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It is worthy of remark, that the cities of refuge were given to the Levites; while the manslayer was obliged to keep within the precincts of the city of refuge, he had the advantage of being with those whose office it was to instruct the ignorant and comfort the disconsolate. Thus he had the means at hand, by a careful use of which he might grow wiser and better; secure the favour of God, and blessedness in a better world.

The cities of refuge have been considered not merely as civil institutions, but as types of infinitely better things; and in this light St. Paul refers to them as typical of our blessed Lord, in Heb. vi, 17, 18. As the cities of refuge were to be found nowhere but in the promised land, so there is salvation only to be found in Christ, who is a refuge to all who have fled to him, and have laid hold upon the hope set before them.

IX. Of the Sanctity of the Land of Israel.

THE Christian world call the land of Israel the Holy Land to this day, particularly on account of its being hallowed by the presence, actions, miracles, discourses, and sufferings of Jesus Christ. It is also denominated the holy land in the Old Testament. Zech. ii, 12. The whole world was divided by the ancient Hebrews into two general parts, the land of Israel, and the land out of Israel; that is, all the countries inhabited by the nations of the world, or the Gentiles: to this distinction there

seems to be an allusion in Matt. vi, 32. The whole world, together with its inhabitants, except the land of promise, was accounted as profane, polluted, and unclean, by the Jews.* But the whole land of Israel was regarded as holy, as being the place consecrated to the worship of God, and the inheritance of his people; whence the whole Jewish nation are denominated saints, and a holy nation, or people. † However, the Jews imagined particular parts to be vested with more than ordinary sanctity, according to their respective situations. Thus the districts situated beyond Jordan were considered as less holy than those on the western side: walled towns were supposed to be more holy and clean than other places, because no lepers were admitted into them, and the dead were not allowed to be buried there. Even the very dust of the land of Israel was reputed to possess such a peculiar degree of sanctity, that when the Jews returned from any heathen country, they stopped at its borders, and wiped the dust of it from their shoes, lest the holy land should be polluted with it: they would not even suffer herbs to be brought to them from the ground of their Gentile neighbours, lest they should bring any of the mould with them, and thus defile their holy land. To this notion our blessed Lord probably alluded when he commanded his disciples to shake off the dust of their feet, (Matt. x, 14.) on returning from any house or

* Wisdom xi, 3: 2 Macc. i, 7; Isa. xxxv, 8; lii, 1; Joel iii, 17; Amos vii, 17; Acts x, 28.

+ Exod. xix, 6; Deut. vii, 6; xiv, 2; xxvi, 19; xxxiii, 3; 2 Chron." vi, 41; Ps. xxxiv, 9; 1, 5, 7; lxxix, 2; cxlviii, 4.

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city that would neither receive nor hear them; intimating thereby, that when the Jews had rejected the gospel, they were no longer to be regarded as the people of God, but were on a level with heathens and idolaters.*

Reland Antiq. Heb. pp. 1--17. Dr. Lightfoot's Hor. Heb. et Talmud. in Matt. x, 14. Beausobre and L'Enfant in Bp. Watson's Tracts, vol. ii, p. 141. Rev. T. H. Horne's Introd. vol. i, p. 9. This distinction of holy and unholy places and persons, throws much light on 1 Cor. i, 28, where St. Paul, speaking of the Gentiles and the rejection of the Jews, says, that God hath chosen "base things of the world, and things that are despised, yea, and things which are not," that is, the Gentiles, "to bring to nought, or abolish, things that are;" in other words, to become God's church and people, and so to cause the Jewish church and economy to cease. See Dr. Whitby on 1 Cor. i, 28.

SCRIPTURE ANTIQUITIES,

&c.

PART V.

CONTAINING

A CONCISE ACCOUNT OF THE PECULIAR CUSTOMS AND MANNERS OF THE HEBREWS, IN A CIVIL POINT OF VIEW.

I. Of the Nuptials of the Hebrews. THE mode or form of celebrating marriage among

the Hebrews was not attended with any religious cereof the father and the persons mony, except the prayers present, to entreat the blessing of God upon the party. We do not find that there were any sacrifices offered on the occasion, or that they went to the temple, or that a priest performed the ceremony: but it appears that the whole was transacted between the relations and friends, so that it was no more than a civil contract. In ancient times it appears to have been a custom among the Hebrews, as well as other nations, that men should give dowries for their wives. When Eliezer went by Abraham's command to get Rebekah to be wife to Isaac, he took a profusion of riches with him, in silver, gold, jewels, and raiment, with other costly things, which, when the contract was made, he gave to

Rebekah, her mother, and her brothers. Gen. xxiv, 10, 22, 53. "Jacob served seven years for Rachel." Gen. xxix, 20. When Shechem asked Dinah for wife, he said, "Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give thee according as ye shall say unto me." Gen. xxxiv, 12. David, in order to be Saul's son in law, was to kill Goliah, instead of a dowry: and when this was done, he was not permitted to espouse Michal till he had killed one hundred Philistines. 1 Sam. xvii, 25; xviii, 25. The prophet Hosea bought his wife for fifteen pieces of silver, and a homer and half of barley; chap. iii, 2. The same custom prevailed among thè ancient Greeks and Romans, and other nations.*

The mode of courtship, or rather of contracting and celebrating marriage, was transacted by the parents or relations of the parties: and when the agreement was made, the bridegroom and bride were introduced to one another, presents were exchanged on both sides, and the contract was signed before witnesses. But, it was customary for the bride to tarry a certain time with her relations; afterwards she was sent to her husband's house with singing, music, dancing, and great festivity. This last ceremony was performed in the night, to which the parable of the ten virgins seems to allude. Matt. xxv. To these nuptial festivities and solemnities, which always took place at night, our blessed Lord alludes in Matt. viii, 12; xxii, 1--14; xxv, 1-12. The house, where a nuptial solemnity was performed, used to be illuminated with a profusion of lights, and the guests entered by a gate designed to receive them, to which

* The Turks and Tartars still buy their wives: but among the former they are purchased as a sort of slaves,

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