founded on these Antient Records because no other Writings give an Account of the Government which was first of all settled among the Sons of Men. Here and only here we are told that Adam and the other first Partriarchs were Supreme Governours in their respective Tribes and Houses that the Father of every Family was at the first the King of it and reigned over his Children and Houshold as Soveraign and that upon the Decease of the Father the Eldest Son by a natural Right and Title was Successor and inherited the Paternal Power and Dominion Thus with the Paternal Rule went Primogeniture i. e. the First-born Sons of Fathers of Families were Rulers and there were many of these every where And thus the Authority quietly and peaceably ran in this Channel and 't is not likely was interrupted till some years before the Flood when there was a general Corruption of Mankind and some affected extraordinary Dominion and Sway and perverted the Primitive way of Government After the Flood we find that the Authority was continued in the Heads and First-born of Families and now by a more especial Commission the Magistrate's Authority is confirm'd Gen. 9. 5. whoso sheddeth Man's Blood by Man shall his Blood be shed The Ruler is authorized to punish Murder with Death to require Blood for Blood This is the first Formal Appointment of the Power of the Sword that we read of this is the first Erection of a Tribunal of Life and Death From some Instances in the Records of this Time we may gather that the Sacerdotal Dignity was joined to the Secular Power they that were Magistrates were Priests And so far as we are able to discover these Offices were exerted by those who had the Paternal Right or that of Priority of Birth Thus it was in the first Patriarchal Oeconomy this was the Government which lasted till after the Deluge in the Race of Shem. For as yet there was no one Person who usurped Authority over all the rest though those of Cham's Offspring had a Monarchy in the mean time Nimrod being their King of whom I shall speak afterwards but the Patriarchs kept up the first and original Laws of Paternity and Primogeniture all the time they lived at Liberty there was no failure of this Government till they were brought under the Egyptian Yoke And then afterwards when the Jewish People were in the Desarts of Arabia the Primogeniture more signally ceas'd in Moses who was appointed by God himself to be Ruler over them And so we are come to give an Account of the Civil Government of the Iews which we can learn from no other Writings under Heaven but These Moses I say was their Ruler and was the First of that kind that they had He was not only their Captain and Leader but their Civil Magistrate yea he may be said to be their King for even that Title is given to him Deut. 33. 5. Moses was King in Jeshurun i. e. in Israel He was an Absolute King say Philo and the Jewish Doctors and Mr. Selden and some others Ioshua was their next Ruler Captain and King who was succeeded by the Iudges who were like the Roman Dictators set up upon emergent Occasions to desend protect and deliver the People But all this time the Jews were under a Theocracy i. e. they were governed in a more signal manner by God They received their Laws from Him and he appointed the Punishments for the Breach of those Laws They went to War by His Advice and Direction and they did nothing in Civil or Ecclesiastical Affairs without consulting him Thus God was their King it was a Divine Government and the Iudges were but God's Vicegerents and held a Power under Him That God himself exercised this Regal Power over the Jews was expresly acknowledged by Gideon Judg. 8. 23. I will not rule over you saith he to that People neither shall my Son rule over you the Lord shall rule over you So Samuel told the People that the Lord their God was their King 1 Sam. 12. 12. And this is implied in what God said to Samuel They have not rejected thee but they have rejected me that I should not Reign over them 1 Sam. 8. 7. This Kingdom of God among the Iews began when he renewed the Covenant with them Exod. 19. 5 6. Then they took God for their King and Governour and accordingly the Jewish Government is stiled a Theocracy not only by Iosephus but many of the Christian Writers But this wanton People desired another King besides God they would by no means be Singular they would be Ruled as other Nations were a King they must have as Egypt Babylon Syria Persia and the rest of the Pagan World had And a King they had according to their earnest Desire for they chose Saul to be their King in desiance of God's Soveraignty over them and now the Theocratical Dispensation ceased Their Kingly Government lasted till the Captivity when Zedekiah was their last King After their Return from Assyria they were governed by the Chief Heads of their Tribes Thus the Sacred Writings acquaint us that Zerobabel a Prince of the Tribe of Iudah was their Supreme Ruler But the Canonical Scripture goes not on to tell us the great Variety of Governours over the Jews after the Captivity Only in the New Testament we read of Herod who was the first Stranger that was King of the Jews but the last of all their Kings for their that famous Prophecy of the Scepter departing from Iudah was accomplished and Shiloh the Blessed Saviour the Prince of Peace came into the World Having given you a short Survey of the Government among the Iews I will in the next Place speak of the Particular Exertments of it in their Courts of Iudicature There was the Iudicatory of three Men two of which were chosen by the Parties that were at Controversy and those two chose a third This sort of Courts was call'd the Iudicature of Moneys because it was conversant about Pecuniary Causes i. e. wherein Life was not concerned but only a Sum of Money to be paid for the Fault viz. Thest Trespasses Defamation Hurt and Damage and all Private Injuries In short all Lesser Causes and Petty Actions were tried by these Triumviri I must add that though this was usually call'd the Iudicature of Three yet this Number was sometimes increased to five or seven And this must be noted that these three five or seven Iudges or rather Iustices of the Peace were settled in every City and considerable Town and they tried the Causes and decided the Controversies of the Inhabitants of their proper City and Town Again there was the Iudicatory of Three and Twenty Men and sometimes it consisted of Four and twenty This Court was stiled the Iudicatory of Souls because Great and Capital Causes such as concern'd the Life of Men were brought and tried here This Court was also called the Little Sanedrim
