confirmation of it to Lam. iv. 21, where Uz is expressly said to be in Edom; and to Jer. xlix. 7, 8, 20, Ezek. xxv. 13, Amos i. 11, 12, Obad. 8, 9, where both Teman and Dedan are described as inhabitants of Edom. In effect, says Mr. Horne, nothing is clearer

VEIL. Women were wont to cover their faces with veils in token of modesty, of reverence, and subjection to their husbands, Gen. xxiv. 65; 1 Cor. xi. 3, &c. In modern times, the women of Syria never appear in the streets without their veils. These are of two kinds, the furragi and the common Aleppo veil; the former being worn by some of the Turkish women only, the latter indiscriminately by all. The first is in the form of a large cloak, with long strait sleeves, and a square hood hanging flat on the back; it is sometimes made of linen, sometimes of a shawl or cloth. This veil, reaching to the heels, conceals the whole of the dress, from the neck downwards; while the head and face are covered by a large white handkerchief over the head-dress and forehead, and a smaller one tied transversely over the lower part of the face, hanging down on the neck. Many of the Turkish women, instead of the smaller handkerchief, use a long piece of black crape stiffened, which, sloping a little from the forehead, leaves room to breathe more freely. In this last way, the ladies are completely disguised; in the former, the eyes and nose remaining visible, they are easily known by their acquaintances. The radid is a species of veil, which Calmet supposes is worn by married women, as a token of their submission and dependence, and descends low down on the person. To lift up the veil of a virgin is reckoned a gross insult; but to take away the veil of a married woman is one of the greatest indignities that she can receive, because it deprives her of the badge which distinguishes and dignifies her in that character, and betokens her alliance to her husband, and her interest in his affections. This is the reason why the spouse so feelingly complains: "They took away my veil, 77, from me," Cant. v. 7. When it is forcibly taken away by the husband, it is equivalent to divorce, and justly reckoned a most severe calamity; therefore, God threatened to take away the ornamental dresses of the daughters of Zion, including the radidim, the low-descending veils: "In that day the Lord will take away the changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the veils," Isaiah iii. 18, &c.

The ordinary Aleppo veil is a linen sheet, large enough to cover the whole habit from head to foot, and is brought over the face in a manner to conceal all but one eye. This is perhaps alluded to by the bridegroom in these words: "Thou hast ravished my heart

than that the history of an inhabitant of Idumea is the subject of the poem which bears the name of Job, and that all the persons introduced into it were Idumeans, dwelling in Idumea; in other words, Edomite Arabs.

with one of thine eyes," Canticles iv. 9. In Barbary, when the ladies appear in public, they always fold themselves up so closely in their hykes, that, even without their veils, one can 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, on the approach of a stranger, they always drop their veils, as Rebekah did on the approach of Isaac. But, although they are so closely wrapped up, that those who look at them cannot see even their hands, still less their face, yet it is reckoned indecent in a man to fix his eyes upon them; he must let them pass without seeming at all to observe them. When a lady of distinction, says Hanway, travels on horseback, she is not only veiled, but has generally a servant, who runs or rides before her to clear the way; and on such occasions the men, even in the marketplaces, always turn their backs till the women are past, it being thought the highest ill manners to look at them. A lady in the east considers herself degraded when she is exposed to the gaze of the other sex, which accounts for the conduct of Vashti in refusing to obey the command of the king. Their ideas of decency, on the other hand, forbid a virtuous woman to lay aside or even to lift up her veil in the presence of the other sex. She who ventures to disregard this prohibition inevitably ruins her character. From that moment she is noted as a woman of easy virtue, and her act is regarded as a signal for intrigue. Pitts informs us that in Barbary the courtezan appears in public without her veil; and, in Prov. vii. 13, 14, the harlot exposes herself in the same indecent manner: "So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face," a face uncovered and shameless," said unto him, I have peace-offerings with me, this day have I paid my vows." But it must nevertheless be remarked, that, at different times, and in different parts of the east, the use, or partial use of the veil has greatly varied.

