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<DATE>2013-12-27</DATE>
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<NAME>Alexis Jakobson</NAME>
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<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P><HI>PETRUS CUNAEUS</HI> OF THE COMMON-WEALTH OF THE <HI>HEBREWS.</HI></P>
<P>Tran&s;lated by <HI>C. B.</HI></P>
<Q><HI>Nec omnia, nec nihil.</HI></Q>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed by <HI>T. W.</HI> for <HI>William Lee,</HI> and are to be Sold at his Shop at the Sign of the Turks Head in Fleet-&s;treet over again&s;t Fetter-Lane. 1653.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="preface">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>THE AVTHOR'S PREFACE, TO The States of <HI>Hol|land</HI> and <HI>We&s;tfri&s;ia.</HI></HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Mo&s;t illu&s;trious Lords,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_I Offer to your view a Co~mon|wealth, the mo&s;t holy, and the mo&s;t exemplary in the
<PB REF="3">whole World. The Ri&s;e and Advance whereof, it well becomes you perfect|ly to under&s;tand, becau&s;e it had not any mortall man for its Author and Foun|der, but the immortall God; that God, who&s;e pure veneration and wor|&s;hip, You have underta|ken, and do maintain. Here you &s;hall &s;ee, what it was that conteined the He|brews &s;o long in an inno|cent way of life; what rais'd up their courage, cheri&s;hed their concord, bridled their de&s;ires. In|deed, that people had
<PB REF="3">Rules of Government, excelling the precepts of all wi&s;e men that ever were; Which Rules, we have &s;hewed, may in good part be collected out of the holy Bible. Only, of their Military Di&s;cipline very little is deliver'd to our memory: Yet mu&s;t every one, that con&s;iders their victories and at|chievements, confe&s;s, that the Hebrews, for milita|ry vertue, were inferiour to none. For, in the qua|lity of bani&s;hed men, when they were come out of <HI>E|gypt,</HI> where they had long
<PB REF="4">&s;ate, after a tedious march up and down in the de|&s;erts of <HI>Arabia</HI> for the &s;pace of forty years, they encountred with mighty and valiant Nations, ex|pell'd them, and po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed their Country, where they built new Towns, and de|dicated to God a magni|ficent Temple. In this mo&s;t happy &s;oil, where their valour had planted them, their mutuall con|cord made them grow to admiration. The Coun|&s;els of all provided for the &s;afety of all; and the Cities, which were many,
<PB REF="4">did not every one aim at their own dominion, but all u&s;ed their be&s;t endea|vours to defend the pub|lick Liberty. That the Government might bee compleat and uniform, they had the &s;ame Laws, Magi&s;trates, Senators, Judges; and the &s;ame weights, mea&s;ures, mony. Wherefore, all <HI>Pale&s;tin</HI> might be accounted as one City, but only that all the Inhabitants were not &s;hut up within the &s;ame Walls. Such a Community and Conformity there was be|tween them all. Yet, by
<PB REF="5">the Law, there was one City Privileg'd above all the re&s;t; not, to have dominion over the re&s;t, but that all, even the re|mote&s;t dwellers, &s;hould e|very year thrice hold their Religious meetings in it. A thing &s;o far from bree|ding any difference among them, that it was the &s;tron|ge&s;t bond of union. Thus did the twelve Tribes of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> every one being multiplyed marvellou&s;ly into the greatne&s;s of a Na|tion, over&s;pread a very great and fertile Country. The force of enemies, the
<PB REF="5">Tempe&s;ts of Wars, and o|ther the like evils nothing prevail'd again&s;t them. They alwaies ro&s;e higher by their overthrows, were enriched by their lo&s;&s;es, and the keene&s;s of their enemies &s;word put the more courage in them. For a long time the Com|mon-wealth of the He|brews continued in this &s;tate: till at la&s;t, after <HI>Sa|lomons</HI> death, having at|tained the height of pro&s;|perity, a great alteration happened. A certain man, <HI>Jeroboam,</HI> all who&s;e hopes con&s;i&s;ted in the di&s;cord of
<PB REF="6">the people, &s;tird up &s;edi|tion among them, and drawing to his party ten whole Tribes, con&s;tituted a kind of Common-wealth a part to him&s;elf, the head whereof was <HI>Samaria.</HI> And now there was no longer one, but two Com|mon-wealths. That of <HI>I&s;|rael,</HI> or the ten Tribes, la|&s;ted but a little while, being conquered, and carried a|way into eternall exile. The other of the Jews, who&s;e imperiall City was <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> although, be|fore the times of <HI>Ve&s;pa|&s;ian</HI> the Emperour, it was
<PB REF="6">not wholly ruined, yet the power of it was &s;o enfee|bled, that it could &s;eldom bear up again&s;t the enemy. Certainly, none of all this had come to pa&s;s, had not they fallen to pieces by their own di&s;&s;entions, who whil&s;t they held to|gether, and kept their force united, were victorious o|ver &s;o many Nations. The di&s;cords of the peo|ple give the greate&s;t ad|vantage to the enemy. This was the cau&s;e of the Hebrews ruin, and the &s;ame hath de&s;troyed the mo&s;t flouri&s;hing Kingdoms
<PB REF="7">other Nations. Plea&s;e you to return into the me|mory of all former times, you &s;hall find &s;carce any other thing to have given a check to the mo&s;t high and mo&s;t mighty States. Fortune (though envious to &s;uch as pro&s;per) &s;eldom a&s;&s;i&s;teth any people to the de&s;truction of another, un|le&s;s the people fir&s;t create trouble to them&s;elves at home, knowing neither how to moderate their vices, nor govern their own forces. It is clear, That Politic Nation the Ro|mans (<HI>who</HI> as <HI>Tully</HI> &s;aith,
<PB REF="7"><HI>by defending their confe|derates made them&s;elves Ma&s;ters of all the world</HI>) under&s;tood exceeding well, how the mo&s;t ea&s;y way to &s;ubdue confederate peo|ple, was by their dome&s;tic troubles and di&s;&s;entions. Thus, while they aided the oppre&s;&s;ed party, or became Arbitrators of the difference, they brought all things into their own power, and <HI>where they had made a wa&s;te, they called it peace.</HI> The Achaians were once terrible to all their Neighbours, by means of a confederacy, wherein
<PB REF="8">upon fair conditions the Cities of <HI>Peloponne&s;us</HI> were united; Their Common|wealth was of an excellent frame, and very like to yours (mo&s;t illu&s;trious Lords) &s;trengthned by their united powers, and invincible. How often did that Lordly people of <HI>Rome,</HI> knowing <HI>Greece</HI> was inexpugnable &s;o long as confederated, endea|vour by art and cunning to di&s;&s;olve that union? The Procon&s;ul <HI>Gallus</HI> was put upon the bu&s;ine&s;s: and, when he found no &s;ucce&s;s, the Spartans, by a trea|cherous
<PB REF="8">device were added to the ligue, but upon un|equall terms, to be a per|petuall cau&s;e of difference among&s;t them. This af|terward undid the Achai|ans. The Annals are full of &s;uch examples, but here is no place to make a long relation. <HI>Rome,</HI> the Lady of all Nations, born for the ruin of the world (as <HI>Mithridates</HI> &s;aid) groaning under the peoples di&s;cord, and Sena|tors faction, at la&s;t gave up her liberty, and &s;ubmit|ted her proud neck to the yoke of <HI>Cae&s;ar.</HI> But, to
<PB REF="9">return to the Hebrews, I &s;hall mention that in the la&s;t place, which is the chief of all. The for|mention'd breach, after <HI>Salomons</HI> death, had been probably made up again in a &s;hort time, but that the ambitious Author of it, <HI>Jeroboam,</HI> by changing the old true Religion into a vain and &s;en&s;ele&s;s &s;uper|&s;tition, ob&s;tructed the way of concord, and by a &s;mooth oration having obtruded upon the ten Tribes his new invention, made them very prone to take armes, not &s;o much
<PB REF="9">now for their E&s;tates and Liberty, as for their Al|tars and Idols. The&s;e things, and many more of this &s;ort, we have di&s;cour|&s;ed of in this Treati&s;e: and we thought it not unfit to &s;ee the light. You that are the Fathers of your Country, have alwaies had this truth in mind: <HI>That by concord a &s;mall E|&s;tate is rai&s;ed, and the grea|te&s;t is by di&s;cord over|thrown.</HI> Your own ex|perience confirms you in it, &s;ince by divine favour, and your own vertue, and the conduct of your In|vincible
<PB REF="10">Leader, your Common-wealth, by ma|ny degrees, is at la&s;t ar|rived to that height, that your enemies can com|plain of nothing, but your greatne&s;s. As I pray for the perpetuity of this U|nion, whereby you are &s;o happily advanced; &s;o, when I con&s;ider your wi&s;dom, which hath &s;hined forth in the greate&s;t Tryals, I am very confident, the &s;ame will la&s;t, as all good men would have it, and re|main for ever. Yet, I confe&s;s, we are not &s;o &s;e|cure, but that &s;ometimes
<PB REF="10">we reflect our thoughts upon the examples of for|mer Ages. Many of your &s;ubjects are already gone into &s;ides, and oppo&s;e each other with contrary opi|nions, &s;ince here &s;prung up among&s;t them &s;ome un|profitable controver&s;ies a|bout my&s;teries of Religi|on, not under&s;tood by the mo&s;t part of the people. The multitude are carri|ed &s;everall wayes by their affections, and every day the flame encrea&s;es. Your &s;elves under&s;tand (mo&s;t illu&s;trious Lords) how
<PB REF="11">much it concerns you to apply (and you do apply) &s;ea&s;onable remedies to this di&s;temper, le&s;t your flouri&s;hing affairs receive &s;ome detriment by this inte&s;tine malady, more pernicious than forein War, than Famine, than Pe&s;tilence. 'Tis vain for me to &s;peak more, when I can propo&s;e nothing to you out of my deepe&s;t con&s;ideration, which is not obvious to your own judgement. Only my Petition to your Highne&s;s is, that you would vouch|&s;afe
<PB REF="11">an intentive eye to this Common-wealth, which I have here de|&s;crib'd, the mo&s;t &s;acred, and the be&s;t that ever was. Here you &s;hall find &s;ome things which Kings and Princes and the Modera|tors of publick affairs may &s;elect and lay up for their u&s;e. And truly I was the more ea&s;ily moved to of|fer the&s;e to you, in con|templation of &s;ome ex|cellent men &s;itting in your Senate, who&s;e learning is &s;o exact, that, if I have brought any thing for the
<PB REF="12">illu&s;tration of antiquity and of the be&s;t Authors, they are able to pa&s;s a right judgement on it.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="errata">
<HEAD>ERRATA.</HEAD>
<P>PAge 17. <HI>l.</HI> 3. <HI>for</HI> two, <HI>r.</HI> too. <HI>p.</HI> 21. <HI>l.</HI> 7. <HI>for</HI> their, <HI>r.</HI> there. <HI>p.</HI> 122. <HI>l.</HI> 17. <HI>for</HI> my&s;tery, <HI>r.</HI> mini&s;try. <HI>p.</HI> 137. <HI>l.</HI> 3. <HI>for</HI> carried, <HI>r.</HI> carved. <HI>p.</HI> 150. <HI>l.</HI> 6. <HI>for</HI> good, <HI>r.</HI> God. <HI>p.</HI> 136. <HI>l.</HI> 23. <HI>for Su&s;a,</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. <HI>Su&s;ac. p.</HI> 137. <HI>l.</HI> 13. <HI>r. Salmana&s;&s;ar.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="1" REF="12">
<HEAD>OF THE COMMON-WEALTH Of The <HI>HEBREWS.</HI></HEAD>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. I. <HI>The In&s;titution of the</HI> Hebrew <HI>Commonwealth. Legi&s;lation. The Vain-glory of the</HI> Grecians. <HI>The &s;even Precepts of the Sons of</HI> Noah. <HI>The de&s;ign of</HI> Mo&s;es <HI>in his Laws and Ordinances.</HI></HEAD>
<P>_IN this work we &s;hall not be over curious in our method, nor make any accurate &s;earch after mate|rials, but lay hold upon &s;uch
<PB N="2" REF="13">things as freely and familiarly offer them&s;elves to our con&s;ide|ration; and as they come into our mind, &s;et down our di&s;cour|&s;es upon them all. The Com|mon-wealth of the <HI>Hebrews</HI> was founded by that excellent Man of God, <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> the fir&s;t Man that undertook a bu&s;ine&s;s of the greate&s;t con&s;equence in the World: For, among&s;t all the Actions of old, which Fame hath left upon record, this in my judgement is the mo&s;t noble, the con&s;titution of Common|wealths, and the ordering of hu|mane Societies by good Laws. Nothing is more acceptable to God, the Almighty Governour of this Univer&s;e. As the honour hereof is very great; &s;o, many Nations have laid claim unto it. The <HI>Grecians,</HI> among the re&s;t of the benefits, wherewith
<PB N="3" REF="13">they boa&s;t them&s;elves to have obliged other Nations, put Le|gi&s;lation in the Head of the Ac|count. <HI>Lycurgus, Draco, Solon,</HI> and other Antients, are names they glory in. Their Glory is but vain: For, all the Brags of this blown and arrogant Nati|on are &s;ilenc'd by the <HI>Jew, Fla|vius Jo&s;ephus,</HI> who&s;e Apology extant again&s;t <HI>Apion</HI> (an ene|my to the <HI>Jews,</HI> and a Man &s;o famous for his eloquence that he was called <HI>Cymbalum Mun|di</HI>) is full of admirable learning.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Plin. praf.</NOTE> There he &s;hews, that the Greek Legi&s;lators, compar'd to <HI>Mo|&s;es,</HI> are but of ye&s;terday: for, at what time their Father <HI>Ho|mer</HI> liv'd, they knew not the name of Laws, nor is it extant in all his Poems; Onely, the peo|ple had in their mouth certain common &s;ayings and &s;entences,
<PB N="4" REF="14">whereby they were govern'd; to &s;upply the defects whereof, the unwritten Edicts of Princes were upon occa&s;ion added. The truth is, which <HI>Flavius</HI> hath well ob|&s;erved, <HI>Mo&s;es, Homer</HI>'s <HI>Senior</HI> by many ages, is the onely Man to whom this honour apper|tains, which &s;o many afterward were ambitious of. He was the fir&s;t writer and publi&s;her of Laws, teaching the people, what was right or wrong, ju&s;t or unju&s;t, and by what Decrees that Common-wealth was to be e|&s;tabli&s;hed, which the mo&s;t high God had commanded to &s;ettle in <HI>Pale&s;tin.</HI> Before the time of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> no written Laws were known in the World: for, al|though mankind liv'd not al|together without Laws before, yet were not tho&s;e Laws con&s;e|crated and kept in any publick
<PB N="5" REF="14">records or monuments. Of this &s;ort were tho&s;e &s;even Precepts which the <HI>Talmudi&s;ts</HI> &s;ay were given to the Sons of <HI>Noah,</HI> con|cerning certain Rules of righte|ou&s;ne&s;s nece&s;&s;ary for the life of Man. Wherefore they were of &s;o large extent, that who&s;oever knew them not, tho&s;e the <HI>I&s;rael|ites</HI> were commanded to de&s;troy by War, and deprive them of all Communion with mankind; And ju&s;tly: For, they that had received no Law, &s;eemed wor&s;e than bea&s;ts; and (as <HI>Ari&s;totle</HI> hath divinely &s;poken) <HI>inju&s;tice &s;trengthened with Arms and Power is mo&s;t cruell and in|tolerable.</HI> Now the Arms wherewith nature hath &s;urni|&s;hed Man, are Rea&s;on and Pru|dence; things enabling him a|bundantly for mi&s;chief, if they be not re&s;trained and regulated
<PB N="6" REF="15">by Laws. But let us return to <HI>Mo&s;es.</HI> In his in&s;titution of that Common-wealth, the mo&s;t holy upon earth, he a&s;&s;igned the Su|preme Power to God; and when others find other names (as the matter requires) calling the Government Monarchy, O|ligarchy, or Democracy, he con|ceived none of the&s;e appellati|ons &s;uitable to the nature of &s;o great an Empire: Wherefore he ordained &s;uch a kind of Go|vernment, which <HI>Flavius</HI> &s;aith may very &s;ignificantly be &s;til'd <HI>Theocracy,</HI> that is, a Common|wealth who&s;e Ruler and Pre&s;i|dent is God alone; For, he pro|fe&s;&s;ed all affairs were managed by divine judgement and Au|thority. And of this he gave an evident demon&s;tration, in as much as although he &s;aw all matters depending upon him,
<PB N="7" REF="15">and had all the people at his devotion, yet upon &s;o fair an invitation he &s;ought no power, no wealth, no honour for him|&s;elf. A thing, whereby he &s;hew'd him&s;elf more than Man: For, in all Men there is implanted a de|&s;ire of Rule, a de&s;ire inveterate, more flagrant and eager than all other affections what&s;oever: Which, I believe, <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> had never been able to expectorate and extingui&s;h, had he not &s;een God him&s;elf pre&s;ent and pre&s;i|dent in all affairs; with whom, to &s;eek a Partner&s;hip in the Go|vernment, had been an extreme degree of madne&s;s. Moreover, He ordered that the Magi&s;trates &s;hould not be Lords and Ma|&s;ters, but Keepers of the Laws and Mini&s;ters. An excellent Con&s;titution: for, &s;eeing even the be&s;t Men are &s;ometimes
<PB N="8" REF="16">tran&s;ported by pa&s;&s;ion, the Laws alone are they that alwaies &s;peak with all per&s;ons in one and the &s;ame impartiall voice; Which I conceive to be the meaning of that fine &s;aying of <HI>Ari&s;totle, The Law is a Mind without Affection.</HI> La&s;tly, we con&s;ider that which is not the lea&s;t of all, the eternall &s;tability of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> Laws: whereto to adde, where from to take ought away, was a mo&s;t high offence. So that, neither old Laws were aboli|&s;hed, nor new brought in, but the ob&s;ervation of the fir&s;t was exacted of all with rigour, even in the declination of that Com|mon-wealth. Which was not &s;o in other Common wealths, being both founded and over|thrown by Law-making: for, as many of the Rulers, affecting to bring in &s;omewhat of their
<PB N="9" REF="16">own, have changed things before well ordered; &s;o, many good Or|ders by de&s;uetude, more (which is wor&s;e) aboli&s;hed by contempt, gave &s;ecurity to vices. This di|ver&s;ity we could never wonder at; &s;eeing the Laws of other Nations, Inventions of humane Wit, are enforced only by pe|nalties that by time, or through the &s;loath of Governours, lo&s;e their terrour: but the Jewi&s;h Ordinances, being the Decrees of the eternall God not weak|ned either by continuance of time, or &s;oftne&s;s of the Judges, they remain &s;till the &s;ame; and when the Ax and Scourge are no longer feared Mens minds are neverthele&s;s kept in awe by Re|ligion.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="10" REF="17">
<HEAD>CHAP. II. <HI>The prudence of the Lawgiver concerning A&s;&s;ignation of Lands. That they ought not to have been the fir&s;t Seizer's. The</HI> Agrarian <HI>Law, and its ine&s;timable Uti|lity. The Redemption of lands. The benefit of the Jubily, and So|lemnity thereof.</HI></HEAD>
<P><HI>FLavius Jo&s;ephus</HI> often cites <HI>Hecataeus</HI> of <HI>Abdera,</HI> an Author of great Faith and in|tegrity, one that waited upon <HI>Alexander</HI> the great in his Wars; Many Countries he view|ed, abounding with all kind of fruits, but admired none &s;o much as <HI>Pale&s;tine;</HI> Of this he wrote a &s;ingular Book, out of which <HI>Io&s;ephus</HI> recites many things in favour of the Jews. To our pur|po&s;e, he &s;aith the Jews inhabited
<PB N="11" REF="17">a very good Country, and mo&s;t fruitful, conteining three hundred thou&s;and Acres; a &s;eat, where|into as mo&s;t fit for them, the divine goodne&s;s tran&s;planted the <HI>Hebrews</HI> out of <HI>Egypt:</HI> For, as formerly they had &s;pent their lives in tillage of the ground, and feeding of Cattel; &s;o here in a bounteous &s;oil they might &s;till inrich them&s;elves, and pro&s;per by the &s;ame profe&s;&s;ion. So &s;oon as the holy people had by force of Arms po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed them&s;elves of the promi&s;ed Land, the chief Captain <HI>Io&s;ua</HI> pre&s;ently put in execution the commands of <HI>Mo&s;es.</HI> The whole Country he divided into twelve portions, and gave it to be inhabited by the twelve Tribes. Then, he numbred the families in every Tribe, and according to the number of per&s;ons gave to every
<PB N="12" REF="18">family a certain proportion of Lands, and pre&s;crib'd their bounds. By this means, all were equally provided for; which is the prime care of good Gover|nours in every Common-wealth; a care, that the mo&s;t Politick Nations, the <HI>Greeks</HI> and <HI>Ro|mans,</HI> in after-times were not unmindfull of when they car|ried forth their Colonies. Had every one made that his own, upon which he fir&s;t &s;et his foot, quarels and commotions among the people mu&s;t needs have fol|lowed: for &s;o it u&s;ually comes to pa&s;s; whil&s;t every one &s;eeks to get and appropriate to him&s;elf what was common, Peace is lo&s;t. Moreover. <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> as it be|came a wi&s;e Man, not only to order things at pre&s;ent, but for the future ages too, brought in a certain Law providing that
<PB N="13" REF="18">the wealth of &s;ome might not tend to the oppre&s;&s;ion of the re&s;t; nor the people change their cour&s;e, and turn their minds from their innocent labours to any new and &s;trange employ|ment. This was the <HI>Agrarian</HI> Law; a Law, whereby all po&s;|&s;e&s;ors of Land were kept from transferring the full right and dominion of it unto any other per&s;on, by &s;ale or other contract what&s;oever: For, both they that on con&s;traint of poverty had &s;old their Land, had a right granted them to redeem it at any time; and they that did not redeem it, receiv'd it freely again, by this Law, at the &s;olemn fea&s;t of Ju|bily. There is a great writer, <HI>Rabbi Mo&s;es Ben Maimon,</HI> he that in his divine work en|titled <GAP DESC="foreign"> hath hap|pily collected all the Talmudicall
<PB N="14" REF="19">doctrine except the trifles, an Author above our highe&s;t com|mendation, the only Man of that Nation, who had the good fortune to under&s;tand what it is to write &s;eriou&s;ly and to the purpo&s;e; We &s;hall often make u&s;e of his Authority, and now it will help us out in the matter we have in Hand. He is much upon the benefit of the Jubily, con&s;i&s;ting (&s;aith he) herein, that all Lands returned to their an|tient Lords, although they had pa&s;&s;ed through the Hands of a hundred buyers. Neither are excepted, by this mo&s;t learned writer, the Lands which came to any one by donation. The&s;e could no more than other be retained from the fir&s;t po&s;&s;e&s;&s;or. It is a point of the Talmudicall Law, and I make no que&s;tion but 'tis very right. The &s;ame
