ornamental dress; and even whose faces had hardly ever been exposed to the sight of men. This is always mentioned as the hardest part of the lot of captives. Nahum (iii. 5, 6.), denouncing the fate of Nineveh, paints it in very strong colours. Women and children were also exposed to treatment at which humanity shudders. (Zech. xiv. 2. Esth. iii. 13. 2 Kings viii. 12. Psal. cxxxvii. 9. Isa. xiii. 16. 18. 2 Kings xv. 16. Hos. xiii. 16. Amos i. 13.) And whole nations were carried into captivity, and transplanted to distant countries: this was the case with the Jews (2 Kings xxiv. 12-16. Jer. xxxix. 9, 10. xl. 7.), as Jeremiah had predicted (Jer. xx. 5.), and instances of similar conduct are not wanting in the modern history of the East. In some cases, indeed, the conquered nations were merely made tributaries, as the Moabites and Syrians were by David (2 Sam. viii. 4. 6.): but this was considered a great ignominy, and was a source of reproach to the idol deities of the countries which were thus subjected. (2 Kings xix. 12, 13.) Still further to show their absolute superiority, the victorious sovereigns used to change the names of the monarchs whom they subdued. Thus we find the king of Babylon changing the name of Mattaniah into Zedekiah, when he constituted him king of Judah. (2 Kings xxiv. 17.) Archbishop Usher remarks, that the king of Egypt gave to Eliakim the name of Jehoiakim (2 Chron. xxxvi. 4.), thereby to testify that he ascribed his victory over the Babylonians to Jehovah the God of Israel, by whose command, as he pretended (2 Chron. xxxv. 21, 22.), he undertook the expedition. Nebuchadnezzar also ordered his eunuch to change the name of Daniel, who afterwards was called Belteshazzar; and the three companions of Daniel, whose names formerly were Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, he called Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. (Dan. i. 7.) It was likewise a custom among the heathens to carry in triumph the images of the gods of such nations as they had vanquished: Isaiah prophesies of Cyrus, that in this manner he would treat the gods of Babylon, when he says, Belboweth, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle, and themselves have gone into captivity. (Isa. xlvi. 1, 2.) Daniel foretells that the gods of the Syrians, with their princes, should be carried captive into Egypt (Dan. xi. 8.); and similar predictions are to be met with in Jeremiah (xlviii. 7.) and in Amos. (i. 15.)

XI. On their return home, the VICTORS were received with every demonstration of joy. The women preceded them with instruments of music, singing and dancing. In this manner Miriam and the women of Israel joined in chorus with the men, in the song of victory which Moses composed on occasion of the overthrow of Pharaoh and his Egyptian' host in the Red Sea, and which they accompanied with timbrels and dances. (Exod. xv. 1-21.) Thus, also, Jephthah was hailed by his daughter, on his return from discomfiting the children of Ammon (Judg. xi. 34.); and Saul and David were greeted, in like manner, on their return from the defeat of the Philistines. The women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of music. And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands and David his ten thousands! (1 Sam. xviii. 7, 8.) The victorious army of Jehoshaphat, the pious king of Judah, long afterwards, returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem with the king at their head, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies. And they 1 Bp. Lowth's Isaiah, vol. ii. p. 45.

