The cut on the left hand exhibits the Sepher Tora, or book of the law,' closed, having a wide embroidered riband enfolding it: the cut on the right hand displays the same, partially open; B showing the Hebrew characters, and the way in which they stand in a column or page. At A is a small box, in which are found the names of all the members of the synagogue, from whom seven readers of the law are drawn by lot. The box has four compartments: I. Contains the names of the Levites;-II. Receives the names of the Levites as they have read;-III. Holds the naues of all the other members of the synagogue-IV. Has the names of those among the last who have already read. E E direct attention to silver ornaments with bells, which are placed on the extremities of the scroll. F is a small pointer used for assistance in reading the manuscripts. The handles observed on the rolls are designed to prevent the law from being soiled or profaned by the touch. When the Sepher Tora is brought out from the case or ark where it is kept for use, it is commonly laid on a silk covering, and members of the congregation emulously try to kiss, or at least to touch it. When about to be restored to its repository, it is rolled up; the silver ornaments are put on the staves, and a richly embroidered covering of silk is thrown over it, being suspended from the top, and having the silver ornaments in sight. Speaking of the Spanish Jews in their synagogue at Jerusalem, Dr. Olin remarks (ii. 308): 'I was much impressed with the profound respect shown for the book of the law. It is preserved in a case of wood -an ark my companion called it — behind a splendid curtain of velvet. Several grave and venerable Rabbis went in a company to remove it to the reading desk. The whole assembly rose; and, before the reading of the lessons, the sacred parchment, covered with a white cloth, was carried round to be reverently kissed by the worshippers. In reading, the Rabbi who officiated, pointed to the line with a silver stylus. Every look and motion connected with this part of their worship was expressive of the most profound reverence. In reading the Pentateuch, the Rabbi and congregation bowed their heads very low at the occurrence of every emphatic word, indeed, of almost every word, the better to mark and impress upon their minds its solemn import.' Many facts concur in showing that books must have been by no means uncommon among the Jews, at least in the days of our Lord. The nature of his general intercourse with the people the appeal which he constantly makes to the writings of the Old Testament the readiness with which his references and quotations are understood, prove that the Jews of his day were familiar with their Scriptures. Books were found in each of the numerous synagogues which existed both within and without the borders of Palestine; and Moses was read on Sabbath-days in the public congregation (2 Cor. iii. 15). From Rabbinical authority, we learn that a large portion of the Scriptures of the Old Testament were read in the course of the year that the study of them by individuals was considered highly meritorious, and diligently pursued, for which purposes manuscript copies must have been widely spread; a fact which is established by the strict requirement that parents should communicate to their children an intimate acquaintance with the law and the practices of their forefathers, as well as the events in which they originated, and which they were designed to commemorate. Among lost works, mention is made of some, in such a way as to show the abundance as well as the great antiquity of Hebrew literature. In Numb. xxi. 14, we read of the book of the wars of Jehovah,' spoken of as a well-known document, which, from the connection in which the words stand, appears to have been a poetical celebration of the passage of the Israelites over the Red Sea, and of events of which that passage was the central point. A similar volume we find in the book of Jasher (Josh. x. 13. 2 Sam. i. 18), which was also a collection of poems, commencing apparently with the conquest of Canaan, but extending to the times · at least of David. In Joshua xviii. 9, we read that the surveyors whom Joshua sent out to survey the land of Canaan, previously to the division which he made of it among the tribes, described the country 'by cities, into seven parts, in a book,' by the aid of which Joshua assigned the several portions to the conquerors. This book can hardly have been unaccompanied by some species of map or maps, which would be necessary in even a rude description of the vanquished territory; an idea which finds corroboration in the words described it by cities.' An historical work of the period of the kings is also spoken of in 1 Kings xi. 41, — The rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon?' A series of historical works seem to have been composed; for, in 1 Chron. xxix. 29, the acts of David, first and last, are said to be written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer.' Poetical as well as historical works are referred to in 2 Chron. ix. 29,-The book of Nathan the prophet, the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam.' find mention made in 2 Chron. xii. 15 of another volume, whose loss we have to lament,-'The book of Shemaiah the prophet.' Still, another work is mentioned in 2 Chron. xx. 34,-"The book of Jehu,the son of Hanani.' Indeed, in the earliest chapters of the Bible, we find traces of a yet earlier literature, and proofs that its actual contents