the time to have been 430 years from the promise made to Abraham at his coming into Canaan till the giving of the Law upon Mount Sinai which was but 50 days after their coming up out of Aegypt In like manner from Tradition they filled up that place Gen. IV. 8. where it is said that Cain talkt with Abel his Brother by adding the words which he spoke Let us go into the field This Insertion is not only in the Alexandrian LXX but the Samaritans have it in their Bibles and they had it there in S. Hierom's time It is also extant in the Jerusalem Targum Lib. qd. det p. 120 124 125. Philo the Jew Philosophises on these words much after the same manner as doth the Targum 4. It is certain that they have had very common among them the knowledge of the most illustrious Prophecies of the Messias This we may see in the Answer of the Samaritan Woman to our Blessed Saviour Joh. iv 25. where she saith I know that when the Messias is come he will tell us all things For though it is no where plainly said yet the Samaritans knew full well that the Messias should explain all things according to the Traditional sense of that Prophecy in Deut. xviii 15 18 19. which hath been so constantly referr'd to the Messiah that we find till this day in the Midrash upon Ecclesiast c. 1.9 that the last Redeemer shall be like the first that is Moses And in consequence of this knowledge commonly received among the Jews Joh. xii 34. did they of Christ's time hold for certain that the Messiah should remain for ever which their Posterity not knowing how to reconcile with their Notion of the Messias they fancied that the Messias should dye after a long Reign and leave his Crown to his Children from Generation to Generation Hence it was that the Sanhedrin answered Herod without delay Mat. ii 5 6. that the Messiah should be born at Bethlehem according to Micah's Prophecy though it is not plainly said in the Text of that Prophecy Micah v. 2. Hence also it was that John Baptist Mat. iii. 5 6. found the people of the Jews so disposed to repentance that they might escape God's Judgments threatned on the Nation at the coming of the Messiah according to Joel's prediction recited Act. ii 26. and that other Prophecy in Malach. iv 5. Hence it was that when John the Baptist sent his Disciples to our Saviour to ask him Whether he were the Messias or no our Saviour gave them this Answer Mat. xi 4. Go and tell John the things which you hear and see The Blind receive their sight the Lame walk the Lepers are cleansed the Deaf hear the Dead are raised and the poor have the Gospel preached to them This is commonly taken to be a Quotation from Isaiah xxxv 1. There some indeed of these Characters do point out the Messiah But our Saviour did not content himself with those but added others that are not in that Text nor in any other but such as no doubt the Jews had at that time in their common Tradition This Remark is of great moment to confound the boldness of some Criticks as Grotius who suppose that some places in the Apocryphal Books which shew that they were exactly acquainted with the Ideas of the Prophets upon the Divinity and the Glory of the Messias such as we see in the Book of Wisdom in Ecclesiasticus and in Baruch have been foisted in by Christians in those Books when to the contrary they were to judge that the Jews have laid aside these Books for that very reason viz. Because they were a strong proof that the Apostles did apply the Prophecies of the Old Testament according to the sense of the Synagogue before Jesus Christ It was from hence that our Blessed Saviour in the same Chapter Mat. xi shew'd the multitude that John Baptist was the Messenger promised by God in Malach. iii. 1. as he that should be the fore-runner of the Messiah and that should prepare his way by exhorting the People to Repentance and he proves that John the Baptist was so by the great Effect of his Preaching in the Conversion of those that seemed the most corrupt of the Nation 5. It is as certain that they had by Tradition sundry Explications of the Scripture grounded upon Allegories Philo affirms this positively lib. de Therapeutis p. 691. St. Paul gives us several Examples of it We have one in Heb. iv 9. where St. Paul thus argues from the Words of David in Psal xcv 11. There remains therefore a Rest for the people of God His Argument depends upon the Jewish Exposition of the six days of the Creation as foreshewing that the Age of the World should be 6000 years and understands the Sabbath or Rest of the times after founding their Exposition on the Words of the 90th Psalm A thousand years in thy sight are as but one day That is to be seen in R. Abraham bar Hiya Hannashi Megillat ha Megillat Saar 2. in Ramban upon Gen. ii 2. in Abarbanel Miphaloth Eloh lib. 1. c. 4. See Menasseh Ben Is Concil q. 30. in Genes de Creat Problem XI Another Example we have in the same St. Paul Galat. iv 24. drawn from Sarah and Hagar as being Types of the two Covenants Philo the Jew de Cherub p. 83. found a Mystery there before St. Paul as we see in a Book of his that was much more ancient than that Epistle A third Example may be found in the same St. Paul who uses it Rom. v. 14. 