were not yet spoken of in all Moses style and therefore they could not be meant by any of his tearmes but as Elohim was vsed for the Creator onely so common natiue logique would stretch it no further there and VS the plurall to be as Boreica Thy Creators in Eccle. 12. 1. a misticall speach marked and cited euen of Rabbi Bochai the Iew a witnesse strong against his owne side Moreouer as Moses knew a difference in signification betwixt Elohim the tearme of Might and Iehouah named of Beeing simply by him selfe and giuing a Beeing to all his workes and wordes and therefore neuer vseth the tearme Iehouah before the Creation had his full beeing Gen. 2. 4 So wet may be sure that Adam and Euah knew the difference betwixt Iehouah and Elohim The Serpent nameth not Iehouah but onely Elohim as a name of bare Might and the forme whereof her might peruert to Gods Hee trembled to consider the eternall trueth constant to giue performance of Mercie and Wrath noted by the tearme Iehouah Now whereas in Sems time EL was Gods name it is all one as Elohim Mightie onely a forme singular And this seemeth to be the reason that Satan had corrupted the world to vnderstand Gods by the tearme Elohim as in Nachors religion Elohim is Gods in Labans wordes Therefore Sem might vse EL Almightie in the frame singular Abraham first nameth God Adonai that is My Pillers with a misticall note of the trinitie Adam who knew not vpon what Pillers the Earth could be fastened in the middest of the liquid Ayre and Water but by Gods power knew him to be Adonai though occasion was not offered to vse the word vntill God and his prouidence became vnknowen and denied almost of all the world IAH an abridgement of Iehouah vsed first in tearme by Moses Exod. 15. substaunce could not be vnknowen to Adam though in later times more names to expresse Gods nature were seene needfull by the eternall Spirit The Vnitie and Trinitie being thus knowen to Adam hee would deliuer it ouer equally to his Sonnes to Methusela and Lamech Now for the Redemption Hee confessed that hee was naked and was afraide hid himselfe as needing one to bring him into fauour and knew that hee who should ouercome Satan being in mans nature was to die as all of Adam and must recouer himselfe from death and must reuiue Adam and must restore all fallen once to corruption and know that none but God could doe this much And this hee beleeued and therevpon named the Woman Life And for the most vnlikely part of death hee had Sacrifice to seale assurance of that and requiring an open profession of that euery Sabbath that day being ordeyned for that vse Whereby wee must needes know that when that was performed which in that day was represented the day must be altered And as the Skinnes of the Beastes couered his body so the Carkases burnt represented whose Death should couer his Soule with Iustice taking away the giltinesse of sinne Moses was to speake short or these matters that the prophane should not trouble them selues with that which they would neuer beleeue Doubtlesse Adam knew that the most Holy should annoynt the Humanitie with the dwelling of the Godhead in it and sanctifie himselfe for Adam and his faythfull Sonnes and must be called by the name fittest Messiah And hee that knew the whose course of Nature could not but know that the liquor of Spices was the fittest to represent Deuine thinges by an Oyntment made of it And seeing it was most needfull that hee should be a great Prophet wee may say well with the Iewes that hee saw the lot of his Sonnes through all ages And God would hide nothing good for the Vineyard nor would doe any thing but hee would reueale it to his Prophets And although hee liued not to see Henoch taken vp hee might well know it and Iared might vse his counsell in giuing Henoâ—h the name Consecrated or Dedicated to God And as Noah in his three Sonnes names conteined their Storie for Religion in Deuine Sem in Iapheth that the new Testament should be written in Greeke as the Iewes well gather in Thal. Ierusalemi in Megilah by the alusion Iapheth and Iapheth will perswade So Hotte Countries dwelling by Chams house by his name Hotte And as Noah saw their whole state so no doubt Adam did as well as hee and they all beheld the dayes of Christ and knew that hee should redeeme them on Mount Sion And Rambam recordeth that which no reason can denie how the Iewes euer held by tradition that Adam Habel and Kain offered