Jews and Chriftians, which we fhall not enter into fure it is, that the author of the epiftle to the Hebrews looked upon it as a figure of Chrift, who therefore fuffered without the gates of the city, even as the heifer was burned without the campr; and whofe blood is of much greater efficacy towards the purging and fanctifying of men, than that of bulls and goats, the afhes of an heifer, or any other legal facrifices $.

Laws concerning fome other facrifices and oblations, not mentioned under the former beads.

AS

S we had occafion to mention the facrifices that were injoined to be offered upon every folemn feftival, under the head of each, and of those which were offered by way of expiation for fin; we shall now mention the few others that remain unfpoken of. Thefe may be reduced under the seven following heads: 1. The daily facrifice. 2. Peace-offerings. 3. Meat and drink-offerings. 4. Offerings for cleanfing! 5. Firft-fruits. 6. Firft-born; and, 7. Tithes. Befides thefe, there were other occafional facrifices, one fort directed by fome prophets, as in the case of Samuel and Elijah u; and others obferved by particular families, which were rather feafts, than facrifices; as appears, by the pretence which David made for absenting from Saul's table w, and the like; of which we shall take no farther notice, they being intirely arbitrary. As for those that were to be offered at the confecration of the high-prieft, and of other inferior priests, they will be better feen in another place.

I. THE daily, or, as it is called in the original, the continual facrifice, confifted firft, and before all things, in burning a certain quantity of incense upon the golden altar; after which, they were to offer two lambs of the first year, and without blemish, as a continual burnt-offering for the whole nation: these were burnt every morning and evening, and with a flower fire than ordinary, that it might last

r Heb. xiii. 11, 12.

s Ibid. ix. 13. t 1 Sam. ix, 12. xii. 9. xvi. 2, & feq. " 1 Kings xviii. 30, & feq. 1 Sam.

xx. 29.

the Chriftians by the apostle to the Hebrews, in the place quoted above, and to which we

think Spencer has given but a jejune and trifling answer (90).

the longer. They offered, likewife, a certain quantity of wine and flour, mixed with oil, for a meat and drink-offering: this was ordained by GOD upon mount Sinai; and is therefore called continual, because it was not to be interrupted by any other facrifices or folemnity, as we have seen under the article of each festival.

2. PEACE-OFFERINGS: this facrifice was either euchariftical, in acknowlegement of fome mercies received from GOD; or fupplicatory, in order to obtain some bleffings from him; or out of mere devation, in honour to GOD; or, laftly, upon account of fome vow. Thefe were all free and voluntary, there being no law that obliged the Ifraelites to them; except where it is faid, that they fhould not appear empty before the Lord; but be liberal in thefe kinds of "facrifices, according as God had blessed them. The votary was to bring it to the door of the tabernacle, lay his hands upon the head of it, and kill it; the priest then took fome of the blood, and sprinkled it upon and round the altar, and poured the remainder upon the ground at the foot of it: all the fat of the offering, the kidneys, and, if it was a sheep, or lamb, the rump,were burnt upon the altar: the breaft and fhoulder of the victim was the perquifite of the priest in waiting, and the rest belonged to the owner, who might then dress and eat it, how and with whom he would, as if it had been killed within his own gates y.

3. THE meat and drink-offerings: these we have already fpoken of occafionally, because they used to accompany the burnt-offerings of every feftival, the daily and all other facrifices made with fire: they confifted of a certain proportion of wine, oil, and fine flour, to every beast that was facrificed.

4. OFFERINGS for cleanfing we have spoken of above, under the head of expiation: there remain two more; namely, that of two pigeons, which a woman was to offer, for her purification, after child-bed, in case she could not afford a lamb; or, if the pigeons were also above her circumftances, an handful of flour and oila: and that of two fparrows, which the leper offered, after his cure, for the cleansing himself b, and his house. In both these cafes, one of the birds was, inftead of a lamb, for a burnt-offering; and the other for a fin-offering: the firft bird was to

* Exod. xxix. 38. Num. xxviii. 6, & feq. a Levit. xii. per tot.

paff.

Ibid. ver. 49, & feq.

y Levit. iii. Ibid. xiv. 4, & feq.

be

be killed in a clean earthen veffel, over a running water; after which the priest took the other bird, with a bunch of cedar-wood, fcarlet,and hyffop; and dipped them in the blood, and fprinkled the perfon, or house, seven times, with it, and then pronounced them clean; and the living bird was let loofe. Some portion of flour and oil was likewife made into cakes, and offered up to GOD, either of barley, or wheat-flour; fome with leaven, which, confequently, came not near the altard; others without it; all of them were to have some falt. Some were voluntary, others not; some dressed one way, and fome another, according to the difcretion or circumstances of the votary.

THE next under this head is the fhew-bread, called, in the original, the bread of faces (B), because it was always to ftand before the LORD upon the golden table in the holy place. It was to be made of the pureft wheat, into twelve loaves, or cakes, answering to the twelve tribes. The priests were to take care to bring fresh ones, warm, every fabbathday, in the morning; at which time, they took away the old, which were to be eaten by none but priests; each loaf was to contain two tenth deals, or about three wine-pints, of flour; and they were to be fet up in two piles, fix to each pile. The Jews tell us, that there were fome double plates of gold between each loaf, to give them air, and prevent their growing mouldy. This offering was accompanied with incenfe, with which the loaves were to be per

d Levit. ii. 11.

