Bezaleel makes the court, A. M. 2514. B. C. 1490. Tisri to Adar. A. M. 2514. B. C. 1490. Tisri to Adar. 9 And he made the court: on of silver; and all the pillars An. Exod. Isr. 1. the south side southward the of the court were filleted with An. Exod. Isr. 1. hangings of the court were of silver. fine twined linen, a hundred cubits: 10 Their pillars were twenty, and their brazen sockets twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. 11 And for the north side the hangings were a hundred cubits, their pillars were twenty, and their sockets of brass twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver. 12 And for the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets ten; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets. of silver. 13 And for the east side eastward, fifty cubits. 14 The hangings of the one side of the gate were fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three. 15 And for the other side of the court gate, on this hand and that hand, were hangings of fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three. 16 All the hangings of the court round about were of fine twined linen. 17 And the sockets for the pillars were of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver; and the overlaying of their chapiters Παρα προθύροις φυλακαν κατεχουσα, Sir John Chardin observes, that women are employed to keep the gate of the palace of the Persian 18 And the hanging for the gate of the court was needlework, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: and twenty cubits was the length, and the height in the breadth was five. cubits, answerable to the hangings of the court. 19 And their pillars were four, and their sockets of brass four; their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their chapiters and their fillets of silver. 20 And all the pins of the tabernacle, and of the court round about, were of brass. 21 This is the sum of the tabernacle, even of the tabernacle of testimony, as it was counted, according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, h by the hand of. Ithamar, son to Aaron the priest. kings. Num. iv. 28, 33.-i Chap. xxxi. 2, 6. Plautus, Curcul., act i., scene 1, mentions an old woman who was keeper of the gate. Anus hic solet cubitare, custos janitrix. Many other examples might be produced. It is therefore very likely that the persons mentioned here, and in 1 Sam. ii. 22, were the women who guarded the tabernacle; and that they regularly relieved each other, a troop or company regularly keeping watch: and indeed this seems to be implied in the original, way tsabeu, they came by troops; and these troops successively consecrated their mirrors to the service of the tabernacle. See Calmet on John xviii. 16. Verse 9. The court] See on chap. xxvii. 9. Verse 17. The hooks-and their fillets] The capitals, and the silver bands that went round them; see the note on chap. xxvi. 32. Verse 21. This is the sum of the tabernacle.] That is, The foregoing account contains a detail of all the articles which Bezaleel and Aholiab were commanded to make; and which were reckoned up by the Levites, over whom Ithamar, the son of Aaron, presided. Verse 24. All the gold that was occupied for the work, &c.] To be able to ascertain the quantum and value of the gold, silver, and brass, which were employed in the tabernacle, and its different utensils, The amount of gold CHAP. XXXVIII. contributed by the people. work, in all the work of the holy and seven hundred and thirty An. Exod. Isr. 1. place, even the gold of the offer- shekels, after the shekel of the An. Exod. Isr. 1. ing, was twenty and nine talents, A. M. 2514. Tisri to Adar. sanctuary. * Chap. xxx. 13, 24; Lev. v. 15; xxvii. 3, 25; Num. iii. 47; xviii. 16. A. M. 2514. Tisri to Adar. altars, &c., it will be necessary to enter into the sub- SHEKEL, three shillings; a MINA, nine pounds; and a ject in considerable detail. In the course of my notes on this and the preceding book, I have had frequent occasion to speak of the shekel in use among the ancient Hebrews, which, following Dean Prideaux, I have always computed at 3s. English. As some value it at 2s. 6d., and others at 2s. 4d, I think it necessary to lay before the reader the learned dean's mode of computation as a proper introduction to the calculations which immediately follow. "Among the ancients, the way of reckoning their money was by talents. But TALENT, four hundred and fifty pounds. So it was in the time of Moses and Ezekiel; and so was it in the time of Josephus among that people, for he tells us, Antiq., lib. xiv., c. 12, that a Hebrew mina contained two LITRAS and a half, which comes exactly to nine pounds of our money for a litra, being the same with a Roman libra, contained twelve ounces troy weight, that is, ninety-six drachms; and therefore two litras and a half must contain two hundred and forty drachms, which being estimated at nine-pence a drachm, according to the Jewish valuation, comes exSo the Hebrews, so the Baby-actly to sixty shekels, or nine pounds of our money. lonians, and so the Romans did reckon. And of these And this account agrees exactly with that of Alexantalents they had subdivisions which were usually in dria. For the Alexandrian talent contained 12,000 minas and drachms; i. e., of their talents into minas, Attic drachms; and 12,000 Attic drachms, according and their minas into drachms. The Hebrews had, to the Jewish valuation, being 12,000- of our ninebesides these, their shekels and half-shekels or bekas; pences, they amount to 450 pounds of sterling money and the Romans their denarii, which last were very which is the same in value as the Mosaic talent. nearly of the same value with the drachms of the here it is to be observed, that though the Alexandrian Greeks. What was the value of a Hebrew talent ap- talent amounted to 12,000 Attic drachms, yet they pears from Exod. xxxviii. 