(particularly in heathen countries) were usually erected on the banks of rivers, or on the sea-shore (Acts xvi. 13.), without any covering but galleries or the shade of trees. Dr. Prideaux thinks the proseuche were of greater antiquity than the synagogues, and were formed by the Jews in open courts, in order that those persons who dwelt at a distance from Jerusalem might offer up their private prayers in them, as they were accustomed to do in the courts of the temple or of the tabernacle. In the synagogues, he further observes, the prayers were offered up in public forms, while the proseucha were appropriated to private devotions: and from the oratory, where our Saviour spent a whole night in prayer, being erected on a mountain (Luke vi. 12.), it is highly probable that these proseuche were the same as the high places, so often mentioned in the Old Testament.' Form of a SYNAGOGUE ROLL of the Pentateuch. L. Nature and origin of synagogues.-The synagogue of the libertines explained.-II. Form of the synagogues.-III. The officers or ministers.-IV. The service performed in the synagogues.-V. Ecclesiastical power of the synagogues.-VI. The Shemoneh Esreh, or Nineteen Prayers used in the synagogue service. I. THE SYNAGOGUES were buildings in which the Jews assembled for prayer, reading and hearing the Sacred Scriptures, and other instructions. Though frequently mentioned in the historical books of the New Testament, their origin is not very well known; and many learned men are of opinion that they are of recent institution. quent, that they were to be found in almost every place in Judæa: but the Jews were not permitted to build one in a town, unless there were ten persons of leisure in it. Not fewer than four hundred and eighty synagogues are said to have been erected in Jerusalem, previously to its capture and destruction by the Romans. In the evangelical history we find, that wherever the Jews resided, they had one or more synagogues, constructed after those at Jerusalem: hence we find, in Acts vi. 9. synagogues belonging to the Alexandrians, the Asiatics, the Cilicians, the Libertines, and the Cyrenians, which were erected for such Jewish inhabitants of those countries or cities, as should happen to be at Jerusalem. With regard to the synagogue of the LIBERTINES, a considerable difference of opinion exists among the learned, whether these Libertines were the children of freed men (Italian Jews or proselytes), or African Jews from the city or country called Libertus, or Libertina, near Carthage. The former opinion is supported by Grotius and Vitringa; the latter (which was first hinted by Oecumenius, a commentator in the close of the tenth century), by Professor Gerdes, Wetstein, Bishop Pearce, and Schleusner. It is well known that the ancient Romans made a distinction between the Liberti and the Libertini. The Libertus was one who had been a slave, and obtained his freedom;4 the Libertinus was the son of a Libertus. But this distinction in after-ages was not strictly observed; and Libertinus also came to be used for one not born but made free, in opposition to Ingenuus or one born free. Whether the Libertini, mentioned in this passage of the Acts, were Gentiles, who had become proselytes to Judaism, or native Jews, who having been made slaves to the Romans were afterwards set at liberty, and in remembrance of their captivity called themselves Libertini, and formed a synagogue by themselves, is differently conjectured by the learned. It is probable, that the Jews of Cyrene, Alexandria, &c. erected synagogues at Jerusalem at their own charge, for the use of their brethren who came from those countries, as the Danes, Swedes, &c. built churches for the use of their own countrymen in London; and that the Italian Jews did the same; and because the greatest number of them were Libertini, their synagogue was therefore called the synagogue of the Libertines. In support of the second opinion above noticed, viz. that the Libertines derived their name from Libertus or Libertina, a city in Africa, it is urged that Suidas in his Lexicon, on the word ATVs, says, that it was ordres, a national appellative; and that the Glossa interlinearis, of which Nicholas de Lyra made great use in his notes, has, over the word Libertini, e regione, denoting that they were so styled from a with the Donatists at Carthage, anno 411, there is mentioned country. Further, in the acts of the celebrated conference one Victor, bishop of the church of Libertina; and in the acts of the Lateran council, which was held in 649, there is mention of Januarius gratia Dei episcopus sanctæ ecclesiæ Libertinensis, Januarius, by the grace of God, bishop of the holy church of Libertina; and therefore Fabricius in his GeographiAlthough sacrifices could only be offered at the holy taber-cal Index of Christian Bishoprics, has placed Libertina in what nacle or temple, yet it does not appear that the Jews were was called Africa propria, or the proconsular province of restricted to any particular place for the performance of other Africa. Now, as all the other people of the several synagogues, exercises of devotion. Hence formerly, the praises of Jeho-mentioned in this passage of the Acts, are called from the vah were sung in the schools of the prophets, which the more devout Israelites seem to have frequented on Sabbathdays and new moons for the purpose of instruction and prayer. (1 Sam. x. 5-11. xix. 18-24. 