are only the remains, which time have spared, of a yet wider and richer-it could hardly have been a more precious-cycle of compositions, than those which we now possess; for what may be called 'Lamech's Song' (Gen. iv. 23, 24) is clearly the fragment of a poem, of which perhaps what we have is all that remained even when that very ancient work was first compiled. - We Whether the facts and reasonings that have now been laid before the reader, warrant or not the conclusion that the Pentateuch came in substance as it is from the hands of Moses, or whether they prove or not that the Sacred Books of the Jews appeared in general shortly after the times of which these books severally treat, they yet tend to lay a firm basis for the historical character and general authenticity of what are commonly called the Mosaic writings, and of those works which stand in the same line with them. The views which have been given, make it manifest that the Hebrews had the means of writing history; further, that they actually did write history; further still, that they were an historical people. Their annals, in consequence, are not the inventions of a comparatively late period. Rather, they are the remains of a very copious literature, which came into existence, flourished, suffered losses, and began to decline, before historical writing had assumed its first outlines from the pen of Herodotus (cir. 450, A.C.), the earliest profane historian whose works have a definite value.
BOOK OF LIFE is a term whose origin dates back to a very early period in the Mosaic history; for, in Exod. xxxii. 32, 33, we read these words: -Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. And the Lord said, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book;' - a threat, the import of which is explained by Levit. xxiii. 30, and Ezek. xviii. 4,' The soul that sinneth, it shall die.' We find a similar phrase in Ps. lxix. 28, 'Let them be blotted out of the book of the living.' The intended representation, then, is, that there is a book in which Jehovah has written the names of living men. Such, however, as transgressed his commands had their names erased; for it was only those of the righteous that were retained (Ps. Ixix. 28). This is a figurative way of representing the kind and watchful providence of God over the obedient, and his awful retribution to the wicked. In a similar manner the tears of the good are said to be noted down in God's book (Ps. lvi. 8; comp. Ps. cxxxix. 16); and in Daniel xii. 1, it is said that every one shall be delivered in a time of trouble, whose name shall be found written in the book.' The idea appears to have arisen from the practice of keeping registers of the families and of the tribes that were necessary in a nation in which landed property was inherited by lot and by lineage (Ezek. xiii. 9. Ezra ii. 59, 62. Neh. vii. 5. Comp. Mal. iii. 16). The necessity for these registers must have existed from the first formation of the tribes, otherwise the tribes could scarcely have preserved their distinct individuality. Unquestionably, such registers must have existed with the first occupation of the land of Canaan. In fact, family registers are found in the earliest of the Biblical documents. These remarks have a strong tendency to prove the early existence of written documents. But in Exod. xxxii. 32, 33, as cited above, we find that books had already given existence to popular metaphors; whence their early existence among the Israelites is satisfactorily established. These concurring testimonies show that the origin of writing cannot be fixed after the days of Moses, and afford a strong probability that it must be dated long before that time, in agreement with the general implication of the Pentateuch, and the conclusions at which we have arrived in the previous article. This expressive figure of speech passed into the writings of the New Testament, being there modified by the new and higher kind of life, which is their great theme. Hence, in Phil. iv. 3, Panl speaks of 'fellowlabourers whose names are in the book of life.' In the Apocalypse the usage is of frequent occurrence (iii. 5). In xiii. 2, the book is termed the book of life of the Lamb slain from the fountain of the world;' and in xvii. 8, it is implied that this book itself existed from the foundation of the world. While in xx. 12, the image is changed: instead of there being one book of names, erasure out of which implied the destruction of the wicked; there are, besides the book of life, other books by which the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works; being evidently a record of the good and evil actions of the small and great that stood before the judgment-bar of God. The tenor of these remarks renders it almost needless to add, that these are figurative representations. In truth, they show with much effect, that the inquisition of God's Providence is no less minute than comprehensive, and bid us all take care of small things, whether they are in act or in thought; since a record is made, and an account will be required, of the most inconsiderable as well as the most important of our deeds and affections. BOOTY (T. spoil taken in war). — The earliest division of booty on record is that which Abraham made, after the expedition which he undertook for the defence of Lot (Gen. xiv. 13, seq.); when, on the proposal of the king of Sodom, - Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself,' the patriarch generously abandoned his claim, only taking care that tithes