YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY A COLLECTION O F Belonging to the Old and New Teftament. Tranflated into English. By William Vhiston, M. A. Sometime Profeffor of^hg M^aphematicks in the Univerfity 'h$(g&imvridge. 3fa tijat Bap Ifiall tije jfcftj Jcar*tl^: Mo?83 of Hie ISoofe. anti tfjc dDpes of t^e mlwB^^eiii^: of SDbtturitTg, ana oat of HDarfenefs : tyMfeefe alfo Qi'aU tncreafe tljtir jo?, anO tfjs |3oo? among #ei?,r6aH rE#tre in tlje J^ol? £E>ne of Jfrad *, fo? tije ^ErriWe €?rffc is brought to nought ; ana tije 5$co?ner is f onfutneO ; ana all tfcat OTard) for iniquitg are rut off, If- xxix. 18, ij>, 20. L 0 N D 0 N: Printed for the -Author : and are to be Sold by the' Bookfellers of London and Wepnh:pr\ ' A. D. MDCC XXVII. (iii) THE CONTENTS. I. \ Differtation on the Book of Baruch : _£"\_ to prove that it is a Canonical Book of the Old Teftament. pag. i II. The Epifile of Baruch to the nine Tribes and an half, with its Poflfcript. i j III. Obfervations to prove them genuine. 25 IV. The Septuagint T^erfion of the Defcrip- tion of EzekielV Temple, according to the Alexandrian Copy. 28 Y- A large Differtation on the IV th Book of Efdras, to prove it genuine. 45 VI. A particular Explication of the XI and XII Chapters. ye VII. XVIII Pfalms of Solomon II. n7 VIII. A Differtation to prove them genuine. 157 IX. The Hid Book of. the Maccabees. 162 X. Some 'Account of the IV th Book, now loft. 206 XI. The Epiftle of the Jews of Jerufalem, to the Jews of Egypt, 2 Mace. i. and ii. 1 18. 209 XII. A Differtation to prove it genuine. 220 A 2 XIII. The ( iv) XIII. The true Origin of the ancient Sett of the Magians in Perfia, from the X Tribes in Captivity there. pag. 235 XIV. That Zerdufht their Legiftator did not live in the Dap of Darius Hyftaipis, but of Artaxerxes Mnemon. 2^9 XV. That the Religion of Zerdufht was that of the Jews, without Circumcifion^ as it was in the Dajtof Abraham. 247 XVI. That the Occafion of his Inftitution of Covered Fire Temples, was the Miracle which is related in the fore-mentioned Epi- ftle of the Jews of Jerufalem, to the Jews of Egypt. 253 XVII. Extracts out of the Book of Enoch. 260 XVIII. A Differtation to prove it genuine. 270 XIX. The Teftaments of the XII Patriarchs. 294 XX. A Differtation to prove them genuine. 410 XXI. Fragments of Apocryphal Books of the Old Tejlament now loft ; with Notes upon them. 444 no- CO PROPOSITION. THE Book of Baruch, the Scribe of the Prophet Jeremiah, with the Epiftle of Jeremiah himfelf, thereto annexed, were written in Hebrew •, and are authentick and genuine Records ; and were part of the He brew, as well as of the Hellenift Gwow of the Old Tejfamevt, till the third or fourth Centuries of Chri stianity. The Reaforis of this Propofition are thefe : (i.) This Book evidently appears to have been written originally in Hebrew, by the numerous oriental Ways of Speaking, or Hebraifms which . occur in it : and which, I believe, never occur iti fuch a Manner, and in .fuch a Number in any Book, written originally in Greek. This is, in efFedt, confefi'd by Qrotius, (who yet fuppofes it at firft written in Greek, notwithftanding ;) by the feveral Examples himfelf produces of the He braifms therein contain'd, in his Notes iipon it. See thofe Notes on Chap. I. i. 6. 20. II. 21, 22. 27,_ 28. III. 23. 32, 33. IV. 22. V. 2. VI. 6. which internal Character is too ftrong to be op- pos'd by the mere GuefTes and Imaginations of Grotius} or of any of the Moderns ; while they appear intirely deftitute of any real Evidence for fuch their GuefTes and Imaginations. (2.) The Publick Records of the Jerufalem Jews, in the Days of Jonathan the HighPrieft, or in the 144th Year before the Chriftian vEra,mention'd in B the CO the beginning of the fecond Book of Maccabees, (which will themfelves hereafter be proved to be genuine-,) ftrongly confirm the G'enufnenefs of this Book of Baruch. For thofe Jews 'do there alfure us, that, It was found in thofe Records, that i Mm. ii. Jererfiy the Prophet gave the Babylonian Captives i, ^. the Law [of Mofes j and charged them thatfiould - come afterwards not to forget the Commandments of the Lord. And with other fuch Speeches exhort- v> 3- ed he them, that the Law flmdd not depart from their Hearts. Which feems plainly to be no o- ther than that folemn Exhortation which we meet with in Baruch iii. 9. — iv. 7 which we fhall fbon fee was of old cited as Jeremiah's own. They alfo allure us, that the fame Prophet charged them, that V. 2. they fliould not err in their Minds, when they faw Images of Silver and Gold, with their Ornaments. Which feems plainly to be no other than the vi. of _Baruch , or the Epfte of Jeremiah to the Jews going into Babylonia : it being directly and in- tirely on that very Subject 5 and directly quoted by the Ancients, as belonging to Jeremiah : as we fhall fee prefently. I fay nothing here of the Reference fome Things in the Prophet Efdras, have to the like PafTages in our Baruch, though of no fmall Authority j becaufe it is not evident whether the Reference be not made vice verfa. (3.} That this Book of Baruch was, in the firffc Century, extant in Hebrew, appears by Jofephus's own Account of Baruch himfelf, in thefe Words : Baruch, the Son of Neri, was of a very eminent Antitj.X. Family ; and was in an extraordinary Degree leam- ?'- ed in the Language of his Country* Which two Characters feem to me to imply, that Jofephis read that Genealogy of Baruch, which is ftill at the beginning of this Book : and that this Book of Baruch which he read, was written in the Lan- £uag' inform us. Which Fact highly deferves to be confidered by the Learned. It is alfo farther worth their Enquiry, How the Hebrew Copy of this Book,, qr at leaft of this its laft Chapter, which was publickly allow'd to be extant in He- brew, among the Jews, and that as Canonical Scripture, in the Days, of Origen, came to be difallow'd and intirely loft among them, as they &ier™; pretended, in the Days of Jerom ? And whether J/^n thofe Jews that loft this Part of facred Writ, fer might not lofe certain other Parts of it alfo, a- bout the fame Ages ? (8.) Iren&us, who might be born within ten Years of the Death of St. John, betides another obfcurer Reference thereto, exprefly quotes a large Iv> 37. Branch of this Book of Baruch ; and that as a v. - ' Prophecy of Jeremiah himfelf, whofe Scribe Baruch was. Nor does he feem to have the lefs Opinion of it, becaufe it belonged immediately to the Book of Baruch, and not to the Book of Jere miah. (9.) Tertullian, who lived nearly all the latter Scorp.S. 3. half of the fecond, and the firft Quarter of the fhird Century •, has not only an Allufion or two to the other Parts of this Book, but diftin&ly cites the Epiftle of Jeremiah, or the VI Chapter of Baruch, as written by Jeremiah himfelf; and Reafons from it, as no lefs certainly belonging B 3 *Q CO £o him, than he reafons from other Texts con^ rained in the Book of Jeremiah it felf. Edit.Huet. (10.) Origen alfo, not long after, in a Greek Bom. VII. Homily on Jeremiah, cites a 3?afTage out of that ^' 94- Part of Baruch which contains Jeremiah's Exhor tation to the Jews in Babylon : and that with the ufual Phrafe, when the Scripture is quoted ; it is written. 'AAv.JuL (ir.) Cyprian alfo, not long afterwards, cites II. 1 6. the fame Part of Baruch that Origen does, and the fame Words in it that the Conftitutions _o •, and thofe as JeremiaFs own Words ; which I fup- pofe them really to be.: and this among many other Teftimonies of 'Holy Scripture. He alfo cites the VI Chapter, or the Epiftle of Jeremiah; and that as Jere?niaFs own. I fhall not need to enumerate the latter Cita tions out of Baruch ; fince I believe no learned Man doubts, but this Book was univerfally al low'd to be a fac'red Book of the Old Teftament, by all Chriftians, from the Days of Cyprian, till the Proteftant Reformation itfe}f. Nor do I fee any Reafpn to doubt but it was one of thofe fa- cred Books which the 70 Egyptian or Alexandrian learned Men tranflated out of Hebrew into Greek ; fome Years before the 72 Jerufalem learned Men tranflated the Pentateuch. None of which, I think, ought rafhly to be rejedted, either by Jews or Chriftians. See the Appendix to my Literal Ac- cemplijhment of Scripture Prophejies, pag. 151. As to that Objection which may be made a- gainft this Book, from the ufual Hypothefis, that both Jeremiah, and his Scribe Baruch, died a- mong their Brethren of the two Tribes, who had Jcr. xliii. carried them along with them down into Egypt, xliv- in the 23d Year of Nebuchadnezzar -, and- that neither they, nor the>Body of the Remainder of " " the (7) the two Tribes with them, who were then in Egypt, ever returned thence, or ever faw Babylon ; which Baruch always fuppofes : I muft confefs it is but too well founded on the prefent Copies of the Prophecy of Jeremiah, chap. xliv. But then, if we confult the ancienter and better Copies made ufe of by Jefephus, we fhall find all this utterly Avtiq&L falfe and groundlefs^ and that, on the contrary, n- not only Jeremiah and Baruch might, but the Body of thofe Jews that were in Egypt actually did return out of Egypt, and were directly car ried from Egypt into Babylonia, by Nebuchadnezzar himfelf: according to that Prophecy, as it flood in the Hebrew Copies of the firft Century. And that we may not fufpedt Jofephus of giving us a falfe Account here, we have a Branch of a Pro phecy, moft probably belonging to this very Au thor Jeremiah -, and to this very Fact of the Jews Return from Egypt, which ftrongly confirms' Jo- fephus's Account ": I mean, that in 4 Efd. xv. 10, 11. in thefe Words ; Behold, my People is led as a Sheep to the Slaughter. I will not now f'ujfer him to dwell longer in the Land of Egypt ; but will firing him forth, with a mighty Hand^ and' with a fir etched out Arm. But if any ftill wonder, what it fhould be that fo offended the latter Jews in this Book of Baruch, and tempted them lay it affde, foon after Chri- ftianity prevailed in the World -, although before that time they had ever looked on it as facred and canonical : I fhall venture to conjecture, that it was that eminent Paflage, which was quoted feveral times by the Apoftles and primitive Wri ters againft them-, This is our God, and there Bw. ii. Jhall none other be accounted of in comparijion of 35-3 7. him : — Afterward did he ftjew himfelf upon Earth, and converfed with Men. This Claufe too much B 4 favoured 46. ( 8) favoured the Divinity and Incarnation of the Mef- fiah, to be born by the Jewifh Rabbins, who had then determined againft that Divinity and In carnation; and had refolv'd that the Mefiiah was to be no more than a mere Man, as we learn Matt. from their Anfwer to a Queftion of our Saviour's, XX1I41— herer0 relating : and from the whole Purport of Trypho's Dialogue with Juftin Martyr, on the fame Subjeft. See a like Inftance of a falfe Para- phrafe or Corruption of theirs in the Targum of. Jonathan, on the very fame Occafion, in iny Supplement to the Literal Accomplifiment of Scrip ture Propbejies, pag. 55. N. B. Tis but too vifible, that our prefent Copies of this Book of Baruch, like thofe of fome others, called by us both Canonical and Apo cryphal, are very imperfect, nay, both diflocated and interpolated; and that we greatly want fome more uncorrupt Copies of the fame : espe cially, fince Jofephus does not give us any parti cular Account of the Contents of Barucb from his better Copies, at he does of feveral other Books of the OJd Teftament. However, the Order of this Book feems originally to have lain nearly as in the following Table. Chap. I. I 4. Is the Preface, v. 5 14. v. 15 — 22. II. 1 — 3?. III. 1 — 8. Is the Confeffion which the Jews were to ufe in their publick Worfhip, upon folemn Days, dur ing their Captivity : whofe proper Place is next to the Preface ; but it is here defe'rr'dtill another Occafion of introducing it. III. 9— —37. IV. 1 7. Is a famous and af fecting Exhortation of Jeremiah to the Jews in Babylon ; when he brought the Book of the Law, and folemnly delivered it to them, in -(9 ) in their Captivity -, and is vtientioaeijkMacc. ii. 2, 3. both beginning and endingSorupt- !y in our prefent Copies* IV 8 35. Is a Prophecy of the Jews Reftitu- tion by Cyrus; but in a Stile very different from that of the reft of the Book, which be longed to Jeremiah ; and fo probably be longing to Baruch himfelf. ?Tis liker the Stile of the 4 Efdras, oy of the Syriack'ETpi- ftle of Baruch. IV. 36, 37. V. 1 — 9. Is a Prophecy of the final Reftoration of the Jews : and is cited as a Prophecy of Jeremy's, by %ren&us 5 though it is of the fame Coherence and Stile with what went before. VI. Is a known Epiftle of Jeremy to the Captives in Babylon, to difluade them from the Idola try of the Babylonians. It is cited as bis^ ; 2 Mace. ii. 3. Short Notes upon this Book of BARUCH. L I. The Words of the Booh] Of the Roll ; con taining that ConfefEon Which now ftands from I. 15. to HI. 8. In Babylon."] From the Mouth ;of Jeremy the Prophet 5 whofe Amanuenfis he was. 2. In the ffth Tear.] Of Jeboiachin's Captivity, v.ff-tn the fifth Month. What time.] Which Month and Day,, feveral Years afterwards, 2 Kings xxv. 8. 7. Joachim the High-Prieft.] The Son or Bro ther of Sareas, the Son of Cbelcias, &c. vid. 7°f«ph. 8. Had, made.] Inftead of the golden Veuels which were gone already to Babylon. Io. Manna.'] Mincha, a Meat-offering. II. Baltbafar ( 19) IL Balthafar his Son.] Who was now alive ; but died before his Father Nebuchadnezzar ; and in Imitation of wbofe Name Nabona- dius, the Grandfon might be called Bait a* Jar ; or, as we now pronounce it, Belftwx.- zar. 14. To make Confefjion—upen Feafts and folemn Days.] See Conftitut. V. 20. II. 3. Own Daughter.] In the Siege under Jehoiar kirn, or Jehoiachin, or both. 24.] Jer. viii." I, 2. 26. Haft thou laid wafte.] Rendered deftitute of its holy Veflels. But the Claufe itfelf is wanting in the Septuagint. 27. Mercy of thine.] In warning us before- hand. 30 — 34.] A Repetition of old Prophefies; 35. And] At laft. III. 4. The Prayers of the dead Ifraelites.^ Of thofe Ifraelites who were then alive, but are fince dead. See II. 17. 16.] Nebuchadnezzar, lately dead. 3$, 36,37.] Conftitut. V. 20. IV. 4.] Conftitut. VI. 23. ie. Everlafting.] This Epithet, here fo frequent ly afcribed to God, is peculiar to the re maining Part of this Book. 14. Sion^] 4 Efd. ii. 40, 41. VI. 3. Generations^] Decads of Years : which way of fpeaking is, I fuppofe, unexampled elfe- where- N. B. We may here juftly obferve the feveral uncommon Means Providence made ufe of under the Babylonian Captivity, to preferve the two Tribes from relapfing there into their old Idola try, as they had ever done till that time, on all Occafions j viz. by foretelling the exaft Dura- 1. tion, (II) tion of it, 70 Years ; by their ufe of a Form of Prayer, and of Confeffion of their former Idola-' tries during this Captivity, efpecially on the fo- lemn Fafts, which were then appointed ; by Je remiah's folemn Delivery of the Law of Mofes, which was fo full againft all Idolatry, to the Captives -, with his moving Exhortation to them upon that Delivery -, by the fame Prophet's Epi ftle to them in Captivity, fent them by divine PireSdon, to expofe' and caution them againft the Babylonian Idols ; and by Baruch's Colle&ion of thofe Prayers, Confeffion, JExhortation, Epi ftle, and Additions of his own, to the fame Pur- pofe. All which together had the Effect that g -. xiVa God forefaw and foretold •, and proved a moft a2> jj. - effedtually Cure to thofe Tribes for ever. They having in general been more zealous againft no thing ever fince, than againft all Kinds of Ido latry whatfoever. THE ( 1? ) *FlRSTi Syr. THE ^SECOND EPISTLE BARUCH the Scribe, [TO THE Nine Tribes and an Half.] \JVriften from Jwdea.,foon after the Deftruttion of Jerufalem.] 0 W thefe are the Words, which Preface. Baruch the Scribe, the Son of Ne- riah, fent to the nine Tribes and <&!*• xi»-' an half which were beyond the Ri~ 4° ' ver Euphrates : and thefe things were written therein. i Thus faith Baruch, the Son of Neriahy Mercy and Peace be to our Brethren that are in Captivity. 2 I am mindful, my Brethren, of the Love of him that created us, wherewith He loved us formerly : nor hath he ever hated usr although he hath chaftifed us : $ And l am very fenfible, that, Io, alt tveof the twelye Tribes are joined together in (*4> in a common Bond ; as being the Pofterity of one and the fame Father : 4 I am therefore the more concerned to leave you the Words of this Epiftle, before I die. £ That yoii, may both receive Confolati- on under the Afflictions which have befallen you j and may alfo grieve for the Miferies which have happened to your Brethren ; an<^ iMy withal juftify his Judgment, wlio hath pafTed the Sentence of Captivity upon us. 6 (For what you have fufferecl is lefs than what you have done :) 7 That in the laft Days you may be found worthy of your Fore-fathers. 8 I mean, if you will confider this, that you fufler thus now, for your own Good ; left you fhould be judged at laft, and de voted to Punifhment : then you will re ceive eternal Hope.) f 9 Efpecially if you take away out of your IJead that vain' Error, for whofe fake ye have been removed hence. io For if ye do tn'efe things, he will be mindful of you, wiio in every Age, on our Account, hath promifed thofe that were better than we are, that he would not forr get us for ever, nor forfake us : but of his manifold Mercy would, at length, gather thofe together who have been difperied. ii You i i You are therefore firft of all to know^ what hath befallen Sion .• namely, that Ne buchadnezzar, King of Babylon, came up a- gainft us. 12 For, becaufe we have finned againft him that made us, and we have not kept the Precepts which he commanded us, that has alfo happened to us, which hath befal len you : and our own Misfortune does moffc of all affli£t us. i? I do now let. you know^ my Bre thren, that when our Enemies befieged the City, the Angels of the moft High were fent, and they deftroyed the Forts of our ftrongeft Walls^ and over-turned thofe iron Angles of our Fortifications, which could not [ptherwife] have been plucked up. 14 However, they have hidden fome of ?.-&&». the VefTels of the Sanctuary, that they might 1U *• 4' not be taken by the Enemies. 1 <; And when they had done thefe things, they then delivered up to the Enemies the Walls, now overthrown ; the Houfe [of God] now fpoiled, the Temple now burnt, and the People now overcome, when they were delivered up. 16 Left the Enemies lhould boaft, and lay,- the Excellency of our Strength is fuch, that we have by War deftroyed even the Houfe of the moft High. 17 Moreover, they have carried your Brethren away Captives to Babylon ; and placed ( *o placed theni there : fo that we are very few . in Number who remain here. 1 8 This is the Grief which I write to you.^ For I very well know, that our Habitation in Sion was a great comfort to you. 19 The greater Certainty ye had that fhe was happy, the greater was your Grief that you had departed from her. 20 But hear a Word, that will be to your Confolation. 2 1 For truly, while I was lamenting Siont and was begging Mercy of the moft Highl and faying, Baruch \, 2 2 jjow jong wjh tiiefe thjngs at laff en- H' u ' . dure ? and how Toon will the Evil be over ? [when will the Good come] which the Almigh ty has done to us, [prepared for us] accord ing to his Mercy j and the moft High, ac cording to the Greatnefs of his Clemency ? ;y. 8— 2 \ He revealed a Word to me, that I 9' might be comforted ; and he fhewed me Virions, that I might not grieve any longer. He made known to me the Myftery of the times, and fhewed me the Coming of thofe moments. 24 For this caufe, my Brethren, I write unto you ; that you may receive Comfort in the Multitude of your Grief- 2 5 Know ye therefore, that our Creator will avenge us of all our Enemies, [and do to them] in the very fame Manner as they have done to us. 26 And v. ( 17 ) 2. And that the end [of the Age] which iv. 22. the moij High will bring on is very nigh ; 24" z6' and his Mercies are [ready] to come ; and that the Period for his Judgment is not far off. 27 Behold; we fee now the Multitude 6f the Profperity of the Gentiles ; although they aft impioufly : but they are like to a Vapour. 28 We behold the Grandeur of their Go vernment ; altho' they a£t perverfly : but they fhall be like unto a Drop. '291 We alfo view the Firmnefs of their Strength ; although they every moment re- fift the Almighty : but they {hall be counted as Spittle. 30 We contemplate the Glory of their Greatnefs ; while they do not keep the Pre cepts of the moft High : but they fhall [va- nifh] away like Smoke: 31 We conceive in our Mind the Splen dor of their Life ; although they behave themfelves bafely : but they fhall wither a- way, like a dried Herb. 3 2 We confider the Barbaroufnefs of their Cruelty ; while they do not at all remem ber their End : but they fhall pafs away, and be broken to Pieces, like a Wave. 33 We refleft in our. Mind upon the Beauty of their Power ; although they de ny the Grace of him that gives it : but they fhall pafs away, as' a Cloud that flieth by. C 34 For ( i8> 34 For [indeed] the nioft High will haften' his [laft] Times very quickly ; and will fud- dently bring on his Moments ; and fully judge thofe who are in his World. 3 5 He will examine all things in Truth, thro' all their hidden Actions ; and will nar rowly fearch out their concealed Thoughts ; 36 And whatfoever is hid in every one of the Members of all Men : and he will bring it out into the open [Day-light^] before all Men-, with Reproof. 3 7 Wherefore do not ye apply your Mind to any one of thefe prefent good Things ; but let us rather exercife Patience : becaufe what hath been promifed us will come. 3 8 Let us not look only upon the Plea- fures of the Gentiles ; but let us be mind ful of thofe Things which- are promifed u_ in the end, 39 For the Periods of the times,' and moments will foon pafs away, together with all the things that are contained in them. 40 But in the end of the World [Age,]. then will he, the Governor thereof, fhew his great Power, when all things fhall come to Judgment. 41 Da you therefore prepare your Hearts for thofe things which you haVe- a great while believed ; . left you be fhut up as to both Worlds : and be Captives here, and punifhed there, 4& For ( *9> , 42 Fo _ as to what is now prefentj or what is paft, or what is to come of all thefe things ^ what is Evil is not compleatly Evil : nor is what is Good compleatly Good. 43 For all our prefent Health is turned into Sickniefs -a all our prefent Strength is turned into Weaknefs : all Our prefent Abi lity is turned into Anxiety : 44 All Vigour of Youth is turned into old Age and Deftruftion : all Pulchritude of prefent Beauty is- changed, withers, and be comes hateful : all prefent proud Dominion is turned into Dejection,1 and fhameful Si lence : \ 4<; All prefent Splendor and Pomp is turn ed into Ruin and Indigence : all prefent Pleafure and Joy is turned into a Worm, and Corruption : all Fame of prefent Glory is turned into Duft, and Silence : 46 All prefent Poffeffton of Riches re turns' to nothing, but to the Pit : all the prefent Spoils of Avarice fhall be turned in to unwelcome Death : all Concupifcence of Paflion fhall be turned into Judgment of Torment : 47 All prefent Fraud and Cunning fhall be turned into the Reproof of Truth : all the prefent Sweetnefs of Ointments fhall be turned into Judgment and Condemnation : all Love of Falfity fhall be turned into Re buke by Truth : C 2 48 Since (20) 4_ Since all thefe things are now a_ted, does anyone think they will not be avenged ? 49 In one Word, all things are tending to Truth. ^o Behold therefore *I have fignified [this] to you, while I am alive* For I faid, you would learn Vertue. 51 For the Almighty gave me a Com mand that I fhould exnort you, and pro- pofe to you fomewhat of his Judgment^ be fore I fhould die. $2 Remember that Mofes did fometime earneftly call Heaven and Earth to witnefs imt. iv. againft you, faying, ' If you fhall tranfgrefs i6. xxx. ' the Law, you fhall be fcattered abroad -, 19. xxxi. t but if you fl-^ii obferve it you fhall be ' prefervedY 53 Moreover, he foretold you other things ; which becaufe you rejected, while xxvin. you were twelve Tribes in the Wildernefs • after his Death, what Things he had fore told, they have happened unto you. 54 For Mofes truly had foretold them to you, before they happened to you : and, lo,- they have happened to you. For you have left the Law. 5 5 Behold I alfo declare them to you, af ter you have fuffered them. 56 And if you be obedient to what is ipoken to you, you fhall receive from the Almighty whatfoever is< laid up and referved for you-. 57 But ^7 But let this Epiftle be for a Teftinao- jay between me and you ; that you fhall be mindful of the Commands of the Almighty, that it may alfo be for a Juftification of me before him that fent me. 58 Be ye alfo mindful of the Law of Sion, of the holy Land, and of your Brethren ; and do not forget the Covenant of your Fa thers, your folemn Feafts, or your Sabbaths, 59 Deliver this Epiftle, together with the Delivery of the Law, to your Children af ter you j as did alfo your Fathers deliver [the like] unto you. 60 And pray continually at all times, and put up your Supplications diligently, with your whole Mind : that the Almighty may be reconciled to you : 61 And may not impute to you the Mul titude of your Sins •_ but may remember the uprightneifs of your Fore-fathers. 