<PB N="15" REF="19"><HI>Rabbin</HI> from the &s;ame fountain declares, that Redemption was permitted only to &s;uch as were recovered from their poverry, and enabled by &s;ome gain or commodity that had befallen them. The rea&s;on's plain; for, to borrow money, or to &s;ell one piece of Land to redeem ano|ther, was to fru&s;trate the Law, that appointed the unable, and their Heirs, to wait for the re|lief of Jubily. Yet might the Kin&s;men of the nece&s;&s;itous, in the mean time, buy off for their money, what the poor owner, without borrowing, could not. The&s;e Jubily-&s;olemnities retur|ned every fiftieth year, beginning at the &s;eaventh month <HI>Ti&s;ri.</HI> No other time brought with it &s;o much publick joy: for, be|&s;ides the repo&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of Lands that had been alienated, liberty
<PB N="16" REF="20">was given unto all &s;ervants. Yet was nothing done before the tenth of that month, a holy Fa&s;t and day of Expiation. The nine preceding dayes were all &s;pent in publick mirth and fea&s;ting, like the Roman <HI>Saturnalia.</HI> Hear how <HI>Maimonides</HI> relates it. <HI>From the beginning of the year, to the day of Expiations, neither were the &s;ervants di&s;mi&s;t, nor did they &s;erve their Ma|&s;ters. What then? The &s;ervants did eat and drink and make merry, and every one of them &s;et a Crown upon his Head. After, when the day of Expiations was come, the Senators of the San|hedrin &s;ounded with their trum|pets, and forthwith the &s;ervants went away free, and the old Lords took a repo&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of their Lands.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="17" REF="20">
<HEAD>CHAP. III. <HI>Again of the</HI> Agrarian <HI>Law. The danger of two ample po&s;&s;e&s;|&s;ions. The Roman Common-wealth.</HI> Stolo<HI>'s Law. How the Hebrews maintained them|&s;elves. The Legi&s;lators provi|dence. Divine Laws of Agri|culture and Pa&s;turage.</HI></HEAD>
<P>BUt we have more to &s;ay of the utility intended by <HI>Mo|&s;es</HI> in the <HI>Agrarian</HI> Law. Cer|tainly, it was of great concern|ment to the Common-wealth, as before we noted, that the a|varice of a few &s;hould not in|vade the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions di&s;tributed with &s;o fair equality. It is not unu&s;uall with rich men to thru&s;t the poor out of his inheritance, and deprive him of nece&s;&s;aries, whil&s;t they enlarge their own
<PB N="18" REF="21">e&s;tate &s;uperfluou&s;ly. This pro|duceth often a change of Go|vernment: For, the truth is, That Common-wealth is full of enemies, wherein the people, many of them having lo&s;t their antient po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions, with re&s;tle&s;s de&s;ires a&s;pire to a better fortune. The&s;e men weary of the pre|&s;ent, &s;tudy alterations, and &s;tay no longer, than they needs mu&s;t, in an unplea&s;ing condition. Time was, when at <HI>Rome</HI> the principall men (drawing all un|to them&s;elves, in&s;omuch that one Citizen po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed Land e|nough for three hundred) were confined by <HI>Stolo</HI>'s Law to five hundred Acres a Man. But that good order, by fraud, was quick|ly broken. <HI>Stolo</HI> him&s;elf was the fir&s;t to violate his own Sanction, and was found guilty for hol|ding a thou&s;and Acres, making
<PB N="19" REF="21">u&s;e of his Sons name, whom to that end he had emancipated. And after, by other arts, many others eluded the &s;entence of the Law, them&s;elves po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ing what was purcha&s;ed by their Agents. This abu&s;e being perceiv'd by the wi&s;e <HI>Lelius,</HI> friend to <HI>Scipio A|fricanus,</HI> he endeavour'd to re|inforce the Law, but overborn by the adver&s;e faction, to pre|vent contention and di&s;cord, he de&s;i&s;ted. So the way was open for licence, and po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions were enlarged out of all mea&s;ure; till at la&s;t all <HI>Italy</HI> and the next provinces fell into a few Hands, as their proper patrimony: whereof, it were very ea&s;y to al|lege te&s;timonies, but here is needle&s;s. We touched al&s;o ano|ther rea&s;on of the <HI>Agrarian</HI> Law, namely, that <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> would not have the people langui&s;h
<PB N="20" REF="22">and lo&s;e their vertue by want of exerci&s;e. The mo&s;t eminent of all their Ance&s;tors having led a pa&s;torall life, and been good Husbands in the Field, their po|&s;terity could not be better &s;e|cured from the vices and incom|modities that follow idlene&s;s, than by being obliged to the &s;ame employments: which are not only the means of getting riches, but were u&s;ed by the be&s;t Men even from the beginning of the World. Indeed, tho&s;e Coun|try employments would &s;oon have been de&s;erted, had the Law permitted every one to purcha&s;e as much as he would, and lay Field to Field; Whereby it comes to pa&s;s, that the Lords of &s;o much Land di&s;dain to perform tho&s;e hone&s;t labours with their own Hands, but commit the bu&s;ine&s;s of Husbandry to others;
<PB N="21" REF="22">&s;uch as are, for the mo&s;t part, &s;trangers hired, or &s;ervants bought with money. The inferiour peo|ple, having no Heart to be&s;tow their labour on Land that is not their own, get out of the Fields into the Cities, and their immure them&s;elves, and are corrupted with an idle kind of life, &s;uppor|ted by &s;ome &s;oft and illiberall Art. Verily, after that the <HI>Ro|man</HI> Senators, and tho&s;e but few, engro&s;&s;ed to them&s;elves the Fields which formerly belong'd to many, not the Citizens alone, but all free men neglected and forgot the art of tillage. The Country that had once &s;een &s;uch brave and gallant men as <HI>Cu|rius, Fabricius, Cato,</HI> was now fild with the noi&s;e of chained labourers and bondmen. The magnanimous of-&s;pring of <HI>Romulus</HI> (as <HI>Varro</HI> complains)
<PB N="22" REF="23"><HI>did no longer exerci&s;e them&s;elves in the Corn-Fields and Vine|yards, but in the Circ and Thea|ter:</HI> For, they had now thrown away the Hook and Plow, who of old (&s;aith he) had &s;o divided the year, <HI>that every ninth day only they vi&s;ited the City; all the other dayes they attended their Country-affairs.</HI> Thus did they decline from their Ance&s;tors ways, which while they ob&s;er|ved, they teaped a double bene|fit; their Fields did abound with fruits, and their minds with vir|tue. For prevention of the many publick evils that ari&s;e from the fore-mentioned neglect, <HI>Mo|&s;es</HI> a Man excellent both in divine and humane wi&s;dom provident|ly decreed the privileges of Re|demption, and e&s;tabli&s;hed the Law of Jubily: A Law, that had not the lea&s;t &s;hadow of in|ju&s;tice,
<PB N="23" REF="23">nor conteined any in|commodity at all to the buyers of Land; for, in the &s;ale, an eye was ever ca&s;t upon the Jubily, &amp; with re&s;pect unto the nearne&s;s or di&s;tance of it, the price did ei|ther ri&s;e or fal. This is that,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lev. 25.14, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> which is at large &s;et down in <HI>Leviticus</HI> in the&s;e words: <HI>If thou &s;ell ought unto thy Neighbour, or buye&s;t ought of thy Neighbours Hand, ye &s;hall not oppre&s;s (or circum|vent) one another: According to the number of years after the Jubily, thou &s;halt buy of thy Neighbour, and according to the number of years of the fruits he &s;hall &s;ell unto thee: According to the multitude of years thou &s;halt increa&s;e the price thereof; and according to the fewne&s;s of years thou &s;halt dimini&s;h the price of it: for according to the number of the years &s;hall he &s;ell
<PB N="24" REF="24">unto thee: Ye &s;hall not therefore op|pre&s;s (or deceive) one another.</HI> Now, if the Seller de&s;ired to re|deem his Lands, before the Jubi|ly, it was al&s;o with great equity ordained, that he &s;hould render back the price, only retaining &s;o much of the money, as the buyer had receiv'd in profits. By this means, Re&s;titution of Lands was made without any damage at all to either party; and Agriculture, their old hone&s;t employment, kept up in e&s;teem and practice among&s;t all the people. What the nature and condition of that people was, to whom <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> gave his Ordinances, cannot be doubted: for, among &s;o ma|ny Laws which he made, as a great number concern Ju&s;tice and Religion, &s;o the re&s;t which pertain to their e&s;tates and mat|ter of profit, run all upon rules of Husban|ry.
<PB N="25" REF="24">How carefully are the peo|ple taught, when to give re&s;t to their Land, and to intermit their &s;eeding? what they mu&s;t ob|&s;erve at Harve&s;t and Vintage? What years it was allowed to gather fruit of the Vine? Far|ther, with what &s;everity are they forbidden to &s;ow mingled &s;eed in the &s;ame ground; to mix divers kinds of Animals in ge|neration; or put them together under one Yoke? The re&s;t, tou|ching the breed of Cattle, Fir&s;t Fruits, and Tenths, are almo&s;t infinite. They are handled at full in the <HI>Talmud:</HI> where they take up the &s;ixt part of the whole, or more. <HI>Maimonides</HI> hath com|prehended all in his Book, that he cals <GAP DESC="foreign">, wherein are admirable &s;ecrets.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="26" REF="25">
<HEAD>CHAP. IV. <HI>In what &s;treight every &s;eventh year brought the Jews. The be|nefit granted to this Nation by</HI> Alexander <HI>the Great, for a cer|tain prophecy. The Jews had little commerce with other peo|ple. The Grecians ignorant of their affairs.</HI> Ari&s;totles <HI>opinion of the Jews. Who are the be&s;t Common-wealths men. Of Ar|tificers.</HI></HEAD>
<P>SUch were the Laws given to the Hebrews: all who&s;e wealth lay in the Fields. Accor|ding to the encrea&s;e whereof, they were in penury or abun|dance? Hence it was, that as oft as forein Kings impo&s;ed tribute on them, every &s;eventh year brought them into &s;o great a &s;treight, that they were hardly
<PB N="27" REF="25">able to rai&s;e the &s;um. For their Law would not permit them to till the ground that year, and to gather in the fruits thereof, which yeelded all their money. <HI>Alexander</HI> of <HI>Macedonia,</HI> ha|ving learned at <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> out of <HI>Daniels</HI> Book, that a Grecian &s;hould overthrow the Per&s;ian Empire, glad with the prophe|cy, bad the Jews ask of him &s;ome royall favour. They an|&s;wered, no greater benefit could be done them, than the remi&s;&s;ion of the &s;eventh years tribute. It was granted. The Samaritans, when they &s;aid much for them|&s;elves to obtein the &s;ame indul|gence, were not heard. But, of all that can be &s;aid in this kind, nothing is more luculent than that which
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">1 <HI>Apol. ad v. Ap.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Flavius</HI> gives in an&s;wer to <HI>Apion,</HI> in behalf of his Country-men: <HI>Neither do
<PB N="28" REF="26">we live near the Sea, nor delight in trading; nor have we there|fore any commerce with other Nations: but our Cities are re|mote from the Sea, and we our &s;elves &s;eated in a fruitfull Land, which we make more fruitfull by good Husbandry.</HI> Indeed, wher|as &s;everall Nations are &s;o a&s;&s;o|ciated by Trade, that the Com|modities of all Countries are tran&s;ported and may &s;eem na|turall to every one, the Jews alone conteined them&s;elves within the bounds of their own Land, not applying them&s;elves unto negotiation. For they pa&s;|&s;ed not the Sea, nor vi&s;ited other people, nor were vi&s;ited by others. Whence it came to pa&s;s, that the Grecians and others have delivered many fabulous reports concerning them. For very few had certain intelligence
<PB N="29" REF="26">of their affairs. <HI>Hecataeus</HI> is the only man that hath written truth; The re&s;t have related what they had by fame and hear-&s;ay; Which, how un&s;afe it is in all Hi&s;tory, appears by <HI>Eph<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">rus,</HI> a famous Author of old, who &s;aid, <HI>Iberia,</HI> which he never &s;aw, was one Citie: a ridiculous errour; for 'twas not a City, but a great and popu|lous part of the We&s;tern World. It is a marvellous ignorant con|ceit of <HI>Ari&s;totle</HI> in <HI>Clearchus,</HI> that the Jews were propagated from the wi&s;e men of <HI>India,</HI> but had changed their name: the Philo&s;ophers of <HI>India</HI> being cal|led <HI>Callans,</HI> and in <HI>Cava Syria</HI> Jews. I am a&s;hamed, &s;o great a man &s;hould make &s;uch a poor conjecture. But that which the &s;ame <HI>Ari&s;totle</HI> there addes, as it is not incredible to us, &s;o is it
<PB N="30" REF="27">very glorious for that holy Na|tion. He &s;aith, when he was in <HI>A&s;ia,</HI> there came unto him a certain Jew, a man of &s;o much learning and &s;cience, that in compari&s;on of him all the Gre|cians that were pre&s;ent, &s;eemed to be but Blocks. Herein he hath made &s;ome amends for that, he had imprudently rela|ted concerning their Originall: which he had been better to have omitted, as a thing unknown to a &s;tranger. And truly to me <HI>Flavius</HI> &s;eems to glory in the Jews ob&s;curity, when he &s;aith, They live in mediterranean pla|ces, and Merchants and &s;tran|gers have no acce&s;s unto them. For &s;o, they long kept their manners uncorrupted, and none of tho&s;e exotick things pertaining to luxury and riot was impor|ted, whereby mo&s;t potent nati|ons
<PB N="31" REF="27">are undone. The re&s;t of his words are &s;uch, that <HI>Flavius,</HI> you may &s;ay, is proud of his Country: <HI>We dwell in a fertile Land, and in the culture of it we &s;pend our Labour:</HI> as if no|thing could be greater or better. <HI>Ari&s;totle</HI> recites &s;ome Edicts, framed by mo&s;t antient Law|makers, coming very nigh unto the Mo&s;aicall. <HI>Oxylus,</HI> King of the <HI>Elians,</HI> prohibited Lands to be mortgaged for mony; and the <HI>Locrians</HI> were not permit|ted to &s;ell the Inheritances of their Fathers. Which Ordinan|ces were (as the greate&s;t Author of naturall wi&s;dom noteth) to this purpo&s;e, that the people might not de&s;ert the culture of their Fields. Wherefore he &s;o often iterates it in his Politicks, that the be&s;t Common-wealth is, where the people live upon Til|lage
<PB N="32" REF="28">and Pa&s;ture. He gives the rea&s;on: <HI>Becau&s;e they govern them&s;elves and their affairs ac|cording to the Laws: for they maintain them&s;elves by their labour, and cannot have any time to be idle.</HI> Other Common-weals, fill'd with a multitude of Opificers and Mechanicks, he judgeth in far wor&s;e condi|tion, becau&s;e the life of &s;uch men is unactive and &s;edentary, and their employment of no al|liance unto virtue. It appears hence, how vain and frigid that vulgar objection is, (which <HI>Fla|vius</HI> mentions) again&s;t the Jews: <HI>In that Nation there are no in|ventors of new works, no Arti|ficers:</HI> This is no di&s;grace to the Jews, but the greate&s;t prai&s;e; for how can the invention be prai&s;e worthy, when the exer|ci&s;e of the things invented is
<PB N="33" REF="28">illiberall? All Opificers are con|ver&s;ant in works that foul their hands; and <HI>Ari&s;totle</HI> &s;aith well, they &s;erve a kind of &s;ervitude, but limited, becau&s;e we u&s;e their hands and labour, not as of &s;ervants in all, but in &s;ome one matter. So little of what is ingenuous can be found in the Shop, wherein, be&s;ide the re&s;t, there is al&s;o this evill, that it ef|feminates and weakens both the body and mind. Wherefore in antient Common-weals well e&s;tabli&s;ht, (as the mo&s;t judicious Ma&s;ter &s;aith) Opificers were not Free-men, but &s;trangers, and they were a body as it were di&s;tinct and &s;eparate from the Citizens.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="5" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="34" REF="29">
<HEAD>CHAP. V. <HI>The Hebrews hated by the Egyptians, and why. The Egyp|tians given to idle Arts: ema&s;|culated by</HI> Se&s;o&s;tris. <HI>An Egypti|an Law of inheriting trades. The Shepheards, a third of the Egyp|tians, feared by the re&s;t: and why more hated than Husbandmen.</HI></HEAD>
<P>NOw it will be ea&s;y to ob|&s;erve the cau&s;e why the Jews were hated alwaies by the Egyptians, not only while they &s;ojourned there, but afterward when they had a proper &s;eat and a Common-weal of their own in the neighbouring Land of <HI>Pale&s;tine,</HI> bounded on the South with <HI>Egypt,</HI> as <HI>Cornelius Taci|tus</HI> relates. Truly, that hatred &s;prang from nothing more, than a di&s;&s;imilitude of life and &s;tu|dies. For all the Plebeians of
<PB N="35" REF="29"><HI>Egypt,</HI> &s;et upon &s;ellulary arts, under the &s;hade of their Cities took their ea&s;e within the Wals; Yea &s;ome, perverting the offices of the virile &s;ex, handled the &s;pinning wheel. And as they were ever prone by their own di&s;po&s;ition unto &s;oftne&s;s, &s;o af|terward were their minds more enervated by the King <HI>Se&s;o&s;tris;</HI> Who&s;e &s;tudie it was to &s;often his people, and as the Egypti|ans them&s;elves report, learned the skill of <HI>Mercury.</HI> There was a Law too, that conduced to this end by confining their wit within narrow bounds: for no Opificer might exerci&s;e any o|ther Art, but that which de&s;cen|ded to him from his Father. <HI>Ju|venal,</HI> when he would &s;mite <HI>Cri&s;pinus</HI> (a man gotten up to high place by evill Arts, and <HI>Cae&s;ars</HI> favour) with a Satyri|call
<PB N="36" REF="30">jerk, calls him <HI>a Plebeian of</HI> Nilus, <HI>and &s;lave of</HI> Canopus. For &s;o it was the opinion, that the Prie&s;ts were free, and the O|pificers, which were the com|mon people, &s;ervants. But there was another &s;ort far different from tho&s;e, a certain third part of the people, which liv'd at di&s;tance in the plains of <HI>Egypt,</HI> and near the mar&s;hes. The&s;e were the Shepheards; active and able men, but execrable to all the Egyptians, becau&s;e they would not &s;uffer them to be &s;e|cure in their idle cour&s;e of life. The&s;e often made great com|motions, and &s;ometimes created Kings for them&s;elves. Where|fore the Romans in after times, when they ea&s;ily held the re&s;t of <HI>Egypt</HI> in obedience, placed a &s;tronger Garri&s;on in the&s;e parts. When you have taken the mo&s;t
<PB N="37" REF="30">exact view of all things, you will find, this was the only rea&s;on that made the Egyptians, even from the fir&s;t, &s;o ill-affected un|to Shepheards; becau&s;e tho&s;e &s;edentary men and opificers could not endure their fierce and lively &s;pirits. <HI>Pharaoh</HI> him|&s;elf, when he had decreed to a|bate and depre&s;s the growing multitude of the I&s;raelites, &s;peaks to his men on this wi&s;e: <HI>The I&s;raelites are &s;tronger than we. Come, let us deal wi&s;ely, that they encrea&s;e not, le&s;t when War ari&s;es they joyn them&s;elves unto our enemies, and take arms again&s;t us.</HI> That opinion I think to be right and true; nor can I a&s;&s;ent to them, that impute the cau&s;e of this publick hatred to their &s;uper&s;tition: as if the He|brews, Keepers of Flocks and Herds, could not be &s;uffered by
<PB N="38" REF="31">that Nation, who reverenced, &s;ome Sheep, &s;ome Goats, &s;ome other fourfooted Bea&s;ts, and would not &s;lay them, being per&s;waded, there was in them &s;omething of divinity. But this Rea&s;on is ve|ry improbable; for what will they an&s;wer, when either they &s;hall learn out of the Penta|teuch, that <HI>Pharaoh</HI> had innu|merable Flocks of Sheep; or when they &s;hall &s;ee &s;o many monuments of Hi&s;tories to be produc'd, making manife&s;t, that a con&s;iderable part of the Egyp|tians (as we have above &s;aid) lived in Pa&s;tures, and among Cattle? And yet is that &s;aying notable in the Scripture; <HI>All Shepheards are hated by the E|gyptians.</HI> Of Husbandmen it is not &s;o &s;poken: nor indeed could their valour (which was none at all) be feared or hated. For
<PB N="39" REF="31">the lazy Clowns had all their hopes placed not in the indu|&s;trious manuring of the ground, but in the River <HI>Nilus.</HI> The overflowing &s;tream bred and en|crea&s;t their Corn: nor did it bring only fruitfulne&s;s to the earth, but earth it &s;elf; for be|ing mixt with much mud, it en|larg'd the Fields, and by an yearly addition &s;tretched out the bounds of their Land. So, the Countryman admired both his &s;oyl and Crop newly &s;prung, which without his labour and care had fallen to him.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="6" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="40" REF="32">
<HEAD>CHAP. VI. <HI>The Jubily not celebrated after the Captivity. That &s;olem|nity was kept in the</HI> 49. <HI>year, which was the</HI> 7. <HI>&s;abbaticall.</HI></HEAD>
<P>COncerning the Egyptians, what di&s;po&s;ition they were of, and how different from their Neighbours of <HI>Judea,</HI> wee have &s;poken &s;ufficiently; We return, to &s;ay a little more of the Ju|bily. The Agrarian Law made by <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> touching the re&s;ti|tution of po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions was ob&s;er|ved with very great Religion untill the de&s;olation of the for|mer &s;anctuary by the A&s;&s;yrians. After that, <HI>Pale&s;tin</HI> lay for&s;a|ken and incult for the &s;pace of 70. years, as the Prophets had foretold. But when at length that fatall time was expired,
<PB N="41" REF="32">the Jews indeed returned to their antient habitations, and the Temple was built a-new, but never was the Agrarian Law revived, nor the Jubily &s;olem|nities celebrated any more. No more now did every fiftieth year give liberty to &s;ervants, nor re|&s;tore unto the former Lords their lo&s;t and &s;old po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions. Whether ju&s;tly the fiftieth year or the forty ninth was the year of Jubily, 'tis made a que&s;tion. We joyn with tho&s;e incompa|rable men of our time that hold the forty ninth: nor can we a&s;|&s;ent unto <HI>Maimonides</HI> in this, though for the mo&s;t, we religi|ou&s;ly embrace his judgement. For this Author hath recompen|ced us, for his few and little er|rours, with many great virtues, and very choice ob&s;ervations every where. It is ob&s;erved by
