lonitis and Peræa; where Jefus Chrift did fome miracles (). As alfo Pella, where the Chriftians retired after the deftruction of Jerufalem. This laft was a bishop's fee. It is very probable that Bethabara (k), where John bapBethabara. tized, ftood on the other fide Jordan. At least St. John feems to place it there (/). Some authors are indeed of opinion, that the Greek word (*), which is commonly rendered beyond, fignifies alío along, which makes it doubtful whether Bethabara was on this, or the other, fide Jordan. We fhall leave the matter undecided, because it is of no confequence (†). There are feveral other places in that part of Palestine lying on the other fide Jordan, which we fhall take no notice of, because they are no where mentioned in the gospel. For this reafon we fhall fay nothing of Batanæa, Ituræa, otherwife called Auranitis, nor of Trachonitis, a province on the north of Peræa, which was the moft confiderable of all. There will be no occafion neither for fpeaking of the feveral countries, where the Apoflles preached the gofpel, because they are fufliciently described in our notes and prefaces, on the Golpels, Acts, and Epiftles, and besides are known by every body. Here therefore we thall conclude this article (†). Of the distance of places. As there is frequent mention of the distance of places, both in the New Teftament, and alfo in our notes and this Introduction, it will be proper to give a general notion of them here. The Greeks commonly reckoned the distance between places by ftadia (), as did afterwards the Romans; and the Hebrews (m) fince their intercourfe with the Greeks. The ftadium was 125 paces, eight of which made a Roman mile. The miles were fo called, because they contained a thousand paces, of five feet each. The Romans used to mark them by fetting ftone-pillars at every mile's end; hence this expreflion in their authors, " at the firft, fecond, or third ftone (n)." The miles are mentioned but once in the gofpels (0). One Roman, which is the fame as one of our English miles, was 1000 paces. () Mark v. 1. Luke viii. 26. (4) Bethabara fignifies the boufe of paffage, becaufe here was a ford over the river Jordan. (1) John i. 28. x. 49. (*) Пigav. (+) It is however very probable, that in St. John's gofpel the Greek word (a) fignifics beyond, on the other fide; fince Perea, which is certainly on the other fide Jordan, took its name from that word, and that the other pro vinces which are beyond, and not along the river, went alfo under the name of Peræa. () As geographers are not always agreed about the fituation of fome places, we have followed Jofephus, Eufebius, and efpecially Mr. Reland's Palai tina Sacra, wherein this whole matter is fully handled. (||) The stadium was a fpace of 125 paces in length, where people exercifed themselves in running. 1 Cor. ix. 24. (m) Luke xxiv. 13. John vi. 19. (z) Ad primum, fecundum, tertium lapidem, &c. i. e. mile, (>) Mat. v. 41. paces. The land of Ifrael might be near 220 miles in length, and about 120 in breadth. The cubit, which was used in measuring buildings, confifted of 1 foot and a half. And therefore 2000 cubits, which was the space the Jews were allowed to walk on the fabbath-day (p), amounted to about 8 ftadia, or one of our miles. It cannot be unexceptionable to the reader to have here all these meafures comprised in five Latin verfes, which we have borrowed from a late learned author (q). "Quatuor ex granis digitus componitur unus. "Eft quater in palmo digitus, quater in pede palmus, Of the Hebrew Money. HEY were formerly wont in their commerce and payments, not pieces ferved them both for weights and money. They were made of one of thefe three forts of metals, brafs, filver, or gold (a). But the word brafs was used to denote any kind of money, of what metal foever (b); the reafon of which is, that the weight of brafs was the standard whereby money was valued. One of the least pieces of money mentioned in the New Teftament is the lepton, or mite, which is by St. Jerom called minuta. St. Mark tells us (c), that two of thefe pieces made one quadrans. It is probable that the word lepton was used to specify any fmall piece of money, fince what St. Matthew calls quadrans, is by St. Luke (d) named lepton. The lepton was worth (ol. os. od. oq. 317.) The quadrans was a piece of brafs money weighing three ounces, which makes the fourth part of the Roman as, or penny. This word, as well as lepton was used to denote any fmall piece of money. The quadrans was the fee of the bath-keepers at Rome. (ol. os. od. oq. 3.) The as, or penny, was a brafs piece, which weighed seven ounces and a half, at leaft, in the time of our Saviour JESUS CHRIST (e). For it is to be obferved, that at firft the Roman as or penny weighed one pound, that is, twelve Roman ounces. Afterwards it was reduced to ten ounces, then to nine, and at laft to feven and a half, as it was in Auguftus's (p) Acts i. 12. (9) Leufden ap. Pritium Introd. ad Lect. Nov. Tefi. p. 609. (b) Mark vi. 8. (d) Matth. v. 26. Luke xii. 59. xxi. 2. (e) The feftertius was worth two-pence half-penny. Auguftus's time (f). There is no mention in the Evangelifts of the ar, but only of a piece of lefs value, which is by them termed affarion (*). The as, as is fuppofed, was worth 8 lepta, (or 39. 