2 Kings iv. 23.) During the Babylonish captivity, the Jews, being deprived of the solemn ordinances of divine worship, resorted to the house of some prophet, or other holy man, who was in the practice of giving religious instruction to his own family, and of reading the Scriptures. (Compare Ezek. xiv. 1. and IX. 1. with Neh. viii. 18.) At length these domestic congregations became fixed in certain places, and a regular order of conducting divine worship was introduced. Philo2 thinks these edifices were originally instituted by Moses: but as no mention is made of them during the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, their origin in Jerusalem is referred to the reigns of the Asmonæan princes, under whom they were first erected, and were soon greatly multiplied; though in Alexandria and other foreign places, where the Jews were dispersed, they were certainly of much greater antiquity. There appears to be an allusion to them in Psal. lxxiv. 4.8. In the time of the Maccabees, synagogues became so fre1 Dr. Hammond on Lukev i. 12. and Acts xvi. 13-16. Calmet's Dict. voce Proseucha Prideaux's Connection, parti. book vi. sub anno 444. vol pp. 387-390. edit. 1720.. Philo, De Vita Mosis, lib. iii.p. 685. phus, De Bell Jud. lib. vii. c. 3. 13, places whence they came, it is probable that the Libertines were denominated in like manner; and as the Cyrenians and Alexandrians, who came from Africa, are placed next to the Libertines in that catalogue, the supporters of this opinion think it probable, that they also belonged to the same country. But we have no evidence to show that there were any natives of this place at Jerusalem, at the period referred to in the Acts of the Apostles. On the contrary, as it is well jure impediente manumissi sunt. Ulpian. tit. 1. $6. Cives Romani sunt Liberti, qui vindictâ, censu, aut testamento nullo This appears from the following passage of Suetonius concerning Claudius, who, he says, was, ignarus temporibus Appii, et deinceps aliquamdiu procreatos. In vita Claudii, cap. 24. § 4. p. 78. Pitisci. Libertinos dictos, non ipsos, qui manumitterentur, sed ingenuos ex his Quintilian. de Institutione Oratoria, lib. 5. cap. 10. p. 246. edit. Gibson, lib. i. tit. v. Libertini sunt, qui ex justa servitute manumissi sunt. Tit. iv. 1693. Qui servus est, si manumittatur, fit Libertinus-Justinian. Institut. Ingenuus est is, qui statim ut natus est, liber est; sive ex duobus ingenuis matrimonio aditus est, sive ex libertinis duobus, sive ex altero libertino, et altero ingenuo. Of these there were great numbers at Rome. Tacitus informs us (Anal. lib. ii. cap. 85.) that four thousand Libertini, of the Jewish supersti tion, as he styles it, were banished at one time, by order of Tiberius, into Sardinia; and the rest commanded to quit Italy, if they did not adjure, by a certain day. See also Suetonius in vita Tiberii, cap. 36. Josephus (Antiq. lib. xviii. cap. 3. §5. edit. Havere.) mentions the same fact. And Philo (Lei.gat. ad Caium. p. 785. C. edit. Colon. 1613.) speaks of a good part of the city, beyond the Tiber, as inhabited by Jews, who were mostly Libertini, having been brought to Rome as captives and slaves, but, being made free by their masters, were permitted to live according to their own rites and customs. known that, only about fifteen years before, great numbers of Jews, emancipated slaves, or their sons, were banished from Rome, it is most likely that the Libertines mentioned by Luke were of the latter description, especially as his account is corroborated by two Roman historians. II. It does not appear from the New Testament that the synagogues had any peculiar FORM. The building of them was regarded as a mark of piety (Luke vii. 5.); and they were erected within or without the city, generally in an elevated place, and were distinguished from the proseucha by being roofed. Each of them had an altar, or rather table, on which the book of the law was spread; and on the east side there was an ark or chest, in which the volume of the law was deposited. The seats were so disposed that the people always sat with their faces towards the elders, and the place where the law was kept; and the elders sat in the opposite direction, that is to say, with their backs to the ark and their faces to the people. The seats of the latter, as being placed nearer the ark, were accounted the more holy, and hence they are in the New Testament termed the chief seats in the synagogue; which the Pharisees affected; and for which our Lord inveighed against them. (Matt. xxiii. 