VINE, E, Genesis xl. 9; &μmeλos, Matt. xxvi. 29; Mark xiv. 25; Luke xxii. 18; John xv. 4, 5; James iii. 12; Rev. xiv. 19; a noble plant of the creeping kind, famous for its fruit, or grapes, and the liquor they afford. The vine is a common name, or genus, including several species under it; and Moses, to distinguish the true vine, or that from which wine is made, from the rest, calls it, the wine vine, Numbers vi. 4. Some of

The emperor Pescennius Niger gave orders
that his soldiers should drink nothing but
vinegar on their marches. That which the
Roman soldiers offered to our Saviour at his
crucifixion, was, probably, the vinegar they
made use of for their own drinking. Con-
stantine the Great allowed them wine and
vinegar alternately, every day. This vinegar
was not of that sort which we use for salads
and sauces; but it was a tart wine called
pesca, or sera. They make great use of it in
Spain and Italy, in harvest-time. They use
it also in Holland, and on ship-board, to cor-
rect the ill taste of the water.

VIPER, YEN, Job xx. 16; Isaiah xxx. 6;
lix. 5; xidva, Matthew iii. 7; xii. 34; xxiii.
33; Luke iii. 7; Acts xxviii. 3; a serpent
famed for the venomousness of its bite, which
is one of the most dangerous poisons in the
animal kingdom. So remarkable, says Dr.
Mead, has the viper been for its venom, that
the remotest antiquity made it an emblem of
what is hurtful and destructive. Nay, so ter-
rible was the nature of these creatures, that
they were very commonly thought to be
sent as executioners of divine vengeance
upon mankind, for enormous crimes which
had escaped the course of justice. An in-
stance of such an opinion as this we have in
the history of St. Paul, Acts xxviii., whom
the people of Melita, when they saw the viper
leap upon his hand, presently concluded to
be a murderer; and as readily made a god
of him when, instead of having his hand
inflamed, or falling down dead, one or other
of which is usually the effect of these bites,
he without any harm shook the reptile into
the fire: it being obvious enough to imagine
that he must stand in a near relation at least
to the gods themselves, who could thus com-
mand the messengers of their vengeance, and
counterwork the effects of such powerful
agents.

VISION, the act of seeing; but, in scrip-
ture, it generally signifies a supernatural
appearance, either by dream or in reality, by
which God made known his will and pleasure
to those to whom it was vouchsafed, Acts ix.
10, 12, xvi. 9; xxvi. 13; 2 Cor. xii. 1. Thus,
in the earliest times, to patriarchs, prophets,
and holy men God sent angels, he appeared
to them himself by night in dreams, he illu-
minated their minds, he made his voice to
be heard by them, he sent them ecstasies,
and transported them beyond themselves,
and made them hear things that eye had not
seen, ear had not heard, and which had not
entered into the heart of man. The Lord
showed himself to Moses, and spoke to him
when he was at the mouth of the cave. Jesus
Christ manifested himself to his apostles, in
his transfiguration upon the mount, and on
several other occasions after his resurrection.
God appeared to Abraham under the form
of three travellers; he showed himself to
Isaiah and Ezekiel, in the splendour of his
glory. Vision is also used for the prophecies
written by the prophets. The beatific vision

denotes the act of angels and glorified spirits
beholding in heaven the unveiled splendours
of the Lord Jehovah, and privileged to con-
template his perfections and plans in and by
himself.

