or their conforming to the Dialect of their Countrey for these are consistent with That Isaiah being a Courtier and a Person of Quality hath a neat and elegant Stile and yet so as he knows how to vary it according to the Matter he treats of But generally he is Lofty and Eloquent his Stile being raised by his Education which was sutable to his Noble Extraction for he was of the Blood Royal. Ieremiah and Amos being used to the Countrey are mean and homely in their Language the latter especially discovers his Condition and way of Life in his low and rural Strain So in the New Testament St. Luke who had improved himself by Art and Study is very observant of the Greek Elegancy and avoids all improper and exotick Terms in his Gospel and in the Acts. Indeed the Stile of the Sacred Penmen is very different and that Difference is an Excellency in this Book of God But that which I say is this the Writers leave not off their peculiar Stile though they were moved by the Spirit As this furnished them with new Expressions so it let them make use of their own usual ones but immediately directed and assisted them in the applying of them So that at the same time when they used their Natural Stile they were Divinely help'd to make it â—erviceable to that purpose which the Holy Ghost intended Hence I conclude that the Stile and Words and Composure of the Sacred Writings are such as ought to be reckoned Divine For this is one difference between this Book and others that every thing of it is Divine And therefore those Persons who dream of Solecisâ—â— in Holy Scripture are the greatest Solecisers themselves but especially those who assert there are Mistakes and literal Falsities in the Holy Book are utterly to be condemned Such is Episcopius who dares affirm That the Spirit left the Writers of the Holy Scripture to their own humane Frailty in delivering such things as belonged to Circumstances of a Fact Their Knowledg and Memory were deficient and fallible The Spirit did not tell St. Iohn how many Furlongs Christ's Disciples went chap. 6. 19. The same is to be asserted he saith as to some Names and other Circumstances of Time and Place which are not of the substance of the thing And before this you are told by â—â—o others that the Pen-men of Scripture 〈◊〉 in some light things not that they would falâ—â—ty but that they might forget some Passages Melchior Canus is of the opinion that there are some considerable Slips in Scripture from the weakness of the Evangelists and Apostles Memories Yea among the antient Fathers there was one who more grosly held that the Writers of the New Testament sometimes abused the Testimonies of the Prophets of the Old Testament and that they applied them to their present purpose although they were nothing to it Thus St. Paul he saith quoteth the Old Testament in his Epistles to the Romans Galatians and Ephesians only to serve his turn and to confute the Jews his Adversaries Read saith he these Epistles wherein the Apostle is wholly on the Polemick part and you will see how prudently and dissemblingly he acts in those Texts which he citeth out of the Old Testament And at other times this bold Man is not afraid to say that some of the Matters and Things in Scripture are set down wrong This is no less than Profane and Blasphemous Doctrine wherefore that Father is to be read with great Caution in such places as these We on the contrary assert that God was not only the Author of the Matter and Contents of Holy Writ but also of the Words and Expressions yea even when those Writers express their Sense in their own Terms i. e. according to the Way and Dialect which they were Masters of and which was most familiar to them even then they were immediately assisted 〈◊〉 the Spirit Which was absolutely necessary that this Book might have no Errors and Failings in it of any kind but that it might transcend all other Writings whatsoever If you do not hold this you make no considerable difference between the Holy Scriptures and other Writings Therefore I am thorowly convinced that this is a Truth and ought to be maintained viz. that the Holy Spirit endited the very Stile of Scripture that even this was by the immediate Inspiration of Heaven To the Manner of its writing I may well annex its Harmony and thence also prove it to be Divine Though there are several seeming Repugnancies of which I shall treat afterwards in a Discourse of the Stile of Scripture and endeavour to clear them up to the Satisfaction of every sober and considerate Person yet it cannot but be acknowledged that all the Parts of this Book do entirely agree and are consistent with one another This in other Books which are composed and written by one Author is not so admirable tho in those Pieces we oftentimes meet with very palpable Disagreements and Contradictions but here we are able to remember that notwithstanding these Books were written by different Persons and those many in number and disagreeing in Quality and extremely distant as to Time and Place yet their Writings contradict not one another but there is an excellent Harmony in all their Parts there is a perfect Concord and Consent among them all such as is not to be found in any other Authors in the World though of the same Sect and Party Excellently to this purpose a very Wise and Judicious Man thus speaks When several Men in several Ages not brought up under the same Education write it is not possible to find Unity in their Tenents or Positions because their Spirits Judgments and Fancies are different but where so many several Authors speaking and writing at several times agree not only in Matters Dogmatical of sublime and difficult Natures but also in Predictions of future and contingent Events whereof it is impossible for humane Understanding to make a Discovery without a superiour Discovery made to it I must needs conclude one and the same Divine Spirit declared the same Truths to these several Men. And as to the seeming Contrarieties of some Places of Scripture this should not at all trouble us for this is rather an Argument of the Truth and Authority of it it is a sign the Writers did not combine together to cheat and delude us If they had designed any such thing we should not have met with any Difficult and seemingly Repugnant Places in these Writings But seeing we do so this among other things may confirm us in this Belief that the Scriptures were not contrived by Men who had a design to impose upon us for if they had had such a Design they would have so ordered it that not the least appearance of Contradiction and Difference should have been found But truly there is no necessity of proceeding thus in this Discourse for to an unprejudiced and industrious Enquirer there is
nothing in Scripture that looks like Inconsistent and Contradictory Upon a diligent Search we shall discern a mutual Correspondence in the Stile Matter and Design of these Writings we shall find a happy Concurrence of Circumstances and an admirable Consistency in the Doctrines and Discourses in so much that we shall be forced to acknowledg that upon this single Consideration it is reasonable to believe that these Writings were endited by the Holy Spirit This Harmony then of the Scriptures I may justly reckon among the Inward Notes of the Truth of Scripture because it is adjoined to the Matter of it which is of the very Intrinsick Nature of it What Iustinian professes and promises concerning his Digests in his Preface to them that there is nothing Clashing and Contradictory in them but that they are all of a piece is true only of the Sacred Laws of the Evangelical Pandects which contain in them nothing Dissonant and Repugnant The Old and New Testament the Prophets and Apostles are consonant to themselves and to one another which is a great Argument of the Truth of them There is nothing in one Place of Scripture opposite to the true Meaning which the Holy Ghost hath revealed and asserted in another The Contents of the whole Book whether you look into the Doctrinal or Historical Part of it have nothing contradictory in them All the Authors of it agree in their Testimonies and assert the same thing and consent among themselves It is the Nature of Lies and Forgeries that they hang not together as Lactantius on the like Occasion hath observed Especially if you search very inquisitively and narrowly into them you will perceive that they are thin and slight and may easily be seen through But the Contents of these Writings have been diligently inquired into and with great Care and Industry examined by all sorts of Persons and yet they are found to be every ways Consistent with themselves and the Testimony of the Writers is known to be Concurrent and Agreeing All wise and curious Observers must needs grant that there is no Book under Heaven that parallels the Scriptures as to this Which shews that they are more than Humane Writings yea that they were Divinely inspired and dictated And this I take to be the Sense of St. Peter who assures us that no Prophecy of the Scripture is of private Interpretation He speaks of the first Rise of those Prophecies which are in Scripture they are from God they are not of private Interpretation they are not from Man's Invention they are not of his own Brain and Fancy but they are to be esteem'd to be as they are Divine and Heavenly Oracles Thus the Word of God is Witness to it self and stands in need of no others The Scripture is sufficiently proved by what is in it and is to be believed for its own sake Which made an antient Writer say We have compleat Demonstrations out of the Scriptures themselves and accordingly we are demonstratively assured by Faith concerning the Truth of the things therein delivered Which cannot be said of any humane Writings in the World for they carry no such Native Marks with them But the very Inward Notes of the Truth and Authority of the Scriptures create in us a certain and unshaken Belief They may be known from all other Writings whatsoever by the Excellent Transcendent and Divine Matter contained in them and by the peculiar Manner of delivering and publishing it These I call Internal Proofs because they are taken from the Books themselves because they are something that we find there These assure us that they were written not by Man but by God There is yet another Internal Testimony I call it so because it is within Vs though not in the Scriptures As I have shewed you that the Holy Spirit speaks in the Scriptures and bears Testimony to the Truth of them so now I add that this Spirit speaks in Vs and works in our Hearts a Perswasion that the Scriptures are the Word of God By this Spirit we are enabled to discern the Voice of the same Spirit and of Christ in those Writings This witnessing Power of the Spirit in the Souls of Believers is asserted in Acts 5. 32. 15. 7 8. and in 1 Iohn 5. 6. From these Places it is clear that there is an Illumination of the Spirit joining with our Consciences and Perswasions and this Spirit powerfully convinces all Believers of the Truth of the Scriptures This Testimony follows immediately on our setting before us the Inward Excellencies of the Scripture as I have represented them for God makes use of those Evidences and Arguments to beget a Belief in us of the Divine Authority of Scripture The Spirit enlightens and convinces Mens Minds by those Means but more especially he urges these Evidences on the Hearts of the Religious and Faithful and thereby brings them to a firm Perswasion of the Scriptures being the Word of God This is no Enthusiasm because it is discovered to us by proper Means and Instruments whereas that is without any and is generally accompanied with the despising of them But the Evidences and Notes in the Scripture are the Reasons and Motives of our Belief only the Holy Spirit comes and prepares and sanctifies our Minds and illuminates our Consciences and causes those Arguments and Motives to make Impression upon us and effectually to prevail with us and to silence all Objections to the contrary Thus the Truth of Scripture is attested by the Holy Spirit witnessing in us But when I say the Testimony of the Spirit is a Proof of the Truth of the Scripture I must adjoin this that this Proof serves only for those that have this Spirit it may establish them but it cannot convince others No other Man can be brought to be perswaded of the Truth of those Sacred Writings by the Spirit 's convincing me of the Truth of them Besides this Proof is not in all that really believe the Truth of these Books some may be convinced of the Truth of them without this but where this is it is most Powerful and Convictive and surpasses all other degreâ— of Perswasion whatsoever There is no such câ—tain knowledg of the Truth of these Holy Wâ— tings as by the Testimony of the Sacred Spirit 〈◊〉 the Hearts of Men produced there in a ration â— way and in such a manner as is most sutable 〈◊〉 our Faculties CHAP. II. External Proofs of the Truth of the Holy Scriptureâ— Viz. the wonderful Preservation of them and Vniversal Tradition Which latter is defended against the Objections of those that talk of a New Character wherein the Old Testament is written Thâ— Iewish Masoreth attests the Authority of these Writings The Hebrew Text is not corrupted The Points or Vowels were coexistent with the Letters F. Simon 's Notion of Abbreviating the Historicâ—â— Books of the Old Testament rejected The New Tement vouched by the unanimous Suffrage of the Primitive Church The
Reasons why the Apocryphal Writings are not received into the Canon of the Bible with an Answer to the Objections made by the Romanists SEcondly I proceed to the External Testimonies of the Truth of the Scriptures which being added to those Arguments which proved them to be True in Themselves will exceedingly corroborate our Belief of the Divine Authority of those Books And here I might mention the Testimony given to them by God in the wonderful Preservation of them through all Ages since they were first written In all the Changes of Affairs and the Overthrow of so many Cities and Kingdoms that Incomparable Treasure hath not been lost The Books of the Old Testament were kept untouched and inviolable at the sacking and burning of Ierusalem and all the time of the Captivity in Babylon and of the Dispersion of the Jews And ever since that time the Scriptures have been Unaltered in Words and Sense notwithstanding the frequent Endeavours of Satan's busy Agents to corrupt them yea utterly to destroy them And next to God's Providence in preserving these Books thrô all Times and Ages we might add the marvellous Success which hath attended the Holy Faith and Doctrine contained in these Writings They have prevail'd against the Power of Men and Devils and to this very day they are maintained and upheld maugre the Attempts of both of them to root them out of the World But I wave this intending not to insist upon Divine but Humane Testimony in this place By External Testimony then I mean here no other than this that Scripture is attested by Vniversal Tradition and this Tradition is both of Jews and Christians And what would a Man desire more in a humane way for attesting the Truth of these Writings From the joint Attestation of these Witnesses I shall make it appear that these Books which we now have are the true Copies of the first Originals that the same Books and Authors are faithfully delivered down to us which were first of all delivered to the Jews and to the Primitive Christians and that there is nothing in these Writings as we now have them that is falsified or corrupted First to begin with the Books of the Old Testament the Names of which are as follow Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Ioshuâ— Iudges Ruth the 1st and 2d Books of Samuel thâ— 1st and 2d Books of Kings tho 1st and 2d Books 〈◊〉 Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah Esther Iob the Psalmâ— Proverbs Ecclesiastes the Song of Solomon the foâ—â— Greater Prophets and the twelve Lesser These and none but these were admitted into the Canâ— of the Holy Scriptures by the antient Church oâ— the Iews whose Testimony is very Authenticâ— here yea indeed we cannot have a better They acquaint us that these were the Only Writingâ— that were universally agreed by them to be extraordinarily Inspired and they further tell us that these Books which were writ by different Persons and at diverse Times were first compiled and collected into One Body or Volume by Ezra and the Assembly of Doctors for that purpose and consequently that the Canon of Sacred Scripture of the Old Testament as it is at this time was not constituted till Ezra's days by the Great Synagogue as they call it Upon his Return from the Captivity he undertook this good Work he gathered together all those dispersed Books before named and after he had reviewed them he publickly owned and solemnly vouched the Authority of every one of them that the Church for the future might not doubt of their being Authentick and True But some add here by way of Objection that this holy Man caused these Books to be written over in a New Character because the Jews had lost their knowledg of the former one as well as of the Tongue and consequently the Bible is not the same that it was at first Eusebius and Ierom are alledged for this especially the latter who seems to say that the Samaritan Character was the Old Hebrew Character in which the Bible was first writ and that it was first changed by Ezrd after the Return from Babylon he writing â—he Sacred Volume over in Assyrian or Chaldee Letters and neglecting the Old Hebrew ones which were the same that the Samaritan are And the reason of this was they say because the Jews were best acquainted with this Character at that time And some Modern Writers are gain'd over to this Opinion who talk much of the Change of the Character and endeavour to perswade us that the first and old Letters of the Hebrew Text were Samaritan but that those which we now have are Assyrian and of quite another sort But upon an impartial Enquiry I find little or no Foundation for this Opinion It rather seems to me to be an Invention and Dream of those who design to disparage the Hebrew Bible They would perswade us that the Authority of the Original is impaired because we have it not now as it was at the beginning for the Old Bible was in Samaritan Letters these being the first and antientest Hebrew Characters This is like the Story of the Hebrew Points being invented five hundred Years after Christ of which afterwards which tends to the same End namely to discredit the Hebrew Text which we now have and wholly to take away its Authority for if the Letters were changed it is probable some Words and consequently the Sense of some Places are altered But that this is groundless and that the Hebrew Bible is written in the same Characters now that it was at first you will find very largely and convincingly proved by the famous Buxtorf from the Authâ—rity of the Talmud especially the Gemara 〈◊〉 the Cabala from the Suffrage of the most Notâ— Rabbins of old and of the Learned Modern Jeâ—â— as Aben Ezra R. Solomon R. Ben Maimon â— who without doubt are very competent Judges 〈◊〉 this Case To these may be added several of 〈◊〉 Christian Perswasion as Picus Mirandula F. Iuniâ— Skikkard Postellus with those three Eminent Persons of our own Countrey Nic. Fuller Broughtâ—â— Lightfoot If you consult these they will satisfyâ— you that the Hebrew Letters which we have now in the Bible were the Primitive ones the very same that were of old But to give you my Thoughts impartially in this Point I do believâ— from what I find asserted by Writers on both sides that there were two sorts of Characters used by the Jews as there were two sorts of Cubits and Shekels the Sacred and Common and I gather that the Samaritan Letter was of the latter sort that which was commonly used and even sometimes in transcribing the Bible but the Sacred Character in use among the Jews was this which we now have and in which the Bible is at this day This is the true Original Hebrew Letter and was used from the beginning by them This I think may reconcile the Disputes among Writers for so far as I can perceive the Quarrels arise from this that there is