6.) A similar precedency seems to have crept into the places of worship even of the very first Christians, and hence we may account for the indignation of the apostle James (ii. 3.) against the undue preference that was given to the rich. The women were separated from the men, and sat in a gallery enclosed with lattices, so that they could distinctly see and hear all that passed in the synagogue, without themselves being exposed to view. III. For the maintenance of good order, there were in every synagogue certain OFFICERS, whose business it was to see that all the duties of religion were decently performed therein. These were, 1. The Apoyos, or Ruler of the synagogue. (Luke xiii. 14. Mark v. 22.) It appears from Acts xiii. 15., collated with Mark v. 22. and John vi. 59., that there were several of these rulers in a synagogue. They regulated all its concerns, and gave permission to persons to preach. They were always men advanced in age, and respectable for their learning and probity. The Jews termed them Hacamim, that is, sages or wise men, and they possessed considerable influence and authority. They were judges of thefts, and similar petty offences and to them Saint Paul is supposed to allude in 1 Cor. vi. 5., where he reproaches the Corinthian Christians with carrying their differences before the tribunals of the Gentiles, as if they had no persons among them who were capable of determining them. Is it so, says he, that there is not a WISE MAN among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren? These rulers, likewise, had the power of inflicting punishment on those whom they judged to be rebellious against the law; in allusion to which circumstance Christ forewarned his disciples that they should be scourged in the synagogues. (Matt. x. 17.) 2. Next to the Apuvas, or ruler of the synagogue, was an officer, whose province it was to offer up public prayers to God for the whole congregation: he was called Sheliach Zibbor, or the angel of the church, because, as their messenger, he spoke to God for them. Hence also, in Rev. ii. iii. the presiding ministers of the Asiatic churches are termed angels. 3. The Chazan appears to have been a different officer from the Sheliach Zibbor, and inferior to him in dignity. He seems to have been the person, who in Luke iv. 20. ís termed inperns, the minister, and who had the charge of the sacred books. IV. The service performed in the synagogue, on the Sabbath and on other holy days, consisted of three parts, viz. prayer, reading the Scriptures, and preaching, or exposition of the Scriptures. some better evidence than that of the talmudical rabbies is requisite, in order to prove their liturgies to be of so high an antiquity; especially since some of their prayers, as Dr. Prideaux acknowledges, seem to have been composed after the destruction of Jerusalem, and to have reference to it. It is evident they were composed when there was neither temple nor sacrifice; since the seventeenth collect prays, that God would restore his worship to the inner part of his house, and make haste, with fervour and love, to accept the burnt sacrifices of Israel,' &c. They could not, therefore, be the composition of Ezra, who did not receive his commission from Artaxerxes to go to Judæa, till more than fifty years after the second temple was built, and its worship restored. The probability is, that the forms of prayer for the synagogue worship were at first very few, and that some were in use in the time of Jesus Christ, the number of which was subsequently increased. To the eighteen prayers above mentioned, another was added, a short time before the destruction of the second temple, by Rabbi Gamaliel, or, according to some writers, by Rabbi Samuel, one of his scholars. It is directed against apostates and heretics, appellations which the Jews liberally employed to designate all Christians, whether of Jewish or of Gentile descent. This additional prayer is now inserted as the twelfth, and the number is nineteen. They are required to be said by all Jews without exception, who are of age, three times every day, either in public, at the synagogue, or at their own houses, or wherever they may happen to be. As some readers may be curious to see them, they are subjoined, at the end of this section.2 2. The second part of this synagogue service is the read ing of the Scriptures, which is of three sorts, the KiriothShema, the reading of the whole law of Moses, and portions out of the prophets, and the Hagiographa or holy writings. (1.) The Kirioth-Shema consists of three portions of