8 And Iosua the Sonne of Nun the seruaunt of the Lorde dyed when he was an hundred and ten yeares olde 9 And they buryed him in the border of hys inheritance in Thimnath-Heres in mount Ephraim on the North syde of the hyl Gaas 10 And euen so also all that generation were put vnto their fathers and ther arose an other generation after them which neither knew the Lord nor yet the woorke which he had done for Israel Iosua lyued not so long tyme as dyd Moyses Iosua lyued not so long as Moyses whom he by the commaundement of the Lord succeded for Moyses was an .120 yeares old whē he dyed But the same thinges which we reade in this place concerning the death and buriall of Iosua are by as many wordes expressed in his own booke the .24 chap. The place wher they buryed him namely in mount Ephraim was his owne possession For of that Tribe came Iosua The Elders had sepulchers in theyr owne possessions And the Elders prouided to haue Funeralles and Sepulchres in their owne possessions For which cause it is written in the booke of Iosua towarde the ende that the bones of Ioseph which the Israelites brought with them out of Egipt were buryed in Sichem in that fielde I saye which Iacob had assigned as proper vnto Ioseph And it followeth Eleazer also the sonne of Aaron dyed whom they buryed in a hyll that pertayned to Phinehes his sonne which hil was geuen him in mount Ephraim But as touchyng the name of the Citye in that it is here called Thimnath-Haeres R. Selomoh Why the figure of the sun was set vpon the sepulchre of Iosua Rabi Selomoh toward the end of the booke of Iosua wryteth that Thimnath is as much as Temunath which is an Image And for so much as Chaeres signifieth the Sunne it declareth that the Chyldren of Israel placed the Image of the Sunne vpon the Sepulchre of Iosua that it myghte remayne as a monument of the myracle by hym wrought For he commaunded the Sunne and the Moone to stande styll vntil he had finished the battaile That therfore so noble a worke might not be had in obliuion he supposeth that his tombe was adourned with those tokens That this woord Chaeres signifieth the Sunne Esay the .19 chap. and Iob the .9 doo testifye Howbeit this is to be considered in the booke of Iosua that the name of this place doth vary For in the booke of Iosua it is wrytten Timuna Serech D. Kimhi which yet R. D. Kimhi thinketh to be al one the letters beyng somwhat transposed which is a familiar and a thing much vsed in the hebrewe toung as they that are learned in the same wel know It is lawfull to set foorth the benefites of god by certain tokens and outwarde signes Neither was it absurdly or wickedly done of the Israelites so to adourne the tombe of Iosua For it is meete that the benefites of God be set forth by tokens and certain monumentes They had not at that tyme the aboundaunce and vse of bookes which we haue And therfore they vsed certain outwarde Symboles and tokens to helpe and to renewe their memorye Iacob erected a stone in the place where he had sene God Moyses dyd set vp twelue pyllers there where he made a league betwene God and the people The same was done also when the people were passed ouer Iordane for they gathered twelue stones out of the chanell of the riuer which should be a token to their posteritye that God had by a great miracle dried vp the waters of Iordan when they passed ouer it For by reason of our naturall ingratitude we do easely forgette the benifites of god wherfore yf the figure of the sunne were set vpon the tombe of Iosua to testifye the miracle wherin god at the prayers of Iosuah had cōmaunded it to stand that therby the hebrewes might by his conduicte and leading obtayne a perfect and noble victorie this I say semeth not to be done ether vngodly or absurdely for the Image of the Sunne was not therfore put ther to bee worshipped neither wer there any holly assemblyes in that place A godly magistrate wonderfully profiteth the safety of the people wherin yt was Hereby it appeareth how a good and godly magistrate may wonderfully profite the healthe of the people For the Israelites departed not frō the worshipping of god so long as Iosua and the wyse and godly senatours lyued Aptly therfore is it wrytten in the Prouerbes the .29 chap When the vngodly beare rule the people mourne And in the same booke .20 chap a wyse king destroyeth the wicked And in the 29. a iuste king setteth vp the land Reason also sheweth that it is so for the people do therfore endeuour them selues to please their princes to fynd the more fauour at their handes and therefore they frame them selues to their maners and fashions And also bicause the people is by lawes and decrees compelled to obey the will and sentence of the princes They which dye ar sayde to be adioyned vnto the fathers They wer put vnto their fathers It is a kind of speche much vsed in the scriptures that they which do dye ar sayed to be adioyned to their fathers For as touching the bodye they ar buried with them and as concerning the soule they ar adioyned vnto them For if they haue lyued godly they lyue with their holy elders but yf vngodly they ar tormēted with their wicked progenitours if thei haue had any suche Howe some are sayde not to knowe the lord And there arose an other generation after them which knew not the lorde Not vndoubtedlye that any of them wer so rude that altogether they knew not god For the constante administration of the world the vndisturbed order of thynges do testifie crye that ther is a god But this knowledge wherof the history now speaketh is vnderstand to be that which hath annexed with it allowing Augustine fayth and obedience And they are thus sayd to be ignorant of god bycause they obeyed him not they did not put their hope and confidence in hym nether wer they zelouse to worshippe hym purelye and sincerely Augustine in his questions vpon this booke the 15. question affirmeth that it is playnely expressed in what sort the Israelites knew not god namely in those excellent and wonderful workes by which their elders came vnto the knowledge of the lord We rede also of Pharao that he as it is writtē in Exodus answered vnto Moyses that he knewe not the God of the Hebrues and the Lord eyther bicause he was not minded to hearken vnto his commaundements or els though after a sorte he knewe him yet he knewe not by certaine proofe that he was the God of the Hebrewes 11 And the children of Israel dyd euyll in the syght of the Lorde and serued Baalim 12 And they forsooke the Lorde the God of their Fathers whych brought them out of the
cause of the diuersity is this word Arba whych in his vsuall and proper signification signifeth the number whych the Latines cal Quatuor It is not certain that Adam and his wyfe were buryed in Hebron the Grecians 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is foure Now some suppose the number of foure to be referred to the foure couple of men wyth theyr wiues which they say wer buried in that city Yet the holy scriptures make mēcion but of three for in the booke of Genesis .23 chap. we reade that Abraham and Sara wer buried there also in the .35 .49 chap. of the same booke we rede of Isaac and Rebeckaes burial there And lastly in the .50 chap. we fynde that Iacob was caried thither he him selfe before that had there buried his wife Lea. But concerning Adam Eue his wife whō they haue added vnto these we can finde nothing thereof in the holye scriptures For that which they alledge out of the .14 chap. of Iosua maketh nothing to the purpose for that the word Adam in that place is not the name of the first man Wherfore they can gather nothyng out of that place but that Arba was a certaine great man among the Anakims These are the words there Ha Adam Hagadol be Anakim Hui that is he was a great man among the Enakims But our interpretour translateth it thus Adā was counted the great among the Enakims Wherby it appeareth that he thought that Adam was a proper name But he was two wayes deceaued first he dyd not marke that the article Ha is ioyned to the word Adam which is neuer ioyned with proper names Wherfore it must needes be a common name whych must be referred to that woord Arba for that name was put a litle before The other errour is bycause we reade no where that the first man was reckoned amongst the Enakims that is to say Giauntes The opinion of others is that Hebron was called the City Arba bycause it was inhabited of .4 Giauntes namely Sesay Ahimman and Thalmay vnto which three brethren they adde Annak their Parent But the opinion of these men is easely confuted bycause that in the .14 chap. of Iosua toward the end it is by manifest wordes declared that this word Arba is the proper name of a Giaunt Wherfore it is manifest enough that this woord must not be referred to the number of four And by that meanes not onely this latter sentence but the first also is confuted which would haue this name Arba to haue a respect to the foure couple of men with their wyues buried in the old tyme in that City And vndoubtedly for the same cause also the opinion of others is not to be allowed which do thinke that the City was so called bycause although it were but one City yet it consisted of foure Cities and that this woord Arba is all one wyth this greeke woorde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whiche is foure Cities Wherefore I iudge it best to thyncke that it was so named of the buylder thereof named Arba Arba had three chyldren who how he came by that surname it is vncertaine Onely this we maye gather out of the scriptures that what so euer he was he had three chyldren which are called in this place and also in the booke of Iosua Sehai Ahimman and Thalmay And it is very lykely that they were deade long tyme before Iosua And when they were now dead then was there mencion made of them bicause their families which seme to haue bene of a wonderful huge stature were destroyed by Caleb and Othoniel And this is the reason why I suppose that these three brethrē liued not in Caleb and Othoniels tyme bycause this Citye as it is written in the booke of Numbers was a most auncient city and was buylt .vii. yeares before zoham that is Thamin the kingly Citye of the Egiptians And in zoham dyd Moyses and Aaron woorke the wonders before Pharao And if so be it was the kingly and noble city then it must nedes be built long time before Wherefore if Hebron were built before it and had the name thereof of Arba how could his children be on lyue at this time It cannot be so Besides thys Abraham had a lodging in this City bought there a double caue And from that time to Iosua his time wer almost .400 yeres It is not therefore very likely that the sonnes of him which builded so auncient a city should lyue tyl Iosua his tyme vnles any man wyl fayne that the same city was built long time before called by an other name then in processe of tyme casting away the first name it should be named by this most strong and mighty Giaunt But whether it be thus or no neither skilleth it much neither semeth it curiously to be sought for But this might somwhat moue some bycause Arba wherof we now speake is called in the .15 chap. of Iosua the father of Enak For if he had .3 sōnes which were named as well here as in the same booke of Iosua it wil then he doubtfull who that same Enak was What Hanack signifieth In which thyng sauyng the iudgement of a better learned I would thinke might be answered that it was not a proper name but a cōmon wherby at that time men of huge stature but such as were noble excellently adourned wer called For this word Enak in hebrewe is to gird or to compasse and is chiefly referred to chaines which are worne about the necke for comelynes sake And thereof is this name Enak deriued in the plural number hath both the masculine feminine forme it signifieth a chaine and is transferred to noble worthy men whom thou mayst cal chained Wherfore Sesay Ahimman Thalmay may be called the sōnes of Arba who was not called the father of them onely but also the father of Enak bycause euery one of his sōnes was noble Why giauntes were called Enakim wore a chaine or was a Giaunt for Giauntes also were called Enakim either bicause they wore chaines or els bycause they were of a notable stature of body for it may be that that word was applyed to all kynde of ornaments Of them is mencion also made in the booke of Numbers .13 chapter By how many names giaūtes are called in the holy scriptures Seing we are now by chaunce in hande with giauntes and that there is often mention made of them in the holy Scriptures it shall not be vnprofitable somewhat to speake of them Fyrste we muste knowe that they are called by diuerse names in the holy Scriptures as Enakim Eimim Zemasmim Nefalim Rephaim Why they were called Enakim manifestly appeareth by those things which we haue spoken before And they were called Eimim of the terror which they draue into others by their loke They were called Zemasmim of mischiefe bicause they trusting to their owne power and might were dispisers of lawes iustice and