where Abraham offered Isaac where both Temples were built on which Mountaine our Lord taught and on that also he died All that Moses figured at large and that the new Testament openeth in substaunee they knew And seeing they be our Fathers and Mirrours of Wisedome in their names fayth feare of God and yeares wee should in our meditation bring backe the Ghospell vnto them as they foresaw it and forbade to say Who can goe vp to Heauen to bring Christ downe or who can goe into the deepe of the Earth to bring Christ from the dead But they knew as I touched both in the Incarnation that the Sauiour in Hebrew Ioshuang in Greeke Iesus was God dwelling in Christ and iust Habel shewed his death and Henoch his ascension And in these few poyntes Deuinitie standeth in the Trinitie and Redemption that all iust went hence vp to ioy at Gods Throne All this the Heathen heard of and the Scribes held it sure But that God was to dwell in Christ and that hee should by death ouer-him that had the power of death they despised to hold that in knowledge bending their mindes to earthly benefites These meditations I hold profitable for all who by studie will of them selues multiply them and a Child knowing these Stories shall passe Aristotle in sound Wisedome to feare God till the Body returne to the earth and the Soule to God that gaue it To whom with the Sonne and Holy spirit be all prayse honour glory both now and henceforth for euermore Amen For conference of ages I thought good to place heere the Table printed in the Concent where euery Patriarches yeares be set vnderneath him at what age he is a father or dieth and with how many others he liued and how long Meditations herein will bring great knowledge comfort and delight ADAM falleth before the woman is called EVE And CHRIST is promised a destroyer of the Deuils workes Sacrifice is a seale of iustice giuen by Fayth ADAM his yeares 130 Seth borne Gen. 5. 3. 235 105 Enos borne Gen. 5. 6. By Enos birth religion is sorrowfully corrupted through mariages with Gains house The faythfull are called the children of God Ioh. 1 12. 325 195 90 Kenan borne Gen. 5. 9. 395 265 160 70 Mahalaleel borne Gen. 5. 460 330 225 135 65 Iared borne Gen. 5. 622 492 387 297 227 162 Henoch borne Gen. 5. the seueuth froÌ„ Adam Iude. 687 557 452 362 292 227 65 Mathuselah borne Gen. 5. 21. 874 744 639 549. 479 414 252 187 Lamech borne Gen. 5. 25. 930 800 695 605 535 470 308 243 56 Adam dieth Gen. 5. 5. 987 857 752 662 592 527 365 300 113 Henoch is taken avvay Gen 5. 1042 912 807 717 647 582  355 168 Seth dieth Gen. 5. 8. 1056  821 731 661 596  369 182 Noah B. Gë. 5. 29 the 10. froÌ„ Adam 1140  905 815 745 680  453 266 84 Enos dieth Gen. 5. 14. 1235   910 840 775  548 361 179 Kenan dieth Gen. 5. 14. 1290    895 830  603 416 234 Mahalaleel dieth Gen. 5. 17. 1422     962  735 548 366 Iared dieth Gen. 5 20. 1536 The patience of God Abode 120. yeres in which the spirit of Christ preached while the Arke was in making to the spirites now in prison 1. Pet. 3. 19. 849 662 480 CXX yeeres begin Gen. 6. 1556 869 682 500 20 Iapheth borne Gen. 5. 32. 1558 871 684 502 22 2 Sem borne 1651 964 777 595 115 95 93 Lamech dith 1656 Mathuselah dyeth Gen. 5. 27. 969  600 120 100 98 The Flood FINIS What Tongue Adam Eue palce * In Malachies age the old Testament ended and authenticall Ebrew The hâ—d Apocrypha is not in that tongue nor penned by the holy spirit A digression to Habel and Kayn * Some Ieweâ— of malice studie to perueâ—â— all Christians doctrine as this man Abrabbaneel or Barbinel a Rabbine of great paines and witte buâ— not of grace and only to bâ— folowed wheâ— he clearely is on our side Without then our age can not fear◠〈…〉 thinges and much they 〈…〉 the vnacquainted with them * Yet in all other of Seth they held the nature of all men corrupt But that point was very needfull to be cleared to the full Tremellius Tum caeptum est profanaâ—i in inuocando nomine Jehouae Gen. 4. 26. A digression for a matter of some difficultie Life eternall plainly meant but neuer named in Moses and why Gen. 11. Galat. 3. 17. * As in Exod. 6. 18. shewing that his grandfather who was of their number who came into Egypt ivued 133. yeares his sonne Amram 137. Moses 80 there all 350. * Gen. ver 1 3. * For they had not the Law to reach them but were taught from the fathers as they had bin Conclusion
