THE LAST ISRAELITISH BLOOD SACRIFICE 



35 



with a bunch of wild thyme vigorously 

 stirs it ; then rushes away to put a dab of 

 it above each tent door. Upon returning 

 he empties the remainder into the fiery 

 ditch. "And ye shall take a bunch of hys- 

 sop, and dip it in the blood that is in the 

 basin and strike the lintel, . . . for 

 the Lord will pass through to smite the ' 

 Egyptians ; and when he seeth the blood 

 upon the lintel the Lord will pass over 

 (Passover) the door, and will not suffer 

 the destroyer to come unto your houses to 

 smite you" (Ex. 12:22, 23). 



Incidentally it is of great interest that 

 the thyme is used. Botanists have differed 

 as to what herb the hyssop might :»bfc. 

 Here we learn that this wild thyme llta's, 

 properties which keep the blood from- 

 coagulating. Besides, this custom having 

 been handed down in unbroken succes- 

 sion, little if any room is left for doubt 

 as to its identity with hyssop. 



UNEEAVENED BREAD AND BITTER HERBS 



While the lambs are giving their last 

 life struggle, youths pass among the peo- 

 ple bearing large trays piled high with 

 bitter herbs, a sort of wild lettuce that 

 grows on Gerizim, rolled in thin sheets of 

 unleavened bread. Rolls are distributed 

 among non-Samaritans as a token of 

 friendship. 



As the killing of the lambs commemo- 

 rates the sacrifice that saved the first-born 

 of the Hebrews from the fate of their 

 Egyptian neighbors, so here also the eat- 

 ing of the bitter herbs and unleavened 

 bread is, a reminder of the bitterness of 

 the Egyptian tyranny and the haste with 

 which Israel left the land of the Pha- - 

 raohs. "And they baked unleavened bread 

 of the dough they brought forth out of i 

 Egypt, for it was not leavened ; because 

 they were thrust out of Egypt and could- 

 not tarry, neither had they prepared for 

 themselves any victuals" (Ex. 12 : 39)". 



The bread is identical with that tisea^s 

 by the Bedouin and journeying peasants; A 

 since the baking- apparatus is simpfe'-arfd^- 

 portable, and quite likely is akin to that 

 used during the Exodus. The loaf re- 

 sembles a gigantic but very thin pancake, 

 being pliable and not crisp like the "mot- 

 sis," or unleavened bread used by the 

 Jews at Passover. 



At the sacrificial altar the older- men 



A SAMARITAN BABY 



When photographed, this child was the pic- 

 ture of health. Shortly after, he became ill and 

 the mother always attributed the misfortune 

 to the ''evil eye" of the camera or of the 

 photographer. 



and some of the priests, who now stand 

 iabout those to whom is delegated the 

 lask of dressing the lambs, have kept up 

 ;f the ^reading of the story of the Exodus 

 as far as to Miriam's song of triumph. 

 Aleanwhile, as soon as the lambs have 

 become lifeless, boiling water from the 

 : ~c~aldrons is poured over them, while sev- 

 eral boys and men crowd about in the 

 semi-darkness and pluck off the wool in- 

 stead of skinning the victims, the object 

 being to protect the flesh while roasting 

 in the ground oven. 



THE RITUAE INSPECTION 



Next the ritual inspection takes place, 

 for as each lamb is fleeced it is suspended 



