the skillfull amongst them say Signifying the Lord which containeth heauen and earth For Iesu according to the old Hebrew signifieth heauen and the Earth is called Sura vsser Thus that father in his second booke against Heretickes Cap. 41. on which words I can criticke onely with deepe silence Onely for his two letters and ½ I take his meaning to bee according to the Iewes writing of the name Iesu 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 who denie him the last letter of his name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because they deny him for a Sauiour So the Dutch Iew Elias Leuitae saith in expresse words The Christians say that their Messias was called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the commandement of the Angell Gabriel because he should saue all the world from Gehinnom but because the Iewes doe not confesse that hee is a Sauiour therefore they will not call him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ieshuang but they leaue 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the last letter out and call him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Iesu. After this kind of writing as Irenaeus saith the word consisteth of two letters 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and halfe a letter that is which may be so called because it is so little The Chaldee writes the name of God with two Iods aboue and a vowell vnder thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 From hence some haue picked an expression of the Trinity In the two letters the Father and the Sonne and in the vowell the Holy Ghost proceeding from both And from the aequidistance of the letters and vowell they gather the distinction of the Persons and by the neerenesse of all the vnity of Essence Such another conceit hath Bonfinius in his Hungarian Historie When the Heresie of Arrius saith he had got head almost ouer all the world and was dilated as well by persecution as by disputation a towne in Gaule was besieged because it held the Orthodox faith of the Sons coequalitie with the Father God to confirme this their faith shewed this miracle As the Priest was at high Masse at the Altar behold three drops of blood fell from heauen vpon the Altar lying a while in an equall distance one from another to shew the distinction of the three Persons at last in sight of all the People they met together to shew the vnity of Essence so the story But we haue a more sure word of Prophecie That there are three that beare record in Heauen the Father the Word and the holy Spirit and these three are one The Chaldee sometimes vseth the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dehhila and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dahhalah feare or terror for God because of the feare that is due to him So Iacob comming from Syria and being to sweare to a Syrian sweares according to this Syrian or Chaldee Phrase By the feare of his father Isaac Gen. 31.53 or by the God that Isaac feared as Onkelos and Ionathan render it CAP. III. Of the Phrase The Sonnes of God Gen. 6. and Iob. 1. ALL take this Phrase in Iob to meane the Angells and truely in which sense while they haue taken it in the sixt of Genesis they spoile all For hence they think that Angels lay with women and begat children So can Iarchi almost find in his heart to think and so Tertullian Lactantius and others Some tell what euill Arts these Angells taught women and how they begat mighty children of them How farre this conceit is from true Philosophie let Aristotle censure Merlin in Geffry Monmouth is recorded to be such another hatch beleeue it who list His veine of Prophecying can make Alanus de Insulis thinke it is so but I must needs confesse it comes not into my Creed As some conceit that the fallen Angels or Deuills here begat children of women so the Iewes most wickedly fable that Adam begat children of Deuills Those hundred and thirtie yeares say they that Adam was separated from Eue Deuills came to him and he ingendred with them and begat Deuills and spirits and fiends And againe Foure women are the mothers of Shedhim or Deuills Lilith Naamah Ogereth and Mahlath I beleeue both these alike for I beleeue that neither is likely Both the Chaldees Onkelos and Ionathan render the sonnes of Elohim the sonnes of the Potentates or Iudges taking the word Elohim in the same sense that it is taken in the middlemost verse of the booke of Exodus Cap. 22.28 Thou shalt not curse Elohim or the Iudges This opinion is farre better then the former but Christians haue a better then this That the house and progenie of holy Seth are the sonnes of God or the Church and the brood of Cains females were the Daughters of men Cypriano di valera in his Spanish translation of Gen. 4. and the last verse translates it thus Entonces commenciaron llamarse Then begun men to be called by the name of God or by the name of the Lord And in the margin hee explanes himselfe thus that then the men of Seths house began to bee a publike Church and to be distinguished from Cains family and to be called the sons of God Gen. 6.2 CAP. IIII. Of the Phrase Sonnes of Man THis Phrase is frequent in Scripture and Rabbin Hebrew but most frequent in Chaldee and Syrian Bene Anasha Bar nosho In the latter of which the Syrian vsually writeth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but leaueth out the first letter as that tongue doth frequently in other words vse the like ecclipsis writing not as they reade as it is said of the French Ezekiel in his Prophecie in Scripture Hebrew is frequently called sonne of man Why so often he and no other Prophet should be so stiled reasons are giuen by diuerse To mee though farre inferiour to all them the groundworke seemeth to bee because his Prophecie was written in Chaldean captiuitie hee vseth the Chaldean Phrase Sonne of man that is O man The same Phrase Daniel vseth in Chaldaea Dan. 10.16 CAP. V. Of Iaphets plantation by his sonne Iauan IAuan is generally held to be Greece And the Greeke tongue is by all Hebrewes called the speech of Iauan The Arabians do so stile the same language The Syrian in Romans the first chapter verse 16. calls the Grecians 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vpon what reason I cannot imagine Iauan the sonne of Iaphet is held to haue planted or peopled this country in memorie of whose name the Iones are famous monuments Moses saith hee had foure sonnes Elisha Tarshish Cittim Dodonim which it is likely planted all the country of Greece as farre as into Italie Elisha and Dodonim dwelt at first neere together and so did Tarshish and Cittim but their posteritie scattered farre and neere The Ierusalem and Babilon Targums doe almost resolued vs of these foure mens plantation For Ionathan reades the fourth verse of the tenth of Genesis thus And the sonnes of Iauan Elisha Elis Tarsus Acacia and Dardania Ieruselamy thus And the sonnes of Iauan Elisha and the names of their
temptations as Sathan doth and yet that God doth tempt men So hee is said in plaine words to haue tempted Abraham And Rabbi Tanchum wittily obserues that Abrahams two great temptations begin both with one straine 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Get thee gone The first Get thee gone out of thy country from thy kindâ—ed and fathers house Gen. 12. the second Get thee gone to the land of Moriah and offer thy sonne Isaac vpon one of the mountaines Gen. 22. May we not safely say here that God lead Abraham into temptation But as it followes liberautt à malo God deliuered him from the euill of the temptation which is being ouercome And Saint Iames saith sweetly though at first he may seeme to croste this Petition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Brethren account it all ioy when ye fall into diuerse temptations Iac. 1.2 to be in temptation is ioy for God chastiseth euery sonne that he receiueth and yet pray lead vs not into temptation but deliuer vs from euill let the latter comment vpon the first lead vs not into the euill of temptation which in the Apostles Phrase is suffer vs not to bee tempted aboue our strength CAP. XXII Septuaginta interpreters I Will not with Clemens Iosephus Austen Epiphanius and others spend time in locking them vp seuerally in their closets to make their translation the more admirable I will onely mind that They did the worke of this translation against their will and therefore we must expect but slipperie doing And that appeares by them Their additions variations and without doubt ouersights may well argue with what a will they went about this businesse It were easie to instance in thousands of places How they adde men and yeares Gen. 5. and 10. and 11. and 46. How they add matter of their owne heads as how they helpe Iobs wife to skold Iob 2. adding there a whole verse of female passion I must now saith she go wander vp and downe and haue no place to rest in and so forth And so Iob 1.21 Naked came I out of my mothers wombe and naked shall I returne thither the Lord hath giuen and the Lord hath taken away euen as pleasâ—th the Lord so come things to passe blessed be the name of the Lord which clause euen as pleaseth the Lord so come