the mariage of his cousin Germaine or of his sisters daughter or of his brothers daughter or of his wiues daughter lastly of al whose mariage is forbidden and condemned But that law is not in these dayes found in the Digestes neither in the booke of the Code nor in the Authentikes Which neuerthelesse Clother the king followed as it is red in the lawes of the Almaines entituled of vnlawfull mariages yea and it is confirmed by the ecclesiasticall Canons and decrees in Gracian 35. Question the second and third also by the counsel of Agathen in the 61. Canon And Gregorye the fyrst in the same place is found to be of the same opinion in the chap. Quaedam ex Romana c. This answereth to the sixth interrogation of Augustine Bishop of Cantorbury and affyrmeth that those which be ioyned by the degree of cousin Germaines ought to abstaine from contracting of matrimony one with an other Yea and long before Gregorye his time Ambrose hath in his 66. Epistle ad Paternum condemned the mariage of brethrens children he testifieth that it was forbiddē by the law of Theodosius which I haue also brought And if I should vse coniecture I thinke Theodosius did it by the persuasion of Ambrose who had a singular respecte to publique honestie Neither was that law so seuere at that time but that sometimes it might be released as he declareth in that Epistle to Paternus In that Ambrose affyrmeth there that such mariages were prohibited by Gods lawe It can be made probable to none which shall attentiuely consider the wordes of the law of god and doings of the fathers How the Romanes haue behaued themselues toward their cousins as concernyng matrimonyes in the old time this I haue obserued Ligustine sayth in the 2. booke and 5. decade of Liuy that his father gaue him his Vncles daughter to wife Cicero also writeth in hys oration for Cluentius that Cluentia had lawfully maryed her cousin Germaine M. Aurius And M. Anthonius the Philosopher tooke to wife Faustina his cousin Germaine as Iulius Capitolinus testifieth And before Rome was builded the mariages of Turnus and Lauinia were in hand which came of two sisters Howbeit Plutarch writeth in the place aboue mentioned that at the fyrst when Rome was builte it was forbidden by a lawe that they whiche were nighe of kinne shoulde not marrye together But yet he writeth that the lawe for brethren and sisters children was vppon thys occasion released bycause a certayne man beyng both honeste and also well beloued of the people of Rome when he was greuouslye oppressed with pouertye toke to wife his sisters daughter which was ryche and welthye for the whiche cause he was accused of inceste But the matter being decided he was quyted by the iudgemente of the people of Rome for he was greatly fauoured in the citye Then after that it was decreed by the consent of the people of Rome that from thence forth it shoulde be lawfull for brethren and sisters children to marry together These thinges I thought good to declare of this kinde of matrimonye both out of Gods lawes and the old new lawes of the Romanes and also out of the fathers and ecclesiasticall Canons Whereunto I will adde that there be very many Cities professing the gospell whiche do not admitte the mariages of brethren and sisters children as Surike Berna Basile Schapusin Sangallum Biema c. In the kingdome also of England when I was there that degree was excluded from matrimony Wherfore in places where the magistrate forbyddeth these mariages the faithful ought for those causes whiche I haue before declared to abstayne from them But now I will go to the present matter If Othoniel as I haue before sayd were cousin vnto Achsa he might mary her by the lawe of God but if he were her vnckle it was not lawful by the cōmō lawe But he maried her Wherfore we must nedes saye one of these two thinges either that it was a faulte for the fathers as we haue before sayd were not alwayes free from sinne or elles that god would haue this done by a priuilege or certain prerogatiue whiche we may not for all that take example by Neither is this to be forgottē that after the accustomed manner of Scriptures Kinsfolkes in scriptures are called brethren they whiche were any way of kinne together were called brethren as Loth is called the brother of Abraham the kinsfolkes of Iesus Christ the sonne of God are called in the history of the gospel his brethrē So may it also be in this place that Othoniel may be called the brother of Chaleb when as he was but only some other waye of kinne vnto him And the interpretours do vse this expositiō oftē times which I would not disallow but that I se this particle in the texte The yonger whiche is not wont to be added but when sisters and brethren in dede are compared together But now wil I go to other thinges whiche are to be considered in this history Chaleb had promised him which should cōquere the citie of Debir Whether Chalebs promisse were a rashe promisse his daughter to wife What if any wicked persone had performed that should he by the vertue of the promise haue ben made the sonne in law of Chaleb surely it semeth not For what other thing had this ben than to betraye his daughter Therfore it may appeare that he promised rashly For a wise man ought to foresee those thinges whiche might happen How be it we must consider that there were not at that tyme such wicked and flagitious men among the Israelites for as long as those elders lyued whiche gouerned the publicque wealth together with Iosua as it shal be declared in this hystory the people feared god Wherfore it followeth that they vsed to put those to death by the lawe whiche were guiltie of very grieuous crimes Therfore there was no daunger lest any such mā should conquere the citie to whom for that act Hacsah should be geuen to wife of duetye But if there remayned certaine smal and common faultes in him which had conquered it the same might be recompenced by his other vertues For there is is none so absolute and perfect but that some times he may fal Moreouer there were some hope of amendement of life And the conquerour might be so nighe of kynne as peraduēture this Othoniel was that he could not mary the daughter of Chaleb Wherfore it seemeth that at the least in that part it was a rashe promise But I do not thincke it can be accused of rashenesse A constant rule of all humane promises for as much as all promises ought among the godly so farre forth to be of force as they do agree with the word of god which thing if Iepthe had diligently considered he would neuer haue suffred hym selfe to haue committed so vnworthy thinges agaynst his daughter This cōdition surely in all couenaunts and promises ought to be counted
must alwayes loke for this when they are afflicted by the goodnesse of god that it would please him to mitigate the temptations and geue thē strength to beare them for as much as he hath promysed by his Apostle so to do For it is written to the Corinthians God is faythfull whiche wil not suffer you to be tempted aboue your power but will with the temptation make a way out But whether god doth stirre vp men to sinnes by temptation shal be afterward declared But now to the history 20 And they gaue Hebron vnto Chaleb as Moyses sayd and he expelled thence the three sonnes of Enak 21 And the children of Beniamin dyd not caste oute the Iebusites that inhabited Ierusalem Wherefore the Iebusites dwelled with the children of Beniamin in Ierusalem vnto thys day Thys sentence is therefore repeated bicause now the warres of the tribe of Iudah are declared of which warres Chaleb without doubt was the captayne Wherefore here is declared what he obteyned Namely those thynges whiche God would haue done as he had spoken by Moyses as it is written in the fyrste chap. of Deut. and .xiii. chap. of Num. and xiiii and xxv chap. of Iosuah But that which is written after it how that the children of Beniamin dyd not caste out the Iebusites that inhabited Ierusalem but dwelled together with them perteyneth to those things which the other tribes had to do with the Chananites and it beginneth with Beniamin for thys cause bycause that tribe was next to Iudah yea and that which is now written of Beniamin The citie of Ierusalem was cōmon to Beniamin Iudah is declared of the tribe of Iudah in the booke of Iosuah toward the ende of the xv chap. And I thynke that that was therfore done bicause the citye of Ierusalem was in the limite of both the tribes and was inhabited together both of them of Iudah and also of the Beniamites Yea and some affyrme that the part of the citye where the temple stoode belonged to the tribe of Beniamin and to that purpose do they wrest that which Iacob the Patriarch sayd on his death bed when he blessed hys sonne Beniamin Beniamin is a rauenyng wolfe early taking hys pray in the morning and deuiding the spoyles at euen thynkyng thys oracle to belong to the morning and euenyng sacrifices of the Temple But howe truly they so doe I will not nowe reason But yet they are not so farre oute of the waye as Augustine whiche drewe the saying of the Patriarche to Paule the Apostle bycause he was of the tribe of Beniamin A fayned tale of the Hebrues I am not ignoraunt how the Hebrues write that the Iebusites were not cast out for thys cause bycause that Iudas and Beniamin would kepe the couenaunt which as it is written in the xxi chapter of Gen. was made betwene Abraham and Abimilech King of the Gerarites where the moste holy Patriarche sware that he woulde not molest neyther the same Abimilech neyther hys children nor yet hys childrens children wherefore seing he and hys posteritye inhabited Ierusalem and hys childrens children liued euen to thys tyme they saye it was not lawfull for the Hebrues for bycause of theyr othe geuen to caste them oute But afterwarde vnder Dauid the tyme of the couenaunte was oute bycause then were the childrens children of Abimilech worne out And for that cause Dauid dyd caste out the Iebusites oute of the citye of Ierusalem as it is written in the latter booke of Samuel the v. chapter But these are but fables yea if we looke in the foresayde booke of Samuell we shall fynde that the strong fenced Castle of that citye was the cause that the Iebusites were not caste oute before For Dauid to the end be would obtayne the castle promised a noble reward to him that coulde conquere it namely that he woulde make hym Captayne of the whole hoste of Israel Two causes why the Iebusites were not expelled oute of Ierusalem whiche office Ioab obtayned bycause he fyrste of all Conquered the Castle There were two causes why they of Iudah and the Beniamites dyd not caste oute the Iebusites out of the citye One was bycause they obeyed not the worde of God as they should haue done wherfore they are muche to bee blamed The other cause was bycause by the prouidence of God and hys moste wyse dispensation the whole victorye of these nations was reserued for Dauid and Salomon For so God abuseth the synnes of men that they hynder not but set forwarde hys Counselles specially for the aduauncyng of hys electe But to retourne to the Hebrues howe shoulde they knowe that the posteritye of Abimilech dwelled in Ierusalem The Scripture testifyeth no suche thyng Neyther can they tel whether Abimilech his stocke belonged to the Iebusites Wherfore let vs leaue their fayned opinion vnto thēselues Ierusalem was in the olde time called Iebus let vs follow this sentence nowe alledged as the truer But this is not to bee ouerskipped that Ierusalem was sometymes called Iebus For as muche as the .xix. chapter of this boke testifyeth the same also the fyrst booke of Paralipomenon in the xi chap. The summe is the Iebusites possessed the castle whiche being well fensed for as much as God had iustly with drawen his helpe for the Hebrewes they could not be dryuen out of it but Beniamin and the tribe of Iudah obtayned the Citie in the meane time Why Saul Dauid triumphed in Ierusalem Vnto whiche citie Saul and Dauid went after they had gotten the victory against the Philistians and Dauid himselfe brought thether the hed of Goliah whom he had slayne Peraduenture that citie semed mete for that triumphe bicause it was cōmon to the tribe of Iudah and Beniamin vnto which tribes Dauid and Saul belonged For as Dauid was of the tribe of Iudah so was Saul a Beniamite And the Iebusites dwelled in Ierusalem vnto this day That is euen to the time of Samuel who is thought to haue written this booke For afterwarde came Dauid when he ruled ouer all Israel and expelled the Iebusites from thence as it is sayd 22 In like maner they that were of the house of Ioseph went vp to Bethel and the Lord was with them 23 And the house of Ioseph caused Bethel to be searched whiche before tyme was called Luz 24 And the spyes saw a man come out of the citie and they said vnto hym shewe vs we pray thee the way into the citie and we wil shew thee mercy 25 And when he had shewed thē the waye into the citie they smote it with the edge of the sworde But let the man and all his houshold go free 26 And the man went into the lande of the Hethites and built a citie and called the name thereof Luz whiche is the name thereof vnto this day After the tribes of Iudah and Beniamin is also declared in a certaine ordre what the other tribes did The house
God euen then vseth by a certayne wonderfull manner to styrre vp great miseries and calamities out of ashes and sparckels which wer thought to haue bene long time quenched Iabin the king of Chanaan was kylled by Iosua as it is written in his booke the .xi. chap. and Hazor his kingly City destroied and burnt with fire Wherfore none would haue looked that war shoulde haue bene renued againe on that part But an other Iabin the sonne or sonnes sonne of him that was killed tooke courage againe and inuaded and oppressed the Israelites But least al that should be ascribed vnto his strength it is added that God intermedled in the matter when hee solde the Hebrues vnto him that is graunted vnto him to vse them as he thought good hymselfe euen to all most vile seruices and that as most abiect bondslaues And this calamity is amplified by many names First by the longnesse of the tyme for it continued .xx. yeares when as before Othoniels time they were afflicted onely .viii. yeares And before Ehud was stirred vp they serued .xviii. yeares It is declared that this seruitude was very cruell bicause Iabin oppressed the Hebrues by strength and violence And Iosephus writeth that it was in such sort that they durst not so much as to lift vp their head And the cause of his so great crueltye was Why Iabin was so cruel vnto the Hebrues bicause he remembred that the Iewes in the time of Iosua had killed his Father or Grandfather And had ouerthrowen the kingly City Hazor in wasting and burning it wyth sword and fyre Farther the violence and power of his tyranny is by this declared in that he had so great a number of yron or hooked chariots and if we may beleue Iosephus he went a warfare with three hundred thousand footemen Iosephus ten thousand horsemen and three thousand chariotes among which .ix. hundred of them were of yron Neither for al his great host had he ben able to haue brought the Hebrues vnder subiection vnles God as we haue before said had solde thē And vndoubtedly it is to be thought that Iabin vsed these .ix. hundred chariots which the history speaketh of by name to afflict the region of the Iewes which he had now conquered and to the end they should not fal from him And he dwelt in Hazoreth Howe raigned this man in Hazor whē as in the time of Iosua the City was ouerthrowen To this we answer first that after the ouerthrow which happened vnder Iosua the rest of the Chananites fled into a very huge wood which is called Of the Gentiles ther bi litle litle they so increased their power that thei set ouer thēselues a king which was of the surname of the first king namely his sonne or els his sonnes sōne which is therfore said to haue raigned in Hazor bicause he stil retained the title of the place as very many kings do at this day which keping the title of certain places do cal thēselues kings of the same places wherin in very dede they haue no possessiō at all But the Hebrue interpreters think the Hazoreth was a large huge wood which cōtained in it many cities Castels Vnto which sense the Chaldey paraphrast leaneth which turneth that worde munition of Castels This day also in Germany there is the wood of Hercinia wherin are both Cities and very many Castels And it is called Of the Gentiles either bicause a great number of diuers people resorted thither or bicause those places were built and fenced by the labour of manye Gentiles We might otherwise also answer that much more likely to