Apostles propagating it the Gentiles who were of the Race of Iapheth were admitted into the Church of God which at first indeed consisted of those of the Posterity of Shem. Moses foretold the besieging of Ierusalem by the Assyrian Armies and the Calamities and Miseries which attended it which were very near a thousand Years after Moses's time The Deliverance of the Israelites from the Oppression and Slavery which they underwent in Egypt was promised to Abraham above four hundred Years before it happened King Iosias was expresly named three hundred Years before his Birth and consequently it was a longer time before he could demolish the Altars and destroy Idolatry at Bethel which was also particularly foretold by a Man of God Cyrus who first united the Kingdom of the Medes and Persians and was the first Emperour of the Second Chief Monarchy viz. the Persian was honourably named and foretold by Isaiah to be the Deliverer of the Jews out of their Captivity and the Restorer of their Temple almost two hundred Years before he was born and before that Deliverance was accomplished Isa. 44. 28. and 45. 1 -5. This is that Cyrus who conquered Astyages the last King of the Medes and translated the Empire to the Persians and brought Asia and all the East under his Power This is that Cyrus whose Life Xenophon wrote saith Sir W. Raleigh and from some things there related especially his last Oration at his Death we may probably gather that he received the Knowledg of the True God from Daniel when he govern'd Susa in Persia and that he had read Isaiah's Prophecy wherein he was expresly named And indeed Iosephus tells us that he had so and that when the Jews shewed Cyrus that Place of Scripture which foretold his Wars and Victory and likewise his Beneficence to the Jews he admired the Divinity of the Book and to make good what he read he conferr'd many great Kindnesses on that People It is no wonder therefore saith a Judicious Writer that the History of Cyrus's Life wrote by the foresaid Historian is thought by some to be a Fiction he being so Extraordinary a Person designed by God and signally foretold before-hand An extraordinary Spirit and Vigor actuated him which makes that Historical Account of him look like a Romance But notwithstanding what these Learned Men say I am doubtful whether this famous Cyrus whom I am now speaking of was he that this Historian gives us an account of for that Cyrus whom he describes died a Natural Death and expired peaceably on his Bed and among his Friends but this Cyrus that set up the Persian Monarchy died in the Wars and was overcome by Tomyris Queen of the Scythians Therefore 't is thought by others that the Life of Cyrus the Second is described by Xenophon To proceed the taking of Babylon and its being brought under the Power of the Medes and Persians were predicted by Isaiah many Years before they came to pass Isa. 47. 1 c. And this Noble Prophet hath deservedly gain'd the Title of Evangelical because he so exactly sets down what happened several hundred Years afterwards upon the Arrival of Christ and the Dispensation of the Gospel Ieremiah another noted Prophet prefixed the seventy Years of the Babylonian Captivity And in other Prophets who were Pen-men of the Old Testament there are very plain Predictions of future Events and the Accomplishment of them hath proved them to be True But the Spirit of Prophecy is most eminent and wonderful in Daniel who hath foretold the State of the World from the time of the Captivity wherein he lived till the Coming of Christ in the Flesh which was about five hundred Years after The Succession of the most famous Empires or Monarchies of the World is prophetically represented by him in his Interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's Dream There as St. Ierom saith he shews that he had knowledg of all Times and was fore-acquainted with the various History of the whole World There you will see the Babylonian Medo-Persian Greek and Roman Monarchies decipher'd by the four known Metals Gold Silver Brass and Iron The Head of Gold is the Assyrian or Babylonian Empire which was the First and Richest Monarchy and was the Beginning and Head of the rest which were to follow The Breast and Arms of Silver are the Medo-Persian Empire which because it consisted of two People it is therefore fitly set forth by two Arms. Belly and Thighs of Brass are the Greek Empire which because it was chiefly divided into two Kingdoms of the Lagidae and Selâ—â—cidae it is well express'd by two Thighs Legs of Iron are the Roman Empire which being 〈◊〉 into Eastern and Western by occasion of Consâ—â—â—tine's tine's removing his Seat from Rome to Byzantium is not unfitly set forth by two Legs Its Feet are said to be partly Iron and partly Clay because being divided it was not all of a piece but was of a different Nature they could no more unite and cement than Iron and Clay Then you read of a Stone cut out without Hands i. e. the Lord Christ not born after the ordinary and humane way This Stone was first visible in the Days of those Kings ver 44. i. e. the Kings that make up the Roman Empire for then Christ was born then Christianity was first set up This Stone shall become a great Mountain and fill the whole Earth ver 35. and destroy the Gold Silver Brass and Iron i. e. put an end to these Empires Christ and his Church shall constitute another viz. a Fifth Empire much more Glorious and Renowned than the former ones This famous Prophecy of above two thousand Years date was in a signal manner verified at the Coming of Christ the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and it shall have a further Completion when the Christian Religion shall be propagated anew in the remote Parts of the World and at last shall become the Religion of the whole World and a Glorious Church shall be establish'd on the Earth In the seventh Chapter of this Prophecy you have the Vision of the Four Beasts which foretells the very same which was represented by the Four Metals but more particularly and largely First there is the Lion i. e. the Assyrian Monarchy which hath two Wings which denote the two part of that Empire Babylon and Assyria They are said to be plucked i. e. shattered and destroyed as we read they were by Darius and Cyrus This Lion is the same with the Golden Head in Nebuchadnezzar's Dream Next comes the Bear which is the Persian Monarchy set up by Cyrus as the former by Ninus and expired in Darius whom Alexander the Great slew in Battel The three Ribs in its Mouth are the three Chief Emperours or Kings of this Monarchy namely Cyrus Darius Artaxerxes who devoured much Flesh i. e. added many Nations to their Monarchy Or the three Ribs may signify the Persian Kingdom which had united to it the Medes
Alah nor Chi Alon nor Chi gnolam but Chi Elohim or Chi El take which you please that is referr'd to here by the Poet for these are the very words used in Scripture and we read that one of them especially is the express form of Swearing among the Hebrews Which is the thing I alledged this passage for viz. To let you see how Pagan Writers have frequent references to the Book of God and particularly the Name of the True God and to the Customs and Usages there spoken of and thereby do in some measure give testimony to the Truth and Reality of those Writings I would offer to the Learned another Notion in prosecution of the Subject I have been so long upon I am of the Opinion that from The frequent mention of Horns in the Old Testament the Heathens borrow'd the like expression and apply'd it in that very sense in which 't is used in those Holy Writings The Hebrew Keren whence the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Latin Cornu and the German and English Horn signifies Might Strength Fortitude as also Ioy Safety Prosperity whence you read of the Horn of Salvation 2 Sam. 22. 3. Psal. 18. 2. and the exalting lifting up and setting 〈◊〉 the Horn 1 Sam. 2. 1. Ps. 75. 4 10. Ps. 89. 17. Ps. 112. 9. Lam. 2. 17. Zach. 1. 21. On the contrary cutting off the Horn signifies debasing degrading a mournful unsafe afflicted Condition 〈◊〉 is clear from Ps. 75 10. Ier. 48. 25. Lam. 2. 3. And defiling the Horn is of the same import 〈◊〉 16. 5. From the signification of the Verb Kuran we may be partly confirmed in this sense of the Noun Keren for 't is said of Moses's Face that it shone Ex. 34. 