a wild Asse and conceaued in sinne and dead in sinne and a child of wrath naturally Kain Habel and Seth were all three borne after the image of the earthly Kain continued therein Habel and Seth were borne againe The mention of naturall corruption or Adams image and likenesse in Kain or Habel had not touched vs so much as in our owne Father So the name of Seth is frowardly applyed by him to Adam likenesse for all Adams is all Habel His continuance and setled state was by Gods fauour not by his witte or wisedome His other Families prooued that 7 Against the Iewes common errour our Lord teacheth Nicodeâ—â—s that the Sonnes of Seth and all of Adam must be borne from abone or they enter not into the kingdome of Heauen and so muchâ— â—oses meant to tell of Adams corrupt image in Seths birth not of that which he first had and lost 8 Enosh is next Seth his Sonne much to be considered The letters of his name in the appellatiue signifie Sorrowfull Grieuous and the like and that very often in Scripture Moses giueth closely a reason of Seths counsell at the naming of him so saying Azhuchal Then sprang Corruption touching the calling vpon the name of God 9 Men not acquainted very much with Scripture would maruell why any would cite the Text so seeing it is commonly translated thus Then men began to call vpon the name of the Lord. So Moses may be translated AZ huchal Then was a Beginning The Greeke draweth neare vnto that The Latine translation called S. Ieromes followeth that and many others 10 This poynt cannot be well weighed without iudgement of a rule generall through Moses and the Prophets and the later Iewes their translaters from Adams tongue into Greeke how all these hide their minde when matters come to be spoken of which to prophane men would seeme strange Moses neuer nameth life eternall in the plaine and vsuall phrase but by strong consequentes as how the Lord is the God of Abraham Isaak Iacob and not of the dead but of the liuing whereby they must be holden to liue So Life in his Law signifieth often Life eternall and Death Death eternall So by this place Deut. 32. 39. I kill and I make aliue Aben Ezra noteth that Death and life after it is closely taught And this reason is rendred of many Rabbines why Moses neuer nameth Life eternall though all his doctrine tendeth thyther euen because the world then all prophane which skant heard of one God and hardly beleeued the Creation was to be allured by open and plaine thinges first vnto the worship of the one God and that being done for Earthly blessinges they might afterwardes be drawen easily vnto the Eternall Vnto which if directly they were called the strangenesse would make them reiect all So Moses hideth his minde in the Paradox of Adams present fall with manifold turnings of the Narration and likewise of the ages of Iapheth and Sem Haran and Abraham and with doubtfull tearmes for the Peregrination of the Children of Israel as though they had been 430. yeares in Egypt But he had relation to Abrahams Peregrination and Promise of Christ which the estranged could not conceiue From disputing whereof he minded to bridle men vnskilfull by doubtfull speaches yet giueth rules thyther to vnderstand him rightly So heere the tearme Huchal may be taken for a Beginnig or for Corruption But the matter telleth that God was called vpon long before that in the first Sabbath and therefore Beginning could not be then wherefore Corruption must be meant there by Huchal So Dauid Kymchi the King of Grammarians doth take it in his Rootes for Corruption So in Breshith Rabba the fallinges away from God are reckoned in the dayes of Enosh of the Deluge and of Babel The Zoar and others the most of Iudahs name hold the same Arias Montanus hath both The Greek-Hebrewes knowing why Moses hid his minde they turned it fit for Heathen Then men hoped to call vpon Gods name All who incline that way haue great defence by Grammer and much authority some of Hebrewes more of others But the matter will require Corruption not a Beginning of Religion to be meant there As in the speach continuing the Narration after the Catalogue of the Fathers it is manifest how the Sonnes of God saw the Daughters of Adams Sonnes and so chose Wiues of a strange God Otherwise Moses telleth not when apostacie from Religion should fall 11 If at Enosh birth men began to call vpon God Seth vpon that occasion would not euer haue named his sonne Sorrowfull Enosh nor Moses haue ioyned presently thereupon after naming the Fathers the