62 For unlefs he judge us according to the Multitude of his Mercies, wo to us aft that are born into the World. C 3 [THE [THE POSTSCRIPT O IF SB A %V C H the Scribe, To the nine Tribes and an Half :1 [Written from fome other Place than Judea or Babylon: and after the Death of Jeremiah the Propheti] ; ' i "^ M Oreover you ought to know, that lV/I thofe our Fore-fathers, in old <*- * -** Times, and ancient Ages, had Afliftants ; Righteous Men, and holy Pro phets. 2 And withal, when we were in our own Land, they aflifted us, when we had finned ; and made Interceflion for us to him that made us ; as depending on their own [good] Works. 3 And the Almighty heard their Prayer, and had Mercy on us. 4 But now the Righteous are taken a- way, and the PrCphets are dead. We alfo [of the two Tribes] are departed from our own Land. $ And (2?) I 5 And we have nothing now left us, but the Almighty, and his Law. 6 If then we rightly direct and difpofe our Hearts, we fhall recover all that we have loft ; yea and what is very much more excellent- than what we have loft. 7 For what Things we have loft are li able to Corruption • but thofe we fhall re ceive are Incorruptible. 8 I have alfo written to the fame Pur- pofe to our Brethren, at Babylon ; and do i Baruch proteft the Truth of the fame Things to j'i-9.— ¦ them. * "' 8- 9 But let all thefe Things that I have laid be always before your Eyes : for we are frill in the Spirit ; [alive •,] and have the Freedom of our own Will. io And befides, the Almighty is patient towards us ; he has difcovered to us what Things are to come : nor has he hidden from us what Things fhall be hereafter. ii Therefore before the Judge require what is his, and Truth demand her right, let us prepare our Mind that we may re ceive [a Reward ;] and not be received [into Punifhment.] 1 2 That we may hope, and may not be afhamed ; that we may reft with our Fore fathers, and not be punifhed with our Ene mies. [ 3 For the Youth of the World is pafTed away, and the Vigour of what was created 44Ff_JJ- C 4 has ' (24) has long ago ceafed ; and the fpace of the Times is very fhort ; nay, is paffing away. 14 The Pitcher is near to the Well ; and the Ship to the Haven ; and Life to a Con- clufion. 1 $ Moreover do you prepare yourfelves to reft, after you have failed, and have gone up out of the Ship ; but not to reft while you are on your Voyage. 4 F/v.vii. 16 For behold, when the Almighty fhall 35- (69— have brought on all thefe Things, there will _._4)-. not then be any longer Place for Repen tance ; nor a [farther] Period to the Times ; nor a Delay to the Moments ; nor Muta tion of the Ways ; nor Place for Prayers ; nor the Sending up Supplications ; nor [Op portunities] for learning Knowledge ; nor a Pardoner of Faults ; nor Place for Remorfe ; nor Deprecation for Crimes ; nor Supplica tion of Parents ; nor Interceflion of 'Pro phets ; nor Affiftance of Righteous Men. 17 There will be the Sentence of Cor ruption ; the Way to the Fire ; and the Path that leads to Hell. 18 Wherefore, one Thing by another, [the apfbot of all Things is one .•] one Law : one World : and thofe who are in it fhall have all [one] End. 19 And then he will fave thofe to whom he can be merciful ; and,' at the fame time, he will deftroy thofe that fhall be involved in Sins. 20 When (a. ) 20 When therefore you fhall have re- ceiv'd this my Epiftle, read it in your Con gregations, exactly ; and confider it : efpe- iBarJ.14, cially on the Days of your folemn Fafts. %f^uU 2 1 And be mindful of me by this Epi ftle, as I am mindful of you therein, and for ever FaremL N. 2. This Epiftle, ^ with its Poftjcript, feems to me to be plainly fincere and ge nuine : the internal Characters agreeing to the Circumftances of the Times when it was written, of the Perfon who pretends to write it, and of the People to whom it profefies to be written. It appeals to the known Book of Baruch, as to his own writ ing, or putting together, in its feveral Cir cumftances .¦: which occur all in that known Book. It defires the nine Tribes and an half to read it exa_tly, and that efpecially on the Days of their folemn Fafts ; as does the o- ther Book defire the fame of the two Tribes : which other we find was accordingly read on the folemn Faft, or great Day of Propi tiation, at Jerufalem, before its Deftruftion by Titus, as the Apoftolical Conftitutions in forms us. It is evidently cited or alluded tp by the Prophet Efdras ; the only one of the Jewifh Prophets that had been among thofe captive ten Tribes, to whom it belong ed ; and is preferv'd in that Syrian-Tongue : which the Situation of thofe Tribes, when they they went into an unknown Country, ren dered capable of having Copies of it : while neither the Jews at Jerufalem, nor thofe in £<$_* ; I mean neither the Hebrews nor the ffeUenifts, had the like Opportunity. One of its moft exceptionable Narrations, which is that of the Prefervation of certain of the holy Veflels of the Temple, when Jerufalem was taken by Nebuchadnezzar, though o- mitted in our Hebrew Books, is yet fully confirm'd by the conftant Tradition of the Jewifh Nation : the Teftimony of the Jews 2 Mace, at Jerufalem, in the Days of Jonathan the *> "• High-Prieft ; in their Epiftle to their Bre thren in Egypt, at the beginning of the fe? cond Book of Maccabees ; and by the Tefti* Vr*p. ix. mony of Eupolemus in Eufebius. Nor does =?• that other Narration, which is not, that I know of, otherwife confirm'd, nay feems rather contradicted by our Hebrew Books, and thofe of Jofephtts, viz, that at the Tak ing of Jerufalem by Nebuchadnezzar, the Jews themfelves overthrew the Walls about the Courts of the Temple, fpoiled the Place, and burnt the Temple itfelf, before they fun- rendered themfelves to their Enemies ; apr pear to me to be falfe : but feems to be ra ther a more particular Defcription of what the other Accounts deliver in more general Terms, viz. that when the Jews faw they could not hold out the Place any longer, they carried off the Tabernacle, the Table of Shew- ( 27 ) Shew-bread, and the Ark itfelf ; and being not able to carry oft' any more, they fet Fire to the reft ^ as rather defirous to con- fume the other, holy VefTels, than let the Babylonians carry them away into their Idol Temples: but when the Babylonians were entered, they quenched the Fire, in order to gain thofe rich and glorious Spoils to themfelves; and that "accordingly they car ried them all away in the following Month ; after which,, and not before, according to all our Hebrew Accounts, and thofe in Jofe- pbm, with the folemn Faft of Commemora tion ever fince, the Chaldeans came and burnt all that remained down to the Ground, Which.very probable Hypothefis of the Circumftances of that fatal Time, reconcile all thefe Accounts together, without the leaft Difagreement whatfpever, THE (28) -J.-f^+sS.? -. ft _B___ d____.de *** aQl __£3V_ 2_f£5\ THE Septuagint Verfion Of the DESCRIPTION of EZEKIEU $ Temple, According to the ^Alexandrian COPY: Done into Englifh : with fhort Notes included* N. B. Where the Roman Copy and the fle- brew agree againft the Alexandrian, I fometimes follow them : otherwife I prefer the Alexandrian Copy above either of them fingly, and very much above the Hebrew Copy ; efpecially in Ezekiel. Ezeh xl. - 1 4 ND it came to pafs in the five £\ and twentieth Year of our Cap- ¦*- -*• tivity, in the firft Month^ the tenth Day of the Month ; in the fourteenth- Year after the City was taken ; in the felf- fame Day the Hand of the Lord was upon tne : And he brought me 2 In the Vifion of God, unto the Land ofjfrael ; and fet me upon a very high Mountain ; ( 29 ) Mountain : [Mount Sion .] and there was upon it, as it were, the Building of a City before me, [the City of God, the Temple, with its Courts!] 3 And he brought me thither ; and be hold a Man ; and his Appearance was, as it were, the Appearance of burnifhed Brafs : in his Hand was a Line belonging to Build ers ; a Reed alfo for meafuring was in his Hand : and he flood at the Gate. 4 And the Man faid unto me, Thou Sort • of Man haft thou feen [thefe Edifices ?] be hold with thine Eyes -, and hear with thine Ears; and fet thine Heart upon all the Things that I fhew thee : for to the Intent that I might fhew them unto thee art thou come hither : and thou _halt declare all that thou feeft to the Houfe of Ifrael. S And behold there was a Wall that en- compafled the Houfe on the out-fide, round about : and in the Man's Hand was a mea furing Reed : its Length was fix Cubits ; by the [Babylonian] Cubit [of ^Hand-breadths] and an Hand-breadth. And he meafured the Wall before the Houfe : its Breadth was equal to a Reed ; and its Height equal to a Reed. 6 And he came into the Gate which look ed towards the Eaft, by feven Steps ; and he meafured *three little Chambers on this *.«>-¦ _/«, Side, and fthree on that Side: and the Side- Vj}*Alex- poft of the Gate was equal to a Reed. 7 And Vid.v. 7. 10. _I. ( ?o ) 7 And the [firft] little Chamber was e- qual to a Reed in Length, and equal to a1 Reed in Breadth : and the open Entry be-, tween the Chambers was fix Cubits. And the fqcond little Chamber was equal to a Rom. Reed in Breadth, [and equal to a Reed in Length :] and the open Entry was five Cu bits. And' the third little Chamber was e- qual to a Reed in Length, and equal to a Reed in Breadth : and the open Entry of the Gate,- near to the large Entry of the Portal inward,, was equal to; a Reed. 8 And he meafured the Aperture of the [fame] Gate, eight Cubits, %«_/.*. 9 And the Poft, *two Cubits : and the large Entry of the Gate was inward* . io And the little Chambers of the Gate, the oppofite Chambers, were three on this Side, and three on that Side : and there was one Meafure to the three ; and one Meafure to the open Entries on this Side, and on that Side. • ii And he meafured the Breadth of the Door of the Gate, ten Cubits ; and the \Breadth. -{-Length [Height] of the Gate, thirteen Cvr- Rom.Alex. bits. " 1 2 And there was an Elevation of a Cubit over-againft the face of the little Chambers ; a .Limit of one Cubit this way, and one Cubit that way : and the little Chambers were of fix Cubits this way, and fix Cu*- Bits that way. 13 And (?o 1 3 And he meafured the Gate, [from North to South .] from the Wall of one fmal_ Chamber, to the Wall of the other fmall Chamber, twenty five Cubits in Breadth : they were Door againft Door. 14 And the Front of the open Place of the Gate without was twenty five Cubits high : and the little Chambers of the Gate were round about. 1 5 And [from] the external Part of the outer Portal, unto the external Part of the inward Portal of the large Entry, were *fifty * Eight Cubits. Mx. 16 And there were obfcure Windows on the little Chambers, within the Gate of the Court, round about : and fo it was on the openEntries, there were Windows round a^ bout within: and upon the openEntries were Palm-trees on this Side, and on that Side. 17 And he brought me into the inward Court, [to view the Eaft Side of the outer Court :] and behold there were Chambers, and Walks between Pillars round the Court : thirty Chambers were in thofe Walks. 1 8 And Cloifters were at the Back of the Gates : they were lower Walks over-againft the Length of the Gates. 1 9 And he meafured the Breadth of the Court, from the ForeTront of the outer Gate, that was inward ; unto the Fore-front of the [inner] Gate^ that looked outward, that. looked ( .2) Hei. looked towards the Eaft, an hundred di bits. And he brought me to the North, 20 And behold a Gate that looked to' the North, in the outer Court-: and he mea fured it, both its Length, and its Breadth, 2 1 And the three fmall Chambers on this Side, and on that Side ; and the Polls, and the open Entries, and its Palm-trees : and they were of the fame Meafures with thole of the Gate that looked towards the Eaft. Its Length was fifty Cubits, and its Breadth twenty five Cubits. 22 And its Windows, and its open En-~ tries, and its Palm-trees, were like thofe of the Gate that looked towards the Eaft : and they afcended up to it by feven Steps : and the open Places were within. 23 And it was at the Gate that belong ed to the inner Court, that looked to the iVW^-Gate [of the outer Court :] .after the like Manner that it was at the Gate that looked towards the Eaft .- and he meafured the Court from Gate to Gate, an hundred Cubits. 24 And he brought me to the South end behold a Gate that looked towards the South : and he meafured it, and the little Chambers, and the Polls, and-the open En tries were according to the fame Meafures. 25 And its Windows, and thofe of its open Entries were round about ; as were the Windows of the [former] open Place : its ( ?_ ) its' Length was fifty Cubits, and its Breadth twenty five "Cubits. 26 And it had feven Steps : and the open Entries were within ; with its Palm-trees ; one on this Side, and another on that Side, upon the Pofts. 27 And there was a Gate over-againft that Gate ; and it was of the inner Court, on the South : and he meafured the Court from Gate to Gate, an hundred Cubits : and the Breadth [of the large Entry] was twenty five Cubits. 28 And he brought me into the inner Court, by the Gate towards the South : and he meafured the Gate according to the fame Meafures. ; 29 And the little Chambers, and the Pofts, and the open Entries, were according to the fame Meafutes : and there were Windows to it, and to the open Entries round about. Fifty Cubits was its Length ; and its Breadth twenty five Cubits. 30 [And its open Places were round a- bout, the Length twenty five Cubits, and VeeftRorn. the Breadth five Cubits."] [A corrupted Re petition.] 3 1 And the open Entries were towards the outer Court : and Palm, trees were at the Pofts : and there were eight Steps. 32 And he led me to the Gate that look ed towards the Eaft ; and he meafured it according to the fame Meafures. P 33 And ( 34) 33 And the little Chambers, and the Pofts, and the open Entries were according to the fame Meafures ; and there were in it Windows, and open Entries round a- bout : its Length was fifty Cubits j and its Breadth twenty five Cubits. 34 And the open Entries were towards * Outer? the dinner Court : and Palm-trees were upon the Pofts, on this Side, and on that Side ; and it had eight Steps. 3 5 And he brought me to the Gate that leadeth to the North : and he meafured it according to the fame Meafures. $6 And the little Chambers,, and the Polls, and the open Entries, and the Win dows were in it round about : [and its open Deeji Heb. Entries were round about :] its Length was fifty Cubits ; and its Breadth was twenty five Cubits. 37 And the open Entries were toward the outer Court : and the Palm-trees were on the Pofts, on this Side, and on that Side : and it had eight Steps : 3 8 Its Chambers, and its open Entries, and its large Entry. At the fecond Gate was a Spout of Water : there fhall they wafh the Burnt-Offerings. 3 9 Now in the open Place of the Gate , G,{ there were two Tables^ on this Side, and y, " two Tables on that Side : that upon them they may flay the Burnt-Offerings, and the Sin-Offerings, and the Trefpafs-Offerings. 40 And ( ** > 40 And at the back of that Stream for the Burnt-Offerings of the Gate that looked towards the North, there were two Tables on the Eaft, at the back of the fecond Gate, and of the large Entry of the Gate, there were two Tables : and eight Tables towards the Eafti 41 Four oh this Side, and four on that Side, at the back of the Gate. Upon them fhall they flay the Sacrifices. 42 , And four Tables of hewen Stone for the Burnt-Offerings : a Cubit and an half in Breadth ; and two Cubits and an half in Length ; and a. Cubit in Height. Upon thefe fhall they lay the Inftruments where with they flay the Burnt-Offerings, and the Sacrifices. 43 And thefe fhall have a Border of an Hand-breadth of hewen Stone, on the *in- * outsde fide round about : and there fhall be a Co- aux. ver upon the Tables, to cover them from the Rain, and from the Heat. 44 And he brought me into 'the inner Court : and behold two Chambers in the in ner Court, one at the back of the Gate, that looked to the North, but fled towards the j Uolei South : and one at the back of the Gate to Ro>». Heb. the South, that looked towards the North. 4<; And he laid unto me, This Chamber, which looketh towards the South', is for the Priefts, the Keepers of the Watch of the Houfe. D 2 46 And ( _ 6 ) 46 And the Chamber which looketh tor- wards the North, is for the Priefts, the Keepers of the Watch of the Altar. Thefe are the Sons of Zjidok, which come near out of the Sons of Levi to the Lord, to minifter unto him. 47 And he meafured the Court •, its Length an hundred Cubits ; and its Breadth an hundred Cubits ; on its four Sides : and the Altar was before the Houfe. 48 And he brought me into the Porch of the Houfe, and he meafured each Poft of the Porch, five Cubits in Breadth on this" Side ; and five Cubits in Breadth on that Side : and the Breadth of the Door was fourteen Cubits : and the Shoulders of the Gate of the Porch were three Cubits On this Side, and three Cubits on that Side. 49 And the Length of the Porch [from North to South] was twenty Cubits : and the Breadth [from Eaft to Weft] twelve Cubits : and they afcended up to it upon ten Steps : and there were Pillars at the Porch, one on this Side, and another on that Side. [Ja- chin and iBdoz.] C h a p. XLI. r A N D he brought me into the Tem- J\ pie : and he meafured the fide Pofts, fix Cubits the Breadth on this Side; and fix Cubits the Breadth of the fide Pofts on that Side, 2 And ( 37 ) 2 And the Breadth of the Aperture of the Door was ten Cubits ; and the Shoul ders of the Door were five Cubits, on this Side, and five Cubits on that Side. And he meafured the Length of it, forty Cubits : and its Breadth twenty Cubits : [at the Eaft end.] 3 And he entred into the inner [he went p the Weft end of the] Houfe, and he mea fured the Poft of the Door, [the thicknefs of the Partition-wall of the inner Houfe] two Cubits ; and the Door fix Cubits ; and the Shoulders of the Door feven Cubits, on this Side ; and feven Cubits on that Side. 4 And he meafured the Interval of the Doors, forty Cubits : and [at the Weft end] the Breadth [of the outer Houfe,] twenty Cubits, over-againft the [inner] Temple : and he faid to me, this [before me] is the Holy of Holies : [and I am not permitted to enter into it, to meafure it other wife more di* ftinolly. <; And he meafured the Wall of the Houfe, [at the Wefl end] fix Cubits. And the thick nefs of the [near eft] fide Walls was four Cu bits, round about : 6 And the fide Chambers, fide Chamber againft fide Chamber, were thirty, in three Stories on both Sides of the Houfe : and there was a fpace remaining between the Wall and the Houfe, at the fide Chambers of the Houfe, round about ; that all Spec ie j tators. tators might fee that no Part of it touched the Walls of the Houfe. 7 And the Breadth of the upper fide Chamber was over-againft the Gallery that jetted out from the Houfe, unto the upper fide Chamber, round about the Houfe : that it might widen upward ; and that they might afcend from the Bottom unto the upper Rooms [of the Temple, which were in the Middle of its Altitude] and from the Middle, unto thofe of the third Story. ¦ 8 And the Gallery of the Houfe on high was round about. The Diftance pf the Walls of the fide Chambers [there], was e- qual to a Reed of fix Cubits. 9 And the Thicknefs of the Wall of the fide Chamber on the out-fide, was five Cu bits ; and there was a remaining fpace be tween the fide Chambers of the Houfe, io And between the Chambers [of the Court .] its Breadth was twenty Cubits ; there was a Circumference about the Houfe, round about. 1 1 And the Windows of the Chambers * i am were toward the remaining Space : *there forced to was one Wall left towards the North, and f&tm. anotner towards the,SW> : and the Breadth of the Wall that was left was five Cubits : the Breadth was round about. 1 2 And there was a Border of Separati on over-againft the remaining Space, [alfo] towards the Weft, [Parts of the. Temple,] of feventy ( 39 ) feventy Cubits : the Breadth of the Wall of the Border of Separation was five Cu bits : that Breadth went round about : and its Length was ninty Cubits. 13 And he meafured over-againft the Houfe, the Length of an hundred Cubits ; and the remaining Spaces, and the fepara- ting Borders, and their Walls, were va. Length an hundred Cubits. 14 And the Breadth was over-againft the Houfe, and [over-againft] the remaining Space' oppofite thereto, one hundred Cubits. 1 $ And he meafured the Wall of the Bor der of Separation, over-againft the remain ing Space, behind the Houfe : and the re maining Spaces on this Side,and on that Side, an hundred Cubits in Length. The- Tem ple, and the Corners, and the external open Places were fieled. ¦i 6 There were cancellate Windows, with light to look through, to all three : and the Houfe, and the adjoining Buildings were fieled round about : and the Bottom, and from the Bottom to the Windows ; and the Windows were thrice turned back to look through. 17 And near unto the inner Houfe, and unto the outer Houfe, and unto the whole Houfe, round about, on the infide and the outfide [were Meafures Alex.] I am 18 Cherubim were engrav'd, and Palm- i°>cef«> ree was between a Che- £> 4 rub trees ; and a Palm-tree was between a Che- ps"'Je fr* (49 ) rob and a Cherub : there were two Faces tp a Cherub. 1 9 The Face of a Man was at a Palm- tree on this Side, and on that Side : and the Face of a Lion was at a Palm-tree on this Side, and on that Side : the whole Houfe was engraved round about. 20 From the Ground unto the vaulted Roof of the Gate, the Cherubim arid the Palm-trees were engraved. 21 And the holy Place, and the Temple had fore-fquare Beams. 22 At the face of the holy Place was the View of the Sight of an Altar of Wood : its Height was three Cubits ; and its Length two Cubits ; and its Breadth two Cubits • and it had Horns : and its Bafis, and its Sides were of Wood. And he fa id unto me, This is the Table which is before the Lord : [either the Altar of Incenje, or the Table .of' Shewbread ; or perhaps one Table or Altar that ferved for both.] 23 And there were two Doors in the Temple, and two Doors in the holy Place, 24 And they had two Leaves a-piece, turning [on Hinges :] two Leaves to the firft, and two Leaves to the iecond Door. 2 5 And there was an engraving on them, and upon the Leaves of the Temple were Cherubim, and Palm-trees ; according to the engraving of the holy Place : and thick Planks ( 4? ) Planks were on the Front of the Porch, out wardly, 26 And obfcure Windows. And he mea fured at this end, and at that end, unto the Roofs of the Porch ; and the fide Chambers of the If oufe were fieled. Chap, XLII. 1 A ND he brought me into the outer X"\_ Court on the Eaft, over-againft the Gate that was to the North ; and he brought me thither ; and behold there were fifteen Chambers adjoining to the remaining Place, and adjoining to the Border of Separation, to the"iVW» 2 Over-againft an hundred Cubits was the Length to the North, and the Breadth was fifty Cubits. 3 Defcribed after the fame Manner as were the Gates of the outer Court -, and af ter the fame Manner as were the Walks between the Pillars of the outer Court ; three Cloifters one over-againft another. 4 And before the Chambers there was a Walk, the Breadth was ten Cubits, unto the Length of an hundred Cubits [unto a &b , ^ Way inward, of one Reed] and their Doors Greeks. were towards the North. "] $ And the uppermoft Walk was of the fame Sort, fpr this Row of Pillars was high er than the Row of Pillars beneath : as was that (42) that Row of Pillars, and its Interval, fo was this Row of Pillars, and its Interval. 6 And fo for The Cloifters. And they were in three Stories, and had [not] Pillars, as the Pillars of the Chambers. Where fore they were above others that were be neath, and in the Middle from the Ground. 7 And they had a Light [Windows] ex ternally, in the fame Manner that the Cham bers of the outer Court alfo had it •, whofe Profpect is before the Chambers to the North, in Length fifty Cubits. 8 For the Length of the Chambers [from South to North,] that looked towards the outer Court, was fifty Cubits : and thefe flood face to face againft thofe : the whole [Length of all the Chambers] was an hundred Cubits. 