Exodus · Chapter 27

V. 1. As God intended in the tabernacle to manifest his presence among his people, so there they were to pay their devotions to him; not in the tabernacle itself, into that only the priests entered as God’s domestic servants, but in the court before the tabernacle, where, as common subjects they attended. There an altar was ordered so be set up, to which they must bring their sacrifices; and this altar was to sanctify their gifts; from hence they were to present their services to God, as from the mercy-seat he gave his oracles to them; and thus a communion was settled between God and Israel.

Verse 1. Thou shalt make an altar] jbzm mizbeach, from jbz zabach, to slay: Septuagint, qusiasthrion, from qusiazw, to sacrifice or from quw to kill, &c. See Clarke’s note on “Genesis 8:20”. Four square] As this altar was five cubits long and five broad, and the cubit is reckoned to be twenty-one inches, hence it must have been eight feet nine inches square, and about five feet three inches in height, the amount of three cubits, taken at the same ratio.

Verse 1. Thou shalt make an altar — As God intended in the tabernacle to manifest his presence among his people, so there they were to pay their devotions to him; not in the tabernacle itself, into that only the priests entered as God’s domestic servants, but in the court before the tabernacle, where, as common subjects, they attended. There an altar was ordered to be set up, to which they must bring their sacrifices; and this altar was to sanctify their gifts; from hence they were to present their services to God, as from the mercy-seat he gave his oracles to them: and thus a communion was settled between God and Israel. This altar was placed at the entrance of the sanctuary, and is termed the altar of burnt-offering, and the great altar: it was almost three yards square, and above a yard and a half in height. It was made of wood rather than of solid brass, that it might not be too heavy. But notwithstanding that it was overlaid with brass, (verse 2,) had it been of common wood, it must soon have been consumed to ashes by the continual heat: hence Le Clerc conjectures that this shittim-wood might be the larch-tree, which bears the fire like stone.

Verse 1. Make an altar. The altar, says a living author before mentioned, seems to have been intended only for the present purpose, until further orders were given; and especially for those sacrifices with which the national covenant was ratified. Exodus 20:24.

THE ALTAR OF BURNT OFFERINGS, 1-8.

1. Altar of shittim wood — The acacia wood formed a hollow framework, (comp. verse 8,) which was portable, and designed, doubtless, in accord with Exodus 20:24, 25, to be filled with earth or rough stones whenever it was set up for use. Height… three cubits — About four and one half feet, so that no steps or any considerable ascent would be necessary for the officiating priest. Comp. Exodus 20:26.

V. 2. The horns of it, were for ornament and for use; the sacrifices were bound with cords to the horns of the altar, and to them malefactors fled for refuge.

Verse 2. Thou shalt make the horns of it] The horns might have three uses: 1. For ornament. 2. To prevent carcasses, &c., from falling off. 3. To tie the victim to, previously to its being sacrificed. So David: Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar; Psalm 118:27. Horns were much used in all ancient altars among the heathen, and some of them were entirely constructed of the horns of the beasts that had been offered in sacrifice; but such altars appear to be erected rather as trophies in honour of their gods. On the reverses of several medals we find altars represented with horns at the corners. There is a medal of Antoninus on the reverse of which is an altar, on which a fire burns, consecrated Divi Pio, where the horns appear on each of the corners.

There is one of Faustina, on which the altar and its horns are very distinct, the legend Pietas Augusta. All the following have altars with horns. One of Valerian, legend Consecratio; one of Claudius Gothicus, same legend; one of Quintillus, same legend; one of Crispina, with the legend Diis Genitalibus; and several others. See Numismatica Antiq., a MUSELLIO, under Consecratio, in the index.

Callimachus, in his Hymn to Apollo, line 60 introduces him constructing an altar of the horns of the animals slain by Diana:—

phxe de bwmon

Ek kerawn k. t. l.

Martial has these words: Cornibus ara frequens.

Verse 2. Thou shalt make the horns of it — Pinnacles or spires, rising up at the corners, wrought out of the same wood; which was partly for ornament, and partly for use. To them the animals were bound, and part of the blood was applied, and to them malefactors fled for refuge.