things to passe is not in the Hebrew but is added by them and so is it taken from them into our common prayer booke in that paâ—t of the manner of buriall To trace them in their mistakes is pretty to see how their vnpricked Bible deceiued them As to instance in one or two for a tast Hebrew Gen. 15.11 It is said that the birds light vpon the carcasses and Abraham droue them away in Heâ—rew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vaijashhebh Iudges 5.8 The Hebrew saith they choose new gods then 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 lahhem shegnarim was warre in the gates Iudges 7.11 The Hebrew saith and hee and Phurah his seruant went downe to the quarter or side of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hhamushim the armed men Septuag They reade in stead of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vajashhebh hee droue them away 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vajeshhebh hee sate by them and of this Saint Austen makes goodly Allegories They say they chose new gods as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 lehhem segnorim barly bread They say he and his seruant Pharah went downe to the quarter of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hhamishim fiâ—ty men Thus doe they vary in a world of places which the expert may easily see and smile at I omit how they vary names of men and places I will trouble you with no more but one which they comment as it were to helpe a difficulty 1. King 12.2 It is said of Ieroboam that hee dwelt in Egypt 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vaijeshhebh bemitzraijm 2. Chron. 10.2 It is said that he reâ—urned from Aegypt 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vaijashobh mimmitzraijm The septuagint heales this thus thus translating 2. Chron. 10.2 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And he had dwelt in Aegypt and he returned out of Aegypt Such is the manner of that worke of the Greeke Now to examine the Authoritie of this wee shall find it wonderfull That some of the Iewish Synagogues read the old Testament in Greeke and not in Hebrew Tertullian seemeth to witnesse But those were Iewes out of Canaan for they were not so skilfull in the Greeke tongue in Canaan for ought I can find as to vnderstand it so familiarly if they had beene I should haue thought the septuagint to bee the booke that was giuen to Christ in the Synagogue Luke 2.17 Because his text that he reades does nearer touch the Greeke then the Hebrew But I know their tongue was the Mesladoed Chaldee The greatest authority of this translation appeareth in that the holy Greeke of the new Testament doth so much follow it For as God vsed this translation for a Harbinger to the fetching in of the Gentiles so when it was growen into Authority by the time of Christs comming it seemed good to his infinite wisdome to adde to its Authority himselfe the better to forward the building of the Church And admirable it is to see with what sweetnesse and Harmony the New Testament doth follow this translation sometime euen besides the letter of the old to shew that he that gaue the old may and can best expound it in the new CAP. XXIII The Septuagint ouer-authorized by some SOme there were in the Primitiue Church like the Romanists now that preferred this translation of the Greeke as they do the vulgar Latine before the Hebrew fountaine Of these Saint Austen speakes of their opinion herein and withall giues his owne in his fifteenth booke de Ciuitate Dei Cap. 11.13.14 where treating of Methushelahs liuing foureteene yeares after the flood according to the Greeke translation Hence came saith he that famous question where to lodge Methuselah all the time of the flood Some hold saith he that he was with his father Enoch who was translated and that he liued with him there till the flood was past They hold thus as being loath to derogate from the â—uthority of those bookes quos in autoriâ—atem celebriorem suscepit ecclesia which the Church hath entertained into more renowned Authority And thinking that the bookes of the Iewes rather then these do mistake and erre For they say that it is not credible that the seuentie Interpreters which translated at one time and in one sense could err or wouldly or erre where it concerned them not But that the Iewes for enuy they beare to vs seeing the Law and Prophets are come to vs by their interpretation haue changed some things in their bookes that the Authority of ours might be lessened This is their opinion Now his owne he giues Cap. 13. in these words Let that tongue be rather beleeued out of which a translation is made into another by Interpreters and in Cap. 14. The truth of things must be fetched
Prouinces Alastarasom and Dodonia Which last word Alastarasom I take to be mistaken by joyning two words together and missing the last letter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mem for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Samech which is easily done they bee so like The word Alastarasom should without doubt be Alas or Elis Tarsus Elis frequent in all Authours Eilision in Homer in Baeot. Elensine in Plutarch in Theseo are places in Greece bearing the name of their old planter Elisha Dodonim is registred in the name of old Dodona Tarshish left a memoriall of himselfe in Cilicia in the Citie Tarsus Which was as Pliny saith vrbs libera a free Citie nat hist. lib. 5. and Saint Paul is free of that Citie Act. 22. Tarshish in Gen. 10. is the name of a man in Ionah 13. in Chald. Par. it is vsed for the sea In Exod. 28. for a pearle in Act. 22 the name of a Towne I thinke I may safely suppose that the towne tooke the name from the man the sea from the towne and the pearle from the sea Cittim got into the I le Cyprus neere his brother Tarshish from him that Iland in old time was called Cethin as Ant. di Gueuara nameth it in Relox de los princip And the men of Cyprus acknowledged Cythnon quendam one Cythnus or Cittim for their predecessor as saith Herodotus lib. 7. That Iland sent out colonies further to replenish the Westerne world who bare the memorie and name of their father Cittim with them all along as they went Macedon or Macetia is called Cittim 1. Mac. 1.1 At last they ariued in Italy which is called Cittim Num. 24.24 and so rendered by the Chaldees Thus Iauans posteritie grew great in Greece and Italy and at last sent vs men ouer into these Isles of the Gentiles CAP. VI. Of Iewish Learning THe Iewes chiefe studies are about the Scriptures or about the Hebrew tongue but some haue dealt in other matters Their tongue is their chiefe learning which is indeed the ground of all sacred knowledge In it some are most ignorant and some againe as accurate They value it so highly that the mistaking of a letter in it say they destroyes the world He that in this verse En kadosh caihouah readeth Beth for Caph makes it there is no holinesse in Iehouah and destroyeth the world He that will may see most copious worke of this nicety in Tauch on Gen. 1. How nimble textualists and Grammarians for the tongue the Rabbins are their Comments can witnes But as in Chaucer the greatest Clarkes are not the wisest men so among them these that are so great textualists are not best at the text In humane Arts some of them haue practised Kimchi and Leuita for Grammar Rabbi Simeon for logicke and others in other things as Buxdorfius in his collection of Iewish Authors will fully satisfie CAP. VII Of the Talmud WHo so nameth the Talmud nameth all Iudaisme and who so nameth Mishneh and Gemara hee nameth all the Talmud And so saith Leuita Hattalmudh nehhlak c. The Talmud is diuided into two parts the one part is called Mishneh and the other part is called Gemara and these two together are called the Talmud This in the Iewes Councell of Trent the foundation and groundworke of their religion For they beleeue the Scripture as the Talmud beleeues for they hold them of equall authority Rabbi Tanchum the sonne of Hanilai saith let a man alwaies part his life into three parts A third part for the Scriptures a third part for Mishneh and a third part for Gemara Two for one two parts for the Talmud for one for the Scriptures So highly doe they Papist-like prize the vaine traditions of men This great library of the Iewes is much alike such another worke vpon the old Testament as Thomas Aquinas his Catena aurea is vpon the new For this is the summe of all their Doctors conceits and descants vpon the law as his is a collection of all the Fathers explications and comments vpon the Gospells For matter it is much like Origens bookes of old vbi bene nemo melius c. and where they write well none better and where ill none worse The word Talmud is the same in Hebrew that Doctrine is in Latine and Doctrinall in our vsuall speech It is say the Iewes a Commentary vpon the written law of God And both the law and this say they God gaue to Moses the law by day and by writing and this by night and by word of mouth The Law was kept by writing still this still by tradition Hence comes the distinction so frequent in Rabbins of Torah she baccathubh and Torah she begnal peh the law in writing and the law that comes by word of mouth Moses say they receiued the law from Sinai this traditionall law I thinke they meane and deliuered it to Ioshuah Ioshuah to the Elders the Elders to the Prophets and the Prophets to the men of the great Synagogue And thus like fame in Virgil creuit eundo like a snow-ball it grew bigger with going Thus doe they father their fooleries vpon Moses and Elders and Prophets who good men neuer thought of such fancies as the Romanists for their Traditions can find bookes of Clemens Dionysius and others who neuer dreamed of such matters Against this their traditionall our Sauiour makes part of his Sermon in the mount Matth. 