A. M. 3475. A. C. 529; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 1947. A. C. 464. EZRA iv. 7-END, EST. NEH. PART OF HAG. ZECH. MAL be executed, as might render it in a great measure ineffectual.

To this purpose, a fresh edict was drawn up in the third month, signed by the king, and transmitted to the provinces so that, when the thirteenth day of Adar came, by the means of these different and discordant decrees, a war was commenced between the Jews and their enemies, through the whole Persian empire; but as the rulers of the several provinces, and other officers of the king, well understood what power and credit Esther and Mordecai then had with him, they so favoured the Jews every where, that on that day they slew, in the whole empire, 75,000 persons, and in the city of Shushan, on that day and the next, 800 more; among whom were a the ten sons of Haman, whom, by a special order from the king, they hanged perhaps on the same gallows whereon their father had hung before; and in memory of this, their wonderful deliverance, the Jews did then, and have ever since, on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month Adar, kept a great festival, which they called the 'feast of lots.' But proceed we now to some other affairs.

a great party every where, and some of them so furiously enraged at his fall, as, even at the hazard of their own lives, would not fail to show their indignation at those who were the occasion of it: and therefore this second decree procured by Mordecai, gave them authority, if any attempt was made upon them, either in great bodies, or small parties, not only to defend themselves and repel them, but to make as great a slaughter of them as they were able, and even to take possession of their goods, as Haman had procured them license (chap. iii. 13,) to seize the goods of the Jews. Patrick's Commentary.

a It is not unlikely, that many might be enraged at his death, and his sons, in particular, might set themselves at the head of those who were bold enough to attempt the destruction of the Jews in Shushan, being resolved to revenge their father's death, though in so doing they were sure to meet their own. And this seems to suggest the reason why Esther was so solicitous to have their dead bodies (for they were slain already) hung upon the gallows, (chap. ix. 13,) even because they had shown more malice and indignation against the Jews, and on the day when the cruel edict came to take place, had made more desperate attacks upon them than any; though the reason of the state, in this severity, might be to expose the family to the greater infamy, and to deter other counsellers from abusing the king at any time with false representations. For though the Jews suffered none to hang on the tree, as they called the gallows, longer than till the evening of the day whereon they were executed; yet other nations let them hang until they were consumed, as appears from the story of the Gibeonites, (2 Sam. xxi. 9, 10,) or devoured by crows, vultures, or other ravenous creatures; from whence that vulgar saying among the Romans, pascere in cruce corvos, had its rise. Patrick's Commentary, and Poole's Annotations.

b Pur, in the Persian language, signifies a lot, and the feast of purim or lots, which had its name from Haman's casting lots, in order to divine which day would be most lucky to prefix for the murder of all the Jews in the whole Persian dominions, is, to this very day, celebrated by the Jews, with some peculiar ceremonies, but most of them reducible to these three things, reading, resting, and feasting. Before the reading, which is performed in the synagogue, and begins in the evening, as soon as the stars appear, they make use of three forms of prayer: in the first of these, they praise God for counting them worthy to attend this divine service; in the second, they thank him for the miraculous preservation of their ancestors; and in the third, they bless his holy name, for having continued their lives to the celebration of another festival in commemoration of it. Then they read over the whole history of Haman from the beginning to the end, but not out of any printed book, for that is not lawful, but out of a Hebrew manuscript, written on parchment. There are five places in the text, wherein the reader raises his voice with all his might: when he comes to the place that mentions the names of the ten sons of Haman, he repeats them very quick, to show that they were all destroyed in a moment; and every time that the

In the beginning of the seventh year of Ahasuerus, Ezra, a priest descended from Seraiah the high priest, who was slain by Nebuchadnezzar, when he burned the temple and city of Jerusalem, a man of great learning, and excellently d skilled in the knowledge of the Scriptures, who had hitherto continued in Babylon, with others of the captivity that had not yet returned, obtained leave of the king to go to Jerusalem, and to take as many of

