The Temple in the Days of our Savior Described, Chapter 24
CHAP. XXIIII. The water gate foreign and the roome of Abhtines. foreign.
AT the weſt end of the Draw-well roome, was a gate that opened directly upon the Altar, which was called[a]Mid. per. 5. & Maym. in beth habbechir. per. 5. & Shekalim per. 5. the water gate. The reader will readily conceive the reaſon of the name to have been, becauſe it joyned ſo cloſe to the water-houſe, and this Etymologie might be very current and allowable, but the Talmudiſts give other reaſons of the name beſides. The Miſhneh in the treatiſe Shckolim, hath this ſpeech upon it.[b]Shekalim ibid. Why is the name of is called the Water-ga… … through is they brought the tankard of water, which was for the powring out of water at the feaſt of Tabernacles. Robbi … the ſon of Jacob ſaith, becauſe the waters ran out thereby, which came from under the threſhold Ezek. 47. Of theſe two reaſons the former is more generally intertained for current, and it is indeed the more reaſonable in it selfe. I have ſhewed in the treatiſe of the Temple ſervice, chap. 16. Sect. 4. how high and how ſtrange a ſolemnitie the Jewes had at the feaſt of Tabernacles, of powring out of water upon the Altar, and rejoycing after it: For whereas all the yeare beſides their libation foreign or powring out the drink-offering was of wine alone, they now added and mingled water with it, and tooke ſuch joy and rejoycing upon that action, as the like was not uſed at any other occaſion: the manner and reaſon of which is fully diſcourſed in that place:[c]Succah. per. 4. Now how was this libation of water? (ſaith the … in Succ….) There was a golden tankard that contained three logs: One filled it at Siloam, and brought it in at the water gate: and the trumpets ſounded &c. Siloam fountaine lay South of Jeruſalem (although the poole of Siloam lay on the weſt) and from thence the next way poſſibly to the altar was through this gate, it facing the Altar and the riſe to it, and it was no marvaile, if, ſeeing the powring out of water in libation was reputed ſo high a matter, the gate through which it was brought did take its name from the bringing of that water through it. And it is not to be paſſed without obſervation, that they fetched their water for this ſolemne libation from Siloam a great way off, when the Draw-well was ſo near at hand to have ſupplied it.
There is mention of a Water gate in Nehem. 8.3. where it is ſaid that Ezra read in the booke of the Law before the ſtreet that was before the Water gate: but this was a gate of the city, and not of the Temple, as is apparent in the ſame booke of Nehem. chap. 3. ver. 26. and whether it tooke that name from the waters iſſuing out of Solomons poole and running that way, or from the waters running that way from the Temple, as Ezek. 47.2. it is not a place here to diſcuſſe.
[d]Telmud. Jeruſ. in Joma per. 1.Over this gate of the Temple that we are about, which was called the water gate, there was a roome or chamber which was called foreign The chamber of the family of Abhtines. This Abhtines was one of the chiefe men that gave denomination to the office of which they were, to ſucceeding generations (as we obſerved ere while alſo about Phinehas the man of the wardrobe or veſtry) and he is mentioned in the treatiſe Shekalim, where all thoſe chieſe officers are reckoned up, which record let us take out here at large[e]Shekalim. per. 5. Theſe were chiefe officers which were in the Temple: Jochanan the ſon of Phinebas over the ſeales: (what theſe ſeales were, I have ſhewed in the Temple Service pag. 16.) Abijah over the drinke offerings. Mathia the ſon of Samuel over the lots: (ſee there pag. 102, 103.) Pethahiah over the birds (ibid. 87, 88. This Pethabiah is Mordecai: And why is his name called Pethabiah? becauſe he opened and expounded matters, and he underſtood the 70. languages. Ben Abijah over the diſeaſed in their bowels. Nechonia the digger of ciſternes. (ibid. pag. 17.) Gevini Keroz the ſon of Gebber over the ſhutting of the gates. Ben Bechi over the correction (to cudgell the Prieſts or Levites that were found aſleep upon the guards, ibid. pag. 50. 51.) Ben Arza over the cymball (ibid. pag. 58.) Hagros ben Levi over the ſong: Beth Garmu over the making of the ſhewbread: Beth Abhtines over the making of the incenſe: Eliezer over the vailes; And Phinehas over the wardrobe.
So that this Abhtines was one that had the overſight of the making of the incenſe: and all that ſucceeded in this office were called Beth Abhtines or the family of Abhtines, and this roome or chamber over the water-gate, was the place where they did their worke in this imployment.