5. But he touched the Iewes freehold when he touched their Talmud for greater treasure in their conceits they had none like Cleopatra in Plutarch making much of the Viper that destroyed them CAP. VIII Talmudisme TO omit the time when it was written and the distinction of Ierusalem and Babilon Talmud the chiefe end of them both as they thinke is to explane the old Testament The titles of the bookes shew their intents Pesachin about the Passeouer Sanhedrin about the high Courts Beracoth about thankesgiuing Sometime they comment sometime they allude sometime controuert sometime fable For this booke containes their common law and ciuill and commonly some things aboue all law and ciuility To instance in one or two that by Hercules foot ye may guesse his body Iudges 9.13 It is said by the vine shall I leaue my wine which cheereth God and man How doth wine cheere God Rabbi Akibhah saith because men giue God thankes for it There also they question or controuert whether a man should giue thankes or say grace for his meate and drinke before he taste it And otherwhere whether a man may blesse God for the sweet smell of incense which hee smells offered to Idols Whether a man may light a candle at another candle that burnes in a candlesticke that hath images on it Whether a man at his Deuotions if a Serpent come and bite him by the heele may turne and stoppe to shake her off or no which question Rabbi Tanchum answers very profoundly that they must not so much as shake the foot to get a Serpent off and
paines to prooue the text vncorrupt against a gaine saying Papist For they haue summed vp all the letters in the Bible to shew that one haire of that sacred head is not perished Eight â—undred eight and fourty marginall â—otes are obserued and preserued for the more facility of the text The middle verse of euery booke noted the number of the verses in euery booke reckoned and as I said before not a vowell that misseth ordinary Grammar which is not marked So that if we had no other surety for the truth of the old Testament text these mens paines me thinks should be enough to stop the mouth of a daring Papist CAP. XIIII Of the marginall readings THat the margin should so often helpe the text as I may so say as in 848. places may seeme to taxe the text of so many errours But the learned can find a reason why it is so I hope I may satisfie my selfe without any hurt with this reason till mâ— learning will affoord mee a better Namely that when they tooke iâ— hand to reuiew the Bible after the captiuity as all hold Ezra did that they did it by more coppies then one which when they thus varied they would not forsake either because they were loath to add or diminish therefore they tooke euen their varying one in the text and the other in the margin Yet doe I not thinke it was done onely thus without some more speciall matter in some places for the writing of Nagnarah so often Nagnar does make mee thinke if I had nothing els to perswade me that these marginals are not only humane corrections CAP. XV. Ex Kimchio in Ionah 1. KImchi questioning why the book of Ionah should bee Canonicall c. giues one most comfortable reason which vpon reading I could not but muse on His words are obseruable and they are these It is questionable why this Prophecie is written among the holy Scriptures since it is all against Niniueh which was Heathennish and in it there is no remembrance or mention of Israel and among all the Prophets besides this there is not the like But we may expound it that it is written to be a checke to Israel for loe a strange People which were not of Israel was ready to repent and euen the first time that a Prophet reproued them they turned wholly from their euill But Israel whom the Prophets reproued early and late yet they returned not from their euill Againe this booke was written to shew the great miracle that the blessed God did with the Prophet who was three dayes and three nights in the belly of the fish and yet liued and the fish cast him vp againe Againe to teach vs that the blessed God sheweth mercy to the repentant of what nation soeuer and pardons them though they bee many Haec Kimchi Vpon whose last words I cannot but enter into these thoughts Could wee looke for a truth from a Iew or comfort from a Spaniard And yet here the Spanish Iew affoords vs both comfortable truth and true comfort God will pardon the Repentant there is a comfortable truth and hee will pardon them of what nation soeuer if they repent there is most true comfort When a Iew thus preaches repentance I cannot but hearken and helpe him a little out with his Sermon That as God is ready to forgiue the Repentant of what Nation soeuer so for what sinnes soeuer if they be truly repented Here I except the impardonable sinne the sinne against the Holy Ghost which what it is the Scripture conceales in close words partly because we should not despaire if wee fall our selues and partly because wee should not censure damnably of our brethren if they fall into a sinne that is nigh this so that not into it To maintaine the Iewes words and mine owne for pardon of Nations and of finnes I haue as large a field as all the Countries and all the sinnes of the world to looke ouer I will onely for Countries confine my selfe to Niniueh and for sinnes to Mary Magdalen Niniueh a heathen towne built by a wicked brood inhabited by a wicked crew yet repenting Niniueh is pardoned Mary Magdalen a manifold sinner a customary sinner a most deadly sinner yet repenting Mary Magdalen is forgiuen The Iew brings me into two christian meditations about Niniueh or into two wholesome Passions Feare and Hope God sees the sinnes of Niniueh then I know mine are not hid this breeds in me feare of punishment But God forgiues the sinnes of Niniueh then I hope mine are not vnpardonable this breeds hope of forgiuenesse Col debhaurau she amar lehareang libhne Adam saith the Rabbin bithnai im lo jashubhu All the euills that God threatens to men are threatned with this condition if they doe not repent As before the Iew spake comfort and truth so here hee linkes comfort and terrour God threatens euill there is terrour but it is with condition there is comfort Niniueh finds both in the story Fourty dayes and Niniueh shall be destroyed there is a threatned terrour But the Lord repented of the euill that hee spake to doe vnto them and did it not there is a comforting condition So that as Dauid does so will I hopefully and yet fearefully sing of mercy and judgement First mercy then iudgement Mercy vpon my repentance lest I bee cast downe and Iudgement vpon my sinnes lest I be lifted vp Mercy in Iudgement and Iudgement in mercy Is there any one that desperatly reiects Niniuehs exhibited mercy let him feare Niniuehs threatned iudgment or is there any that trembles at Niniuehs threatned Iudgement let him comfort himselfe by Niniuehs obtaining mercy But in the mouth of two witnesses let the mercy bee confirmed Let mee take Mary Magdalen with Niniueh and as I see in it the forgiuenesse of a multitude of sinners so I may see in her of a multitude of sinnes Those many sinners pardoned as one man those many sinnes made as none at all Saint Bernard speaking of her washing of Christs feet saies shee came thither a sinner but shee went thence a Saint She came thither an Aethiope and a leopard but shee went thence with changed skin and cancelled spots But how was this done She fell at the feet of Christ and with sighs from her heart she vomited the sinnes from her soule Prosternere tu anima mea as saith the same Bernard And cast thou thy selfe downe oh my soule before the feet of Christ wipe them with thine haires wash them with thy teares which teares washing his feet may also purge thy soule Wash his feet and wash thy selfe with Mary Magdalen till hee say to thee as hee did to Marie Magdalen thy sinnes are forgiuen CAP. XVI Of sacrifice SAcrifice is within a little as old as sinne and sinne not much younger then the world Adam on the day of his creation as is most probable sinneth and sacrificeth and on the next day after meditates on that wherunto his sacrifice aimeth
