$135. DRESS AT FESTIVALS, ETC.

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134. PAINTING and Branding or Sealing.

Various kinds of painting have been practised by all nations in all ages. It is our object, however, at the present time, only to speak of that mode of painting, which in the Bible is denominated 7, and in the Arabic. The principal material used in this mode of painting, the object of which is to communicate, a dark tint to the eyebrows, is a sort of black lead, which is found to be used throughout all the East as far as India. It is applied to the eyebrows by a silver instrument, so as to give them the appear ance of being very long, which is esteemed a great ornament, 2 K. 9:30. Jer. 4: 30. Ezek. 23: 40. The paint, which is prepared from the ashes of the plant Alkanet, and which is used by oriental matrons to communicate a yellow colour to the arms and feet, and a tint of redness to the nails, though very ancient, is not mentioned in the Bible; a mere allusion to it occurs in Jer. 2: 22, under the word D. The red paint in use among the Roman matrons, which was spread upon the idols on festival days, is mentioned in the book of Wisdom, 13: 14. A custom, which prevailed in the East anciently, and which is connected with this subject, has been perpetuated in that region even to our day; viz. that whoever visited a temple should either devote himself to some god, or brand the image of the temple or the name of the god on his right arm. This custom as far as concerned the Hebrews was interdicted in Lev. 19:28. but the words 'branding,'' marking,' and 'sealing,' frequently occur with a tropical signification, Gal. 6: 17. Ephes. 1: 13. Rev. 7: 4, 8. 14: 1-5. 13: 17, 18. Ezek. 9: 2—12.

$135. DRESS AT FESTIVALS AND ON OCCASIONS OF Mourning.

The festival dress was very splendid, it was white, and as of ten as the festival returned, was newly washed and perfumed with myrrh, cassia, and aloes, Gen. 27: 27. Ps. 45: 8. Cant. 4: 11. It was worn on the festivals of the family, of the state, and of religion, but when the festival was over, it was laid aside. The splendid garments of festivals were denominated in Hebrew JĄ ¬032, ,&c. Vast expense was bestowed upon them both as respected their quality and number, 2 K. 5: 5. Matt. 10: 10. James

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§ 135. DRESS AT FESTIVALS, ETC.

5: : 2. The mourning dress, Hebrew p or sackcloth, is well known. It was in truth a sack, which was thrown over the person and extended down to the knees, but which, nevertheless, had armholes for the admission of the arms. It derives its name from the

Arabic verb, to tear asunder, because in the moment of the person's grief it was torn from the neck down to the breast, and sometimes as far as the girdle. The materials were a coarse dark cloth of goat's hair, Job 16: 15. Jonah 3: 5.

NOTE. In the book of Leviticus, 13: 47–59. we are informed of the leprosy of garments in the following terms; "the garment also, that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it be a woollen garment or a linen garment, whether it be in the warp or woof, whether in a skin, or any thing made of skin," &c. The marks or indications of the existence and nature of this leprosy are also stated with some particularity in the verses referred to. What this plague, as it is termed, was, it is difficult to state with much certainty, since the conjectures, which the learned have hazarded in regard to it, are by no means satisfactory. Without doubt the Hebrews had observed certain destructive effects wrought upon clothing, whether made of wool and cotton, or leather, and not understanding their origin or their nature, they choose to call them from certain resemblances as much apparent as real, the corroding plague or leprosy, n ny. Altogether the most probable conjecture in regard to these effects is, that they were merely the depredations of certain little insects, which could not be seen by the naked eye. The Hebrews without doubt, considered the clothes' leprosy, as they termed it, contagious, and consequently a serious and fearful evil. This opinion was the ground of the rigid laws, which are laid down in respect to it in Leviticus 12: 47-59.

CHAPTER IX.

CONCERNING FOOD AND FEASTS.

$136. OF FOOD in general.

At first, men lived upon the fruits of trees, upon herbs, roots, and seeds, and whatever else they could find in the vegetable kingdom, that might conduce to the support of life, all which was expressed in Hebrew by the word , in the broadest sense of the word, Gen. 1: 29. 2: 16. Afterwards a method was invented to bruise grain, and to reduce it to a mass, to ferment it, and bake it, and thus to make bread, which is also expressed by, in the more limited sense of the word. Still later, not only water, but milk, oil, and honey, were mingled with the meal, and bread was made of a richer and more valuable kind. Even so early as the time of Abraham, the art of preparing bread was carried to some degree of perfection. Before the deluge the flesh of animals was converted into food, as may be inferred from the division of animals into clean and unclean, Gen. 7: 2, 8; after the deluge animals are expressly mentioned, as being slain for food, Gen. 9: 8-6. But meat is not so palatable and nutritious in warm climates as in others, and fruits, consequently, bread, olives, and milk, are the customary

food.

