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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 VOLUMES.

VOL. II.

PHILADELPHIA:

PUBLISHED BY WILLIAM W. WOODWARD,

NO. 52, SOUTH SECOND STREET.

1823.

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CONTENTS.

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. 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

partics 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

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