Sabbatic Year as the first Day of Creation was the first in the Hebdomadic Cycle For this Opinion seems not improbable when the Reason of this Cycle was not less universal than that of the Diurnal Hebdomadic Cycle Therefore the Opinion of Rob. Pontanus Cáledonius a Britain does not displease us when he asserts as much saying (p) De Sabbaticorum Annorum Period c. 2. p. 13. That the Reason of this sacred Observation preceeding by sevens has its Foundation in the Law of Nature as the Example of God himself which precedes all Laws from whence we may fairly gather that this Reason of reckoning by Sabbaths has respect to the Original of the Word and by a continual Series to be deduced from the first Sabbath That as God himself rested from the Work of Creation on the 7th Day so those Years of Rest Sabbaths and Jubile's came from the same exemplary Principle § 5. Some of the Jewish (q) Mâ—imonides c. 10. de Schemitha Jobel Rabbi's seem to The Sabbatic Cycle is a Character of certain and indubitable credit in respect of Time derogate from the Certainty of this Character when they tell us The Israelites had reckoned 17 Jubile's from the time they went into the Land of Canaan till the time they went out of it again And the Year in which they went out when the first Temple was destroyed was at the end of a seventh Year and the 36th of a Jubile For the first Temple stood 410 Years and after it was destroyed this Computation was also lost and abolished from thence the Land lay desart 70 Years and the 2 d Temple was built which stood 420 Years And in the 7th after it was rebuilt Esdras returned and restored this Aera the 2 d time And from that Year they began to reckon another Aera and made the 3 d Year of the 2 d Temple Sabbatic And they reckoned 7 Sabbatisms and consecrated the 50th Year altho' it was not Jubile yet they reckoned under the 2 d Temple so as that they did consecrate Sabbatisms Dionysius Petavius also follows Maimonides and is also of this Opinion (r) Lib. 9. de Doctrina Temp. c. 26. But as the Ignorance of the Jews in Chronological Affairs is very notorious so there 's nothing at all in this Discourse of Maimonides which would shake our Opinion that is not apparently false and argues the Author much mistaken about the Computation of Esdras at the end of 70 Years Restauration For Calvisius most truly (Å¿) Isag c. 26. says For who could suspect that the Jews in a Babylonian Captivity of 70 Years could forget their Sabbatic Years and afterwards institute others which should not be the same in order as those before the Captivity why should not the Jews as well have forgot their Sabbath Day and afterwards also institute another But this is impossible for God the Preserver of his own Institutions and Creatures would not have suffered such Set-times to have been disturbed from the Creation of the World So that the true Sabbatic Years were not changed but truly restored after the Babylonish Captivity For the Jews in that Captivity had Fields (t) Jer. 29. planted Vineyards mow'd and gather'd Grapes So that they were busied in those very things as were most proper to put 'em in mind of their Sabbatic Years Nor did their Exile endure beyond the Memory of any that were then alive At this Day where-ever they are dispersed they truly know and reckon up their Sabbatic Years How then could these forget them who had celebrated the Sabbatic Years in Judea and were returned back again into Judea to celebrate them after their Captivity But admitting they had forgot 'em yet after their Return they would have learn'd 'em again of the Samaritans who celebrated the Sabbatic Years with the Jews before the Captivity and had constantly retain'd 'em all that time for they were near Neighbours the distance betwixt Jerusalem and Samaria being not above 6 German Miles and the Nation of the Jews was very superstitious and tenacious of their Ceremonies as is well known 'T is therefore a vain thing for any one to suspect a Change in the Sabbatic Years § 6. A certain Author (u) Autor Solis Clavis Temp. itemque vindiciarum does not only conjecture Whether the Sabbatic and Jubilean Tears never had nor could have any other Form than such a mystical one wherein 343 Days are reckoned for a Tear but promises a Demonstration of the Affirmative but we deny both and our Reasons are 1. Because from the Author 's own Confession neither the Scripture nor any other ancienter Book makes mention of such a mystic Year 2. Because the six Years of Agriculture have without doubt sometimes coincided with the Solar Year For otherwise the times of Sowing and Harvest would have been uncertain 3. Because the (w) Lev 25. 9. Scripture attributes to the Jubilean and Sabbatic Years a fixt Beginning and State Thou shalt reckon says God seven Weeks of Years c. Then thou shalt cause the Trumpet to sound every where on the 7th Month on the 10th day of the same Month the Day of Expiations ye shall cause the Trumpet to be sounded throughout the whole Land From which Words Interpreters have hitherto inferr'd that the Jews ought to begin the Jubilean Years from the same 10th day of the Month Tisri whereas 't is immediately added That ye may sanctifie the 50th Year And although the Author of Mystical Computation of whom we shall speak in the next Section hath sought a Solution in the Ambiguity of the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as a Proclamation or a Command of the Solemnity of the Jubilean Year indeed it was joined to a certain Day of the Civil Calendar whereas the Jubilean Year without any Relation to this Command took its Original elsewhere ..... How ill it becomes a Learned Man to trifle in a serious Affair For who knows not that a better Account may be given of the Beginning than of the Proclamation of the Jubilean Years who is ignorant of the Emphasis of the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Or who shall perswade himself that a Year should be sanctified amongst the Jews some Months before it began Maimonides speaks much juster (x) In Halacha Schemidda Vejobel c. 10. on this Subject From the beginning of the Year to the Day of Expiations the Servants were neither dismiss'd nor did they serve their Masters nor were the Fields restored What then They did eat drink and were merry and every one put a Crown upon his Head But as soon as the Day of Expiations was come the Senators of the Sanhedrin sounded Trumpets and sent away their Servants free Fields were then also restored 4. From that mystic Form which is against the Laws of Sydereal Years it would follow that it might be possible that the Product of one should maintain the Jews for three Years together against Lev. 25.