In the thirteenth century, when the Moguls or Tartars under Zinghis Kahn overran and conquered Asia, "the inhabitants who had submitted to their discretion, were ordered to evacuate their houses, and to assemble in some plain adjacent to the city, where a division was made of the vanquished into three parts. The first class consisted of the soldiers of the garrison, and of the young men capable of bearing arms; and their fate was instantly decided: they were either enlisted among the Moguls, or they were massacred on the spot by the troops, who with pointed spears and bended bows had formed a circle round the captive multitude. The second class, composed of the young and beautiful women, of the arti ficers of every rank and profession, and of the more wealthy or honourable citizens, from whom a private ransom might be expected, was distributed in equal or proportionable lots. The remainder, whose life or death was alike useless to the conquerors, were permitted to return to the city, which in the mean while had been stripped of its valuable furniture; and a tax was imposed on those wretched inhabitants for the indulgence of breath ing their native air." (Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. iii. pp. 367, 368. 4to., or vol. vi. p. 55. 8vo. edit.) Here we evidently see the distinction made by Jeremiah (xx. 5.) of the strength of the city (that is, the men of war who constitute the strength. of a city or state); its labours or industry (that is, the industrious artisans and mechanics); and all the precious things thereof, all that is valuable in it, or the honourable and respectable members of the community not included in the two former classes; and also those poorer and meaner citizens who, according to Jer. xxxix. 13. and xl. 7., were left in Judæa, but still tributary to the Chaldeans, first under Zedekiah, and next under Gedaliah, Dr. Blayney, on

Jer. xx. 5.

came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps, and trumpets unto the house of the Lord. (2 Chron. xx. 27, 28.) The same custom still obtains in India and in Turkey. In further commemoration of signal victories, it was a common practice, both among the ancient heathen nations and the Jews, to hang up the arms that were taken from their enemies in their temples. Thus we find, that the sword with which David cut off Goliath's head, being dedicated to the Lord, was kept as a memorial of his victory, and of the Israelites' deliverance, and was deposited in the tabernacle; for we find that when David came to Abimelech at Nob, where the tabernacle was, Abimelech acknowledged it was there, and delivered it to David. (1 Sam. xxi. 8, 9.) For when occasions of state required it, it was no unusual thing to take such trophies down, and employ them in the public service. Thus when Joash was crowned king of Judah, Jehoiada, the high-priest (who had religiously educated him), delivered to the captains of hundreds spears, and bucklers, and shields, that had been king David's, which were in the house of God. (2 Chron. xxiii. 9.)

XII. By the law of Moses (Num. xxxi. 19-24.) the whole army that went out to war were to stay without, seven days before they were admitted into the camp, and such as had had their hands in blood, or had touched a dead body, though killed by another, were to be purified on the third and on the seventh day by the water of separation. All spoil of gar ments, or other things that they had taken, were to be purified in the same manner, or to be washed in running water, as the method was in other cases. All sorts of metals had, besides sprinkling with the water of separation, a purification by fire, and what would not bear the fire passed through the water before it could be applied to use.

In the DISTRIBUTION OF THE SPOIL, the king anciently had the tenth part of what was taken. Thus Abraham gave a tenth to Melchisedec king of Salem. (Gen. xiv. 20. Heb. vii. 4.) And if any article of peculiar beauty or value were found among the spoil, it seems to have been reserved for the commander-in-chief. To this Deborah alludes in her triumphal ode. (Judg. v. 30.) After the establishment of the monarchy, the rabbinical writers say (but upon what authority it is impossible now to ascertain) that the king had all the gold, silver, and other precious articles, besides one half of the rest of the spoil, which was divided between him and the people. In the case of the Midianitish war (Num. xxxi. 27.), the whole of the spoil was, by divine appointment, divided into two parts: the army that won the victory had one, and those that stayed at home had the other, because it was a common cause in which they engaged, and the rest were as ready to fight as those that went out to battle. This division was by a special direction, but was not the rule in after-ages; for, after the general had taken what he pleased for himself, the rest was divided among the soldiers, as well those who kept the baggage, or were disabled by wounds or weariness, as those who were engaged in the fight, but the people had no share; and this was ordained, as a statute to be observed throughout their generations (1 Sam. xxx. 24.): but in the time of the Maccabees the Jewish army thought fit to recede from the strictness of this military law, for when they had obtained a victory over Nicanor, under the conduct of Judas, they divided among themselves many spoils, and made the maimed, orphans, widows, yea, and the aged also, equal in spoils with themselves. (2 Macc. viii. 28. 30.) In the Midianitish war, after the distribution of the spoils among the army and the people, there was another division made for the service of the priesthood, and the Levitical ministry. (Num. xxxi. 28-30.) The priests, out of the share that fell to the army, were allotted one out of five hundred of all women and children, and cattle that were taken; and the Levites, from the part that fell to the people, received one out of fifty, so that the priest had just a tenth part of what was allowed to the Levites, as they had a tenth part of the Levitical tithes, which was paid them for their constant support: but whether this was the practice in future wars is uncertain. Sometimes all the spoils were, by divine appointment, ordered to be destroyed; and there is an instance in the siege of Jericho, when all the silver and the gold (except the gold and the silver of their images, which were to be consumed utterly), and vessels of brass and iron, were devoted to God, and appropriated to his service. They were to be brought into the treasury which was in the tabernacle, after they were purified by making them pass through the fire according to the law; the Jews conceive that these spoils 3 Forbes's Oriental Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 295. Lady Mary Wortley Mon. tague's Letters, vol. i. p. 197.

