egular order being
settled for the priests, the multitude judged that God now dwelt among
them, and betook themselves to sacrifices and praises to God as being
now delivered from all expectation of evils and as entertaining a
hopeful prospect of better times hereafter. They offered also gifts
to God some as common to the whole nation, and others as peculiar
to themselves, and these tribe by tribe; for the heads of the tribes
combined together, two by two, and brought a waggon and a yoke of
oxen. These amounted to six, and they carried the tabernacle when they
journeyed. Besides which, each head of a tribe brought a bowl, and a
charger, and a spoon, of ten darics, full of incense. Now the charger
and the bowl were of silver, and together they weighed two hundred
shekels, but the bowl cost no more than seventy shekels; and these were
full of fine flour mingled with oil, such as they used on the altar
about the sacrifices. They brought also a young bullock, and a ram, with
a lamb of a year old, for a whole burnt-offering, as also a goat for the
forgiveness of sins. Every one of the heads of the tribes brought also
other sacrifices, called peace-offerings, for every day two bulls, and
five rams, with lambs of a year old, and kids of the goats. These heads
of tribes were twelve days in sacrificing, one sacrificing every
day. Now Moses went no longer up to Mount Sinai, but went into the
tabernacle, and learned of God what they were to do, and what laws
should be made; which laws were preferable to what have been devised by
human understanding, and proved to be firmly observed for all time to
come, as being believed to be the gift of God, insomuch that the Hebrews
did not transgress any of those laws, either as tempted in times of
peace by luxury, or in times of war by distress of affairs. But I say
no more here concerning them, because I have resolved to compose another
work concerning our laws.
CHAPTER 9. The Manner Of Our Offering Sacrifices.
1. I Will now, however, make mention of a few of our laws which belong
to purifications, and the like sacred offices, since I am accidentally
come to this matter of sacrifices. These sacrifices were of two sorts;
of those sorts one was offered for private persons, and the other for
the people in general; and they are done in two different ways. In the
one case, what is slain is burnt, as a whole burnt-offering, whence that
name is given to it; but the other is a thank-offeri
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