Biblical Antiquities

This department of archæology has been variously defined and classified. Some

scholars have included in it even Biblical chronology, geography, and natural

history, but wrongly so, as these three branches of Biblical science belong rather

to the external environment of history proper. Archæology, properly speaking, is

the science of antiquities, and of those antiquities only which belong more

closely to the inner life and environment of a nation, such as their monumental

records, the sources of their history, their domestic, social, religious, and

political life, as well as their manners and customs. Hence, history proper,

geography, and natural history must be excluded from the domain of

archæology. So also the study of monumental records and inscriptions and of

their historical interpretation must be left either to the historian, or to the

sciences of epigraphy and numismatics. Accordingly, Biblical Archæology may

be appropriately defined as: the science of;

I. DOMESTIC, or SOCIAL,

II. POLITICAL, and

III. SACRED, ANTIQUITIES of the Hebrew nation.

Our principal sources of information are:

(a) The Old Testament writings;

(b) the archæological discoveries made in Syria and Palestine;

(c) the Assyro-Babylonian, Egyptian, and Canaanitish monuments;

(d) the New Testament writings;

(e) the writings of the Jewish historian Josephus, and of the Babylonian

and Jerusalem Talmuds;

(f) comparative study of Semitic religions, customs, and institutions.

I. DOMESTIC ANTIQUITIES

(1) Family and clan

The Old Testament books present us the Hebrews as having passed through two

stages of social development: the pastoral and the agricultural. The stories of the

Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, picture them as dwelling in tents and

constantly moving from one pasture-ground to another. In course of time tents

merged into huts, huts into houses, and these into settlements, villages, and

cities, surrounded by cornfields, vineyards, oliveyards, and gardens. Flocks and

herds became rarer and rarer till the time of the early monarchy and afterwards,

when, with few exceptions, they gave way to commerce and trade. As among all

nations of antiquity, a coalition of various members, or branches, of the same

family constituted a clan which, as an organization, seems to have antedated the

family. A coalition of clans formed a tribe which was governed by its own chiefs

or leaders. Some of the Hebrew clans at the time of the settlement in Canaan

seem to have been organized, some to have been broken up and wholly or

partially incorporated with other clans. A man's standing in his clan was so

important that if he was cast out he became ipso facto an outlaw, unless,

indeed, some other clan could be found to receive him. After the settlement, the

Hebrew clan-system changed somewhat and slowly degenerated till the time of

the monarchy, when it fell into the background and became absorbed by the

more complicated system of national and monarchical government.

(2) Marriage and the constitution of the family

In ancient Hebrew times the family, as a social organization, and as compared

with the clan, must have held a secondary place. Comparative Semitic analogy

and Biblical evidences seem to indicate that among the early Hebrews, as

among other early Semitic nations, man lived under a matriarchate system, i.e.

kinship was constituted by uterine ties, and descent was reckoned through

female lines; the father's relation to his children being, if not ignored, certainly of

little or no importance. Hence a man's kin were the relatives of his mother, not

those of his father; and consequently all hereditary property descended in the

female line. The position of woman during the early Hebrew period, although

inferior to what it became later, was not as low and insignificant as many are

inclined to believe. Many episodes in the lives of women like Sarah, Rebeccah,

Rachel, Deborah, Mary the sister of Moses, Delilah, Jephtah's daughter, and

others are sufficient evidences. The duties of a woman, as such and as a wife

and mother, were heavy both physically and morally. The work in and about the

home devolved upon her, even to the pitching of the tent, as also the work of the

field with the men at certain seasons. The position of the man as father and as

the head of the household was of course superior to that of the wife; upon him

devolved the duty and care of the training of the children, when they had reached

a certain age, as also the offering of sacrifices, which necessarily included the

slaughtering of domestic animals, and the conduct of all devotional and ritualistic

services. To these must be added the duty of maintaining the family, which

presupposes a multitude of physical and moral obligations and hardships.

Polygamy was an acknowledged form of marriage in the patriarchal and

post-patriarchal periods, although in later times it was considerably restricted.

The Mosaic law everywhere requires a distinction to be made between the first

wife and those taken in addition to her. Marriage between near relatives was

common, owing to a desire to preserve, as far as possible, the family bond

intact. As the family was subordinate to the clan, the whole social life of the

people, marriage, and even property rights were under the surveillance of the

same. Hence a woman was to marry within the same clan; but if she chose to

marry without the clan, she should do so only upon such terms as the clan might

permit by its customs or by its action in a particular case. So, also, a woman

might be allowed, where compensation was made, to marry and leave her clan,

or she might contract through her father or other male relative with a man of

another clan provided she remained with her people and bore children for her

clan. This marriage-form, known to scholars under the term of Sadiqa-marriage,

was undoubtedly practised by the ancient Hebrews as positive indications of its

existence are found in the Book of Judges and particularly in the cases of

Jerubbaal, Samson, and others. The fact itself that Hebrew harlots who received

into their tents or dwellings men of other clans, and who bore children to their

own clan, were not looked upon with much disfavour is a sure indication of the

existence of the Sadiqa-marriage type among the Hebrews. One thing is certain,

however, that no matter how similar the marriage customs of the ancient

Hebrews may have been to those of the early Arabs, the marriage tie among the

former was much stronger than, and never as loose as, among the latter. Another

form of Hebrew marriage was the so-called levirate type (from the Lat. levir, i.e.

brother-in-law), i.e. the marriage between a widow, whose husband had died

childless, and her brother-in-law. She was, in fact, not permitted to marry a

stranger, unless the surviving brother-in-law formally refused to marry her. The

levirate marriage was intended first, to prevent the extinction of the name of the

deceased childless brother; and secondly, to retain the property within the same

tribe and family. The first-born son of such a union took the name of the

deceased uncle instead of that of his father, and succeeded to his estate. If there

were no brother of the deceased husband alive, then the next of kin was

supposed to marry the widow as we find in the case of Ruth's relative who

yielded his right to Boaz. According to the laws of Moses, a man was forbidden

to remarry a divorced wife, if she had married again and become a widow, or had

been divorced from her second husband. Israelites were not forbidden to

intermarry with any foreigners except the seven Canaanitish nations; hence

Moses' marriage to a Midianite, and afterwards to a Cushite woman and that of

David to a princess of Geshur were not against the Mosaic law. The high-priest

was to marry a virgin of his own people, and in the time of Ezechiel even an

ordinary priest could not marry a widow, unless she were the widow of a priest.

Betrothal was mostly a matter of business to be transacted by the parents and

near family friends. A distinction between betrothal and marriage is made even in

the Mosaic law, where betrothal is looked upon as more than a promise to marry;

it was in fact its initial act, and created a bond which could be dissolved only by

death or by legal divorce. Faithlessness to this vow of marriage was regarded and

punished as adultery. Betrothal actually took place after a dowry had been

agreed upon. As a rule, it was given to the parents of the bride, though

sometimes to an elder brother. Marriage contracts appear to have been mostly

oral, and made in the presence of witnesses. The earliest account of a written

one is found in the Book of Tobit (D. V. Tobias). The wedding festivities lasted

ordinarily seven days, and on the day of the wedding the bridegroom, richly

dressed and crowned, went in procession to the bride's house to take her away

from her father. The bride, deeply veiled, was led away amid the blessings of her

parents and friends. The bridal procession not infrequently took place at night, in

the blaze of torches and with the accompaniment of songs, dancing, and the

highest expressions of joy.

