and his sons put their hands on the head of the ram for the burnt-offering, and killed it, and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar, round about; and he burnt the head and the fat, and the legs upon the altar.

Next, Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon its head, and slew it; and Moses took of the blood and put it on the tip of Aaron's right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of the right foot: and did the same to his sons. Aaron then waved the shoulder of the sacrifice, together with the fat, and unleavened bread, which when it was done, Moses received them from the hand of Aaron and his sons, and burnt them on the altar: but the breast he waved before the Lord, but did not burn it, but reserved it for himself, as being the portion of the officiating minister. And again, Moses took of the blood and the anointing oil, and sprinkled it on Aaron and his sons, and on their garments. After these solemn ceremonies, Aaron and his sons were forbidden to go out of the door of the tabernacle for seven days, when the period of their consecration would be ended.

On the eighth day, Aaron and his sons entered on the public duties of the sacerdotal office, by sacrificing a young calf for a sin-offering, and a ram for a burnt-offering. And the people were commanded to bring a kid for a sin-offering, and a calf and lamb for a burnt-offering; also a bullock and a ram for peace-offerings; and an offering of flour mingled with oil. These sacrifices were intended as a preparation for the manifestation of the divine presence which was about to take place. These also Aaron offered for himself and sons, and for the people, and put the blood upon the horns of the altar, and poured out the remainder at the bottom of the altar, and with the other ceremonies appropriate to each kind of sacrifice. When these offerings were completed, Aaron, as being now fully invested with the office of high-priest, "lifted up his hands towards the people, and blessed them." After which Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle, and when they came out, they again blessed the people: and THE GLORY OF THE LORD appeared unto all the people. And fire came out from before. the Lord, and consumed the burnt-offering on the altar, and the fat of the other sacrifices. "And when the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces."

This fire, thus kindled, was to be kept alive, and never to be suffered to go out; and all offerings made by fire, whether on the altar of burnt-offerings, or on the altar of incense, must be made by the holy fire on the altar.

SECTION XXI.

THE SIN AND FEARFUL PUNISHMENT OF AARON'S ELDEST SONS.

NADAB and Abihu, the oldest sons of Aaron, who had just been with him consecrated to the priest's office, and one of whom would doubtless have been his successor in the office of highpriest, regardless of the commandments of the Lord, and probably elated with the distinction which they had received, took their censors, and put common fire therein, and offered strange fire before the Lord, instead of the holy fire from the altar. "And there went out fire from the Lord and devoured them; and they died before the Lord." Moses, upon this manifestation of the divine displeasure, spoke to Aaron and said, "This is that the Lord spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified." This was indeed a heavy affliction and sore trial to Aaron; but he behaved himself as became a saint, for he "held his peace." Moses directed that the bodies of these men should be taken away from the sanctuary, out of the camp. He then forbid. Aaron and his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, to make any of the usual expressions of grief, such as uncovering or making bald the head, and rending their garments, lest they should die; "but," said he, "let your brethren the whole house of Israel bewail the burning which the Lord hath kindled. And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle; for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you."

It is not an improbable conjecture, that these young men had made too free a use of wine, and that intoxication might have been the occasion of their sin; for in the very next precept which was delivered, it is enjoined, "Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die. It shall be a statute, for ever, throughout your generations; and that ye may put a difference between holy and unholy; and between unclean and clean; and that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord hath spoken unto them."

Moses became more exact in looking into the conduct of Aaron and his remaining sons; and gave them special directions what offerings were to be eaten in the courts of the Lord. And after scrutiny, finding that the kid of the people for a sin-offering had been burnt, instead of being eaten by the priests, as had been commanded in regard to this particular sin-offering, contrary to the custom in other cases of the sin-offering, he was displeased with Aaron, Eleazar, and Ithamar, and said, "wherefore have ye not eaten the sin-offering in the holy place? Be

hold the blood of it was not brought in within the holy place; ye should indeed have eaten it in the holy place." But Aaron excused himself on account of some impurity contracted by accident; which rendered it unsuitable that he should partake of what was so holy. When Moses heard this he was satisfied.

SECTION XXII.

CLEAN AND UNCLEAN ANIMALS-LEPROSY, LAWS RESPECTING IT.

THE distinction between clean and unclean animals existed anterior to the deluge; for we find it made the ground of a great difference in the number of each admitted into the ark; and there can be little doubt, but that this distinction originated with the divine institution of sacrifices. Those animals which, according to the primitive institute, might be offered in sacrifice, were considered clean, and all others unclean. And this does not exclude the idea that the former were better suited for human food than the latter; for the selection of certain species. for sacrifice may have been made with some reference to this very thing. It is true, that sacrifices were only offered from the herd and the flock, and one species of birds; but the obvious reason was, that other clean animals were wild and could not always be had, when any particular sacrifice was required to be offered.