falling away The Prophets likewise name Life My digression would be too long if I tooke examples of the like concealing the minde from the Prophets and from the Greeke translaters I will now proceed vnto the next 12 Kenan is hee Konen To Lament might be the roote for his name Twise speaking of one thing is vsuall for vehemencie as in Dan. 5. Mene Mene So these two names Sorrow and Lamentation teach that they lamented the sorrowes of their Workes and of the Earth which God hath cursed 13 Ma-hahal-El a prayser of God teacheth what comfort ought to be in sorrow the seeking of Gods prayse and glory for the world to come An other Notation Mahal-Le-El God bringeth a Confusion by water is well agreeable to the Argument So thy Wine is Mahul Confused with water That is fittest for the continuall threatning of the Flood to shew the curse vpon the Flood So that this name comprehendeth the drift of all the Scripture 14 Iared is in the playnnesse casting away no letter Descending as betokening a downefall in the behauiour of men without hope of goodnesse to any bettering Such as deriue this name from Radah to Rule go twise further then they neede The Argument calleth for no such matter and that Etymologie should first be admitted which hath best agreement in the Letters when nothing for the matter disagreeth and not any farre off sought out when one at home is fit onely 15 Enoch signifieth Dedicated Appoynted vnto If Kain had called him so the name had been of no praise but as in one appoynted for the wicked world now it is the best as in one Consecrated vnto God Hee is in number the seuenth as any may reckon from Adam and also as the Holy ghost noteth for an higher purpose The prouidence of God may be sweetly considered in continuall calling of vs to consider the Sabbath by his disposing of great matter gracious most often by seauens So Moses was from Abraham the seuenth The time of his life is wonderfull matching in yeares the dayes of the Sunnes yere 365. A matter most pleasaut to teach what recompence commeth by walking with God If his assumption had not been recorded yet the number of his yeares would haue caused celestiall admiration what kind of man he
should be Hee walking with God was doublesse a most zealous Preacher of righteousnesse and told of the Flood to come S. Iude eloquently frameth an Oration for him by the matter as Oratours may lawfully doe thus it standeth Iude 14. Behold the Lord commeth with his holy thousandes to execute iudgement against all men and to reproue all the wicked of them for all their workes which they haue committed and for all their hard words which wicked sinners spake against him This is a most sweete Oration framed from Moses for this our holy Father In the Flood God shewed iudgement and as on Sinai hee came with thousandes of his Holy-ones so doubtlesse at the Deluge against men that cast oft and scorned trueth of Religion and holy Patriarchs admonitions and liued wallowing in all badnesse Also the tearme Behold may haue a close glaunce at the notation of Methuselah Then first Enoch walked with God as a Prophet and holy Teacher 16 Meth He dying V then Shelah He God sendeth what the matter spoken of iudgement vpon the wicked The Scripture is full of close glaunses And well might Enoch name his Sonne so as Iared gaue him a name fitted to his euent While Methuselah liued the Flood came not few dayes after his death it came when he had skant begun his last yeare of 969. For memory of the phrase the Iewes say that he lay vpon the Arke For being iust he perished not onely eight were in the Arke and he could not haue his full yeares 187. to Lameches birth 182. thence to Noahs his 600. compleat but as vpon the Arke This is the meaning of their fable the shewing how his age reached into the Flood And I thinke that the mockers which S. Peter speaketh of skoffed the prophecie conteined vnder his name when they said Where is the appearance of his comming For since the Fathers dyed the world continueth in the same state Now the Fathers all and his Sonne dyed before the Flood and for the sadnesse of that hee gaue to his Sonne the name Lamech 17 La-Mech of Mach Striking Tubalcayns father that would kill a man in his wounde had the same name as a Striker but this man was stroken with all calamities Hee saw Adam turned to dust Seth set in his rest Enosh taken with sorrowes of death Kenan lamented by mourners in the streete