427 consecrating. Consult Exod. xxxii. 29; Lev. xvi. 32; 1 Chron. xxix. 5. All the parts which have been mentioned as being placed in the hands of the priests, were at last burnt upon the altar. Of the remaining parts of the animal sacrificed, the breast was assigned to Moses; but the others, together with the unleavened bread and wafers, were given to the priests and were eaten in the sanctuary. If any thing remained, it was burnt on the following day, Exod. xxix. 19-34; Lev. viii. 22-36.

This ceremony, which continued for eight days, for ever separated the priests from all the other Israelites, not excepting the Levites so that there was subsequently no necessity for further consecration of themselves or their posterity, Exod. xxix. 35—37; Lev. x. 7; compare Acts, xiii. 2, 3; Rom. i. 1.

That the ceremonies of inauguration or consecration were practised at every accession of an high priest to his office, seems to be hinted in the following passages, viz. Exod. xxix. 29; Lev. xvi. 32; xxi. 10; Numb. xx. 26-28; xxxv. 25.

§. 367. CONCERNING THE DRESS OF THE PRIESTS.

It was not customary for the priests to wear the sacerdotal dress, except when performing their official duties, Exod. xxviii. 4-43; Ezek. xlii. 14; xliv. 19. The description of the dress of the priests, which is given in the twenty-eighth chapter of Exodus, is very defective, probably on account of many of the particular parts of it being then so well known as to render it unnecessary to mention them.

Some additional information is communicated to us by Josephus, (Antiquities, iii. 7. 1-3,) but part of the dress of the priests, as he describes it, may have been of recent origin. The dress was as follows:

I. A sort of hose, made of cotton or linen, 72, which was fastened round the loins, and extended down so as to cover the thighs, Lev. vi. 10; Ezek. xliv. 18.

II. A tunic of cotton, wh, which extended, in the days of Josephus, down to the ankles. It was furnished with sleeves, and was made out of one piece, without being sewn, Exod. xxviii. 39, 41; xxix. 5; Josephus, Antiquities, iii. 7. 2; comp. John, xix. 23.

III. The girdle, . According to Josephus it was a hand's breadth in width, woven in such a manner as to exhibit the ap

pearance of serpents' scales, and was ornamented with embroidered flowers in purple, dark blue, scarlet, and white. It was worn a little below the breast, encircled the body twice, and was tied in a knot before. The extremities of the girdle hung down nearly to the ankle. The priest, when engaged in his sacred functions, in order to prevent his being impeded by the ends of his girdle, threw them over his left shoulder, Exod. xxviii. 8; xxxix. 27-29.

2, was originally pointed at bound upon the head, Exod. See §. 126.

IV. The mitre or turban, the top; it was lofty, and was xxviii. 40; xxix. 9; Lev. viii. 13. In the time of Josephus, the shape of the mitre had become somewhat altered; it was circular, was covered with a piece of fine linen, and sat so closely on the upper part of the head, for it did not cover the whole of the head, that it would not fall off when the body was bent down. This kind of mitre was called

. מִצְנֶפֶת in Hebrew

The Hebrew priests, like those of Egypt and other nations, performed their sacred duties with naked feet; a symbol of reverence and veneration, Exod. iii. 5; Josh. v. 15.

§. 368. OF THE DUTIES OF THE PRIESTS.

Not only a descent from the family of Aaron, (Ezra, ii. 62; Neh. vii. 64; Life of Josephus, §. 1; Josephus against Apion, 1.7;) but also a freedom from all bodily defects, was requisite, in order to a person's being qualified for the exercise of the sacerdotal office; Lev. xxi. 16, 17.

The priests were commanded to abstain from wine and every other inebriating drink, when performing the sacred duties which devolved upon them, Lev. x. 8—11.

In the ages immediately succeeding their original consecration to God, the priests entered upon their office at thirty years of age; but in later periods, at twenty, Numb. iv. 3; 2 Chron. xxxi. 17.

Each class assigned by lot to every individual of the class his duties for the day. One, for instance, burnt incense, another on the Sabbath day changed the shew-bread, another tended the fire on the altar for burnt-offerings, etc., Luke, i. 9.

The girdle in bending the ephoot

H

§. 369. DRESS OF THE HIGH Priest.

Some of the articles of dress which were worn by the high priest, were very simple; for we are informed, (Lev. xvi. 4, 23,) that when, on the day of propitiation, he entered the Holy of holies, he was clad with a tunic, girdle, mitre, etc. made wholly of linen.

Other articles of his dress, which were as follows, were very splendid.

I. THE MEIL,, (mantle, or outer garment.) This garment was likewise worn by the more wealthy of the laity. (See §. 122.) The colour of this garment, when intended for the high priest, was blue, and the hem at the bottom was embroidered with pomegranates in purple and scarlet. Between the pomegranates were suspended small bells of gold, which occasioned a tinkling sound when the wearer of the mantle walked, Exod. xxviii. 31-35; xxxix. 5; comp. the Travels of Hasselquist, p. 55, 73.