Adultery was punished by death, through stoning of both participants. A man

suspecting his wife of unfaithfulness might subject her to a terrible ordeal which,

it was thought, no guilty wife could well pass through without betraying her guilt.

Divorce among the ancient Hebrews was as frequent as among any other

civilized nation of antiquity. Mosaic laws attempted only to restrict and to

regulate it. Any "unseemly thing" was sufficient ground for divorce, as also was

barrenness. The wife, however, was not allowed to separate herself from her

husband for any reason; in the case of her husband's adultery, he as well as the

other guilty party, as we have seen, would be punished with death.

Concubinage, which differs widely from polygamy, was also extensively practised

by the Hebrews. A concubine was less than a wife, but more than an ordinary

mistress, and her rights were jealously guarded in the Mosaic Code. The children

born of such a union were in no case considered as illegitimate. The principal

distinction between a legal wife and a concubine consisted in the latter's social

and domestic inferiority. Concubines were not infrequently either handmaids of

the wife, or captives taken in war or purchased of their fathers. Canaanitish and

other foreign women or slaves could in no case be taken as concubines. The

seducer of an unbetrothed maiden was compelled either to marry her or to pay

her father a heavy fine. In later times, ordinary harlotry was punished, and if the

harlot was the daughter of a priest she was burnt. Idolatrous harlotry and sodomy

were severely punished.

The domestic and social life of the Hebrews was frugal and simple. They indulged

very little in public games and diversions. Hunting and fishing were looked upon

as necessities of life. Slavery was extensively practised, and slaves were either

Hebrews or foreigners. The Mosaic law is against any kind of involuntary slavery,

and no Hebrew slave was allowed to be sold to foreigners. An Israelitish slave

was to be set free after five or six years servitude and not without some

compensation, unless he were willing to serve another term. As was natural,

Hebrew slaves were more kindly treated by their Hebrew masters than were

foreign ones, who were either captives in war or purchased.

(3) Death and burial

The principal sicknesses and diseases mentioned in the Old Testament are:

intermittent, bilious, and inflammatory fevers, dysentery produced by sunstroke,

inflammation of the head, fits, apoplectic paralysis, blindness, inflammation of

the eyes, hæmorrhages, epilepsy, diarrh a, dropsy, various kinds of skin

eruptions, scabies, and the various forms of leprosy. To these must be added

some psychical diseases, such as madness, melancholy, etc., and also various

forms of demoniacal possession. No explicit mention of professional physicians

and surgeons is made in the Old Testament.

In case of death, the body was washed and wrapped in a linen cloth and, if

financial circumstances allowed, anointed with sweet-smelling spices and

ointments. Embalming was neither a general nor a common practice. Burial took

place, usually, on the day of the person's death. The dead body was never burnt,

but interred, unless for some particular reason, as in the case of Saul and his

sons. Mourning customs were various, such as wearing sackcloths, scattering

dust and ashes on the head, beating the breast, plucking and pulling out the hair

and the beard, throwing oneself upon the earth; rending the garments, going

about barefooted, veiling the face, and in some cases abstaining from eating and

drinking for a short time. The usual period of mourning lasted seven days. With

few exceptions the bodies were interred outside of the town, either in caves or in

public cemeteries. Persons of high social and financial standing were publicly

mourned, and their bodies placed in sepulchres hewn in rock.

(4) Food and meals

The principal articles of food among the ancient Hebrews can be easily

summarized from the interesting description of the land of Canaan occurring in

the Book of Deuteronomy, where it is said to he "a land of wheat, and barley, and

vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; a land

wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in

it" (Deut., viii, 8, 9). Their meals were undoubtedly of the simplest description,

and their table was more rich with fish, milk, fruit, and vegetables than with meat.

Animal food in general was in favour with the people at large, but the Mosaic law

restricted its use to almost the minimum. Animals or parts of animals designated

for sacrifice or other holy uses could only be eaten under specific conditions. In

the eleventh chapter of Leviticus and the fourteenth of Deuteronomy, a list is

given of a large class of animals which were looked upon as ceremonially unfit to

be eaten. Animals, furthermore, were classified as pure and impure, or clean and

unclean, and the complicated legislation of the Pentateuch concerning the use of

these is partly based on sanitary, partly fanciful, and partly ceremonial grounds.

The evening meal was the principal meal of the day, and if knives, forks, spoons,

and other like instruments were used in the preparation of the meals they were

not used at the table. Hands were washed before and after meals. Neither prayer,

nor grace, nor blessing seems to have been proffered before or after the repast. In

other particulars the table usages and customs of the ancient Hebrews may

reasonably be supposed to have been like those of modern Palestine.

(5) Dress and ornaments

The materials for clothing were principally cotton, linen, and wool; silk is once, or

never, mentioned in the Old Testament. The wearing of a mixed fabric of wool and

linen was forbidden by the Mosaic law. So, also, either sex was forbidden to

wear the garments proper to the opposite sex. The outer garment of men

consisted of loose, flowing robes, which were of various types and forms. On the

four corners of this outer robe a fringe, or tassel, was attached. The

undergarment, which was the same for both sexes, consisted, generally, of a

sleeveless tunic or frock of any material desired, and reached to the knees or

ankles. That of the woman was longer and of richer material. The tunic was

fastened at the waist with a girdle. The fold made by the girdle served at the

same time as a pocket. A second tunic and the shawl, which was long and of

fine material, were also in use. The outer garment of the Hebrew women differed

slightly from that of the men, and no detailed description of it is found in the

Bible. It was undoubtedly richer and more ornamented than that of the other sex.

The most accepted colour for ordinary garments was white, and the art of

bleaching cloth was from very early times known and practised by the Hebrews.

In later times, the purple, scarlet, and vermilion colours were extensively used,

as well as the black, red, yellow, and green. Girdles were worn by both sexes,

and golden girdles were not unknown. Men covered the head with some kind of a

turban, or cap, although it is doubtful whether its use was universal in pre-Mosaic

and Mosaic times. In ancient times women did not wear veils, but probably

covered their heads with kerchiefs, mufflers, or mantles. Sandals were in general

use, but not among the poorer classes, or among the farmers and shepherds.

Worthy of notice is the ceremony mentioned in Deut., xxv, 9, according to which

if a man refuses to marry the wife of his brother, who had died childless, "Then

shall his brother's wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose

his shoe from off his foot, and spit in [or before] his face, and she shall answer

and say, So shall it be done unto the man that will not build up his brother's

house". The drawing off of the shoe evidently indicated the surrender of the rights

which the law gave the man to marry his brother's widow. Likewise the modern

custom of throwing a slipper sportively after a newly wedded pair leaving the

parental house appears to have a like symbolical significance; the parents and

family friends thereby symbolically renounce their right to the daughter or son in

favour of the husband or wife. Finger-rings, ear-rings, and bracelets were

extensively used by both men and women, but more so by the latter. Prosperous

men always carried a staff and a seal. All these ornamental articles, however,

were more indulged in by the Egyptians, Assyrians, and other Oriental nations

than by the Hebrews. Hebrew women wore also cauls, anklets, and

ankle-chains, scent-bottles, and decorated purses, or satchels. Perfumery was

also indulged in; and extensive use was made of pigments as applied to the

eyelids and eyebrows by women. Tattooing on the face, arms, chest, and hands

was in all probability practised by the Hebrews, although it was to a certain

extent incompatible with certain Mosaic prescriptions.

