The Temple Service in the Days of our Savior Described, Chapter 15
CHAP. XV. Of the Service on the day of expiation.
THe institution of this solemn day, of which there is a large mention, Levit. 16. was first occasioned from this, that Moses on that very day, after three severall forty dayes Fasts came downe from the Mount, having obtained Israels full peace with God and reconciliation, and brought now with him the renewed Tables, and a full commission to build the Tabernacle, and to set up the solemn Worship in the midst of them.
[a]Ioma per. 1.Seven dayes before the day of expiation, they put the High-Priest a part from his own house into the Chamber, foreign Parhedrin: [b]Maym. in Iom. haccipparin. per. 1.lest his wife proving to be in her separation, should bring upon him an uncleannesse of seven dayes, and so prevent him of being fit for that dayes services.
They also appointed another Priest as his substitute, to perform the service of that day, if it should fall out, that any uncleannesse did befall him that he could not officiate, that so the service should not fall to the ground.
Every day of these seven, they caused him to sprinkle the bloud of the dayly Sacrifice, to burn the parts of it, to offer the incense and dresse the Lampes, that hee might be the better inured to those Services on that day when it came.
On the third day and on the seventh, they besprinkled him with the ashes of the red Cow, for fear he might have been defiled by the dead, and not aware of it.
They delivered to him some of the Elders of the Sanhedrin, who read before him the rubrick and order of that dayes service, and they said unto him, Sir High-Priest, read thou thy self, it may bee thou hast forgotten, or it may be thou hast not learned.
On the Eve of the day of expiation, that is, on the day before in the morning they brought him to the East-gate of the Courts, and there they made Bullocks, and Rams, and Lambs to passe before him, that still he be the better acquainted with every thing that he had to do.
Afterward the Elders of the Sanhedrin delivered him over to the Elders of the Priesthood; who brought him into the chamber of Abhtenes, that there he might learn to hand the incense: And there they gave him this oath: Sir High-Priest we are the Messengers of the Sanhedrin, and thou art our Messenger and the Sanhedrins, wee adjure thee by him that hath caused his name to dwell in this House that thou alter not any thing of what we have spoken to thee: and so they part weeping.
Now the reason of this solemn adjuration was because of the Sadduces, who had vented a doctrine, and some of them had ventured a practise contrary to the tradition of the Elders, namely to kindle the incense, and to make it smoke without the vaile, and to bring it smoking within: They swore him, saith[c]Talm. Ierus. in Ioma per. 1. Iuchasin. fol. 15. the Jerusalem Talmud, because of the Baithusaeans, who said, Let him kindle the incense without, and then bring it in: And there was one that did so, and when he came out, one said to his Father: Ye have been searching all your dayes, yet did ye never the thing to purpose till this man came and did it, he answered him: although we have been searching all our dayes, yet have we done according to the will of the wise men. And I shal much wonder if this man that hath done so, live long after. And they say he died shortly: namely within three dayes.
The Even being come, they suffered him to eat but sparingly, because fulnesse would make him drousie: for sleep he might not for fear of nocturnall pollution, but all the night, he, if he were learned, read and expounded the Scripture to them that were with him, if he were not learned, some other did, especially out of[d]Vid. gloss. in Ioma in Talm Babyl. per. 1. Job, Ezra, Daniel, and Chronicles, places that might most affect and prepare him for the service.
The day being come, (which was so strict a Fasting day,[e]Kerithuth. per. 1. as that to eat any thing, or to doe any work on it, fell under the penalty of being cut off) the High-Priest is now to prepare himself for the businesse. And first he puts off his ordinary wearing clothes, bathes himself in water[f]Mid. per. 5 (his bathing this day was on the roof of the room of Happarbah, a fine sheet hanging betwixt him and the sight of the people) wipes himself dry with a towell, and puts on the rich Garments of the High-Priesthood, washeth his hands and feet, killeth the dayly Sacrifice, burns the peeces, offers the incense, dresseth the Lamps, and doth all the service belonging to the ordinary dayly service: And so hee doth by the Bullock and seven Lambs of the extraordinary Sacrifice: And when he had done with these hee washed his hands and his feet again.