1 Corin. xv 47. in comparing the first Adam with Jesus Christ whom he calls the second Adam The Jews have the same Idea of the Messias as of the second Adam who shall raise all his Followers from the Sepulchre as we see in Pirke Eliezer ch 32. This method of explaining Scripture ought to be carefully considered because it gives us to understand the Reasons why the Jews have regarded the Song of Songs as a part of Canonical Scripture and have referred it to the Messias as we see they do in their Targum in Cant. i. 8. iv 5. vii 14. viii 1 4. The same reflection may be made on their acknowledging of the Divine Authority of the Book of Ruth wherein their Targum mentions the Messias chap. iii. 15. And the like may be said of Ecclesiastes certain Texts of which as ch i. 18. and ch viii 25. they refer to the Messias which otherwise seem not to have much relation to him In truth one cannot well deny that the Jews had this common knowledge of great Truths of their Religion and a Traditional Exposition of great Prophecies from their Ancestors to clear their Ideas thereof if he considers attentively these following Remarks First That since their return from the Babylonian Captivity they were never guilty of Idolatry Except for a little while in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes when some wicked men apostatiz'd and
Eusebius took upon hear-say from he knew not whom or from an Author whom he did not think fit to name for fear it should give no credit to his Story The first Proposition namely That these Pieces were written by one that was a Jew by Religion this one cannot doubt of if he considers these following things 1. That in all these Pieces of Philo where-ever he has occasion to make use of Authority he fetches it only out of the Jewish Scriptures And those are the only Scriptures that he takes upon him to explain He quotes Moses whom he usually calls the Law-giver as we do the Sayings of our Lord Jesus Christ And sometimes tho very rarely he quotes other Writings of the Old Testament But I dare affirm that in all his Treatises he cites not one passage from the New Testament which thing alone is sufficient to prove that he was no Christian For the first Christians used to cite the New Testament with as much care and even affection as the Jews did the Old But Secondly one had need have an Imagination as strong as Mr. N. to fancy that a Christian Author in the end of the Second Century could write as Philo does upon most part of the Books of Moses without mixing some touches at least at the Christian Religion And yet there is no such thing in all Philo's Works He takes it for his business to make the Jews understand their Law according to their Midrashim in an Allegorical way and to teach the Heathens that their prejudices against the Law of Moses were unjust and that they ought to acknowledg the Divinity of this Law which he explained to them This is the end or design of this Author in all his Works 3dly It appears that he according to the opinion of the Jewish Nation did expect the Messias as a great Temporal King yet to come as is evident from the Interpretation he gives of Balaam's Prophecy touching the Messias in his Book de Praemiis p. 716. 4thly In all his Works there is nothing peculiar to Christ that Mr. N. can alledg except in what is written of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is the very thing in dispute between us and him but even that doth not hinder but that the Jews themselves finding every thing in Philo so agreeable to the Notions that their Ancestors had in his Age do own them to be the Writings of a Jew and of Philo in particular As we see in Manasseh ben Israel who in many places alledges his Authority In Exod. p. 137. and shews that his Opinions do generally agree with those of their most ancient Authors The second thing I have to shew is that it appears from the Books themselves and other wise that many of them were composed before Jesus Christ began to Preach the Gospel Christ's Preaching began in Palestine in the year of the Building of Rome 783. But the Author of the Book Quod omnis probus sit Liber which has always been accounted undoubtely Philo's does note that the obstinate resistance of those of Xanthus in Lycia against M. Brutus was an affair fresh in memory as having happened 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not much before the writing of that Book Now this which he tells us of the Xanthians happened not long after the death of Julius Caesar who was killed on the 13th of March in the year of Rome 709 for Brutus himself was kill'd at the time of the Battel of Philippi which was