light heart but where the guiltinesse grones heauy too the gold is worth nothing At last the murderers conscience accuseth and condemnes him like both witnesse and Iudge for his bloudy fact His heart and eyes are both cast downe the one as farre as hell whither the fact had sunke and the other to the earth whither the bloud He is now wearie of his owne life as ere-while he was of anothers He ties his purse of gold which had hired him to kill the other about his necke and offers it to euery one he meets as his reward if he would kill him At last hee is paid in his owne coine and hires his owne murderer with that price wherewith he himselfe was hired And so perish all such whose feet are swift to shed bloud and he that strikes with an vnlawfull sword be strucken with a lawfull againe This mans case makes mee to thinke of Cain the old grandsire of all murderers Of his heauy doome and misery and burden and banishment Dauid once groaned vnder the burden of blood-guiltinesse but God at his repenting eased him Psal. 51. Iudas takes a worse course then euen Cain did to bee released of the sting of bloudshed Mat. 27. God grant I neuer know what it is to bee guilty of shedding of bloud but onely by reading CAP. XVIII Of the name of the Red Sea IN Hebrew it is called Suph the sea of weeds Because saith Kimchi there grew abundance of weeds vpon the sides of it In Greeke Latine and English and other Westerne tongues it is commonly called the Red Sea Diuerse reasons are giuen by diuerse persons why it is so called the best seemes to me to be from the rednesse of the ground about it And so Herodotus speakes of a place thereabout called Erythrobolus or the red soile It is thought our country tooke the name of Albion from the like occasion but not like colour As from the white rocks or clifts vpon the sea side The Iewes hold that Whale that swallowed Ionah brought him into the Red Sea and there shewed him the way that Israel passed through it for his eyes were as two windowes to Ionah that he looked out and saw all the sea as he went A whetstone yet they will needs haue some reason for this loudly and this is it because Ionah in Cap. 2.5 saith Suph hhabhush leroshi which is the weeds were wrapped about my head which they construe the Red Sea was wrapped about my head And to helpe the Whale thither Rabbi Iaphet saith that the Red Sea meets with the sea of Iapho or the Mediterranean vnlesse the Rabbin meanes that they meet vnder ground guesse what a Geographer he was and if hee find a way vnder ground guesse what a deepe scholler A long iourney it was for the Whale to go vp to Hercules pillars into the Ocean and from thence to the Red Sea in three dayes and nights but the fabling Iewes must find some sleight to maintaine their owne inuentions CAP. XIX Of the word Raca Mat. 5.22 WHosoeuer shall say vnto his brother Raca shall be worthy to bee punished by the Councell The word is a Iewish nick-name and so vsed in the Talmud for a despitefull title to a despised man as Our Rabbins shew a thing done with a religious man that was praying in the high way by comes a great man and giues him the time of the day but he saluted him not againe He stayed for him till he had finished his prayer after he had done his prayer he said to him Reka is it not written in your law that you shall take heed to your selues Had I strucke off thy head with my sword who should haue required thy bloud c. And so goes the angry man on Irenaeus hath a Phrase nigh to the signification of this word qui expuit cerebrum a man that hath no braines and so Raka signifies a man emptie whether of vnderstanding or goodnesse so the Greeke word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is frequently taken CAP. XX. Wit stollen by Iewes out of the Gospell Gospell OVR Sauiour saith to His Disciples the haruest truly is great but the labourers are few Matth. 9.38 Whosoeuer heareth these sayings and doth them I will liken him to a man that built his house vpon a rock And the raine descended and flouds came c. And euery one that heareth these sayings and doth them not shal be likened to a foolish man that built his house vpon the sand Mat. 7.24 25. c. Of euery idle word that men speake they shall giue account therof at the day of Iudgement Mat. 12.36 With what measure you mete it shall be measured to you againe Mat. 7.2 Iewes RAbbi Simeon saith today is the haruest and the worke is much and the labourers idle and the reward great and the Master of the house vrgent Pirk Abhoth Per. 2. He that learneth the law and doth many good works is like a man that built his house the foundatiō of stone and the rest of bricke and the waters beate and the stone stood c. But hee that learneth the law and doth not many good workes is like a man that built his house the foundation of brick and the rest of stone c. and the brick wasted c. Abhoth Rabbi Nathan The very same words almost in Orehhoth hhajmi Rabbi Mair saith with the measure that a man measureth they measure to him againe Sanhedrin The whole Lords Prayer might almost be picked out of their workes for they deny not the words though they contradict the force of it The first words of it they vse frequently as Our father which art in heauen in their common prayer booke fol. 5. and Humble your hearts before your father which is in heauen in Rosh hashaua But they haue as much deuotion toward the Father while they denie the Sonne as the Heathens had which could say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Our father Iupiter and worshipped an vnknowne god Act. 17. They pray almost in euery other prayer Thy kingdome come and that Bimherah bejamenu quickly euen in our dayes but it is for an earthly kingdome they thus looke and pray They pray lead me not into temptation fol. 4. liturg while they tempt him that lead them in the wildernesse as did their father Psal. 95. By this Gospell which they thus filch they must be judged CAP. XXI Saint Cyprians nicety about the last Petition in the Lords Prayer SAint Cyprian it seemeth is so fearefull of making God the Author of euill that he will not thinke that God leadeth any man into temptation The Petition he readeth thus Ne nos patiaris induci in tentationem suffer vs not to be lead into temptation but deliuer vs from euill leauing the ordinanary current and truth of the Prayer because hee will not bee accessary to imagine that God should lead man into temptation whereas all men as well as he do thinke that God doth not leade man into euill
Aegypt is strucke with death of the first borne and the Aegyptians are now punished with death of their Children for murthering Israels children This night was ill to them but the night in the Red Sea was worse At the death of a lambe Aegypt is destroyed Israel deliuered So by the death of a lamb Hell is destroyed Mankinde deliuered When Israel comes out of Egypt they bring vp with them Iosephs bones and so as hee brought them downe thither so they bring him vp thence So when Christ comes vp out of his graue hee brings dead bones with him by raising some out of their graues I cannot thinke it idle that the Passeouer was at night and that S. Paul saith the Israelites were baptized in the sea which was also by night and in the cloud but to shew that these sacraments of Israel looked for a dawning when the true light which they foresignified should appeare The Iewes do find thirteene precepts negatiue and affirmatiue about the keeping of the Passeouer 1. The slaying of it Exod. 12.6 2. The eating of it 8. 3. Not to eate it raw or boiled 9. 4. Not to leaue ought of it 10. 5. The putting away of leauen 15. 6. The eating of vnleauened bread 18. 7. That leauen be not found with them 19. 8. Not to eate ought mixt with leauen 20. 9. An Apostata Iew not to eate it 43. 10. A stranger not to eat it 45. 11. Not to bring forth the flesh of it 46. 12. Not to breake a bone of it 46. 13. No vncircumcised to eate of it 48. How variously they comment vpon these as they doe vpon all things and how ouercurious they be in obseruing these as they doe all things their writings do witnesse Their folding of their bitter hearbes their three vnleauened cakes their water and salt their searching for leauen their casting forth of leauen and their cursing of leauen their graces ouer their tables their prayers ouer their hands as they wash them their words ouer their vnleauened bread their remembring how they liued in Aegypt and came out their words ouer their bitter hearbes their Passeouer Psalmes the 113. and 114. all these and their other Ceremonies are set downe accurately in their Common prayer booke which I would not haue denied to the reader in English both for his recreation satisfaction and some instruction but that I know not whether I should actum agere doe that which some one hath done before And besides I write these things not as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not set studies but stolne houres employing my idle houres to the writing of these studies that I may witnesse to some that my whole time is not idle But it may be I may seeme more idle in thus writing then if I had beene idle indeed to them that thinke thus I can onely answer It is youth Age may doe better CAP. XXVIII Of the Confusion of Tongues THat the world from Babel was scattered into diuerse tongues we need not other proofe then as Diogenes proued that there is motion by walking so we may see the confusion of languages by our confused speaking Once all the Earth was of one tongue one speech and one consent for they all spake in the holy tongue wherein the world was created in the beginning