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PART III. there was a valley or hollow, that lay between mount Sion and the other mount or hill, on which the old city, or the city of Melchifedek, ftood; they fuppofed Solomon filled up this hollow, and had it evened so as that from mount Sion to mount Moriah, on which he built the Temple, there was a plain even way. Whence the way or caufey thus made by filling up the forementioned hollow, they suppose to be called Millo, in reference to the fignification of the root, whence this word is thought to be derived, the faid root (as has been before obferved) fignifying to be full, or filled up. or filled up. That there was a caufey raised by Solomon from mount Sion to the Temple, they infer from 2 Chron. ix. II. where it is faid, that the King made terraces to the house of the Lord, and to the King's palace. The word here rendered terraces may be otherwise translated (as is obferved in the margin of our Bible) Stays, or fupports, to keep up the faid terraces. But in neither fense will these last words amount to a good proof, that the said terraces or causeys were fuch as were made by filling up the hollow between mount Sion and mount Moriah. And therefore I rather think the opinion I am now speaking of concerning the import of the name Millo is wholly founded on the vulgar Latin verfion of 1 Kings xi. 27. For whereas the latter part of this text is rendered in our translation agreeably to the Hebrew, thus: Solomon built Millo, and repaired (or closed) the breaches of the city of David his father; instead hereof, in the vulgar Latin verfion it is rendered after this manner: Salomon ædificavit Mello, et coæquavit voraginem civitatis David patris fui; i. e. Salomon built Mello, and evened the hollow of the city of David his father. How the author of this Latin verfion came thus to render the Hebrew text, is hard to conjecture; the Hebrew words, which he renders, coœquavit voraginem, evened the hollow, having no affinity thereto, and therefore he is fingle in his interpretation, all the other ancient interpreters following the same sense that our tranflators have done. Particularly it is not so easy to account, how the Latin interpreter came to make choice of

the

the word vorago; unless in the faid hollow or fmall deep CHAP. II. valley there was a whirlpool or quagmire, as the faid word does properly denote in the Latin tongue.

In fhort, it seems to me (confidering the feveral ancient verfions, and what is faid by commentators) most probable, that Solomon made a noble magnificent way from the royal palace on mount Sion, to the temple on mount Moriah, and in order hereunto there was a noble causey raised across the valley between the faid two mountains; not fo high as to make the way all along upon a level, but, however, fo as to make the afcent and defcent from one to the other very easy. eafy. Hence, as we read (1 Kings x. 5.) of the afcent by which Solomon went up unto the house of the Lord, and (1 Chron. xxvi. 16.) of the caufey of the going up or afcent; fo we read (2 Kings xii. 20.) that Joash was flain in the houfe of Millo, which goes down to Silla. Which word Silla is thought by fome learned commentators to denote the fame that Mefillah is elsewhere put for; namely, a caufey. And it is further thought, that as from the valley between the two mounts, Sion and Moriah, there were two steepneffes, one towards the temple or mount Moriah, the other towards the palace or mount Sion; fo this last was that which is peculiarly denoted by the defcent of Silla; and that the house of Millo stood near this descent.

It remains only to obferve, in reference to the forementioned expreffion, viz. David built round about from Millo and inward, that the original word rendered inward may also be translated, to the house; and fo thereby might be denoted, that David built round about, from the place where Millo was afterwards built by Solomon, to his own houfe or palace. And confequently it is not improbable, that the palace and Millo ftood on two oppofite fides of mount Sion: fo that to say, that David built round about from Millo to the palace, was as much as to say, that David built from one part of mount Sion quite round to the oppofite part. And confequently by this expreffion

thus

PART III, thus understood was aptly enough described the largeness of the city of David.

13.

fepulchres.

In 1 Kings ii. 10. we are informed, that David was bu Of the royal ried in the city of David. And the fame we read of Solomon, 1 Kings xi. 43. And in the feries of the facred History we read that Rehoboam, Abijam, Asa, &c. were buried with their fathers in the city of David. Whence it appears, that those famous grots at Jerufalem, now-a-days called the fepulchres of the Kings, cannot be the place, where either the Kings of all Ifrael, David and Solomon, or their fucceffors in the kingdom of Judah, were generally buried forasmuch as these grots lie without (what is now-a-days called) the gate of Damafcus, and on the north fide of the city, and fo at a confiderable distance from the city of David, where the Scripture expressly af→ ferts David and Solomon, and most of the Kings of Judah, to have been buried.