in Autumn in the year 712. Therefore Philo could not say it happened not long since if he writ so long after as in the year Urb. Con. 783. when Christ began to Preach for according to the common manner of speaking no man could say a thing happened not long since that happened before the remembrance of any man then living But if that Book was writ before Christ began to preach the Gospel much more were all those Books which we make use of against the Unitarians for according to the Order in which these Books are rankt by Eusebius this Book Quod omnis probus est Liber was one of the last that Philo writ The first that Eusebius names were the Three Books of Allegories after which he goes on to the Books of Questions and Answers upon Genesis and upon Exodus he tells us besides That Philo took pains to examine particular difficulties which might arise from several Histories in those Books and names the several Books that Philo writ of this sort This Order of his Books was observed in the Manuscripts which Eusebius hath exactly followed and it is agreeable enough to the Jewish Method of handling the Scripture by way of Questions and Answers which is still the Title of many Jewish Books of this Nature We may gather the same truth from another part of Philo which tells us expresly that he studi'd the Scriptures Primâ aetate when he was young and he complains of being called afterwards to publick business and that he had not now leisure to attend to the study of the Scriptures as formerly Lib. de Leg. spec p. 599. Therefore all his Books before were written in his younger days and especially his Three Books of Allegories which Eusebius placeth first before any of the rest Josephus in his Antiq. Lib. xviii c. 10. assures us That Philo was the Chief and most considerable of the Jews employed by those of Alexandria in the Embassy to Caligula This man saith he eminent among those of his Nation appeared before Caligula his Death which was A. U. C. 793. That is to say in the 40th year of our Lord. Now Philo in the History of his Legation to Caligula says of himself That he was at that time all grey with Age that is 70 years old according to the Jewish Notion of a man with grey hair Pirke Avoth c. 5. Suppose then that he was 70 years old when he appeared before Caligula it follows that he was born in the year of Rome 723. Suppose also that he began to write at 30 years old it will fall in with the year of Rome 793. That is to say 30 years before Christ preach'd in Judaea For Jesus Christ began not to preach till the year of Rome 783. The Third Assertion is as easy to be justified For though Baronius makes much of that fancy of Eusebius who to prove the Antiquity of Monastic Life held that Philo's Therapeutae were Christians and who was herein followed by St. Hierom without Examination yet others of the most Learned Papists as particularly Lucas Holstenius and Hen. Valesius have confest that herein Eusebius was mistaken Indeed one need only read the Book de Therapeutis it self or even the first period of it to be convinced that those whom Philo there describes were the Jews of the Essen Sect and the Essens were as Josephus plainly shews in the account he gives of them as much Jews by Religion as the Pharisees were Photius who was a better
choice of Three Punishments either Three Years Famine or Three Months Destruction by Enemies or Three Days Pestilence throughout all the Coast of Israel This last being a Judgment from Heaven that falls as soon upon the Prince as the Peasant David made choice of it rather than either of the other saying withal Let me not fall into the hands of Man but into the hands of the Lord for great are his Mercies 1 Chron. xxi 13. Thereupon God sent a Pestilence upon all the Coasts of Israel by which there fell Seventy thousand Men 2 Sam. xxiv 15. And to represent to David's Bodily Eyes an extraordinary Instance as well of God's Justice in punishing Sinners as of his Mercy to them upon their Repentance and Prayer God made him see an Angel standing between the Earth and the Heaven having a drawn Sword in his hand stretch'd out over Jerusalem to destroy it 2 Sam. xxiv 16 17. And 1 Chron. xxi 16. And when at this Sight David fell upon his face and prayed as it followeth ver 17. God said to the destroying Angel It is enough stay now thy hand Then the Angel came down and stood by the Floor of Ornan the Jebusite on which Place God designed that Solomon should build his Temple and declared it to David upon this occasion There according to the Angel's Order by the Prophet Gad David now built an Altar and sacrificed thereon upon which the Lord commanded the Angel and he put up his Sword into his sheath 2 Sam. xxiv 17. This was no other than a Created Angel whom God that employ'd him in that Service appointed to appear in that manner for all those purposes before-mentioned What the Ancient Church thought of all this Passage