<PB N="42" REF="33">the &s;ame <HI>Maimonides,</HI> that as to the intermi&s;&s;ion of Agricul|ture, there is the &s;ame rea&s;on of the Jubily and every &s;eventh year; nor is this a conjecture of the Jews only, or a probable opinion, but certain and undoubted truth, which the Legi&s;lators own word confirms, <HI>Levit.</HI> 25. But now, if the 50, year exactly were the Jubily, two Sabbaticall years (for the 49. is Sabbaticall) would with|out intermi&s;&s;ion have been ce|lebrated together. A &s;ingular, &s;trange and unu&s;uall thing. For, whereas providence had &s;o or|dained that every &s;ixt year in <HI>Pale&s;tin,</HI> by its exceeding fruit|fulne&s;s, &s;hould prevent the fa|mine of the &s;eventh, being the year of re&s;t to the Fields, there mu&s;t now be a more miracu|lous fruitfulne&s;s, if two years
<PB N="43" REF="33">of re&s;t &s;hould come together. In neither was it lawfull to Plow or Sow. Therefore, the divine bounty, which is expre&s;&s;ed in <HI>Levit. (I will &s;end my ble&s;&s;ing upon you in the &s;ixt year, and it &s;hall bring forth the fruits of three years)</HI> mu&s;t be encrea&s;ed to &s;erve for four years, the 49. and 50. being, upon divers rea|&s;ons, both Sabbaticall. No &s;uch fruitfulne&s;s was ever granted to any other Land or Nation. We confe&s;s indeed the Land of <HI>Pale&s;tin</HI> was the favourite of Heaven, and much indebted to the divine influence above o|ther Lands; yea, things went there &s;ometimes contrary to the Laws of Nature. Neverthele&s;s, &s;eeing none of the Prophets have given te&s;timony to &s;o great a miracle, nor any hi&s;tories have made any record of it, we mu&s;t
<PB N="44" REF="34">not, by too ea&s;y a credulity, give occa&s;ion to our Reader to charge us with &s;tupidity.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="7" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. VII. <HI>The three con&s;ecrations of</HI> Pa|le&s;tin <HI>and of the Cities; Of City|hou&s;es, of</HI> Jeru&s;alem <HI>and her pri|vileges.</HI> Agrippa<HI>'s offence, and the Jews emba&s;&s;age upon it to</HI> Nero. <HI>Of enlarging their terri|tories: and the right of fortify|ing. The ruin of the Common|wealth. The Cities of refuge.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THe <HI>Talmudi&s;ts</HI> affirm, when <HI>Jo&s;uah</HI> marched into <HI>Pa|le&s;tin,</HI> he con&s;ecrated all the walled Cities. This they called <HI>the fir&s;t entrance.</HI> But when the holy people was carried
<PB N="45" REF="34">away by the Babylonians, be|yond <HI>Euphrates,</HI> their Country was polluted by the wicked: Wherefore, after the return of the Jews into their &s;eats, <HI>Ezra</HI> the high Prie&s;t, by a &s;olemn act, re&s;tored &s;anctimony to the Ci|ties, and that was <HI>the &s;econd en|trance.</HI> At la&s;t <HI>Cae&s;ar Titus,</HI> having overthrown the Jews, prophaned all again. And here the <HI>Talmudi&s;ts</HI> flatter them|&s;elves with a plea&s;ing error. For they doe yet expect <HI>Me&s;&s;ias,</HI> who, as they would have it, &s;hall invade the kingdom of <HI>Pale|&s;tin,</HI> and con&s;ecrate the Cities once more. This, &s;ay they, will be <HI>the third entrance.</HI> More|over, the &s;ame Authors tell us, wherein con&s;i&s;ts the Religion and &s;anctimony of Cities; and why the Villages and Coun|try were not con&s;ecrated al&s;o:
<PB N="46" REF="35">Which it would be tedious to relate. When the Towns of <HI>Pale&s;tin</HI> were a&s;&s;igned to the &s;everall tribes, the <HI>Levites</HI> too received Cities for their habita|tions; but the Country, the Fields and po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions were &s;o divided, that they had no &s;hare: For they had the Tenths only, and fir&s;t fruits, and all the Sa|crifices. Of the&s;e they lived, and with the&s;e they did abound. But we mu&s;t ob&s;erve with <HI>Mai|monides,</HI> what is here &s;aid hath place only in the Land, which by Covenant was given to <HI>A|braham, I &s;aac,</HI> and <HI>Jacob,</HI> and which was held by their chil|dren, and divided among&s;t them. But in other regions, which were &s;ubdued by &s;ome Kings of <HI>I&s;|rael,</HI> the Prie&s;ts and Levites had their portion with the re&s;t of the Hebrews. Concerning City-dwellings
<PB N="47" REF="35">there was a Law, that he who had &s;old his Hou&s;e might redeem it within a year: the year being pa&s;t, it was the buy|ers; nor had the next of Kin any right to redeem it, nor was the Jubily here of any benefit. If the Hou&s;e were redeemed, the whole price was repayed to the buyer, although the &s;ale and delivery had been made many months before. And the for|mer po&s;&s;e&s;&s;or might redeem his Hou&s;e, even on the la&s;t day of the year. In ca&s;e he was ab|&s;ent, who had bought it, or was gone out of the way on pur|po&s;e, the Redeemer addre&s;&s;ed him&s;elf to the Court, and ha|ving there in pre&s;ence of the Senate laid down the price he had received, departed, brake open the doors, and took po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;ion of his Hou&s;e again. Thus
<PB N="48" REF="36">the <HI>Talmudi&s;ts.</HI> In the Cities of the Levites it was not &s;o but, for their hou&s;es, they had the benefit of the &s;ame Law which was e&s;tabli&s;ht by <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> con|cerning the Fields and rurall po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions of all the Hebrews, as hath been &s;aid. Wherefore they might redeem them after the year was pa&s;t; and what was not before redeemed, the Jubily re&s;tored. Among&s;t all the Cities, mo&s;t eminent was <HI>Jeru&s;alems</HI> &s;anctity, and (as the <HI>Talmud</HI> delivers) it remain'd perpetuall, ever &s;ince the De|dication by the mo&s;t glorious King <HI>Salomon:</HI> That <HI>Ezra</HI> con&s;ecrated it again, was un|nece&s;&s;ary, for it was not capa|ble to be prophan'd, like other Cities, by the hands of the Sa|crilegious. Whence it came to pa&s;s, (as the <HI>Talmud</HI>-tradition
<PB N="49" REF="36">is, that it was lawfull to &s;acri|fi&s;e at <HI>Hieru&s;alem,</HI> and to fea&s;t upon the &s;acrifices, even in the du&s;t and a&s;hes of the de&s;troyed City. But how great was the Religion of the place, appea|red by tho&s;e Jews, whom <HI>Ha|drian</HI> the Emperour permitted once a year to vi&s;it the deformed reliques of the holy City, and there to lament and deplore the mi&s;ery of their Nation. This City was not a&s;&s;igned by lot unto any one tribe, but was common to them all: Where|fore the <HI>Talmudi&s;ts</HI> free it from that Law, which commands the bloud &s;ecretly &s;hed in the bor|ders of the Tribes, to be expia|ted by &s;laving of a Heifer. This which follows is not from &s;u|per&s;tition but from the antient and approved cu&s;tom of the Nation. <HI>Maimonides</HI> relates,
<PB N="50" REF="37">if any had an upper room &s;o high that it gave them a pro&s;|pect to the Holy of Holies, they might indeed once a week go up to &s;ee all &s;afe, but oftner or for other cau&s;e, they might not Ve|rily King <HI>Agrippa</HI> much offen|ded his people when from a lofty room in his palace he took a fre|quent view of the Temple &amp; &s;aw from on high what was done within it. The Jews, thinking this to be an un&s;ufferable thing, rai&s;ed a high wall to cut off the Kings pro&s;pect, and without de|lay &s;ent unto <HI>Rome</HI> ten Legates, with <HI>I&s;mael</HI> the High-Prie&s;t, and <HI>Eleazar</HI> the Trea&s;urer, to Pe|tition <HI>Nero</HI> for a confirmation of that, which Religion had compell'd the people to do. What <HI>Hec<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">taeus</HI> of <HI>Abdera</HI> &s;aith in <HI>Flavius,</HI> that <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> was of 50. furlongs compa&s;s,
<PB N="51" REF="37">inhabited by one hundred twen|ty thou&s;and per&s;ons, were not very materiall for us to know, but that there is &s;omething of &s;ingular note concerning the en|largement of their <HI>pomaeria,</HI> which <HI>Maimonides</HI> hath de|clared out of the Talmudicall Books. And this it is. In the enlargement of the City, the great Senate <HI>Sanhedrin,</HI> and the King&punc; and one Prophet, con&s;ul|ted the oracle called <HI>Urim</HI> and <HI>Thummim.</HI> After that they had agreed among them&s;elves about the interpretation of the divine an&s;wer, the Senators of the <HI>Sanhedrin</HI> recited two Ver&s;es of thank&s;giving, and having taken two Loaves of leavened Bread, and departing pre&s;ently with in&s;truments of Mu&s;ick, made a &s;tand at the turning of every Sticet, and at all Monu|ments
<PB N="52" REF="38">erected in the City, and pronounced the&s;e words: <HI>I will extoll thee O Lord, becau&s;e thou ha&s;t lifted me up.</HI> At la&s;t, when they were come unto the place de&s;igned for con&s;ecration, be|cau&s;e it was to be the bound of their <HI>pomaeria,</HI> they all &s;tayed; and there, of the two Loaves taken with them, after the Ver|&s;es &s;ung, they eat one; the o|ther, they burnt in the flames. The&s;e things received from their Ance&s;tors, the Talmudicall wri|ters have thus left upon record. Nor are they improbable, &s;ee|ing the like and almo&s;t the &s;ame are ex&s;tant in the 12. Chapter of <HI>Nehemiahs</HI> commentaries. Yet in after times, the liberty of the Jews being oppre&s;t by the Ro|mans, this prolation of their <HI>po|maeria</HI> depended not upon the plea&s;ure of the great Councill, but
<PB N="53" REF="38">of the Roman people. Farther, this is al&s;o deliver'd by <HI>Cornelius Tacitus,</HI> that the Jews, with a great &s;um of money purcha&s;ed leave to fortify. Whence it ap|pears, the Queen of Cities, <HI>Je|ru&s;alem,</HI> was in the &s;ame con|dition with all towns under the Roman power, who&s;e Walls could not be repair'd without the Authority of the Prince or Governour, nor any thing joy|ned to them, or &s;et upon them: as
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>L.</HI> 9. <HI>&s;ect. ff. de rerum divi&s;.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Ulpian</HI> the Lawyer &s;aith. And truly, <HI>Claudius Cae&s;ar,</HI> when he had received intelligence that they were enclo&s;ing <HI>Jeru|&s;alem</HI> with a mighty Wall, ad|moni&s;hed <HI>Agrippa</HI> of that new attempt; and thereupon the King, in obedience to the Em|perour, left off the work he had undertaken. The Talmudicall writers &s;ay, <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> had this
<PB N="54" REF="39">privilege, above other Towns of <HI>Judaea,</HI> that no hou&s;e in the City, after one year, could be retained by the buyer. They &s;ay al&s;o, it was not lawfull to plant Orchards or gardens there affirming that of the whole Ci|ty, which <HI>Hecataeus</HI> hath writ|ten of the circuit of the Temple. Dead bodies, which were car|ried any whither, were not ad|mitted into that City, out of a re&s;pect unto the Holine&s;s there|of. Only two Sepulchers were there, of <HI>David,</HI> and of <HI>Olda,</HI> built (they &s;ay) by the old Pro|phets. Yet were the Levits bound up with a more &s;trict Religion being prohibited to bury the dead in their Cities and in the Field of their Suburbs too. Wherefore, by divine appoint|ment, they received from the o|ther Tribes a parcell of ground
<PB N="55" REF="39">without their own borders, where they might lay the bones of their dead to re&s;t. In other Towns, it was not unlawfull to bury, provided &s;even hone&s;t men gave a&s;&s;ent thereto; but when once the Corps was carried forth of the gate, it might not be recei|ved again within the walls, al|though all the people &s;hould de&s;ire it. <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> as we &s;aid above, was the head city, the &s;eat of Religion and holy rites; Wherefore, that being over|thrown, there fell with it the form of the Jewi&s;h Common-weal, both Civill and &s;acred. Truly what <HI>Flavius</HI> &s;aith of a voice heard out of the Temple, before the de&s;truction of the City, <HI>Let us go hence;</HI> &s;eemeth unto me to &s;ignifie nothing el&s;e, but that the Common-weal was to be di&s;&s;olved, and the
<PB N="56" REF="40">Scepter to be taken away, which of old was given to the holy Nation. For within a &s;hort time, the orders, and functions, and rites, and almo&s;t all their Laws cea&s;ed; and there follow|ed great confu&s;ion, de&s;olation, and di&s;traction. Fir&s;t of all the mo&s;t &s;acred College of the Ha|&s;ideans, that drew its Originall from the Prophets, was now no more; becau&s;e their cu&s;tom was, to goe every day to the Temple, and to be&s;tow volun|tary charges upon Sacrifices, and upon the Porches and Walls of the Sanctuary. And whereas <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> impo&s;ed upon &s;trangers that &s;hould become Pro&s;elytes, the oblation of &s;ome certain gift, this upon the di&s;&s;olution began to be deferred altogether till another time when the third &s;anctuary, which they yet ex|pect,
<PB N="57" REF="40">&s;hall be built. Nor doe they any more marry their Bro|thers Widows, which have no Children. And the &s;olennity of the Pa&s;&s;eover, never &s;ince that time, hath been rightly celebra|ted; for the Law commanded it &s;hould be kept in that place, wherein. God had cho&s;en the &s;eat of his hou&s;e. Of &s;o much con&s;equence was the fall of one City it hath changed and per|verted all things, and brought to ruin the Common-wealth of the greate&s;t people in the world. Concerning other Towns of <HI>Ju|daea,</HI> nothing memorable comes into our mind, but that God appointed &s;ome of them for Cities of refuge that &s;uch as had unwittingly &s;lain a man might find &s;afety and protection there. There did they endure a gentle bani&s;hment till the High-Prie&s;t
<PB N="58" REF="41">dyed, who&s;e death &s;et them all at liberty; &s;o that, if happy any had decea&s;ed before, yet their bones might then be carried in|to the Sepulchers of their Fa|thers. The&s;e towns were &s;ix; and three more &s;hall be added to them, &s;ay the Talmud-wri|ters, when the greate&s;t of Kings, Me&s;&s;ias, &s;hall come upon the earth; to which they refer that of <HI>M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;es,</HI> not &s;poken &s;urely in vain, <HI>When the Lord your God &s;hall enlarge your borders.</HI> Be|&s;ides the &s;ix Cities, the &s;ame pri|vilege was granted to the two and forty towns of Levits; but that the &s;ame writers deny, tho&s;e places to have been &s;afe for them, that under&s;tood not the benefit of the Law Other things, which may be &s;aid of the Right of the&s;e Cities, together with what the Jews comment
<PB N="59" REF="41">upon &s;ome other towns, we will therefore let pa&s;s, becau&s;e we cannot poli&s;h nor grace them by our handling.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="8" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. VIII. <HI>What</HI> Pale&s;tin <HI>had above o|ther Countries. The Hebrew Common-wealth could not bee tran&s;lated into other places. Of the Babylonian Jews: and their power. Of the Scepter, again&s;t</HI> M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">imon. <HI>The J<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ws Common-wealth bound to</HI> Pale&s;tin. <HI>No Temple to be built el&s;ewhere.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THe Common-wealth of the Hebrews had it be|ginning then, when the holy people was brought into the happy land of <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word">.</HI> Before which time, though in the A|rabian
<PB N="60" REF="42">de&s;erts mo&s;t whole&s;ome Laws, both ceremoniall and ju|diciall, were given by <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> the man of God: yet all their force pertained to that Country, wherein as the &s;everall Tribes &s;hould have &s;everall Towns, &s;o there &s;hould be one City &s;in|gularly appointed, to be the Chamber of the Empire, and &s;ent of &s;acred rites. In the la&s;t part of the Pentateuch, the mo&s;t wi&s;e Legi&s;lator, repeating what he had given in charge before, hath to our purpo&s;e added the&s;e expre&s;s words again and again: <HI>The&s;e are the precepts, the Sta|tutes and judgements, which ye &s;hall ob&s;erve in the Land which is given you for an inheritance to po&s;&s;e&s;s.</HI> Truly, <HI>Pale&s;tin</HI> had this excellency above other Countries, that the holy Na|tion and Common-wealth was
<PB N="61" REF="42">affixed unto it alone. Had any one led that people out of their proper &s;eat, and e&s;tabli&s;hed the &s;ame Common-wealth by the &s;ame Laws, neither would the Common-wealth have retai|ned its &s;anctimony, nor the peo|ple their Maje&s;ty. Pertinent here and fit to be con&s;ider'd on our way is that &s;aying of
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Lib.</HI> 14. <HI>M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;n. in Hal. Mel. cap.</HI> 5.</NOTE> <HI>Mai|monides: As it is not lawfull for the Jews to move their &s;eats out of</HI> Pale&s;tin, <HI>&s;o neither may they pa&s;s out of</HI> Babylon <HI>into o|ther Countries.</HI> Without the explication of this, who&s;oever read the writings of the Hebrew Ma&s;ters will meet with rubs. The truth is, <HI>Maimonides</HI> &s;peaks not of all the Jews, but of them only who were car|ryed away by the enemy be|yond <HI>Euphrates,</HI> and dwelt at <HI>Babylon</HI> and thereabout. Some
<PB N="62" REF="43">of the&s;e, after 70. years, retur|ned into <HI>Pale&s;tin:</HI> the re&s;t, mo|ved by the beneficence of the Kings, under whom they lived, continued at <HI>Babylon,</HI> and fixed their colonies there. The mul|titude of them was very great, and at la&s;t grew up into a Na|tion. 'Tis incredible, what &s;trength the&s;e exiles had; for they did almo&s;t ofter both the Miter and the Diadem that is, the Prie&s;thood and the Kingdom, to <HI>Hircanus,</HI> h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;tening out of <HI>Part<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="3 letters"></HI> unto <HI>H<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">rod;</HI> and to them were committed the <HI>Ar|can<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI> of the Babylonian Empire, which <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n Hebrew Prie&s;t kept in a grea<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;trong Tower at <HI>E<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">|tan</HI> of the M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">des. The&s;e Jews were joyned in a very clo&s;e al|liance with tho&s;e of <HI>Pal<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">.</HI> The &s;ame in&s;titutions, the &s;ame cour&s;e of life, the &s;ame language
<PB N="63" REF="43">was common to both &s;orts: all things were the &s;ame. Where|fore, as God permitted them to dwell at <HI>Babylon</HI> far from their Country, becau&s;e they were free there from the contagion of any forein cu&s;toms; &s;o were they denyed to proceed any farther, and to go to any other habita|tion. This is the meaning of <HI>Maimonides</HI> where he interprets that of <HI>Jeremy; they &s;hall be carried into</HI> B<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">bylon <HI>and re|main there.</HI> There is no more que&s;tion to be made of this mat|ter. That is very glorious, which &s;ome wi&s;e men of the higher form approved and fol|lowed by <HI>M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">imon<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">i,</HI> have conceived of the&s;e Babylonians. Their opinion is after the fatall relap&s;e and decay of the affairs and &s;tate of <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> the&s;e Babylonian Jews are the only
<PB N="64" REF="44">people upon whom was tran&s;|fer'd the Imperiall dignity, promi&s;ed in that famous Ora|cle:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 49.10.</NOTE> <HI>The Scepter &s;hall not de|part from</HI> Juda, <HI>nor a Law gi|ver from between his feet, untill Shiloh come.</HI> We, who reve|rence the excellent virtues of <HI>Maimonides,</HI> make no &s;cruple to reprehend his errours. Cer|tainly, that mo&s;t con&s;idering Author, in this opinion, whil&s;t he too much favours his Coun|try-mens conceits, for&s;ook his own judgement. I am not ig|norant, that the Babylonian Jews had a Common-wealth among them&s;elves, and admi|ni&s;tred Ju&s;tice to the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e&s;t of their own Nation that were without <HI>Pale&s;tin.</HI> Nor do we forget, that &s;ome Peers, de&s;cended from the hou&s;e of <HI>David,</HI> alwaies held the principality there. Yet
<PB N="65" REF="44">therefore follows not, that which <HI>Rabbi Ben Maimon</HI> would have. For the Scepter, whereof the Oracle was, is nothing el&s;e, but the Jewi&s;h Common-wealth, that is, that Prie&s;tly Kingdom, whereunto the Re|ligions and Ceremonies were, not an acce&s;&s;ion or prop, but the very &s;oul and &s;pirit. Be&s;ides, the cu&s;tody of Ceremonies and &s;acred Rites did not belong to every City, but one, wherein was the &s;anctuary, the peculiar &s;eat and habitation of the Deity. That City fir&s;t was <HI>Shiloh,</HI> af|terward <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> in the mid&s;t of <HI>Pal<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;tin.</HI> If any &s;chi&s;matical Jew built a Temple or Altar in other Lands they offended a|gain&s;t the Rights and inviolable Laws of the Common-wealth. There is extant, among the mo|numents of hi&s;tory, the Epi&s;tle
<PB N="66" REF="45">of <HI>Onias</HI> to <HI>Ptolomy</HI> and <HI>Cleo|patra;</HI> wherein he accu&s;eth his Countrvmen becau&s;e they had built &s;anctuaries in the Pheni|cian Cities and el&s;ewhere, con|trary to the Law: being him|&s;elf guilty of no le&s;s fault ha|ving built a Temple at <HI>Helio|polis,</HI> pretending the Authority of the Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> to coun|tenance his ambitions enterprize. This could not be done without violation of the Cerem<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nies. It was among&s;t the decrees of the mo&s;t antient Jews, which <HI>Rab|bi Mo&s;es Egyptius</HI> delivers thus:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>L.</HI> 8. <HI>in Hal. Biath. c. ult.</HI></NOTE> <HI>If one hath tran&s;gre&s;&s;ed the Law, and built an other hou&s;e be&s;ide the &s;anctuary at</HI> Jeru&s;a|lem, <HI>it is not indeed to be accoun|ted a temple of I dols; but yet the Prie&s;t that hath &s;erved there, can never &s;acrifice at the &s;an|ctuary of God, which is at</HI> Jeru|&s;alem.
