Commentary on the Holy Bible

Verse 30. They tvere afraid to come nigh him.] A sight of his face alarmed them; their consciences were

34 But ^ when Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he took the veil off unjil he came out. And he came out, and

still guilty from their late transgression, and they had not yet received the atonement. The very appearance of superior sanctity often awes the guilty into respect. Verse 33. And till Moses had done speaking] The meaning of the verse appears to be this: As often as Moses spoke in public to the people, he put the veil on his face, because they could not bear to look on the brightness of his countenance; but when he entered into the tabernacle to converse with the Lord, he removed this veil, ver. 34. St. Paul, 2 Cor. iii. 7, &c., makes a very important use of the transactions recorded in this place. He represents the brightness of the face of Moses as emblematical of the glory or excellence of that dispensation; but he shows that however glorious or excellent that was, it had no glory when compared with the superior excellence of the Gospel. As Moses was glorious in the eyes of the Israelites, but that glory was absorbed and lost in the splendour of God when he entered into the tabernacle, or went to meet the Lord upon the mount; so the brightness and excellence of the Mosaic dispensation are eclipsed and absorbed in the transcendent brightness or excellence of the Gospel of Christ. One was the shadow, the other is the substance. One showed sin in its exceeding sinfulness, together with the justice and immaculate purity of God; but, in and of itself, made no provision for pardon or sanctification. The other exhibits Jesus, the Lamb of God, typified by all the sacrifices under the law, putting away sin by the sacrifice of himself, reconciling God to man and man to God, diffusing his Spirit through the souls of believers, and cleansing the very thoughts of their hearts by his inspiration, and causing them to perfect holiness in the fear of God. The one seems to shut heaven against mankind, because by the law was the knowledge, not the cure, of sin; the other opens the kingdom of heaven to all believers. The former was a ministration of death, the latter a dispensation of life. The former ministered terror, so that even the high priest was afraid to approach, the people withdrew and stood afar off, and even Moses, the mediator of it, exceedingly feared and trembled; by the latter we have boldness to enter into the holiest through the blood of Jesus, spake unto the children of A. M. 2513. Israel that which he was com- An. Exod.isrii.

35 And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone: and Moses put the veil upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

who is the end of the law for righteousness — -justification, to every one that believeth. The former gives a partial view of the Divine nature; the latter shows God as he is, " Full orbed, in his whole round of rays complete." The apostle farther considers the veil on the face of Moses, as being emblematical of the metaphorical nature of the different rites and ceremonies of the Mosaic dispensation, each covering some spiritual meaning or a spiritual subject; and that the Jews did not lift the veil to penetrate the spiritual sense, and did not look to the end of the commandment, which was to be abolished, but rested in the letter or literal meaning, which conferred neither light nor life.

He considers the veil also as being emblematical of that state of intellectual darkness into which the Jewish people, by their rejection of the Gospel, were plunged, and from which they have never yet been recovered. When a Jew, even at the present day, reads the law in the synagogue, he puts over his head an oblong woollen veil, with four tassels at the four corners, vi'hich is called the taled or thaled. This is a very remarkable circumstance, as it appears to be an emblem of the intellectual veil referred to by the apostle, which is still upon their hearts when Moses is read, and which prevents them from looking to the end of that which God designed should be abrogated, and which has been abolished by the introduction of the Gospel. The veil is upon their hearts, and prevents the light of the glory of God from shining into them; but we all, says the apostle, speaking of believers in Christ, with open face, without any veil, beholding as in a glass the glory of God, are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord; 2 Cor. iii. 18. Reader, dost thou know this excellence of the religion of Christ ] Once thou wert darkness; art thou now light in the Lord 1 Art thou still under the letter that killeth, or under the Spirit that giveth life? Art thou a slave to sin or a servant of Christ? Is the veil on thy heart, or hast thou found redemption in his blood, the remission of sins? Knowest thou not these things 1 Then may God pity, enlighten, and save thee!

fully bring their ornaments as offerings to the Lord, 20-22; together with blue, purple, scarlet, d^c, <^c., 23, 24. TAe women spin, and bring the produce of their skill and industry, 25, 26. The rulers bring precious stones, 6fc., 27, 28. All the people offer willingly, 29. Bezaleel and Aholiab appointed to conduct and superintend all the work of the tabernacle, for which they are qualified by the spirit of wisdom^

^^"'' of Israel together, and said unto

2 ^ Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you " a holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.

3 ^ Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the Sabbath day,

4 And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, ® This is the thing which the Lord commanded,

5 Take ye from among you an offering unto the Lord: ^ whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the Lord; gold, and silver, and brass,

7 And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood,

8 And oil for the light, ^ and spices for anointing oil, and for the sweet incense,

9 And onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod, and for the breastplate.

1 0 And ^ every wise-hearted man among you shall come, and make all that the Lord hath commanded;

Verse 1. And Moses gathered] The principal subjects in this chapter have been already largely considered in the notes on chapters xxv., xxvi., xxvii., xxviii., xxix., xxx., and xxxi., and to those the reader is particularly desired to refer, together with the parallel texts in the margin.

Verse 3. Ye shall kindle no fire'] The Jews understand this precept as forbidding the kindling of fire only for the purpose of doing work or dressing victuals; but to give them light and heat, they judge it lawful to light a fire on the Sabbath day, though themselves rarely kindle it — they get Christians to do this work for them.

12 ^ The ark, and the staves thereof, with the mercy-seat, and the veil of the covering;

1 3 The ^ table, and his staves, and all his vessels, "* and the shew-bread;

14 " The candlestick also for the light, and his furniture, and his lamps, with the oil for the light;

15° And the incense altar and his staves, p and the anointing oil, and '^ the sweet incense, and the hanging for the door at the entering in of the tabernacle;

1 6 "^ The altar of burnt-offering, with his brazen gate, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver, and his foot;

1 7 ^ The hangings of the court, his pillars, and their sockets, and the hanging for the door of the court;

1 8 The pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords;

1 9 * The clothes of service, to do service in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office.

§0 And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of

Verse 19. The clothes of service] Probably aprons,

A.M. 2513. 21 And they came, every one An. Exod. isr. 1. " whose heart stirred him up, and ^"*" every one whom his spirit made

wilhng, and they brought the Lord's offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments.

22 And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing-hearted, and brought bracelets, and ear-rings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered, offered an offering of gold unto the Lord.

23 And ^ every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers' skins, brought them.

24 Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass, brought the Lord's offering: and every man, with whom was found shittim wood for any work of the service, brought it.

25 And all the women that were ^ wisehearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen.

26 And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom, spun goats' hair.

27 And * the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate;

toivels, and such like, used in the common service, and different from the vestments for Aaron and his sons. See these latter described chap, xxviii. 1, &c.

A'^erse 2 1. Every one whose heart stirred him up] Literally, whose heart was lifted up — whose affections were set on the work, being cordially engaged in the service of God.

Verse 22. As many as were willing-hearted] For no one was forced to lend his help in this sacred work; all was a free-will offering to the Lord.

Rings] n;?2t3 tahbaath, from JTDO taba, to penetrate, enter into; probably rings for the fingers.

Tablets] TOO cumaz, a word only used here and in Num. xxxi. 50, supposed to be a girdle to support the breasts.

Verse 25. All the women that were wise-hearted did spin] They had before learned this art, they were wise-hearted; and now they practise it, and God con-

28 And y spice, and oil for the a.m. 2513. light, and for the anointing oil. An. Exod.'^isr; 1. and for the sweet incense. ^'"^•

29 The children of Israel brought a ^ willing offering unto the Lord, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the Lord had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses.

30 And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, ^ The Lord hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah;

3 1 And he hath filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship;

32 And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,

33 And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work.

34 And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and ^ Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan:

35 Them hath be •= filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, eveji of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work.

descends to require and accept their services. In building this house of God, all were ambitious to do something by which they might testify their piety to God, and their love for his worship. The spinning practised at this time was simple, and required little apparatus. It was the plain distaff or twirling pin, which might be easily made out of any wood they met with in the wilderness.

Verse 27. The rulers brought onyx stones] These, being persons of consequence, might be naturally ex pected to furnish the more scarce and costly articles. See how all join in this service! The men worked and brought offerings, the women spun and brought their ornaments, the rulers united with them and delivered up their jewels! and all the children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the Lord,

Verse 30. The Lord hath called by name Beialeef] See this subject discussed at large in the note on chap. xxxi. 3, where the subject of superseding the work of the hand by the extra uso of machinery is particularly considered.

