expiration of the Nazarite vow. (Numb. vi. 13-21.) 3. At the solemn dedication of the tabernacle and temple; and 4. At the purification of a leper.1

(CHaTaah), (from

iii. SIN OFFERINGS, in Hebrew termed the word (CHATA) to miss the mark), were offered for sins committed either through ignorance, or wilfully against knowledge; and which God always punished unless they were expiated. These offerings in general consisted of a sin-offering to God, and a burntoffering, accompanied with restitution of damage (Levit. v. 2—19. vi. 1-7.), conformably to which our Lord requires previous reconciliation with an injured brother, including restitution, before the burnt-offering or gift would be acceptable to God. (Matt. v. 23, 24.) St. Paul (Eph. v. 2.) terms Christ's giving himself for us an offering (i. e. a peace-offering), and a sacrifice or sin-offering to God for a sweet-smelling savour. (Compare Lev. iv. 31.) In warm climates nothing is more refreshing than fragrant odours: and as, in the highly figurative language of the antient Hebrews, smelling is used to denote the perception of a moral quality in another, God is said to smell a sweet savour from sacrifice, to signify that he perceived with pleasure the good disposition which the offerer expressed by such an act of worship. When, therefore, the apostle tells us that Christ gave himself for us, an offering and a sweet-smelling sacrifice to God, he teaches us that Christ's sacrifice for us was highly acceptable to God, not only as a signal instance of obedience to his Father's will, but also on account of its happy influence in establishing the moral government of God. The sacrifices offered for the purification of lepers, as well as of women after child-birth (Levit. xii. Luke ii. 24.), were reckoned among the sin-offerings, inasmuch as leprosy and the pains of child-bearing were considered as punishments for some particular sin; though both were accompanied by eucharistic sacrifices for the recovery of the persons offering them. Maimonides adds, that if the person who offered this sacrifice did not repent, and make public confession of his sins, he was not cleansed or purified by it.3

1 The signs of that horrible disease in oriental countries, the leprosy, and of its cure, are minutely described in Levit. xiii. for the information of the priests, who were required to inspect and certify the fact, in order to re-admit the patient into society. "Among the sacrifices and ceremonies of his purification, which are minutely described in Levit. xiv. the following is remarkable: The priest was required to take two small birds, and to kill one of them over an earthen vessel filled with river water, so that the blood might be mixed with the water. He was then to dip the other or living bird into the water, and sprinkle the leper with it seven times with a stick of cedar wood, upon which a bunch of hyssop was tied with a scarlet thread; after which the priest was to pronounce him purified, and let loose the living bird into the open air. (Levit. xiv. 2-7.) This ceremony seems to be typical of the purification of our sins by the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ (Isa. liii. 15. 1 Pet i. 2.), which flowed out of his wounded side mixed with water (John xix. 34.); while the dismissal of the living bird resembles that of the scape-goat into the wilderness, with the sins of the leper upon him. Our Lord expressly commanded the lepers, whom he healed, to conform to the law." (Matt. viň. 4. Mark i. 44. Luke v. 14. xvii. 14.) Dr. Hales's Analysis, vol. ii. book i. p. 273. 2 Macknight on Eph. v. 2.

3 De Ratione Sacrificii, c. iii. n. 13.

iv. The TRESPASS OFFERINGS were made, where the party offering had just reason to doubt whether he had violated the law of God or not. (Levit. v. 17, 18.) They do not appear to have differed materially from sin-offerings. In both these kinds of sacrifices, the person who offered them placed his hands on the victim's head (if a sin-offering), and confessed his sin over it, and his trespass over the trespass-offering; saying, "I have sinned, I have done iniquity, I have trespassed, and have done thus and thus, and do return by repentance before thee, and with this I make atonement." The animal was then considered as vicariously bearing the sins of the person who brought it.2 In Isa. liii. 10. Jesus Christ is said to make his soul an offering for sin, D (ASHAM), the very word used in the law of Moses to denote a trespass-offering.

All these sacrifices were occasional, and had reference to individuals; but there were others which were national and regular, daily, weekly, monthly, and annual. The perpetual or daily sacrifice was a burnt-offering, consisting of two lambs, which were offered every day, morning and evening, at the third and ninth hours. (Exod. xxix. 38-40. Levit. vi. 9-18. Numb. xxviii. 1-8.) They were burnt as holocausts, but by a small fire, that they might continue burning the longer. With each of these victims was offered a bread-offering and a drink-offering of strong wine. The morning sacrifice, according to the Jews, made atonement for the sins committed in the night, and the evening sacrifice expiated those committed during the day.

The Weekly Sacrifice on every sabbath day was equal to the daily sacrifice, and was offered in addition to it. (Numb. xxviii. 9, 10.)

The Monthly Sacrifice, on every new moon, or at the beginning of each month, consisted of two young bullocks, one ram, and seven lambs of a year old, together with a kid for a sin-offering, and a suitable bread and drink-offering. (Numb. xxviii. 11—14.)