(6) Pastoral and agricultural life

According to the Biblical records, tilling the ground and the rearing of cattle and

sheep were the first and earliest occupations of men. In Patriarchal times the

latter was in greater favour, while in the later Hebrew period the first prevailed over

the second. This transition from the pastoral, or nomadic, to the agricultural, or

settled, life was a natural consequence of the settlement in Canaan, but at no

time did the two occupations exclude each other. Both, in fact, were important,

indispensable, and necessary. The sheep was, of course, the principal animal

both as an article of food and as wool-producers besides its constant use as a

sacrificial animal. Sheep's milk was also a favourite article. Rams also, with from

two to as many as eight horns, are not infrequently mentioned. Goats are

frequently mentioned, and cows and oxen were utilized for milk and butter and for

tilling the ground. Horses and camels were imported from Arabia. Poultry and

hens are not once mentioned in the Old Testament. The ass was a common and

useful animal for transportation, but the mule is not mentioned in the Bible prior

to the time of the monarchy. The life of the Hebrew and Eastern shepherds in

general was by no means easy or uneventful. Jacob, in fact, in reproaching his

father-in-law, Laban, says: "Thus I was: in the day the drought consumed me,

and the frost by night; and my sleep fled from mine eyes" (Gen., xxxi, 40); and of

his own pastoral life and its perils David tells us that "there came a lion, an a

bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: and I went out after him, and smote him,

and delivered it out of his mouth" [I Sam. (D. V. I Kings), xvii, 34, 35]. The

shepherd's duties were to lead out the flock to pasture, watch them, supply them

with water, go after the straying ones, and bring them all safely back to the fold

at night. These formed his riches, trade, occupation, and sustenance.

Agriculture is the natural product of settled life. Nevertheless we read of Isaac

that during the prevalence of a famine in Palestine he cultivated land in the

vicinity of Gerar, which produced a hundredfold (Gen., xxvi, 12). The Mosaic law

recognizes land as the principal possession of the Hebrews, and its cultivation

as their chief business. Hence every Hebrew family was to have its own piece of

ground, which could not be alienated, except for limited periods. Such family

estates were carefully surveyed; and it was regarded as one of the most flagrant

of crimes to remove a neighbour's landmark. Estates were divided into so many

yokes, that is, such portions as a yoke of oxen could plough in a single day. The

value of the land was according to its yield in grain. Irrigation was practised to a

certain extent in Palestine, though not carried to the same extent as in Assyria,

Babylonia, and Egypt. The chief dependence for moisture was on the dew and

the drenching rains of the rainy season. The climate of Palestine was, as a

whole, favourable to agriculture, although in modern times the valleys and the

plains have greatly deteriorated in fertility. The ground was ordinarily fertilized by

the ashes of burnt straw and stubble, the chaff left after threshing, and the direct

application of dung. According to the Mosaic law, every tillable land should enjoy

on each seventh year a sabbath, or a rest. The year in question is called the

Sabbatic Year, in which the field was not to be tilled. The object of this

prescription was to heighten the natural fertility of the soil. What grew

spontaneously in that year was to be not alone for the owner, but, on equal

terms, for the poor, for strangers and for cattle. It is doubtful, however, whether

this law was scrupulously observed in later Hebrew times. The most widely

cultivated grains were wheat and barley, as well as spelt and millet. Of plants

and vegetables the principal were grape-vines, olive-trees, nuts, apples, figs,

pomegranates, beans, lentils, onions, melons, cucumbers, etc. The season for

ploughing and cultivating the ground extended from October to March; that of

gathering the crops from April or May to September. The plough was similar to

our modern one. It was ordinarily drawn by two oxen, cows or asses, never,

however, by an ass and an ox together. It was also forbidden under penalty of

confiscation to sow the same field with two kinds of seeds. The beginning of the

harvest was signalized by bringing a sheaf of new grain (presumably barley) into

the sanctuary and waving it before the Lord. The grain was generally cut with the

sickle, and sometimes pulled up by the roots. Fields and fruit-orchards were not

to be gleaned by their owners, as this privilege was given to the poor and

strangers, as in the case of Ruth. The threshing and winnowing were performed

in the open field, the first by means of cattle yoked together, the other by shovels

and fans.

(7) Commerce

The Hebrew people of olden times were not inclined towards commerce and did

not indulge in it. This is probably due partly to the geographical position of

Palestine and partly to its physical features. For although, geographically,

Palestine would seem to have offered the most natural highway to connect the

opulent commercial nations of Egypt, Syria, Ph nicia, Assyria, and Babylonia,

nevertheless, it lacked a sea-coast. Hence the Israelites remained essentially

agriculturists. The trade of the Israelites consisted chiefly in the mutual exchange

of products among themselves. At the time of David and Solomon, caravans from

Egypt, Arabia, and Syria were not infrequently sent to Palestine and vice versa.

The ships which Solomon is said to have sent to remote lands were built and

manned by the Ph nicians. But even this revival of commercial spirit among the

Hebrews was short-lived, for it ended with the life of Solomon. Solomon's

commercial activities have been also greatly misunderstood and exaggerated. A

faint revival of the Solomonic commercial spirit was inaugurated by King

Jehoshaphat, of whom we read that he made "ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir

for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Eziongeber" [I (D. V. III)

Kings, xxii, 48]. During and after the Babylonian Captivity, the Hebrews were

compelled by circumstances to resort to trade and commerce, as they had come

into constant contact with their Babylonian brethren and with the numerous

Syro-Ph nician and Aramæan tribes and colonies. The historian Josephus well

summarizes this whole matter when, in his work against Apion, he says: "We

neither inhabit a maritime country, nor do we delight in merchandise, nor in such

a mixture with other men as arises from it."

Previous to the Babylonian Captivity, coined money does not seem to have

circulated among the Hebrews, although a few references in Isaiah and other

prophets seem to indicate its existence. Silver and gold were bought and

exchanged by weight and value. The talent, the shekel, the kesitah, and the

maneh (mina) are late Hebrew terms and of Babylonian origin. After the Exile,

and especially during the Persian, Greek, and Roman dominations, coined

money became quite common in Palestine, such as the quadrans, the assarion,

the denarius, the drachma, the stater, the didrachma, etc.

During the time of the monarchy and afterwards., such trades and occupations

as woodworking, metalworking, stone-working, tanning, and weaving were

thoroughly in evidence among the most industrious class of the Israelites, but the

Chosen People cannot be said to have attained considerable skill and success in

these directions.

(8) Science, arts, etc.

At no time can the Hebrews be said to have developed a liking for the study of

history, astronomy, astrology, geometry, arithmetic, grammar, and physical

science in general. The Book of Job, Proverbs, and the many parables which

Solomon is said to have written contain but meagre and popular notions, mostly

drawn from observations of everyday life and happenings, while others are, to a

great extent, due to the Babylonian influence and civilization which, from very

early times, and especially during and after the Captivity, seem to have invaded

the entire literary and social life of the Hebrews. Hence the Hebrew astronomical

system, their calendar, constellations, sacred numbers, names of the months,

solar and lunar months, etc., are of Babylonian origin. The Book of Job no less

than the early chapters of Genesis show the traces of this same Babylonian

influence.

As the Tell-el-Amarna letters have conclusively shown, the art of writing must

have been known in Canaan and among the ancient Hebrews as early as the

Mosaic age, and even earlier. Whether, however, this art was utilized by them to

any great extent, is another question. Hebrew literature is one of the most

venerable and valuable literary productions of the ancient East; and, although in

respect of quantity and variety far inferior to that of the Assyro-Babylonians and

Egyptians, nevertheless, in loftiness of ideals, sublimity of thoughts, and

standard of morals and ethics, it is infinitely superior to them.

