The Temple in the Days of our Savior Described, Chapter 18
CHAP. XVIII. The Court of the Women.
THe Courts of the Temple (to the ſurveying of which we are now come) were properly two, The Court of Iſrael and The Court of the Women: For though there was indeed a diſtinction between the Court of Iſrael and the Court of the Prieſts, as that the one was not the other, and they that came into the one, might not come into the other, yet was the one ſo within the other, and the partition between the one and the other ſo ſmall, and but one boundary that incloſed them both, that they were indeed not ſo very properly two Courts, as two ſeverall places for the Prieſts and for the Iſraelites to ſtand in, in one Court: But the Court of Iſrael and the Court of the women were ſo truely and apparently two different Courts, that they lay one before another, and they were parted and divided one from another, with a very high wall.
The Court of the women is not mentioned in Scripture by that expreſſe name and title in any place, but yet it is ſpoken of there under two or three other Epithets, or denominations. 1 It is called the New Court, 2 Chron. 20.5. where it is ſaid that Jchoſhaphat ſtood in the congregation of Judah and Jeruſalem in the houſe of the Lord before the new Court: that is, he and all the congregation ſtood in the mountaine of the houſe Eaſtward before the Court of the women. Now David Kimchi upon the place though he ſpeake not out ſo much, yet he concludeth indeed that that new Court meaneth the Court of the Women, and hee giveth two reaſons why it is called New: [a]Kimch. in 2 Chron. 20.either becauſe it had gone to decay, and they had newly repaired it, or becauſe they had made ſome new Lawes concerning it, foreign and had appointed that none that were defiled, ſo as they needed to waſh themſelves the ſame day, ſhould come within the Camp of Levi: which is a peculiar prohibition in[b]Kelim per. 1. the Talmud as concerning this court of the women:[c]C. Lemper. in Mid. fol. 62. But rather it was called new, becauſe it was not made when the other Court was by Solomon, but added in aftertime.
There is mention indeed of the Inner Court built by Solomon 1 Kings 6.36. which inferreth an outer, but that outer meaneth the whole mountaine of the houſe which lay without the Court of Iſrael, as is well obſerved by ſome of the Hebrew Doctors, and that is it which is alſo called the great Court, in contradiſtinction to the Court of the Prieſts, 2 Chron. 4.9. And in that there is mention onelyonly of Solomons building the inner Court, it is an argument that hee built but that Court, and that this that we are ſpeaking of, was not extant in his time, but taken in and built afterward, either by Aſa or by Jehoſhaphat, before that time and occaſion that the text mentioned in the book of Chronicles ſpeaketh of: and ſo there came to bee two Courts in the Houſe of the Lord, 2 Kings 21.5.
2 It is called The outer Court, Ezek. 46.21.[d]Mid. per. 2. & Kimch. in loc. as that text is generally and truely underſtood by the Iewiſh writers, which we ſhall have occaſion to examine anon; and the reaſon of the name doth eaſily appeare, namely becauſe it lay on the outſide of the Court of Iſrael, and further off from the Temple.
3. It is alſo called The Treaſury, John 8.20. the reaſon of which name we ſhall obſerve before wee have done with the ſurvey of this Court.
But by the Jewiſh writers it is generally and ordinarily called foreign The Court of the Women; and the reaſon of that name was, becauſe the women might goe no higher or further, then into this Court.[e]Joſeph. de Bell. l. 5. c. 14. & Antiq. l. 15. c. 14. foreign, This being the proper place for them to worſhip in, and foreign, further then this towards the Temple was unacceſſible to them: onelyonly when a woman brought a ſacrifice, ſhe might goe into the Court of Iſrael, as we have obſerved in another place.
This Court lay at the Eaſt end of the Court of Iſrael, and was parted from it by a high wall, ſo that whoſoever came to worſhip here, could ſee nothing of the ſervice in the other Court, and indeed heare but little unleſſe they went up the ſteps of the gate and looked in: for til you came to the middle of the entry of the gate that went up into the upper Court, it was but of the ſame holineſſe with the Court of the women, but beyond the middle, it was holier.
The floore of this Court was even and levell throughout,[f]Mid. ubi ant. and it was a perfect ſquare of 135 cubits long, and 135. cubits broad; and it was curiouſly flag'd with marble, as indeed was all the ſpace, both Courts, Chel, and the other ſpace that was within the wall that incompaſſed the holy ground: And they have this tradition about the pavement of the Court, where the Altar ſtood,[g]Maym. in beth habbech. per. 1. That all the Court was flag'd with faire ſtones, and if any flag were looſed, although it lay ſtill in its place, yet was it not lawfull to ſtand upon it to do any part of the ſervice till it were faſtned againe.