syna

name of Haman is pronounced, the children, with great fury,
they bring for that purpose. After that the reading is finished,
strike against the benches of the synagogues, with the mallets which
they return home and have a supper, not of flesh, but of spoon-
meat; and early next morning they arise and return to the
gogue; where, after they have read that passage in Exodus, which
book of Esther, with the same ceremonies as before; and so con-
makes mention of the war of Amalek, they begin again to read the
clude the service of the day, with curses against Haman and his
wife Zeresh, with blessings upon Mordecai and Esther, and with
praises to God for having preserved his people. Their resting
on this day is observed so religiously, that they will not so much
as set or sow any thing in their gardens, with full persuasion that
it would not come up if they did; and therefore they either play
at chess, and such like games, or spend the time in music and
dancing, until it be proper to begin their feasting, wherein they
indulge themselves to such an immoderate degree, that their feast
of purim has, with great justice, been called the Bacchanals of the
Jews. They allow themselves to drink wine to excess, nay,
even to such a pitch, as not to be able to distinguish between the
blessing of Mordecai, and the curse of Haman, as themselves
speak; and amidst the other sports and diversions of the day,
they used formerly to erect a gibbet, and burn upon it a man made
of straw, whom they called Haman; but herein it was thought, that
they might have a design to insult Christians, upon the death of
our crucified Saviour; and therefore Theodosius the second,
(Anno Dom. 408,) forbade them to use this ceremony, under the
penalty of forfeiting all their privileges. We have only farther
to remark concerning this festival, that it is always kept for two
days together, and the reason hereof is this:-the Jews at Shu-
shan had two days allowed them to revenge themselves of their
enemies, (Esther ix. 13,) but the rest of the Jews in other na-
tions had but one. This caused, at first, some difference in their
time of feasting; for the Jews in all other parts of the kingdom,
having done execution on their enemies on the thirteenth day,
kept their rejoicing feast on the fourteenth ; but the Jews at Shushan,
being engaged in this work both on the thirteenth and fourteenth
days, kept their festival for their deliverance on the fifteenth.
When Mordecai, however, had made a record of this great de
liverance, he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the domin
ions of Ahasuerus, to establish it as a standing ordinance among
them, that they should keep both the fourteenth and fifteenth of
the month Adar every year, as the days whereon the Jews
rested from their enemies: and this is the reason why the festi-
val continues for two days, though the former of them is only
kept with great solemnity.-Patrick's Commentary, Howel's His-
tory, in the notes, and Calmet's Dictionary under the ward

Purim.

e In Ezra vii. 1, Ezra is called the son of Seraiah, but as the death of Seraiah occurred 120 years before this time, our auth very properly considers the term as implying here & descendani. -ED.

d Both the Septuagint, Vulgate, and our translation, render the words sopher mahir, a ready scribe, (Ezra vii. 6,) as it to have a quick hand at writing out the law, were any great perfertion, or that any aged man, as Ezra was, should be renowned for it. It was not then for writing, but for explaining the things r tained in the Scriptures that Ezra was so famous. For as see signifies a book, so sopher denotes one skilled and learned in that book; and as there was no book comparable to the book of the law, therefore sepher became a name of great dignity, and se nified one that taught God's law, and instructed the people out of it; in which sense we find the word yearris, or scribes, red in the New Testament. For when our Saviour is said to have taught the people, as one having authority, and not as the scribes,' this plainly shows, that these scribes were not transcrib ers, but teachers and expounders of the laws, though they did not do it with a proper authority-Patrick's and Le Geros Commentaries.

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an apostasy, he caused proclamation to be made for all the people of the land, that had returned from the captivity, to meet together at Jerusalem, under the penalty of excommunication and confiscation of their goods; and when they met, he endeavoured to make them sensible of their sin, and engaged them in a promise and covenant before God, to depart from it, by putting away their strange wives, and the children that were born of them, that the seed of Israel might not be polluted by such an undue commixture; and accordingly commissioners were appointed to inspect this affair, who, in three months' time, made a proper inquiry, and a thorough reformation of this enormity.

Upon the death of Zerubbabel, the administration both of civil and ecclesiastical affairs devolved upon Ezra ; but in the twentieth year of Ahasuerus, a Nehemiah, a very religious and excellent person among those of the captivity, and who was a great favourite with that prince, succeeded him in the government of Judah and Jerusalem. He had informed himself, from some people that were come from Jerusalem, of the miserable state and condition of that city; that its walls were broken down, and its gates burned, so that its inhabitants lay open not only to the incursions and insults of their enemies, but to the reproach likewise and contempt of their neighbours. This mournful relation affected the good man to such a degree, that he applied himself in fasting and prayer to God, and humbly besought, that he would be pleased to favour the design which he had conceived of asking the king's permission to go to Jerusalem.

