from the city Pergamus. They are sometimes denominated in Greek, μeußpáva, 2 Tim. ív. 13.

III. MATERIALS FROM THE MINERAL KINGDOM.

1. Tables of lead, 7, Job, xix. 24.

2. Tables of brass, déλtoi xáλkaĩ. Of all the materials, brass was considered the most durable, and was employed for those inscriptions, which were designed to endure the longest, 1 Mac. viii. 22; xiv. 20—27.

3. Stones or rocks, upon which public laws, etc. were written. Sometimes the letters engraved were filled up with lime, Exod. xxiv. 12; xxxi. 18; xxxii. 19; xxxiv. 1, et seq.; Deut. xxvii. Josh. viii. 32, et seq., Job, xix. 24.

1-9; comp.

4. Tiles. The inscriptions were made upon the tiles first, which were afterwards baked in the fire. They are yet to be found in the ruins of Babylon; others of later origin are still met with in many countries in the east.

5. The sand of the earth, in which the children in India to this day learn the art of writing, and in which Archimedes himself delineated his mathematical figures, comp. John, viii. 1—8. If in Ezekiel, iii. 1, and in Revelation, x. 9, we are informed that books were eaten, we must remember, that the descriptions are figurative, and that they were eaten in vision; and, therefore, we must not draw the conclusion from these passages, that any substance was used as materials for writing upon, which was at the same time used for food. The representations alluded to are introduced to denote a communication or revelation from God.

INSTRUMENTS USED IN WRITING.

The instrument commonly used for this purpose, was the style, Heb. y. 1. When it was necessary to write upon hard materials, as tables of stone and brass, the style was made of iron, and sometimes tipped with diamond, Jer. xvii. 1.

2. The letters were formed upon tablets of wood, (when they were covered with wax), with a style sharpened at one end, broad and smooth at the other; by means of which, the letters, when badly written, might be rubbed out and the wax again rendered smooth. Wax, however, was but rarely used for the purpose of covering writing tables in such warm regions. When

this was not the case, the letters were painted on the wood with a black tincture or ink.

3. On linen, cotton cloth, paper, skins, and parchment, the letters were painted with a very small brush, Heb. perhaps, afterwards with a reed, which was split. The orientals use this elegant instrument at the present day instead of a pen. The knife, with which the reed 'was split, was called

Jer. xxxvi. 23.

hyn,

Ink, called, is spoken of in Numb. v. 23, as well known and in common use, comp. Jer. xxxvi. 18, and was prepared in various ways, as detailed by Pliny, xvi. 6; xxx. 25. The most simple and ancient preparation, was a mixture of water with pounded coals or soot, and a little gum. The ancients also used other tinctures; particularly if we may credit Cicero, de Nat. Deor. ii. 20, and Persius, iii. 11, an ink extracted from the cuttlefish,, but this is denied by Pliny. The Hebrews sometimes went so far as to write their sacred books in gold, as appears from Josephus, Antiq. xii. 2. 11, compared with Pliny, xxxiii. 40".

§. 88. RESPECTING BOOKS, 78, 790.

Books, (which are described as well known as early as the time of Job, see chap. xix. 23; see also Exod. xvii. 14; Numb. xxi. 14, were first written on skins, linen, cotton cloth, or the papyrus; and subsequently on parchment. The leaves were written in small columns, called in, Jer. xxxvi. 23. If the book were large, it was of course formed of a number of skins, of pieces of linen or cotton cloth, or of papyrus, or parchment, connected together. The leaves were rarely written on both sides, Ezek. ii. 9; Zech. v. 1. Whether the lines were written βουστροφηδόν, as in the Sigean and Etruscan inscriptions, is not likely to be determined, unless we could discover the stones mentioned Josh. viii. 32. The question, whether there was any space between the words, has been discussed in my Introduction to the Old Testament, t. v. p. 1. §. 98.

n

Books being written upon very flexible materials, were rolled

[The Talmudists say it was not lawful to write the law in letters of gold, contrary to this certain and very ancient example. See Hudson's and Roland's notes to the passage of Josephus above quoted.]

round a stick; and, when very long, round two, from the two extremities. The reader unrolled the book to the place which he wanted, αναπτύξας τὸ βιβλίον, and rolled it up again when he had read it, túkas tò ßißhíov, Luke, iv. 17-20; whence the name,, a volume, or thing rolled up, Ps. xl. 7; Isaiah, xxxiv. 4; Ezek. ii. 9; 2 Kings, xix. 14; Ezra, vi. 2. The leaves thus rolled round the stick, and bound with a string, could be easily sealed, Isaiah, xxix. 11; Dan. xii. 4; Rev. v. 1; vi. 7. Such books as were engraved on tablets of wood, lead, brass, or ivory, were connected together by rings at the back, through which a rod was passed, and served as a handle to carry them by.

NOTE. The orientals took great pleasure in giving figurative or enigmatical titles to their books. The titles prefixed to the 56th, 60th, and 80th psalms, appear to be of this description; nor can there be a doubt that David's elegy upon Saul and Jonathan, 1 Sam. i. 18, is called, or the bow, in conformity with this peculiar taste.

§. 89, CONCERNING EPISTLES.