them they were once doubted of that for the future they might be unquestionable And to come down to latter Times what if two or three Men of late as Hemmingius Baldwin Eckard think some of the Books of the New Testament Apocryphal And what if Luther himself seem'd to say as much What doth this signify in respect of the universal and concurrent Judgment of others And as for the rest of the Books of the New Testament they were never doubted of at all but have the Approbation of the whole Church And that the new Testament was first written in Greek as we now receive it is attested by the Universal Consent of the Antients who made enquiry into these things Only two Books are excepted by some for though many of the Learned Moderns maintain that St. Matthew's Gospel was written originally in Greek yet it is not to be denied that some of the Fathers hold it was written first in Hebrew for the sake of the believing Jews and if you will believe St. Ierom the original Hebrew was extant in his time and he translated the Gospel into Latin from that Copy Who turn'd it into Greek is not certain but it was either by St. Matthew himself or by some Apostolical Person inspired by the Holy Ghost so that the Greek we now have is from the same Spirit and of the same Authority with the other The Fathers likewise generally say that St. Paâ—â— writ the Epistle to the Hebrews in their own Tongue and that St. Luke or St. Clement turn'd it into Greek The contrary is held by some Moderns particularly Cajetan among the Romanists and by many of the Reformed-Way But excepting I say these two Books it is universally agreed that the whole New Testament was written in Greek and one Reason might be because so great a number of Jews lived among the Greeks and used their Tongue and therefore this part of the Bible was sitly writ in Greek as the other was long before translated into that Tongue for the use of the Jews For the sake of these dispersed Jews therefore called the dispersed among the Gentiles or according to the Original the Dispersion of the Greeks John 7. 35. who understood and spake the Greek Language the New Testament was put forth in that Tongue Moreover this was the most generally received Language at that time and therefore the fittest for the propagating the Gospel This is a very good Argument for tho I do not think the jâ—ws at Ierusalem spake no other than the Greek Tongue among themselves as Isaac Vossius confidently holds and is therein rightly blamed and confuted by the late French Critick yet I am satisfied that the Greek Tongue was universally undâ—rstood and was with the Latin the Language of the Empire and therefore was most proper for the communicating the Christian Religion to the World Tully acquaints us that in all the Roman Empire Greek was vulgarly understood It is no wonder therefore that the New Testament was writ in that Tongue and that St. Paul writes not only to the Galatians c. but to the Romans in Greek for they all understood it It was the Modish and Courtly way of Speech at Rome as the French is now with us Their very Women affected to learn and speak Greek for which they are jeer'd by the Satyrist who calls Rome the Greek City In short all the Eastern People spoke Greek more or less from the time that Alexander the Great and his Captains spread their Dominion in the East The Syrians Egyptians Persians and People of the Lesser Asia were acquainted with that Language The Jews of any considerable Quality understood Greek as well as their own Tongue whence Iosephus a Jewish Priest or of the Priestly Stock writ his Books in Greek The Evangelists and Apostles then might well write in the same Tongue it being so common and every where understood Especially it is no wonder on another account that St. Paul writ in Greek for it was his native Tongue he being of Tarsus which was a City of Greece We may then very justly look upon the Greek Language as the Original Text of the New Testament And it is generally agreed that these Greek Copies which we now have and use are True and Authentick though in some things they differ and none are observed to oppose this but those who do it upon some Interest and Design i. e. to maintain some peculiar Opinion which they have taken up The Variety of Readings should not prejudice us much less ought we to alter the Readings of the Copies and to substitute new ones at our pleasure Which is the Fault of Theodore Beza though on other accounts an Excellent Person and one that hath highly deserved of the Church of God yet he is unsufferably bold in coining new Readings of the Text. When he cannot find the Sense of a Place he presently questions the Truth of the Copy and produceth a new Reading which hath brought a great Scandal upon his Annotations on the New Testament which otherwise are fraught with admirable Learning and discover his profound Skill in Divine Criticism It is certain that the Greek and Latin Manuscripts which he pretends to are a Cheat for questionless they would have been taken notice of in the first Ages of Christianity if there had been any such thing Therefore it is downright Imposture and Beza was grosly deluded by it Let us from his Miscarriage learn to be cautious and not to venture so boldly upon altering the Greek Copies This is a very rash and unaccountable Undertaking especially in a single Person and much more when it is very usual and frequent To speak next both of the Old and New Testament together The Authority of them is established by considering this that though Bellarmine and others of the Roman Communion who are followed by Lewis Cappel and some others that go under the Name of Protestants cry out that the Bible is altered and corrupted by the Negligence of the Transcribers and that the Text is uncertain by reason of the different Readings and Variety of Translations which is done out of design viz. to debase the Authority of the holy Writings and to make Men fly to Traditions and rest wholly in the Authority of the Church and I wish I might not add thereby to undermine some of the Foundations of Religion yet this is certain that the various Readings of the Old and New Testament are not so many as are pretended and all the various Copies in Hebrew and Greek which are found in all Nations at this Day do agree in all material Points and the Scriptures being translated from those Copies into many Languages concur in the same substantial things Again as to those various Readings which are produced we may justly alledg the Words of an Excellent Man They are not Arguments saith he of the Scriptures Corruption but of God's Providence and of Human
Heavenly Nature was not corrupted by the 〈◊〉 And in his Politicks where he likewise speaks â— the Primitive and Pure State of Man he tells â— that in those first Times Man got his Living with â— out Trouble and Labour that he fed only on â— Fruits of the Earth and that Nakedness was â— Attendant of that first and Golden Age of â— World alluding to Gen. 2. 25. They were both â— ked the Man and his Wife So an Antient Wâ— ter acquaints us that the Egyptians find in tâ— old Writings that the first Men and Women â— naked which is according to what 's read in tâ— place In the Sibylline Verses which are borrow from the Scripture tho same Allegories and Dâ— scriptions are used in setting forth the happy Aâ— of Man that you find used in that holy Book â— the Happiness of Paradise is obliquely described bâ— Homer and the Felicity of the First Age by Vagil And without question the Blessed State â— Paradise is referr'd to by Ovid in his descriptâ— on of the Golden Age or Saturn's Reign Theâ— we may see represented the Simplicity and Innocency of our First Parents the Peace and Tras quillity the Contentment and Satisfaction which were peculiar to the State of Integrity 〈◊〉 it self the Seat of this Happiness seems to have been known by the antient Pagans for it is probable their Writers understand this when they teâ— us of the Elysian Fields for Gardens such as wâ— Paradise and pleasant Fields are the same with them These you may see described by Plato â— his Phaedo where he tells us that they are blessed with a mild and gentle Air pleasant Streams a constant Spring fragrant Flowers and Fruits ever growing Of these Virgil speaks in his sixth Aenead And they are the same with the Fortunate Islands which the Greeks write of a Place of extraordinary Delight and where none but Good and Vertuous Men inhabit Or if we must parallel it with a Garden so expresly call'd we have Alciuous his Garden or Orchard in Homer which was taken from the description of Paradise saith Iustin Martyr in his Oration against the Gentiles Or the Garden of Adonis which is so celebrated may refer to that of Eden and is easily derived from it Or the Garden of Iupiter in Plato's Symposiacks may aenigmatically refer as thaâ— Learned Father Origen deemeth to that of Paradise So likewise may the pleasant Orchards of the Hesperides in which were Trees that bore Golden Apples and it may be some confirmation of this Notion that near the Fountain of the River Tiâ—gris on which Paradise was seated we read of a Place that bears the Name of Hispercitis and Hisperatis It is not unlikely that these diverse Gardins were transplanted from that in Eden It is not unlikely that some or all of these Greek Fables were founded in Truth and arose from what the Inspired Book tells us that God placed Man in a Garden the Garden of Eden which signifies Pleasure or Delight for it is added that here grew every Tree that is pleasant to the Sight and good for Food Gen. 2. 9. And as this Garden was the Platform of those before mentioned so the Tree of Life in this Garden gave rise to the Poets Nectar and Ambrosia brosia which are no other than the Food and Repast of these Earthly Gods these Divine Creatures that inhabit here The former of these according to one Derivation of it made the Drinkers of it ever youthful and another Etymology speaks this Drink to be such as suffers theâ— not to Die These were the very Blessings of the Tree of Life it had a property to keep off Old Age and to preserve Man's Life a long time The latter namely Ambrosia had the same Virtue it was said to keep those that ate it free from Mortality This therefore no less than the other seems to refer to and be borrowed from the Tree of Life which should have made the Eaters of it Immortal and secured them in a State of Blessedness for ever Thus the Production of Man and sundry things referring to his Blessed State in Innocency which are found in the Writings of the Heathens were taken from the Sacred Fountains and consequently the Writings of these Heathens do in some measure attest and confirm to us the Truth and Certainty of the Holy Scriptures III. The Fall of Adam and the several particular things relating to it are to be found in these Pagan Records First the Forerunner of it viz. the Degeneracy of the Angels is plainly spoken of by that Antient Philosopher Empedocles as Plutarch relates for whom else could he mean by his Daemons to whom he gives the Name of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Heaven-fallen Creatures than these Apostate Spirits who were thrust down from the Regions of Happiness above and became Devils by their own voluntary opposing of God and declining his Government Next we have good Records among the Pagans of the Fall it self of Adam and Eve especially of the latter because she was first and most eminent in the Transgression as the Apostle speaks and was the cause of the Man's defection from his Duty She is represented by Homer's Ate whom incensed Iupiter thrust down from Heaven threatning that she should never be restored to that Place again Though some have thought that this might refer to the Apostate Angels of whom before because it is common with the Poets to imply Many when they mention but One Person and so here though One be said to be cast down from Heaven yet it may intimate to us the Fall of all the cursed Crew of Wicked Angels But it is more natural I think to apply this Story it being of the Female Sex to our Grandmother Eve for what the Poets tell us of Ate viz. that she was the first-born Daughter of Iupiter and that she was that pernicious Woman that brought Mischief on the whole Race of Man exactly agrees to her so that there is no need of explaining it It is not to be doubted that our first Parent Eve was also meant by Pandora whom Hesiod and others of the Antients mention acquainting us that out of her deadly Box which she gave to Epimetheus flew all Evil into the World and thereby she became the Original of all the miserable Occurrences that happen to Humane Kind Eve was this Pandora who gave that fatal Gift of the Fruit of the Tree unto her Husband as it is express'd in Gen. 3. 6. and he himself afterwards with unspeakable Regret and too late an Insiâ—â—â— into his Condition whence he justly merits 〈◊〉 Title of Epimetheus repeats the same She 〈◊〉 me of it ver 13. and with it imparted all Evil 〈◊〉 Mankind Wherefore from that Unhappy 〈◊〉 and from her General Bestowing of all Evils on 〈◊〉 World she had the Name of Pandora among 〈◊〉 first Greek Poets who had arrived to some not 〈…〉 of this Unfortunate Woman's Miscarriage
among the Heathens of closing or shutâ— the Eyes of the dying Person and this by one â— was the most beloved of him was derived 〈◊〉 Gen. 46. 4. Joseph shall put his Hand upon thine Eâ—â—â— Accordingly we find this last Office of Friendâ—â— spoken of in Homer and other antient Writâ— both Greek and Latin The Gentile Story of Busiris's sacrificing of 〈◊〉 hath a very solid Foundation for we 〈◊〉 easily perceive that this arose from the true 〈◊〉 unquestionable History in Exodus where we 〈◊〉 of a New King over Egypt who set over the Isâ—â—lites Task-masters to afflict them with their Burdâ—â—â— and who made their Lives bitter with hard Bondâ—â— Exod. 1. 11 14. and this was He that made 〈◊〉 Edict of drowning the Hebrew Children ver 22â— This great Oppressor of Israel was that Busâ—â— whom the Gentiles speak of as a noted Tyrant 〈◊〉 Egypt and several agree that that was his tâ—â—â— Name The Israelites who came out of Canaâ— into Egypt were the Strangers and are truly called so The sacrificing of them is the cruel aâ—â— bloody handling of them That Egyptian Oppressor and Tyrant might rightly be said to sacrifice his Strangers when he used the poor Hebrâ—â— so inhumanely Ioseph's Great Fortunes and Noble Acts in Egyâ— are celebrated by professed Historians as well as Poets among the Pagans and therefore I need not mention these latter And of the former sâ—â—â— is sufficient to name Iustin who acquaints us that Ioseph was the youngest of his Brethren and â— his excellent Wit and Parts were dreaded by 〈◊〉 which very thing moved them to sell him â—to Egypt where in a short time he became a â—at Favourite of the King He goes on and tells That this Brave Man was very skilful in doing Wonders and was the first that found out the Meaning and Interpretation of Dreams The Scarcity or Dearth which happened to Egypt he foresaw many Years before it came That Land had perished if the King had not by his Advice laid up Corn in store He was a kind of Divine Oracle and consulted by the World because of his infinite Sagacity his transcendent Knowledg and Wisdom Any 〈◊〉 that hath read the Sacred History may see â—â—at this Character was borrowed thence And it â—s a very notable and illustrious Confirmation of the Truth of the Mosaick History and in that of the whole Sacred Scripture Next I will mention this that the Annual Custom of the Egyptians which Epiphanius speaks of of marking their Trees and their Flocks with something of a Red Colour as a kind of Preservative against any Harm and Mischief that might befal them was from the Israelites Practice of old in Egypt when they sprinkled the Lintels and Posâ—s of the Doors with Blood Exod. 12. 22. which preserved them from the last and worst Plague which befel the Egyptians In remembrance of this oâ— rather in a superstitious Imitation of it the People of Egypt afterward set a red Mark on their Hoâ—â— and Goods And that this Custom was borrow thence will appear the more probable by 〈◊〉 dering that this was done by them at the entrâ— of the Vernal Equinox as Epiphanius relates wâ—â—â—â— was the very time as we learn from Exod. 12. â— when the Israelites distinguish'd their Houses that Bloody Token Again I might offer it â— enquired into by the Learned whether the ◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Sacrifices for Passing which weâ—â— use among the Grecians especially the Lacedâ— nians and are mention'd by Xenophon Thucyâ—â— and Plutarch be not an Imitaâ—â—on of or an A 〈◊〉 sion unto the famous Jewish Pesach which is ◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 transitus the Pass-over viz. when the â— stroying Angel passed over the Israelites Hoâ— and did the Inhabitants of them no harm Miâ—â—â—â— not this give occasion first to those Grecian ◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Passover-Sacrifices especially considerâ— that that Jewish Feast is call'd not only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by Philo Cyril of Alexandria â—â— gory Nazianzen and others The Conducting of the Children of Israel â— of Egypt and their miraculous Passing through 〈◊〉 Red-Sea and the overthrow of the Egyptians â— it could not but be famous among the Pagâ— though they endeavour'd to stifle or at leastâ— mince it whereof Iustin only tells us that tâ—â— King of Egypt followed the Jews when they 〈◊〉 Egypt but was forced to return back by reason â— a great Tempest which arose of a sudden Tâ—â— Fame of Moses's dividing the Red-Sea was kept â— among the Gentiles as Dâ—odorus Siculus witnâ—â—â—seth There is saith he a Report spread among the Ichthyophagi a People inhabiting the Shore near the Arabian Gulph which is 〈◊〉 Name given to the Red-Sea among Geographers namely that all that Place where that Gulph is was dried up the Waters flying back but after the Bottom had appear'd for some time the Place by a reflux of the Sea was â—â—rn'd into its former Condition So he And â—â—â—â—in he gives a most remarkable Testimony to â— Truth of those words in Exod. 14. 21. The 〈◊〉 caused the Sea to go back and made the Sea dry 〈◊〉 and the Waters were divided and in v. 27 â— The Sea returned to its Strength and the Waters â—red the Host of Pharoah It seems the Ichthyoâ—â— handed this Report to the Historian not the Egyptians though he had Converse with these a long time and they had Correspondence with the â—yophagi but the Egyptians were so cunning 〈◊〉 to conceal their Disgrace and Misfortune and hence it is that there is so little said among the Pagans concerning this matter As to the Red-Sea it self Mare Erythrâ—um there is in that Name a Remembrance of a known Person spoken of in the Old Testament viz. Esau. For as to what hath been said by some that this Sea had its Name from its Red Colour proves an arrant Falshood Coral at the bottom of it which some talk of is not red enough to give it such a Colour And the Weed which grows in it whence `t is call'd Iam Suph Mare algosum as Iunius and Tremellius always render it or Mare junci as others as if it were the Rush or Reed-Sea cannot give it the Denomination of Red because whatever some say of this weedy Stuff at the bottom of it the Water of this Sea is of the same Colour with other Seas as all Travellers attest Yea though that be true which hath been lately 〈◊〉 gested by some inquisitive Persons that this Wâ—â—â— call'd Suph is a kind of Saffron of which when 〈◊〉 taken out of the Sea is made a red Colour callâ— Sufo by the Ethiopians used for dying Cloth 〈◊〉 India and Ethiopia yet seeing the Sea it self is 〈◊〉 dyed with it but retains the Colour of other Sâ—â—â— I cannot think it is called the Red merely becaâ—â— of that Weed or Sedg used by Dyers Othâ— have said it hath this Epithet because the Stoâ—â— Cliffs Banks
and Sands of it by Reflection aâ— Repercussion of the Sun's Rays give such a Tâ—â— cture or Colour to the Waters but this also 〈◊〉 a mere Fancy and hath been confuted by thoâ—â— who have purposely writ of this Particular Sâ—â— viz. that Part of the Ocean on the East whiâ—â— strikes in with a Bay into the Arabian Shores aâ—â— parts Asia from Africa in those Places and â— those who have seen it and tell us it differs not froâ— other Seas In brief all impartial Writers agrâ—â— that it can't be call'd so from its Red Colour because it hath nothing of that to be seen in it Why then did the Learned Seventy Elders of the Jewâ— translate it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Red-Sea The Reasons we may conceive to be these because first the Hebrew word Suph gave some occasion for it it being as I said before that kind of Sea-weed which was used in dying of Cloth with a red Colour and so may be translated red as murex is purple because murex is that Shell 〈◊〉 of the Liquor whereof Purple is made But the chief and indeed the only proper Reason for the other was but an Occasion of this Version of the Seventy is this because 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hath reference to One that was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. Red and this was no other than Edom or Esau for in express words the Scripture saith Esau is Edom Gen. 36. 1. â—ow Edom in Hebrew is the same that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is â— Greek whence Philostratus saith Mare Eryâ—aeum was call'd so from Erythras with whom â—gree Strabo Curtius and other Historians who relate that it was named so from Erythraeus a King of that Country or Coast where this Sea is This â—rythras or Erythraeus was Esau who was called Edom it signifying the very same with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—â—d that for these two Reasons both which are â—â—â—igned in Scripture and therefore we cannot â—â—â—stion the Truth of them First Because he â—as ruddy at his Nativity he came out red Gen. 25. 25. whence you read in the same Verse that â—e had his Name Secondly Because he was an â—xcessive Admirer and Lover of Red Pottage thus â—â—is expresly said in the 30th verse Therefore his Name was called Edom because he was so eager 〈◊〉 be fed with that red Broth. This Edom gave Deâ—omination to the Land where he was great and â—â—led and accordingly it was call'd the Land of Edom Num. 21. 4. and is so in other places and the Sea adjoining to this Land received its Name from him too therefore you find them both join'd together in this place in the Book of Numbers They journied by the way of the Red-Sea to compass the Land of Edom. As we know Seas are denominated from the Persons and People they belong to as the British the German the Indian the Ethiopian Sea so it is here the Red-Sea hath its name from Edom who is Esau i. e. Red who by the Greeks was accordingly stiled Erythras or Erythraeâ—â— which signifies the same Thus these Pagan Nomenclators have left us some Remains of Sacred History in this and other Names that they have impos'd upon Persons and Things The coming forth of the Israelites from Eâ—â— is attested by Berosus Strabo Numenius and 〈◊〉 The last of these whom we have quoted bâ—â— as a substantial Witness to the Verity of the 〈◊〉 saick History tells us that Moses who led â— People out of Egypt stole from the Natives of 〈◊〉 Country some of their sacred things which any 〈◊〉 may see is founded upon what we read in E 〈…〉 31. 21. 12. 