1.) The drachma was a filver coin, in ufe among the Greeks, and afterwards among the Jews and Romans (g). It was fomewhat lefs than the Roman denarius, and more than the as, fince it weighed eight ounces. The didrachma was two drachmas, which made half a fhekel. Every Ifraelite, when he was arrived at the age of twenty, was obliged to pay yearly this tribute for the use of the temple (b). It is commonly fupposed that the Roman Emperors, upon their becoming mafters of Judea, exacted the fame fum (i), and that fo the Jews came to pay it twice, once to the temple, and once to the Emperor. If this conjecture is well grounded, it may give a great light to thefe words of JESUS CHRIST; "Render to Cæfar the things which are Cæfar's, and to God the things that are God's (k)." But CHRIST is not there speaking of the tribute of the didrachma, which is mentioned elsewhere (), but of that of a denarius. Thus much is certain, that after the deftruction of the temple, Vefpafian ordered all the Jews to pay yearly thofe two drachmas to the capitol (m). (The drachma was 7d. 39. of our money.) The Roman denarius was a filver piece weighing ten ounces, which was worth at first ten as's (n). After the war with Annibal, it mounted to fixteen, and afterwards was reduced to twelve. It is frequently mentioned in the gospels; being one of those Latin words to which the Evangelifts have given a Greek found and termination. The denarius was worth 7d. 39. of our money. The fatera (o) was alfo a piece of filver money worth about four drachmas or denarii. It was the fame with the fhekel, which made 25. 3d. 19. 4. The Rabbins infer from Exod. xxx. 13. and Lev. xxvii. 25. where there is mention of the fhekel of the fanctuary, that there were two forts of fhekels, the one facred, and the other profane, and that the facred was worth double the profane. But feveral learned authors (p) rejecting this diftinction, understood by "the fhekel of the fanctuary," a fhekel of juft weight and good filver, fuch as was kept in the fanctuary, for a standard; in imitation of the Egyptians, who kept in their temples ftandards of their weights and measures. However it be, it is commonly fuppofed that it was fome of these pieces the priests gave Judas to betray Jefus (q). And indeed when the ancients spoke of a piece of filver in general, they meant the fhekel. There are Hebrew shekels ftill to be seen in the cabinets of the curious. They have on one side a veffel, which is fuppofed to be the pot wherein the manna was laid up, or else Aaron's cenfer, with this infcription in Samaritan characters, (f) Pitifc. Lexic. Antiq. Rom. (g) Luke xv. 8. (i) Hoffm. Lexic. (*) Matt. x. 29. Luke xii. 6, (m) Jofeph. de Bell. Jud. 1. vii. c. 26. (n) For which reafon it was named denarius, i, e. the tenth. the number X marked on one fide. (0) Matth. xvii. 27. (2) Matth. xxvi. 15. (p) Cleric. in Exod. &c, There was racters, "The fhekel of Ifrael :" and on the other, a blown flower, which feems to be Aaron's rod that budded, with thefe words round it, "Jerufalem the Holy." The mina (r), or filver mark, weighed fixty fhekels, and according to others, fifty (*): which might make about 6l. 16s. 7d. 1q. . There were alfo minas of gold that weighed 100 fhekels. Some learned authors infer from Exod. xxxviii. 25, 28, that the filver talent weighed three thoufand fhekels. But it must be observed that the talent was not the fame every where. The Hebrew one weighed more than that of the Greeks, and amounted to 3417. 10s. 4d. 19. 4. The common Attick talent might be worth about 193/. 