Days of unleavened Bread Upon which there was Oblation of Fruits and from whence seven Weeks (l) Lev. 18. 15. were reckoned till Pentecost and therefore the Sabbaths betwixt the Pasca and Pentecost were thus named The Saturdays before 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Quasi modo geniti 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Miscricordias Domini 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Jubilate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cantate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vocem jucunditatis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Exaudi 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Pentecosten § 7. After many other Fabulists Menasseh Ben Of the Sabbatic River which the Jews were wâ—nt to alledge in Testimony â—f the Sabbath which was sanctified by God Israel (m) In Concil Quaest 36. in Exodum writes that the Sabbatic River is a Testimony of the Sabbath sanctified by God whereof mention is made in the Babylonian and the Jewish Talmud Rabat Jalcut and Josephus also an Historiographer of great Authority makes mention of it as running through Phoenicia in Assyria which after six Days of its own Accord stops its rapid Course and afterwards runs after the same manner and therefore it received the Name of the Sabbatic River from its Rest on the seventh Day Others (n) R. Moses 〈…〉 will have it that this River is Gozen over which the ten Tribes pass'd and at the Coming of the Messiah they shall be freed from their Captivity and according to the Ancient Wisemen (o) Cap. 4â— 9. Isaiah speaks of the People beyond this River which is commonly called Flumen Lapidum But these are childish Fables of the Jews For the above-mentioned Josephus says This River runs very swift on the Sabbath Day These are Rivers that run only out of the Brains of the Rabbi's which are near a-kin to the Poets § 8. (p) Photius in Excerptis ad Nichom Not only among the Gentiles accustomed What we ought to judge of the Numb 7 which determines the Cycle of the Feriae to Superstition was the Number 7 had in great repute but also amongst the Christians many wonderful things are spoken of the mysterious Character 7. Nor has Augustine (q) Lib. 5. Quaest super Deut. Lib. 2. de Cive Dei cap. 21. escaped the Prejudice who makes 7 of 3 and 4 a very perfect Number The firstof these viz. 3. says he is wholly odd and denotes Excellency the other is perfectly equal and denotes the Mother of Justice Equability and a sacred Agreement in things This Number 7 is also assum'd into the most sacred Mysteries is concerned in the Formation of Corporeal Things and appears a Symbol of Perfection Others as Philo Robertus Pontanus c. reckon up those things wherein the Number 7 is concerned as almost all Sacrifices were offered by sevens as 7 Bullocks 7 Rams which always was observed by that mercenary (r) Numb 23. 1. Prophet Balaam Nor do we want Examples of it among the Gentiles as in that Passage of the Poet Nam grege de intacto septem mactare juvencos Praestiterit totidem lectos de more bidentes And those who reckon up the Mysteries of the Number 7 tell us that the chief Feasts of the Jews were reckoned to 7 Months of the Year and continued 7 Days in the Pasca they the unleavened Bread 7 days and then they reckoned 7 Weeks to the Pentecost many joyful Days were celebrated in the 7th Month. Wisdom built her House upon 7 Pillars In the Lamp of the Sanctuary there were 7 Candles St. John in the Revelations saw 7 Golden Candlesticks and in Zachary a Stone had 7 Eyes In the New Testament there were 7 Deacons chosen and through the whole Apocalypse of St. John the different State of the Church is described by the Number 7 Christ commands him to write to the 7 Churches of Asia and their 7 Angels The mystical Book was sealed with 7 Seals 7 Angels with 7 Trumpets and 7 Vials represented the State of the Church in the last Days They yet add to these in Natural things that there are 7 Planets 7 fixed Stars called the Pleiades the 7 Hyades and both the Bears are figured with 7 Stars There are 7 habitable Climates in the Earth The Structure of the Humane Body is 7 Feet And innumerable other things are wont to be alledged by (Å¿) Vide Philonem passim in suis Scriptis Roberti Loei Angli Pâ—â—giationem veri sublati p. 25. Meursii denarium Pythagoriâ—â—â—â— c. those who seek Mysteries in the Number 7. § 9. In Section the 3d and 4th of this Chapter The naming of Days in Weeks is not the same now among the Jews and Christians as it was at first we have given an Account of the Denomination of the Days in the Week among the Jews and in § 3d. Ch. 2d of the accounting by Feriae among the Romans and Eastern Christians But now we all use the Names of the Planets in the Days of the Week § 10. The Order of the Planets if you The reason why the same order of the Planets in naming the Days of the Week was not observed among the Ancients consider their Spheres or Orbs is express'd by this memorable Versicle Post SIMSVM sequitur ultima LVNA subest But there 's nothing attended to less than this in the Names of the Days of the Week Dio (t) Lib. 37. Hist Rom. Cassius gives us the reason and Original of this which he that pleases may read at length and understand upon what Grounds they first fixed the Musick of the 7 Spheres and how they would have the Days of the Week concerned in it The Custom of the Egyptians in these musical Proportions tho' known every where was formerly unknown to the Ancient Greeks therefore each had their distinct Way § 10. In ancient times the 7th Day of the Of thrse Days of the Week which among divers People have been kept holy Week was kept holy which Custom owing its Original to the Divine Institution the Jews at this time observe but the Christians have receded from it distinguishing themselves in this matter from the Jews consecrating the first Day of the Week to Divine Worship And Examples of this Worship seem to be fetch'd even from the time of the (u) John 20. 19 26. Acts 15. also 20. 7. 1 Cor. 16. 1 and â— Apostles Certainly except Christians could alledge Apostolick Tradition they would scarce with so much Religion and Constancy have observed the first Feria or Sunday That Melito a Cotemporary of Justin would have wrote a whole Book upon that Matter that whole Companies of the Faithful would have incurr'd the Suâ—picion of the Idolatrous Worship on Sunday that they would even with their Blood (w) Tertul. Apol. Cap. 16. testifie their Sanction of that Day For the Martyrs being asked (x) D. Danhov disp dec oct §. 5. Hast thou kept the Lord's-day answered I am a Christian and cannot pass it by The Africans in Guinea
