'always fold themselves up so closely in their hykes, that even without their veils we could discover very little of their faces. But in the summer months, when they retire to their country seats, they walk abroad with less caution; though even then, upon the approach of a stranger, they always drop their veils, as Rebecca did upon the sight of Isaac, Gen. xxiv. 65. They all affect to have their hair, the instrument of their pride (Isai. xxii. 12), hang down to the ground, which, after they have collected into one lock, they bind and plait with ribbons; a piece of finery disapproved of by the apostle, 1 Pet. iii. 3. Where nature has been less liberal in this ornament, the defect is supplied by art, and foreign hair is procured to be interwoven with the natural. Absalom's hair, which was sold (2 Sam. xiv. 26) for two hundred shekels, might have been applied to this use. After the hair is thus plaited, they proceed to dress their heads, by tying above the lock, just described, a triangular piece of linen, adorned with various figures in needle-work. Among persons of fashion, this is covered with a surmah, as they call it (of the like sound with the moonlike ornaments of Isai. iii. 18), which is made in the same triangular shape, of thin flexible plates of gold and silver, artfully cut through, and engraven in imitation of lace. A handkerchief of crape, gauze, silk, or painted linen, bound close over the sarmah, and falling afterwards carelessly upon the favourite lock of hair, completes the head-dress of the Moorish female.

(9) We have seen that the women wore their hair long. On this they lavished all their art, disposing it in various forms, and embellishing it with divers ornaments. In the ancient medals, statues, and basso relievos, we behold those plaited tresses which the apostles Paul and Peter condemn, and see those expensive and fantastic decorations which the ladies of those times bestowed upon their head-dress. This pride of braided and plaited tresses, this ostentation of jewels, this vain display of finery, the apostles interdict as proofs of a light and little mind, and inconsistent with the modesty and decorum of Christian women. St. Paul, in his First Epistle to Timothy (chap. ii. 9), in the passage where he condemns it, shows us in what the pride of female dress then consisted. "I enjoin that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shame-facedness and sobriety: not with broidered hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; but (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works." St. Peter, in like manner, ordains that the adorning of the fair sex should not be so much that "outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." The men, on the contrary, wore their hair short; and this circumstance formed a principal distinction in dress between the sexes, and happily illustrates 1 Cor. xi. 14, 15: "Doth not even nature itself teach you, that if a man have long hair, it is a shame to him? But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given her for a covering."

(10) As the Jewish and Grecian ladies never appeared in public without a veil, Paul severely censures the Corinthian women for throwing off the decency and modesty of the sex, and exposing themselves and their religion to the satire and calumny of the heathen. The whole passage beautifully and clearly exhibits the distinguishing customs which then prevailed in the different

(8) But none of these ladies think themselves completely dressed, till they have tinged their eyelids with Al-ka-hol, i. e., the powder of lead ore. And as this is performed by first dipping into the powder a small wooden bodkin, of the thickness of a quill, and then drawing it through the eyelids, over the ball of the eye, we have a lively image of what the prophet (Jer. iv. 30) may be supposed to mean, by renting the eyes (not, as we render it, with painting, but) with pouk-lead ore. The sooty colour which is thus communicated to the eyes is thought to add much gracefulness to persons of all complexions; and the practice is no doubt of the greatest antiquity. Besides the instance already noticed, we find that where Jezebel is said (2 Kings ix. 30) to have painted her face, the original is, "she adjusted (or set off) her eyes with the powder of pouk," or lead ore. So Eze-lead ore, prepared by roasting it in a quince, apple, or trufile, kiel (chap. xxiii. 40) is to be understood. Karanhappuc, i. e., the horn of pouk, or lead ore, the name of Job's youngest daughter, was allusive to this custom and practice.*

* Travels, vol. i., pp. 403-413. Dr. Russell gives the following account of this operation, and of the manner in which

the powder is prepared: "Upon the principle of strengthening, tice among the women to black the inside of their eyelids, by the sight, as well as an ornament, it is become a general prac applying a powder called Ismed, which appears to be a rich

and then levigated with oil of sweet almonds on a marble stone. Their method of applying the powder is by a cylindrical piece of silver, steel, or ivory, about two inches long, made very smooth, and about the size of a common probe: this they wet with water, in order that the powder may stick to it; and applying the middle part horizontally to the eye, they shut the eyelids upon it; and so drawing it through between them, it blacks the inside, leaving a narrow black ring all round the edge."-Hist. of Aleppo, p. 102.