Scripture, viz. Deut. vi. 6-9. xi. 13-21. Num. xv. 37–41. As the first of these portions commences with the word shema, that is, hear, they are collectively termed the Shema, and the reading of them is called kirioth-shema, or the reading of the Shema. This reading or recital is preceded and followed by several prayers and benedictions; and, next to the saying of the nineteen prayers above noticed, is the most solemn part of the religious service of the Jews; who, believing the commands in Deut. vi. 7. and xi. 19. to be of perpetual obligation, repeat the Shema daily, every morning and evening. (2.) The Law was divided into fifty-three, according to the Masorets, or, according to others, fifty-four Paraschioth or sections: for the Jewish year consisted of twelve lunar months, alternately of twenty-nine or thirty days, that is, of fifty weeks and four days. The Jews, therefore, in their division of the law into Paraschioth or sections, had a respect to their intercalary year, which was every second or third, and consisted of thirteen months; so that the whole law was read over this year, allotting one Paraschioth or section to every Sabbath; and in common years they reduced the fiftythree or fifty-four sections to the number of the fifty Sabbaths, by reading two shorter ones together, as often as there was occasion. They began the course of reading the first Sab bath after the feast of tabernacles; or rather, indeed, on the Sabbath-day before that, when they finished the last course of reading, they also made a beginning of the new course; that so, as the rabbies say, the devil might not accuse them to God of being weary of reading his law. (3.) The portions selected out of the prophetical writings are termed Haphtoroth. When Antiochus Epiphanes con quered the Jews about the year 163 before the Christian æra, he prohibited the public reading of the law in the synagogues, on pain of death. The Jews, in order that they might not be wholly deprived of the word of God, selected from other parts of the Sacred Writings fifty-four portions, which were termed HAPHTORAS, non (HUPHTOROTH), from (PUTAR), he dismissed, let loose, opened for though the Law was dismissed from their synagogues, and was closed to them by the edict of this persecuting king, yet the prophetic writings, not being under the interdict, were left open; and therefore they 1. The first part of the synagogue service is Prayer; for the performance of which, according to Dr. Prideaux, they had liturgies, in which are all the prescribed forms of the synagogue worship. The most solemn part of these prayers are the D (SHEMONCH ESRCH), or the eighteen prayers, which, according to the rabbies, were composed and instituted by Ezra, in order that the Jews, whose language after sion and reference as the seventeenth. See the original prayers in MaiThe fifth, tenth, eleventh, and fourteenth collects have the same alluthe captivity was corrupted with many barbarous terms bor-monides de Ordine Precum, or in Vitringat (de Synag, vetere, lib. iii. part rowed from other languages, might be able to perform their ii. cap. 14. pp. 1033-1038.) who observes that the Talmudists will have the devotions in the pure language of their own country. Such (reduc ministerium Leviticum in Adytum Domas tuæ, as he translates it), seventeenth collect, which prays for the restoration of the temple worship, is the account which Maimonides gives, out of the Gemara, to have been usually recited by the king in the temple at the feast of taber of the origin of the Jewish liturgies; and the eighteen col-nacles; which is such an absurdity that it confutes itself, and shows how little the Jewish traditions concerning the antiquity and use of their liturgies lects, in particular, are mentioned in the Mishna. However, are to be depended upon. * See pp. 106, 107, infra, used them in place of the others. It was from this custom of the Jews, that the primitive Christians adopted theirs, of reading a lesson every Sabbath out of the Old and New Testaments. The following tables exhibit the paraschioth or section of the law, and the haphtoroth or sections of the prophets (which were substituted for the former), as they have been read together ever since the days of the Asmonæans or Maccabees, and as they continue to be read in the various synagogues belonging to the English, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, and German Jews. A GENERAL VIEW or ALL THE SECTIONS OF THE LAW, AND SECTIONS OF THE PROPHETS, AS READ IN THE DIFFERENT JEWISH SYNAGOGUES FOR EVERY SABBATH OF THE YEAR. ..xxvi. 1. to xxix. 8. ..xxix. 9. to xxx. 20. ..xxxi. 1. to xxxi. 30. .....xxxii. 1. to xxxii. 52. liv. nɔran ni Vezot Habaracah,..xxxiii. 1. to xxxiv. 12. ,Haazinu האזינו .iii It is a circumstance highly deserving of notice, that the celebrated prophrey, quoted by the apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost from the prophet Joel (11. 