Thus

der the influence of similar devout affections, David conse crated the sword and other arms of Goliath in the tabernacle, and subsequently deposited in the sacred treasury the rich spoils won in battle, as Samuel and Saul had done before him (1 Chron. xxvi. 26-28.), and as several of his pious successors on the throne of Judah also did. Thus they gratefully acknowledged that they were indebted to the Lord of Hosts alone for all their strength and victories.

I.

SECTION II.

PLINE AND TRIUMPHS OF THE ROMANS.

From 2 Sam. xxiii. 8-39. it appears that the heroes or "mighty men," during the reign of David, were thirty-seven in number, including Joab, who was commander-in-chief of all his forces. These warriors were divided into three classes, the first and second of which consisted, each, of three men, Jashobeam, Eleazar, and Shammah; Abishai, Benaiah, and Asahel; and the third class was composed of the remaining thirty, of whom Asahel appears to have been the head. Such is the list according to 2 Sam. xxiii.; but in 1 Chron. xi. 10 -47. the list is more numerous, and differs considerably from the preceding. The most probable solution of these variations is, that the first list contains the worthies who lived in the former part of David's reign, and that it underwent various changes in the course of his government of the kingdom of Israel. At the head of all these "mighty men" was Jashobeam the son of Hachmoni (1 Chron. xi. 11.), who from his office in 2 Sam. xxiii. 8. (Hebr. and marginal rendering) is termed Joseb-Bassebet, the Tachmonite, head of the three; and whose military appellation was Adino-He-Ezni (the lifting up—or striking with a spear) because he lifted up his spear against, or encountered, three hundred soldiers at once. However extraordinary it may seem, we may here clearly perceive a distinct order of knighthood, similar to our modern orders, and presenting the same honorary degrees, and of which Jashobeam, according to modern parlance, was the grand-master. An institution of this kind was in every respect adapted to the reign, the character, and the policy of David.'

After the return of the Jewish armies to their several homes, their military dress was laid aside. The militia, which been raised for the occasion, were disbanded; their warlike instruments, with the exception of such as were private property, were delivered up as the property of the state, until some future war should call them forth; and the soldiers themselves returned (like Cincinnatus) to the plough, and the other avocations of private life. To this suspension of their arms, the prophet Ezekiel alludes (xxvii. 10, 11.) when he says, that they of Persia, and of Lud, and of Phut, and of Arvad, were in the Tyrian army as men of war, and hanged their shields upon the walls of Tyre. To the same custom also the bridegroom refers in the sacred idyls of Solomon (Song iv. 4.), when he compares the neck of his bride to the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men.

Divisions of the Roman army, and Roman military officers mentioned in the New Testament.-II. Allusions to the armour of the Romans.-III. To their military discipline.— Strict subordination.-Rewards to soldiers who had distinguished themselves.—IV. Allusions to the Roman triumphs.