to vse the very words of the Chaldee Paraphrast and Targ. Ierusal vpon Gen. 11.1 But pro peccato disâ—entionis humanae as saith Saint Austen for the sin of men disagreeing not onely different dispositions but also different languages came into the world They came to Babel with a disagreeing agreement they come away punished with a speechles speech They disagree among themselues cum quisque principatum ad se rapit while euery one striues for dominion as the same Austen They agree against God in their Nagnauad lan Siguda c. We will make our selues a Rendevouz for Idolatrie as the same Ieruselamy But they come away speaking each to other but not vnderstood of each other and so speake to no more purpose then if they spake not at all This punishment of theirs at Babel is like Adams corruption hereditary to vs for we neuer come vnder the rod at Grammar schoole but we smart for our Ancestors rebellion at Babel Into how many countries and tongues those Shinaar rebells were scattered is no lesse confused worke to find out then was theirs at the tower So diuerse is the speech of men about the diuersitie of speech that it makes the confusion more confused Euphorus and many other Historians say that the nations and tongues are 75. listening to the voice of Moses which saith all the soules that came into Egypt out of Iacob were 75. But in truth the naturall Dialects of speech appeare to be 72. as our Scriptures haue deliuered Thus saith Clemens Alexandrinus of whose conceit herein I must for my part say as Saint Ambrose saith of Aaron about the golden calfe Tantum Sacerdotem c. So great a scholler as Clemens I dare not censure though I dare not beleeue him The Iewes with one consent maintaine that there are iust 70. nations so many tongues So confident they are of this that they dare say that the 70. soules that went with Iacob into Egypt were as much as all the 70. nations of the world Ierusalems schooles rang with this Doctrine and the children learned to high-prize themselues from their fathers A stately claime was this to Israel but the keeping of it dangerous Men of the 70. nations would not be so vnderualued by one people Therefore when Israel wanted strength to keepe this challenge they do it by sleight And so it is the thrice-learned Master Broughtons opinion that the Septuagint when they were to translate the Bible and were to speake of the seuenty soules of Iacobs house they durst not put downe the iust number of seuenty least tales should haue beene told out of their schooles concerning their scornefull doctrine and when the rumour and the number should both come to the King of Egypt the meet number might maintaine the truth of the rumour and by both they might incurre danger therefore they added fiue more to spoile the roundnesse of the summe and Saint Steuen followes their translation Then Ioseph sent and called his father Iacob to him and all his kinred euen 75. soules Act. 7.14 As the Iewes seeke to retaine this their assumed dignity ouer the seuenty nations by this sleight so doe they maintaine their tenent of iust seuenty nations by a double reason First they count polls in the plaine of Shinaar as Moses did in the wildernesse and they find in the tenth of Genesis iust seuenty men and therefore by necessarie consequence iust seuenty nations The Chaldee vpon these words of God Gen. 11.5 Come let vs go downe looses the sweet mysterie of the Trinitie but finds I know not how many strange fancies for thus he descants The Lord said vnto the
of Sancuniathou that wrote the Phaenician history in the same tongue but more of the language he saith not But to the matter That letters were so long in vse before the giuing of the Law I am induced to beleeue vpon these reasons First Iosephus is of this mind that letters were before the flood And the Scripture cites Enochs prophecie which whether it were written by him or not is vncertaine yet if there were any such thing those many places which we find of it in Tertullian Clemens and others do argue that so much could not punctually bee kept by word of mouth A second reason to mooue mee to thinke of letters before the giuing of the Law is to thinke of Iosephs accounts in Egypt which seeme almost impossible without writing Thirdly But omitting that I cannot see how all arts and sciences in the world should then flourish as considering their infancy they did without the groundworke of all learning letters Fourthly Againe for the Iewes vpon the writing of the law to be put to spelling as they that had neuer seene letters before and not to be able to reade it had beene a law vpon the law adding to the hardnesse of it Fiftly Nor can I thinke that when Moses saith blot me out of thy book that hee taketh the Metaphor from his owne bookes which it is probable he had not yet written but from other bookes which were then abounding in the world Sixtly the Egyptian Chronicles of so many thousand yeares in Diodorus and Laertius I know are ridiculous yet their carefulnesse of keeping Records I haue euer beleeued The Greekes were boyes to them as it is in Plato and Moses was scholler to them or their learning Act. 7. Now I cannot thinke that this their exceeding humane learning was kept onely in their braines and none in writing Nor do I think that if it were written that it was decyphered onely in their obscure Hieroglyphicks but that some of it came to ordinary writing of familiar letters CAP. XXX Of the Hebrew tongue WHo so will goe about to commend the Hebrew tongue may iustly receiue the censure that he of Rome did who had made a long booke in the praise of Hercules This labour is in vaine for neuer any one dispraised Hercules Other commendations this tongue needeth none then what it hath of its selfe namely for Sanctitie it was the tongue of God and for Antiquitie it was the tongue of Adam God the first founder and Adam the first speaker of it In this tong were laid vp the mysteries of the old Testament It begun with the world and the Church and continued increased in glory till the captiuitie in Babel which was a Babel to this tongue and brought to confusion this language which at the first confusion had escaped without ruine At their returne it was in some kinde repaired but farre from former perfection The holy Scriptures veiwed by Ezra a scribe fit for the kingdome of heauen in whose treasure were things new and old In the Maccabean times all went to ruine language and lawes and all lost and since that time to this day the pure Hebrew hath lost her familiaritie being onely knowne by schollers or at least not without teaching Our Sauiours times spake the Syrian Kepha Golgotha Talitha and other words do witnesse In aftertimes the vnwearied Masorites arose helpers to preserue the Bible Hebrew intire and Grammarians helpers to preserue the Idiome aliue but for restoring it to the old familiaritie neither of them could preuaile For the Iewes haue at this day no abiding citie no Common wealth no proper tongue but speake as the countries wherein they liue This whereof they were once most nice is gone and this groat they haue lost As the man in Seneca that through sicknes lost his memorie and forgot his own name so they for their sin haue lost their language and forgot their own tongue Their Cain-like wandring after the murther of their brother according to the flesh Christ Iesus hath lost them this precious marke of Gods fauour and branded them with a worse marke Cauterio conspirationis antiquae as saith Saint Bernard in another case Before the confusion of tongues all the world spake their tongue and no other but since the confusion of the Iewes they speake the language of all the world and not their owne And that it is not with them so onely of late but hath been long Theodoret beareth witnesse in these words Other nations saith he haue their children speaking quickly in their owne mother tongue Howbeit there are no children of the Hebrewes who naturally spake the Hebrew tongue but the language of the countrie where they are borne Afterward when they grow vp they are taught the letters and learne to read the holy Scripture in the Hebrew tongue Thus Theod. in quaest on Gen 59.60 About this their training vp of their children and growth of men in their owne tongue and learning a Rabbin hath this saying in Pirke Auoth Perek 1. Ben He He saith At fiue yeares old for the Scripture at ten for Mishneh at thirteene for the Commandements at fifteene for the Talmud At eighteene for Mariage at twentie for Seruice at thirtie for Strength at fortie for Vnderstanding at fiftie for Counsell at sixtie for Old age at seuentie for Gray haires at eightie for Profoundnesse at nintie for Meditation at one hundred he is as dead and past and gone out of the world The Iewes looke for a pompous kingdome when Messias the Sonne of Dauid shall come whom they watch for euerie moment till he come as it is in the 12. Article of their Creed in their common prayer booke Hee shall restore them as they hope a temporall kingdome and of that minde till they were better taught were the Apostles Acts 1.6 and then their tongue shall reuiue againe as they surmise But the diuine Apocaliptick writing after Ierusalem was ruined might teach them what the second Ierusalem must be not on earth but from heauen Apoc. 21 2. But to returne to their tongue The characters we now haue the Hebrew tongue in Scaliger thinkes are but of a latter hatch and not the same that the Iewes vsed from Moses till the destruction of the temple For that they vsed the Phaenician or Cananaean character which now is called the Samaritan How truely I referre to the Readers iudgement The character wee now haue is either a set or a running letter the first the Bible is ordinarily Printed in in the latter the most of the Rabbins The whole tongue is contained in the Bible and no one booke else in the world containes in it a whole language And this shewes that the Scripture speakes to all sorts of people since it speakes of all sorts of things This language is as God said the Iewes should bee if they would keepe his Law A lender to all and a borrower of none All tongues are in debt to this and this to none The
