The process of cooking seems to have been very expeditiously performed, Gen. xxvii. 3, 4, 9, 10. All the flesh of the slain animal, owing to the difficulty of preserving it in a warm climate uncorrupted, was commonly cooked at once. This is the custom at the present day, although the art of drying and preserving it by the sun is known among the nomades. The flesh when cooked, was divided into small pieces, and a sauce was prepared for it of broth and vegetables, in Hebrew P, Judg. vi. 19, 20; Isaiah, lxv. 4.

§. 142. OF ROASTING,,.

Roasting was the earliest mode of preparing the flesh of animals; it appears to have been first discovered by chance, as already observed, and in time it became a favourite method of cooking. The nomades of the present day, following a very ancient custom, divide the flesh into small pieces, salt it, and fix it upon a wooden spit. They place one part of it to the fire, and when this is roasted they turn it. Fowls are roasted whole on a spit, which revolves on two or more hooked sticks, placed in the ground on each side of the fire. When sheep and lambs are to be roasted whole, they thrust a sharp stick through the animal from the tail to the head; another transversely through the forefeet, and roast it in the oven described in §. 140. No. II. In the countries of the east, locusts are frequently roasted for the use of the common people. Their wings and feet are taken off, and their intestines extracted; they are salted, fixed upon a sharp piece of wood, placed over the fire, and at length eaten. They are likewise prepared by boiling them. In summer they are dried, and ground, and bread is made of them. Sometimes they are salted and preserved in bottles, and as occasion requires, are cut into pieces and eaten, Lev. xi. 22; Matt. iii. 4. Some species of locusts are esteemed noxious, and are, therefore, reckoned among the unclean animals. The Hebrew word, [rendered in the English version quails, Numb. xi. 31, 32,] is not to be considered as a name for any species of locusts, for is to this day in the east the name of a migratory bird of the quail kind. They come over the waters of the ocean, and, being weary, descend in great numbers on Arabia Petrea, so as to be easily taken by the hands, Diod. Sic. i. 61; Niebuhr's Travels, Part i. p. 176. The flesh of these birds is less esteemed on account of their living chiefly upon grasshoppers.

NOTE. The use of salt is very ancient, see Numb. xviii. 19, compared with 2 Chron. xiii. 5. Among the orientals, salt is the symbol of inviolable friendship; a covenant of salt, accordingly, means an everlasting or perpetual covenant. It is used figuratively for wisdom, and for preservation, Mark, ix. 49, 50; Colos. iv. 6; and salt that has lost its savour, on the contrary, for folly, Matt. v. 13.

§. 143. INTERDICTED FOOD.

Several sorts of food were forbidden to be eaten by the Hebrews; some animals were unclean according to the Mosaic law, such, for instance, as were actually unpalatable and noxious, or were considered to be so; others being set apart for the altar, certain parts of which it was consequently not lawful to eat. The object of interdicting so many sorts of food was to prevent the Hebrews from eating with the Gentiles, or frequenting their idolatrous feasts, by means of which they might have been seduced to practise idolatry. The following were deemed unclean : I. Quadrupeds, which do not ruminate, or which have cloven feet.

II. Serpents, and creeping insects; also certain insects, which sometimes fly and sometimes walk or creep upon their feet. III. Certain species of birds, some of which are now unknown.

IV. Fishes without scales; also those without fins.

V. All food and all liquids standing in a vessel, and all seed soaked in water, into which the dead body of any unclean insect had fallen. Water in cisterns, wells, and fountains, could not be contaminated in this way, Lev. xi. 1–38.

VI. All food and liquids in an uncovered vessel, which stood in the tent or chamber of a dying or dead man, Numb. xix. 15. VII. Every thing consecrated to idols or gods, Exod. xxxiv. 15. It was this prohibition which in the primitive church occasioned certain dissensions, which Paul frequently comments upon, especially in 1 Cor. viii. 10.

VIII. The kid boiled in the milk of its mother, Exod. xxiii. 19; xxxiv. 26; Deut. xiv. 21. The reason of this law is somewhat obscure. Whether there was any superstition attached to the subject, or whether it was meant as a lesson on humanity to animals, or whether it is to be understood as an indirect com

mendation of oil in preference to butter and milk, is not clear. The consecrated animal substances which it was not lawful to eat, were:

I. Blood, Lev. iii. 17; vii. 26, 27; xvii. 10–14; xix. 26; Deut. xii. 16, 23, 25; xv. 23.

II. An animal which died of disease, or was torn to pieces by wild beasts, because, in such cases the blood remained in the body, Exod. xxii.'31; Deut. xiv. 21.

III. The fat covering the intestines, the large lobe of the liver, the kidneys and the fat upon them, Exod. xxix. 13, 22; Lev. iii. 4, 10, 15; iv. 9; ix. 10, 19; also the fat tail of a certain class of sheep, in Heb., Exod. xxix. 22; Lev. iii. 9; vii. 3; viii. 26; ix. 19; all of which was set apart for the altar. The Hebrews abstained also from the haunches of animals; the later Jews extended this abstinence to the whole hind quarter. The custom originated from the account given in Gen. xxxii. 25, 32.

§. 144. BEVERage.

