The works of the Reverend and learned John Lightfoot D. D., late Master of Katherine Hall in Cambridge such as were, and such as never before were printed : in two volumes : with the authors life and large and useful tables to each volume : also three maps : one of the temple drawn by the author himself, the others of Jervsalem and the Holy Land drawn according to the author's chorography, with a description collected out of his writings.

SECT. I. Burnt-offerings. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

IT is disputed among the learned of the Jews, what should be the occasion of burnt∣offerings, and whereupon they became due. And I find the debate concluding in this resolution, that either they were to expiate for the evil thoughts of the heart, as sin-offerings, and trespass-offerings were to do for evil actions: or to expiate for the breach of affirmative precepts, as those did for negative. a 1.1 Rabbi Akibah questioned, For what doth a burnt-offering expiate? For matters whereupon there is a penalty, &c. or concerning affirmative precepts, and concerning negative precepts, whereunto some affirmative precept doth refer. And b 1.2 the body of the Beast (saith Aben Ezra) that is offered to ex∣piate for that that comes up into the heart, is called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 as the offering for a sin, or a tres∣pass, is called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 To which sense the Chaldee paraphrase of Jonathan also speaketh, when rendring those words in Lev. 6. 9. This is the Law of the burnt offering; &c. he glosseth thus, This is the Law of the burnt offering, which cometh to expiate for the thoughts of the heart; upon which the Hebrew marginal glossgiveth this explanation; It is so written in Vajikrah Rabbah, that a burnt-offering cometh not, but for the thoughts of the heart: and there is an intimation of this in these words, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 That that is come up into your heart shall in no wise come to pass.

Burnt-offerings were of any of the five living Creatures named, and the manner of their offering was thus:

If his burnt offering were a Bullock, he might take him c 1.3 from eight days old and upward, and so also might he do by a Lamb or Kid: And it must be a male, because the burnt offering being the noblest offering faith Aben Ezra, it required the noblest of the kind that was, to be offered.

1. He was to bring it into the Court, for the law was express that he must present his of∣fering before the Lord, Lev. 1. 3. Now this Phrase, before the Lord, was understood d 1.4 from the gate of Nicanor and inward; and the bringing of the Sacrifice into the Court was of so strict and an inviolable obligation, e 1.5 that women, who otherwise were absolutely forbidden to come into the Court, yet if they brought a Sacrifice they were bound and necessitated to go in thither, as was touched but even now.

2. He must lay his hand upon the head of it whilest it was yet alive, Lev. 1. 4. f 1.6 All the Sacrifices that any single man offered of beasts, whether it were an offering of duty, or an of∣fering of free will, he must lay his hand upon it while it is yet alive, except only the firstling,

the tenth and the Passover. This laying on of hands, was a Rite of transmission as it were, of the mans sin unto the Sacrifice that was to dye for him, and in his death which was now ready, he acknowledged his own desert to dye, and so it was a figure of the laying of our sins upon Christ, and an emblem of repentance.

About the laying on of the hands, they had these divers Traditions, as 1. That it was to be in the Court; and if he laid his hands on him before he came into the Court, he must do it there again; and if the offerer of the Sacrifice stood without the Court, and put his hands within, and laid it on the head of the Beast within, it served the turn: as is observed elsewhere about the Leper in the gate of Nicanor. 2. The owner of the beast must lay on his hands himself, and might not do it by proxy; which is to be understood in reference to particular mens sacrifice, for some of the Sacrifices of the whole Congregati∣on had their Deputies or Proxies to lay their hands on them, as was observed even now. 3. If divers men joined in one Sacrifice [f 1.7 as divers might] every one was to lay on his hand particularly one after another. 4. There is some dispute among the Hebrew Doctors whether they laid on one hand or both, and there are assertors on both sides, but all con∣clude in this, that whether one or both, he must lay them on with all his strength, and all the stress he can. And so the Targum of Jonathan (which holds for one hand only) saith, He shall lay on his right hand with all his force: and Maimonides (which holds for both the hands) saith, he was to lay on both his hands and that with all his might. 5. The place where he stood to lay on his hands, was ordinarily the place where the Sacrifices were slain at the place of the rings, and so upon this occasion an Israelite might and must come within the Court of the Priest. 6. The manner was thus; * 1.8 the Sacrifice was so set, as that the offerer, standing with his face towards the West, laid his two hands be∣tween his horns, and confessed his sin over a sin offering, and his trespass over a trespass offering, and over a burnt offering he confesseth his transgression both against affirmative and negative precepts, and his confession was in this wise; I have sinned, I have done per∣versly, I have rebelled and done thus and thus; but I return by repentance before thee, and let this be my expiation: And presently after this his confession, was the beast to be slain.