the writing of the wall so that they could not read it though it were in their owne language because it was not in their owne letter In after-times the very languages themselues began to vary as the Chaldee in Daniel and Onkelos and Ieruselamy and Ionathan and the Syrian in the Testament doe witnesse The Paraphrafts do much differ between themselues for purity of speech and all far short of the Bible Chaldee They are very full of Greeke words and so the Syrian a relique of Alexanders conquests some thinke they finde some Greeke in Daniel Montanus himselfe renders Osphaia 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all along Foure kind of characters is the Chaldee to bee had in or if you will the Chaldee in two and the Syrian in two Our Bible and Paraphrasts and Rabbins Chaldee is in the Hebrew letter and the other kind of letter is the Samaritan The Syrian hath either a set letter such as we haue the New Testament imprinted in or their running hand such as the Maronites vse in their writing for speed there is no great difference betwixt them as you may see by their Alphabet CAP. XXXV Of the Arabian Language THis is the most copious of the Hebrew Dialects and a tongue that may brag with the most of tongues from fluencie and continuance of familiaritie This tongue is frequent in Scripture especially in Iob a man of that country How other parts of the Bible vse it I thinke may be iudged by the neerenesse of Iudaea and Arabia and of the two languages In this one thing it differs from its fellow-Dialects and its mother tongue that it varieth terminations in declining of nownes as the Greeke and Latine do and that it receiueth duall numbers in forming verbs as doth the Greeke Of the largenesse of the Alphabet and difference from other Alphabets and quiddits of the tongue or indeed any thing of the tongue I cannot say which I haue not receiued of the most industrious and thrice learned both in this and other the noble tongues Master William Bedwell whom I cannot name without a great deale of thankfulnesse and honour To whom I will rather be a scholler then take on me to teach others This tongue was Mahomads Alcoran written in and is still read in the same Idiome vnder paine of death not to mistake a letter which is as easily done in this tongue as in any CAP. XXXVI Of the Latine Tongue THis is the first Idiome of our Grammar Schooles A tongue next the sacred tongues most necessarie for Schollers of the best profession Whether Latine were a Babel language I will not controuert pro et contra Sure I dare say that what Latine we read now was not at Babel if we may beleeue Polybius who saith that the Latine tongue that was vsed in Iunius Brutus time was not vnderstood in the time of the first Punicke warre but onely by great schollers So much in few yeares it had degenerated The old Poets compared with smooth Ouid and Tully shew much alteration This spacious tongue once almost as big as any and as large as a great part of the world is now bounded in schooles and studies The Deluge of the North the treasurie of men ouerwhelmed the Romane empire scattered the men and spoiled the Latine Goths Vandalls Lombards and the rest of the brood of those frozen Climates haue beaten the Latine tongue out of its owne fashion into the French Spanish and Italian But some sparkes of their hammering are flowne into other languages of the West So that most countries hereabout may owne Rome for a second Babel for their speech confused CAP. XXXVII The Language of Brittaine neere a thousand yeares ago Ex Beda lib. 1. de Hist. Angl. Cap. 1. BRittania in praesenti iuxta numerum librorum c. Brittaine in my time saith Bede doth search and confesse one and the same knowledge of the high truth and true sublimity in fiue tongues according to the fiue bookes wherein the Law of God was written namely in the English Brittaine Scottish Pict and Latine tongues And in the ninteenth chapter of the same booke he saith that when Austen the Monke came from Gregory the great to preach the Gospell in England he brought with him Interpreters out of France to speak to the English That language it seemes was then vsuall in England but whether the French that France speakes now is a question William the Conqueror tooke great care and paines to haue brought in his tongue with his conquest but could not preuaile CAP. XXXVIII Ionathan the Chaldee Paraphrast his conceit of Leuies choosing to the Priesthood translated out of his Paraph. on Gen. 32.24 ANd Iacob was left alone beyond the foord and an Angell in the likenesse of a man stroue with him and said Diddest thou not promise to giue tithe of all that thou hadst and behold thou hast twelue sonnes and one daughter and thou hast not tithed them Out of hand he sets apart the foure first borne to their foure mothers for saith the margin they were holy because of their primogeniture and then were eight left He begins againe to count from Simeon and ended in Leui for the tenth or tithe Michael answereth and saith Lord of the world this is thy lot c. thus the Chaldee On whose words if they were worth commenting on I could say more CAP. XXXIX Of the Iewes abbreuiature 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 THis short writing is common in all their Authors When they cite any of the Doctors of their schooles they commonly vse these words Ameru rabbothenu Zicceronam libhracah in foure letters thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thus say our Doctors of blessed memorie But when they speake of holy men in the old Testament they vsually take this Phrase Gnalau hashalom on him is peace in briefe thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thus when they mention Moses Salomon Dauid or others this is the memoriall they giue them The Arabians haue the like vse in their Abbreuiation of Gnalaihi alsalemo on whom is peace The words in Hebrew want a verbe and so may be construâ—ed two wayes On him is peace or on him be peace The learned Master Broughton hath rendered it the former way and his iudgement herein shall bee my law To take it the latter way seemes to relish of Popish superstition of praying for the dead which though the Iewes did not directly do yet in manner they appeare to do no lesse in one part of their Common Prayer booke called Mazkir neshamoth the remembrancer of Soules which being not very long I thought not amisse to translate out of their tongue into our owne that the Reader may see their Iewish Poperie or Popish Iudaisme and may blesse the Creatour who hath not shut vs vp in the same darkenesse CAP. XL. Mazkir neshamoth or the Remembrancer of soules in the Iewes liturgy printed at Venice THe Lord remember the soule or spirit of Abba Mr. N. the sonne of N. who is gone
into his world wherefore I vow to giue Almes for him that for this his soule may be bound vp in the bundle of life with the soule of Abraham Isaac and Iacob Sarah and Rebecca Rahel and Leah and with the rest of the righteous men and righteous women which be in the garden of Eden Amen The Lord remember the soule of Mris N. the Daughter of N. who is gone to her world Therefore I vow c. as in the other before Amen The Lord remember the soule of my father and my mother of my grandfathers and grandmothers of my vncles and aunts of my brethren and sisters of my cosens and cosenesses whether of my fathers side or mothers side who are gone into their world Wherefore I vow c. Amen The Lord remember the soule of N. the sonne of N. and the soules of all my cosens and cosenesses whether on my fathers or mothers side who were put to death or slaine or stabd or burnt or drowned or hanged for the sanctifying of the name of God Therefore I will giue Almes for the memory of their soules and for this let their soules bee bound vp in the bundle of life with the soule of Abraham Isaac and Iacob Sarah and Rebecca Rahel and Leah and with the rest of the righteous men and righteous women which are in the garden of Eden Amen Then the Priest pronounceth a blessing vpon the man that is thus charitable as it followeth there in these words Hee that blessed our father Abraham Isaac and Iacob Moses and Aaron Dauid and Salomon he blesse Rabbi N. the sonne of N. because he