means of a splendid ritual; while by a rigid interdiction of all those ceremonies, and arts, and apparatus of worship, which existed in other nations, such a people would stand exposed to great danger of being tempted to unfaithfulness to a religious system void of external attractions. These might have been among the reasons which influenced the building of the sacred tabernacle or pavilion-a temple that was hereafter to occupy the central place of honor, which is usually assigned to the king or chieftain of a nomadic tribe.

The plan of this establishment was highly acceptable to the Israelites, and when called upon to contribute to its construction and ornament, they did so with great eagerness and zeal. This was very natural; because they had been accustomed in Egypt to see and admire magnificent temples and a pompous worship; and therefore rejoiced at the prospect of a splendid tabernacle, with costly utensils, and with a numerous priesthood, the chief of them gorgeously arrayed, to present incense, offerings, and sacrifices. Therefore as soon as the people had been made acquainted with the materials which would be required for the tabernacle and its contents, and for

appalling phenomena; and fear, not less than gratitude, has given to men their first notions of the existence of a Supreme Being. It is from their summits that the devastating torrents are precipitated; it is in their bosom-at the noise of explosions which shake and subvert the earth-that are prepared the red-hot stones, the melted minerals, which, in rains of fire and floods of lava, come to swallow up or overturn whole cities; it is over their summits that the winds move with utmost force-that the dark clouds gather under terrible and fantastic forms, and the thunder bursts with the most sublime grandeur amid the lightnings, and seems to convulse the very valleys.

"It was by the spectacle of such a storm as this, that Moses hoped to strike the imagination of the Israelites, and to confirm them in the belief of his intercourse with God. Nothing similar had been seen by them under the skies of Egypt, sparkling with light during the day, of the most beautiful azure during the calm nights, and never obscured by any cloud; it was therefore easy to foresee that the Hebrews would be struck with a religious terror the first time they saw the lightnings ploughing the dark clouds, and heard the thunder rumble upon the high mountains, where the echoes augmented and prolonged the sound. Then the clouds presented to them forms the most monstrous and grotesque; and their mobility and their metamorphoses have often inflamed the imaginations of weak and ignorant men: the first have regarded these as the signs of heavenly wrath, and the others as their gods or the shadows of their ancestors. With the thunder, all nations have armed the Lord of the universe; and we find that, notwithstanding the progress of science and the extension of education, very many people still regard it with superstitious dread. A great sound gives the idea of force; and the imagination turns it into the angry cry of a powerful and irritated Being.

“Moses had long watched his flocks in Sinai, and had been a witness of the sublime effects produced by storms upon the high mountain of that name. The recollection of that which he had observed, probably engaged this able man to make these phenomena subservient to his designs."

It it thus easy to see that M. du Bois Aymé presumes that what took place upon Sinai, on the occasion of the promulgation of the Decalogue, was caused by the usual phenomena of nature. This opinion is sustained by many other intelligent and learned men; while, on the other hand, the majority of Christian theologians have adopted the notion generally entertained by the Hebrews, that the means which on that occasion were used to awe the Israelites, were miraculously wrought.

the dresses and ornaments of the priests, they gave whatever suitable articles they possessed; so that in a very short time Moses was obliged to have it proclaimed through the camp, that no more offerings were to be made for the sanctuary, as there was already more than enough for every required purpose. The lists of articles contributed is not without interest, as illustrative not only of the large quantity, but also the nature and quality, of the wealth in their possession; all of which they had probably brought from Egypt. These consisted chiefly of articles in gold, silver, and brass, intended to be melted down for the service required; together with precious stones, costly woods, rich stuffs, skins, incense, spices and oil. The women distinguished themselves on this occasion. They contributed their personal ornaments and trinkets; while their mirrors of polished brass were given up to form the brazen laver. Among all pastoral nations and tribes, the duty of forming into cloth the wool of the sheep, and the hair of the goat, devolves upon the women, and forms the principal occupation of their lives; so on the present occasion, the women were busied in spinning, twisting, and weaving the cloths required for the hangings of the tabernacle.*

When we consider that all the offerings were voluntary, with the exception of the small sum of half a shekel of silver levied upon every male above twenty years of age, and yet find that the whole contributions of gold and silver alone was worth about eight hundred and seventyseven thousand American dollars, we cannot but be convinced not only of the great zeal of the Israelites, but of the splendor of the small structure on which so much wealth was expended.