The entring into the Court of the women was by three gates, one on the Eaſt, one on the North, and one on the South, and there was a fourth on the Weſt, which went up out of this Court into the upper Court or that of Iſrael. All theſe gates as alſo all the other that went into the upper Court (of which hereafter) were[h]Joſeph. de Bell. ubi ſupr. foreign, gilt all over both poſts and lintels, one onelyonly excepted, of which inſtantly.
We will goe up at the Eaſt gate out of the foreign Chel, out of which there were five ſteps that roſe up to the gate to land you in it. The gate it ſelfe was exceeding ſumptuous and exceeding beautifull: and this was that which was called the beautifull gate of the Temple, Act. 3.2. at which the Creeple lay begging of almes, both of men and women that went into the Temple; At this gate began foreign, The inner Temple, as Joſephus doth often call it, diſtinguiſhing between that ſpace that was incloſed within the boundary wall that incompaſſed the whole holy ground, and that ſpace that was incloſed within the wall that incompaſſed the Courts: the former of them was called the outer Temple, and the latter was called the inner, and both of them bare the name of the Temple: and ſo in the Scripture, whoſoever went but within the compaſſe of the holy ground, is ſaid to have gone into the Temple.
Now this gate being the very front and entrance into the Inner Temple, or into that ſpace within which the choiceſt ſanctity and bravery of the Temple was, it was built and decked with ſuch ſumptuouſneſſe and ſingular gallantry, as was fitting for the frontiſpice of ſo brave a place: And hence it came to beare the name of beautifull, and that the rather alſo, in compariſon of the gate Shuſhan, or the outmoſt Eaſt gate that entered into the mountaine of the houſe, for that was but a low and homely gate-houſe, for a reaſon that hath been obſerved heretofore: but this was goodly and lofty, and ſtood bravely mounted upon the far higher ground.
This gate Joſephus [i]Joſeph. ubi ſupr.calleth the Corinthian gate, becauſe it was of Corinthian braſs, whereas the reſt of the gates were gilt with gold. And here occurreth a difference betwixt him and the Talmudicall writers; for they do unanimouſly hold the brazen gate to be the gate of Nicanor (which wee ſhall ſurvey anon) which was the gate that went out of the Court of the Women into the Court of Iſrael: but he doth as confidently affirme on the other hand, that it was that that went out of the Chel into the Court of the women. His words are theſe Mia foreign. There was one gate without the Temple of Corinthian braſſe, which exceeded in glory thoſe of gold or ſilver: Now where this gate ſtood, namely, in that place that we are upon, appeareth by this paſſage of his a little after. The gate above the Corinthian gate which opened Eaſt, over againſt the gate of the Temple, &c.
It is not much materiall to determine whether of theſe Eaſterne gates were of braſſe, it is onelyonly needfull to be reſolved which of them was that that was called the gate of Nicanor, (becauſe upon the knowledge of that there are divers things depending, and in the next chapter but one, ſhall be ſhewed that it was that gate that went out of the Court of the Women into the Court of Iſrael.) But if I were to moderate between the differing parties, I ſhould ſay their difference in this matter is not reall, but onelyonly apparent: Joſephus calls the gate that came into the Court of the Women, the brazen gate, becauſe it was all ſo, poſts and lintell and all overlaid with braſſe, which ſhone above gold: but the Talmudiſts ſay, the doores of the gate of Nicanor were only of braſſe, but the whole front of the gate beſide, all of gold: and ſo that was not the brazen gate, but onelyonly brazen doores, but the other was properly the brazen gate.
When Peter and Iohn had healed the Creeple at this gate, the text ſaith, that he went with them into the Temple, that is, into the Court of the Women, which was the common and ordinary place of worſhip for thoſe that brought not a Sacrifice, and from thence he went backe againe with them through this gate into Solomons porch or the Eaſterne cloiſter of the Mountaine of the houſe, and there they preach and convert five thouſand. And now let us go up through this gate into the Court, and ſurvey it it ſelfe.