1. From the nature of the offerings made for the service of the tabernacle, we see of what sort the spoils were which the Israelites brought out of Egypt: gold, silver, brass, blue, purple, scarlet, fine linen, rams'' skins dyed red, what we call badgers'' skins, oil, spices, incense, onyx stones, and other stones, the names of which are not here mentioned. They must also have brought looms, spinning wheels, instruments for cutting precious stones, anvils, hammers, furnaces, melting-pots with a vast variety of tools for the different artists employed on the work of the tabernacle, viz., smiths, joiners, carvers, gilders, &c.

2. God could have erected his tabernacle without the help or skill of man; but he condescended to employ him. As all are interested in the worship of God, so all should bear a part in it; here God employs the whole congregation: every male and female, with even their sons and their daughters, and the very ornaments of their persons, are given to raise and adorn the house of God. The women who had not ornaments, and could neither give gold nor silver, could spin goat's hair, and the Lord graciously employs them in this work, and accepts what they can give and what they can do, for they did it with a willing mind; they were wise of heart — had learned a useful business, their hearts were lifted up in the work, ver. 21, and all felt it a high privilege to be able to put only a nail in the holy place. By the free-will offerings of the people the tabernacle was erected, and all the costly utensils belonging to it provTded. This was the primitive mode of providing proper places for Divine worship; and as it was the primitive, so it is the most rational mode. Taxes levied by law for building or repairing churches were not known in the.ancient times of religious simplicity. It is an honour to be permitted to do any thing for the support of public worship; and he must have a strange, unfeeling, and ungodly heart, who does not esteem it a high privilege to have a stone of his own laying or procuring in the house of God. How easily might all the buildings necessary for the purpose of public worship be raised, if the money that is spent in needless self-indulgence by ourselves, our sons, and our daughters, were devoted to this purpose! By sacrifices of this kind the house of the Lord would be soon built, and the top-stone brought on with shouting, Grace, grace unto it I

Moses appoints Bezaleel, Aholiab, and their associates, to the work, and delivers to them the free-will offerings of the people, 1—3. The people bring offerings more than are needed for the work, and are only restrained by the proclamation of Moses, 4—7. The curtains, their loops, taches, <5fC., for the tabernacle, 8—18. The covering for the tent, 19. The boards, 20—30. The bars, 31—34. The veil and its pillars, 35, 36. The hangings and their pillars, 37, 38.

put wisdom and understanding, to know how *o work all manner of work for the service of %e ^ sanctuary, according to all that the Lord had commanded.

2 And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise-hearted man, in whose heart the Lord had put wisdom, even every one ° whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it:

Verse 1. Then wrought, dfc] T\ye first verse of •his chapter should end the preceding chapter, and this should begin with verse the second; as it now stands, it does not make a very consistent sense. By reading the first word nty;,'1 veasah, then wrought, in the future ense instead of the past, the proper connection will be preserved: for all grammarians know that the conjunction 1 van is often conversive, i. e., it turns the preterite tense of those verbs to which it is prefixed into the future, and the future into the preterite: this power it evidently has here; and joined with the last

3 And they received of Moses

had brought for the work of the service of the tuary, to make it luithal. And

4 And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they made;

5 And they spake unto Moses, saying, ® The people bring much more than enough for the

verse of the preceding chapter the connection will appear thus, chap. xxxv. ver. 30, &c.: The Lord hath called by name Bezaleel and Aholiab; them hath he filled with wisdom of heart to work all manner of work. Chap, xxxvi. 1.: And Bezaleel and Aholiab SHALL WORK, and every wise-hearted man, in whom the Lord put zoisdom.

Verse 5. The people bring much more than enough] With what a liberal spirit do these people bring their free-will offerings unto the Lord! Moses is obliged to make a proclamation to prevent them from bringing any more, as there was at present more than enough!

A. M. 2514. service of the work, which the An. Exod.isr. 1. LoRD commanded to make. Tisn to Adar. g j^^^ Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing.

7 For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.

8 ^ And every wise-hearted man among them that wrought the work of the tabernacle, made ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work made he them.

9 The length of one curtain was twenty and eight cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: the curtains were all of one size.

1 0 And he coupled the five curtains one unto another: and the other five curtains he coupled one unto another.

1 1 And he made loops of blue on the edge of one curtain from the selvage in the coupling: likewise he made in the uttermost side of another curtain in the coupling of the second.

12 ^ Fifty loops made he in one curtain, and fifty loops made he in the edge of the curtain which was in the coupling of the second: the loops held one curtain to another.

13 And he made fifty taches of gold, and coupled the curtains one unto another with the taches: so it became one tabernacle.

14 ^ And he made curtains of goats' hair for the tent over the tabernacle: eleven curtains he made them.

Had Moses been intent upon gain, and had he not been perfectly disinterested, he would have encouraged them to continue their contributions, as thereby he might have multiplied to himself gold, silver, and precious stones. But he was doing the Lord's work, under the inspiration of the Divine Spirit, and therefore he sought no secular gain. Indeed, this one circumstance is an ample proof of it. Every thing necessary for the worship of God will be cheerfully provided by a people whose hearts are in that worship. In a state where all forms of religion and modes of worship are tolerated by the laws, it would be well to find out some less exceptionable way of providing for the national clergy than by tithes. Let them by all means have the provision allowed them by the law; but let them not be needlessly exposed to the resentment of the people by the mode in which this provision is made, as this often alienates the affections of their flocks from them, and ex-

1 5 The length of one curtain A. M. 2514. was thirty cubits, and four An. Exod.isr. 1. cubits was the breadth of one Tisri to Adar. curtain: the eleven curtains were of one size.

16 And he coupled five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves.

1 7 And he made fifty loops upon the uttermost edge of the curtain in the coupling, and fifty loops made he upon the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second.

18 And he made fifty taches of brass, to couple the tent together, that it might be one.

1 9 • And he made a covering for the tent of rams' skins dyed red, and a covering of badgers' skins above that.

20 ^ And he made boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood, standing up.

2 1 The length of a board was ten cubits, and the breadth of a board one cubit and a half.

22 One board had two tenons, equally distant one from another: thus did he make for all the boards of the tabernacle.

23 And he made boards for the tabernacle; twenty boards for the south side southward:

24 And forty sockets of silver he made under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for his two tenons, and two sockets under another board for his two tenons.

25 And for the other side of the tabernacle, which is toward the north corner, he made twenty boards,

26 And their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board.

ceedingly injures their usefulness. See the note on Gen. xxviii. in fine, where the subject is viewed on all sides.

Verse 8. Cherubims of cunning iv or k] See on chap, xxvi. 18. Probably the word means no more than figures of any kind wrought in the diaper fashion in the loom, or by the needle in embroidery, or by the chisel or graving tool in wood, stone, or metal; see on chap. XXV. 18. This meaning Houbigant and other excellent critics contend for. In some places the word seems to be restricted to express a particular figure then well known; but in many other places it seems to imply any kind of figure commonly formed by sculpture on stone, by carving on wood, by engraving upon brass, and by weaving in the loom. &c.

Verse 9. The length of one ctirtain] Concerning these curtains, see chap. xxvi. 1, &c.

28 And two boards made he for the comers of the tabernacle in the two sides.

29 And they were ^ coupled beneath, and coupled together at the head thereof, to one ring: thus he did to both of them, in both the corners.

30 And there were eight boards; and their sockets toere sixteen sockets of silver, ^ under every board two sockets.

3 1 And he made " bars of shittim wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle,

3 2 And five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle for the sides westward.

33 And he made the middle bar to shoot

Verse 31. He made bars] See on chap. xxvi. 26, &c. Verse 35. He made a veil] See on chap. xxvi. 31, &c. Verse 37. Hanging for the — door] Seeonch. xxvi.36. Verse 38. The Jive pillars of it with their hooks] Their capitals. See the note on chap. xxvi. 32.

There is scarcely any thing particular in this chapter that has not been touched on before; both it and the following to the end of the book being in general a repetition of what we have already met in detail in the preceding chapters from chap. xxv. to xxxi. inclusive, and to those the reader is requested to refer.

34 And he overlaid the boards TisritoAdar.

with gold, and made their rings of gold to he places for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold.

35 And he made "a veil q/'blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: • with cherubims made he it of cunning work.

36 And he made thereunto four pillars of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold: their hooks were of gold; and he cast for them four sockets of silver.

37 And he made a p hanging for the tabernacle door, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, 1 of needle-work;

38 And the five pillars of it with their hooks; and he overlaid their chapiters and their fillets with gold; but their five sockets were of brass.

God had before commanded this work to be done, and it was necessary to record the execution of it to show that all was done according to the pattern shown to Moses; without this detailed account we should not have known whether the work had ever been executed according to the directions given.

At the commencement of this chapter the reader will observe that I have advanced the dates A. M. and B. C. one year, without altering the year of the exodus, which at first view may appear an error; the reason is, that the above dates commence at Ttsri, but the years of the exodus are dated from Abib.