VOCATION, or CALLING, is a gracious
act of God in Christ, by which, through his
word and Spirit, he calls forth sinful men,
who are liable to condemnation and placed
under the dominion of sin, from the condition
of the animal life, and from the pollutions
and corruptions of this world, 2 Tim. i. 9;
Matt. xi. 28; 1 Peter ii. 9, 10; Gal. i. 4;
2 Peter ii. 20; Rom. x. 13-15; 1 Peter iii.
19; Gen. vi. 3, unto "the fellowship of
Jesus Christ," and of his kingdom and its
benefits; that, being united unto him as
their head, they may derive from him life,
sensation, motion, and a plenitude of every
spiritual blessing, to the glory of God and
their own salvation, 1 Cor. i. 9; Gal. ii. 20;
Eph. i. 3. 6; 2 Thess. ii. 13, 14. The end
intended is, that they who have been called
answer by faith to God and to Christ who
give the call, and that they thus become the
covenanted people of God through Christ
the Mediator of the new covenant; and,
after having become believers and parties to
the covenant, that they love, fear, honour,
and worship God and Christ, render in all
things obedience to the divine precepts "in
righteousness and true holiness," and that
by this means they "make their calling and
election sure," Prov. i. 24; Heb. iii. 7; Rev.
iii. 20; Eph. ii. 11-16; Titus iii. 8; Deut.
vi. 4, 5; Jer. xxxii. 38, 39; Luke i. 74, 75;
2 Peter i. 1, 10. The glory of God, who is
supremely wise, good, merciful, just, and
powerful, is so luminously displayed in this
communication both of his grace and glory,
as deservedly to raise into rapturous admi-
ration the minds of angels and of men, and
to employ their loosened tongues in cele-
brating the praises of Jehovah, Rev. iv. 8-11;
v. 8-10. See CALLING.

VOW, a promise made to God, of doing
some good thing hereafter. The use of vows
is observable throughout scripture. When
Jacob went into Mesopotamia, he vowed to
God the tenth of his estate, and promised to
offer it at Bethel, to the honour of God,
Gen. xxviii. 22. Moses enacts several laws
for the regulation and execution of vows.
A man might devote himself, or his children,
to the Lord. Jephthah devoted his daugh-
ter, Judges xi. 30, 31. Samuel was vowed or
consecrated to the service of the Lord be-
fore his birth, by his pious mother Hannah;
and was really offered to him, to serve in the
tabernacle, 1 Sam. i. 21, &c. If a man and
woman vowed themselves to the Lord, they
were obliged to adhere strictly to his service,
according to the conditions of the vow; but
in some cases they might be redeemed. A
man from twenty years of age till sixty, gave
fifty shekels of silver; and a woman, thirty,
Lev. xxvii. 3. From the age of five years to
twenty, a man gave twenty shekels, and a

woman ten; from a month old to five years, they gave for a boy five shekels, and for a girl three. A man of sixty years old, or upwards, gave fifteen shekels, and a woman of the same age gave ten. If the person was poor, and could not procure this sum, the priest imposed a ransom upon him, according to his abilities. If any one had vowed an animal that was clean, he had not the liberty of redeeming it, or of exchanging it, but was obliged to sacrifice it to the Lord. If it was an unclean animal, and such as was not allowed to be sacrificed, the priest made a valuation of it; and if the proprietor would redeem it, he added a fifth part to the value, by way of forfeit. They did the same in proportion, when the thing vowed was a house or a field. They could not devote the first-born, because in their own nature they belonged to the Lord, Lev. xxvii. 28, 29. Whatever was devoted by way of anathema, could not be redeemed, of whatever nature or quality it was. An animal was put to death, and other things were devoted for ever to the Lord. The consecration of Nazarites was a particular kind of vow. The vows and promises of children were void, of course, except they were ratified either by the express or tacit consent of their parents. It was the same with the vows of a married woman; they were of no validity, except confirmed by the express or tacit consent of her husband, Num. xxx. But widows, or liberated wives, were bound by their vows, whatever they were.

