Page images
PDF
EPUB

also directed not to cut off entirely the angle or extremity of the beard, after the custom of the Egyptians, and so left only a little tuft of beard at the extremity of the chin. The Nazarites were under a vow not to cut their hair during their Nazariteship.* The Levites, at the consecration, were purified by bathing, after which they shaved all the hair off their bodies. Forcibly to shave the beard was a mark of insult and mockery. In 1764, Kerim Khan sent to demand payment of the tribute due for his possessions in Kermisir; but Mir Mahenna maltreated the officer who was sent on the errand, and caused his beard to be cut off. Kerim Khan then sent a strong army against him, which conquered...all the territories of Mir Mahenna.† Two lines of a popular song which was sung about the streets of Aleppo, after the retreat of an enemy in 1743, are—

"May a razor shave his beard,

And a sword cut off his head."

The Lord declared that he would use a hired razor to punish his people; that is, he would take vengeance on Judah, by the sword of a people inhabiting beyond the Euphrates. See CALMET.

The beard is held in high respect, and greatly valued in the East the possessor considers it as his greatest ornament; often swears by it; and, in matters of great importance, pledges it; and nothing can be more secure than such a pledge, for its owner will redeem it at the hazard of his life. The beard was never cut off but in mourning, or as a sign of slavery. It is customary to shave the Ottoman princes, as a mark of their subjection

to the reigning emperor. The beard is a mark of authority and liberty among the Mohammedans. The Persians, who clip the beard and shave above the jaw, are reputed heretics. They who serve in the seraglios have their beards shaven, as a sign of servitude; nor do they suffer them to grow till the sultan has set them at + Niebuhr.

*See Samson's History.

liberty. Among the Arabians, it is more infamous for any one to appear with his beard cut off, than among us to be publicly whipped or branded; and many would prefer death to such a punishment.-Note in the Treasury Bible.

“The barber wears a girdle drawn round his waist, to which a strap is appended to give his razor a proper point....It may be observed that the razor is not drawn towards the face, according to our English mode, but moved forward. The dexterous manner in which the razor is used in the East may be considered as a commentary upon an expression used by one of the prophets." See WILSON's Travels, vol. ii., pp. 268, 269.

"Passing under the olive-trees, I noticed, as I have frequently done before, how easily the accident which befel Absalom might actually occur. It is necessary to be continually on one's guard against the branches of trees; and when the hair is worn in large locks floating down the back, as was the case with a young man of the party, any thick boughs interposing in the path might easily dislodge a rider from his seat, and catch hold of his flowing hair. The custom of wearing the hair exceedingly long, which St. Paul condemns as effeminate, is still common in Greece, especially among the priesthood."-HARTLEY'S Researches, p. 334.

"The Aenezes are distinguished at first sight from all the Syrian Bedouins, by the long tresses of their hair. They never shave their black hair, but cherish it from infancy, till they can twist it in tresses that hang over the cheeks down to the breast."-BURCKHARDT's Notes on the Bedouins, &c., vol. i. p. 49.

HANNAH'S VOW.

1 SAM. i. 11.

"And (Hannah) vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of Hosts, if thou wilt...give unto thine handmaid a man

child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head."

The Persians adopt certain ceremonies about shaving the head. If the parent be in distress, or the child be sick, the mother makes a vow that no razor shall come upon the child's head for a certain portion of time, and sometimes for all his life. If the child recover, and the cause of grief be removed, and if the vow be but for a time, then she shaves his head at the end of the time prescribed, makes a small entertainment, collects money and other things from her relations and friends, which are sent as offerings to a mosque, and are there consecrated. We may compare this with the law of the Nazarites.* The person who was separated to God's service let his hair grow, and abstained from wine and other indulgences. This was done sometimes during life, and sometimes during certain periods only, after the latter offerings were made to the Lord.

[merged small][graphic]
[graphic][merged small][merged small]

EASTERN MARRIAGES-JEWISH MARRIAGES-IN RUSSIA, ETC. MARRIAGE IN SYRIA-IN INDIA-AT SERAMPORE-NESTORIAN MARRIAGES-ARMENIAN MARRIAGES-MARRIAGES IN EGYPT -ROYAL MARRIAGE-WEDDING GARMENT-LARGE SUMS OF MONEY GIVEN FOR WIVES-WEDDING PRESENTS-THE FRIEND OF THE BRIDEGROOM-DIVORCES.

EASTERN MARRIAGES.

GENESIS, Xxiv. 1-4, 10, 53, 61-end.

"And Abraham was old,...and Abraham said unto his eldest servant... that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh; and I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt go...to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac....And the servant...departed......

"And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah :

"And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and the servant took Re

[ocr errors]

.. And Isaac went out to

[ocr errors]

bekah, and went his way. meditate in the field at eventide and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and behold, the camels were coming. And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Iaaac, she lighted off the camel, for...the servant had said, It is my master : therefore she took a vail, and covered herself;...and Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death."

GENESIS, xxix. 16. &c.

...

"And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel....And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel. And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled....And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast. And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him.... And...in the morning, behold it was Leah.... And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the first-born, ... we will give thee this also, for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years....And he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.... And (Jacob) served with him yet seven other years."

JUDGES xiv. 1, 2. 10-13.

"And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said,... Get her for me to wife. .

[ocr errors]

"So his father went down unto the woman; and

« PreviousContinue »