29. it was very Bright and Glorious The vulgar Latin renders it it was Horn'd and thence was said before Moses is â—sually Pictured with Horns But we must unâ—â—rstand it spoken Metaphorically viz. of those â—ays or Beams of Light which darted from his face and which were as 't were Horns of Light So in Hab. 3. 4. by Horns is meant Brightness or Light and it is so expresly interpreted in that rerse The Radiency the Splendour of Moses's Face was very great and is rightly called by the Apostle the Glory of his Countenance 2 Cor. 3. 7. So that hence we may gather that the word imports Outward Glory And as this word Keren signifies more generally Power Grandeur Ourward Glory and Prosperity so it more particularly denotes Kingly Power Soveraign Dominiou and Empire the Greatness and Splendor of Crowned Heads Whence by the way I propound it as probable that from the Eastern words Karan and Keren are derived the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dominus Imperator and the Latin Corona Thus Horn is applied in 1 Sam. 2. 10. He shall give strength unto his King and exalt the Horn of his Annointed And in the Psalms you will find that this word hath particular reference to David as King Ps. 89. 24. 91. 10. So in Ps. 132. 17. 't is spoken of him as the Lord 's Annointed and 't is joyn'd with a Crown in the next verse In the Book of Daniel this Language is very common in the 7th and 8th Chapters a Horn and Horns signifie Princely Dominion and the Persons that exercis'd it and in the latter of these Chapters those two Horn'd Beasts a Ram and a Goat are Representatives of Kings and Kingdoms It is in express words said in two places Horns are Kings Dan. 7. 24. 8. 7. Now from this particular stile and idiom of the Ancient Holy Book of the Scriptures the Heathen Writers learnt to speak after the same manner Not only in a general way was the word Horn used by some of their Authors to express Vigour Spirit Strength and Power but more especially and signally they makâ— use of it to signifie Supream Power and Dignity such as that of their Gods and of their Kings Thus Corniger was the Epithet of Iupiter Hammon and we may inform our selves from several Writers that he was commonly pictured with Horns which had its rise I conceive from the like representation of Great Ones in the Old Testament as you have heard I know other Reasons are alledg'd as that of Servius who thinks this Iupiter had that Title and was represented Horned because of his Winding Oracles because his Answers had as many crooked Turnings as a Ram's Horn. Macrobius and some others tell us that this Hammon was no other than the Sun whose Beams are Cornute whose Rays are in the fashion of Horns If the Moon had been meant then I confess the Epithet of Horned had been very Natural But I don't think that the Metaphorical Horns of the Sun which are its Rays were thought of here by the Antients Wherefore I look upon these as mean and trifling Reasons But the true occasion if I mistake not of their describing Iupiter Hammon with Horns and of representing other Gods as Pan and Bacchus after the same manner was this that they complied with the Stile of the Sacred Writings as was an usual thing with them which set forth Great Power Magnificence and Glory especially Kingly Power and Greatness by the expression of Horns This suited well with their Gods who were Great Folks and generally Deified Kings We read that a Ram and a Goat are Symbols of Regal Strength in the Prophetick Writings in imitation of which it is probable Iupiter Hammon was worshipp'd in Afsrick in the shape of an Image which had partly the proportions of a Ram and partly of a Goat And from the same Original viz. the Holy Scriptures it was that Antiently the Pagan Kings and Monarchs were represented and stiled Horned as we may satisfie our selves from several Authors It is well known that Alexander the Great was called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 bicornis of which some give this Reason because say they of the amplitude of his Empire which was extended to both the extream Horns of the World East and West Others say he would have been thought to be the Son of Iupiter Hammon who was Cornute and accordingly they drew Alexander so And there are other Reasons assign'd by Authors why this Great Conquerour had the denomination of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but they seem to be far fetch'd and not to give us the true and genuine account of it which I take to be this viz. That this Title was derived to the Gentiles from the frequent Language and Phraseology of the Old Testament which expresses Kingly Power by Horns and more especially from the Prophecy of Daniel where the Grecian Monarchy is deseribed by a He Goat an Horn'd Animal and the first King of that third Monarchy viz. Alexander the Great is signified by Keren Chazuth a Notable Horn Dan. 8. 5. a Great and Visible Horn as the Hebrew word properly signifies And again he is call'd in the same Chapter the Great Horn v. 21. All Interpreters agree in
in the Catalogue of the Kings of Persia viz. Cyrus the First Cambyses the Second Darius Hystaspis the Third Xerxes the Fourth Artaxerxes Longimanus the Fifth c. Yet in the Book of Ezra we read that These five were successively viz. Cyrus Ahasuerus Artaxerxes Darius Artaxerxes How is this to be reconciled Both by saying that the same Persian Kings had different Names and also that several of them had one Name which are both very true One of them was call'd Cambyses and Ahasuerus another had the Name Darius and Artaxerxes a third was call'd Xerxes and Darius And besides this they were all call'd by one General Name that is Artaxerxes was a common Name of the whole Race of the Persian Kings Many of the Learnedst Jews were of this Opinion and it is the more probable because this hath been usual in other Kingdoms and Countries as we learn from the Sacred Records There we find that there was one Common Name for all the Kings of Philistia or Palestine and that was Abimelech as is clear from Gen. 20. 2. Ch. 26. 1 4. Ch. 34. 1. 1 Sam. 21. 11. and also from the Title of the 34th Psalm it appears that this was the Universal Name of the Kings of the Philistines So Agag was the Common Title of all the Kings of the Amalekites as may be inferr'd from Numb 24. 7. 1 Sam. 15. 8. It is probable that Hiram was the Catholick Name of the Kings of Tyre but that Pharaoh was so of all the Egyptian Kings of old is undeniably clear from Gen. 12. 15. which speaks of a Pharaoh in Abraham's time from Gen. 39. 1 c. where we read of another of that Name in Ioseph's days And in Exodus there is frequent mention of that Pharaoh that enslaved the Israelites and order'd all their Male-Children to be drowned and of another whose Heart was hardned and who was drown'd in the Red Sea There was a Pharaoh in Solomon's time 1 Kings 3. 1. and in Iosias's 2 Kings 23. 29. In Isaiah we read of a King of Egypt of this Name Ch. 19. 11. Ch. 30. 2 3. So in Ieremiah Ch. 25. 19. Ch. 44. 30. Ch. 46. 17. and in Ezekiel very often That this was the constant Title of the Egyptian Kings is attested by Suidas Eusebius and Iosephus yea if we may believe this last Pharaoh in the Egyptian Tongue signifies a King Which seems truly to be confirm'd from that passage in Gen. 41. 