9 And the Doors of thefe Chambers were at the Entrance Eaftward, when one goes through them, out of the outer Court. io They were according to [the Windows] pf the Walk at the Entrance, and according to the Southern [Windows] in the face of the South ; over-againft the remaining Place, and over-againft the Border of Separation, And the [Southern] Chambers, 1 1 And their Walks, were over-againft them ; according to the Meafures of the Chambers, towards the North ; according to their Length, and according to their Breadth, and according to all their Goings out, ( 43 ) out, and according to all their Turnings, and according to their Windows, and ac cording to their Doors, 12 The Doors of the Chambers to the South ; and according to the Doors at the Entrance on the Walk? as unto the Window of Partition of the Interval of a Reed, and at the Eaft, as you go in through them. 1 3 And he laid to me, The Chambers towards the North ; and the Chambers to wards the South, which are before the In terval of the Partition ; they are the Cham bers of the holy Place, in which the Priefts, the Sons of Zjadok, who come near to the Lord, fhall eat their moft holy Things, [and Rom. Heb there fhall they lay their moft holy Things ,] and the Sacrifice, and the Sin-Offering, and the Trefpafs-Offering ; for the Place is holy. 14 None fhall go in thither but the Priefts : and they fhall go out of the holy Place into the outer Court : that the Offer ers may always be holy, and may not touch their Garments,' in which they minifter ; for they are holy : and they fhall put on other Garments when they touch the Peo ple. 1 5 And the meafuring of the Houfe with in was ended. And he brought me forth by the Way of the Gate that looked to wards the Eaft • and he meafured the Pat tern of the Houfe sound about, by the De- fcription. 16 And (44.) 16 And he flood at the back of the Gate that looketh towards the Eaft : and he mear fured five hundred [Cubitsf] with his mea? furing Reed. 17 And he turned to the North, and meafured the Side that was on/ the face of the North, five hundred Cubits, with his meafuring Reed. r8 And he turned to the Weft, and mea fured the Side that was on the face of the Weft, five hundred [Cubits f\ with his mea furing Reed. 19 And he turned to the South, and mea fured the Side that was on the face of the South, five hundred [Cubits^] with his mea furing Reed. 20 On the four Sides it was of the fame Meafure : and he defcribed it, and its Cir cumference round about, five hundred [C«- Vuig. bits] on the Eaft ; and five hundred Cubits, in Breadth, to diftinguifh between the holy ', Places*, and the Wall before the Houfe ; which- was in the Defcription of the Houfe. yV. B. Ezekiel never mentions a third Court, or Court of the Gentiles : nor does • it any way appear there will then be fuch * a Court : the Profelytes being ordered to be inferted' among the Tribes of Ifrael, Ezek. xlvii. 22, 23. N. B. The Differences between the He brew, Roman, and Alexandrian Copies, are of no great Confequence in the other Parts of ( 4_ ) bf thefe laft XIII Chapters of Ezekiel, which concern the final Reftoration and Settle ment of the XII Tribes in Judea .- fo that It is not neceffary to make a new Verfion of them from the Alexandrian Copy. Only the Reader is to Obferve, that the Order of Situation of the Tribes will then be very EzeL different from their ancient Order ; that xlviii- the holy Portion of 2-5000 Cubits fquare,, will be between Judah on the North, and Benjamin on the South ; that the City of Jerufalem will then be 5000 Cubits fquare, with its 250 dibits for the Suburbs eve ry Way : and in the Middle of the holy Portion ; and, that the Temple of $00 Cu bits: fquare, will be in the Middle of Jeru falem : and that after the Jews Converfion to Chriftianity, that Temple's Worlhip will ceafe, and the City, the new Jerufalem, will Apoc. xxi. be greatly enlarged, till a Cube of its fquare "• v- 2- Root become 12000 furlongs ¦. which, at vuig.v.16. Jofephus's Meafure of 400 Cubits to a Fur long, will be a Square of almoft 23 Fur longs, or full 9000 Cubits : which will be much more than three Times as large, as that in Ezekiel, tnd about the Largenefs of the City of London at this Day. A DIS- UO DISSERTATION. TO PROVE, That the former XIV Chapters of the fecond Book of the Apocryphal Efdras, which the vulgar Latin ftiles the fourth Book, is a genuine and an authentick Prophetick Book of the Old Teftament. The Reafons follow : (i.) fTP HIS Book as much, and as directly X claims to be a true Prophecy, as do any other Prophetick Books of the whole Old Tefta ment. This we learn from the Contents of the whole Book ; particularly from its Preface, The 4 Efd.i. fecond Book of the Prophet Efdras: who &as Captive in the Land of the Medes, in the Reign of Artaxerxes King of the Peri&ns. And the Word of the Lord came unto me faying, &c. Nor does there appear any obvious Reafon why we fhould not believe this Declaration pf Efdras, as well as we do believe the Declarations of the other Prophets of the Jewifh Nation •, efpecially lined we have no Remains, that we know of, any where preferv'd, of the Writings of any old falfe Prophet of that Nation : nor is there the leaf- Sign i—, (47) Sign that there ever was, in that Nation, a falfe Prophet that took upon him the Name of Ezrah. (_J The principal Contents of this Prophetick Book, are fo far from the wicked Notions and Cpmpofitions of an Impoftor, or of a falfe Pro phet, that they appear evidently noble, affedt- ing, and ind?ed, truly fupernatural, and divine. For I muft freely own my felf to have been long in this Matter, for the main, of the Opini on of the very learned and pious Dr. Lee ; whom Profeffor Ockley efteem'd, The greatefl Writer of Preface tf> the Age by far, when he fays, that, ' Here are -Dr. Lee's ' many beautiful Paffages, which feem not infe- Bjf^"l~ ,' rior to any Parts of the undoubted Canonical on ' Scripture: that, fome of the Beauties of this D,jer/.*._. * Piece are truly ravifhing, and feem to be more ' than artificial : that, nothing can be finer than p. 5. ' fome of the Aptitudes ^ or more fublime than 6 fome of the Idea's $ particularly, that in the * two firft Chapters, there is unqueftionable Mat- p. 29. ' ter of the greatefl: Moment, both to the Jewifh ' and Chriftian Peculium, conformable to the Pro- e phets of one, and the Apoftles of the other. — ' That there is alfo, in thofe Chapters, fome- p. 3°' ' what very mafterly in the whole Conduct cif ''it; which is after the oriental Manner : and ' that there is a fublime in the Stil-e, even uil- * der a mean Tranflation, which can by no means * be Contradided.- That, -'tis certain thofe £.31. ' Chapfers have a lofty Prophetick Chara&er : ' fuch as is hardly exceeded by any of the un- ' doubted Prophets'. Nor do I fee reafon to re- ftrain any of thefe internal Characters to the two firft Chapters •, but think them at leaft equally applicable to the twelve that follow : as Dr. Lee appears himfelf alfo to have thought, by his ad mirable Prefaces to, or Expoftions of the feven Vifoyis (48) Vifons of Efdras, which I have read in MS. and which notwithftanding the Chronological, and other Difficulties, which he had not then conquer ed, are highly worthy the Perufal of the Inqtii- fitive. (3.) Though the intire Contents of this Book prove, they could be written by nflne but a Jew-, yet, as the fame Dr. Lee juftly obferves, feveral i° 3°. of ' Thefe Prophefies could not be pleafing to' c the Nation of the Jews on any Account ; but, ' on the contrary, very difagreeable to thern: ' from the common Prejudices and Miftakes which ' are known to have prevailed among that Peo- Ibid. * pie.— — They Were ready to conclude, that ' they were by Ele&ion made unalterably the ' Ssgnllah of God, or his peculiar Inheritance,, ' and Delight ; as in contrad'iftin&ion to all the ' other Nations of the World. This falfe Con- c clufion of theirs is here dire&ly contradicted,/ ' and folidly enervated : [Chap. i. ii.] Hence' ' whofbever fhould have prophefied after this' ' Manner, could not otherwife expe£l [had he^ not depended on his divine Commiffionl ' but to ' be condemned for a falfe Prophet'. I may add, that the Jews, a little before the coming of Je-^ fus of Nazareth, the only Time when a Jewifh* Impofter can be fuppos'd to have counterfeited thefe Prophefies, were not in the leaft difpos'd to believe that the MeJJiah flwuld die : as is ex prefly foretold here, vii. 29. So that .the very Nature of the Prophefies, which, like the other genuine ones of the Old Teftament, ftill boldly and openly declare the plain Truths of 'God, ill Opposition to the plaufible Notions, and Inclina tions, and Errors of Men, prove that thefe Pro phefies could not be deriv'd from the latter Jews them- ( 49 ) themfelves, or indeed from any other original, than from Divine Revelation. (4.) The Chronological CharaUers in this Book, do themfelves confirm the Date at the beginning of the Book, that the Prophecy was given in the Reign of Artaxerxes [Mnemon,] King of the Per sians. Thus, in general, here is not the leaft mention of any Fa6t, or Hiftory, or Phrafe, or Cuftom, or Book, that was later than the Time whereto it pretends to belong : which are feldom or never avoided by later Impoftors, when they counterfeit ancient Writings -, and which, indeed, feems to be morally impoffible for fuch Impoftors intirely to avoid. Thus, in particular, we have the Mention of the ^oth Tear from the Ruin of the City Jerufalem -, or the Expulflon of the two m- l- 2S»- Tribes out of Judea, under the Perfans : which Ruin and Expulflon appears, both by Jofephus and Jofeph. Eufebiiis, to have been about the fixth Year of A"''l- XI. Artaxerxes Mnemon : and by confequence thirty 7- Years after it copies to their Reftoration, or to the thirty fixth Year of his Reign. Take here the remarkable Words of Eufebiiis, the great Key for the underftanding this Book, as they ftand in hi&Evangelical Pr¶tion,XI. 8. and thole very probably deriv'd iromAfricamis, long before Eufe biiis, verbatim. ' It is confeffed, fays he, that c Plato lived among the Egyptians, at the fame c time when the Hebrews, being diiven out of * their own Country the fecond time, abode in ' Egypt, under the Monarchy of the Perfians : which Time of Plato\ Abode in Egypt, could only be under this Artaxerxes Mnemon } and about the very fame time in h^is Reign, to which this thirty Years Captivity belongs, by our prefent Calculation. For Plato was about thirty Years old when this Captivity begun ; and about flxty E Years ( .o) yid.VaWic Years old when it ended : he began his Travels Bibiiothea after the Death of Socrates, when he was twenty Cr*c. L. eight, as the Ancients inform us, and fo muft ~~%u' have hnifhed them before he was lixty. Thus in that moft eminent Prediction of the Time for the coming of the Mefliah, that Advent was vn. _8, to be within 400 Tears : and4his fo nicely, that 29- it fhould not be till after thefe 400 Tears, how ever, that the Mejfiah fhould die; both which, by Ptolemies Aftronomical Canon, exactly agree to the Time already fpecified. For the thirty fixth Year of Artaxerxes Mnemon, is the 369th See vffcr. before the Chriftian vEra : and the 366th before &prid. ad the Birth of Jefus of Nazareth. And the Year Aunosijios. when Jefus of Nazareth was crucified, or A. D. 33, is really the 401ft, or at moft, the beginning of the 4o2d Year from that 36th of Artaxerxes : which we have determined for the Date of this Prophecy. Now what is here very remarkable, is this, That no Jew or Chriftian, near the Time of Jefus of Nazareth, was Chronologer good enough to be able to fay, without divine Revelation, that from anv one certain Year of the Reign of Artax erxes Mnemon, it was lefs than 400 Years to the Birth •, and more than 400 Years to the Death of Jefus of Nazareth. As the very imperied. See Fjf.on Chronology of Philo, and of Jofepbns, and of all the 0. T. ^e Jews and Chriftians before Africamts, do affure w!*T_i°4." us" ^his Argument feems to me to be decifive,- 210. 113. and at once to iemonftrate the Truth of theChro- Suppt. to nological Date of this Book ; and that this Pre- Lit. Ace. of diflion before us, could not be deriv'd from any p"ll\s, thing but from divine Revelation. Thus alfo we >°P ¦? '• have ]iere a mofl. accurate Chronological Deter mination, that, if the Age of the World, from' XIV. 11, the Deluge, to the Days of the Meffias, (for of 1 a:* that Age I underftand this Period,) be divided into ( _i) into I i Parts, io ~ Parts were already paft, when this Prediction was given ; and, by confequence, I i Part remained ftill behind. For, according to the moft eiadt Chronology we now have, as I have elfewhere fhewn, the Diftance between, Ef.onthe the Flood, and the Birth of Jefus of Nazareth, o.'t. p. Was 2924 Years. In order then to difcover the "4* exaft Partition of this Period, fay, by the Golden Rule, 12 : I 4- *• : 24 : 3 : : 8 : I : : 2924 : 36?_ before the Birth of Jefus of Nazareth^zz $68i before the Chriftian _Era : which is no o- ther than the 36th Year of Artaxerxes Mnemon ; the very Year when I have already determined this Prophecy to have been given. This Argu ment alfo feems to me to be decifive ; and to go very near to demoftftrate the Truth of the Chro nological Date of this Book -, fince this accurate Determination before us could then be deriv'd from nothing but from Divine Revelation. N. B. The foregoing Numbers and Proportion give us the true Key of thofe Expreffions in Hag- gai, if the Words be there genuine ; in Baruch . and in this Book of Efdras .- as if it were but a little time till the Days of the Mefliah, who was to judge and reform the World : even when thofe Books Were Written : Tet a little while, fays Hag- &ag. ii. tf. gai. The end [of the Age] is very nigh : God's _ sar_ v. Mercies are ready to come: the Period for his 2.6. Judgment is not far off : the moft High will haflen his Times very quickly ; and will fuddenly bring on v , , his Moments : the Periods of the Times and Mo ments will foon pafs away : the Touth of the World v. 39; is pajfed away, arid the Vigour of what was created has long ago ceafed ; and the Space of tbe"~Time's is Pofifcr. v. very flmrt, nay, is pafjing away. The Pitcher is I3* iiear to the Well, and the Ship to the Haven, and Vi t^. Life to a Condufon, fays Baruch. As the Rain is E 2, wwre ( .o more than the Drops ; and as the Fire is-greattf- than the Smoke ; but the Drops and the Smoke remaitt 4 Efd. iv. behind ; fo does the Quantity [of time] which is 45-52. paft more exceed [that which is to cojne :] Thi xiv. 10. World hath loft it Touth, and the Time begins to wax old, fays God to Efdras. Which foregoing Comparifons made Efdras imagine, that he might. live to fee thofe laft Days of the Meftiah, whole, IV. 51,52. Diftance had been by two Similitudes reprefente<~> to him, as not long Futufe. Yet when we come' ¦to the exact Divine Defignation of that very Di ftance, in the fame Book, it is there dire£tly de termined to be no lefs than the Interval of 400 Years. The Reafon of all which Expreffions of vii -8 •>() tne Shortnefs of thi# Interval, is alfo given uS in . See 2. Vet the latter Text, where thofe 400 Years are tru- iii. s, 9. ly determined to be no more, in Proportion, than the eighth Par. of the intire Internal, from the Flood, till the Days of the Meffias : which is indeed-, not fo much as the eleventh Part of the TinlBj from the beginning of the World, to the fame^ Time : and is, for certain, a very fmall and in«^ confiderable Proportion. (%.) We have another very ftrong internal Ar gument for the genuine Truth of this Book, which ufed to be made a principal Argument againft 4.Efd. xiii. ft : I mean, that Account we here have of the 30-47. Removal of the 10 Tribes out of the Medo-per- fan Empire, into a Country uninhabited till that time. It is evident, and confefs'd by all, that thefe ic Tribes were carried thither by the Af- fyrians, Pul, Tiglath-Pul-Afar, and Salman- Affar. r, ; They were there till the Death of Tobias, jm. who was one of them, when Nwiveh was deftroy ed by Nebuchadnezzar and Aftyages. Their Si tuation beyond Euphrates was known, when Baruch wrote his Epiftle, and its Poftfcript, to them. 14, 1 5. ( .? ) them, after the Jewifh Temple was burnt by Ne- " buchadnezzar ; of which we have already treat ed. They were alfo there in the Days of our Efdras, when he wrote his two firft Chapters of this Book to them, as then Captives under the Ef, . Medes and Perfians ;, which I take to Have been _4, " about the 1 5th Year of this Artaxerxes. Yet it is withal evident, that when Zerduftn, 'the great Le- giflator of the Medes and Perfans, fet up his Reli gion of Abraham, in that Empire, which, as we fhall fee, was about the Middle of this Reign, there ap pear no Jews there : as we may jsafily obferve thro' ,, the whole Hiftory of I)r. Hyde £ And that neither Hyde Be their Brethren, the Jews, of tie itwo Tribes in Ju- Rei& vet. dea,nov thofe in Babylon, have efrer fince been able Ferf- to give us any good Account of them, or have in deed at all known where they, are, to this very ||ty.What is the natural, the neceflaryConfequence IPall this ? but that about the very Time here fpe- prfied, thefe 1 0 Tribes really removed themfelves unto fome till then, and till now unknown Part of the World ; as we are here particularly in formed. Accordingly, we find an Account in. Plutarch's Life of this Artaxerxes Mnemon, that in the 2 ift Year of his Reign, there were a People called Cadufians, or Holy People, (which was the. See Fulle. common Name for the Jews there, in thofe'Days) MifceiiM. fituate on the North-Weft Parts of Media, near 5- 8p*""rf- the beginning of the River Euphrates ; whither. a^[fft' this Account fuppofes the 10 Tribes to have bent their Courfe : we alfo find thefe Cadufij, or Holy People, when purfued or attacked by the Perfians, efcaping thofe Perfians under the Condudt of two Kings, or Leaders ; as the Fore-fathers of the Jews had efcap'd the Egyptians, under the Con- fludt of Mofes £md Aaron : and probably not; without fome fuch Signs or wonderful Works, as E 3 Mo[es ( 54) Mofes and Aaron of old wrought, and of which Xin. 44. our Accounts here make mention : though the Perfians, as is very ufual, endeavour to palliate the Matter, by afcribing their own Deliverance to a knavifh Stratagem of one Artabazus ; while they confefs, that otherwife their Army had been deftroy'd by thefe Cadufians. We may alfo take notice, that of thefe Cadufians yet we hear no- xr- ?• thing till this Time : and that Straho calls then} '94" Foreigners, that came thither from elfewhere. In confirmation of which Hypothefis, we find re mains of thefe 10 Tribes, abiding or wintering in Syria, by the Prefervation of BarucVs Epiftle to them, only in the Syriack Language, as we have already feen. We alfo find no other well- attefted Relations of their prefent Habitation, SeeLit.Acc but in the otherwife uninhabited Parts of Arabia, cf Scrip, or in the neighbouring Parts of Africa, whither Prop. p. thefe Cadufians would naturally go, all along the 1 13 -116. Euphrates. We alfo find, that this Rout or Jour ney is very agreeable to that Tear and half's Time, 4_yy.xiii. which this Author allows for it : this Road, thus 45- winding, being little lefs than 3000 iS iles. Which things none but a contemporary Author could know. And, laftly, we may Remark, that fince Artax- erxes thought fit to bring no fewer than 3100QO Men into the Field, againft thefe Cadufians, as Plu tarch witneffes, it looks much more like anAttempt to recover thefe intire 10 Tribes of Ifrael, who had ' long been his Subjects, his Slaves, and his Cap tives, but were now departed out of his Domi nions, (like PharaoFs Attempt in Egypt,) than to reduce only certain fcattered Mountaineers, who 5_St_abo were *n ReDelli°n againft him, as Plutarch fup- ubiprih. poles. Nor can this grand Problem, What be came of thefe 10 Tribes, in this very Reign, be folved to the leaft Degree of Satisfaction, but by ( 5. ) by taking the direct Account that is here given us by Efdras, for a faithful Account ¦, and by fup- poling-this Book of his to be true and genuine, at the fame time. , (6.) We have another ftrong internal Argu ment for the Truth of this Book of the Prophet Efdras, that the Author of it had plainly feen the Eyiftle of Baruch to thefe Tribes ¦, and plainly alludes to it, in this his Prophecy. Com pare 2 Baruch, v. 13 — 16. with 4 Efd. vii. 3$. (59 113.) 36 — 4?. which Epiftle yet never appears to have been preferv'd, but among thofe Tribes, and thofe Syrians through whom they pafs'd. Whence it is very probable, that our Efdras had really been in Media, and was a Pro phet there among thofe Tribes *, as himfelf in forms us. And, by the way, this Citation or Allufion of a Jewifh Prophet to that Epiftle of Baruch, does, vice versa, fecure us of the Truth and authentick Nature of that Epiftle alfo. The mutual Agreement and Tallying of thefe quite different Records, that come from quite different Hands to us, mutually confirming each other 's Authority. As indeed does the Citation of our common Baruch, by himfelf, in that Epiftle, thus attefted to by a Jewifh Prophet, in like manner p confirm the Truth and authentick Nature of that 4r Book alfo ; of which I have already fpoken. (7.) Our Efdras informs us, that it was not for Idolatry, the ancient and hereditary Sin of all the 12 Tribes, that the two Tribes were now in Captivity at Babylon : nay, he pleads with God ftrongly for them on Account of their greater Piety and Religion, than that of the Chaldeans ; 4, Efd.nl. as if their merit on Account of their Freedom 3i>3M<^ from Idolatry was then not fmall : He alfo in forms us, that one Solomon reftored thefe two x. 4.. E 3 Tribes, prills. ( 5*) Tribes, 30 Years after their Captivity. Which Solomon has left, at leaft, 18. Pfalms behind him, ftill extant ; of which more hereafter. In thefe P/y. So- Pfalms the Wickednefs of the two Tribes is great- lomon ]y infifted on, as the Caufes of this their Capti- pajfw. v-lty . ^ut not fjj- iea^ Syllable of any Guilt on Account of Idolatry. Nay, the Crimes he mentions are peculiarly fuch, Inceft, Murder, Pro- fanenefs, andMarrying with Strangers, as the other laft Books of the Old Teftament, Nehemiah and See Suppi. Malachi, with Jofephus, complain of, and endea- tn Lit. A c. vour ro amend, after the Complaints of their Ido- Prtthl't ^atiy wereover. Now all this greatly confirms the 79 80. Chronology of Efdras, as of one that really lived under the Perfians : fince we never then find the two Tribes charged with Idolatry. All which • exactly agrees to the State of the Jews at that time. And I truly think this Prophecy and Nar ration does as univerfally agree with the Cir cumftances of the two Tribes, under, and after the Perfian Captivity, as do the Prophefies and Narrations in Jeremiah agree to the Circumftan ces of the fame two Tribes under the Babylonian. Nor would it have been eafy for the Learned to have permitted thefe noble Records to fall into fuch Contempt as they have done, had they not been univerfally miflead by thofe fatal No* tions, that Efdras the Prophet, was the fame v„ ... with Ezrah the Scribe •, and that the loth Tear af 1 . -9' ix. ter the Ruin of the City, in this Book, was com- 43.4-. x. puted from the Deftrudtion of Jerufalem by Nebit- 45) 46- chadnezzar : both which Aflertions or Notions are deftitute of almoft all real Evidence whatfoever. (8.) We have another ftrong Argument, that the old Jews did once allow this Book to be au thentick, becaufe all their moft ancient Writ ings, fince their Chaldee Paraphrafes ; I mean, their ( .7) their Miftma, and Gemara, and two Tahnuis ; with all their later Writing,' are built mainly upon this Angle, but fundamental Hypothefis, that Mo fes communicated a private traditionary Doctrine, or Explication of the written Law, to the feven- ty Elders, at Mount Sinai, and that fuch as was - not directly contained in the Law, or Penta teuch, publick among them ; and which was all along concealed among the wife, from the Body of the People. This Notion, as it feems; they could hardly derive from any other fo authen tick Record, as from the Words of our Prophet .Efdras : who exprefly affures us, that God flaw ed Mofes great Wonders in Mount Sinai ; and .^rL y;Vj taught him the Secrets of the Times, and the End ; 4) j, <$. and commanded him, faying, Thefe Words ftialt thou declare, and thefe flialt thou hide. But then, thefe Secrets feem to be fuch as thofe here revealed to Efdras, and five Copies of them preferv'd in Writing ; and very far from what the modern Jews fometimes pretend them to have been, (9.) The fame Jews do fpeak fo often, fo ful ly, and fo largely, of a vaft Number of Confti tutions, and Ordinances of one Ezrah ; which Conftitutions and Ordinances do ftill, in a great Meafure, obtain -arnong them_ and of which yet the Hiftory of Ezrah the Scribe, either in our Copies, or in thofe ofjofephus, makes not the leaft mention ; that there is great Reafon to fufpedr, the original Perfon meant was our Efdras the Pro phet : who was plainly the Governor of the Jews at Babylon, under their Perfian Captivity ; V.i<5 -19. who foretold^ their Return and Reftoration juft before it came to pafs^ and hath left us the Name of that Solomon who reftored them, and x. 46. their Worfhip ; and who therefore might natu rally give them thofe Rules, which were before want- ( .8) wanting, or had been before neglected : and of which, as being from the laft Prophet in their lotion, they might be very fond and tenaci ous ; as it appears they have been till this very Day. Which Conftitutions, and Ordinances, of a Prophet Efdras, fo throughly owned by the Jewifh Nation, are a great Confirmation that they had fuch a Prophet, and that the Author of this Book was he. See Dr. Lee of thefe Rules at large, p. 33 — 50. And lb much of the Internal Characters. I come now to the External Teftimomes. (is.) This Book of the Prophet Efdras was tranflated, among the other facred Books of the See Vindi- Jews, by the Septuagint Interpreters •, or by thofe cation of learned Egyptian Jews who anciently paffed by Anfteas, that Name, in the Days of Ptolemy Lagi, and i\ I5 ' logue of facred Books, to be read in Chriftian' Churches, made, I think, before the firft Cen* j,r-/m tury was expired, about A. D. 86, in all its Co- Chrift. pies, names two Books of Efdras as canonical : B v.v'd, which in thofe Days muft mean thofe two which Vol. ill. we now caij Apocrypal : the Book of Nehemiah a ?4_44 Dem_ not' tu* l°n§ afterwards, called the 2d of Efdras: and what we now call the canonical Effon the Ezrah, not havipg then appear'd in the Chriftian 0. T.p. World. So that this fecond Book of Efdras, is, 50-55- in the ftriCteft Senfe, canonical, and is recom mended as fuch by Apoftolical Authority to the Churches of Chrift. And that this was one of thofe facred Books, originally delivered to the primitive Churches by thofe Apoftles, will farther -a appear by' its Reception, in thofe Churches ac cordingly ; which the following Teftimonies will prove. (14.) St. Barnabas, in his Catholick Epiftle,- feems to cites this Book of Efdras ; and that di rectly, as written by a Jewiih Prophet, in thefe' $. i_. Words. After the like Manner he determines con- cerniitg the Crojs ; in another Prophet ; who fays,-. And- (6?