Ver. 2. Horns. The horns were ornamental turrets, which prevented the victims from falling off; and to these they were sometimes bound when about to be sacrificed. Psalm 118:17. The horns seem to have been long, that culprits might take hold of them, as Joab did, when he fled from the wrath of the king. The gentile altars had the same kind of horns. The altar was entirely covered with thick plates of brass, with a place to receive the fuel and lay the flesh upon, very curiously formed, to prevent the wood being consumed by the fire. Neither could the human nature of Christ have supported the fire of divine wrath for sin, had it not been in union with his divinity.

2. Horns — Probably resembling the horns of cattle. These were so set into the four corners of the acacia framework as to appear to be of the same as if growing out of it.

Verse 3. Thou shalt make his pans] wytrys sirothaiv, a sort or large brazen dishes, which stood under the altar to receive the ashes that fell through the grating.

His shovels] יעיו yaaiv. Some render this besoms; but as these were brazen instruments, it is more natural to suppose that some kind of fire-shovels are intended, or scuttles, which were used to carry off the ashes that fell through the grating into the large pan or siroth. His basins] wytqrzm mizrekothaiv, from qrz zarak, to sprinkle or disperse; bowls or basins to receive the blood of the sacrifices, in order that it might be sprinkled on the people before the altar, &c. His flesh-hooks] wytglzm mizlegothaiu. That this word is rightly translated flesh-hooks is fully evident from 1 Samuel 2:13, where the same word is used in such a connection as demonstrates its meaning: And the priest’s custom with the people was, that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant came, while the flesh was in the seething, with a FLESH-HOOK (glzm mazleg) of three teeth (prongs) in his hand, and he struck it into the pan, &c.; all that the FLESH-HOOK (glzm mazleg) brought up, the priest took for himself. It was probably a kind of trident, or fork with three prongs, and these bent to a right angle at the middle, as the ideal meaning of the Hebrew seems to imply crookedness or curvature in general.

His fire-pans] wyttjm machtothaiu. Bishop Patrick and others suppose that “this was a larger sort of vessel, wherein, probably, the sacred fire which came down from heaven (Leviticus 9:24) was kept burning, whilst they cleansed the altar and the grate from the coals and the ashes; and while the altar was carried from one place to another, as it often was in the wilderness.

Ver. 3. Basons. In these was received the blood of the sacrifices, in order to its being sprinkled.

3. Pans… shovels… basins… fleshhooks… firepans — These several vessels were all requisite in the service of the altar, for taking up and removing ashes, receiving the blood of victims, adjusting the pieces of flesh, and carrying coals of fire.

V. 4. The grate was set into the hollow of the altar, about the middle of it, in which the fire was kept, and the sacrifice burnt; it was made of net-work like a sieve, and hung hollow, that the fire might burn the better, and that the ashes might fall through. Now, this brazen altar was a type of Christ dying to make atonement for our sins. Christ sanctified himself for his church as their altar, John 17:19, and by his mediation sanctifies the daily services of his people. To the horns of this altar poor sinners fly for refuge, and are safe in virtue of the sacrifice there offered.

Verse 4. Thou shalt make for it a grate] Calmet supposes this altar to have been a sort of box, covered with brass plates, on the top of which was a grating to supply the fire with air, and permit the ashes to fall through into the siroth or pan that was placed below. At the four corners of the grating were four rings and four chains, by which it was attached to the four horns; and at the sides were rings for the poles of shittim wood with which it was carried. Even on this there is a great variety of opinions.

Verse 4. Thou shalt make for it a grate of net-work — This was the principal part of the altar. It was let into the hollow about the middle of it, and here the fire was kept, and the sacrifice burned. It was a broad plate of brass full of holes, like a net or sieve, and partly hollow that the fire might burn the better, and the ashes might fall through to the bottom of the altar, where there was a door on the east side to open and take out the ashes. Now this brazen altar was a type of Christ dying to make atonement for our sins. Christ sanctified himself for his church as their altar, (John 17:19,) and by his mediation sanctifies the daily services of his people. To the horns of this altar poor sinners flee for refuge, and are safe in virtue of the sacrifice there offered.