be true namely that the citi of Hazor was after Iosua recouered reedefied by the Chananites so that it was the kingly city agayne wher Iabin either the sonne or els the sonnes sōne of the first Iabin raigned And to this reedefieng the times serued very aptly For from the burning of Hazor there wer passed .150 yeares more or lesse that is eight yeares of bondage which happened vnder the king of Mesopotamia .40 yeares of Othoniel .18 yeres of seruitude vnder Eglon king of Mesopotamia .80 yeres wherin Ehud peaceably iudged the Israelites and .20 yeres this Iabin afflicted the Hebrues Wherfore he might easily reigne in Hazor being againe reedified and this maketh with it bicause it is not writtē of this Iabin that he dwelled in the wood but that Sisara his captayne dwelt there For kinges vse not to kepe an house in their kingly citye but rather to haue them in their borders or in the fieldes wher they may be prompt and redy to accomplysh thinges to be done 3 And the children of Israel cried vnto the Lord for he had .900 chariottes of yron and .20 yeares he opressed Israel very sore 4 And Deborha a Prophetesse the wife of Lappidoth iudged Israel the same tyme. Both by the thinges before declared also by these which are now spoken of we may vnderstand the frowardnes of mans nature for vnles it be by troubles and aduersities brused and broken Men in desperate thinges call vpon God it regardeth not God yea as long as there is any hope of other helpes it neglecteth God and vseth them But whē thinges ar past all hope and do seperat then god is required as a certayne holy ankerhold Wherfore it is no maruayle though the Hebrues deferred their repētance 20. yeares long Surely I am persuaded that they did oftentimes grone and cry But bicause they lamented not that they had offended god and wickedly committed sinnes but only desired him to take a way the payne long punishment and paraduenture murmured against God therfore wer not their praiers heard But now at the last at the .20 yeares ende when with fayth and godlynes they prayed vnto God Though God deferre his help yet wee muste not dispaire he heard their prayer and graunted them their requestes By this example let vs learne that we must neuer dispaire of the help of god although it be deferred We all in deede desire to be strayghtwaye deliuered of our troubles but god in his counsel thinketh not good so soone to take away his punishments Wherfore that which he hath decreed we also must pacientlye suffer Deborah a Prophetesse God which before to deliuer Israel had chosen Ehud which had an impediment in his right hande and then Sangar a husbandman armed onely with the goade of an Oxe nowe choseth a woman by whose conduct the Iewes might be deliuered from a most grieuous enemy God vseth both stronge and weake a lyke Wherefore by these examples he aboundantly sheweth that his power is not bounde vnto noble men and to strong men but hee can easilye vse the weake and feable ones Yea and he sheweth forth his power rather in these than in the other Howbeit to declare that it is all one vnto him as touching both kynde of instrumentes sometimes he vseth the strong ones and other sometimes the weake ones And
This Hebrewe word Aim is a particle of one that sweareth and is very much vsed in the holy scriptures I haue sworne in mine anger if they shal enter into my rest Also Lorde if I haue done this or if there be iniquitye in my handes c. The reason of this kinde of speach is bycause they which do so sweare doo begin an execration and sometimes they performe it not If say they they should adde I do it let this or that happen vnto me let me perysh let me dye let me suffer cruell punishment and such like But sometimes they fully expresse it 9 My darte is set on the gouerners of Israell and on them that ar willing amonge the people prayse ye the Lorde 10 Speake ye that ryde on white asses ye that dwell by Middin and that walke by the way Deborah by an eloquent distribution turneth herself to diuers kinds of men exhorteth euery one of them to prayse the Lord. She maketh mention of princes before the other and sayth that her harte is set on them namely bicause she feruently desireth them to be thankful vnto God and to prayse him for the benefite which they haue receaued She calleth them Hokekei bicause to them pertained to make both decrees and lawes Afterwarde she speaketh of all those whiche of theyr owne will and accord had offred themselues vnto the battayle Ye which ride on white trim asses Almost al interpretours vnderstand this to be spoken of merchantes which ryde to and fro to fayres and marketes Asses are vsed in Siria And indeede asses are very much vsed in Siria for there the asses be stronge and mighty and of a good bigge stature and do go pleasauntly VVhiche dwell by Middin Some vnderstande it thus that they whiche are iudges shoulde be prouoked to prayse GOD. For saye they as shee had before stirred vp marchants and rich men to prayse God so now she calleth vpon iudges to do the same For as before marchants were hindred from their trades also were iudges letted from exercising iudgementes For they being oppressed of theyr enemies could not minister iustice But it is better that by this word Middin be expressed some certayne place which paraduenture was grieuouslier oppressed by the enemies thaÌ„ other places wer Or els bicause theyr marchandises wer wont to be much occupied which being now set at liberty in safety the inhabiters of that place are peculiarly stirred vp to prayse God And lastly this semeth to pertayne to the common people VVhich walke by the way Namely on fote For other either they did ryde or wer caried vpon asses for that they were rich and noble men All ye sayth she Schichu that is tel and shew But bicause that verbe signifieth also to meditate we will thus expound it with a redye and an attentiue minde tell or shew Or els it is sayd Ye which walke by the way to declare a certayne cause why they ought to geue thankes as though shee should haue sayd All ye which I haue mentioned therfore geue thankes vnto God bicause nowe ye may walke by the way freely 11 For the noyse of the archers appaised in the places wher water is drawen there shall they reherse the righteousnes of the Lorde hys righteousnes of his townes in Israell theÌ„ did the people of the lord go downe to the gates When she had nowe praysed God because he had restored the common highe wayes free vnto the Hebrewes she addeth now an other benefite which he had bestowed on them Water is a verye necessarye thing in Syria namely in that thei might with out feare draw water which before was in a maner wholy letted them This thing vndoubtedly althoughe in other places it seemeth to be of no greate value yet in Siria where is wonderfull greate scarecety of water it ought to be counted for an excellent gifte The welles or fountaynes whiche were without the cities by the streates and highe wayes could stande the Iewes in no steade by reason of the Chananites whiche kept away al thinges For the horsemen which were archers hidde them selues priuely neare such waters and assayled those which came forth to draw water there Many of them they led away captiues and with theyr noyse and cry they feared away in a manner all from drawinge of water Ye haue nowe escaped sayth Deborah the horrible and barbarous noises and cries of horsemeÌ„ which were archers vsed to crye with an horrible voyce when they assayle theyr enemies Ieremy in the .4 chap. testifieth And the whole city sayth he fled away at the cry of the horsemen which they made whilest they bended theyr bowes After that is setforth an other singular benefite namely that the little townes and villages which wanted fences and were not inclosed with walles and seemed to be desolate and emptye by reason of the enemies whiche besieged them ar now by the help of God reedefied and restored Wherfore she concludeth that for this cause also god must worthely be praised Lastly is added that the people of god might now assemble at the gates of the cities Why thei geue iudgements in the gates froÌ„ the which before they were altogether prohibited The iudgement place in the old time was wonte to be in the gates wher thei executed lawes But by reason of warres and oppressions it seemeth that iudgements ceased which thing how great a misery it bringeth to the publike wealth they do manifestly vnderstand which are not ignorant that in iudgementes in a manner the whole power of the publike wealth is contayned But why the Hebrewes executed these thinges in the gates thys seemeth to me to be the cause bicause they thought those places most meete to be chosen vnto which not onely the citizens but also the rusticall and husband men might easely come And the vndoubtedly could not be better done in any other place then in the very gates of the cityes Geue thankes therfore vnto God sayth Deborah bycause all these thinges by his ayde haue nowe recouered theyr olde forme and order 12 Arise arise Deborah arise arise singe a songe Vp Barak and leade thy captiuity captyue thou sonne of Abinoam Forasmucch as Deborah studied to inflame all the Israelites to geue thanks vnto god by an eloqueÌ„t figure she now stirreth vp herself that therby others might be pricked forward and endeuour themselues by her example to prayse God Go to Go to Deborah go to go to sing a songe This without doubt is the manner of sainctes in their Psalmes and songes that they neuer satisfie themselues in praysing God they alwayes thinke that they are to colde and for that cause euery where they vse suche stirringes vp of themselues Here R. Salomon doteth A fayned â—â—sition of R. â—â—lomon when he writeth that Deborah did to much boast of her selfe and therfore when her spirite began to waxe faynte she endeuored her selfe by such stirryng vp to kindle it agayne If these thinges are spoken by the
first be shewed before their setting at libertye be spokē of wherfore these things shal in iust order be spoken of and shal be noted in theyr places First of all it is written that Israell sinned to the end we might vnderstande that they were iustly punished The kind of theyr synne as we shall afterwarde see was idolatry And the punishment which followed was their deliuery vnto the Madianites to be vexed of them And what these Madianites were I thinke it good in few wordes to declare What the Madianites were Ierome Madian if we may credite Ierome was a citye so called of a certaine sonne of Araham whome he begat of his last wife Ketura It lieth beyond Arabia toward the South in the desert of the Seracens not far from the Sea called Erithreum And these people were called Madianites and peraduenture by an other name more in vse with the Ethnikes namely Maudrenites From thence Moses hadde his wife and of them also came the Kenites whiche went together with Moses into the land of Chanaan And lastly from thēce those black men ar thought to haue theyr ofspring which in our times wander euery wher and of some are called Egiptians they dwell in tentes and beinge very theuishe men they liue all alwayes of other mens goods But what these Madianites were it skilleth not much to know let this contēt vs in that by the history it is declared that the people of God wer by them verye grieuously afflicted And the Israelites to auoyd the miseries made them Caues for so doth this Hebrewe woorde Manaharoth signifie What differēce is betwene a caue and a den And dennes It is in Hebrew written Mearoth But what difference there is betwen these two words as muche as I can gather by the Hebrewes I wyll declare Those fyrste places were in bankes of hilles and were so called bicause from the vpper partes they had certayne chinckes and holes which were like windowes so that throughe them they had light sufficient within And the same places were very handsome for men to dwel in them R. Leui sayth that through those holes or clifts which were like windowes spies when they saw the Madianites comminge did vse either by kindling of fiers or by some other token to geue knowledge vnto the Hebrewes wherby they might gather their stuffe fruites cattels into the dennes leade them away from the enemies which wer comming by For dennes wer not in mountaynes but places vnder the earth in the fields being dark wtout light wherein men did not dwel but they mighte after a sorte hide their things and goods But caues in lattin are called Specus a speciendo which is to behold and to looke vpon bycause out of them as out of highe places they whyche were there vsed to looke through They made also fenced places as bulwarckes and castels which might be openly sene but that they could not be conquered And not only the Madianites inuaded the Iewes Iosephus but with them were the Amalekites and also the children of the east whome Iosephus calleth Arabians They suffred the Israelits to be in peace and quiet so long as they tilled and sowed the earth but when the fruites were ripe they inuaded them and destroyed and wasted their fyeldes And the Israelites do aptly setforth the nature of sinners whiche when they put little confidence in god haue almost forgottē him then they fly vnto mans inuentions helpes and municions which yet iustlye and worthelye stande them in no steade for strayght way it is sayd 6 Wherfore Israell was excedingly impouerished by the Madianites and the children of Israell cried vnto the Lord. Of munitions and castels Neyther caues nor dennes nor strong fensed castels could helpe the miserable Israelites For sinners must not onely take heede of outwarde enemies but they must chiefly flye from the anger of God from whiche vndoubtedly no man can auoyd by caues dennes or municiōs And as long as that endureth these humaine helps do not defend frō outward enemies And if any man wil not beleue this Ecbatanis let him call to memorye the breadth of the walles of Ecbatanis which as it is written in the boke of Iudith the .1 chapter was thyrty foote broad and seuenty foote hygh and had in it an hundred Towers and yet all those thinges could not withstand those which besieged it Babilon And of Babilon also it is written that the walles of it was an hundred foote in higth and fighty fote in breadth and it is sayd to haue bene so large that it might haue bene a prouince rather then a city and yet it was conquered and vtterlye ouerthrowen Suche thinges men goe about when they withdraw themselues from God these their hornes are erected agaynst God These thinges do leade vnto desperation the afflicted which thynk not vpon God as though tirannes by whome they are oppressed could neuer be plucked out of so strong and wel fenced places But in Abacuk the prophet such madde building are wonderfully laughed to scorne of the spirite of God and Abdia in the name of God threatneth the children of Esau that theyr nest should be throwne downe to the ground howe soeuer it seemed vnto them that they had set it in heauen But what more notable example nede we to seeke for then that tower whiche men straight after the flood began to builde as though they would defend them selues against God if he againe should go about to destroy the world wyth waters but the Lord from heauen laughed to scorne their made furiousnes as it is amply set foorth in the booke of Genesis God wanteth no excellent politike deuises for first from such which so much trust to munitions when they thyncke they shall stand them in most steede he vseth to take awaye the courages of the bold and al promptnes so to strike them with madnes that he vtterly maketh them voyde of wisedome Wherfore he debilitateth their harts their strength faileth them Yea and they seme to be made afeard and verye sore abashed euen of the very stones beames and walles of their Castels I could here easely shew thinges whyche haue in our age happened but that I must haue respecte to bee briefe Reade the .2 chapter of Barucke What then Are not Cities or Castels to be fensed Whither it be lawful to fence cities castels I deny not but that that may be done but I would haue Princes which do in such sorte builde first to be a certained of this that no thinges created can defend or succor men vnles with them be ioyned that power of God whereby with his becke hee ruleth and gouerneth the world and when hee withdraweth that whatsoeuer men go about or enterprise it vtterly happeneth contrarily And euen as out of breade wyne or other meates we ought not to looke for nourishment if God do drawe backe vnto himselfe that his power and operation which hee daylye
