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cessary for them to keep genealogies of their families, that they might be able, when there was occasion, on the jubilee year, to prove their right to the inheritance of their ancestors. By this means it was certainly known, of what tribe and family the Messias sprung. Upon which Dr. Allix observes, that God did not suffer them to continue in captivity out of their own land for the space of two jubilees, lest by that means their genealogies should be lost or confounded.

A farther civil use of the jubilee might be for the readier computation of time. For, as the Greeks computed by olympiads, the Romans by lustra, and we by centuries, the Jews probably reckoned by jubilees; and it might, I say, be one design of this institution to mark out these large portions of time for the readier computation of successive years of ages.

2dly. There was also a typical design and use of the jubilee, which is pointed out by the prophet Isaiah, when he saith, in reference to the Messiah, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hat hsent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord," chap. lxi. 1, 2; where the acceptable year of the Lord,” when “liberty was proclaimed to the captives," and "the opening the prison to them that were bound," evidently refers to the jubilee; but, in the prophetic sense, means the gospel state and dispensation, which proclaims spiritual liberty from the bondage of sin and Satan, and the liberty of returning to our own possession, even the heavenly inheritance, to which, having incurred a forfeiture by sin, we had lost all right and claim.

I have only farther to observe, that this jubilee of the Jews hath been in some sort imitated by the Pope; who, after a certain returning period, proclaims a jubilee, in which he grants a plenary indulgence to all sinners, at least to as many as visit the churches of St. Peter and St. Paul at Rome.

The jubilee was first established by Pope Boniface VIII., anno 1300, and was only to return every hundredth year; but the first celebration brought such stores of wealth to Rome, that Clement VI. reduced the period to fifty years; afterward

Urban VI. appointed the jubilee to be held every thirty-five years; and Sextus IV. brought it down to twenty-five.*

One of our kings, Edward III., caused his birth-day, when he was fifty years of age, but neither before nor after, to be observed in the manner of a jubilee; this he did by releasing prisoners, pardoning all offences, treason itself not excepted, and granting many privileges to the people.†

* See on this subject, Dieteric. Antiq. Biblicæ, ex Lev. xxv. 4, p. 220, et seq. edit. Gissæ et Francof. 1671.

+ Polydor. Virgil. Histor. Anglican. lib. xix. p. 494, Lugd. Bat. 1651.

CHAPTER XI.

THE FEASTS OF PURIM AND OF DEDICATION.

BESIDES the sacred festivals already considered, no other were appointed by the law of Moses. However, the Jews, in process of time, added several others: two of which are to be the subject of this chapter; namely, the feast of purim, of the occasion and institution of which we have an account in the book of Esther, chap. ix. 20-ult.; and the feast of dedication, mentioned by the evangelist John, chap. x. 22. They were both of them annual festivals, and observed in commemoration of national mercies and deliverances.

The former, the feast of purim, was instituted by Mordecai, to commemorate the deliverance of the Jews from Haman's conspiracy, of which we have an account in the book of Esther. Many suppose, that in this he had a special direction from God, delivered by some prophet, perhaps Haggai, or Malachi. But if so, it is strange that the sanction of divine authority should not be expressly stamped on the institution, and that the name of God should not be mentioned so much as once in the history of it, or of the events relating to it. Thus much is certain, it hath had the effect, which mere human institutions in matters of religion very commonly have, to occasion corruption and licentiousness of manners, rather than to promote piety and virtue. Though still celebrated by the Jews with great ceremony, it is a time of general riot and debauchery; and they make it a sort of rule of their religion to drink till they can no longer distinguish between the blessing of Mordecai and the cursing of Haman.* Insomuch

Talmud cod. Megillah, fol. 7. 2, quoted by Buxtorf. Synag. Judaic. cap. xxix. p. 559, 3d edit. in Lexic. Talmud. sub voc., p. 324; and by Leusden. Philolog. Hebræo-mixt. dissert. xl. p. 285, 2d edit. Ultraject.

that Archbishop Usher very justly styles the feast of purim the Bacchanalia of the Jews.*