1

2

therefore, when it came to his turn to wait, the king, observing that his countenance was not so cheerful as at other times, and being told, that the distressed state of his country, and of the city where his ancestors were buried, were the only cause of it, gave him, at his request, through the intercession of the queen (who was then sitting with him), leave to go to Jerusalem, and a full commission, as his governor of the province of Judea, to repair the walls, and to set up the gates, and fortify the city again in the same manner that it was before it was dismantled and destroyed by the Babylonians; but, upon this condition it was, that he should return to court again, at such a e determinate time.

The king, at the same time, wrote letters to all the governors beyond the Euphrates, to be aiding and assisting to him in the work. He sent his order to Asaph, the keeper of his forests in those parts, to furnish him with whatever timber he should want, not only for the reparation of the towers and gates of the city, but for the building of himself a house likewise, as governor of the province, to live in; and, to do him still more honour, he sent a guard of horse, under the command of some of the captains of his army, to conduct him safe to his government.

With these letters and powers, Nehemiah arrived at Jerusalem, and was kindly received by the people; but it was three days before he acquainted any one with the occasion of his coming. On the third day at night, he, with some few attendants, went privately round the city, to take a view of the walls, which he found in a ruinous condition; and, on the next, called together the chief of

By his office, he was cupbearer to the king; and the people, and, f having reminded them of the desolate

1 Neh. i. 5.

be dumb and have nothing to plead in excuse of our detestable ingratitude. Patrick's Commentary.

a It may well be questioned whether this Nehemiah be the same that is mentioned in Ezra (chap. ii. 2, and Neh. vii. 7), as one that returned from the Babylonish captivity under Zerubbabel; since from the first year of Cyrus to the twentieth of Artaxerxes Longimanus, there are no less than ninety-two years intervening; so that Nehemiah must, at this time, have been a very old man, upon the lowest computation above an hundred, and, consequently, utterly incapable of being the king's cupbearer, of taking a journey from Shushan to Jerusalem, and of behaving there with all that courage and activity that is recorded of him. Upon this presumption, therefore, we may conclude, that this was a different person, though of the same name; and that Tarshatha (the other name by which he is called, Ezra ii. 63, and Neh. vii. 65,) denotes the title of his office, and, both in the Persian and Chaldean tongues, was the general name given to all the king's deputies and governors.-Le Clerc's and Poole's Annotations.

The commissions which had hitherto been granted to the Jews were supposed to extend no farther than to the rebuilding of the temple, and their own private houses; and therefore the walls and gates of their city lay in the same ruinous condition in which the Chaldeans left them after that devastation.-Patrick's Commentary, and Poole's Annotations.

e This was a place of great honour and advantage in the Persian court, because of the privilege which it gave him that was in it, of being daily in the king's presence, and the opportunity which he had thereby of gaining his favour, for the obtaining of any petition that he should make to him. And that it was a place of great advantage seems evident, by Nehemiah's gaining those immense riches which enabled him for so many years, (Neh. v. 14, 19) out of his own private purse only, to live in his government with all that splendour and expense, that will hereafter be related, without burdening the people at all for it. Prideaux's Connection, anno 445.

2 Neh. ii. 6.

d Commentators have generally observed, that it was almost four months between his hearing of the disconsolate condition wherein Jerusalem lay, and his requesting leave of the king to go thither. But, besides that it might not come to his own turn of waiting sooner, there might be these farther reasons assigned for this his long silence and delay: as that he could not take so long and dangerous a journey in the winter; that he could no sooner meet with a seasonable opportunity of speaking with the king upon so critical an affair; or, as others will have it, that be retired all this intermediate while, and spent it in fasting and prayer.-Poole's Annotations, and Patrick's Commentary. e How long this was, it is not certain. It is said indeed that he was governor in the land of Judah for twelve years,' chap. v. 14-xiii. 6. But considering what haste he made in des patching the building of the walls, which he finished in two and fifty days, the leave which he asked might be but for a year, or perhaps half so much; after which time, it is likely, that he returned to Shushan, according to his promise; but, some time after, was sent back again by the king, who found his presence there serviceable, or perhaps necessary, for the better regulation of that province, to be his governor for twelve years.-Patrick's Commentary.

f The speech which Josephus puts in the mouth of the governor upon this occasion is to this effect:-"You cannot but see and understand, you men of Judea, that we ourselves are, at this day, under the power and providence of the same almighty and merciful God that did so many things for our forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, out of a gracious regard to their piety and justice: and it is by the favour of that God that I have DOW obtained leave from the king to enter upon the rebuilding of your wall, and the putting of an end to the work of the temple that is yet unfinished. But taking this for granted, that you live among a sort of malicious and spiteful neighbours, who would do all that is to be done in nature for the crossing of your desig, when they come once to see you heartily intent upon the undertaking, I shall therefore recommend it to you, in the first place, resolutely and fearlessly to cast yourselves upon God, who wil