Bezaleel and Aholiab make the ark, 1-5. The mercy-seat, 6. The ttvo cherubim, 7-9. The table of the shew-bread, and its vessels, 10-16. The candlestick, 17-24:. The golden altar of incense, 25-28. The holy anointing oil and perfume, 29.

'^" ^ and a half was the length of it,

and a cubit and a half the height of it:

2 And he overlaid it with pure gold within and without, and made a crown of gold to it round about.

3 And he cast for it four rings of gold, to be set by the four corners of it; even two rings

upon the one side of it, and two A. M. 2514.

rings upon the other side of it. An. Exod. isr. i. 4 And he made staves o/" shittim ^isn to Adar. wood, and overlaid them with gold.

5 And he put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, to bear the ark.

6 And he made the ^ mercy-seat ofipnre gold: two cubits and a half was the length thereof, and one cubit and a half the breadth thereof.

7 And he made two cheru-

piece made he them, on the two ends of the mercy-seat.

8 One cherub '^ on the end on this side, and another cherub ^ on the other end on that side: out of the mercy-seat made he the cherubim s, on the two ends thereof.

9 And the cherubims spread out their wings on high, and covered with their wings over the mercy-seat, with their faces one to another; even to the mercy-seatward were the faces of the cherubims.

10 And he made « the table q/'shittim wood: two cubits ivas the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof:

1 1 And he overlaid it with pure gold, and made thereunto a crown of gold round about.

12 Also he made thereunto a border of a hand breadth round about; and made a crown of gold for the border thereof round about.

1 3 And he cast for it four rings of gold, and put the rings upon the four corners that were in the four feet thereof.

14 Over against the border were the rings, the places for the staves to bear the table.

■"'15 And he made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold, to bear the table.

16 And he made the vessels which were upon the table, his ^dishes, and his spoons, and his bowls, and his covers ^ to cover withal, of pure gold.

17 And he made the ^candlestick o/" pure gold: of beaten work made he the candlestick; his shaft, and his branch, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, were of the same:

18 And six branches going out of the sides thereof; three branches of the candlestick out

Verse 16. He made the vessels] See all these particularly described in the notes on chap. xxv. 29.

Verse 17. He made the candlestick] See this described in the note on chap. xxv. 31.

of the one side thereof, and tliree A. M. 2514. branches of the candlestick out An. Exod. isr! i. of the other side thereof: '^''^'' ^° ^^'''■

19 Three bowls made after the fashion of^ almonds in one branch, a knop and a flower; and three bowls made like almonds in another branch, a knop and a flower: so tliroughout the six branches going out of the candlestick.

20 And in the candlestick tvere four bowls made like almonds, his knops, and his flowers:

21 And a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, according to the six branches going out of it.

22 Their knops and their branches were of the same: all of it was one beaten work of pure gold.

23 And he made his seven lamps, and his snuffers, and his snuff" dishes, of pure gold.

24 Of a talent of pure gold made he it, and all the vessels thereof.

25 ' And he made the incense altar of shittim wood: the length of it ivas a cubit, and the breadth of it a cubit; it was four-square; and two cubits was the height of it; the horns thereof were of the same.

26 And he overlaid it with pure gold, both the top of it, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns of it; also he made unto it a crown of gold round about.

27 And he made two rings of gold for it under the crown thereof, by the two corners of it, upon the two sides thereof, to be places for the staves to bear it withal.

28 And he made the staves q/" shittim vi'ood, and overlaid them with gold.

29 And he made ^ the holy anointing oil, and the pure incense of sweet spices, according to the work of the apothecary.

Verse 29. He made the holy anointing oil] See this and the perfume, and the materials out of which they were made, described at large in the notes on chap. xxx. 23-25 and 34-38. As this chapter also is a repetition of what has been mentioned in preceding chapters, the reader is desired to refer to them

Bexaleel makes the altar of burnt-offering, 1—7. He makes the laver and its foot out of the mirrors given hy the women, 8. The court, its pillars, hangings, <5fc., 9-20. The whole tabernacle and its work finished by Bezaleel, Aholiab, and their assistants, 21—23. The amount of the go\A contributed, 24. The amount of the silver, and how it was expended, 25-28. The amount of the brass, and how this was used, 29—31.

thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof; it was four-square; and three cubits the height

2 And he made the horns thereof on the four corners of it; the horns thereof were of the same: and he overlaid it vv^ith brass.

3 And he made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basins, and the flesh hooks, and the firepans: all the vessels thereof made he of brass.

4 And he made for the altar a brazen grate

Verse 1, The altar of burnt-offering^ See the notes on chap, xxvii. 1; and for its horns, pots, shovels, basins, &c., see the meaning of the Hebrew terms explained, chap, xxvii. 3—5.

The looking-glasses] The word nxiO maroth, from nxi raah, he saw, signifies reflectors or mirrors of any kind. Here metal, highly polished, must certainly be meant, as glass was not yet in use; and had it even been in use, we are sure that looking-GijKSSE.B could not make a brazen laver. The word therefore should be rendered mirrors, not looking-glasses, which in the above verse is perfectly absurd, because from those maroth the brazen laver was made. The first mirrors known among men were the clear, still fountain, and unruffled lake; and probably the mineral called rnica, which is a very general substance through all parts of the earth. Plates of it have been found of three feet square, and it is so extremely divisible into laminae, that it has been divided into plates so thin as to be only the three hundred thousandth part of an inch. A plate of this forms an excellent mirror when any thing black is attached to the opposite side. A plate of this mineral, nine inches by eight, now lies before me; a piece of black cloth, or any other black substance, at the back, converts it into a good mirror; or it would serve as it is for a square of glass, as every object is clearly perceivable through it. It is used in Russian ships of war, instead of glass, for windows. The first artificial mirrors were apparently made of brass, afterwards of polished steel, and when luxury increased they were made of silver; but they were made at a very early period of mixed metal, particularly of tin and copper, the best of which, as Pliny tells vs, were formerly manufactured at Brundusium: Opa

5 And he cast four rings for the four ends of the grate of brass, to he places for the staves.

6 And he made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with brass.

7 And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of the altar, to bear it withal; he made the altar hollow with boards.

8 And he made ^ the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the •= looking-glasses of the ivornen ^ assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

tima apud majores fuerant Brundisina, stanno et aere mixtis. — Hist. Nat. lib. xxxiii., cap. 9. But, according to him, the most esteemed were those made of tin; and he says that silver mirrors became so common that even the servant girls used them: Specula (ex stanno) laudatissima Brundisii temperabantur; donee argenteis uii ccepere et ancillce; lib. xxxiv., cap. 17. When the Egyptian women went to the temples, they always carried their mirrors with them. The Israelitish women probably did the same, and Dr. Shaw states that the Arabian women carry them constantly hung at their breasts. It is v/orthy of remark, that at first these women freely gave up their ornaments for this important service, and now give their very mirrors, probably as being of little farther service, seeing they had already given up the principal decorations of their persons. Woman has been invidiously defined by Aristotle, an animal fond of dress, (though this belongs to the whole human race, and not exclusively to woman.) Had this been true of the Israelitish women, in the present case we must say they nobly sacrificed their incentives to pride to the service of their God. Woman, go thou and do likewise.

Of the women — which assembled at the door] What the employment of these women was at the door of the tabernacle, is not easily known. Some think they assembled there for purposes of devotion. Others, that they kept watch there during the night; and this is the most probable opinion, for they appear to have been in the same employment as those who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation in the days of Samuel, who were abused by the sons of the high priest Eli, 1 Sam. ii. 22. Among the ancients women were generally employed in the ofl5ce oi porters or doorkeepers. Such were employed about the house of the high priest in our Lord's time; for a woman is actually represented as keeping the door of

A. M. 2514. 9 Aiid he made ® the court: on 4n. Exod. isr. 1. the south sidc southward the

1 0 Their pillars were twenty, and their brazen sockets twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver.

1 1 And for the north side the hangings were a hundred cubits, their pillars were twenty, and their sockets of brass twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver.

1 2 And for the west side loere hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets ten; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver,

1 3 And for the east side eastward, fifty cubits.

14 The hangings of the one side of the gate were fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.

1 5 And for the other side of the court gate, on this hand and that hand, were hangings of fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.

1 6 All the hangings of the coiu't round about were of fine twined linen.

17 And the sockets for the pillars were of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver; and the overlaying of their chapiters

of silver; and all the pillars a. M. 2514. of the court were filleted with An^iExod.^Tr. 1.

18 And the hanging for the gate of the court was needlework, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined hnen: and twenty cubits was the length, and the height in the breadth was five cubits, answerable to the hangings of the court.