3. The killing of the Sacrifice was regularly and ordinarily the Priests work and office, yet might it upon occasion be done by another: or if it were done by another, it was allowable: For whereas the Law saith, And he shall kill the bullock before the Lord, and the sons of Aaron the Priests shall bring the blood and sprinkle it, Levit. 1. 5. as making a distincti∣on betwixt the he that killed the bullock, and the Priests that took the blood, the He∣brew Doctors have observed not impertinently from hence, that 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 g 1.9 The killing of the Sacrifices was lawful by strangers, yea of the most holy sacrifices, were they the sacrifices of a particular person, or of the whole Congregati∣on: And upon these words, And the sons of Aaron the Priests shall bring the blood: it is a received tradition, that from thence most properly did begin the Priests office more pecu∣liarly, see 2 Chron. 30. 16, 17.

4. The fleaing of the slain Sacrifice was not so inseparably the Priests office, but that a stranger, or one that was not a Priest might do it. And so Maimonedes asserteth in the place cited above, that the fleaing of the sacrifice, and the dividing of it into pieces, and bringing wood to the Altar done by strangers, was lawful. This they did especially at the Passover and other festival times when the Paschal Lambs, and the other offerings were so many that the Priests could not serve to kill and flea them; but whosoever killed or flead, the Priests ever sprinkled the blood, and none else might do it.

When the number of the beasts to be flead were not too many for that receipt, they hung him by the legs upon the hooks that were fastned in the lower pillars, (which we have described elsewhere) and in the transom over them for that purpose; i 1.10 but at Passover when there were more Lambs than that room would admit, two men took a staff or bar, (divers of which staves stood there for that end) and laying it upon their shoulders, they hung the Lamb upon it, and as he hung thus between them, they flead him. Rabbi Eliezer saith, if the Passover fell on the Sabbath (on which day they might not meddle so well with carrying of Staves) a man laid his hand upon his fellows shoulder, and his fellow laid his hand upon his shoulder, and upon their arms they hanged up the Lamb, and so flead him. All the skins of the most holy sacrifices, that is, burnt offerings, sin offerings, and trespass offerings, fell to the Priests, and the Priests of the Course salted them all week, and on the eve of the Sabbath divided them; but the skins of the other sacrifices, fell to the offerers, or owners themselves.

5. The sprinkling of the blood, was to be before the sacrifice was flead, for this was the rule, and that agreeable to the Law 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 They flead them not till one had sprinkled the blood; for in the Law there is mention of the sprinkling the blood, before there is mention of fleaing, Lev. 1. 5, 6. The manner of their sprinkling of the blood upon the Altar, and the circumstances about that, were very various; we will take up the chiefest of them in their order.

First, The blood that was to be sprinkled, was to be taken in a dish or vessel of the service, and not in a common vessel of a mans own; and that is a constant and rational maxim 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 k 1.11 That the taking of the blood of the Sacrifices must be in a vessel hallowed for the service.

