with fine linen of Egypt; I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.”

In the hottest part of the day the orientals retire to rest on their bed, till the cool of the evening summons them again to active life. "The heathens," says Mr. Blunt, "assigned all the properties and habits of man to their gods, and among the number that of reposing at mid-day. Hence was it unlawful to enter the temples at that hour, lest their slumbers should be disturbed. The goat-herd ventured not to play upon his pipe at noon, for fear of awakening Pan. Hence too, the peculiar force of the derision with which Elijah addressed the priests of Baal :

6

And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god--- peradventure he sleepeth and must be awaked." Accordingly we read that these priests did not despair of rousing their god and enducing him to declare himself, till the time of evening sacrifice. At that hour the period allowed for repose had terminated: and when he still continued deaf to their cries, then, and not till then, their cause became altogether hopeless."a

When the houses were not contiguous, the staircase, according to the description of some travellers, was conducted along the outside of the house; but when they were built close together, it was placed in the porch, or at the entrance into the court, and continued through one corner of the gallery, or another, to the top of the house. For the sake of greater privacy, and to prevent the domestic animals from daubing the terrace, and by that means spoiling the water which falls from thence into the

* Prov. vii, 16.

Theocrit. Idyll. i, 1. 15. * 1 Kings xviii, 27. a Blunt's Vestiges of Ancient Customs, p. 109, 110.

a

cisterns below the court, a door was hung on the top of the stair, and kept constantly shut. This door, like most others to be met with in those countries, is hung, not with hinges, but by having the jamb formed at each end into an axle-tree or pivot; of which the uppermot, which is the longest, is to be received into a correspondent socket in the lintel, whilst the other falls into a similar cavity in the threshold. Doors with hinges of the same kind are still to be seen in the East. The stone door, so much admired by Mr. Maundrell, is exactly of this fashion, and very common in most places. "The staircase is uniformly so contrived, that a person may go up or come down by it, without entering into any of the offices or apartments; and by consequence, without disturbing the family, or interfering with the business of the house. In allusion to this method of building, our Lord commands his disciples, when the Roman armies entered Judea, to "flee to the mountains ;" and adds, " Let him that is on the house top, not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house." They were commanded to flee from the top of the house to the mountains, without entering the house; which was impossible to be done, if the stairs had not been conducted along the outside of it, by which they could escape.

The roof is always flat, and often composed of branches of wood laid across rude beams, and to defend it from the injuries of the weather, to which it is peculiarly exposed in the rainy senson, it is covered with a strong plaster of terrace. It is surrounded by a wall breast high,

a Dr. Richardson's Trav. vol. ii, p. 2.

b Mark xiii, 15; and Mat. xxiv, 17.

c Shaw's Trav. vol. i, p. 379. Buckingham's Trav. vol. ii, p. 328.

which forms the partition with the contiguous houses, and prevents one from falling into the street on the one side, or into the court on the other. This answers to the battlements which Moses commanded the people of Israel to make for the roof of their houses, for the same reason. "When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement (pr) for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence."f Instead of the parapet wall, some terraces are guarded, like the galleries, with ballustrades only, or latticed work. Of the same kind, probably, was the lattice or net, as the term (2) shebaca seems to import, through which Ahaziah, the king of Samaria, fell down into the court.g This incident proves the necessity of the law which Jehovah graciously dictated from Sinai, and furnishes a beautiful example of his paternal care and goodness; for the terrace was a place where many offices of the family were performed, and business of no little importance was occasionally transacted. Rahab concealed the spies on the roof, with the stalks of flax which she had laid in order to dry; the king of Israel, according to the custom of his country, rose from his bed, and walked upon the roof of his house, to enjoy the refreshing breezes of the evening; upon the top of the house, the prophet conversed with Saul, about the gracious designs of God, respecting him and his family; to the same place, Peter retired to offer up his devotions ; and in the feast of tabernacles, under the government of Nehemiah, booths

h

e Shaw's Trav. vol. i, p. 380. Russel's Hist. of Aleppo, vol. i, p. 35. Buckingham's Trav. in Palestine, vol. i, p. 122, 147, &c.

f Deut. xxii, 8. * 2 Kings i, 2.

h Josh. ii, 6.

,i 2 Sam. xi, 2.

j 1 Sam. ix, 25.

* Acts x, 9.

were erected, as well upon the terraces of their houses, as in their courts, and in the streets of the city. In Judea, the inhabitants sleep upon the tops of their houses during the heats of summer, in arbours made of the branches of trees, or in tents of rushes. When Dr. Pococke was at Tiberias in Galilee, he was entertained by the sheik's steward, and with his company supped upon the top of the house for coolness, according to their custom, and lodged there likewise, in a sort of closet of about eight feet square, formed of wicker work, plastered round towards the bottom, but without any door, each person having his cell. In like manner, the Persians take refuge during the day in subterraneous chambers, and pass the night on the flat roofs of their houses."

m

It is extremely probable that Saul, in like manner, was lodged upon the roof of Samuel's house, when he went to consult him about his father's asses; for it appears from the preceding statement, that the inhabitants of Galilee were acustomed to entertain and lodge a stranger whom they respected, upon the top of the house. Our translators, indeed, understood the passage differently; for they make Samuel invite Saul a second time to the roof of the house, before he sent him away their version runs in these words: "And they rose early; and it came to pass about the spring of the day, that Samuel called Saul to the top of the house, saying, Up, that I may send thee away." But the particle to, may be rendered on; and the phrase will then be read, he called Saul on the top of the house, where he had slept all night, in an arbour, or

1 Neh. viii, 16.

:

m Harmer's Observ. vol. i, p. 150, &c.

See also Buckingham's Trav. vol. ii, p. 360.

" Kinnier's Geographical Memoir of the Persian Empire, p.107.

closet of wicker work, and which he had not yet left. In this light the Septuagint also seem to have understood the passage; for they translate it: "And they spread a bed for Saul upon the house top, and he slept." Samuel might naturally enough wish to converse with his future sovereign a second time, before he allowed him to depart, upon a subject so interesting to them both, and to all the tribes of Israel; but it will appear, from a careful inspection of the text, that they did not go up a second time to the roof of the house, for the moment "Saul arose, they went out both of them, he and Samuel abroad." But a Hebrew never expresses himself in this manner, when he means that one goes up to the roof; the words of the record plainly mean they left the house, and did so without delay. This is confirmed by the next circumstance mentioned in the narrative, which followed immediately : "As they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Bid the servant pass on before us.” Every circumstance forcibly suggests the idea that, instead of going up to the terrace, they went into the street, and walked down to the end of the city, where the prophet had resolved to impart unto Saul the important message he had received from heaven. Hence the future king of Israel slept on the roof of Samuel's house, and there was called up at the dawn of day, by the faithful servant of the Lord, to receive his inauguration, and return to his father. In Persia too they spread their beds, at night, upon the tops of their houses on which they repose, without any other covering than the vault of heaven. They find this much more refreshing than sleeping in a close apartment.P

• Harmer's Obs. vol. i, p. 274.

P Morier's Trav. vol. i, p. 230.