of all should be given to Melchizedek, priest of the most high God. It is not safe to draw unqualified general conclusions from this transaction; but we may consider it as probable, that the proposal of the king of Sodom, and the gift of a tithe of the spoil to the king of Salem, were in accordance with general usage. In Numb. xxxi. 26, seq. we find an express direction given, that the sum of the prey, both of man and beast, was to be divided into two parts: one of which, after the fivehundredth part both of man and beast had been taken for the priests, was to be given to the soldiers; the other half, less one-fiftieth part, which was to go to the Levites, fell to the share of the children of Israel generally. This allotment, though it took place in a particular instance, namely, after the defeat of the Midianites, may have become a precedent, and eventually acquired the force of a law. No command is given as to the proportions in which the spoil was to be distributed among the warriors individually; and we are left to the conjecture, that some regard would be paid, in the division, to diversity of rank, if not of bravery and peril. The plunder obtained in the conquest of Canaan was very great, as appears from the words of Joshua. addressed to the half tribe of Manasseh, Return with much riches, and with very much cattle, with sil ver, and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, and with very much raiment; divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren' (Josh. xxii. 8). The order in this case would appear to be for an equal division. At a later period, an injunction on the part of David made it a perpetual ordinance, that those who guarded the baggage should have an equal share with those who engaged in the strife of blood (1 Sam. xxx. 24, 25). From David's example (2 Sam. viii. 10, 11) we may infer that it was customary to dedicate to the Lord, silver, gold, and other valuable things. A devoted city was given up to destruction; no booty was allowed to be made,-only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord' (Josh. vi. 24). So in 1 Chron. xxvi. 27, — ' Out of the spoils won in battle did they dedicate to maintain the house of the Lord.' BORROW denotes to obtain on pledge, as is done in taking up money on mortgage by depositing something; and hence, in a secondary meaning, to obtain on the security of a promise to return the article borrowed, the pledge here being the word or faith of the borrower. Our English term has more than one representative in Hebrew. In Exod. iii. 22, it is the translation of Shahal, which properly signifies to ask; by which word the original should have been rendered. The Israelites did not borrow in the customary sense of the term, but solicited presents; to compliance with which petition the Egyptians were inclined by some express act of Divine Providence: I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall come to pass that when ye go, ye shall not go empty.' The asking of presents is still common in the East when persons separate from each other; and compliance with such requests is, in general, accounted a point of good manners. A similar practice prevailed among the aucient Germans: On the departure of a guest, it is the custom to present him with whatever he may ask for; and, with the same freedom, a boon is desired in return. They are pleased with presents, but think no obligation incurred when they either give or receive' (Tacitus de Mor. Germ. sec. 21). There was in the case of the Israelites a special reason why they should ask and receive presents, as, in the haste in which they were about to leave the land, they would of necessity leave much immoveable, and probably some moveable, property in the possession of the Egyptians. The transaction appears to have been, for the most part, an act of good will at parting. So was it regarded by Josephus: They (the Egyptians) also honoured the Hebrews with gifts; some in order to get them to depart quickly, and others on account of their neighbourhood, and the friendship they had with them' (Antiq. ii. 14. 6). From Exod. xii. 36, we find that the Egyptians made the requested gratuities, namely, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment; thus contributing to the fulfilment of the divine promise, that the descendants of Abraham should quit their servitude with great substance (Gen. xv. 14). In Exod. xii. 36, the Egyptians are, in our version, said to 'lend' to the Hebrews; thus confirming the erroneous notion of borrowing given by the English translation in Exod. iii. 22. The word rendered lend is the same as that rendered borrow, signifying to ask. The fact is, that, as present-making implied mutual asking, so the verb to ask came to denote both to give and to receive a present. The Israelites are, however, said to have spoiled the Egyptians. On the ordinary view of the transaction, its morality is indefensible; and we shall not therefore waste our space by mentioning the attempts that have, both in ancient and in modern times, been made for the purpose. If the Hebrews borrowed and did not repay, then this spoiling was robbery, which may have been caused, or slightly excused, but cannot be justified, by the bondage in which they had been held. But the spoiling was not robbery. The word (Nahtzal) signifies to take away, to set free, deliver. In the sense of deliver, the word is used with the same construction as in the passage under consideration in Exod. xviii. 