EXODUS xxiii. 20-23

Behold, I send an angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him. But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries. For mine angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizites, and the Canaanites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.

This account of the leader promised to the Israelites, is very remarkable. The ordinary interpretation of the passage supposes the angel spoken of, to be the angel of the divine presence, who hath the name Jehovah, dwelt in the pillar of cloud and fire, conducted the Israelites through the wilderness, often chastened them for transgression, but brought them at last into the land of Canaan.-That they did enjoy the guidance of this angel, and that on him depended all their success, is manifest from many other passages, from the whole strain indeed of the Mosaic history. But it is doubted by some, whether it be this angel, who is spoken of in this passage, because on this occasion he seems to be the speaker himself; the angel of the divine presence being God, the voice of this angel, the voice of God, and his spirit, the spirit of God. (Compare Exod. xxxiii. 12-23, with Isa. Ixiii. 7—16.) The name Jehovah was not merely "in him," but properly his own. Besides, it seems difficult to suppose it to be said of him, “he will not pardon your transgressions," since he is proclaimed as " forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin." (Exod. xxxiv. 7.) They are disposed, therefore, to understand the word "angel" in this passage, in its general acceptation, as signifying a messenger, and applicable to men as well as to celestial beings; to understand the messenger in question to be Joshua the son of Nun, who had already been employed to "keep Israel in the way," when Amalek fought against them (Exod. xvii. 8—16.), and who was to be appointed to bring them into the land of Canaan (Numb. xxvii. 15—23.; Deut. i. 38.; xxxi. 23.); and to understand his not pardoning their transgressions, of the strict discipline which his office must make it necessary for him to

maintain, while he should lead the host of Israel to the conquest of Canaan.

Without offering any thing positively on this subject, respecting which, both Jews and Christians may entertain a different opinion, we merely submit for consideration, that the commission of this angel suits the last mentioned interpretation. It is expressed in two clauses. The first is, "to keep thee in the way;" that is, to take charge of thy defence, as in the attack of Amalek. We find this charge given afterwards to Joshua in the most solemn manner. (See Numb. xxvii. 15-23.) The second clause is, "to bring thee into the place which I have prepared." This great achievement Joshua was honoured to perform, when Moses was laid aside. (Deut. iii. 21-28.) The caution, "beware of him, &c." is enforced by two reasons. First," he will not pardon your transgressions;" that is, he will execute the divine orders with all the strictness of martial law. This certainly was the duty of Joshua's office. He succeeded to the authority of Moses, which included the power of life and death, and as such was understood and acknowledged by the people. (See Josh. i. 2, 5, 16-18.) The case of Achan is a full illustration of the clause before us. (Josh. vii. 10-26.) Secondly, "for my name is in him." These words are added, not as the reason why he would not pardon their transgressions, but as a second reason why they should "beware of him and obey his voice." The name Joshua signifieth" Jehovah that saveth," and was not given him by his parents, but received from Moses under divine direction.*

ISAIAH xxviii. 28.

Bread corn is bruised, because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen,

Various means are adopted in the East to separate the corn from the straw. Sometimes this is done by running carts with thick and iron shod wheels over it. At others they cause the

See Ewing's Essays on the Authority, &c. of the Law and the Prophets, vol. i. p. 190.

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cattle to tread it out. (Deut. xxv. 4.) This is also performed by a sledge with two rollers, which have rows of iron teeth that cut the straw as a saw. (Isa. xli. 15.) Jackson says, (Journey from India overland to England, p, 249.) “ A ring is made about forty yards round, sometimes of clay, and sometimes paved; the peasantry then bring their corn from the field, and throw it into the middle of this ring. They have likewise a sledge which is sometimes drawn by bullocks, sometimes by horses, and some of these have pieces of iron driven into the bottom to cut the straw as it goes round; though in others I have seen fliut stones fastened at the bottom; upon the sledge is a heavy weight. Besides the person who drives the cattle, another is employed with a fork, in tossing the straw from the ring, if the grain is extracted, and taking fresh from the heap in the middle. In this way they are enabled to continue till they have extracted the whole of their corn, without being in danger of having it spoiled by rain.”

W. S.

PROV. xxx. 33.

Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter.