Their traditionary receipt for the compounding and making of the incenſe wasth is:[f]Maym. in kele Mikdaſh per. 2. They had eleven Aromatick ſimples of which they tooke theſe quantities: Of Stacte onycha, Galbanum & frankincenſe of every one 70. pound weight: of Myrrhe, Caſſia, Calamus, Crocus, ana ſixteene pounds. Of Coſtus twelve pound, of Cinnamon nine pound, of Cloves three, in all 368 pound. All theſe they pounded very ſmall in a morta… (which was called[g]Erach. per. 2. Aruch. en foreign the mortar of the Sanctuary, and which mortar[h]Avoth. R. Nathan ad fin. was carried to Rome at the ſacking of Jeruſalem) & they added to it ſome Sodom ſalt, Amber of Jordan (rarities not rarely ſpoken of in Jewiſh writers) and an herbe of an odoriferous ſmoke, which very few were acquainted with: Every yeare they made this quantity of incenſe, and every day in the yeare there was a pound of it offered, and ſo of the 368 pound there was 365 pound gone: Of the three pounds that remaine, the Highprieſt tooke his handfull on the day of expiation: and the reſt was called foreign The reſidue of the incenſe: Not that the yearly ſtock was ſpent at the day of expiation, for it was not ſpent till the beginning of the month Niſan, but that this was the account of the expence of it: On the firſt day of the month Niſan or on their new years day, they began upon a new ſtock:[i]Maym. in Shekalim per. And the two pounds and odde that remained of the old, was given to workmen that repaired the Temple towards their pay: and then was bought of them againe, and uſed as of a new ſtock. Every ſingle ſpicery was pounded by it ſelfe, and all the while that he that pounded it, was about it, he ſtill ſaid foreign To be pounded well, to be pounded well, &c. and then they mingled alltogether.
It was a caution that foreign [k]Id. ubi ante.All the making & compounding of the incenſe ſhould be in the Sanctuary in the midſt of the Court: By which whether the very open place of the Court, be meant, or that part of this roome of Abhtines that ſtood in the Court it is not much important to diſpute; this was the roome in which the incenſe when it was made was reſerved, and likely it is that this alſo was the place where it was made: And here it was pounded againe twice a yeare, and aired and looked to that it might take no hurt.
[l]Talm. in Joma per. 1.Into this roome the High-prieſt was brought for a certaine time againſt the day of expiation, that he might learne to take his handfulls of ineenſe againſt that day, as was required, Levis. 16.12.[m]Aruch in foreign For this was the place (ſaith Aruch) where the incenſe was prepared: And they brought him hither that they might teach him to take his handfulls of it.
In this roome alſo the prieſts kept a guard every night, as it is related in the Talmud in the treatiſe Tamid and Middoth in theſe words[n]Tamid per. 1. & Mid. per. 1. In three places, the prieſts kept guards in the Sanctuary, nam… in Beth Abhtines, and in Beth Nitſots, and in Beth Mohadh: Beth Abhtines and Beth Nitſots were upper roomes, and there the younger prieſts kept, &c. which nightly guarding was intentlonally as much for the honour of the ſanctuary as for its ſecurity, and theſe two guard chambers Abhtines and Nitſots, were both over againſt the Altar, the one on the one ſide of the Court and the other on the other: and here the younger ſort of prieſts watched, but the grandees in Beth Makadh. in the furtheſt end of the Court weſt-ward, as we ſhall ſee when we come thither.
On the roofe of this water-gate, and of the roome Abhtines, there was a bath, in which the High-prieſt did waſh himſelfe the firſt time of his waſhing on the day of explation: for although the Bathing place, on the top of the roome of Happervah (which we ſhall ſurvey in its place) was the place where he waſhed ofteſt on that day, yet here he waſhed firſt: for here had he ſpent ſome time in the chamber of abhtines before the day came, and here was the ſitteſtand readieſt place for him to bath when the day was come: Here he had been all the night before, and when the morning was come, and he is to goe about the ſervice, he firſt goeth to the top of this gate and there batheth himſelfe in water. And this the treatiſe Joma intendeth when he ſaith thus:[o]Joma per. 3. Five bathings of his body and ten waſhings of his bands and feete did the High-prieſt uſe on that day, and all in the holy ground, on the top of the roome of Happarbah, but onelyonly the firſt, &c. This was a place moſt convenient for a bath, it being ſo neare the Draw-well roome, as joining to it, and this it may be helped forward the naming of it the watergate.