21. sequ For although mention is there made of three Years yet by no means were they compleat and separately reckoned as is evident from the Place just mentioned On the contrary 't is evident that this Hypothesis brings in a new Method destitute of all Probability For if for Example the Beginning of the Sabbatic Year should fall upon the Vernal Month Nisan which would sometimes happen the Jews could not gather the Fruits because of the Religion of the Year and consequently on the preceding Year they would hardly have given themselves the trouble of Sowing but neither was it lawful to sow about Tisri the Autumnal Month of the same Year Therefore they could not mow about Nisan the Year following It was therefore necessary for 'em to wait till they could have the Harvest of the 3d Year § 7. The Absurdity of that Opinion is The Mystic Sabbatic Cycle hence evident For admitting it the Sabbatic Years would undoubtedly be wholly deprived of their best Character when amongst the Sabbatic Years from the faithful Tradition of Historians the intercepted time divisible into aliquot Parts should not always be 2401 Days or the Quantity of a mystic Sabbatic Cycle § 8. The Author of (y) Sâ—lâ— Temp. p. â—1 in vind p. 4. the mystic Chronology The manner how the Author of mystic Chronology would prove his Opinion about the Sabbatic and Jubilean Years premises some Hypotheses which he says are founded in Scripture and which are granted by all that allow of the Old Testament whether Christians Jews or Turks 1. That God made the World in six Days 2. That on the 7th he rested from the Work of the Creation 3. That any 7th from this and consequently all the Multiples of 7 following one another in Arithmetic Progression as 7. 14. 21. 28 c. were made Sabbaths or destin'd for Rest in Memory of the preceding six Days Creation and resting on the 7th 4. Therefore if from any Sabbath we go backwards by the spaces of 7 Days or the Interval of a Week we shall at last come to that Day of Divine Rest 5. And this is an inseparable Property resulting from the Institution it self and the Divine Fact viz. That it should be a Multiple of the Time and calls back into our Memory and points at the Divine Rest and the very individual Day thereof 6. That God instituted a Sabbatic Year as wâ—ll as a 7th Day in memory of his Rest in which he also would have the same (z) Lev. 25. 4. Arithmetic Progression 7. That in the Sabbatic Years he would have observed and commanded the Observation not only of an (a) Lev. 25. 4. Arithmetic Progression but also a Geometric one viz. the Square of the Sabbatic Year or 7 7 49 Years he instituted for the Jubile 8. The Sabbatic Year ought to be neither greater nor less than the time of Labour and a Fruits or Culture of the Earth which in this Year God would have omitted 9. That time must be greater than 49 and less than 366 Days 10. That there is no Number betwixt 49 and 366 by which we can return back again to the Root 7 unless 343 viz. the Cube of 7. From these Hypotheses he says follows this Apogogic Syllogism Every memorial time of Divine Rest taken from the 7th Day of Creation ought to be multiple of the Number 7 and by a given Regression viz. both Arithmetic and Geometric in a given Proportion viz. Septuple to point out the first of the Divine Rest or the Individual 7th of the Creation But the Mosaic Sabbatic and Jubilean Years are a memorial time of Divine Rest begun on the 7th Day of the Creation Ergo c. And hence further he adds an Epistomonic Syllogism as he calls it Whatever Years ought to be multiple of the 7th Day of Creation and shew the same by a regression as well Arithmetic as Geometric must consist of some Number betwixt 49 and 366 between which 't is impossible they should be either more or less than 343 But the Sabbatic and Jubilean Years ought to be multiple of the 7th Day of Creation and shew it by a Progression as well Arithmetic as Geometric and to consist of a Number betwixt 49 and 366 Therefore 't is impossible that the Sabbatic and Jubilean Years should have either more or fewer Days than 343. 10. 10 c. This is the Basis of this mystic Computation but which is built upon the Sand For first of all our Mysteriographer puts us in mind of a strange Agreement betwixt Christians Jews and Turks in their admitting of the Old Testament But how great soever the Agreement of the two former be that of the Turks is a Dream of the Author Indeed we know the (b) Hotting in Hist Orient p. 409. Turks value the Law of Moses believe that Christ is the Son of Mary the Spirit of God his Word and his Apostle but only in such a sense as Mahomet has left them The Turks tell us of many things depraved in the old many things omitted and many added Nor do they acknowledge the History of the Creation or the first Week from the Mosaic Writings as the Christians and Jews do but are wont to report many Fables of them which that Impostor invented as when God made Adam the Throne of God Paradise c. he held in his Hand a Pen â—00 Miles long and 80 broad Besides the Turks keep not the 7th but the 6th Day of the Week holy contrary to Moses So little occasion has our Author from the Agreement of the Turks for the Foundation of any of their Hypotheses nor according to the sense of his 5th Hypothesis will meet with great Agreement betwixt the Christians and Jews The Times of our Saviour's Nativity his Circumcision of the Eremetic Fast c. are Memorials of those things which hapned long since though no one ever yet of any mystic Multiples Further the 6th 8th and 9th Hypotheses are no where extant in the Old Testament nor are they received by any Christians if you except our (c) Hanlinus Author and his Disciples nor are they granted by the Jews not to mention the Turks God had no respect to the first Sabbath in constituting this System of Years that from the 7th Day of the Creation the Quantity of the Year should be deduced by an Arithmetic and Geometric Progression there are no Footsteps of it in that place our Author has cited in Leviticus But the rest are evident So very false do we find our Author's Philosophy when we consider the (d) Lev. 26. 3 4 5. Amplitude of of the Divine Promises In short the Author of this mystic Computation has acted ignorantly when he makes one of his Limits a System of 366 Days when the Jews knew nothing of it their Annus Communis being 354 Days their Annus Embolimaeus 384 and the Mean 367. Having shewed the Falsity of these Hypotheses we easiy see
