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LAYING OUT AND MOURNING OVER THE DEAD.- FROM CAMPARINI'S ETRUSCAN TOMBS.

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Verse 6. "They shall not be buried," &c. -In what follows there is a distinct allusion to the prominent funeral observances which appear to have prevailed among the Hebrews. In the following notes we shall offer a few observations on such of those practices as have not already been noticed, or which may not more conveniently be reserved for future

illustration.

"Cut themselves." -The law forbade this manifestation of grief (Lev. xix. 28; Deut. xiv. 1): but from the present and other intimations we learn that it still continued to be exhibited, at least at times. The prohibition shows the custom. In like manner Mohammed endeavoured to put a stop to this and other forms of the ancient "mournings of ignorance," as he called them; but the custom still maintains its ground in Moslem countries, particularly among the women, who, in this and many other instances, appear to have considered themselves exempted ted from the the general precepts of their lawgiver, which they seem to regard as only intended for men. operation of sometimes wound themselves in excess of grief; but when they do so, they usually employ lancets or other instruEven men, however, ments, whereas the women are content to lacerate themselves with their nails. In the annual mourning in Persia for Hossein, the son of the caliph Ali, men, wrought to a high pitch of excitement, run about as if frantic, uttering doleful cries, and occasionally wounding themselves with lancets, till their persons were covered with blood. Similar customs prevailed to some extent among the Greeks. The women more particularly beat their breasts and thighs, and tore their flesh with their nails; but this practice was forbidden by Solon. Even the Spartans, although they bore the

loss of their relations with great moderation, yet bewailed the death of their great men by tearing their flesh with pins and needles. (See the authorities cited in Harwood's 'Grecian Antiquities, p. 364.) But examples of this custom might be obtained from all parts of the world in different stages of civilisation. Among others, the ancient Huns, and the modern islanders of the South Sea, might be cited: the latter testified their grief by wounding themselves with a sharp shell or a shark's tooth.

"Make themselves bald." This is another custom of mourning, as ancient and as prevalent as the preceding. Its patriarchal antiquity is shown in the case of Job, who, when he heard of the desolation of his house, "arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head." It is not clear whether more than a particular form of this practice was forbidden

by the law of Moses (Deut. xiv. 1); but to the priests it was certainly altogether interdicted (Lev. xxi. 5). It seems to have been the custom of the Jews to cut, shave, or rend the hair, both of the head and beard (see Ezra ix. 3), but more particularly the former. Mohammed forbade the practice, as well as the former. The women, however, do not attend to the prohibition: but the men, having their heads habitually shaven, cannot exhibit this sign of sorrow. In some parts of the East, however, where the men let their hair grow, they cut or shave it off on mourning occasions. It appears from the curious narrative of Peter Covillan (in Purchas) that the practice is retained in Abyssinia, where so many customs analogous to those of the Hebrews are still in operation. The party received information of the death of their king, Emmanuel of Portugal: "And because it is the fashion of this country, when their friends die, to shave their heads, and not their beards, and to cloath themselves with blacke apparell, wee beganne to shave one another's head, and while wee were doing this, in came they which brought us our dinner; who, when they saw this, they set down the meate upon the ground, and ranne to tell it unto the Prete, who suddenly sent two friers unto us, to understand what had fallen out. The ambassadour could not answere him for the great lamentation which he made, and I told them as well as I could, that the sunne which gave us light was darkened, that is to say, that the king Don Emmanuel was departed this life; and suddenly all of us began to make our moane, and the friers went their way." It was also the well known custom of the ancient Greeks to tear, cut off, or shave the hair. Among them, the hair thus separated | was sometimes laid upon the dead body as a mark of affection and regret; sometimes it was cast upon the funeral pile to be consumed with the body; and on other occasions it was laid upon the grave. Upon the death of men of eminence and valour, it was not unusual for whole cities and countries to be shaved. "This ceremony," says Harwood, "was observed, because, as long hair was considered as very becoming, they might appear careless and negligent of their beauty, and to render the ghost of the dead person propitious by throwing the hair together with the body into the fire. In times of public mourning they extended this ceremony even to the beasts." (Grec. Antiq. p. 363, where the authorities are given.) There was also a custom, any analogy to which among the Hebrews we do not remember, of hanging the hair of the dead person himself upon the door, to signify that the inmates were in a state of mourning.