19 And their pillars tvere four, and their sockets of brass four; their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their chapiters and their fillets of silver.

20 And all the ^pins of the tabernacle, and of the court round about, ivere of brass.

21 This is the sum of the tabernacle, even of ^ the tabernacle of testimony, as it was counted, according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, ^' by the hand of Ithamar, son to Aaron the priest.

22 And » Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the

23 And with him ivas Aholiab, son of Ahisa mach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a cunning workman, and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and fine linen

24 All the gold that was occupied for the

the palace of the high priest, John xviii. 17: Then saith the damsel that kept the door unto Peter; see also Matt. xxvi. 69. In 2 Sam. iv. 6, both the Septuagint and Vulgate make a woman porter or doorkeeper to Ishbosheth. Aristophanes mentions them in the same office, and calls them '^tjk-i-q, Sekis, which seems to signify a common maid-servant. Aristoph. in Vespis, ver. 768: —

'H vuiv EipvTo Ovpag itvkivov daXaiioio. And Euripides, in Tread., ver. 197, brings in Hecuba, complaining that she who was wont to sit upon a throne is now reduced to the miserable necessity of becoming a doorkeeper or a nurse, in order to get a morsel of bread.

Sir John Chardin observes, that women are employed to keep the gate of the palace of the Persian kings. Plautus, Curcul., act i., scene 1, mentions an old ivoman who was keeper of the gate.

Many other examples might be produced. It is therefore very likely that the persons mentioned here, and in 1 Sam. ii. 22, were the women who guarded the tabernacle; and that they regularly relieved each other, a troop or company regularly keeping watch: and indeed this seems to be implied in the original, 1X33f tsabeu, they came hy troops; and these troops successively consecrated their mirrors to the service of the tabernacle. See Calmet on John xviii. 16.

Verse 17. The hooks — and their fillets'] The capitals, and the silver bands that went round them; see the note on chap. xxvi. 32.

Verse 2 1. This is the sum of the tabernacle.] That is. The foregoing account contains a detail of all the articles which Bezaleel and Aholiab were commanded to make; and which were reckoned up by the Levites, over whom Ithamar, the son of Aaron, presided.

Verse 24. All the gold that was occupied for the work, 4-c.] To be able to ascertain the quantum and value of the gold, silver, and brass, which were employed in the tabernacle, and its different utensils,

A. M. 2514. work, in all the work of the holy An. Exod.isr. 1. place, cv 611 the gold of the ofFer- ■ Tisri to Adar. -^^^^ ^^^ twenty and nine talents, altars, &c., it will be necessary to enter into the subject in considerable detail.

In the course of my notes on this and the preceding book, I have had frequent occasion to speak of the shekel in use among the ancient Hebrews, which, following Dean Prideaux, I have always computed at 3^. English. As some value it at 2^. &d., and others at 2*. 4i., I think it necessary to lay before the reader the learned dean's mode of computation as a proper introduction to the calculations which immediately follow.

" Among the ancients, the way of reckoning their money was by talents. So the Hebrews, so the Babylonians, and so the Romans did reckon. And of these talents they had subdivisions which were usually in minas and drachms; i. e., of their talents into minas, and their minas into draclnns. The Hebrews had, besides these, their shekels and half-shekels or bekas; and the Romans their denarii, which last were very nearly of the same value with the drachms of the Greeks. What was the value of a Hebrew talent appears from Exod. xxxviii. 25, 26, for there 603,550 persons being taxed at half a shekel a head, they must have paid in the whole 301,775 shekels; and that sum is there said to amount to oie hundred talents, and 1775 shekels over: if therefore we deduct the 1775 shekeCs from the number 301,775, and divide the remaining sum, i. e., 300,000, by a hundred, this will prove each of those talents to contain three thousand shekels. Each of these shekels weighed about three shillings of our money; and sixty of them, Ezekiel tells us, chap. xlv. 12, made a mina; and therefore fifty of those minas made a talent. And as to their drachms, it appears by the Gospel of St. Matthew that it was the fouth part of a shekel, that is, nine-pence of our money. For there (chap. xvii. 24) the tribute money annually paid to the temple, by every Jew, {Talmud in shekalim,) which was half a shekel, is called AiSpaxfiov, (i. e., the two drachtn piece;) and therefore, if half a shekel contained two drachms, a drachm must have been the quarter part of a shekel, and every shekel must have contained four of them: and so Josephus tells us it did; for he says, Antiq., lib. iii., c. 9, that a shekel contained/our Attic drachms, which is not exactly to be^ understood according to the weight, but according to the valuation in the currency of common payments. For according to the loeight, the heaviest Attic drachms did not exceed eio-ht-pence farthing half-farthing, of our money; and a Hebrew drachm, as I have said, was nine-pence; but what the Attic drachm fell short of the Hebrew in iveight might be made up in ihe fineness, and its ready currency in all countries, (which last the Hebrew drachm could not have,) and so might be made equivalent in common estimation among the Jews. Allowing therefore a drachm, as well Attic as Jewish, as valued in Judea, to be equivalent to nine-pence of our money, a beka or half-shekel will be one shilling and six-pence; a and seven hundred and thirty a. M. 2514. shekels, after ^ the shekel of the An. Exod. isr. 1.

SHEKEL, three shillings; a mina, nine pounds; and a TALENT, four hundred and fifty pounds. So it was in the time of Moses and Ezekiel; and so was it in tho time of Josephus among that people, for he -tells us, Antiq., lib. xiv., c. 12, that a Hebrew mina contained two LITRAS and a half, which comes exactly to nine pounds of our money: for a litra, being the same 'with a Roman libra, contained twelve ounces troy weight, that is, ninety-six drachms; and therefore tiuo litras and a half must contain two hundred and forty drachms, which being estimated at nine-pence a drachm, according to the Jewish valuation, comes exactly to sixty shekels, or nine pounds of our money. And this account agrees exactly with that of Alexandria. For the Alexandrian talent contained 12,000 Attic drachms; and 12,000 Attic drachnis, according to the Jeivish valuation, being 12,000 of our nmepences, they amount to 450 pounds of sterling money which is the same in value as the Mosaic talent. But here it is to be observed, that though the Alexandrian talent amounted to 12,000 Attic drachms, yet they themselves reckoned it but at 6000 drachms, because every Alexandrian drachm contained two Attic drachms; and therefore the Septuagint version being made by the Alexandrian Jews, they there render the Hebreiu word shekel, by the Greek 6c6paxfiov, which signifies itfjo drachms,heca.vLse two Alexandria7i dv3i,chms make a shekel, two of them amounting to as much as four Attic drachms. And therefore, computing the Alexandrian money according to the same method in which we have computed the Jeivish, it will be as follows: One drachm of Alexandria will be of our money eighteen pence; one didrachm or shekel, consisting of two drachms of Alexandria, or four of Attica, will be three shillings; one mina, consisting of sixty didrachms or shekels, will be nine pounds; and one talent, consisting oi fifty minas, will he four hundrea and fifty pounds, which is the talent o? Moses, Exod. xxxviii. 25, 26: and so also is it the talent of Josephus, Antiq., lib. iii., c. 7; for he tells us that a Hebrew talent contained one hundred Greek (i. e., Attic) minas. For those fifty minas, which here make an Alexandrian talent, would be one hundred Attic minas in the like method of valuation; the Alexandrian talent containing double as much as the Attic talent, both in the whole, and also in all its parts, in whatever method both shall be equally distributed. Among the Greeks the established rule w-as, Jul. Polluc. Onomast., lib. x., c. 6, that one hundred drachms made a mina, and sixty minas a talent. But in some different states their drachms being different, accordingly their minas and talents were within the same proportion different also. But the money of Attica was the standard by which all the rest were valued, according as they more or less differed from it. And therefore, it being of most note, wherever any Greek historian speaks of talents, minas, or drachms, if they be simply mentioned, it is to be always understood of thousand seven hundred and three- a. m. 2514. score and fifteen shekels, after the An. Exod. isr! 1. shekel of the sanctuary: TisritoAdar.

talents, minas, or drachms of Attica, and never of the talents, minas, or drachms of any other place, unless it be expressed. Mr. Brerewood, going by the goldsmith's weights, reckons an Attic drachm to be the same with a drachm now in use in their shops, that is, the eighth part of an ounce; and therefore lays it at the value of seven-pence halfpenny of our money, or the eighth part of a crown, which is or ought to be an ounce weight. But Dr. Bernard, going more accurately to work, lays the middle sort of Attic drachms at eight-pence farthing of our money, and the minas and talents accordingly, in the proportions above mentioned. The Babylonish talent, according to Pollux, Onomast., lib. x., c. 6, contained seven thousand of those drachms. The Roman talent (see Festus Pompeius) contained seventy-two Italic minas, which were the same with the Roman libras; and ninety-six Roman denariuses, each being of the value of seven-pence halfpenny of our money, made a Roman libra. But all the valuations I have hitherto mentioned must be understood only of silver money, and not of gold; for that was much higher. The proportion of gold to silver was among the ancients commonly as ten to one; sometimes it was raised to be as eleven to one, sometimes as twelve, and sometimes as thirteen to one. In the time of King Edward the First it was here, in England, at the value of ten to one; but it is now gotten at sixteen to one, and so I value it in all the reductions which I make in this history of ancient sums to the present value. But to make the whole of this matter the easier to the reader, I will lay all of it before him for his clear view in this following table of valuations: —

Babylonish money, according to Mr. Brerewood. A Babylonish talent of silver containing seven thousand Attic drachms 218 15 0 A Babylonish talent in gold, sixteen

There were twenty-nine talents seven hundred and thirty shekels of gold; one hundred talents one thousand seven hundred and seventy -five shekels of silver; and seventy talents two thousand four hundred shekels of brass.