I. Ar the time the evangelists and apostles wrote, the Romans had extended their empire almost to the utmost boundaries of the then known world, principally by their unparalleled military discipline and heroic valour. Judæa was at this time subject to their sway, and their troops were stationed in different parts of that country.

The Roman army was composed of Legions (Asure), each of which was divided into ten cohorts, each cohort into three maniples, and each maniple (Σrupa) into two centuries. The number of men in a legion was different at different times. But besides the cohorts which were formed into legions, there were certain others separate and distinct from any legion; such were the Cohortes Urbana, and Prætoriæ, &c. Such appears to have been the Italian Band (Exupa Iran) mentioned in Acts x. 1., which was in attendance on the Roman governor, who at that time was residing at Cæsarea. It was probably called the Italian cohort, because most of the soldiers belonging to it were Italians, and also to distinguish it from the other troops which were drawn from Syria and the adjacent regions. The Italian legion was not in existence at this time. Of the same description also was the Augustan Band or Cohort (Acts xxvi. 1.), (Erupa ΣLaorn), which, most probably, derived its name from Sebaste, the capital of Samaria. The commanding officer of the Prætorian Cohorts at Rome (a body of troops instituted by Augustus to guard his person, and to whom the care of the city was subsequently committed) was termed Præfectus Prætorio. This last officer was the Captain of the Guard (Erparodapxens), to whose custody Paul was committed, it being a part of his office to take the charge of accused persons. (Acts xxviii. 16.) The commanding officer of an ordinary cohort was called Tribunus Cohortis, if it was composed of Roman citizens; or Præfectus Cohortis, if composed of auxiliary troops. The officer intended by both these words is in the New Testament termed Xxos, or Captain of a Thousand, most probably because each tribune had under him ten centuries of troops. This was the officer who commanded the legion of soldiers that garrisoned the tower of Antonia, which overlooked the temple at Jerusalem, in the porticoes of which a company kept guard (UT) to prevent any tumult at the great festivals. Claudius Lysias was the tribune or Roman captain of this fort, who rescued Paul from the tumultuous attack of the murderous Jews. (Acts xxi. 31. xxii. 34. xxiii. 26.) Under the command of the tribune was the centurion (KT or Exterтapes), who, as his name implies, had one hundred men under him.4

The Roman infantry were divided into three principal classes, the Hastati, the Principes, and the Triari, each of which was composed of thirty manipuli or companies, and each manipulus contained two centuries or hundreds of men: over every company were placed two centurions, who, however, were very far from being equal in rank and honour, though possessing the same office. The Triarii and Principes were esteemed the most honourable, and had their centurions elected first, and these took precedency of the centurions of the Hastati, who were elected last. The humble centurion, who in Matt.

Coquerel, Biographie Sacrée, tom. ii. p. 167,

Biscoe on the Acts, vol. i. pp. 328-332. Josephus, de Bell. Jud. lib. v. c. 5. § 8. Biscoe on the Acts, vol. i. pp. 328, 329. pp. 336. 339. 52.

Doddridge on Acts x. 1. and Ant. Jud. lib. xx. c. 4. § 3. Adam's Roman Antiquities,

viii. 8, 9. besought the aid of the compassionate Redeemer, appears to have been of this last order. He was a man under authority, that is, of the Principes or Triarii, and had none under him but the hundred men, who appear to have been in a state of the strictest military subordination, as well as of loving subjection to him. I am, said the centurion, a man under authority, having soldiers under me, and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth, and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my slave (To dovna μcu), Do this, and he doeth it. The application of his argument, addressed to Christ, seems to be this:-If I, who am a person subject to the control of others, yet have some so completely subject to myself, that I can say to one, Come, and he cometh, &c. how much more then canst thou accomplish whatsoever thou willest, being under no control, and having all things under thy command ?1