of Gideon That must needes be cutte of which was done neither coulde the author of so greate an enterprise be hidden This is true but he iudged that in the mean time this daūger was to be auoyded lest in the day time in the acte doing he should be taken For he should haue bene letted both by his fathers houshold and also by the men of the citye from executing the commaundementes of God and peraduenture in accomplishinge the worke shoulde haue beene slaine The name Baall agreeth very well with the true God Thys Baal as in an other I haue declared had his beginninge of Bel the father of Minus But as touchinge the name we must know that by it an excellent propriety of God is expressed For Baal in hebrew signifieth a Lord a maister a husbdā al which things in very dede agree with God For he is Lorde of all thinges and the teacher of all true wisedome the onely husband of the churche Wherefore these men erred not in iudging the proprieties of God Neyther erred the Grecians whē they called him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For by that title they declared that God is the author of lyfe The Romaynes also called God Iubiter as though they should say Iubiter father Wherfore these words are for god most worthy and it may be that the old mē which so spake had a respect vnto the true god the chief of all But that was vtterly vngodly and detestable which afterward was committed namely to ascribe these proprieties as well to starres as to men and also to brute beastes and idoles wherby all thinges were filled with idolatry Farthermore the Hebrewes although God had taught thē his name by which he would haue them call vpon him and praye vnto him yet they forsoke it vsed the names holy seruices inuented by the Ethnikes neglecting the rites commended vnto the both by the law and also by their elders they receaued prophane ceremonies Wherfore they had an altare dedicated vnto an idole a groue about it and certayn yeares they fed and fatted some certayn bullockes for the sacrifice And at the length they became not the worshippers of the true god but the true worshyppers of Baal in all thinges Gideon in the night ouerthroweth the altar cutteth down the groue buildeth an altar vnto the Lord as he was cōmaunded offred a burnt offring Al these things wer testimonies of his fayth whereby he confessed and that frō the hart that he detested idolatry and perfectly beleued in the only lord the god of the Hebrewes and sacrificed vnto him Some thynges are here mencioned which were not done by an vniuersall law but by a certayne prerogatiue and priuelege Gideon being of the tribe of Manasses sacrificeth when as sacrificing belonged only vnto the Leuites This if he had done of his own brayne he shoulde not haue wanted blame Secondly a priuate man ouerthroweth the aultare and cutteth downe the groue in whiche thinge he tooke vpon him the office of a magistrate But in these things we must haue a regard to the word of god by which he was peculiarly stirred vp to do these things Wherfore they which to these works ar not in like manner called ought to kepe thēselues vnder the common law But as I haue in an other place admonished idolatry is of all men to be taken away but yet of euery man according to his state condition Let magistrates by outward violence ministers by the word and priuate men by abstayning and gainsaying take away vngodlynes 28 And when the men of city rose rose earely in the morning they saw the altar of Baall destroyed the groue that was by it was cutte down and the second bullocke offred vpon the altar that was made 29 And they said one to an other who hath done this thing whē they enquired and asked they sayd Gideon the sonne of Ioas hath done this thinge 30 Then sayd the men of the city vnto Ioas Bring out thy sonne that he may dye because he hath destroyed the aultar of Baal and hath also cut downe the groue that was by it 31 Ioas aunsweared vnto all those that stoode by will ye pleade Baals cause Or will ye saue him He that will pleade for him let him dye ere the morninge If he be god let him pleade for himself against him that hath cast downe his altar 32 And he called him in that day Ierubbaal saying Let Baal pleade with him bicause he hath broken down his altar They most grieuously prosecute the matter against him which had inuiolated the sacred thinges of Baal and yet they suffred the worshipping of the true god to lye neglected and despised It is the maner of humane wisedome with earnest labour to defend theyr owne inuentions and obstinately to resiste those thinges which god hath commaunded They will kill Gideon as a sacrileger and moste pernicious heretike they behaue themselfes sediciously against the Magistrate they shew forth no lawes but in a certayne blinde fury they iudge the crime cōmitted to be vtterlye worthye of death when as they themselues rather should haue bene condēned worthy of death bicause they had violated the worshipping not of an idole but of the true God What he was the shewed that Gideō did these thinges the history expresseth not God suffreth not such thinges to be hidden therfore he had means and ways in a maner infinite whereby he would make them open But to know what were the tokens of the thyngs done it is no skil to vs but let vs diligently marke the impotency of idolatrers Idolatrers can not abide to haue vngodlye worshippinges taken away They cannot by any meanes abide to haue wicked worshippinges taken away The Hebrewes sayd vnto Ieremy that they would vtterly worshippe the queene of heauen that is the moone and other starres The Ephesians being as it were in a rage cried without meane or reason Great is Diana of the Ephesians The Romaines whilest Italy was wasted by the Gothes Vandales and Lombardes neyther cried nor desired any other thing but that the alters and temples of idoles might be restored That said they was the hed of euils bicause the holy seruices of country were abolished The like example do we no see in these men they neither wil nor can not abide that Gideon shuld escape whō they saw had cut down theyr idolatry Now is Gideon counted a seditious fellow which hath committed such thinges as we at this day of the gretest part of christendome ar accused of sedicion which haue disturbed false worshippinges now being receaued And we graunt indede that seditions ar to be auoided as much as may be bicause ciuile peace is a good thinge which wise and quiet mindes ought to desire Obedience to the word of god is to be preferred before euil◠peace But contraryly the truth is not to be suppressed nether must we sin against the worshipping of God and it is much better to defēd
and punisheth it by his lawes And if at any tyme it be sayd in the Scriptures that he either willeth or worketh sinne in men that must be referred vnto other considerations whiche I haue declared both in an other place and also now here And this is sufficient as touching this question And God sent an euil spirit By an euil spirit I vnderstād either the deuill What is vnderstād vp an euil spirite or wicked affections or cruelty stirred vp to reuenge iniuryes but the end was to take vengeaunce for the bloud of the sonnes of Ierubbaal The men of Sechem layd wayte agaynst hym The cause of the lying in wayt There may be three causes of their lying in wayte First bycause they would slay him as he passed by And an other was bicause they would not haue his souldiers to go to and fro The third was to shake of their yoke and to declare that they were free This was as much as to say as they now nothing passed vpon his kyngly power It was tolde Abimelech A short sentence cut of wherby yet we vnderstand that Abimelech passed not that way for feare of fallyng into their snares 26 Then came Gaal the sonne of Ebed his brethren they went to Sechem and the men of Sechem put their confidence in him 27 Therfore they wēt out into the field gathered in their grapes trodde them made mery And they went into the house of their God and did eate and drinke and cursed Abimelech 28 And Gaal the sonne of Ebed sayd Who is Abimelech who is Sechē that we shuld serue him Is he not the sonne of Ierubbaal and Zebul is his hed officer Serue rather the men of Hamor the father of Sechem But why shall we serue hym 29 And who will geue this people into myne hand and I wil take awaye Abimelech And he sayde vnto Abimelech increase thyne army and come out Here cōmeth an occasion of the euils one Gaal by chaunce trauailed that way the Sechemites hired him to be their ruler and captayne and therefore puttyng their confidence in him they go out into theyr vineardes gather the grapes and treade them with great security What this Gaal was it appeareth not by the Scriptures R. Salomon thinketh he was an Ethnike R. Salomon The Sechemites were so afeard of Abimelech that they durst not gather their grapes wherfore they hired this man First now they go forth into the fielde whiche thyng before they durst not doo they make great ioye and mirthe For in the olde tyme also as it semeth they vsed as they do now a dayes The wātōnes vsed at the gatheryng in of grapes great wantōnes and liberty in the gathering in of the grapes of whiche custome sprange the Comedyes and Tragedies with the Grecians And when Bacchus returned a conquerer out of India the people led daunces in honor of him at the wynepresses Yea and the Chaldey paraphrast maketh mention of daunces in this place They went into the temple It was also the manner among the Ethnikes to geue thankes vnto God of their first fruites But these men go into the temple of God and rate drinke singe and curse their kyng and whom before they had annoynted hym now they rayle vpon and teare with reproches And that in the temple wherin before they had taken counsel for to make Abimelech their ruler Such are the iudgementes of God The place might haue admonished them for out of it they gaue him money but forgettyng all thynges they curse him Although the scripture expressedly declareth not whether this tēple were that selfe same where out they tooke the money in the beginning VVho is Abimelech In the feastes of their wine gathering they mocke theyr kyng and that he beyng absent and aboue the rest Gaal much more greuously scorneth hym Let vs marke the peruersenes of mans nature if any sinne be by chaunce committed it addeth not a iust remedy but healeth mischief with mischief cureth sinne with sinne They should haue called vpon the Lord haue repented but these do far otherwise they se that they haue done noughtly yet they go farther to reproches This is the manner of the frowardnes of man yea and Dauid when he had committed aduoutry did not strayghtway repent as he should haue done but slewe Vrias Iudas whē he had betrayed Christ would not repent but went and hanged himselfe and so was author of hys owne death So in a maner when we haue sinned we go to worser sinnes They ought not in deede to haue chosen Abimelech but when he had once gotten the dominion of things they should not so haue cursed him Before the victory they sing a song of victory There is nothyng more foolishe then to contemne an enemy for an enemy is not to be contemned vnles he be ouercome But this Gaal goeth childishely to worke He exhorteth and prayseth the Sechemites bycause they had shaked of their yoke And he composeth his oration of thynges compared together A cōparatis He compareth Abimelech with Hamor the prince of that Citye whom the sonnes of Iacob slewe by guile VVho is Sechem Sechem in this place is not the name of the City but of the chief man namely the sonne of Hamor VVho is Abimelech He is the sonne of Ierubbaal He hath in vs neyther right nor iurisdiction Let hym goo and bragge amonge his owne Sechem was in the olde tyme Lorde of this Citye hym we ought to haue obeyed But we slewe hym howe then can we obeye this man This comparison is nowe manifest youghe But to increase the contempt more Zebul sayeth he is the seruaunt of Abimelech knowen well ynough vnto vs whome he hath made ruler ouer hys Citye Therefore we shall haue two Lordes And we whiche woulde not obey the Lord of Sechem shall we nowe obeye a seruaunt It is an vnworthy thyng The sēse of the oratiō of Gaal Wherefore this semeth to be the sense of hys oration If we shoulde haue serued we should rather haue serued Sechem But we haue not serued him therfore neither will we serue this Abimelech Serue the sonnes of Hamor As though he should haue sayd serue them rather whiche were the auncient Lordes of this Citye and if we haue not serued them why should we serue Abimelech c. And who wyll geue thys people into my hande The other parte of the oration contayneth an exhortation wherein he exhorteth them to make hym ruler ouer the people VVho will geue This forme of speakyng expresseth an affection of one that wisheth I sayth he if I were your ruler would easely take away Abimelech All the Sechemites were not of one opinion Hereby it appeareth that al the Sechemites were not of one opinion ▪ There were many which thē also wer on Abimeleches side Wherfore I would to God sayth he that all you were of one mynd I would thē easely take away the tyranne 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is a turnyng