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7. "The cup of consolation." - This is doubtless the refreshment which after the funeral is supplied to the mourners, and by which they break, or are supposed to break, the fast they have maintained since the death took place. This is prepared and sent by the neighbours; the mourners being supposed to be too much absorbed in grief to think of their necessary food. The refreshment was of a very slight description, usually bread, wine, and fruits. At present it consists of eggs boiled hard, with a little salt, and a small loaf. (Allen's Modern Judaism,' p. 439.) This is sometimes called the "bread of bitterness; " and is alluded to also in 2 Sam. iii. 35; Hos. ix. 4; Ezek. xxiv. 16, 17.

8. "The house of feasting." This appears to refer to such a funeral feast with which it was customary among dif. ferent nations to conclude all the ceremonies of death except those of the continued mourning by the relatives. It is

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not very clear when this took place; but it could not be till after the three first days, called "the days of weeping," were passed, as during that time the mourner could have no food prepared in his house, nor eat anything of his own. (Lightfoot, Exercit. upon John xi. 19.') During this time he was supplied with food by his neighbours; and as after this he might return to his customary fare, it is probable that the feast then took place. This entertainment was given by the chief mourner at his own house, if distinct from that in which the deceased had lived. Those invited were usually the friends and acquaintance of the family, including those neighbours who had sent food to the mourners during the "days of weeping." The custom of the funeral feast was well known to the classical ancients, was kept up in this and other European countries till a comparatively recent period, and still prevails in many parts of the world. In these cases, however, the feast usually took place after the funeral. In this country, during the plague of 1569, one of the precautions taken to prevent the spread of the contagion was to prohibit the funeral dinners. (Maitland's 'London,' vol. i. p. 260.) As our engravings are derived from classical sources, we may just mention the custom of the Greeks, which, with one or two exceptions, seem to have been similar to those of the Hebrews. When the funeral was over, it was a very ancient and long continued custom to proceed to the house of the nearest relations of the dead, where an entertainment was provided. This ceremony was however omitted at the funeral of slaves. It seems that sometimes the entertainment preceded the funeral. The fragments that fell from the tables were considered sacred to the departed souls, and which it was therefore not lawful to eat. These were carried to the tomb and left there for the ghost. This piece of superstition we find very common among different nations, in which it is customary for a time to lay food near or upon the graves. These entertainments consisted of flesh, with all sorts of pulse, beans, peas, lettuces, parsley, eggs, &c.; and the persons present usually conversed upon the merits and qualities of the dead person. (Harwood, pp. 372, 373.) The Roman customs were very little different. Concerning the funeral banquet of the Jews, one remarkable fact is furnished by Lightfoot: They drank ten cups in the house of mourning; two before meat, five while they were eating, and three after meat. When Rabban Simeon Ben-Gamaliel died, they added three more. But when the Sanhedrim saw that hence they became drunk, they made a decree against this." (Exercit. upon Matt. ix. 23.) It is hence clear that no indecent excess in drinking was considered proper at such entertainments.

CHAPTER XVII.

1 The captivity of Judah for her sin. 5 Trust in man is cursed, 7 in God is blessed. 9 The deceitful heart cannot deceive God. 12 The salvation of God. 15 The prophet complaineth of the mockers of his prophecy. 19 He is sent to renew the covenant in hallowing the sabbath.

THE sin of Judah is written with a 'pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars;

2 Whilst their children remember their altars and their 'groves by the green trees upon the high hills.

30 my mountain in the field, 'I will give thy substance and all thy treasures to the spoil, and thy high places for sin, throughout all thy borders.

4 And thou, even 'thyself, shalt discontinue from thine heritage that I gave thee; and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not: for ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall burn for ever.

5 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the

LORD.

6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. 7 'Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.

8 For he shall be 'as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

10 I the LORD 'search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

11 As the partridge "sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.

12 A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary.

13 O LORD, the hope of Israel, "all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters.

14 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.

15 Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the LORD? let it come now.

16 As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before thee.

Isa. 1. 29.
Isa 30. 18.
10 Or,
18 Isa. 5. 19.