> And when will thefe Things be compleated ? Anl the Lord faith, when the Wood fliall bend down, and rife up again ; and when Blood ftiall drop out of the Wood. The former Expreflion is not met With in our prefent Copies of the Prophet Efdras, no more than in thofe of any other Prophet : but the latter is here verbatim. Where in Anlwer to the Prophet's Queftion, about the Signs of the $Efd. v. 4. Confitmmation of the Times, the Angel anfwers, When Blood fi?all drop out of the Wood : which Dr. Bernard juftly efteems a real and direCt Cita- In Barn. tion of this Text of Efdras. he. (15.) Jufiin Martyr, who might be born feveral Diah Years before the end of the firft Century, cites cum Tryph. a famous Text out of Efdras, to be hereafter fet ^297,198. down at large -, which feems to be part of the firft Book of our Prophet Efdras, the Main of which is now loft : and he cites it juft in the fame Manner as he would any other Prophetick Book of the Old Teftament. (16.) Iren&us, who might be born within ten Years of the end of the firft Century, clearly and openly cites this Prophecy of Efdras, as di vinely infpird, in thefe Words •, ' In the Captivi- iil. _5, * ty of the People under Nebuchadnezzar, when' * the Scriptures had been corrupted, [ordeftrofdf] ' and when the Jews, after 70 Years, were re- ' turned back to their own Country. Afterward, ' in the Days of Artaxerxes, King of the Perfians, *.. ' God infpired Efdras, the Prieft, of the Tribe f1^ ' of Levi, to fet in order all the Words of the for- _,o— 48." ' mer Prophets ; and to reftdre the Legiflation of ' Mofes, to the People' : which eminent Teftimc* ny, not only ftrongly confirms, the general Infpi ration of this , Prophet Efdras ; but fecures his prefent Genealogy, and the Reign of Artaxerxes, King- of the Perfians, under which he lived, as jry 'Strom. I. P-3*9> 330. p. 342. Strom. III. f. 46S. 4E/rf-V.35 Be Cult. Fern. §. 3. _ty. Q/». Atha'naf. Tom. II. f 124— 204. (*4) in our prefent Copies, beyond all poflibility of Contradiction. (17.) Clemens Alexandrinus, tho' he feem to coniouild Ezrah the Scribe, and Efdras the Pro* phet together -, yet fays, that, ' By Efdras there ' was made a Revife and Reftoration of the di- c vinely infpired Writings , and the PalTover of ' Salvation was celebrated'. And elfewhere he almoft ufes the Words of Iren&us, ' That under ' the Captivity of Nebuchadnezzar, when the £ Scriptures had been corrupted, [or deftrofd ;] ' in the time of Artaxerxes, King of the Perfians-, ' Efdras, a Levite and Prieft, was infpired, and by ' Prophetick Alfiftance, renewed all the ancient ° Scriptures'. And in another place, he cites a part of a Verfe from this Prophet Efdras, in thefe Words : For why was not my Mother's Womb my Grave ? that I might not fee the Travel of Jacob, and ' the wearifom Toil of the Stock of Ifrael : faith Efd ras the Prophet. Which is, in a manner, verbatim, according to our prefent Copies. CiB) Tertullian allures us, as a thing certain, ' That when Jerufalem had been deftroyed by the ' Babylonians, all the facred Books of the Jewifh ' Literature were reftor'd by Efdras\ according to his Interpretation of the Account in this Book : with a fhrew'd Intimation of his own, that ' The ' Jews rejected fuch Books as this, becaufe of ' the great Advantages which the Chriftians reap- ' ed from them' -, which feems to me to be very true. (19.) The very learned Author of the Synopfis Sacra Scripture, about the Days of Origen, gives us a diftinCt, and an invaluable Catalogue of all the facred Books, both of the Old and New Tefta ment ; with an Abridgement of thofe that were then read in the Churches of Chriftians : he, in both ( *o both Places, recounts two Books of Efdras; whom he takes to be Ezrah the Scribe ; but both as then in one Volume. He means the firft Book of the Apocryphal Efdras as one, and the known Books of Ezrah and Nehemiah, put together, as the other. But then ; what I defire may be here greatly remark'd ; when this Author comes near theConclufion of his Account, of the fecond Book of Efdras, he fheWs, that part of our Book of the Prophet Efdras, was in thofe Days added at its Conclufion. His Words are thefe-, ' It is alfo ' further related of Efdras, that when the holy ' Books had perilhed, by the Negligence of the t People, and, on Account of their long Capti- ' vity, Efdras, who Was a vertuous Man, of a * good Temper, and a Reader, preferved them ' all himfelf, arid at length produced them, and ' publifhed them to all ; by which Means the ' holy Books were preferved' : which unqueftion- ably relates to the famous Account we have in Chap. xiv. of our Prophet Efdras. This Confu> lion of thefe two Efdrafes and Nehemiah, in the Copies of this Author, puts me in Mind of what the later Benedictin Editors of Ambrofe fay con cerning fome of the old MSS. of this Efdras ; Moreover, fay they, one may find this Book /,- Am- copied among the canonical Books, in fome an- b.'ef. ds dient MSS. though not in all of them •, and not Bono ?nor- without fome DiftinCt ion. For in a veiy an- th.. Admon- cient Copy which is kept in our Library, the two canonical Books of Efdras [Ezrah and Ne hemiah'] ' are put together [as one Book.] The fecond Book begins with the firft Chapter of this fourth Book : to be fure it is fo, becaufe its' firft Words are thefe, The fecond Book of the Prophet Efdras. And befides, four fmall Books are made out of the feveral Chapters of this, F ' and itiO. ' and of the third Book mingled together'. Let the fober Reader confider, what could be the Reafon of the Arrange Treatment of this Book, and of the ftrange Confufion its Copies have been in, almoft all the paft Ages of Chriftianity. As for my felf, I confefs, I cannot but ftrongly fii- fpect, that the Jews, about the Days of Barchocabt made that Epitome of the true Book of Ezraht which we now falfely call the canonical one 5 and which, in this Synopfis, and in the Roman Edition, and MS. Alex, is a main Part of the fecond Book of Efdras -, on purpofe that it might pafs for the real fecond Book of the Prophet Efd ras, which we are now treating of. Nor can any other probable Reafon be given, that I fee, of this Forgery, of an Epitome of a Book of Scrip* F.ff.ontJe ture, unknown to the earlier Jews, and Chri- 0. 7- p. 50 ftians, by thefe jews, but with this very defign, "-"5 3- of getting rid of that other ; which fo fully de-> monftrated Jefus, whom they had crucified, to be the true Mefliah. Ad Done- (20.) When Cyprian tells Demetrian, that ' He trian.fs.ulo ' was Ignorant of Divine. Knowledge, if he was poji priucq. <¦ not fenfible that the World was grown old-, and, ' that it did not ftand with that Firmnefs with '- which it flood formerly ; nor had that Vigor of * Youth and Strength with which it formerly 6 flourifh'd' : and when he prefently intimates, that, ' this was the Doctrine of the holy Scriptures', he cannot well be fuppos'd to refer to any other then to that Text in ourEfdras, The World hath loft %r?fd. xiv. its Tonth, and the Time begins to wax old. Which JO' Book, therefore, in all probability, was acknow ledge by Cyprian to be really a Book of holy Scripture. Wei-Sap.- (21.) LaBmtius cites the very fame Pafiage out l¥, iS. 0f Efdras, that will be hereafter fet down, from Juftin U?) Juftin Martyr -, _ and he calls what was therein written, the Teftimony of a Prophet. (22.) Ambrofe, Bifhop of Milan, quotes a great -Epift.XXt deal out of this Book ; which Quotations will be ad Honn- , fet down hereafter : and he not only quotes it, t'an,-m: de but argues at large from it. In particular, he ^^ quotes that moft eminent Text, which concerns XiL'gWe the exaCt time of the Advent and Death of the Bono mpr- Meifias *, and fo as to correct our prefent Copies : tis. & in Which Text is of the greatefl: Confequence of all Ltlc- Ix- others, now extant, in any Prophetick Book in the World. He alfo ever cites this Book as then of undoubted Authority among Chriftians -, and as, without Difpute, Divinely Infpired. (23.) Bafil fpeaks of ' that Plain whither our Epiff.ad 1 Efdras retired, when he wrote all the infpired Chiton. Op. ' Books, out of his own Mind, at the command "fom' ' of God'- Which is an evident Citation of the ^I'^n XlVth Chapter of this Book, as efteemed by him 5;. 'xiv.' not only true, but Prophetical and Divine alfo. 25,6*. (24.) Vigilantms, a Gaul by Birth, but a Pref- Ap.Hieron. byter of the Church of Barcelona in Spain, in the EP- LIU. Days of Jerom, propofed to prove out of what "Wigdant. Jerom called an Apocryphal Book of Efdras, but which the other appears to have efteemed authen tick or canonical, that ' None would venture to ' intercede for others at the Day of Judgment'. 4 g^ vi-u Which DoCtrine is ftill extant, at large, in our ..35 (107) Prophet Efdras. Jerom alfo confefles, that there — — 45- were others befides Vigilantius who read this Book ^'^ of Efdras, as authentick or canonical alfo, in the fame Age. (25.) The very learned Jerom himfelf; the grand Enemy or Defpifer of all facred Books of the old Teftament, that were not preferv'd in . Hebrew, and recommended to him by the Jews! pf his Age -, does yet, with all the Jewifh Wri- / F 2 ters (68;) p-,-4. in fers, acknowledge, that the Hebrew Book of Ez- £zr. & rah Was a fingle Book in it felf-, though the Neh. Words of Nehemiah, ufed, in his Days, to be reckoned to it, as the fecond Book of Ezrah : and that the prefent Apocryphal Books of Efdras were then ftiled the third and fourth Books of Efdras : contrary to all Antiquity, as to the for mer of thofe two -, and contrary to the very firft Words of the Book, as to the latter of them. Whence then has it come to pafs, that the firft and fecond Books of Ezrah or Efdras, the only Books that could be fo ftiled, before the making that Epitome of the firft Book, which now ftands in the Hebrew Canon, under the Name of Ezrah, fhould be ftiled by Jerom, and the vulgar Latin, the third and fourth Books . Viderint Eruditi. How ever, Jerom acknowledges, that both the Greek Verfion, and the old Latin one, made from the Greek, had two Books befides that in the Hebrew, under the Name' of Efdras-, which two he calls The Dreams of the third and fourth Apocryphal Books of Efdras : although he does not deny, They might be fvpported by the Authority of the Septuagint Interpreters. Notwithftanding which Authority, he declares, ' He rejects them ; be- ' caufe the Jews [of his Days'] did not infert them ' into their 24 lacred Books'. He alfo chides np.tXH.ad and banters Vigilantiiis moft feverely, for alleg- Vigiiant. jng the Text above-mentioned out of this Book y and, in way of diftefpect, calls it Apocryphal. Bomi!.- (26.) Chryfoftom informs us,- ' that God infpir- VI i I. in ' ed Efdras, that wonderful Perfon, to put to- Epijt. ad i gether, and publifh the fcattered Fragments of ' the holy Books, alter they had been cut to ' Pieces and burnt'. Which is his Notion of which is in chap. xiv. of this Book -, and which fhews (<59 ) fhews that he efteemed this Book not only True, but Prophetical and Divine alfo. (27.) The Author of the Commentary on the p. 87. GofpelofSt. Mark, among the Works of Jerom, when he comes to the Death of Chrift, fays, Here Ef, y did Blood drop out of the Wood: in a direct Allufion 4 J# ' to the Words of Efdras-, in whom they are found -, or at leaft of Barnabas, who had quoted them be fore him. (28.) Whoever was the Author of the Interpre tation of the Teftimonies againft the Jews, among the Works of Gregory Nyjfen, fays, Thofe Things NylTen. will be fulfilled, faith the Lord, when Blood ftiall Op. Tom. drop out of the Wood. Which fhews, that the Au- IL P- 1 °>6- fhor believed this Book of Efdras, wherein that _,, v Citation is, to be truly Prophetical : as alfo, 4) j' " that his Copy was the fame with ours in this Text, without that which Barnabas appears to have had in his Copy befides, When the Wood ftiall bend down, and rife up again. Which deferves our par ticular Obfervation. (29.) Leontius, of Byzantium, informs us, a- Tie Sea's, bout the end of the fixth Century, that ' Efdras _• 428. ' came to Jerufalem, and, upon finding the XXII ' holy Books burnt, while the Jews had been in ' Captivity, he was reported to have written ' them out anew, by Memory'. Which fhews, that the fame Book of Efdras, was believed to be true in his Days. (30.) The learned Author of the Opus Imper- HonL fettium inMatth&um, about the 10th Century, cites xxxiv.;» this Book 7 and that directly as written by the cake. Prophet Efdras : whofe Words, agreeing with the Purport of our prefent Copies, will be hereafter fet down in theift proper Place, among {he ancient Citations, for correcting our Copies. F 3 And ( 7o) And fo far goes the original or ancient Evidence, that eftablifhes the Authority of this Sacred Book: which of what weight it is, muft be left to the impartial Reader's fober Confideration. But as to the ObjeBions againft the facred Autho rity of this Book, which fo late as Dr. Lee's Differ tation were plainly unfurmountable, as any one may eafily perceive that perufes that Differta tion •, they feem to me to be almoft all of them foo weak to deferve any particular and operofe Anfwer. Indeed, they appear to me almoft wholly owing, either to the grofs Impofitions of the Jews, about the Days of Origen and Jerom ; ¦or to the grofs Ignorance of the latter Ages of Chriftianity. Had the Learned but obferv'd thofe few Lines in Eufebiiis, deriv'd moft probably from that wonderful Chronologer and Hiftorian Afri- p.^.prih. canus, already produc'd, concerning the Perfian Captivity of the Jews, in the Days of Artax erxes- Mnemon -, or in the very Reign where to this Book moft exprefly belongs ; they could hardly have been fo puzzled and perplexed about it, as they have hitherto been. However, it appears very plain, from the Evidence I have produc'd above, that all the ancient Chriftians, who read and confidered this wonderful Book, did, without Hefitation, acknowledge it to be a genuine and an authentick Prophetick Book of the Old Teftament. Nor do I find that the Jews themfelves, from whom it came to the Chriftians, could then deny its original facred Authority-, any farther than as it ftrongly bear witnefs againft them, in their Infidelity, and fo was, of courfe, to be run down by them, as much as poflible ; in order to fupport themfelves againft Chriftianity. N. B. I earneftly defire, that the Inquifitive Reader will here, by way of farther Examinati on ( 7i ) on of the Truth of the Prophefies of this Book, carefully perufe the two Copies of the Xlth and XHth Chapters of it, and compare them with that Explication of the fifth Vifion of Efdras, contain ed in thofe Chapters, which I publifhed a Year ago, as a Specimen of the prefent Work ; and which will be exhibited prefently : concerning an Eagle -, with its great Wings -, and fmall Whigs 5 and Heads -, and Body • and Talons : to be all de ftroyed by a Lion : and to confider ferioufly, whe ther the feveral Parts, whether every one of the feveral Parts of this ancient Prophetick Vifion, of which, I fuppofe, we have ftill Copies above looo Years old, have not been exactly and un denyable fulfill'd, in the foregoing Ages, all along, till this very Day. As to my felf, I confefs, the Predictions, and the Completions feem to me fo exactly to harmonize, that, were it not impoflible to be fo abfurd, I do verily believe fome of 'our modern Infidels would do by thefe Predictions, as Prophyry, and other Infidels have done, and ftill do, by the Predictions in Daniel -, and would boldly affirm, they believed they were written not before, but after thefe their Comple tions. However, the Predictions ftill remaining to be fulfilled, feem to me fo plain, and their Completion fo near at hand, that, I think, it cannot be very many Years e're the Authority of this Book muft be either undenyably efta- blifh'd, by their Completion ; or confuted, by their Failure. To which future, as well as paft Evidence, the final Determination . of this moft important Matter muft be left. I call it a moft important Matter ; as it certainly is : becaufe, if it be once undenyable, that this Book of Efdras is really Prophetical and Divine ; it will be withal undenyable, not only, that the Hiftory of the F 4 Creation, (70 4 Efd.paf- Creation, andrthe Law of Mofes, which are ever fim- here fuppofed True and Divine •, are fo : but that every one of the Prophets of the Old Teftament, 1. 39, 40. which are here all either enumerated, or quoted IT- 18. as true and infpired Prophets, were certainly fo *1}- "' alfo. Nay, it will be farther undenyable, that i The ' Jeuls °^ Nazareth, who was born, and who died at the exaCt Time here foretold concerning the true Meffias, is no other than that true Meffias. N. B. The XVth and XVIth Chapters of this fecond Book of Efdras, are rightly wanting in the Arabick Copy -, and both by the Stile and Con tents appear to belong, not to Efdras, but rather Dijfert. p. to Jeremias. But fince I have little or nothing 22,23. t0 a^d on this SubjeCt, to what Dr. Lee has al- 104-118. ready faid, about that part of this Book, befides the notice of one peculiar Prophecy of Jeremiah therein contained, now diflocated from its pro- pag.-j.priuj per Place in the known Book of that Prophet, chap. xv. 10,11. which has been already obferv'd : I fhall fay no more about thefe Chapters, but refer the Reader to the Doctor's Obfervations, and his own future Enquiries thereto relating. I fay, his own future Enquiries alfo ; for I confefs my felf too little a M after of thofe Chapters, to give him any more compleat Satisfaction. JV. B. It may not, perhaps, be unacceptable to the Reader, to have here fome Account, how far I had any Hints given me towards my Expli cation of the fifth Vifion of Efdras, of whichl have been juft now fpeaking -, and which fhall be fet down immediately, and how far I complied with them. Now, this will foon be done, by producing one fingle imperfect Paflage out of Dr. Lee's DifTertation ¦, which contained either all, or, in a manner, all the Hints I had, in or- t- 58, 99'. der to that Explication. The Words are thefe : -' And (7? ) - — — -' And Prophetical Scripture, muft needs ' anfwer to the left Side of the Eagle. What ' great contending there has been by the Sword, ' to make the right Head eaft up again what it ' hath fwallowed down, we all know : but how ' long this Contention fhall yet laft, until the 1 Sword of the one, ftiall quite devour the Sword of ' the other, none of us knoweth. For moft certainly c all the Thoughts and Politicks of Men fhall * be here confounded : and when we fay, with ' the greatefl: AfTurance, according to humane ' Profpects, Peace, Peace, there fhall be no Peace 1 at all for us ; I fay, for us .- for I know not ' among whom elfe to find that fmall Kingdom, * full of Trouble, which is to fyrvive thofe two * other great Kingdoms, reprefented in Vifion by ' the two remaining Heads of the Eagle. If ' now, at laft, the right Head, after his hav- 1 ing devoured the left, fhould fall through the . * Sword himfelf, then will it be evident, that ' the Xlth and XHth Chapters of Efdras do con- ' tain in them a true and faithful Prophecy, (whoever was the Writer of that Book ;) ' and ' that we reafonably expect thofe other Things • ihortly after to come to pafs, which we are ' there encouraged to hope for. I doubt not • but you [Profeffor Ockley] will be pleas'd, when * you fhall have reflected, with your wonted ' Accuracy, upon Chap. xii. v. 29, 30, 31. For * what can be more expreffive, in the fymboli- ' cal Language, of the grand maritim Powers, at ' this Day, than two Feathers under the Eagle's * Wings, pafjing over the Head, that is on the right ' Side, i. e. over France. I leave you to make * the Application both of this, and of what fol- 4 lows -, concerning the fpecial Divine Providence J and Ordination of Matters, with refpect to ' thefe % (74) thefe -, amidft all the confufed Tumults and Convulfions of State ; which cannot but there in arife 5 notwithftanding that thefe are they whom the Higheft hath kept unto their end, even the end of this laft of the four Monarchies, feen by DanieV. (7. ) A N EXPLICATION 0 F T H E FIFTH VISION OF THE Prophet ESDRAS, CHAP. xi. and xii. Concerning a/zEagle, mth twelve greatWings ; eight fmall Wings ; and three Heads ; hefides his Body, and Talons • to be de ftroyed by a .Lion. Preparatory Obfervations. I. Q I N C E God himfelf, in his Expofition of Vj this Vifion, aflures the Prophet exprefly, that it belongs to the fame fourth or Roman Em- 4 Efd. xii. pire which was formerly fhewn to his Brother Il> '*• Daniel ; and which, we know, was not only g^"' more obfcurely intimated by Mofes, to come Beut, ' from far, from the ends of the Earth, as the Eagle xxviii.49- fiyeth •, but was more diftinCtly defcribed in the Apoc. xir. Apocalypfe of St. John afterwards •, where we x^- have the direct mention of two Wings of the fame great Eagle alfo : our Expofitions of this .Vifion ought all along to refpeCt thofe other parallel (7*) parallel Prophefies, and to have the chief regard ' to thofe feveral Countries, and Kingdoms, which thefe other Prophefies defcribe, and confine them felves to. Which Rule I fhall all along carefully obferve in this Expofition. II. Since, therefore, thofe other Prophefies of Scripture diftinguifh the four Monarchies Geo- graphically, as well as Chronologically -, and do not meddle with thofe Parts of the Roman Empire See £_". on ^^ once belonged to any of the former Monar?' the iT'?? c^es "' we are ^ere on^ t0 ta^e not;ice °f ^^ aiiti t'af- Parts thereof which are peculiar to the North- fm. WefternBranch of that Empire; without medling either with Afia, or with the South-Eaftern Parts of Europe, fo far as they have been feparated from the North-Weftern. Which Rule I have ac cordingly all along carefully obferv'd in this* Expofition alfo. III. The Pofition or Situation of this Roman Eagle is that of his Wings and Heads ftretched - out, and in a flying or hovering Pofture ; and directed from South-Eaft to NortbrWefi -, or from , 4 Efd. xi. the River Euphrates, to Great-Britain ; the in- a- 5- tire Length of the Roman Empire. His Center or Navel is at Rome -, and his, Heads are Weft? wards ; one on the North -, another on the South \ and the principal one in the Middle. XI. 12.22. IV. Accordingly, all the Countries on the North 24! 35. of this Eagle's middle Line, are here fuppofed XII. 29. to be on his right Side -, and thofe on the South on his left Side. XI. 1, 2. V. The twelve great Wings of this Eagle are 5—8. 12. diftinCt Kingdoms and Governments, within the 13,14.18, Roman Empire; of great Activity and Power in xii "4 different Ages fuccelfively. I5>'l5/ VI, Th. (77) VI. The eight /w^ZZ Wings, derived from the XI. __._o, other, are alfo eight leffer Kingdoms or Govern- "-S4-34- ments, as old as fome of the great Wings -, but XIL 2" l9' moft remarkable and potent at different Times, llfl'z9t after thofe great Wings were gone. VII. The three Heads ate three particular great xi. i. 4. Kingdoms or Governments, domineering and ty- 10.23,24. rannizing within the compafs of that- Empire, a x^"3*"*5" little before its DeftruCtion. „'-p. ' VIII. The Body of the Eagle is different from xi. 10.23. thefe eight leffer Wings, and three Heads, during 45- all the later Ages of that Empire. xn- 3-1?