The Mohammedans generally drink water; the rich and noble drink a beverage called sherbet, which was formerly used only in Egypt, Gen. xl. 11; where ale or beer, úbos, divos κpiowos, was also used, though probably not so early as the time of Moses. The orientals frequently drank wine to such excess as to occasion ebriety, from which circumstance many tropes are drawn, Isaiah, v. 11, 12, 22; xxviii. 1—11; xlix. 26; Deut. xxxii. 42; Ps. lxxviii. 65; etc. Wine, although very rich in eastern climates, was sometimes mixed with spices, especially myrrh, and this mixture was named from a Hebrew word, which signifies mixed. This word, viz. ban, means also a wine diluted with water, which was given to the buyer instead of good wine, and was consequently used figuratively for any kind of adulteration, Isaiah, i. 22. Wine in the east was frequently diluted after it was bought. There is a sort of wine called, oikepa, or strong drink. It was made of dates, and of various seeds and roots; and was sufficiently powerful to occasion intoxication. It was drunk, mixed with water. From the pure wine and sikera, there was made an artificial beverage, V, which was taken at meals with vegetables and bread, Ruth, ii. 14. It was also a common drink, Numb. vi. 3; and was used by the Roman soldiers, Matt. xxvii. 48. Further, there is a wine called by the

Talmudists vinegar, whence the passage in Matt. xxvii. 34, may be explained. The vessels used for drinking were at first horns; but the Hebrews used them solely for the purpose of performing the ceremony of anointing. The other drinking vessels

were:

1. A cup of brass covered with tin, in form resembling a lily, though sometimes circular; it is used by travellers to this day, and may be seen in both shapes on the ruins of Persepolis, comp. 1 Kings, vii. 26.

II. The bowl, Hebrew . It resembled a lily, Exod. xxv. 33; although it seems to have varied in form, for it had many

, had no cover, and probably were of a circular form, as the names seem to indicate. The bowls of this kind, which belonged to the rich, were, in the time of Moses, made of silver and gold, as appears from Numb. vii. 13, et seq. comp. 1 Kings, x. 21. The larger vessels, from which wine was poured out into

; נֶבֶל נאד חֲמַת חֵמֶת bottles , מְנַקְוּוֹת,cups, were called urns

small bottles,; and a bottle of shell, 72, with a small orifice.

§. 145. THE TIME AND CIRCUMSTANCES OF TAKING REFRESH

MENT.

Not only the inhabitants of the east, generally, but the Greeks and Romans also, were in the habit of taking a slight dinner about ten or eleven o'clock of our time, which consisted chiefly of fruits, milk, cheese, etc. Their principal meal was about six or seven in the afternoon; their feasts always took place in the evening; for the burning heat of the day in eastern climates diminishes the appetite for food and suppresses the disposition to cheerfulness, Mark, vi. 21; Luke, xiv. 24; John, xii. 2. The hands were washed before meals, which from the mode of eating, was necessary; prayers also were offered, 1 Sam. ix. 13. form of the short prayer, which in the time of Christ was uttered before and after meals, has been preserved by the Talmudists. It is as follows: "Blessed be thou, O Lord, our God, the king of the world, who hast produced this food, or this drink, (as the case may be,) from the earth or the vine," Matt. xiv. 19; xv. 36; xxvi. 27; Mark, xiv. 22; 1 Cor. x. 31; 1 Tim. iv. 4, 5. The Hebrews were not very particular about the position which their guests occupied at table, at least not so

L

The

much so as the Egyptians were anciently, Gen. xliii. 32; still etiquette was not wholly neglected, 1 Sam. ix. 22. In the time of Christ, the arrogant Pharisees, who, imitating the example of the heathen philosophers, wished to secure the highest marks of distinction, sought of course the most honourable seat at the feasts, Luke, xiv. 8.

§. 146. TABLE, AND METHOD of Sitting.

The table in the east, is a piece of round leather, spread upon the floor, upon which is placed a sort of stool, called 1. This supports nothing but a dish. The seat was the floor, over which was spread a mattress, carpet, or cushion, upon which those who ate sat with their legs crossed. They sat in a circle round the piece of leather, with the right side towards the table, so that one might be said to lean upon the bosom of another. Neither knife, fork, nor spoon was used; but a cloth was spread round the circular leather, to prevent the mats from being soiled, which is the custom in the east to the present day. In the time of Christ the Persian custom prevailed of reclining at table. Three sat upon one mat or cushion, which was large enough to hold that number only; hence the origin of the word appíкhvo, i. e. the master of the feast, John, ii. 8. The guests reclined upon the left side with their faces towards the table, so that the head of the second approached the breast of the first, and the head of the third approached the breast of the second. In this mode of reclining we see the propriety of the expression, "leaning upon one's bosom," John, xiii. 23. The middle mat or cushion, and the centre position on any given mat was the most honourable, and was the one coveted by the Pharisees, Luke, xiv. 8, 10. Anciently females were not admitted to the tables of the men, but dined in their own apartments, Esth. i. 9. Babylon and Persia must, however, be considered as exceptions, for there the ladies were not excluded from the festivals of the men, Dan. v. 2; and, if we may believe the testimony of ancient authors, at Babylon they were not emarkable for their decorous behaviour on such

occasions.

§. 147. MODE OF EATING.

The food was conveyed from the dish to the mouth by the right hand; this custom still prevails in the east. Ruth, ii. 14;