If with Dean Prideaux we estimate the value of the silver shekel at three shillings English, we shall obtain the weight of the shekel by making use of the following proportion. As sixty-tivo shillings, the value of a pound weight of silver as settled by the British laws, is to tioo hundred and forty, the number of pennyiveights in a pound troy, so is three shillings, the value of a shekel of silver, to 1 1 dwts. 1 4fy grains, the weight of the shekel required.

In the next place, to find the value of a shekel of gold we must make use of the proportion following: As one ounce troy is to 31. I7s. lOld., the legal value of an ounce of gold, so is 11 dwts. 14|f grains, the weight of the shekel as found by the last proportion, to 21. 5s. 2\ ^^d., the value of the shekel of gold required. From this datumwe shall soon be able to ascertain the value of all the gold employed in the work of this holy place, by the following arithmetical process: Reduce 21. 5s. 2\ ^^d. to the lowest term mentioned, which is 201,852 ninety-third parts of a farthing. Multiply this last number by 3000, the number of shekels in a talent, and the product by 29, the num ber of talents; and add in 730 times 201,852, on account of the 730 shekels which were above the 29 talents employed in the work, and we shall have for the last product 17,708,475,960, which, divided successively by 93, 4, 12, and 20, will give 198,347/. 12 J. Qd. for the total value of the gold employed in the tabernacle, &c.

The value of the silver contributed by 603,550 Israelites, at half a shekel or eighteen pence per man,

one that went to be numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for " six hundred thou sand, and three thousand, and five hundred and fifty 7nen.

27 And of the hundred talents of silver were cast ° the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the veil; a hundred sockets of the hundred talents, a talent for a socket.

28 And of the thousand seven hundred seventy and five shekels he made hooks for

The total value of all the gold, silver, and brass of the tabernacle will consequently amount to 244,127/. 1 45. 66?. And the total weight of all these three metals amounts to 29,124 pounds troy, which, reduced to avoirdupois weight, is nearly ten tons and a half. When all this is considered, besides the quantity of gold which was employed in the golden calf, and which was all destroyed, it is no wonder that the sacred text should say the Hebrews spoiled the Egyptians, particularly as in those early times the precious metals were probably not very plentiful in Egypt.

Verse 26. A bekah for every man] The Hebrew word yp2 beka, from;'pD baka, to divide, separate into two, seems to signify, not a particular coin, but a shekel broken or cut in two; so, anciently, our farthing was a penny divided in the midst and then subdivided, so that each division contained the fourth part of the

was seventy talents, and two thousand and four hundred shekels.

30 And therewith he made the sockets to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the brazen altar, and the brazen grate for it, and all the vessels of the altar.

3 1 And the p sockets of the court round about, and the sockets of the court gate, and all the pins of the tabernacle, and all the pins of the court round about.

There appear to be three particular reasons why much riches should be employed in the construction of the tabernacle, &c. 1. To impress the people's minds with the glory and dignity of the Divine Majesty, and the importance of his service. 2. To take out of their hands the occasion of covetousness; for as they brought much spoils out of Egypt, and could have little if any use for gold and silver in the wilderness, where it does not appear that they had much intercourse with any other people, and were miraculously supported, so that they did not need their riches, it was right to employ that in the worship of God which otherwise might have engendered that love which is the. root of all evil. 3. To prevent pride and vain-glory, by leading them to give up to the Divine service even the ornaments of their persons, which would have had too direct a tendency to divert their minds from better things. Thus God's worship was rendered august and respectable, incitements to sin and low desires removed, and the people instructed to consider nothing valuable, but as far as it might be employed to the glory and in the service of God.

Bezaleel makes the clothes of service /or the holy place, and the holy garments, 1. The ephod, 2. Gold is beaten into plates, and cut into wires for embroidery, 3. He makes the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, 4. The curious girdle, 5. Cm/5 the onyx stones/or the shoulder-pieces, 6. Makes /Ae breastplate, its chains, ouches, rings, <^c., 7-21. The robe of the ephod, 22-26. Coats of fine linen, 27. The mitre, 28. The girdle, 29. The plate of the holy crown, 30, 31. The completion of the work of the tabernacle, 32. All the ivork is brought unto Moses, 33-41. Moses, having examined the ivhole, finds every thing done as the Lord had commanded, in consequence of ivhich he blesses the people, 42, 43.

A ND of * the blue, and purple, and scarlet, they made '' clothes of service, to do service

Verse 1. Blue, and purple, and scarlet] See this subject largely explained in the notes on chap. xxv. 4. a

Verse 2. Ephod] See this described, chap. xxv. 7. Verse 3. They did beat the gold into thin plates] For the purpose, as it is supposed, of cutting it into

3 And they did beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires, to work it in the blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, with cunning work.

4 They made shoulder-pieces for it, to couple it together: by the two edges was it coupled together.

5 And the curious girdle of his ephod, that was upon it, was of the same, according to the work thereof; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen; as the Lord

6 ® And they wrought onyx stones inclosed in ouches of gold, graven, as signets are graven, with the names of the children of Israel.

7 And he put them on the shoulders of the ephod, that they should he stones for a ^memorial to the children of Israel; as the Lord

8 ^ And he made the breastplate of cunning work, like the work of the ephod; q/'gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.

9 It was four-squetre; they made the breastplate double: a span was the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof, being doubled.

10^ And they set in it four rows of stones; the first row luas a ' sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this luas the first row.

12 And the third row, a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.

13 And the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper: they were inclosed in ouches of gold in their inclosings.

14 And the stones were according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, accord-

wires (D^'na) or threads; for to twist or twine is the common acceptation of the root Sn3 paihal. I cannot suppose that the Israelites had not then the art of making gold thread, as they possessed several ornamental arts much more difficult: but in the present instance, figures made in a more solid form than that which could have been effected by gold thread, might have been required.

1 5 And they made upon the breastplate chains^ at the ends, of wreathen work of pure gold.

1 6 And they made two ouches of gold, and two gold rings, and put the two rings in the two ends of the breastplate.

17 And they put the two wreathen chama of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastplate,

18 And the two ends of the two wreathen chains they fastened in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod before it.

19 And they made two rings of gold, and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, upon the border of it, which was on the side of the ephod inward.

20 And they made two other golden rings, and put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart of it, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod.

2 1 And they did bind the breastplate by his rings unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it might be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate might not be loosed from the ephod; as the

22 ^ And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue.

23 And thej~e was a hole in the midst of the robe, as the hole of a habergeon, tvith a band round about the hole, that it should not rend.

24 And they made upon the hems of the robe pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined lineti.

25 And they made ^ bells of pure gold, and

Verse 10. And they set iii it four roivs of stones'] See all those precious stones particularly explained in the notes on chap, xxviii. 17, &c.

Verse 23. ^5 the hole of a habergeon] The haber. geon or hauberk was a small coat of mail, something in form of a half shirt, made of small iron rings curiously united together. It covered the neck and breast, was very light, and resisted the stroke of a sword. Sometimes it went over the whole head as well as over the breast. This kind of defensive armour was used among the Asiatics, particularly the

26 A bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, round about the hem of the robe to minister ^n, as the Lord commanded Moses.

27 "* And they made coats of fine linen of woven work for Aaron, and for his sons,

28 " And a mitre of fine linen, and goodly bonnets of fine linen, and ° linen breeches of fine twined linen,

29 P And a girdle of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, of needle-work; as the Lord commanded Moses.

30 ^ And they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote upon it a writing, like to the engravings of a signet, HOLI- NESS TO THE LORD.

3 1 And they tied unto it a lace of blue, to fasten it on high upon the mitre; as the Lord

32 Thus was all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation finished: and the children of Israel did ^ according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so did they.

