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406 § 320. ON THE TRADITIONS OF the pharisees.

house, the hands, without the fingers being distended, should be wet with water poured over them, and then elevated, so that the water might flow down to the elbows; furthermore, the water was to be poured a second time over the arms, in order that, (the hands being held down,) it might flow over the fingers. This practise is alluded in Mark 7: 3, ɛav un пvyμn viŸævral, and is denominated by the Rabbins. See Buxtorf's Chaldaick, Talmudick, and Rabbinnick Lexicon, col. 1335. On the contrary, those, who had departed from the house, washed in a bath, or, at least, immersed their hands in water with the fingers distended. The ceremony in this case, (Mark 7: 4.) is denominated εav un ẞantiSovral, and by the Rabbins . See Burtorf's Lexicon, col. 849. The water-pots, which are mentioned in John 2: 6, appear to have been used in ablutions of the kind, that have now been mentioned. From these ablutions, it is necessary to distinguish the symbolick washings, spoken of in Deut. 21: 6, Ps. 26:6. and Matt. 27:24. Indeed the Pharisees were so scrupulously cautious, that they deemed it necessary to strain the liquids they were to drink, from the fear, that they might inadvertently swallow some unclean animalcule, Matt. 23: 24.

They were so fearful of being contaminated, that they would not eat with Gentiles, nor indeed with those persons, to whom it fell to discharge the unpopular office of tax-gatherer, and, in the true spirit of the philosophers of their times, were disposed to consider, as sinners, and to spurn from their presence all, who were not of their own sect, Talmud, Chagiga 2, 7. Luke 7: 39. Matt. 9: 11.

They fasted twice a week, viz. on Thursday, when, as they supposed, Moses ascended mount Sinai, and on Monday, when he descended, Taanith, II. 9. p. Shabb. I. 24, compare Luke 18: 11.

They enlarged their phylacteries, and the borders of their garments, Matt. 23: 5. Of the border or fringe of the garment, xoαoπεdov, n, Chald. i, a slight mention has already been made in the hundred and twenty second section. The phylacteries, which had their origin from Exodus 13: 16, and Deut. 6:8. 11: 18, were pieces of parchment, on which were inscribed four passages of scripture, to wit, Exod. 13: 1-10, 11-16, and Deut. 5:4-9. 11: 13-21; and which were then rolled up in the form of the letters of the word, and placed in receptacles of

§ 321. CONCERNING GALILEANS AND ZEALOTS.

407

leather. They were confined upon the back part of the left hand by a leather thong, by nis, and likewise upon the forehead

טטָפוֹת בֵּין עֵינַיִם,between the eyes

men.

NOTE. The Pharisees then, as appears from the statements, which have now been made, were in general a corrupt class of This assertion, nevertheless, will not apply to every individual of them; for there were not wanting persons even in that sect, who were distinguished for their moral integrity, Mark 15: 43. Luke 2: 25. 23: 51. John 19: 38. Acts 5: 34.

That such was in truth the case, may be inferred both from the Jerusalem Talmud, (Berachoth p. 13, 2. Sota p. 20, 3.) and from the Talmud of Babylon, (Sota p. 22. 2.) where it is stated, that there were seven classes of Pharisees, who were very much unlike.

Of two of these classes we shall briefly make mention, viz, (1) the Pharisees, who were called Sichemites, De, who entered into that sect merely for the purposes of temporal emolument, Matt. 23: 5, 14; and (2) those, who were anxious to place themselves under strict moral discipline, and were ready to perform every duty. It was in reference to the last mentioned persons, that the name of Pharisee was given, which means one, who is desirous of knowing his duty, in order that he may do it,

.18 :18 Luke ,מָה חוֹבָתִי וְאֶעֶשֶׂה

LEANS.

§321. CONCERNIng Galileans and Zealots.

In the twelfth year of Christ, about the time, that Archelaus was sent away from his government, a secession was made from the sect of the Pharisees, and a new sect arose, called the GALINot far from this time, Judea, which was a Roman province, was added for civil purposes to Syria, over which Quirinus was governour. It happened, when the tax was levied by Quirinus, that one Judas of Galilee, otherwise called GAULONITES, in company with Zaduk, a Sadducee, publickly taught, that such taxation was repugnant to the Law of Moses, according to which the Jews, they maintained, had no king, but God. The tumults, which this fellow excited, were suppressed, (Acts 5: 37,) but his disciples, who were called Galileans, continued to propagate this doc

408

§ 322. RESPECTING THE SADDucees.

trine, and, furthermore, required of all proselytes, that they should be circumcised. Consult Josephus, Antiquities, XVIII. 1, 6. Jewish War II. 17: 7—9. VII. 8: 1—6. 9, 1, 2.

It was in reference to this sect, that the captious question was proposed in Matthew 22: 17, et seq. viz. "Whether it was lawful to give tribute to Cæsar?" The Galileans, whom Pilate slew in the Temple, (Luke 13: 1, 2.) appear to have been of this sect.