44. I am Pharaoh which is as much as to say I am King I am Supreme Ruler I will not part with this Name i. e. I will not lose my Royal Dignity and Power And accordingly he retain'd this Name himself and gave Ioseph another as you read in the next Verse It might well then be the General Name of their Kings it signifying Royal Authority and Rule But after the time of Alexander the Great the Kings of Egypt were generally called Ptolomees and after the renouncing of the Greek Emperour they were a long time call'd Caliphs for the General of the Saracens whom the Egyptians took for their King was named Caliph whence the succeeding Kings were denominated after his Name To proceed in this Subject Attalus was a Standing Title to all the Kings of Pergamus though it is true some of them had a particular peculiar Name besides whence that King of Pergamus who was thought to be the Inventer of Parchment to write upon is call'd Attalus by Aelian and St. Ierom but Eumenes by others Antiochus was generally the Name of the Syrian Kings and Mithridates of those of Pontus All the Kings or Dynasts of Edessa in Syria had the Name of Abgarus Herod was the Name common to all the Successors of Herod the first as we learn from the Gospels and the Acts. Candace gave the Denomination to all the Queens of Ethiopia or of one part at least of that Country Arsaces to all the Kings of Parthia Sylvius to those of the Albans i. e. the Latin Kings of the Trojan Race Chagan was antiently the common word to express all the the Kings of the Hunns Caesar was the Title for all the Roman Emperours after Iulius Caesar. Cosâ—oe or Kosroes was the Appellation of the Kings of Persia heretofore after that of Artaxerxes as Sophi of late and Sultan is the distinguishing Title of the Turkish Empire and Miramolin or Miramomolin of all the Princes of Mauritania Thus briefly I have shew'd that it was usual for all the Kings of a Country to have the same Name for a very considerable time at least The observing of which may be of some use to us in reading the Sacred History when it refers to any of those Kings whom I first named and in reading Profane Authors who mention any of the others Lastly I could observe concerning Places in Scripture the same that I have concerning Persons viz. that sometimes they have different Names which we ought carefully to heed in reading this Holy Book One eminent Mountain in Palestine and the adjacent Parts hath several Denominations it is call'd Zion Psal. 2. 6. and frequently in other Books of the Old Testament It is also named Moriah 2 Chron. 3. 1. the same Mount where Moses saw the Burning Bush not consumed and where Isaac was offer'd and where the Temple afterwards was built This Name was so celebrated that from this the Land of Canaan is call'd the Land of Moriah Gen. 22. 2. The same Mountain is named Hermon as is evident from those express words Deut. 4. 48. Mount Sion which is Hermon It is also call'd Sirion Deut. 3. 9. which Name was given it by the Sidonians And in the same place it hath the Name of Shenir which was given it by the Amorites This Multiplicity of Names may I conceive be grounded on this that Sion or Hermon or call it by any of the other Names is properly speaking a long Ledg of several Hills that go through Palestine and a great part of Arabia Some add Gilead and Seir and Lebanon the famous Alpes of the Holy Land upon the North and East part of it noted for its snowy tops its lofty Cedars and other Trees and its fragrant Herbs and Plants Some I say add these to the foregoing ones and rightly determine that they were but one continued Mountain with divers Names as Mount Taurus though far greater is a ridg of Hills that hath several Names according to the different Parts of it Hence Psal. 133. 3. and some other places of Scripture mention some of those Names before spoken of as if they belong'd to different Mountains and the reason is because though they are the same Mountain yet those Names refer to the different parts of the same great ridg of Hills and so are accounted as it were different Hills and accordingly the great Mass of Dew which was in part distill'd on Mount Hermon one division of that great Mountain did partly also fall on Mount Zion a neighbouring part of
the Father of the Ethiopans cannot be denied by any Man that well observes what the use of the Name Cushi or Cushim is in the Sacred Writings Havilah one of Cush's Sons gave Name to Havilah which Strabo places in the Confines of Arabia and Mesopotamia Whether the Arabian or Ethiopian Saba or Saba be denominated from Sheba the Son of Cush or another of that Name who was his Grandson or from a Third Sheba the Son of Ioctan whom also we find in this 10th Chapter of Genesis it is to little purpose here to dispute Mesraim the second Son of Cham was questionless the Founder of Egypt for that is the known Name that it hath in the Hebrew of the Old Testament From Iosephus we learn that the Metropolis of this Province by some call'd Memphis had the Name of Mezzara given it by the Jews in his Time And to this day Egypt is call'd Mizraim by the Jews and Arabians Phut a third Son is believed by most Writers to have peopl'd Mauritania Numidia Lytia Thence Pliny makes mention of a River in Mauvitania call'd Phut of which also St. Ierom speaks telling us that there was in his time a Region in Africk that had its Name from it I doubt not but some part of Africa if not the whole Countrey is meant by Phut in Nah. 3. 9. And it can't be look'd upon as an Extravagant Conjecture if I guess that Phetz or Fez a Kingdom of Mauritania is a Corruption of that Word The fourth and last Son of Cham was Canaan from whom sprang the Canaanites His Sons were Sidon Emori Iebuss c. from whom were the Sidonians including the Tyrians Amorites Jebusites c. often spoken of in the Old Testament All this Country of Palestine was as I said before part of Shem's Portion but Canaan invaded it and thence it bore his Name The Learned Bocbart thinks this was the antient and Primitive Phoenicia it being call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the LXX Exod. 16. 35. and she whom St. Matthew calls a Woman of Canaan is said by St. Mark to be a Syro-Phoenician It is this Great Critick's perswasion that the Phoenicians were originally Canaanites and that they fled out of Canaan when Ioshua came and took Possession of their Country then they went and seated themselves on the Sea-Coast of Palestine call'd by them afterwards Phoenicia as the Britains upon the coming of the Saxons betook themselves to that part of the Country which is now known by the Name of Wales This Excellent Person hath with great and manifold Arguments attempted the Establishment of this Assertion and hath abundantly shew'd that there are several plain Footsteps of those first Planters in the Names in Geography I might confirm this from a very remarkable Passage in St. Augustine who assures us that in his time the Peasants of Hippo who were known to be of the Race of the Phaenicians when they were ask'd who they were used to answer they were Canaans which plainly shews that Canaan and Phoenicia were the same But this I would add here that Phoenicia is a larger and more extensive Term than Canaan because I conceive the former takes in all those Countries that border'd on the Red Sea for I am perswaded that Phoenicia had its Denomination from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Name of Esau or Edom turned into Greek I had occasion heretofore to shew that this Noted Person was call'd Erythras or Erythroeus by the Pagan Historians which Name I am now to observe is of the like Signification with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. Rufus