- IX. This Body of the Eagle will naturally de- xi. 23.45. note an Empire compos'd of many Principali- XIL 3- ties, united into one Body. X. The Talons of the Eagle will naturally de- xi. 45. note two other Kingdoms or Governments, the one on the right, the other on the left Side, more cruel and griping than any of the fmall Wings. XI. TheTime here belonging to every one of xj- 4- 7>3' the twelve great Wings, is not that of their intire " "" : Duration, but of their watching 5 or of their aCtive 1 and powerful Condition only . i XII. The mighty cry, upon the Danger this XI, 10. ! Eagle is here defcrib'd to have been in of perifhing, XIIa V8« after two of his great Wings were gone, which yet ** ^_/l he efcap'd -, muft be that terrible Noife and Shout- 1 59/1^0 ingthat was made on the Inundation of the Bar- j.217,2180 fearous Nations, which after A. D. 375, and, after the end of the Roman Csefars, in the fourth and fifth Centuries, attack'd, and went near to overthrow the Roman Empire ; but which over throw that Empire then efcaped. No other the like Danger, having ever happened to that Em pire, fince it was eftablilhed, to this Day. XIII. The (78) xi. i5, XIII. The Duration of the adive State of all l6> * 7- the ten later great Wings or Kingdoms of this Ea gle, muft not be more than half the Duration of the active State of the fecond Wing, or Kingdom. N B. The Characters contained under thefe Obfervations are fo many, To plain, and fo eafi- ly difcoVer'd in Hiftory, that any Expofition; which evidently agrees to them all, can hardly be fuppos'd other then the true Expofition. To which Characters, whether the prefent Expofition do thus evidently agree, muft be left to the Judg ment of the Inquifitive and Learned Reader. An Explication of the twelve great Wings of the, Roman Eagle. 4'E/H.xi.i, J. The Roman Commonwealth, from the Con- 2.5,6.12, -ueft. 0f Tbie Cimbri, in the North of Germany^ xir.14'16. when the Romans firft ufed the Eagle as their Enfign, See ~Eff. on in the 1 04th Year before the Chriftian ./Era ; till theApor.p. Julius C&far was made perpetual Dictator, in the 159-165. 47th Year, for 58 Years. &> p 248 jr. The Roman Monarchy under the Gefars at 4_/l'xi. Pome -, from that 47th Year, till the Building' 15.16,17. Conftantinople, A. D. 330., for 377 Years, |_whofe XII. 15. half is 188. Years.] XI. 18. III. The Roman Monarch}'- under the Empe rors of Conftantinople, till its Divifion into the Eaft and Weft Empires, from A D. 330, to 39ft for 6 5; Years. IV. Part of the Roman Empire under theWef- tern Emperors, after that Divifion, from A. Dt 39-;, to 455, for 60 Years. V. Part of the Roman Empire under the Van dals, from A. D. 406, to 534, for 128 Years'. Vl. Part of the Roman Empire under the He- ruli, from A. D. 476, to 493, for 17 Years. VII. Pari (79) VII. Part of the Roman Empire under the 0/- iragoths in Italy, from A. D. 493, to 552, for 59 Years. VIII. Part of the Roman Empire under the Vi- figoths'm Spain, from A. D. 583, to 714, for 131 Years. IX. Part of the Roman Empire under the Ex-> archs of Ravenna, in Italy, from A. D. 567, to 753, for 186 Years. X. Part of the Roman Empire under the Kings of Lombardy, from A. D. 773, to 774, for 21 Years. XI. Part of the Roman Empire in Italy under the Franks, from A. D. 774, to 888, for 114 Years. XII. Part of the Roman Empire in Italy under the Italians, from A. D. 888, to 952, for -r_ Years. '* An Explication of the eight fmall Wings of the Roman Eagle. I. The Kingdom of the Svevi in Spain and Portugal, from A. D. 409. It reigned under Theodimirus and Miro, between A. D. 558, and 593. II. The Kingdom of the Britons, from A. D. 447 . It tried to reign under King Arthur, between A. D. 515 and 542. III. The Kingdom of the Saxons, &c. in England, from A. D. 45J. IV. The Dukedom of Sa voy, from A. D. 879. y 4) - O . a 3- 11.20. £L£ ^ *i. 24. 31. £ |1 xii. 2.^, tJ K J JO, 21. ^ £ - o S « 3 Mq - „ H 5 iV. _J. Th® ( So ) jV. B. The laft State of thefe is not included ill. 2. in the Reproof of the fmall Wings ; as if thefe were not Perfecutors at that time. V. The Kingdom of Leon and Afturias in Spain; from A. D. 7,16, to 1038, for 312 Years. Unit- ted to Spain. . VI. The Dukedom of 'Burgundy, from A. D, 413, to 1477, for I064 Years. United to France. VII. The Kingdom of Naples and Sicily, frorri A. D. 10-0, till 1504, for 504 Years. United to iSp. in. VIII. The Kingdom of Hungary, from A. D. 900, to 1562, for 662 Years. United to the Houfe of Auftria. N. B. The two firft of thefe four were to be de ftroyed, but without the Mention of thofe that were to deftroyed them ; [the three Heads being not then very powerful _] but the two laft were to be deftroyed by fome of the three Heads of the Eagle diftinCtly : as came to pafs accordingly. N. B. If it be faid that the famous Kingdom of the Saracens, or Moors in Spain, is here omitted, I anfwer, that fuch Kingdoms as were neither ori ginally a Part of the Roman Empire, nor ever be came fuch a Part'by Infertion and Coalition in Laws and Religion therewith, as did the other Barbarous Nations, which was the cafe of the Sa- racens, have no pretence to be any part of this Roman Eagle, and fo are juftly excluded from our prefent Catalogue of its Kingdoms, which is only concerned with the Body, the Wings, the Heads, and the Talons of this Roman Eagle. An (Hi ) An Explication of the three Heads of the Roman Eagle. I. The Kingdom of France, in the Middle -, 4 Efd. XL fince Francis the Great, A. D., 1 5.1,5, moft of J 4- 9- 2... whofe Succelfors have perfecuted the Proteftants, *4, 19..o« ever fince they appear'd in the World : which xn5 '__!-"- Head was all along more potent then either of 30>" ' the reft. This Head has already dif appeared fud- denly, and, in thePerfon of Lewis XlVth, has al ready died, (not by the Sword inBattel7 but) with Pain on his Bed, A.D.. 171 5 ; in exaCt Agree ment with this Prophecy. II. The Kingdom of Spain, on the Left or South-Side -, fince Ferdinand the Catholick, the Author of the Inquifition, A. D. 1468. Whofe Succelfors have ftill perfecuted the Proteft ants, ever fince fhey appear'd in the World. This Head is to be devoured by the next Head, I. e. by that on the Right or North-Si^e 5 and this with the Sword. III. The Houfe of Auftria, on the Right or North-Side-, fince the Emperor Albert of Auftria, A. D. 1438. Which Family hath alfo perfecu ted the Proteftants ever fince they appear'd in the World. This Head is to perifti by the Sword at laft. Aii Explication of the Body of the Roman Eagle. This Body of the Eagle can be nothing, I 4 Efd. XL, think, but the German Empire, fince Charles the 37.45,46. Great, A. D. 800, and muftconfift of the feve- xil.3. 31, ral particular Electorates and States of Germany, 3Z>33. that are within the old Roman Empire, or South Of the Danube. G An (8a) Au Explication of the Talons of the Romafr Eagle. "&• 45- Thefe Talons muft be two very cruel and rapaci ous Kingdoms or Governments, one on the North, and the other on the South -Side, but too final! to be called Heads of the Eagle ; with which they are contemporary. I interpret them of the Kingdom of Portugal fince A. D. 1.40, and of the Netherlands fince 1558 ; both which have been bitter Perfecutors of the Protettants, ever fince they appear'd in the World -, witnefs not only in general the Inquifition in Portugal, and the Severity of the Netherlands, both well known _ but, in particular, the Barbarous Inquifition at Soa, and the Savage Cruelty of the Duke D'_4/.«, belonging to the fame Governments. CONCLUSION. •Efd XI ^e intire Body of this Eagle, with his horri- I7.45 46^- ^e $reat Wings, and wicked fmall Wings, and XII. 3*31' malicious Heads and hurtful Talons, are all to 3 2> 33>34'. perifh, upon the Approach of the Lion of the Apoc. v. 5. Tribe of Judah, and Seed of David, when he AEfd. xii. comes to Judgment, a little before the Reftora* tion of the Jews. N. B. The Reader cannot poffibly underftand thefe two laft Chapters of Efdras throughly, as here explained, without confulting the Arabkk Copyj as well as that in our Bibles : both which Copies ftand, in oppolite Columns, at the end of my fourth Volume •, and may be had feparately at my Houfe, and at Mr. Roberts, near the Oxford Arms in Warwick-Lane, Price I s, It will alio be proper 1. 33. ( 8? ) proper for the curious Reader to perufe Dr. Zee's learned Differtation upon this Book, already pub lished, which is fold at the fame Places. Price alfo I s. And his very valuable Expofition of its VII Vifions, when publifhed, which is almoft ready for the Prefs. Price i s. 6 d. To which this my Ex pofition of the Vth Vifion, is defign'd as a Supple. went. N. B. The Corrections now made in this Paper fince it was firft publifhed, March 21ft, 1725-6, are only the following: Pag. 80. 1. 11. fox the Houfe of Auftria, I read, Spain. Pag. 81. 1. 7. for at laft came to be, I read, was all along. Pag. 81. 1. io. I add thefe Words, not by the Sword in Battle, but. N. B. It may not alfo be unacceptable, I fup- pofe, to the Inquifitive Read er, to fet down here thofe eminent and numerous Signs of the laft Days, in one view, which are fcattered in three feveral Places of our Efdras : that fo every fagacious Per- foh may Obferve, whether any of them are alrea dy begun to be fulfilled •, and whether any of them come to be gradually fulfilled in their Seafons hereafter. And this I fhall beg Leave to do in the very Words of the Prophet : I mean, fo far as the Variety and Imperfection of our prefent Copies will permit me to do it, mm it G z CHAP, (84) See Bab. J\ CHAP. V. S concerning the Tokens, Behold the Days fhall come, that they which dwell upon the Earth fhall be caught in their great Riches : and the Way of Truth fhall be hidden : and the Land fhall be barren of Faith : 2 And Iniquity fhall be increafed above fhat which thou now feeft, or that thou haft heard long ago : 3 And the Land which thou feeft now to Reign, [Perftaf fhalt thou fee [tramp-led upon, or~\ wafted fuddenly, and become cfe- folate. 4 But if the moft High grant trice to live, thou fhall fee after the third Trumpet, [or after thefe three Signs f\ that the Sun fhall fuddenly fhine again in the Night ; and the Moon thrice in the Day : <5 And Blood fhall drop out of the Wood : and the Stone fhall give its Voice : and the People fhall be troubled : [and the Air fhall be changed :~\ 6 And he [or a People] fhall Reign, whom' they that dwell on the Earth look not for : and the FqwIs fhall take their flight away together : 7 And (8. ) 7 And the Sodomitifh Sea fhall eaft forth See _>*. living Fifh, and make a Noife in the Night, xivii-9>10, which none have known : but they fhall all hear the Voice thereof. 8 And there fhall be a Chaos [of Confu- fton and Diforder] in many Places : and fur- rounding Fire fhall be fent upon the Earth : and the wild Beafts [of the Princes] fhall change their Places : and [there fhall be Signs in the Women \ or] menftruous Women fhall bring forth Monfters : 9 And fait Waters fhall be found in the fweet : and all Friends fhall deftroy one a- UiOther. "And then Knowledge fhall be hid, and Underftanding withdraw its felf into its fecret Chamber : io And fhall be fought of many, and not be found : and Unr ighteoufnefs and In- contineqey [or Vilenefsf] fhall be multiplied upon Earth. 1 1 One Land alfo fhall ask another, and fay, Is Righteoufnefs, or is Sincerity gone through thee ? and it fhall fay, No. 1 2 At the fame time fhall Men hope but nothing obtain : they fhall labour, but their Ways fhall not be directed. il To fhew thee fuchTokens I have leave. * 20 When the Age is finifhed in which I cHap.vi have determined, that thefe Signs fhall be, I will open the Books above the Firmament of _v ,/;,x. the FJeavens, and they fhall fee all together 3 xx- ' *• G i 21 And ( u ) 21 And the Children of a Year old fhall fpeak with their Voices : the Women with Child fhall bring forth untimely Children, of three [or four] Months old : and they fhall live, and run about. 22 And fuddenly fhall the fown Places appear unfown ; the full Storehoufes fhall fuddenly be found empty : [or, And in Places iviihout Fruit, or Grafs, and Places wherein there was nothing fown, there fhall grow Plants and Grain, and full Ears ; with which they fhall fill the Magazines and Granaries '.J 7/xxviii. ' 2^ And the Trumpet fhall give a Sound ; which when every Man hearech, they fhall be fuddenly afraid. • 24 At that time fhall Friends fight one againft another, like Enemies : the Earth fhall ftand in fear, with thofe that dwell therein: and the Veins of the Fountains fhall ftand ftill, and fhall not run, for the fpace of three Hours. chap.ix 1 When thou feeft part of the Signs paft, which I have told thee before, 2 Then fha.lt thou underftand that it is the very fame Time which the moft High hath fixed, in which he will,begin to vifit the World, which he hath made : 3 And when they fee in this World [Earthquakes or] the Changes, and Tumults, and Seditions of Nations; and the Tyranny1 of the Heads and Governors of the People in (87) in feveral Places, and the Want of a Direc tor of the Princes ; 4 Then fhalt thou well underftand that the moft High fpake of thofe things from the Days that were before thee, even from the Beginning. 5 For like as all that is made in the World hath a Beginning, and an End ; and the End is manifeft; 6 Even lb the Times alfo of theHigheft have plain Beginnings, in Wonders and pow erful Works ; -and Endings, in Effe&s, and Signs. 7 And every one that fhall be fa ved, and fhall be able to efcape by his Works, and by Faith, whereby ye have believed ; 8 Shall be preferved from the faid Perils, and fhall fee my Salvation in my Land, and within myBorders: for I have fan&ified them for me, from the beginning. - _V. B. It may not alfo be amifs to fet down here, what, according to my Expofition, is foon to happen ; I mean, fo far as concerns the Kingdom of Spain, the Head on the left Side ; and the Houfe of Auftria, the Head on thz right Side; together with Britain and Savoy , the two fmall Wings that are to con tinue to the end : and this alfo in the very Words of the Prophet. G' 4 24 Then (88) chap .xi 24 Then faw I alfo that (wo of the lu> tie Wings divided themfelves from the fix, and remained under, [or were parted from} the Head that was upon the right Side. 34 There remained the two Heads ; which alfo, in like fort, ruled upon the Earth, and over thofe that dwelt therein : [or, thefe two began to have Dominion over the whole Earth.] 3 5 And I beheld, and lo the Head up- 01^ the right Side, devoured fhat upon the, left Side. chap. 27 The two that remain fhall be flair} XIL with, the Sword. 28 For the Sword of the one fhall devour the other: but at the laft fhall he fall through ' the Sword himfelf. 29 And' whereas thou fawefi; two little Wings pafling "over, [or lifted up on high from^ the Head which is on the right Side: : 30 It fignifieth, that thefe are they whom the Higheft hath kept unto their latter end. This is the fmall Kingdom, and full of Trou ble, as thou fawtft. N. B. We may here take notice of the true and proper Meaning of the Word Apocrypha : which is ufually applied to this Book of Efdras, and to many other facred Books, efpecially 'of the Old Teftament ; but without any diftinCt §enfe or Meaning at all. The Word Apocrypha, fignifies- (89) Signifies properly no more than hidden or con- eeal'd ; and has, in that its Signification, no thing of Reproaph, or of Diminution to the Au thority of any Book •, as is has now been long ufed ; efpecially by the Proteftarit Churches, fince the Reformation. It was firft of all, fo far as I have Obferv'd, applied to thofe wicked and per nicious Books which the old Hereticks, the Fore runners or Follower of Simon Magus, forged un der the Names of Mofes, and Enoch, and Adam, and Ifaiah, and David, and Elijah, and the three Patriarchs : [Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob :] a- gainft which the Apoftles earneftly caution Chri. ftians in their Conftitutions. Thefe Books were, Conftkuu I fuppofe, fo called from the ftriCt Concealment of them among the Hereticks •, and their prodi gious care to Hide them from the Publick, ef pecially from the Learned, of which we have a moft remarkable Inftance in the pretended Epi ftle 'of St. Peter to St. James, now prefixed to the fpurious Edition of the Recognitions of Clement, to be fet down hereafter, left they fhould incur the Odium of Mankind, upon their Detection, as Forgeries, and upon the openDifco- very of the notorious Lies, the vile Doctrines, and the impure Practices contained in them. How ever, many of thefe Apocryphal Books fo foon perifhed, that neither themfelves, nor their Names feem to have much furvivYl the firft Cen tury of the Church. In the former part of the third Centurjr, when Origen became acquainted with the Learned among the Jews, and was taught the Hebrew Language by them, he informs us, that thofe Jews, befides their famous XXII Books of publick Authority, openly read in all their Synagogues, had other ancient Books in Hebrew alfo, which were not openly read in thofe Sy nagogues, ( 90 ) nagogues, but were concealed among the Learned^ and were not ufually known by the Chriftians* And thefe are ftill mention'd by Origen, under the Name of the Jewifh Apocrypha. Out of which the Jews fhew'd both him and Jerom af terward, feveral of thofe Texts, that Jefus Chrift, or his Apoftles, had cited, as out of the Old Tefta ment, but that did not then appear in the common Copies of the XXII Books. Of which Citations we fhall treat more largely hereafter. About the fame time, a moft learned and ac» curate Writer, belonging, in the Opinion of all, to Alexandria, where the Septuagint Verfion of all the facred Books had been made •, and where their autheritick Copies had been repofited -, wrote his Synopfis Sacra Scriptura, and exactly diftin- gnifh'd thofe facred Books both of the Old and New Teftament, into the KavsviKa, 'AvfiKfyo'/utva, pnd A7ron.gu4)flf, i. e. (i.) The Canonical -, read an all Synagogues or Churches. (2.) The Con tradiBed, read in all the Synagogues or Churches, befides thofe of Judea ; but fuch their Reading contradiBed by thofe of Judea : though their ge* nuine Truth and Antiquity was then, I think, never contradiBed by any Jews or Chriftians whomfoever. Which fecond Sort of Books, ma' ny of the latter Ages have learn'd, without any reafon, to call Apocrypha. (3.) The real Apo crypha, not at all read publickly any where, either in Synagogues, or Churches ; though fiill owned as true and authentick Books of holy Scrip ture : under which Name of Scripture they con- ftantly pafs, whenever they are mention'd in Antiquity. Thefe were ufually concealed among the Scribes, and the Learned, as containing thofe Traditionary, Secret, and Divine DoCtrines and Myfteries ; that Key of Knowledge which explain ed ( 9i ) ed the publickly written Law and the Prophets : and which, in the Words of God himfelf, by his Prophet Efdras, contained^ in them, The Vein of ^ Under ftanaing, The Fountain of Wifdom, and the 47. ' 'Stream of Knowledge. Of which Apocryphal Books, this Author reckons Enoch and the Pa triarchs' the two firft : without the leaft Hint, that they were therefore of more uncertain Ori ginal or Authority than the reft. And the laft of which Apocryphal Books, the fame Author reckons the Clemtntincs, [the Epiftles and Coyifti- tutions of Clement"] with this Defcription of part of their Contents, that they were not only True but Divinely Infpired alfo ; as will more fully appear hereafter. Now it feems to - me, that the Occafion of this Difference of the Jewilh; Canon at Jerufalem, from that of Alexandria, and Antiocb,&c. was this ; that the Hebrew Jews had the principal regard to Hebrew Books, writ ten in Judea, by their old Succeffion of Prophets there : . which ended with Malachi : while the other took in all that the Septuagint tranflated into Greek, or had been fince written in that Language ; whether they were at firft written in Judea, or in any other Country : whether they had been at firft written in Hebrew, or Chaldee, in the Median, or Perfian,^ or Grecian Langua ges : with many of which additional Sacred Books, the great Curiofity of Ptolemy Philadelphus had furnifhed his Alexandrian Library, and his Alexandrian and Hellettift Jews, more than what the Jerufalem Hebrew Jews had been acquainted with : and none of whofe Languages the Body of the Jerufalem Jews underftood. Though, I think, it no way appears, that thofe Jerufalem or Hebrew Jews did ever deny the Truth or Genuinenefs of any of thofe Records, which the Alex- XIV, ( 92 ) Alexandrian and Hellenift Jews either admitted in to their Synagogues asCavonical, or preferv'd among their Scribes and learned Men, under the iCha- raCter of Apocryphal. N. B. There always was another Kind of DiftinCHon of the holy Books of the Old Tefta ment among the Jews, which intirely related to the different Degrees of Divine Interpofltion or Infpiration, to them refpeCtively appertaining. I mean, when they were divided into the Law ; the Prophets ; and the Other Books : in the Words p , . of the Son of Sirach : or as the Jews have long bcclxj.'" named the laft Sort, the Cethubim, or Scriptures, which we ufually call the Hagiographa. The two, former of which DiftinCHons -, I mean, that of the Law ; which had the high eft Degree of Divine Interpofltion or Infpiration : and that of the Prophets -, which had the next Degree, are di rectly founded on God's own Words to the People of Ifrael, at the firft Settlement of the Jewifh Qeconomy . And God faid, Hear now my Words -, If there be a Prophet among you, I the Lord will make my felf known unto him in a Vifion, or will fpsak vnto him in a Dream. My Servant Mofes is not fo •, who is faithful in all mine Houfe. With him will I fpeak Mouth to Mouth, in the Vifion. ; and not in dark Speeches. And the Similitude of the Lord ftiall he behold, Accordingly we are affured afterward, that There arofe net fince a Prophet in Ifrael, like unto Mofes ; whom -the Lord knew Face to Face : in all the Signs, and the Wonders, which n, 12. ' the Lord fent him to do in the Land- of Egypt ; to Pharaoh, and to all his Servants, and to all his Land: and in all that mighty Hand, and in all the great Vifion which Mofes ftiewed in the Sight of all Ifrael. The third DiftinCHon direCtly arifes from the other two : fince thofe facred or authenticl; Writers, Num. xii #, 7- Dealxxxiv.l®, ( 9. ) Writers, which could lay claim neither to the Gradus Mofaicus, nor the Gradus Propheticus, muft needs deferve to be placed in a Rank inferior to the two former Sorts •• which we may therefore, in Imitation of the latter Jews, call the Gradus Ha- giographus. But then, that this real and juft Di- fh'nChon had any thing to do originally with that other DiftinCHon of Books canonical, and Books apocryphal : or, that the Hellenifts ever thought the Prophet Efdras inferior to the other. Jewifh Pro phets, becaufe he lived fometime in Media, and fpmetimeat Babylon, and ppflibly might write the different Parts of his Book in the diftinCt Lan guages of thofe Countries, and could not therefore be in the Lift of the Prophets of Judea -, I know no authentick Evidence to affure us •, but the di rect contrary. The ancient Chriftians feem to me ever to quote the Prophet Efdras, as they do the Prophet Ifaiah > and to quote not, only Baruch, but Tobit, and Judith, and the Books of the Mac cabees, as they do Ezrah, Nehemiah, and Efther : to quote Wifdom and Ecclefiajticus, as they do Solomon 's Proverbs. Nay, indeed, they generally efteemed the Book of Wifdom to be written by So- lomcn -, as well as the Book of Proverbs : to whole own Books, both Wifdom and Ecclefiafticus were ufually annex'd, iii the ancient Copies. Nor does the accurate Author of the Synopfis SacraScriptura, in his Prologue to Ecclefiafticus, fet down in our Englifii Bibles, fcrupleto equal its Author, Jefus, the Father of Sirach, with Solomon himfelf : as his own Words directly inform us ; which are thefe : This Jefus did imitate Solomon, and was no lefs famous for Wifdom and Learning. For all which FaCts, I openly appeal to the ancient Records of the Jews and Chriftians themfelves ; and to all thofe among the Learned, who have, with any Degree ( 94 ) Degree of Sagacity and Impartiality, examined thefe Matters in them. N. B. It will be fit to remark here, what Ne» ceffity there was that fuch a Book as this of Efdrai, with others of the fame Nature, that had the cleareft Predictions of the Advent, and Death, and other Circumftances of the Mefliah, and his Kingdom, fhould, in the ccurfe of Divine Provi dence, and according to the Direction of God 4Efd.xiv. himfelf to this Prophet, be for fome time concealed z6. 45 — from the Body of the Jewifh Nation, and confined 4s- to the few among the Wife : or why this, and the like ancient Records, that contained the moft un denyable Characters of that Mefliah of all others, fhould be permitted to lie hid in the Alexandrian Library, and among fome of the Alexandrian Jews," till the Mefliah was dead, and Jerufalem deftroy ed : as the FaCt appears to have been. For tho' it feems highly fit, that the fame Spirit of Prophecy which had fo diftinctly foretold a vaft Number of i King. Events of a lower Nature, and even the Names of xiii. _. Jofiah and Cyrus, fome hundred of Years before 5 K!"s' they were born,. fhould afford Pofterity, at leaft; fxm. i7- equa]iy ciear Predictions concerning the Mefliah If.xliv.zS. himfelf, and his Name alfo : yet ought not thofe ?