the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth day of the Month of Nisan 1. Because the day of their going out of Aegypt is mentioned to have been the fifteenth of the Month of (p) Numb 33. v. â— Nisan from whence it is evident that according to the Jewish Institution they celebrated the Passover on the same day 2. From the Hebrew Text the Words are as follows (q) â—xod 12. v. 5 6. Your Lamb shall be without Blemish of the first Year you shall take it out from the Sheep or Goats and you shall keep it up till the fourteenth day of the same Month and the whole Assembly of the Congregation of Israel shall kill it in the Evening 3. From the Computation of the days of Unleavened Bread the Words of the Institution of this Feast are these (r) Ex. 12. v. 17. And you shall observe the Feast of unleâ—vened Bread for in this self same day have I brought your Armies out of the Land of Aegypt therefore shall you observe this day in your Generations by an Ordinance for ever In the first Month on the fourteenth day of the Month at Even you shall eat unleavened Bread until the one and twentieth day of the Month at Even Which Words plainly intimate that the Feast of the Unleavened Bread ended on the one and twentieth Day of the Month of Nisan in the Evening it being likewise said in the following Verse Seven Days shall there be no Leaven found in your House It is very evident from thence that the beginning of the Days of the Unleavened Bread ought to be fixed on the End of the fourteenth Day of the Month of Nisan or on the Beginning of the fifteenth to count from Sun-set And it is sufficiently demonstrable out of many Passages in (s) Exod. 12. v. 6. 17. Holy Scripture that the Feast of the Unleavened Bread and of the Passover began on the same 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That which has occasioned this difference among the Chronologers is that since that time the Jews have begun their Months from the New Moon so that the same day which before was the fifteenth was afterwards called the fourteenth day of the Month Nisan § 5. The Chronologers do disagree in their The Israeliteâ— went out of Aegypt on the 5th â—eria Opinions concerning the Character of the Feria when the Israelites went out of Aegypt There are many among which are Henricus Buntingus Hicronymus Zanchius and Hamlinus who maintain this day to have been the seventh Feria They alledge in their behalf the Words in Deuteronomy (t) C. 5. v. 15. Remember that thou wast a Servant in the Land of Aegypt and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and a stretched out Arm Therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath Day (u) Lib. 2. c. â— de an Christ p. 263. William Lange determines the Day of their Departure out of Aegypt to have been the fifteenth of Nisan the fifth Day of April according to the Julian Calendar the first Day of the Unleavened Bread and the sixth Feria which he pretends to prove from the Authority of the Seder Olam Rabbah or the great Hebrew Chronicle with whom in some measure consents (x) Lib. 1. p. 53. demonstr Chronol Temporaritis But the most general Opinion is that the Jews began their Passover and went out of Aegypt on the fifth Feria to commence the Day from the Sun-set Besides many of the Ancients among the Modern Chronologers (y) L. 3. Can. Isag p. 282. Josephus Scaliger (z) Lib. 2. Tit. 3. Cap 1. Behmius in his Chronological Manuduction Dorsheus Frankenbergerus and Calvisius agree in this Point because it has most evidently appeared out of the Astronomical Calculations that in the first year of the Departure of the Israelites out of Aegypt the Passover which was celebrated at the Full Moon was coincident with the fifth Feria and the same Character is correspondent to what is related in Exodus in the sixteenth Chapter For if the two and twentieth day of the second Month called Jiar was the seventh Feria it must needs follow that the fifteenth of the Month of Nisan was the fifth Feria For betwixt the twenty second Day of the Month Jiar and the fifteenth of Nisan are thirty seven Days which if divided by 7 the Residue is two Days which if subtracted from 7 there remains 5 which demonstrates the fifteenth Day of the Month of Nisan to have been the fifth Feria That the 23d of the Month of Jiar was the seventh Feria is evident out of the above-mentioned sixteenth Chapter of Exodus where it is said that on the fifteenth Day of the second Month Jiar they came unto the Wilderness of Sin the same Day they murmured against Moses and in the Evening the Quails came up and covered the Camp and the next following Day being the sixteenth before Sun-rising they were blessed with the Manna for six Days together to wit the 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 21st The last Day they gathered twice as much as the other Days because of the Rest of the Sabbath of the next following Day being the 22d and the seventh Feria But to give you a more exact Idea of such Maters as have a Relation to the Chronology of this Epocha the following Table represents the three first Months of the Year of the Israelites Departure out of Aegypt and their Congruity with the Julian Calendar D. of the Mon. Nis Days of the Mon. of April The Feriae  1 II 5 The beginning of the Ecclesiastical Tear 2 III 6  3 IV VII  4 V 1  5 VI 2 ☉ in ♈ 6 VII 3  7 VIII 4  8 IX 5  9 X â— Exod. 12. v. 3. 10 XI VII Segregation of the Paschal Lamb. 11 XII 1  12 XIII 2  13 XIV 3  14 XV 4 out of Aegypt 15 XVI 5 The Pas First-born slain Departure 16 XVII 6 They pitch their Tents in Etham 17 XVIII VII They pitch in Pihahiroth 18 XIX 1 They pass through the Red Sea 19 XX 2  20 XXI 3 They pitch in Marah 21 XXII 4  22 XXIII 5  23 XXIV 6  24 XXV VII  25 XXVI 1  26 XXVII 2  27 XXVIII 3  28 XXIX 4  29 XXX 5  30 I of May 6  D. of the Mon. Jiar Days of the Mon. of May. The Feriae  1 II VII  2 III 1  3 IV 2  4 V 3  5 VI 4  6 VII 5  7 VIII 6  8 IX VII  9 X 1  10 XI 2  11 XII 3  12 XIII 4  13 XIV 5  14 XV 6  15 XVI VII They come to the Wilderness of Sin 16 XVII 1 The Gathering of Manna 17 XVIII 2  18 XIX 3  19 XX 4  20 XXI 5  21 XXII 6  22 XXIII VII No Manna by