So that Esau Edom Erythraeus Phoenix are the same and consequently the Phaenicians properly speaking were all those People that lived near the Red Sea which is call'd so from Edom the Hebrew of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. Red and were under the Dominion of that Great Lord and Potentate Esau. This is the Division of the World among the Sons of Noah thus the most High divided to the Nations their Inheritance he separated the Sons of Adam he set Bounds to the People Iapheth's Possession was the Northern and Western Parts of the Earth Shem had the East and Cham had his lot between both Moses reckons up in this Chapter fourteen Persons of the Posterity of Iapheth six and twenty of the Race of Shem and nine and twenty of that of Cham who all with Iapheth Shem and Cham themselves amount to seventy two and just so many Languages or rather Dialects some think there were and the very same number of Nations occasion'd by the rise of those Languages It is a most difficult Task to assign exactly the several Particular Regions and People derived from the Posterity of Noah and their proper Seats and Habitations Arias Montanus Bochart Raleigh Heylin besides others before them who have writ of this Subject seem to differ not a little and yet they all agree in the main Nay where you see different Places and Regions assigned by them they may all be true for one may set down the first Seats of Noah's Offspring another may mention the Colonies they sent forth which lie it may be a great way off of the first Seats and another may take notice of their Encroachments and Invasions But whatever it is that is said by any Authentick Writer concerning this peopling of the several Parts of the Earth it is all founded on the Mosaick History Here we are told that the Parts of the World were divided by the Sons of Noah every one after his Tongue after their Families in their Nations Gen. 10. 5. The Confusion of Tongues was that which divided Families and yet by the Affinity of the Tongues there was an Union made for those that agreed in the same Idiom joined together and went and seated themselves together And who these First Planters were the Sacred History particularly acquaints us As we have no Book but this that lets us know who were the first People in the World who were before the Flood so none but this tells us who the most Considerable Persons after it and by whom the Several Nations of the World were first erected and Colonies were sent forth into all the Parts of the Earth Fourthly The true Knowledg of the Original of Civil Government and the Increases of it and the Different Changes it underwent is to be drawn from these Sacred Fountains We may inform form our selves here and no where else that the Primitive Government was Paternal i. e. it was seated in Fathers of Families as first in Adam and other Heads of Families who then lived a very long Time It is true we are told by Aristotle that the Power of Parents over their Children was a Regal and Sovereign Dominion the one i. e. Parents were the first Kings the other i. e. Children were the first Subjects But this the Philosopher could learn from no other Book but the Bible or from those Traditions which were
or Lesser Consistory and whereas the former Judicature of Three was in every City this Court was in every Tribe in Israel All the Hebrew Writers of any Note who designedly treat of the Iewish Government speak of these two Courts and therefore it is not to be question'd that they were in use among that People But it is also unquestionable that they were not made use of at first i. e. either in Moses's time or three or four Ages afterwards otherwise we should have had them particularly mentioned in the Old Testament which for my part I could never observe though some pretend to do so It being therefore our present Business to speak only of those things relating to the Iewish Polity which are expresly mentioned in Scripture I will proceed to recount those particular Models of Judicatures which are expresly taken notice of in these Sacred Writings and they are these First there was in every Town a sufficient Number of Overseers of the People who upon occasion met together to do them Right for the Tribes were divided into Thousands Hundreds Fifties Tens i. e. into so many Families and over each Division there presided Rulers of Thousands Rulers of Hundreds Rulers of Fifties and Rulers of Tens to judg the People at all Seasons Exod. 18. 21 25. And the same are called Captains over Thousands Hundreds Fifties Tens Numb 31. 14. Deut. 1. 15. 1 Sam. 8. 5. and their Business was to decide lesser Causes in these their respective Thousands Hundreds c. Besides these Ministers of Justice in every particular Town there were others of a larger Jurisdiction who are call'd Princes and Heads of the Tribes Numb 13. 2. 34. 18. Chief of the Tribes Deut. 1. 15. Officers among the Tribes in the same Place and Iudges and Officers throughout the Tribes Deut. 16. 18. There were Twelve of these every Tribe having its distinct Head and President over it and these determin'd in Causes of a greater and higher Nature than the others Moreover there was a Senate of Seventy chosen out of the two former Ranks of Persons and they were designed at first to be Coadjutors to Moses Numb 11. 16. You will find that these are mention'd together with the other two in Ios. 23. 2. 24. 1. for by the Elders in both these Places are meant I conceive the Seventy Seniors and by the Heads of Israel we are to understand the Representatives and Governours of the Tribes and by Officers and Iudges the Ordinary and Inferiour Justices viz. Captains of Thousands c. It was the first of these namely the Judicature of Seventy Men which was most considerable and therefore I will add a few Words concerning it Because Moses was President over it the Jews called it the Iudicature of Seventy one and others adding Aaron to that Number say it consisted of Seventy two This famous Council which was at first appointed by Moses in the Wilderness was afterwards a Settled Council for governing the People in the Land of Canaan and was called the Sanedrim which is a Greek Word originally but crept into the Hebrew as other Greek Words have done but to distinguish it from the Lesser one it is called the Great Sanedrim The other Courts sat in every City and Tribe but This was at Ierusalem only and could sit no where else This Great Consistory judged of All Matters whereas the Others took Cognizance only of Lesser ones This was not only a Court of Common Pleas or Nisi Prius where only Civil Causes were tried but sometimes it determin'd both them and Criminal Actions It was also a Chancery or Court of Equity But the more special and peculiar Work of this Court was to try the most Weighty Causes these most commonly were brought before these Seventy Seniors Matters of the Highest Nature the most Important Affairs of the Kingdom and such as belong'd to the Safety of the Publick were tried here This Great Senate was chosen out of all the Tribes and consisted of Lay-men Priests and Levites The King or Chief Civil Magistrate was the Head of it as Moses was at first This Assembly of the Seventy Senators was look'd upon as the Chiefest and Highest Court of the Jews The Supreme Power was thought to be seated here accordingly all other Courts appeal'd to This but from This was no Appeal But some are of another Opinion and add a Fourth Court of Justice viz. the Publick Council and Congregation of