<PB N="67" REF="45"><HI>Yea the ve&s;&s;els, which he hath u&s;ed, no man &s;hall apply to the Mini&s;tries of the true &s;an|ctuary, but they mu&s;t be <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">id.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="9" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. IX. <HI>Criminall cau&s;es judged only in</HI> Pale&s;tin, <HI>not by the Babylo|nian Jews and others. When the Common-weal was of all the Hebrews, when of the Jews. What the Scepter was. The plau&s;ible opinion of</HI> Eu&s;ebius <HI>confuted. Wherein con&s;i&s;ts and to whom belongs Imperiall Ma|je&s;ty.</HI></HEAD>
<P>WHat we have now &s;aid of the &s;anctuary is of great moment to the confuting of <HI>M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">monides:</HI> but wee mu&s;t produce other Arguments to
<PB N="68" REF="46">prove, that the Common-wealth of which old <HI>Jacob</HI> &s;pake to <HI>Juda</HI> on his death Bed, was no where &s;eated but in <HI>Pa|le&s;tin.</HI> We will not go far; but cite <HI>M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">monides</HI> for a witne&s;s again&s;t him&s;elf. How often doth he tell us, the holy peo|ple, without the bounds of the Holy L<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nd, was loo&s;ed from many of the Mo&s;aicall Laws? He hath a notable
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">In Hala|cha &s;anhe|drin.</NOTE> d &s;&s;ertation, wherein he circum&s;cribes with certain limits the power of the Judges, both of <HI>Pale&s;tin,</HI> and <HI>Babylon.</HI> Certainly, the greate&s;t part of <HI>M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;es</HI> Law is conver|&s;ant about criminall cau&s;es. The judgement hereof, &s;aith <HI>Mai|m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"></HI> could be no where exerci|&s;ed by the Babylonian Jews, no not in <HI>Pale&s;tin.</HI> And the Jews of <HI>Pale&s;tin,</HI> as by the Law they gave judgement to their
<PB N="69" REF="46">own people in all cau&s;es, with|in their own Country; &s;o, with|out it, they gave no &s;entence upon their Country-men, un|le&s;s by the permi&s;&s;ion of the Babylonian Peers, or other heads of the exiled Jews. Whence we gather, that the Jews of <HI>Pale&s;ti<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters"></HI> judged of crimes, in their own Country alwaies, by ver|tue of the Law; &s;ometimes out of their Country, but by per|mi&s;&s;ion and leave of others: the Babylonians no where judged of them; not in their own do|minion, not in <HI>Pale&s;tin;</HI> not by force of Law, nor by permi&s;&s;ion. And are the&s;e the men, think you, to whom was given the Jewi&s;h Scepter, after the affairs of <HI>Pale&s;tin</HI> were broken and decayed? Surely either the ex|cellent writer knew not what was the dignity of the Scepter,
<PB N="70" REF="47">or he thought too well of &s;ome States of &s;traw, that do there boa&s;t them&s;elves to be of <HI>Da|vids</HI> hou&s;e. But wee wonder not at this light mi&s;take of <HI>Maimonides,</HI> when we con&s;i|der by what &s;trange interpreta|tions others have laboured for the &s;en&s;e of <HI>Jacobs</HI> divine &s;peech. I remember, I had conference, concerning this, with the ho|nourable <HI>Apollonius Scottus</HI> a&s;|&s;e&s;&s;or of the &s;upreme Senate, at what time in his hou&s;e at the <HI>Hague,</HI> I &s;weetly &s;pent the Va|cation, and with great ardor ran over the Luculent commen|tations of <HI>Rabbi Ben Maimon:</HI> wherewith I was &s;o taken, that I cro&s;&s;ed almo&s;t all my former notes concerning the Jewi&s;h State. There did this Senator, &s;uch is his learning and the ex|ceeding vigor of his wit, &s;ignifie
<PB N="71" REF="47">more than once, that in his judg|ment no other Text in the &s;a|cred Book is more examined by learned men, and le&s;s under|&s;tood. Verily I was glad to find of my opinion a man, who&s;e authority and repute might en|courage me to oppo&s;e the in|terpretations of any other what|&s;oever. Wherefore by his in|citement. I think I &s;hall not do ami&s;s if in &s;o great a multitude of conjectures. I &s;hall al&s;o pub|li&s;h what my judgment is, a|bout a prophecy &s;o illu&s;trious. The Argument indeed is wor|thy, wherein the wit of every man may exerci&s;e it &s;elf, and &s;hew its &s;trength. Although in this our Treati&s;e we handle the affairs of Hebrews and Jews in common and without diffe|rence, for the mo&s;t part, yet to &s;ecure the Reader from mi&s;take,
<PB N="72" REF="48">we will once for all demon&s;trate, that the &s;acred Common-wealth con&s;tituted by <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> according to Gods appointment, was al|waies the &s;ame, and founded on the &s;ame Laws, but not alwaies of the &s;ame per&s;ons. A long time it was of the Hebrews, afterward by change of times it was only of the Jews. And &s;o, the oracle of <HI>Jacob,</HI> which is of <HI>Juda's</HI> Scepter, pertaineth only to tho&s;e later times. The ignorance whereof is the cau&s;e why this admirable prophecy hath been hitherto mi&s;under&s;tood. I will not mention here the mi&s;erable hallucinations of <HI>Origen, Au|&s;tin, Epiphanius</HI> and others, who thought the Jews were promi|&s;ed by tho&s;e words of <HI>Jacob,</HI> a perpetuall &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of Kings of the &s;ame tribe and the &s;ame linage, even to the times of Me&s;&s;iah. An opinion which led
<PB N="73" REF="48">the followers of it into in&s;upe|rable difficulties; for they know not what to &s;ay, nor whither to turn them&s;elves, when they &s;aw, from the death of <HI>Sedechiah</HI> to the times of <HI>Ari&s;tobulus,</HI> the Kingdom of the Jews was none; and after that untill <HI>He|rods</HI> tyranny, it was in the hands only of the <HI>Ha&s;monaei</HI> of the tribe of <HI>Levi.</HI> The&s;e things of late are di&s;cu&s;&s;ed well, and with good &s;ucce&s;s, in the exercitati|ons again&s;t <HI>Baronius,</HI> by the mo&s;t learned man of our age <HI>I &s;aack Ca&s;aubon,</HI> who is plea&s;ed with the famous opinion of <HI>Eu&s;ebius</HI> extant in the eighth Book of his Evangelicall demon&s;trations. We pretermit all things rightly &s;aid both by <HI>Eu&s;ebius</HI> and by <HI>Ca&s;aubon,</HI> that we may not do what is done to our hand. And we confe&s;s, among all the In|terpretations
<PB N="74" REF="49">hitherto divulged, that of <HI>Eu&s;ebius</HI> is far the be&s;t. But becau&s;e neither <HI>Eu&s;ebius,</HI> nor that great Scholar that fol|lows him, &s;eem to me to have under&s;tood, what that Scepter is, of which the old Prophet &s;peaks to his Son a little before his death, nor when it was gi|ven to the Jews, this is needfull now to be cleared, but not without a preface. For it is no plea&s;ure to us to di&s;&s;ent, neither from <HI>Eu&s;ebius,</HI> whom we have ever e&s;teemed among the grea|te&s;t writers; nor from him, whom we have above named, the prime man of our age, the follower of <HI>Eu&s;ebius;</HI> to whom we owe &s;o much reverence, that no man is &s;o great with us, as He. For He it is, by who&s;e conduct the&s;e our times have made ad|mirable proficiency toward the
<PB N="75" REF="49">perfection of all learning. But we are con&s;trained by our in|genuous love of truth, to lay a|&s;ide affection, and impartially inquire what is right. The fir&s;t error of <HI>E&ugrave;&s;ebius</HI> is, that the Scepter was given to <HI>Juda</HI> even from the time of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> be|cau&s;e this Tribe excelled alwaies among the re&s;t, with &s;ingular dignity, and held a more ho|nourable place both in the Camps and in the order of them that offered gifts in the Temple. Which Argument moves me no more, tha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> if one &s;hould &s;ay, the Maje&s;ty of the Scepter, at <HI>R<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters"></HI> or <HI>Athens,</HI> was not in the Roma<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="4 letters"> Athenian people, but in one <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> which was more noble or flou<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">ing For tru|ly it is manife&s;t by the mo&s;t con|&s;tant affirmation of antient Au|thors, that in <HI>Rome</HI> and <HI>Athens</HI>
<PB N="76" REF="50">both; were many and divers tribes, &s;ome above the re&s;t in dignity, place and order. What is it then? Verily I &s;uppo&s;e the Scepter to be nothing el&s;e, but the Maje&s;ty of Empire, Maje|&s;ty I mean pertaining to the Common-wealth it &s;elf; Wher|fore, who&s;e is the Common|wealth, theirs al&s;o is the Scepter. Now, the Hebrew Common|wealth, from the age of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> until the reign of <HI>Rehoboam,</HI> was not of the Jews, but of the twelve tribes. Whence it follows, that the Scepter, all that &s;pace of time, was of all the I&s;raelites. But of this Scepter, which a long time was common to all the tribes, the divine Patriarch &s;poke not in that celebrious oracle. He had re&s;pect unto the later times and the ages to come, when the tribe of <HI>Juda,</HI> the
<PB N="77" REF="50">people being divided into con|trary parts, began to have a Common-wealth of their own, a &s;under from the I&s;raelites: a Common-wealth approved and favoured of God, and called Judaicall from the name of <HI>Ju|da</HI> alone, untill he &s;hould come, who was de&s;igned for the King not of the Jews only, but of all Nations. And this Maje&s;ty of the Scepter, from the time it once began to be the Jews, con|tinued theirs, although the State of the Common-wealth was &s;ometimes altered, and the power was in the hand, one while of the be&s;t men and the Prie&s;ts, other while of the Kings and Princes. It is want of judg|ment in them that re&s;train the honour of this Title to Kings alone. For what people &s;oever en|joys a Common-wealth of their
<PB N="78" REF="51">own, and Laws of their own, that people may ju&s;tly glory in their Empire, and in their Scep|ter. It is recorded, that in <HI>Je|ru&s;alem,</HI> even at the time when the people were govern'd not by Princes but by the be&s;t, in the mid&s;t of the Great Councill, which they call <HI>Sanhedrin,</HI> there hang'd a Scepter. Which was, no que&s;tion, a certain token of that Maje&s;ty, which
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">In part. orat.</NOTE> <HI>Tully</HI> ex|pre&s;&s;eth <HI>to be a certain greatne&s;s of a people, in retaining that pow|er and right, which appears in Empire and all kind of Honour.</HI> Not Kings, not Princes, but Con|&s;uls and Senators managed the Roman Common-wealth, when that Law of confederation was given to the Etolians (as <HI>Livy</HI> relates) <HI>that they &s;hould well and truly con&s;erve the Maje&s;ty of the Roman people.</HI> And that the
<PB N="79" REF="51">&s;ame was impo&s;ed upon all free people that were confederates (but upon unequall terms) and friends to the Romans, the Law|yer
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>In l.</HI> 7. <HI>ff. de captiv. &amp; po&s;tlim. rever&s;is.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Proculus</HI> is a witne&s;s. Neither is it materiall to us, of what family or tribe they were, who governed the Judaicall State. For, although the <HI>Ha&s;|monaei</HI> of the tribe of <HI>Levi</HI> ma|ny years po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed the Kingdom, neverthele&s;s was the Common|wealth of the Jewi&s;h people. <HI>Nero Cae&s;ars</HI> mo&s;t wi&s;e
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Sen. l.</HI> 1. <HI>de clemen|tia.</HI></NOTE> Ma|&s;ter told him, <HI>The Common|wealth is not the Princes, but the Prince the Common-weal's.</HI> And <HI>Ulpian</HI> the Lawyer was ju&s;t of the &s;ame opinion: <HI>The crime of Maje&s;ty,</HI>
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>L.</HI> 1. <HI>&s;ect.</HI> 1. <HI>ff. ad lo|gem Jul. Maje&s;t.</HI></NOTE> <HI>or Trea&s;on</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>is that which is committed a|gain&s;t the Roman people, or a|gain&s;t the &s;ecurity thereof. Ul|pian</HI> lived in tho&s;e times, when
<PB N="80" REF="52">neither the commands nor &s;uf|frages were in the people, but the <HI>Cae&s;ars</HI> held the Empire and power of all: yet he, that is wont mo&s;t accurately to de|fine every thing, a&s;cribeth Ma|je&s;ty to the people.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="10" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. X. <HI>The twelve Tribes of the Hebrews was never called by the name of Jews. The ten tribes car|ried captive by</HI> Salmana&s;&s;ar <HI>ne|ver returned into</HI> Pale&s;tin. <HI>Two tribes &s;erved the Romans, and no more, in the time of</HI> Jo&s;ephus.</HEAD>
<P><HI>EU&s;ebius</HI> is not &s;ufficiently confuted, untill wee have made it plain how imprudently he drew him&s;elf into the &s;nare.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>L.</HI> 8. <HI>De|mon&s;t. evan. dem.</HI> 1.</NOTE> In the forecited Book are extant
<PB N="81" REF="52">the&s;e words: <HI>Ever &s;ince the time of</HI> Mo&s;es, <HI>the Governours of</HI> I&s;|rael, <HI>if you look upon them in par|ticular, were cho&s;en out of &s;e|verall tribes, but in generall the tribe of Juda was over the whole Nation.</HI> Hitherto he agrees with him&s;elf and falls into no contradiction; but he addes, <HI>For example, as in the Roman Empire, the Governours of &s;everal Nations, and Camp-ma&s;ters, and the Kings, greater than all the re&s;t were not all born at</HI> Rome, <HI>nor de&s;cended from</HI> Romulus <HI>and</HI> Remus, <HI>but &s;prung of many o|ther Nations, &s;ome of one, &s;ome of another; and yet, as well all the Kings, as the &s;ucceeding Go|vernours and Leaders, were called Romans, and the power and authority &s;aid to be of the Romans, not of any other name: &s;o mu&s;t we think of the Hebrew
<PB REF="53">State, that one tribe of</HI> Juda <HI>gave an illu&s;trious name to all the re&s;t, though the Rulers and Kings were created out of the &s;everall tribes, all honoured with the common appellation of Jews.</HI> See whither incogitancy will bring a man! <HI>Eu&s;ebius</HI> con|cludes contrary to what him&s;elf would have. For, affirming the Scepter was the Jews from <HI>Mo|&s;es</HI> time; he proves it by this rea&s;on, becau&s;e the Common|wealth, the Empire, and the whole people of twelve tribes, had their appellation from the one name of <HI>Juda.</HI> With this argument twice or thrice in &s;e|verall places he triumpheth; and you &s;hall hardly find any other proof of his opinion in the whole di&s;cour&s;e. But, by his leave, all this is nothing. For, neither did the Common-wealth,
<PB N="83" REF="53">nor the Empire begin to be called after <HI>Juda</HI>'s name, till after the greater part of the I&s;raelites, had made a defection, drawn a|way by <HI>Jeroboam,</HI> who &s;hortly at <HI>Samaria</HI> &s;trenthened his Kingdom by introducing a change of ceremonies and Re|ligion. I will make it good to <HI>Eu&s;ebius,</HI> and to all that have any acquaintance with &s;acred &s;tory, that this is &s;o. <HI>Eu&s;ebius</HI> often and with confidence af|firms, all the twelve tribes were called by the name of Jews, and hath obtruded this groundle&s;s opinion upon unwary men, nor have there been wanting &s;ome writers of greate&s;t eminence to defend it. We cannot yield un|to it: whether you re&s;pect the times antecedent to the &s;ei&s;ure of the Kingdom, or &s;ub&s;equent. And, we may conjecture, that
<PB N="84" REF="54"><HI>Eu&s;ebius,</HI> although he doth not plainly expre&s;s his mind, thought it came to pa&s;s at the ri&s;e of the Empire when the Common-wealth was fir&s;t &s;etled in the Land of <HI>Canaan,</HI> and it was deba|ted by what name to call it. But this hath no colour of truth, wherefore that excellent man, the Defender of <HI>Eu&s;ebius,</HI> makes him think otherwi&s;e of the time, and what he believes he thought, him&s;elf approves and follows. For, &s;aith he, it was ob&s;erved by <HI>Eu&s;ebius,</HI> that the twelve tribes of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> received appellation from the name of <HI>Juda;</HI> and the appellation be|gan to be u&s;ed, when the Kingly power, which the tribe of <HI>Ju|da</HI> had lo&s;t in <HI>Sedechiah,</HI> was by the High Prie&s;ts tran&s;|ferred upon them&s;elves. And this, &s;aith he, is a thing mo&s;t
<PB N="85" REF="54">worthy of admiration, and fell out by &s;peciall providence. For, &s;eeing in <HI>Polybius</HI> his opinion 'twas not without &s;ome great cau&s;e that the Acheians, a little people of <HI>Greece,</HI> once gave name to all the Grecians; &s;ure|ly here al&s;o we mu&s;t conceive &s;ome more &s;ublime and weigh|ty rea&s;on, when after the return from captivity all the children of <HI>Abraham</HI> of all the tribes were called Jews. This errour we neither can, nor ought to excu&s;e. The truth is this: When the Kingdom of the I&s;raelites was rent and divided, two tribes, <HI>Levi</HI> and <HI>Benjamin,</HI> joy|ned them&s;elves with the Jews; which tribes being but few in number, and of mean e&s;tate, were accounted but for an ad|dition; the Common-wealth was not named from them, but
<PB N="86" REF="55">they even lo&s;t their own name, and at length the name of Jews was common to them all. There is no doubt to be made of thus much. But what, or how this can concern the other ten tribes, let them con&s;ider that are plea&s;ed with the con|ceit. Certainly, after that tho&s;e ten tribes of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> were once carried away by <HI>Salmana&s;&s;ar</HI> the A&s;&s;yrian, and di&s;per&s;ed through <HI>Colchos, Parthia, India,</HI> and <HI>Ethiopia,</HI> they never came back again into their native &s;oil, nor were again conjoyned with the Jews: but even to this day, (if there be any reliques of them) under the command of barbarous Nations, they &s;uf|fer the grievous puni&s;hment of their Apo&s;tacy. Wherefore, to be in the Common-wealth of the Jews, or to have the honour
<PB N="87" REF="55">a name from the Jews, was im|po&s;&s;ble for them who had no familiarity, nothing to do with the Jews, but were &s;eated in a|nother World far off, and be|held a different Heaven, diffe|rent Stars. It will be worth our pains, and much to the pre&s;ent di&s;patch, to examine a memo|rable place, that is in <HI>Flavius Jo&s;ephus,</HI>
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>L.</HI> 11. <HI>c.</HI> 5. <HI>Antiquit.</HI></NOTE> an Author of exqui|&s;it and unu&s;uall diligence, <HI>Fla|vius</HI> had &s;poken fir&s;t concer|ning them, who from every quarter out of the neighbouring places came to <HI>Babylon,</HI> that they might return with <HI>Ezra</HI> to <HI>Jeru&s;alem.</HI> They all were Jews, and their A&s;&s;ociates of <HI>Levi</HI> and <HI>Benjamin.</HI> And then, concerning the Hebrews of o|ther tribes, he addes: <HI>But all the people of</HI> I&s;rael <HI>remained in their</HI>
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Where they were carried by <HI>Salmana&s;|&s;ar</HI> beyond <HI>Euphrates.</HI></NOTE> <HI>&s;eats; wherefore both in</HI>
<PB N="88" REF="56">A&s;ia <HI>and in</HI> Europe, <HI>two tribes only fell under the dominion of the Romans; the other ten do &s;till continue on the other &s;ide of</HI> Euphrates, <HI>being infinite in number and unknown.</HI> Verily, they were under a harder fate, whom <HI>Salmana&s;&s;ar</HI> led into captivity, than whom afterward <HI>Nebuchodonozor</HI> carried away. For the I&s;raelites were for ever re&s;trained and kept back by the River <HI>Euphrates,</HI> which they had once pa&s;&s;ed over. But the Jews pa&s;&s;ed the &s;ame, and repa&s;|&s;ed, and came again at la&s;t into <HI>Pale&s;tin:</HI> and when <HI>Pale&s;tin</HI> it &s;elf became either too nar|row for them, or le&s;s gratefull, they enlarged and &s;pred their habitations through <HI>Europe</HI> and <HI>A&s;ia.</HI> This is the rea&s;on why <HI>Jo&s;ephus</HI> &s;aid, only two tribes of the Hebrews were brought
<PB N="89" REF="56">into &s;ubjection by the Romans. For at that time the people of <HI>Rome,</HI> although they had almo&s;t &s;ubdued the World, and the Sun did both ri&s;e and &s;et with|in the compa&s;s of their Empire, being Lords of the Ea&s;t and We&s;t, they had not yet extended their bounds beyond <HI>Euphrates.</HI> Therefore, that the ten tribes of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> &s;hut up in eternall pri&s;on by that River, were not then under the Roman power, was truly &s;aid by the mo&s;t ac|curate Writer.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="11" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="90" REF="57">
<HEAD>CHAP. XI. <HI>Their Conjecture that &s;ay the Scepter of</HI> Juda <HI>was fir&s;t given to</HI> David. <HI>The prophecy concer|ning the Scepter not fulfilled till after times. When the Scepter was taken away.</HI></HEAD>
<P>I Have ingenuou&s;ly and freely &s;poken my opinion, when the Scepter, whereof <HI>Jacobs</HI> pro|phecy is extant, was given to the Jews: al&s;o, what were the members of that Common-wealth, which had its ri&s;e and beginning from the Sece&s;&s;ion of the common people. The&s;e things <HI>Eu&s;ebius</HI> did not under|&s;tand: yet he alone, among &s;o many Interpreters, hath rightly and almo&s;t divinely judged of that oracle. The comments of other men I will not relate. But,
<PB N="91" REF="57">what <HI>Eu&s;ebius</HI> affirms to have been done from the beginning of the Hebrew Common-wealth, very many conjecture, came to pa&s;s at that time, when the royall power was devolved up|on <HI>David,</HI> de&s;cended of the tribe of <HI>Juda,</HI> as the &s;acred Hi|&s;tory doth witne&s;s. The&s;e men have already received &s;uch a &s;o|lid and happy confutation from <HI>Eu&s;ebius,</HI> that no place is left here for the indu&s;try of any o|ther. For he &s;hews, that <HI>Da|vids</HI> po&s;terity po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed the King|dom only for a &s;mall time, un|till the Babylonian captivity: and the &s;undry Scriptures that &s;peak of his eternall throne, he hath well and wi&s;ely interpre|ted in relation to the Me&s;&s;ias. To adde more of this after <HI>Eu|&s;ebius,</HI> were to labour in vain; for by his pains herein, he hath
<PB N="92" REF="58">ea&s;ed every one. It remains only, that wee an&s;wer their doubt, who wonder why the event came &s;o far behind the prediction concerning the Jew|i&s;h Common-wealth. For we have &s;aid, it began under <HI>Reho|boam,</HI> and not before. But we give them to under&s;tand, this was very agreeable to the mea|ning of the prophetick Patri|arch. For the old Father, be|fore his death, breathing forth his la&s;t words to his children, &s;aith, he would tell them, <HI>what &s;hould come to pa&s;s in the later dayes.</HI> Be&s;ides, in prophecies, the times are not curiou&s;ly to be in&s;i&s;ted on: for mo&s;t of them are to be interpreted with very great latitude. Ob&s;erve, in this very prophecy, when it is &s;aid, <HI>The Scepter &s;hall not be taken a|way, untill Shiloh come;</HI> you