of a speache to some person And he sayd vnto Abimelech Increase thyne army He vseth an Apostrophe to Abimelech beyng absent for it is easy to rayle vpon one being absent He speaketh very Thraso lyke It is as thoughe he should haue sayd increase thy power how thou wilt I set nothing at all by it 30 And when Zebul the ruler of the Citye hearde the wordes of Gaal the sonne of Ebed he was very angry 31 And he sent messangers vnto Abimelech guilefully saying Behold Gaal the sonne of Ebed and his brethren be come to Sechem and beholde they fortefy the City agaynst thee 32 Nowe therfore aryse by night thou and thy people that is with thee and lye in wayte in the fielde 33 And ryse vp early in the mornyng as soone as the Sunne is vp and thou shalt assaulte the Citye and when he and the people that is with hym shall come out agaynst thee do vnto them what thyne hande can finde Zebul was ruler vnder Abimelech when he heard these reproches agaynst his Lorde he could not suffer them Hereby let vs marke how foolishly the Sechemites behaued themselues when they go about to fall from Abimelech they retayne yet still his ruler in the City So god oftētymes striketh men with madnes Neither want there exemples of this thing euen in our tyme. He sent messangers guilefully The Hebrew word is Miremah or Tomah and it signifieth nothyng els but that he sent letters priuely the summe whereof was Gaal is chosen captayne agaynst thee the Sechemites fence the City that they may both defend thēselues within and also exclude thee without And such is the subtility of Zebul that he not onely telleth what was done in the City but also geueth Counsell what Abimelech should doo VVhen it is mornyng The Hebrewe worde Tischim in the coniugation Hiphil from the roote Schacham signifieth to ryse early the Grecians say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And where in Luke the 21. chap. toward the end it is sayd Turba mane conueniebat ad eum that is The people gathered vnto him in the morning the old translation was as Augustine also hath noted vpon this place of the Iudges Populus manicabat ad eum But that worde is barbarous and straunge Augustine Manicare In Greeke it is rede 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And assalte the City This is the Counsell of the ruler that early in the mornyng he should besiege and assaulte the City by guile Do as thine hand shal find By this Hebrewe phrase is signified nothyng els but that so do thou as occasion shall serue 34 And Abimelech rose vp early and all the people that were with hym by nyght and they laye in wayte agaynste Sechem in foure bandes 35 Then Gaal the sonne of Ebed came out and stoode in the entryng of the gate of the City And Abimelech rose vp and the people that were with him from lying in wayte 36 And when Gaal sawe the people he sayde to Zebul Beholde there come people downe from the toppes of the mountaynes To whome Zebul aunswered The shadowe of the mountaynes semeth men vnto thee 37 And Gaal spake agayne and sayde Beholde there come people down from the nauel of the earth and one Captaine commeth by the waye of the playne of Moonenim Their lying in wayte was distributed into foure bandes when Gaal should go forth of the city Zebul was together with him as far as we may coniecture Zebul vsed double fraude for first he sent a messanger vnto Abimelech signified vnto him what he thought good to be done afterward he ioyneth himselfe deceatfully vnto Gaal as though he would be on his side that he might the safelyer do those thynges whiche he thought to doo that Gaal should not mistrust hym Wherfore Gaal goeth forth being nothing afeard of priuy enbushements and together with hym went Zebul Thou seest the shadow of montaynes Zebul derideth him saying They be shadowes whiche thou thinkest to be men Out of the nauel of the earth This is a metaphoricall kynde of speache for as the nauell appeareth aboue the belye so are the mountaynes aboue the earth Wherefore by the nauell he vnderstandeth the mountaynes from whence Abimelech descended with his company And when he came from the mountaynes it is very lykely whiche thyng yet is not here mentioned that he ouercame the guarrisons whiche the Sechemites had put in those places 38 And Zebul sayd vnto him Where is nowe thy mouth that sayd Who is Abimelech that we should serue hym Is not thys the people that thou haste despised Go out nowe I praye thee and fyght agaynst them 39 And Gaal went forth before the men of Sechem and fought agaynst Abimelech 40 But Abimelech pursued hym after he began to flye before hym and many were ouerthrowen and wounded euen to the entryng of the gate 41 And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah and Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brethren that they should not abide in Sechem 42 And on the morowe the people went out into the fielde And it was tolde Abimelech 43 And he tooke the people and deuided them into three bandes laid wayt in the field and looked and behold the people were come out of the City and he rose vp agaynst them and smote them 44 And Abimelech and the bandes that were with hym rushed forwarde and stoode in the entryng of the gate of the City and the two other bandes ran vpon al the people that were in the field and slewe them 45 And when Abimelech had fought agaynst the City all the day he tooke the City slew the people that was therin and destroyed the City and sowed salt in it Zebul coulde not holde hymselfe but that he must nippe that Thraso Thou didst contemne sayeth he Abimelech nowe come out agaynst hym and shewe howe valiaunt thou art VVhere is thy mouth This worde Aphoh is ambiguous for it signifieth where and sometymes it signifieth now But bycause it is before sayd where it is mete to be taken here for Now so let vs say Where is now thy mouth vnles we will haue it a repetition to say Where where is thy mouth by the figure Metonumia a mouth signifieth wordes The manner of feareful men for we speake with the mouth He vp braydeth him with the maner of feareful men for cowardes are wont before the daunger stoutely to bragge but when they come to the daunger they are wonfully afrayd but contraryly stoute men bragge not much neither do they rashely thrust themselues into daungers But in daungers they are most constant He went forth before the princes of Sechem Gaal fighteth but peraduenture not prepared for Abimelech came vpon him vnlooked for Yet Gaal goeth forth agaynst him least peraduenture he should seme to be a coward And he fled before him Abimelech followed hym when he fled euen to the gates of the City where he slewe many Gaal thought he
of Isaschar That tribe was the lowest and obscurest tribe but god hath no respect to persons The state of this pub weal was most excellent namely Aristocratia wherin god chosed Iudges indiffereÌ„tly out of all the people And there was none which could iustly complayne that his famely could not be exalted to the highest dignity of rule which thing happeneth not in a kingdom For all the kinges came of the famely of Dauid The sonne of Pua Ben Dodo That word is ambiguous darke for it may be both a nowne proper and a nowne appellatyue If it be a proper nowne as the Chaldey Paraphrast supposeth we must say that Thola had to father Pua that Pua was the sonne of a certaine man named Dodo But other thinke that it is a nown appellatiue and that signifieth an vncle and hath a pronowne affixed vnto it of the third person And some vnderstand that by that pronown is referred or signifyed Abimelech as though it were noted that Pua was the vncle of Abimelech which sentence som of the Hebrewes allow Yea and the lattin interpreter to expresse that sentence and that there might be no darkenes therin addeth the name of Abimelech But how Pua shoulde be vncle vnto Abimelech and so the brother of Gideon beinge of an other tribe it seemeth meruellous bicause tribes were not mingled one with an other Some aunsweare that it mighte be that they were brethern on the mother side but yet not on the fathers side For such womeÌ„ which had no inheritaÌ„ce maried ofteÌ„times in other tribes but so did not they which had inheritance that the lands and inheritance should not be confouÌ„ded wherfore it might easly come to pas that ether her husband beyng dead or she by him repudiated maried agayne in an other tribe And by this meanes Gidion Pua may be bretherne although they came of suÌ„dry tribes But that those daughters whych were inheritors might not mary in an other tribe it is by many examples confirmed Saule otherwise a Beniamite gaue his daughter to wyfe vnto Dauid who was of the tribe of Iudah Iehoida a prieste of the tribe of Leui maryed the daughter of king Ioram whych was of the tribe of Iuda as it is written in the latter booke of Paralip the .22 chap. Aaron a Leuite maryed Elisaba the daughter of Aminadab of the tribe of Iuda Wherfore there ar two opinioÌ„s one is of them which thynke that Dodo is a proper name Now a maÌ„ mai be the sonne of his vncle and the other of those which say it is a name appellatiue The third opinion is that that annexed pronown namely of him is to be turned his so that this Thola had one and the self name to his father to his vncle which bi the ordinary meanes was not lawful yet was it detested when a man dyed without children for then the brother maried his wife namely him of whom he was begotten and the other which was dead whose name he bare and was made his heyre This sentence lyketh mee well for it very aptly declareth how a man might be the sonne of his vncle c. 3 After hym rose vp Iair a Gileadite and hee iudged Israel .xxii. yeares 4 And he had .xxx. sonnes that rode vpon .xxx. Coltes and they had .xxx. Cities whych are called Hauoth-Iair euen to thys day are in the land of Gilead 5 And Iair dyed and was buryed in Camon Of what tribe this Iair was appeareth by this woord Gilead which is repeated for Manasses had Machir to his sonne who begat Gilead And his name was coÌ„mune with the mount wherein Iacob and Laban made a league and named the place Gilead bicause there they raised vp a heape of stones for a wytnes Eusebius Câ—sâ—riensis Eusebius saith that the backe of this mount tendeth to Arabia and Phenicia and is ioyned with the hyls of Libanus And this mount hath a City of the same name Machir conquered that City and gaue vnto it a name which was coÌ„mon both to his sonne and to the mount Wherefore Iair was of the Tribe of Manasses a man hauing plenty of children for he had .xxx. And no maruaile when as then they vsed to haue many wyues His children was no Rascals or coÌ„mon people yea they were horsmen which is thus described which rode vpon .30 Asse colts This Hebrue woord Air signifieth either a Colt or an Asse Dauid Kimhi according to which sence are signified .xxx. Mules or the colt of a Mare as R. D. Kimhi expoundeth it Neither were they onely horsmen but also riche for they possessed .30 Cities bicause euery one of them was ruler of a City wherfore their father must nedes be very noble They were called Hauoth-Iair Bicause they wer not enuironed with a wall And were so called euen to this day namely euen vnto Samuels tyme who they say was authour of this booke In the booke of Numbers the .xxxii. chap. it is written Iair tooke many Cities from the Chananites and they were called Hauoth-Iair Wherefore it is demaunded whither he were the same man of whom we now speake or whether he were an other I doo not thinke that he was the same forasmuch as betwene them both there were .300 yeares passed He was a certaine other man distinct from this Iair of whom we nowe speake but yet hee was of the same famely and paraduenture this was his Neuew for they which are of the same famely doo for the most part retayne the names of their kynred Vnto this Iair came those Cities whych that other Iair tooke from the Chananites Wherfore the places agree but that it is not the same man This Iudge therefore is noble when as the twoo former were but of a base famely Neither doth Nobility anything hinder to gouerne a publike wealth if self trust and insolence be taken away yea rather they haue examples of their Elders excellent stirringes vp to vertue and very many helpes to gouerne thinges well And it is not vnlikely but that the people vnder these two Iudges rightly worshipped God in long and quiet peace otherwise God would not haue geueÌ„ them so long a time of rest But after them the Hebrues turned againe vnto Idolatry 6 And the chyldren of Israel wroughte wickedlye agayne in the sight of the Lord and serued Baalim and Astharoth and the gods of Aram and the gods of Zidon and the gods of Moab the gods of the children of Ammon and also the gods of Pelisthim and forsooke the Lord and serued not hym 7 Wherefore the wrath of the Lord was kyndled against Israel and he delyuered them into the handes of Pelisthim and into the handes of the chyldren of Ammon 8 Who from that yeare vexed and oppressed the children of Israel xviii yeares euen all the children of Israel whyche were beyonde Iordan in the land of the Amorrhites whych is in Gilead 9 Moreouer the chyldren of Ammon went ouer Iordan to fyght also against Iuda and
