stops him. Then he takes ten of the elders of the city; and, after they were all sat down, he explained his pretensions to them; and got the acknowledgment which he desired from his relation, with all the formality prescribed by the law; which was to pull off his shoe. He took not only the elders, but all the people, for witnesses, which shews a great number of spectators had got together: nor is it unlikely, that curiosity made the people stop as they passed by. Their business was seldom in great haste; they were all acquainted, and all related: so it was natural for them to be concerned about each others affairs.

Perhaps they took these acts down in writing: but the Scripture does not take notice of any, except in Tobit and Jeremiah, a little before the destruction of Jerusalem. In Tobit there is mention made of a bond for money lent, of a marriage contract, and an instrument of covenants made upon that account. In Jeremiah, there is a contract upon a purchase. The law of Moses prescribes no writing, except in case of divorce." But if they had not made use of any writings in those early times, their contracts would have been very safe, since they were made in so public a manner. If the kinsman of Boaz should have denied that he

• Tobit vii. 14. Some readers will think it strange that Tobit and other Apocryphal books are reckoned as Scripture: but they must recollect that the Abbé was a Catholic, and that the whole of the Apocrypha is considered as canonical by the Romish church.

Jer. xxxii. 6-25.

Deut. xxiv. 1.

had given up his right, all the inhabitants of Bethlehem could have convicted him of a falsehood. Some of them were present at it, and others must have heard of it immediately after.

It was a long time before the custom of putting private contracts into writing was introduced among the Romans, as appears by the verbal obligation which they called stipulation. They were not afraid of an action wanting proof, when they had pronounced a certain solemn form in the public market-place among all the people, and taken some particular citizens to witness it who were of reputable condition and unblemished character. These transactions were full as public as those among us, that are done in private houses before a public notary, who often knows neither party, or before the town-clerk and two hack witnesses.

We may suppose the gate, with the Hebrews, was the same thing as the square, or market-place, with the Romans. The market for provisions was held at the city-gate. Elisha foretold that victuals should be sold cheap the day after, in the gate of Samaria. This gate had a square, which must have been a large one, because king Ahab assembled four hundred false prophets there. I suppose it was the same in other cities, and that these gates had some building with seats for the judges and elders; for it is said that Boaz went up to the gate, and sat down there: and when David heard that Absalom was dead, he went up to the chamber

12 Kings vii. 1.

This chamber

over the gate, to weep there.* might be the place for private deliberations. Even in the temple of Jerusalem causes were tried at one of the gates, and the judges held their assizes there. After all these examples, it is not to be wondered that the Scripture uses the word gate so often to signify judgment, or the public council of each city, or the city itself, or the state; and that, in the Gospel, the gates of hell signify the kingdom or power of the devil.

But, as open and fairly as we may think the Israelites transacted their affairs, it must not be imagined that they had no frauds and rogueries, unjust prosecutions, or false accusations. These are evils inseparable from the corruptions of human nature; and the more spirit and vivacity men naturally have, the more are they subject to them: but these evils are more peculiarly the growth of great cities. When David fled from Jerusalem upon Absalom's rebellion, he represents fury and discord going about day and night within the walls thereof, mischief and sorrow in the midst of it, and deceit and guile in her streets." The prophets are full of such reproaches: only one may imagine these evils were less common than they are now, because there were fewer lawyers among them.

As temporal affairs as well as spiritual were governed by the law of GoD, there was no distinction of tribunals: the same judge decided cases of conscience, and determined civil and criminal

2 Sam. xviii. 33.

t

Jer. xxvi. 10. "Psalm Ir. 10, &c.

causes. Thus they had occasion for but few different officers, in comparison of what we see in the present day. For we account it an uncommon thing to be only a private man, and to have no other employment than improving our estate, and governing our family. Every body is desirous of some public post, to enjoy honours, prerogatives, and privileges and employments are considered as trades, which are a livelihood, or as titles of distinction. But if we were to examine what public offices only are really necessary, and the business done in them, we shall find that a very few persons would be sufficient to execute them, and have spare time enough besides for their private affairs.

This was the practice among all the people of antiquity, and especially the Hebrews. In Joshua's time we find but four sorts of public officers: zikonim, senators or elders; rashim, chiefs; shophetim, judges; and shoterim, inferior officers. When the kingdom was more flourishing, in David's time, the following officers are mentioned: six thousand Levites, officers and judges; heads of tribes;

T

ZIKONIM, from ¡pt zakan, to grow old, were the elders of the people, something like our eldermen, or aldermen.

RASHIM, from a rash, to be head or chief, probably mili tary chiefs, or captains.

SHOPHETIM, from a shaphat, to discern, judge, determine, judges in civil matters: hence the Carthaginian sufetes.

SHOTERIM, from shoter, a side or part, subordinate magistrates who appear to have been deputies of the Shophetim. See Josh. xxiv. 1.

heads of families," which are rather names of quality than employment; the heads of twelve corps, of twenty-four thousand men each; the heads of one thousand, and of a hundred men; the heads over those that tenanted the king's demesnes, that is, his lands and cattle. I call those heads here, whom the Hebrew calls sirim, and the Latin principes. But I must observe, once for all, that it is impossible to express the titles of offices and dignities in another language. Thus, neither the Greek nor Latin versions give us a just idea of the Chaldean employments, taken notice of in Daniel,' Ezekiel, and others.

x

Besides, among David's officers they reckon his eunuchs, or domestic servants; for, throughout the Scripture, the word eunuch is often taken for what we call a valet-de-chambre, or footman; or, in general, for any servant employed about the king's person, without signifying any personal imperfection. Captains over fifty men are likewise mentioned in other places: but we find nothing of captains over tens, except in the law. Most of these posts are military; and the rest are but a trifle, if one considers the multitude of people, and the extent of David's kingdoms.

W

1 Chron. xxiii. 4.

SARIM, from sar, to direct, rule, and regulate, probably military officers over larger and smaller companies of men ; captains over thousands, hundreds, &c. See 1 Chron. xxviii. 1. y Dan. iii. 3. Ezek. xxiii. 23.