4, 5. A grate of network — The design of this is not made very clear by the statements of these verses. The compass of the altar is commonly supposed to have been a projecting border or framework running around the outside, and affording a place for the officiating priest to stand, or pass around, when arranging the fire or the victims offered. Accordingly, this network grating has by some been explained as reaching from this border to the ground, and so being beneath it, (Hebrews, from below.) It would thus serve as a support for the border. Others have imagined that it extended horizontally beyond the border, and served to catch coals or any thing else which might fall from the altar. Others, however, have located the grate inside of the altar, so as to serve for a sieve through which ashes might fall, as through a fire grate, into a hollow place within the altar, from whence they were removed by means of the shovels. In this case the four brazen rings at the corners were for the purpose of easily lifting the grate out, or setting it in its place. There appears nothing by which to determine which of these views is correct. If the rings mentioned in verse 7 are identical with those upon the net, then the first view named above would be the most natural explanation. But as the staves to fit into those rings are mentioned as for the altar, while these were for the net, we are not justified in assuming that they were identical. But while the exact location and purpose of this grating are not certainly fixed, the general form and appearance of the altar probably resembled the preceding cut.

4, 5. A grate of network — The design of this is not made very clear by the statements of these verses. The compass of the altar is commonly supposed to have been a projecting border or framework running around the outside, and affording a place for the officiating priest to stand, or pass around, when arranging the fire or the victims offered. Accordingly, this network grating has by some been explained as reaching from this border to the ground, and so being beneath it, (Hebrews, from below.) It would thus serve as a support for the border. Others have imagined that it extended horizontally beyond the border, and served to catch coals or any thing else which might fall from the altar. Others, however, have located the grate inside of the altar, so as to serve for a sieve through which ashes might fall, as through a fire grate, into a hollow place within the altar, from whence they were removed by means of the shovels. In this case the four brazen rings at the corners were for the purpose of easily lifting the grate out, or setting it in its place. There appears nothing by which to determine which of these views is correct. If the rings mentioned in verse 7 are identical with those upon the net, then the first view named above would be the most natural explanation. But as the staves to fit into those rings are mentioned as for the altar, while these were for the net, we are not justified in assuming that they were identical. But while the exact location and purpose of this grating are not certainly fixed, the general form and appearance of the altar probably resembled the preceding cut.

THE ALTAR OF BURNT OFFERINGS, 1-8.

1. Altar of shittim wood — The acacia wood formed a hollow framework, (comp. verse 8,) which was portable, and designed, doubtless, in accord with Exodus 20:24, 25, to be filled with earth or rough stones whenever it was set up for use. Height… three cubits — About four and one half feet, so that no steps or any considerable ascent would be necessary for the officiating priest. Comp. Exodus 20:26.

THE ALTAR OF BURNT OFFERINGS, 1-8.

1. Altar of shittim wood — The acacia wood formed a hollow framework, (comp. verse 8,) which was portable, and designed, doubtless, in accord with Exodus 20:24, 25, to be filled with earth or rough stones whenever it was set up for use. Height… three cubits — About four and one half feet, so that no steps or any considerable ascent would be necessary for the officiating priest. Comp. Exodus 20:26.

Verse 8. Hollow with boards] It seems to have been a kind of frame-work, and to have had nothing solid in the inside, and only covered with the grating at the top. This rendered it more light and portable.

THE ALTAR OF BURNT OFFERINGS, 1-8.

1. Altar of shittim wood — The acacia wood formed a hollow framework, (comp. verse 8,) which was portable, and designed, doubtless, in accord with Exodus 20:24, 25, to be filled with earth or rough stones whenever it was set up for use. Height… three cubits — About four and one half feet, so that no steps or any considerable ascent would be necessary for the officiating priest. Comp. Exodus 20:26.