foreign [i]Mid. ubi ſupr.In the four corners of the Court of the women there were four roomes of forty cubits, and they were not floored over, and thus they ſhall be in time to come, ſay the Talmudicks from Ezek. 46.21,22. Now theſe four rooms were every one 40 cubits long from Eaſt to Weſt, and 30 cubits broad from North to South, for ſo may we beſt interpret it according to the place alledged in the Propheſie of Ezekiel, His words are theſe, Then he brought me forth to the utter Court, and cauſed me to paſſe by the 4 corners of the Court, and behold in every corner of the Court there was a court. In the 4 corners of the Court were Courts foreign of 40 cubits long and 30 broad. The word foreign is of doubtfull ſignification, and diverſly interpreted: The Lxx read it foreign little, for ſo they render it foreign A little Court, and it is eaſie to ſee how they miſtooke foreign for foreign: ſome underſtand it according to the Chaldee tranſmutation of foreign changed into foreign and thinke it meaneth foreign joined, and ſo our Engliſh hath it, and ſo[k]Aruch in foreign Rabbi Nathan, produceth ſome inſtances of the word in this ſenſe, but concludeth that foreign the word foreign meaneth nothing but that theſe buildings were not floored over, and in the very ſame opinion doth the[l]Mid. ubi ſupr. Talmud, [m]R. Sol. & Kimch. in Ezek. 46.Rabbi Solomon and David Kimchi joyne with him, and in the very ſame words; But how to underſtand this is ſomewhat difficult: If wee ſhould conceive that they were clearly open on the top without any covering at all, the conſtant workes that were done in them, and the things that were laid up in them will deny that; and if we ſhall ſay they were roofed over, how ſhall we anſwer to the generall teſtimony of the Hebrew Doctors which holdeth otherwiſe. We will therefore looke firſt to what uſe theſe ſeverall roomes were conſtantly put, and then we ſhall be the better in abled to judge of this matter.
[n]Mid. ubi ſupr.1 That in the South-eaſt corner was a roome for Nazarites foreign: For there they boiled their peace-offerings, polled their haire and pnt it under the pot, according to the Law, Numb. 6.18.[o]Nazir. per. 1. Nazariſm was moſt ordinarily for thirty dayes: though ſometime it was for yeares and ſometime for terme of life. He whoſe vow was expired, was to bring three beaſts, one for a burnt-offering, another for a ſin-offering, and a third for a peace-offering:[p]Ibid. per. 6. If he polled his head in the Country, as Paul did at Cenchrea, he was to bring his haire and burne it under the Caldron where his peace-offering was boiling, which was in this place that we are ſpeaking of: And if he polled it here, it was the readier.
The Jewes in the Treatiſe alledged in the Margine above, ſpeake of foreign A Samſon Nazarite and an everlaſting Nazarite, not but that Samſon was a Nazarite alwayes: but they uſe this diſtinction in reference to the manner of the Vow making. He that tooke on him to be a Nazarite like Samſon, as ſaying. Behold I will be a Nazarite like Samſon, or like the Son of Manoah, or like the husband of Delilah, or like him that carried away the gates of Azzah, or like him whoſe eyes the Philiſtims put out: ſuch a one might never cut his haire, but it muſt ever grow upon him: and ſuch a Nazarite did Abſalom take upon him to be, but he was forced to cut his haire once every yeare, it was ſo heavy: But he that was a Nazarite everlaſting (that is, that tooke upon him Nazariſme upon other termes, as he that ſaid I will be a Nazarite according to the number of the haires of my head, or the duſt of the Earth, or ſand of the Sea ſhore) he might poll his head once in thirty dayes: but his haire was not to be thus burnt, becauſe his vow was not out. But he whoſe vow was expired, whereſoever he polled his head was to come to this place, and here to boyl his Peace-offering and to burn his haire, and the Prieſt tooke the ſhoulder as it boiled, and a Cake and a wafer of unleavened bread, and put all upon the hands of the Nazarite, and waved them, and then was the Nazarite at liberty to drink wine, and to be defiled by the dead. But R. Simeon ſaith that as ſoon as any of the bloud of any of the Lambes was ſprinkled on him, hee was at this liberty: The ſame tract alſo ſpeaketh of women Nazarites as [o]Ibid. per. 3Queen Helena who was a Nazarite firſt by her own ingagement ſeven years, and by coming into the land of Iſrael ſeven years more, and by a difilement, ſeven years more, one and twenty in all: [p]Ibid. per. 6And Mary of Tarmud, who whileſt the bloud of her offerings was ſprinkling on her, word was brought her that her daughter was in danger of death, and ſhee went away, the ſprinkling halfe done, and half undone, and found her daughter dead: and came againe and was ſprinkled out: Now to inquire whether theſe women cut their haire at the expiring of their vow, is not much to this place and purpoſe, and therefore wee ſhall not trouble our ſelves at preſent to hearken after it. But me thinkes that[q]Iuchaſin. fol. 15 trac. 1. paſſage of Simeon the juſt, was to purpoſe, who in all his life time would take a ſin-offering but of one Nazarite only, and his reaſon was, becauſe hee thought they made their vowes in ſome paffion, and repented of it when they bad done.
