TiLDEN: Philo Judaeus 



23 



So, after the president seems to have spoken long enough, and 

 when the discourse seems to have done justice in a satisfactory way 

 to the ideas presented by its relevance and pertinence, while as 

 listeners the others seem to have responded adequately by their 

 attentiveness then, as if all were well pleased, there is ap- 

 plause, but restricted to three rounds only.^^ And then 

 someone rises and sings a hymn composed in honor of God, either 

 a new one which he himself has written, or some old one of the 

 ancient poets. For they have bequeathed to posterity many poems 

 and songs in iambic trimeter verse, processional songs, hymns for 

 libation and altar, stasima, chorals, all well-measured in strophes 

 and antistrophes. 



And after him others rise in their places in proper order, while all 

 the rest listen in profound silence as they sing, except when it is 

 necessary for everyone to join in the responses and to sing the 

 solemn refrains.^^ For then all, both men and women, join in the 

 singing. 



But when each person has finished his hymn, the young men bring 

 in the table mentioned a little above, on which is the most holy 

 food, leavened bread with a seasoning of salt with which hyssop has 

 been mixed out of respect for the sacred table which is placed in 

 the holy outer sanctuary of the temple.*^ For on this latter table 

 are placed bread and salt without flavoring. The bread, that is, is un- 

 leavened and the salt is unmixed (with hyssop) . For it is fitting that 



poetry, and tho he permits in the Epics the imitation of the speeches of other 

 persons as well as simple narration, it is only in cases where these speeches 

 would serve as a moral exemplar. So that, as he says, nothing would remain 

 of the whole Art of Poetry but hymns to the gods and praises of famous men." 



Many of the ancient Greeks avoided the difficulty concerning the wicked 

 and immoral myths by the allegorizing method, as did the Jews in inter- 

 preting objectionable passages in the Old Testament. 



^^This rendering follows Conybeare's restoration of the text from the 

 Armenian version. In the early Christian church applause seems to have 

 been permitted, but sometimes it may have been restricted as seems to be 

 the case here. 



■^^For such a refrain compare "for his mercy endureth forever" so 

 frequent in the Psalms. Perhaps the exclamation "alleluiah" or "amen" 

 would come under the word "response". 



Compare Matthew 12, 3: "Have ye not read what David did . . . how he 

 entered into the house of God and did eat the shewbread, which it was not 

 lawful for him to eat, neither for them that were with him, but only for the 

 priests?" 



Conybeare has this interesting historical note: "Since the shewbread 

 was offered only in the temple at Jerusalem and not in synagogues at all, 

 either before or after the destruction of the temple by Titus, this reference 

 to the shewbread must have been penned before the latter event." 