The art of music, both vocal and instrumental, occupies a high position in the

Bible. Previous to the time of David, the music of the Hebrews seems to have

been of the simplest character, as direct efforts to cultivate music among them

appear first in connexion with the schools of the prophets, founded by Samuel.

Under David's direction not less than four thousand musicians, i.e. more than the

tenth part of the tribe of Levi, praised the Lord with "instruments" in the service of

the temple. A select body of two hundred and eighty-eight trained musicians led

this chorus of voices, one person being placed as leader over a section

consisting of twelve singers. Heman, Asaph, and Ethan were among the most

famous of these leaders. Men and women were associated together in the choir.

In later Hebrew times the art of music developed still further till it reached its

acme under Hezekiah and Josiah. The Hebrew musical instruments were, like

those of other nations of antiquity, chiefly of three kinds, viz: stringed

instruments, wind instruments, and such as were beaten or shaken to produce

sound. To the first class belong the harp, the psaltery (also rendered "viol",

"dulcimer", etc.), the sackbut (Lat. Sambuca). To the second belong the flute,

the pipe (Lat. fistula), and the trumpet. To the last belong the tabret, or timbrel,

the castanets, and the cymbals.

In mechanical arts, the Israelites were far behind their Egyptian and

Assyro-Babylonian neighbours. The author of I Samuel (D. V. I Kings) gives a

sorry but true picture of the times preceding the activity of Samuel as follows:

"Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel . . . but all the

Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his

coulter, and his axe, and his mattock." In the times of Solomon, however, as it

appears in connexion with the building of the temple, conditions materially

improved. Of the artisan classes, those working in wood and metals were

always, perhaps, the most numerous in Israel. Among the former were

carpenters, cabinet-makers, wood-carvers, manufacturers of wagons, of baskets,

of various household utensils, including the distaff and the loom, and of the tools

used in agriculture, such as ploughs, yokes, threshing-machines, goads, and

winnowing-shovels. Workers in metals mentioned in the Bible are gold- and

silversmiths and workers in brass and iron. Some of the tools of which they made

use were the anvil, the bellows, the smelting-furnace, the fining-pot, the hammer,

and the tongs. Among the various products of these Hebrew metal-workers are

settings for precious stones, gilding, axes, saws, sickles, knives, swords,

spear-heads, fetters, chains, bolts, nails, hooks, penstocks, pans for cooking

purposes, ploughshares, and the wheels of threshing-instruments. Copper or

bronze was also used in manufacturing some of these articles. Other artisans

mentioned in the Bible are: stone-masons, brick- and tile-makers, engravers,

apothecaries, perfumers, bakers, tanners, fullers, spinners, weavers, and potters.

Most of these trades and mechanical arts, however, came into prominence

during the reign of Solomon and his successors.

II. POLITICAL ANTIQUITIES

(1) Civil administration

It has been truly said that law as law was unknown in early Israel. The customs

of the clans and the conduct of the elders or of the most influential members of

the tribe were looked upon as the standards of law and morality. Lawfulness was

a matter of custom more or less ancient and more or less approved; and penalty

was equally a matter of custom. When custom failed in a specific case,

judgment could be rendered and new precedents might be made which in

process of time would crystallize into customs. Hence the old tribal system

among primitive Semitic clans, and especially in early Israel and Arabia, knew no

legislative authority; and no single person or group of persons was ever

acknowledged as having power to make laws or to render judgment. Of course

prominent individuals or families within the tribe enjoyed certain privileges in

acknowledgment of which they performed certain duties. In many cases they

were called upon to settle differences, but they had no judicial powers and, if

their decision did not satisfy the litigants, they had neither the right nor the power

to enforce obedience, much less to inflict punishment. Within the tribe all men

are on a footing of equality, and under a communistic system petty offences are

unreasonable. Serious misdemeanour is punished by expulsion; the offender is

excluded from the protection of his kinsmen, and the penalty is sufficiently

severe to prevent it being a common occurrence. The man who is wronged must

take the first step in gaining redress; and when it happens that the whole tribe is

aroused by the perpetration of any exceptionally serious crime, the offence is

fundamentally regarded as a violation of the tribe's honour, rather than as a

personal injury to the family of the sufferer. This condition of affairs, however,

does not necessarily imply a condition of utter lawlessness. On the contrary,

tribal customs formed practically a law of binding character, although they were

not regarded as law in the proper sense of the term.

That such was the prevalent social condition of the ancient Hebrews in the

patriarchal period is quite certain. The few recorded incidents in the lives of

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob furnish ample illustration of it. The long sojourn of the

Hebrews in Egypt and the comparatively advanced civilization with which they

there came in contact, as well as their settlement in Canaan, might be expected

to have influenced their old tribal system of law and justice. Nevertheless, the

authentic historical records of Israel's national formation and even the legislation

of the Book of the Covenant, which is undoubtedly the oldest Hebrew code of

laws, when carefully examined, utterly fail to show any such remarkable advance

in the administration of law and justice over the old nomadic tribal system. It is

true, that as Dr. Benzinger remarks, "before the monarchy Israel had attained a

certain degree of unity in matters of law; not in the sense that it possessed a

written law common to all the tribes, or as a uniform organization for the

pronouncing of legal judgments, but in the sense that along with a common God

it had a community of custom and of feeling in matters of law, which community

of feeling can be traced back very far. 'It is not so done in Israel' and 'Folly in

Israel, which ought not to be done' are proverbial expressions reaching back to

quite early times". Nevertheless, law as law, with legislative power and authority,

or a uniform system of legal procedure with courts and professional judges, were

unknown in the earlier period of Israelitish history.

A study of the different Hebrew terms for judge clearly shows that a professional

class of judges and, consequently, duly constituted courts did not exist in Israel

till the first period of the monarchy, and even later. The Shoterim were primarily

subordinate military officials, who were employed partly in the maintenance of

civil order and military discipline. It was not until post-Exilic times that the term

was applied to one with judicial power. Mehokek (primarily from hakak, "to cut

in", "to inscribe", "to decide", etc., and subsequently, as in Arabic, "to be just",

"right", etc.) meant originally commander or ruler. The shophetim (Lat. sufetes;

Assyrian sapatu), from which the "Book of Judges" takes its title, were not

judges, but champions and deliverers. Hence, in Hosea (D. V. Osee), vii, 7, and

Ps., ii, 10, shophetim is a synonym of "kings" and "rulers", and the sufetes of

the Ph nician cities and colonies were called "kings" by the Greeks. Other

terms, such as palil, quasin, the meaning of which is rather obscure, primarily

mean "umpire" in general, "chief", and "petty ruler". The only Hebrew word which,

properly speaking, means "judge", in its etymology and historical significance, is

dayyan (found in all Semitic languages: Arab. dayyân; Aramaic dayyâna;

Assyrian da-a-nu or da-ia-nu, etc.). Although the stem meant originally "to

requite", "to compensate", "to govern", and "to rule", we have sufficient warrant to

believe that it meant, from the very earliest times, "to decide", and "to render

decision". In the Old Testament, however, the word rarely occurs. In I Sam. (D.

V., I Kings), xxiv, 15, it is even questionable whether it belongs to the original

text, and it is only in post-Exilic times that the word meant "professional judge".

What was the polity of the Hebrew tribes prior to the time of Moses is not difficult

to describe.

"Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob governed their families with an authority well nigh

unlimited. Their power over their households was little short of a sovereign

dominion. They were independent princes. They acknowledged no subjection,

and owed no allegiance to any sovereign. They formed alliances with other

princes. They treated with kings on a footing of equality. They maintained a body

of servants, trained to the use of arms; were the chiefs who led them in war, and

repelled force by force. They were the priests who appointed festivals, and offered

sacrifices. They had the power of disinheriting their children, of sending them

away from home without assigning any reason, and even of punishing them

capitally.

"The twelve sons of Jacob ruled their respective families with the same authority.

But when their descendants had become numerous enough to form tribes, each

tribe acknowledged a prince as its ruler. This office, it is likely, was at first

hereditary in the oldest son, but afterwards became elective. When the tribes

increased to such an extent as to embrace a great number of separate

households, the less powerful ones united with their stronger relatives, and

acknowledged them as their superiors. In this way, there arose a subdivision of

the tribes into collections of households. Such a collection was technically called

a family, a clan, a house of fathers, or a thousand. This last appellation was not

given because each of these sub- divisions contained just a thousand persons, or

a thousand households; for in the nature of things, the number must have varied,

and in point of fact, it is manifest from the history, that it did. As the tribes had

their princes, so these clans, families, or thousands had their respective chiefs,

who were called heads of houses of fathers, heads of thousands, and sometimes

simply heads. Harrington denominates these two classes of officers phylarchs,

or governors of tribes, and patriarchs, or governors of families. Both, while the

Israelites were yet in Egypt, were comprehended under the general title of elders.

Whether this name was a title of honour, like that of sheikh (the aged) among the

Arabs, and that of senator among the Romans, or whether it is to be understood,

according to its etymology, as denoting persons actually advanced in years, is

uncertain, These princes of tribes and heads of thousands, the elders of Israel,

were the rulers of the people, while they remained still subject to the power of the

Pharaohs, and constituted a kind of 'imperium in imperio'. Of course they had no

written constitution, nor any formal code of laws, but governed by custom, reason

and the principles of natural justice. They watched over and provided for the

general good of the community, while the affairs of each individual household

continued under the control of its own father. For the most part, it may be

supposed, only those cases which concerned the fathers of families themselves

would come under the cognizance and supervision of the elders."

During their wanderings through the Desert the Hebrew tribes had no occasion to

introduce any radical change in this form of government, for they had to contend

with continuous difficulties of a social, moral, and religious character. And,

although numerically superior to many Canaanitish tribes, they were,

nevertheless, lacking in military discipline and were constantly moving from place

to place. Realizing the necessity of defending themselves against the predatory

tribes and rivals for the possession of fertile lands and oases they soon

developed a military spirit, which is the strongest external principle of cohesion in

nomadic life.

The administration of justice in Israel in the Mosaic age, and for a long time after,

was in the hands of the elders, the local judges, and, somewhat later, the priests

and the Levites, joined afterwards by the prophets. The elders, who represented

the former heads of the families and clans under the tribal system, had

undoubtedly ample jurisdiction concerning family affairs, disputes about conjugal

relations, inheritances, the division of property, the appointment of the goel or

upholder of the family, and the settlement of blood-revenge. The local judges, as

we have remarked, were not what this technical title ordinarily means. They were

merely arbitrators and advisers in settling disputes which could not be settled by

the elders, and very often they had to decide cases of appeal from the ordinary

bench of elders at the city gates. They were, as a rule, taken from the body of

the elders of the city, and later on from the princes, chiefs, and military officers of

the army. The third class consisted of priests, and later on of prophets. They

were appealed to in all difficult cases, their authority and influence being

undoubtedly very strong. To appeal to a priest was to appeal to God Himself, for

the priest was universally acknowledged as the official representative of Yahweh.

His decisions were regarded as "directions", and as such they were of an

advisory character, thus constituting the "oracle" of the Hebrews. As originally

each family group had its own priest, resort was naturally had to him for light on

practical difficulties, not so much the settling of disputes as pointing out the safe,

judicious, or righteous way for the individuals of the household in embarrassment.

The prophets were also, in course of time, appealed to, not so much as official

representatives of Yahweh as from the fact that they were regarded as men

eminent in wisdom and spiritual authority. From the eighth century downwards

the authority of the priests was greatly overshadowed by that of the prophets,

who managed the destinies of the whole nation with an almost unlimited authority

and assertiveness, proclaiming themselves as the messengers of Yahweh and

the mouthpieces of His orders. A single judicial centre for the whole nation was

never attained till the period of the monarchy. During the period of the Judges

several leading judicial centres existed, such as Shiloh, Beth-el, Gilgal, Mizpah,

Ramah, etc.

Whether Hebrew judges held their office for life is not altogether certain, although

the presumption is that they did. It is likewise uncertain whether any salary or

compensation was attached to the office. In the case of the Ten Judges, no

revenues were appropriated for them, except, perhaps, a larger share of the

spoils taken in war; and in case of the ordinary local judges or elders the offering

of presents was quite common. This at first may have been a kind of testimonial

of gratitude and respect, but it afterwards degenerated into mere bribery and

corruption.

Whether the office of princes of tribes, chiefs, military officers, elders, and judges

was hereditary or elective, is not easy to determine. Both systems may have

been according to the different circumstances; but that in the majority of cases it

was hereditary, admits of no doubt, for such was the prevailing custom in the

ancient East and, to a certain extent, is so even in our own days.

No external sign of honour seems to have been attached to the dignity of judges

and elders in Israel. They were without pomp, retinue, or equipage, although the

passage in the Song of Deborah relating to those "who ride on white asses and

sit in judgment" probably refers to the princes of the tribes, chiefs, elders, and

judges in their respective capacities of military commanders, magistrates, and

moral advisers and arbiters. In the East, even at the present day, the quadis, or

chief judges and magistrates, have the distinctive privilege of riding either on

mules or white asses, as against the military officers and civil governors who

must ride on horses.

That the office of chief magistrate was unknown in ancient Israel is quite certain.

In the whole Pentateuchal legislation allusion to such an institution is absolutely

wanting. The supreme authority of the Hebrew community was in Yahweh.

Moses, strictly speaking, was but the viceroy of Yahweh and the same, to a

certain extent, may also be said of Joshua. Their successors, the judges, were

rather military commanders than judges or magistrates in the strict sense. With

the beginning of the monarchy, the civil as well as the military power began to be

concentrated, as far as possible, in the person of the king. But the Pentateuchal

legislation as a whole is decidedly adverse to the idea of concentrating all power

in the person of the king, or in that of any individual, and it is not improbable that

the writer of Deut., xvii, was influenced by Israel's historical experience under the

monarchy.

