burnt the red heifer, on Mount Olivet, or the Mount of Olives, might thereby be able to look over it upon the temple; for so they conceived the command in Numb. xix. 4, bound him to do, when he sprinkled her blood. Further, this gate stood not in the middle of the east wall, as one might have expected, but considerably towards that end of it which pointed to the north: so that the whole length of the wall, which was five hundred cubits, is supposed to be divided into two unequal spaces of three hundred and forty cubits to the south of the gate, and one hundred and sixty cubits to the north of it. The reason of this unequal division was not from choice, but necessity, in order to make the gate directly in front of the temple. For the place where the brazen altar stood, having been fixed by Divine appointment," and the mountain not allowing an equal space on every side of it, they were forced to build the temple so as to stand in its proper parallel with the altar, and to plan the courts in such a manner as best suited the space they had to occupy. Thus, instead of having the temple in the middle, and the courts of the Gentiles in equal divisions around, the greatest space was on the south, the second on the east, the third on the north, and the smallest on the west. It only remains to add, that, in Solomon's Temple, this and all the other gates in the outer wall, were wood overlaid with plates of brass."

Having examined the east gate, let us move along the outer wall towards the south, and examine the gates that were on that side. They were two, and were commonly called the gates of Huldah, or Hulde, nabın yʊ, probably from the prophetess of that name, who is mentioned in 2 Kings xxii. 14; for her memory was in great

,שערי

a 2 Sam. xxiv. 18. 1 Chron. xxi, 15. 18. 28, 29, 30; xxii, 1. 2 Chron. iii. 1. 2 Chron. iv. 9,

repute among the Jews, and they used to say of her, that she was the only woman, and Jehoiada, the high priest, the only man that was ever buried within Jerusalem, except the house of David. The size of these gates, as we have already mentioned, was twenty cubits, or thirty-six feet five inches high, and ten cubits, or eighteen feet two inches wide in the opening: but, including the towers at the top, and the ornaments on the sides, they were thirty cubits, or fifty-four feet eight inches high, and fifteen cubits, or twentyseven feet four inches wide. Their position in the wall was at equal distances from the end and from each other: so that, if the wall was five hundred cubits, they divided it into three portions of one hundred and sixty-six cubits and two-thirds, or nine hundred and twelve feet each, and gave admittance into the largest side of the court of the Gentiles.

Having examined the gates in the east and south sides of the outer wall, let us next turn to the west and here Josephus says, there were four, viz.:-The two gates of Asuppim, the gate Parbar, and the gate Coponius. The two gates of Asuppim, O'DON, Asepim, or Collections, were so called, because part of the treasures of the temple was deposited in chambers situated between them. Nor is it difficult to find out how much ground these chambers occupied; for the first of them was ninety cubits from the south end of the wall, and the second one hundred and eighty; consequently the treasury chambers, including the porters' lodges at the gates, were the difference between these two, or ninety cubits. With respect to the places to which they led, we learn from Josephus, that the first gate led in a south-west direction to the city; and the second to Millo, directly west, which

was situated at some distance before this wall of the temple, and in the point where the three hills, Moriah, Acra, and Zion, met each other. Passing the gates of Asuppim, we next come to the gate Parbar, or Perber, 775, on the same side. It was ninety cubits northward of the second Asuppim, or two hundred and seventy from the south end, and consequently almost in the middle of the wall. It derived its name from its situation and use; for it led, like the second Asuppim, to the suburbs (which the word Parbar signifies,) or to Millo, which lay in the suburbs of the city, between Acra, Zion, and Moriah.The last of the gates on this side, was the gate of Shallecheth, Sheleceth, w, or of Coponius: it was directly opposite to the east gate already described, and, consequently, like it, divided the wall into two unequal portions of three hundred and forty cubits towards the south, and one hundred and sixty towards the north. Its first name, which signifies a-casting, seems to be derived from the road, which King Solomon cast up, or raised through the deep valley which separated Mount Zion from Moriah, to facilitate his entrance to the temple. Accordingly, this was the ordinary gate by which he, and the subsequent kings made their entry to that sacred edifice; its other name of Coponius, which the Jews write Dp, Kipunus, was probably given it by Herod, in honour of Coponius, the general of the horse, who was sent by Augustus to be ruler of Judea, at the same time that Cyrenius was made governor of Syria: for his coming to Judea was nearly about the time that Herod had finished beautifying the temple.

Thus have we examined three sides of that wall which surrounded the Mountain of the Lord's House; it only remains that we consider the fourth. On the north side

a 1 Chron, xxvi. 16.

b2 Chron. ix. 4.

there was only one gate, which was called Tedi,, situated at an equal distance from either end of the wall. It signifies privacy or obscurity, probably because it was a private gate belonging to the priests; or because it was little frequented, on account of the insolence of the Roman soldiers in the tower of Antonia; or, lastly, because the prospect on that side of the temple was much obscured by the hill Bezetha.

Such were the gates on the several sides of the outer wall; and, it is worthy of remark, that in the division of the porters mentioned in 1 Chron. xxvi. there are several appointed to each gate. Thus at the east gate six of Shelemiah's sons were stationed (verses 14. 17.)-On the south, at the two gates of Huldah, were four of the sons of Obededom (verses 15. 17.)-On the west, other. four of the sons of Obededom stood at Asuppim (verses 15. 17;)-two of the sons of Hosah and Shuppim at Parbar (verses 16. 18;) and four of Hosah's and Shuppim's sons at Shallecheth, or the gate which led to the king's causeway, (verses 16. 18.)-The gate on the north side, commonly called Tedi, was committed to Zechariah, the eldest son of Obededom (verses 2. 14.) Such were the appointments of the porters at the several gates; but, before we dismiss the subject, we ought to notice the tower of Antonia. This was a strong square building, adjoining to the north-west corner of the outer wall; which, with the buildings around it, was two furlongs, or a quarter of a mile in circumference. It stood on a high rock of fifty cubits, and was itself forty, having a turret at each corner; but those next the temple were much higher than the rest, in order to overlook it; the farthest removed being only fifty cubits, and the nearest seventy. It had piazzes, or covered walks, on all sides, and elegant apartments within, so as to make it at

once both a castle and a palace." It was originally used by Hyreanus the First, and his successors, as a place of residence, and as a deposit for the sacred vestments, and while thus used it was called Baris (Bapis ;) but when Herod repaired and beautified it, he changed its name to Antonia, in honour of his deceased friend Mark Antony. During the reigns of Herod and his son Archelaus, the sacred vestments still lay in that tower, under the care of the priests; but when the Romans deposed Archelaus, they took them into their own keeping, and converted the tower into a garrison; for which, from its strength and situation, it was excellently calculated. The manner of keeping these sacred vestments was as follows: they were ordinarily disposited in a particular chamber, under the joint seals of the high priest and the treasurers of the temple. Whenever, therefore, they were required by the high priest, at any of the festivals, a deputation of the priesthood waited on the commander of the castle, on the festival eve, to request them; and he, accompanying them to the chamber where they lay, examined the seals in their presence, opened the door, and allowed them to carry them to the chamber where the high priest was accustomed to dress; who, after the festival, returned them with the same formalities. Such was the manner in which things was conducted, from the deposition of Archelaus, till the time of Tiberius. But, during his reign, Vitellius having come to Jerusalem as governor of Syria, and been received by the Jews with much honour, he, to shew his acknowledgment, obtained permission from Tiberius to commit the care of this sacred deposit into their hands. Accordingly they enjoyed this favour till the death of Agrippa, when Cassius Longinus, governor of Syria, and Cuspius Fadus, governor of Judea, com