[g]Maym. ubi supra. per. 4.Then put he off his rich robes again and bathed himself and put on the white linnen garments appointed Levit. 16.4. and performed the peculiar services of that day, as first he goeth to his own Bullock, Levit. 16.6. (which stood between the Temple and the Altar) laid his two hands upon his head, and made this confession: Ah Lord, I have sinned, done perversly and transgressed before thee, I and mine house, I beseech thee O Lord expiate the sins, perversities and transgressions, whereby I have sinned, done perversly and transgressed, I and mine house, as it is written in the Law of Moses thy servant saying, for on this day hee will expiate for you to purge you from all your sins before the Lord that ye may bee clean.
[h]Id. ibid. per. 3.Then went he to cast the lots upon the two Goats, on the North-East part of the Court below the Altar: The two lots were ordinarily of Gold, peeces just of one and the same bignesse, on the one of them was written, for the Lord, and on the other, for Azazel: these were put into a box into which the Priest could put both his hands: this box was called foreign The two goates were set before him: one before the right hand and the other at the left: and on his right hand stood the Sagan, and on his left hand stood chief of his Fathers house: He put his hand in the box and took out the lots: and opening his hands if the lot for the Scape-goat came in his right hand the Sagan said to him, Sir, lift up your right hand, and so the right hand Goat was the Scape-goat: And if that lot came in his left hand, the chief of his Fathers house said to him, Sir, lift up your hand, and then that was the Scape-goat that was on the left hand: And he tied a scarlet list upon that Goats head, and set him there from whence he was to be sent away, and the other Goat he set where he must be killed.
This scarlet list is called commonly by the Rabbins foreign Lingula coccinea, the Scarlet tongue, because it was broad and fashioned like a tongue. And they expected that when it was tied upon the Scape-goats head,[i]Ioma per. 4. in Gemara. it should turn white. And so they say it did,[k]Iuchasin. fol. 15. col. 1. in the time of Simeon the just, and that the lot for the Scape-goat came still up in his right hand: and this they ground upon Esay 1.18.
Having thus set the two Goats ready against their time comes, he returned again to his own Bullock where he left him standing, and layes his hand upon his head a second time, and makes a second confession, in the very same words that he had done the former, save that when he had said, wherein I have sinned, done perversly, and transgressed before thee, I and my fathers house, he added, and the sons of Aaron thy holy people, as it is written in the Law of Moses, &c.
Then killed he the Bullock, took the bloud and gave it one to stir that it should not congeal: He himself took a censer full of coals from the Altar, and set them down upon a bench in the Court: and from a vessell brought him, he took his hands full of incense and put it into a dish: The censer of coals he took in his right hand (because it was hot and heavy, otherwise he should have carried it in his left) and the dish of incense in his left hand, and so he went into the Holy of Holies, and came up to the Ark, and there he sets his coals down, empties the incense into his hands again, and so lay it on the coals, and stayes till all the room be full of smoak, and then comes backward out from within the vail, having his face still toward the Ark: Being come out he made this short prayer, O Lord God let it be thy good pleasure, that this year may have seasonable rains, (if it have been droughty): And let not thy Scepter depart from Judah, and let not thy people Israel want sustenance, and let not the prayer of wicked transgressors come before thee: and so he came out.
Then tooke he the bloud of the Bullock which had been stirred about all this while, for congealing; and brought it in within the most holy place, and sprinkled of it eight times, once upward and seven times downward between the barres of the Arke, and having so done he came out thence, set the rest of the bloud in the bason in the Holy place and came forth.
Then slew he the Goat, tooke the blood of it into the most holy place, and sprinkled it there eight times, as the other; came forth and set it downe in the holy place, tooke up the Bullocks blood and sprinkled it eig…t times before the vaile, and so he did by the Goats blood; then mingled he them together and sprinkled therewith the golden Altar going round about it: Hee began first with the North-east corner, so to the North-west, and to the South-west and ended at the South-east; then sprinkled he the body of the Altar it selfe seven times, and so came out; and powred the remainder of the bloud at the foot of the burnt offering Altar on the West-side.
And now he goes about to send the Scape-goat away; he first laid his hands upon his head and made this confession, Ah Lord, thy people the house of Israel have sinned and done perversly, and transgressed befo…e thee, I beseech thee now O Lord expiate the sins, p…rversities, and transgressions, which the house of Israel thy people have sinned, done perversly, and transgressed before thee; as it is written in the Law of Moses thy servant, For this day he will expiate for you, to purge you from all your sinnes that you may be clean before Jehovah. As soone as the Priests and people that were in the Court heard him utter the name Jehovah, they bowed, worshipped, and fell on their faces and said, Blessed be the name of his glorious Kingdome for ever and ever. And then they sent the Goat a going.