This festival was to be kept two days successively, the fourteenth and fifteenth of the month Adar; Esth. ix. 21. In the intercalatory year, therefore, when there are two Adars, it is kept twice over;† the first time with less ceremony, which they call the little purim; the second, in the Veadar, with more ceremony, which they term the great purim. On both days of the feast the modern Jews read over the Megillah, or book of Esther, in their synagogues. The copy there read must not be printed, but written on vellum in the form of a roll; and the names of the ten sons of Haman are written in it in a peculiar manner, being ranged, they say, like so many bodies hanging on a gibbet. The reader must pronounce all these names in one breath. Whenever Haman's name is pronounced, they make a terrible noise in the synagogue; some drum with their feet on the floor, and the boys have mallets, with which to knock and make a noise.§ They prepare themselves for their carnival by a previous fast, which should continue three days, in imitation of Esther's (chap. iv. 16); but, for the generality, they have reduced it to one day. We may here take occasion to consider three questions, started upon the story to which this festival relates.

1st. When, and in whose reign, the affair happened, which it is intended to commemorate.

2dly. For what reason Mordecai refused to pay that respect to Haman, the neglect of which so much incensed him against the Jews.

3dly. Why Haman cast lots, in order to fix the day for the massacre of the Jews.

First. The first question is, when, and in what king's reign, this affair happened. Though it was doubtless after the kingdom of Judah returned from its captivity, yet the ten tribes still continued in their dispersion, from which they have not

* Usser. Annales, sub A. M. 3495, p. 88, edit. Genev. 1722. + Mishn. tit. Megillah, cap. i. sect. iv. tom. ii. p. 389. Buxtorf. Synag. lib. xxix. sub fin.

§ Buxtorf. Synag. Judaic. cap. xxix. p. 555—558. Hottinger in Godwin. lib. iii. cap. xi. annot. i. p. 643.

been recovered to this day. Accordingly the Jews are said, at that time, to have been dispersed through all the provinces of Ahasuerus's kingdom, "who reigned from India even to Ethiopia, over one hundred twenty and seven provinces;" Eath. i. 1; ii. 8. But who this Ahasuerus was, is a question upon which chronologers are much divided. Usher* takes him to be Darius the son of Hystaspes, who promoted the building of the temple at Jerusalem; Ezra vi. Scaliger thinks it was Xerxes, who was Darius's successor.+ J. Capellust is persuaded this Ahasuerus was Ochus, one of the last kings of Persia; for in his reign Alexander the Great was born, who brought the Persian empire to its period. Dr. Patrick, in support of this opinion, observes, that Ochus's Persian name was Achash, to which Verosh being added as his sirname, he was called by the Persians Achas-verosh, which the Greeks translated Ahasuerus.§ Rollin supposes him to have been Cambyses. I take the opinion of Prideaux¶ to be the most probable of any, that Ahasuerus was Artaxerxes Longimanus; through whose favour to the Jews Ezra and Nehemiah completed the restoration of the kingdom of Judah, and rebuilt Jerusalem. It is likely his extraordinary kindness to that people was owing to the influence of his queen Esther: it is particularly remarked, that when Nehemiah obtained his commission to rebuild and fortify Jerusalem, the queen was sitting by; Nehem. ii. 6.

As for the name ww-28 Achash-verosh, it seems rather to have been a title common to the kings of Media and Persia, than a proper name of any of them. It is evidently compounded of the Persic word vs achash, dignitas, which the rabbies commonly use for magnus, and we rosh, caput, summitas, dux, princeps.** So that Achash-verosh signifies

Usser. Annal. A. M. 3483, p. 85.

+ Scalig. de Emendat. Tempor. p. 585, et seq. præsertim, p. 591-593. ↑ Histor. Sacr. et Exotic. A. M. 3640 et 3650.

§ Patrick on Esth. i. 1.

Rollin's Ancient History, vol. ii. book iv. chap. ii.

¶ Prideaux's Connect. part. i. book iv. sub anno ante Christ. 465, p. 361 --364, vol. i. 10th edit.; see also Clerici Annot. in Esth. i. 1.

** Vid. Pfeifferi Exercitationes ad calcem Dubior. Vexator. exercitat. iii. de Linguâ Protoplast. p. 67, 3d edit. Lipsia.

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