, and which was made up of three stories, each containing
a number of rooms, some smaller, some larger. Just such an out-building
as this had been made by Solomon in the first temple (1 Kings vi. 5-10),
and the builders of the new temple had copied the idea, and had put up a
similar lean-to against the outer walls.

In these rooms or chambers were kept all the stores belonging to the
temple. The corn, and wine, and oil belonging to the priests and
Levites; the first-fruits and free-will offerings brought by the people
for the temple service; and the meat-offerings, which were cakes made
of fine flour, salt, and oil. One of these cakes was offered twice a
day, at the morning and evening sacrifice, besides on many other
occasions, and with several other sacrifices; so that it was necessary
to have a number of them always ready for use. In these chambers was
also stored the frankincense, of which a large quantity was used every
day, for a handful of it was burnt on the altar of incense both morning
and night. This frankincense was very costly; it was brought on camels'
backs from Arabia, where it was obtained by making incisions in the bark
of a tree which grew in no other country. Out of these incisions oozed
the gummy juice of the tree, and from this was made the frankincense. It
was very rare, and could only be obtained occasionally, and therefore it
was important to store it carefully in the temple.

Nehemiah wonders if the stores of the temple are in good condition, and
he throws open the door of one of the chambers, to see if its contents
are plentiful and well-stored. As he does so, he starts back in dismay.
The whole place is altered, utterly and completely transformed. The
small rooms have all been thrown into one vast chamber, the partition
walls have been removed, the corn, the wine, the oil, the frankincense,
and all the other stores are nowhere to be seen, they have all been
cleared away; the vessels in use in the temple, the knives for cutting
up the sacrifices, the censers for incense, the priests' robes and other
garments have all disappeared. There is not one single thing to be found
which ought to have been found there, and this chamber of the temple,
instead of being a useful and necessary store-house, has become more
like one of the grand reception rooms of the King of Persia, a
luxurious drawing-room, fit for the palace of a king. Gay curtains cover
the walls, costly furniture is set in order round the