2.[r]Mid. ubi. ſupra. The North-eaſt rooms foreign was the place of the wood, where the prieſts that had blemiſhes did ſearch the wood for wormes; for any wood that had wormes in it was unclean for to burne upon the Alter. [s]Maym. in biath hamikdaſh per. 6. Mid. per. 5.The great Sanhedrin ſate in the building Gazith, and a main worke of theirs continually. was, that they judged of the Prieſthood, and tryed the Prieſts as concerning their genealogy (whether they were truly of the Prieſtly line or no,) and concerning blemiſhes (whether they were fit to ſerve or no) every one that was found ſailing of the right pedegree, was cloathed with black, and vailed with black, and got him out of the Court. But whoſoever was found right and perfect was cloathed with white (compare Rev. 3.4. & 7.9. and went in and ſerved with the Prieſts his brethren: VVhoſoever war found of the right blo…d of the Prieſts, but ſome blemiſh was found in him, he went and ſate him down in the woodroom, and wormed the wood for the altar, and had his portion in the holy things, with the men of the houſe of his father, and eat with them. And when a Prieſt was found without blemiſh, they made holyday and great rejoicing, and bleſſed God for it with a Solemn prayer.
[e]Mid. ubi ſupr.3. The Northweſt roome foreign, was the roome of the lepers: After the many rites for the cleanſing of the leper abroad in the Countrey, at his own houſe,[u]Maym. in Tumeach tſoreah per. 11. as killing a Sparrow and be ſprinkling him with the bloud mingled with water, ſending another ſparrow flying in the open aire, ſhaving himſelfe with a razour every haire off, &c. On the ſeventh day hee was to ſhave himſelf again, and to waſh himſelf in water, and then he was clean from defiling and might come within Jeruſalem. On the eight day he brought three lambes, for a ſin-offering, treſpaſſe-offering, and burnt-offering[w]Talm. in Negain, per. 11. foreign Hee bathed himſelf in the Lepers roome, and went and ſtood in the gate of Nicanor, and there the Prieſts beſprinkled him, &c. the manner of which we have obſerved elſewhere.
[x]Mid. ubi ſupr.4. The South weſt room was called foreign The houſe of the oil. [y]Ibich et Mayin. in Beth. habbech per. 5.For there they laid up the wine and the oil, whereof there was ſo frequent and conſtant uſe by the appointment of the Law in their meat and drink offerings, ſee Numb. 15.
And now that wee have ſeene the uſe and imployment to which theſe roomes were put, it is the more ſeaſonable to conſider of that which we mentioned before, namely whether theſe four roomes in the four corners of the Court of the women, were quite open to the skyes, or roofed over, and in what ſenſe to takethe word foreign
Two things doe here meet us which are conſiderable. 1. That theſe places in Ezekiel are called Courts: 2. That he ſaith in every one of them there were boyling ranges, to boyl the Sacrifices of the people. Ezek. 46.21, 21. And yet doth the Talmud allot them to theſe particular uſes. All which, and what is ſaid moreover, that they were not roefed over, may very well conſiſt together. For grant every one of theſe ſpaces to bee built within with chambers round about: there might bee very fair chambers and yet a good handſome open Court in the middle: At either end chambers of 10 cubits broad, & yet an open ſpace of 20 cubits between: And on either ſide chambers of ſeven or eight cubbits broad: and yet an open ſpace of fourteen or ſixteen cubits between: Thus therefore doth the building in theſe places ſeeme to bee; that there were fair chambers round about which were roofed over as other buildings, and in the middle was an open court, round about which were boyling ranges, whoſe chimneys went up in the inner walls of the chambers or the walls to the open place: And ſo the word foreign to be rendred caminata, as it is by ſome, and as by our Engliſh Bibles margin made with chimneys. And thus were theſe places roofed, but not as the reſt of the buildings about the Temple, with a continued roof, for here was a void place or even quadrangle in the middle, and thus did the inner Court ſerve for boyling places, and the rooms round about for other uſes.