33 And they brought the tabernacle unto Moses, the tent, and all his furniture, his taches, his boards, his bars, and his pillars, and his sockets,

34 And the covering of rams' skins dyed red,

ancient Persians, among whom it is still worn. It seems to have been borrowed from the Asiatics by the Norman crusaders.

Verse 30. The holy crown oi pure gold] On Asiatic monuments, particularly those that appear in the ruins of Persepolis and on many Egyptian monuments, the priests are represented as wearing crowns or tiaras, and sometimes their heads are crowned with laurel. Cttper observes, that the priests and priestesses, among the ancient Greeks, were styled oredavocpopoi, or crovm-bearers, because they officiated having sometimes crowns of gold, at others, crowns of laurel, upon their heads.

Verse 3'2. Did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses] This refers to the command given chap. XXV. 40; and Moses has taken care to repeat every thing in the most circumstantial detail, to show that he had conscientiously observed all the directions he had received.

3 5 The ark of the testimony, and the staves thereof, and the mercy-seat,

36 The table, and all the vessels thereof, and the shew-bread,

37 The pure candlestick, with the lamps thereof, even with the lamps to be set in order, and all the vessels thereof, and the oil for light,

38 And the golden altar, and the anointing oil, and the ^ sweet incense, and the hanging for the tabernacle door,

39 The brazen altar, and his grate of brass, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot,

40 The hangings of the court, his pillars, and his sockets, and the hanging for the court gate, his cords, and his pins, and all the vessels of the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of the congregation,

4 1 The clothes of service, to do service in the holy place, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and his sons' garments, to minister in the priest's office.

42 According to all that the Lord com manded Moses, so the children of Israel ' made all the work.

43 And Moses did look upon all the work, and, behold, they had done it as the Lord had commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses " blessed them.

fresh oiled every day, for the purpose of being lighted in the evening. See the note on chap, xxvii. 21.

A'^erse 43. And Moses did look upon all the ivork] As being the general superintendent of the whole, under whom Bezaleel and Aholiab were employed, as the other workmen were under them.

They had done it as the Lord had commanded] Exactly according to the pattern which Moses received from the Lord, and which he laid before the workmen to work by.

And Moses blessed them.] Gave them that praise which was due to their skill, diligence, and fidelity. See this meaning of the original word in the note on Gen. ii. 3. See also a fine instance of ancient courtesy between masters and their servants, in the case of Boaz and his reapers, Ruth ii. 4. Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, The Lord be with YOU! And they answered him, The Lord bless thee! It is, however, very probable that Moses prayed to God in their behalf, that they might be prospered in all their undertakings, saved from every evil, and be brought at last to the inheritance that fadeth not away. This blessing seems to have been given, not only to the workmen, but to all the people. The people contributed liberally, and the vcorkmen wrought faithfully, and the blessing of God was pronounced upon ALL.

The promptitude, cordiality, and despatch used in this business cannot be too highly commended, and are worthy of the imitation of all who are employed in any way in the service of God. The prospect of having God to divell among them inflamed every heart, because they well knew that on this depended their prosperity and salvation. They therefore hastened to build him a house, and they spared no expense or skill to make it, as far as a house made with hands could be, worthy of that Divine Majesty who had promised to take up his residence in it. This tabernacle, like the temple, was a type of the human nature of the Lord Jesus; that was a shrine not made with hands, formed by God himself, and worthy of that fulness of the Deity that dwelt in it.

It is scarcely possible to form an adequate opinion of the riches, costly workmanship, and splendour of the tabernacle; and who can adequately conceive the glory and excellence of that human nature in which the fulness of the Godhead bodily dwelt 1 That this tabernacle typified the human nature of Christ, and the Divine shechinah that dwelt in it the Deity that dwelt in the man Christ Jesus, these words of St.

John sufficiently prove: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was ivith God, and the Word was God. And the Word ivas made flesh, and dwelt among us, (eaKTjvuaev ev vfiiv, made his tabernacle among us,) full of grace and truth — possessing the true Urim and Thummim; all the lights and perfections, the truth and the grace, typified by the Mosaic economy. John i. 1, 14. And hence the evangelist adds. And ive beheld his glory; as the Israelites beheld the glory of God resting on the tabernacle, so did the disciples of Christ see the Divine glory resting on him, and showing itself forth in all his loords, spirit^ and ivorhs. And for what purpose was the tabernacle erected? That God might dwell in it among the children of Israel. And for what purpose was the human nature of Christ so miraculously produced 1 That the Godhead might dwell in it; and that God and man might be reconciled through this wonderful economy of Divine grace, God being in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, 2 Cor. v. 19. And what was implied by this reconciliation T The union of the soul with God, and the indwelling of God in the soul. Reader, has God yet filled thy tabernacle with his glory? Does Christ dwell in thy heart by faith; and dost thou abide in him, bringing forth fruit unto holiness ■? Then thy end shall be eternal life. Why shouldst thou not go on thy way rejoicing with Christ in thy heart, heaven in thine eye, and the world, the devil, and the flesh, under thy feet ]

Moses IS commanded to set up the tabernacle, the first day of the first month of the second year of their departure from Egypt, I, 2. The ark to be put into it, 3. The table and candlestick to be brought in also with the golden altar, 4, 5. The altar of burnt-offering to be set up before the door, and the laver between the tent and the altar, 6, 7. The court to be set up, 8. The tabernacle and its utensils to be anointed, 9-11. Aaron and his so7is to be washed, clothed, and anointed, 12-15. All these things are done accordingly, 16. The tabernacle is erected; and allits utensils, dfc, placed in it on the first of the first mo7ith of the second year, 17-33. The cloudcovers the tent, and the glory of the Lord fills the tabernacle, so that even Moses is not able to enter, 34, 35. When they were to journ-ey, the cloud was taken up; when to encamp, the cloud rested on the tabernacle, 36, 37. A cloud by day and a fire by 7iight was upon the tabernacle, in the sight of all the Israelites, through the ivhole course of the journeyings, 38.

^""^°^'°'"- 2 On the fir^t day of the - first month shalt thou set up ^' the tabernacle of the lent of the congregation. 3 And »= thou shalt put therein the ark of

the testimony, and cover the ark with the veil.

4 And ^ thou shalt bring in the

table, and " set in order ^ the things that are to be set in order upon it; ^ and thou shalt bring in the candlestick, and light the lamps thereof.

days after they had left Egypt. Such a building, with such a profusion of curious and costly workmanship, was never got up in so short a time. But it was the work of the Lord, and the people did service as unto the Lord; for the people had a mind to work.

Verse 4. Thou shalt bring in the table, and set in order the things, cj-c] That is, Thou shalt place the twelve loaves upon the table in the order before mentioned. See the note on chap. xxv. 30. a

6 And thou shalt set the altar of the burntoffering; before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of tlie congregation.

7 And ^ thou shalt set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and shalt put water therein.

8 And thou shalt shut up the court round about, and hang up the hanging at the court gate.

9 And thou shalt take the anointing oil, and ^ anoint the tabernacle, and all that is therein, and shalt hallow it, and all the vessels thereof: and it shall be holy.

10 And thou shalt anoint the altar of the burntoffering, and all his vessels, and sanctify the altar: and ^ it shall be an altar " most holy.

1 1 And thou shalt anoint the laver and his foot, and sanctify it.

1 2 o And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and wash them with water.

1 3 And thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, ° and anoint him, and sanctify him; that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.

14 And thou shalt bring his sons, and clothe them with coats:

Verse 15. For their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood] By this anointing a right was given to Aaron and his family to be high priests among the Jews for ever; so that all who should be born of this family should have a right to the priesthood without the repetition of this unction, as they should enjoy this honour in their father's right, who had it by a particular grant from God. But it appears that the high priest, on his consecration, did receive the holy unction; see Lev. iv. 3; vi. 22; xxi. 10. And this continued till the destruction of the first temple, and the Babylonish captivity; and according to Eusebius, Cyril of Jerusalem, and others, this custom continued among the Jews to the advent of our Lord, after which there is no evidence it was ever practised. See Calmet's note on chap. xxix. 7. The Jewish high priest was a type of Him who is called the high priest over the house of God, Heb. x. 2 1; and when he came, the functions of the other necessarily ceased. This case is worthy of observation. The Jewish sacrifices were never resumed after the destruction of their city and temple, for they hold it unlaivful to sacrifice any. where out of Jerusalem; and the unction of their high a as thou didst anoint their lather. An. Exod. isr. 1. that they may minister unto me Tisn to Adar. in the priest's office: for their anointing shall surely be p an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.

16 Thus did Moses: according to all that the Lord commanded him, so did he.

first month m the second year, on An. Exod. isr. 2. the first day of the month, that AbiborNisan. the 'I tabernacle was reared up.