In the Levitical law, all unclean animals are prohibited as articles of food; and all clean animals are allowed. In regard to quadrupeds, the rule of distinction was, that all animals, both dividing the hoof and chewing the cud, are clean, and might be used as food; all other quadrupeds were prohibited, as unclean. In regard to birds, there were no clearly marked criteria, whereby the clean and unclean were distinguished, the law therefore contains an enumeration of the species which were unclean.

In regard to fishes, the criteria were as distinct as of quadrupeds. Those animals, in the water, which were furnished both with fins and scales might be eaten, but all others were unclean. Insects, and all creeping things, in general, were prohibited; yet some few species were allowed to be used as food.

As this distinction of clean and unclean animals originated with the institution of sacrifices, it ceased when they were abrogated; and now nothing is "common or unclean;" although, some animals are much better adapted for human food than others; and generally those animals are most used for food, which, according to the ritual law, were reckoned clean. Some animals are said to be very unsuitable for food in one climate and country, which may be eaten without inconvenience in an

other country, where the climate is different. Thus in the hot countries of Asia, particularly in the sandy regions of Arabia, where cutaneous diseases are frequent, and of a malignant kind, it has been thought, that the flesh of swine is very unfavourable to health.

The leprosy was a disease of so impure, and probably, also contagious a nature, that persons infected with it were carefully separated from the rest of the people; and as some skill was requisite to distinguish this foul disease, in its incipient state, from other cutaneous diseases of a less noxious kind, this whole matter was committed to the priests, who were authorized to determine when it was proper for any one to be sent out of the camp, on the account of the leprosy; and when the cure was so complete, that the leper might be again restored to the society of his friends. And when a leper was pronounced clean, there were certain things required of him, which might on no account be neglected. The signs by which the leprosy might be distinguished are particularly laid down in the 13th chapter of Leviticus; and the ceremonies to be used when the priest pronounced a leper clean, are as particularly detailed in the 14th chapter of the same book.

Rules are also given for detecting a cankerous, consuming disorder, analogous to the leprosy in man, which invaded and destroyed garments and houses, in that climate.

SECTION XXIII.

LAWS OF PURITY AND HEALTH.

A WOMAN, after childbirth, was reckoned unclean for one week, if she had given birth to a male; for two weeks when a female; but for her complete purification, one month must elapse in the former, and two months in the latter case. After which, it was prescribed, that she should offer a lamb for a burnt-offering, and a young pigeon or turtle dove for a sin-offering: but in case of such poverty as rendered the offering of a lamb impracticable or inconvenient, the law was fulfilled by two turtle doves, or two young pigeons; the one for a burnt-offering and the other for a sin-offering. It may not be improper here to remark, that the Virgin Mary, the blessed mother of our Lord, was so poor, that she was able only to make the offering of two turtle-doves.

Laws were also ordained, declaring that all running issues, and impure discharges, rendered the subjects of them unclean, and showing how they were to be purified.

No ceremonial uncleanness, however, was so great as that

contracted by touching a dead body; or a bone, or the grave of a human being. Whoever, however necessarily, or accidentally, touched the dead body of a man, was unclean for seven days; and in order that he might be clean, at the end of this period he was required to purify himself on the third day, and on the seventh. Whoever was defiled by the touch of a dead body, and entered the sacred enclosure without purification, defiled the tabernacle of the Lord, and exposed himself to the punishment of excision. The death of any person in a tent rendered all who were present unclean, for seven days; and not only the persons but the vessels in the tent were unclean. It is difficult to account for the rigour of this ceremonial law. It probably had its origin in the necessity of counteracting some superstition respecting the relics of the deceased, which is not now known. Certainly, the shameful superstition of Christians in relation to relics, would render any regulation important which would have had the effect of putting an end to it.

The method of purifying those rendered unclean by the touch of a dead body was singular. A red heifer on whose neck the yoke had never come, was slain by the priest, and her blood sprinkled seven times towards the tabernacle. Then one took the heifer and burnt her wholly in the presence of the priests, who took cedar-wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer. The priest then washed his clothes and bathed his flesh, and was unclean until the even. Next, a man who was clean gathered up the ashes of the heifer, and laid them up without the camp, in a clean place; and then it was to be kept for the people, as "a water of separation," "a purification from sin." Whoever then was defiled by a dead body was purified by putting some of the ashes of the heifer into a vessel of running water, which a clean person sprinkled with a bunch of hyssop on the unclean person; or, on the tent and its furniture; and on the seventh day the man was to purify himself and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and at even he should be clean.

Another extraordinary law in the Mosaic code was that relative to the woman suspected of adultery by a jealous husband. A potion, called bitter water, was, after much solemn ceremony, given to the suspected wife to drink, by the priest; the effect of which, if she was guilty, was, that her body swelled in an extraordinary manner, and the woman, according to the awful denunciation of the priest, became a curse among her people. But if she was innocent, no such effects ensued. The whole ceremonial of this appalling transaction may be read in the 5th chapter of Numbers; but these ceremonies the Jewish rabbies multiplied tenfold.