<PB N="93" REF="58">would think 'twere meant, that pre&s;ently upon the appearance of Me&s;&s;ias, the Scepter &s;hould be &s;natcht out of the hands of that Nation. Which came not &s;o to pa&s;s. For the Jews lo&s;t not that honour, till the City being de&s;troyed, and the Tem|ple burnt, they cea&s;ed to have any Common-wealth, and to govern them&s;elves by their own Laws. Neverthele&s;s, the oracle was infallibly true. For although the Saviour of the World had left the earth long before, yet, for certain, the&s;e things hapned in the &s;ame age: which was pre&s;ig|nified by the Me&s;&s;ias him&s;elf, wher he &s;peaks of the de&s;truction of the City and Temple, in the&s;e words: <HI>Verily,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 24.</NOTE> <HI>this Generation &s;hall not pa&s;s, till all the&s;e things be fulfilled.</HI> This is enough for the wi&s;e. The re&s;t, that love to
<PB N="94" REF="59">rai&s;e doubts and &s;cruples every where, we regard not. For my part, &s;eeing men of great name fluctuating among uncertain er|rours, I applyed my &s;elf to find out &s;ome firm ground to re&s;t on, which henceforth I might without danger con&s;tantly maintain. For otherwi&s;e this matter would have often hin|dred our proceeding in this Trea|ti&s;e.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="12" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="95" REF="59">
<HEAD>CHAP. XII. <HI>Of Dictators and Judges. Of the Senate Sanhedrin. Of the initiation of Senators. The im|po&s;ition of hands: and the &s;olemn words. Who were cho&s;en into that Council, and what was their juri&s;diction. Of the peoples a&s;|&s;emblies.</HI></HEAD>
<P>WE have &s;hewed, that the Common-wealth, of which we di&s;cour&s;e, was of all the Hebrews for a long time, and then only of the Jews. The &s;tating whereof concern'd us much. Now, having pa&s;t the trouble of that di&s;pute, let us declare who they were that ru|led over the Holy Nation, and what is to be thought of their judicature, and of their Senate. The Divine goodne&s;s granted
<PB N="96" REF="60">not leave to <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> to behold in <HI>Pale&s;tin</HI> the beginnings of that Common-wealth, who&s;e Laws he had publi&s;hed in the wilderne&s;s. That Grace was vouch&s;afed to his Succe&s;&s;or <HI>Jo&s;uah,</HI> the Captain General and Soveraign of the people; for both at home, and abroad in the War, his word was a Law. His Succe&s;&s;ors with e|quall power were they, who, for going in and out before the people, and commanding them, might well be called Praetors and Dictators, but in the &s;acred Annals are, for the like rea&s;on, named Judges. <HI>Flavius</HI> hath &s;til'd them Monarchs, a name, that the Greek writers gave al|&s;o to <HI>Sylla, Cinna, Marius,</HI> and other Roman Dictators. The&s;e Judges, in great commo|tions, were created by nece&s;&s;ity:
<PB N="97" REF="60">and experience witne&s;&s;ed, that in War they had alwaies good &s;ucce&s;s, when the Kings very often had their ra&s;hne&s;s requi|ted with ill fortune. Sometime al&s;o the &s;ame Judges were em|ploy'd in civill affairs, and heard cau&s;es, but tho&s;e of the greater moment. For they &s;eldom &s;ate in the judgment &s;eat. Only the commands, and the Empire, and the Soveraingty pertained unto them. The la&s;t of their number was <HI>Samuel,</HI> He, whom the Kings followed. Who not content with power and rule, lifted up them&s;elves above the multitude, in their robes and or|naments and &s;plendor of for|tune. Moreover, be&s;ides the So|veraign Rulers and Judges of the people, and tho&s;e that were after called Kings, there were others not a few, who con&s;ul|ted
<PB N="98" REF="61">of the Common-wealth, gave judgment, and arbitrated bu&s;ine&s;s. For there were certain Synedryes or Councils; where|in, who were the Senators, and what where the matters of their cognizance, we mu&s;t now en|quire. In the fir&s;t place pre&s;ents it &s;elf the great Councill of the Sanhedrin, into which were a&s;|crib'd &s;eventy Ad&s;e&s;&s;ors. That Council, con&s;tituted by <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> continued under the Judges, and Kings, and high Prie&s;ts, untill the la&s;t de&s;olation of <HI>Judaea;</HI> and was holden in that City which was the &s;eat of the San|ctuary, and the head of the Com|mon-wealth. But becau&s;e the fir&s;t times, and the next to them, are mo&s;t part ob&s;cure, and the Holy Book hath delivered to us nothing of principall con&s;ide|ration concerning the City <HI>Shi|loh;</HI>
<PB N="99" REF="61">We will deliver what the Jews have ob&s;erved of that Council in the Prince&s;s of Ci|ties <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> after the Tem|ple was built there: and then wee &s;hall &s;peak of the other Councils, which were either at <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> or at particular Ci|ties. The Seat of the great Council was in the very San|ctuary, where the &s;eventy Sena|tors judged both of divine and humane things: Men, not cho|&s;en from among the Plebeians, but all mo&s;t noble, commended by their honourable Parentage, and the antient ornaments of their family. The place was a&s;&s;igned to them by <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> who commanded they &s;hould meet in the place which God &s;hould choo&s;e to have his name ado|red there. From the&s;e Judges was no appeal. What&s;oever the
<PB N="100" REF="62">other Magi&s;trates and Judges in the towns of <HI>Pale&s;tin</HI> and in <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> it &s;elf were not able to decide, belonged unto their juri&s;diction. Two of them ex|celled the re&s;t in honour and authority: one was the head of the Sanedrin, by the Talmudi&s;ts entitled <HI>Prince in every place;</HI> the other next in degree, but inferiour to him, whom they called <HI>the Father of judgment.</HI> The re&s;t were equall among them&s;elves. This Senatorious dignity, becau&s;e it was mo&s;t ho|nourable, was granted to none without a legitimate act, name|ly, impo&s;ition of hands. So, <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> layd his hand upon <HI>Jo|&s;uah</HI> and the &s;eventy Elders: which &s;olemnity being perfor|med, pre&s;ently a divine &s;pirit from above fell down upon them, and fill'd their brea&s;ts.
<PB N="101" REF="62">And the&s;e, being thus initiated them&s;elves, admitted others af|ter the &s;ame way. Yet could not that rite be u&s;ed without the Holy Land, becau&s;e all the vertue thereof was confined by the bounds of <HI>Pale&s;tin.</HI> It is very ob&s;erveable, which <HI>Mai|monides</HI> hath delivered in the fourth Chapter of his <HI>Halacha Sanhedrin.</HI> For whereas of old this act was celebrated at their plea&s;ure, by all tho&s;e upon whom hands had been once impo&s;ed, that right (&s;aith he) was &s;treightned by the wi&s;e men, and a con&s;titution made, that no man &s;hould after that time u&s;e it, but by grant from <HI>Rabbi Hillel,</HI> that divine old man. He was Prince of the great Coun|cill, and had another vice Pre|&s;ident, <HI>Sameas,</HI> a man trucu|lent and ambitious; who&s;e fol|lowers,
<PB N="102" REF="63">when a little after they had ri&s;en up again&s;t the Di&s;ci|ples of <HI>Hillel,</HI> &s;tirred the minds of men with &s;o much pa&s;&s;ion, that willingly the whole peo|ple was drawn into their party. At length this impo&s;i|tion of hands, which had been u&s;ed long, cea&s;ed. And there was only pronounced a certain form of words (according to <HI>Ben Maimon</HI>) of this &s;en&s;e: <HI>Behold, the hand is impo&s;ed on thee, and power given thee to judge, in criminall cau&s;es al&s;o.</HI> Be&s;ides, the Talmudi&s;ts have told us of another form; who&s;e words, becau&s;e the illu&s;trious <HI>Jo&s;eph Scaliger</HI>
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">In elen|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ho Trihae|re&s;.</NOTE> hath mi&s;ta|ken, we &s;hall here re&s;tore unto their proper &s;en&s;e. The Talmu|di&s;ts, after they had &s;poken of <HI>Juda</HI> the &s;on of <HI>Baba,</HI> a &s;tout defender of the antient cu&s;toms
<PB N="103" REF="63">of his Nation, and who, when the juri&s;diction in criminals and impo&s;ition of hands were almo&s;t lo&s;t, &s;upported the &s;inking cau&s;e, adde thus: <HI>That &s;olemn act is not only done by the hand impo|&s;ed, as</HI> Mo&s;es <HI>did to</HI> Jo&s;uah; <HI>but it is al&s;o done by a form of words only, after this manner, I im|po&s;e my hand upon thee, and be the hand on thee impo&s;ed.</HI> But the excellent <HI>Scaliger</HI> collected from the place, that <HI>Juda</HI> had found out a form different from the mo&s;t antient, which is there conceived (when 'tis not &s;o, nor do the Talmudi&s;ts &s;ay &s;o) being deceived by a word which bee renders, <HI>be&s;ides,</HI> which in Rab|bini&s;m &s;ignifies <HI>only.</HI> But this is a Grammaticall note, and ought to be left to others. We are here to con&s;ider graver mat|ters. Into the Great Councill,
<PB N="104" REF="64">not only Citizens of prime No|bility, as we have &s;aid, but Le|vits al&s;o and Prie&s;ts were cho|&s;en. And the High Prie&s;t (&s;aith <HI>Maimonides</HI>) was elected too, if he were a con&s;idering man, and fit for Coun&s;ell. Other|wi&s;e, it was lawfull to lay him a&s;ide. For he came not to the Senate by any right of his own, but he was admitted by &s;uffra|ges. All the Ad&s;e&s;&s;ors were re|quired to be entire and perfect in body. Who&s;oever had any main or deformity was exclu|ded. Nor were &s;trangers and foreiners received into this or|der, except the Mother at lea&s;t were a Jew. The Senators of the <HI>Sanhedrin</HI> had this charge, to make their progre&s;s through all <HI>Judea,</HI> to take a view of the A&s;&s;emblies of the people, to ap|point them Magi&s;trates in every
<PB N="105" REF="64">town. And all the vertue and au|thority of the <HI>Cabbala</HI> (a my&s;te|rious doctrine delivered from hand to hand even from the be|ginnings of the Co~mon-wealth) was with them. Their part al&s;o it was, to make Statutes in &s;acred matters, and to devi&s;e certain wayes to expound the Law. Whereof <HI>Maimonides</HI> hath &s;po|ken with great care. Moreover, the cau&s;es of Prophets, who had highly offended, were no where tryed but in this great Councill. Which our Saviour had re&s;pect unto, when he &s;aid in <HI>Luke, It is not po&s;&s;ible, that a Prophet &s;hould peri&s;h out of</HI> Jeru&s;alem. La&s;tly, which is a point of the greate&s;t power, they did al&s;o con|&s;titute a King, and deliberat of waging War, and giving battail to the enemy, and enlarging the Empire. But becau&s;e, in the&s;e
<PB N="106" REF="65">things the common &s;afety, and publick &s;tate was &s;o much con|cerned, con&s;ultation was there|in had (for the mo&s;t part) with the people. For meetings were called, wherein alone they had &s;ome &s;hare in the Government. And truly, otherwi&s;e they ought not. Honours and Magi&s;tracies are committed to &s;ingle and &s;e|lect men. <HI>Plebeians</HI> have not &s;trength and skill to bear them. In their meetings (as <HI>Ari&s;totle</HI> hath di&s;creetly noted) and in conjuncture, the multitude hath &s;ome under&s;tanding, and can advance the publick good, be|cau&s;e the wi&s;er men are pre&s;ent and lead the way; but &s;ingle and apart they have little judge|ment. Concerning a King then, and concerning War, as I have &s;aid, Decrees were made &s;ome|times the people being Author:
<PB N="107" REF="65">all other things the Senators of <HI>Sanhedrin</HI> di&s;patched by them|&s;elves. The weightie&s;t affairs were not too heavy for them, becau&s;e they were cho&s;en for their worth, and great abilities; by the divine <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> rightly na|med Elders, not only for their age, but for their wi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">dom and experience.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="13" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="108" REF="66">
<HEAD>CHAP. XIII. <HI>Of two other Councils at</HI> Je|ru&s;alem <HI>be&s;ides the</HI> Sanhedrin. <HI>The Senate of</HI> 23. <HI>in every town. The College of</HI> 3. <HI>The mea&s;ure of Cities. The</HI> 5. <HI>men for expia|tion of &s;laughter. The</HI> 7. <HI>men and</HI> 3. <HI>men for ordering the Calen|dar. The times di&s;po&s;ed by</HI> Rab|bi Hillel. <HI>The authority of</HI> San|hedrin <HI>le&s;&s;ened.</HI></HEAD>
<P>OF the great Senate we have &s;aid, what came to mind: the other Councils will not de|tain us long. The mo&s;t learned
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n Hala|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">a San|hedrin. c.</HI> 1.</NOTE> <HI>Maimonides</HI> relates, that in the City of <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> it &s;elf were two Councils more. They are de&s;cribed in the
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">In Mi&s;na &amp; in Ge|mara.</NOTE> <HI>Talmud.</HI> In either of them &s;ate three and twenty Judges. And as the Great Council was held in that
<PB N="109" REF="66">part of the Temple, which is called <HI>Gazith,</HI> &s;o one of the&s;e at the Court-gate, the other was kept at the Gate opening to the Mount of the Temple. The Dignity of them al&s;o was not the &s;ame: for the Judges at the Mount-Gate, took it for a preferment to be a&s;crib'd into the Senate at the Court-Gate. And again, it was a new degree of honour to a&s;cend hence into the <HI>Sanedrin.</HI> The di&s;tinction is exactly made by <HI>Rabbi Ben Maimon.</HI> Farther, be&s;ide the&s;e Councils at <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> there was con&s;tituted in every town of <HI>Pale&s;tin,</HI> a Senate for juri&s;di|ction and the care of publick affairs. It con&s;i&s;ted of 23. men, who &s;ate in judgement upon the life and fortunes of the people, and decided all cau&s;es, except a few re&s;erved, as is afore&s;aid,
<PB N="110" REF="67">to the great Councill. <HI>Ben Maimou</HI> al&s;o de&s;cribes a cer|tain College of three men, and &s;aith it was in &s;uch a City, which had not a hundred and twenty inhabitants. But I am of <HI>A|ri&s;totles</HI> mind, that this is not a City. For, as it is not a Ship, which is of one handfull, or of two furlongs: &s;o is it not a Ci|ty, which wanteth a ju&s;t mea|&s;ure; if it be too little, it cannot (as a City &s;hould) &s;ub&s;i&s;t by it &s;elf; and too much greatne&s;s turns it from a City to a Nation. But we mu&s;t not call a <HI>Rabbi</HI> to &s;o &s;trict account. It was the of|fice of tho&s;e three, to judge of tre&s;pa&s;&s;es of moneys, and goods moveable. The Capitall offen|ders were brought (as I have &s;hewed) before another Bench.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">hedrin, c.</HI> 5.</NOTE> <HI>Ben Maimon</HI>
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>In Halu|cho San|hedrin. c.</HI> 5.</NOTE> addes, &s;omethings were of &s;uch a kind that they
<PB N="111" REF="67">belonged neither to the &s;eventy Elders, nor to the College of twenty three, nor to the three men: but were to be referred to a peculiar Senate. In which number he reckons man-&s;laugh|ter committed by an uncertain hand in the borders of any town. Five men (&s;aith he) mu&s;t expiate this by the Sacrifice of a Heifer. The &s;ame Author hath more of this nature, which I willingly praetermit. For we doe not repeat Dictates. That may &s;eem &s;trange, that the or|dering of times was commen|ded to certain Judges; for,
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">In eadem Halacha, eod. cap.</NOTE> con|cerning the Leap-year, &s;even, concerning the month, three men determined. But <HI>Hillel</HI> the Ba|bylonian afterward acquitted all his Countrymen of this care: the prime man of his age, of whom we have this honourable
<PB N="112" REF="68">te&s;timony from <HI>Rabbi Abra|ham</HI>
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">In libro jucha&s;in.</NOTE> <HI>Zacuth:</HI> Rabbi Hillel, <HI>pre&s;ident of the great Councill compo&s;ed the Intercalation for all</HI> I&s;rael <HI>till the times of Me&s;&s;iah; and that was done by him, be|fore the Lawfull act of impo&s;ition of hands was abrogated.</HI> Had not this &s;ame <HI>Hillel</HI> maturely prevented &s;o great an evill, cer|tainly the times would have been much confu&s;ed; for, not long after cea&s;ed the &s;olennity of impo&s;ing hands, without which tho&s;e &s;even men and three men were not appointed over|&s;eers and correctors of the Ca|lendar, as <HI>Maimonides</HI> ob&s;er|veth. But no more of this, le&s;t the Reader think we prepare an accurate and perfect work, wher|as we only thru&s;t out our &s;ud|dain and tumultuary Meditati|ons. And we de&s;ire it may be
<PB N="113" REF="68">noted, what&s;oever we have &s;aid of Councils hath relation to the time before <HI>Judaea</HI> had received the Roman conqueror. For he changed and repealed many things, not for his lu&s;t or plea|&s;ure, nor out of any cruell de&s;ign, but that he might &s;ecure his Dominion. <HI>Gabinius</HI> chiefly, the Procon&s;ul of <HI>Syria,</HI> &s;eeing the principall pillar of the Com|mon-wealth was the <HI>Sanhe|drin,</HI> thought it good policy to take away the authority there|of in many towns. Wherefore at <HI>Gadar, Amath, Hiericho,</HI> and <HI>Sephor</HI> he &s;etled four Syne|dries, and a fift at <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> (now but a part of what &s;he was) all of equall power. And the Councils placed by <HI>Gabinius</HI> in the other Cities, as they were not inferiour to that in <HI>Jeru|&s;alem</HI> for power, &s;o were they
<PB N="114" REF="69">far beyond it in continuance. The&s;e are meant, if I mi&s;take not, by
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>In l.</HI> 17. <HI>c. de Jud. &amp; Cal.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Ju&s;tinian,</HI> when he re|quires a Canon, <HI>from the pri|mates, who rule the Synedries of either</HI> Pale&s;tin. But we make no excur&s;ion into the&s;e times. The antient Common-wealth and primitive In&s;titutions are under our con&s;ideration. To en|quire into the re&s;t, and &s;et down things that were often changed, were unhappily to place our &s;tudy, where no certain truth can be delivered.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="14" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="115" REF="69">
<HEAD>CHAP. XIV. <HI>The creation of a King. A bad one fir&s;t cho&s;en, why. What qualities the Prophet had re&s;|pect unto. The Book of the King|dom laid up. The power of the Hebrew Kings. Their honour above Prie&s;ts and Prophets. Kings and Prie&s;ts at fir&s;t the &s;ame. The annointing of Kings made them &s;acred. The Holy Ointment hid by</HI> Jo&s;ia, <HI>and lo&s;t with other things.</HI></HEAD>
<P><HI>RAbbi Ben Maimon</HI>
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">In part. po&s;t. Mi&s;nae.</NOTE> &s;aith, the I&s;raelites received three commands from God, to bee fulfilled in <HI>Pale&s;tin;</HI> the fir&s;t whereof was, to make them|&s;elves a King; another to blot out the memory of the Amale|kites; the third concerning the building of a Temple. The per|formance
<PB N="116" REF="70">whereof (&s;aith he) was at &s;everall times and long di&s;tant, but in the &s;ame order wherein they were commanded. For a King was created before the War with <HI>Amalek,</HI> and the building of the Temple was not begun, untill that mo&s;t odi|ous Nation was brought to an end, and quite de&s;troyed. The te&s;timonies illu&s;trious, which are related by the &s;ame Author, need not be tran&s;cribed hither. In the 17 of <HI>Deuteronomy</HI> the mo&s;t high God, &s;aying the I&s;raelites would de&s;ire a King, addes the true&s;t rea&s;on of it, becau&s;e all the neighbouring Nations lived under the royall Government. For &s;uch is the nature and di&s;|po&s;ition of men, inhabiting that part of the world: few prefer liberty before &s;ubjection unto ju&s;t Lords. And <HI>Claudius Ci|vilis</HI>
<PB N="117" REF="70">in <HI>Tacitus</HI> truly &s;aith to his Batavians, <HI>that</HI> Syria <HI>and</HI> A&s;ia <HI>&s;erve, and the Ea&s;t is accu&s;tomed to the yoke of Kings.</HI> This be|ing &s;o, many have admired, why God took it ill, that the Sove|raign power was transferred from <HI>Samuel</HI> to a King, &s;ince he had approved it before, and &s;aid it &s;hould be according to the in|clination of the holy people. <HI>Maimonides</HI> an&s;wers learnedly, that the divine Indignation aro&s;e from hence, <HI>Becau&s;e they de&s;ir'd a King by unfaithfull complaints and &s;editious murmurings, not that they might comply with Gods de&s;ign in the Law, but out of a di&s;ta&s;t of the mo&s;t holy Pro|phet</HI> Samuel: <HI>to whom it was &s;poken by the voice of God. They have not rejected thee, but me.</HI> Verily I am of this opinion, and I doubt not to a&s;&s;ert it, that the
<PB N="118" REF="71">Kingdom was given to <HI>Saul,</HI> not out of Gods love and care of the Common-wealth, but becau&s;e he perceived his arrogance and cruelty, hee meant to glorify <HI>Samuel</HI> by this unequall compa|ri&s;on, and by &s;uch a &s;ucce&s;&s;or make his vertue the more de&s;ira|ble. The qualities &s;eem but light and &s;uperficiall, but they are of great moment, which (as the Holy Book in &s;everall places hath it) were con&s;idered by <HI>Sa|muel</HI> in the Kings election: a gracefull look, talne&s;s of body, and &s;uch like, which affect and draw the eyes and minds of all. The&s;e are the things, which the great Prophet, in the mid&s;t of the A&s;&s;embly, commended, when he &s;pake the&s;e words:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 10.24.</NOTE> <HI>Behold, whom God hath cho&s;en: that there is none equall to him in all the people.</HI> Wherefore, it is not
<PB N="119" REF="71">the property of Barbarians on|ly, but of the mo&s;t civill men, to think them capable of great atchievements, whom nature hath graced with a goodly form and &s;tately countenance. No le&s;s a man than <HI>Ari&s;totle</HI> hath pro|nounced thus: If any per&s;ona|ges are by nature framed &s;o much more excellent than o|thers, as the images of Gods excell the images of men, it &s;eemeth meet, that the re&s;t &s;hould be &s;ervants unto &s;uch. If this be true in the body, much more in the &s;oul: but the &s;ouls form and beauty cannot be &s;o ea&s;ily di&s;cerned. To leave this: In the Holy Bible is mentioned a certain volume,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 10.25.</NOTE> wherein <HI>Sa|muel</HI> wrote the &s;acred rights of the Kingdom, and laid it up in the Tabernacle. A text not well under&s;tood by <HI>Jo&s;ephus;</HI> who
<PB N="120" REF="72">imagined all the evils, which God foretold the people they &s;hould fear from an unju&s;t King were comprehended in that volume. We on the contrary believe, there were in that Book the Laws, which commanded the King to follow ju&s;tice and equity, and to govern the Com|mon-wealth wi&s;ely for the peo|ples good: al&s;o, not to play the Prince in lu&s;ts and riots: la&s;tly, to retain mode&s;ty in the great|ne&s;s of his fortune, a vertue well becomming the be&s;t of men, and very plea&s;ing unto God. The matter is deliver'd in <HI>Deu|teronomy</HI> thus:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 17.15, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Thou &s;halt &s;et him King over thee, whom the Lord thy God &s;hall choo&s;e: One from among thy Brethren &s;halt thou &s;et King over thee: thou maye&s;t not &s;et a &s;tranger over thee, which is not thy Brother.