25, 26, for there 603,550 themselves reckoned it but at 6000 drachms, because persons being taxed at half a shekel a head, they must every Alexandrian drachm contained two Atlic have paid in the whole 301,775 shekels; and that sum drachms; and therefore the Septuagint version being is there said to amount to one hundred talents, and made by the Alexandrian Jews, they there render the 1775 shekels over if therefore we deduct the 1775 Hebrew word shekel, by the Greek dispaɣpov, which shekels from the number 301,775, and divide the re- signifies two drachms, because two Alexandrian drachms maining sum, i. e., 300,000, by a hundred, this will make a shekel, two of them amounting to as much as prove each of those talents to contain three thousand four Attic drachms. And therefore, computing the shekels. Each of these shekels weighed about three Alexandrian money according to the same method in shillings of our money; and sixty of them, Ezekiel which we have computed the Jewish, it will be as tells us, chap. xlv. 12, made a mina; and therefore follows: One drachm of Alexandria will be of our fifty of those minas made a talent. And as to their money eighteen pence; one didrachm or shekel, condrachms, it appears by the Gospel of St. Matthew that sisting of two drachms of Alexandria, or four of Attica, it was the fouth part of a shekel, that is, nine-pence will be three shillings; one mina, consisting of sixty of our money. For there (chap. xvii. 24) the tribute didrachms or shekels, will be nine pounds; and one money annually paid to the temple, by every Jew, talent, consisting of fifty minas, will be four hundred (Talmud in shekalim,) which was half a shekel, is and fifty pounds, which is the talent of Moses, Exod. called Aspaxμov, (i. e., the two drachm piece ;) and xxxviii. 25, 26 and so also is it the talent of Josetherefore, if half a shekel contained two drachms, a phus, Antiq., lib. iii., c. 7; for he tells us that a Hedrachm must have been the quarter part of a shekel, brew talent contained one hundred Greek (i. e., Attic) and every shekel must have contained four of them: minas. For those fifty minas, which here make an and so Josephus tells us it did; for he says, Antiq., Alexandrian talent, would be one hundred Attic minas lib. iii., c. 9, that a shekel contained four Attic drachms, in the like method of valuation; the Alexandrian which is not exactly to be understood according to the talent containing double as much as the Attic talent, weight, but according to the valuation in the currency both in the whole, and also in all its parts, in whatof common payments. For according to the weight, ever method both shall be equally distributed. Among the heaviest Attic drachms did not exceed eight-pence the Greeks the established rule was, Jul. Polluc. farthing half-farthing, of our money; and a Hebrew Onomast., lib. x., c. 6, that one hundred drachms drachm, as I have said, was nine-pence; but what the made a mina, and sixty minas a talent. But in some Attic drachm fell short of the Hebrew in weight might different states their drachms being different, accordbe made up in the fineness, and its ready currency in ingly their minas and talents were within the same all countries, (which last the Hebrew drachm could not proportion different also. But the money of Attica have,) and so might be made equivalent in common was the standard by which all the rest were valued, estimation among the Jews. Allowing therefore a according as they more or less differed from it. drachm, as well Attic as Jewish, as valued in Judea, therefore, it being of most note, wherever any Greek to be equivalent to nine-pence of our money, a BEKA historian speaks of talents, minas, or drachms, if they or half-shekel will be one shilling and six-pence; a be simply mentioned, it is to be always understood of And talents, minas, or drachms of Attica, and never of the talents, minas, or drachms of any other place, unless it be expressed. Mr. Brerewood, going by the goldsmith's weights, reckons an Attic drachm to be the same with a drachm now in use in their shops, that is, the eighth part of an ounce; and therefore lays it at the value of seven-pence halfpenny of our money, or the eighth part of a crown, which is or ought to be an ounce weight. But Dr. Bernard, going more accurately to work, lays the middle sort of Attic drachms at eight-pence farthing of our money, and the minas and talents accordingly, in the proportions above mentioned. The Babylonish talent, according to Pollux, Onomast., lib, x,, c. 6, contained seven thousand of those drachms. The Roman talent (see Festus Pompeius) contained seventy-two Italic minas, which were the same with the Roman libras; and ninety-six Roman denariuses, each being of the value of seven-pence halfpenny of our money, made a Roman libra. But all the valuations I have hitherto mentioned must be understood only of silver money, and not of gold; for that was much higher. The proportion of gold to silver was among the ancients commonly as ten to one; sometimes it was raised to be as eleven to one, sometimes as twelve, and sometimes as thirteen to one. In the time of King Edward the First it was here, in England, at the value of ten to one; but it is now gotten at sixteen