which is let down into the well, sometimes by means of a pulley, and sometimes by merely sliding the rope over the stone curb of the well. It is no

uncommon thing to find well-curbs with deep furrows in them, worn by the friction of the ropes which have for many years passed over them.

796.-CONTEMPT FOR WOMEN.

IV, 27. Upon this came his disciples, and marveled that he talked with the woman.

Their astonishment was not only because of the non-intercourse of the Jews and the Samaritans, but also because it was unusual for a Jewish teacher to converse with women in a public place. The rabbins expressed their contempt for women by teaching that they were not to be saluted or spoken to in the street, and they were not to be instructed in the law.

797.-SEALING.

VI, 27. Him hath God the Father sealed.

Burder (Oriental Customs, No. 1120) suggests that there may be an allusion here to the sacrificial death of Christ, and cites from Herodotus an account of the ceremonies accompanying the selection of a victim for sacrifice among the ancient Egyptians. If, after careful search, the animal was found without blemish, the priest bound a label to his horns, applied wax to the label, and sealed it with his ring. This set it apart for sacrifice, and no

animal could be offered unless thus sealed. We have no knowledge of any such ceremony among the Jews, though they were careful in selecting their victims; but the sacrificial customs of other nations were doubtless known to them. The meaning of the text may, therefore, be, that Jesus had been set apart or "sealed" as a sacrifice in order that he might obtain eternal life for those who believe on him.

On the other hand, Lightfoot interprets the passage to mean that God had confirmed Jesus by his seal to be "the great Ruler both of his kingdom and family;" and he refers for illustration to a rabbinical form of instruction which declares the seal of God to be Truth, one of the names which Jesus applies to himself. See John xiv, 6. Compare also John iii, 33.

References to the sealing or setting apart of the people of God are made in 2 Cor. i, 22; Eph. i, 13; iv, 30; Rev. vii, 2. For a description of seals and sealing in a literal sense, see notes on 1 Kings xxi, 8, and Job xxxviii, 14.

798.-CEREMONIES AT THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES. VII, 37. In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.

In addition to the ceremonies originally prescribed at the institution of the Feast of Tabernacles, (see note on Exod. xxiii, 16,) were several others of a later date. Among these was the daily drawing of water from the pool of Siloam. Every morning of the seven days of the feast proper, at day-break, a priest went to the pool of Siloam and filled with water a golden pitcher, containing about two pints and a half. He was accompanied by a procession of the people and a band of music. On returning to the temple he was welcomed with three blasts from a trumpet, and going to the west side of the great altar he poured the water from the golden pitcher into a silver basin, which had holes in the bottom through which the water was carried off. This ceremony was accompanied with songs and shouts from the people and with the sound of trumpets. It is supposed to have been designed to represent three distinct things: 1. A memorial of the water provided for their fathers in the desert. 2. A symbol of the forthcoming "latter rain." 3. A representation of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the coming of the Messiah. To the last reference is made in verses 38, 39, and to the pouring out of the water Jesus no doubt refers in the text. Nearly all the authorities agree in saying that ou the eighth day this ceremony was dispensed with. There is great diversity of opinion, however, as to the meaning of "the last day, that great day of the feast; some supposing it to be the seventh, and others the eighth. It is urged that the eighth

day was not properly a part of the feast, but a special day of "holy convocation," the peculiar ceremonies of the feast having ceased at the close of the day previous, although the ritual provided special offerings for the eighth day. On the other hand, it is affirmed that the Jews held the eighth day in higher esteem than any of the seven others because they thought the solemnities of the day were designed especially for them, whereas on the other days all the nations of the world were included in the supplications that were offered. It is sufficient for our present purpose to say that, if the seventh day be intended by "the last," the Saviour probably uttered the words of the text at the time when the water was poured out by the officiating priest. If the eighth day be meant, then it is probable, as Alford suggests, that the words were used after the singing of the Hallel, just at the time when, on previous days, the water had been poured out.

It is thought by some that this custom of drawing water from Siloam and pouring it out by the side of the great altar was introduced before the Babylonish captivity, and that Isaiah refers to it when he says, "With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation." Isa. xii, 3.

799.-FREEDOM BY THE SON.