they act preposterously who gives in their Chronological Writings whole Theories and those of the Sun Moon and fixed Stars which Petavius (c) De Doctrina temp lib. 8. De veris accutatis Solis ac Lunae motibus amborum deliquiis agitur à pag. 696. usque pag. 886. has also done in a very prolix Work whereas the Knowledge of Astronomy is supposed or taken for granted by a Chronologer § 3. It may sometimes happen the Aequinoxes Not only the mean timex the Aequinoes Solstices and Coniunctions of the Luminarier but also the true is necessary to be known by a Chronologer Solstices also the mean New and Full Moons may fall upon another Day as the true may but whereas to find out the true Places of the Luminaries require a more prolix Calculation let the Chronologer consult the Astronomer But whereas such Alteration seldom happens he may being not perfect in Astronomy be content with the Knowledge of the mean Motions § 4. The Conjunction of the Planets their Other Astronomical Characters besides what are laid down may be assigned mutual Aspect their Ingress into other Points of the Zodiack besides the Cardinal ones with other Characters yet less frequent may be made use of in Chronological Concerns CHAP. II. Of the Hebdomatic or Weekly Character 1. The Weekly Character is that whereby we distinguish one Day of the Week from another 2. The Week is a System of 7 Days continually recurring and to this end divinâ—ly ordained That the Memory of the six Days Creation might be preserved that the seventh might be kâ—pt holy and that Man and Beast might rest 3. One Denomination of the Days of the Week is vulgar owing its Original to Gentilism Another Chronological repeating the Order of the Days in the Week 4. In common Vse the Days of the Week are denominated from the Planets in this Order The first from the Sun the second from the Moon the third from Mars c. 5. The Chronological Denomination of the Days of the Week is disposed in Order as the first Day is called Feria prima the second Feria secunda c. § 1. AT the Creation the 7th Day was The Observation of the 7th Day or the Hebdomatic Character was in use from the Creation of the World sanctified and from hence Men to whom that Law was given ought to continue it so since that Sanction was made only (a) Mark 2. 27. because of Man but upon the 7th Day of the Creation this Sanction was made from thence there is derived the REmarkableness of this Character add to this the Mention of the Sabbath in Scripture as a noted thing even before the (b) Exod. 16 26. Law was made which without doubt the Author of the Epistle to the d Heb. refers asserting that eternal Rest which God had prepar'd for his Children not only by the Possession of the Holy Land but also by that Sabbath which was prefigured from the Original of the World Some also will refer to this that Passage of (d) Gen. 8. 11. Noah who in the time of the Flood sent not out the Birds till after the 7th Day to try whether the Waters were abated which Argument sufficiently restrains and fixes the Sanction upon the 7th Day as a positive and moral Duty upon Men notwithstanding the Objections of c Chap. 6. 3. (e) â—ob Loeum Tomarus Rivetus some against it who would have the Sabbath take its Original from the raining of Manna in the Wilderness § 2. All Chronologers who admit the Antiquity The Order of the Feriâ— or Days in the Week has been preserv'd always incorrupt till our times of the Hebdomatic Cycle always look upon the Order of the Days of the Week to have been the same so that to deny it would be to call in doubt one of the first Principles in Chronology § 3. (f) Joseph Scaliger Lib de Eâ—â—nt Temp. p. 8. Some will have it that the Roman Why all the Days in the Week are now called Feriae Church whom all Chronologers follow called every Day in the Week Feria Feria 1 ma Feria 2 da c. because the old Ecclesiastical Year began from the Pasca and the Pasca was called Annus novus as now in the Church of Antioch and for the same reason in that of Constantinople 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but all the Days of the Pascal Week were called feriati as St. Jeromâ— and other Ancients witness And hence it obtain'd for the Days of the other Weeks to be called Feriae in imitation of that Some say we follow the Custom of the Jews in this Reckoning of which hereafter But Tostatus and after him Cornâ—à Lapide that the Church by the Institution of Pope Sylvester called all the Days of the Week Feriae First because every Day in the Week ought to be a Holy-day to a Christian Secondly That so far as related to Ecclesiastic Offices and the Ministers of the Church those Days are really Feriâ— or Festa Holidays and every thing is to be rested from but Divine Worship § 4. We cannot seek for the Derivation of this Word Sabbath among the Greeks as Plutarch has done from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Name of Revellers nor among the Aegyptians à Sabbo a Word signifying a Disease in the Groin but 't is derived from the Hebrew Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies Rest as referred to the Institution of God when after six Days Creation he rested upon the 7th (g) Lib. 5. Cornelius Tacitus being ignorant of this Jewish Custom has invented several Fables about the Original of the Word which may be perused by any one that thinks it worth his Pains § 5. In times past they did not only call the 7th Day of the Week the Sabbath but from What it is we ought to understand about the use and signification â—f the Word Sabbath this very Day all the Days of the Week received their Denominations as our Sunday they called the one or first (h) Matth 28. 1. 1 Cor. 16. 2. Mark 16. 9. Day after the Sabbath our Monday the second Day after the Sabbath Tuesday the third and so on that by the Word Sabbath they sometimes meant the whole Week is evident from that Passage of the proud Pharisee (i) Luke 22. 12. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I fast twice in the Week On the contrary for the Word Week the Ancients wou'd sometimes use the Term Sabbath as in this Passage (k) 2 Maccab 6. 11. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies no more than to keep the Sabbath § 6. Amongst divers Opinions about it that of What we are to understand of the Sabbatum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Scaliger seems to be most reasonable and has been approved of by B. Schmidius Langius and others viz. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hebraicè 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the first Sabbath after the second of the
