"was brought in, being served up in large "wooden bowls between two men ; and

truly, to my apprehenfion, load enough "for them. Of thefe great platters there "were about 50 or 60 in number, perhaps

66

more, with a great many little ones, I "mean, such as one man was able to bring "in, in, ftrewed here and there among them, "and placed for a border or garnish round "about the table. In the middle of all was "one of a larger fize than all the reft, in "which were the camel's bones, and a thin "broth in which they were boiled: the other

greater ones feemed all filled with one and

"the fame fort of provifion, a kind of plum"broth made of rice, and the fleshy part of "the camel, with currants and spices, being "of a fomewhat darker colour than what "is made in our country. The leffer were, "for the most part, charged with rice, "dreffed after feveral modes, fome of them having leben (a thick four milk) poured upon them."

66

66

The prophet has himself, in another part of this facred book, given, in general, an explanation of this parable: the caldron or pot means Jerufalem, as to it's buildings; the flesh cooked in the pot the inhabitans of that city, that were to be flain and confumed in it. Ch. xi. 3, 7.

If now we turn to the tranflation of this 24th chapter, in the Septuagint, we fhall find this deftruction expreffed in terms that

1

may remind us of that Arab feast I have been mentioning. According to that verfion, the parable fpeaks of a pot or caldron fet upon it's furnace; water poured into it; the halves of animals that were fine put in, each confifting of the leg and shoulder; not however whole, but the flesh removed from the bones; that fire was to be put under when the bones were placed beneath the flesh; the bones to be boiled and flewed in the midst of the pot then, after fome account of the meaning of this parable, and the cause of God's anger, the allufion is taken up again, when God threatens to heap on wood, and to kindle the fire, fo as to confume the flesh, and diminish the quantity of the broth; after which the emptied caldron was to be laid on the coals, and it's impurities to be removed by the violence of fire.

This is the fubftance of their account of this parable, and we may fee in it the taking off the flesh, as that of the camels from their bones in the Arab feast; the boiling it down to a pulpy fubftance, and a great diminution of the liquid; and the fuppofition that the bones themselves afforded fomething delicious, Thus far thefe ancient Egyptian interpreters go in their account, quite agreeing with the modern hiftory of an Arab royal feaft, and, without doubt, with the managements of their own times. Only it may be the Arabs ftewed their bones by themjelves; anciently, it feems, they did it in the Jame pot with the flesh.

if now we turn to the original Hebrew,

It is vifible that the fecond claufe of the fifth verse must be wrong tranflated: it could never fignify burning the bones under the pot, if for no other reason, yet for this, that in the close of the 4th verfe, and in the end of the 5th, it is fuppofed they were to feethe them in it. The heaping them up, which is the marginal tranflation, appears to be the true meaning. And, as to what follows, it fhould feem we are to understand the word as fignifying the lower part of the pot-heap up the bones in the lower part of the pot, and make it boil well.

The 10th verse mentions the consuming, or diffolving the flesh, the spicing or feafoning it, and the burning the bones, or rather leaving them dry. This brings to mind the spices and the currants of the great camel feaft, and the emptying of the caldron of it's contents fo entirely as to leave nothing but bones in it.

The whole parable expreffes the great flaughter of the Jews in the deftruction of Jerufalem; not only thofe of lower rank, but those of the greatest; for I do not take it, that the choice of the flock is to be underftood exclufively of others, but as comprehending many, very many of them; that the people of Babylon would take as great pleasure in destroying the Jewish people, as men would do in partaking of a delicious royal repast; and that after the city was emptied, it would

* Vid. Job 28. 5,

be given up to purging flames, as a filthy pot, made difagreeable by fcum and other impurities, might be cleansed by being heated in the fire to an high degree'.

How the Ægyptian tranflators of the Septuagint verfion came to leave out the spicing, or feafoning of this foup, for the word, I prefume, is not limited to fpices properly speaking, but comprehends every thing that feafons, or heightens the tafte; and how they came to divide what of the flock was ftewed juft into halves, which the word they have made ufe of properly fignifies, whereas the prefent Arabs, when they would make potage even of a chicken, divide it into four parts, and a fowl into fix or eight, I do not know, fince the Hebrew copies only fuppofe the animals put into the caldron to be cut in pieces in general; but must leave it to my Reader to guess.

On the other hand, we are told by the fame writer, that in their grand repafts, they stew, not unfrequently, a whole lamb or kid. The parable however of Ezekiel supposes them divided into parts, whether halved or into fingle joints the original doth not determine, though the verfion of the Septuagint doth, after which both fuppofe the flesh was taken from the bones.

See Numb. 31. 22, 23. de la Roque, ch. 14, p. 199.

2

Voy. dans la Pal. par 3 P. 198.

OBSER

OBSERVATION XLVI.

The longest time allowed, in Lev. vii' for the eating the flesh of any of the Mofaic facrifices, was the day after that in which they were killed, the eating it on the third day is declared to be an abomination; this precept may be thought to have been unneceffary in fo warm a climate, where we may fuppofe by the third day it might be ready to putrify, and there could be no great occafion to forbid the Jews to eat decayed meat. But we are to remember the drying meat is often practifed in thofe hot countries; is fometimes practifed as to flesh killed with a religious intention and, on account of this management, the keeping the flesh of their facrifices to the third day might be forbidden.

Every Mohammedan, that goes in pilgrimage to Mecca, is obliged, on a certain day, and at a certain place near there, to facrifice a fheep. He may, if he pleases, facrifice more, but he is under an obligation to kill one. Some of the flesh of thefe fheep they give to their friends; fome to the ragged poor who come out of Mecca, and the adjacent country; and the reft they eat themfelves. But they are not limited to any time

Ver. 15-8. belot, p. 62, art. Adhha.

2 Pitts, p. 140.

3 D'Her

for