to one, and so I value it in all the reductions which I make in this history of ancient sums to the present value. But to make the whole of this matter the easier to the reader, I will lay all of it before him for his clear view in this following table of valuations : contributed by the people. A. M. 2514. thousand seven hundred and three- Tisri to Adar. If with Dean Prideaux we estimate the value of the silver shekel at three shillings English, we shall obtain the weight of the shekel by making use of the following proportion. As sixty-two shillings, the value of a pound weight of silver as settled by the British laws, is to two hundred and forty, the number of pennyweights in a pound troy, so is three shillings, the value of a shekel of silver, to 11 dwts. 143 grains, the weight of the shekel required. In the next place, to find the value of a shekel of gold we must make use of the proportion following: As one ounce troy is to 31. 17s. 10 d., the legal value of an ounce of gold, so is 11 dwts. 14 grains, the weight of the shekel as found by the last proportion, to 21. 5s. 21 d., the value of the shekel of gold required. From this datum we shall soon be able to ascertain the value of all the gold employed in the work of this holy place, by the following arithmetical process: Reduce 21. 5s. 21 d. to the lowest term mentioned, which is 201,852 ninety-third parts of a farthing. Multiply this last number by 3000, the number of shekels in a talent, and the product by 29, the num ber of talents; and add in 730 times 201,852, on account of the 730 shekels which were above the 29 talents employed in the work, and we shall have for the last product 17,708,475,960, which, divided successively by 93, 4, 12, and 20, will give 198,3471. 12s. 6d. for the total value of the gold employed in the tabernacle, &c. The value of the silver contributed by 603,550 Israelites, at half a shekel or eighteen pence per man, Bezaleel makes the A. M. 2514. B. C. 1490. 1 the pillars, and overlaid their chapiters, and filleted them. A. M. 2514. B. C. 1490.. An. Exod. Isr. 1. Tisri to Adar. 26 A bekah for m every man, An. Exod. Isr. 1. that is, half a shekel, after the Tisri to Adar. shekel of the sanctuary, for every 29 And the brass of the offering one that went to be numbered, from twenty was seventy talents, and two thousand and years old and upward, for a six hundred thou-four hundred shekels. sand, and three thousand, and five hundred and fifty men. 27 And of the hundred talents of silver were cast • the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the veil; a hundred sockets of the hundred talents, a talent for a socket. 28 And of the thousand seven hundred seventy and five shekels he made hooks for 1 Chap. xxx. 13, 15.Heb. a poll. Num. i. 46. Chap: may be found by an easy arithmetical calculation to amount to 45,2661. 5s. The value of the brass at Is. per pound will amount to 5131. 17's. The GOLD of the holy place weighed 4245 pounds. The total value of all the gold, silver, and brass of the tabernacle will consequently amount to 244,1277. 14s. 6d. And the total weight of all these three metals amounts to 29,124 pounds troy, which, reduced to avoirdupois weight, is nearly ten tons and a half. When all this is considered, besides the quantity of gold which was employed in the golden calf, and which was all destroyed, it is no wonder that the sacred text should say the Hebrews spoiled the Egyptians, particularly as in those early times the precious metals were probably not very plentiful in Egypt. Verse 26. A bekah for every man] The Hebrew word yp beka, from ypa baka, to divide, separate into two, seems to signify, not a particular coin, but a shekel broken or cut in two; so, anciently, our farthing was a penny divided in the midst and then subdivided, so that each division contained the fourth part of the 30 And therewith he made the sockets to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the brazen altar, and the brazen grate for it, and all the vessels of the altar. 31 And the sockets of the court round about, and the sockets of the court gate, and all the pins of the tabernacle, and all the pins of the court round about. xxvi. 19, 21, 25, 32.- -P Chap. xxvi. 37; chap. xxvii. 10, 17. penny; hence its name fourthing or fourthling, since corrupted into farthing. THERE appear to be three particular reasons why much riches should be employed in the construction of the tabernacle, &c. 1. To impress the people's minds with the glory and dignity of the Divine Majesty, and the importance of his service. 2. To take out of their hands the occasion of covetousness; for as they brought much spoils out of Egypt, and could have little if any use for gold and silver in the wilderness, where it does not appear that they had much intercourse with any other people, and were miraculously supported, so that they did not need their riches, it was right to employ that in the worship of God which otherwise might have engendered that love which is the root of all evil. 3. To prevent pride and vain-glory, by leading them to give up to the Divine service even the ornaments of their persons, which would have had too direct a tendency to divert their minds from better things. Thus God's worship was rendered august and respectable, incitements to sin and low desires removed, and the people instructed to consider nothing valuable, but as far as it might be employed to the glory and in the service of God, CHAPTER XXXIX. Bezaleel makes the clothes of service for the holy place, and the holy garments, 1. The ephod, 2. Gold