reason of the Sabbath 23 XXIV 1 They come in Raphidim 24 XXV 2  25 XXVI 3 Moses strikes Water out of the Rock 26 XXVII 4 The Jews vanquish the Amalekites 27 XXVIII 5 Jethro comes to Moses 28 XXIX 6 Election of the LXX Elders 29 XXX VII  D. of the Mon. Siv Days of the Mon. of June The Feriae  1 XXXI 1 They come into the Wildern of Sinai Exod. 19. v. 1. 2 I June 2  3 II 3  4 III 4  5 IV 5  6 V 6  7 VI VII Beginning of the 40 days Moses staid 8 VII 1 upon the Mount the End of which falls in the Month of Tamuz which is observed as a Fast-day by the Jews to this day 9 VIII 2  10 IX 3  11 X 4  12 XI 5  13 XII 6  14 XIII VII  15 XIV 1  16 XV 2  17 XVI 3  18 XVII 4  19 XVIII 5  20 XIX 6  21 XX VII  22 XXI 1  23 XXII 2  24 XXIII 3  25 XXIV 4  26 XXV 5  27 XXVI 6  28 XXVII VII  29 â—XVIII 1  3â— XXIX 2  § 6. The Words in (a) Cap. 12. v. 6. Exodus and the whole Of the time when they killed the Lamb for the Passover Assembly of the Congregation of Israel shall kill it betwixt the two Evenings have met with various Interpretations Aben Ezra understands by it the Interval betwixt Sun-set and the Beginning of the Night of which Opinion is also Rabbi David Kimchi But since according to (b) L. 7. c. 17. de Bel. Judaic Josephus at the Feast of one Passover there were slain 255600 Lambs we also agree with the same Author in Opinion who asserts that the Jews used to begin at nine a-clock about three in the Afternoon with us to kill these Beasts and leave off again at eleven about five with us CHAP. X. Of the two Epocha's of the Division of the Land of Canaan among the Tribes of Israel and of their first beginning to cultivate the Ground 1. They first began from that time after they Israelites had passed the River of Jordan and made themselves Masters of the Land of Canaan (a) Numb 33. v. 51. seq 2. At which time all the Tribes had their particular inheritance assigned them (b) Numb 34. v 1. seque 3. The year of this Distribution was the 45th after the second from the time of their going out of Aegypt as is evident from the Words of (c) Jos 14. 7. 16 Caleb Forty Years was I when Moses the Servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-Barnea to espy out the Land and I brought him word again as it was in mine Heart And now behold the Lord hath kept me alive as he said the 45 years ever since the Lord spake this Word unto Moses while the Children of Israel wandred in the Wilderness and now I am this day eighty five years old (d) Vid. Num. 1. and 13. 4. The year of the Distribution of the Land was the last Sabbatick Year in the Proleptick Cycle and the following was the first in the Sabbatick Cycle according to God's Institution (e) Lev. 25. v. 2. When you come into the Land which I give you then shall the Land keep a Sabbath Rest unto the Lord Six years thou shalt sow thy Field and six years thou shalt prune thy Vineyard and gather in the Fruit thereof But in the seventh year shall be a Sabbath of Rest unto the Land a Sabbath for the Lord thou shalt neither sow thy Field neither prune thy Vineyard (f) Vid. Ex. 23. v. 10 11. and Deut 15. v. 1 c. 31. v. 9. 5. From these Characters we conclude that the year of the Division of the Land was coincident with the 3261st year of the Julian Period Cycl ☉ 15. ☽ 14. And that the first year of cultivating the Ground began in the Month Tisri or first Autumnal Month of the same year of the Julian Period 6. If therefore 3261 years and 9 Months be subtracted Any year given of the Julian Period to investigate the year since the beginning of this Epochâ— from any certain year of the Julian Period the Residue shews the Year since the beginning of the Epocha of the Division of the Land of Canaan and if 3262 Years and 9 Months be subtracted from the same year of the Julian Period the Residue shews that since the beginning of the Epocha of the cultivating of the Land And if these several 3261 and 3262 years be added to the years of the before-named Epocha's the Product will be correspondent to the year of the Julian Period § 1. (g) L. 9. c. â—5 de doct temp Dionysius Petavius in Opposition to Whâ—ther the beginning of the Sabba tick Year may be gathered from the Words of Caleb Scaliger maintains that from the Words of Caleb no exact Computation can be made as to the year of the cultivating of the Land it being dubious whether the same ought to be accounted from the Beginning or End of the forty sixth year after the Departure of the Israelites out of Aegypt But besides that the Perspicuity of the Words of Caleb is an undeniable Argument against Petavius it is evident that the year of the Distribution of the Land was a Sabbatick Year and that of the cultivating of the Land the first of both the Sabbatick and Jubilean Cycles § 2. (h) L. 2. Chron. Laurentius Codomannus (i) L. 3. Johannes Different Opinions concerning the Epocha of cultivating the Ground Temporarius in his Chronological Demonstrations Jacobus Capellus and several other modern Chronologers are of Opinion that the first year of the cultivating of the Land was the fortieth after the Departure of the Israclites out of Aegypt at which time Joshua being declared Successor to Moses they passed Jordan and the Manna ceased But it seems very improbable to me that the Jews should immediately after their passing that River have begun to cultivate the Ground before they were in possession of any considerable part of it and that in a fertile Country where without question they found the Cities and Country stored with all manner of Necessaries for their Sustenance § 3. In Seder Olam or the Hebrew Chronicle published by Genebrardus which is of great Authority The Opinion of the Jews concerning it among the Jews the Author pretends to evince that the Division of the Land was not made till seven years after the six and fortieth year after the going out of Aegypt but they are mere Jewish Trifles not deserving a Place here as may be seen in (k) In Jos c. 13. quaest 14. Serrarius CHAP. XI Of the Epocha of the Destruction of TROY 1. This Epocha being much involved in Fables and Poetical Fictions the same must be carefully distinguished from the true Historical Relâ—tions so that not all that