25. They went not out empty 〈◊〉 took with them Vessels of Gold and Silver and Gâ—â—â— ments It is expresly attested by the same P 〈…〉 Historian that the Jews travell'd in the Deâ—â—â—â— of Arabia and that Moses came to Mount Siâ—â—â— with other things relating to their Travels throâ—â—â— that Place All which are Authentick Evideâ—â—â— of the Truth of Scripture-History Herodotus's Relation of the fiery Flying-Serpâ—â—â— in Arabia is a Confirmation of what we meet wiâ—â— in Numb 21. 6. where we are told that the Isrâ—â—â— elites were stung and tormented with Fiery â—â—â—pents in their Passage through the Wilderneâ—â— As to the Brazen Serpent mention'd in the saâ—â— Chapter whereby the Israelites were healed is may be no far-fetch'd Imagination to think thâ—â— the Magical Images and Sculptures among thâ— Heathens especially the Egyptians which tâ—â— Greeks call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the Arabians 〈…〉 ruptly from the Greek Talisman were Imitati ons of this They were certainly for the saâ—â— purpose viz. to avert Evil and Mischief from Pâ—â—â—â—sons therefore Gaffarel thinks these Talisman weâ—â— the same with the Averrunci among the old Romans and some of the old Hebrew Doctors haâ—◠〈◊〉 them the name of Scuta Davidis on the same â—â—ount It is not improbable that the Images of 〈◊〉 and Mice which the Philistian Magitians 〈◊〉 use of were from the same Original and 〈◊〉 the first and earliest Emulations of the Ne 〈◊〉 For as to what Leunclavius saith conâ—â—â—ning the later Invention of the Talismans viz. 〈◊〉 they were not till Apollonius Tyanaeus's time 〈◊〉 that he was the Inventer of them is founded â—â—olly on their being called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by Iustin Martyr which supposing 〈◊〉 wise the Author out of whom he took it not 〈◊〉 be spurious imports only this that they were â—â—â—pared and used by him not that they were his â—vention Some tell us that the Telesmatical â—gure of a Stork or Scorpion made under a cerâ—ain Configuration of the Heavens hath driven â—way Storks and Scorpions just as the Figure and â—imilitude of a Serpent drove away the venomous â—iery Serpents and cured those that were stung 〈◊〉 them But I need not stay here to shew the â—ast Dissimilitude between the one and the other â—â—r the Brazen Serpent set up by Moses was not a â—elesme i. e. a Statue or Figure that hath its â—ower and Efficacy from the Influence of the Stars â—â—d the Shape of the Thing it self It cured not 〈◊〉 Art or Nature but by Divine Institution It â—as erected by the immediate Appointment and Direction of God himself and was moreover a Type and Representation of the Cruciâ—ied Jesus â—â—t the Telesmatical Images among the Pagans â—ere made on purpose to take the Influence of â—â—e particular Stars and operated as they said 〈◊〉 virtue of the Likeness of the Figures to the Things themselves We may more truly say they were acted by some Evil Daemons that desigâ—â—â— both to amuse and deceive the World and 〈◊〉 make these Telesmatical Preparations serviceâ—â—â—â— as generally they were to superstitious and idolatrous Ends. But that which I am chiefly to â—â—â—serve here is this that it is probable these Tâ—â—mans of the Pagans were derived at first from thâ— Brazen Serpent This is certain that many of theâ—â— Magical Rites were founded on
may be suffered to give my Conjectur◠〈◊〉 Poets did very â—itly relate how Atlas bore up 〈◊〉 Heavons when in the mean time they meant 〈◊〉 Moses who giving us the Authentick Records 〈◊〉 the World's Creation and beginning his History with the Production of the 〈◊〉 is the Tâ—â—â— Atlas that supports the Spheres nay he may be rightly said not only to bear up the Heavâ—â—s 〈◊〉 the Earth and to keep them from sinking into their first Chaos by transmitting the Account and Memory of them to all Posterity I question 〈◊〉 but that Moses was represented by Heâ—â—mes Trismegistus for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is no more than a very Great i. e. an Excellent Man and such none caâ— deny Moses to have been 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. Interpreter is appliable to none better than to Him who was the first Sacred and Inspired Interpreter of the Mind of God in Writing Letters were invented by this Hermes saith Iamâ—licâ—us from his Maâ—â—â—â— Plato Moses being the first Writer may well be said to be the first Inventer of Letters Diâ—dorus also tells us that this Moses was the first that gave the Egyptians he should have said Iews but those Mistakes are common with him and other Pagan Authors Written Laws and that â—e was a Man of a great Soul and very powerful in his Life And in another place he saith he was one that excelled in Wisdom and Valour Strabo makes honourable mention of this Great â—â—rsonage yea speaks not only of him but of the Religion establish'd by him with great Respect He ranks him among the best Legislators and highly praiseth his Laws and gives them the Preeminence before all others He reciteth some of his Sayings and Deeds telling us that he left Egypt and came into Syria because he disliked the Egyptians for their making and worshipping of Corporeal Gods of the Figure and Proportion of Brutes and that Moses profess'd that God could not be represented by any Image or Likeness whatsoever There are other Gentiles who speak of Moses and his Laws and Constitutions and they would have been more favourable in their Testimonials concerning him if their Heathen Principles had not biass'd them to a more undue Character Which is taken notice of by Philo in the Life of Moses Though saith he some Pagan Historians speak of him yet they say but little and that not truly neither Out of Envy it is likely or because of the great Disagreement between his and the Laws of other Law-givers they vouchsafe not to remember him But that Testimony which we have is sufficient and we may thence be satisfied that Moses was the most Authentick Historian and the Antientest Law-giver and we may gather from what they say that his Laws were the first and gave beginning to all otherâ— The famous Law-givers and Politicians among the Grecians as Lycurgus and Solon had the main of their Politicks from Moses's Laws whence afterwards the Romans took some of theirs And as Moses received his Laws immediately from God so in imitation of him the greatest Law-givers said they had theirs from some Deity as Numa from Aegeria Minos from Iupiter Lycurgus from Apollo Zabeucus from Minerva c. Still this establisheth our Notion that the Writings and Practices of the Jews gave rise to many things among the Pagans which I will yet farther pursue CHAP. VI. Prophane Writers testify the Truth of these Particulars mention'd in the Old Testament viz. The Gigantick Race of the Canaanites The Sun 's standing still Jephthah's Sacrificing his Daughter Sampson's loss of his Hair The Foxes which he made use of against the Philistines Elias's rapture to Heaven Some passages relating to King Solomon King Hiram c. The Sun 's going back in King Hezekiah's time Nebuchadnezzar's Transformation into a Beast His Dream of an Image with a Golden Head c. Next it is proved that the Heathens had their Deities from the Old Testament Their Saturn was Adam Their Minerva was Eve Their Jupiter Cain Their Vulcan Tubal-Cain Their Bacchus as also their Saturn and Janus Noah Their Apis Joseph Their Mercury and Bacchus Moses Their Hercules Joshua and Sampson Their Apollo Jubal Their Ganymed Elias c. â—venthly SOme other things which the Old Testament acquaints us happened after 〈◊〉 giving the Law by Moses till the Babylonian 〈◊〉 are to be found among Prophane Writers We read in Numb 13. 33. of the Gigantick race of Canaanites who are called the Sons of Anak 〈◊〉 in Deut. 9. 2. Ios. 11. 〈◊〉 they are called Anakims Is there not some prob 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that the 〈◊〉 daridae or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and there were more than Câ—stor and Pollux that were call'd by that name Tully will inform you who by the Greeks wâ—â— called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as several Authors acquaint 〈◊〉 had their Name from those Great Men who wâ—â—â— the Offspring of Anak These being driven Iosuaâ— out of Palestine when he overcame 〈◊〉 Country it is likely went into Greece and froâ— them the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of Athens and Sparta descended and hence it was that the Name of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was given not only to the Tyndaridae but all Great Mâ—â— and Princes I will add that 't is probable thâ— word gave Origination to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signiâ—â—â— Great and Principal Men such as those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were From that Miracle in Ios. 10. 13. of the 〈◊〉 standing still perhaps the Poets Fiction arose concerning the Night doubled or trebled by Iupitâ—â— for Alcmena's sake For as hath been suggesâ—â—â— already this sort of Men when they get a Story by the end make what they please of it and turn it into quite another thing than it was at first The rumour of that strange Accident had come to their Ears and they presently turn'd it into a Fable And who should stop the Course of the Suâ— but Iupiter the Supream God And after the raâ—â— that they represented their Gods that which is further added is apposite enough for they are not ashamed to tell us that they are Lewd and Obscene and indulge themselves in all Lustful Practices Now when the Sun stood still in one Hemisphere the other wanted his presence and light and â—o they had as it were a double Night for the Sun 's â—â—aying here so long But you shall have another fable shortly that will speak to the same purpose Porphyrius tells us that Sanchoniathon had his Historical Narrations and Secrets from one Ierombaal Priest of the God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which shews that that Hiâ—torian had his Matter from the Sacred Scriptures the Hebrew Fountains of Truth though he oftentimes corrupts them And it is evident that they had partly learnt the Name of the true God from the Hebrews or their Writings for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was Iehovah the true God whom the Iews Worshipped as I shall â—â—â—w more afterwards Besides from
lived with Seleucus as Eusebius in the same place affirms seeing there was a Greek Translation of a considerable part of the Old Testament before Alexander the Great 's time as Clemens of Alexandria Testifieth And accordingly Demetrius Phalereus Library-Keeper to King Ptolomeo Sirnamed Philadelphus in an Epistle to him which Eusebius citeth saith that before the Septuagint Version many things were Translated out of the Bible But this is most certain and agreed to by all that upon Alexander the Great his Conquests the Iews and Greeks had converse with one another and were no longer Strangers being now United under the same Empire And as an effect of this soon after Alexander the Great all the Old Testament was entirely Translated into Greek by Seventy two Iews whom the foresaid King of Egypt appointed for that purpose Hence the knowledge of those things contained in the Sacred Writings could not but be communicated to the Gentiles 4. This Communication was made by the Travels of Philosophers and inquisitive Men among the Pagans Of Pythagoras we are told by Laertius that when he was young and being very desirous to Learn he left his Country and was initiated into all the Mysteries not only of the Greeks but Barbarians And particularly he testifies that he Travell'd into Egypt and Chaldea Of the same Philosopher it is asserted by Origen Clemâ—ns the Alexandrian Porphyry and others that he went into Chaldea in the time of the Captivity where he had the opportunity of conversing with the Iews Ludovicus Vives thinks that he Travel'd also into Egypt and was acquainted with Ioremiah there Mr. Seldon likewise holds that he went and visited Iudea and there Convers'd with Ezekiel with whom he was Contemporary and learnt the Tetragrammaton and other Mysteries of him Concerning Plato it was believ'd by many saith St. Augustin that he took a journey into Egypt and was there the Prophet Iereâ—niah's Auditor and read the Prophetick Writings and though this Father himself was not inclin'd as he declares to believe this because he thinks that Philosopher was born after that time yet he most readily assents to this that he had many things from the Books of the Old Testament and to prove this he citeth several passages out of that Heathen Writer It is most evident to all that have convers'd with this Author's Writings that there are sundry things in them above the strain of common Philosophy as concerning the Creation of the World the Formation of the First Man out of the Earth the Innocent and Happy State of Mankind the loss of that Primitive State and the vile degeneracy of the Sons of Men with many other Particulars which are fetch'd from the Sacred Writings I might mention likewise how loftily he speaks of God and his Nature how admirably he Discourses of the Soul how clearly he asserts a Future Life and the Rewards and Punishments of another World how feelingly he treats of Vertue and Goodness how Divinely he writes concerning Religion which he represents as Pure and Spiritual and Purged from the Heathen Superstitions This Sublime and Extraordinary Knowledge the Ancients think he gained by Travelling into Syria Iudea and Egypt and holding converse with those that understood the inspired Writings And it is their Opinion that though he Convers'd with some of the Iewish Nation and imbibed their Sentiments yet he carefully avoids mentioning their Name because they were odious to other Nations and consequently those structures of true Theology which are in his Works would have fared the worse for it But though he would not speak this out plainly yet he seems to utter it in a disguised manner Perhaps he hinteth that he receiv'd those Notions from the Iews when he mentions 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the Syrians and Phaenicians who were the Neighbouring People to Iudea generally pass'd for Iews That other Great Philosophers as Solon Democritus Heraclitus c. Travel'd into Egypt and Babylon is testified by Diogenes Laertius in their Lives The same is attested by Diodorus concerning Orpheus Musaeus Homer Lycurgus and other Wise Grecians viz. That they went and visited those Foreign Parts and thence came furnish'd with the Knowledge of those things which they had learnt in those Countries The like is confirmed by the testimony of some Christian Fathers who also add that those Chief Philosophers of Greece when they sojourn'd among the Egyptians learn'd many things of their Priests which they had from the Tradition of the Iews who had been among them And there they perused the Mosaick Writings which were of great account among some of them Hence the Religion Rites and Practices Recorded in those Books were divulg'd and spread abroad in the World Indeed it is very probable in the Nature of the thing it self that this would happen for the Iews being a People so Renowned for Religion and their Fame and Glory being every where Celebrated it could not be but that foreign People especially the most Philosophical and Inquisitive among them should be desirous to confer with the Bible or Iewish Authors and to know their Laws Ways and Customs and that whole Nations should be forward to imitate and make use of them This is more than Prophetically intimated in Deut. 4. 6. where 't is said that when the Nations shall hear all those Excellent Statutes given to the Iews They shall say surely this great Nation is a wise and understanding People If the Pagans should so admire and value the Iewish Customs and Ceremonies they would as the consequent of that imitate and practise them Thus you have a Rational Account of the Consonancy of Pagan Writings and Customs to the Sacred Scriptures you see how they were derived from these Fountains In the next place I am to enquire how the Scriptural Stories and Truths came to be corrupted whence it is that they are mixed with Obscurity and Falsity in the Writings of the Pagans how it comes to pass that one thing is put for another and that it is so hard oftentimes to understand what they deliver I will give you an Account of this in these following particulars 1. The confusion of Languages did not a little contribute to these Mistakes Corruptions and Falsities When the World was of one Tongue the notices of things which were imparted by Speech were very clear and intelligible when they all joyn'd in one Language they could easily apprehend one another and there could arise no mistakes by Ambiguity in the variety of words But upon confounding the first I anguage and dividing it into many there follow'd a great disorder among Mankind for then it became difficult to understand one another The Words being confused the Conceptions and Things which were convey'd to Men by those words were also confused obscure and uncertain The variety and multiplicity of Words begot mistakes and confusions among so many millions of words it was impossible but that there should be a great
many ambiguous and equivocal and thence the Phrases Sentences and Speeches must needs be so too This is one Reason why the Sacred Truths of Scripture were corrupted when they came into the Hands of the Heathens The Eastern words and forms of speaking were misunderstood by the Grecians the Hebrew Dialect and Idiom were mistaken by the People of another Language and Country The Oriental Expressions were misinterpreted by the Europeans who were Strangers to the literal and proper Sense of them Hence arose Fables Fancies and groundless Conceits which they mixed with the Spiritual Verities and almost defaced and extinguished them 2. The Sacred History of Scripture and the Traditions of the First Ages of the World were easily corrupted because they were Transmitted to Ignorant and Barbarous People God was pleas'd not to vouchsafe that Light and Knowledge to the Gentiles which he bestowed on his own People but he thought fit to leave them in that darkness and blindness which their gross Sins had brought them to and which were now become the just Punishment of them Many of them were so besotted that when they heard of those Holy and Mysterious Truths they were not able to bear them they could not apprehend the true meaning and import of them But because some of them who were the most Contâ—mplative would be exercising themselves about them they resolved to make something of them or out of them And accordingly when they committed them to Writing they applied them to some Person or Thing which was known and famous among them and thus an Historical passage in Holy Scripture became a Story of their own or a Divine Truth was turn'd into a Fable By this means the things which they borrowed from the Word of God came to be Dâ—praved and Disguised 3. The long tract of Time and diversity of years have partly introduced this corruption and alteration For length of time blotted out some of the former Accounts and defaced the Memoirs of things The Antient Names of several Persons and Places are worn out and others quite different from them are used in their stead The true Original Occasion and Meaning of many things were forgotten and in place of them New but False Relations crept in Then came to pass at last when the right Notions of things were worn out that Men of Poetry and Invention thrust upon silly People their own Fancies and Conceits and perswaded them to accept of the most unlikely Stories for Truth 4. The Historical passages of Scripture and the strange Events which hapned among the Iews being spread abroad and passing through many Hands or rather Mouths could not but for that Reason be corrupted By the great diversity of Relators they were changed some adding to them and others diminishing them so that at the last they were quite different from what they were at first 5. As Superstition and Idolatry increased the greater Corruptions there were of True History Men making that to Administer to their Idolatrous Worship So that in those Countries especially where there were the fiercest Bigots for the Pagan Devotion there was alwaies a more plentiful coyning of these Fables under which were hid very useful Truths taken out of the Old Testament 6. This must be added that it was the Custom of the Antient Pagans to wrap up their Notions in obscure and dark Terms and to represent them in an Aenigmatical way Origen thinks Plato in one of his pieces hath something of that Paradise which Moses in the beginning of his Writings speaks of and he gives this Reason why he thinks so viz. because it is Plato's usual way to describe things obscurely and to disguise the greatest and most excellent Verities under the vail of Mysteries and Fables And this was the guise of others besides Plato especially of the Pagan Poets they affected obscurity and difficulty of Stile whence sprang several of the Fabulous Histories of the Gods and other odd passages in their Writings And so when they took some things of moment from Scripture or from those who were acquainted with those Sacred Records they cloath'd them with their dark and Mystical Expressions in so much that it was hard to know whence they had them 7. The Grecian Humour was to Invent and Romance their Poets especially who were their first Writers were famous for this They abused mangled jumbled and confounded the Stories in Holy Writ they turn'd those Sacred Things into Magical Pranks sometimes and from the Names of Holy Persons spoken of in the Old Testament they took occasion to invent new Deities and shape new Gods Their frequent practice was to piece out Scripture with their own Fancies and to add something of their own heads This is owing to the Greek Vanity it is to be ascribed to the Levity and Capriciousness of these Fabulous Men whose very Genius led them to affect Banter and Fictions The Poets dealt with Sacred History as the Legendaries do with the Lives of Saints they have some general ground for what they say but they make plentiful additions to it there is perhaps something of Truth at bottom but then you have their own Inventions besides Thus the Grecian Writers counterfeited all along the shape of Real Truths in most of their Fables there was a medly of Falshood and Truth together 8. This is also certain that the Pagan Philosophers did out of fear sometimes disguise the Notions of Truth which they received from Scripture Plato saith Iustin the Martyr had learnt in Egypt the True Doctrine concerning God One only God with several other Sacred Truths but lest some Melitus or Anytus should Accuse him he would not divulge them to the People For fear of incurring Socrates's Misfortune he either conceal'd or disguis'd all He dreaded the Poysonous Cup and so would not discover those Sacred Things but rather chose to lap them up in Poetick Conceits and Fables in Mysteries and Riddles which his Writings are full of And this it is likely was the Case of other Philosophers and Writers among the Gentiles they were Timorous and dared not Transgress the Publick Laws and incur the punishment due to Innovators in Religion and therefore they spoke ambiguously and obscurely and corrupted those Truths which they had received from the Holy Fountains 9. Some out of meer Ignorance of the Iewish Religion and Affairs misrepresent and corrupt those things This is seen plainly in Strabo and Diodorus the Siciâ—ian who as was hinted afore make the Iews to be Egyptians and Strabo particularly saith of Moses that he was an Egyptian Priest So Herodotus because the Hebrews had lived among the Egyptians saith those things of the former which belong to the latter and so perhaps vice versâ I remember he particularly saith that Circumcision was first of all used among the Ethyopians and Egyptians and from them went to the Phaenicians and Syrians and thence some thought Abraham receiv'd this Rite and commended it to his Posterity It is as easie to