_v. i. Prophefies to be openly communicated to fuch as were to fulfil them •, becaufe then they would have directly hindred their own Completion. Nor was it morally poflible, that the Book of Efdras, for Inftance, fhould be read in the Synagogues at Je rufalem, and over all Judea, as not lefs canonical1 than Daniel the Prophet, with thefe Predictions in' it, that, ' The Name of the true Mefliah fhould ' be Chrift Jefus: that he fhould be born withiir 6 400 Years of the Date of this Prophecy, under e Artaxerxes : and fhould die after thofe 400 Years *' were over', and yet the Jews fhould themfelves rejeCt (9. ) .ejeCt Jefus of Nazareth, and caufe him to be pin. to Death, as an Impoftor, at that very time: as they certainly were to do : and as they certainly did : but that ignorantly, and becaufe they knew not __z.in.T7. the Lord of Glory. 1 0. II. 8. N. B. Since we have already difcovered the Miflake about Apocryphal Books, and found that thofe we fo call are not really fuch ; or if they were, their Authority would not be thereby weakened at all -,it will deferve to be confidered, whether the $$th Canon of the Apoftles, which is the only in- tire and properly authentick Catalogue of all the publick facred Books that the Chriftians, out of Judea, were to read in their Churches : all which it appears they did accordingly efteem Canoni cal, and all which it appears they did accordingly- read in their Churches : it will, I fay, deferve to be confidered, whether the 8.516 Canon did net, in its original Copies, include all thofe Books we now call Apocryphal -, as it does almoft all of them. Judith is in fome Copies ftill: as well as the three Books of the Maccabees, the two Books of Efdras and the Books of Wifdom and Ecclefiafticus are in all. Only Tobit andWifdom are in none of the prefentCo- pies, unlefs Wifdom be included under the Proverbs. Yet do I believe they were both there originally in all theCopies, and Judith with them : for thefe three Books are equally quoted, or alluded to, as facred Books, in the Body of the Conftitutions, with the VI. 30. reft-, and all of them were equally made ufe of as VIII. 2.4%, ¦ facred Books in the feveral Churches afterwards : as the two oldeft Copies of the Greek Bible ; in which they are all inferted -, with the Citations of the primitive Fathers, do fully demonftrate. N. B. Upon (90 . iV. B. Upon the Comparifon of the fecond Part of this Prophecy of Efdras, chap, iii — xiv. with that excellent, but little efteemed Book of Scripture, ftiled, The Shepherd of Hermas -, fylfert as is particularly done by Dr. Lee ; w'e may Note t- 91-95' ^UC^ a Refembrance and Correfpondence of Cir cumftances between them, as is very peculiar, and very furprizing. The Confequence of which is plainly this ; . that the Divine Providence took the like Care for the- Chriftian Churches Infor mation, after its Apoftoli'cal Canon was .finifhed, by the additional InftruCtions in the Angelical Vifions of Hermas -, that had been taken of the Jewifh Church, after the Jerufalem Canon was finifhed, by the Divine and Angelical Vifions of Efdras -, and this in fiich a Manner, that they fhould, in effect, be both conceal'd, or not much regarded for feveral Ages of the two Churches refpeCtively : while it was not proper fome noble Truths in them declared, . fhould be generally known : yet fhould be both, at laft, made publick and regarded ; when it was pro per thofe Truths fhould be concealed no longer, I leave this Hint with the confidering Reader, without farther Explication : to excite his Curi- ofity in the perufal of thefe Books, in order to the Difcovery of thofe Particulars. Only, before I finifn this Head, I cannot but take notice of one clear and eminent Pafiage in the S. 4,5. 15. IX Similitude of Hermas : it is, that of the four Orders or Ranks of the Builders of the Tower of God's Church ; or of the principal Preachers of See Con- God's true Religion, to Mankind, in the feveral fiitu.V.^S. Ages of the World ; and of the Numbers refpec- tively belonging to them, in Correfpondence tp thofe Ages. Ten for the firft Period, the, Patriarchs, in the Bottom of the Foundation : Twenty (97) Twenty five for the Righteous Men of the fecond Matt. x. Period : Thirty fiv^for the Prophets and Mini- 4*- xxiii. Jlers of the third Period, till the Advent of the a*>- Meffias : and forty for the Apoftles and Teachers vg["£ of Chriftianity afterwards. Which four Periods, p0j}fc.Bn'r.- with a fucceeding Interval, for Intermiflion, fills v.1.4. id! up the Time till the fecond Coming of Chrift to Judgment. I call this a clear and eminent Pajfage 5 for it not only fhews that Hermas knew, by Pro phecy, that there would be a large Interval be tween the firft and fecond Coming of the Meffias, feveral Years before the fame Thing was reveal- ,$,„ nid ed to St. John, or known by any Jew or Chriftian ; VoUfVrini but determines the Number of the feveral Gener- chrift.^ ations of the World, among which thofe Patriarchs, Re™'^* Righteous Men, Prophets, and Minifters, Apoftles, *" 45>' and Teachers, were to preach God's true Religion, almoft to this very Day. . Thus Ten is the exaCt Number of Antediluvian Patriarchs, till the Flood ; Matt. i. for the firft Period in all Copies. Twenty five Luc. Hi. is the Number, in our Copies nearly; in the Armenian exactly, for the Righteous Men, in the next Period, from the Flood, till Samuel ; the _tf.iii.24. firft that began the conftant Series of the Prophets among the Jews. Thirty five is the Number of Generations under the Prophetick CEconomy (the Middle between the 30 in St. Matthew\, and MaiK ;t the 41 in St. Luke's Genealogy) which lafted _«.. iii. till John the Baptift, the Fore-runner of the Mr«.xi. Meffias. And Forty is exactly the Number of-1^- Generations (at the known ufual Rate of three fL^°Q to a Century) from Chrift, to the firft grand Pre- ' pararion for the Proteftant Reformation, by the Preaching of John Wicklijf, about A. D. 13^0. „ -_ By whofe time the Sins and Errors of Chriften- t"e Re'v!p. dom feem to have been full and ripe for Judg- 239,3^. went ; like as were the Sins and Errors of the Jews H alter Luc. xiii. 7,8. *'• 34,35. See Harm. of the Evang. p. 142. See Mcde, p. 945. _?"w. xi. .3* ( 9§ ) after the former three Years of our Saviour's Mi- niftry ; when he faid of them, under the Parable of the barren Fig-tree -, Cut it down : why (kmbreth it the Ground ? When yet he permitted the Dref; fer of the Vineyard, to dig about it, and dung it, for one. Pear more, before its final Doom. After which fourth Year the final Doom was denounced, for its utter Excifion. And, indeed, this Cafe feems to me fo perfectly parallel to that before us, and this fourth Year for the farther Trial of the barren Fig-tree in St. Luke, feems fo exaClly parallel to this Interval of Intermiflion and For-v bearance of the Church in St. Hermas, after the forty Generations were over, before the beginning of the Day of Judgment, that one is tempted to fuppofe, that the Proportion of the former Three Years to the One additional Year may be here obferv'd alfo. But this is fo wholly conjectural, and without any certain foundation, that I fhalf not venture to fet down the Calculation. I con clude this whole Obfervation in the Words of St. Paul, upon a fomewhat like Occafion : 0 the Depth of the Riches, both of the Wifdom and Know ledge of God ! How unfearchable are his Judg ments, and his Ways paft finding out t Short (99 ) fQ\_***__-3. .$&_./ NOTES UPON THE SECOND, Called in the vulgar Latin, The FOV%TH "BOOl^ O F E S D R A S- THIS Book of the Prophet Efdras feems to 4 >. «. m •„ have been compofed in two Parts, and to have been engraven upon 94 finall Box-Tables : of which 24 were open or canonical ; and 70 xiv. 44 concealed or apocryphal ; which DiftinCtion was —47- imitated by St. John, in his Revelation : and ? that nearly in the fame Proportion, of 24 to 70: fa\ mfpo.f and this befides the firft Book, now loft, and the the Rev. two 'firft Chapters of this, which diftinCtly be- p. 44-5?- long to the ten Tribes fcattered over the Ms do- perfian Empire. After which follow the fevenVi- fions of Efdras : to which, I think, the Contents of thofe 94 Box-Tables are confined. Tuft fo was Habakkuk, commanded to write a Vifion of his, andto make it plain uponTables,that he might riinlhn r-j.-i, ji, _. read it. However,we are not able to recover the firft Book of this Prophet Efdras, at thi* Day ; tho* I H 1 fufpetT ( ioo ) fufpeCt what nowftands, 3 Efd. ix. 38 — 55. and Nehem. vii. 70 xii. 26. with a famous PafF- age quoted out of Efdras, by Juftin Martyr and LaBantius, to belong thereto : which Paffage, how ever, omitted hitherto, muft be here fet down. Ju(t.t>ia- From what Efdras explain'd concerning the /a?, cum l„w of the Paffover, fays Juftin, the Jews have _o7^2oS ralfen away this part of his Explication : * And Lad . de ' ' Efdras faid to the People, This Paffover is your Ver. Sap. ' Saviour, and your Refuge. And if you will IV. 18. ' confider it, and it come into your Heart, that ' we fhall humble him for a Sign and afterward ' fhall believe on him, then this Place fhall not ' be made defolate for ever, faith the Lord of 4 Hofts. But if you fhall not believe on him, ' nor hearken to his Preaching, you fhall be re- ' joiced over among the Nations'. NB. I omit here the XVth and XVIthChapters,' as no way belonging to Efdras ; but moft probably • to Jeremias ; as has been already obferv'd. Chap. I. 1. Efdras.] The Son of . . . the Son of Efdras, the Son of Jehozadak, the Son of Se- raias, &c. See 1 Chr. vi. 3 15. Ezr. vii. I 5. I Efd. viii. 1 — 3. Jof. Antiq. X. 11. and Supplement to Literal Ac.complifiiment of Scripture Prophefies, p. 61, 3. Artaxerxes. ~\ Mnemon, about the fifteenth Year of his Reign. 5. My People] Of the ten Tribles, now in Captivity under the Perfians. Ii. Tyrus and Sidon.] The Phcejiicians, or the feven Nations of the Canaanites -, whole capital Cities were Tyre and Sidon. 18. Saying.] Ex. xiv. II, 12. xvi. 3. 19. Angels Bread '.] Pf. lxxviii. 25. 20. Leaves 'of the Trees.'] Of the feventy Palm-trees at Elim, Ex. xv. 27. 71. ( ioi ) 21. Fhiliftines.'] Inhabitants of Paleftine. 23. Made the River fweet.1 Ex. _v. _3---26. 24. Other Nations.] The Medes and Perfians. 30.J Matt, xxiii. 37. 39. Luc. xiii. 34. jVtot. xxiii. 34. Lwc. xi. 37. 49. _!_««. xxiii. 38. Luc xiii. 35. 32 33-J 3;. Houfesf] For Worfhip. A. .B. There feems to be fomewhat wanting be tween the 37th and 38th Verfes : the 38th Verfe beginning a new Difcour'fe about the final Re ftoration of the XII Tribes ; but introduc'd here abruptly. See 1 Bar. iv. 3_. Pfal. Solom. xi. 3,4. 39, 40.] This Order of the XII Minor Pro phets is exaCtly followed in the Synopfis Sacra Scriptur&, and in thels/lS. Alex, and has there fore the beft Title to be their original Order. Chap. II. 2.] Jerufalem or Sion is here in troduc'd, as rejecting her old Children the XII Tribes, and embracing her new ones, the Medes, and Perfians. See Bar. iv. 8 — v. 9. 5, 6, 7.] The Words of the Mefliah, or of his Prophet. 8, 9. 20, 21, 22, 23.] Thefe Predictions or Exhortations feem to belong to the Prophet Jonah : of which more hereafter. There feems to be a Break between the ia and 1 3 Verfes. The latter of which, with thofe following it, feem to be addrefs'd to the Jews concerning their final Reftoration ; and to con tain God's Promife to Jerufalem, or Sion, for the Reftoration of her own Children, the twelve Tribes, which had been fo long difcarded. H 3 18. ( 102 ) IS, 19.] What is here cited from Efay and Jeremy, If. lxvi. 10— 14. Zech. iii. 9. iv,. 7. 10. xiv. 8. confiderably differs from our prefent Copies : and fully implies that part of our Zechary belonged to Jeremy, in the Days of Efdras -, as I have elfewhere fhewed it did, tell - or. ".93! the Days ofBarchocftb. It alfo implies that Ezc- vwf.and kiel is here wrongfully omitted in the Copies : App^d. p. fince the Citation is more directly in this Pro- J1.6» n7, phet, than in either of the others, Ezek. xlvii. IJS- 7. 12. 3 3. j Here begins a neiv Difcourfe. 34. O ye Heathen.~] Medes and Perfians. — Shepherd."} The Meftias. See chap. iv. 45-- 52. 38.] &<_ foretold in the Teftament of Levi, and reach from about the 6th to the 7,6th of Artaxerxes Mnemon. But the 3000 Years of the Arab, fhew that the Author of that Verfion followed the mo dern Hebrew Chronology, which .gives 3000 Years from the Creation till the firft Building of the Temple by Solomon, the Son of David ; and that he miftakes him for the Solomon here menti oned, without any iuft Pretence in the Vifion it felf. 47. That ( io6 ) 47. That was the Dwelling in Jerufalem,] From its rebuilding by Solomon II. about the 16th Year of Artaxerxes Mnemon, till the Days of the Meffias. 48. This was the DeftruBion that came is to come to Jerufalem.] By Titus Vefpafian. 50—57. He ftiewed thee the Brightnefs of her Glory, and the Cffmelinefs of her Beauty, See] ..Which will be at the Building the future Jerufa lem, upon the final Reftoration of the Jews. See the IX laft Chapters of Ezekiel : Apoc. XXI. and ColleB. after the Effay on the Revelation, p, 350 — 357. Chap. XI, XII.] See my Explication of the Fifth _, _,j Vifion of Efdras prrfrtitly. Only Note here, by po<3' 1 . -tj_e ^ay^ tj-at by ^g ^0 mefr{] Eagle here, we are 4 Efd. xi. exprefly to underftand, the Kingdom which was 40.XH.1 1. y^ew |M ^e Vifion of theProphet's Brother Daniel : or, as the Arabick has it, tie fourth Kingdom which hh Brother Daniel the Prophet faw : which de termines two Points of great confequence, by fome difputed, viz. That Daniel the Prophet wrote his Book, not only before the Dajrs of Antiochus Epifhanes, but before the Days of Artaxerxes Mnemon alfo : i. e. above 2oo Years, before the Days of Antiochus : and that the fourth Kingdom in Dan'ul is no other then the Roman Eagle, or Roman Empire. N. B. It is objected to this Book of D3«ze/,th„t SeeAfncan. m that part of it which includes the Hiftory of debujanna. Sujami^ there areAllufions to Greek Words which will not fuit theHebre jvLanguage in which it ought to be written ;that there are, in the Chaldee Part, no fewer than three or four Greek Words made Daw.vii. 5. Chaldee, and all thrice repeated, in the Repetition 10- 15- of the fame Text -, being, indeed, the Names of fo many ( 107 ) many Inftruments of Mufick, haTdly fo old as Daniel pretends to' be ; and that the Chaldee Language of Daniel it felf, is very like that of the Chaldee Paraphrafes which yet are not ancienter than the fecond Century. But then, Jn Anfwer to all this, I Obferve, That both the original He brew, and the Septuagint Verfion of that part of Daniel, which belonged to Sufanna, are long fince loft ; that the original Hebrew and Septuagint Ver fion of the Chaldee part of Daniel are alfo long ¦fince loft ; nay, that the Church hath ufed no o- ther Greek Verfion of all Daniel, fince the Days of Juftin Martyr, but that of Theodotion ; that the diftinCt Accounts of Daniel in Jofephus and Jerom ; with a very large Pafiage preferved in Juftin Mar- ?°f- AntH- tyr, and certain fmall ones, preferved in the Ap- y:. 10>'ll> poftolical Conftitutions, and Ignatius, from the p'Zfin Septuagint Verfion, fhew that the old Hebrew Dan. Jufl. and Greek Daniel differed confiderably from the niaig. Chaldee Verfion, now extant •, and to which wmTryph Theodotion's Verfion is accommodated. So that we ?-247'*4S. have here no Objections againft the original Book ctlhitut; of Daniel it felf ; but Foundations for.a ftrong Suf- v.i.lgnat. picion, of unfair dealing with this Book by the Ad. Mag- lews, about the Days of Barchocab, of which fee nef- $ $• more Eff. on the 0. T. p. 81, 82. 159, i_o- 239, % 240. Nor is it unworthy of our ferious Inquiry, how 'it has come to pafs, that the prefent Copies of the Book of Ecclefiafticus, omit hardly any other ancient Heroes or facred Writers, of the Jewifh Erfus Nation, but thefe two ; part of whofe Books have xlix. their Hebrew Original loft, and are only fupplyed by Chaldee Verfions. I mean Ezrah and Daniel, and the former of thefe Books never heard of till after the Days of Barchocab. Chap. XIII. 9. &c] Apoc. I. 16. XIX. 15. 13.] Herm. Vif. III. and Simil. VIII. 36. A Hill ( 108 ) •3,6. A hill Graven (Arab, a Stone cut) without Hands.] See Dan. xi. 34, 35- . 28. The Law which is like unto Eire, Arab, the Fire was before him.] See Pf 1. 3- 40. Ten Tribes, Arab. 9. Tribes."] ReCte. See Teft. Jofeph. §.19. 2. Baruch. Pr&f The Differratiom and Lit. Accomp. of Scrip. Proph. p. 113, 114, 115. 42. That they might there keep their Statutes which they never kept in their own Land.] Query ; Whether the 10 Tribes have all along kept this Refolution of theirs? See Jer. xiii, xliii. 48. Within my Borders.] Thofe Jews of the two Tribes, that were already gone home. 54.] Prov. iii. 5, 6. Chap. XIV. 10, ir. This World, Arab, this Age] Right from the Deluge till Chrift. See the Differtation. 16. Heneafter.] Under Antichrift. 21, Thy Law is burnt.] That authentick Co py which was laid up in the Temple : not when the Temple was burnt by Nebuchadnezzar : as has been hitherto fuppofed : for Baruch im plies the contrary then, 2 Bar. i. 52. &c. ii. 5. nay Jeremiah then delivered a Copy of that Law to the two Tribes at Babylon : as we have feeri : but when the Temple was defaced, and the Jews perfecuted, by Artaxerxes Mnemon : So that an authentick and compleat Copy might be now wanting in Babylon. Tho' ftill the lo Tribes then in Media and Perfia, and thofe of the 2 Tribes which were now in Egypt, and thofe of them then remaining in Judea, might all have many exact Copies of it preferv'd a- mong them, at the fame Time. 22. &c] It has been commonly fuppofed that Efdras is here defcrib'd as taking 5 Copies of the tri*s. ( i°. ) the whole Old Teftament, or however of the in- tire Pentateuch, from Infpiration ; which feems to me to be a great Miftake. I rather believe that he only took five authentick Copies of his own VII Vifions: part of which included a good deal of that Hiftory of the Creation, &c which was alfo written in God'sLaw. Nor is it ever faid he took Copies of the entire Pentateuch ; much lefs of the whole Old Teftament. On the contrary, It is exprefly faid in one place, that what the five Men wrote, was the wonderfull Vifions of the Night, that were told, which they [before] jhv. 41. knew not : or, according to the Arabick, what he fhould fay to them, according to the Order of the Signs of the Things fucceeding one another, which they had not known ; which feems to me to be a Defcription of thefe VII Vifions of Efdras only. And it we confider the ancient Method of writ ing on Box- Tables, i. e. either of engraving the Letters directly into the Tables, or elfe into theWax that was upon theTables, we fhall find that the 40 Days here mention'd, were not too many for taking fb many Copies of thefe VII Vifions : and,byconfequence, they were much too few for taking the fame Number of Copies of the Pentateuch -, and vaftly too few for the fame number of Copies of the whole OldTefta. ment ; as has been 'hitherto very nujuftly determined. 33. Brethren amongft 31021.] Newly come from Jerufalem. 44. 204. Books in the common Copies, cc^infome, 94 in the Arabick-] I fuppofe the Arabick to have the true Number. 45. 24. Books or Box Tables^] The two firft Vi fions, Chap, iii, iv, v, vi. 1 — 10. 46. 70. Books or Box Tables.] The five laft Vifions, Chap. vi. 11-— 59. vii,viii,ix,x,xi, xii, xiii. xiv. thefe ( no) thefe two Partitions being thus very near the Proportion of 24 to 70. , JV. B. It will here be proper to take notice of the State of our prefent Copies of this Book of Efd ras, and how imperfect they are •, and withal to ennumerate and correct fome of the groffeft Dif- locations, Corruptions, and Interpolations that ap pear in them. The Reader has been already in formed, that the Greek or Septuagint Verfion of this Book is at prefent loft : which Lofs is per haps almoft peculiar to this Book, and to Daniel, of the whole Canon of the Old Teftament. It is alfo but too plain, by the great Difference between the Latin and Arabick Copies ; by the great Differ ence between the Latin Copy which is in the vul gar Bible, and that collated by Faber _ by the con siderable Variations of Ambrofe's Latin Copy from the Arabick one, in that large part of the VII Chapter which our vulgar Copy intirely and un- juftly omits ; and by fome Mixture of other Pro phefies with thofe of Efdras; that our Copies are here very far from that Perfection, which all wife an&good Men cannot but defire in ancient Re cords; efpecially in thofe that claim to be Parts of ty Scripture. The firftError of ourCopies feems to be the Omifion of a few Names in this Genealogy : of which already. The fecond Error feems to be an Interpola- m io_ tion oi a ProPhecy> concerning Afyria and p%s. Nimveh Chap. ii. 8, 9. 20 23. which con tains God's Threatening againft them, and Exhortations to fuch Virtues, the Practice of which would avert God's Judgments from them : which Things furely concern Times long ( III ) Jong before the Days of Ezrah the Scribe, and much v longer before the Days of Efdras the Prophets It feems to me to belong to the Prophecy of Jo nah : whofe fecond Threatenings againft Mniveb are wanting in our Copies of Jonah : but were not wanting in thofe of Tobit, chap. xiv. 4. 8, whofe Hiftory accordingly, chap. i. 17, 18, 19. ii. 3, 4. 7. feems to me to allude to this Text. Hear the two Cafes, and then judge. We are there inform'd, that Tobit hazzarded his Life in order to bvry certain of his Nation that were dead inAffyria. Now we have no where elfe, but in this Exhortation, any facred Command for that Office : and here we have it fully, in thefe Words, Wherefoever thou findejl the Dead, take them, and 4 Efd. it Bury thtm, and I will give thee the firft Place in my 23' Refiirrefiion. In Obedience to which Command it was, probably, that Tobit was fo careful of that charitable Office. The next Error that I fhall take notice of, is an Omiffion in both our Copies, chap. ii. 18. of the Name of Ezekiel : but this has been already taken notice of and corrected. The next Omiffion may be that of thefe Words, found in the Citation of Barnabas : When the Wood ftiall bend down arid riefup again : but of this before. We have aifo mention of three Weeks of Faft- ing, as of thofe which the Angel had. before told Efdras :'¦ which telling before-hand is wanting in our Copies : but this has been alfo obferv'd already. The next, and indeed the moft pernicious Cor ruption of all, and which feems voluntary, , and done by the Jews alfo, concerns that moft eminent Prediction of the Times of the Advent and Death of the Meffias : chap. vii. 28, 2?, 30. which, in our ordinary Copies, runs thus. For my Son Jefus ftiall be revealed., with thofe that hs be with him ; and they that remain ftiall rejoice, within 400 Tears. And after thofe Tears ftiall my Son Chrift die : and all Men that have Life. And the World ftiall be turned into the old Silence feven Days -, like as in the former Judgments -, fo that 710 Man ftiall remain. In the Arabick Copy it ftands thus : For my Son the Mefftab ftiall appear, •with thofe that belong to him, and ftiall give Glad- yiefs to thofe that remain, for about 400 Tears. [The next Verfe, that fpeaks of the Death of the Mefliah, is here intirely, wanting.] Then it goes on, And after this the World ftiall be turned to its former Quietnefs feven Days : and every one in vhom is the Breath of Life ftiall be made an end of: fo that there ftiall not fo much as one remain. The Diforder in our common Copies is here manifeft, in that Aflertion, that All Men that have Life ftiall die with the Meffias'. For then there could be no Age of the Meffias at all, till after the general Refurrection, contrary to all other Evidence whatfoever. The Omiffion of the Death of the Meffias in the Arabick is grofs alfo •, and could hardly arife from any o* ther than a voluntary ACt, and that of an unbe lieving Jew alfo. The Change that is here made from the Appearance ot the Meffias, and of thofe that were to rejoice with him, within 400 Tears -, into a Gladnefs of his Followers during 400 Tears, and only during 400 Tears, before the Day of Judgment, is no lefs grofs alfo. For if we fup pofe this Book written by a true Prophet, the .FaCt having proved falfe, this Claufe could not be written by fuch an one. And if we fuppofe it written by a Counterfeit, i. e. by fome Chri ftian in the firft or following Centuries, fuch an one could not believe 'this Doctrine, that the World was to laft juft and only 400 Years under • the Meflias : it being the Chriftians conftant Ex pectation, ( II? ) jfe&ation, that the Day of Judgment would come in that vety Age, and continued fo, tilljthe Reve lations made to St. Hermas, and St. John, at once Corrected that Miftake, and fheWed that the World was to laft many more that 400 Years before the general Judgment. However, 'tis very providential, that where we moft of all want the genuine Reading, and Where neither our Vulgar nor Arabick Copies are properly uncorrupt, we have this Text preferv'd in a diftinCt Citation of it by Ambrofe, far earli er than any of our Copies, or in the fourth . Century it felf, and which I take to be very near the true original Reading. His Words are thefe ; For, fays God, by Efdras, my Son Jefus ftiall be revealed, with thofe that ftiall rejoice with him, [the Angels, Luk. ii. 1 3, 14, 15.] who re main, within 400 Tears.. And it