The sbor Spearmen, mentioned in Acts xxiii. 23., were soldiers, carrying spears or lances in their right hand, whose duty it was, not only to attend as guards upon their sovereign or commander, but also to guard prisoners, who were bound by a chain to their right hand. The Europe (in Latin, Spiculatores or Speculatores, from the spiculum, a javelin or spear which they carried) were a kind of soldiers who formed the body-guard of princes. Among other duties of these guards, was that of putting condemned persons to

death.3

II. The allusions in the New Testament to the military discipline, armour, battles, sieges, and military honours of the Greeks, and especially of the Romans, are very numerous; and the sacred writers have derived from them metaphors and expressions of singular propriety, elegance, and energy, for animating Christians to fortitude against temptations, and to constancy in the profession of their holy faith under all persecutions, and also for stimulating them to persevere unto the end, that they may receive those final honours and that immortal crown which await victorious piety.

In the following very striking and beautiful passage of St. Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians (vi. 11-17.), the various parts of the panoply-armour of the heavy troops among the Greeks and Romans (those who had to sustain the rudest assaults) "are distinctly enumerated, and beautifully applied to those moral and spiritual weapons with which the believer ought to be fortified. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore, take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand. Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breast-plate of righteousness: and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace: above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts

1 Dr. A. Clarke, on Matt. viii. 9. Valpy's Gr. Test. vol. iii. p. 255.

• Robinson's Gr. Lex. to the New Test. in voce.

of the wicked, and take the helmets of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

Having thus equipped the spiritual soldier with the divine panoply, the apostle proceeds to show him how he is to use it: he therefore subjoins-Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance. The Greeks and other ancient nations, we have already observed, offered up prayers before they went into the battle. Alluding to this, Saint Paul adds the exhortation to believers, praying always, at all seasons, and on all occasions, with all prayer (more correctly, supplication for what is good) and deprecation of evil; and watching thereuntobeing always on their guard lest their spiritual enemies should surprise them-with all perseverance, being always intent on their object, and never losing sight of their danger or of their interest.10

"In the Epistle to the Romans, the apostle, exhorting men to renounce those sins to which they had been long accustomed, and to enter upon a new and holy life, uses a beautiful similitude, borrowed from the custom of soldiers throwing off their ordinary habit in order to put on a suit of armour. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore CAST OFF the works of darkness, and let us PUT ON the ARMOUR of light." (Rom. xiii. 12.) In another passage he represents, by a striking simile, in what manner the apostles were fortified against the opposition with which they were called to conflict in this world. By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the ARMOUR of righteousness ON THE RIGHT HAND AND ON THE LEFT. ." (2 Cor. vi. 7.)12

III. It is well known that the strictest subordination and obedience were required of every Roman soldier. An allusion to this occurs in the speech of the centurion to Jesus Christ (Matt. viii. 8, 9.) which has already been noticed above, and which is greatly illustrated by two striking passages in Arrian's Discourses of Epictetus:-speaking of the Saturnalia, he says,-" We agreed to play Agamemnon and Achilles. He who is appointed for Agamemnon says to me, Go to Achilles, and force away Briseis.'—I go.—'COME.'-1 come." "13 Again, discoursing on all things being under the divine inspection, he says," When God commands the plants to blossom, they bear blossoms. When he commands them to bear seed, they bear seed. When he commands them to bring forth fruit, they put forth their fruit. When he commands them to ripen, they grow ripe. When he commands them to fade and shed their leaves, and to remain inactive, and involved (or contracted) within themselves, they thus remain and are inactive."

Nor is the military subordination adverted to by the centurion, without its (almost verbal) parallel in modern times in the East:-Kirtee-Ranah, a captive Ghoorkha chief, who was marching to the British head-quarters,-on being interrogated concerning the motives that induced him to quit his native land and enter into the service of the Rajah of Nepal, -replied in the following very impressive manner:-"My master, the rajah, sent me: He says to his people,-to one, 'Go consisted of a hollowed reed, to the lower part of which, under the point or barb, was fastened a round receptacle, made of iron, for combustible materials, so that such an arrow had the form of a distaff. This was filled with burning naphtha; and when the arrow was shot from a slack bow (for if discharged from a tight bow the fire went out), it struck the enemies' ranks and remained infixed, the flame consuming whatever it met to extinguish it but by throwing earth upon it. Similar darts or arrows, which were twined round with tar and pitch, and set fire to, are described by Livy (lib. xxi. c. 8.), as having been made use of by the inhabitants of the city of Saguntum, when besieged by the Romans.