28-32.) forms a part of the Pentecostal service of the Karaite Jews in the Crimea. "Such, however, is the fact; and may we not con ciede, from the pertinacity with which this ancient sect have adhered to VOL. II. 0 Portuguese and Italian Jews. Isa. xlii. 5-21............. Isa. liv. 1-10... Isa. xl. 27-31. xli. 1—16.. 2 Kings iv. 1-23. 1 Kings i. 1-31..... Amos ii. 1-16. iii. 1-8... 1 Kings iii. 15–28. iv. 1... Ezek. xxxvii. 15-28...... 1 Kings ii. 1-12. German and Dutch Jews. .Isa. liv. 1-17. lv. 1—5. ...2 Kings iv. 1.—37. .Ditto. ...Ditto. ....Ditto. ..Hos. xii. 12-14. xiii. 1-16 .Ditto. .Ditto. .Ditto. .Ditto. Jer. i. 1-19. ii. 1—3............. .Isa. xxvii. 6. to xxix. 23. Ezek. xxviii. 25. to xxix. 21.. Jer. xlvi. 13-28. Judg. v. 1-31. Isa. vi. 1-31. Ditto. .Ditto. Judg. iv. 4. to v. 1-31. .Isa. vi. 1-13. vii. 1-6. ix. 6,7. xvii. 22-24. xviii. 1-32...... ..Hos. xiv. 1-9. Joel ii. 1-27.1 Josh. i. 1-18. Eccl. i.-xii. inclusive,... Ditto.2 their primitive institutions, that the same coincidence took place in the apostolic age ?" Dr. Henderson's Biblical Researches, &c. p. 326. The above tables are copied from Dr. A. Clarke's Commentary on Deut. xxxiv., who states that he has in general followed the divisions in the best Masoretic Bibles, from which our common English Bibles in some cases In the synagogues of the Hellenists or Greek Jews, the ing from right to left, they roll off with the left, while they law was always read in the Alexandrian or Greek version: roll on with the right hand. The vignette, at the head of this but in those of the native Jews, the law was always read in section, will convey some idea of the manner in which the Hebrew; whence it became necessary, as soon as that lan- Synagogue Rolls are unrolled. It is taken from the original guage ceased to be vernacular among the Jews, to establish and very valuable manuscript in the British Museum, which an interpreter, by whom the Jewish Scriptures were ex- is described in Vol. I. Part I. chap: iii. sect. i. § ii. pounded in the Chaldee dialect, which was spoken by them "It should seem also, at least in foreign countries where after the return from the Babylonian captivity.2 The doctor places of worship were established, that when strangers, or reader, therefore, having the interpreter always by him, who were Jews, arrived at such towns, and went to offer softly whispered in his ears what he said, and this interpre- their devotions, it was usual for the presidents of the synater repeated aloud to the people what had thus been commu-gogue, after the appointed portion out of the law and the pronicated to him. To this custom our Saviour is supposed to phets was read, to send a servant to them, and in a very have alluded when he said to his disciples, What ye hear in respectful manner to request that if they could impart any the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. (Matt. x. 27.)3 thing that might contribute to the religious instruction and edification of the audience, they would deliver it. This token of respect and politeness shown to strangers, appears from the following passage in the Acts of the Apostles. (Acts xiii. 14, 15.) When Paul and his companions, on their arrival at Antioch in Pisidia, went into the Jewish synagogue on the Sabbath-day, and sat down after the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, Men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on. Upon which Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience." 3. The third and last part of the synagogue service is, Exposition of the Scriptures, and Preaching to the people from them. The first was performed at the time of reading them, and the other after the reading of the law and the prophets. In Luke iv. 15-22. we have an account of the service of the synagogue in the time of Christ; from which it appears that he taught the Jews in both these ways: And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath-day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias; and when he had unrolled the volume he found the place where it was written, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind; to set at liberty them that are bruised; to preach the acceptable year of the Lord!" And he folded the volume, and he gave it again to the minister and sat down and the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them: This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears. And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth. : From this passage we learn, that when Jesus Christ came to Nazareth, his own city, he was called out, as a member of that synagogue, to read the haphtorah, that is, the section or lesson out of the prophets for that day; which appears to have been the fifty-first haphtorah, and to have commenced with