A. M. 3475. A. C. 529; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 4947. A. C. 464. EZRA iv. 7—END, EST. NEH. PART OF HAG, ZECH. MAL.

manner in which the walls of their city lay, and exhorted report was,
them to set about the reparation of them, he produced
his commission and letters to that purpose, which, when
they were read, so gladdened and revived their droop-
ing spirits, that they joyfully and unanimously cried out
'Let us rise and build.'

“That he was building the walls of Jerusalem only to make it a place of strength, to support his intended revolt; that, to this purpose, he had suborned false prophets to favour his design, and to encourage the people to choose him king; and that therefore, to stop the Course of these rumours, (which in a short time would come to the king's ears,) he advised him to come to him, that they might confer together, and take such resolutions as were convenient." But Nehemiah, knowing his own innocence, easily saw through this shallow contrivance, and returned him for answer, that "all these accusations were false, and the inventions only of his own naughty heart;" so that finding himself disappointed here like

In carrying on the building, Nehemiah divided the people into several companies, and assigned to each of them the quarter where they were to work, reserving to himself the reviewal and direction of the whole. But they had not long proceeded in the work, before Sanballat, an officer of the Moabites, and Tobiah, a man of note among the Ammonites, two bitter enemies to the Jewish nation, began to scoff and ridicule their under-wise, he betook himself to this last expedient. taking. As the work, however, advanced, they changed their note, and apprehending themselves in danger from the growing greatness of the Jews, were resolved to put a stop to their future progress.

To this purpose they entered into a confederacy with some neighbouring nations, to come upon them by surprise, demolish their works, and put them all to the sword; but the governor having notice of this their design, and sending out scouts daily to observe their motions, placed a guard well armed to defend and encourage the workmen; and ordered, that each workman should have his arms nigh at hand, in case they were attacked; while himself went often in person among them, by his precept and example, encouraging them to trust in the Lord, and, in his speeches and exhortations, putting them frequently in mind, that it was for their wives, their brethren, and children, (in case they were compelled to it,) that they fought; so that, by these means, they secured themselves against all the attempts and designs of their enemies, until the work was brought to a conclusion.

Sanballat, and the rest of his confederates, perceiving that their plot was discovered, and not daring to attack Nehemiah by open force, had recourse to craft and stratagem. To this purpose, under pretence of ending the difference between them in an amicable manner, they sent to invite him to a conference, in a certain village, in the plain of Ono, which belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, intending there to do him a mischief; but Nehemiah, very probably suspecting their wicked design, returned in answer to the four messages of the same import, which they successively sent, "that the work wherein he was engaged required his personal attendance, and therefore he could not come.'

77

Sanballat, perceiving that Nehemiah was too cautious to be insnared by a general invitation, sent by his servant a letter, a wherein he informed him, that the current

most certainly defeat all the practices of your enemies; and, in the next place, to ply your business day and night, without any intermission either of care or of labour, this being the proper season for it."-Jewish Antiquities, b. xi. c. 5.

a To send an open letter, was considered a mark of great disrespect. A letter has its Hebrew name from the circumstance of its being rolled or folded together. The modern Arabs roll up their letters, and then flatten them to the breadth of an inch; and, instead of sealing them, paste up their ends. The Persians make up their letters in a roll about six inches long; a bit of paper is fastened round it with gum, and sealed with an impression of ink. In Turkey, letters are commonly sent to persons of distinction in a bag or purse; to equals they are also inclosed, but to inferiors, or those who are held in contempt, they are sent open or uninclosed. This explains the reason of Nehemiah's ob

There was one Shemaiah, the son of Delaiah the priest, a great friend to Nehemiah, whom Sanballat had bribed to his interest. This man pretended to the gift of prophecy and, therefore, when Nehemiah came to his house one day, he foretold, that his enemies would make an attempt to murder him that very night, and therefore advised him to go with him into the inner part of the temple, and so secure themselves by shutting the doors. But though Nehemiah did not apprehend the other's design, which he came to find out afterwards, yet, out of a sense of honour and religion, he declared positively, That, come what would, he could not quit his station, because it would badly become a man in his character, to seek out for refuge, when he saw danger approaching.'