of History we may easily guess by what has been already shewn of their ascribing all Rewards and Punishments to the Word that had the Conduct and Government over God's People And though it seems that Care has been taken to conceal this Notion of theirs as much as was possible in the Targums of the Books now before us yet here is a Passage that seems to have escaped the Correctors by which we may perceive the Church's Sense here was agreeable to what we find of it in all other places For in 2 Sam. xxiv 14. where we find in the Text that David said ver 6. Let us fall now into the â—â—nd of the Lord for his Mercies are great the Targum thus renders these words Let me be delivered into the hand of the Word of the Lord for great are his Mercies It was therefore the Word of the Lord into whose hands David fell It was his Angel by whom the Judgment was executed And it was also his Mercy by which the Judgment was suspended and revoked The Targum on this Text sufficiently shews that all this was the Sense of the Jewish Church In short the Ancient Church considered the Word as being their Sovereign Lord and King of the People of Israel All those Kings whose Acts are described in the Two Books of Kings they look'd upon as his Lieutenants or Deputies that held their Title from and under him by his Covenant with David their Father This Solomon declared in these words 1 Kings viii 15. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel who by his Word made a Covenant with David my Father Whatsoever God did for his People under their Government in protecting and delivering them from their Enemies they own'd that it was for his Word's sake and for his Servant David's sake 2 Kings xix 34. xx 6. When they had quite broken his Covenant then God removed them from before his Word and gave them up to be a Scorn to all Nations as he threatned he would 1 Kings ix 7. according to their Targum In these Books we read of no more but Two Divine Appearances in Solomon's time and both these were made to Solomon himself 1 Kings ix 2. The first was at Gibeon chap. iii. 5. where the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night and said to him Ask what I shall give thee He asked nothing but Wisdom which so pleased the Lord that he gave him not only that but also Riches and Honour above all the Kings then in the Word The Targum as it is come to our hands doth not say It was the Word of the Lord that appeared to him and that gave him all this But that it was so according to the Sense of their Church may be gathered from the Text which tells us ver 15. That as soon as Solomon was awake he went presently to Jerusalem which was about seven Miles distant and there he stood before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord which was there in the Tabernacle set up by David his Father and he offered up both Burnt-Offerings and Peace-Offerings and made a Feast to all his Servants The haste in which all this was done brings us presently to the Occasion of it for of all Peace-Offerings for Thanksgiving to God the same day that they were offered the Flesh must be eaten Lev. vii 15. the Breast and Right Shoulder by the Priests all the rest by the Offerer and those that he had to eat with him It is plain therefore that this was a Sacrifice of Thanksgiving to God But why should not Solomon have staid at Gibeon and there paid this Duty where he had received the Obligation Especially since there at Gibeon was the Tabernacle which Moses made by God's Command and there was the Brazen Altar which Bezaleel made 2 Chron. i. 2 3 4. and Solomon had come on purpose to Gibeon to sacrifice upon that Altar at that time The very day before this Appearance of God he had offered a thousand Burnt-Offerings upon it ver 6. and in that very night did God appear to him ver 7. Now Solomon having found that good Success of his sacrificing at Gibeon that presently God appeared to him and gave him so great a Boon would certainly have staid there to have paid his Thanksgiving in that Place but that he understood that he that appeared to him was the Word whose especial Presence was with the Ark at Jerusalem as we have abundantly proved To Him therefore he hasten'd immediately to pay his Burnt-Offerings and Peace-Offerings of Thanksgiving to the Word of the Lord. This we cannot doubt was the Sense of the Ancient Jewish Church though it doth not appear now in their Targums And if it was the Word that made that first Appearance to Solomon then it must be He that made the second also for both these Appearances were of the same Person So it is said expresly in the Text 1 Kings ix 2. The Lord appeared to Solomon the second time as he had appeared to him at Gibeon But of this second Appearance that it was of the Word of the Lord there is a clearer Proof than of the former as the Reader will certainly judge if he considers the Circumstances of this second Appearance and the