understand by this a section of the fruit | an idea of the form of the fruit and flower of this plant, both which are among the most striking objects of the vegetable world. itself, the cheeks being called in the Talmudic language, the pomegranates of the face. The annexed cut will give The Pomegranate abounds more particularly in Syria and the ancient Assyria, where it was held sacred and entered into the symbols of the heathen worship, as is plainly to be inferred from its giving name to an idolatrous temple, 2 Kings, 5; 18, called 'the house of Rimmon,' i. e. the Pomegranate. In Persia the heads of sceptres and honorary staves were formed in the shape of a Pomegranate. It was also held sacred in Egypt; and in all countries where it was not to be found, the poppy, which also abounds in seeds, was chosen in its stead. Both were dedicated by the pagans to the generative powers, their numerous seeds rendering them an apt emblem of prolific properties. Hence at marriages- the bride was crowned with a chaplet in which were inserted the flowers of pomegranates and poppies as an omen of fruitfulness. As then the idea of fruitful increase is prominent among the symbolical notions attached to this plant and its fruit, there is perhaps ample ground for the suggestion, that this singular appurtenance to the High Priest's dress, in conjunction with the bells, was designed to intimate that the sound of the gospel should not be in vain; that wherever the sound of the doctrine of Christ and the apostles should come, then it should bear fruit, or that churches should be gathered bringing forth the fruits of righteousness; the preaching of the gospel should be the means of begetting a spiritual progeny zealous of good works. The remarks of Prof. Edwards are too pertinent to this point not to be cited in the present connexion. "The golden bells on the Ephod, by their precious matter and pleasant sound do well represent the good profession that the saints make; and the pomegranates the fruit they bring forth. And as in the hem of the (robe of the) Ephod, bells and pomegranates were constantly connected, as is once and again observ. ed,' a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate'-so it is in the true saints. Their good profession, and their good fruit, do constantly accompany one another. The fruit they bring in life answers the pleasant sound of their profession.' Treat. on Affect, Part III. p. 395. Of blue, purple, scarlet, &c. Although the body of this garment was of let, round about the hem thereof; | heard when he goeth in unto the and bells of gold between them holy place before the LORD, and round about: when he cometh out, that he die 36 And t thou shalt make a 34 A golden bell and a pomegran- | not. ate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe plate of pure gold, and grave upon round about. it like the engravings of a signet, 35 And it shall be upon Aaron, to | HOLINESS TO THE LORD. minister: and his sound shall be t ch. 39. 30. Zech. 14. 20. made with him (Aaron), and gave him the priesthood among the people; he beautified him with comely ornaments, and clothed him with a robe of glory. He put upon him perfect glory; and strengthened him with rich garments, with breeches, with a long robe, and the ephod. And he compassed him with pomegranates, and with many golden bells round about, that as he went there might be a sound, and a noise made that might be heard in the temple, for a memorial to the children of his peo ple.' If this be well founded, and the sound of the bells had principal reference to the people, to remind them of the proper spirit and deportment to be observed on the occasion, then it may be suggested that the phrase, 'that he die not,' is perhaps to be understood not of Aaron, but to be rendered impersonally, that one die not,' 'that there be no dying,' i. e. that no one may presumptuously lay aside the becoming reverence and thus expose himself to death. The original will no doubt admit of this construction, but whether it be the true one, we are not prepared to decide. one uniform color, a beautiful blue, be admonished of the High Priest's enyet the skirts were ornamented with trance into the Holy Place, and so this parti-colored fringe-work, wrought unite their prayers with his incense somewhat like the silken balls, or ball-offering, An everlasting covenant he tassels, of modern upholstery, into the shape of the fruit here mentioned.Bells of gold. Of the suggesting origin of this part of the dress of the High Priest it is difficult to give any account. That bells were not unknown in the costume of the East is evident from the Targum on Est. 6. 10, where Ahasuerus says to Haman 'Go to my wardrobe, and take one of my best purple cloaks, and of the best silk vests, with gems at the four corners of it, and golden bells and pomegranates hanging round about.' Michaelis conjectures that the Oriental kings of that period were accustomed to wear little bells upon some part of their robes in order to give notice that that they were near by, and that the people might retire. Hence perhaps the use of bells as a symbol of the reverence due to holy places. This idea is favored by the strong language, v. 35, where the punishment of death is threatened upon the neglect of this ceremony; which would seem to imply that as in the etiquette of an Eastern court, no one would rush rudely, or without some kind of annunciation, into the presence of the sovereign, so the High Priest was not to be guilty of the irreverence of approaching the Oracle without some kind of signal of his coming. Another use of this appendage of the mantle, as inferred from Ecclus. 45. 7 9, was, that the people collected in the court around the sanctuary might THE GOLDEN PLATE AND MITRE. 36. Thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, &c. Heb. 7 tzitz. Gr. πɛradov, petal, leaf. Vulg. 'Lamina,' plate. Arab. 'Fillet.' Luth. 