These, and many more difficulties, the good governor had to contend with; but by God's assistance he overcame them all, and in the space of two and fifty days, having completed the whole work, he afterwards held

servation; Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me with an open letter in his hand.' In refusing him the mark of respect usually paid to persons of his station, and treating him contemptuously, by sending the letter without the customary appendages, when presented to persons of respectability, Sanballat offered him a deliberate insult. Had this open letter come from Geshem, who was an Arab, it might have passed unnoticed, but as it came from Sanballat, the governor had reason to expect the ceremony the Persian court, and at that time governor of Judea.—Paxton's of inclosing it in a bag, since he was a person of distinction in Illustrations, vol. iii. p. 241.-ED.

By the house of God within the temple,' (as it is in the text, Neh. vi. 10.) Shemaiah certainly meant the sanctuary; and to advise Nehemiah to retreat thither, he had a good pretence, because it was both a strong and a sacred place, being defended by a guard of Levites, and by its holiness, privileged from all rude approaches. But his real design herein might be, not only to disgrace Nehemiah, and dishearten the people, when they saw their governor's cowardice, but to prepare the way likewise for the enemies assaulting and taking the city, when there was no leader to oppose them; to give countenance to the calumny that had been spread abroad, of his affecting to be made king, because he fled upon the report of it; and, perhaps, by the assistance of some other priests, that were his confederates, either to destroy him, or to secure his person, until the city was be-. trayed into the enemy's hands.-Patrick's Commentary, and Poole's Annotations.

c The words of Nehemiah, upon this occasion, are very sig. nificant, as well as magnanimous. "Should such a man as I flee? I, the chief governor, upon whose presence, and counsel, and conduct, the very life and being of the whole city and nation does, in a great measure, depend: I, who have professed such resolution, courage, and confidence in God; I, who have had such eminent experience of God's gracious, and powerful assistances, of his calling me to this employment, and carrying me through it, when the danger was greater than now; shall I dishonour God and religion, and betray the people and city of God by my cowardice? God forbid."

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a dedication of the walls and gates of Jerusalem, with such solemnity and magnificence as a work of that nature required.

To this purpose he separated the priests, the Levites, and the princes of the people, into two companies, one of which walked to the right hand, and the other to the left, on the top of the walls. The two companies which were to meet at the temple in their procession, were attended with music, both vocal and instrumental. When they came to the temple, they there read the law, offered sacrifices, and made great rejoicings; and as the feast of tabernacles happened at the same time, they failed not to celebrate it with great solemnity.

When the walls were finished, Nehemiah, to prevent any treachery from his enemies, either within or without the city, gave the charge of the gates to his brother Hanani, and to Hananiah, marshal of his palace, e two men in whom he could confide; commanding them not to suffer the gates to be opened till some time after sunrising, to see them safe barred at night, and to set the watch, which should consist of settled housekeepers that were careful and diligent men. And for the still farther security of the city, observing that the number of its inhabitants was too few, he ordered that the principal men of the nation should there fix their habitations, and, at the same time, caused the rest to cast lots,

a Dedication is a religious ceremony, whereby any temple, altar, and vessel thereunto belonging, is, by the pronunciation of a certain form of blessing, consecrated to the service of God; and this dedication, we may observe, extends not only to things sacred, but to cities and their walls, and sometimes to private houses, (Deut. xx. 5.) As, therefore, Moses in the wilderness dedicated the tabernacle, and Solomon the temple, when he had finished it; so Nehemiah, having put things in good order, built the walls and set up the gates, thought proper to dedicate the city, as a place which God himself had chosen, and sanctified by his temple and gracious presence; and by this dedication, to restore it to him again, after it had been laid waste, and profaned by the devastation of the heathens.--Patrick's Commentary, and Poole's Annotations.

b Nehemiah, very likely, was now returning to Shushan to give the king an account of the state of affairs in Judea, and therefore he took care to place such men in the city as he knew would faithfully secure it in his absence. Hanani is said to be his brother; but he chose his officers, not out of partial views to his own kindred, but because he knew that they would acquit themselves in their employment with a strict fidelity. Hanani had given proof of his zeal for God and his country, in his taking a tedious journey from Jerusalem to Shushan, to inform Nehemiah of the sad estate of Jerusalem, and to implore his helping hand to relieve it, chap. i. And the reason why Nehemiah put such trust and confidence in Hananiah was, because he was a man of conscience, and acted upon religious principles, which would keep him from those temptations to perfidiousness which he might probably meet with in his absence, and against which a man, destitute of the fear of God, has no sufficient fence.Patrick's Commentary, and Poole's Annotations.