Such was the Platform of the Court of the women. It was a perfect ſquare: in the midſt of every one of the walls of it was a gate: in every corner of it, was one of theſe buildings: and now what was between theſe buildings along the wall till it came to the gate? was it cloiſtered all along, as were the other walls about the Temple? The Talmud anſwers that at firſt it was not foreign [z]Piske Toſapb. ad Mid.The Court of the women was not cloiſtered about: but foreign [a]Mid. ubi ſupr.It was all plain at firſt, and nothing but pavement and bare walls: but upon ſome experience of inconveniences that they found they made cloiſters, and balcones or galleries within the cloiſters upon three ſides of it, Eaſt, North and South, all about: The inconvenience R. Nathan tels us was this foreign [b]Aruch in foreign Talm. in Succah. per. 5.That men and women being promiſcuouſly mingled together, it was occaſion of lightneſſe and irreverence. Therefore they made a balcone (foreign in Nathan & Maymony, but foreign in the Talmud) round about the Court, which came out from the wall and was roofed over bead. And ſo the women ſtood in thoſe galleries, and men ſtood in the Court below: And it is a Tradition, that at the firſt when they looked on the feſtivity of powring out of water, the men were within, and the women without, which cauſed ſome irreverence: whereupon they made three galleries in the Court, upon three ſides of it, that they might bebold from above.
So that at firſt there were neither cloiſters nor balcones in this Court, till this inconvenience put them upon making of ſuch: and then they were but galleries or balcones, without any cloiſtering with the ſupport of pillars, as there was in the other Court: But in the ſumptuous buildings that Herod made of and about the Temple, this Court was cloiſtered with as much ſtate & bravery as was the other, or as was the mountain of the Houſe which we have ſurveyed, only whereas that was a double cloiſter all about, but on the South, where it was treble, the cloiſters of both the Courts were only ſingle: Take the Teſtimony of Joſephus about this matter.[c]Ioſ. de bel. lib. 5. cap. 14. foreign: He had been ſpeaking immediately before concerning the gates and paſſages into both the Courts, and it may not be amiſs for the better underſtanding of the paſſage before us, to take up his words a little at large. foreign From thence (out of the foreign cbel) five ſteps brought you up unto the gates, which on the North and South were eight in number, namely four on either ſide: and two neceſſarily on the Eaſt, for the Court appropriated to the women to worſhip in being walled on that quarter, there muſt needs bee a ſecond gate, which opened juſt oppoſite to this firſt. And as for the other ſides (of the Court of the women) there was one gate on the South and another the North by which they entered into the womens Court: For through the other gates (of the Court of Iſrael) women might not enter, nor goe beyond the incloſure of their own Court. And that place was permitted for the Iews that dwelt in the land, and that dwelt in forreign countryes to worſhip in: Now the Weſt quarter had no gate at all, but the wall there was built continued (without any opening of a gate in it) And then he comes on with this ſaying foreign, &c. Now the cloiſters which ran between the gates along by the wall, turning inward before the treaſuries, were born up with exceeding fair and great pillars: But they were ſingle and they wanted nothing in their exceeding greatneſſe of thoſe that were below.
Now in that hee ſaith theſe cloiſters were foreign, along by the wall turning inward, his meaning is, that they were joyning to the wal, and ſtood within the Courts and not without, and ſo they ran along the Courts within from gate to gate: And they wanted nothing of the greatneſſe of the pillars and cloiſters that were below along the wall of the mountaine of the houſe, but only that thoſe were double and theſe ſingle: And as for the cloiſter in the Court of the women, it had this difference, both from thoſe in the mountaine of the houſe, and thoſe in the Court of Iſrael, that this had a gallery made in it for women to ſtand in and to look down into the Court, whereas the others had no interpoſition but were uninterrupted to the roof.
This Court of the women was the place, where both men and women, did ordinarily worſhip, that either came to pray at other times then the houres of prayer, or that at the houres of prayer came and brought no Sacrifice with them. In this Court it was, where Paul was laid hold upon, as a violater of the Sanctity of the place in the peoples repute, who thought hee had brought Gentiles in hither, Act. 21.26, 27, &c. who might not goe ſo much as into the chel. In this Court did the High Prieſt once a year, namely at the Feaſt of Expiation read a portion of the Law, and the King once in ſeven yeares, namely at the Feaſt of Tabernacles in the year of Releaſe: and here every year at the Feaſt of Tabernacles was the great dancing, ſinging and rejoycing, for the drawing and powring out of water, of which and of the other particulars named, I have given the full account, in the treatiſe of The Temple Service.