(B) The words are, on O, lechem phanim, which name fome, especially of the Jews, affirm to be given, becaufe the loaves had four phanim, or faces, that is, were fourfquare (94): but it is more likely that they were fo called from their standing continually, , liphne Elohim, in the prefence of the Lord. Some have thought it improper to place this fhew-bread among the meat-offerings, because they were not offered upon the altar as these were. For our part, we think, with fome others,

that the facred table, on which they were fet (which may not improperly be deemed an altar; their being kept before the Lord, and called hallowed bread, and,as fuch, allowed only to be eaten by the priests), may eafily excufe our ranking them under this clafs, rather than any other; especially, they being accompanied with incense, and offered in the name of the twelve tribes. The Jews add, that they were covered with leaf-gold; but do no-where tell us where they are commanded to do so.

(94) Vide Maim, tračk, (VD, Abr. Haroph,

bw, & al fumed M

fumed; but they were to be without leaven. Some co mentators fay, that there was a quantity of wine offe with them; but the text mentions nothing but incenfe a falt.e. Thefe loaves were called the hallowed bread, oppofition to the common fort, which every-body mig eat f.

5. FIRST-FRUITS. We have already spoken of the that were offered at Eafter, Whitfuntide, and at the fea of Tabernacles; and thefe were offered in the name of t whole nation but, befides them, every private man w likewife obliged to bring the firft-fruits of his fields, o chards, and vineyards, to the tabernacle, and afterwards the temple, as an acknowlegement that GOD was the give of them. Neither the time, nor the quantity, being pre scribed by the written law, the former was left to the con veniency of the people, and the latter was determined, i fome fort, by their wife men, yet so as to leave room fo generofity to exert itself, more or lefs, according to the dif pofition of each perfon. Thus it was agreed, that they ought to offer, at leaft, the fixtieth part of the product but fome offered the fiftieth, and fome even the fortieth part g. After the building of the temple they were all ob liged to bring them thither, and the ceremony was performed as follows:

As foon as the perfon who came to offer them had reached the court of the priefts, the Levites began to fing the 30th pfalm; after which, the perfon made this confeffion: I do this day make a public acknowlegement before the LORD your GOD, that I am entered into the good land which he fware unto our fathers that he would give us. Whilft he was speaking these words, he took his basket off his fhoulder, the priest lending him a hand; and, whilst these two held it up, he made an end of his confeffion, in the remarkable words prefcribed by Mofes h, which the reader may fee in the margin (C); which being ended,

the

e Exod. xxv. 30. Levit. xxiv. 5, & feq. f Vid. 2 Sam. xxi. 3, 4. 8 Vid. Mishn. tract. terumoth & bekorim, & commentat. in eund. vid. & MAIM. in loc. b Deut. xxvi. 4, & feq. Vid. MUNST. JUN. & al. in Levit. xxii. xxiii. & Deut. xxvi.

(C) ASyrian, ready to perish, was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and fojourned there with a few, and became

there a nation, great, mighty, and populous; and the Egyptians did evil-intreat us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bond

age.

the basket was fet before the LORD by the fide of the altar, and he offered the burnt-offering and peace-offering, which were always to accompany the first-fruits; and, having paid his devotions to GOD, he went to feast with his acquaintance, on his fhare of the peace and meatofferings and here he was likewife obliged to impart fome portion of his good chear to the fatherless, the widows,and the Levites, that they might rejoice with him. And this the rich, who facrificed a bullock, might be the more ready to do, because they were forbid to leave any fragments till the next day i.

6. FIRST-BORN. The Mofaic law makes a threefold diftinction of thefe; namely, the firft-born of men, of cattle, and of the product of the earth (E). We fhall, in

i Levit. vii, 15, & alib.

age. And when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord beard our voice, and looked on our afflictions, our labour, and oppreffion. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and firetched-out arm,and with great terribleness, with figns, and with wonders; and brought us into this place, and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. And now,behold, I have brought the firft-fruits of the land, which tbou, O Lord, haft given me.

The Talmud adds feveral other remarkable particulars, concerning the bringing the firftfruits to the temple, which we can neither warrant, nor difprove to have been used during the first temple. Thus, for infrance, to prevent confufion, as much as poffible, they used to join themselves by troops, of four-and-twenty to a troop; which drove before them a bullock crowned with olivebranches, and having his horns

the

tipped with gold or filver,which was to be offered with their first-fruits. They generally had a man to go before them, playing upon a flute, or fome fuch inftrument; and, in that order, they marched to Jerufalem, finging fome pfalm or hymn proper for the occafion. As foon as they came near the gates of Jerufalem, the inhabitants used to go out to congratulate, and bid them welcome; and after each band had performed their duty, in the manner mentioned above, they were to lie one night in the city, and then return to their homes (96).

(E) We must remind our English readers, that this expreffion has no fuch harshness in the original as it has in ours, and other languages; because the word which in these is rendered first-born, in the original is 11, becor, which properly implies, the principal, or moft excellent,of every thing or creature, in its kind, whether in a

(96) Vid. Bafnag, ex Cuneo, tom. iii. lib. iii. c. 2.

good