Demonstration hath out-done them and â—ost that have writ on it Among our own Countrymen these deservedly are to be numbred viz. Sir Walter Raleigh who among several other passages hath these Remarkable â—ords The Heathens did greatly enrich their Inventions by venting the stoln Treasures of Divine Letters alter'd by Prophane Additions and disguis'd by Poeticaâ— Conversions as if they had been conceived out of their own Speculations Next to this Worthy Knight the Famous Mr. Selâ—â—â— may be mention'd who avers that the â—ost impious Customs among the Gentiles had â—â—eir Original from Scripture-History which 〈◊〉 confirms by several Examples You will 〈◊〉 the Reverend Bishop Montague though â—â—is Author's Adversary in another point â—greeing with him in this The Heathens saith he of Old made use of many things which were taken from the Divine Polity in the Old Testament but were afterwards cloak'd and disguis'd by the Malice and Fraud of the Devil The Judicious Dr. 〈◊〉 hath two distinct Chapters of the Gentile Stories and Fictions being â—orrowed â—rom the Bible I will mention a passage or two out of some other places of his Works If Moses saith he was forty days in the Mount to receive Laws from Gods own mouth Minos will be Iupiter's Auditor in his Den or Cave for the same purpose In emulation of Shiloh or Kirjath-jearim whilst the Ark of God remained there the Heathens had Dodona And for Ierusalem they had Delphi garnish'd with rich Donatives as if it had been the intended parallel of the Holy City And he hath these remarkable words in the same place Any Judicious Man from the continual and serious observation of this great Register of Truth he means the Scriptures may find out the Original of all the principal Heads or Common places of Poetical Fictions or Ancient Traditions which cannot be imagin'd should ever have come into Man's fancy unless from the imitation of the Historical Truth A Worthy Prelate whom I have already Named hath giveâ— us his suffrage most freely in this cause and hath undertaken to defend it in the close of his Origines Sacrae I could produce half 〈◊〉 hundred more Authors of good Note anâ— Learning but I forbear because I have donâ— sufficiently From these I have quoted you may see that what I have maintained in this Discourse is no idle fancy no notion taken up by shallow Heads but that the deepest Judgments the most Judicious and Impartial Pens have adopted it for a Truth We have it upon the Authority of all these Excellent Persons and many more in former in later and even in our present times as well as upon the plain Evidences Reasons and Arguments before alledged that the Ancient Philosophers and Poets borrowed from the Bible that many of the Gentile Fables are founded on the most Sacred Verities that the Scripture is the Source and Fountain from whence many of their Opinions Customs and Practices sprang that most of the Gentile Theology arose from the mistaken and depraved sense of the Holy Writings of the Old Testament From the whole let me offer these three or four Consectaries 1 We cannot with any shew of Reason admit of that Opinion which holds that the Iews borrowed all or most of their Religious Rites and Ceremonies from the Gentiles This though it bids desiance to that Reason and Testimony which I have produced hath had some Abbettors and Patrons Thus Origen acquaints us that Celsus stifly maintain'd that the Mosaick History was borrowed from the Fables of Heathens And with him other Heathens at that time concurred and to defend their Idolatrous Traditions and Usages asserted that Scripture History was a corruption of some of their Fables The Story of the Flood they said was taken from Deucalion and Paradise from Alcinous's Gardens and the Burning of Sodom and Gomorrah from Phaeton's setting the World on fire c. But Origen shews the absurdity of these allegations from the Antiquity of those Relations in Sacred Scripture and thence proves that the Greeks had these from the Iews and not on the contrary He makes it evident that the Iewish Nation had the Original Traditions and that others were corrupted and changed from these by the Heathens This Pagan Conceit which was taken up on purpose as an evasion against Christianity is revived by some Writers of late but by none more designedly and industriously carried on and improved than by a late Learned Man of our own who hath delivered such admirable and choice things on occasion of pursuing this subject and hath snewed himself so Great a Master of all kinds of Literature that we can scarcely be displeas'd with his Notion that 〈◊〉 at the head of all I will not pretend tâ—enter the Lists with this Great Champion being conscious to my own inabilities but this I will do I will set some Great Men upon him though I have partly done it already and leave him to grapple with them Iosephus the Learned Iew was a Competent Judge in this matter viz. Whether the Iews â—orrow'd their Sacred and Religious Rites from the Gentiles or whether on the contrary these borrow'd from them Let us bear what he saith There hath been a long time saith he among most Nations a great Zeal and Emulation towards our way of Religion and Worship There is not a City among the Greeks or Barbarians yea not any Nation which hath not received from us the Custom of Resting on the Seventh day and of Fasting and of Lighting up of Candles And several things which relate to Meats forbidden us by our Law are also observed by Foreign Nations Here this Knowing Person acquaints us that the Gentiles were followers of the Iews not these of them and particularly mentions some â—ites which they receiv'd from them With this agrees what two considerable Rabbies have said viz. Our Law is the Law of Truth and all Nations glory in it and every one of them hath taken a Branch from our Law and in it they glory For the Laws that are among the Gentiles are as it were Branches cut off from our Law Whence it undeniably follows that the Iewish Laws and Ceremonies were not taken from â—hose of the Pagans Christians agree in this with the Iews Thus Iustin Martyr in his Dialogue with a Iew expresly declares that as Circumcision had its Original from Abraham so the Sabbath and Sacrifices and Offerings and Feasts had theirs from Moses and not from the Gentiles And Tertullian speaking of the Devil 's seducing and perverting of Hereticks tells us that he doth the like also among the Pagans for he apes the most Sacred and Divine things even in the Idolatrous aud Mysterious Worship of the Gentiles and makes use of them therein to prophane and impious purposes This hath been the general sense of the Christian Church whether Papists or Protestants Upon those words in Deut. 12. 30. Estius concludes and all Understanding Men may do so too that from thence
agrees with this Author and tells us that it was an ancient and constant Opinion among the Eastern People that some should come out of Iudea about that time and have the universal Sway and Reign over the World Iosephus the Jewish Historian relates the same and acquaints us that it was the common rumour and vogue among the Iews that one of their own Country should be an Universal Emperor which he as well as the fore-cited Authors applieth to Vespasian because he conquer'd the Iews and with Titus came from Iudea in Triumph to Rome Other Iews thought this common Fame was meant of Herod asserting him to be the Person fore-told by the Prophets and to be the expected Messias These were the Herodians mentioned in Mat. 22. 16. Thus though through Ignorance they knew not how to fix this Rumour aright yet out of Flattery they could apply it to their Princes But it is most evident that this Fame of an Universal Monarch arose from the Scriptures of the Old Testament which frequently speak of a great King and Ruler that should come out of the East and particularly out of Iudea Out of thee Bethlehem shall He come forth unto me that is to be the Ruler in Israel Mic. 5. 2. Which is interpreted of the Messias by the Iewish Sanhedrim whom â—erod gathered together demanding of them where Christ should be born Mat. 2. 4 5. That Prophecy of Micah speaks plainly of a Iew one that by birth â—as of Iudea yea of Bethlehem and therefore it was most falsly applied to those Roman Emperors before-named who came not out of Iudea but â—ut of Italy not from Bethlehem but from Rome And as for Herod he was not a Iew but an Iduâ—ean he was not born in Bethlehem but in Ascalon â—ut in our Blessed Saviour this remarkable Propheâ—y is exactly accomplish'd he being a Iew by â—â—rth and of the City of David and constituted â—y God a matchless King and Governor over his People Behold a King shall Reign in Righteousness 〈◊〉 32. 1. And in several other places of this Prophecy Christ is represented as a King and his Coming is express'd after that manner There was â—iven him Dominion and Glory and a Kingdom that â—ll People Nations and Languages should serve him His Dominion is an everlasting Dominion which shall 〈◊〉 pass away and his Kingdom that which shall not 〈◊〉 destroyed Dan 7. 14. Which is expresly applied to Christ by the Angel from Heaven Luke 1. 33. And in many other places of Scripture this Divine Person who was to come to redeem and save Mankind is set forth as a King or Great Lord and Prince one that should â—ear Sway in the World and wield his Scepter over all Nations Hence this Rumour was spread among the Eastern People and especially about the time of Christ's birth that a Great Lord or King should arise in those parts and spread his Dominion over the World Hence those Pagan and Jewish Writers beforeâ— mentioned speak of this Great Ruler and Monarch who is no other than our Lord Christ the King of Kings and Lord of Lords This they had from the Prophesies of the Bible where 't is so often fore-told that a King shall arise and gain an Universal Empire over Mankind To this we may refer that which Suetonius reports and he quotes his Author for it that a few Months before Augustus was born there was this publick Prodigy viz. a Proclaiming of this That Nature was bringing forth a King to the Roman People Whereupon the Senate being allarmed and frighted made a strange Decree That no one born that Year should be Educated This Prodigy without doubt refer'd to Christ whose Birth was in Augustus's Reign this was the King that was to be born to all the World which was then in a manner subject to the Roman Empire and therefore might be call'd the Roman People So the Sibylls Oracles or Prophesies are of a middlâ— nature and Consideration and therefore are justly to be treated of in this place As they were borrow'd from the Scriptures of the Old Testament they belong indeed to the former part of this Discourse but as they attest the Truth of the maiâ— things in the New-Testament they are reducible to this I will consider them first as they are taken out of the Scriptures of the Old-Testament This may seem to be strange at first because the Opinions of Writers have run an other way but after I have plainly laid the matter before you I doubt not but the thing which I offer will easily gain your assent and then it will rather seem strange that it was not taken notice of and imbraced before There have been these four Opinions among the Learned concerning the Sybills Oracles or Verses 1. Some say they are Counterfeit yea that some Christians but Hereticks have imposed upon the World in this matter This I will account for afterwards because it will more pertinently be handled under the Second Consideration viz. as they are used as an Attestation of the Truth of the New-Testament Indeed this Opinion rudely takes away the Subject of the Question and therefore must be consider'd in the last place in the mean time we suppose the thing spoken of to be real and not counterfeit 2ly Then some have asserted that the Sibylls were divinely Inspired and consequently that their Verses are Sacred and Divine Iustin Martyr Arâ—obius Lactantius and some other ancient Fathers cry them up as equal to the holiest Prophets As God say they spake by the Prophets to the Iews concerning Christ before he came so he foreâ—told him to the Gentiles by the Sibylls and the same Prophetick Spirit was in the latter that was in the former Baronius Bellarmine and the Roman Doctors generally think the same of them and therefore they use their Testimony as very Sacred and altogether Irrefragable By the way I might observe that they are sometimes quoted by these and others of the Church of Rome to assert and countenance some of their Popish Doctrines So that it seems Popery was a Religion before there were any thoughts of it in the World and before it had a Being But here Authors are divided again for some hold these Gentile Prophetesses were Good and Holy Person others that they were not The former Opinion is grounded on that Tenent of the Iewish Doctors that never any vicious and unhallowed Persons were honored with the Prophetick Spirit and that those Irradiations and extraordinary Impressions of the Holy Ghost were made only upon Men of holy Lives and innocent Behaviours Besides these Prophetick Women speak of One only True God and they inveigh against the False Gods and their Altars which is a sign they were good and religious People Others have a contrary Opinion of them and think they were Irreligious and Prophane for that Opinion of the Hebrew Doctors before spoken of is not always true though it be generally so We read of Baalam the Sorcerer
swiftly beginning its Course from the right Cavity of the Heart through the Arterious Vein the Branches of which are dispersed through the whole Lungs and joined to the Branches of the Veiny Artery by which it passes from the Lungs into the left side of the Heart and thence it flows into the Great Artery the Branches of which being spread through all the Body are united to those of the Hollow Vein which carry the same Blood again into the right Ventricle of the Heart But these Vessels by length of time become disordered and shattered these Pitchers are broken at the Fountain the Heart it self as well as they decaying and declining in its Office whence proceed Faintings Swoonings Tremblings Palpitations and other Distempers which are the Product of an undue Sanguification Lastly 't is said the Wheel is broken at the Cistern which an Ingenious Person understands of the Circulation of the Blood for that he thinks is intimated by the Wheel and its being obstructed by the Indispositions of Old Age. But it is much to be questioned whether Solomon as Wise a Man as he was knew any thing of the Circular Motion of the Blood throughout the whole Body I have no stronger a Belief of his Knowledg in this kind than that his Ships went to the East or West-Indies though I find both of these asserted by different Writers However I conceive this Circulation is not meant in this place for the word Bor Puteus or Cisterna baffles this Notion for this Author makes the Cistern here to be the Left Ventricle of the Heart whereas the Heart with both its Ventricles is rather a Fountain than a Cistern yea he had himself applied this Word to the Heart in his Exposition of the former Clause of the Verse and there was Reason for it because the Waters do spring and flow in a Fountain but they lie dead and moveless in a Cistern or Pit under Ground which is the same thing Wherefore I conclude that this Cistern must be something of another Nature and what is that but the Vrinary Vessels especially the Bladder This without any fanciful straining must be acknowledged to be the Cistern of the Body it being a Vessel situated beneath on purpose to receive and keep the Water that comes from the Ureters And here as in those Receptacles in the Ground the Water gathers a Sediment and grows muddy the evil Effects of which are too well known to Mankind This Vesica then which is made to gather and hold the Urine is properly Bor the word in this Place Puteus Cisterna And the Wheel is said to be broken at this Cistern when those Vessels and Organs which were appointed for the Percolation of the Blood that is the separating the serous Humour from it and for the transmitting it through the Emulgent Arteries into the Ureters and thence carrying it to the proper Vessel the Cistern which is made to receive it when I say these are put out of order and disturb'd then they cease to perform their proper Administrations in the Body whereupon immediately are produced in these dark and narrow Passages the Painful Stone and Gravel in the Kidnies and Bladder all other â—ephritick Distempers Ulcers Inflammations the Strangury and sometimes a total Suppression of the Urine together with the undue Evacuations of it Thus the Wheel is broken thus the whole Periodical Series of Operation in those Parts is spoiled and destroyed And perhaps this particular Phrase is here used by Solomon because the great Work at Wells and Cisterns or Pits for retaining of Water for a time was performed by Wheels So much for this excellent Delineation of Old Age which is it self a Disease a constant and inseparable Malady and is attended with many more And as the Bodies of the Aged are the Scene of Weakness and Infirmities of Pains and Languishments so their Souls are usually decayed and distemper'd Of both these Solomon gives us a particular Account and perhaps too much from his own Experience for 't is probable that the Miscarriages of his Youth had enfeebled Nature and we read that towards the Close of his Days he degenerated from his former Piety and so we have here a Full and Compleat Description of the Defects which too often accompany this Last Declension of Life which are set forth by Variety of Metaphors which I have made it my Business to explain to you CHAP. V. The Writers of the New Testament are delighted with the Vse of Metaphors Here is sometimes a Complication of them Ephes. 6. 13. c. Take unto you the whole Armour of God c. largely insisted upon The Olympick Games and Prizes administer religious Metaphors The Antiquity Names Kinds the Laws and Observances of these Grecian Combates before in and after them the Iudges the Rewards and all other things appertaining to these Athletick Enterprizes distinctly consider'd 't is shew'd how they are all applied to Christianity in the Apostolick Writings Hence is inferr'd the Gracefulness of the Sacred Stile Notwithstanding which some have vilified it whose Character is represented Proverbial Sayings used by other Writers especially the Jews are frequently mentioned by our Saviour in the New Testament To which is reduced his bidding the Apostles shake off the Dust of their Feet Mat. 10. 14. concerning which the Author adds his particular Sentiment IF we pass to the New Testament we shall there find that those Inspired Penmen are much delighted with the use of Metaphors We have a Complication of them in Iohn 15. 1 c. I am the true Vine and my Father is the Husbandman c. In 1 Tim. 6. 9 10. the extreme Dangers which Men are exposed to by the Sin of Covetousness are expressed by a Snare by drowning by piercing through as with Thorns and Briars In those Words Eph. 5. 14. Awake thou that sleepest and arise from the Dead and Christ shall give thee Light there are likewise three Metaphors together for Sin is call'd a Sleep Death Darkness yea if we be exact we shall find three more for if Sin be a Sleep then Grace or Conversion is Awakening out of that Sleep and this is expressly mention'd in the Place if the one be Darkness and Death the other is Light and Life and Rising again But as before I chose out a remarkable Place of the Old Testament to enlarge upon under this Head so I will now do the like in the New and insist upon that choice Passage in Eph. 6. 13 to ver 18. Take unto you the whole Armour of God c. which under that one Great and General Metaphor of Armour comprehends several other particular ones Christians are represented as Souldiers in other Places by this Apostle and here he lets us know what is their Armour what Weapons they must fight with which are thus metaphorically expressed 1. They must be careful to put on the Girdle of Truth which some Expositors have thought is meant in opposition to Error and
