Page:History of Art in Sardinia, Judæa, Syria and Asia Minor Vol 1.djvu/276

 2 5 A History of Art in Sardinia and Jud.ea. the seven eyes, the seven churches, etc. Ten reduced copies of the candlestick were ranged in sets on each side of the altar of Besides these were 162. — Candlestick on Arc of Ti Vogué, Le Temple, p. 33. 163. — Candelabrum Tabarieh. De Saulcy. Voyage. Atlas, Plate XLVI. incense. the ark or reliquary to hold the " tables of the law," the pot of miraculous manna, and the rod of Aaron that blossomed ; cen- sers to burn incense during solemn acts of worship ; tongs, snuffers, knives, extinguishers, trays, vases, all in fine gold ; and other necessary utensils for trimming and making the lights and fires were of the precious metal. 1 The main works attributed to Hiram Abu, whose foundry was somewhere " between Suc- coth and Zarthan, because of the sand found there," 2 were distributed about the court of the priests. Here, too, was the altar of sacrifice, and the twin columns Iakin and Boaz, 3 not the least impressive figures in the precinct. To draw them M. Chipiez was obliged to seek in Egypt and Assyria the need- ful subjects in order to supple- ment the lacunae of the biblical narrative ; he was mindful at 1 1 Kings vii. 49, 50. 2 2 Chron. iv. 17. 3 1 Kings vii. 21. According to authorities of repute, Iakin would mean "he established," and Boaz, " in him is strength," the two words being probably in- scribed on the pillars. It is difficult to believe that a formula with verb and prefix obtained at that early period, notably the verb, which is obscure. M. Renan, with a slight variant, reads as follows : " IakQn, stet, Bo'az, in robore," i.e. " May the double column firmly stand," the two single words being identified by the illiterate as a talisman or proper name, by which they could be easily identified. However it may be, the denomination had taken such hold of popular parlance that the author of Kings never dreams of explaining it.