flocks being kept all night "in the field." For, in the first place, these were flocks on their

way to Jerusalem, and not regularly pasturing in the open at that season. And,

secondly, the Mishnah evidently contemplates their being thus in the open thirty days

before the Passover, or in the month of February, during which the average rainfall is

quite the largest in the year.27

"Ten measures of beauty," say the Rabbis, "hath God bestowed upon the wo rld, and

nine of these fall to the lot of Jerusalem" --and again, "A city, the fame of which has

gone out from one end of the world to the other" (Ber. 38). "Thine, O Lord, is the

greatness, the power, the glory, and eternity." This --explains the Talmud--"is

Jerusalem." In opposition to her rival Alexandria, which was designated "the little,"

Jerusalem was called "the great." It almost reminds one of the title "eternal city," given

to Rome, when we find the Rabbis speaking of Jerusalem as the "eternal house."

Similarly, if a common proverb has it, that "all roads lead to Rome," it was a Jewish

saying, "All coins come from Jerusalem." This is not the place to describe the city in its

appearance and glory (for this compare the two first chapters of my volume on The

Temple: Its Ministry and Services). But one almost feels as if, on such a subject, one

could understand, if not condone, the manifest exaggerations of the Rabbis. Indeed,

there are indications that they scarcely expected their statements to be taken literally.

Thus, when the number of its synagogues is mentioned as 460 or 480, it is explained that

the latter number is the numerical equivalent of the word "full" in Isaiah 1:21 ("it was full

of judgment"). It is more interesting to know, that we find in the Talmud express mention

of "the Synagogue of the Alexandrians," referred to in Acts 6:9--another important

confirmation, if such were needed, of the accuracy of St. Luke's narratives. Of the

hospitality of the inhabitants of Jerusalem accounts are given, wh ich we can scarcely

regard as much exaggerated; for the city was not reckoned to belong to any tribe in

particular; it was to be considered as equally the home of all. Its houses were to be

neither hired nor let, but freely thrown open to every brother. Nor did any one among

the countless thousands who thronged it at feast-times ever lack room. A curtain hung

before the entrance of a house intimated, that there was still room for guests; a table

spread in front of it, that its board was still at their disposal. And, if it was impossible to

accommodate within the walls of Jerusalem proper the vast crowds which resorted to the

city, there can be no doubt that for sacred purpose Bethany and Bethphage were

reckoned as within the circle of Jerusalem. It calls forth peculiar sensations, when we

read in these Jewish records of Bethany and Bethphage as specially celebrated for their

hospitality to pilgrim-guests, for it wakes the sacred memories of our Lord's sojourn with

the holy family of Bethany, and especially of His last stay there and of His royal

entrance into Jerusalem.

In truth, every effort was used to make Jerusalem truly a city of delight. Its police and

sanitary regulations were more perfect than in any modern city; the arrangements such

as to keep the pilgrim free to give his heart and mind to sacred subjects. If, after all, "the

townspeople," as they were called, were regarded as somewhat proud and supercilious,

it was something to be a citizen of Jerushalaimah, as the Jerusalemites preferred to write

its name. Their constant intercourse with strangers gave them a knowledge of men and

of the world. The smartness and cleverness of the young people formed a theme of

admiration to their more shy and awkward country relatives. There was also a grandeur

in their bearing--almost luxury; and an amount of delicacy, tact, and tenderness, which

appeared in all their public dealings. Among a people whose wit and cleverness are

proverbial, it was no mean praise to be renowned for these qualities. In short, Jerusalem

was the ideal of the Jew, in whatever land of exile he might tarry. Her rich men would

lavish fortunes on the support of Jewish learning, the promotion of piety, or the support

of the national cause. Thus one of them would, when he found the price of sacrifices

exceedingly high, introduce into the Temple -court the requisite animals at his own cost,

to render the service possible for the poor. Or on another occasion he would offer to

furnish the city for twenty-one months with certain provisions in her struggle against

Rome. In the streets of Jerusalem men from the most distant countries met, speaking

every variety of language and dialect. Jews and Greeks, Roman soldiers and Galilean