Secondly, l 1.12 These several sorts of people might not take the blood to sprinkle it, and if they did it was polluted. 1. A stranger, or one that was not a Priest. 2. A Priest a mourner, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 that is, he that had one dead in his family that day; for m 1.13 who∣soever had one dead in his house, all that day of the parties death, he was called a mourner 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 3. He that had been unclean, so that he was to wash that day, and his Sun was not yet down. 4. He that had been under a longer uncleanness, and his atonement not yet made. 5. A Priest that had not all the holy garments on that he ought to wear. 6. One uncircumcised. 7. One that was unclean. 8. One that sate, or stood on any thing whilest he took the blood, but on the very pavement of the Court; for in the service they might not stand upon any vessel, or beast, or hide, or on his neighbours foot, but on the bare pavement. 9. He that took the blood with the left hand, some held it un∣lawful, but others were of another mind.

Thirdly, n 1.14 Whereas there was a red line about the Altar just in the middle between the bottom and the top, the blood of some sacrifices were to be sprinkled beneath that line, and some above, and if that that was to be sprinkled below, was sprinkled above; and if that that was to be sprinkled above, was sprinkled below, it was unlawful.

Fourthly, o 1.15 The sprinkling of the blood of burnt offerings, and trespass offerings, and peace offerings, went all by one rule and manner, and it was thus; The Priest bring∣ing it to the Altar, was to sprinkle it below the red line, and he was to sprinkle it into the fashion of the Greek Gamma, or into this form Γ; for so is the tradition in the Gemara of p 1.16 the Treatise Zevachim cited ere while; and so is the meaning of Maymony, when he saith it was to be 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Now the meaning of the thing is this; He was to go (as the margin of the Talmud glosseth) to a corner of the Altar, and to cast the blood out of the vessel so, as that it should spread to two sides of the Altar at once; which my last named Au∣thor gives more plainly thus, and more at large. q 1.17 He was to sprinkle it out of the ves∣sel, but two sprinklings upon two sides of the Altar, namely, at the North-east corner and at the South-west corner; and he must take care to sprinkle the blood at the corner, so as that it may go on both the sides of the Altar, like a Gamma (thus Γ,) so that the blood at the two sprink∣lings may be found upon all the four sides of the Altar. Their meaning is this, that as he stood on the East side of the Altar, near to the North-east corner, he must cast the blood out of the vessel with such a compassed and kembo cast, that part of it may light on the East side, on which he stands, and part of it on the North side. And the like was he to do standing on the West side, near the South-west corner, that part of it might light on the West side, on which he stood, and part of it on the South. And thus they accounted that they answered the command, which did enjoyn them that they should sprinkle the blood round about, upon the Altar, Lev. 1. 5. & 3, 8. And the rest of the blood they poured upon the foundation of the Altar on the Southside. By this may that difficult expression be understood, which occurreth exceeding frequently in the Jewish writers, when they are speaking about sprinkling the blood of the Sacrifices, that such and such Sacrifices blood 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is to have two sprinklings, which are four. The disposal of the blood in sprinkling they call 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 a giving; and some bloods were to have 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 four givings, or sprinklings, namely, on the four corners of the Altar, and others were to have but two, as these mentioned at the two corners of the Altar: but these two proved as much as four, because they sprinkled all the four sides of it, after the manner described.

The sprinkling of the blood upon the horns of the Altar, (as the blood of the sin offerings was used) shall be observed by and by, and so shall the extraordinary convey∣ance of the blood of the Paschal Lambs to the Altar, be observed when we come to Treat of the Passover.

6. s 1.18 The Lamb to be slain (for of the daily Sacrifice we will take an example) was bound his forelegs and hinder legs together, and laid thus bound with his head toward the South, and his face toward the West, and he that killed him stood on the East side of him with his face Westward. He killed him, and one took the blood and sprinkled it, and then he hanged him up upon some of the hooks in the low pillars, and began to fle•• him: He flead till he came down to the breast, and when he was gone so far, he cut off his head, and gave it to him that was alotted to take it, and carry it to the Altar; he cut off the legs and gave them to another, and so he goes on and fleas him out; he then cuts open the heart and brings out the blood there; cuts out the two shoulders and gives them to him that was alotted for their carriage; cuts off the right leg and with it the stones; opens him quite, and takes out the fat, and lays it at the slaughter place; he takes out the bowels and gives them some to wash, who first washed them well in the washing room, and then washed them a little again on the marble tables; then takes he the knife and