<PB N="121" REF="72">But he &s;hall not multiply hor&s;es to him&s;elf, nor cau&s;e the people to return to</HI> Egypt. <HI>For as much as the Lord hath &s;aid unto you, ye &s;hall henceforth return no more that way. Neither &s;hall he mul|tiply Wives to him&s;elf, that his heart turn not away: neither &s;hall he greatly multiply to him|&s;elf &s;ilver and gold. And it &s;hall be when he &s;itteth upon the throne of his Kingdom, that he &s;hall write him a Copy of this Law in a Book, out of that which is be|fore the Prie&s;ts the Levites. And it &s;hall be with him, and he &s;hall read therein all the dayes of his life: that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this Law, and the&s;e Statutes to do them: That his heart be not lifted up above his Brethren.</HI> The&s;e words of the Law are not ob&s;cure, and they
<PB N="122" REF="73">&s;eem to contain the &s;um of that volume, which the great Pro|phet laid up in the Sanctuary. We &s;aid
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Cap. 8.</NOTE> above, the Jews had &s;uch a Common-wealth, which in the Scripture is called a Prie&s;t|ly Kingdom. Whence it fol|lows, that their Kings did not only govern in civill affairs, and military, but were Pre&s;idents of Religion and holy Ceremonies. For they were &s;acred per&s;ons, to whom Gods Commi&s;&s;ion and the voice of a Prophet gave Em|pire, honour and authority. Yet as the Over-&s;ight of Sacred things, the Soveraign power and judgment pertained unto them, &s;o the my&s;tery and charge of the &s;ame things was of right claimed by the Levites, that is, the High Prie&s;t, the re&s;t of the Prie&s;ts, and their a&s;&s;i&s;tants. It was their office, to &s;lay the Sa|crifices,
<PB N="123" REF="73">to make expiations, to rehear&s;e the divine Laws before the people, and to perform other &s;ervices in the Temple. The Talmudicall writers well ob|&s;erve how much the King ex|celled all, both Prie&s;ts and Pro|phets: which we will relate out of
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>In Halu|cha Mela|chim,</HI> cap. 2.</NOTE> <HI>Maimonides.</HI> The words are to this effect: <HI>It was a Sta|tute, that the chief Prie&s;t &s;hould reverence the King, and yield him his place to &s;it in, and him|&s;elf &s;tand, when the King came to him. But, the King &s;tandeth not in the pre&s;ence of the Prie&s;t, unle&s;s when he con&s;ults the</HI> U|rim <HI>after the &s;olemn manner. And, &s;uch is the dignity of the King, that even the Prophet him&s;elf, as oft as he comes into his pre&s;ence, bows him&s;elf down to the earth: as it is written,</HI> Nathan <HI>the Prophet came be|fore
<PB N="124" REF="74">the King, and, to honour him, fell upon his face to the ground.</HI> Yet more, <HI>David</HI> him&s;elf, whom the Prophet formerly had anointed King, &s;o little feared to take upon him the honour of the High Prie&s;t, that he put upon him&s;elf the Ephod, and enquired of the Lord, whether he &s;hould pur&s;ue the enemy. The place is eminent in the Book of <HI>Samuel,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cap. 30. v. 7.</NOTE> perver|ted by the late Interpreters, men very learned, but here they &s;eem indiligent. Let all men judge that have any skill in the origi|nall, whether the words tran|&s;lated by them, <HI>Applicavit &s;ibi Abiathar amiculum, Davidis cau&s;a,</HI> &s;ignify not the &s;ame I have &s;aid, that <HI>David,</HI> having put on the Ephod of <HI>Abiathar,</HI> con&s;ulted the Oracle <HI>[The Eng|li&s;h Bible reads it,</HI> And <HI>Abia|thar</HI>
<PB N="125" REF="74">brought thither the Ephod to <HI>David.</HI> Grotius de Imperio <HI>c.</HI> 6. <HI>reads it in this &s;en&s;e, Abia|thar</HI> made the Ephod to come near to <HI>David, that as he &s;tood before the high Prie&s;t (which the King only did when he con|&s;ulted</HI> Urim) <HI>he might &s;ee whe|ther the &s;parkling of the prectous &s;tones would promi&s;e him good &s;ucce&s;s.</HI> Abiathar <HI>then had the Ephod upon him, not</HI> David. <HI>The</HI> Urim <HI>an&s;wered.</HI> i. e. <HI>God by the</HI> Urim. vide locum.] But let us give you &s;ome more of our Collections from the Rabbins. Herein al&s;o con&s;i&s;ted an high point of honour,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">im. c.</HI> 2. <HI>in Hal. M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">l. &amp;</HI> c. 7. <HI>Hal. Beth. Habb.</HI></NOTE> <HI>that the King only, and no man el&s;e, might &s;it in the Court of the Temple, in any place; only the King who was of</HI> Davids <HI>family.</HI> That Court was divided by certain &s;paces, one part for the Prie&s;ts,
<PB N="126" REF="75">another a&s;&s;igned for the people; Yet the Prie&s;ts cuuld not &s;it down, though within their own pre&s;cribed bounds. The Sena|tors of <HI>Sanhedrin</HI> had right to &s;it:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Maimon ib.</NOTE> but, <HI>in the mid&s;t of that place which the prophane com|mon people had.</HI> Never did the more &s;acred &s;paces of the Court behold any man &s;itting, but the King: this being his Prerogative, as if he were nearer to God than the Prie&s;ts them&s;elves, and a greater Pre&s;ident of Religion. And, if we go to other Nations, <HI>Ari&s;totle</HI> &s;aith, <HI>in the fir&s;t times the &s;ame per&s;on, for the mo&s;t part, was both King and Prie&s;t.</HI> This was no depraved cu&s;tom, being in u&s;e, while people fol|lowed nature more incorruptly, and &s;aw what was right, &s;o much better, by how much nearer they were to the divine originall.
<PB N="127" REF="75">But, to &s;peak of the Hebrew Kings, their &s;acredne&s;s depended much upon their being anoin|ted. This was proper to them and the high Prie&s;ts, as the <HI>Tal|mud</HI> &s;aith, <HI>That anointing ad|ded a divine Maje&s;ty to the Kings, and made them &s;acred, and allyed unto God.</HI> The rea|&s;on, why in tho&s;e times they or|dered or re&s;tored Religion, was not becau&s;e they were Prophets: (that's a groundle&s;s and erro|neous opinion, for except <HI>Da|vid,</HI> and perhaps <HI>Saul,</HI> no one of the re&s;t prophecyed of things to come:) but <HI>Salonion</HI> and <HI>Jeho&s;haphat</HI> and <HI>Ezechiah</HI> and <HI>Jo&s;iah,</HI> and others exerci&s;ed power and authority over things divine, becau&s;e the vertue of the &s;acred Ointment had been communicated to them. This Ointment <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> was directed
<PB N="128" REF="76">to make of tho&s;e aromatick in|gredients which
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>In Hal. Cele Ham|mik.</HI> c. 1.</NOTE> <HI>Maimonides</HI> de&s;cribes. And the <HI>Talmud</HI> &s;aith, it was u&s;ed for initiation and con&s;ecration untill the times of <HI>J<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;iah,</HI> who hid it un|der ground in the Temple, in a &s;ecret place prepared carefully long before by <HI>Salomon,</HI> upon notice of the prophecies, that the Temple &s;hould at la&s;t be thrown down by the A&s;&s;yrians. In the &s;ame &s;ecret place (as the Tradition al&s;o is) the Ark of the Covenant, and <HI>Aarons</HI> red, and the &s;tones <HI>Urim</HI> and <HI>Thum|mim,</HI> with the re&s;idue of Manna, were laid up by <HI>Jo&s;iah:</HI> and none of them all was re&s;tored to the Jews, when upon their return from <HI>Babylon</HI> into their native &s;eat, they built the &s;econd Tem|ple. Wherefore, &s;ince that time the Kings and Prie&s;ts received
<PB N="129" REF="76">not the &s;ame Maje&s;ty from the my&s;terious initiation. Nor was the Deity &s;o propitious to their ceremonies and &s;acred rites, as before The Jews have a pro|verb among them, related by
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">In libro Jucha&s;ia.</NOTE> <HI>Rabbi Zacuth: The fire lay upon the Altar, as a Dog, be|cau&s;e the vertue of it was ex|tinct, after the five things were wanting in the later temple: but in the former, that fire was like a Lyon.</HI> The learned wri|ter plainly &s;aith, the five things were wanting, which even now we &s;aid were &s;o hidden by <HI>Jo|&s;iah,</HI> that po&s;terity never found them.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="15" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="130" REF="77">
<HEAD>CHAP. XV. Jeroboams <HI>policy to get the Kingdom. The declination and change of Common-wealths.</HI> Scipio<HI>'s moderation. The di&s;|po&s;ition of common people.</HI> Sama|ria <HI>an imperiall City. Change of Religion a &s;ecret of State. The divi&s;ion of the ten tribes, and the mi&s;erable effects of it. The Captivity of the I &s;raelites, and of the Jews.</HI> Babylon <HI>enlarged by the &s;poils of</HI> Jeru&s;alem. <HI>The return of the Jews, and the Do|minion of the Levites.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THe unity of the Hebrew na|tion, and the frame of that goodly Empire was cleft in two by <HI>Jeroboams</HI> policy, a man no le&s;s ambitious than valiant. Being commander of the Tribe of <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> in the War, and put
<PB N="131" REF="77">in hope of the Kingdom by the Prophet, rightly conceiving Prin|ces are made by Providence, He applyed his va&s;t and climing &s;pirit to obtain the Dominion. Fir&s;t he attempted the Souldiers faith, endeavouring to draw a|way their affections from <HI>Sa|lomon</HI> to him&s;elf: but the Plot being di&s;covered, to avoid pu|ni&s;hment he left his Country, and hid his head in <HI>Egypt.</HI> After the death of <HI>Salomon</HI> he retur|ned and met with a conjuncture of affairs very favourable to his great de&s;igns. The heavy tri|butes, the unju&s;t exactions were a fair pretence, which he gladly layd hold on to &s;tir up the com|mon people: and &s;o brought all into a combu&s;tion, and became the Author of very great cala|mities, that quickly invaded
<PB N="132" REF="78"><HI>Pale&s;tin.</HI> Verily, &s;o it u&s;ually comes to pa&s;s, that no grear Common-wealth hath a for|tune long continuing at one &s;tay. The Hebrews were now come to the hight of their pro&s;perity. All was &s;afe and quiet, incre|dible was the encrea&s;e of riches, the Kings and Princes near and far off were friends, and no room now was left for their greatne&s;s to extend it &s;elf. Wherefore, be|ing uncapable of any farther encrea&s;e, what remained, but that it &s;hould according to the Law of fate, decrea&s;e, and (which is the mo&s;t mi&s;erable condition of humane affairs) decline to the wor&s;e. <HI>Scipio Africanus,</HI> when he purged the City by Sacrifice, being Cen&s;or, and the Scribe re|hear&s;ed to him the &s;olemn pray|er, that the Gods would advance the Common-wealth of <HI>Rome,</HI>
<PB N="133" REF="78">&s;aid, it was great enough already, and de&s;ir'd the Gods only to pre&s;erve it: commanding the prayer, in the publick record, &s;hould be thus corrected. The mo&s;t prudent Roman well knowing, that the cele&s;tiall bounty doth not &s;o favour its own gifts, as to make them al|waies peculiar to any people, feared a vici&s;&s;itude and change of fortune, proceeding (as he doubtle&s;s had in his thoughts) not only from a forein Invader, but from dome&s;tick cau&s;es; every State breeding, within her own bowels, di&s;ea&s;es to con|&s;ume and de&s;troy it &s;elf. <HI>Jeru|&s;alem</HI> is an example. The mo&s;t flouri&s;hing City in the world, where <HI>David</HI> and <HI>Salomon,</HI> two mo&s;t potent and mo&s;t wi&s;e Kings, had made a deep and &s;ecure peace, could not long
<PB N="134" REF="79">continue quiet. For, <HI>Salomon</HI> being dead, although &s;he had no enemy abroad, &s;he found one at home. <HI>Jeroboam,</HI> of whom I &s;pake, a man of a mo&s;t turbu|lent &s;pirit, aro&s;e; who in &s;hort time with better &s;ucce&s;s effected the rebellious de&s;ign he had be|fore unpro&s;perou&s;ly attempted. An A&s;&s;embly being called, he accu&s;ed the publick State, and the condition of the times, and the Princes doings, in the pre|&s;ence of the people: who&s;e ears (he knew) are ever open, and glad to hear ill reports of their Superiours. Liberty and other &s;pecious names hee pretended, when his &s;ecret thoughts were, how to en&s;lave others, and get Dominion to him&s;elf. The peo|ple, enflamed by his violent words, fell pre&s;ently into &s;edi|tious ways, whereby the mo&s;t
<PB N="135" REF="79">antient Kingdoms and the grea|te&s;t Common-wealths u&s;ually go to ruin, or at lea&s;t are chan|ged. Forthwith, the Captain of the Rebellion drew off the ten Tribes, whom he had pre|vailed with, from the territories of <HI>Jeru&s;alem;</HI> and, to &s;ecure his dominion, and &s;ettle it, cho&s;e <HI>Sa|maria</HI> for his Imperiall City. That his Government might be more firm, he altered many cu&s;toms of the Nation, and de|vi&s;ed another wor&s;hip of the deity, a new Religion. For, &s;et|ting up calves to be adored, he renewed the old &s;uper&s;tition, and made Religion, (the cement of Common-wealths) a tye upon the people, to keep them in his obedience, when he could not oblige them by the goodne&s;s of his cau&s;e. After which time, the twelve Tribes of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> drunk
<PB N="136" REF="80">with their &s;weet abominations, reeled more and more from <HI>Je|ru&s;alem,</HI> and refu&s;ed (as upon their Gods command) to have any Communion with the In|habitants thereof. And now, what&s;oever cau&s;e of ho&s;tility there happened el&s;e, the greate&s;t rea&s;on alwaies &s;eemed that, which was taken from their different Religions. Thus be|gan the Kingdom of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> divers from that of the Jews, the &s;eat whereof was at <HI>Jeru|&s;alem.</HI> And here is the &s;pring of all the calamities that came up|on the Hebrews. For, being weak|ned by them&s;elves, and having drawn much blood from one a|nother, they were made a prey to forein Nations, who before were invincible again&s;t all the world. Now <HI>Su&s;ac</HI> the Egyptian &s;poi|led the holy City and the Tem|ple,
<PB N="137" REF="80">and by way of di&s;grace &s;et Pillars in &s;everall places, upon which were carved ('tis a &s;ha me to &s;peak) the &s;ecrets of Women. A fact, which <HI>Herodotus,</HI> a&s;|cribes unto <HI>Se&s;o&s;tris,</HI> by mi&s;take of the name, as <HI>Flavius</HI> hath rightly judged. A bitter cala|mity, this: but the things which a long time after were &s;uffered both by the Jews and I&s;raelites, were far more grievous. And fir&s;t by <HI>Salmana&s;&s;ar</HI> the A&s;&s;yri|an, was quite de&s;troy'd and o|verthrown, the Empire of the ten Tribes. The whole Nation, being carried into <HI>Media</HI> and <HI>Per&s;ia,</HI> gave place to the pro|phane Hittites, whom <HI>E&s;arhad|don</HI> &s;oon after &s;ent out of <HI>Per|&s;ia</HI> into <HI>Pale&s;tin</HI> to inhabit the Land of <HI>I&s;rael.</HI> So do Kings, according to their plea&s;ure, u&s;e to tran&s;late Nations, like Cat|tle,
<PB N="138" REF="81">which Shepheards drive &s;ometimes into their Winter, &s;ometimes into their Summer pa&s;ture. For by this means peo|ple are tamed and &s;oftned, and they that dare any thing at home, are held under quiet &s;ubjection in a &s;trange Land. Never had the I&s;raelites, after that time, the happine&s;s to return into their own Country, or to repair the ruins of their Common|wealth. They had &s;o highly offended God by their impious Idolatry, that no length of time, nor revolution of ages, could pacify his wrath. The I&s;raelites being thus gone into their eter|nall exile, the Jews remained to receive their due puni&s;hment likewi&s;e. Which was inflicted on them as &s;urely, though more &s;lowly. In the reign of <HI>Zede|kiah, Nebuchodonozor</HI> with a
<PB N="139" REF="81">mighty army &s;ubdued <HI>Egypt</HI> and <HI>Syria:</HI> and burnt to a&s;hes the City of <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> and the Tem|ple, a place of infinite opulen|cy. In which time, Him&s;elf, upon news of <HI>Nabola&s;&s;ars</HI> death, ha&s;tning home to take po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the Kingdom, left Commi&s;&s;ion with his Comman|ders, to bring away the Jews to <HI>Babylon</HI> and the places there|about. There he a&s;&s;igned them their &s;eats, and Fields, in the culture whereof this new Colo|ny might &s;pend their time and get their living. Venerable mo|numents of antiquity remain of <HI>Bero&s;us</HI> Annals, wherein 'tis written, that <HI>Nebuchodonozor,</HI> out of the &s;poils brought thence, built a Temple to <HI>Belus,</HI> enlar|ged <HI>Babylon</HI> according to the Maje&s;ty of his Empire, and girt it with Walls of Brick: More|over,
<PB N="140" REF="82">made Gardens in the Air, and pendent Woods in favour of his Wife, who having been bred in the mountainous parts of <HI>Media,</HI> delighted in the pro&s;pect of Woods growing in high places. Whence appears the vanity of that which the Grecians have delivered with great con&s;ent, that <HI>Semiramis</HI> rai&s;ed tho&s;e admired works. For they are confuted by an Author in <HI>Flavius</HI> beyond all exception; namely <HI>Bero&s;us</HI> the Chaldean, who (as all men have believed) is mo&s;t antient, and with very great Religion and truth hath con&s;ecrated the affairs of his own Nation to eternall memo|ry. But the Jews were not pu|ni&s;h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;o grievou&s;ly by the hand of God, nor &s;o long as the I&s;|raelites. They lived in a gentle and ea&s;y exile, as in a Country
<PB N="141" REF="82">of their own: and, after &s;eventy years were gone about, they were re&s;tor'd to <HI>Pale&s;tin,</HI> rebuilt their City and Temple, and e|&s;tabli&s;hed their Common-wealth again. Here now was the &s;tate of things much different from what it was before. For, the Empire which before was in the Hou&s;e of <HI>David,</HI> was now u|&s;urped by the Levits, after a various manner. The&s;e men, having gotten into their hands the Supreme Power, advanced the Common-wealth indeed to the height of riches and great|ne&s;s; but, while they contend among them&s;elves for power and honour, they trod under foot both divine and humane things. So little of piety and mode&s;ty did the mo&s;t &s;acred name of Religion give to them, whom God had &s;elected for
<PB N="142" REF="83">him&s;elf, out of all the re&s;t, and &s;eparated &s;o long ago, that a|mong the holy offices and ce|remonies, they &s;hould lead their lives, far from ambition and vain glory.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="16" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XVI. <HI>The Prie&s;ts have the Govern|ment. Their evill behaviour. Of the &s;ons of</HI> Eli&s;ab. <HI>The tem|ple of</HI> Garizin <HI>built. The wic|kedne&s;s of</HI> Onias. <HI>The vertue of</HI> Matthias, <HI>and of</HI> Judas Mac|cabaeus. Alcimus <HI>his outrage.</HI> Judea <HI>again under Kings. Of</HI> Herod, <HI>his cruelty, and ini|quity.</HI></HEAD>
<P>OF the Tribe of <HI>Levi,</HI> af|ter the re&s;tauration of the City and Temple, fir&s;t the High
<PB N="143" REF="83">Prie&s;ts ruled all, without a&s;&s;u|ming the Title of Prince or King. The&s;e enjoyed them&s;elves, or di&s;po&s;ed of to others, all favour, wealth and power: the re&s;t were Plebeians, without honour, without authority. Therefore, they that were but Levites were competitors, for &s;o great a pre|ferment; and u&s;ed all endea|vour, &s;ome by force, &s;ome by fraud and fallacies, few by the true way, to attain unto it. No|thing can be imagined more di&s;honourable, than what the two Sons of the high Prie&s;t <HI>E|li&s;ab</HI> committed after their Fa|ther's death. For both Je&s;us, by the help of a barbarous Cap|tain, went about wickedly to deprive his Brother <HI>Jannes</HI> of the high Prie&s;thood, which he had received according to the Law: and <HI>Jannes,</HI> to retain his right,
<PB N="144" REF="84">became guilty of a greater wic|kedne&s;s; for he &s;lew the &s;ame Je|&s;us with his own hand, in the temple of God, and &s;prinkled the altars with his Brothers Blood. <HI>Jannes</HI> not long after had for his &s;ucce&s;&s;or <HI>Jaddus;</HI> Who&s;e Pontificate likewi&s;e his Brother <HI>Mana&s;&s;es</HI> devoured in his hopes: but having married, again&s;t the Law, a &s;trange Woman, the Daughter of <HI>Sanballet,</HI> whence aro&s;e a tumult among&s;t the peo|ple, he quickly perceived a ne|ce&s;&s;ity lying upon him, either to lo&s;e his affinity with &s;o potent a Father-law, or el&s;e relinqui&s;h his hopes of the Prie&s;t-hood. Here, upon long deliberatioa with him|&s;elf, at la&s;t, having communi|cated his Coun&s;els to his Father-in-Law, he conceived a notable enterprize, which all po&s;terity talks of, none approves. For
<PB N="145" REF="84">he re&s;olved to erect a Temple in <HI>Garizin,</HI> the highe&s;t mountain of <HI>Samaria,</HI> and &s;hortly recei|ved power to doe &s;o, from <HI>A|lexander,</HI> by the mediation of <HI>Sanballet.</HI> Thus he, that was not capable of the mo&s;t honou|rable office at <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> be|cau&s;e he had violated the Law, became High-Prie&s;t, as he could, in another place, and in the po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;ion of it thought him&s;elf in Heaven. See the heart of a mo&s;t wicked man, in whom you may doubt whether his ambition or impiety were the greater. Yet was this but a &s;mall thing, in compari&s;on of what <HI>Onias</HI> the fourth did, out of a de&s;ire of do|mination. Being made High-Prie&s;t, and &s;eeing him&s;elf too weak for <HI>Ja&s;ons</HI> faction, to get the favour of <HI>Antiochus Epi|phanes,</HI>