would deduce its Origin not from the time of this solemn Edict or Commandment but from that time when God foretold the rebuilding of the Temple and City by the Prophet But the Jews make themselves most ridiculous in that to invalidate the Arguments of the Christians by which they prove from this Prophecy that the Messias is already come they pretend to put this fictitious Computation upon the World that the Weeks of Daniel ought to begin with the Destruction of the first and end with the Destruction of the second Temple so that the 70 years of their Captivity during which time the Temple remained desolate is to be added to 410 years which they say is the time the 2d Temple has stood as may be seen in their Chron. Major in Rabbi Isaac Abarbinel Rabbi Isaac Ben Abraham and others of the same Stamp This Opinion is contradictory to the express Words of the Angel That from the going forth of the Commandment to restore the City these 70 Weeks are to be computed Besides that it is l Cap. 9. v. 17. absolutely false that there is an Interval of 490 years betwixt the Destruction of the first and the second Temple For as has been sufficiently demonstrated before n the Destruction of the first Temple hapned in the Year of the Julian Period 4124 whereas the second Temple was laid in Ashes in the Year of the Julian Period 4783 so that the whole Interval amounts to no less than 659 years It is also quite beyond the Purpose when the Jews pretend to explain the Words of the Angel concerning the Messiah of King Cyrus For tho' we read in (o) C. 45. v. 1. Isaiah Thus said the Lord to his Anointed to Cyrus no Infetence is to be made from thence that the Word Messiah either by it self or with such Attributes as occur in this Passage of Daniel are ever applied in the Scripture to any Earthly Prince See D. Mulleri Judaism c. 10. and Constantini L'Empereur Annotat. ad Jachiâ—d § 5. We read of four several Edicts concerning Four several Edicts concerning the Rebuilding of the City occur in the Scripture the Restauration of the Jews and the Rebuilding of the Temple and City in the Holy Scripture The first we meet with is in (p) C. 1. v. 1. Ezra In the first Year of Cyrus King of Persia that the Word of the Lord by the Mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled the Lord stirred up the Spirit of Cyrus King of Persia that he made a Proclamation throughout all his Kingdom and put it also in Writing saying Thus said Cyrus King of Persia The Lord God of Heaven hath given me all the Kingdoms of the Earth and he hath charged me to build him an House at Jerusalem which is in Judah Who is there among you of all his People His God be with him and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and build the House of the Lord God of Israel he is the God which m Ch. 22. is in Jerusalem c. The same Words we read also in the (q) C. 6. â— â—2 2â— Chronicles pursuant to the Prophecy of (r) C. â—â— Isaiah The second Mandate or Edict concerning this Restitution is describ'd likewise by (s) C 6. v. â—â— 11. 12. Ezra which being sent by Darius in the same year that the Prophets Haggai and Zechariah began to prophesie to the Governours beyond the River contains the following Words Let the Work of this House of God alone Let the Governour of the Jews and the Elders of the Jews build this House of God in his Place c. Also I have made a Decree that whosoever shall alter this Word let Timber be pulled down from his House and being set up let him be hanged thereon and let his House be made a Dunghil for this And the God that hath caused his Name to dwel there destroy all Kings and People that shall put to their Hand to alter and to destroy this House of God which is at Jerusalem I Darius have made a Decree let it be done with speed And the Prophecies of Hâ—ggai and Zachariah cited by Ezra mention expresly the second Year of Darius and the Month. for thus we read in Haggai Chap. 1. v. 1. seq In the second Year of Darius the King in the sixth Month in the first Day of the Month â—â—me the Word of the Lord by Haggai the Prophet unto Zetubbabel the Son of Shealtiel Governour of Judah and to Joshua the Son of Josedech the High Priest saying thus saith the Lâ—rd of Hosts c. Go up to the Mountain and bring Wood and build the House and I will take Pleasure in it and I will be glorified said the Lord The same Mandate is repeated by (t) C. 1. v 1. Zâ—chariah in the eighth Month of the same second Year of Darius when pursuant to God's Commandment and the Decree of the Persian King the Work was happily brought to Perfection according to the Words of Ezra (u) C. â— v. 15 16. And this House was finished on the third Day of the Month Adar which was in the sixth year of the Reign of Darius the King And the Children of Israel the Priests and the Levites and the rest of the Children of the Captivity kept the Dedication of this House with Joy The third Edict is likewise described by (x) C. 7. v. â— sâ—qâ— Ezra This Ezra went up from Babylon and the King granted him all his Request according to the Hand of the Lord his God upon him And there went up some of the Children of Israel and of the Priests and the Levites and the Singers and the Porters and the Nethinims unto Jerusalem in the 7th year of Artaxerxes the King And he came to Jerusalem in the 5th Month which was in the 7th Year of the King This Decree of King Artaxerxes granâ—s full Liberty to the Jews to return to Jerusalem and exempts all the Priests Levites and other Ministers of the House of God from Toll Tribute or Custom The fourth Edict concerned particularly Nehemiah (y) Ezr. â— v. 13. 24. who in the 20th year of King Artaxerxes got leave to go to Jerusalem with the King's Letter to the Governours beyond the River and unto Asaph the Keeper of the King's Forests that he should give the Jews Timber to make Beams for the Gates â—f the Palace which appeâ—tâ—ineth to the House and for the Wall of the City and for the House he was to enter into as may be seen more at large in Nehemiah Chap. 2. from the 1st to the 9th Verse And these are the four several Mandates concerning the Restauration of the Jews and the Rebuilding of the Temple and City unto one of which the Beginning of these 70 Weeks mâ—st be fixed For the better understanding of the different Opinions of the Chronologers concerning the Time and Reigns of these Kings unto whom the said Mandates are ascribed we have