Epistles, or letters, which occur under the same Hebrew word with books, viz., are first mentioned 2 Sam. xi. 14, et seq. In early times they are scarcely spoken of, but became more common as Jewish civilisation improved. Sometimes an epistle is meant, when literally a messenger is spoken of, as in Ezra, iv. 17, 18. In the east letters are commonly sent unsealed; but when sent to persons of distinction, are inclosed in a valuable purse, tied, then sealed with clay or wax, and afterwards stamped with a signet, see Isaiah, xxix. 11; Neh. vi. 5; Job, xxxviii. 14. The most ancient epistles begin and end without either salutation or farewell; but under the Persian monarchy the salutation was very prolix: examples in an abridged form will be found in Ezra, iv. 7—10; v.7. The apostles in their epistles used the common salutation of the Greeks, but omitted the usual close, xaípe, and adopted a benediction more conformable with the spirit of Christianity. Paul, who always wrote the benediction at the close with his own hand, 2 Thess. iii. 17, was more accustomed to dictate his letters than to write them himself.

§. 90. ON POETRY.

Poetry had its origin in the first ages of the world, when undisciplined feelings and a lively imagination naturally supplied strong expressions, gave modulation to the voice, and motion to the limbs; hence poetry, singing, and dancing, were contemporaneous in origin. As far back as the time of Moses, poetry, not only among the Hebrews, but also among some other nations, had reached a great degree of perfection, Exod. xv.; Deut. xxxii. comp. also the book of Job. It continued to flourish among the Hebrews for almost 1000 years. The design of it was not merely to excite pleasure, but also to preserve historical narrations, which were so written that they might be sung on special occasions; but it was particularly the object of this art, to declare in the most affecting and pleasing manner the praises of the Deity, and to excite the people to good and to praiseworthy works; see the books of Psalms, Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes.

§. 91. CHARACTer of the Hebrew Poetry.

Hebrew poetry, like the genuine poetry of all other nations, is characterised by ardent feelings, splendid thoughts, a great variety of beautiful images, strength of expression, condensation, and elegance. But it is distinguished in a number of particulars from the poetry of the western nations.

I. The metaphors, comparisons, etc., are more bold and eccentric; a point, which is capable of receiving much light from a collation of Arabic poems.

II. The ornaments, by which a subject is enriched in Hebrew poetry, are derived from the state of things, as they exist in the east, especially Palestine:

(1) From the natural objects of that region, from Lebanon and its cedars, from Carmel, from the oaks of Bashan, from the gardens, the vineyards, and the forests, which enrich the land, and from the animals, namely, the oxen, the lions, the gazelles, etc., that tread upon its surface;

(2) From the occupations of husbandmen and shepherds; (3) From the history of the nation;

(4) From the manners exhibited in common life, even from its vices, as drunkenness, fornication, and adultery;

(5) From oriental mythology, which, in many respects, cor

responds with the Greek and Roman. We find, for instance, mention made of the chamber of the sun, Ps. xix. 5, 6, but there is this difference:-the orientals do not convey him on a chariot, like the Greeks and Romans, but make him fly with wings, Ps. cxxxix. 9; Mal. iv. 2. The thunders are borne on chariots, but these chariots are not drawn by horses, but by cherubim, `?, monsters that are symbolical of the clouds, Ezek. i. 4-28; Ps. xviii. 10; xcix. 1. We find a golden age mentioned, Is. ii. 4; xi. 6-9; xxiv. 23; xxx. 24-28; lx. 19, 20; lxv. 4-25; lxvi. 1-5; the regions of the dead are also spoken of, sheol or hades, bi, aons, into which descend not only soldiers, heroes, emperors, and all who die, but also, by a figure of speech, conquered nations and states, and even trees, the symbols of states. warriors repose in this wide abode on couches, with their armour placed beneath their heads, Is. xiv. 9-20; Ezek. xxvi. 20; xxxi. 14-18; xxxii. 7, 8; Matt. xvi. 18. We find mention likewise of the rivers of hades, the waves of death, Ps. xviii. 4-6; 2 Sam. xxii. 5; and of a political heaven, which can be shaken, and the moon and the stars thereof be obscured or cast down with great confusion and overthrow, Is. xxiv. 21—23; xxxiv. 4; lxv. 17; Amos, viii. 9, 10; Hag. ii. 6. 21; Matt. xxiv. 29.

The

III. The poems in the Hebrew language may have been measured by means of a certain number of syllables or words; but we have reason to believe, that the rhythm consisted chiefly in the parallelism. The parallelism, which is sometimes synonymous, sometimes antithetical, and sometimes shows itself merely in the construction, independent of the sense, consists in many cases of only two members, see Ps. cxiv. 1-8; in other instances there are three members, see Hos. vi. 1, 2; in other instances there are four members, the first answering to the third, and the second to the fourth, see Deut. xxxii. 42. Sometimes the parallelism displays itself in five verses or members, the two first and the two last being parallel, and the middle one unequal, Is. xxxi. 4, or the first being parallel to the third, and the second to the fourth, and the fifth being unequal, see Ps. xix. 8-10. In some instances the poetry may be called irregular, i. e. incapable of being reduced to the more common forms of parallelism, Ps. cxiii. 5, 6; Micah, i. 4. These traits in the Hebrew poetry, when well understood, afford very considerable aid in the