<PB N="146" REF="85">who&s;e protection he nee|ded, he for&s;wore the Mo&s;aic Laws, and in&s;tead of them ad|mitted the Religions and rites of the Grecians. And more, that he might not bear in his Body the marks of Circumci&s;ion, he renewed his fore-skin by Phy|&s;icall Art, and per&s;waded all his people to do the like. After|ward, <HI>Antiochus Epiphanes,</HI> the High-Prie&s;t being his Mi|ni&s;ter, impiou&s;ly perverted all the in&s;titutions of the Jews. And now nothing of the &s;ound and the antient cu&s;toms remained when <HI>Matthias</HI> the <HI>Ha&s;m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">|naean,</HI> the great re&s;torer of the State, having taken up Arms, rendred to the Jews their Laws, and received the Common|wealth under his Rule, with the title of Prince. Being de|cea&s;ed,
<PB N="147" REF="85">to him &s;ucceeded <HI>Judas</HI> in the Principality, the &s;ame that is called <HI>Maccabaeus.</HI> Yet was there great power and autho|rity in the High-Prie&s;t. Where|fore <HI>Antiochus Eupator</HI> after that time, cunningly having got entrance into <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> when he di&s;tru&s;ted <HI>Onias,</HI> upon whom he &s;aw the people and the State affairs depended much, placed <HI>Alcimus</HI> in his room. But he, being gotten into the holy chair, was more depraved than his Predece&s;&s;or; for he went over to King <HI>Demetrius</HI> the Son of <HI>Seleucus,</HI> with criminations a|gain&s;t <HI>Judas,</HI> who&s;e principa|lity he could not away with. Impiety can be never quiet, nor content with a &s;ingle tran&s;gre&s;|&s;ion. Wherefore hee brought again&s;t his own Country the
<PB N="148" REF="86">Kings Lieutenant <HI>Bacohides,</HI> with an Army; and after his return to the King without effecting the work, he encrea&s;ed the Com|panies left by <HI>Bacchides,</HI> by the concour&s;e of wicked men. From every place were gathered unto <HI>Alcimus,</HI> Murderers, Sacrilegious Per&s;ons, Adulterers; whom their guilty con&s;ciences would not &s;uffer to re&s;t at home: and he engaged them all to do him &s;ervice, by fair words and boun|tifull pay. At the la&s;t, this gal|lant Prie&s;t, to adde more unto his glorious impiety, prepared to throw down the Walls of the Sanctuary rai&s;ed by the Prophets and the Ha&s;idaeans; But in the mid&s;t of his de&s;ign death cut him off, and in his place the people con&s;tituted, in the mo&s;t &s;acred office, their Prince
<PB N="149" REF="86"><HI>Judas;</HI> the fir&s;t of all the Jews that joynd the Miter and the Crown together, and was both Prince and Prie&s;t. The &s;ame was done, after him, by <HI>Jona|than, Simon</HI> and <HI>Jannes:</HI> untill <HI>Ari&s;tobulus,</HI> the name of Prince being laid a&s;ide, took upon him the title of King. And &s;o, in the end, long after the death of <HI>Ze|dekiah,</HI> Kings again ruled over <HI>Judaea,</HI> but they were of the Tribe of <HI>Levi;</HI> the la&s;t of whom was <HI>Antigonus. Antigonus</HI> being expelled and &s;lain, <HI>He|rod</HI> held the Scepter, which he had before received from the Romans: a man, not indeed de&s;cended of the Royall family, no nor of the Sacerdotall, but one of <HI>Idumaea,</HI> an in&s;ititious Jew or Pro&s;elyte; for the Idu|maeans were not truly Jews, but
<PB N="150" REF="87">only accounted and called &s;o, &s;ince the time that <HI>Hircanus</HI> forced them to &s;ubmit to the rites and ceremonies of the true God, when before they wor|&s;hipt, I know not what good, <HI>Go&s;an,</HI> who&s;e rites were kept by the <HI>Co&s;tobari,</HI> a noble family in that Country. Famous was that prophecy of <HI>Sameas,</HI> who had long &s;ince foretold, that <HI>Herod</HI> &s;hould bee given the Jews for a King, but to be a Plague unto them. Even &s;o it came to pa&s;s. This Idumaean pre&s;ently put to death <HI>Ari&s;to|bulus</HI> the High-Prie&s;t, being ve|ry young; and after him <HI>Hir|canus,</HI> allured out of <HI>Parthia;</HI> and after him, what&s;oever re|mained of the Ha&s;monaean bloud, he extingui&s;hed, and left not any branch of the old &s;tock.
<PB N="151" REF="87">Nor did the &s;eventy Elders, the A&s;&s;e&s;&s;ors of the Great Councill Sannedrin, &s;peed better. Thus all being remov'd out of the way, who might create him either fear or danger, <HI>Herod</HI> grew up to his height, and the greatne&s;s of his power gave him boldne&s;s to break forth into great licence; for he altered the old cu&s;toms of the Jews, and brought in new, and did many things contrary to the Laws. Whereof let us hear <HI>Jo&s;ephus</HI> &s;peaking thus: <HI>The antient di&s;cipline, untainted before, he weakned with Innovations: whence, in our following times, we have had no &s;mall harm; for all tho&s;e things, whereby the multitude was heretofore led unto piety, are now neglected and de&s;pi&s;ed.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="17" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="152" REF="88">
<HEAD>CHAP. XVII. <HI>Of Me&s;&s;ias, King of the Jews and all Nations. The everla|&s;ting throne is his. A word in</HI> E&s;ay <HI>written my&s;tically.</HI> Bala|ams <HI>prophecy in the &s;en&s;e of the Jews. The &s;ingular nature of Me&s;&s;ia's Kingdom. The re|prehender of</HI> Maimonides <HI>cen|&s;ured.</HI> Ezekiels <HI>ob&s;cure vi&s;ion, not to be curiou&s;ly &s;earched.</HI></HEAD>
<P>ANd in this manner, after the Jews return out of <HI>Ba|bylon,</HI> they were in po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the Empire that had no right unto it; fir&s;t the High-Prie&s;ts, then the Ha&s;monaean Princes, being al&s;o Levites, then Kings of the &s;ame tribe, and la&s;tly <HI>Herod</HI> the Idumaean; He, un|der whom was born Me&s;&s;ias,
<PB N="153" REF="88">the King of Kings, a branch of <HI>Davids</HI> family. To him alone mu&s;t be referr'd that promi&s;e God made to <HI>David,</HI> that his throne &s;hould bee everla&s;ting, and his &s;eed &s;hould &s;it therein. Certainly, it is not &s;poken of <HI>Salomon,</HI> nor of any other of his race; for, the kingdom once lo&s;t, they never recover'd after the Babylonian exile. Wherefore, unle&s;s wee will (which were great impiety) make the promi&s;e of God vain and fal&s;e, we mu&s;t under&s;tand that Son of <HI>David</HI> to bee the Me&s;&s;ias, our Redeemer, of whom the Angel hath pronounced that which is written in St. Luke: <HI>Of his Kingdom there &s;hall be no end.</HI> The words are taken out of the ninth of <HI>E&s;aiah,</HI> where <HI>Rabbi Jarchi</HI> notes: <HI>It was
<PB N="154" REF="89">&s;ubtilly di&s;puted by the Scribes, why in the mid&s;t of a word, con|trary to cu&s;tom, the letter</HI> Mem <HI>is clo&s;ed.</HI> A doubt not to be contemned. Thereby is &s;igni|fied (as the Talmudi&s;ts are of opinion) &s;ome great my&s;tery, not opened promi&s;cuou&s;ly unto all, but clo&s;e and re&s;erved. A|mong&s;t all the Oracles in Scrip|ture, concerning the greate&s;t King Me&s;&s;ias, the Jews think none &s;o worthy of admiration, as that which <HI>Balaam</HI> uttered by divine in&s;tinct. <HI>Num.</HI> 24. But the &s;ame Interpreters, looking narrowly into the Prophets meaning, &s;agely found, the words are not all &s;poken of one King: but the oracle is &s;o to be divided, that part may belong to <HI>David,</HI> who fir&s;t of <HI>Juda</HI>'s race po&s;&s;e&s;t the Kingdom, the re&s;t to the
<PB N="155" REF="89">Me&s;&s;ias, the la&s;t King indeed of the &s;ame race, but greater and more potent than all the other. <HI>Maimonides</HI> in the end of his <HI>Mi&s;na</HI> hath handled this exact|ly. And the &s;ame excellent Ma&s;ter there refutes tho&s;e, that ex&s;pect in the Kingdom of <HI>Me&s;|&s;ias</HI> another face of nature, and a new cour&s;e of things going on perpetually. For, &s;aith he, they under&s;tood not the words of <HI>E&s;aiah</HI> in the 12. Chapter. The dark &s;ayings whereof doe &s;ignifie, that all pious and good men &s;hall have &s;uch quietne&s;s in the mid&s;t of the wicked, that they need not fear. Nor hath <HI>Rabbi Abraham</HI> the Son of <HI>David</HI> any ju&s;t rea&s;on to repre|hend <HI>Maimonides</HI> for this: who&s;e other reprehen&s;ions too, for the mo&s;t part, are more
<PB N="156" REF="90">&s;harp than &s;olid, they make a &s;hew of rea&s;on, but, when they are examined, come to nothing. As oft as I &s;urvey the &s;acred pla|ces, the rites and Religious &s;o|lemnities, de&s;cribed by the mo&s;t holy Prophet <HI>Ezekiel</HI> in the la&s;t part of his Book, I con&s;ider with my &s;elf, what they mean, or whither they are to be referr'd. So different are they from <HI>Mo|&s;es</HI> precepts, and the Jewi&s;h cu&s;toms, as them&s;elves confe&s;s. What opinion is to be had of them, the
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">In tract. Menachoth.</NOTE> <HI>Talmud</HI> hath re&s;ol|ved, and
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>In Mi&s;|na, l.</HI> 8. <HI>c.</HI> 2.</NOTE> <HI>Maimonides</HI> hath in brief expre&s;&s;ed: <HI>All manner of offerings, &s;poken of in</HI> Ezekiel, <HI>and what&s;oever is there written of the number of Sacrifices, and of the order of divine wor&s;hip, are nothing el&s;e but the pacific ob|lations, which have not been
<PB N="157" REF="90">u&s;ed in former ages by the peo|ple; but the Prophet &s;hews, how they &s;hall be performed at the dedication of the new Altar, in the times of Me&s;&s;ias, when the third Temple &s;hall be built.</HI> This is no Jewi&s;h dream, nor Tal|mudicall conceit, but a certain Truth. The Prophet hath de|&s;cribed another Temple, which &s;hould be in Me&s;&s;ia's reign, and other &s;acred rites: and hath mea&s;ured the &s;tructure of the Temple, the Courts, the Gates, and the re&s;t, by an accurate rule of the work. The form of it, &s;ay the Jews, is not fully under|&s;tood, but <HI>Ezra,</HI> when he built the &s;econd Temple after the pat|tern of <HI>Salomons,</HI> followed al&s;o the de&s;cription of <HI>Ezekiels</HI> third Temple, &s;o far as the capacity of the mo&s;t holy man could
<PB N="158" REF="91">reach, in &s;o ob&s;cure and perplext a matter. This we learn from the Prince of Rabbins in
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>In Hal. Beth. Hab.</HI> c. 1.</NOTE> ano|ther place. Neverthele&s;s, it is no little blindne&s;s in the Jews, that they hope for &s;uch a Temple to be built by the Me&s;&s;ias, which may be &s;een with the eyes, and approached with the feet. We that are born in Me&s;&s;ia's Kingdom know full well, 'tis otherwi&s;e. All the Prophets words, of the mea&s;ure of the buildings, and the parts, have another more &s;ecret &s;en&s;e; but what that &s;en&s;e is, and how the words are to be explained, is hard to &s;ay. For my part, with <HI>Xe|nophane</HI> in <HI>Varro, I would have every man to &s;et down what he thinketh, not what he will a&s;|&s;ert; for man may have an opi|nion of &s;uch things, God alone
<PB N="159" REF="91">knows them certainly.</HI> Truly the Jews when they mention &s;ome pieces of the Bible, the reading whereof is interdicted youth, put the end of <HI>Ezekiels</HI> pro|phecy in that rank. And not without cau&s;e. For the whole di&s;cour&s;e is more ob&s;cure than <HI>Plato</HI>'s number. Let them all, who would &s;eem the greate&s;t proficients in divine wi&s;dom, call hither their indu&s;try: they will &s;weat enough, before they open the lea&s;t of the things laid up in tho&s;e leaves. The be&s;t interpreter can but give a hand&s;om conje|cture at the utmo&s;t, and when all is done we mu&s;t remain unre&s;ol|ved. This is certain, that the&s;e, and &s;ome other things of like kind, are &s;uch, as the mo&s;t high God hath &s;et above the reach of humane wit; for, though in this
<PB N="160" REF="92">light of the Go&s;pell, great pro|gre&s;s hath been made into &s;ci|ence, yet &s;omewhat is &s;till left for admiration. Wherefore to go farther into the&s;e &s;ecrets, than the bounds pre&s;cribed to us by the Holy Spirit, would be a very unwi&s;e adventure.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="18" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XVIII. <HI>The State of the Jews after Me&s;&s;ia</HI>'s <HI>comming. Of their re|&s;titution yet ex&s;pected. The dig|nity of that Nation even at this day. How much our Religion ows to the Jews. The Scripture not corrupted by them. The Ma|&s;orites dilligence and fidelity.</HI></HEAD>
<P>IT was the plea&s;ure of the im|mortall God, that the Jews &s;hould be called a Royall Prie&s;t|hood,
<PB N="161" REF="92">and a cho&s;en Generation, and that his &s;acred rites and ce|remonies &s;hould be embraced by them alone, untill the day &s;hined forth, that &s;hewed the Me&s;&s;ias to the world. From that time, the Son of God ordained, that the cele&s;tiall benefits, long confined unto one Nation, &s;hould be common to all; the Tydings whereof, &s;ent abroad far and wide, profited believers only. Here we mu&s;t admire at the &s;trange conver&s;ion of things. For the great Author of Salva|tion, who had left his heaven|ly throne to relieve the mi&s;eries of men, was entertained by pro|phane Nations with joy and ve|neration: but the Jews, to whom more than one Prophet had &s;ig|nified both the place and time of his coming, knew him not,
<PB N="162" REF="93">when he was come and pre&s;en|ted him&s;elf among&s;t them. So great a dulne&s;s had &s;eized on them. Their eyes were blind, when their thoughts were on o|ther matters and refu&s;ed to be|hold what was &s;et before them in the mid&s;t. Hereupon they were abdicated and ca&s;t off by God, and even to this day <HI>they eat Pottage, and deplore their lo&s;t birth-right.</HI> Their crime is engraven in the <HI>Harde&s;t Ada|mant,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Jeremy</HI> the Prophet. Nor did they deprecate their puni&s;hment, but called it to them&s;elves &s;aying. <HI>His blood be upon us, and upon our Children.</HI> Very memorable is that which S. <HI>Paul</HI> writeth to the Romans:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 11. <HI>v.</HI> 25.</NOTE> <HI>I would not have you ignorant of this my&s;tery, that hardne&s;s, in part, hath happened unto</HI> I&s;|rael,
<PB N="163" REF="93"><HI>untill the fulne&s;s of the Gen|tiles be come in.</HI> Certainly there will come a time, when the Jews &s;hall be reduced into the right path, who do now wan|der mi&s;erably through ignorance of the way. The Suns of all days are not yet gone down: their light &s;hall once again break forth unto them: and though they are fallen, they are not fal|len away for ever. <HI>Ezekiel</HI> al&s;o hath publi&s;hed &s;ome pro|phecies in favour of them. Ch. 36. The Prophet faith, a new heart &s;hall be given them from Hea|ven, and a better under&s;tanding &s;hall dwell in their brea&s;t. Then &s;hall the veil be taken off, which <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> put upon his face; for they &s;hall convert them&s;elves unto God, who &s;uffered them to live in darkne&s;s, and in igno|rance
<PB N="164" REF="94">of the greate&s;t matters, that at la&s;t he might take occa|&s;ion to &s;hew his old loving kind|ne&s;s. And on this wi&s;e do we commodiou&s;ly interpret the&s;e words of <HI>Paul:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 3.16.</NOTE> <HI>When</HI> I&s;rael <HI>&s;hall be turned to the Lord; the veil &s;hall be taken away:</HI> a very ob&s;cure place to many, and wherein &s;ome have taken much pains. The thing of which we &s;peak, is of &s;uch con&s;equence, that ju&s;tly we cannot henceforth be altogether aver&s;e from the Jews, as if they were given up to publick hatred, when as yet &s;o great hopes are remaining for them. And truly S. <HI>Paul</HI> doth them reverence, and ex|tols them with high prai&s;e, even while they are in errour.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 9.4.5.</NOTE> <HI>To whom</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the
<PB N="165" REF="94">Covenants, and the giving of the Law, and the &s;ervice of God, and the promi&s;es: Who&s;e are the Fathers, and of whom concerning the fle&s;h Chri&s;t came.</HI> What Nobility could be greater? So many Patriarchs, and Prophets, and Kings, they number among their forefathers; and &s;o many brave men, and men of divine vertue, who&s;e names are con|&s;ecrated in Heaven. I confe&s;s, all the Jews at this day are of a ba&s;e and illiberall di&s;po&s;ition; and, if you look upon their cour&s;e of life, you can hardly find any thing worthy of no|ble and erected &s;pirits: Nei|ther do we marvell at the cau&s;e hereof. For the&s;e things goe in a round, and as the times are tur|ned, &s;o are mens manners. Ve|rily, the &s;ame day that depri|ved
<PB N="166" REF="95">them of the fair light of li|berty, and &s;truck the Scepter out of their hands, did al&s;o &s;o abate the edge of their ingenu|ous &s;pirits, that they have no more vigor now, nor keene&s;s in them. Servitude dwarfs the mind, and enchains the &s;pirit, and choaks all the &s;eeds of ge|nero&s;ity. What high thoughts can they po&s;&s;ibly have, who, for &s;o many years, through the whole world, have been wea|ryed out with &s;o great &s;corn and contumely? whom Children, in contempt, have pulled by the &s;leeve, and men by the beard? la&s;tly, upon whom the fury of all the <HI>Cae&s;ars</HI> &s;pent it &s;elf. <HI>Ti|berius</HI> di&s;tributed their young men, &s;ending them as it were for Souldiers, into the Provinces of unwhole&s;ome air. The air of
<PB N="167" REF="95"><HI>Sardinea</HI> was very pe&s;tilent, Thither are four thou&s;and com|manded away, to meet an un|timely death. <HI>Titus</HI> ca&s;t al|mo&s;t as many to the bea&s;ts, when hee &s;et forth &s;hews at <HI>Berytum</HI> and <HI>Cae&s;area. Trajan</HI> him&s;elf, the milde&s;t of all the Princes, decreed they &s;hould not read the Law; &s;o did other Emperors after him at &s;everall times. This was the greate&s;t of afflictions, and by <HI>Rabbi Za|cuth</HI> is numbred among the per|&s;ecutions: <HI>They decreed</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>a per&s;ecution, that the Jews &s;hould not read the Law.</HI> But the&s;e things were done by Pa|gans: Let us, who are joyned to them with a clo&s;er bond, &s;hew them more favour, having this communion with them, to hear the commands of one and
<PB N="168" REF="96">the &s;ame God. Truly S. <HI>Paul</HI> de&s;ires to lay down his life for them, &s;o fervent is his charity to the Nation. And it is his &s;aying,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 11.16.</NOTE> <HI>If the fir&s;t fruits bee holy, the lump is al&s;o holy: and if the root be holy, &s;o are the branches.</HI> I will not now am|bitiou&s;ly celebrate their prai&s;es: for wee abhor from nothing more; than &s;uch Vanity. Yet, as to the&s;e later times, the truth is, if we ca&s;t up the ac|count rightly, out Religion is much endebted to that people. For who are they but the Jews, that have pre&s;erved for us the &s;acred volumes of the Bible &s;afe and &s;ound? How many <HI>Erra|ta</HI>'s had &s;toln into the Holy Scriptures, had the cu&s;tody thereof been committed only to &s;uch as <HI>Lactantius, Au&s;tin,
<PB N="169" REF="96">Gregory, Chry&s;o&s;tom,</HI> mo&s;t holy men indeed, but unskilfull of the Hebrew tongue? Among&s;t all the Greek and Latine Fa|thers that governed the antient Church, <HI>Origen,</HI> and (to &s;peak the mo&s;t) <HI>Jerom</HI> were the only Hebricians: the re&s;t had not learned &s;o much as the very Letters; Wherefore if the care|le&s;ne&s;s of Tran&s;cribers had made default, they were not the men that could make amends. But this was all the Jews only &s;tu|dy, and their &s;ole care, to vin|dicate the Books of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and the Prophets, and the other holy writings, from the inju|ries of time. This is their pro|per prai&s;e: wherein no other Nation c<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">imeth any &s;hare. There is an eminent place in <HI>Rabbi Abraham</HI>
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">In libre Jucha&s;in:</NOTE> of <HI>Salman|tica,</HI>
<PB N="170" REF="97">whence we learn. That all the Copies of the Bible were amended according to a certain Book of venerable antiquity, written long before by the hand of <HI>Rabbi Hillel,</HI> High-Prie&s;t of the Jews, who came from <HI>Ba|bylon</HI> into <HI>Syria</HI> &s;ixty years be|fore the Nativity of our Lord God Je&s;us Chri&s;t. <HI>In the King|dom of</HI> Leon (&s;aith he) <HI>they found the Bible written by</HI> Rab|bi Hillel, <HI>and by it corrected all their Copies; part of it I &s;aw, which was &s;old in</HI> Afric, <HI>and was written</HI> 900. <HI>years before my time.</HI> Kimhi <HI>in his Grammar &s;aith, the Pentateuch was at the City of</HI> Toledo. At that time therefore the Jews were the only Correctors to keep the con|text of the Bible pure. Indeed, it had been ea&s;y for them, to
<PB N="171" REF="97">alter and corrupt tho&s;e places, which &s;eemed to condemn their follies, when the Chri&s;tians un|der&s;tood &s;carce three words of Hebrew: but piety with-&s;tood, and Religion would not per|mit them to change what was &s;acred. Neverthele&s;s, &s;ome have charged them with unfaithful|ne&s;s in de&s;cribing much of the text; but the&s;e men have al|ready had &s;ufficient an&s;wer from learned