Heretical Perswasions To be girt about with Truth is the same they think with holding fast the Form of sound Words or the embracing of the pure Doctrine of the Gospel But this Exposition is not to be admitted because it confounds this piece of Armour with another that is afterwards mentioned it makes the Girdle and the Sword which is the Word or Doctrine of God the same Therefore it is more reasonable to assert that Truth here is synonymous with Faithfulness or Sincerity and that it stands in opposition to Hypocrisy Thus Sincerity and Truth are equivalent Terms 1 Cor. 5. 8. and in several other Places Wherefore when the Christian Souldier is commanded to have his Loins girt about with Truth the plain Import of it is that he ought to be established with Sincerity and Integrity of Consâ—ience Hypocrisy enervates and dissolves the Mind renders it loose and unsettled but Uprightness and Faithfulness keep it close and entire make it firm and steady yea strengthen and confirm all the other Graces as the Girdle of War was used to fasten their Clothes together and to keep their Loins firm It is not unlikely that this Place refers particularly to Isa. 11. 5. Faithfulness shall be the Girdle of his Reins This Truth also implies Fortitude Resolution and Constancy that they will never revolt from the Captain of their Salvation but fight under his Banner even unto Death for he that is Sincere and Faithful will do so This is the first Martial Accoutrement of the Christian Souldier and 't is of indispensable Use and Necessity in the Holy Warfare as among the antient Warriors there was no fighting without the Military Girdle or Belt Whence Cinctus simply without any Addition is as much as Miles And we read that it was a Punishment inflicted on delinquent Souldiers to expose them without their Girdles to make them stand Vngirt in some publick Place This piece of Warlike Furniture 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was so considerable of old that is was a word as â—ausanias testiâ—ies to signify all sorts of Weapons for War It is often mentioned by Homer Synecdochichally for the Whole Military Armour and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is as much as to be compleatly Armed The Girdle of Truth which this Great Commander here enjoins us is as requisite in the Christian Warfare there is no Fighting without it because this fastens all the other Parts of our Spiritual Armour a Sincere and Upright Heart is of universal Influence in the Life of a Christian. 2. The next Accoutrement is the Breast-plate of Righteousness i. e. a Holy and Pious Conversation Impartial and Universal Obedience to the Will of God This guards the Breast against all Assaults as we see in the Example of our Apostle 2 Cor. 1. 12. for he had this as well as the foregoing piece of Armour on when he said Our rejoicing is this the Testimony of our Coscience that in Simplicity and godly Sincerity not with fleshly Wisdom but by the Grace of God we have had our Conversation in the World And again I have fought a good Fight I have finished my Course I have kept the Faith 2 Tim. 4. 7. And in other Places he defends himself against the malicious Cavils of others by appealing to his own Innocency his Sanctity and Exemplary Life This perhaps may have particular reference to Isa. 59. 17. He put on Righteousness as a Breast-plate But this Breast-plate of Righteousness must be covered with another viz. that of our Blessed Redeemer which is Compleat and Perfect and will amply protect and secure us from all Dangers The Inherent Righteousness of the best of Men is exceedingly defective and cannot shelter them from the Divine Wrath this Breast-plate is too narrow too thin too little too mean to cover us but that of the Meritorious Righteousness of Christ Jesus is great and large enough and is able to hide all our Defects and perfectly to defend us from the Anger of our offended God This Evangelical Breast-plate must be put on by Faith of which afterwards 3. The Shoe of the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace is an Allusion to that Military Provision which the Infantry among the antient Warriors made for their Feet to defend them from what was offensive in their way For the Armies heretofore as appears both from Greek and Roman Authors were wont to fix short Stakes or cast Gall-traps in the way before their Enemies to wound their Feet and to cause them to fall Wherefore it was usual to have Harness for their Legs and Feet they wore a particular sort of Shoe or Boot to secure them from being hurt and gall'd So the Christian Souldier ought to have his Feet shod and that with the Preparation of the Goslpel i. e. he must be sitted and prepared by the preaching of the Gospel for all Hardships and Distresses I do not much like St. Augustin's way of proving this Interpretation viz. by telling us that by the Shoe the Preaching of the Gospel was meant when the Psalmist said Over Edom will I cast out my Shoe Psal. 60. 8. which he labours to confirm from Isa. 52. 7. How beautiful are the Feet of him that bringeth good Tidings And this Pious Writer is so fanciful as to say that when our Saviour bid the Disciples be shod with Sandals Mark 6. 9. he meant the open and free Preaching of the Gospel But waving this weak sort of Proof yet I am satisfied that in this place the Christians Military Shoe is the Gospel and the Preaching of it he is then shod with the Preparation of it when he is enabled to make his way through all Hindrances and Diâ—â—iculties whatsoever by virtue of those Excellent Principles which the Gospel hath discovered to him by virtue of those Extraordinary Helps which this affords him And 't is â—itly added the Gospel of Peace because the Consideration of that Peace and Reconciliation which the Gospel tenders through the Blood of Christ mightily influences upon his Spirit and gives Courage and Valour amidst all the Hardships he meets with in his Christian Warfare 4. The Shield of Faith is another necessary part of Spiritual Armour And it is signally added that we must take this above all which it is probable is said with allusion to what was the sense of the Old Warriors viz. That their Shield was their Principal Armour This they prized above all the rest and were most careful in keeping it of which we have several Instances in Antient History and there was a Remarkable Punishment inflicted on those saith Plutarch who lost their Shields in Battel Much more Valuable is this Evangelick Armour our Faith a Firm Assent to all Revealed Truths a Steady Belief of the Promises of Eternal Life through the blessed Undertakings of our Lord a Hearty Compliance with the Gracious Terms of the Gospel which enjoins Universal Obedience to the Laws of Christ a Well-grounded Trust and Aâ—â—iance in the
for a Fir and others for a Turpentine-Tree And Pererius that he might say something singular and different from all the rest fancies it was not the Wood of one sort of Tree but that it was made of divers Kinds But the Translators of the English Bible retain the Hebrew word it self because they were not satisfied with any of these Significations Eolah and allah and allon Ezek. 6. 13. Josh. 24. 26. Isa. 6. 13. according to different Interpreters are rendred not only an Oak but an Elm an Alder-Tree a Turpentine a Lime or Teil-Tree a Pine a Chesnut What kind of Trees Algummim or Almuggim 1 Kings 10. 11. 2 Chron. 2. 8. Chap. 9. 10 11. were is not easy to tell yea the Hebrew Doctors think Coral which we can't properly call a Tree is meant by them But Grotius hath warn'd us not to trust to the Rabins especially the latter ones in their Interpretations which they give of Herbs and Trees What particular kind of Wood that is which is call'd Shittim of which you read so often in Exodu◠and is rendred 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 incorruptible Wood by the LXX is not agreed among the Learned some thinking it to be Cedar others the Pitch-Tree others Box but Ierom and Theodotion take it to be the White-Thorn or a Tree very like it The truth is we are certain of nothing but this that it was some very excellent and choice Wood which they found to be very Useful in Building It is probable that it was denominated from the Place where it grew and whence it was fetched for of Shittim we read in Numb 25. 1. Iosh. 2. 1. and in other places but what kind of Tree it was is uncertain for which reason both the Vulgar Latin and English Translators thought fit to retain the Hebrew word it self For we are in the dark as to these things and how can it be otherwise seeing 't is not to be doubted that they had Trees and Plants in the Eastern Countries which are not in these places and therefore we know them not So for Animals of which we spake before there were some proper to those Regions and because these Western Parts of the World have them not we are ignorant of them Wherefore 't is no wonder that several Names of Sensitive and Vegetative Creatures mention'd in the Old Testament are unintelligible Whether the Hebrew Bedolach Bdellium Gen. 2. 12. be a Tree or a Stone or a Gum or a Pearl is disputed Pliny and Diascorides mention Bdellium as Wood or a Tree and Iunius upon the place is of the same Mind Others and particularly Iosephus understand it to be an Aromatick Gum or the Juice of some Odoriferous Tree The Jews generally hold it to be a Precious Stone but some of them think it is a Crystal others a Jasper and others of them a Carbuncle it being so rendred by the Septuagint Bochart and some other Moderns tell us that Bedolach is not Bdellium or any other Precious Stone but a Margarite a Pearl of the Sea which is usually fetch'd up in that Maritime Part of Arabia which is call'd Havilah in the foremention'd Text. And to corroborate this Opinion he further adds that Manna is said to be Numb 11. 7. of the colour of Bdellium i. e. white which is the singular Ornament and Beauty of a Pearl It might be observ'd here that the words for Minerals and Precious Stones are very ambiguous I will mention only one viz. Nophek the first Precious Stone in the second Order of those in the High Priest's Breast-plate this is rendred by St. Ierom a Carbuncle by Onkelos an Emerald by some Interpreters a Topaz and by others a Ruby And there is almost the like difference in interpreting some of the other Words whereby other Stones are signified For indeed it is the Confession of the Hebrew Doctors as Buxtorf and others tell us that the Names of Precious Stones in Scripture are unknown to us There is such a discrepancy saith a Learned Hebrician about these among all Interpreters whether Christians or Jews that no Man is able to determine any thing certain The same may be said of Musical Instruments mention'd in Scripture which have employ'd many Criticks and Grammarians but with little Satisfaction But I have said enough for my present purpose viz. to shew you that the Hebrew Names of divers things are not well understood which sometimes begets a misunderstanding concerning the things themselves There are indeed among the Greeks and Latins a great number of words of Different Senses but the number is far greater in Hebrew by reason of the paucity of words in this Tongue for there being many Things but few Words to express them it will follow that sundry of them must be of various Significations and consequently that it is no easy matter to distinguish between them This may be the reason why the Septuagint have inserted several Hebrew words into their Version namely because they could not tell how to express them in Greek their Signification being so Doubtful Hence also some Proper Names are translated by these Interpreters as Appellatives which is done also sometimes by the Vulgar Latin because those Names are seemingly and as to their Sound no other than Appellatives however the Dubious meaning of them prompted the Translators to take them as such Nor are we to think that this Ambiguity is any Blemish or Disparagement to the Bible and that for this reason because we find it no where but in those Matters which are Indifferent and the Knowledg of which is not indispensably required of us Nay on the contrary this Difficulty which we meet with in many Words and Passages in these Holy Writings is so far from disparaging them that it is an undeniable Proof of the Unparallell'd Antiquity of them We are assured hence that they have the Priority of all other Books we may rationally gather that a great part of this Volume at least was composed and written before any other Writings were extant If this Sacred Book were of a later Date we should have had few or none of those Difficult Terms that it abounds with now We could not then have a more Convincing Argument of its being Exceeding Antient than its being Dark in some places And therefore instead of complaining of the Obscurity of these Writings let us reverence and admire its Matchless Antiquity and congratulate our own Happiness that the Divine Providence hath entrusted us with the First and Oldest Records of Truth in the World I will go on then still with my present Undertaking and shew in other particulars the Dubious Import of some words in these Sacred Writings and attempt to clear some of them I will here speak of the Measures Weights and Coins mention'd in Scripture which are another Instance of the Difficulty which arises from our being ignorant of the exact Significations of some Words in the Sacred Volume The Hebrew Measures are either of Application or
by themselves one single Horse in a Stall But the former signifies Stables or Stalls wherein ten Horses were placed therefore there is a Iod which is a Note of the number ten inserted into this Word to distinguish it from the other There were half a score Horses in every one of these Stables and so they amount to forty thousand Abarbanel and some other Hebrew Doctors determine thus that there were forty thousand Horses in four thousand Stables Or if it were the very same Word in the Hebrew yet it might be differently taken and signify Stalls in one Place and Stables in another and so the Controversy is ended i. e. every Stable or greater Place for Horses contained in it ten thousand distinct Stalls We may say there were four thousand Great Stables which contain'd forty thousand Lesser ones Thus far in answer to those that charge the Scripture with want of Truth as to Numbers Others complain that it is erroneous and false in its Geography that is as to the Places and Countries that are mentioned in it Thus we find that Ur of the Chaldees is call'd the Land of Haran and consequently of Abraham's Nativity Gen. 11. 28. And in Gen. 15. 7. God reminded him that he brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees therefore that was the Country which he first dwelt in But if we consult Gen. 24. 10. we shall see that Mesopotamia was Abraham's native Country and in Ios. 24. 2 3. we read that he dwelt on the other side of the Flood i. e. of Euphrates which is frequently call'd the Flood by way of Eminency in Scripture and this parted Canaan where Abraham afterwards dwelt from Mesopotamia in Syria This is the River which Abraham passed over Gen. 31. 21. when he came into Canaan out of his own Country and from which passing over he had his Name as is thought by many of the Learned So that when 't is said he dwelt on the other side of the Flood it appears thence that he came out of Mesopotamia which was divided from Canaan by that Flood But how are these two consistent viz. that he was a Chaldean and a Mesopotamian i. e. a Syrian when these have reference to two distinct Countries Chaldea and Syria This hath puzzled Jews and Christians But the Answer which most of them acquiesce in is this that Mesopotamia Aram Naharaim as 't is call'd in the foremention'd Place in Genesis and in Iudg. 3. 8. Syria fluviorum because situated between two Rivers Euphrates and Tigris and call'd by the Antient Latins Mediamna which answers exactly to the Greek Word is taken in Genesis and other Places in a large Sense and comprehends Chaldea So the Arabian Geographers also refer Câ—aldeâ— to Mesopotamia saith Ludovicus de Dieu And they might very well do so for Pliny comprehends all Assyria under Mesopotamia and in another Place tells us that the whole Country of Mesopotamia belonged to the Assyrians and in general speaking was part of Babylon And truly this is no unusual thing to take the Names of Places somtimes in a stricter sometimes iâ— a more lax Sense Wherefore Mesopotamia in the general and large way of speaking and 't is likely in the Estimation of the Hebrews took in some other Places which were not within the Rivers of Euphrates and Tigris This is a true Answer and a very good one But I rather think this to be the plainest Solution of the Difficulty viz. that Mesopotamia as distinct from Chaldea was Abraham's native Soil and that Vr was a City or Town in that Country thus Ammianus reckons it there and not in Chaldea and that this very City was the Birth-place of Abraham and yet this Vr is said to be of the Chaldees because it was possessed by the Chaldeans at that time Persons have thought it was a part of Chaldea and properly belonged to it because they read it to be of the Chaldees but this is a Mistake for the true Import of this Addition to the Word is only this that this part of Mesopotamia as well as the rest of it was under the Jurisdiction and Power of the Chaldeans and was inhabited by them as Hebron is call'd the Land of the Hebrews Gen. 40. 15. because the Hebrews dwelt there Besides I might add that this Place was defiled with the Idolatry of the Chaldeans and therefore for that reason also is call'd Vr of the Chaldees And from what hath â—een said we may have a right understanding of those Words in Acts 7. 2 c. The God of Glory appeared unto our Father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamiâ— and said unto him Get thee out of thy Country then came he out of the Land of the Chaldeans It is plain that Mesopotamia and the Land of the Chaldeans in a large Sense are the same which is according to what we find in the Old Testament and particularly in the Places before-mentioned Yet Mesopotamia and Chaldea strictly speaking were not the same but the former was under the Power of the Chaldean Kings and for that reason was rightly call'd the Land of the Chaldeans So that Grotius needed not to have goâ—â— about to reconcile this Text by telling us thâ—t St. Luke's Memory fail'd him as to the â—xact Deâ—ignation of the Place which is as much aâ—â—o say that this Inspired Writer was mistâ—ken and in â— palpable Error and that is as much as to say 〈◊〉 was not Inspired and so he contradicts himself as well as defames the Holy Writings Another Geographical Scruple arises from Gâ—n 37. 28. where we read that Ioseph was sold to the Ismaelites and in the very same Verse and afterwards ver 36. we are told that he was sold to the Midianites How coâ—ld he be sold to both Very well for these are Names of the same â—eople of Arabia either the Desart or Stony or both for there is a Dispute about this Or if there were some Difference between the Ismaelites and Midianites as 't is not unlikely yet they were near Neighbours and so passed for the same People thence the Kings of the Ismaelites are call'd Kings of Midian Judg. 8. 24 26. Thus in the Gospel the Gadarens Luke 8. 37. and the Gergasens Mat. 8. 28. are represented as the same People because Gadara and Gergesa were neighbouring Towns their Fields lay close together Every one grants that the Inhabitants of Arabia had several Names according to the Places and Regions they were seated in they are call'd Kenites Numb 24. 21. and frequently in other places Moabites Ammonites Edomites Hagarens as in Psal. 83. 6. from Hagar Sarah's Maid-servant the Mother of Ismael which Name they have long since â—hang'd into that of Saracens choosing to be call'd rather by the Name of the Mistress than of the Maid And here they are stiled Ismaelites and Midianites 〈◊〉 former inhabiting in one part of that Country and the lattâ—r in another Ioseph then may be truly said to be sold