1 Job 19. 24.
Heb. nail
Judges 3. 7.
Psal. 2. 12, and 34. 10, and 125. 1. Prov. 16. 20.
1 Sam. 16.7. Psal. 7.9. Chap. 11. 20, and 20. 12.
11 Psal. 73. 27. Isa. 1. 28. 1# Chap. 2. 13.

4 Chap. 15.13.
5 Heb. in thyself.
7 Psal. 1. 3.
8 Or, restraint.
gathereth young which she hath not brought forth.
14 Chap. 1. 4, &c.
15 Heb. after thee.

17 Be not a terror unto me: thou art my | incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise,

hope in the day of evil.

18 "Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and 1718 destroy them with double destruction.

19 Thus said the LORD unto me; Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem;

20 And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the LORD, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates:

21 Thus saith the LORD; "Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;

22 Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.

23 But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction.

24 And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the LORD, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein ;

25 Then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem : and this city shall remain for ever.

26 And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and

16 Psal. 35. 4, and 40. 14.

unto the house of the LORD.

27 But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.

17 Heb. break them with a double breach. 20 Exod. 20.8, and 23. 12, and 31. 13. Ezek. 20.12.

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Verse 6. "Heath" (ar). The "heath" here mentioned was probably a species of tamarisk, and none so likely as the Tamarix articulata, since this plant was gathered by Forskall in the deserts of Arabia; and, from its spare and neglected form peering above the sand of the desert, might well be taken as an emblem of desertion and solitude. It is known to others by the name of Tamarix Orientalis, and is used by the Egyptians for fuel. Galls rise upon this tree, which are of a superb red, and originate from the puncture of an insect. The tamarisk attains to a very flourishing condition on the banks of rivers. The banks of the Tigris are to a considerable extent lined with its shrubs, which often grow to the height of eight or nine feet, and furnish the principal supply of fuel to the different towns, to which it is conveyed in boats by the persons who cut it down.

11. "

Partridge." (See the note on 1 Sam. xxvi. 20.) Belon observes of the bartavella, or Greek partridge, that it keeps ordinarily among the rocks, but has the instinct to descend into the plain to make its nest, in order that the young may find at their birth a ready subsistence. It lays from eight to sixteen eggs. This partridge is capable of

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connection with the common hen, and has also another analogy with that bird, in that it sits upon the eggs of strangers for want of its own. This seems to explain the present text; for if, as Dr. Shaw observes, "the bartavella partridge sits on the eggs of a stranger, when that stranger bes. them, the partridge so expelled resembles a man in low circumstances, who had possessed himself for a time of the returns to nest, and drives away the intruder before she can hatch Pata property of another, but is found to relinquish his acquisition before he can render it profitable; which is the simile of the prophet." It will be remembered that the other text, 1 Sam. xxvi., speaks of the partridge as a bird of the

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mountain.

13. "Written in the earth."-See the note on John viii. 6.

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ORIENTAL PARTRIDGES.

4, Clapperton's Francolin-Francolinus Clappertoni; 2, Rüppell's Francolin-Francolinus Ruppellii; 3. Erckel's Francolin-Francolinus Erckiei; 4, Common Partridge-Perdia cinerea.

CHAPTER XVIII.

1 Under the type of a potter is shewed God's absolute power in disposing of nations. 11 Judgments to Judah for her strange revolt. 18

threatened

Jeremiah prayeth against his conspirators.
THE word which came to Jeremiah from the
LORD, saying,

2 Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear

my words.

3 Then I went down to the potter's

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6 O house of Israel, 'cannot I do with
in mine hand, O house of Israel.
you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold,
as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye

ing
pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy

7 At what instant I shall speak concern-
a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to

it;

house, and, behold, he wrought a work on pronounced, turn from their evil, I will re

8 If that nation, against whom I have

'wheels.

pent of the evil that I thought to do unto

4 And the vessel 'that he made of clay them. was marred in the hand of the potter: so

he made it again another vessel, as good to the potter to make it.

1 Or, frames, or, seats

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seemed

9 And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it;

3 Heb. returned and made.

Or, that he made was marred, as clay in the hand of the potter: Jonah 3. 10.

4 isa. 45. 9. Wisd. 15.7. Rom. 9. 20.

F

Chap. 1. 10.

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