18 And Moses reared up the tabernacle, and fastened his sockets, and set up the boards thereof, and put in the bars thereof, and reared up his pillars.

19 And he spread abroad the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent above upon it; as the Lord commanded Moses.

20 And he took and put "" the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy-seat above upon the ark:

2 1 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and ^ set up the veil of the covering, and covered the ark of the testimony; as the Lord

22 ' And he put the table in the tent of the congregation, upon the side of the tabernacle northward without the veil.

23 " And he set the bread in order upon it

priests ceased from that period also: and why ■? Because the true priest and the true sacrifice were come, and the types of course v/ere no longer necessary after the manifestation of the antitype.

Verse 19. He spread abroad the tent over the tabernacle] By the tent, in this and several other places, we are to understand the coverings made of rams' skins, goats' hair, &c., which were thrown over the building; for the tabernacle had no other kind of roof.

Verse 20. And put the testimony into the ark] That is, the two tables on which the ten commandments had been written. See chap. xxv. 16. The ark, the golden table with the shew-bread, the golden candlestick, and the golden altar of incense, were all in the tabernacle, within the veil or curtains, which served as a door, ver. 22, 24, 26. And the altar of burnt-offering was by the door, ver. 29. And the brazen laver, between the tent of the congregation and the brazen altar, ver. 30; still farther outward, that it might be the.^r^^ thing the priests met with when entering into the court to minister, as their hands and feet must be washed before they could perform any part of the holy service, ver. 31," 32. When all these things were thus placed,

A. M. 2514. before the Lord; as the Lord An. Exod. isr! 2. had commanded Moses. Abib or Nisan. 34 ^ And he put the candlestick in the tent of the congregation, over against the table, on the side of the tabernacle southward.

25 And ^ he lighted the lamps before the Lord; as the Lord commanded Moses.

26 "" And he put the golden altar in the lent of the congi-egation before the veil:

27 ^ And he burnt sweet incense thereon; as the Lord commanded Moses.

28 ^ And he set up the hanging at the door of the tabernacle.

29 ^ And he put the altar of burnt-offering hy the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation, and ^ offered upon it the burnt-offering and the meat-offering; as the

30 <= And he set the laver between the tent n^f the congregation and the altar, and put

31 And Moses, and Aaron, and his sons, washed their hands and their feet thereat:

32 When they went into the tent of the con-

then the court that surrounded the tabernacle, which consisted of posts and hangings, was set up, ver. 33.

Verse 34. Then a cloud covered the tent] Thus God gave his approbation of the work; and as this was visible, so it was a sign to all the people that Jehovah was among them.

And the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.] How this was manifested we cannot tell; it was probably by some ligbt or brightness which was insufferable to the sight, for Moses himself could not enter in because of the cloud and the glory, ver. 35. Precisely the same happened when Solomon had dedicated his temple; for it is said that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord; 1 Kings viii. 10, 11. Previously to this the cloud of the Divine glory had rested upon that tent or tabernacle which IMoses had pitched ivithout the camp, after the transgression in the matter of the molten calf; but now the cloud removed from that tabernacle and rested upon this one, which was made Ijy the command and under the direction of God himself. And there is reason to believe that this tabernacle was pitched in the centre of the camp, all the twelve tribes pitching their different tents in a certain order around it.

Verse 36. When the cloud ivas taken up] The subject of these three last verses has been very largely

33 ^ And he reared up the court round about - the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate. So Moses finished the work.

34 ^ Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

35 And Moses ^ was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon; and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

36 ^' And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel ' went onward in all their journeys:

37 But ^ if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up.

_38 For Hhe cloud of the Lord loas upon the tabefnacie by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

explained in the notes on chap. xiii. 31, to which, as well as to the general remarks on that chapter, the reader is requested immediately to refer.

Verse 38. For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle hy day] This daily and nightly appearance was at once both a merciful providence, and a demonstrative proof of the Divinity of their religion: and these tokens continued with them throughout all their journeys; for, notwithstanding their frequently repeated disobedience and rebellion, God never withdrew these tokens of his presence from them, till they were brought into the promised land. When, therefore, the tabernacle became fixed, because the Israelites had obtained their inheritance, this mark of the Divine presence was no longer visible in the sight of all Israel, but appears to have been confined to the holy of holies, where it had its fixed residence upon the mercyseat between the cherubim; and in this place continued till the first temple was destroyed, after which it was no more seen in Israel till God was manifested in the flesh.

As in the book of GENESIS we have God's own account of the commencement of the WORLD, the origin of nations, and the peopling of the earth; so in the book of EXODUS we have an account, from the same source of infallible truth, of the commencement of the Jewish Chitrch, and the means used by the endless mercy of God to propagate and continue his pure and undefiled religion in the earth, against which neither human nor diabolic power or policy have ever been able to prevail! The preservation of this religion, which has ever been opposed by the great mass of mankind, is a standing proof of its Divinity. As it has ever been in hostility against the corrupt passions of men, testifying against the world that its deeds were evil, these passions have ever been in hostility to it. Cunning and learned men have argued to render its authority dubious, and its tendency suspicious; whole states and empires have exerted themselves to the uttermost to oppress and destroy it; and its professed friends, by their conduct, have often betrayed it: yet librata ponderibus suis, supported by the arm of God and its own intrinsic excellence, it lives and flourishes; and the rivei- that makes glad the city of God has run down with the tide of time 5800 years, and is running on with a more copious and diffusive current.

We have seen how, by the miraculous cloud, all the movements of the Israelites were directed. They struck or pitched their tents, as it removed or became stationary. Every thing that concerned them was under the direction and management of God. But these things happened unto them for ensamples; and it is evident, from Isa. iv. 5, that all these things typified the presence and influence of. God in his Church, and in the souls of his followers. His Church can possess no sanctifying knowledge, no quickening power but from the presence and influence of his Spirit. By this influence all his followers are taught, enlightened, led, quickened, purified, and built up on their most holy faith; and without the indivelling of his Spirit, light, life, and salvation are impossible. These Divine influences are necessary, not only for a time, but through all our journeys, ver. 38; through every changing scene of providence, and through every step in life. And these the followers of Christ are to possess, not by inference or inductive reasoning, but consciously. The influence is to be felt, and the fruits of it to appear as fully as the cloud of the Lord by day, and \.\\efire by night, appeared in the sight of all the house of Israel. Reader, hast thou this Spirit? Are all thy goings and comings ordered by its continual guidance 1 Does Christ, who was represented by this tabernacle, and in whom divelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, dwell in thy heart by faith 1 If not, call upon God for that blessing which, for the sake of his Son, he is ever disposed to impart; then shalt thou be glorious, and on all thy glory there shall be a defence. Amen, Amen.

On the ancient division of the law into fifty-four sections, see the notes at the end of Genesis. Of these fifty -four sections Genesis contains tivelve; and the commencement and ending of each has been marked in the note already referred to. Of these sections Exodus contains eleven, all denominated, as in the former case, by the words in the original with which they commence. I shall point these out as in the former, carrying the enumeration from Genesis.

It will at once appear to the reader that these sections have their technical names from some remarkable word, either in the first or second verse of their commencement.

The symbol of this number is tO"1X; N' aleph denoting 1000, n rcsh 200, and 0 teth 9.

The middle verse is ver. 28 of chap. xxii.: Thou shalt not revile God, nor curse the ruler of thy people.

Its parashioth, or larger sections, are 1 1. The symbol of this is the word "'N ei, Isa. Ixvi. 1: Where is the house that ye will build unto me? In which X aleph stands for 1, and ^ yod for 10.

Its sedarim are 29. The symbol of which is taken from Psa. xix. 3, mn' yechavveh: Night unto night showeth forth knowledge. In which word, "' yod stands for 10, n cheth for 8, 1 vati for 6, and n he for 5; amounting to 29.

Its pirkey, perakim, or present chapters, 40. The symbol of which is 13*73 belibbo, taken from Psa. xxxvii. 31: The law of God is in his heart. In this word, D beth stands for 2, S lamed for 30, 3 beth for 2, and 1 vau for 6; amounting to 40.

The open sections are 69. The close sections are 95. Total 164. The symbol of which is "^ni-^D' yisadccha, from Psa. xx. 2: Strengthen thee out of Zion. In which numerical word;,♦ ain stands for 70, D samech for 60, "J caph for 20, "• yod for 10, and T dale th for 4; making together 164.

But on these subjects, important to some, and trifling to others, see what is said in the concluding note on Genesis.

In the preceding notes I have had frequent occasion to refer to Dr. Shaw's account of the different stations of the Israelites, of which I promised an abstract in this place. This will doubtless be acceptable to every reader who knows that Dr. Shaw travelled over the same ground, and carefully, in person, noted every spot to which reference is made in the preceding chapters.