the sōne of God who hath geuen himself for me Hereof springeth that confidence which Paul had when he said Who shall lay accusation against the elect of god It is god which iustifieth c. Wherefore if god accuseth vs not neither will our hart accuse vs when we beholde Christe For we haue now confidence towardes god and we shall obtaine And whilest wee are conuerted vnto Christ not onely accusation and sinne is abolished but repentance also is augmented as we now see is done in the Hebrues 15 And the children of Israel aunswered vnto the Lorde we haue synned doo vnto vs whatsoeuer is good in thyne eyes onelye wee pray thee delyuer vs thys day 16 Then they put awaye their straunge Gods from among them and serued the Lorde and hys soule was grieued for the miserye of Israel 17 Then the chyldren of Ammon gathered together and pytched in Gilead and the children of Israel assembled them selues and pitched in Mizpa 18 And the people and Princes of Gilead sayde euerye one to hys neyghbour whosoeuer wil begyn the battayle against the chyldren of Ammon shal be Captaine ouer al the inhabitantes of Gilead The repentaunce of the Hebrues profited god aunswered very sharpelye The propertye of true repentaunce I wyl not heare you But they crye againe Doo what seemeth good in thine eyes that is what soeuer pleaseth thee This vndoubtedly is to repent when we are not onelye repentaunt for the synnes which wee haue committed but also wee willingly suffer what soeuer pleaseth god A notable example is set foorth vnto vs in that they put away their straunge gods and woorshipped the true god It is not sufficient to take awaye euyll thynges excepte in the place of euyll thinges we substitute thinges that are good Many haue taken awaye Masses idolatries and superstitions and yet haue not woorshipped god trulye bicause he is not woorshipped by woordes but by true fayth good woorkes But ther are very fewe which embrace these thinges And hys soule was grieued Contraction ampliation of the mynde Thys Hebrew woorde Tiktsad signifieth to drawe together When we reioyce and are merye the spirites in vs are made more ample but when wee are sorye the spirites are contracted vnto the hart So it is said that God contracted hys soule Affections are improperlye attributed vnto God and was after a sorte sory for the miseries of his people This kinde of speeche is not proper of God but improper For God is not sory neither is he touched with affections Wherefore it is a speeche after the condition of men For often times those thinges are ascribed vnto god whych are noted to be in men 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And often tymes thinges which happen vnto men are ascribed vnto God For men are fyrst grieued for the miserye of an other before they haue compassion of them Therfore bicause God doth that which men do that ar grieued that is bicause he helpeth it is said he his grieued which thinges happeneth in men that helpe those that are in misery Such a kinde of speche is ther in the booke of Numbers the .21 R. Moses Maimon chap. The soule of the people was faint bicause of the iourney for that wildernes grieued the people But R. Moses Maimon sayth that this woorde Catsad signifieth not onely a minde but also a wil which being before ready to reuenge did now after a sort withdraw it self Howbeit the first interpretacion seemeth to hang wel together The Ammonites on euery side grieuously oppressed al Israel but bicause Gilead was a notable City and wel fensed they determined therfore first of al to conquer it But the children of Israel pitched in Mispa so far from thence that they could not easelye succour those that were besieged Wherfore the Gileadites in so great a daunger thought they had nede of a captaine for the administration of thinges for the state consisting onely of the people there could be nothing well done vnles some one man were made ruler ouer them Euen after the same maner as the Romanes were wont in great daūgers to create a Dictator Wherfore the Giliadites saw that they needed a Captaine but who that should be they could not easely prouide VVho so euer say they wyl begyn the battayle agaynst the Chyldren of Israel let hym be our heade Peraduenture they had desired a captaine of the Lord and receaued an answer that by this token they should know who should be receaued as their captaine namely he which first shoulde begyn the battaile against the enemies Such signes God somtimes vsed without any voice or outward oracle as whan he promised the seruant of Abraham that she should be Isaacs wife which should geue drinke vnto the Camels It maye also be that the Citizens decreed so among themselues that the chiefe man of the city being stirred vp with the desire of the rewarde might the more couragiouslye and cherefully fight against their enemies In this maner Chaleb when hee besieged Hebron encouraged the mindes of his soldiours Whosoeuer said he cōquereth Hebron I wil geue him Achsa my daughter to wife With which promise Othoniel being moued cōquered the City was made the sonne in law of Chaleb So in these hard times when things wer in great daunger it was necessary to vse such coūsel But what if he which first would haue begon the battaile against the aduersaries had bene a naughty and wicked man What I say shoulde then haue bene done What also if he had bene vnmeete to gouerne the publike wealth although he had had warlike strength This obiection maketh me rather to allow the first sentence that is that the signe was offered of God and therfore they were sure that he would not geue them an euill captaine Although as touching the question we may thus answer All ciuil promises are so farforth to be kept as they may be performed by honest wayes right meanes that is so much as conscience and the woord of God wil suffer ¶ The .xi. Chapter 1 ANd Iiphtah the Galaadite was a mightye man the sonne of an harlot and Gilead begat Iiphtah 2 And Gileads wyfe bare hym sonnes whiche when they wer come to age thrust out Iiphtah and said vnto hym thou shalt not inherite in our fathers house For thou art the sonne of a straunge woman HEre is set foorth vnto vs Iiphtah a man abiect and obscure not as touching his Tribe for he was of the Tribe of Manasses but as touching his mother for he was the sonne of an harlot Wherefore his brethren thrust him out as a bastard The name of his father was Gilead who seemeth to haue bene so called by the name of the mounte and citye And that man had not onely this bastard to sonne but also he had other which wer legitimate children Wherfore though Iiphtah had a noble man to his father yet that nothing profited him bycause he was a bastard and not borne in lawful
true God But especially Iiphtah which was both a bastard and a banished man and also a man of warre which kinde of men do not so much thinke vpō the lawes Wherfore he voweth but not according to the prescript of the lawe It was lawful to vowe mē also vnto God But we must knowe that it was lawfull for the Iewes to vowe menne also vnto GOD and to dedicate them vnto hym Yea and the redemption of manne is seased in the lawe by the variety of kynd and age Hanna the mother of Samuel dedicated him from a childe to the deuine worshyppyng and it is very likely that Helkana her husbande allowed the vowe But that which Interpreters say of the virginity of the daughter of Iiphtah it cannot be gathered by the woordes of the history Yea rather it is not true although some Rabines were of that opinion but yet without example and testimony of the woord of God I know that that Hanna of whom Luke maketh mēcion was dayly in prayers and other women for praiers sake watched continually at the Tabernacle and that the sonnes of Hely accompanied with diuers of them but the scripture testifieth not of any that vowed chastity neither did God in the olde Testament euer speake anye thing of thys kynde of vowe Wherfore this sentence And I wyl offer it for a burnt offring is an interpretacion for it expoundeth and contracteth the first part of the Oration It shal be the Lordes How shal it be the Lordes He declareth howe when hee addeth And I wil offer it for a burnt offring Other make Vau a disiunctiue The vowe of Iiphtah was vnwarly made as I haue before touched But that is not certayne Neither is the vow therfore excused but that it was vnwarely made For there mought easely haue met him a dogge as I before admonished whiche could neither be sacrificed vnto GOD nor dedicated vnto hym He went forth and smote The victory is not here onely described but also amplified namely that there fell many in that battayle and that he ouerthrewe twenty Cityes and subdewed vnder him the Ammonites 34 Then Iiphtah commyng to Mizpa to hys house beholde hys daughter came out to mete him with timbrels and daunces which was his onely child and of hym selfe he had neither other sonne nor other daughter 35 And when he sawe her he rent his garmentes and sayd Alas Alas my daughter thou hast brought me lowe and thou art amōg them that trouble me For I haue opened my mouth vnto the Lord and can not go backe 36 And she aunswered hym My father if thou hast opened thy mouth vnto the Lord do vnto me as thou hast promised seyng that the Lord hath auenged thee of thine enemies the childrē of Ammon 37 And she sayd more ouer vnto her father Do thus much for me suffer me two monethes that I may go downe to the mountaynes and bewayle my virginity I and my friendes 38 And he sayd Go And he sent her away two monethes So she went with her frendes and lamented her virginity vpon the mountaynes 39 But after the ende of two monethes she returned to her father who did to her accordyng to the vowe whiche he had vowed Wherfore she had knowē no man and it was a custome in Israel 40 The daughters of Israell went frō tyme to tyme to lament the daughter of Iiphtah the Gileadite fower dayes in a yeare When he had gotten the victory agaynst his enemyes he returned home to Mizpa for there he dwelled And therfore we heard before how he made the couenant with the Gileadites before the Lord in Mizpa Here let vs note with howe great a moderation godly princes in those tymes made warres they prolonged them no longer then necessity required but as soone as their enemyes wer tamed they strayghtway returned home So also the dictator among the Romaynes his enemyes beyng vanquished and all thinges accomplished accordyng to his minde he straight way forsooke his office of a Magistrate Iiphtah is sayd not to haue had other children of himselfe bycause peraduenture he had by his wyfe children in lawe Yea and he might haue children whiche were adopted Of him selfe he had begotten onely this daughter And this is put in that we might vnderstande howe hearde and bitter it was vnto hym to slaye hys onely daughter Things nobly done of princes wer publiquely songe She went out to mete her father by the waye with timbrelles and daunces to reioyse for hys victory and to singe a songe of victorye for so were the thynges that were nobly done by prynces wonte to be celebrated with daunces and songes The mayden also when Saul returned came and met hym with reioysing And vndoubtedly suche reioysinges were nothyng elles then publique geuyng of thankes In that it is sayd thou hast brought me lowe In Hebrew it is expressed by this verbe Caraa as thoughe it should haue ben sayd thou hast thrust me done or thou hast humbled me of late I was puffed vp with the victory whiche I obteyned agaynst myne enemyes but thou hast thrust me downe yea rather thou hast vtterly destroyed me and brought me to nothyng for as muche as my posterity is vndone myne enemyes did grieuously vexe me and now thou my daughter also art one of them whiche trouble and afflicte me I haue opened my mouth This is a circumscription or description of the vowe He tare hys garmentes after the manner of the Hebrues when they sawe that they were ouerwhelmed with any greuous calamity vnlooked for What the fearyng of garmētes signifieth they tare theyr garmentes signifyeng that they were now subiect vnto the anger of God and not worthy to be couered with garmentes I haue opened my mouth sayth he The lawe of God in the booke of Numbers the .30 chapter intreatynge of Vowes vseth such a forme of speakyng whereby myght be vnderstande What to open the mouth in vowyng signifieth that the vowe was conceaued not onely in mynde and purpose but also outwardly expressed by wordes Wherefore they were called calfes of the lippes whiche a man had promised to God not onely in mynde but also in voyce And I can not go backe sayeth he It is meruelous why he should say so For in the last chapter of Leuiticus are many thynges wrytten of the redeemyng of vowes whiche I wyll thus gather into a fewe If any had vowed a man it was lawfull to redeme hym with a pryce and there was an estimation set And therefore it was called the vowe of estimation For they vowed either themselues or theyr seruauntes or theyr children and it was lawfull for euery manne to vowe them which he had in hys power From twenty yeares vpwarde to sixty they payd for the male fifty sicles for the female .30 From fyue yeares vpwarde to twenty for the male they payd twenty sicles and for the female tenne If a manne had vowed a house vnto GOD and would redeme it the house was estemed
Iiphtah delyuered hys not onelye from theeues but also from moste grieuous enemies from the Ammonites I say Wherefore the principallitye of hys Countrye being geuen hym he coulde not iustly be spoyled of it Whereunto thou mayest adde that he was instituted a Iudge by God Therefore he ought to defende both hym selfe and hys in punishyng wycked men Let vs in this place note the seuere iudgement of God vpon sedicious and ingrate persons 7 And Iiphtah iudged Israel syxe yeares then dyed Iiphtah the Gileadite and was buryed in the Cities of Gilead 8 After hym Iibzan of Bethlehem iudged Israel 9 And he had .xxx. sonnes and .xxx. daughters whych he sent out and tooke .xxx. daughters from abroade for his sonnes And he iudged Israel seuen yeares 10 Then Iibzan dyed and was buryed in Bethlehem 11 And after hym Elon a Zebulonite iudged Israell and he iudged Israel tenne yeares 12 Then Elon the Zebulonite dyed and was buryed in Aialon in the lande of Zebulon 13 After hym Abdon the sonne of Hillel the Pirathonite iudged Israel 14 And he had .xl. sonnes and .xxx. sonnes sonnes that rode on 70 Coltes And he iudged Israel .viii. yeares 15 Then died Abdon the sonne of Hillel the Pirathonite and was buryed in Pirathon in the lande of Ephraim in the mount of the Amelachites The Hebrewes fable that Iiphtah for hys wycked cryme in kyllynge hys daughter Nowe hee was buryed in the cities of Gilead was so smytten of God that hys members rotted and wasted away And that when he walked throughe the Cities of Gilead he lost in euerye one of those Cityes some part of his fleshe And therefore it is not sayde that he was buryed in any one certayne place but in the Cities of Gilead Other say that he was very desirous of glory and renowne and therfore he prouided to haue monumentes made for him in manye Cities of that Prouince These ar thyngs friuolous and ful of fables which other Interpreters seing do thus expounde that forme of speaking that In the Cityes of Gilead is nothyng els then in some one certayn of the Cities of Gilead But I thinke that it might be that the principal Citye of the Gileadites was so builte that it seemed to bee not one Citye but many Wherefore it myght bee sayde in the plurall number Cityes So in Hungary is a Citye called Quinque ecclesiae whyche is fyue Cyties and Siracusae a Citye in Sicilia So that Are Gilead was the proper name of one Citye After hym Iibzan iudged Israel This man counted to be Boaz. Some coniecture that thys maÌ„ was that Boaz whych maryed Ruth but that cannot be confirmed by any authoritye of the scripture He had thirty sonnes and thirty daughters And that we shoulde perceiue that they remayned long on lyue it is sayd that they were all by hym coupled in matrimony But bycause the actes of this Iudge and of the other twoo whych are afterwarde mencioned were not as it is to be thought notable therefore they are not spoken of But thys Iudge was of the Tribe of Iuda whych thyng Bethlehem hys Countrye declareth Elon whych was Iudge after hym tenne yeares was of the Tribe of Zabulon Abdon the sonne of Hillel the Pirathonite as the name of his country declareth was an Ephramite and he also was famous by his posteritye for he had fourtye Sonnes and of them thirtye Neuewes It is declared that