The practical director of all the work was an ingenious and skilful man of the tribe of Judah, Bezaleel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur; and associated with him was Aholiah, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, "an engraver and designer, and embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and in cotton." Consequently, those interesting works were not executed, as it appears, under the direction of Egyptians, although it is very probable, or rather, almost certain, that the skill of such of that nation as were in the camp was made available in some of the practical operations; yet there can at least be no reasonable doubt that Bezaleel and Aholiah had been instructed in Egypt in that knowledge which qualified them for the service they undertook. "No one will, at the present day, contend that the Hebrews could know anything of the finer arts, except what they had learned of the Egyptians during their sojourn and bondage in Egypt. In this point of view, the costly and ingenious works which were executed in the desert throw much light upon the state of the

*This is a proof that they had been accustomed in Egypt to useful occupation and arts, which must have been cultivated in a civilized community.

arts in that early age among the Egyptians, while they illustrate the extent of the obligations of the Israelites, in the finer arts of life, to that ingenious people. The information thus supplied is perfectly in agreement with that which the sculptured and painted remains of ancient Egypt now offer to us."

Such was the zeal with which all parties toiled, that the tabernacle, with all its rich furniture and costly apparatus, together with the splendid dresses of the high priest, and the robes of the common priests, were all completed in less than six months. The tabernacle was erected, and all things connected with it disposed in proper order on the first day of the second year of the departure from Egypt.

But no temple-except that which the Eternal One built with His own hands, and in which his children, each in his own way, is allowed to worship--would fulfil its purpose without being provided with priests zealous in the service to which it is dedicated. Accordingly on the Levites -the tribe to which Moses belonged, who had shown themselves so ready to punish those that had paid worship to the "golden calf," in which transgression they, however, themselves appear to have participated—was conferred the honor of being the priests of Jehovah. But from the Levites the family of Aaron was appointed to hold the higher offices of the priesthood, and Aaron himself raised to the dignity of high priest. Thus the Hebrews were provided with a hereditary sacerdotal order, like the priestly caste in Egypt; and we shall see that self-interest was the cause of making the former, no less than the latter, zealous in maintaining the religious system, whose servants they were.

When the tabernacle was finished, Jehovah appeared to take immediate possession of the sumptuous structure raised to his honor. During the whole day the cloud, and during the whole night, the pillar of fire, rested upon it. When the people saw the fire that darted from that “glory" which represented the presence of their God, and consumed the burntoffering, "they shouted, and fell upon their faces." When the camp broke up, it rose and led the way; when the people came to their resting-place, it remained unmoved.

"Thus the great Jehovah," says Mr. Milman, "was formally and deliberately recognized by the people of Israel as their God, the sole object of their adoration. By the law, to which they gave their free and unconditional assent, he became their king, the head of their civil constitution, and the feudal lord of all their territory, of whom they were to hold their lands on certain strict, but equitable terms of vassalage." This was the relation in which the people of Egypt evidently appear to have stood to

This cannot be said of all, because it is evident that fear operated upon many. No mercy was shown towards those who differed in opinion from the dominant party.

Pharaoh-whose prime minister Joseph is said to have been-after having sold their lands to that king in lieu of the corn they received. "It was," continues Mr. Milman, "a federal compact, not between the people at large and certain members or classes of the community designated as their rulers, but between the founder of the state, the proprietor of the land which they were to inherit, and the Hebrew nation." These observations will be found to be confirmed by the review we are to take of the Mosaic institutions.