V. 9. Before the tabernacle there was to be a court, enclosed with hangings of fine linen. This court, according to the common computation, was 50 yards long, and 25 broad. Pillars were set up at convenient distances, in sockets of brass, the pillars filleted with silver, and silver tenterhooks in them, on which the linen hangings were fastened: the hanging which served for the gate was finer than the rest. This court was a type of the church, enclosed, and distinguished from the rest of the world; the inclosure supported by pillars, noting the stability of the church hung with the clean linen, which is said to be the righteousness of saints, Revelation 19:8. Yet this court would contain but a few worshippers; thanks be to God, now the inclosure is taken down; and there is room for all that in every place call on the name of Christ.

Verse 9. The court of the tabernacle] The tabernacle stood in an enclosure or court, open at the top. This court was made with pillars or posts, and hangings. It was one hundred cubits, or about fifty-eight yards and a half, in length; the breadth we learn from Exodus 27:12, 18; and five cubits, or nearly three yards, high, Exodus 27:18. And as this was but half the height of the tabernacle, Exodus 26:16, that sacred building might easily be seen by the people from without.

Verse 9. Thou shalt make the court — Such a place as we call a court-yard, uncovered above, but enclosed with pillars and hangings of fine linen. This court, according to common computation, was fifty yards long and twenty-five broad. In it stood the tabernacle toward the upper west end; between the tabernacle and the lower end stood the altar, with the laver on one side of it, Exodus 30:18. The pillars were set up at convenient distances, in sockets of brass, the pillars filleted with silver, and silver tenterhooks in them, on which the linen hangings were fastened: the hanging which served for the gate was finer than the rest. This court was a type of the church, enclosed and distinguished from the rest of the world; the enclosure supported by pillars, denoting the stability of the church; hung with the clean linen, which is said to be the “righteousness of saints,” Revelation 19:8. Yet this court would contain but a few worshippers; thanks be to God, now the enclosure is taken down; and there is room for all that in every place call on the name of Christ.

COURT OF THE TABERNACLE, 9-19.

9. South side southward — See note on Exodus 26:18. Hangings — These, which were to serve for a fence about the sanctuary, were of the same material as the tabernacle-cloth, (Exodus 26:1,) and the inner vail, (Exodus 26:31,) and the front curtain, (Exodus 26:36,) but without the cunning work and colours inwrought on them.

10, 11. Twenty pillars — Thus allowing for five cubits (7.5 feet) between each pillar. These pillars were connected by means of hooks and fillets of silver. The fillets were the poles, or rods, upon which the linen hangings were to be suspended, and were fastened to the pillars by means of the hooks of the pillars. The hangings were also probably attached to the rods by means of some kind of hooks.

10, 11. Twenty pillars — Thus allowing for five cubits (7.5 feet) between each pillar. These pillars were connected by means of hooks and fillets of silver. The fillets were the poles, or rods, upon which the linen hangings were to be suspended, and were fastened to the pillars by means of the hooks of the pillars. The hangings were also probably attached to the rods by means of some kind of hooks.

12-18. Breadth of the court — The court was one hundred cubits long and fifty broad, (150 x 75 feet,) and its linen fence five cubits high. The gate of the court was twenty cubits wide, and the hangings of this part differed from the rest by being embroidered like that of the door of the tent. Exodus 25:36. An outline of the court and the tabernacle, with the altar and laver, is shown in the annexed cut.

12-18. Breadth of the court — The court was one hundred cubits long and fifty broad, (150 x 75 feet,) and its linen fence five cubits high. The gate of the court was twenty cubits wide, and the hangings of this part differed from the rest by being embroidered like that of the door of the tent. Exodus 25:36. An outline of the court and the tabernacle, with the altar and laver, is shown in the annexed cut.

12-18. Breadth of the court — The court was one hundred cubits long and fifty broad, (150 x 75 feet,) and its linen fence five cubits high. The gate of the court was twenty cubits wide, and the hangings of this part differed from the rest by being embroidered like that of the door of the tent. Exodus 25:36. An outline of the court and the tabernacle, with the altar and laver, is shown in the annexed cut.