Calmet conjectures butter to be the same with cream in the eastern nations; but it is evident, from the above passage, it was brought forth by churning. Jackson saw it made in Curdistan in the following manner, (Journey overland from India to England, p. 188.): "the milk was put into a sort of bottle, made of a goat's skin, every part of which was sewed up except the neck, which was tied with a string to prevent the milk running out. They then fixed three strong sticks in the ground, in a form somewhat like what we often use in raising weights, only on a smaller scale. From these they suspend the goat's skin tied by each end, and continue shaking it backwards and forwards till it becomes butter; and they easily know this by the noise it makes. They then empty the skin into a large vessel, and skim off the butter.

W. S.

1

Jewish Antiquities.

OF THE HEBREW GOVERNMENT.

II. From the Return from the Babylonish Captivity to the Destruction of the Jewish Commonwealth.

From A. M. 3457-4074. B. C. 547-A. D. 71.

Ar the expiration of the time foretold by the prophet (Jer. xxv. 11, 12.), Cyrus, the king of Persia, having conquered both the Chaldeans and the Assyrians, and obtained universal monarchy, issued a decree for the return of the Jews to their own land, and for the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple. In the following year, part of the Jews, to the number of near fifty thousand, placed themselves under the care of Zerubbabel, the grandson of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and returned to their own land, restored the sacrifices, and resumed the theocratic government, which had been in abeyance during the captivity. About eighty years after this first return, Ezra, the scribe, obtained an ample commission from Artaxerxes for his return to Jerusalem, with all of his own nation who were willing to accompany him. (Ezra vii.) Upon this many more of the Jews returned to their own land. Ezra succeeded Zerubbabel in the government of the Jews, which honour he enjoyed for thirteen years, when he was superseded by Nehemiah, who was appointed to that office by Artaxerxes, in the twentieth year of his reign. Under the government of these pious men the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple was accomplished, as was also the reformation of their civil and ecclesiastical polity. After the death of Nehemiah the Jews lived under their own laws, in the form of a commonwealth, governed by the high priest and the council of seventy-two elders, paying an annual tribute to the Persian kings. (Ezra iv. 13. vii. 24.)

In the progress of Alexander's conquests the Jews became subject to the Macedonians, under whom they enjoyed the same liberties as when subject to the Persians. Indeed Alexander, convinced of the fidelity and affection of the Jewish people, ex

tended their privileges, and conferred upon them many valuable immunities. He gave them the province of Samaria, and exempted it from tribute; and when he built Alexandria, settled some Jews in it, granting them the same privileges as the other citizens, till at last they also were called Macedonians.*

After the death of Alexander, the Jews became subject and tributary to the kings of Egypt, or Syria; as the one or the other extended their power and dominion into those parts.

Under the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes, the eighth of the Seleucian kings, the Jews were miserably persecuted, and compelled to take up arms in their own defence. Judas Maccabeust and his valiant brothers, maintained a religious war for twenty-six years with five successive kings of Syria, and, after destroying 200,000 of their best troops, established the independence of their own.country and the aggrandizement of their family.

The Jews enjoyed their liberty under a succession of the Asmonean princes, though not without frequent wars, for near a hundred years; till Aristobulus, endeavouring to wrest the crown from his elder brother Hyrcanus, raised a civil war ; which afforded the Romans an opportunity to conquer Judæa, and to reduce it into the form, first, of a tributary kingdom, and afterwards of a Roman province.

Julius Cæsar, having defeated Pompey, and made himself master of Judæa, bestowed the government of that country upon Antipater, an Idumæan by birth, who was a Jewish proselyte, and father of Herod the Great, afterwards king of the Jews. Antipater divided Judæa between his two sons, Phasael and Herod, giving to the former the government of Jerusalem and the country adjacent, and to the latter the province of Galilee.

After the death of Julius Cæsar, Herod was appointed governor of all Cœle-Syria by Cassius and Marcus Brutus. They

✦ Joseph. Ant. xii. 1. et cont. App. lib. ii. c. 2.

+ It is probable that Judas, the son of Simon, had the surname of Maccabeus from the circumstance of his having the following motto on his ensigns, DƆ ‘D "Who among the gods is like unto thee, O Jehovah?" (Exod. xv. 14.); the initial letters of the four words making the term D (Macabi). Hence his followers were called Maccabeans.