(12) For the feet, the common dress was shoes or sandals. The former was a piece of strong leather, or wood, fastened to the sole of the foot with strings, tied round the ankle and leg, and which are called shoe-latchets, Gen. xiv. 23, &c. When they approached God, in acts of worship, this part of the dress was laid aside: the priest always ministered barefoot.

dress and appearance of the sexes, 1 Cor. xi. 4: | And D'Arvieux gives a remarkable instance of an "I desire you to observe, that of every man the| Arab, who, having received a wound in his jaw, head is Christ; of every woman, the man; and chose to hazard his life, rather than suffer the surof Christ, the Deity. Now every man who prays geon to remove his beard.|| or speaks in public with his head covered, derogates from the dignity of Christ, his head. On the contrary, every woman who prays or speaks in public with her head uncovered, degrades the digFnity of the man, who is her head; for this is a singularity as uncharacteristical of the sex, as to have the hair entirely cut off. But if a woman will not consent to wear her veil, let her even have her hair cut short like the man: but if it be to the last degree scandalous and indecent for a woman to have her hair cut short or shaved off, let her, for the same reason, be veiled. A man, indeed, ought not to have his head veiled, as he is the glorious image of God; but the woman is only the glorious image of the man. For the man was not formed posterior to the woman, but the woman was formed out of the man. Nor was the man formed for the woman, but the woman for the In your assemblies, therefore, the woman ought to wear a veil, on account of the heathen spies who are purposely sent to inspect your conduct. I appeal to you, is it decent for a woman to address the Deity without a veil? Doth not the universal prevalence of modern custom itself teach you, that for a man to wear long flowing tresses, dressed in the manner of women, is the highest indecency and disgrace?* But the long and flowing hair of the fair sex is their distinguishing grace and ornament: for this was lavished upon them by the hand of nature for a covering. But if any person appear disposed to litigate and raise disputes on this topic, let him be assured, that neither we the apostles urge, nor the churches of God practice, any such custom.”+

man.

(11) Of the veneration in which the beard was held by the Jewish people, we have several examples in Scripture. Thus it was considered the highest insult, when Hanun, king of the Ammonites, cut off the beards of David's ambassadors, 2 Sam. x. 4, 5. And from ch. xx. 9, we see it was the custom for particular friends to salute each other by kissing the beard. The Jews were not singular in these respects, for the eastern people generally held this mark of virility in the highest veneration. Thevenot says, the Turks greatly esteem a man who has a fine beard; that it is a great affront to take one by his beard, unless to kiss it; and that they swear by the beard.

(13) In describing the dress of the Jewish people, we must not omit their phylacteries, or tephelim, which were held in such estimation among them. These were little rolls of parchment, in which were written the following passages of the law: (1) "Sanctify unto me all the first-born: whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast, it is mine," &c., Exod. xiii. 2-10. (2) "And it shall be, when the Lord shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites," &c., to ver. 16. (3) From the 4th verse of the 6th chap. of Deuteronomy, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord," to ver. 9. (4) From ver. 13 of chap. xi. : "And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently to my commandments," &c., to the end of ver. 21. They wore them upon the forehead, and the wrist of the left arm; the obligation to which they founded on Exod. xiii. 16; Deut. vi. 8; xi. 18.

66

(14) Nose-rings and ear-rings are very general parts of the dress of an eastern female, and they are often mentioned in Scripture. See Gen. xxiv. 47; xxxv. 4; Isa. iii. 20; Ezek. xvi. 12, &c. Sir John Chardin says, "It is the custom in almost all the East, for the women to wear rings in their noses, in the left nostril, which is bored low down in the middle. These rings are of gold, and have commonly two pearls, with one ruby between them. I never saw a girl or young woman in Arabia, or in all Persia, who did not wear a ring after this manner in her nostril."§ Mont

Tom. ii., p. 214.

Harmer's Observations, vol. ii., p. 390. Mr. Roberts says, "Nothing is more common than for heathen females to have a ring in the nose; and this has led some to suppose that the jewel alluded to in Gen. xxiv. 47, was put into that member, and not on the face. I put a jewel on thy forehead' (Ezek. xv. 2). The margin has, for forehead, 'nose.' It does not appear to be generally known, that there is an ornament which is worn by females in the East on the forehead. It is made of thin gold, and is studded with precious stones, and called Pattam, which signifies dignity. Thus, to tie on the Pattam, * See Lightfoot, Hor. Heb., 1 Cor. xi. 14, and Josephus, is to invest with high dignity.' Patta-Istere is the name Antiq., b. xiv., c. 3.