VIII, 36. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

It was a custom among some of the Grecian cities to permit the son and heir to adopt brothers, and thereby give them a share in the rights and privileges enjoyed by himself. To this some think reference is made in the text. Others think the reference is to a Roman custom by which the son, after his father's death, might, if he chose, give freedom to the slaves that were born in the house during his father's time.

800.-JEWISH HATRED OF SAMARITANS.

VIII. 48. Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan and hast a devil?

The contempt and hatred which the Jews entertained toward the Samaritans was manifested, not only in their refusal to have any dealings with them beyond what was demanded by necessity, (see chap. iv, 9,) but also in the fact that the Jews made the name of Samaritan a synonym for every thing that was vile and contemptible. As Lightfoot remarks, they could not in this instance have mistaken Jesus for a Samaritan literally, because, according to verse 20, he was in the treasury of the temple, a place where no Samaritan was permitted to come. They used the term figuratively as a reproach. Rosenmüller says: "There was a notorious and deadly hatred between the Jews and Samaritans on account of religion. For this reason the Jews, in the language of common life, applied the epithet 'Samaritan,'

not only to one who belonged to Samaria, but to every one whom they supposed had the mode of thinking and the principles of a Samaritan; and they, therefore, often designated by this name a sworn enemy of the Jewish people and the Jewish religion, and a morally bad man. So, in our own language, a man who has a propensity to cruelty and despotism we call a Turk, and a covetous rich man a Jew."-Morgenland, vol. v, p. 241.

801.-PERIOD OF MATURITY.

VIII, 57. Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen
Abraham?

The Jews considered fifty years as a period of maturity in human life. The expression in the text is therefore not to be considered, as some have strangely done, to imply that Jesus was nearly fifty years old at this time, but simply that, still being a young man, it was impossible that he could have seen Abraham.

802.-EXCOMMUNICATION.

IX, 22. The Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. According to the Talmud and the rabbins there were two, and perhaps three, grades of excommunication among the Jews. The first was called niddin, and those on whom it was pronounced were not permitted for thirty niddui days to have any communication with any person save at a distance of four cubits. They were not prohibited from attending public worship, though they could not during the thirty days enter the temple by the ordinary gate. They were not allowed during that time to shave, and were required to wear garments of mourning. The second was called cherem, and was pronounced on those who remained contumacious under the first. It was of greater severity than the other, and required the presence of at least ten members of the congregation to make it valid. The offender was formally cursed, was excluded from all intercourse with other people, and was prohibited from entering the temple or a synagogue. The third was called shammatha, and was inflicted on those who persisted in their contumacy. By this they were cut off from all connection with the Jewish people, and were consigned to utter perdition. It is not clear, however, that there was any real distinction between the second and third grades here noted.

Lightfoot suggests (in Horæ H-braicæ, on 1 Cor. v, 5) that the penalty of excommunication was probably inflicted for those faults for which neither the law nor tradition made any certain provision. The Talmud assigns as the two general causes of excommunication, money and epicurism. The first refers to those who refused to pay the moneys which the court directed them to pay; and the second refers to those who despised the word of God or of the scribes. Some rabbinical writers enumerate twenty-four different

offenses for which excommunication was inflicted, some of them being frivolous in the extreme.

Excommunication is alluded to in Matt. xviii, 17; John ix, 34; xii, 42; and xvi, 2. Some think our Lord, in Luke vi, 22, refers to the several grades above noticed: "Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake."

803.-THE SHEEP-FOLD.

X, 1. He that entereth not by the door into the sheep-fold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

In this beautiful figure reference is made to the place of shelter for the sheep where they might repose at night, and be safe from the attacks of wild

beasts.

157.-SHEEP-FOLD.

The modern sheep-folds of Syria, which no doubt resemble those of ancient times, are low, flat buildings opening into a court, which is surrounded by a stone wall, protected on the top by a layer of thorns. A door. way carefully guarded forms the entrance. Sheep-folds are referred to in a number of passages. See Num. xxxii, 16, 24, 36; 1 Sam. xxiv, 3; 2 Chron. xxxii, 28; Psa. lxxviii, 70.

804.-SHEPHERD AND SHEEP.

X, 3-5. He calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him; for they know not the voice of strangers.

1. The Eastern shepherds give names to their sheep, as we do to dogs and horses. Every sheep recognizes his own name, and comes when called.