the first verse of Isa. lxi. and not with the tenth, as in the table above given. "Have the Jews," asks an eminent commentator, "altered this haphtorah, knowing the use which our blessed Lord made of it among their ancestors?" Further he stood up (as it was customary, at least for the officiating minister to do out of reverence for the word of God) to read the Scriptures; and unrolled the manuscript until he came to the lesson appointed for that day; which having read he rolled it up again, and gave it to the proper officer; and then he sat down and expounded it, agreeably to the usage of the Jews." But when Christ entered any synagogue of which he was not a member (as it appears from Luke iv. 16. he always did on every Sabbath-day, wherever he was), he taught the people in sermons after the law and the prophets had been read. The Sacred Writings, used to this day in all the Jewish synagogues, are written on skins of parchment or vellum, and (like the ancient copies) rolled on two rollers, beginning at each end: so that, in read will be found to vary a little. On the above tables, Dr. Clarke remarks, that though the Jews are agreed in the sections of the law that are read every Sabbath; yet they are not agreed in the haphtoroth, or sections from the prophets; as it appears above, that the Dutch and German Jews differ in several cases from the Italian and Portuguese; and there are some slighter variations besides those above, which he has not noticed. Tertulliani Apologia, c. 18. 2 From this practice originated the Chaldee Paraphrases, of which an account has been given in the first volume of this work. Dr. Lightfoot's Hora Hebraicæ, on Matt. x. 27. "AVARTUES TO 6.50. This word signifies to unfold, unroll. The books of the ancients were written on parchment and rolled up. Hence the word volume. Αλλ' ουκ αναπτύξαντες αυτους και το χειρε περιβάλοντες | AA; Why do we not unfold our arms, and clasp each other in them? Dion. Halicarn. lib. vi. p. 392. Hudson. THY STICTORY ANANTIA, unfolding the letter. Josephus, de vità sua, p. 21. Havercamp. pas ως βιόλιον τα εβούλετο, άλλην των Περσών εποίησατο, μετά δε, ΑΝΑΠΤΥΞΑΣ, TO BIBAION," [the very expression of the evangelist.] Herodotus, lib. i. c. 125. tom. i. p. 158. edit. Oxon. 1809. Dr. Harwood's Introduction, vol. ii. p. 181. • Πτυξης το βιβλίον, Dr. A. Clarke, on Deut xxxiv. In like manner, according to the custom of their public instructers, we find our Saviour sitting down (Matt. v. 1.) before he began to deliver his sermon on the mount to the assembled multitudes; and upon another occasion sitting down, and out of the ship teaching the people who were collected on the shore. (Matt. xiii. 1.) So also it is said of the scribes, who were the Jewish clergy, that they sat (Matt. xxiii. 2.) in Moses' chair: whatever therefore they bid you observe, that observe and do, but do not after their works, for they say and do not. The synagogues, however, were not only places set apart for prayer; they were also schools where youth were instructed. The sages (for so were the teachers called) sat upon elevated benches, while the pupils stood at their feet or before them; which circumstance explains St. Paul's meaning (Acts xxii. 3.) when he says that he was brought up AT THE ET of Gamaliel. V. Those who had been guilty of any notorious crime, or were otherwise thought unworthy, were cast out of these synagogues, that is, excommunicated, and excluded from partaking with the rest in the public prayers and religious offices there performed; so that they were looked upon as mere heathens, and shut out from all benefit of the Jewish religion, which exclusion was esteemed scandalous. We are told that the Jews came to a resolution, that whoever confessed that Jesus was the Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. (John ix. 22.) And, therefore, when the blind man, who had been restored to sight, persisted in confessing that he believed the person who had been able to work such a miracle could not have done it, if he were not of God, they cast him out. (ver. 33, 34.)11 VI. The following are the Shemoneh Esrch, or nineteen prayers of the Jews, referred to in page 104. as translated by Dr. Prideaux. That which was formerly the nineteenth is now the twelfth in the order in which they stand in the Jewish liturgies. The first or precatory part of each article was pronounced by the priest, and the last or eucharistical part was the response of the people. "1. Blessed be thou, O LORD our GOD, the God of our fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the GoD of Jacob, the great God, powerful and tremendous, the high Gop, bountifully dispensing benefits, the creator and possessor of the universe, who rememberest the good deeds of our fathers, and in thy love sendest a Redeemer to those who are descended from them, for thy name's sake, O King our LORD and helper, our Saviour and our shield.