ftiall be, that af ter thefe Tears my Son Chrift ftiall alfo die, and ¦ the World ftiall be turned, Sec. The next Omiffion, in the common Copies, is a very large one indeed, of no fewer, according to my Divifion, than 114 Verfes: all which the Ara- bick has very feafonably fupplied. Now that this Supply is genuine, appears by the Coherence of the following Verfe in the Latin ; which connects not with what gdes before in the fame Latin, but with what goes before in the Arabick : and by the numerous Citations made out of this Part of Efd ras, by Ambrofe, from his Latin Copies of the fourth Century. Nor is it very unlikely, that the Contents of this Part might, by fome, be' thought fo unfit for the Vulgar -, by reafon of its prodigious Novelty, and Sublimity; that when they got the reft of the Book tranferib'd, for general Ufe, they thought it beft not to tran- fcribe this Part with the reft. Nor, indeed, can I anV ( "4 ) any confidering Perfon, who has but fome Sufpi- cion of its being true, and really a Portion of holy Scripture, perufe it without the greatefl: Concern and Emotion of Soul ; and without a Mixture of the greatefl: Admiration and Surprize ppffible. The next Claufe which I fufpeft to be {Interpo lation, is chap. viii. 1 9. of the Words following ; This is the beginning of the Words of Efdras, before he was taken up. Thefe Words are in the Middle of a Difcourfe in the Latin ; and are intirely omitted in the Arabick, Nor do they at all fuit with the Coherence of the Place in either Copy ; but of this before. * The next Corruption Is that, chap. x. 45, 46. of 3000 Years in the Arabick, twice, for 30 in theLarftfjthe Occafion of which is plain, as above noted, viz. that the Tranflator or Tranfcriber did not know of the 30 Years Ptr/ww Captivityb; and that after thefe 7,oY eaxs,Solomon the Second, rebuilt the Temple, and reftored its Worfhip. He was therefore oblig'd to Allegorize thefe Years ; and to take a Year for loo Years, which is without Example elfewhere in all Antiquity ; and to un derstand the Prediction of Solomon the Son of Da vid's Building the firft Temple ; which was really, by the prefent Hebrew Chronology, 3000 Years alter the Creation ; though that Epocha has no- fhingto do with theCoherence in this Place. The next Corruption is of the Number of the Tribes that went out of Media and P'erfia, in the Days of Artaxerxes, chap. xiii. 40. which the Latin Copy calls ten, while the Arabick has it more exact ly nine Tribes and an half But fince Jofe phu, and all the Moderns, have not been appriz'd of this remarkable FaCt, viz. that half the Tribe of Manaffeh went with their Neighbours, the Ben- jamities, ( II. ) jamities, into the Babylonian Captivity, and not with the reft of their Tribe into the Affyrian ; as will hereafter appear ; 'tis no wonder that theLat in Tranflators or Tranfcribers have here put down the general and common Number iq inftead of theexaCtand unknown 6ne 9 _. , The laft Interpolation that I fhall here men tion, belongs not to the XIV Chapters of Efd ras, but to the two concluding Chapters, that ap pear to belong to Jeremy, chap. xv. 10- ij. I call this an Interpolation here, although we eannnot diftinguiih the feveral Predictions in ^ thefe Chapters, and fort them to the feveral Events whereunto they refpeCtively belong ; be caufe thefe Verfes feem plainly to belong to Jer. xliv. and to contain its true original Reading ; as has been already obferv'd : while neither what now goes before, nor what follows, in this^f,"7- 72, XIV Chapter, appears to have any relation to the fame Matter. And thus much for the grofs Corruptions,Omif li ons, and Diflocations in the prefent Copies of this Books. Yet all thefe, and the other Imperfections" of thofe Copies notwithftanding, I think, that, the general Series, and Tenor, and Content's of this Book are, as in all other like Cafes, very clear, evident, and ufeful ; fuch as ought to invite all curious and inquifitive Perfons, who have any reverence for Divine Revelation, or regard to Prophetick Infpiration, to read and confider it attentively ; and to invite all the truly Learned to contribute their utmoft Endeavours towards' the Difcovery of other and better Copies ; the Correction of thofe we have ; and the intire Re- ftitution of this, as well as of all the other Holy and Prophetick Books to their original Integrity and Perfection. _ I 2 TH E ( nO '1 Sam. xvu ii. V. it v. 13. 7. 7 — 10. x vii. 43. V. . I. THE CLI Pfalra of D^/W. 1 X./V P/tf/w/ is peculiarly written for David, and is out of the Number [of CL.] when he fought the fingle Combat with Goliath. Was fmall among my Brethren, and the youngeft in the Houfe of my Father. 2 I fed my Father's Sheep. My Hands made a mufical Inftrument, and my Fingers touched the Pfaltery. 3 And who will declare it to my Lord ? He himfelf is the Lord, He himfelf hears me. *4 He fent out his Angel, and took me from my Father's Sheep : and he anointed me with the Oil of his Un&ion, [or Mercy.] 5 My Brethren were' goodly and great ; yet was not the Lord well pleafed ,with them. 6 I went out to meet the Philipne, and he cm-fed me by his Idols. 7 But I drew the Sword that was taken from himfelf, arid cut off his Head, and I took away the Reproach from the Children Of IfraeL THE ( H7 ) PSALTERY [The Pfalms and Odes] of SOLOMON. [XVIII in Number.] I. A Pfalm of Solomon. [Jerufalem'5 Lamentation for the Mifery of the two Tribes^ when Bagofes, • the General of Artaxerxes Mnemon, deftroyed it} and carried the Inhabitants into Captivity. See p. 49. 56. prius. And the Differt. prefently.] 1 "T Cried unto the Lord, when I was af- X flitted to the uttermoft : unto the Lord when the Sinners oppreffed me. 2 A cry of the Enemy was fuddenly heard before me. He will hear me becaufe I am filled with Righteoufnefs : 1 I reafoned in my Heart that I was filled with Righteoufnefs, becaufe of my Prospe rity, and the Multitude of my Children : 4 Their Riches have palled over the whole Earth, and their Glory unto the end of the Earth, I | 5 They ( n8) <; They have been exalted unto the Stars : they faid, We fhall never fall. 6 They have injured [Men] with their Riches, and have brought no [Oblation."] .7 Their Sins were in fecret Places, and I knew it not. 8 Their Sins have exceeded the Nations that were before them : they have profan ed the Sanctuary of the Lord, by pollut ing it. [See Tefl. Levi. §. 17.] II. A Pfalm of Solomon, concerning Jerufalem. [On the fame Occafion. See Tefl. Levi^ §.17. and the Differtation upon it.] 1 T XT HEN the wicked Man was be- VV come proud, he eaft down the ftrong Walls with a battering Ram ; and thou haft not hindred. 2 Strange Nations went up upon thine Altar: they trampled on it with their Feet, with Pride. 3 Becaufe the Children of Jerufalem have defiled the San&uary of the Lord, they have profaned the Oblations pf God, by their Iniquities. 4 Wherefore, he faid, eaft thofe [Oblati ons] far from me j there is no fweet Savour in them. $ The Beauty of his Glory is brought to nought before God ; it is difhonoured to the uttermoft. 6 Their ( U9 ) 6 Their Sons and their Daughters are in an evil Captivity ; their Neck has a Mark, aod an ImpreflVon among the Gentiles. 7 He hath done to them according their Sins ; for he hath left them in the Hands pf the Powerful. 8 For he hath turned away his Face from fhewing Mercy to them ;. the young Man, and the old Man, and their Children at once. 9 Becaufe they did wicked Things at once, and would not hear. io Both the Heaven took it hainoufly, and the Earth abhorred them. n Becaufe no Man did therein what Things thefe have done. 12 And the Earth fhall know all thy righteous Judgments, O God. He hath fet the Children of Jerufalem for a Reproach, by reafon of the Harlots that were there in. if Every one that committed Fornica tion walked in the Face of the Sun. They made fport with their Iniquities. 14 As they did them, they openly publiflv ed their Unrighteoufnefs. Even the Daugh-, ters of Jerufalem are polluted according to thy Judgment, 1 <, Becaufe they defiled themfelves in the Pollution of Mixture, I grieve in. my inward Parts, and in my Bowels on this Account, J 4 16 I ( 120 ) T6 I will juftify thee, O God, in upright- nefs of Heart : for in thy Judgments is thy Righteoufnefs, O God. 17 For thou haft repayed Sinners accord ing to their Works ; according to their Sins, which were very great. 18 Thou haft difcovered their Sins ; that thy Judgment may be made manifeft. 1 9 Thou haft blotted out their Memo rial from the Earth. God is a Righteous Judge, and will not admire Perfons, 20 He hath thrown down her Honour from the Throne of Glory : for the Gen tiles have reproached. Jerufalem^ in treading it down. 2 1 He hath girded her with Sack-cloth, inftead of a Garment of Beauty ; with a Cord about her Head, inftead ol a Grown. 22 He hath taken away the Mitre of her Glory, which himfelf put on her. 2 3 Her Beauty is eaft: down to the Earth, ... with diigrace. 24 I alfo faw this, and infreated the Face of the Lord, and faid ; Let it fuffice, O. Lord, what heavy Hand thou haft [already] laid upon Jerufalem, by their Captivity among the Gentiles. 25 For they have derided us, and have. not fpared in Anger, and Wrath, with Defpite. _ 26 And they will compleat our Deftruc- tion, unlefs thou, Q Lord, reproyefl then* m thine Anger. %1 For ( 121 ) _ 7 For they have not a_ted from Zeal, [_- giinft Sm ;3 hut from the Luft of their Soul, 28 To pour out their Rage upon us, in Plunder.; Defer not, O God, to repay them upon their Heads. ? 9 That they may be fenfible of the * Pride of the ^Dragon in his difgrace. * ?erhap_s lo And I did not put off, [my Prayer,] Js „™j£ ijntjl God fhewed me his Reproach ; when «•_-_ and he was wounded upon the Mountains of "^""T Egyp \ when he was defpifed to the laft Eg'ypt ; Degree upon Land and Sea. whoproba- 5 1 When his dead Body was rotted away %*["£, upon the Waves, with great Reproach ; and the jews were was none to bury him. • whe" they '¦ 3* .For he hath brought him to nothing ZLfZ in difgrace. He did not confider that he Captivity. was but a Man, and did not confider his Se° ffld- laft End. m "4*40K 5 3 He fai4, I will be Lord of Land and Sea : and he did not know that it is God who is great, and mighty in his great Power. 34 He is King in the Heavens, and judges both Kings and Princes^ 3 5 Who raifes me up unto Glory, aind lays the Proud afleep, unto eternal Perdi tion, in difgrace ; becaufe they have not known h|mf 36 And now, behold, ye great Men of the Eaifth, the Judgment of the Lord : for jie is a great King, and Righteous -t judgi jpg wjiat is under the Heaven. ( 122 ) 37 Ye that fear the Lord, blefs ye the Lord, with Knowledge : for the Mercy of the Lord is upon them that fear him, with Judgment. 38 To put a Difference between the Righteous and the Sinner; to repay Sh> ners for ever, according to their Works. ' 39 And to have Mercy upon the Righ teous Man, [in delivering him from] the De- preffion of the Sinner ; and to repay the Sinner, according to what he did to the Righteous Man. 40 For the Lord is gracious to thofe that call upon him, with Patience ; to do ac cording to his Mercy to thofe that are with him •, that they may evermore be eftablifh- ed by his Power. 41 Blefled be the Lord for ever, in the Prefence of his Servants, HI. A Pfalm of Solomon, concerning the Righte-, ous, [who humb|| themfelves in this Cap tivity, and acknowledge that the Chaftife, ment of God is for their Good,] 1 1IJ H Y fleepeft thou, O my Soul, and * " does not blefs the Lord ? 2 Sing ye a new Hymn unto God, who is to be praifed. Sing thou, and watch thou upon his watch. For it is a good Thing ( I*. ) Thing to fing a Pfalm to God, out of thy whole Heart. 3 The Righteous are mindful of the Lord continually. The Judgments of the Lord are in Cohieffion, and in Righteoufnefs. 4 A Righteous Man will not defpife when ___. xii. he is chaftened of the Lord. His good *• Will is ever before the Lord. 5 The Righteous Man ftumbled, and juftified the Lord : he fell, and he has re- p.__„™jVf gard to what God will do to him. i<>- 6 He looketh abroad [to fee] whence his Salvation fhall come.. 7 The Truth of the Righteous is with God, their Saviour. Sin upon Sin does not dwell in the Houfe of a Righteous Man. 8 The Righteous Man vifits his Houfe always, to take away Unrighteoufnefs in his fall. 9 He expiated for his Ignorance, with; Fai ling ; artd will humble his Soul. io The Lord alfo cleanfeth every Man that is holy, and his Houfe. 1 1 The Sinner ftumbled, and he curfeth * his Life ; the Day of his Birth, and its Pangs. 12 He hath added Sins upon Sins to his Life. 13 He is fallen, becaufe his Fall is evil ; and the Deftru&ion of the Sinner fhall not rife again for ever. 14 And he fhall not be remembred when the Righteous is vifited. 1 5 This ( 124 ) i ^ This is the Portion of the Sinners for ever. 1 6 But thofe that fear the Lord fhall rife again to Life Eternal ; and their Life fhall be in the Light of the Lord, and fhall no more fail. IV. A Pfalm of Solomon, to thofe that are Men- pleafers, [containing, A Complaint of fome great Man, probably the High-Prieft : or rather his Brother ; who by flattering Bagofes, aimed at the High Priefthood.] i XVT H Y doft thou, O profane Man, fit ** in the Council, whilft thy Heart hath departed far from the Lord, provoking the God of Ifrael by thy TranfgrefTions,? 2 Superfluous in thy Words ; fuperfluous in Signs above all Men ; harfh in thy Words, condemning Offenders in Judgment. 3 And his Hand is among the firft upon him, as out of Zeal : while himfelf is guil ty in variety of Sins and Enormities. 4 His Eyes are upon every Woman, with out Diftinction.' His Tongue is falfe in tlje Covenant, which he hath fworn to. .;. And they have polluted the Sacrifices, as § li- profane Flefh, by the Blood of a Woman in her Infirmity. 14 They have not forfaken a Sin, fuch as the Gentiles did not commit. 1 5 Wherefore God hath infufed into their Cup. a Spirit of Deceit. He hath made them drink a Cup of unmixed Wine, unto Drunk- ennefs. 16 He hath brought one from the utmoft Parts of the Earth • one that ftriketh feverely. 17 He hath determined War againft Je rufalem, and her Land. 18 The Rulers of the Land met him ; with Joy, they faid unto him, Thy Way is made plain : come, enter with Peace. 1 9 They made the rough Ways fmooth [J': xI" *' at his Entrance ; they have opened the Gates in Jerufalem ; they have crowned her Walls. 20 He entred as a Father into the Houfe of his Children, with Peace : he fet his Feet with great Security. 21 He feized on her Towers, and on the Wall of Jerufalem. 22 Becaufe God conduced him witli Se curity, by their Infatuation. 23 He deftroyed their Rulers, and every wife Man in their Counfel. He hath pont ic 3 »ed ( i?.4 ) ed out the Blood of the Inhabitants of Je rufalem, as Water of Uncleannefs. 24 He carried away their Sons aud their Daughters, which they begat in their Pol lution. 25 They did according to their Impu rities, as their Fathers had done. 26 They polluted jM/*/^, and theThings that were fanftified to the Name of God. 27 God is juftified in his Judgments, a- mong the Nations of the Earth. 28 And the Holy Ones of God were in their Innocency, in the midft of them. 29 God is to be praifed, who judgeth all the Earth in his Righteoufnefs. 30 Behold now God hath fhewed us his Judgment, in his Righteoufnefs. 31 Their Eyes have feen thy Judgments,, Q God': we have juftified thy honourable Name for ever. 32 For thou art a GocJ of Righteoufnefs, ii—Z'i6. judging Ifrael* by Chaftifement. 3 3- Reftore to us thy Mercy, O God : and have Mercy upon us. j 34 Gather together the Difperfion of Ifrael, with Mercy and Kindnefs. 3 5 For thy Fidelity is with us ; and we have hardened our Neek, and thou art he who chafiifeft us. 36 Do not thou overlook us, O our God ; left the Gentiles fwallow us up, while there is none to deliver us. 37 For ( I?. ) 37 For thou art our God from the begin ning : and upon thee have we hoped, O Lord. 38 And we will wait with Patience for thee ; for thy Judgments are kind towards us. ^ 9 Let thy good will be to us, and to our Children for ever, O Lord our Saviour. Let us not be moved henceforth for ever and ever. 40 The Lord is to be praifed in his Judg ments, in the mouth of his holy Ones. 41 And be thou, O Ifrael, Bleffed of the Lprd for ever. IX. A Pfalm of Solomon, For Reproof ; [And the Acknowledgement of God's Juftice in this their Captivity : with Prayers for their Reftoration.] 1 YfTHEN Ifrael was led away in their *» Captivity unto a ftrange Land ; when they apoftatiz'd from the Lord, who had delivered, them, [hy Cyrus.] 2 They were eaft away out of the Inhe ritance which the Lord had given them, among every Nation, in the Difperfion of Ifrael, according to the Word of God ; 3 That thou, O God, mighteft be juftified pi thy Righteoufnefs, by their Iniquities.. K 4 4 Vox < »jO r 4 For thou art a righteous Judge towards all the People of the Earth. ^ With a Pfalm and Praife j with an Ode in Gladnefs of Heart, the Fruit of our Lips, in the prepared Inftrument of the Tongue, the firft Fruits of our Lips, from an Holy and Righteous Heart. 6 He that doth thefe Things fhall not bemoved for ever by Evil tor, the Evil One:] the Flame of Fire, and the Wrath of the Wicked fhall not touch him. 7 Whenfoever it fhall come upon the Sin ners, from the Face of the Lord, to deftroy all the Confidence of Sinners. 8 For the Mark of God fhall be upon the &w*.i_4. Righteous, for Salvation. Famine, and the Sword, and Death _M be fer from the Righteous. 9 For they fhall fly from the Holy, as when a Famine follows : It fhall follow af ter Sinners, and fhall lay hold on them ; and ¦ tbofe that do Iniquity fhall not efcape the Judgment of the Lord ; they fhall be laid hold on as by skilful Warriors, io For the Mark of Deftru&ion fhall be Upon their Fore-head. 1 1 And the Inheritance of the Sinners; fhall be DeftruCtion, and Darknefs ; and their Iniquities fhall follow after them unto' Hell beneath. 1 2 Their Inheritance fhall not be found a- mong their Children. 13 For their Iniquities fhall He make t__e' fioufes of the Sinners defolate ; and tto, Sinners? ( HS) Sinners fhall pferifh in the day of the Judg ment of*the Lord for ever. 14 When the Lord fhall vifit the Earth with his Judgment, to make retribution to Sinners for ever and ever. 1 5 But thofe that fear the Lord fhall be treated mercifully therein, and fhall live by the Mercy of their God; XVL A Pfalm of Solomon, For Affiftance. [A Prayer againft defpondency ; and for the divine Aid Under his troubles.] i TJP'HtE-. my Soul flumbered from the ** Lord, I had almoft fallen by the oppreflion of fleep. 2 When I was far from God, my Soul had almoft come unto Death, near to the gates of Hell, With the Sinner ; 3 When my Soul departed from the Lord GOd of Ifrael : unlefs the Lord had helped me by his Mercy for ever. 4 He pricked me ais with the fpur of an Horfe, to make me watchful With him : my Saviour and Defender faved me at all times.1 <; T will give' thee thanks,- O God, that thou haft received me to Salvation ; and thou haft not reckoned me among the Sin ners unto DeftxuCtion. L 6 Da ( mO .6 Do not thou remove thy Mercy from me, O God ; nor thy remembrance from my Heart until Death. 7 Preferve me, O God, from wicked Sin, and from every wicked Woman, that lays a ftumbling Block before the unwife. [As fuch Women did to Kjng Solomon.] 8 And let not the beauty of a wicked Woman deceive me ; and of every one that is fubjeCt from [to] anprofitable Sin. 9 DireCt the Works of mine Hands in thy place : and keep my goings in thy me mory. io Protect my Tongue and my Lips in the words of truth: put far from me an ger and wrath, that is unreafonable. 1 1 Remove far from me murmuring and pufillanimity. If I fhall Sin and tfiou cl&- ftife me, let it be for my converfion. v 12 Strengthen my Soul out of good will; with gladnefs : when thou fupporteft my Soul, let that benefit fatisfy me. 13 For unlefs thpu fupport them, who can abide chaftifement, in poverty ? 14 When the Soul is chaftifed by the means of her putrid Body. It is thy trial in his Flefh, and in the affliction : of poverty. i and hath not fpared. 1 5 The Enemy hath done proudly in his alienation : and his Heart is alien from our God. 16 As are all the things that he hath done' in Jerufalem ; [and] as do the Gentiles m the [other] Cities to their Gods. 17 And ( H9 ) 17 And the Children of the league have prevailed over them, in the midft of the mingled Nations. There was not among them in the midft of Jerufalem that did Mercy and Truth. 1 8 They that loved the Synagogues of the holy fled from them : they flew away, as Swallows from their neft. 19 They were ftricken [or, wandered] in the deferts, to fave their Souls from evil. And a Soul that is faved from them is a thing honourable in tne Eyes of the neighbour hood, ?o They have been difperfed by the un godly into all the Earth : when [or, for] the Heaven reftrained it felf from fending Rain upon the Earth, 21 The eternalFoundation, derived from the great deep, has been reftrained ; becaufe there was none therein that did Righteouf nefs and Judgment : from their Ruler, unto thofe that are leaft, they are in all Sin. 22 The King was in tranfgreflion • and the Judge was in error, and the People in fin. 23 Behold, OLord, andraifeup to them their King, the Son of David, againft the feafon which thou O God feeft : to make him reign over Ifrasl, thy Servant : 24 And gird him with power to beat down unrighteous Rulers. k | 25 Cleanfe ( H° ) 2 5 Cleanfe Jerufalem from the Gentiles, who tread it down to deftru&ion, by Wif dom and Righteoufnefs. 26 Drive away Sinners from thine inheri tance : break to pieces the pride of Sinners as potters veffels [are kroken] with a rod of Iron : break to pieces all their confidence. ; 27 Deftroy thou the Gentiles which are tranfgreffors, by the word of his Mouth • by his threatening drive away the Gentile^ from his face, and reprove Sinners by the word of their Heart. 28 And He fhall gather the holy People together ; which He fhall conduct in righte oufnefs ; and fhall judge the Tribes of the ho ly People by the Lord his God. 29 And He fhall not fuffer unrighteoUfnef§ to abide in the midft of them : and no Man •pf. ci. that is confcious of wickednefs fhall dwell with them. 30 For He will know them that they are all the Children Of God : and He will place Etrf.xivii.them by meafure in their Tribes upon the xlviii- lands. 3 1 And the ftranger and foreigner fhall not dwell with them any longer. . He fhall Judge the Gentiles, and thePeople in the wif dom of his righteoufnefs. 32 And He fhall have People of the Hea then to ferve him, under his Yoke: and He fhall glorify them by a fignal over all the Earth, 33 And 2.0. _ar.ii.il. ( Hi ) 33 And He fhall cleanfe Jerufalem by fanCtification, as it was at the beginning. 34 That the Gentiles may come from the eild of the Earth to fee his glory ; bringing as prefents her infirm Children. ,/ //-xii*-. 3 raanded them. 1 3 Their way hath been in the fear of God every day, from the day that God creat ed them, and from the beginning of the World. 14 And tfiey have not wandered from the day that He created them : they have not forfaken their way, from ancient Ge nerations : unlefs it were when God enjoin- jof.x.u. ec* tnem if0 t0- dof\ by the command of his ?4- Servants. %Kin not to belong to thefe Pfalms of Solomon. But whether it belong to fome other loft Book or Claufe of this Solomon, or of Solomon the Son_of David, I do not know. \ DIS, ( H7 ) DISSERTATION, TO PROVE, That thefe Pfalms of Solomon are genuine . and belong to that Solomon who reftored the JewifhWorfhip, and repaired Jerufalem, after the Perfian Captivity : about the \6th Tear of Artaxerxes Mnemon. SINCE Ihave already proved theBook of Efdras to be genuine, andto belong to theDays oftbePetHans, it will be fit now to produce the Information, we have therein given us, concerning a Solomon different from the Son of David ; who has hitherto been un known to and negleBed by all the modern Criticks* . p/d Efdras - Words are thefe •, After thirty Years, 45. \e. wherein the affliBed Woman had been Barren, in the Vifion : or after the thirty Years, wherein there was no offering made at Sion or Jerufalem, in the Explication ; Solomon builded the City, and offer ed Offerings. Which Name of Solomon is in both the Copies : and who, as I have already obferved, mitft be the Author of thefe Pfalms of Solomon :as pag. 5,5. to whofe Writings I look upon thefe Pfalm as a' ii'-h'.