in Jewish antiquity, were those offerings which had life, in opposition to the minchah, or those which had not. It is derived from the word korab, which signifies "to approach;" because the victims were brought to the door of the tabernacle. The corban were always looked upon as the most sacred offerings. The Jews are reproached with defeating, by means of the corban, the precept of the fifth commandment, which enjoins the respect due to parents. For when a child had no mind to relieve the wants of his father or mother, he would say to them, "It is a gift (corban) by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;" i.e. "I have devoted that to God which you ask of me, and it is no longer mine to give."

Corban is also a ceremony which the Mahometans perform at the foot of Mount Arrafat in Arabia, near Mecca. It consists in killing a great number of sheep, and distributing them among the poor.

CORBELLS, in Fortification, little baskets about a foot and a half high, eight inches wide at the bottom and twelve at the top; which being filled with earth, are frequently set one against another upon the parapet or elsewhere, leaving certain port holes, from whence to fire upon the enemy under covert without being seen by them.