from Gen. 2. 13. that Nile was at first call'd Gibon Memphis had the Title of Noph Isa. 19. 13. Jer. 46. 14. The City of Alexandria call'd so from Alexander the Great who built it after it had been laid waste by the Chaldeans and gave it that Name was at first call'd No Jer. 46. 25. Ezek. 30. 15. Nahum 3. 8. The antient Name of Mesopotamia was Padan Aram Gen. 25. 20. ch 28. 6. Before Cyrus's time the Country which is now call'd Persia was known by no other Titles than Cuth and Elam Ifa 11. 11. oh 22. 6. but afterwards it had that new Denomination from Paras a Horse because the Persians were great Riders on Horse-back Canaan and the Holy Land are Terms in Scripture for that known Country which is stiled Syria and Iudea by the Greek and Roman Writers Ierusalem was first call'd Salem then Iebus then by putting both together Iebusalem and afterwards for better sound sake Ierusalem I might proceed and observe this Change of Names in other Regions of the World yea in our own Thus Albion was the antient Name of this Isle then Britain then England This I mention to remind us that there is a great Alteration of Names as to several Places and Countries Either by Conquest or otherwise it hath come to pass that the former ones by which they were known are worn off and new ones are come in their room Whence it happens sometimes that we have no Help from Profane Historians to understand many Places mentioned in the Bible and we are not able to know to what Countries and Nations some of those Names refer which we meet with in these Antient Records This I will more largely insist upon in some few particular Instances And first that in 1 Kings 10. 1. doth partly belong to this Place there is mention of the Queen of Sheba who is call'd the Queen of the South by our Saviour Mat. 12. 42. but whether she came from Arabia or Ethiopia both which Countries are South of Iudea is as much controverted as whether Moses's Wife was an Arabian or an Ethiopian Monsieur Bochart and some others say she was the former for there was a Saba or Seba as Strabo informs us in that Country Some tell us it is the Metropolis of Arabia Felix now call'd Zibet whence the Zivet-Cat hath its Name The Inhabitants of this Place were antiently call'd Sabaei by the Latins But for my part I cannot think that this was the Country whence this Royal Visitant came and that for this one good Reason because our Saviour himself hath informed us that She came from the utmost Parts of the Earth which cannot be said of her if she came from Arabia for that was near to Iudea Iosephus saith he found the antient Name of Meroe in Africa to be Saba and thence he affirms that she was an African viz. the Queen of Egypt and Ethiopia and others more particularly vouch her to belong to the upper Ethiopia i. e. the Kingdom of the Abyssines and 't is certain as a late Inquisitive Writer hath informed us that the Abassyne People challenge her for theirs But now if we come to examine things and to make someâ— Proof of this latter Opinion viz. that the Queen who took a long Journey to visit King Solomon and behold his Glory was an Ethiopian we are not able to effect any thing for we cannot trust to the Iewish Historian who had little Skill in foreign Matters and we cannot rely upon Pliny's Saba Aethiopica or gather any thing certainly thence And a more Authentick Writer tells us that there was not only a Sheba but a Seba so that that Saba might refer to this latter rather than to the former We have then no â—ure footing but all that we are able to say is this that there was a Nation of this Name in some very distant part of the World in a Southerly Position from Iudea but we have no Geographer to acquaint us what particular Region it was and what the Name of it is at this Day and consequently we cannot determine the Place whence that Brave Woman came What the aforesaid Jewish Historian observ'd hath great Truth in it that the Names of Nations have been chang'd by new Comers who with new Manners brought a Language of a resembling Quality and alter'd the former Names of Places This we find true in another Instance viz. Ophir the Place that King Solomon's Navy went to and form whence they furnish'd him with Plenty of Gold 1 Kings 9. 26 c. ch 10. 11. But in what part of the Earth this Ophir was is hotly disputed Some say it was in that Region of it which we now call America They think that the Phoenicians or Tyrians for 't is said that Hiram the King of Tyre sent in the Navy his Servants Shipmen that had Knowledg of the Sea with the Servants of Solomon 1 Kings 9. 27. they think I say that these Tyrians who were famous for their Skill in Navigation fail'd to those remote Parts in Solomon's time passing through the Mediterranean to this Ophir which some imagine to have been in the Pâ—â—eiâ—ick Sea in the Southern Part of America for there is an Island in that Sea which the Spaniards call'd the Isle of Solomon because they thought that was the Place which Solomon's Ships were sent to for Gold Arias Montanus and some others are perswaded that Ophir is the same with Peru and indeed there are the same Radical Letters in both only with a Metatheâ—is And from Peru is the dual Paâ—vajim 2 Cliron 3. 6. as the foresaid Author thinks which is a very Ingenious and Learned Conjecture but is entertained but by few because 't is thought that Columbus was the first that found out the Western World But whether that be true or no it is not probable that they had Skill enough in Solomon's Days to conduct a Navy to the West-Indies Navigation was not so perfect at that time that they could find a safe Passage thither Hercules's Pillars which are now the Cape of Good Hope were said to be the Limits of their Maritime Travels Before the Use of the Compass it was impossible to havigate cross the Ocean and consequently Solomon's Mariners could not find Peru which is in America Besides some think that the Quality of some of the Commodities viz. Wood and Ivory which were brought home in the Ships argues that they came not from that Western Quarter of the World Again 't is added by some that if Solomon had sent for Gold to the West-Indies he would have set out his Fleet for that Voyage from some Port of the Mediterranean and not of the Red Sea as we read he did 1 Kings 9. 26. Others therefore say it was a Country in the East-Indies Ophir was so call'd from Ophir the Son of 〈◊〉 Gen. 10. 29. who as Iosâ—phus saith inhabited in the East Wherefore it is likely saith
but not condemn the Text as corrupted and falsified nay as if it had had Mistakes and Errors in it at the first This latter is Mr. Hobbs's way but we may plainly see that he makes it his Business to expose the Scripture and to represent it as a Book fraught with many Inconsistencies and Falsities If he had dealt thus with Virgil or some other Writer of that strain if he had impeach'd that Poet 's Chronology in making Aeneas and Dido contemporary it had been tolerable yea laudable for some are of Opinion that Dido was not in being till above a hundred and fifty Years after Aeneas's Death It was high Poetical Fiction to make that Queen fall in love with the fugitive Trojan so long a time after he was dead But in the Sacred Writings there is nothing that looks like such Defect in Synchronism both Time and Place are truly assigned though sometimes by reason of the things before mentioned we cannot presently discover the Truth of it and make it appear how it is Lastly I conclude all with those Genealogical Difficulties in Mat. 1. and Luke 3. I begin with our Saviour's Genealogy as 't is drawn up in the first Chapter of St. Matthew Here some Heretick Christians of old as the Ebionites and Manichees here some of the Notablest Pagans as Celsus Iulian and Porphyrius found Matter of Cavil and some of late have thought that here are such Knots as are impossible to be dissolved As first the Genealogy runs thus in ver 9. Ozias begat Ioatham whereas 't is clear from 1 Chron. 3. 11 12. that Ioash Amaziah and Azariah were between Ozias and Ioatham The Answer is that this Genealogist reckons sometimes per saltum when he saith such a Person begat another it is not always meant of Father and Son properly but he is said to beget another from whom that Person or others proceed at a distance An immediate Generation such as the Father's is in respect of his Son is not to be understood in this Place nor indeed in some others in this Genealogy where you cannot but observe that sundry Persons are wholly omitted It is evident therefore that the Design of St. Matthew was not to be strict and accurate in this Pedigree and to give us a compleat Enumeration of Persons but only to present us with a general and loose Draught of Christ's Descent And this should teach us not to be over-curious in scanning the Parts of this Genealogy for if the Evangelist was not Critical and Exact in composing it why should we shew our selves so in examining it Again 't is objected that the Genealogy is said to be divided into three Fourteens and yet in one of them there are only thirteen Persons to be found This is solved by some Manuscripts which insert Iachim into ver 11. thus Josias begat Jachim and Jachim begat Jechoniah and others interpose Abner in ver 13. as thus Eliakim begat Abner and Abner begat Azor. But there is no need of flying to Other Copies in this case for the plain Resolution of the Difficulty is this that in ver 11 12. under one Name viz. Iechonias two Persons viz. the Father and the Son are understood for that Iechonias mention'd in ver 11. had two Names and was called Iehoiakim as you read in 1 Chron. 3. 15 16. who was the Father of that Iechonias mention'd in ver 12. The first Iechonias was the Son of Iosias the second was the Father of Salathiel and the Son of the former Iechonias Now if the former Iechonias the Father of the latter be numbred in the second Tesseradecad and if the latter Iechonias the Father of Salathiel be inserted into the third Tesseradecad or which is the same thing if the Father be meant in ver 11. and the Son in ver 12. the Difficulty vanisheth for here are thrice fourteen Generations according to this way which I have propounded And the way is obvious and easy and cannot seem strange to any Person who observes the manner of the Lineages in this Genealogy which are not set down with Accuracy but something is left to be supplied by us in the several Branches of it and particularly in this which I last mention'd But it is further Objected how could Iechonias beget Salathiel v. 12. when 't is said concerning him Write ye this Man childless Jer. 22. 30 If Iechonias was childless Salathiel could not be his Son But I answer 1 st Childless may import no other than this that he should be bare Solitary desolate distressed as the Greek renders it and as the next Words may be thought to explain it a Man that shall not prosper in his Days Or 2dly the meaning is that Iechonias's Children should be cut off and not one of them succeed him in the Throne as is said likewife in the following Words No Man of his Seed shall prosper sitting upon the Throne of David and ruling any more in Judah This is here to be childless and so though Iechoniah had a Son viz. Salathiel yet this Son was not his Successor in the Kingdom Then as to the Genealogy of Christ from Ioseph upwards which we have in Luke 3. it is Objected that Cainan is inserted between Arphaxad and Sala ver 36. but is not so in Gen. 11. 12. where these Generations are first recorded I answer Cainan is omitted by Moses for Brevity sake and Arphaxad is said to beget Salah that is not immediately but Cainan intervening But what was left out in the Hebrew Text the Septuagint supplied who in their Greek Version expresly mention Cainan and St. Luke following this Version put Cainan into the Genealogy And it was better to do so than to alter it according to the Hebrew Original because the LXX's Version was in great Repute and if he had alter'd it it would have given Offence to the Weak Besides this might be by Tradition among the Jews as St. Paul's Iannes and Iambres 2 Tim. 3. 8. and that gave farther Occasion to him of inserting it though it was not in the Hebrew But how can either of these Genealogies in St. Matthew and St. Luke be said to be Christ's when they both give an Account only of the Lineage of Ioseph To satisfy this Scruple we must know that the Virgin Mary's Genealogy is included in that of Ioseph and consequently Christ's Descent is here set down because he sprang from the Virgin Mary Ioseph being a Good Man and an Observer of the Law would not marry one that was not of his Tribe or Family so that Mary's Genealogy is in a manner his because she was of the same Family and Stock with him which is partly intimated in the Close of that Genealogy which is in St. Matthew ver 16. Jacob begat Joseph the Husband of Mary giving us to understand that Mary and Ioseph were of the same Family and Descent viz. of the Stock and Lineage of David for according to the Mosaick Law and Custom one Tribe and
and to rely wholly on the Charity of the Christian Brethren These were some choice Skins which he had left behind him at Troas when he wrought in this his Trade there And if it be objected that Troas was a great way off the Answer is that they might as easily be brought to him as the Books he writ for if these were of any considerable Number and Bigness And this Notion is yet more probable if you consider that St. Paul was in way of Contempt call'd by the Pagans 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Coriarius because he cut out Hides and Skins in order to the making of Tents Yea some of the Christian Writers give him the foresaid Titles thereby to magnify the Grace of God towards him He is often stiled 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by Theodoret and so he is by Chrysostom Coriarius Cilix is the Epithet given by Ierom. This makes it not improbable that the fore-mention'd Text hath reference to the Practice of those times the making of Tents or the covering of Booths and Pavilions with Skins These it is likely are the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 St. Paul speaks of As he sends for his Cloak to defend himself from the Cold so he sends for the Skins which he left behind him to make Tents to shelter and keep others warm For though it is granted that one Signification of Membrana is Parchment of which I had occasion to speak before yet it also signifies the Vppermost Skin or Hide of any Creature as appears from that of Lucretius Membranas mittunt vituli de corpore summo And it hath its Denomination from Membrum saith Priscian because it covers the Limbs and other external Parts Nay you must note that this is the first and most proper Signification of the word Membrana in Tully Pliny and other Authors whereas afterwards in a secondary Sense it came to signify Parchment These things may render my Interpretation of this Place not improbable However I presumed to offer the Criticism on the Word and let the Learned entertain it as they please But this is not to be question'd that the not attending to the Usages and Practices of old in the Countries to which some things spoken of in Scripture belong is one Reason why we miss of the right Sense of some Places 3. The Hebrew Text which is the greater part of the Bible hath some things proper to it self which render it perplex'd and obscure in some Places for in Hebrew there are no Moods in the Verbs but the Indicative and Insinitive no Tenses but the Past and Future Participles being made use of to express the Present Time which oftentimes renders the Meaning obscure and intricate Instead of an Interrogative Point the Hebrews make use of their Interrogative He otherwise there are no Notes or Marks of Interrogation which is another Cause as might be shew'd of misunderstanding the Text sometimes There are frequent Parentheses in the Hebrew Bible and if they be not diligently observed they mar the Sense as to instance but in one Place at present Isa. 9. 3 c. The 3d 4th and 5th Verses are a Parenthesis you must join the 6th Verse to the 2d and then you will see how the word for in the 6th Verse comes in not otherwise But there are no Marks or Characters whereby we may know when there is such a Parenthesis which cannot but trouble the Sense very much and confound the Meaning of the Place unless it be with extraordinary Care taken notice of And I might add that the Pauses and Periods in the Hebrew Copies are not so distinct as might be wished The greater ought our Care and Diligence to be in perusing and studying this Holy Book 4. It is the way of the Hebrews and indeed of all the Eastern Writers to express things in a brief and concise manner which renders the Place sometimes dark and confused In the second Psalm several Persons are introduced speaking but it is not in the least intimated that there is this Change of Persons but all is express'd in a short and promiscuous way The whole Psalm is a Dialogue wherein the Church speaks ver 1 2. then the Enemies of the Church v. 3. the Church again V. 4 5. then God ver 6. then Christ the Son of God ver 7 8 9. And lastly the Psalmist ends with his own Exhortation All which Parts if we do not take notice of though they are not distinguish'd for Brevity sake the true Import and Scope of the Psalm are lost It is common to recite Words which are said by Persons and yet to bring them in abruptly and not to signify that they are said or spoken by them As in Psal. 22. 8. He trusted in the Lord i. e. they said so but this is not here express'd Thus in Isa. 33. 14. Who among us c. i. e. the Sinners in Zion mentioned in that Verse said those Words In v. 18. where is the Scribe c. to make the Sense perfect you must insert thou shalt say So in Isa. 49. 24. these Words say the Enemies must be inserted In Ier. 6. 4. these or such like Words are left out the Enemy shall say The like is observable in Ier. 22. 28. ch 31. 20. In Hos. 5. 15. the word saying is necessarily implied for the first Verse of the next Chapter contains the Words which were to be said Sometimes this is supplied by the Translation though it be not in the Hebrew as in 2 Sam. 2. Isa. 64. 11. But in Obadiah ver 1. before Arise ye the word saying is to be supposed In 1 Cor 15. 45. but is left out otherwise you can't understand the Apostle And many other Words are omitted in the Old and New Testament and ought to be supplied by the diligent Reader who on that account is obliged to be very Attentive when he reads these Sacred Writigs for their short and contracted way of speaking makes them the less intelligible whereas when Matters are amplified by Words they become more clear and plain 5. There is in the Hebrew Language a certain Peculiar Idiom or Force of Signification which when it comes to be translated into another Tongue is wholly lost at least a great part of its Vigour and Elegancy is taken away and at the same time it is not so well understood because it is a Strange Idiom and no ways agreeable to our manner of expressing our selves 6. Order and Time are not always observ'd in these Holy Writings which too often begets Mistakes Upon these several Accounts and others there must needs be some Obscurity and Difficulty in the Stile of Holy Writ But you may observe that this happens through the All-wise Providence of God in those Places where the Great and Momentous things of Religion are not concern'd where the Grand Truths of the Law and the Gospel are not in the least endanger'd And when in other Parts of the Bible we meet
with Hard and Dark Passages we ought to be so far from blaming and disparaging this Divine Book because of these that we should rather reckon them an Ornament to it The Dubiousness of Scripture in some things is part of its Excellency It is a great Commendation of this Sacred Volume that it is not destitute of Absâ—rusities and Difficulties that we are not wholly tied up and confined in our Interpretation of it that there is a Freedom of Disquisition allowed us that in several Places every Man is at his Liberty to imbrace what Sense he pleaseth of the Words so it be according to the Analogy of Faith and the Tenour of the other Parts of this Inspired Book This gives us an opportunity of exciting our Care of exerting our Industry of improving our Knowledg of enlarging our Faculties by continual Researches and Examinations Thus the Obscurity of some Parts of Scripture is of great and excellent Use. But then where-ever the Indispensible and Necessary Points of Faith and Manners are treated of in these Writings their Stile is sufficiently clear and plain and the Matter which is express'd by it is easy to be understood In brief the Scripture is plain where it should be so But if in some other Places there be Controversy and Perplexity if some Texts seem to oppose and clash with one another let us remember this that the Scriptures were inspired by the Holy Ghost and therefore there can be no real Oppositions or Repugnancies in them because Truth cannot contradict it self By impartial Study and Enquiry let us dive into the Meaning of these Antient Writings and by the Helps which I have tendred in the foregoing Discourse endeavour to reconcile those Places which seem to differ but let us never be so daring as to accuse the Scriptures which were endited by God himself of Contradiction FINIS FINIS ADDENDA Refer this to Page 267. Line 19. HEBREW Verbs of different Significations 1. Those of two Significations Anah in Kal to grieve or mourn Isa. 3. 26. ch 19. 8. in Piel to deliver up Exod. 21. 13. Dabar in Kal to speak in Piel to reduce into order Chalatz in Piel to save in Hiphil to arm Iaal in Hiphil to will or desire in Niphal to be foolish or mad Pala in Niphal to be admired in Piel to separate Alam in Niphal to be silent in Piel to gather Mashal in Kal to rule in Niphal to be compared with or likened to any thing or Person Sabar in Kal to consider in Piel to expect to hope for Rakah in Kal to spit in Hiphil to attenuate Tanah in Kal and Niphil to hire in Piel to discourse with Gaal in Kal to redeem in Piel to pollute Bara in Kal to create in Hiph to make fat Cacash in Kal to be lean in Piel to tell a Lie Lamad in Kal to learn in Piel to teach Cabad in Kal to be heavy in Piel and Niph to be honoured Puk to stumble to produce Gnarak to ordain to esteem Saphak to suffice to clap Hands Shabar to break to buy Kut to loath or abominate to contend Katar to offer Incense to bind Kam or Kum to stand or rise to be dim-sighted Ragang to quiet to break or cut asunder Ramah to dart to deceive Shaal to request to borrow Panah to behold to remove Nakaâ— to bore or make a Hole to curse Samaâ—h to rejoice to shine Pharash to separate to interpret Lutz to laugh to arguâ— or dispute Zachah to be innocent to overcome Lacham to eat to fight Gnatsam to strengthen to shut Gnatsab to disturb to fashion or form Gnaraph to cut the Throat to distil Gnathak to wax old to be removed 2. Those of three Significations Rab or Rahab and so the Verb Rabah to be many or much to shoot Arrows to educate Ragal to search to calumniate to walk or make to walk or go Halal to praise to shine to be mad Shalam to be peaceable to be perfect to recompense Gnabar to pass to be with Child to be angry Nashaâ— to forget to let out Money upon Interest to put out of joint Gnur to be watchful to make blind to make naked Alaph to learn to teach to make or produce a thousand Ruang to do Evil to break or bruise to make a great Noise Charash to plough to think to be silent Gnaraâ— to be emptied or poured out to make naked to adhere Mahar to make haste to be liberal to be foolish or inconsiderate Gur to travel abroad to gather together to fear Damah to be quiet to be like to one to consent Pharang to be open or naked to be free to vindicate Aphah to boil to bake to fry Zur to abhor to sneeze to compress Gnanaâ— to answer to humble to commit Adultery Shar to sing to walk to observe Shalah to be quiet to be fortunate to err or be faulty Kutz to rise or awake betimes to be weary of or nauseate to summer or spend the Summer-time Kara to call to read to meet one 3. Verbs of four or more Significations Natzah to bud forth to fly to fight to overcome Salad to strengthen to warm or heat to harden to desire or beg Kalal to be light or vile to curse to destroy to polish Shagnah to behold to be astonish'd to abstain or desist to shut Pathach to open to engrave to plough to expose to loose Carah to open to pierce to dig to prepare to entertain one with a Feast to traffick or merchandize Chalal to begin to profane to bring forth Young to wound to mourn or grieve to cut or bore to leap Lastly no Verb in the Holy Tongue hath so many different Significations as Gnarab the Import of which is to mingle to negotiate to be sweet or pleasant to undertake for or be Surety to be dusky as in the Evening c. Refer this to Page 274. Line 1. Hebrew Nouns of two Significations Ed a Vapour Calamity Siach a Shrub Speech Tagnar a Whetstone a Sheath Goel a Redeemer a Kinsman Sheber Corn or any Food interpreting or unriddling Racham the Womb a Girl so Mother hath this double Signification with us Lahat a Flame the Edg of a Sword Kesil a Fool a certain Constellation Aven Iniquity Vanity Nagnal a Shoe a Glove Nouns of three Significations Nachal an Inheritance a Floud or Torrent a Valley Alluph a Teacher a Prince a Bull or Ox. Keren a Horn Strength Splendor Gevah Pride Excellency a Body Nouns of four or more Significations Chebel Corruption Grief a Rope or Cable a Croud or Multitude besides other collateral ones as an Inheritance c. Shebet a Rod a Staff a Scepter a Tribe a Stroke or Plague a Quill a Writing-Pen Charutz cut off industrious Gold pretious a Ditch a Flail a Rake Refer this to Page 343. Line 7. Hebrew Words that have Contrary Significations Nacar to be known to be unknown Kalas in Piel to slight or disesteem in Hithpael to praise or extol Ragang to move and roll up