Harwood's Introduction, vol. ii., p. 97, &c.
Tom. i., p. 57.

of the first lawful wife of the [king. In the Sathur Aganathe, this ornament is called 'the ornament of the forehead." Oriental Illustrations, p. 27.

fauçon describes a statue of a female, which was discovered at Ponto when he was at Rome, having in her ears two large pendants, on one of which was the figure of Jupiter, and on the other that of Juno. Will this circumstance help us to determine the reason for Jacob burying underground all the rings that were in the ears of his family when he came out of Shechem?* The prophet Ezekiel (xvi. 11) speaks of "chains on the neck," as does Solomon also (Cant. i. 10); and there seems to be a reference to the thread on which the precious stones forming these were hung, in Gen. xiv. 23: "I will not take from a thread even to a shoe-latchet," &c. The following description of the dress of a Turkish sultana will afford some idea of the nature of eastern ornaments :-" Round her neck she wore three chains, which reached to her knee; one of large pearls, at the bottom of which hung a fine coloured emerald, as big as a turkey's egg; another consisting of 200 emeralds closely joined together, of the most lively green, perfectly matched, every one as large as a half-crown piece, and as thick as three crown pieces; and another of small emeralds, perfectly round."+ It is needless to say that the costliness of these ornaments would be proportionate to the condition of the wearer. Bracelets seem to have been worn on the arms by both males and females (2 Sam. i. 10; Isa. iii. 19; Ezek. xvi. 11), and by the females on the leg also, Isa. iii. 20. Chardin says, that in Persia and Arabia, "the females wear rings about the ankle, which are full of little bells." This will explain Isaiah iii. 16: "They walk, mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet." Another accompaniment of female dress was the handmirror, which was made of metal; for of some of these Moses made the foot of the laver (Exod. xxxviii. 8); and Dr. Lowth informs us, that he was possessed of one which had been found in the ruins of Herculaneum, not above three inches square.||

-7. The Parable of the Ten Virgins-8. Polygamy-9. 10. The Support of Widows-11. Laws relative to Marriage. II. TREATMENT OF CHILDREN.-1. Birth-2. Cir cumcision-3. Religions Instruction-4. Trades-5. The First-born-6. Adoption.

I. THERE were several things connected with the nuptials of the Hebrews so essentially different from any thing among Europeans, that a short notice of them is indispensable.

1. The first thing which merits attention was the method of contracting this sacred obligation— their espousals. It sometimes happened that several years elapsed between the espousals and the marriage of the contracting parties,§ during which period the bride remained at home with her parents, and was under the same obligations of fidelity to her spouse as if the nuptials had been solemnized. See Matt. i. 18.

In general, however, only two or three months elapsed between the time of the espousals and that of the marriage.

2. It is seen, from several passages of Scripture, that the custom of purchasing the bride prevailed among the descendants of Abraham. Thus Shechem says to Jacob, whose daughter Dinah he wished to espouse, “Ask me never so much dowry and gifts," &c. See also 1 Sam. xviii. 25. The custom still exists in many parts of the East, and hence a numerous family of daughters is a source of great wealth. Where the bridegroom is not possessed of sufficient property to obtain the object of his desire by purchase, he obtains her by servitude. "They build houses, work in their riceplantations, and do all the services that may be necessary, and this often lasts three or four years, before they can be married." This will illustrate Gen. xxix. 27.

3. This sacred and important obligation was contracted at a very early age among the Jews, in compliance with eastern customs; and hence the bride calls her husband, "the guide of my youth" (Prov. ii. 17; see also ver. 18). At the age of eighteen the males could marry, and the females when they were twelve and a day; till which time they were called little maids.** Celibacy and sterility were considered great afflictions (Judges xi. 37; 1 Sam. i. 11, &c.); and large families, as peculiar marks of the providential blessing of God, Prov. xvii. 6.

4. Concerning their marriages, Dr. Brown has collected the following particulars from the Jewish writers. On the day of the marriage, the bride was as elegantly attired as her circumstances would permit; and was led by the women into

§ See Josephus, Antiq., b. xiv., c. 15. Dapper's Africa, p. 399. See also Burckhardt's Travels in Syria, &c., p. 385.