-Blessed art thou, O LORD, who art the shield of Abraham! "2. Thou, O LORD, art powerful for ever; thou raisest the dead to life, and art mighty to save; thou sendest down the dew, stillest the winds, and makest the rain to come down upon the earth, and sustainest with thy beneficence all that Dr. A. Clarke, on Luke vi. 17. Dr. Harwood's Introd. vol. ii. p. 182. 10 Fleury, Lamy, and other eminent critics, have supposed that the Jewish youth sat on low seats or on the ground, at the feet of their preceptors, who occupied a lofly chair; but Vitringa has shown, from Jewish authority, that the disciples of the rabbins stood before them in the manner above represented. See his treatise de Synag. Vet. lib. i. p. 1. c. 7. Kypke (Observ. Sacræ, in Nov. Fœd. Libros, vol. ii. pp. 114, 115.) has collected a variety of passages from Greek writers, to show that the expression παρα TOU as at the feet, is equivalent to v, near or before. 11 The preceding account of the Jewish Synagogues has been compiled from Lamy's Apparatus Biblicus, vol. ii. pp. 219-21. Prideaux's Connec tions (book vi. sub anno 444), vol. i. pp. 374-391. Fleury's Manners of the Israelites by Dr. Clarke, pp. 336-338 Pictet, Antiq. Judaiques, pp. 12-14. (Theol. Chret. tom. iii.) Schulzii Archæol. Hebr. pp. 225, 226. Reland's Antiq. Hebr. part i. c. 10. pp. 126-140. Ikenii Antiq. Hebr. part i. c. 9. pp. 100-105. Schachtii Animadversiones ad Ikenii Antiq. Hebr. pp. 452-470. Lardner's Credibility, book i. c. 9. § 6. Pritii Introd. ad Nov. Test. pp. 447. 595-608; and Dr. Jennings's Jewish Antiquities, book ii. c. 2 Pareau, Antiq. Hebr. pp. 204-208. Beausobre's and L'Enfant's Introd. Bp. Watson's Theol. Tracts, pp. 158-169. On the synagogue-worship of the modern Jews, see Mr. Allen's Modern Judaism, pp. 319–354. are therein; and of thy abundant mercy makest the dead again to live. Thou raisest up those who fall; thou healest the sick, thou loosest them who are bound, and makest good thy word of truth to those who sleep in the dust. Who is to be compared to thee, O thou LORD of might! and who is like unto thee, O our King, who killest and makest alive, and makest salvation to spring as the grass in the field! Thou art faithful to make the dead to rise again to life. Blessed art thou, O LORD, who raisest the dead again to life! "3. Thou art holy, and thy name is holy, and thy saints do praise thee every day. Selah. For a great king and a holy art thou, O GOD.-Blessed art thou, O LORD GOD, most holy! 4. Thou of thy mercy givest knowledge unto men, and teachest them understanding: give graciously unto us knowledge, wisdom, and understanding.-Blessed art thou, O LORD, who graciously givest knowledge unto men ! "5. Bring us back, O our Father, to the observance of thy law, and make us to adhere to thy precepts, and do thou, Ŏ our King, draw us near to thy worship, and convert us to thee by perfect repentance in thy presence.-Blessed art thou, O LORD, who vouchsafest to receive us by repentance! “6. Be thou merciful unto us, O our Father: for we have sinned: pardon us, O our King, for we have transgressed against thee. For thou art a God, good and ready to pardon.-Blessed art thou, O LORD most gracious, who multipliest thy mercies in the forgiveness of sins! 7. Look, we beseech thee, upon our afflictions. Be thou on our side in all our contentions, and plead thou our cause in all our litigations; and make haste to redeem us with a perfect redemption for thy name's sake. For thou art our GOD, our King, and a strong Redeemer.-Blessed art thou, O LORD, the Redeemer of Israel! "8. Heal us, O LORD our GOD, and we shall be healed; save us, and we shall be saved. For thou art our praise. Bring unto us sound health, and a perfect remedy for all our infirmities, and for all our griefs, and for all our wounds. For thou art a God who healest and art merciful.-Blessed art thou, O LORD our GOD, who curest the diseases of thy people Israel! 9. Bless us, O LORD our GOD, in every work of our hands, and bless unto us the seasons of the year, and give us the dew and the rain to be a blessing unto us, upon the face of all our land, and satiate the world with thy blessings, and send down moisture upon every part of the earth that is habitable.-Blessed art thou, O LORD, who givest thy blessing to the years! 10. Gather us together by the sound of the great trumpet, to the enjoyment of our liberty; and lift up thy ensign to call together all the captivity, from the four quarters of the earth into our own land.-Blessed art thou, O LORD, who gatherest together the exiles of the people of Israel! "11. Restore unto us our judges as at the first, and our counsellors as at the beginning; and remove far from us affliction and trouble, and do thou only reign over us in benignity, and in mercy, and in righteousness, and in justice. -Blessed art thou, O LORD, our king, who lovest righteousness and justice. 