The Yearly Sacrifices were those offered on the great annual festivals; viz. 1. The paschal lamb at the passover, which was celebrated at the commencement of the Jewish sacred year; 2. On the day of Pentecost, or day of first-fruits; 3. On the new moon, or first day of the seventh month, which was the beginning of their civil year, or ingathering of the fruits and vintage; and all these stated burnt-offerings were to be accompanied with a sin-offering of a goat, to show their insufficiency to "make the comers thereunto perfect" (Numb. xxviii. Heb. x. 1.); 4. Lastly, on the day of expiation, or great day of atonement. As a particular account is given of these solemn festivals in the following section, we proceed briefly to notice the second general class of sacrifices, viz.

II. The UNBLOODY SACRIFICES OF MEAT-OFFERINGS (Levit. ii.), which were taken solely from the vegetable kingdom. They consisted of meal, bread, cakes, ears of corn, and parched grain, with

Michaelis is of opinion that sin-offerings were made for sins of commission, and trespass-offerings for sins of omission. Commentaries, vol. iii. p. 96. 2 Dr. A. Clarke on Exod. xxix. 10.

oil and frankincense prepared according to the divine command Regularly they could not be presented as sin-offerings, except in the single case of the person who had sinned being so poor, that the offering of two young pigeons or two turtle doves exceeded his means. They were to be free from leaven or honey: but to all of them it was necessary to add pure salt, that is, saltpetre.

III. DRINK OFFERINGS were an accompaniment to both bloody and unbloody sacrifices; they were never used separately, and consisted of wine, which appears to have been partly poured upon the brow of the victim in order to consecrate it, and partly allotted to the priests, who drank it with their portions of both these kinds of offerings. The Psalmist shows how the use of drink-offerings degenerated amongst idolaters, who in their superstitious rage made use of the blood of living creatures, perhaps of men, in their libations. Their DRINK OFFERINGS OF BLOOD, says he, will I not offer. (Psal. xvi. 4.)1

Besides the various kinds of sacrifices above described, there were some oblations made by the Jews consisting of incense, bread, and other things: which have been divided by Lamy into three sorts, viz. such as were ordinary or common; voluntary or free oblations; and such as were prescribed.

IV. The ORDINARY oblations were, 1. Of the Show-bread (Heb. bread of the face), which consisted of twelve loaves, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. They were placed hot, every sabbath day, by the priests, upon the golden table in the sanctuary, before the Lord; when they removed the stale loaves which had been exposed for the whole of the preceding week. 2. Incense, consisting of several fragrant spices, prepared according to the instructions given to Moses in Exod. xxx. 34-36. It was offered twice every day, morning and evening, by the officiating priest, upon an altar of gold, where no bloody sacrifice was to come, during which solemn rite the people prayed without in silence. (Luke i. 10.) But on the great day of expiation the high priest himself took fire from the great altar in a golden censer; and, on descending from the altar, he received incense from one of the priests, which he offered on the golden altar. During such offering the people prayed silently without and to this most solemn silence St. John alludes in Rev. viii. 1., where he says that there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. To this oblation of incense the Psalmist refers (exli. 2.) in his devotions, and explains his meaning by his application of it: Let my prayer be set forth in thy sight as the incense." As, the smoke and odour

1 Schulzii Archæol. Heb. pp. 250-280. Lamy, Apparatus Biblicus, vol. i. pp. 187, -203. Relandi Antiq. Sacr. Hebræorum, part iii. cap. i.-v. pp. 290-368. Ikenii Antiq. Heb. part i. cap. xiii. xiv. pp. 152-191. Beausobre and L'Enfant's Introd. to the New Test. (Bishop Watson's Tracts, vol. iii. pp. 196-199.) Jennings's Jewish Antiquities, book i. chap. v. pp. 155-174. Michaelis's Commentaries, vol. iii. pp. 94 -97. 109-115.246-254. Dr. Hales's Analysis, vol. ii. book ii. pp. 270-272. Jahn, Archæol. Bib. pp. 506-525. Dr. Owen on the Epistle to the Hebrews, vol. i. Exercit. xxiv. pp. 306-318. Dr. Lightfoot's Works, vol. i. pp. 926-941.

2 Sir Isaac Newton on the Apocalypse, p. 264. See also Woodhouse on Rev. viii. 1. p. 199.

of this offering was wafted into the holy place, close by the veil of which stood the altar of incense, so do the prayers of the faithful ascend upwards, and find admission to the highest heaven." (Acts x. 4.)