'Forehead-plate.' The original word y tzitz, from In tzutz, to flourish, is generally mitre upon his head; also upon the Aaron. But whatever uncertainty may otherwise envelope the subject, this is clear beyond question, that the Plate understood to signify a flower, and the Greek rendering petal would seem to be founded upon this sense, implying either that the plate was itself of the form of a flower, or was curiously wrought with flower-work. Such also was plainly the opinion of Josephus, who gives a minute description of the particular kind of flower or calyx which was figured upon the plate. Rosenmuller, however, contends that this rendering in this place is founded upon a false interpretation of, which does not, he says, legitimately signify a flower, nor has it any relation to flowers or flower-work, but properly denotes some-flower-work on the priestly Mitre of thing glistening, radiant, effulgent, and is here applied to the plate on the Mitre, from the flashing splendors which beamed from it. But the ideas of flourish-was the principal part of the Mitre, and ing and of emitting splendor are somewhat closely related in all languages, as nothing is more common with us for instance than to speak of the brightness or splendid hues of flowers, and from the usus loquendi of the term it cannot at all be questioned that the dominant sense of is that of flowers or flow-person of the High Priest, their head ering plants. Yet it is very possible that the two ideas of efflorescence and shining may be combined in this passage, especially if we suppose, as we think was undoubtedly the case, that some kind of floral ornament was wrought upon the glistening gold plate of the Mitre. In describing the execution of this order, Ex. 39. 30, it is said, they made the plate of the holy crown (pp tzitz nëzer hakkodesh) of pure gold,' &c., where that the badges of the priestly are closely interwoven with those of the kingly dignity in the appointed vesture of the Jewish pontiff. For this fact a twofold reason may be assigned. In the first place, the entire nation of Israel was in a sense concentrated in the and representative. It was the high prerogative of this favored people to be chosen as a 'royal priesthood,' a 'kingdom of priests,' and the unity of the nation, in this exalted character, was made visible in the person of him who was ordained as their supreme dignita. ry. Nothing therefore would be more natural or appropriate than that cor responding symbols or badges of this twofold distinction should appear on the head-dress of the High Priest, as we here learn to have been the fact. Indeed the Jewish tradition amplifies this idea somewhat, and affirms a threefold dignity of their race, which they say was indicated by a triplet of crowns, viz., the crown of the priesthood, the crown of the kingdom, and the crown of the law. Secondly, this conjunction of sacerdotal and royal symbols in the 37 And thou shalt put it on a blue | tre; upon the fore-front of the milace, that it may be upon the mi- tre it shall be. Mitre was intended to serve as a typ ical intimation of the union of these two offices in the person of Christ, who was to sit as 'a priest upon his throne, being made a priest after the order of Melchizedek, king of righteousness. קרש לוחוח יורש לוחות out. THE GOLDEN PLATE OF THE MITRE. a holy covenant.' The children of Is rael could not look upon it without being reminded of the great principle which Jehovah would have to pervade all his worship, and which is else. where so solemnly announced, 'I will be sanctified in all them that draw nigh unto me.' And to the saints in all ages it should serve as a remem brancer of the equivalent intimation, that as he which hath called us is holy, so are we to be holy in all manner of conversation.' ¶ Like the engravings of a signet. | the conscience, ‘a holy God, a holy serIt is probable that the Jewish writers | rice, a holy minister, a holy people, and are correct in supposing that the letters were not cut or grooved into the plate, but were rather embossed or made to stand in relief upon it. The precise manner in which this was done, cannot at present be determined, but Maimonides says that in working the inscription, the instruments were applied to the inside and not to the outside of the plates, so as to make the letters stand T HOLINESS TO THE LORD. Heb. kodesh la-Yehovah, holiness to Jehovah, or the holiness of Jehovah, according to the Gr. which has ȧyiaopa kupiov, the holiness, or sanctification, of the Lord. This was perhaps the most conspicuous object of the High Priest's dress, and was in fact a significant memento of the character of the entire service in which he sustained so prominent a part. By this inscription the wearer became as a city set on a hill, which cannot be hid;' the bright memorial incessantly, though silently, proclaiming to the eye, to the heart, to 37. And thou shalt put it on a blue lace. An idiomatic expression for 'put upon it.' It was to hang by a ribbon of blue upon the Mitre, as is intimated in the words following, and as represented in the cut. The Talmudists however say, there were three ribbons, one at each ear, and one in the middle, passing over the head. We have accordingly so represented it on the smaller figure in the cut, as there is no inconsistency in supposing it to have 38 And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, that Aaron may u bear u ver. 43. Lev. 10. 17. & 22. 9. Numb. 18. 1. Isai. 53. 11. Ezek. 4. 4, 5, 6. John 1. 29. Hebr. 9. 28. 1 Pet. 2. 24. been the case. That it may be upon the mitre. Heb. b mitznepheth, from tzanaph, to urap, to enwrap, to roll round. The term applies itself at once to the style of head. dress common among the Arabs, Turks, Persians, and other Oriental nations, called the turban, and formed of a number of swathes or foldings of cloth. As nothing is said of the precise form of the High Priest's Mitre, we are doubtless at liberty to suppose it justly rep. resented in the main by an eastern turban, though perhaps of more than usual amplitude. By the ancient Greeks this kind of covering for the head was called tiara, and cidaris, and sometimes diadema; and that it was not unusual to have it made of fine linen, as in the present case, is clear from the fact that Justin relates of Alexander the Great, the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his fore that he took the diadem from his head to bind up the wounds of Lysimachus. From these titles we perceive new evidence that the priestly Mitre carried at the same time a kingly import; and it is even supposed that the inveterate predilection of the Orientals for the turban arises from the belief of some mystic virtue emblematic of sovereignty still clinging to it. The Mitre of Aaron merely covered the crown and upper part of the head without descending low upon the forehead, which was left bare for the golden Plate to lie upon it below the edge of the Mitre. In this respect the Mitre of the High Priest differed from the bonnets of the common priests, which having no plate sunk lower on the forehead. In other points the general resemblance was very striking. |