After having endeavoured to prove that Goshen was that part of the Heliopolitan Nomos, or of the land of Rameses, which lay in the neighbourhood of Kairo, Matla-reah^ and Bishbesh, and that Cairo might be Rameses, the capital of the district of that name, where the Israelites had their rendezvous before they departed out of Egypt, he takes up the text and proceeds thus: —

BBOWmO IN WHAT TSAR OF THE WORLD, IN WHAT YEAR BEFORE CHRIST, IN WHAT YEAR FROM THE DELUGE, AND IN WHAT YEAR FROM THEIR DEPARTURE FROM EGYPT, EACH EVENT HAPPENED; INTERSPERSED WITH A FEW CONNECTING CIRCUMSTANCES FROM PROFANE HISTORY, ACCORDING TO THE PLAN OF ARCHBISHOP USHER.

Levi, the third son of Jacob, dies in the 137th year of his age, chap, vi, 16. — N. B.

This event is placed tioenty years later by most chronologists, but I have followed the computation of Mr. Skinner and Dr. Kennicott. See the note on Gen. xxxi. 41. About this time Acenchres, son of Orus, began to reign in Egypt, and reigned twelve years and one month. The Ethiopians, from the other side of the Indus, frst settle in the middle of Egypt. Rathotis, the brother of Acenchres, began about this time to reign over the Egyptians, and reigned nine years. Acencheres, the son of Rathotis, succeeds his father and reigns twelve years and six months. About this time it is supposed the Egyptians began to be jealous of the Hebrews, on account of their prodigious multiplication. Ancencheres succeeds Acencheres, and reigns twelve years and three months. Armais succeeds Ancencheres, and reigns four years and one month. About this time Kohath, the son of Levi, and grandfather of Moses, died in the 133d year of his age; chap. vi. 18. — N. B. There are several years of uncertainty in the date of this event. Rameses succeeds Armais in the government, and reigns one year and four months. Rameses Miamun succeeds Rameses, and reigns sixty-seven years. Aaron, son of Amram, brother of Moses, born eighty-three years before the exodus of the Israelites; chap. vi. 20; vii. 7. About this time Pharaoh (supposed to be the same with Rameses Miamun) published an edict, ordering all the male children of the Hebrews to be drowned in the Nile,

The kingdom of the Athenians founded about this time by Cecrops. In this year., which was the eighteenth of Cecrops, the Chaldeans waged war with the

Phoenicians. About this time the Arabians subdued the Chaldeans, and took possession of their country. Moses, being forty years of age, kills an Egyptian, whom he found smiting a Hebrew; in consequence of which, being obliged to fly for his life, he escapes to the land of Midian, where becoming acquainted with the family of Jethro, he marries

Zipporah; chap. ii. 11—22. The birth of Caleb, the son of Jephunneh. Rameses Miamun, king of Egypt, dies about this time in the sixty-seventh year of his reign, and is succeeded by his son Amenophis, who reigns nineteen years and six months. The death of Amram, the father of Moses, is supposed to have taken place about this time. While Moses keeps the flock of Jethro at Mount Horeb, the Angel of God appears to him in a burning bush, promises to deliver the Hebrews from their oppression in

Egypt, and sends him to Pharaoh to command him to let Israel go; chap. iii. Aaron and Moses assemble the elders of Israel, inform them of the Divine purpose, and then go to Pharaoh and desire him, in the name of the God of the Hebrews, to let the people go three days' journey into the wilderness to hold a feast unto the Lord.

Pharaoh is enraged, and increases the oppression of the Israelites; chap. v. Aaron throws down his rod, which becomes a serpent. The Egyptian magicians imitate this miracle; chap. vii. Pharaoh refusing to let the Israelites go, God sends his first plague upon the Eg3rp-

Pharaoh remaining impenitent, God sends immense numbers oi frogs, which infest the whole land of Egypt. This was the second plague; chap. viii. 1-7.

This plague not producing the desired effect, God sends the third plague, the dust of the ground becoming lice on man and beast; chap. viii. 16-20.

Pharaoh's heart still remaining obdurate, God sends the fourth plague upon the nation, by causing great swarms of flies to cover the whole land; chap. viii. 20-32.

The Egyptian king still refusing to dismiss the Hebrews, God sends his fifth plague, which is a universal murrain or mortality among the cattle;.chap. ix. 1-7.

This producing no good effect, the sixth plague of boils and blains is sent"; chap. ix. 8-12. ■

Pharaoh still hardening his heart, God sends the seventh plague,\iz., a grievous hail which destroyed the whole produce of the field; chap. ix. 22-26.

This, through Pharaoh's obstinacy, proving ineffectual, the eighth plague is sent, immense swarms of locusts, which devour the land; chap. x. 1-20.

Pharaoh refusing to submit to the Divine authority, the ninth plague, a total darkness of three days' continuance, is spread over the whole land of Effvpt; chap. X. 21-24. ^

Pharaoh continuing to refuse to let the people go, God institutes the rite of the passover, and sends the tenth plague upon the Egyptians, and the first-born of man and beast died throughout the whole land. This was in the fourteenth night of the month Abib. The Israelites are driven out of Egypt, chap. xii. 1-36; and carry Joseph's bones with them; chap. xiii. 19,

The Israelites march from Succoth to Etham; thence to Pi-hahiroth, the Lord

Towards the close of this month, Pharaoh and the Egyptians pursue the Israelites; God opens a passage for these through the Red Sea, and they pass over as on dry land, which the Egyptians essaying to do, are all drowned; chap, xiv; Heb. ix. 29.

The Israelites come to Marah, and murmur because of the bitter waters; Moses is directed to throw a certain tree into them, by which they are rendered sweet; chap. xv. 23-25.

About the begmning of this month the Israelites come to Elim: chap.

On the fifteenth day of this month the Israelites come to the desert of Sin, where, murmuring for want of bread, quails are sent, and manna from heaven; chap. xvi.

Coming to Rephidim they murmur for want of water, and God supplies this want by miraciUously bringing water out of a rock in Horeb, chap. xvii. 1-7. '^

The Amalekites attack the Israelites in Rephidim, and are discomfited; chap. xvii. 8-16.

The Israelites come to the wUderness of Sinai. God calls Moses up to the mount, where he receives the ten commandments and other precepts; chap, xix.-xxiv.: is instructed how to make the tabernacle; xxv.-xxviii. Aaron and his sons are dedicated to the priest's oflice; chap, xxviii.

Moses delaying to come dovra from the mount, the people make a molten calf, and worship it. Moses, coming down, sees their idolatry, is distressed, and breaks the tables; three thousand of the idolaters are slain; and, at the intercession of Moses, the rest of the people are saved from destruction; chap, xxxii.

Moses is again called up into the mount, where God renews the covenant, and writes the two tables afresh. Moses desires to see the Divine glory; his request is partially granted; chap, xxxiii. 18-23; xxxiv. 1-27.

Moses, after having been in the mount forty days and forty nights, during which time he ate nothing, comes down with the two tables of stone: his face shines so that he is obliged to cover it with a veil; chap. xxiv. 29-35.

From this time to the month Adar, including Marcheshvan, Cisleu, Thebet, and Sebat, Bezaleel, Aholiab, and then- assistants are employed in constructing the tabernacle, &c., according to the pattern delivered to Moses on the mount; chap, xxxvi.-xxxix. 858 Tisri

On the first of this month, being the first month of the second year after their a 501 departure from Egypt, the tabernacle is reared up, and Aaron and his sons set apart for the priest's office; chap. xl. 17-32. — N. B. The ceremonies attending this consecration form the chief part of the following book, Leviticus. Jethro brings Zipporah and her two sons to Moses in the wilderness, and gives him wholesome directions concerning the best mode of governing the people, which Moses thankfully accepts, and God approves; chap, xviii., and see the notes there.

A TABLE of the THREE GREAT EPOCHS, A. M., B. C, and the JULIAN PERIOD, synchronized with the reigns of the sovereigns of the four principal monarchies; viz., Egypt, Sicyon, the Argivi, and the Athenians, from the death of Jacob, A. M. 2315, to the erection of the tabernacle, A. M. 2514, by which any event in the preceding Chronological Table may be referred to its corresponding year of the reign of any of the above sovereigns.

E. G. To find out the year of the birth of Moses, inspect the preceding table, by which it appears he was born A. M. 2433, B. C. 1571, and from the Deluge 777. Then look in the following table for A. M. 2433, where it appears that this event took place in the year of the Julian Period 3143 — the 7th of Rameses Miamun, king of Egypt — the 46th of Orthopolis, king of Sicyon — the 17th of Phorbas, king of the Argivi — and the 15th before the reign of Cecrops, king of the Athenians.