15s. It is very probable that the Jews made ufe of it in their commerce. We have given but a general defcription of these matters, thinking it both needlefs and impoffible to pretend to give an exact account of them, fince authors are very much divided about them. fo We may fay the fame concerning the measures, and it will also be fufficient to have only a general notion of them. There are two forts of measures; fome are used in taking the dimenfions, as the length or breadth of any thing; others are veffels for measuring corn, and the like, or liquors, as wine and oil, &c. The long meafures of the Hebrews were as follows: The long measures. The digit or finger's breadth is fomething lefs than an inch, [o foot. o inch. 11.] The leffer palm is four fingers, or three inches; the great palm is the length between the top of the thumb, and the top of the middle finger when the hand is ftretched out. The common cubit is one foot and a half. The royal cubit (*) is longer than the laft by three digits. The geometrical cubit confifts of fix common cubits. The dimenfions of Noah's ark are fuppofed to have been made according to this. Reeds, or lines, were ufed in meafuring land (s). Hence this expreffion in the Pfalms (t), "The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places." The reed or line was fix cubits and one palm long ("). quid measures. The chenix, mentioned in the Revelations (x), was one Of dry and liof the leaft of the dry measures. It held as much as a temperate man can eat in a day. But it was not of the fame bignefs every where. It is fuppofed that that which is mentioned in the Revelations was one of the leaft of thofe that went under that name, and held about two pounds. This measure was used in distri buting to the foldiers their allowance of food. There is mention in St. Matthew (y) of a measure called fatum (†), (r) Luke xix. which (*) The paffage in Ezek. xlv. 12. where the mina is mentioned, is ob fcure. In fome copies of the feptuagint the mina is faid to be 50 fhekels, in others 60, &c. (*) The Chaldee paraphraft hath rendered by a royal cubit, what is called "the cubit of a man." (s) Josh, xvii. 14. (x) Rev. vi. 5. 6. meifure, Deut. iii. 11. (y) Matt. xiii. 33. t) This word is derived from the Hebrew feab, which is the name of this which was very much in ufe in Paleftine. The learned are not agreed about its bignefs, fome making it bigger, and others fmaller. It is moft generally fuppofed, that it was the third part of an ephah, which was an Hebrew meafure containing 447 cubick inches, that held 1 gallon, and 7 pints. The ephah was otherwife named bath. The corus is the fame measure as the Hebrew chomer (*), as is manifeft from Ezekiel, by comparing the original Hebrew with the feventy (z). The chomer was the largest measure the Hebrews had. It held 10 ephahs, [or 24 pecks] and contained 13410 inches. It was alfo a liquid measure (a). The modius, mentioned in St. Matthew (b), is fuppofed to be the fame as the fatum or feah. The Hebrews had several other kinds of dry measure, but fince they are not mentioned in the New Testament, we think it needlefs to give an account of them here, and therefore defire the reader to confult thofe that have fully treated of this matter. The least measure that is mentioned in the gospel (c) is the fextarius (†), which is fuppofed to be the fame as the log (d) of the Hebrews, that held about one pound of oil. Authors are very much divided in their opinions about the bigness of the measure which is by St. John named metretes (e); fome fancy that it was the fame as the ephah. Others taking the dimenfions of the veffels or cifterns mentioned in that place, (which are faid to contain two or three metretze apicce) according to thofe of the amphora, or Attick urn, which contained, it is fuppofed, 100 pounds of liquor, imagine that the metretes held 200, or 300 pounds of water. Others, in fhort, imagine that it anfwered to twelve Roman congii (1). It is of no manner of confequence, after all, to know the bignefs of thofe cifterns, becaufe though JESUS CHRIST had changed but one drop of water into wine, the miracle would have been as large as if he had changed a great quantity. The miracle would not have been indeed fo confpicuous, but it could not upon any account have been the lefs certain or unquestionable. (*) We must take care not to confound the chomer with the gomer, which. held 3 pints. The corus is mentioned Luke xvi. 7. (z) Ezek. xlv. 14. (b) Matt. v. 15. (a) 1 Kings v. 11. Luke xvi. 7. Grot. in loc. The modius is one of thofe Latin words to which the Evangelifts have given a Greek found and termination. (c) Mark vii. 4. (+) The word fextarius is alfo a Latin word, to which the Evangelifts have given a Greek termination; it was fo called, because it was the fixth part of the Roman congius, which was a veffel containing ten Roman pounds of water. (d) Lev. xiv. 12. (e) John ii. 6. It is a Greek word which fignifies measure. It was in ufe among the Greeks and Romans. (It held 7 pints.) (+) The congius was a Roman meafure, which held fix fextarii, and was the eighth part of the amphora. |