with four other persons, declaring the time when this vow was made, and the oblations he would offer for every one of them at his own expense, when the time of their vow was accomplished, some Jews of Asia Minor, when the seven days prescribed by the law were almost completed, happening to see him in the temple, struck with horror at the sight of such apprehended profanation, immediately excited the populace, who all at once rushed upon him and instantly seized him, vehemently exclaiming, Men of Israel help! This is the man that teacheth all men every where against the people (the Jews), and the law, and this place; and, further, brought Greeks into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place. (Acts xxi. 28.) They said this, because they had a little before seen Trophimus an Ephesian along with him in the city, and they instantly concluded he had brought him into the temple. Upon this the whole city was immediately raised; all the people at once rushed furiously upon him, and dragged him out of the temple, whose doors were instantly shut. Being determined to murder him, news was carried to the Roman tribune, that the whole city was in a commotion. The uproar now raised among the Jews, and their determined resolution to imbrue their hands in the blood of a person who had spoken disrespectfully of the temple, and who they apprehended had wantonly profaned it by introducing Greeks into it, verify and illustrate the declaration of Philo; that it was certain and inevitable death for any one who was not a Jew to set his foot within the inner courts of the temple." 2

It only remains to add, that it appears from several passages of Scripture, that "the Jews had a body of soldiers who guarded the

1 Acts vi. 13.

2 Harwood's Introd. vol. ii. pp. 166-169.

temple, to prevent any disturbance during the ministration of such an immense number of priests and Levites. To this guard Pilate referred, when he said to the chief priests and Pharisees who waited upon him to desire he would make the sepulchre secure: Ye have a watch, go your way, and make it as secure as ye can. (Matt. xxvii. 65.) Over these guards one person had the supreme command, who in several places is called the CAPTAIN OF THE TEMPLE (Στρατηγὸς τοῦ Ἱεροῦ), or officer of the temple guard. And as they spake unto the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them.' (Acts iv. 1., v. 25, 26.; John xviii. 12.) Josephus mentions such an officer." 1 It should seem that this officer was a Jew, from the circumstance of his assisting the high priest in arresting those who were deemed to be seditious, without the intervention of the Roman procurator.

III. Besides the temple at Jerusalem, two others were erected, viz. one in Egypt, and another on Mount Gerizim, of which the following notice may be not unacceptable to the reader:

1. The HELIOPOLITAN TEMPLE, also called the temple of Onias, was erected in imitation of that at Jerusalem by Onias, the son of the high priest, Onias III.; who, finding that no hope remained of his being restored to the pontifical dignity which had been held by his ancestors, fled into Egypt in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes. "Having acquired great favour with the then reigning sovereign, Ptolemy Philometer, and his queen Cleopatra, by his skill in political and military affairs, Onias represented to them, that it would be productive of great advantage to their kingdom, if the numerous Jewish inhabitants of Egypt and Cyrene could have a temple of their own, which would supersede the necessity of their repairing to Jerusalem in the dominions of a foreign monarch, to perform their religious services; and that, if such a temple were built, many more Jews would be induced to settle in the country, as Judæa was continually exposed to the evils of war. By such representations he at length obtained permission to erect a temple for the Jews, on the site of an ancient temple of Bubastis or Isis in the city of Leontopolis in the Heliopolitan nome (or district), over which he was governor. To the Jews he justified his undertaking, on the plea that the building of such a temple had been predicted by the prophet Isaiah, who lived about six hundred years before.3 Accordingly, the temple was completed on the model of that at Jerusalem. Önias was invested with the high priesthood; the subordinate priests were furnished from the descendants of Aaron; Levites were employed in the sacred services; and the whole of their religious worship was performed in the same manner as at Jerusalem. Though the Heliopolitan temple was smaller in its dimen

"2

1 Tòv σтpaτnydv "Avavov, Ananias, the commander of the temple. Antiq. Jud. lib. xx. c. 6. § 2. Bell. Jud. lib. ii. c. 17. § 2. Αφόρωντες εἰς τὸν Ἐλεάζαρον στρατηγοντα, having the chief regard to Eleazar, the governor of the temple. Bell. Jud. lib. ii. c. 17. § 2. edit. Hudson. Harwood's Introd. vol. ii. p. 169. and Dr. Lardner's Credibility, book i. ch. xi. § 1. ch. ix. § 4.

2 Jahn's Hist. of Hebr. Commonwealth, vol. i. p. 348.

There is a considerable diversity of opinion among commentators concerning the interpretation of Isa. xix. 18, 19., which is the prediction above alluded to. See Dr. Henderson's learned note on these verses, in his translation of Isaiah, pp. 169–172.

sions than the temple at Jerusalem, it was made conformable to the latter in every respect except that a golden lamp suspended by a golden chain was substituted for a candlestick. It was also adorned with votive gifts. This temple continued until the time of Vespasian, who, in consequence of a tumult which had been raised by the Jews in Egypt, commanded Lupus the governor to demolish it. Accordingly, it was shut up, and finally destroyed. This occurrence took place three hundred and forty-three years after the building of the temple.' In 2 Macc. i. 1-9. there is an epistle from the Jews at Jerusalem to those in Egypt.

2. The TEMPLE ON MOUNT GERIZIM was erected by Sanballat, under the authority of Alexander the Great, for the use of the Sama ritans; who on the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, pretended that they were of the stock of the true and ancient Hebrews, and that their mountain was the most proper place of worship. (Upon this principle the Samaritan woman argued with Jesus Christ in John iv. 20.) Sanballat constituted his son-in-law Manasseh the first high priest. This temple was destroyed about two hundred years afterwards by Hyrcanus, and was rebuilt by the Samaritans, between whom and the Jews there subsisted the bitterest animosity.2 Representations of this temple are to be seen on the coins of the city of Sichem or Neapolis.

SECT. III.

OF THE HIGH PLACES, AND PROSEUCHE, OR ORATORIES OF THE JEWS.

I. BESIDES the tabernacle, which has been described in a former section, frequent mention is made, in the Old Testament, of places of worship, called HIGH PLACES, which were in use both before and after the building of the temple. In the early ages of the world, the devotion of mankind seems to have delighted greatly in groves, woods, and mountains, not only because these retired places were naturally fitted for contemplation, but probably also because they kindled a certain sacred dread in the mind of the worshipper. It is certain that nothing was more ancient in the East, than altars surrounded by groves and trees, which made the place very shady and delightful in those hot countries. The idolaters in the first ages of the world, who generally worshipped the sun, appear to have thought it improper to straiten and confine the supposed infinity of this imaginary deity within walls, and therefore they generally made choice of hills and mountains, as the most convenient places for their idolatry; and when in later times they had brought in the use of temples, yet for a long time they kept them open-roofed. Nay, the patriarchs themselves, who worshipped the true God, generally built their altars near to some adjacent grove of trees, which, if nature denied, were usually planted by the religious in those days. When Abraham dwelt at Beersheba, in the plains of

1 Josephus, Ant. Jud. lib. xiii. c. 3. Bell. Jud. lib. vii. c. 10. Schulzii Archæol. Hebr. pp. 221, 222. Pareau, Antiq. Hebr. p. 203.

2

Josephus, Ant. Jud. lib. x. c. 8. §§ 2-4. lib. xiii. c. 9. § 1.

Schulzii Archæol. Hebr. p. 221. Pareau, Ant. Hebr. p. 229,