hath vowed Almes for the soules whom he hath mentioned for the honour of God and for the honour of the law and for the honour of the day for this the Lord keepe him and deliuer him from all affliction and trouble and from euery plague and sickenesse and write him and seale him for a happy life in the day of Iudgement and send a blessing and prosper him in euery worke of his hands and all Israel his brethren and let vs say Amen Thus courteous Reader hast thou seene a Popish Iew interceding for the dead haue but the like patience a while and thou shalt see how they are Popish almost entirely in claiming the merits of the dead to intercede for them for thus tendeth a prayer which they vse in the booke called Sepher Min hagim shel col Hammedinoth c. which I haue also here turned into English Do for thy praises sake Do for their sakes that loued thee that now dwell in dust For Abraham Isaac and Iacobs sake Do for Moses and Aarons sake Doe for Dauid and Salomons sake Doe for Ierusalem thy holy Cities sake Doe for Sion the habitation of thy glories sake Do for the desolation of thy Temples sake Do for the treading down of thine Altars sake Do for their sakes who were slaine for thy holy Name Do for their sakes who haue bene massacred for thy sake Do for their sakes who haue gone to fire or water for the hallowing of thy Name Do for sucking childrens sakes who haue not sinned Doe for weaned childrens sakes who haue not offended Do for infants sakes who are of the house of our Doctors Do for thine owne sake if not for ours Do for thine owne sake and saue vs. Tel me gentle reader 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. whether doth the Iew Romanize or the Roman Iudaize in his deuotions This interceding by others is a shrewd signe they haue both reiected the right Mediator betweene God and man Christ Iesus The prophane Heathen might haue read both Iew and Papist a lecture in his Contemno minutos istos Deos modo Iouem propitium habeam which I thinke a Christian may well English let go all Diminutiue Diuinities so that I may haue the great Iesus Christ to propitiate for me CAP. XLI Of the Latine translation of Mat. 6.1 ALmes in Rabbin Hebrew are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Tsedhakah righteousnesse which word the Syrian Translator vseth Mat. 6.1 Act. 10.2 and in other places From this custome of speech the Roman vulgar Translateth Attendite ne iustitiam vestram faciatis One English old manuscript Testament is in Lichfield Librarie which hath it thus after the Latine Takith hede that you do not your rigtwisnes before men to be seyne of hem ellis ye shullen haue no mede at your fadir that is in heuenes Other English Translation I neuer saw any to this sense nor any Greeke coppie It seemes the Papist will rather Iudaize for his owne aduantage then follow the true Greeke The Septuagint in some places of the old TestameÌ„t haue turned Tsedhakah Righteousnesse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Almesdeeds to little or to no sense As the Papists haue in this place of the new Testament turned 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Almesdeeds by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Righteousnesse to as little purpose In the Hebrew indeed one word is vsed for both Tsedhakah for Almesdeeds which properly signifies Righteousnesse vpon what ground I know not vnlesse it be to shew that Almes must be giuen of rightly gotten good or else they are no riâ—hteousnesse or they are called zadkatha in Syrian Hu ger Zadek lemehwo they are called righteousnesse because it is right they should be giuen and giuen rightly The Fathers of the Councell of Trent speake much of the merit of Almes whom one may answer in the very words of their vulgar Attendite ne iustitiam vestram faciatis Take heed you do not make them your Iustification CAP. XLII An Embleme A Wall in Rome had this picture A man painted naked with a whip in one hand and foure leaues of a booke in the other and in euery leafe a word written In the first Plango I mourne In the second Dico I tell In the third volo I will and in the fourth facio I do Such a one in the true repentant He is naked because he would haue his most secret sinnes laid open to God He is whipped because his sinnes do sting himselfe His booke is his repentance His foure words are his actions In the first hee mournes in the second he confesses in the third hee resolues and in the fourth hee performes his resolution Plango I mourne there is sight of sinne and sorrow Dico I tell there is contrition for sinne and confession Volo I will there is amending resolution Facio I do there is performing satisfaction CAP. XLIII Mahhanaijm Gen. 32.2 ANd Iacob went on his way and the Angels of God met him And Iacob said when he saw them This is the Host of the Lord and he called the name of the place Mahanaim The word is duall and tels of two armies and no more what these two armies were the Iewes according to their vsuall veine do finde strange expositions To omit them all this seemes to me to be the truth and reason of the name There was one companie with Iacob which afterwards he
cals his armie and there was another companie of Angels which he cals the Armie of God These are the two Armies that gaue name to Mahanaim two armies one heauenly and the other earthly and from this I take it Salomon compares the Church to the companie of Mahanaim for so the Church consisteth of two Armies one heauenly like these Angels which is the Church triumphant and the other trauailing on earth like Iacobs armie which is the Church militant CAP. XLIIII The booke of Psalmes THe Psalmes are diuided into fiue bookes according to the fiue bookes of Moses and if they bee so diuided there be seuentie bookes in the Bible the vnskilfull may finde where any one of these fiue bookes end by looking where a Psalme ends with Amen there also ends the booke As at Psal. 41.72.89.106 and from thence to the end These may euen in their verie beginnings be harmonized to the books of the Law Genesis The first booke of Moses telleth how happinesse was lost euen by Adams walking in wicked counsel of the Serpent and the woman Psal. 1. The first booke of Psalmes tels how happines may be regained if a man do not walke in wicked counsell as of the serpent woman the diuell and the flesh This allusion of the first booke Arnobius makes Exodus The second book of Moses tels of groaning affliction in Egypt Leuiti The third booke of Moses is of giuing the law Numbers The fourth booke of Moses is about numbring Deutero The last booke of Moses is a rehearsall of all Psal. 42. The second booke of Psalmes begins in groaning affliction Psal. 42 43. Psal. 73. The third booke of Psalmes tels in the beginning how good God is for giuing this law This allusion Rab. Tanch makes very neere Ps. 90. The fourth booke begins with numbring of the best Arithmetick numbring Gods mercie Psal. 90.1 and our owne dayes ver 12. Psa. 107. So is the last booke of the Psalmes from Psa. 107. to the end In the Iewes diuision of the Scripture this peece of the Psalmes and the bookes of the like nature are set last not because they be of least dignitie but because they be of least dependance with other bookes as some of them being no storie at all and some stories and bookes of lesser bulke and so set in a fourme by themselues The old Testament books the Iewes acrostically doe write thus in three letters 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 euerie letter standing for a word and euerie word for a part of the Bible 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for Aorajetha or Torah the law 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for Nebhijm the Prophets 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for Cethubhim or bookes of holy writ this diuiâ—ion is so old that our Sauiour himselfe vseth it in the last of Luke and ver 44. All things written in the Law of Moses and in the Prophets and the Psalmes By the Psalmes meaning that part of Cethubhim in which the Psalmes are set first CAP. XLV Of the Creation TWo waies we come to the knowledge of God by his workes and by his word By his works we come to know there is a God and by his word wee come to know what God is His workes teach vs to spell his word teacheth vs to read The first are as it were his backe parts by which we behold him a farre off The latter shewes him to vs face to face The world is as a booke consisting of three leaues and euerie leafe printed with many letters and euery letter a lecture The leaues heauen the aire and earth with the water The letters in heauen euery Angel Star and Planet In the aire euery meteor and foule In the earth and waters euerie man beast plant fish and minerall all these set together spell to vs that there is a God and the Apostle saith no lesse though in lesse space Rom. 1 20. For the inuisible things of him that is his eternall power and Godhead are seene by the creation of the world being considered in his workes And so Dauid Psal. 19.1 It is not for nothing that God hath set the Cabinet of the vniuerse open but it is because he hath giuen vs eyes to behold his treasure Neither is it for nothing that