2. Personal Ornaments. (1) Combs. Of toilet articles the most universal is the comb. These were made of bone or ivory. They were both straight and curved, ornamented and unornamented. A fragment of one from Gezer is shown in Fig. 176. (2) Perfume-boxes.-The ancients were fond of perfume. "Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant" is a Hebrew poet's description of an elegantly dressed man. (See Cant. 3:6.) Perfume-boxes, in which the various kinds of perfume were kept, frequently are found in excavating; (see, for example, Fig. 180). Women's perfume-boxes are denounced in Isa. 3:20. (3) Spatula for Eye-paint, etc.-Little spatulæ, or tools for lifting small quantities of cosmetics, were also found; (see Fig. 183). These were probably most often used to apply kohl to the eyelidsa practice that was thought to enhance the beauty of women (see Ezek. 23: 40) and which is still followed in the East. (4) Fibula.-Another article of the toilet which is found in abundance in all ancient excavations was the fibula-a rude kind of safety-pin. The garments were held together by these. They consisted of a kind of perforated bow through which a pin could be thrust. In the earlier periods the bow and the pin were not fastened together. The dress of the ancient Palestinians was much like that of the modern peasants of the country. It was not, however, made of materials that would last when buried in a mound. All that has survived of it are some articles of personal adornment. (5) Beads were highly valued from the earliest times and are found in all strata. In the earlier periods they were made of various colored stones; it is only in the later strata that some glass beads are found. (6) Necklaces.-Beads, cylinders, and irregularly shaped pendants were strung so as to form necklaces. One found at Jericho is shown in Fig. 181. They are called "chains" in Isa. 3: 19; Prov. 19, and "strings of jewels" in Cant. 1: 10. (7) Bracelets and armlets have been found in abundance from nearly all periods. They were made of bronze, iron, ivory, glass, silver, and gold. For some of their forms, see Fig. 182. They are frequently mentioned in the Bible. (See, for example, Gen. 24 : 30; Exod. 35: 22; 2 Sam. 1: 10; Ezek. 16: 11.) (8) Anklets of bronze and silver have also been found in various places. They are like bracelets, only larger. In a country where the ankles were usually left bare, it was as natural to wear ornaments on them as on the arms. These, too, are denounced along with the other ornaments of women in Isa. 3:18. (9) Rings, too, of various kinds have been found in profusion. Most of the finger rings were simple circles of metal; usually they were of bronze; sometimes of iron. Silver and gold rings were comparatively few in number and of small size. Several signet rings were found at Gezer. Finger rings are not often mentioned in the Bible. (See, however, Num. 31: 50.) They evidently were highly regarded by well-to-do people, for in the Parable of the Prodigal Son Jesus tells us that the father "put a ring on his hand" (Luke 15:22). Signet rings were the possessions of the great and of kings. (See Gen. 41 : 42 and Esther 3 : 10, 12, and Fig. 184.) CHAPTER X MEASURES, WEIGHTS, AND MONEY MEASURES. WEIGHTS. INSCRIBED WEIGHTS. MONEY: Who invented coinage? Darics. Maccabæan coins. Asmonæan coins. Herodian coins. Roman coins. The Widow's Mite. The Piece of Silver. Coinage of the Revolt of 66–70 a. D. 1. Measures.-The Hebrew units of dry measure were: 1. The Homer (or Cor), which contained 10 Ephahs (Ezek. 45: 11, 14). 2. The Ephah, which contained 3 Seahs (Isa. 40: 12) or 10 Omers (Exod. 16: 36) or 18 Cabs (2 Kings 6: 25, and Josephus, Antiquities, IX, iv, 4). Corresponding to these were the units of liquid measure: 1. The Homer (or Cor), which contained 10 Baths (Ezek. 45: 11, 14). 2. The Bath, which, according to Josephus and Jerome, contained 6 Hins (see Exod. 29: 40). 3. The Hin, which contained 3 Cabs, or, according to the Talmud, 12 Logs. These two systems have the Homer as their major unit. The Homer had the same capacity in each system. The Ephah of dry measure equalled the Bath of liquid measure, and the Cab was the same in each. If, then, the capacity of one unit in either measure could be determined, we should know the capacity of all the others. It has been the custom of archæologists to strike a kind of average of the confused statements of Josephus and Epiphanius1 and correct these by estimates based on Babylonian measures. Calculations based on this method will be found in recent works on Hebrew archæology and dictionaries of the Bible. It has been impossible, however, to reach certainty. Three systems will be found in the books referred to: one based on the supposition that the Log of a pint; one based on the supposition that the Log = 1 of a pint; the third on the supposition that the Log = 1 pint. The estimates of the Homer vary accordingly from 80 gallons to 81.25 gallons, and 89.28 gallons.2 = = 1 An early Christian writer, born in 315, died in 403 A. D., who was bishop of Salamis in Cyprus. 