contain'd and here are those Choice Materials which no other Histories furnish us with But I should be endless if I should enlarge here by particularizing therefore I will not launch out but only commend to the Reader the Learned Endeavours of Strigelius in his Commentaries on the Books of Samuel Kings Chronicles where he will be amply convinc'd of the unparallell'd Diversity Multiplicity and Peculiar Excellency of the Historical Examples in Scripture The Antientest Poetry is in the Old Testament for as Moses was the first Historian so he is the first Poet that is â—xtant A Proof of this we have in that Eucharistick Song which he composed upon his passing the Red Sea and is recorded in Exod. 15. An Admirable Hymn it is and in Hexameter Verse if Iosephus may be Judg in this Matter and if a Christian Father may be credited who had more Hebrew than most of the Writers of the Church in his time yea more than all of them except Origen But whether this be true or no this is without Controversy that there is no Piece of Poetry in the World that hath the Priority of this of Moses for Orpheus who is reckon'd by the Pagans as the First Poet was according to the most favourable Computation of some of their Historians three hundred Years after Moses and Homer was towards six hundred Besides this Divine Hymn there are other Antient ones of the like nature recorded in the same Authentick Writings viz. Deborah's Song Iudg. 5. which hath many Noble Flights of Poetry and that of Hannah the Mother of Samuel 1 Sam. 2. 1 c. which hath Excellent Poetick Raptures And here by the way I will offer this Conjecture that perhaps from Miriam's bearing her part in Moses's Song Exod. 15â— 20 21. and from these other Womens Poetick Inspiration which came to be celebrated among the neighbouring Nations the Poets who as I have largely shew'd elsewhere have frequent References to the Old Testament took occasion to report that Poetry was of Female Extraction and that Calliope one of that Sex was the Author of their Faculty Other famous Instances there are here of this Sacred Art as David's Incomparable Elegy on the Death of Saul and Ionathan 2 Sam. 1. 16 c. that Gratulatory Hymn in the 12th Chapter of Isaiah Hezekiah's Song of Praise in the 38th of the same Prophet Habakkuk's Lofty Description of the Divine Majesty and Greatness in Poetick Numbers chap. 3. the Stile of which is far more sublime and majestick than any of Orpheus or Pindar's Odes I appeal to any Man of Skill and that hath a right Poetick Genius whether this be not true And as there are these single Hymns and Songs so there are Just Poems for of the Books of the Old Testament there are six that are composed and writ in Verse viz. the Books of Iob the Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Canticles Lamentations As to the Nature of the Hebrew Poesy and the Kinds of Verses which are in the Bible the Learned Mersennus and others have given us some Account of them but it is very short and mean and much of it is mere Surmise and therefore I will not trouble the Reader with it A late Writer hath attempted to prove that the Hebrew Verse or Poetry of the Old Testament is in Rhythm which I believe is true in many Places and if the Pronuntiation and Sound were the very same now that they were when these Poetick Books were composed we should observe the Cadence in them more frequently But he goes too far in asserting that all the Hebrew Poesy in Scripture is Rhythmed for they were not so exact at first though the Verses end with the same Sound sometimes yet generally they took a Liberty Upon Examination we may find this to be true and I may have occasion to say something further of it when I come to speak particularly of the Psalms But the other Assertion viz. that the Psalms and other Pieces of Hebrew Poetry are always Rhythmical necessarily infers a great many Faults and Mistakes in the Scripture it supposes several Places to be corrupted and mangled for we do not find all the Poetry of the Bible to be such at this day and consequently subverts the Truth and Authority of the Bible which is by no means to be allowed of All that I will add under this Head is that even among the Gentiles the first and antientest Writers were Poets Strabo undertakes to shew that Poetry was before Prose and that this is but an Imitation of that It can't be denied that the First Philosophers writ in Verse as Orpheus parmenides Empedocles Theognis Phocylides c. and thence as One of the Learnedest Men of our Age observes the Moral Precepts of the Philosophers were call'd of old 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Carmina The Grecian Oracles were delivered in Verse Concerning the Agathyrsi we are told by Aristotle that their Laws were all in Metre Concerning the Old Germans Tacitus relates that their very Records and Annals were in Verse And all this it is probable was in Emulation of the First Sacred Writers the Penmen of the Old Testament in whose Writings there are several things dictated in Measure and some entire Books are altogether Metrical for it was the Design of the Holy Ghost to delight as well as profit With Poetry let us join Musick it being of so near Affinity with it and the First Inventer of this also is to be known only from the Scripture which informs us that Iubal the Son of Lamech the sixth from Adam was the Father of such as handle the Harp and Organ Gen. 4. 21. From whose Name some have thought the Iubilee was called because it was proclaim'd with Musick The poets tell us that Apollo and Mercury were the first Authors of it by whom it is not improbable they meant Moses who first gives an Account of the Original of this Art and might well be represented by Apollo because of his Singular Wisdom and by Mercury because he was the First Interpreter of the Divine Will in his Writings and on other Accounts merited that Name as I have evidenc'd in another Place Perhaps the Story of Pythagoras's finding our Musical Notes from the Strokes of the Hammers upon the Smith's Anvil was suggested from this that the first Musical Instrumeâ—â—â— were made of Iron and Brass the Metals of the Smith and Brasier Or if I should guessâ— it a downright Mistake of Tuâ—al for Iubal Sons of the same Father a Smith for a Musician or that it was suggested from the Musick of their Nameâ— Tuâ—al and Iubal having some affinity in the Sound it would be hard to disprove it But that which is certain is this that as the First Inventers oâ— other things are recorded in Scripture so particularly is he that found out Musick and by the Harp and the Organ all other Musical Inâ—trumentâ— are meant whether Pulsative or Pneumatick And it is not improbable that the
part of it extant before there were any Writers in the World and so it was utterly impossible to borrow from Others This is the Peculiar Excellency of this Book this is the Particular Commendation of these Writings that they were the First of all and could not be taken from any else These Holy Scriptures borrow from none unless you will say they do so from Themselves as the 18th Psalm is taken out of 2 Sam. 22. or this out of that The Evangelists borrow from one another The Virgin Mary's Magnificat refers in several Places of it to Hannab's Song 1 Sam. 2 and St. Paul takes some things out of his Epistle to the Epbesians and puts them into that which he wrote to the Colossians and so st Iude may be said to borrow from St. Peter but this is not the Plagiarism which Other Writers are guilty of and which is an Argument of their Wants and Defects whereas the Holy Spirit supplied the Penmen of the Bible both with Matter and Words In the Old Testament especially and more particularly in the Books of Moses there is nothing at second hand all is fresh and new thâ— things there spoken of were never delivered by any Writer before But most of the Profane Historians began when the Holy History was just ending And Herodotus himself the Father of History writ not till Ezra and Nehemiah's time The Greeâ— Historians go no further back than the Persjan Eâ—piâ—e and most of the Roman History takes not its Rise so high Indeed the Egyptians boasted that they had been ruled by Kings above ten thousand Years as Herodotus relates and thence perhaps it was that one of their Pharaoh's which was the common Name of all their Kings bragg'd that he was the Son of antient Kings Isa. 19. 11. The Chinoises pretend to give an Account of Passages almost three thousand Years before Christ and we are told by Martinius in his Atlas that they preserve a continued History compiled from their Annual Exploits of four thousand and five hundred Years yea they have if we may credit the younger Vossius Writers antienter than Moses But these high Flights are exploded by all Considerate Men and upon a View of whatever Pretences are made by Others they conclude that Moses was the Antientest Writer and that the earliest Discovery of Transactions and Occurrences in the World is to be learnt from him alone Some of the Wisest Pagans had a hint of this and travell'd into the Eastern Countries to acquaint themselves with these Records And it was observ'd long since by Plato as I took notice before that the Oldest and most Barbarous Tongues meaning the Hebrew and Chaldee were very requisite for the finding out the first Beginnings of things for the first Names of them which are now grown obsolete by length of time are preserved in those Languages they being the antientest of all In the Hebrew especially are to be found the Primitive Origines of things and most of the Pagan Historiâ—â—s have borrowed from these And so have their Poâ—ts Orators and Philosophers as a great Number of the Christian Fathers whom I have particularly quoted in another Place to evince the Authority of the Scriptures have largely proved In a word all other Antient Writings refer to these or suppose them this Inspired Volume alone being the Fountain from whence either they or we can derive any Truth and Certainty And as there is the Antientest Learning so there is All Learning I speak now of that which is Humane and is reckon'd the Accomplishment of Rational Persons and all the kinds of it in this Book of Books Here is not only Prose but Verse here are not only Poems but Histories Annals Chronicles Here are things Profound and Mystical and here are others that at the first sight are Intelligible and Clear here are Prophecies Visions Revelations for even in the Narratives which are given of These there are some things serviceable to promote the Study of Humanity here are Proverbs Adagies Emblems Parables Apologues Paradoxes Riddles and here are also Plain Questions and Answers Propositions Discourses Sermons Orations Letters Epistles Colloquies Debates Disputations Here are Maxims of Law and Reason Rules of Iustice and Equity Examples of Keen Wit and Deep Politicks Matters of Church and State Publick and Private Affairs and all manner of Subjects either treated of or referr'd unto Thus the Bible is excellently sitted to entertain any Persons as they are Students and Scholars for here is a Treasury of all Good Letters here are laid up all things that conduce to Humane Knowledg Porphyrius is said to have writ a Book of Homer's Philosophy wherein he attempts to prove that he was as much a Philosopher as a Poet and no less a Person than Maximus Tyrius affirms him to be the Prince of Philosophers and another Grave Author undertakes to shew that the Seeds of all Arts are to be found in Homer's Works This is said by his Admirers to inhanse his Credit and Repute but far greater things and more justly may be pronounced concerning these Famous Records of Learning and Antiquity With more Reason may we maintain that the chiefest Arts and Inventions are originally in the Sacred Volume and that the Foundations of all Humane Learning and Science are laid here for though these are not the chief things designed in this Book it being writ to higher Purposes yet they are occasionally interspersed every where and a Studious Enquirer cannot miss of them It is rationally and undeniably to be inferr'd from the Particulars above-mention'd though many more might have been added that the Bible is the most Compleat Book and hath All Learning in it This truly deserves the Name which Diodore the Sicilian gives his History that is it is indeed a Library an Universal one and contains All Books in it As the Writers of it were Persons of Several Conditions Kings Noblemen Priests Prophets c. so the Matters of it are Various and Different and by reading and studying these Writings we may Commence in all Arts and Sciences we may be accomplish'd Grammarians Criticks Chronologers Historians Poets Orators Disputants Lawyers Statesmen Preachers Prophets Many valuable Monuments of Learning have been lost The famous Library of Alexandria which contain'd six or seven hundred thousand Volumes and that of Constantinople which consisted of an hundred and twenty thousand perished by Fire And the Works of Varro the Learnedsâ— Man of all the Romans are extinct And many others might be reckon'd up besides those that Historians say nothing of But having the Scriâ—ture Hacatub as the Jews rightly call'd it by way of Eminence the most Excellent Writings in the World fraught with all manner of useful Literature we may afford to be without the other for this is a certain Verity that if we have the Bible we want no Book And more particularly I have made it appear that the Choicest Antiquities are to be found here A prying Antiquary may
of the Pentateuch that Excellent Philosopher Law-giver Historian that Captain that Prince that Prophet that Man of God who was the Inspired Writer of the five first Books of the Bible The first of which as I said before is Genesis which begins with the History of the Creation And I call it a History in opposition to the fond Conceit of those Men who read the Beginning of this Book with Cabalistick Spectacles only and think there are nothing but Allegories and Mysteries in the whole Text. But the contrary is very evident to unprejudiced Minds and to such as are not so I have propounded Arguments in another Place viz. when I treated of the Literal and Mystical Sense of Scripture to take off their Prejudces and Mistakes This I did because it is necessary to be firmly perswaded of the Truth and Certainty of what we meet with here in our Entrance into the Bible It is indispensably requisite that we believe Moses to have delivered these things as an Historian and that he speaks real Matter of Fact when he gives us a Narrative of the Beginning of all things and particularly of the Original of Man his Innocency and Happiness and after that his Fall which was the Source of all Sin of the Devil's Tyranny of Death of Hell and of all Evils whatsoever The Knowledg and Belief of This are the Basis of all Religion and that perhaps was the Meaning of Luther's Saying that the First Chapter of Genesis comprehends the whole scripture Wherefore this is with great Wisdom premised in the Entrance of this Sacred Volume To which afterwards are adjoined the Propagation of Mankind the Rise of Religion and of the Church of God the Invention of Arts the General Defection and Corruption of the World the Universal Delâ—ge which drown'd all Mankind but Noah and his Family the Restoration of the World the Certain Distinction of Times before the Flood and partly after it the Confusion of Toâ—gues and thereupon the Division of the Earth among the Sons of Men the Plantation of Families the Original of Nations and Kingdoms as the Assyrian Monâ—â—chy begun in Nimrod or Belus and the Egyptian Dynasty the History of the first Patriarchs not only before but after the General Deluge as of Noab the Preacher of Righteousness of Abraham the Father of the Faithful of Isaac the Seed in which all Nations were to be blessed of Iacob the Father of the twelve Tribes of Ioseph whose Memorable Actions are here fully recorded and with which this First Book of Moses â—nds unless the Book of Genesis may be said to reach as far as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because of that Promise contain'd in it concerning the Seed of the Woman that was to break the Serpent's Head Viz. Christ the Redeemer made of a Woman and sent to subdue the Devil and to destroy Sin and Death But because this First Book begins with the Creation of the World and is therefore by the Rabbins call'd the Book of the Creation I will here annex a brief View of the several Distinct Steps of this Great Work as they are represented to us by this Inspired Writer and Divine Philosopher who acquaints us that there were six Days spent in erecting this glorious Fabrick of the World And this will be a farther Proof of what I said before viz. that in Scripture is the Truest Philosophy When Moses saith In the Beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth Ver. 1. he doth in these Words give us a summary Account of all that he intended to say afterwards in this Chapter for Heaven and Earth comprehend the Whole Creation This first Verse then is to be look'd upon as a General Draught of the Production of all things and the Particulars of it follow in the next Verses where the several Days Works are distinctly set down The Product of the first Day was two-fold viz. the Terraqueous Mass call'd here the Earth and Light There was first of all created a Rude Confused Heap by Profane Writers call'd the Chaos an Indigested Mass of Earth and Water mix'd together out of which God afterwards made all Corporeal things which belong to this lower World For we must not as some imagine that the Celestial Bodies were composed out of the Earthly Chaos that all the Vast Spaces of the Heavenly Mansions owe their Rise to this Mass below and that the very Stars were the Offspring of the Earth No Moses gives us to understand that this Confused Lump was the Original only of the Lower World for the Earth in this first Verse is mention'd as one Part of the new-created World as distinct from Light the other Part of the Creation As Light then of which I shall speak next was the Primordial Matter of the Ethereal Celestial and Shining Bodies so this Gross and Lumpish Heap was that of which all Dark and Heavy Bodies were compounded This Unshapen Mass without Form and void is here by a general Name call'd the Earth though it was not in a strict sense such for the Earth as a distinct Body from all others was the Work of the third Day In this Place therefore by Earth is meant Earth and Water blended together which made one Great Bog or Universal Quagmire This is the plainest and truest Conception we can have of the Primitive State of the World And hence without doubt was derived the Opinion of Thales and some other Antient Philosophers that Water or Slime or Mud for they express it variously was the Source of all Beings whatsoever And certain it is that this Terraqueous Matter was the first Origine of all those material Beings before-mention'd Accordingly Sir W. Raleigh in the Beginning of his History of the World determines that the Substance of the Waters as mix'd in the Body of the Earth is by Moses understood in the word Earth Hitherto according to the Mosaick History Nature is in her Night-clothes the World is overspread with Darkness which is especially said to be on the face of the Deep by which is meant either the whole Disorder'd Mass which was an Abyss or else as is most probable the Watry Part of it for though this and the Earthy Parts were mix'd together yet these latter being lightest were generally uppermost and floted above all and appear'd on the Surface of the Earth Therefore that Learned Knight before mention'd observes that the Earth was not only mix'd but cover'd with the Waters But the Spirit of God as Moses proceeds to tell us maved or hover'd over this Dark Abyss this Mix'd Chaos especially the Waters as 't is particularly said because these were uppermost and hereby the Rude Matter was prepared to receive its several Forms and then the World began to throw off its Dark and Sable Mantle and to appear in a Bright Dress For the other Product of this first Day and which indeed made it Day was Light i. e. some Lucid Body or Bodies which yet cast but a Glimmering Splendor a