LETTER VI.

THE HEBREW RELIGION AND LAW.

THE characteristics of the religion Moses taught, were the Unity, the Omnipotence, and the Providential Care of the Deity.

The Unity of the Deity appears, however, to have been taken by Moses in a limited sense; still it is generally presumed that he did not believe in the existence of more than one God; and in support of this opinion there might be cited some passages in the Pentateuch, but none as positive as the following: "Unto thee it was showed that thou mightest know that Jehovah is God; there is none besides him." But the latter words might possibly have been added in later times, when the Hebrews had attained. to a more perfect conception of the divine nature. Yet even admitting that this passage was written by Moses, we find him, as I have already observed, entertaining a different opinion in the place where he exclaims, inquiringly: "Who is like unto thee, O Jehovah, among the gods ?" and in another place, where he says: "So Jehovah alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him." I admit that the latter passage can be submitted to explanations, but not so the first, which clearly indicates that Moses exalted Jehovah above all other gods-as in all probability he would not have done had he rejected the existence of all other deities. It may be that Moses was himself distracted by doubts, and that his mind was not fully settled on this subject. But, on the other hand,

It is indeed remarkable that Mr. Milman can have forgotten this fact, as he appears to have done when writing thus: "Hence the Mosaic constitution was, in its origin and principles, entirely different from every human polity." Words not supported by truth. + Deut. chap. iv. 35 Exod. xv. iv.

§ Deut. xxxii. 12.

there are too many proofs to permit us to deny that the Hebrew people generally, for many centuries, admitted the existence of other gods; though they claimed a superior power for their own.

The omnipotence of Jehovah was taught by Moses, and claimed by the Hebrews.

The providential care of Jehovah was also taught by Moses, and is to be considered as a fundamental article of faith in the Hebrew religion; yet Jehovah, who, in a very narrow view, is represented as being the God and father of the Hebrews, is as an avenger and severe judge in regard to other people. Never would the Hebrews admit that He looked upon other nations with equal favor. He is said, in the Pentateuch, to be the Creator of the world and of man; but, nevertheless, He is not admitted to be the equal father of all mankind. When intimated to be so, it is only done to exalt his power, and resembles the vanity nations so often display in exalting their eminent men. Jehovah is but the God and the Ruler of the Hebrews. It is in vain to deny this evident truth. It was the Eternal God, the Father of all rational beings, the Great Architect of the world, whom the Hebrews appropriated to themselves, and whom they represented as their particular God, and, to speak strictly, as their king; and whom they represented as endowed with human feelings, nay, even with some human. frailties; namely, as changeable in his resolutions and swayed sometimes by the same passions that affected themselves, as for instance, those of anger, joy and jealousy.

It was, however, by the religion of Moses-a religion far more pure than any then existing*—that God was pleased to hand down to future generations the momentous truths of His Oneness, His Omnipotence, His Eternity, and His Providential Care of man.t

Yet on the other hand, it cannot but awaken our astonishment, that the religion of Moses entertains no allusion to a future state and to the immortality of the soul. Consequently, temporal welfare, and fear of temporal punishment, were the motives held out to the Hebrews for inducing them to conform to his doctrine and law. It was in later times that the Hebrews adopted the ideas entertained of the immortality of the soul by the Persians and the Egyptians, and so many other nations. This is the more remarkable, as we can be in no doubt that, even at so remote a time as that of Moses, the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, and probably even that of the resurrection of the body, were taught in Egypt.

* It is remarkable, that Aristotle, according to Josephus, said that the Jews were descended from the Indian philosophers.-See Cont. Api. lib. i.

It may be thought that I contradict myself when I say that the oneness of God was preserved by the religion of Moses, after having proved that he appears to have admitted the existence of other gods; but there is no contradiction in this; because the doctrine of Moses was interpreted, at least some centuries later, agreeably to this rational idea.