Mahalaleel depart thyther where Angels prayse God Iared descend to the low partes of the earth Enoch taken vp and knew that he should die before his Father when he named Noah the Comforter Whereas seeing his Father liued vnto the Flood without propheticall knowledge that he should die before his Father hee not Noah should haue been thought the Comforter And the saddest Oration that could proceed from a broken heart is that which hee maketh at Noahs birth saying This is hee that shall comfort vs concerning our workes and concerning the sorrowes of our handes and concerning the earth which GOD hath cursed So Lamech giueth sadnesse as his Sonne a remedie to sorrow 18 Noah the tenth hath his name arguing that Lamech spake Hebrew as Moses in the Notation Noah and Naham Great matters are to be considered in him Hee was long a single man When hee was 480. the spirit of Christ not recorded euer since the first day of man to haue spoken to any sauing to the cursed Kain neuer to any for effectuall Saluation speaketh to Noah Therefore S. Peter talking of Christ his Diuinitie had not an auncienter open record since the speach to Adam to talke of for Christ his open full speach speaking vnto men though the other nine were illuminated with propheticall knowledge Noah is 500. before he was a Father or maried as we may gather That argueth his great feare of Gods iudgementes farre vnlike his sonnes now adayes giuen as Horses to all voluptuousnesse and not caring for their owne most certaine destruction Twentie yeares before hee was maried hee had a warrant that his house should not perish His breathren and sisters yet would not take that warning for all that Lamech and Methuselah both could doe beholders of the Arke and witnesses doubtlesse of the wtath no come Lamech lyued not out the whole to 120. yeares as Methuselah but dying before his Father gaue a further warning that he spake as a Prophet touching the Flood The three witnesses were a full condemnation of the wicked world The further Stories of Noah may better be fetched from the fountaine of Genesis then abridged by any mans wit This much I thought good to speake seuerally of these ten Fathers some thinges common to them all may well heere be ioyned as their Religion long life and neare the same commeth the comparision of their ages togeather Their Religion was perfect and sinceere They knew the Creator to be one GOD and that the Sonne should bruse Satans power and that the Spirit was a person coequall and coeternall All that Moses recordeth for vs touching those times wee may know that they knew by the speaches vttered in Iob before the Law Eliphaz Zohar Bildad and Elthu spake no otherwise then the Fathers For they spake soundly of all Religion whereby wee may be sure that the first came not short of them in knowledge Adam knew the natures of all thinges the creation of the visible thinges and the vnuisible the fall of Angels and their eternall condemnation the corruption of mankind being the seed of the Serpent and a generation of Vipers And as Moses telleth that Elohim sayd Let Vs make man So hee knew that and why Elohim was a forme plurall for GOD. It were grosse to thinke that the Cabalistes which expound Elo him El-hem They be one God in Bachai vpon Gen. 1. should know more then Adam for names And the Hebrews vpon Middras Tillim bring in God talking with Adam as he gaue names asking What is my name To whom Adam sayd Thou art Elohim and Iehouah Whether God by expressed word named himselfe Iehouah and Elohim or gaue Adam wisedome so to doe we see that the names were knowen from the beginning For the Serpent nameth Elohim to Euah and turneth presently the forme plurall vnto Gods prophanely saying Yee shal be like vnto Gods that know good and euill Which pluralitie Adam and Euah referred to the holy Trinitie There the Greekes in the Serpents word Elohim the second time translate very learnedly Gods And so doe the Talmudistes hold it meant in Masseceth Sopherim Perk. 4. And we may be sure that Adam and Euah were not ignorant of Satans thoughts when by experience they found him out Now when Euah bare a Sonne she spake voyde of all doubt to the Vnitie I haue possessed a Sonne by Iehouah by the one Eternall yet we may be sure that she remembred the speach of the Trinitie Adam wil be like to one of VS now The late Iews haue Satans darknesse which will haue that tearme VS to be spoken of Angels The Angels