proceed now to the other Books of Moses in which I shall be briefer Leviticus hath its Name because it treats chiefly of the Offices of the Levites and the whole Levitical Order It gives us an Account of the Iewish Service and Worship of the particular Employments and Charges of the Ministers of the Jewish Church of their several kinds of Sacrifices and Oblations viz. Burnt-Offerings Meat-Offerings Peace-Offerings Sin-Offerings Trespass-Offerings of the Consecration of Aaron and his Sons to the Priesthood of Laws about Clean and Vnclean things and of Difference of Meats Here they are forbid to eat Blood here they are taught how to discern the Leprosy and how to cleanse it Here are Laws concerning Vows and Things and Persons devoted There are also other Ordinances and Injunctions concerning their Solemn Feasts viz. the Sabbath of the seventh Year the Passover the Feasts of First-Fruits of Pentecost of Trumpets of Expiation of Tabernacles and many the like Usages and Rites which were strictly commanded this People on purpose to keep them from the Idolatrous and Superstitious Ceremonies of the Gentiles that were round about them and would be enticing them to imitate their Practice Besides these Rites were design'd by God to be Types and Representatives of things of a far higher Nature even of Christ himself and the great things which appertain to the Gospel There is likewise a great Number of Iudicial Laws as concerning the Year of Jubilee about the Redemption of Lands and Houses against taking of Usury of the Poor as also concerning Servants and Bondmen Here are Laws touching the Degrees of Affinity and Consanguinity and consequently what Marriages are lawful and what unlawful may thence be inferr'd and several other things belonging to the Iews Civil Law Furthermore here are inserted several Moral Instructions and Excellent Precepts of Natural Religion respecting both God and Men. Lastly towards the Close of all there are Blessings and Curses pronounced the former to such as carefully observe these Laws the latter on those that wilfully break them These aâ—e the Admirable Things contain'd in this Book and which have been the acceptable Entertainment of the Inquisitive and Religious of the Wise and Good in all Ages since they have been extant The Book of Numbers hath its Denomination from the Numbring of the Families of Israel as we may collect from ch 1. v. 3 4. where we read that Moses and Aaron had a special Command from God to Muster the Tribes and to take the Number of all that were fit for War and to Order and Marshal the Army when it was once formed For now in their Passage through the Wilderness they were like to meet with many Enemies and therefore 't was convenient to take an Account of their Forces and to put themselves into a Posture ready to engage A great Part of this Book is Historical relating several Remarkable Passages in the Israelites March through the Wilderness as the Sedition of Aaron and Miriam the Rebellion of Corah and his Companions the Murmurings of the whole Body of the People their being plagued with firy Serpents Baalam's Prophesying of the Happiness of Israel instead of Cursing them the Miraculous Budding of Aaron's Rod. Here also are distinctly related their Several Removings from Place to Place their two and forty Stages or Iourneys through the Wilderness and sundry other things which befel them whereby we are instructed and confirmed in some of the weightiest Truths that have immediate Reference to God and his Providence in the World But the greatest Part of the Book is spent in enumerating those Laws and Ordinances whether Ceremonial or Civil which were given by God and were not mention'd before in the preceding Books as some Particulars of the Levites Office and the Number of them the Trial of Iealousy the Rites to be observ'd by the Nazarites the Renewing of the Passover the making of Fringes on the Borders of their Garments the Water of Separation to be used in purifying the Unclean the Law of Inheritance of Vows of the Cities of Refuge of the Cities for the Levites and some other Constitutions either not inserted into the other Books of Moses or not so distinctly and plainly set down Thus this Book both in respect of the Historical Part of it and of the Addition of Laws not spoken of in the foregoing Books hath its peculiar Use and Excellency Deuteronomy which signifies a Second Law is a Repetition of the Laws before delivered It is the Canonick Mishnah or New Rehearsal of the Divine Law Which was necessary because they that heard it before died in the Wilderness and there being now sprung up another Generation of Men the Law was to be promulged to them The major Part of the People that were living at that time had not heard the Decalogue or any other of the Laws openly proclaimed or being young they had neglected or forgot them That is the Reason why Moses in this Book rehearseth them to this new People and withal adds an Explication of them in many Places yea and adjoins some New Laws viz. the taking down of Malefactors from the Tree in the Evening making of Battlements on the Roofs of their Houses the Expiation of an unknown Murder the Punishment to be inflicted on a Rebellious Son the Distinction of the Sexes by Apparel Marrying the Brother's Wife after his Decease also Orders and Injunctions concerning Divorce concerning Man-stealers concerning Vnjust Weights and Measures concerning the Marrying of a captive Woman concerning the Servant that deserts his Master's Service and several other Laws not only Ecclesiastical and Civil but Military There are likewise inserted some New Actions and Passages which happened in the last Year of their Travels in the Wilderness Moreover Moses in this Part of the Pentateuch shews himself a True Father Pastor and Guide to that People a Hearty Lover of them and their Welfare in such manifest Instances as these his often Inculcating upon them the many Obligations which they lay under from God the Innumerable Favours they had received from him his frequent and pathetick Exhortations to Obedience and living answerably to the singular Mercies which were conferr'd upon them his constant Reminding them of their former Miscarriages their Murmurings and Rebellions against Heaven and all their Unworthy Deportment towards their Matchless Benefactor his compassionate Forewarning them of the Judgments of God of the Various Plagues and Punishments which would certainly be the Consequence of their persisting in their Sins Lastly his Affectionate Encouraging them to Obedience from the Consideration of the endearing Promises which God had made to them and which he would assuredly make good if they did not frustrate his Designs of Mercy towards them by their own wilful Obstinacy These are the Excellent Subjects of this Divine Book and which render it so unvaluable a Treasury Hitherto of the Pentateuch or Five Books of Moses And that he was the Penman of them I think need not be question'd though
notice of the Seventy's Translation of the Words At other times in their Quotations they conâ—ine themselves to neither but use a Latitude The Greek Version is to be read with Candour and Caution And must always give way to the Hebrew Original The chief Latin Translations of the Bible especially the Vulgar examined Modern Latin Translations and lastly our own English one consider'd AGain there are some that detract from 〈◊〉 Excellency and Perfection of the Holy Wâ—â—tings because they observe a great Difference between the Hebrew Text of the Old Testament and the several Versions of it And so as to the New Testament they see the Original Greek and some of the Translations disagree but more especially the Disagreement is seen betâ—een the Hebrew of the Old Testament and the Greek Translation of it made by the Seventy Elders This is improved into a kind of Argument thus If those Versions of the Bible disagree with the Text then either the Text it self or the Versions are erroneous and fâ—ulty But it is probable and it is asserted by some Learned Criticks that the Errors and Mistakes are in the former i. e. in plain Terms that we have not now the Original or True Copiâ—s of the Bible and consequently that the Bible it self is very Defective and Imperfect To take off this seeming Argument it is necessary that we enquire into and give some brief Account of the Tranâ—â—â—â—tions of the Bible but especially that we fix where the Grand Objection lies viz. concerning the Discrâ—pancy between the Hebrew Text and that of the LXX which seems to give the greatest Shock of all to the Assertion which I have been maintaining Those Translations which are in the Eastern Languages are these that follow First the Perâ—ick But the Antient Version is loâ—t And as for what is now extant it is seldom made uâ—e of by the Learned The Coptick so call'd from Copt or Cophtus the Name of a great City in Egypt the Metropolis of Thebais the Language of that Place being the Antient Dialect of the Egyptiâ—ns and the Ethiopick are of great Antiquity and were made and used by the Christians of Egypt and Ethiopia The former as those acquaint us who have insight into that Tongue hath a great Affinity with the Hebrew Text And the latter is wholly taken out of the former and is a meer Translation of it The Samaritan Pentateuâ—h was for the Use of the Samaritan Iews who used that Dialect and acknowledg'd only the Books of Moses It is antient and of good Account though not void of Errors and Corruptions as Archbishop Vsher and Hottinger have observed and particularly enumerated the Faults But yet if we will shew our selves Candid we cannot but grant that where it varies from the Hebrew it is generally by way of Illustration or Paraphrase The Syriaâ— Version is of good Repute and very conformable to the Hâ—brew in most Places notwithstanding what the Learned Vossius hath enviously suggested The Arabick follows the Seventy and its Faults and is not so antient as the Syriack nor so exact but is of good Use and may serve to corroborate the Authority of the Hebrew Text. Concerning all these Eastern Translations except the Syriack it may be observ'd that though they are generally taken out of the Greek Version of the Seventy for that only was the Authentick Scripture with the Churches of the East and though they were made and writ at several times yet they do very much agree with the Hebrew which we have at this Day And whenever in any Place they vary from it it is generally in some little things wherein there is no prejudice to Truth or the Variation is only as to the Paraphrastical Part where we cannot expect an exact Rendring of the Original and with any considerate and unbiassed Man this will not pass for any Proof of the Corruption of the Original But of all the Translations which are in the Oriental Tongues the Chaldee is of the greatest Esteem and Reputation among the Learned This is called the Targum from the root Targam interpretari so that the Targum is the Intâ—rpreting or Translating the Bible into another Tongue and because there was among the Jews of old no Translation but the Chaldaick that was by way of eminency call'd Targum The Occasion of this Version was the Change of the Tongue among the Jews They in the Time of the Captivity in Babylon which lasted 70 Years corrupted the Hebrew Tongue that is they mixed Hebrew their own Tongue and Chaldee the Language of that Place where they were together Yea tho the Scribes and Learned Men had not forgot the Hebrew yet the common People had and being â—sed wholly to the Speech of that Countrey they understood only Chaldee Wherefore that they might have the Bible in a Language which they understood several Chaldean Targums were made on the Books of the Bible indeed on all but Daniel and Ezra which were half Chaldee before and the Paralipomend which were explain'd in the Books of the Kings These Targuâ—â—im were made by different Authors and at diverse Times First there was that of R. Ionathan which was a Traâ—slation or Paraphrase rather on the Prophets and the Historical Books He is said to be R. Hillel's Disciple and to have lived a little before our Saviour's Nativity Secondly there was that of Onkelosâ— which was only on the Pentateuch This Author lived soon after Christ's Time Though I know a very Confident Writer tells us that there is reason to doubt whether Onkelos and Ionathan were the Authors of those two Chaldee Paraphrases and he positively avoweth that the Time when they were made cannot be known Moreover it is asserted by another of as great Confidence and Learning that neither the Paraphrases of Onkelos nor Ionathan are a thousand Years old and particularly that that of Onkelos is not so much as mentioned by any Jew or Christian who was not after St. Ierom some Ages The same was said before by as Positive a Man but was never proved and therefore we have no reason to attend to it much less to believe it especially since we know the Design of the Man which was to beat down the Credit and Value of all Translations of the Bible but the Latin one It appears from sufficient Authors that these two Chaldee Paraphrases are some of the antientest of the Jewish Writings on the Bible and it appears from these Targums themselves that they agree with the Hebrew Text which is extant at this Day Thirdly there was the Ierusalem Targum call'd so either from the peculiar Dialect of it or from its being first published in that place This was upon the Pentateuch only and was written as is generally thought by R. Iochanan after the Destruction of Ierusalem To these 3 Chaldee Paraphrases which were of Greatest Authority among the Jews and were read in their Synagogues are wont to be added two others viz. the Targum of
understand them aright I propound these ensuing Rules and Directions First It is requisite that we furnish our selves with other Learning to make our selves capable of understanding the Bible All Arts require a Master and Teacher even the lowest and mechanical All Trades and Sciences are to be learn'd none presumes to meddle with them till they have been instructed in them And yet we may observe that all degrees of Persons pretend to interpret the Scriptures though they were never instructed never prepared as St. Ierom complain'd of old A great many imagine that the Weakest Brains can comprehend the Contents of this Book and without all other knowledg attain to the meaning of them But this is a gross Mistake and is one cause of Mens wresting and corrupting the Scriptures They are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Pet. 3. 16. unlearned and unwilling to be taught for so the Word imports they neglect the means of Knowledg they use not the proper Helps conducing to it Or whatever they were in St. Peter's Time we are sure that now a competent Measure of Humane Learning is required to understand these Writings For though they surpass all Humane Wisdom yet it is as true that they have strictures of all Arts and Sciences in them and are written in the Learned Languages and as I have shew'd formerly contain in them all sorts of Words Phrases and Idioms Wherefore there is a Necessity of the Arts and Tongues for understanding this Book In the Writings of Moses and the Prophets of the Apostles and Evangelists there are the Rites Customs Manners Opinions Sayings Proverbs of almost all Nations in the World especially of the Antient Hebrews Wherefore a Knowledg of their Writings and Antient Monuments a Converse with History and Antiquities are absolutely requisite especially for explaining the difficult Places And to have a true Notion of several Passages in the Epistles of the Apostles Ecclesiastical History in needful which gives us nitice of the Hereticks of that time or of those concerning whom the Apostles prophetically speak The Writings of the Fathers are to be consulted and that with great application of Mind that we may not mistake the Interpretations which those Learned and Pious Men give of the respective Places of Scripture that we may be ediâ—ied by their Religious Comments but not imbibe any of their Errors This which I now say principally concerns the Guides and Ministers of the Church who are supposed to be Men of Learning and Scholarship and truly a great Part of the Bible is more especially fitted for such It is their province to expound and teach this Holy Book which is it self a Library and is of that Nature that it cannot be rightly understood and explain'd without acquaintance with the Antient Writers of the Church without skill in the Tongues Rhetdrick Logick Philosophy History Criticism for as it is furnish'd with all Literature so it requires all to unfold it aright As for the Apostles tho some of them had no knowledg in Arts and Sciences yet that Defect was abundantly recompensed by the extraordinary Gifts and Endowments of the Holy Ghost So most of the Primitive Christians in the Apostles Days who were not Hebrews understood the Language in which the Old Testament was written by their Gift of Tongues And as for the Greek of the New Testament it was universally known and so was in a manner the native Tongue both to the Jews and others of that time But Men are not now instructed in Strange Languages by the Spirit nor are they born with Hebrew or Greek neither are they Inspired with Arts and Humane Knowledg and consequently Study and Reading and Long Exercise are indispensably requisite Clement of Alexandria would have his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. his Perfect and Compleat Theologuâ— be skill'd in Humane Literature and Philosophy Inshort to be a Consummate Divine and thorowly knowing in the Bible it is necessary that he be a Man of Universal Learning Secondly that we may read and understand the Scriptures it is requisite that we be exceeding Attentive Observing Considerate that we be very Inquisitive Thoughtful and Diligent This Rule may be explain'd in several Particulars 1. We must use great Thoughtfulness Diligence and Care in penetrating into the Design and Sense of those Inspired Writings St. Chrysostom delivers the Rule thus we must not only examine the meer naked Words and insist upon them simply and absolutely consider'd but we must chiefly attend to the Mind and Intent of the Writer Sometimes instead of an Absolute meaning of the Words in Scripture they are to be taken Comparatively or with Limitation they must be restrain'd to the Matter in Hand As to Instance No Man can say that Iesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost 1. Cor. 12. 3. i. e. no Man can say so from his Heart There is that Reserve implied Where I am ye eannot come John 7. 34. i. e. ye can't come yet but afterwards you shall All that came before me are Thieves and Robbers John 1 o. 8. i. e. all False Prophets for he means them are such It is reported that there is such Fornication among you as is not so much as named among the Gentiles that one should have his Father's Wife 1 Cor. 5. 1. This sort of Fornication was not only named but practis'd among the Gentiles for there are several Examples in Pagan Story of marrying the Father's Wife therefore here must be meant the more Sober Sort of Gentiles And so in many other Places things which seem to be absolutely spoken are to be understood in a restrained Sense 2. It is necessary that we be very thoughtful and inquisitive about the Context the Dependance the Connection of those Places which we search into We are to be exceeding mindful what the Words refer to what Coherence they have with what went before and what follows To Know the true Sense of them we must carefully observe the Subject-matter for this is certain that Propositions are true or not true according to this You will meet with several Instances of this in my former Discourses on the Holy Scriptures and therefore I will forbear to mention any here Only I offer this at present as a General Rule for guiding us to the true and genuine meaning of Scripture 3. This Attentiveness and Care must be exercis'd in Comparing one Place with another or with divers others if there be occasion For as an Intelligent Person rightly suggests all Truth being consonant to it self and all being penn'd by one and the self-same Spirit it cannot be but that an industrious and judicious Comparing of Place with Place must be a singular help for the right understanding of the Scriptures This One Rule if well and duly observ'd will carry us through most of the Difficulties of the Bible For this we may depend upon that the Scripture is its own Interpreter that the best Comment on this Book is it self Wherefore let