they all came to rype age for it is sayde that they were all horsmen who as it is to be thought in ryding compassed the sydes of their father To haue many Children is an excellent gift of God Vnles a great number of children were an excellent gift of God it shoulde not so diligentlye haue bene mencioned of in those places God promised vnto his friend Abraham that hys seede should be increased lyke the starres of heauen and sand of the sea Yea and Dauid also syngeth Thy wyfe shall bee lyke a fruitfull vyne in the sydes of thy house and thy children lyke Olyue braunches rounde about thy table Priamus also is renowmed of the Poetes bycause he had fyfty chyldren The lawe of chyldren â—eÌ„ the Romaâ—â— The Romanes made a lawe called the law of three Chyldren For if anye at Rome had three chyldren a lyue they were excused from personall offices Throughout Italy to obtaine that liberty foure were sufficient But in a Prouince fiue wer required as it is in the Code of those which haue deserued an excuse by the number of Chyldren in the lawe de Personalibus and Eosvero But there are some whych doo hate plentiful fruite bycause they haue no confidence in the goodnes of God and doo dispaire that they shoulh be able to nooryshe them They synnâ— whyche hatâ— plentifull issue And there are other whiche are infected with this wicked affection bycause they desyre to auoyde the troubles of bryngyng them vp and are afrayde that they shall leaue their Chyldren beggers behynde them But thys thing happeneth vnto them bycause they doo euyll esteeme the benefites of God neyther vnderstande they what great honour and dignity he geueth them What is the dignitye of the Parentes as often as they haue issue As God is the Father of men so also would he haue men to be the Parentes of men that they should vnderstande by the fatherlye loue or affection what mynde and beneuolence God beares towardes vs. ¶ The .xiii. Chapter 1. BVt the Children of Israel continued to coÌ„mit wickednes in the syght of the Lorde and the Lorde deliuered them into the handes of the Philistines fourtye yeares 2 And ther was a maÌ„ in Zorah of the family of the Danites named Manoah whose wyfe was barren and bare not 3 And the Angel of the Lord appeared vnto the woman and sayd vnto her Behold nowe thou art barren and bearest not But thou shalt conceaue and beare a sonne 4 And now therfore beware that thou drinke no wyne nor strong drinke neyther eate any vncleane thyng 5 Bicause lo thou shalt conceaue and beare a sonne and no rasor shall come on hys heade for the Childe shal be a Nazarite vnto God from hys byrth and he shall begyn to saue Israel out of the handes of the Philistines This affliction of the Israelits is longer then the other GOd afflicted the Israelites and deliuered theÌ„ to their enemies bycause they returned to their old nature and forgetting the Lord their God woorshypped Idoles And this affliction dured fourtye yeares We reade of none longer then this From the death of Abdon the last Iudge euen almost vnto Hely this affliction endured bicause Samson did not fully deliuer the people He in deede smote the Philistines but he did not vtterlye repell them from oppressing of the Hebrues This woorde Zorah is a name of a place and not of a famelye as we shal afterward vnderstand towardes the ende of the chapter Of the Tribe of Dan. The learneder sorte doo to this place referre those
Neither let any say They were not Gods that were taken awaye out of the temple of Micha but onely two images of Gods But Augustine sayth If they can not defende their owne images what hope is there that they can defende Cities or houses Virgil. But this thing is so much ridiculous that euen the Ethnicke Poetes deride it For Virgil hath soong of his Eneas He caried Troy with hym into Italy their Gods being ouercome Vndoubtedly miserable Gods which could be ouercome of men and be caryed into an other place Some wyll obiect That the Arke of the Lord was also taken once and led away after a sorte captiue of the Philistians I grauÌ„t that But how was it caried away To be kept as a prisoner No vndoubtedly For when it was put in the temple of the Philistians it threw Dagon their god to the ground Farther it strake the Philistians with so grieuous plagues and woundes that at the last they were compelled to send it home againe with honour And it was taken not bicause God can either be ouercome or taken but that the Hebrewes shoulde bee admonished of their synnes who wythout repentaunce or fayth dyd put al their confidence in an outwarde thyng They placed their children cattel and substance before Bicause they suspected that Micha would with armed soldiours pursue them to see if he could recouer the thinges which they had taken away Wherefore they woulde chieflye prouide for their children cattel and substance This woord Supplex which we turne substance is called in Hebrue Kechodah either bicause it signifieth a burthen or a packe or els a thing whereof men make their boast 22 When they wer farre of from the house of Micha the men that were in the houses neare to Michahs house gathered together and pursued after the children of Dan. 23 And cryed vnto the chyldren of Dan who turned theyr faces sayd vnto Michah what ayleth thee that thou makest an outcry 24 And he sayde ye haue taken away my Gods whyche I made and the Priest and go your wayes and what haue I more Howe then say ye vnto me what ayleth thee 25 And the children of Dan sayd vnto hym Let not thy voyce bee heard among vs least peraduenture men of a bytter mynde runne vpon thee and thou loose thy lyfe wyth the liues of thine houshold 26 So the chyldren of Dan went their wayes and when Michah saw that they were to strong for hym hee turned and went backe vnto hys house 27 And they tooke the thynges whyche Micha had made and the Priest which he had and came vnto Laish vnto a quiet people and wythout mystrust and smote them wyth the edge of the sword and burnt the City wyth fyre 28 And there was none to helpe bycause Laish was farre from Zidon and they had no busynes wyth other men also it was in the valley that lyeth by Beth-rehob After they buylte the Citye and dwelt therein 29 And called the name of the City Dan after the name of Dan their Father whych was borne vnto Israel how be it the name of the City was Laish at the beginning 30 Then the chyldren of Dan set them vp the grauen image and Ionathan the sonne of Gershom the sonne of Manasseth and hys sonnes were the Priestes in the Tribe of the Danites vntyll the day of the captiuitye of the land 31 So they set vp the grauen image whych Micha had made all the whyle the house of God was in Shiloh In that it is said that they which dwelled nigh the house of Micha were gathered together is declared that the number of the houses had increased that by reason of peregrinacions ther was in that place a village builded VVere gathered together In Hebrue it is Noecu by which verbe is signified that they were raysed vp by an outcrye For so are men gathered together when they heare an outcry on euery syde The Danites made him afearde and threatned that men of a bytter mynde would inuade him whom they so cal either bicause they were angry for choler is of his nature bitter or els bicause they were desperate as they in a maner are which seeke new dwelling places and depart from home bicause they can not there abide commodiously It is agayne repeated that they of Lais wer far from Zidon which declareth that they were in league with them But in that it is written that Ionathan and his sonnes were Priestes there euen to the day of the captiuity of the lande wee must not as farre as I iudge vnderstand it of the captiuity which the Hebrues suffred either by the Assirians or by the Chaldeians but of that whiche happened when they were plagued by the Philistians when also the Arke of the Testament was taken away I know also that there are some of the Hebrues which fable that this Ionathan was the neâ—ew of Moses by his sonne Gerson and that his Graundfather is here called Menasseh putting betwene this letter Nun for to honour Moses with all As though the holy scriptures doo not oftentimes make mencion of moste wycked children borne of excellent Parentes But this is to be marked that that is not very firme neither can it be certaine in that it was before said that this Leuite was a Gersonite bycause Gerson was the Sonne of Leui and not of Menasseh Wherefore it must nedes be vncertayne of what famely of the Leuites this man was But now let vs diligently weigh such things as are in this chapter worthy of peculiar noting Let vs chiefly consider how hurtful it is to want a Magistrate An euil Magistrate also wanteth not some vtilitye For althoughe sometimes there happen an euyl or to fauourable a Magistrate yet if the thing be wel weighed there commeth from him more good vnto the publike wealth then there would come euyl if there were in it no Magistrate at al. The Sunne and Moone although they haue sometimes aspectes not very fauorable whereby now and then ensue pestilences dearth of corne ouerflowing of waters or aultar to the ende that holy seruices shoulde bee done thereon but onelye they would haue it to be for a monument that they shoulde not bee counted straungers from their brethren but be thought to pertaine to the same people and the same God Wherfore if at that time the Israelites so hated Idolatry that they would for that cause haue made warre agaynst the Rubenites and Gadites it is not credible that they would haue suffered the impiety of Micha How this history is touched in the booke of Iosua How then could this history be mencioned of in that booke One of these twoo thinges we must answer either that there were two cities both of one name pertaining vnto the Danites which they by force conquered so that of the one is mencion made in the booke of Iosua and of the other in this historye But this seemeth to be but a fayned tale For those thinges which are written
that are necessary for our liuyng Peace be with thee Thy pouerty be vpon me Care not sayth he I wil furnishe that whiche wanteth I nothing passe what thou hast with thee or what thou hast not The humanity of this man was great whiche appeareth so muche the more excellent bycause he dwelled among the inhumane and cruel Gabaonites He was borne brought vp in an other place where the feare of God was more regarded then among the Gabaonites Yet he seemeth not herein to be praysed for that he dwelt so longe among vngodly and wicked men We must flye the fellowshyp of wicked men For we ought not to esteme any thyng so much that for the cause therof we should haue a will to dwell among idolatrous wicked men Wherfore if any greuous chaunce happen in that society vnto men which are otherwise good they can not complayne that the same happeneth vnto them vndeserued Lot sped yll bycause he dwelt among the Sodomites He saw the coūtrey fertyll and plentifull hauing great plēty of heardes and flockes he would abide there But with that he escaped not vnpunished For once he was led away prisoner and except Abraham had delyuered him with an army which he had assembled he should al his lyfe tyme haue serued in most hard bondage Afterward when these Cityes were burnt he scarsely escaped frō burning Whiche benefite he may ascribe rather vnto Abraham then vnto himself How vnprofitable euill fellowship is for if he had perished together with them he should haue had no cause to haue cōplained of God Euill fellowship alwayes for the most part either hurteth or eis engendreth daunger The Gabaonites beyng of the tribe of Beniamin are called also the children of Iemini bycause that famely was noble in the tribe Wherfore this famely possessed the City D. Kimhi although Dauid Kimhi expoundeth the sonnes of Iemini for strōge and migthy men for Iemini in Hebrew signifieth the right hand Wherfore the children of Iemini as he thinketh are they whiche haue lawe and ryght in the right hand and therfore do not what is lawful but what they can I do not deny but that the Gabaonites were such but I rather allowe the first exposition as the truer and more simple For it is manifest that it was a famely in Beniamin of whiche came Saul also Mesapua signifieth in Hebrew whatsoeuer meate is geuē vnto cattell besides straw and chaffe that is Tares Otes and Barley The old man had compassiō of the straunger either peraduenture bycause he was his contreyman or els at the least for that he himselfe also dwelt there as a straunger For common miseryes do oftentymes ioyne men together Wherfore in Virgil Dido sayth Virgil. I not beyng ignoraunt of euil do learne to succor the miserable After the same maner the Lord sayth in the law afflict not straūgers bycause ye were sometymes straūgers your selues in Egypt But the Gabaonites had vtterly forgotten their olde estate But the old mā bicause in time past he had ben a straūger or rather bicause he was euen then also a straūger was moued with mercy Yea God doth somtymes somewhat afflict those that are his that they should learne to haue cōpassion ouer other For they whiche alwayes florishe in wealth and riches are not greatly moued with the miseryes of other men And Paul to the Hebrues sayth that Christ was made lyke vnto his brethren in all thynges that he myght haue compassion of other The Leuite maketh mention that he would go vnto the house of God that is in Siloh where the arke of the Lord was And Siloh was in mount Ephraim He would therfore go thether peraduenture to geue thākes vnto god bicause bringing home his wife agayn he had luckly finished his busines Other thinke that the yong man added these things of the arke and house of God to the end the old mā should be the more gentle vnto him when he should vnderstand that he was no common man but a Leuite which would go vnto the holy tabernacle of God 21 So he brought hym into his house gaue foddre vnto the Asses Afterward they washed their feete and did eate and drinke 22 And as they were making their hartes merye Behold the men of the City wicked men be set the house round about and smote at the doore and spake to this old man the master of the house saying Brynge foorth the manne that came into thyne house that we maye knowe hym 23 And this man the master of the house went out and sayde vnto them Nay my brethren do not so wickedly I praye you seyng that this man is come into mine house do not this vilannie 24 Beholde here is my daughter a virgine and his concubine thē will I bryng out nowe and humble them and do with them what seemeth you good but to this man do not this detestable acte 25 But the men would not harken to hym therfore the man tooke hys concubine and brought her out vnto them and they knew her and abused her all the night vntyl the mornyng and when the day began to spryng they let her go 26 So the woman came in the dawning of the day and fell downe at the dore of the mās house where her Lord was till the light day 27 And her Lorde arose in the mornyng and opened the doores of the house and went out to go his waye and behold the woman his concubine was dead at the doore of the house and her handes laye vpon the threshold 28 And he sayde vnto her vp and let vs go but she aunswered not Then he tooke her vp vpon the Asse and the man rose vp and went vnto his place 29 And when he was come to his house he tooke a knife and layde hand on his concubine and deuided her in peces with her bones into twelue partes and sent her throughout al the quarters of Israel 30 And all that sawe it sayd There was no suche thyng doone or sene since the tyme that the children of Israell came vp from the lande of Egypte vnto this daye consider the matter consulte and geue sentence Where as it is sayde And he gaue his Asses foder In Hebrew it is written Vaiabol whiche signifieth he mingled for this verbe Balal signifieth to myngle For in those regions they vse to mingle chopped straw with barley so to geue them vnto their cattell The maner of washing of fete very muche vsed in Syria And washed their fete In those places that are extreme hot when men haue done their iorney they vse to washe their feete to wipe away the dust which office was sometymes shewed vnto Christ our sauiour and he agayne executed the same vnto his Apostles Paul also required this of good widowes namely to washe the feete of the Saintes Bring out the man that we may know him By these words is described a thing most filthy an horrible act There was