Allusions to the administration of law and justice in the old Book of the Covenant

are extremely meagre and utterly fail to give us any clear (or even vague)

reference to legal procedure, judges, courts, or to any system of administration

of justice. It is true that the Book of the Covenant contains statutes and

judgments, apparently enacted by some authoritative power; for such an

authority must be assumed, otherwise there would be no meaning in the precise

fixing of punishment, etc., such as the punishment of death, seven times

prescribed, and the avenging on the body of the guilty person the wrong he had

done. Still, as Kautzsch rightly remarks, "we are wholly in the dark as to the

circle from which all the statutes and judgments proceeded, and, above all, as to

the public authority by which scrupulous obedience was ensured. And,

emphatically as justice and impartiality in legal cases is insisted on (xxiii, ff.),

there is not a single indication as to who is authorized to pronounce sentence or

to supervise the execution of the verdict." In two cases, however, viz., in Exodus,

xxi, 6 and xxii, 8, in which the case is complicated and the law doubtful, the

Book of the Covenant insists that the parties should present themselves "before

God" (Elohim): in the first case probably to perform a symbolic act which will

have legal effect, and in the second probably to obtain an oracle. The Septuagint

seems to have understood the sense of the phrase before God in its most

obvious meaning, rendering it "before the tribunal of God", i.e. that the matter is

to be referred to the judgment of God, presumably in the sanctuary or before the

priest. Rabbinical tradition, however, as early as the time of St. Jerome, took the

word Elohim (God) as a plural, i.e. "gods", arguing that the word here means

simply "judges", from the fact that, on account of the sacredness of their office,

and the place where their decisions were rendered (often in the temple or at

some sacred shrine) the Judges were called "gods". The rabbinical interpretation

which has been followed by the majority of ancient and modern commentators

ingenious though it be, is nevertheless erroneous for, considering the fact that

the two cases referred to were such as no judge could decide with any certainty

or probability , and in which only a divine intervention could bring about a

satisfactory solution, we may assume that the rabbinical interpretation is

untenable. This conclusion has been admirably vindicated by the Code of

Hammurabi, where, in several cases in which the doubt is such as to make any

human wisdom of no avail, and any judicial decision untrustworthy, the decision

is left to God Himself. Hence, in all such cases Hammurabi decrees that the

litigants should present themselves "before God", and swear by His name, i.e.

take an oath. The expression used by Hammurabi is exactly the same as that

used in the two passages of Exodus referred to, and the cases in which the

expression is applied are analogous. But in the Code of Hammurabi "to appear

before God" is the same as "to swear by the name of God", or "to take a solemn

oath"; hence, in the two passages of Exodus, to appear before Elohim does not

mean to appear before the judges, but to take a solemn oath at some holy place

or sanctuary where the presence of the deity was more sensibly felt. By taking

an oath the man in question constitutes God as the judge before whom he

protests his innocence and affirms his rights . God is thereby called upon to

avenge Himself upon the perjurers. And this God is neither Bel, nor Marduk, nor

any other particular god, but is the Deity in its almost abstract form -- He who is

considered to be everywhere and to know everything. Hence the rabbinical

interpretation, followed, till the discovery of the Code of Hammurabi, by the

majority of commentators, may be confidently dismissed.

The legislation of Deuteronomy, on the other hand, which is in the main

considerably later than that of the Book of the Covenant, furnishes us with more

abundant details concerning the administration of law and justice in Israel. These

are contained mainly in xvi, 18-20; xvii, 8-13, and 14-20; xix, 15-20, and xxv, 1-4.

From II Chronicles (D. V. Paralipomenon) we learn that King Jehoshaphat

established in Jerusalem a supreme tribunal, or court of justice, where priests

and lay judges participated in the administration of justice each in their own

sphere, and that he appointed judges in all cities of Judah. Details are lacking,

but in its broader features the judicature thus established by Jehoshaphat agrees

remarkably with the system prescribed in Deuteronomy, xvii, 8-13. Even in this

case it is doubtful whether these judges and tribunals could in any satisfactory

measure compare with the Babylonian legal system of the time of Hammurabi. In

Ezechiel's time (and this brings us down to the sixth century B. C.) the priests

seem to have absorbed all administrative power, while the author of I Chronicles,

evidently influenced by Ezechiel or Deuteronomy, tells us that David had

appointed 6,000 Levites as judges, which is quite inadmissible. In the post-Exilic

times, and during the Greek and Roman periods, reference is made to

professional judges, local courts, and tribunals in all the cities of Israel, which

was undoubtedly due to Babylonian, Persian, Greek, and Roman influences.

Judicial or legal procedure was very simple in early Israel. In Exodus, xviii, 22, we

are told that the elders appointed by Moses at Horeb were to judge the people

"at all seasons"; and in Numbers, xxvii, 2 (cf. Exodus, xviii, 19 sqq.), we read

that Moses rendered judgments before the tabernacle of Yahweh, where he sat

with Aaron and the princes or elders of the congregation to teach statutes and

give judgments. According to Deuteronomy, xxi, 19; xxii, 15; and xxv, 7 (cf.

Prov., xxii, 22; Amos , v, 11, 15; and Ruth, iv, 1, etc.), the judges in the cities

had their seat at the gate, which was the thoroughfare of the public, or in the

public squares of the city, where the markets were held, or in some other open

place. Even the supreme judges administered justice in public; Deborah, for

instance, under a palm-tree, and the kings at the gate, or in the court, of the

royal palace. Solomon is said to have erected a porch, or hall of judgment, in

Jerusalem, for his own royal court of justice, and from Jeremiah we learn that in

later times the princes of Judah exercised judgment in a chamber of the royal

palace. Jeremiah himself, when accused by the priests and false prophets, was

judged by the princes of the people, who are said to have come out of the king's

house into the temple to judge at the entrance of the new gate before the

assembled people. The litigants, viz., the plaintiff and the defendant, appeared

personally before the elders, and presented their complaints orally. The accused,

if not present, could be summoned to appear. Advocates are unknown in the Old

Testament, for the plaintiff was supposed to look after his own case if he desired

satisfactory judgment. Litigants were also at liberty to settle their differences

personally, without appealing to the judge. The judge was held bound to hear and

examine the case closely and conscientiously, his chief method of inquiry being

the examination of the testimony of the witnesses. The accusations of the father

against his rebellious child needed no support of witness. In other cases,

however, especially criminal cases, not fewer than two or three witnesses were

absolutely required. In all probability the testimony of slaves, children under age,

and women was not accepted, as is expressly stated by Josephus and the

Talmud, although not mentioned in the Old Testament. Witnesses were

thoroughly examined, and, as in the Code of Hammurabi, false witnesses were

punished according to the lex talionis, viz., by inflicting the precise kind of

punishment the false witness had intended to bring upon his victim by his

falsehood. Witnesses do not seem to have been put on oath, but when the

nature of the case was such as to make it impossible to have or to produce

witnesses as in a case of theft,, the oath was then administered to the accused,

and the case decided. When the discovery of the crime and of the guilty party

was a practical impossibility, Yahweh was looked to for the accomplishment of

the task.

The Law affixes no civil punishment for perjury; it forbids it as a profanation of

Yahweh's name and threatens it with divine punishment. It must be noted,

however, that in all cases in which an oath was taken before a judgment-seat it

consisted merely of an adjuration addressed by the judge and responded to by

the person sworn with an Amen. "Only in common life did the person swearing

himself utter the oath, either: 'So Yahweh do to me, and more also', or 'God

[Elohim] do so to me', etc., or 'as Yahweh liveth'. But in such cases the name of

Yahweh was probably avoided, and the oath was taken by the life (soul) of the

man, to whom one wished to protest by oath. In later times, it became common,

especially among the Pharisees, to swear by heaven, by the earth, by the

temple, the holy city, and by one's own head."

The verdict, or the sentence, was pronounced orally, although from Job, xiii, 16;

and Isaiah, x, 1, it appears that in some cases the sentence may have been

given in written form. The sentence was to be executed without delay.

Punishment was administered before the eyes of the judge, and that of stoning

by the whole congregation or the people of the city, the witnesses being required

to put their hands first to the execution of the guilty.