he hath giuen vs eyes to behold his treasure but because he hath giuen vs hearts to admire vpon our beholding If wee marke not the workes of God we are like stones that haue no eyes wherewith to behold If wee wonder not at the workes of God when wee marke them we are like beasts that haue no hearts wherewith to admire And if wee praise not God for his workes when we admire them we are like deuils that haue no tongues wherewith to giue thankes Remarkeable is the storie of the poore old man whom a Bishop found most bitterly weeping ouer an vgly toad being asked the reason of his teares his answer was I weepe because that whereas God might haue made mee as vgly and filthy a creature as this toad and hath not I haue yet neuer in all my life beene thankefull to him for it If the works of the creation would but lead vs to this one lecture our labour of obseruing them were well bestowed How much more when they lead vs farre further CAP. XLVI The time and manner of the Creation MOSES in the first verse of the Bible refutes three heathen opinions namely theirs that thought the world was eternall for he saith in the beginning c. Secondly theirs that thought there was no God for he saith Elohim created Thirdly theirs that thought there were many gods for he saith Elohim he created heauen and earth The first word in the beginning may draw our mindes and thoughts to the last thing the latter end and this thought must draw our affections from too much loue of the world for it must haue an end as it had a beginning I will not stand to comment vpon the word Bereshith in the beginning for then I know not when to come to an end To treat how the diuerse expositors labour about the beginning of the world is a world of labour How the Ierus Targ. translates it In wisdome and is followed by Rabbi Tanchum and many Iewes How Targ. Ionath vseth an Arabian word Min Awwala a primo Onkelos in primis or in principio Iarchi in principio creationis creauit How Basil the great Saint Ambrose and hundreds others do interpret this is a worke endlesse to examine Satisfied am I with this that the world and all things had their beginning from God that in the beginning created heauen and earth Some of the Iewes do inuert the word Bereshith and make it Betisri that is in the moneth Tisri was the world created This month is about our September and that the world was created in this moneth to let other reasons alone this satisfies me that the feast of Tabernacles which was
the thought of onâ— â—â—ely God the Persians thought hee â—â—uld not be comprehended in a Temâ—â—e and Numas thought he could not 〈◊〉 represented by an image and for â—â—is saith Clem. Alex. hee was helâ—ed by Moses yet came all these farre â—ort of the knowledge of God Naâ—â—re when shee had brought them â—â—us farre was come to a non vltra â—â—d could go no further Happy then 〈◊〉 wee if wee could but right-prize â—ur happinesse to whom the day spring â—â—om an high hath risen and the Sonne of â—â—ghteousnesse with healing in his wings â—â—on whom the noone-tide of the Gosâ—ell shineth and the knowledge of God 〈◊〉 its strength Euen so O Lord let it be â—ill told in Gath and published in the â—â—reets of Ascalon to the rankor and sorâ—ow of the vncircumcised that God is â—nowne in Brittaine and his Name is â—reat in England CAP. II. Of the Names of GOD vsed by Iewes and Gentiles NO Nation so barbarous saith Tullâ— that hath not some tincture of knoâ—ledge that there is a Deity And yet many nay most People of the world faâ—â— short of the right apprehension oâ— God through three reasons First when they cannot carry their minde further then their senses and so thinkâ— God hath a body as they haue that iâ— coloured c. Secondly when theâ— measure God by themselues so makâ— him passionate like man For men noâ— able to conceiue what God is what his nature what his power c. fall into such opinions that they frame Gods of themselues and as is their owne humane nature so they attribute to God the like for his will actions intentions saith Arnobius Thirdly when they mount aboue nature and sense and yet not right feigning that God begat himselfe c. Hence came the multitude and diuersitie of Deities among the Heathen minting thousands of gods to finde the right and yet they could not Hence their many names and many fames made by them that it seemes thought it as lawfull to make gods as it was for God to make them At first they worshipped these their deities without any representation onâ—y by their names Caelites Inferi Heroes â—umani Sangui and thousands others â—he naming of which is more like conâ—uring then otherwise Nature it selfe â—aught men there was something they â—ust acknowledge for supreame superâ—â—tendent of all things This light of â—ature lead them to worshippe â—â—mething but it could not bring â—â—em to worship aright Hence some â—dored bruit beasts some trees some â—â—rres some men some Deuils Some 〈◊〉 images some without some in Temples some without Thus was Gedeons fleece the heathen peece of the world all dry set in the darkenesse of the shadow of Death But in Iury was God knowne and his Name great in Israel By his name Iehouah he exprest himselfe when he brought them from Aegypt and his glory hee pitched among them They knew him by his names and titles of Elohim Adonai El Shaddai Elion and his great name Iehouah as the Iewes do call it There the Scriptures of the Law and Prophets did teach them yet they thus neerely acquainted with the true God forsooke him so that wrath came vpon Israel The Rabbinicall Iewes beside Scripture words haue diuerse Phrases to expresse God by in their writings As frequently they cal him Hakkadhosh baruchhu the holy blessed he in short with foure letters 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sometime they vse El iithbarech the Lord who is or be blessed Sometimes Shamaiim Heauen by a Metonomy because there hee dwelleth The like Phrase is in the Gospell Father I haue sinned against heauen Luk. 15.18 The like Phrase is frequent in England The heauens keepe you Shekinah they vse for a title of God but more especially for the Holy Ghost So saith Elias leuita in Tishbi Our Rabbins of happy memorie call the Holy Ghost Shekinah gnal shew shehu shaken gnal hannebhiim because he dwells vpon the Prophets Accordingly saith our Nicene Creed I beleeue in the Holy Ghost who spake by the Prophets Shem a name or the name they vse for a name of God and Makom a place they place â—or the same because hee comprehendeth all things and nothing compreâ—endeth him Gebhurah Strength is in â—he same vse They are nice in the vtâ—erance of the name Iehouah but vse â—iuerse Periphrases for it as Shem shel â—bang the name of foure letters Shem â—aminhhadh the proper name and oâ—â—ers One in Eusebius hath eloquently expressed it thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Seuen sounding letters ring the praise of me Th' immortall God th' Almighty Deity The Father of all that cannot weary be I am th' eternall violl of all things Whereby the melody so sweetly rings Of Heauens musicke which so sweetly sings What these seuen letters are that do thus expresse God is easie to guesse that they be the letters of the name Iehouah which indeed consisteth but of foure letters but the vowels must make vp the number Of the exposition of this name Iehouah thus saith Rabbi Salomon vpon these words I appeared to them by the name of God omnipotent but by my name Iehouah I was not knowne to them Exod. 6.3 Hee saith vnto him saith the Rabbin I am Iehouah faithfull in rendering a good reward to those that walke before me and I haue not sent thee for nothing but for the establishing of my words which I spake to their fathers And in this sense we finde thâ— word Iehouah expounded in sundry places I am Iehouah faithfull in auenging when he speakes of punishing as and if thou profane the name of thy God I am Iehouah And so when hee speaketh of the performing of the Commandements as And you shall keepe my commandements and do them I am Iehouah faithfull to giue to you a good reward thus farre the Rabbin The Alchymisticall Cabalists or Cabalisticall Alchymists haue extracted the name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or number whether you will out of the word Iehouah after a strange manner This is their way to do it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which great mystery is in English thus Ten times ten is an hundred fiue times fiue is twenty fiue behold 125. Six times six is thirtie six behold 161. and fiue times fiue is twenty fiue behold 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 186. Thus runneth their senselesse multiplication multiplying numberlesse lesse follies in their foolish numbers making conjectures like Sybills leaues that when they come to blast of triall prooue but winde Irenaeus hath such a mysticall stirre about the name Iesu which I must needs confesse I can make nothing at all of yet will I set downe his words that the reader may skan what I cannot Nomen Iesu saith he secundum propriam Hebraeorum linguam c. The name Iesu according to the proper speech of the Hebrewes consisteth of two letters and an halfe as