owne woorkes But to beleue to pray to acknowledge sinnes to bewaile them with an earnest repētāce are the woorkes of God and therfore are not forbidden on festiuall dayes but rather commaunded The Ethnikes acknowledged a Religious fast These thynges haue not onely the Hebrues learned out of the lawes of God but also the Ethnikes by the instincte of nature For when Ionas preached vnto the Niniuites that their City should within .40 dayes be ouerthrowen they dispayred not of the mercy of God but got themselues to repentaunce and euery one of them euen from the kyng vnto the lowest Citezin with their beastes also and cattell fasted And when they vehemētly and with a feruent zeale cried vnto the Lorde Augustine Porphyrius they were heard Augustine de ciuitate dei writeth that Porphyrius taught that abstinence from flesh and grosse meates doth purify the myndes of men wherby they are made the more prompt to thinges deuine and to familiarity with good spirites Plutarche Plutarche also in his litle booke de Iside Osiride sayth that the Priestes of Heliopolis vtterly absteyned from all meates whiche might noorishe and augment the wantones of the fleshe and that they neuer brought wyne into the temple of their God For they counted it a vilany to drinke wyne in the day tyme in the sight of their God other men sayd he vsed wyne but not much and they had many purifications without wyne The same Plutarche de cohibenda Iracundia sheweth Holy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that among the Athenienses wer certayne holy sacrifices which were done onely with water without wyne And this is notable which is written in the same booke Empedocles Titus Liuius that Empedocles was wont to say that a mā ought most of all to fast from malice Titus Liuius maketh mention that when at Rome there happened many portentuous thyngs which seemed to foreshewe some great euill the decemuiri were sent to looke into the bookes of the Sibilles and that there was aunswere made that they should institute a publique fast in the honor of Ceres whiche fast should also be repeated agayne euery .5 yeare And that by that meanes the anger of the gods should be pacified Wherfore the Ethnikes beyng smiten with the feare of the euils whiche hoonge ouer their heades fled vnto the oracles fasted and prayed the gods to turne away their anger But Christians not onely seyng so many so great euils but also hearyng them told from all parts of the world yet turne they not vnto GOD by prayer neither are they any thyng moued in mynde But peraduenture some man will say that Fastes Fastes are commended in the new Testamēt bycause they are partly Iewishe and partly Ethnike seeme to be farre from our Religion But that it is not so may easely be proued by the new Testament In the Actes of the Apostles the .13 chap. the Church beyng admonished by an oracle that Paul and Barnabas should be chosen to visite the Cityes and Townes where the Gospell had ben preached first decreed a fast then they layd their handes vpon them And in the .14 chap. when they after they had accomplished their matters thorough Iconium Listria and Antioche returned home they instituted a fast and created ministers and Priestes in euery City Augustine in his Epistle to Cassulanus sayth Augustine When Peter should at Rome haue talke with Simon the sorcerer vpon the Son day the Churche of Rome vpon the Sabaoth day denounced a faste whiche custome was alwayes afterward retayned Ierome Ierome in his prologue vpon Mathew sayth that Iohn beyng desired of the Churches to write the Gospell agaynst Ebion and Cerinthus who denyed the deuine nature of Christ aunswered that he woulde so doo if the whole Churche woulde before indicte a publique faste Whiche thyng Eusebius also in his Ecclesiasticall Hystory testifieth Eusebius Paul also in the .1 to the Corinthians the .7 chapter admonisheth those that are ioyned together in matrimony not to separate themselues a sonder but for a tyme to geue themselues to fastyng and prayers In whiche place I thynke he vnderstādeth publique prayers and also a publique fast For fellowshyp with the wife nothyng letteth but that they may be vsed priuately but whether he vnderstood publique fastes or priuate it skilleth not much Farther Christ being asked of his Apostles why they could not heale the dōme and cast out the deuil He answered Bycause of your incredulity And he added This kynd of deuils is cast out onely by fasting and prayer That place is somewhat darke and therfore it shall not be vnprofitable briefly to expounde it Is it to be thought that by the merite of fastyng and prayers as they vse to speake deuils are cast out by vertue of the worke wrought Not so What thē signified the woordes of Christ First he said Bycause of your incredulity for if ye had fayth euen so muche as a grayne of mustard and should say vnto this mountayne Take vp thy self cast thy self into the sea it should obey you And together with a fayth is necessary a vehement and feruent prayer and also fastyng bycause a fixed and earnest prayer which draweth the mind not onely frō meate and drinke but also from all other humane cogitacions and pleasures Wherefore Christ by the effectes describeth the cause namely fayth by prayers and fasting and he speaketh of those deuils to whom god gaue more liberty as though he should haue sayd ye must not lyue easely or idely if ye will cast out this kynd of deuils Ye must haue a sure and strong fayth whiche thyng he expressed by the effectes by prayers I say and fastes By these reasons and testimonyes may fastes also be commended in the new Testament But in them are faultes to be taken heede of What vices in fasting ar to be taken heede of whiche very often are many and those greuous First bycause in the Papacy are obserued fastes vpon certayne appoynted dayes without consideration of persons or occasions Faste brought in without measure as an yearely ceremony whiche at this day is vtterly of no strength is as if it were Iewishe Moreouer euery man hath added heaped vp of his owne whatsoeuer pleased him and not that which calamity of tymes or feruent prayers required For one man brought in Septuagesima an other Sexagesima an other Quinquagesima another Quadragesima which is Lent an other Rogatiō dayes an other Imber dayes an other the euēs of the Apostles an other Friday an other Saterday an other brought in fastyng on the Wēsday But of so many fastes what vtility hath there at the length followed Many contentions and questions concernyng fastyngs A great many questions contentions For a man will scarse beleue howe many question 's the elders haue had concernyng fast Augustine ad Cassulanum writeth that therfore we must fast on the Wensday bycause Christ was sold that day and on
Gates and walles of cities shoulde not be violated 227 Gedeon refused to be king 2 Gelousy may be in good men 204. b Generall worde proued the particuler or species doth not alwaies fol. 272. b Genesis booke what it entreateth of 1 Gentle aunswer asswageth anger 141. b Gentlenes praeposterus 101. b Gedeon of the tribe of Manasses 114 Gedeon was beautiful 145. b Gedeon why he had his sonne kill the kinges of the Madianites 146 Gedeon refuseth to be king 147 Gedeons fall 150 Gedeon sinneth â— wayes 151. b Gedeon whether he wer saued 155 Giftes of God are not bounde to the estates or conditions of men 251 Giftes of God some remaine and some are taken away after sinne 226. b Giftes of free grace common to the godly and vngodly 134 Gifts in way of reward 188 Gifts may be reuoked 188. b Gifts when they may only be reuoked 199. b Giuing vnhonestlye is vnlawfull 231. b Gilgal where it lieth 59. b Gilgal a religious place 82. b Gilead 173 Gilty persoÌ„s it is not ignominious to slay them 146 Gyauntes names inscripture and their originall 15. b Glasse of the deuine essence 68. b Gladnes described 142 Glory may be desired the matter ende therof 97 Glories desire is mother of enuyt 143 God what he is 121. b God author of histories 3. b God taketh tities and surnames of his benefites bestowed 59. b God appointeth maiestrates 25â— God ruleth in other Maiestrates when 149. b God is the distributer of kingdoms 187. b God calling anye man to office geueth him habilitie to execute the same 71. b God was king of the Israelites 1. b. 2. God reioyceth not in bloud 194. b God is bound to no maÌ„ to geue his grace vnto him but is free 167 God is not bound to his lawes 4. b God may do against his lawes wheÌ„ he list 93 God chaungeth not 175 God changeth not his mind 33. b God when he repenteth is not chaÌ„ged 72 God whether he bee the cause of sinne 78 God deliuered the Israelites to their enemies 70. b. God punisheth sins by sins 24. 8. b. Gods operatioÌ„ in bringing sinne to light 166. b God beholdeth not Idols mens doinges but worketh together with them 78. b God instilleth no new malice 79. b God may we not feele in al thinges 129 God is to bee imitated of Christen men 249. b God can doo many thinges that he wil not 97. b God saith he will do that he wil do and contrary 174. b God how he intermedleth and vseth our corruptioÌ„ by his gouernment 167 God punisheth his owne and beareth with straungers 80. b God whether he be without a bodye 121 God how he may be sen of men 118 God neuer fayleth them that obey him following their vocatioÌ„ 83 b God wyl be worshipped as he hath commaunded 1. 1. b God sendeth som dreames but not all 138 God forgiueth synnes but doth not by and by restore the thynges taked away 65. b Gods helpe is not to bee dispayred of though it be deferred 92. b Gods grace is in degrees 167. b Gods of the sea worshipped 234. b Godly vngodly haue many times like succes 236 Godly to make peace with the vngodly whether it be lawful 99 Godlye men flye vnto god in ouerthrowes 271. b Godly to ioyne power with the vngodly whether it be lawful 99. b Golden age of the Israelites 2. b Good age what 155 Good intent 152 Good workes what they requyre 153 Good workes are so acceptable to God he rewardeth them 72 Good workes morall 72 Good workes must not be without faith no more then a body wythout a soule 242 Good workes in hope of reward lawfull or vnlawfull 23. b Goods wast with droÌ„keÌ„nes 164. b Gospell and law is the sum of the Scripture 1 Gospell promises 175. b Gouernment of god whether it be excluded by humane maiestrates 149. b Grace god would haue it knowen 182 Grace of God whether we can resist 167. b Grace of god why it worketh not alike alwayes in vs. 167. b Grapes gathering with wantonnes 168 Gregory deceiued 90 Gregories error 56 Gregory thought it absurd that the Pope should be aboue the Emperour 147. b Griefe described and deuided into his braunches 142 Grosnes oft in Princes 82 Groues to worship Gods in 77 Groues about Idols 123 Ground of all impiety and folye is security 246. b Guile or deceit handled 84 Guile good and bad 84. b Guile to breake an othe 282. b H HAbituall intent 153 Heresy defined 58. b Heresy of the Marcians 58. b Heretikes if they may be suffred among christians 58. b Heretikes how they must be ordered 61. b Heretikes ought men to kepe faith with 86 Hand bredth measure 16. b Hand maiden cannot by the Romain lawes be a concubine 154. b Hangmen Hebrewes had none 146 Harlots how daungerous 228. b Harlot differed from a concubine 154 Harlots are not to be suffered in a city 230. b Harlots are not rapt though they they be had away with violence 283. b Harlots son a iudg in Israel 176. b Harpers 102 Harte or minde and body or outward vesture to worshippe God with 49 Hate of enemies not permitted to vnperfect 31 Head of the church who 241 Head of the whole church caÌ„not the bishop of Rome be nor none els there 148. b Heades couered in token that they haue authority aboue them 93 Heads of captaines ouercumde cut of and presented to the victors 141 Heare growing or clipping 201. b Hebrues sinned three wayes 77 Hebrues vsed the superstition of the Egiptians 122. b Hebrew wordes is none in the Latine churche but such as came by the Grekes 41. b Hebron called Kiriath Arba. 14 b Hebron a city of refuge 18 Helizeus delighted in musike 102. b Helpe at Infidels handes may not be desired 99. b Helpe of God may we not dispayre of 92. b Helpes humain are not to be despised 97 Helping of the Lord. 110 Helth lesse estemed then profit 174 Hems of the Hebrewes 47. b Hercules praise 29 Herod eaten of lice 13 Hesron called also Iephuna 18. b Heauines described 142 Hypocrates of factors 274 History defined 3 History praised 3. b Histories fruite 235. 288. b Holidaies dauncing 287. b Holidaies bestowing 288 Holy ghost is iii. waies in meÌ„ 190. b Honour due to parentes 214. 212. b Honour defined 157. b. How it is the reward of vertues 158 Honestye is the sure foundation of amity 166. b Honest and iuste thinges are to bee done although they be not expresly commaunded in the worde of God 250 Hooring what it signifieth 151 Hops bytter become swete beyng stiept in water 161. b Hope described 142 Hope is a meane betwene securitye and desperation and springeth thereof 246. b Hooredome handled 229 Hooredome punished 4 Hornets of dead Ashes 218 Hospitality 4 Hospitality praised 251 Hospitalitiâ—s lawes broken 100. b more of them 101 Hoste cruell Busiris 252. b Houres of the day among the Elders 277. b House of euerye