2. The high-priest after this returned into the holy place, bathed himself again, put on his usual garments of office, and offered the two rams as burnt-offerings, one feu- himself and one for the people. He also burnt upon the altar the fat of the two sin-offerings, while their flesh was carried away and burned outside the camp. Those who took away the flesh and the man who had led away the goat had to bathe their persons and wash their clothes as soon as their service was performed.
The accessory burnt-offerings mentioned Num. xxix, 7-11, were a young bullock, a ram, seven lambs, and a young goat. It would seem that (at least in the time of the second Temple) these were offered 1 y the high-priest along with the evening sacrifice (see be- low, V, 7). — Smith, s. v.
3. The ceremonies of worship peculiar to this day alone (besides those which were common to it with all other days) were : (1.) That the high-priest, in his pon-
ATONEMENT
524
ATONEMENT
tilie:il dress, confessed his own sins and those of his family, for the expiation of which he offered a bullock, on which he laid them; (_•_».) That two goats were set aside, one of which was by lot sacrificed to Jehovah, While the other (Aza/.kl), which was determined by lot to b ■ set at liberty, was sent to the desert burdened with the .-ins of the people. (3.) On this day, also, the high-priest gave his blessing to the whole nation ; and the remainder of the day was spent in prayers and oth- er works of penance. It may be seen that in the spc- cial rites of the Day of Atonement there is a natural gradation. In the first place, the high-priest and his family are cleansed; then atonement is made by the purified priest for the sanctuary and all contained in it ; then (if the view to which reference has been made be 6 irrect) for the brazen altar in the court, and, last- ly, reconciliation is made for the people. — Kitto, s. v.
See XlN'-OFFEIUXG.
IV. Statement of Josephus. — In the short account of the ritual of the day which is given by this Jewish writer in one passage (Ant. iii, 10, 3), there arc a few particulars which are worthy of notice. His words, of course, apply to the practice in the second Temple, when the ark of the covenant had disappeared. He states that the high-priest sprinkled the blood with his finger seven times on the ceiling and seven times on the floor of the most holy place, and seven times to- ward it (as it would appear, outside the vail), and round the golden altar. Then, going into the court, he either sprinkled or poured the blood round the great alt tr. He also informs us that along with the fat, the kidneys, the top of the liver, and the extremities («i t'£o\at) of the victims were burned.
Y. Ruhbiivcal Details. — The treatise of the Mishna, entitled Yoma, professes to give a full account of the observances of the day according to the usage in the second Temple. The following particulars appear ei- ther to be interesting in themselves, or to illustrate the language of the Pentateuch.
1. The high-priest himself, dressed in his colored official garments, used, on the Day of Atonement, to p srform all the duties of the ordinary daily service, such as lighting the lamps, presenting the daily sacri- fices, and offering the incense. After this he bathed himself, put on the white garments, and commenced the special rites of the day. There is nothing in the i >1 1 Testament to render it improbable that this was th ■ original practice.
2. The high-priest went into the Holy of Holies four times in the course of the day: first, with the censer and iiuense, while a priest continued to agitate the blood of the bullock lest it should coagulate; second- ly, with the blood of the bullock; thirdly, with the blood of the goat; fourthly, after havingoffered the evening sacrifice, to fetch out the censer and the plate which hid contained the incense. These four en- trances, forming, as they do, parts of the one great annual rite, are not opposed to a reasonable view of tie- 8f itement in Heb. ix, 7 (where the apostle tells us that the high-priest entered only once on that day, •in-., the expression, li.ira.% tov Ivtarou, may refer to the ,,„, day in the year when such a service alone took place), and that in Josephus {War, v, 5, 7). Three
(,nl ntrances seem to be very distinctly implied in
Lev. xvi. 12, II, and 15.
3. It is said thai the blood of the bullock and that of the goat were each sprinkled eight times— once to- ward the ceiling, and seven limes on the floor. This
agree with the WOrds of Josephus (sec above,
I. After he had gone into the most holy place the third tune, and had returned into the holy place, the high-priest sprinkled the blood of the bullock eight tines toward the vail, and did the same with the blood of the goat. Having then mine;],.,! the blood of the two victims together and sprinkled the altar of incense with the mixture, he came into the court and poured