living such among them as were able to give an Account of their own Descent What can be more absurd When we therefore read of Darius that he ordered the Records to be searched and of Nehemiah that he was obliged to inspect the Genealogies we may rationally conclude with Scaliger that the Edict of Cyrus was not a thing of a late Date at that time when Darius was petitioned about the Rebuilding of the Temple and that consequently it could not be Darius Hydaspis who was coetaneous with Cyrus but Darius Nothus who granted Liberty to the Jews to rebuild their Temple Fourthly The Words in Haggai and Zechariah are to be understood of the same Darius who was at least the third after Cyrus it being evident from the following words of (p) Cap. 4. ver 5 6 7. Ezra that Ahasuerus and Artaxerxes reigned betwixt Cyrus and this Darius and that under both their Reigns the Building of the Temple was obstructed These are his Words And the People of the Land hired Counsellours against the People of Judah to frustrate their Purpose all the Days of Cyrus King of Persia even unto the Reign of Darius King of Persia And in the Reign of Ahasuerus in the Beginning of his Reign wrote they unto him an Accusation against the Inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem And in the Days of Artaxerxes writ Bishlam Mithridat Tabeel and the rest of their Companions unto Artaxerxes King of Persia and the Writing of the Letter was written in the Syrian Tongue and interpreted in the Syrian Tongue And in the 17th and following Verses of the same Chapter may be read the Answer of Artaxerxes forbidding the Rebuilding of the Temple But betwixt Cyrus and Darius Hydaspis there reigned but one lawful King which was Cambyses wherefore the Words of Ezra both in this Passage and in the 6th Chapter v. 1. 15. cannot be understood from the Son of Hydaspis Whereas on the other Hand Darius Nothus having reigned betwixt the two Artaxerxes's to wit Artaxerxes Longimanus and Artaxerxes Mnemon all the Circumstances of the Holy Text concur for his Reign Notwithstanding the unquestionable Perspicuiry of this Argument Dionysius Petavius has found out another Objection against Scaliger which has been embrac'd and promoted by some of his Followers Among the rest a certain Modern (q) Author Periâ—â—li 〈◊〉 Author has the following Words This Cambyses this Smerdes the Son of Cyrus either true or supposititious we believe to have been the same with Ahasuerus and Artaxerxes mention'd in the Scripture as appears out of the Words of (r) C. 2. v. 2. Daniel where it is said That after Cyrus till the time of Artaxerxes there reigned three Kings over Persia which would not be agreeable to the Catalogue of the Persian Kings if Smerdes were not numbred among them The Objection that there is to the Congruity both in the Letters and Syllables betwixt Artaxerxes and Cambyses and Ahasuerus and Smerdes is of little Moment For Cambyses and Smerdes were their Names when they lived yet in a private Condition â—or were perhaps their Sirnames which afterwards when they attained the Royal Dignity were changed and transmuted into those of Ahasuerus and Artaxerxes So according to (s) L. 11. c. 6. Ant. Josephus the Son of Xerxes was by his Father called Cyrus by the Greeks Artaxerxes and in the Scripture Ahasuerus and if we may rely upon the Testimony of Seder Otam (t) C. 30. Rabba the Persians called all their Kings Artaxerxes Thus fat those who would have Darius mentioned in â— Ezra and by the other Prophets to have been the Son of Hydaspis which is in no wise agreeable to the true Computation of the History of these Times And to make Artaxerxes the same with Cambyses and Ahasuerus the same with Smerdes is an unaccountable Way of arguing It is undeniable that among the Persian Kings there was a Supposititious or Pseudo-Smerdes but that he should be the same Ahasuerus mentioned in Scripture is not alone very improbable but absolutely contradictory to Truth it being manifest out of Herodote that this Magus did reign only a few Months which time he bestowed in settling himself in the Throne which he had usurped not in oppressing the Jews And what is related of Ahasuerus in the Book of Esther has very little or no Relation to the Pseudo-Smerdes this Impostor having never appear'd in publick during his short Reign which lasted only a few Months not 7 Years as it is said of Ahasuerus (u) Esth 2. v. 16. It is also very evident from all the Circumstances of the Original Text in Ezra that in those ancient times for what hapned since in that kind we will not pretend to dispute at this time all the Persian Kings were called Artaxerxes's or Artasastas's or Ahasuerus's There are likewise some who maintain that Ezra did by Artaxerxes and Ahasuerus understand one and the same King of Persia but contrary to the Tenure of the Sacred History which assigns them not only different Names but also different Actions For under the Reign of Ahasuerus divers Accusations were brought against the Jews but without Success Whereas in the time of Artaxerxes the Jews were pursuant to a Royal Mandat publickly oppos'd in the building of the Temple by their Enemies Fifthly If according to our Opinion by this Darius is to be understood Darius Nothus and the Beginning of these 70 annual Weeks be fixed in the second year of his Reign this Interval as described by the Angel Gabriel will by a just Computation founded upon undeniable Chronological Characters amount exactly to 490 years till the time of the Destruction of Jerusalem Wherefore we conclude with the Words of (x) Lib. 7. p. 591. de Emend Temp. Scaliger It is says he very apparent that this Darius in the second year of whose Reign the Rebuilding of the Temple was begun afresh must be Darius Nothus who reigned betwixt the two Artaxerxes's viz. Art Machrocire or Longimanus and Artaxerxes Mnemon or Memor The Predecessor of Artaxerxes Longimanus could be no other Person but Xerxes who is called Oxyares in the Scripture which was his Name before he obtained the Royal Dignity § 9. Those who differ from us in Opinion The Age of Zorobabel and Joshua are not contradictory to our Opinion concerning this Darius mentioned by Ezra make among others this Objection That our Hypothesis is not agreeable to the Age of Zorobabel and Joshua which Objection being answered very succinctly by (y) Lib. 6. p. 603. de Em. Temp. Jos Scalig. I think it not beyond our Purpose to insert his Words They make says he this Objection because from the time of the Edict of Cyrus when Zorobabel and Joshua were sent to Jerusalem till the 2d year of the Reign of Darius Nothus are less or more 106 years And say they how could they be living after 106 years But for my part I see no great Occasion why they should so much wonder