parts between the lights and the liver, but takes them not out yet; he takes off the breast and gives it to him that was to carry it, and so goes along the right side and cuts that out, and goes down to the spine bones, and there cuts out the ••oins, and so proceeds in other parcels; the manner how is at large related in the Treatise and Chapter cited above in the margin, but not so very material or necessary to our present pursuit, as to spend much time and labour thereupon: the learned Reader will peruse it there; and the unlearned, would think it too tedious to peruse it here.

7. The several Priests with the several parts of the divided Sacrifice in their hands, come to the rise of the Altar t 1.19 and there they lay them down and salt them. For this, the Law was very strict, Lev. 2. 13. With all thine offerings thou shalt offer Salt; and their observance of it was answerably strict also, for * 1.20 nothing came on the Altar unsalted, but only the wine of the drink offering, the blood sprinkled, and the wood of the fire: and in three places they used salt; in the chamber of the salt they salted the skins of the Sacrifices; upon the rise of the Altar they salted the parts of the Sacrifices; and on the top of the Altar they sal∣ted the handful of flour and oil, and the frankincense, Lev. 2. 2. and the most offerings that were to be burnt, and the burnt offerings of birds. This Typical Law, our Saviour raiseth, to signifie the seasoning of every man with the Word of God, which he calleth salting with fire, Mark. 9. 49. for the word is called fire, Deut. 33. 2. Jer, 5. 14. & 20. 9. & 23. 29. 1 Cor. 3. 13, &c. And when he saith, Every one shall be salted with fire, u 1.21 Non praedicit aliquid futurum, sed ostendit quid ab omnibus requiratur, nempe ut verbo incorrupto conditi sese Deo consecrent.

The parts of the Sacrifice being salted, the Priest that was to offer them, took them up, carried them up to the Altar, and threw them confusedly into the fire; he first cut out the sinew that shrank, and threw it among the ashes, and then he cast all the pieces on an heap into the fire without any order. For though the Law injoined that the pieces should be laid in order upon the fire, Lev. 1. 8. and although their manner was to lay the beast on the fire, as like to his posture whilest he was alive as they could, namely, his head before, and his shoulders and foreparts next, and the rest in order; yet at the first laying of them on, they thought they found some colour in the Law of injunction, that they should scatter the flesh as well as sprinkle the blood, and therefore they threw them on at the first without any order, or distinction, and then they ordered them, and so let them lie to burn.

Notes

• a 1.1

  Tosapht. in Menachoth per. 10.
• b 1.2

  Ab•• Ezra in Lev. 1.
• c 1.3

  Id. ibid.
• d 1.4

  Talm. Ier. in Sotah. per. 1.
• e 1.5

  Tosapht. in Erachin. per. 2.
• f 1.6

  Maym. in Corbanoth per. 3
• f 1.7

  Id. ibid. & R. Sol. in Lev. 1.
• * 1.8

  Tosaph. in Me∣nachoth per. 10. & Maym. ubi supr.
• g 1.9

  Maym. in Biath Mikdash per. 9. & in Corbonoth per. 5 & R. Sol. in Lev. 1.
• i 1.10

  Ibid. Sect. 9.
• k 1.11

  Vid. Zevac. per. 5. per totum.
• l 1.12

  Ibid. per. 2. ab initio.
• m 1.13

  Glosse in Mis••ajo••h, ibid.
• n 1.14

  Zevech. ib.
• o 1.15

  Maym. in Corbanoth per. 5
• p 1.16

  Zevach. per 5. fol. 53.
• q 1.17

  Maim. ubi s••p.
• s 1.18

  Tamid. per 4.
• t 1.19

  Maym. in Corban. per. 6.
• * 1.20

  Id. in Issure Mizbeahh. per. 5
• u 1.21

  Bezain ••••