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">8. <HI>Ex|plan. E&s;aiae.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Origen.</HI> As for me, when I con&s;ider the unwearyed dilligence and infinite pains of the <HI>Ma&s;orites,</HI> I do even &s;tand a|mazed; for, having revi&s;ed ac|curately, and compared all the parts of the Hebrew Bible, they &s;igned them with certain notes. This was done after the de&s;tru|ction of the &s;econd Temple, a|bout the year 436. It was ob|&s;erved
<PB N="172" REF="98">by them, not only how many Ver&s;es and words, but al&s;o how many Letters every Book contained. Wherefore, that afterward, when extreme barbati&s;m oppre&s;t the world, no tittle of that mo&s;t excellent Book was lo&s;t, is a benefit we ow to them. Not without cau&s;e have the Rabbins &s;aid, <HI>The</HI> Ma&s;ora <HI>is as it were the wall and the hedge of the Law.</HI> In <HI>Rabbi Zacuth</HI> above cited, are Judaicall trifles, whereby for&s;ooth it is concluded, that the Accents and the Points were extant in the time of <HI>Ezra;</HI> which I therefore mention, that it may be added to the re&s;t of tho&s;e vain arguments alleged by &s;ome, who in our time de|ny them to be the invention of the Ma&s;orites. And in the &s;ame
<PB N="173" REF="98">Rabbies Book, by the &s;ame proof is the Targum of <HI>Onke|los</HI> referd to <HI>Ezra</HI>'s age. Which, although it be fal&s;e, and ea&s;ily di&s;covers how little worth the other is, yet will find &s;ome to defend it, the rather, that the other may not fall. Many are &s;o ob&s;tinately given, they care not what they &s;ay, if it may but &s;erve to maintain the opi|nion they have once embraced. That the reading of the holy Scripture is not uncertain, and &s;ubject to any more variation, wee thankfully acknowledge the care and pains of the Jews, who lived in the later times, after the de&s;truction of the &s;econd Temple: For, when they were fallen from their great and wealthy State, they made it their bu&s;ine&s;s, amid&s;t
<PB N="174" REF="99">their extreme calamity, to &s;ave out of the common Shipwrack this one Che&s;t of ine&s;timable value. And this is that we love them for; the re&s;t de&s;erve our compa&s;&s;ion: For they read the Tittles, and Letters, and Books, but they read them only, not regarding nor &s;eeking the true and &s;acred &s;en&s;e. So that, the &s;aying of their own well agrees unto them&s;elves: <HI>They make that which is fundamentall, a le&s;&s;er matter; and the le&s;&s;er matter, fundamentall.</HI> And, which is wor&s;t of all, they are not &s;en&s;ible of their Childi&s;h|ne&s;s and folly; for, whereas all their infelicity con&s;i&s;teth in their ignorance of the divine Law, they complain of the lo&s;s of their Country, and of the Kingdom taken from them,
<PB N="175" REF="99">and of the like things: who&s;e po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion makes no man hap|py, and who&s;e lo&s;s makes no man mi&s;erable. <HI>Seneca</HI> tels us of his Wifes fool, <HI>Harpa|&s;te,</HI> that having on the &s;odain lo&s;t her &s;ight, <HI>&s;he knew not &s;he was blind, and often reque&s;ted her keeper to bring her to ano|ther hou&s;e, for her own was dark.</HI> The Jews are in the &s;ame ca&s;e. They carry about in their own brea&s;t the cau&s;e of all their mi&s;ery: and &s;uppo&s;e, by &s;ome divine favour, they &s;hould recover <HI>Canaan,</HI> they would change their climat, not their mind. Whither&s;oever they turn them&s;elves, their night goes along too, and over&s;hadows them: nor &s;hall it be di&s;pelled, before they
<PB N="166" REF="100">have throughly &s;marted for their ingratitude, and their ob|&s;tinacy, and the hardne&s;s of their hearts.</P>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
<BACK>
<DIV1 TYPE="imprimatur">
<P><HI>Imprimatur</HI></P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Edm. Calamy.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="table">
<PB REF="100">
<HEAD>THE Table Alphabe|ticall.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<HEAD>A.</HEAD>
<ITEM>R. ABraham. 155</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Acheians.</HI> 85</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Agrarian Law.</HI> 13 17, 40</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Agriculture.</HI> 20, 24</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Agrippa's offence.</HI> 50</ITEM>
<ITEM>Alcimus <HI>High-Prie&s;t.</HI> 147</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>His impiety.</HI> 148</ITEM>
<ITEM>Alexander <HI>M. his favour to the Jews.</HI> 27</ITEM>
<PB REF="101">
<ITEM><HI>Alterations whence.</HI> 18</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Ambition.</HI> 141</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Anointing of Kings.</HI> 127</ITEM>
<ITEM>Antigonns <HI>King.</HI> 149</ITEM>
<ITEM>Antiochus Epiphanes. 146</ITEM>
<ITEM>Apion cymbalum mundi. 3</ITEM>
<ITEM>Apollonius Scotus <HI>prai&s;ed.</HI> 70</ITEM>
<ITEM>Ari&s;tobulus <HI>King.</HI> 149</ITEM>
<ITEM>Ari&s;totle<HI>'s opinion of the Jews.</HI> 29, 30</ITEM>
<ITEM>Ari&s;t. <HI>cited</HI> 5, 8, 31, 119</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Arms of nature.</HI> 15</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Artificers, none among the Jews.</HI> 32</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Avarice, the hurt of it.</HI> 17</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Author.</HI> 1, 70, 74, 112, 114</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>B.</HEAD>
<ITEM>BAbylon <HI>enlarged by</HI> Ne|buch. 139</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Babylonian Jews.</HI> 62. <HI>Had not the Scepter.</HI> 69</ITEM>
<ITEM>Balaam's <HI>prophecy expounded.</HI> 154</ITEM>
<PB REF="101">
<ITEM><HI>Beginning of the Heb. Com.</HI> 59</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Benefit of the Jubily.</HI> 14</ITEM>
<ITEM>Bero&s;us <HI>Annals.</HI> 139</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Bible, &s;ome parts not to be read by Youth.</HI> 159. <HI>Forbidden the Jews by</HI> Trajan. 167 <HI>Not corrupted by the Jews</HI> 168</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Buriall of the dead.</HI> 55</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>C.</HEAD>
<ITEM>CAbala. 105</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Capitall offenders.</HI> 110</ITEM>
<ITEM>Ca&s;aubons exercit. 73. <HI>His prai&s;e.</HI> 74. <HI>His errour.</HI> 85</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Calendar corrected.</HI> 112</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Captivtty.</HI> 137</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Change of Laws.</HI> 58</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>City-life.</HI> 21</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Cities of refuge.</HI> 58</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>City, what.</HI> 110</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Colonies.</HI> 12</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Commands, three to be fulfild
<PB REF="102">in</HI> Pale&s;tin. 115</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>ommon-wealth founded by</HI> Mo&s;es. 2. <HI>When full of ene|mies.</HI> 18. <HI>The be&s;t.</HI> 31. <HI>Af|fixt to</HI> Pale&s;tin. 61</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Con&s;ecration of Cities.</HI> 44</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Councils of the Jews.</HI> 98, 108</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Country bred gollant men.</HI> 21</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Court of the Temple.</HI> 125</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>D.</HEAD>
<ITEM>DAvids <HI>Scepter.</HI> 91. <HI>Ever|la&s;ting throne.</HI> 153</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Day of expiation.</HI> 16</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Defection of the ten Tribes.</HI> 136</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Deformity.</HI> 104</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>De&s;olation of</HI> Jeru&s;alem. 56, 93</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Dominion &s;ecured by change.</HI> 113</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>E.</HEAD>
<ITEM><HI>EGyptians, their, idle life.</HI> 35</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Elders.</HI> 107</ITEM>
<PB REF="102">
<ITEM>Eli&s;ab's <HI>Sons.</HI> 142</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Ephod.</HI> 124</ITEM>
<ITEM>Ephorus <HI>his errour.</HI> 29</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Equality.</HI> 12</ITEM>
<ITEM>Eu&s;ebius <HI>confuted.</HI> 74, 82</ITEM>
<ITEM>Ezekiels <HI>ob&s;cure prophecy.</HI> 156</ITEM>
<ITEM>Ezra. 157</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>F.</HEAD>
<ITEM><HI>FAthers errour.</HI> 72. <HI>Unskil|full in the Hebrew text.</HI> 168</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Field laid to field.</HI> 20</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Fire on the Altaer.</HI> 129</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Fortification.</HI> 53</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>G.</HEAD>
<ITEM>GAbinius <HI>abates the power of</HI> Sanhedrin. 113</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Gardons and Woods in</HI> Baby|lon. 140</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>God, the ruler of the Heb. Com.</HI> 6. <HI>Why angry at the de&s;ire of a King.</HI> 117</ITEM>
<PB REF="103">
<ITEM><HI>Go&s;pell common to all Nations.</HI> 161</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Grecians Law-givers. Their ignorance of the Jews.</HI> 29</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>H.</HEAD>
<ITEM><HI>HA&s;moneans.</HI> 79</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Hebrews, why hated by the Egyptians</HI> 34</ITEM>
<ITEM>Hecateus <HI>prai&s;ed.</HI> 10</ITEM>
<ITEM>Herod <HI>King.</HI> 149. <HI>His cruelty.</HI> 150</ITEM>
<ITEM>Herodotus <HI>errour.</HI> 137</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>High Prie&s;t.</HI> 104</ITEM>
<ITEM>Hillel. 101, 111.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Hircanus. 150</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Holy of Holies.</HI> 50</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Holy ointment hid and lo&s;t with other things.</HI> 128</ITEM>
<ITEM>Homer <HI>hath not the name of Laws.</HI> 3</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Hou&s;es in Cities redeemed.</HI> 47</ITEM>
<PB REF="103">
<ITEM><HI>Husbandmen of</HI> Egypt <HI>lazy</HI> 38</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Husbandry prai&s;ed.</HI> 22</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>I.</HEAD>
<ITEM>JAcobs <HI>prophecy.</HI> 64</ITEM>
<ITEM>Jarchi. 153</ITEM>
<ITEM>Jeroboam. 83. <HI>His policy.</HI> 130. <HI>Turbulent.</HI> 134.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Idolatry puni&s;hed.</HI> 138</ITEM>
<ITEM>Idumaeans. 150</ITEM>
<ITEM>Jeru&s;alems <HI>&s;arstity.</HI> 48. <HI>Privi|lege.</HI> 54. <HI>The head City.</HI> 55 <HI>Her fall.</HI> 56</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Jews had no commerce with o|ther Nations.</HI> 28. <HI>Spred a|broad.</HI> 88. <HI>Knew not their Me&s;&s;ias.</HI> 161. <HI>Ca&s;t off.</HI> 162 <HI>Not without hope.</HI> 163. <HI>Their dignity.</HI> 164. <HI>Their ba&s;ene&s;s.</HI> 165. <HI>Our relation to them.</HI> 167. <HI>Our debt to them.</HI> 168</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Imperiall dignity.</HI> 64</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Impiety never quiet.</HI> 147</ITEM>
<PB REF="104">
<ITEM><HI>Impo&s;ition of hands.</HI> 100</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Jo&s;ephus again&s;t</HI> Apion <HI>prai|&s;ed.</HI> 3. Jo&s;. <HI>cited.</HI> 27, 50, 87, 151. <HI>His errour.</HI> 120</ITEM>
<ITEM>Jo&s;hua <HI>Captain Generall.</HI> 96</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Jubily, the benefit of it</HI> 14. <HI>the</HI> 49 <HI>year.</HI> 41. <HI>not kept after the captivity.</HI> 41</ITEM>
<ITEM>Judas Maccabaeus. 147 <HI>Prince and Prie&s;t.</HI> 149</ITEM>
<ITEM>Juda<HI>'s Scepter.</HI> 77</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Judges of</HI> Pale&s;tin <HI>and</HI> Baby|lon. 68</ITEM>
<ITEM>Juvenal <HI>cited.</HI> 36</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>K.</HEAD>
<ITEM><HI>KEepers of the Laws.</HI> 7</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Kings.</HI> 97</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>King created.</HI> 116. <HI>Qualities of a King.</HI> 118. <HI>Rules for him.</HI> 120. <HI>Pre&s;idents of Reli|gion.</HI> 122. <HI>Dignity.</HI> 123 <HI>King and Prie&s;t.</HI> 126. <HI>A|nointed.</HI> 127</ITEM>
<PB REF="104">
<ITEM><HI>Kingdom of the Levites.</HI> 149</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Of the Me&s;&s;ias.</HI> 155</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>L.</HEAD>
<ITEM>LAelius <HI>his wi&s;dom.</HI> 19</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Law of Jubily.</HI> 23</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Laws, none written before</HI> Mo|&s;es. 4. <HI>Impartiall.</HI> 8. Stolo<HI>'s Law.</HI> 18</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Law-givers, their honour.</HI> 2 <HI>The Grecian.</HI> 3</ITEM>
<ITEM>Levi <HI>and</HI> Benjamin <HI>called Jews.</HI> 85</ITEM>
<ITEM>Levites <HI>portion.</HI> 46. <HI>Office.</HI> 122 <HI>Reign.</HI> 141</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Liberty pretended, to en&s;lave,</HI> 134</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>M.</HEAD>
<ITEM><HI>MAgi&s;trates:</HI> 106</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Maje&s;ty of the Empire.</HI> 76. <HI>In the people of</HI> Rome. 79</ITEM>
<ITEM>Maimonides <HI>prai&s;ed.</HI> 13. <HI>Cited.</HI> 16, 25, 41, 49, 61, 64, 68, 101, 102, 108, 115, 155</ITEM>
<PB REF="105">
<ITEM><HI>Man&s;langhter expiated.</HI> 111</ITEM>
<ITEM>Mana&s;&s;es <HI>High-Prie&s;t.</HI> 144</ITEM>
<ITEM>Matthias <HI>the Ha&s;monean.</HI> 146</ITEM>
<ITEM>Ma&s;orites <HI>diligence and fide|lity.</HI> 169</ITEM>
<ITEM>Mem clau&s;um. 154</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Merchants.</HI> 30</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Me&s;&s;ias.</HI> 93, 153. <HI>Reign.</HI> 157</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Mode&s;ty in opinion.</HI> 158</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Monarchs, the Judges and Dictators &s;o &s;tiled.</HI> 96</ITEM>
<ITEM>Mo&s;es, <HI>the fir&s;t Law-giver.</HI> 2 <HI>More than man.</HI> 7. <HI>The &s;tabi|lity of his Law.</HI> 8</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>N.</HEAD>
<ITEM>NEbuchadonozor. 139</ITEM>
<ITEM>Nero <HI>petition'd by the Jews.</HI> 50</ITEM>
<ITEM>Nilus <HI>fruitfull.</HI> 39</ITEM>
<ITEM>Noahs <HI>&s;even precepts.</HI> 5</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>O.</HEAD>
<ITEM><HI>ORdinances of the Jews.</HI> 9</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Opificers illiberall.</HI> 33</ITEM>
<PB REF="105">
<ITEM>Onias <HI>High-Prie&s;t.</HI> 145. <HI>Re|newed his fore-skin.</HI> 146</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>P.</HEAD>
<ITEM>PAle&s;tin. 9. <HI>Fruitfulne&s;s thereof.</HI> 11, 43. <HI>Divided by</HI> Jo&s;hua. 16</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Pa&s;torall life.</HI> 20</ITEM>
<ITEM>Paul <HI>interpreted.</HI> 164. <HI>His charity to the Jews.</HI> 168</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Peace of</HI> Jeru&s;alem. 133</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Peace lo&s;t by appropriating what was common.</HI> 12</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Per&s;onage goodly.</HI> 119</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Per&s;ecution of the Jews.</HI> 167</ITEM>
<ITEM>Pharaohs <HI>policy.</HI> 37</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Plebeians &s;ingle and in con|junction.</HI> 106</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Peoples Maje&s;ty.</HI> 78. <HI>Jealous of Superiors.</HI> 134</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Po&s;&s;e&s;sions too ample.</HI> 17</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Prie&s;tly kingdom.</HI> 122</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Princes made by providence.</HI> 131</ITEM>
<PB REF="106">
<ITEM><HI>Progre&s;s into &s;cience.</HI> 160</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Prophecies.</HI> 92</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Prophets not peri&s;h out of</HI> Je|ru&s;alem. 105</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>Q.</HEAD>
<ITEM><HI>QUe&s;tion of</HI> Juda<HI>'s &s;cepter di&s;cu&s;&s;ed.</HI> 71</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Quiet of Common|wealths.</HI> 132</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>R.</HEAD>
<ITEM><HI>REa&s;on and prudence.</HI> 5</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Redemption of Land.</HI> 15 <HI>Of hou&s;es.</HI> 47</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Refuge.</HI> 57</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Religion keeps in awe.</HI> 9. <HI>The &s;oul of the Common-wealth.</HI> 65. <HI>The cement.</HI> 135. <HI>Po|litickly changed.</HI> 136</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Return of the Jews.</HI> 141</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Roman Common-wealth.</HI> 21 <HI>Power.</HI> 89</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Royall Prie&s;t-hood.</HI> 160</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Rule, the flagrant de&s;ire of it.</HI> 7</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<PB REF="106">
<HEAD>S.</HEAD>
<ITEM>SAmaria <HI>an imperiall &s;eat</HI> 135</ITEM>
<ITEM>Sameas. 101, 150</ITEM>
<ITEM>Samuel. 97, 118</ITEM>
<ITEM>Sanballets <HI>enterprize.</HI> 144</ITEM>
<ITEM>Sanhedrin. 51, 78, 98</ITEM>
<ITEM>Saul. 118</ITEM>
<ITEM>Scaliger <HI>mi&s;taken.</HI> 102</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Scepter of</HI> Juda. 64</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Schi&s;maticall Jews.</HI> 65</ITEM>
<ITEM>Scipio African. 132</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Secrets to be admired.</HI> 159</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Sedition brings ruin.</HI> 135</ITEM>
<ITEM>Semiramis. 140</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Senators.</HI> 98, 126</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Sepulchers.</HI> 54</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Servants relea&s;ed.</HI> 16</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Servitude dwarfs the mind.</HI> 166</ITEM>
<ITEM>Se&s;o&s;tris. 35</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Seventh year.</HI> 26</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Shepheards active.</HI> 36</ITEM>
<PB REF="107">
<ITEM><HI>Solemnity of Jubily.</HI> 16</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Soveraignty.</HI> 97</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>State, every &s;tate breeds di&s;ea|&s;es.</HI> 133</ITEM>
<ITEM>Stolo <HI>violates his own Law.</HI> 18</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Subjection preferd before Li|berty.</HI> 116</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Succe&s;&s;oy.</HI> 118</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>T.</HEAD>
<ITEM>TAlmud <HI>quoted.</HI> 14, 25, 48, 102, 154</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Temple, the voice there.</HI> 55 <HI>Only at</HI> Jeru&s;alem. 66</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Temple in</HI> Garizin 145</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Ten tribes captive.</HI> 86, 137</ITEM>
<ITEM>Theocracy. 6</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Territories enlarged.</HI> 57</ITEM>
<ITEM>Tiberius. 166</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Times ordered.</HI> 111</ITEM>
<ITEM>Titus. 167</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Trade.</HI> 28. <HI>Inherited.</HI> 35</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Tran&s;lation of Nations.</HI> 137</ITEM>
<PB REF="107">
<ITEM><HI>Tribute heavy, an occa&s;ion of rebellion.</HI> 131</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Truth before affection.</HI> 75</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>V.</HEAD>
<ITEM>VArro <HI>cited.</HI> 21</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Vertue lo&s;t by want of exerci&s;e.</HI> 20</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Vici&s;situde.</HI> 133</ITEM>
<ITEM>Urim <HI>and</HI> Thummim. 51, 124</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>W.</HEAD>
<ITEM><HI>VVAr.</HI> 105</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Wealth without op|pre&s;sion.</HI> 13</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>X.</HEAD>
<ITEM>XEnophanes <HI>his &s;aying.</HI> 158</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>Y.</HEAD>
<ITEM><HI>YEar of re&s;t.</HI> 42. <HI>The &s;ixt years fruitfulne&s;s.</HI> 43</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Leap-year.</HI> 111</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>Z.</HEAD>
<ITEM>R. ZAcuth. 112, 129, 167</ITEM>
</LIST>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BACK>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