V. The VOLUNTARY or FREE oblations were either the fruits of promises or of vows; but the former were not considered so strictly obligatory as the latter, of which there were two kinds: 1. The vow of consecration, when any thing was devoted either for sacrifice or for the service of the temple, as wine, wood, salt, &c.; and 2. The vow of engagement, when persons engaged to do something that was not in itself unlawful, as not to eat of some particular meat, nor to wear some particular habits, not to drink wine, nor to cut their hair, &c. When the Jews made a vow, they made use of one of these two forms: "I charge myself with a burntoffering" or, "I charge myself with the price of this animal for a burnt-offering." Besides these they had other shorter forms; for instance, when they devoted all they had, they merely said, "all I have shall be corban," that is, "I make an oblation of it to God." Among other false doctrines taught by the Pharisees, who were the depositaries of the sacred treasury, was this, that as soon as a person had pronounced to his father or mother this form of consecration or offering, Be it corban (that is, devoted), whatever of mine shall profit thee (Mark vii. 11.), he thereby consecrated all he had to God, and must not thenceforth do any thing for his indigent parents if they solicited support from him. With great reason therefore does Jesus Christ reproach them with having destroyed, by their tradition, not only that commandment of the law which enjoins children to honour their fathers and mothers, but also another divine precept, which under the severest penalty, forbad that kind of dishonour which consists in contumelious words. (Mark vii. 9, 10. 13.) They, however, proceeded even further than this unnatural gloss; for, though the son did not directly give, or mean to give, any thing to God at that time, yet if he afterwards should repent of his rashness, and wish to supply them with any thing, what he had formerly said precluded the possibility of doing so; for his property became eventually devoted to God, and, according to the Pharisaic doctrine, the sacred treasury had a claim upon it, in preference to the parents. The words "be it corban," or devoted, consequently implied an imprecation against himself, if he should ever afterwards bestow any thing for the

1 Jones on the Fig. Lang. of Script. Lect. iv. towards the close. "The prayer of faith," adds this learned and pious writer, "is acceptable to God, as the fragrance of incense is agreeable to the senses of man; and, as the incense was offered twice a day, in the morning and evening, the spirit of this service is to be kept up at those times throughout all generations. The prophet Malachi (upon a forced and erroneous interpretation of whose words alone the church of Rome has founded and defended the use of incense in her worship) foretold that it should be observed throughout the world (Mal. i. 11.), and in the Revelation we hear of this incense as now actually carried up and presented in heaven. (Rev. v. 8.) Happy are they who fulfil this service; and at the rising and going down of the sun send up this offering to heaven, as all Christians are supposed to do, at least twice in every day.” Ibid. (Works, vol. iii. p. 66.)

relief of his parents: as if he should say to them, "May I incur all the infamy of sacrilege and perjury if ever ye get any thing from me;" than which it is not easy to conceive of any thing spoken by a son to his parents, more contemptuous or more barbarous, and therefore justly denominated xaxoλoyia, "opprobrious language."

VI. The PRESCRIBED OBLATIONS were either first-fruits or tithes. 1. All the First Fruits, both of fruit and animals, were consecrated to God (Exod. xxii. 29. Numb. xviii. 12, 13. Deut. xxvi. 2. Neh. x. 35, 36.); and the first-fruits of sheep's wool were offered. for the use of the Levites. (Deut. xviii. 4.) The amount of this gift is not specified in the law of Moses, which leaves it entirely to the pleasure of the giver: the Talmudical writers, however, inform us, that liberal persons were accustomed to give the fortieth, and even the thirtieth; while such as were covetous or penurious gave only a sixtieth part. The first of these they called an oblation with a good eye, and the second an oblation with an evil eye. To this traditional saying our Lord is, by some learned men, supposed to have alluded in Matt. xx. 15. Among animals, the males only belonged to God and the Jews not only had a right, but were even obliged, to redeem them in the case of men and unclean animals, which could not be offered in sacrifice. These first-fruits were offered from the feast of pentecost until that of dedication, because after that time the fruits were neither so beautiful nor so good as before. Further, the Jews were prohibited from gathering in the harvest until they had offered to God the omer, that is, the new sheaf, which was presented the day after the great day of unleavened bread neither were they allowed to bake any bread made of new corn until they had offered the new loaves upon the altar on the day of pentecost; without which all the corn was regarded as unclean and unholy. To this St. Paul alludes in Rom. xi 16.; where he says, If the FIRST-FRUIT be holy, the lump also is holy. The presentation of the first-fruits was a solemn and festive ceremony. At the beginning of harvest, the sanhedrin deputed a number of priests to go into the fields and reap a handful of the first ripe corn and these, attended by great crowds of people, went out of one of the gates of Jerusalem into the neighbouring corn-fields. The firstfruits thus reaped were carried with great pomp and universal rejoicing through the streets of Jerusalem to the temple. The Jewish writers say that an ox preceded them with gilded horns and an olive crown upon his head, and that a pipe played before them until they approached the city: on entering it they crowned the first-fruits, that is, exposed them to sight with as much pomp as they could, and the chief officers of the temple went out to meet them. They were

1 Dr. Campbell's Translation of the Four Gospels, vol. ii. pp. 379-382. third edition.

2 From the Jewish custom of offering first-fruits to Jehovah, the heathens bor rowed a similar rite. See Pliny, Nat. Hist. lib. xviii. c. 2. Horace, Sat. lib. ii. Sat. v. 12. Tibullus, Eleg. lib. i. El. i. 13.