ANTIQUITIES

OF

THE JEWS,

CAREFULLY COMPILED FROM AUTHENTIC SOURCES,

AND

THEIR CUSTOMS ILLUSTRATED

FROM MODERN TRAVELS.

BY WILLIAM BROWN, D.D.

MINISTER OF ESKDALEMUIR.

TO WHICH IS ADDED,

A DISSERTATION ON THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, FROM
JENNINGS'S JEWISH ANTIQUITIES.

IN TWO FOLUMES.

VOL. II.

PHILADELPHIA:

PUBLISHED BY WILLIAM W. WOODWARD,

NO. 52, SOUTH SECOND STREET.

.....

1823.

COLLESE

KF 4288 (2) Jisc. 1, 1740

CONTENTS.

PART IX.

LEARNING OF THE JEWS.

SECT. I. Jewish Manner of writing.-Origin of writing. Engraving on

brass, stone tables, on rock. The inscriptions on the mountains of Faran, in

the wilderness of Sinai; in the plain of Mummies in Egypt; at the river Ly.

cus; on the bricks of Babylon. One of these seen by the author. Engraving

on lead. Books written on painted linen, papyrus, parchment, leaves, and

inner bark of trees, plates of wood covered with wax. Their pens or styles :

sometimes iron; sometimes a reed. The ancient form of books in rolls. A

copy of the Veda described, as seen by the author. Rolls commonly written

on one side; but sometimes on both. Writings how preserved. Letters, or

private epistles in the form of rolls how sealed. Description of an eastern

letter seen by the author

17

SECT. II. Some Account of their principal Books. -The Old Testament divided

into the Pentateuch, former prophets, latter prophets, and Hagiographa.

Account of the origin of chapters and verses. The Books referred to in

Scripture, but at present lost. The Septuagint: Josephus. Of the Talmu-

dical writings, the following are the most remarkable, 1st. The Midraschim,

or Commentaries. 2d. The Midraschim Rabbot, or Great Commentaries.

3d. The Pirke Abbot, or Sentences of the Fathers, 4th. The Mishna, its

origin, author, and contents described. 5th. The Gemara. 6th. The Talmud.

7. The Targum. 8th. The Commentary on the Old Testament by Aben Ezra.

9th. Maimonides, writings of, described. 10th. Abarbanel's Commentary on

the Law

24

SECT. III. Jewish Notions of Astronomy. -Jewish notions of the figure,

motion, and dissolution of the earth. Objections against the Copernican sys-

tem examined. State of astronomy in Chaldea, Egypt, and Judea. The cases

of Joshua, and the dial of Ahaz. Arcturus and Orion described: the Pleiades:

the chambers of the south; Mazzaroth. Parkhurst's different explanation

of these. The darkness at our Saviour's death considered. An interesting

extract from Ferguson's Tracts

34

PART X.

LAWS OF THE JEWS, AND THEIR SANCTIONS.

SECT. L. The Moral Law. -Clearly revealed to our first parents; became ob-

scured through the prevalence of sin; was promulgated anew from Mount

Sinai

50

SECT. II. The Ceremonial Law-1st. Taught the Jews the leading doctrines

of religion in a sensible and impressive manner. 2d. Served to preserve them

from idolatry-by removing that ignorance of God which introduced it-

by giving them a full and perfect ritual of their own-by appointing certain

marks to distinguish them from idolators-by restricting most of their rites

to particular places, persons, and times-by prohibiting too familiar an in-

tercourse with the heathen nations and by the positive prohibition of every

idolatrous rite. Here the singular laws of the Jews explained, such as sacri-

ficing to devils, making the children pass through the fire to Moloch, using

divination, observing times, eating with, or at the blood, seething a kid in

its mother's milk, rounding the corners of their heads, and marring the cor-

ners of their beards, making cuttings in their flesh for the dead, confound-

ing the distinctive dresses of the sexes, sowing their fields with divers seeds,

plowing with an ox and an ass together, allowing cattle of different kinds to

gender, using garments of linen and woollen, condemning eunuchism, bring-

ing the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, to the house of the Lord. 3d.