all the People This some make to be the Highest Court as in the Case of the Levitc's Wife that was cut into twelve Pieces The Captains of Thousands c. the Seventy Seniors and All the Chief of the People met together made this Great Assembly this Mikel Gemot this Parliament This is that they say which is called the Congregation of the Lord and the Whole Assembly of Israel and the Whole Congregation and the Great Congregation or Assembly These were the several Courts of Judgment amongst the Jews Whilst Moses lived he judged and decided Controversies alone when he thought fit or when any of These Councils met he was the Prince and Head of them So that the Jewish Government so far as it respected These Courts was partly Regal and Monarchical as under Moses and it was partly Aristocratical as under the Captains of Thousands and partly Democratical or Popular under the Kahal of the People We are beholden to the Sacred Records of the Old Testament for these excellent Discoveries relating to Government which the most Civilized Nations in the World have taken for their Authentick Precedents Having spoken of their Methods of Government and Courts of Judicature which are so justly admired and imitated by all Wise Governours I will next of all shew from these Antient Writings how the Iewish Governours chastised and corrected those that offended against their Laws Their Lesser Punishments were such as these 1. Retaliation Exod. 21. 24. Eye for Eye Tooth for Tooth Hand for Hand Foot for Foot The plain Meaning of which was that whoever bereft another Person of his Eye Tooth Hand or Foot should be punish'd with the Loss of an Eye a Tooth c. and sometimes this literal and rigorous Sense of the Law was put in practice But generally it was not understood in the strict Sense but he that put out another Man's Eye was to give him Satisfaction i. e. as much as an Eye was thought to be worth So the Targum of Ionathan interprets Deut. 19. 21. which is a Repetition of the foresaid Law of Talion the Offender was to make a sufficient Recompence And thus the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 among the Grecians and the Lex Talionis among the Romans was understood viz. not of an Identical but an Analogical Compensation An Equivalent was accepted the Value of an Eye a Tooth c. for the Eye or Tooth it self 2. Restitution the diverse kinds of which are particularly set down in the beginning of Exod. 22. as
Chereth was used when for some great Offence a Man was excluded from Ecclesiastical Communion debarr'd the Congregation cut off from being a Member of the Church Thus the Chereth is the same with Cherem which was the middle sort of Excommunication among the Jews between Nidui which was a Separation from Company and Converse and Shammata which was a Devoting to Satan and utter Destruction Thus you see what Course they took in those early Times to animadvert on those that were Faulty and it is the more considerable because it was of God's own Appointment Hence we conclude these Inflictions were appointed and executed with great Reason and Equity with singular Wisdom and Prudence and such as became the Divine Author of them and the All-Wise Governour of that People It cannot be expected I should insist on the Particular Laws and Constitutions of their Civil Government they being so Many and Various These may be consulted in the Old Testament it self which presents us with the most Compleat Rules of Civil Polity and such as to a great Part of them are sitted to the Governments of all Nations in the World The Greeks were famous for their Laws and so were the Old Romans who borrowed a considerable Part of their Laws from them and particularly caused those of the Twelve Tables the first beginning of their Laws to be fetch'd thence by their Decemviri and we see they contain Excellent Things in them And the Encomiums of the Learnedest Men are large on the Laws of the Empire the Pandects are fraught with the Decisions and Responses of Wise and Experienced Lawyers and the Code is famed for the Decrees and Constitutions of Emperours Yea how large and elaborate have the Great Sages of our Nation been in Commendation of the English Laws telling us that they are the Highest Reason and nothing else but Reason that they are so Reasonable that nothing that is Unjust can be so much as supposed to be in them and therefore that no Man must presume to be wiser than these Laws If these be the Elogiums of meer Humane Constitutions of what transcendent Worth and Excellency must we needs allow Those Laws to be which though calculated for Civil and Humane Government were originally Divine and Heavenly and framed by Insinite Wisdom it self Such were the Laws of the Iews which in this Sacred Volume are transmitted to us and consequently they far surpass they infinitely surmount all others under Heaven And no Laws whatsoever were prior to these as Iosephus against Appion very clearly demonstrates Moses was the Antientest Law-giver and Lycurgus Draco Solon and other Publishers of Laws whom the Greeks boast of were but Upstarts in respect of him You do not so much as meet with the word Law in Homer or Orpheus or Musâ—us the Antientost Greek Authors as Bodinus observes Indeed the Nations had no Written Laws at first Tully Livy Iustin and other Historians acquaint us that the Verbal Commands of Kings and Princes were their Laws But afterward when they had Laws committed to writing such as could be read whence they had the Name of Leges they derived them from the Hebrews more especially it might be proved that the Antientest Attick and Roman Laws were borrowed from Moses and that other Wise Law givers and Rulers have taken some of their best Constitutions hence Then in the next place if we look abroad and enquire into the Government of the Heathen Nations we shall there also be assisted by the Anitent Records of the Bible and as to many things that concern their Kings and Government we cannot inform our selves otherwise than from this Sacred History Here we read of four Eastern Kings such as they were for Melech is a large Word and signifies any Ruler the King of Shinar the King of Ellasar the King of Elam the King of Nations Gen. 14. 1 2. Which were the first peepings out of the Kingdoms of Babylon Assyria Persia and Greece for Shinar is Babylon as all agree Ellasar is Assyria some Region near to Euphrates as may be gather'd from Isa. 37. 12. Elam is the usual Name of Persia and by Nations is meant Greece especially the Grecian Isles where there was a great Conflux of several Nations But these Names are not to be taken in this Extent here for we cannot suppose that Five Great Kings and some of them of very distant Countries would come to sight the King of Sodom a Petty Prince Therefore the Places here nam'd must not be thought to be those Wide Regions which afterwards were known by those Names and the Persons who are here call'd Kings must not be conceived to be any other than Governours or Magistrates of Cities for so the Title of King is to be understood in some Texts of the Old Testament and particularly in this History where the five Kings of Canaan are mention'd We read that Abimelech which afterwards became the Name of the Kings of Palestine was one of the first Kings of this Countrey and that the particular Seat of his Government was Gerar Gen. 20. 2. We are informed that about this time which was about 400 Years after the Flood there were Kings of Egypt and that Pharaob was the Royal Name even then Gen. 12. 