Whosoever invokes the awful name of God to witness any untruth, knowing it to be such, is guilty of taking it in vain. Our Lord did not mean to preclude solemn appeals to heaven, whether oaths or vows, in courts of justive, or in important compacts. For an oath, or appeal to the Greatest of all beings, as the Searcher of hearts, to witness a transaction, and to punish falsehood or perjury, is necessary, for putting an end to all strife or controversy among men, to promote confirmation or security of property, Heb. vi. 16. And it was sanctioned by the example of God, swearing by Himself, Gen. xxii. 15; Heb. vi. 17, 18; and by the example of the patriarchs and saints of old; thus Abraham swore by the most high God, Creator of heaven and earth, Gen. xiv. 22; the transjordanite tribes, by the God of Gods the Lord, Joshua xxii. 22. And the law prescribed, "Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name," Deut. vi. 13. And afterwards," All Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn unto the Lord with a loud voice, with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire and He was found of them; and the Lord gave them rest round about," 2 Chron. xv. 14, 15. And a highly-gifted apostle uses the following most solemn asseveration, "The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not," 2 Cor. xi. 31. See the vows

of the priests and Levites, to put away strange wives, Ezra x. 5; and to take no usury from their brethren, Neh. x. 29. St. Paul also vowed a vow, which he performed, Acts xviii. 18; xxi. 23. Our Lord, therefore, re-enacted the law, while he guarded against the abuse of it, by prohibiting all oaths in common conversation, as a profanation either of God's name, where that was irreverently used, or where any of his works was substi tuted instead of the awful and terrible name of the Lord, which the Jews, through superstitious dread, at length ceased to use, from misinterpretation of Deut. xxviii. 58: “But I say unto you, Swear not at all," in commot conversation, by any of your usual oaths, "neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool;" &c. For, by the detestable casuistry of the scribes and pharisees, some oaths were reckoned binding, others not, as we learn from the sequel; thus, to swear by the temple, the altar, heaven, &c., they considered as not binding: but to swear by the gold of the temple, by the gift on the altar, &c., they considered as binding; the absurdity and impiety of which practice is well exposed by our Lord in Matt. xxiii. 16—22.

VULGATE, a very ancient Latin transla tion of the Bible; and the only one the church of Rome acknowledges to be authentic. The ancient Vulgate of the Old Testa ment was translated, almost word for word, from the Greek of the Septuagint. The author of the version is not known. It was a long time known by the name of the Italic. or old version; as being of very great antquity in the Latin church. It was the common, or vulgar version, before St. Jeron made a new one from the Hebrew original. with occasional references to the Septuagint whence it has its name Vulgate. Nobilis, in 1558, and F. Morin, in 1628, gave new editions of it; pretending to have restored and re-collated it from the ancients who had cited it. It has since been retouched from the correction of St. Jerom; and it is thus mixture of the ancient Italic version, and some corrections of St. Jerom, that is new called the Vulgate, and which the council of Trent has declared to be authentic. It this Vulgate alone that is used in the Romish church, excepting some passages of the cient Vulgate, which were left in the Mis sal and the Psalms, and which are still sun according to the old Italic version. St Jerom declares that, in his revisal of the Italic version, he used great care and circum spection, never varying from that version but when he thought it misrepresented the sense. But as the Greek copies to which he had access were not so ancient as those from which the Italic version had been made, learned authors have been of opinion that would have been much better if he had col lected all the copies, and, by comparing them, have restored that translation to it original purity. It is plain that he never

completed this work, and that he even left some faults in it, for fear of varying too much from the ancient version, since he renders in his commentaries some words otherwise than he has done in his translation. This version was not introduced into the church but by degrees, for fear of offending weak persons. Rufinus, notwithstanding his enmity to St. Jerom, and his having exclaimed much against this performance, was one of the first to prefer it to the vulgar or Italian. This translation gained at last so great an authority, by the approbation of pope Gregory 1., and his declared preference of it to every other, that it was subsequently brought into public use through all the western churches. Although it was not regarded as authentic, except by the council of Trent, it is certainly of some use, as serving to illus trate several passages both of the Old and New Testament.