10: -And Jethro said, Blessed be the Lord, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians;' and in Ezek. xiv. 14, Noah, Daniel, and Job, are said to 'deliver their own souls by their righteousness' the form of the verb being the same as in Exod. iii. 22. Accordingly, we render the words thus: And ye shall deliver Egypt' (it is Egypt in the original); that is, by your quitting it, you shall free Egypt from the plagues and troubles which your presence now brings upon it (comp. Exod. iii. 20). No instance can be produced in which the word Nahtzal signifies in itself to spoil, or plunder; nor in any other of the numerous instances in which the word, in some form or other, occurs in the Bible, except in this and the corresponding (Exod. xii. 36) passage, is it rendered by our translators by spoil,' but generally by deliver.' The justificatory view which has now been given finds confirmation in the character of the Mosaic law relative to borrowing:- 'If a man borrow of his neighbour, and it be hurt or die, the owner thereof being not with it, he shall surely make it good' (Exod. xxii. 14; comp. Ps. xxxvii. 21); a law which is unexceptionable in point of rectitude, and little likely to have emanated from a legislator who had commenced his career by deception and robbery on a grand scale. Borrowing is sometimes an indication, and more frequently a cause, of poverty: hence, among the blessings promised to the Israelites in case of obedience, was this: "Thou shalt lend unto many nations, and shalt not borrow' (Deut. xv. 6; xxviii. 12). This was to be reversed to the disobedient: - He (the stranger) shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail:''the borrower is servant to the lender' (Prov. xxii. 7). BOSS is a word found only in Job xv. 26, where it is used of the hardihood of the wicked man, in rushing as in battle against the Almighty, with the thick bosses of his buckler' or shield. The boss was the protuberant, and sometimes pointed, part which came ont from the middle of the shield, and was used in assaulting a foe. Both the English and the Hebrew word, of which boss is a translation, denotes a round and swelling body. To turn the boss of one's buckler against a person is a proverbial expression among the Arabs, signifying to become his deadly enemy. Oft as with shining share he ploughs the field, The swain, astonish'd, finds the massy shield; On whose broad boss, sad source of various woes, He views engraved the long-disputed rose.' BOTTLE. This word, which is found in the two great branches of tongues, namely, the Indian and the Germanic, is a diminutive form of butt, a cask; thus making bottle to have originally been a sort of elongated tub. In the Hebrew it has several representatives, a brief notice of which will aid the reader in forming a correct conception of ancient bottles. We find, first, Ohv, which is only once (Job xxxii. 19) rendered bottle; in all other instances it is translated spirit or spirits. Its root-meaning is to be hollow, thence to be inflated, and so we arrive at the meaning of spirit, an influence causing the person to swell, as did the Pythoness when inspired of Apollo. The same word denotes a flute, as well as a bottle. It is used of familiar spirits and ventriloquists (Lev. xix. 31. Isa. xxix. 4). Hence it is clear that bottles bearing this name must originally have been of skin, and also that the liquor which they contained was in a state of active fermentation. This representation is confirmed by the words of Job (xxxii. 19): — Lo, my breast is as wine which hath no vent; Skins of goats or other animals are still used in the East as bottles. The term new bottles' means bottles of new wine, which when put into skins, especially if the skins were old, was liable to burst them: thus our Lord says (Matt. ix. 17),-Neither do men put new wine into old bottles; else the bottles break, and the wine ranneth out: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.' LEATHER WATER BOTTLE. Ac Lane's "Arabian Nights." Whence a part of the conduct of the Gibeonites receives explanation; who, wishing to persuade the Hebrews that they had come from a distance, assumed all the appearance that they could, of having been a long time on their journey. cordingly, with other tokens of age, they took 'wine bottles, old and rent, and bound up;' stating, 'These bottles of wine which we filled were new, and behold they be rent;' new, that is, when they commenced their journey (Josh. ix. 4, 13). The word Nohd, here employed from a root signifying to be empty, denotes a skin-bottle employed to hold liquids-milk (Judg. iv. 19) as well as wine (1 Sam. xvi. 20). Another word, Ghehmeth, means originally to be hot, and hence to swell. In this way the idea of a skin-bottle may have been derived. But, as the word is used in the Scriptures of a vessel for carrying water (Gen. xxi. 14, 15, 19), we incline to the opinion that the term, as applied to a bottle, may have been derived from the fact, that water-skins, and the water in them, soon become very hot under the burning rays of an eastern sun. On this point Olin's testimony is decisive: -'We brought a plentiful supply of water from Akabah; but it is brackish when drank cool from the fountain; and the heat of the sun, and the reflection from the sand today, raised its temperature, in our leathern bottles, to about blood heat.' Another word, Nehvel, from a root signifying to be hollow. if used of skins, is used also of earthen vessels; though it may be doubted if it in itself signifies a piece of pottery (Isa. xxx. 14. |