15. No Book that we can trust to make mention of these Early Kingdoms and Royal Thrones such as they were but Moses's History Yea here is a considerable Account of the Four Grand Monarchies or Empires of the World as they are usually stiled We are told here that Nimrod was a Mighty One in the Earth Gen. 10. 8. and a Mighty Hunter before the Lord v. 9. by which Character and what we may infer from it it appears that he was the First that exercis'd an Imperial and Kingly Power in the World though he hath not here the Title of King The Word Gibbor which we render Mighty is in the Version of the Seventy a Giant which expresseth not only the Greatnes of his Stature but the Exorbitancy of his Power which he exerted over others with an Unlimited Sway and Arbitrariness And when 't is said he was a Mighty Hunter I grant it may set forth what Warlike Exercise he was given to as Livy remarks of Romulus and Remus that they were addicted to this Manly Recreation and that it was a Sign of the Vigour of their Minds and the Strength and Agility of their Bodies and so Xenophon in the Life of Cyrus observes that it is a Military Exercise and becoming a Great Man But I conceive there is something more intimated to us in his being represented as a Hunter and a Mighty Hunter and before the Lord for this may signify to us his Fierce Pursuit of Men as well as Beasts his Tyrannizing and usurping Dominion over the People and that in desiance of God before whom he was not ashamed to act thus wickedly He was of the Race of Chush the Son of Cham and was the
Head and Ringleader of those Miscreants that built Babel or Babylon which baffles the common Account of Pagan Historians who tell us that Semiramis Ninus's Queen was the first Founder of that City unless we understand by it that she finish'd the Work He it was that with the Remains of the Babylonian Crew set up here the First Empire which began soon after the Flood viz. about 130 Years This is the Date of the First Monarchy in the World and Babel was the Place where it commenced It is expresly said The beginning of his Kingdom was Babel Gen. 10. 10. This was the first Step to the Universal Empire of the Chaldeans or Assyrians which afterwards spread it self to vast and almost unlimited Dimensions This is he that by the Pagan Writers is call'd Belus and said to be the Father of Ninus as Eusebius Ierom and other of the Learnedest among the Antients agree for this is observable and I have proved from several Instances in another Place that oftentimes the same Persons have not the same Names in Prophane History that are given them in the Sacred one Some read Gen. 10. 11. thus He went out of the Land into Assyria and thence gather that though Nimrod was first seated at Babylon and reign'd in Chaldea yet from thence he pierced into Assyria where he built Nineveh the Head City of the Assyrian Monarchy But this is unquestionable that the Empire was translated into Assyria and thence there is a Distinction between the Land of Assyria and the Land of Nimrod Mic. 5. 6. The Sacred Writings also acquaint us that as this Monarchy began at Babylon and Chaldea and was translated into Assyria so at last it returned to Babylon again the Assyrian Dynasties being swallow'd up of those of Chaldea So the Assyrians laid the Foundation for the Chaldeans they set up the Towers thereof they raised up the Palaces thereof Isa. 23. 13. And this Relapse or Reduction of the Assyrian Government to the Babylonians is again foretold in Ezek. 31. 11 12 c. I have deliver'd him into the Hand of the mighty One of the Heathens he shall surely deal with him King Nebuchadnezzar is that El gojim that God of the Nations for so 't is in the Hebrew who made them all bow down to him and worshi him and he more especially made the Assyrians truckle to his Greatness and Soveraignty This is very carefully to be heeded because it gives Light to the whole History both Sacred and Prophane which relates the Affairs of those Kingdoms The want of attending to this is the reason why several that have writ of these things have egregiously blundred confounding one part of the Empire with another making no difference between Babylonians and Assyrians and thereby rendring all a mere Babel a Confusion But we are directed by what the Sacred History suggests to distinguish between the two neighbouring Dynasties of Assyria and Chaldea which alternately made up the First Monarchy Sometimes the Babylonian Princes bore sway and were Heads of the Empire at other times those of the Assyrian Race climb'd to this Honour Babylon and Nineveh were the two Royal Seats belonging to each when the Chaldean Kings prevail'd then the former was their Place of residence when the Assyrian Monarchs bare Rule the latter was the Place where they kept their Court. The brief Scheme of the Successions is this At first all Assyria was subject to Babylon or Chaldea next the Babylonian Power gave way to the Assyrian after this the Assyrians lost the Monarchy it coming again to the Chaldeans yet so that the Empire was then divided for the Medes had a Part though the greatest Share went to the Babylonians Where by the way we may observe that that which is call'd and reputed the First Monarchy may as well be said to be the Third it may be counted Two at least And thence it will follow that that which is vulgarly call'd the 2d Monarchy was the 3d or 4th for before the Persian Monarchy there was the Babylonian Assyrian and Median Here if the Reader would pardon the Digression it might be further prov'd that the common Division of the Monarchies into four and no more is imperfect and groundless for there were several other Entire Dynasties or Kingdoms in the time of the Assyrian Monarchs there were the Kingdoms of the Old Germans Egyptians Argives Athenians Lacedemonians Tyrians Romans Jews So the Greek Monarchy which is reckon'd the Third was divided into four Kingdoms Likewise with the Roman Emperours were contemporary the Greek Emperours in the East Besides if we should come down lower it would appear that Mabomet's Dove hath been as wonderful in the World as the Roman Eagle the Turkish Monarchy hath grasped more than the Roman and might challenge to be numbred among the most Celebrated Monarchies For these reasons I am apt to be of Bodinus's Mind that we ought to reckon more Monarchies than Four But I will not now contend especially because it is likely the Interpretation of those Dreams and Visions in Daniel concerning the Four Beasts and the Four Metals gave the first Occasion to this number of Four Monarchies and no more To return then to our former Matter viz. The Difference which the Old Testament directs us to take notice of between the Assyrian and Chaldean Empires which some have so shuffled together that they cannot distinctly be discern'd These Inspired Writings let us know that the First Captivity of the Jews was under the former the Second under the latter that the Kings of Assyria were those properly who reign'd in Nineve and that strictly speaking the Kings of Babylon were those that resided at Babylon though 't is true by reason of the Vicissitude of the Government of the Assyrians and Chaldeans these are sometimes call'd the Kings of Assyria and the King of Babylon and of Assyria is the same It is from the Scripture-Records that we are informed that Nebuchadnezzar in the eighth Year of his Reign transported Iehoiakin the King and other of the Jews to Babylon and that in his eighteenth Year he utterly destroyed Ierusalem and carried away Captive Zedekiah and the greatest Part of the Jews from which time are to be numbred the Seventy Years of the Babylonian Captivity This was Nebuchadnezzar the Great he who brought that Monarchy to its highest Pitch insomuch that some have reckon'd him the First Absolute Monarch Many other remarkable Passages relating to the whole Series of this Government and those that presided in it from first to last are set down in the Holy Writ Several of the very individual Persons who were the Chief Monarchs of this first and antientest Empire are here particularly mention'd with the considerable Actions and Events appertaining to them as Pul 2 Kings 15. 19. Tiglath-Pileser 1 Chron. 5. 26. Salmanassar 2 Kings 17. 3. Hos. 10. 14. Senacherib 2 Kings 18. 3. Esarhaddon 2 Kings 19. 37. Merodach-Baladan 2 Kings 20. 20. Isa. 39. 1. Nebuchadnezzar