12-18. Breadth of the court — The court was one hundred cubits long and fifty broad, (150 x 75 feet,) and its linen fence five cubits high. The gate of the court was twenty cubits wide, and the hangings of this part differed from the rest by being embroidered like that of the door of the tent. Exodus 25:36. An outline of the court and the tabernacle, with the altar and laver, is shown in the annexed cut.

Verse 16. And for the gate of the court] It appears that the hangings of this gate were of the same materials and workmanship with that of the inner covering of the tabernacle, and the outer and inner veil. See Exodus 26:36.

12-18. Breadth of the court — The court was one hundred cubits long and fifty broad, (150 x 75 feet,) and its linen fence five cubits high. The gate of the court was twenty cubits wide, and the hangings of this part differed from the rest by being embroidered like that of the door of the tent. Exodus 25:36. An outline of the court and the tabernacle, with the altar and laver, is shown in the annexed cut.

12-18. Breadth of the court — The court was one hundred cubits long and fifty broad, (150 x 75 feet,) and its linen fence five cubits high. The gate of the court was twenty cubits wide, and the hangings of this part differed from the rest by being embroidered like that of the door of the tent. Exodus 25:36. An outline of the court and the tabernacle, with the altar and laver, is shown in the annexed cut.

12-18. Breadth of the court — The court was one hundred cubits long and fifty broad, (150 x 75 feet,) and its linen fence five cubits high. The gate of the court was twenty cubits wide, and the hangings of this part differed from the rest by being embroidered like that of the door of the tent. Exodus 25:36. An outline of the court and the tabernacle, with the altar and laver, is shown in the annexed cut.

Verse 19. All the vessels-shall be of brass.] It would have been improper to have used instruments made of the more precious metals about this altar, as they must have been soon worn out by the severity of the service.

19. All the vessels — The vessels here referred to are not, of course, those mentioned in Exodus 25:38, 39, but the instruments for such more common service as the putting up and taking down of the structure would require.

V. 20. We read of the candlestick in the 25th chapter; here is order given for the keeping of the lamps constantly burning in it. The pure oil signified the gifts and graces of the Spirit, which are communicated to all believers from Christ the good olive, of whose fulness we receive, Zechariah 4:11,12. The priests were to light the lamps, and to tend them; to cause the lamp to burn always, night and day. Thus it is the work of ministers to preach and expound the scriptures, which are as a lamp to enlighten the church. This is to be a statute for ever, that the lamps of the word be lighted as duly as the incense of prayer and praise is offered.

Verse 20. Pure oil olive beaten] That is, such oil as could easily be expressed from the olives after they had been bruised in a mortar; the mother drop, as it is called, which drops out of itself as soon as the olives are a little broken, and which is much purer than that which is obtained after the olives are put under the press.

Columella, who is a legitimate evidence in all such matters, says that the oil which flowed out of the fruit either spontaneously, or with little application of the force of the press, was of a much finer flavour than that which was obtained otherwise. Quoniam longe melioris saporis est, quod minore vi preli, quasi luxurians, defluxerit.-COLUM., lib. xii., c. 50. To cause the lamp to burn always] They were to be kept burning through the whole of the night, and some think all the day besides; but there is a difference of sentiment upon this subject. See the note on the following verse.

This oil and continual flame were not only emblematical of the unction and influences of the Holy Ghost, but also of that pure spirit of devotion which ever animates the hearts and minds of the genuine worshippers of the true God. The temple of VESTA, where a fire was kept perpetually burning, seems to have been formed on the model of the tabernacle; and from this the followers of Zeratusht, commonly called Zoroaster, appear to have derived their doctrine of the perpetual fire, which they still worship as an emblem of the Deity.