II. THE EPHOD, TN. This article of dress was worn by laymen also, as well as by the high priest. (See §. 122.) The sacred ephod, the one made for the high priest, differed from the others in being fabricated of cotton, which was coloured with crimson, purple, and blue; and in being ornamented with gold. In the time of Josephus it was a cubit of the larger size in length, and was furnished with sleeves. Where it crossed the shoulders, it was adorned, in conformity to the command of Moses, with two onyx stones, on which the names of the twelve tribes, (six on each,) were engraved, Exod. xxviii. 6, 7.

IN. THE PECTORAL OF BREAST-PLATE, . It was square, being about ten inches each way, and was made double in such a manner, as to form, in the inside, a sort of bag or pouch, Exod. xxxix. 9. The external part of the pectoral was set with four rows of precious stones, on which were seen the names of the twelve tribes. In the ephod (in which there was a square space left open, sufficiently large for the admission of the pectoral) were four rings of gold, to which four others at the four corners of the pectoral corresponded. The pectoral was confined to the ephod by means of ribands of dark blue, which passed through these rings; and it was suspended from the shoulders by chains of gold, which were fastened to the upper corners. It was con

fined to the body by the same girdle which went round the ephod.

SOME ACCOUNT OF URIM AND THUMMIM.

The URIM and THUMMIM, by the aid of which the high priest sought responses from God, was deposited in the pectoral. Learned men have been divided in their opinions respecting the nature of the URIM and THUMMIM. The ornament called aλa, which was worn, suspended from the neck, by the presiding judge in Egypt, and which was adorned with gems, (Diodor. Sic. i. 75.) affords no light on the subject.

The most probable opinion is, that URIM and THUMMIM, [D'AN), D8, light and justice, Septuag. dλwoię kaì àλýbeia,] was a sacred lot, 1 Sam. xiv. 41, 42. There were employed, it is probable, in determining this lot, three precious stones, on one of which was engraven 12, Yes; on the other, , No; the third being destitute of any inscription. The question proposed, therefore, was always to be put in such a way, that the answer might be direct, either Yes or No, provided any answer was given at all. These stones were carried in the purse or bag formed by the lining or interior of the pectoral; and when the question was proposed, if the high priest drew out the stone which exhibited Yes, the answer was affirmative; if the one on which No was written, the answer was negative; if the third, no answer was to be given, Josh. vii. 13—21 ; 1 Sam. xiv. 40—43; xxviii. 6. The remarks which are made in these passages respecting the sacred lot, are very concise. It would seem, from the expressions which are employed in Exod. xxviii. 30, that the URIM and THUMMIM was more ancient than the time of Moses; and it further appears that it was never resorted to subsequently to the time of David.

IV. THE MITRE, . The mitre of the high priest was similar to that of the other priests, so far as respected its form, Exod. xxviii. 4, 40; xxix. 5; probably the mitre of the former was a little higher than that of the others, Exod. xxxix. 27, 28. Josephus states (Antiquities, iii. 7. 6.) that the mitre of the high priest was surmounted with something which resembled a second mitre, the colour of which was purple and white intermixed.

Over the forehead of the high priest, a plate of gold,

, was fastened to the mitre by a blue fillet. It was in

scribed with the words, , holiness to the Lord ; a device which conveyed the symbolic instruction that the high priest bore the iniquity of those who were deficient in their gifts and offerings, Exod. xxviii. 36-38; xxix. 6; xxxix. 31.

Josephus informs us that, in the time of our Saviour, the mitre was encircled with a triple crown of gold, which was added to it by the Maccabean priests, who were priests and princes at the same time.

NOTE, REMARKS OF MICHAELIS ON URIM AND THUMMIM.

["That in making distributions of property, and in cases of disputes relative to meum and tuum, recourse was had to the lot in default of any other means of decision, will naturally be supposed. The whole land was partitioned by lot; and that, in aftertimes, the lot continued to be used, even in courts of justice, we see from Prov. xvi. 33; xviii. 18; where we are expressly taught to remember that it is Providence which maketh the choice, and that therefore we ought to be satisfied with the decision of the lot, as the will of God. It was for judicial purposes, in a particular manner, that the sacred lot, called Urim and Thummim was employed; and on this account, the costly embroidered pouch, in which the priest carried this sacred lot on his breast, was called the judicial ornament.

"I cannot here enter into a philological and antiquarian inquiry concerning Urim and Thummim, because it would be too extensive, particularly considering how much it has already been the subject of controversy. Those who wish to know my sentiments upon it, in a few words, will find them in my note upon Exod. xxviii. 30; and the passage whence I have principally deduced the explanation there given, in 1 Sam. xiv. 41. of the Hebrew original.

"But was this sacred lot used likewise in criminal trials? Yes; only to discover the guilty, not to convict them: for in the only two instances of its use in such cases, which occur in the whole Bible, viz. in Josh. vii. 14-18, and 1 Sam. xiv. 37-45, we find the confessions of the two delinquents, Achan and Jonathan, annexed. It appears also to have been used only in the case of an oath being transgressed, which the whole people had taken, or the leader of the host in their name; but not in the case of other crimes; for an unknown murder, for example, was