c So the house which was built for Nehemiah's residence might justly be called, because he lived there in great splendour, though wholly at his own charge, and as the king's viceroy, there gave audience to the people, as a king is wont in his palace.-Patrick's Commentary, and Poole's Annotations,

d One reason why the bulk of the Jews (who were originally pastors, and lovers of agriculture) might rather choose to live in the country than at Jerusalem was, because it was more suited to their genius and manner of life. But at this time their enemies were so enraged to see the walls built again, and so restless in their designs to keep the city from rising to its former splendour, that it terrified many from coming to dwell there, thinking themselves more safe in the country, where their enemies had no pretence to disturb them.-Le Clerc's and Palick's Commentaries.

whereby a tenth part of the whole people of Judah and Benjamin ♬ became obliged to dwell at Jerusalem, though those who came voluntarily were better received.

While the walls of the city were building, there happened a kind of mutiny among the common people, which might have been of fatal consequence, had it not been timely composed: for the rich, taking the advantage of the meaner sort, had g exacted heavy usury of them, insomuch, that they made them pay the centesima for all the money that was lent them, that is, one per cent. for every month, which amounted to twelve per cent. for the whole year. This oppression reduced them so low, that they were forced to mortgage their lands, houses, and tenements, and even to sell their children into servitude to have wherewith to buy bread for

e Though the casting of lots be certainly forbidden, where the thing is done out of a spirit of superstition, or with a design to tempt God; yet, on some occasions, it is enjoined by God himment, in particular cases, have practised it. The wise man acself; and the most holy persons both in the Old and New Testaknowledges the usefulness of this custom, when he tells us, 'that the lot causeth contention to cease, and parteth between the mighty,' Prov, xviii. 18; and therefore it was no bad policy (as things now stood) to take this method of decision, since the lot, which all son, rather than another, would be a great means, no doubt, allowed was under the divine direction, falling upon such a perto make him remove more contentedly to the city-Patrick's Commentary, and Calmet's Dictionary, under the word

Lot.

f These were the two tribes that anciently possessed Jerusa lem, which stood partly in one tribe, and partly in the other; for which reason, in some places of Scripture, Jerusalem is reckoned as belonging to the children of Judah, Josh. xv. 62, and Judg. viii. 28; and in others, to the children of Benjamin, Judg. xxi. 28; but what part of the city belonged to the one, and what to the other, is not so well agreed among learned Since these two tribes, however, were the ancient inhabitants of the city, there was all the reason in the world, why, in this scarcity of inmates, they, above any others, should be obliged to come and dwell there.—Patrick's Commentary.

men.

g This usury was the more grievous, because it was not only contrary to their law, and demanded at a time when they were hard at work, and their enemies threatening to destroy them all; but, as some have observed, that the twentieth of Ahasuerus (wherein this was done) began about the end of a sabbatical year after the law, which forbade every creature to exact any debt of 'his neighbour or his brother,' Deut. xv. 2, had been so frequently read. This raised the cry of the poor to a greater height, having been forced to sell their children, and deprived now of all power of redeeming them, because their lands were mortgaged to those oppressors. Patrick's Commentary.

As to the paternal power of the Hebrews, the law gave them leave to sell their daughters, (Exod. xxi. 7); but the sale was a sort of marriage, as it was with the Romans. Fathers sold their children to their creditors, (Isaiah 1. 1); and in the time of Nehe miah, the poor proposed to sell their children for something to live upon; and others bewailed themselves that they had not wherewith to redeem their children that were already in slavery. They had the power of life and death over their children, (Prøv. xix. 18). But they had not so much liberty as the Romans, to make use of this severe privilege without the knowledge of the magistrate. The law of God only permitted the father and mother, after they had tried all sorts of correction at home, to declare to the elders of the city that their son was stubborn and rebellious; and upon their complaint he was condemned to death and stoned, (Deut. xxi. 19). The same law was in force at Athens.-Fleury's Hist. of the Israelites, p. 140.-ED.

i Not long before this there had been a great scarcity for want of rain, which God thought proper to withhold, in pun ishment for the people's taking more care to build their own houses than his, as we read, Hag. i. 9, &c. In which time the rich had no compassion on their poor brethren, but forced them to part with all they had for bread; and now (what made them