2 From this equivalence the reader can easily compute the value which the intermediate measures would have according to this theory. The multiples of the Log which formed the Cab, etc., are given above. Under these circumstances some discoveries of the Augustinians of the Assumption, in the grounds of their monastery in Jerusalem, appear to be of importance. They found at various times in excavating for building purposes four vessels, which seem to have been a series of measures. Taking the larger one as the unit, the capacity of the one next smaller is three-quarters of the capacity of the first; the third was just half the first; the fourth, a quarter of it. These vessels all appear to have been in a building which had a Hebrew inscription over its door. Although the inscription was broken, the word "Corban" was still legible. Père GermerDurand assumes, accordingly, that the building was used as a place where temple tithes were paid, and that this series of vessels were standard measures employed in collecting tithes. The quantities of material contained by these vessels are as follows: Largest, 21.25 litres or 19.6 quarts. Père Germer-Durand thinks from a study of Josephus and Epiphanius that the largest of his vessels represents the Ephah of dry measure or the Bath of liquid measure. If this assumption is right, it gives a series of measures which are each about than the smallest of the series referred to above. On this basis Hebrew dry measures become: smaller 1 See Père Germer-Durand, "Mesures de capacité des Hebreux au temps de l'évangile” in Conferences de Saint-Étienne, Paris, 1910, pp. 89-105, and Fig. 185. 2 The Jewish name for an offering to God. (See Mark 7: 11.) It is not certain that the vessels found by the Augustinians represent the measures that Germer-Durand supposes, but it is as likely that they do as that the confused statements of Josephus and Epiphanius afford an accurate basis for calculations. It is probable that in actual business there was in ancient times a great deal of variation allowed from the ordinary standard of measures. We know of no rigid regulation of the matter by a central authority. 2. Weights. The two weights most often mentioned in the Bible are the talent and the shekel. The Bible nowhere tells us of how many shekels a talent was composed. In Babylonia the talent consisted of 60 manas,1 and each mana of 60 shekels, so that the talent consisted of 3600 shekels. The Phoenicians divided the mana into 50 shekels, and it is thought by scholars that the Hebrews did the same, though we have no positive evidence on the point. Manas are not mentioned in the Bible, unless in Dan. 5: 25.2 In the course of the excavations by Bliss in the Shephelah a nuniber of weights were found, some of which were inscribed. Macalister also found a large number of weights at Gezer, a few of which bore inscriptions. Some others have been found by natives and purchased by travelers. The writer had the pleasure of discovering two weights in this way. 3. Inscribed Weights.-These inscribed weights are of the greatest interest to the students of the Bible. Five weights are known that are inscribed in old Hebrew characters with the word neseph, "half"; see Fig. 186. These are undoubtedly half-shekels. Two of the three are broken, and one is perforated. The other two weigh, respectively, 157.56 grains and 153.6 grains. The average of these is 155.5 grains, which would make the shekel 311 grains. Another weight, said to have come from Samaria, was described some years ago by Dr. Chaplin. It bears the inscription roba neseph, "the quarter of a half," and weighs 39.2 grains. Another weight from Samaria is in the possession of Mr. Herbert Clark, of Jerusalem. It is made in the form of a turtle and bears the inscription homesh, "a fifth," and weighs 38.58 grains. Probably it was intended as the fifth part of a shekel. "Mana" is both the Babylonian and the Hebrew term. In English it has usually been corrupted to "Mina." 2 Some scholars understand MENE to be such a reference. |