Whoever was buried here, this is certain, says Mr. Maundrell, that the place itself discovers fo great an expence both of labour and treasure, that we may well suppose it to have been the work of Kings. You approach to it at the east fide, through an entrance cut out of the natural rock, which admits you into an open court of about forty paces fquare, cut down into the rock, with which it is encompaffed, inftead of walls. On the south side of the court is a portico nine paces long, and four broad, hewn likewife out of the natural rock, This has a kind of architrave running along its front, adorned with fculptures of fruits and flowers, still difcernible, but by time much defaced, At the end of the portico on the left hand you descend to the paffage into the fepulchres. The door is now so obstructed with stones and rubbish, that it is a thing of fome difficulty to creep through it. But within you arrive in a large fair room, about five or fix yards fquare, cut out of the natural rock. Its fides and ceiling are fo exactly fquare, and its angles fo juft, that no architect with levels and plummets could build a room more regular. And the

whole

whole is fo firin and entire, that it may be called a chain- CHAP. II. ber hollowed out of one piece of marble. From this room you pass into (I think, fays my author) fix more, one within another, all of the fame fabrick with the first. Of these the two innermost are deeper than the rest, having a second descent of about fix or seven steps into them.

In every one of these rooms, except the first, were coffins of stone placed in niches, in the fides of the chambers. They had been at first covered with handsome lids, and carved with garlands; but now most of them were broken to pieces. The fides and ceiling of the rooms were always dropping, with the moist damps condensing upon them. To remedy which nuifance, and to preferve these chambers of the dead clean, there was in each room a fmall channel cut in the floor, which ferved to drain the drops that fell constantly into it.

But the most surprising thing belonging to these fubterraneous chambers was their doors; of which there was only one remaining entire, being left as it were on purpose to puzzle the beholders. It confifted of a plank of stone, of about fix inches in thickness, and in its other dimenfions equalling the fize of an ordinary door, or somewhat less. It was carved in such a manner as to resemble a piece of wainscot. The ftone, of which it was made, was visibly of the fame kind with the whole rock, and it turned upon two hinges in the nature of axles. These hinges were of the fame entire piece of ftone with the door, and were contained in two holes of the immovable rock, one at the top, and the other at the bottom.

From this description it is obvious to start a question, how fuch doors as these were made? Whether they were cut out of the rock, in the fame place and manner as they now hang? Or, whether they were brought, and fixed in their station, like other doors? One of these must be fuppofed to have been done; and whichfoever part we choose as most probable, it seems at firft glance to be not without its difficulty. But thus much I have to say, says Mr. Maundrell, for the resolving of this riddle, which is wont

VOL. II.

D

to

PART III. to create no fmall difpute among pilgrims, viz. that the door, which was left hanging, did not touch its lintel by at least two inches; fo that, I believe, it might eafily have been lifted up, and unhinged. And the doors, which had been thrown down, had their hinges at the upper end, twice as long as those at the bottom: which feems to intimate pretty plainly, by what method this work was accomplished.

To the forementioned account of thefe fepulchres, given us by our own countryman, the Rev. Mr. Maundrell, I fhall adjoin one or two particulars from what Le Bruyn hath faid concerning the fame place. He obferves then, that this place lies, not only to the north of Jerufalem, but alfo about an Italian mile out of Jerufalem; that the large fquare room (mentioned alfo by Mr. Maundrell) has feveral small doors, that lead out into five or fix other apartments, each of them forty or fifty paces fquare, and round which there are several other lefs rooms, fome of which are made in fafhion of ovens. It is in thefe rooms they laid the dead bodies upon benches, raised about two or three feet from the ground, and which are cut out of the very rock, (called therefore by Mr. Maundrell, niches,) and fome they laid upon the ground. Le Bruyn tells us, he found in these rooms as many fepulchres, or places for corpfes, as amounted in all to about fifty. In one of these rooms, which seemed to be more lofty than the reft, he faw three coffins, one broken, and the other two whole, They were all open, upon the front of the chief of which were engraven two rounds in the nature of circles, each of them having feveral lines drawn clofe to one another. Between these two rounds are three pieces of branch-work like palm-trees, and one at each end, being five in all, The cover of this coffin, which lies upon the ground, is likewife adorned with branch-work. The pieces of the coffin, that is broken, lie upon the ground just by, and had formerly fome decoration or ornament.

The Rev. Mr. Maundrell, fpeaking of these grots, called now-a-days the fepulchres of the Kings, fays, for what

reafon

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