The two principal popish editions of the Vulgate are those of pope Sixtus V. and Clement VIII.: the former was printed in 1590, after pope Sixtus had collected the most ancient Mss. and best printed copies, summoned the most learned men out of all the nations of the Christian world, assembled a congregation of cardinals for their assistance and counsel, and presided over the whole himself. This edition was declared to be corrected in the very best manner possible, and published with a tremendous excommunication against every person who should presume ever afterwards to alter the least particle of the edition thus authentically promulgated by his holiness, sitting in that chair, in qua Petri vivit potestas, et excellit auctoritas. The other edition was published in 1592, by pope Clement VIII.; which was so different from that of Sixtus, as to contain two thousand variations, some of whole verses, and many others clearly and designedly contradictory in sense; and yet this edition is also, ex cathedrá, pronounced as the only authentic one, and enforced by the same sentence of excommunication with the former. Clement suppressed the edition of his predecessor; so that copies of the Sixtine Vulgate are now very scarce, and have long been reckoned among literary rarities. Our learned countryman, Dr. James, the celebrated correspondent and able co-adjutor of Archbishop Usher, relates, with all the ardour of a hard student, the delight which he experienced on unexpectedly obtaining a Sixtine copy; and he used it to good and effective purpose in his very clever book, entitled "Bellum Papale," in which he has pointed out numerous additions, omissions, contradictions, and glaring differences between the Sixtine and Clementine editions. All the popish champions are exceedingly shy about recognising this irreconcilable conflict between the productions of two such infallible personages; and the boldest of them wish to represent it as a thing of

nought. But it is no light matter thus to tamper with the word of God.

The Romanists generally hold the Vulgate of the New Testament preferable to the common Greek text; because it is this alone, and not the Greek text, that the council of Trent has declared authentic: accordingly that church has, as it were, adopted this edition, and the priests read no other at the altar, the preachers quote no other in the pulpit, nor the divines in the schools. Yet some of their best authors, F. Bouhours for instance, own, that among the differences that are found between the common Greek and the Vulgate, there are some in which the Greek reading appears more clear and natural than that of the Latin; so that the second might be corrected from the first, if the holy see should think fit. But those differences, taken in general, only consist in a few syllables or words; they rarely concern the sense. Besides, in some of the most considerable, the Vulgate is authorized by several ancient manuscripts. Bouhours spent the last years of his life in giving a French translation of the New Testament according to the Vulgate. It is probable that at the time the ancient Italic or Vulgate version of the New Testament was made, and at the time it was afterwards compared with the Greek manuscripts by St. Jerom, as they were then nearer the times of the apostles, they had more accurate Greek copies, and those better kept, than any of those used when printing was invented. 'Highly as the Latin Vulgate is extolled by the church of Rome," says Michaëlis, "it was depreciated beyond measure at the beginning of the sixteenth century by several learned Protestants, whose example has been followed by men of inferior abilities. At the restoration of learning, when the faculty of writing elegant Latin was the highest accomplishment of a scholar, the Vulgate was regarded with contempt, as not written with classical purity. But after the Greek manuscripts were discovered, their readings were preferred to those of the Latin, because the New Testament was written in Greek, and the Latin was only a version; but it was not considered that these Greek manuscripts were modern in comparison of those originals from which the Latin was taken; nor was it known at that time, that the more ancient the Greek manuscripts and the other versions were, the closer was their agreement with the Vulgate. Our ablest writers, such as Mill and Bengel, have been induced by F. Simon's treatise to abandon the opinion of their predecessors, and have ascribed to the Latin Vulgate a value perhaps greater than it deserves."

66

VULTURE, 787, and 787, Lev. xi. 14; Isaiah xxxiv. 15; a large bird of prey, somewhat resembling the eagle. There are several birds of the vulturine kind, which, though they differ much in respect to colour and