• Eri wariy, after all, or besides all: it never signifies above all. Aulos di XALIZES IT σ dieBaiver: After all, he himself passed with difficulty. Plutarch, Cæsar, p. 1311. edit. Gr. Stephan. Agoula @palov THY QXXXYYA, MITE TRUTH TOUS, AS IS TO EXEVOQopov: First, he led up the phalanx, next the cavalry, after all the baggage. Polybius, p. 664. Casaubon. ES 2018 Acis ivvie x TITσxpxxova xus unvas Suo: After all, Assis reigned forty-nine years and two months. Josephus contra Apion. p. 445. Havercamp.

The shield here intended (pros) is the scutum, or large oblong shield of the Romans, which was made of wood covered with hides, and derived its name from its resemblance to a door (upx). As faith is that Christian grace, by which all the others are preserved and rendered active, it is here properly represented under the figure of a shield; which covered and protected the whole body; and enables the believer to quench-to intercept, blunt, and extinguish, as on a shield-the fiery darts of the wicked one, that is, all those evil thoughts, and strong injections, as they are termed, which inflame the passions of the unrenewed, and excite the soul to acts of transgression.

BEAN WETUP. These dreadful weapons were frequently employed by the ancients. Πυρφορα τοξευμαία. Appian. p. 329. Πυρφόρους οίστοις BAAZ. Thucydides, tom. ii. lib. xi. p. 202. * Glasg.

Τοιους, αγριε δαιμον, έχεις πυροενίας οίστους. Oppian. Kuvy. lib. ii. ver. 425. According to Ammianus Marcellinus (lib. xxiii. c. 4.) these fiery darts

On the tops of the ancient helmets, as well as on those now in use, is a crest or ridge, furnished with ornaments; some of the ancient helmets had emblematic figures, and it is probable that Saint Paul, who in 1 Thess. v. 8. terms the helimet the hope of salvation, refers to such helmets as had on them the emblematic representation of hope. His meaning therefore is, that as the helmet defended the head from deadly blows, so the hope of salvation (of conquering every adversary, and of surmounting every difficulty, through Christ strengthening the Christian), built on the promises of God, will ward off, or preserve him from, the fatal effects of all temptations, from worldly terrors and evils, so that they shall not disorder the imagination or pervert the judgment, or cause men to desert the path of duty, to their final destruction.

Dr. Harwood's Introd. to the New Test. vol. ii. pp. 49, 50.

In the

10 Drs. Chandler, Macknight, and A. Clarke, on Eph. vi. 11-17. fifth of Bishop Horne's Discourses (Works, vol. v. pp. 60-72.) the reader will find an admirable and animated exposition of the Christian armour. 11 Αποθωμένα τα έργα του σκολους και ενδυσωμεθα τα όπλα του φωτός. Fulgentiaque induit arma. Virgil, Æneid. ii. ver. 747. HрNTON TOIVUV αδυσώμεν, ανάγκη γαρ τους μελλονίας ὑπλιζεσθαι, γυμνουσθαι πρότερον. Lu cian, tom. ii. p. 256. edit. Grævii.

12 Harwood's Introd. vol. ii. p. 52.

13 Arrian's Epictetus, book i. c. 25. § 1. (Mr. Carter's translation, vol. i. p. 113.) 14 Ibid. book i. c. 14. Raphelii Annotationes in Sacram Scripturam, ex Herodoto, &c. vol. i. pp 242, 243.