The practice of ordeals as means for ascertaining the truth, or obtaining a

confession of guilt, was by no means unknown in Israel, although Josephus

expressly tells us that torture and the bastinado for this purpose were first

introduced into Israel by the Herodians. The most important one is the so-called

"ordeal of jealousy", prescribed in Numbers, v, 11-31, in the case of a woman

suspected of adultery which cannot be legally proved. For this purpose the

husband of the suspected woman would bring her to the priest; he must also

bring with him an offering of barley meal, which is called "a meal-offering of

jealousy, a meal-offering of memorial bringing guilt to remembrance". The priest

brings the woman before Yahweh, makes her take an oath of purgation, and then

gives her to drink a potion described as "the water of bitterness that causeth the

cure", consisting of "holy water" with which dust from the floor of the tabernacle

has been mingled, and into which the written words of the oath have been

washed. If the woman be guilty the potion proves harmful; if innocent, harmless;

in the latter case, moreover, the woman becomes fruitful.

The existence, at least at certain periods, of corruption and dishonesty in the

administration of justice in Israel, and especially among the priests, need hardly

be insisted on. The example of the two sons of Eli, notorious for their greed, is

well known. Micah, Isaiah, Hosea, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, and Malachi freely and

vehemently accuse the Hebrew judges of unfairness, injustice, respect of

persons, bribery, and dishonesty in their legal decisions.

(2) The army

While in Egypt, the Hebrews lived a peaceful pastoral life under the supreme

control of the Pharaohs. During their forty-years wandering in the desert, they

had no enemy to fight, and no land to conquer; but when the time of their

entering Canaan approached, the situation was completely changed. Here they

were face to face with old settled Canaanitish tribes and nations, such as the

Philistines, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Amorites, the Jebusites, the

Hivites, the Perizzites, and many others, whom they had to attack, defeat, and

exterminate. "Ye shall utterly destroy", was the command of Yahweh, "all the

places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the

high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree: and ye shall

overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and

ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of

them out of that place" (Deut., xii, 2, 3). Hence the creation and organization of

an army became a necessity, and it is morally certain that in their first wars

every available Hebrew fighter took part. From the time of David down to the late

monarchical period a regular army was selected and organized. From Num., i, 3,

it appears that the whole male population over twenty years of age if capable of

bearing arms, were liable to military duty. At the time of the Judges, it is certain

that the Israelitish army was composed wholly of infantry, as David was the first

to use horses and chariots for military purposes, and it was Solomon who first

established a distinct cavalry army. In the middle days of the monarchy the

Hebrews could raise an army of one hundred and eighty thousand men [I Kings

(D. V. III Kings), xii, 21], and on some occasions twice and even three times as

many [see II Chronicles (D. V. Paralip.), xiii, 3, and xiv, 8]. These figures,

however, need be greatly lowered, as they are due probably to a copyist's error.

The army was divided into hundreds and thousands, with their appropriate

leaders, captains of hundreds and captains of thousands, if on their arrival by

septs or clans they were not thus organized. It is certain, however, that in point

of armament and military organization and discipline the Hebrew army was

greatly inferior to either the Egyptian or the Assyrian. Before undertaking any

military operation. Yahweh was consulted through a prophet or through the Urim

and Thummim, and sacrifices were offered just as in Homer's times. This

custom, however, was practised by all nations of antiquity. >From many Biblical

passages [such as Judges, vii, 16; I Sam. (D. V. Kings), xi, 11; II Sam. (D. V.

Kings), xviii, 2; I Kings (D. V. III Kings), xx, 27; and II Macc., viii, 22, etc.] it

clearly appears that the attacking Israelitish army was usually divided into three

divisions, one in the centre and two on the flanks. Isaiah refers even to the

"wings" of the army (viii, 8). A column advancing to conflict was preceded by two

ranks of spearmen; next to these was a rank of bowmen, and behind them came

the slingers. Spies were often sent out in advance to learn the position and the

strength of the enemy, while night-attacks, with skilfully divided forces, were not

infrequent. The beginning of the battle was signalized by the blast of a trumpet,

accompanied by the shouts of the combatants. The Ark with its ephod was

considered indispensable. It was borne before the army, who, as it was taken up,

cried out, "Arise, 0 Yahweh, and let Thine enemies be scattered, and let them

that hate Thee flee before Thee". The principal equipment for war was the helmet,

shield, and other defensive armour, the bow, the sling, the sword, the spear, the

javelin, and other instruments which must have been common to all Oriental

nations, although not explicitly mentioned in the Bible.

III. SACRED ANTIQUITIES

Some of the Hebrew festivals are originally of historical character, i.e. are

commemorative of some great historical event in the life of the Hebrew nation;

while others are primarily religious, or of ethico-religious significance. To the first

category belong the Feast of Passover, the Feast of Pentecost, and the Feast of

Tabernacles, and other minor ones mentioned below such as the Feast of Purim,

etc. To the second class belong the Sabbath, the New Moon, the Feast of

Trumpets, the Sabbatical Year and the Year of Jubilee. The former were more

properly called festivals; the latter, sacred seasons. The latter are lunar; the

former are solar -- based on the lunar and solar system respectively. The

principal features of the three great historical festivals consisted in making a

pilgrimage, or a visit, to the Temple, as prescribed in Exodus, xxiii, 14, 17:

"Three times in the year shalt thou hold pilgrimage unto me, three times in the

year shall all thy men appear before Yahweh, the God of Israel."

The Passover (whence our Pascha), with which the Feast of the Unleavened

Bread is closely connected and almost identified, although originally distinct from

it, constituted the opening festival of the Jewish ecclesiastical year, and was

celebrated on the 14th of Nisan (Abib), which month approximately corresponds

to our April. It was instituted in commemoration of the Exodus from Egypt, when

the Angel of Death went forth to destroy the first-born of the Egyptians, passing

over (whence Passover), however, the houses of the Hebrews, on the lintels of

whose doors the blood of a lamb had been sprinkled. The Passover Festival was

celebrated as follows: An unblemished male lamb a year old (called the paschal

lamb) was to be selected by each family in Israel. It was to be killed on the

evening of the fourteenth day and consumed the same night. The flesh was to be

roasted, not eaten raw, or boiled, and not a bone of the animal was to be broken.

Along with it, unleavened bread and bitter herbs might be used, but nothing more;

and whatever portions were not needed for food were to be destroyed the same

night by burning. Hence, on the evening of the thirteenth day of Nisan, all leaven

was scrupulously removed from the Jewish homes. The fourteenth day was thus

regarded as a holiday, on which all servile work was suspended. In later Hebrew

times, however, the Passover Festival was somewhat modified.

The Feast of the Pentecost, also called the Feast of Weeks, Feast of Harvest,

Day of Firstfruits, etc., was celebrated on the fiftieth day after the Passover, i.e.

on or about the 8th of Siwan, the third month of the Jewish ecclesiastical year. It

lasted a single day, and it marked the completion of the corn harvest. According

to later Jewish traditions, the Feast of Pentecost was also instituted in

commemoration of the giving of the Law to Moses. It is mentioned in the Bible for

the first time in the second Book of Maccabees. With the Feast of Pentecost the

New Year holiday season closed: The characteristic ritual of this feast consisted

in offering and waving to Yahweh in his Temple two leavened loaves of wheaten

flour, together with a sin offering, burnt offering, and peace offering, and its object

was to offer to Yahweh the flrst-fruits of the harvest, and to thank Him for it.