Verse 20. Pure oil-olive beaten — Not squeezed out by a press or mill, such being full of sediment; but which run freely from the olives when bruised or beaten with a pestle. To cause the lamp to burn always — Josephus, who was himself a priest, says, they burned the lamps day and night, three of them being kept burning all day, and the rest being lighted in the evening. And indeed to keep them burning by day as well as night, was no more than what was necessary, for otherwise the priest must have ministered in the dark at the altar of incense; there being no windows in the holy place. Now the pure oil signifies the gifts and graces of the Spirit, which are communicated to all believers from Christ the good olive, “of whose fulness we receive,” Zechariah 4:11, 12. The priests were to light the lamps, and to tend them; to cause the lamp to burn always, night and day. Thus it is the work of ministers to preach and expound the Scriptures, which are as a lamp to enlighten, the church. This is to be a statute for ever, that the lamps of the word be lighted as duly as the incense of prayer and praise is offered.

Ver. 20. Cause the lamp to burn always. The LXX amplify this reading. The people are required to bring pure oil, “that the lamp may burn always in the tabernacle of testimony without the veil.” The heathens had much the same ritual; their lamps burned, and their fires on the altar were guarded by the priests, and in many places by vestal virgins. The American Indians had fires likewise in their temples. In 1727, the French at the Mobile were massacred by the Indians. Chepar, the governor, having cruelly treated the Natchees, they convened a meeting of the neighbouring tribes; and having fixed on one moon for preparation, the priest delivered a bunch of thirty rods to each tribe, with instructions to burn one rod every day upon the altar. But Braspike, the chief’s mother, being connected with a French officer, had the address to steal one of the rods, which occasioned the Natchees to begin the massacre on the 28th of December, instead of the 29th, which gave the French in other places, one day of alarm. The similarity of these customs of lamps and fires demonstrates that Noah had handed down those institutions to his sons. The ritual was of divine and primitive authority.

THE OIL FOR THE LIGHT, 20, 21.

20. Pure oil olive beaten — See this passage as repeated in Leviticus 24:2, 3. This oil for the light of the holy place was to be obtained, not by pressing the olives, but by beating or bruising them, by which means the finest quality of oil was produced. Cause the lamp to burn always — According to Exodus 30:7, 8, and Leviticus 24:3, 4, the lamps were to be dressed each morning, and lighted each evening, so that the light was perpetual; the light of the sun sufficiently finding its way within the tent by day, and the lamps of the golden candlestick (Exodus 25:31-37) burning all the night. Comp. 1 Samuel 3:3, note.

Verse 21. The tabernacle of the congregation] The place where all the assembly of the people were to worship, where the God of that assembly was pleased to reside, and to which, as the habitation of their king and protector, they were ever to turn their faces in all their adorations. Before the testimony] That is, the ark where the tables of the covenant were deposited. See Exodus 25:16.

Aaron and his sons] These and their descendants being the only legitimate priests, God having established the priesthood in this family. Shall order it from evening to morning] Josephus says the whole of the seven lamps burned all the night; in the morning four were extinguished, and three kept burning through the whole day. Others assert that the whole seven were kept lighted both day and night continually; but it appears sufficiently evident, from 1 Samuel 3:3, that these lamps were extinguished in the morning: And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep, &c. See also Exodus 30:8: And when Aaron LIGHTETH THE LAMPS AT EVEN. It appears therefore that the business of the priests was to light the lamps in the evening; and either to extinguish them in the morning, or permit them to burn out, having put in the night before as much oil as was necessary to last till daylight.

A statute for ever] This ordering of the lamps night and morning, and attendance on the service of the tabernacle, was a statute that was to be in full force while the tabernacle and temple stood, and should have its spiritual accomplishment in the Christian Church to the end of time. Reader, the tabernacle and temple are both destroyed; the Church of Christ is established in their place. The seven golden candlesticks were typical of this Church and the glorious light it possesses, Revelation 1:12-20; and Jesus Christ, the Fountain and Dispenser of this true light, walks in the midst of them. Reader, hast thou that celestial flame to enlighten and animate thy heart in all those acts of devotion which thou professest to pay to him as thy Maker, Redeemer, and Preserver? What is thy profession, and what thy religious acts and services, without this? A sounding brass, a tinkling cymbal.

