Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/6_100.lzh/6_128.TXT

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~)et it seems, by some instances, particularly that of
avid's mourning for Absalom, that the head was
vered at such a time, 9 Sam. xix. 5. and Kimchi on
the place expressly says, that it was the way and cus-
tom of mourners to cover themselves; and certain it
is, that in later times, however, it has been the usage
of the Jews to cover their heads in mourning; for this
is one of the things expressly ibrbid in the Jewish
canons, as Maimonides {a} says, to be used in mourning for
the dead, namely, making bare the head; and covering
the head is what mourners are obliged to {b}; this Ge-
jerus {e} reconciles, by observing, that at the first of the
mourning they used to take off' of their heads what
they wore for the sake of ornament, such as the tire~
or bonnet here; but after a while covered themselves
with veils when they went abroad, or others came to
them. Jarehi interprets this of the tephillim, or
phylacteries the Jews wore about their heads;' and so
the Talmud {d}; and the Targum is, "let thy totaphot
"or frontlets be upon thee ;" of which interpretation
Jerom makes mention; but these things don't appear
to be in use in Ezekiel's time: andput on thy shoes upon
thy feet: which used to be taken off, and persons
walked barefoot in times of mourning, 2 Sam. xv. 80.
and this custom continues with the Jews to this day;
and which they say iscoufirmed by this passage. One
of their canons{e} runs thus," they don't rend garments,
"nor pluck off the shoe for any, until he is dead ;"
which supposes they do, and should do, when he is
dead: and this is one of the things, their writers f say,
is forbidden a mourner for the dead, namely, to put
on his shoes; and they ask, from .whence it appears
that a mourner is forbid to put on his shoes ? the an-
swer is, from what is said to Ezekiel, put on thy shoes
upon thy feet: which ,hews that in common it was
notright nor usual to do it; and it is their custom now
for mourners, when they return from the grave, to sit
seven days on the ground with their feet naked g: and
cover not thy lips; as the leper did in the time of his
separation and distress, who put a covering upon his
upper lip, Lev. xiii. 45. and as mourners did, who put
a veil upon their faces: and eat not the bread of men:
of other men; or of motourners n, as the Targum; such
as used to be sent to mourners by their friends, in
order to refresh and revive their spirits; and who,
they supposed, through their great grief, were not
careful to provide food for themselves; and this 'they
did to comfort them, and let them know that, though
they had lost a relation, there were others left, who
had a cordial respect for them, and heartily sympa-
thized with them: and, according to the traditions of
the Jews{i], a mourner might not eat of his own bread;
but was obliged to eat the bread of others, at least his
first meal, and on the first day of his. mourning;
though he might on the second, and on the following
days; and this they endearour to establish from this
place of Scripture. What their friends used to send
them at such a time were usually hard eggs and wine.
Eggs, because round and spherical, and so a proper
blem of death, and might serve to put in mind of it,
which goes round, is with one to-day, and withan-
other to-morrow; and wine, to cheer their spirits, that
they might tbrget. their sorrow {k}. They also used to
eat at such times a sort of pulse, called lentlies, to
shew by what sort of food they lost their birth-right,
or first-born {l} And suchdike things were used by the
Romans in their funeral feasts, as beans, parsly, let-
tuce, lentlies, eggs, ^&c {m}". and as the Romans had their
parentalia, and the Greeks their \~paradeipna\~, so the Jews
had also very sumptuous feasts on such occasions: not
only great personages, as kings and nobles, made
them; so Archelan, made a magnificent one for the.
people, on the death of his father Herod ", after the
custom of the country; but even the common people
were very profuse and lavish in them; and which, as
Josephus {s},observes, was the cause of great poverty
among them; for so prevalent was the custom, that
there was a necessity of doing it, or otherwise a mah
would not have been reckoned a holy man; see Jet.
xvi. 7.
Ver. 18. So I spake unto the people in the morning,
&c.] Did the duty of his office as a prophet; ex-
horted and instructed the people, particularly informed
them of what had been said to him by the Lord, the
evening or night before, concerning the death of his
wife, and how he was to behave under such a provi-
dence; which he told them of before-hand, that, when
it came to pass, they might have a further proof' of his
being a true prophet of the Lord: and at ellen my wife
died; suddenly, as it was said she should; this shews
who is theant by the desire of his eyes, and What by
the taking it away; and I did in the morning as I was
commanded; neither moaned, nor sighed, nor wept,
nor shed a tear, nor used any of the common ceremo -
hies of mourning, but dressed and ate as at other times,
as he was ordered to do; this was the next morning
after his wife died. So the Syriac version, "in the
"morning of the other day ;" and the Arabic ver~
sion," in the morning of the following day." Thus
whatever the Lord commands is to be done, though
ever so contrary to the customs of men, or to natural
inclinations and affections.
Ver. 19. And the people said unto me, &c.] Either
seriously, as being desirous of knowing what' was
meant by all this; since they had reason to believe
that it was notout of want of affection in Ezekiel to
his wife .that he so behaved; and therefore there tnust
be some hidden meaning in it, which they should be
glad to be informed of: or in a ludicrous manner, de
riding the prophet for his conduct, and desp!sing what
he meant to instruct them in hereby: wilt thou not tell
us what these things are to us, that thou doest so ? for

{a} Maiamon. Hilchot Ebel, c. 5 sect. I.
{b} Schulchan Aruch, lib. Jore Dea, c. 380. sect. 1. c. 386. sect. 1, 2.
{c} De luctu Ebr. c. 11. sect. 5. p. 250.
{d} T. Bab. Beracot, fol 11. 1. Moed Katon, fol. 15.1. Succa, fol.
25.2.
{e} Masseth. Semachot, c. I. sect. 5.
{f} Maimon. Hilchot Ebel, c. 5. sect. 1. Schulchan Aruch, lib. Jore
Dea, c. 380. sect I. 382. sect. 1,2.
{g} Buxtorf. Jud. Synagog. c. 49. p. 706.
{h} T. Bab. Beracot, fol 11. 1. Moed Katon, foi. 15. I, Succa, fol.
25.2.
{i} T. Bab. Moed Katon, fol. 27. 2. Maimon. Hilchot Ebel, c. 4. sect.
9. Schulchan Aruch, lib. Jore Dea, c. 378. sect. 1.
{k} Buxtorf. Jud. Synagog. c. 49. p. 708.
{l} Hieron. ad Paulam super obitu Blesillea, tom. 1. operum, fol. 54. L.
{m} Vid. Kirchman, de Funer. Rom. 1. 4. c. 7. P. 591.
{n} Joseph. Antiqu. 1. 17. c. 8. sect. 4.
{o} De Bello Jud. I. 2. c. 1. sect. 1.