is beaten into plates, and cut into wires for embroidery, 3. He makes the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, 4. The curious girdle, 5. Cuts the onyx stones for the shoulder-pieces, 6. Makes the breastplate, its chains, ouches, rings, &c., 7-21. The robe of the ephod, 22-26. Coats of fine linen, 27. The mitre, 28. The girdle, 29. The plate of the holy crown, 30, 31. The completion of the work of the tabernacle, 32. All the work is brought unto Moses, 33-41. Moses, having examined the whole, finds every thing done as the Lord had commanded, in consequence of which he blesses the people, 42, 43. A. M. 2514. B. C. 1490. An. Exod. Isr. 1. Tisri to Adar. AND с A. M. 2514. B. C. 1490. Tisri to Adar. of the blue, and pur-1 in the holy place, and made the ple, and scarlet, they made holy garments for Aaron; as the An. Exod. Isr. 1, clothes of service, to do service LORD commanded Moses. Chap. xxxv. 23.— Chap. xxxi. 10; xxxv. 19. NOTES ON CHAP. XXXIX. Verse 1. Blue, and purple, and scarlet] See this subject largely explained in the notes on chap. xxv. 4, с Chap. xxviii. 4. Verse 2. Ephod] See this described, chap. xxv. 7. Verse 3. They did beat the gold into thin plates]· For the purpose, as it is supposed, of cutting it into Of the ephod, breastplate, and A. M. 2514. EXODUS. An. Exod. Isr. 1. gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. Tisri to Adar, the four rows of precious stones. A. M. 2514. 2 d And he made the ephod of ing to their names, like the en- 3 And they did beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires, to work it in the blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, with cunning work, 4 They made shoulder-pieces for it, to couple it together by the two edges was it coupled together. 5 And the curious girdle of his ephod, that was upon it, was of the same, according to the work thereof; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen; as the LORD commanded Moses. e. 6 And they wrought onyx stones inclosed in ouches of gold, graven, as signets are graven, with the names of the children of Israel, 7 And he put them on the shoulders of the ephod, that they should be stones for a memorial to the children of Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses. 8 And he made the breastplate of cunning work, like the work of the ephod; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. 9 It was four-square; they made the breastplate double a span was the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof, being doubled. 10 And they set in it four rows of stones; the first row was a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle this was the first row. 11 And the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. 12 And the third row, a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. 13 And the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper: they were inclosed in ouches of gold in their inclosings. 14 And the stones were according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, accordChap, xxviii, 6.- Chap. xxviii. 9.- Chap. xxviii. 12. Chap. xxviii. 15. wires (DND) or threads; for to twist or twine is the common acceptation of the root pathal. I cannot suppose that the Israelites had not then the art of making gold thread, as they possessed several ornamental arts much more difficult: but in the present instance, figures made in a more solid form than that which could have been effected by gold thread, might have been required. Verse 6. Onyx stones] Possibly the Egyptian pebble. See chap. xxv. 7, and xxviii. 17, &c. Verse 8, Breastplate] See on chap. xxviii, 18, Tisri to Adar. 15 And they made upon the breastplate chains at the ends, of wreathen work of pure gold. 16 And they made two ouches of gold, and two gold rings, and put the two rings in the two ends of the breastplate. 17 And they put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastplate. 18 And the two ends of the two wreathen chains they fastened in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod before it. 19 And they made two rings of gold, and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, upon the border of it, which was on the side of the ephod inward. 20 And they made two other golden rings, and put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart of it, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod. 21 And they did bind the breastplate by his rings unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it might be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate might not be loosed from the ephod; as the LORD Commanded Moses. 22 And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue.. 23 And there was a hole in the midst of the robe, as the hole of a habergeon, with a band round about the hole, that it should not rend. 24 And they made upon the hems of the robe pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen. 25 And they made bells of pure gold, and Chap. xxviii. 17, &c. b i Or, ruby. Chap. xxviii. 33. Chap. xxviii. 31. Verse 10. And they set in it four rows of stones] See all these precious stones particularly explained in the notes on chap. xxviii. 17, &c. Verse 23, As the hole of a habergeon] The habergeon or hauberk was a small coat of mail, something in form of a half shirt, made of small iron rings curiously united together. It covered the neck and breast, was very light, and resisted the stroke of a sword. Sometimes it went over the whole head as well as over the breast. This kind of defensive armour was used among the Asiatics, particularly, the |