137. PREPARATION OF FOOD BY FIRE.

Originally food of every kind was eaten without being cooked, because there was no fire. If there had been fire, it would have been of no consequence in this case, seeing that its use in the preparation of food was unknown. Men were undoubtedly taught by chance to roast flesh and eventually to boil it. It was found so much more agreeable, when prepared in this way, that men were careful not to let the fire, which they had now found, become extinguished. Their method of obtaining fire was, to elicit sparks by the collision of stone and flint, or by the friction of pie

ces of wood, and afterwards to excite a blaze. This method of obtaining fire was very ancient, as we may learn from the etymology of the word, Is. 50: 11. 64: 1.

$138. OF MILLS.

Corn was eaten at first without any preparation of it at all; the custom of thus eating it had not gone into total desuetude in the time of Christ, Matt. 12: 1. Levit. 2: 12. Deut. 23: 25. After the uses of fire were known, it was parched. Parching it became so common, that the words p, p, and , which properly mean parched, mean also corn or meal, 2 Sam. 17: 28. Lev. 2: 12, 14. Ruth 2: 14, 18. Some, who found a difficulty in mastication, broke to pieces the kernels of corn with stones or pieces of wood; this suggested the idea of mortars, and eventually of mills. The mortar, min, w, was used in the time of Moses for bruising corn, also the mill, in, Num. 11: 8. Fine meal, i. e. corn or grain ground or beaten fine, is spoken of as far back as the time of Abraham, Gen. 18: 6; hence mills and mortars must have been known before his time. The mill common among the Hebrews, scarcely differed at all from that, which is used at this day in Egypt and the East. It consisted of two circular stones, two feet in diameter and half a foot thick. The lower one was called and П, Deut. 24: 6. Job 41: 15, 16; it exhibited a slight rise or elevation on the centre, and was fixed in the floor. The upper one was called, Judg. 9: 53; was moveable, and in order to make it fit precisely to the nether one, was slightly hollowed. In the middle of it was a hole, through which the corn to be ground was admitted. The upper stone had a handle attached to it, by which it was moved upon the lower, and the corn and grain were in this way broken. There were sieves attached to the mill, which separated the flour from the bran; the bran was put into the mill again and ground over. The sieves were made of reeds; those made of horse hair were a later invention, not earlier than the time of Pliny.

$140. BAKING Bread in an oven.

$139. GRINDING.

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Since there were neither public mills nor bakers, except the king's, Gen. 40: 2. Hos. 7:4-10. each one by consequence owned a mill himself; hence it was made an infringement of the law, for a person to take another's mill or millstone, as a pledge, Deut. 24: 6. for without his mill there being no public ones, he would have been in a bad situation. At first barley alone was ground, but afterwards wheat more commonly, as the poor alone used barley. Barley bread answers better in the warm climate of the East, than among us. On the second day it becomes insipid and rough to the palate; and this is the case also in warm climates with wheat bread. Hence the necessity of baking every day, and hence also the daily grinding at the mills about evening. The sound of the millstones, probably at this time, is spoken of by the prophet, Jer. 25: 10. The mill was commonly turned by two persons, the lowest maid-servants. They sat opposite to each other, facing, the one on one side, the other on the other side. One took hold of the mill handle and impelled it half way round; the other then seized it and completed its revolution, Exod. 11: 5. Job 31: 10, 11. Is. 47: 2. Matt. 24: 41. The labour was severe and menial; frequently enemies, taken in war, were condemned to perform it, Judg. 16: 21. Lam. 5: 13.

$140. BAKING Bread in an Oven.

The business of baking was performed anciently by women, however high their stations, Gen. 18: 6. Lev. 26: 26. 2 Sam. 13: 6, 8. Jer. 7: 18, 19.. When luxury afterwards prevailed among them, the matrons and their daughters gave it up to their maids, 1 Sam. 8: 13. These maids were so numerous in the palace of David, that a portion of bread, etc. was distributed to them, the same as to a large multitude of men, 2 Sam. 6: 19. In Egypt there were king's bakers very early; they make their appearance in Palestine also, but at a much later period, Hos. 7: 4-7. Jer. 37: 21.

Kneading troughs were a sort of wooden trays, in which the

flour, being mingled with water, was reduced to a solid mass, and