The first bells known in history are those small golden bells which were attached to the lower part of the blue robe (the robe of the ephod) which formed part of the dress of the high-priest in his sacerdotal ministrations (Exodus 28:33-34; comp. Sirach 45:11). They were there placed alternately with the pomegranate-shaped knobs, one of these being between every two of the bells. The number of these bells is not mentioned in Scripture; but tradition states that there were sixty-six. We need not seek any other reason, for this rather singular use of bells than that which is assigned: 'His sound shall be heard when he goeth into the holy place before the Lord, and when he cometh out, that he die not' (Exodus 28:35); by which we may understand that the sound of the bells manifested that he was properly arrayed in the robes of ceremony which he was required to wear when he entered the presence-chamber of the Great King; and that as no minister can enter the presence of an earthly potentate abruptly and unannounced, so he (whom no human being could introduce) was to have his entrance harbingered by the sound of the bells he wore. This sound, heard outside, also notified to the people the time in which he was engaged in his sacred ministrations, and during which they remained in prayer (Luke 1:9-10).
'Bells of the Horses' are mentioned in Zechariah 14:20, which were probably such as were hung to the bridles or foreheads, or to belts around the necks, of horses trained for war, that they might thereby be accustomed to noise and tumult, and not by their alarm expose the riders to danger in actual warfare. We incline to think, however, that the use of horse-bells with which the Jews were most familiar, and which the prophet, had in view, was that which at present exists in the East, and in other countries where carriage by pack-horses and mules is common. The laden animals, being without riders, have bells hung from their necks, that they may be kept together, in traversing by night the open plains and deserts, by paths and roads unconfined by fences or boundaries; that they may be cheered by the sound of the bells; and that if any horse strays, its place may be known by the sound of its bell, while the general sound from the caravan enables the traveler who has strayed or lingered, to find and regain his party, even in the night.
That the same motto, Holiness to the Lord, which was upon the miter of the high-priest, should, in the happy days foretold by the prophet, be inscribed even upon the bells of the horses, manifestly signifies that all things, from the highest to the lowest, should in those days be sanctified to God.
It is remarkable that there is no appearance of bells of any kind in the Egyptian monuments.
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John Kitto was an English biblical scholar of Cornish descent.Born in Plymouth, John Kitto was a sickly child, son of a Cornish stonemason. The drunkenness of his father and the poverty of his family meant that much of his childhood was spent in the workhouse. He had no more than three years of erratic and interrupted education. At the age of twelve John Kitto fell on his head from a rooftop, and became totally and permanently deaf. As a young man he suffered further tragedies, disappointments and much loneliness. His height was 4 ft 8 in, and his accident left him with an impaired sense of balance. He found consolation in browsing at bookstalls and reading any books that came his way.
From these hardships he was rescued by friends who became aware of his mental abilities and encouraged him to write topical articles for local newspapers, arranging eventually for him to work as an assistant in a local library. Here he continued to educate himself.
One of his benefactors was the Exeter dentist Anthony Norris Groves, who in 1824 offered him employment as a dental assistant. Living with the Groves family, Kitto was profoundly influenced by the practical Christian faith of his employer. In 1829 he accompanied Groves on his pioneering mission to Baghdad and served as tutor to Groves's two sons. In 1833 Kitto returned to England via Constantinople, accompanied by another member of the Groves mission, Francis William Newman. Shortly afterwards he married, and in due course had several children.
A London publisher asked Kitto to write up his travel journals for a series of articles in the Penny Magazine, a publication read at that time by a million people in Britain, reprinted in America and translated into French, German and Dutch. Other writing projects followed as readers enquired about his experiences in the East amidst people living in circumstances closely resembling those of Bible times.
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