The ceremonial law served to prepare their minds for a brighter dispensa-

tion. Reasons assigned for its comparative obscurity. The gradual abolition

of the ceremonial law

53

SECT. III. The Judicial Law -The forms of government in the different pe-

riods of the Jewish history; patriarchal, the theocracy, an elective monar-

chy, a hereditary monarchy till the captivity: governors after it; the Asmo-

næan family; Herod; the Romans. The revenue of the Jewish kings

90

SECT. IV. Civil Punishments among the Jews. -1st. Inferior-as restitution,

depriving them of their beards, destroying their houses, imprisonment with

various aggravations, confinement in the cities of refuge, whipping, cutting

off the hands and feet, putting out the eyes, fighting with wild beasts,

slavery, selling children for their parent's debt, like for like. 2d. Capital-

strangling, hanging, stoning, burning, beheading, crucifixion, dashing to

pieces, drowning, tearing to pieces, trampling to death, sawing asunder,

murdering in the dungeon.-An account of eastern prisons-the executioners

of the law-and the ceremonies used before execution.

95

SECT. V. Ecclesiastical Punishments among the Jews. The Nezipè or Admo-

nition, its nature and duration. The Nedui or Separation. The Herim or Cut-

ting off. The Shemetha or Greater Excommunication. A Copy of it 104

PART XI.

CUSTOMS OF THE JEWS.

SECT. I. Habitations of the Jews. These affected by the state of society

Tents in pastoral districts described. Villages of stone in rocky situations,

and mud in plains. Fenced cities; their walls, gates, locks, wooden keys,

bolts and bars. Private winter houses of the Jews; of stone, brick, or mud:

manner of defending them from the weather. Doors often ornamented: the

hole at the side for the portion of the law. Houses in the form of a square,

with a court in the middle; their appearance plain towards the street; the

windows, lattices; their appearance towards the court beautiful. Their

chambers, kiosks, olee or upper rooms; door to the street low; doors into

the court large. Ground floor for the family; principal rooms in the second

story; fire-places in the family rooms; braziers in the public apartments.

Stairs sometimes ornamented with vine; manner of finishing their principal

rooms. Way of cooling their chambers; furniture of rooms, carpets;

the divan. Chambers of the poor; their beds. The beds of the rich;

their musqueto nets. Bed-chambers always lighted during the night;

often alluded to in Scripture. The summer houses of the Jews described;

the roofs of houses flat, with battlements: their utility. The eastern

nails of houses; keys of wood described. Dr. Shaw's account of eastern

houses. Streets of eastern cities dirty in wet, and dusty in dry weather; nar-

row; the reason why. The gate of the city the most public place. Bazars;

Dr. Russell's and Mr. Kinneir's account of them. Tolls erected at the gate.

No clocks; manner of knowing the hour. Police regulations; nuisances re-

moved; water brought by conduits, tanks, or reservoirs. The pools of Solo-

mon described; Gihon, Siloam, Jacob's well. Rights of citizenship. Roads

between city and city. Dogs at large without any owner; several texts al-

luding to this

112

SECT. II. Marriages of the Jews. -Espousing; copy of the contract; dowry

given to the bride, laid out in marriage dresses; custom at Aleppo and in

Egypt. Persons in the East always marry young; young men to virgins;

widowers to widows. The bride elegantly dressed; virgins married on the

fourth day of the week, and widows on the fifth one divorced or a widow,

could not marry till after ninety days. The marriage procession of the bride-

groom to the house of the bride: the marriage ceremony; procession of both

parties to the house of the bridegroom: commonly in the night. The songs

and ceremonies during the procession; marriage supper; office of architri-

clinus: the paranymphi; the shushbenin. Music and dancing after supper.

Signs of virginity: consequences if they appeared not. Marriage feast lasted

eight days: that of a widow only three. The bride had commonly a slave

given her by her parents. Husbands exempted from military service for a

year; Alexander the Great did this after the battle of the Granicus. A large