[l]Joma per 6. in Mishu.There was from Jerusalem about some twelve easie miles off, a very steep and high promont, which they expresse by the name foreign Tf…ck, [m]Ramb. ibi.(some take this to be the proper name of that Hill[n]Bartenor. ib. & Aruch. in voce. some for the common name of any high rock whatsoever.) Between Jerusalem and this hill there were ten Booths set up at an equall distance one from another, namely, about a mile asunder, and the neerest about a mile from Jerusalem. Having delivered the Goat to him that was to bring him into the Wildernesse, they accompanied him to the first Booth, and from thence there were some ready there to accompany him to the next, and some at that to goe with him to the third, and thus through all: and at every Booth they asked the man that led him whether he would eat or drinke.
From the last Booth they went not quite through with him to the high Rocke, but stood at distance to see what hee did. When he came there, he tooke the crimson list from between the Goats hornes and pulled it in two pieces; the one halfe of it he tyed upon the rocke, and the other halfe upon his hornes againe. Then tooke he the Goat and pushed him backward from off the rocke, and by the time he came to the bottome he was dash'd all in pieces. And so the man returnes to the next Booth, and there staies till it be darke.
In the meane time the High-priest after the sending away of the Goat, had returned to the service again, and cut in pieces the bullock and goat that he had slaine, and whose bloud he had brought within the vaile, and laid their inwards upon the Altar to be burnt, but their pieces hee delivereth to some, to bee carried forth without Jerusalem, there to be burnt, Leviticus 16.27.
At last they say to the High-priest, Sir, by this time the Goat is gotten into the Wildernesse. And then he went into the Court of the women, and there in a Pulpit read a Section or two in the Law, as namely, all Levit. 16. & chapter 23. vers. 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32.
Now if it be questioned how they could guesse the very time when the Goat arrived in the Wildernesse, there are three severall wayes of this conjecture held out by them, and they are these, 1 The Mishueh of the Talmud saith, there were severall high piles or pillars of stone set up in the way thither, and men stood upon them with linnen cloaths in their hands, and when the Goat was got into the Wildernesse, he that stood on the pillar there, waved his Napkin up and downe, and the next tooke at him and did the like, and the next at him, and so they conveyed the intelligence into the City in a trice. 2. R. Ismael saith, a crimson list was tyed on the Temple door, and assoone as ever the Goat arrived in the Wildernesse, it grew white.
And that passage in the Gemara of the Babylon Talmud is remarkable (whether it speake of this list, or of that betwixt the Goats horns it is not much materiall, they were both of the same nature, and reference) when it saith[o]Rosh. Hashavah. fol. 31. That all the forty years before the destruction of Jerusalem the red list did never turne white: for whereas this change of it was a signe of the remission of their sinnes, as they themselves construe it from Esay 1.18. they had now so died themselves with the bloud of Christ, slain just forty years before the destruction of the City, that we may wel take their owne evidence and testimony for their guilt, and unpardonablenesse for that fact. 3. R. Judah saith, it was three miles to foreign Beth Haduda, which was the edge of the Wildernesse that way that the Goat went, and for the measuring out of the space of time that the man might bee going thither with the Goat, some men walked out a miles space from the City, and walked backe that mile againe without any stay, and when they were come backe, they stayed so much time as one might walke another mile, and then concluded that by that time the man with the Goate was come into the Wildernesse.
The High-priest having read his lessons in the law, and prayed eight severall prayers after, hee washes his hands and feet, puts off his linnen cloathes, baths himselfe, puts on his rich garments, washes his hands and feet againe; offereth a Ram for himselfe, and another for the people, and seven Lambs for the additionall offering of the day. And then he offered the daily Evening Sacrifice.
This done he washed his hands and feet againe, put off his rich garments, bathed himselfe, and put on the linnen garments, washed his hands and feet, went into the most Holy place and fetched out the censer and dish that he had left there.
After this he washed his hands and feet, put off those linnen cloathes, bathed himselfe in water, put on his rich garments againe, washed his hands and feet, went into the Holy place, offered the Evening incense, mended the Lamps, and so came out.
Then washed he his hands and feet againe, put off his rich garments and put on his owne ordinary wearing cloathes, and went to his house, all the people accompanying him: and he held it a joyfull day because he was come out of the most Holy place in safety.