and the Babylonian Power and People and so was composed of three This is the same with the Breast and Arms of Silver in the foregoing Dream The next thing in the Vision is a Panther or Leopard with four Wings and Heads which signifies the Greek Empire with the principal Kingdoms or Satrapies which after Alexander's Death arose out of that Monarchy viz. those of Seleucus King of Syria Antigonus King of the Lesser Asia Cassander King of Greece and Ptolomy King of Egypt The four Wings also signify the Swiftness of Alexander's Conquests and also the speedy Division of his Empire into four Kingdoms This is the same with the Brazen Belly in the preceding Dream Lastly there appears a Beast with ten Horns which is the Roman Empire though I know some interpret this Fourth Beast of the Asiatick Monarchy called by Historians the Regnum Seleudarum or those several lesser Kingdoms which set up upon the breaking of Alexander's Monarchy The ten Horns are ten Kings as is plain from the express Words in the 24th Verse and these say they are Seleucus Nicanor Antiochus Soter Antiochus Theos another Seleucus Ptolomaeus Euergetes a third Seleucus Antiochus Ptolomaeus Philopator Seleucus Philopator Antiochus Epiphanes And the little Horn mentioned ver 8. is say they the last of these ten Others are of opinion that the little Horn that came up among the ten Horns is the Mahometan or Turkish Empire which grew out of the Roman Monarchy or those Territories which were possessed by the Romans and the three Horns it hath seized on are three Parts of the Monarchy viz. Asia Egypt Greece But to unprejudiced Minds it will rather appear that this part of the Vision which speaks of the Fourth Beast and the Little Horn belongs to the Roman Empire for this Vision is but an enlarging on the Dream of the four Metals before spoken of And yet I will grant that this Prophetick Vision may be taken with some Latitude as many of the Prophecies of the Old and New Testament as I shall shew afterwards are to be taken and so Antiochus Epiphanes and Mahomet the one the Scourge of the Jewish Church the other of the Christian may not be excluded here but after a Prophetick manner implied yet so as the Roman Empire and what was to happen in the World in those Dominions are chiefly and principally here meant This is the Beast with ten Horns which are the ten Members or Kingdoms belonging heretofore to the Roman Empire viz. Asia Africa Syria Egypt Italy Spain Greece Gallia Germany Britain This Fourth Beast is the same with the Legs of Iron and Clay spoken of before It is easy and obvious to apply the Character of this last Beast to the Roman Empire It was dreadful and terrible and strong exceedingly it had great Iron Teeth it devoured and brake in pieces and stamped the Residue with the Feet of it and it was diverse from all the Beasts that were before it as you read in ver 7. And again ver 23. The fourth Beast shall be the fourth Kingdom upon Earth which shall be diverse from all Kingdoms and shall devour the whole Earth and shall tread it down and break it in pieces This is a most Graphical Delineation of the Secular Power of Rome and of the Slaughter and Ravage it hath made on the Earth It is farther added that there came up among the Horns another little Horn ver 8. that is a Power distinct from those ten Powers or Kingdoms before mentioned Here then perhaps is meant the Church or Hierarchy of Rome distinct from the Secular Power or ten Kings This is Popery in the most proper Sense the Ecclesiastical and Spiritual Dominion of Rome as it is distinguish'd from the Civil or Temporal one and it is the same with the False Prophet in Rev. 19. 20. How naturally the Character of this Horn is appliable to this Purpose may be seen in the following verâ—es The eighth Chapter reacheth not so far but yet contains a very notable Prophecy couched in the Vision of a Ram and a He-Goat The Ram with two Horns is as is afterwards interpreted in express Words the Kingdom of Media and Persia The He-Goat is the Greek Empire the notable Horn between his Eyes is Alexander the Great the first Greek Monarch as you find it expresly expounded in ver 21. The rough Goat is the King or Kingdom of Greece and the great Horn that is between his Eyes is the first King It is said he touched not the Ground i. e. he went on swiftly for in twelve Years he did all his Work and in three Battels he vanquish'd Darius and succeeded in his Monarchy Thus he smote the Ram and brake his two Horns and cast him to the Ground ver 7. It was above two hundred Years before this was accomplished that Daniel here foretold and therefore it is a very considerable Prophecy and a very remarkable Proof of the Authority of this Book Hence it was that when Alexander the Great was on his march towards Ierusalem to destroy it Iaddus the High Priest went out to meet him with the Book of Daniel in his Hand which he opened and shewed to that great Monarch and let him see this Place wherein his mighty Atchievements and Glory were foretold Which very thing diverted him from doing that Harm to the Jews which he intended and also made him confident in his Enterprizes against Persia the Conquest of which this Prophecy foretold When this great Horn was broken â—our other notable ones came up in its stead v. 8. that is on the Death of Alexander there sprang up these four Kingdoms namely Macedonia Asia Syria Egypt These stood up but not in his Power ver 22. i. e. Alexander's they were much weaker and feebler being divided Out of one of these Horns came forth a little one ver 9. who is afterwards called a King of fierce Countenance ver 23. This is Antiochus Epiphanes who came out of the Syrian Horn by him the daily Sacrifice was taken away and the Place of the Sanctuary was cast down ver 11. He destroyed wonderfully and prospered and practised and destroyed the mighty and the holy People ver 24. This and much more which you read in this Chapter can agree to no Person so well as to that Antiochus who plagued and embarass'd all Syria and miserably shock'd the Holy Land and with unspeakable Rage and Fury persecuted the People of it and deprived them of their Sacrifices and defiled their Altars and spoiled their Temple the celebrated Place of their Worship and cruelly and barbarously put many to death that refused to violate the Law of Moses At last it is said he shall be broken without Hands which plainly signifies the sudden and unexpected Catastrophe of him and his Army which the Jewish History will particularly inform you of I will not particularly insist on the eleventh Chapter of the same Prophet in the beginning of which it is