** Lightfoot, Hor. Heb., Mark v. 23.

the dressing-chamber, without her veil, and with | (a modern invention, instead of the sum of money dishevelled hair, marriage-songs being sung before anciently given as the dowry), and putting it on her as she went. There she was placed on a beau- the finger of the bride, said, “Lo, thou art martiful seat, where they disposed her hair in ringlets ried to me with this ring, according to the form (hence compared to the long curled hair of a flock of Moses and of Israel." Two witnesses were of goats on Mount Gilead, in Cant. iv. 1), and then called, to hear the marriage contract read ; ornamented it with ribbands and trinkets. They and after they returned, another cup of wine was then decked her in her wedding attire, and veiled consecrated and divided among the guests. her, like Rebecca, amidst the songs and rejoicings of her attendants. Thus was sne "prepared as a bride adorned for her husband,” Isa. lxi. 10; Rev. xxi. 2. A virgin was married on the fourth day of the week, that, if any doubts were entertained of her virginity, they could be settled by the council of three, on the Thursday, which was a synagogue and court day; and a widow was married on the fifth day of the week. A woman who was either divorced, or a widow, neither married nor was espoused till after ninety days, that it might be ascertained whether she was enceinte by her former husband; and if two heathens, who had been married, became proselytes to Judaism, they lived separate for the same length of time, that it might be seen which of their children were heathens, and which were Jews.* When the hour of marriage arrived, four persons walked before the bridegroom, carrying a canopy supported by four poles, that if the bride intended to walk home to the bridegroom's house after the ceremony, she might walk under it in company with her husband; and, in the interim, it either stood before the door, or was taken into the court around which the house was built, if the marriage ceremony was to be performed there; all the bride's party exclaiming, "Blessed be he who cometh!" welcoming thus the bridegroom and his friends. During the ceremony, if the father gave away his daughter, he took her by the hand, as Raguel did Sarah, when she was married to Tobit, presented her to the bridegroom, and said, "Behold, take her after the law of Moses, and lead her away;" blessing them, taking paper, writing an instrument of covenants, and sealing it, Tobit vii. 13, 14. But if the father did not act as the celebrator, the bride stood on the right hand of the bridegroom, in allusion to Ps. xlv. 9, and the Rabbi or Hezen of the synagogue, who acted as celebrator, took the extremity of the thelit, which was about the bridegroom's neck, and covered with it the head of the bride, as Boaz did Ruth (ch. iii. 9); after which he consecrated a cup of wine, the by-standers joining in the ceremony; and the cup being thus blessed, it was given to the two contracting parties. The bridegroom, afterwards taking the ring

* Lightfoot, Hor. Heb.; Matt. i. 18; 1 Cor. vii. 14.

5. Matters were next so ordered as to prepare for setting out to the house of the bridegroom; when, if there was a canopy, the bride and bridegroom walked under it (hence says the spouse, "His banner over me was love," Cant. ii. 4); but if none, the bride and her companions were veiled, she, however, far deeper than they. Sometimes, also, they used a palanquin, and were carried in state from one house to the other; and it seems to have been to this that David alludes in Ps. xlv. 13, "The king's daughter is all glorious within (the palanquin, viz.), her clothing is of wrought gold." And to this Solomon refers, when he says, of the chariot of the bridegrom, that "its wood was of cedar, its pillars of silver, its bottom of gold, its covering of purple, and the midst thereof paved with love, or poetical amorous inscriptions or devices, for the daughters of Jerusalem," Cant. iii. 9, 10. The marriage processions were commonly in the night, by torch-light; and Lightfoot says, they carried before them ten wooden staves, having each of them at top a vessel like a dish, in which was a piece of cloth or wick, dipped in oil, to give light to the company. So that the parable of the ten virgins was evidently a delineation of national manners; since they required, in that case, not only to have oil in their lamps, but to have vessels containing a quantity of oil, in order to replenish these lamps from time to time. Indeed, we have several allusions to the same custom, in various passages of Scripture. Thus, the spouse, when speaking of the bridegroom, says, "My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand;" or, as the original expresses it, "lighted with ten thousand:" thereby meaning that he dazzled beholders as much as a bridegroom attended with ten thousand lamps, Cant. v. 10. And the bridegroom says of the spouse, that she is "terrible as an army with banners," or, literally, that she is dazzling as women shone upon with the nuptial lamps, when their rich attire reflected a dazzling lustre. As they went to the bridegroom's house, every person who met them gave place to the procession; a cup of wine was carried before them; and they were accompanied with music and dancing, Ps. xlv. 15. Hence, in

† Hor. Heb., Matt xxv. 1.