year to

" is left of all the nations which came against Jerufalem, fhall even go up, from "year, to worship the King the Lord of "Hofts, and to keep the Feast of Taberna"cles. And it fhall be, that whofo will not << come up, of all the families of the earth, "unto Jerufalem, to worship the King the "Lord of Hofts, even upon them fhall be no "rain'." Here, it feems, that the attending the Feast of Tabernacles is connected with the obtaining the rains of autumn, which are of fuch confequence after the drought of a Syrian fummer; and therefore probably this rite then obtained, and the pouring out water in the Temple, with folemnity, as before God, understood to be a religious prognoftic of the approach of rain, or a morally inftrumental and procuring caufe of it's speedy coming.

Rabbi Akibah, according to Dr. Lightfoot", giveth this reafon for the pouring out the water at this time: The Law faith, Bring an omer of barley at the Paffover, for that is the feafon of barley, that the corn may be bleed. Bring wheat and the first-fruits at Pentecoft, which was the feafon of trees, that the fruit of trees may be bleffed unto thee. Bring the libation of water at the Feast of Tabernacles, that the showers may be bleffed to thee. And accordingly it is faid, that whofoever will not come to the Feast of Tabernacles shall have no rain.

Ch. 14. 16, 17.

2 Works, vol 2. p. 978. There

There is fomething pleafing in this account, but it will hardly bear examination. Pentecoft was the time of presenting the firstfruits of the wheat, as the Paflover was of the barley, but not of the trees, at least not of the most important of them; for the vine, the olive, the fig, and the pomegranate, had not then produced their fruit. The first fruits, however, of these trees were prefented perhaps at this Feast of Tabernacles, but the water could not be confidered in a fimilar light, for the water that was prefented was not the firft of the rain-water of that autumn, but what remained of the rains of the preceding feafon. Rabbi Akibah then should not have claffed the water of this libation, with other things that were the first fruits of the mercies they had received from God. Akibah's account, however, is far preferable to that of Maimonides, which follows immediately after in Lightfoot.

The trueft account perhaps is, that this rite was derived from the Perfians, and other neighbouring nations, among whom they dwelt in the time of their captivity, but more properly applied.

Abriz, according to d'Herbelot', fignifies in Perfian a vessel proper for the pouring out of water, from whence is formed the word

Dr. Richard Chandler found wheat harvel and almonds, fo far ripened as to be agreeable to eat, were coincident things in Greece. Trav. p. 207, 209, 211, ? Deut. 26. 3 P. 17.

Abrizán,

Abrizán, or Abrizghián, which is the name of a feaft, that the old Perfians folemnized on the 13th day of the month Tir, which nearly correfponds with our month of September, with abundance of idolatrous fuperftitions but the Perfians of our times, who are become Mohammedans, have retained nothing more of this festival than the afperfion of rofe or orange-flower water, with which they regale one another, in the visits they make each other that day, which commonly falls out about the autumnal æqui

nox.

This ancient heathenish feftival, whose name fignifies the pouring out of water, and was apparently preparatory to the descent of the rain in thofe countries, being about the time of the autumnal æquinox, has been adopted by the Mohammedans in part, who are as zealous against every thing of an idolatrous nature as the Jews could ever have been: Might not the returning Jews then think of adding fome memorial of Jehovah's being the Giver of Rain, to that ancient national folemnity that had been enjoined by Mofes, to be obferved juft about the fame time of the year with that of the Perfian feftival, which that people with folemnity afcribed to fome deity they worshipped, but which the Jews knew was the gift of Jehovah?

We all know how readily the Christians, of the countries that lie Weft of the meridian

of

of Jerufalem, adopted many of the religious practices of their unconverted countrymen; and though we may not have been equally apprized of it, the Mohammedans of the more Eastern parts of the world have frequently done the fame. Might not the Jews be influenced by fome of the fame motives? Human nature is much the fame in all parts of the world.

The Mohammedans of Perfia, in like manner, now obferve the first day of every new year, according to the reckoning of their ancient heathen countrymen, namely the precife day in which the fun enters into Arics, which is in March. This is a way of computation of the year quite different from that their religion has taught them, accordding to which their New-Year's day is moveable, and falls out in length of time in all feafons, autumn as well as fpring, fummer as well as winter. For fome time, we are told by Sir John Chardin', the Mohammedans of this country would not observe the first day of the folar year, out of opposition to thofe that perfifted in their old country worfhip of fire, confidering it as confecrated by them to the Sun, which they thought was idolatrous, and therefore abhorred all public rejoicing that day. But at length, the lucky circumftance of one of their princes happening to fucceed to the crown that day, revived

O Voyages, tome 1. p. 171.

the

the observation, and it is now celebrated with great fplendor; the exact time of the entering of the fun into this fign of the zodiac being obferved by their aftronomers with great care. And with the greatest joy an old custom is revived, of prefenting one another with painted and gilded eggs, fome of them being fo curioufly done as to coft three ducats apiece. This it feems was a very ancient custom in Perfia, an egg being expreffive of the origin and beginning of things.

Nor is this the only inftance that this ingenious traveller remarked; for he tells us in another page, that the 1st October was a feftival, called by the Perfians the Luminous Night, in which God is difpofed in a fpecial manner to attend to their prayers, and is accordingly fpent by their devout people in reading and in prayer. He adds, that it is believed to have been inftituted in lieu of another, very much like it, which was obferved by the old Perfians the 16th of the month Bahmen, which was called the Festival of Lights, the folemnity consisting principally of illuminations and bonfires, kept up, according to their circumftances, through the whole night.

An attention to what has happened of late times in Perfia, may probably difpofe us to imagine, that the like might happen.

• Seven or eight and twenty fhillings,

2 Tome 3. p. 191.

to