TERTULLIAN asserts that all the ancient heathens borrowed their best notions from the sacred writings: “Which,” says he, “of your poets, which of your sophists, have not drunk from the fountain of the prophets? It is from those sacred springs that your philosophers have refreshed their thirsty spirits; and if they found any thing in the Holy Scriptures which hit their fancy, or which served their hypothesis, they took and turned it to a compliance with their own curiosity, not considering those writings to be sacred and unalterable, nor understanding their true sense, every one altering them according to his own fancy.”-Apologet.

The reader’s attention has already been called to this point several times in the preceding parts of this work, and the subject will frequently recur. At the conclusion of Exodus 25:31 (See Clarke’s note at “Exodus 25:31”) we had occasion to observe that the heathens had imitated many things in that Divine worship prescribed by Moses; but in application to their own corrupt system every thing was in a certain measure falsified and distorted, yet not so far as to prevent the grand outlines of primitive truth from being discerned. One of the most complete imitations of the tabernacle and its whole service is found in the very ancient temple of Hercules, founded probably by the Phœnicians, at Gades, now Cadiz, in Spain, so minutely described by Silius Italicus from actual observation. He observes that though the temple was at that time very ancient, yet the beams were the same that had been placed there by the founders, and that they were generally supposed to be incorruptible; a quality ascribed to the shittim wood, termed xulon ashpton, incorruptible wood, by the Septuagint. That women were not permitted to enter this temple, and that no swine were ever suffered to come near it. That the priests did not wear party-coloured vestments, but were always clothed in fine linen, and their bonnets made of the same. That they offered incense to their god, their clothes being ungirded; for the same reason doubtless given Exodus 20:26, that in going up to the altar nothing unseemly might appear, and therefore they permitted their long robes to fall down to their feet. He adds, that by the laws of their forefathers they bore on their sacerdotal vestments the latus clavus, which was a round knob or stud of purple with which the robes of the Roman knights and senators were adorned, which these priests seem to have copied from the breastplate of judgment made of cunning work, embroidered with purple, blue, &c. See Exodus 28:15. They also ministered barefooted, their hair was trimmed or cut off, and they observed the strictest continency, and kept a perpetual fire burning on their altars. And he farther adds that there was no image or similitude of the gods to be seen in that sacred place. This is the substance of his description; but as some of my readers may wish to see the original, I shall here subjoin it.

Vulgatum (nec cassa fides) ab origine fani

Impositas durare trabes, solasque per ævum

Condentum novisse manus: hic credere gaudent

Consedisse Deum, seniumque repellere templis.

Tum, queis fas et honos adyti penetralia nosse,

Fœmineos prohibent gressus, ac limine curant”

Setigeros arcere sues: nec discolor ulli

Ante aras cultus: velantur corpora lino,

Et Pelusiaco præfulget stamine vertex.

Discinctis mos thura dare, atque, e lege parenturn

Sacrificam LATO vestem distinguere CLAVO.

Pes nudus, tousæque comæ, castumque cubile,

Irrestincta focis servant altaria flammæ.

Sed nulla effigies, simulacrave nota Deorum

Majestate locum, et sacro implevere timore.

Punicor., lib. iii., ver. 17-31.

This is such a remarkable case that I think myself justified in quoting it at length, as an extraordinary monument, though corrupted, of the tabernacle and its service. It is probable that the original founders had consecrated this temple to the true God, under the name of la EL, the strong God, or rwbg la EL GIBBOR, the strong, prevailing, and victorious God, Isaiah 9:6, out of whom the Greeks and Romans made their Hercules, or god of strength; and, to make it agree with this appropriation, the labours of Hercules were sculptured on the doors of this temple at Gades. In foribus labor Alcidæ Lernæa recisis

Anguibus Hydra jacet, &c., &c.

EXODUS

21. Without the vail — Outside and in front of the vail described Exodus 26:31-33. Before the testimony — In front of the most holy place, in which the ark of the testimony was set. The mention of Aaron and his sons, in connexion with this service, leads naturally to an account of the institution of the Aaronic priesthood, which follows in the next chapter.