Simon, one of the Apostles of Jesus, is called navaviτns or ŠnλoTηs, ZELOTES, Luke 6:15, and, in Acts 21: 20. 22: 3, we find, that there were certain Christians at Jerusalem, who are denominated ZEALOTS. But these merely insisted on the fulfilment of the Mosaic Law, and by no means, went so far as those persons, termed ZELOTAE or Zealots, whom we read of in the history of the Jewhis War.

NOTE. CALMET RESPECTING SIMON THE ZEALOT.

["SIMON, the Canaanite, or Simon Zelotes, an apostle of Jesus Christ. It is doubtful whether the name Canaanite were derived to him from the city of Cana in Galilee; or whether it might not be written Chananean, from 5 Chenani, Chananean or Canaanite; or whether it should not be taken according to its signification in Hebrew, from the root Kana Np, from which comes up or * Kani or Kanani, to be zealous. St Luke gives him the sirname of Zelotes, the zealot, Luke 6: 15; Acts 1: 13, which seems to be a translation of the sirname Canaanite, given him by the other evangelists, Matt. 10: 4. Mark 3: 18. Some fathers say, he was

of Cana, of the tribe of Zebulon, or of Naphtali. Theodoret, in Psalm 67: 18. Hieron. in Matt. 10. The learned are divided about the signification of Zelotes; some take it only to denote his zeal in embracing the gospel of Jesus Christ; others think he was of a sect called Zealots, mentioned in Josephus, de Bello, lib. iv. cap. 2. item lib. vi. cap. 1."]

§322. RESPECTING THE SADDUCEES.

The opinions of the Sadducees were peculiar. They believed, I. That besides God, there was no other spiritual being, whether good or bad. They believed, that the soul and the body

§ 322. RESPECTING THE SADDUCEES.

409

died together, and that there neither was, nor could be any resurrection, Matt. 22: 23. Acts 23: 8.

II. They rejected the doctrine of fate, or of an overruling Providence, and maintained on the contrary, that the events, which happened, depended on the free and unconstrained actions of men.

They held, that the traditions, which were received by the Pharisees, were not binding, Josephus, Antiquities XIII. 5, 9. 10, 6, XVIII. 1, 4. Jewish War II. 8, 14.

They held other sentiments, it is true, peculiar to them as a sect, but they neither disseminated them with much zeal, nor cultivated a close intercourse and union with each other. It cannot be inferred, as some suppose, from what is remarked by Josephus, (Antiquities XIII. 10, 6.) that they merely received the Pentateuch, and rejected all the other Books of the Old Testament, for he does not, in the passage in question, oppose the Law to the other Books, but to those unwritten traditions, which it was one of their principles to reject. Accordingly we find in the disputes of the Talmud, that the Sadducees are not only attacked from the other Books of the Old Testament, beside the Pentateuch, but also draw arguments from them in their own defence, Sanhedrin p. 90, 2. Cholin p. 87, 1.

NOTE. The Sadducees, in progress of time, appear to have admitted the existence of angels, and also to have embraced the belief of the immortality of the soul, and in the eighth century, were distinguished, as a sect, merely by rejecting the authority of traditions. Whence they were at length called Caraites.

If any are disposed to doubt this statement, it is, nevertheless, certain, that the Caraites are comparatively of recent origin, since Josephus says not a word concerning them. DR. ROSENMUELLER, however, contends, (Analectae III. Stück. S. 163-176.) that the Scribe, mentioned in Mark 12: 28. et seq. was a Caraite.

52

410

§ 323. ESSENES AND THERAPEUTAE.

§323. ESSENES AND THERAPEUTAE.

The principal ground of difference between the Essenes or Essaci, and Therapeutae consisted in this; the former were Jews, who spoke the Aramaean, the latter were Greek Jews, as the names themselves intimate, viz. O and Oɛqanevτai. The Essenes lived chiefly in Palestine, the Therapeutae in Egypt. The Therapeutae were more rigid, than the Essenes; since the latter, although they made it a practice to keep at a distance from large cities, lived, nevertheless, in towns and villages, and practised agriculture and the arts, with the exception of those arts, which were made more directly subservient to the purposes of war. The Therapeutae, on the contrary, fled from all inhabited places, dwelt in fields and deserts and gardens, and gave themselves up to contemplation.

Both the Essenes and the Therapeutae held their property in common, and those things, which they stood in need of for the support and the comforts of life, were distributed to them from the common stock. The candidates for admission among the Essenes gave their property to the society, but those, who were destined for a membership with the Therapeutae, left theirs to their friends; and both, after a number of years of probation, made a prófession, which bound them to the exercise of the strictest uprightnesss.

The Essenes offered prayers before sunrise: after which each one was sent by the person, who was placed over them, to his re'spective trade, or to some agricultural employment. About eleven o'clock, they left their work, and assembled to partake of their bread and pottage. In the evening also their supper was in com. mon. Before and after meals, the priest offered up prayers.

On the Sabbath, the Essenes listened to the reading of the Law in their Synagogues, which was attended with an allegorical explanation; they also read books by themselves in private on that day.

They pretended to possess the secret names of angels, which, it would have been an act of impiety, to have communicated to profane persons. They were upright, kept themselves free from crimes, and were particularly celebrated for their veracity. They

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