12. Let there be no hope to them, who apostatize from the true religion; and let heretics, how many soever they be, all perish as in a moment. And let the kingdom of pride be speedily rooted out and broken in our days.-Blessed art thani, O LORD our GOD, who destroyest the wicked, and bringest down the proud!3 This is the prayer which was added by Rabbi Gamaliel against the Christians, or as others say by Rabbi Samuel the little, who was one of his scholars. 13. Upon the pious and the just, and upon the proselytes of justice, and upon the remnant of thy people of the house of Israel, let thy mercies be moved, O LORD our GOD, and give a good reward unto all who faithfully put their trust in thy name; and grant us our portion with them, and for ever let us not be ashamed, for we put our trust in thee.Blessed art thou, O LORD, who art the support and confidence of the just! 14. Dwell thou in the midst of Jerusalem, thy city, as thou hast promised: build it with a building to last for ever, and do this speedily even in our days.-Blessed art thou, Ó LORD, who buildest Jerusalem! 15. Make the offspring of David thy servant speedily to grow up, and flourish; and let our horn be exalted in thy salvation. For we hope for thy salvation every day.-Blessed art thou, O LORD, who makest the horn of our salvation to flourish! 16. Hear our voice, O LORD our GOD, most merciful Father, pardon and have mercy upon us, and accept of our prayers with thy mercy and favour, and send us not away from thy presence, O our king. For thou hearest with mercy the prayer of thy people Israel.-Blessed art thou, O LORD, who hearest prayer! "17. Be thou well pleased, O LORD our GOD, with thy people Israel; and have regard unto their prayers; restore thy worship to the inner part of thy house, and make haste with favour and love to accept of the burnt sacrifices of Israel, and their prayers; and let the worship of Israel thy people be continually well pleasing unto thee.-Blessed art thou, O LORD, who restorest thy divine presence to Zion! "18. We will give thanks unto thee with praise. For thou art the LORD our GoD, the GoD of our fathers, for ever and ever. Thou art our rock, and the rock of our life, and the shield of our salvation. To all generations will we give thanks unto thee, and declare thy praise, because of our life which is always in thy hands, and because of thy signs, which are every day with us, and because of thy wonders, and marvellous loving-kindness, which are morning, and evening, and night before us. Thou art good, for thy mercies are not consumed; thou art merciful, for thy lovingkindnesses fail not. For ever we hope in thee. And for all these mercies be thy name, O king, blessed and exalted, and lifted up on high for ever and ever; and let all that live give thanks unto thee. Selah. And let them in truth and sincerity praise thy name, O GOD of our salvation, and our help. Selah.-Blessed art thou, O LORD, whose name is good, and to whom it is fitting always to give praise! "19. Give peace, beneficence, and benediction, grace, benignity, and mercy unto us, and to Israel thy people. Bless us, our Father, even all of us together as one man, with the light of thy countenance. For in the light of thy countenance hast thou given unto us, O LORD our Gop, the law of life, and love, and benignity, and righteousness, and blessing, and mercy, and life, and peace. And let it seem good in thine eyes, to bless thy people Israel with thy times, and in every moment.-Blessed art thou, O LORD, who Beace blessest thy people Israel with peace! Amen." at all hilated speedily, and all the tyrants be cut off quickly; humble thou them quickly in our days.-Blessed art thou, O Lord, who destroyest enemies and humblest tyrants!" In the Prayer Book of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, this prayer runs thus:-"Let slanderers have no hope, and and those who hate thee, be suddenly cut off, and all those who act wick all presumptuous apostates perish as in a moment; and may thine enemies, edly be suddenly broken, consumed, and rooted out; and humble thou them speedily in our days.-Blessed art thou, O Lord, who destroyest the enemies and humblest the proud!" Allen's Modern Judaism, p. 329. Concerning these supposed proselytes of justice, see p. 109. infra. i. e. The Adytum Templi, which in the temple of Jerusalem was the holy of holies, into which none ever entered but the high-priest once a year, on the great day of expiation. From this place, after the Babylonish divine presence, and the Urim and Thummin, which causing an imperfec captivity, were wanting the ark, the mercy-seat, the Shechinah of the tion in their worship in respect of what it was formerly, a restoration of them seems to be the subject of this petition. |