The Feast of Tabernacles, or Booths, was observed for seven days, i.e. from the

15th to the 22nd of Tisri (the seventh month of the Jewish year, approximately

corresponding to our October), following closely upon the Day of Atonement. It

marked the completion of the fruit-harvest (which included the oil- and

wine-harvest), and, historically, it commemorated the forty-years wandering in the

wilderness, when all the Hebrew tribes and families, for lack of houses and

buildings, lived in tents and booths. "The sacrifices at this feast were far more

numerous than at any other. On each of the seven days one kid of the goats was

offered as a sin offering, and two rams and fourteen lambs as a burnt-offering.

Also seventy bullocks were offered on the seven days, beginning with thirteen on

the first day and diminishing by one each day, until on the seventh day seven

were offered. After the seven days a solemn day of 'holy convocation' was

observed which marked the conclusion, not only of the feast of Tabernacles, but

of the whole cycle of the festal year. On this day one bullock, one ram, and

seven lambs were offered as a burnt offering, and one goat for a sin offering." The

earliest Biblical allusion to this feast is found in I (D. V. III) Kings, viii, 2, and xii,

32.

Besides these three great festivals, certain minor ones were observed by the

Hebrews: The word Purim is probably of Persian origin (Furdigan, Pordigân, or

Pardiyân), and the feast so named was instituted to commemorate the overthrow

of Haman, the triumph of Mordecai, and the escape of the Jews from utter

destruction in the time of Esther. It was celebrated in the 14th and 15th day of

Adar (the twelfth and last month of the Jewish Year). -- The Feast of the

Dedication of the Temple was instituted in 164 B. C. by Judas Maccabæus, when

the Temple, which had been desecrated by Antiochus Epiphanes, was once

more purified and rededicated to the service of Yahweh. It commenced on the

25th of Chislew, the ninth month of the Jewish year (corresponding to our

December), and lasted for eight days. It was a feast of universal and unbounded

joy, delight, and happiness, as was that of Purim. Other minor feasts were the

Feast of the Wood Offering; The Reading of the Law; Feast of Nicanor; of the

Captured Fortress; of Baskets, etc.

The sacred seasons, or religious festivals, are primarily a development of the

institution of the Sabbath and based on the lunar system of the Calendar. It has

been often remarked, and with good reason, that in all the Hebrew Religious

Festivals the sacred number seven is the dominating factor. "Every 7th day was

a Sabbath. Every seventh month was a sacred month. Every seventh year was a

Sabbatical year. Seven times seven was the year of Jubilee. The Feast of the

Passover, with the Feast of the Unleavened Bread, began fourteen days (2x7)

after the beginning of the month, and lasted seven days. The Feast of Pentecost

was seven times seven days after the Feast of the Passover. The Feast of

Tabernacles began fourteen days (2x7) after the beginning of the month and

lasted seven days. The seventh month was marked by;

(1) the Feast of Trumpets on the first day,

(2) the Fast of Atonement on the tenth day,

(3) Feast of Tabernacles from the fifteenth day to the twenty-first.

The days of the "Holy Convocation" were seven in number -- two at the Passover,

one at Pentecost, one at the Feast of Trumpets, one at the Day of Atonement,

and one at the Feast of Tabernacles, and one on the day following, the eighth

day."

The institution of the Hebrew Sabbath may be traced in its origin to the early

Babylonians who, according to the majority of Assyriologists, seem to have been

its originators, although among the Hebrews it developed on altogether different

lines. It was celebrated on the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th day of the lunar month. It

is doubtful whether it was known and observed in patriarchal and pre-Mosaic

times. Moses, in instituting -- or rather in modifying -- the old institution of the

Sabbath, connects it with the seventh day of the Creation period, on which God

is said to have rested. By the ancient Babylonians it was looked upon as an

unlucky day, on which it was unlucky to do any public work, consequently was a

day of rest.

The New Moon Festival consisted in celebrating the reappearance of the moon,

and as such it was universally practised by all Semitic nations. Hence, in all

probability, it was an acknowledged pre-Mosaic Hebrew institution. On this day

the law enjoined only the offering of special sacrifices and the blowing of

trumpets. Abstinence from work was not obligatory. On the day of the new moon

of the seventh month the festival in question was more solemnly and more

elaborately celebrated. After the Babylonian exile, however, the festival assumed

a new character, similar to that of the New Year Celebration.

The Feast of Trumpets is the New Moon Festival of the seventh, or Sabbatical,

month of the year.

The Sabbatical Year occurred every seventh year, and in it fields were not to be

tilled.

The Year of Jubilee occurred every fifty years, i.e. at the end of seven Sabbatic

years, just as Pentecost occurred on the fiftieth day after the Passover Festival.

Its principal features were the emancipation of the Hebrew slaves and the return

of mortgaged property to its hereditary owners.

The great Hebrew Fast Festival was the "Day of Atonement", or Yom Kippur. It

was celebrated on the tenth day of the seventh month, on which day atoning

sacrifices were offered for the sins and uncleannesses of the people of Israel as a

whole, and for the purification of the temple in all its parts and appurtenances. It

is significant that the earliest mention of it in the Bible occurs in such post-Exilic

writings as Zech. (D. V. Zach.), iii, 9; Nehemiah, vii, 73; ix, 38; and Sirach, 1, 5

sqq. A ceremony connected with the Day of Atonement is the so-called For

Azazel. It consisted in sending into the wilderness the remaining goat (the

"emissary goat"), the sins of the people of Israel having first been placed

symbolically upon its head.

Treatises on Biblical Arch ology by JARN (Vienna, 1817); ROSENMÜLLER (Leipzig, 1823-31); DE

WETTE (Leipzig, 1864); EWALD (Göttingen, 1866); HANEBERG (Munich, 1869); ROSKEFF

(Vienna, 1857); KINZLER (Stuttgart, 1884); SCHEGG (Freiburg, 1886). For English readers the best

and most available works are KEIL, Manual of Biblical Arch ology (tr., 2 vols., Edinburgh, 1887);

BISSELL, Biblical Antiquities (Philadelphia, 1888); FENTON, Early Hebrew Life (London, 1880);

DAY, The Social Life of the Hebrews in the Semitic Series (New York, 1901); TRUMBULL, The

Blood Covenant; ID., The Threshold Covenant; ID., The Salt Covenant; various articles in SMITH,

Dictionary of the Bible; KITTO, Biblical Cyclopedia; VIGOUROUX, Dict. de la Bible; HASTINGS,

Dict. of the Bible; and Jewish Encyclopedia. The most recent and authoritative works on the

subject, however, are BENZIGER, Hebräische Archäologie (Freiburg im Br., 1894); NOWACK,

Lehrbuch der hebräischen Archäologie (Freiburg im Br., 1894); BUHL, Die socialen Verhältnisse

der Israeliten (Berlin, 1899), tr. into French by CINTRE (Paris, 1904); LEVY, La famille dans

l'antiquité israelite (Paris, 1905). Of great value, especially for later Old Testament times, are also

the classical works of SCHÜRER, Geschichte des jüdischen Volkes im Zeitalter Jesu Christi (3 vols.,

1898-1901), tr. from the 2nd ed. (5 vols., London and New York); EDERSHEIM, The Rites and

Worships of the Jews (New York, 1891); ID., The Temple, its Ministry and Service (London, 1874);

ID., Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah (London and New York).

GABRIEL OUSSANI

Transcribed by Douglas J. Potter

Dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume II

Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York

The Catholic Encyclopedia: NewAdvent.org