-s' kind of Appendix: and without whofe mention of .4.16,27! this Solomon II. we had never perhaps known who' was the real Author of thefe Pfalms. &.) Three ( *%9 ) (_.) The Stile and Compofition <5f thefe Pfalms is fo exadlly of a piece with the Septuagint Verfion of the Pfalms of David ; as De La CerdU frequently obferves in his Notes ; and as any one may eafily obferveUpon the Comparifon himfelf-, that there is no reafon to doubt but they were pen'd by the fame divine Affiftance, and tranflated by the fame Septuagintlntevvreters with the other : nor was the Septuagint Verfion made more than a fingle Century after the Days of their Author Solomon. (4.; The very learned Author of the Sympfis Sacra Scripttira^ about the Days of Origen, reck ons thefe. Pfalms of Solomon among the facred Books of the Old Teftament, then Read or Sung in the Churches, as we fhall fee anon. Which pub lick Reading or Singingis greatly confirmed,- (5.; By the place thefe Pfalms had in the famous Alexandrian MS. among, or at the End of thofe facred Books, Pfalms and Hymns, which ufed to be Read or Sung in the Chriftian Churches when that MS. was Written : i. e. about the End of the fourth Century. For 'tis certain that thefe Pfalms had a place in that MS. as its original Index ftill preferv'd, fhews : altho' being at the End of the wholeBook, thofe laftLeaves have had the Misfor-' tune to be torn off in Length of time, and fo to be loft from it. (6.) LaBantius, in the former part of the fourth Centary, quotes a Pafiage or two out of thefe Pfalms of Solemon, as out of a Prophetick Book j which have already been fet down. (7.) The Council of Lao dice a, when about A. D. 364, it took upon it felftorejedt all thofe facred Books that were not then in the Canon of the jews, from being after that time Read in the Ghriftian Churches^ as we fhall fee anon, it does ¦) Another ( I6-I ) ($»•) Another unknown Author of fuch aSticho- fnetria, or Index of the Sacred Books of the Old Teftament, without a date, publifhed by Cotelerius : to be fet down hereafter : tho' he feems to have paid fuch a regard to the Council of Laodicea's Canon, as to exclude thefe Pfalms from their old place among the facred Books read in Churches, yet ftill does he enumerates it among the facred Books called Apocrypha : which, as we have al ready feen, was not originally a Name of Re= proach, but of Honour. N. B. Thefe Pfalms were fome time ago pub lifhed by the learned De la Cerda from a very an cient MS. at Strasburg whence Dr. Grabe and Cod. Fabricius took them : and from which Copy (as the Pfeudepitr, only one yet publifhed or collated) my prefent V'ft-Teft. Englifti Tranflation muft of neceffity be taken. goo14""" , N. B. The Reader muft not be furpiz'd, that yy' He finds an CLIft Pfalm of David here prefixed, to this Edition of the Pfalms of Solomon II. fince See Fabric. that Pfalm is ftill common in the Septuagint Edi- ?' Por tions of the Greek Bibles, even in the Roman, 91z' andAlcxandrian ; is mentioned in the Synopfis Sacra Scripture ; is frequently tranflated, and paraphras'd by theAncients •, and is not, that I can difcern, lia ble to any confiderable Sufpicion of Falfificatibn. Nor can I at all guefs" at the reafon why the He brew Copies do all omit it. 'Tis true, the 85th Canon of the Apoftlei, in all ou. prefent Copies, recommends no more than 1 .0 Pfalms : which Reading, if genuine, fhews. the 151ft was not known, or at leaft not owned for genuine, when and where this Canon was made. So I muft leave this Pfalm doubtful, till fome other Copies or Evidence appears about it. *. M T H E ( 162 ) THIRD BOOK OF MAC CA B E ES, In English. Ant. JEr. Ghrifi.z 1 7 ¦N' CHAP. I. O W when Philopator imderftood by thofe that returned back, that Antiochus had taken away thofe places that had been under His dominion, He gave orders to all his forces, both foot and horfe, to march. 2 And taking with him his Sifter Arftnoef he proceeded as far as the places about Ra- phia, where Antiochus army had pitched their camp. 3 But one Thodotus, intending to cont- pleat a treacherous defign he had to betray him, took the beft arms that Ptolemy had had before entrufted to him, and approach ed by night to Ptolemfs Tent, as intending himfelf alone to kill him ; and thereby to put an end to the war, 4 But ( i6j ) 4 But Dofttheus, the Son of Drimylus, a Jew by birth j but one that afterward de- ferted his Religion, and receded the Ordi nances of his tore-fathers, caufed a certain obfcure perfion to lodge there, in his ftead : who accordingly received that punifhment that was intended for the other. $ When the battle was join'd, and was become hot, and fuccefs feemed ready to fa vour Antiochus, Arfmoe went earneftly up and down among the troops, and exhorted them with lamentation, and tears, and her hair in diforder, to fight manfully for themfelves, for their children and wives ; with a pro-; mife to give them every one, if they con- quered* a reward of two pounds of Gold. 6 By which means it^came to pafs, that their enemies were deftroyed in the battle, and many of them taken prifoners alfo. 7 He therefore having efcaped this trea chery, determined to go and encourage the neighbouring Cities : by doing which, and by making prefents to their Temples, he made his fubje£_s eafy and couragious. 8 And when the Jews had fent to him . fome of their Senate and Elders to falute him ; who brought with them prefents, and congratulated him upon what had paft ; it happened that he took a father refolution to take a journey to them very fuddenly. 9 Now when he was come to Jerufalem, lie offered a Sacrifice to the Moft High God, M 2 anJ ( i*4.) and made them prefents, and did what was fit in that place. Moreover, when He was upon the place, He was aftonifhed at thd diligence and decency there obferv'd ; 10 And wondering at the good order a- bout the Temple, He intended to contrive things fo, that He might enter into the pake it felf. 1 1 And when they faid, that this could not be done, becaufe it was not lawful for even perfons of their own nation to enter into- that place ; no, not for all the Priefts themfelves ; but only for the fuperior of them all,, the High-Prieft ; and even for him but once in a ^ear, He would by no means be diffuaded. j 2 And defpiffhg the Law, He would by no means leave off his. progrefs ; but faid, He muft go in ; and tho' others were depriv'd of that honour,. He would not be fo deprived. 1 3 He asked alfo this queftion, why none of thofe that attended any other Tem ples hindred him from entring into them .? 14 And when a certain perfon imprudent ly faid, that This was an Omen forboding- evil, 1 ^ He anfwered, Now I have gone fo far, why may I not go farther,, whether you will or no ? 16 Now the Priefts fell down in their holy garments,, and prayed the Moft High God ( Itf. ) God to affift them in this great diftrefs ; and divert the violence of him that made this wicked attempt upon them. And they filled the Temple with clamour and tears. 17 And they that were left in the City were troubled, and came running, as think ing the thing to be without example. 1 8 The Virgins alfo, that were fhut up in private chambers, with their mothers, rufhed out ; and fprinkling afhes and duft upon their heads, filled the ftreets with groans and lamentations. 1 g And thofe that were lately adorn'd with their wedding garments, leaving their marriage chambers, and that decent mo- defty to them belonging, ran about the City in great diforder. 20 The young Children alfo, and their mothers and nurfes with them, deferring their charge, ran fome one way, fome ano ther ; fome by the houfes, and fome by the other ways, and went in troops together pndauntedly to the mbft glorious Temple, 21 And the Prayer of the whole com pany was various, upon account of this un hallowed Attempt. 22 And befides thefe, there were the bolder Citizens, who would not bear what He was doing, and what He was refolv'd to go through with : 23 Crying put, that They muft Arm fhemfelves for this onfet ; and couragioufly M 2 Die ( 166 y Die for the Law of their fathers : and there by occafion'd much difficulty in the place. And thefe were hardly diffuaded by the Se niors and Elders ; though at laft they alfo retir'd to the fame ftation of Prayer. 24 As for the multitude, they continued as before, in the fame manner, praying. 2$ While the Elders that were about the King, tried many ways to divert his proud mind from his intended purpofe. 26 But He, in an haughty manner, and difdaining all their perfuafions, attempted to break in upon them j as refolving to bring his declared defign to pafs. 27 Which, when his Attendants perceiv. ed, they were averfe ; efpecially when they faw our people calling upon Him, who had all power to give affiftance in the prefent diftrefs ; and who did not over-look this unlawful and proud behaviour. 28 Now from the reiterated and labori7 ous clamour of the multitude, united toge ther, there was a fort of infufferable Cry. 29 For one could hardly fuppofe any 0- ther, than, that not the men only, but the very walls, and the ground echo'd again ; as if the whole multitude at that time chofe to die, rather than that place fhould be pro faned. Chap. ( i(57 ) Chap. II. i Tl UT then, the High-Prieft Simon, JL3 bending his knees before the holy Place, andfpreading out his hands decently, He made the following Prayer ; 2 O Lord, O Lord, the King of Hea ven, . and: Governor of all the Creation ; who art the Holy One among Holy Beings ; the only Governor, the Almighty Lord ; give ear unto us who are afflicted by this unholy and profane man, puffed up with infolence and ftrength. $ For thou art He who haft Created all things, and ruleft all things. Thou, art the righteous Governor, and judgeft thofe that a£t any thing in an injurious and haughty Manner. 4 Thou deftroyedft the old Sinners ; a- mong whom were the Giants, who trufted to their ftrength and courage, by bringing upon them an immenfe mafs of water : <;, Thou burnedft up the proud Sodomites with fire and brimftone, who were infamous for their wicked works ; and madeft them an example to thofe that come afterward. 6 Thou fhewedft thy dominion by try ing the vaunting bold Pharaoh, who had en- flav'd thy holy People Ifrael, with various kinds of punifhments, whereby thou ma,deft known thy ftrength, M 4 7 And ( 168 ) 7 And drownedft Him in the depth of the Sea, when he purfued them with his Chariots, and the multitude of his troops ; and prefervedft thofe unhurt that trufted on Thee, that art Lord of the whole Creation. 8 Who when they had experienced the works of thy hands, Praifed thee, the Al mighty Lord. 9 Thou, O King, when thou hadft creat ed the boundlefs and immenfe Earth, chofeft this City, and fanftifiedft this place, for a Name to Thee, who ftandeft in need of nothing ; and haft glorified it by thy mag nificent prefence, and fprtified it for the glory of thy great and honourable Name. io Moreover, out of love to the houfe of Ifrasl, thou prornifedft, that if we fhould fall off from Thee, and diftrefs fhould over take us, and we fhould come to this place, and pray, thou wouldft hear our fupplica- tion :. 1 1 For thou art faithful and true. 12 And, becaufe, when our Fathers were frequenly ip affti&ion, thou affbrdedft them affiftance in their low eftate, and delivereft them out of great dangers „• 13 Lo, We are now afftifted, O holy King, on account of our many and great Sins : we are alfo fubjeft to our enemies, and are given up to our infirmities, 14 Now, in our fall, this infolent and profane Man endeavours to difhonour this ; holy ( 169 ) holy Place, that is fet apart for the Name of thy glory. 15 Thy Habitation indeed, The Heaven of Heaven, is unapproachable by men. 16 But becaufe thou haft been pleas'd to place thy glory among thy People Ifrael, thou haft fanftified this place. 17 Do not thou take vengeance on us by the pollution of thefe men • neither do thou punifh us by their profanation ; that .the Tranfgreffors may not glory in their fury, nor rejoice in the pride of their tongue, faying, 18 We have troden down the Houfe of fanftification, as the houfes of abomination are troden down. 1 9 Blot out our fins ; and fcatter our er rors ; and fend the light of thy mercy up on us at this hour. 20 Let thy mercies prevent us quickly ; and put praifes into the mouth of us that are fallen down, and become contrite in our Souls, and give us peace. 21 Here it was that the All-feeing God, who is before all things, Holy among his Holy ones, Heard our righteous fupplicati- on, and chaftifed him that was greatly ex alted with injuftice and infolence. 22 Shaking him this way, and that way, as a reed is Ihaken with the wind, fo that He lay upon the floor, without motion ; with his joints loofened ; without being able ( 170 ) able to fpeak; as fmitten with a juft judg* ment. 2} Whereupon His Friends and his Guards, when they faw that quick and fudden punifh ment that had overtaken him ; being alfo afraid left he fhpuld die ; in terrible fear, they fuddenly drew him out of the Place. 24 But when after fome time he had re covered himfelf, his punifhment did not bring him to repentance ; but he went a- way, leaving bitter threatenings behind him. 2$ So that when He came into Egypt, He toth grew worfe in wickednefs •, and upon converting with his drunken Companions, and fuch friends as were eftranged from all that was good ; of whom we have fpoken already, 26 He not only was infatiable in innu merable inftances of debauchery, but pro ceeded farther to that degree of infolenee, that he raifed reproaches up and down a- gainft us ; and that many of his friends, attending to the King's purpofe, did them felves alfo follow his will. Am. Mr. 27 Now he propofed to promulgate a Chrif. 216 Decree againft our nation ; and railing a Pillar at the door of his Court, He put this \jtnfcription upon it ; 28 That none who do not Sacrifice to our Gods fhall enter here. And that all ( '71 > the Jews fhall be obliged to come to have their names regiftred, and to be feized upon by force, and put to death. 29- That thofe alfo that are regiftred fhall have a Mark imprinted by fire upon their body, viz. an Ivy-leaf, the Signature of Bacchus ¦: and that thofe thus marked, fhall jbe fet apart from the Slaves, and ferve the King in that condition. 30 But. that he might not appear an ene my to them all, He wrote underneath thus ; That if any of them chofe to be initiated into our myfteries, and to live accordingly, they fhall have equal privileges with the Citizens of Alexandria. 51 And, indeed, a few of thofe that lived in the City, whofe minds were not firm, but who had regard to the honour of Citizens, and of its religion, eafily refign'd themfelves up thereto : as expe&ing to be partakers of great glory, by being of the feme way of \$/brfl_ip with the King. 3 2 But the greatefl: part perfe ver'd, and did not depart fom their religion ; and1 re deeming their lives with money, did fear- lefsly endeavour to efcape the Regiftring themfelves ; and flood in good hope of ob taining affiftance. They alfo abhorred thofe of their own Nation who had apoftatiz'd ; and deemed them the enemies of their na tion ; and excluded them from common cpnverfatioii, and the advantages of life. Ch a p. ( !72 ) Chap. Ill, i rVTOW affoon as this wicked man was j^\| informed of this, He was fo enrag'd, as not only to be angry at thofe Jews who lived at Alexandria, but was very averfe to thofe alfo that lived in -the country : and com manded that they fhould make hafte and gather them all together, and put them to death, after the moft cruel manner. 2 While thefe things were in agitation. a finifter report went forth againft our na tion, among thofe men who were content ing to this wicked project, upon the com plaint of thofe Apoftates, that we forbad them to communicate with us in our Ordi nances, 3 But the Jews immutably preferv'd their good will and their fidelity "to their Kings : 4 But as they worfhipped God, and or dered their converfation according to his Law,They made a feparation in fome points, and difagreed to others. On which'account they appeared odious to. fome, 5 However, by adorning their converfa tion with the works of the righteous, they were approved of all men. 6 Whereupon thofe foreigners had no re gard to that good converfation every where fo eminent ; 7 But ( >7. ) 7 But made a great noife about the fe paration they made from others in their ways of worfhip, and forts of food •, and faid, that thefe Men were not fociable, either with the King, or with his Armies: but that they were troublefome to them, and great ly oppofite to the fuccefs of their affairs : fo thaLt they defamed them with great re proaches. 8 But .ftill thofe Greeks that were in the City, and were not injured by them, ob- fervingthe unexpected difturbance there was raifed, and unforefeen concourfes of People about thefe Men, were not however able to help them* For the Conftitution of the Government was tyrannical. Yet they ufed exhortations in their favour ; and were very forry for them ; and thought this would come to nothing : 9 Since fo vaft a body of Men, that had done no harm, could not be fo eafily def- 1 pifed. io And befides, certain of their Neigh bours, and Friends, and Partners called them together privately, and plighted them their Faith to protect them, and to ufe their utmoft endeavours for their affif tance. 1 1 But Ptolemy, as then exulting in his prefent profperif y ; arid having no regard to she Power of the Moft High God ; and in tending ( 174 ) tending to proceed always in ribe fame conduct j wrote this Epiftle againft them, 1 2 King Ptolemy Vhtlopator to his Com manders and Soldiers in Egypt and eife- whete ; Joy and Health. i $ I am in healm myfelf, and our affairs are in a proipcrous condition : _4 Since our laft Expedition into Aftii as 'you your fclves know, has, by the unfore feen affiftance of the Gods to us, and by our own fort'tude juftly been brought to a happy conclufion, 15 We determined to treat the Na tions that inhabit Cdefyria and Phamcify not by force of Arms, but with great kind* nefs and tendernefs, and readily to do them good, 16 And when we beftowed great reve nues on the Temples of the feveral Cities, we proceeded as far as Jerufalem ; and went tip with an intention to honour the Temple of thefe Wretches, who will never leave off their madnefs. 17 Now thofe Men, in word took Par' coming thither kindly ; but in their beha viour it was otherwife. For when we in tended to go into their holy Place^ and to honour it with decent and moft noblef Gifts, 1 8 They, after their ancient proud man ner, prohibited our entrance, tho' inferior' in ( 17. ) in power to us; on account of that kindnefs which we fhew to all mankind : 1 9 And made known their ill-will towards us; and as being the only nation in the world that are infolent towards Kings, and to wards their own Benefa&ors, they will not bear what others would take kindly. 20 Now we, being moved by the mad- nefs of thefe men, and being returned home with Victory, and come back into Eygpt with the teftimony of having met all nati ons with kindnefs, we have done what was fit for us to do. 2 1 And in the midft of thefe affairs, we have declared our forgivenefs of their nati on to all men ; and on account of their affiftance in war, when we from the begin ning innocently intrufted them in innumer able affairs, and earneftly endeavoured to change them, and were willing to beftow upon them the privileges of Citizens of Alexandria ; and to make them partakers of the eternal facred rites of our religion. 22 But they, putting a finifter interpre tation upon this procedure ; and by that wicked habit which is connatural to them, rejecting the good that was offered them ; and inclining perpetually to that which is evil; 23 Did not only refute that ineftimable privilege, but abhor'd both publickly and privately thofe few amongft themfelves who were ( 176) were better difpofed towards us : ever e>_-;; pe&ing that by their infamous courfe of • procedure, they fhould oblige us to change Pur juft meafures. 24 Wherefore being well aflur'd, by moft certain figns, that thefe men do every way bear us ill-will ; and providing againft thefe wicked people, left, upon any fudden tjou- , ble that may come upon us' hereafter, we fhould have them as enemies upon oifr backs, in the way of treachery and barbarity ; 2<5 We have therefore given Order, that affoon as this Epiftle is brought to you, the fame hour you feize upon thefe wicked peo ple, with their wives, and children, harfhly and roughly ; and fend them to us every" Way fecur'd in iron bonds ; that they may be flain without mercy, by an ignominious death ; fuch as is fuitable to thofe wretches. 26 For when once all thefe are brought to punifhment, we fuppofe, that during the reft of our time, our affairs will exactly proceed with fecurity, and perfect; fafety. 27 But if any body conceals any one of • the Jews, from the old Man,- to the In fant, and the very Suckling, He, and all his family fhall be tortured with the fevereft tortures. 28 But if any body is willing to difcover any of them, he fhall thereby obtain what fubftance that perfon had when he receiv'd his punifhment^ with 2000 drams' of filver alfo ( 177 ) alfo out of the royal Treafury. He fhall alfo be made free ; and have a Garland be- ftowed on him. 29 And every place where a concealed Jew fhall be any way caught, let it be made unpaffable, and burnt down ; and it fhall be rendred intirely ufelefs for all time to come* 30 This is a true Copy of that Epiftle. Chap. IV. i TVTOW wherefoever this Decree hap- J_^| pened to come, there was an uni- verfal feftival of the People among the Hea then ; with fhouting and joy : they now boldly declaring that hatred which had been rooted in their mind of old. 2 But the Jews had a perpetual lamenta tion ; and this moft doleful ; with crying and teal's ; as if their hearts were fet on fire on every fide with their groans ; which bewailed that unexpected Deftru_tion to which they were fuddenly doomed. 3 What Egyptian Nomos, or City, or indeed, what habitable place, or what ftreets were there that were not full of their la mentations ? 4 For they were fent away fo unanimouf- ly, and with fuch bitter and mercilefs minds, by the Commanders in every City, that at their extraordinary punifhment, fome of their very enemies,having common pity be* N fore ( 178) fore their eyes, and fome regard to the un certain cataftrophe of human life, wept at their moft miferable exit. -j For there was led a multitude of" aged men, with their hoary heads, ftooping by the flownefs of their feet, as is ufual in old age, with the violence of a forcible over throw, obliged without [any regard to"] fhame - to walk apace. • 6 Nay, the young Women who had late ly entred into the marriage chamber, in or der to matrimonial fociety, were made par takers of groans inftead of pleafure ; and having duft inftead of ointment on their hair, being led along without a covering ^ but with one accord, fang lamentations in ftead of wedding fongs -, as difordered by vexations of aliens : 7 And were publickly haled along by- force, till they embarked on Ship-board. 8 Their husbands alfo, having fetters in ftead of garlands about their necks, in their flourifhing and youthful vigour, inftead of feafts and youthful relaxation, led the reft of their nuptial days in lamentations, as feeing the grave lying before their feet. 9 They were led like beafts, and dri ven by neceffity, as bound with bonds of iron. Some of them had their necks nail ed to the feats of the Ships ; others had their feet made faft with invincible fetters. io And ( 179 ) io Arid befides all this, the light was fhut out by thick planks above them ¦ that their eyes might be intirely in the dark • and they might lead the life of traitors, dur ing their intire navigation. 1 1 When thefe men therefore were car ried thus unto the Port Schedia, and the reft of the journey by water was over; the King gave order, according to his former De cree, to put them into the Hippodrome « a place vaft in circuit, that was before the City ; and very fit to Expofe them to all that entred into the City ; or that went out thence into the Country ; and that they might have no communication with his forces ; nor might have the favour of walls to enclofe them. 12 But aflbon as this was done, The King, hearing that thofe of their nation, that liv'd in the City, went out privately and frequently to lament that opprobrious mi fery of their brethren ; 1 3 Fell into a paflion, and gave com mand that they fhould treat thefe exaftly after the like manner with thofe other ; and that they fhould not at all abate of the rigor of their punifhment : 14 And that the whole race fhould be enrold by their names ; not now in order to force them to that dangerous way of worfhip which we fpake of juft now ; but in order to have them tortured, in that N 2 mifer- ( i8o) miferable mqnner, which the order enjoin ed ; and at laft to deftroy them in one mo ment of time. 1 5 Now this enrolment was put in prac tice with bitter diligence, and zealous at tention to it, from Sun rifing to Sun fet- ting ; lafting forty days ; without being brought to a conclufion. 1 6 But the King was greatly and contin ually filled with joy ; ordaining feftival days to all his Idols ; Praifing fuch Gods, with a mind feduced from the truth, and with a profane mouth, as were deaf, and could not fpeak to them, nor affift them ; and utter ing unworthy things concerning the Moft High God. 17 Now after the fore-mentioned fpace of time, the Scribes addrefled themfelves to the King ; and informed him, that they could no longer make an intire Enrolment of the Jews : becaufe of their immenfe t,_oo,__o number : becaufe a great many were ftill '•¦' "">»';"¦> in the country •, .f p'hi'io.* *8 And many ftill remained at home ;. in Fiacc. and becaufe thofe that were upon the place T-9U- were f0 many, that the Egyptian Command ers could not manage them. 1 9 And when He threatened them, as ' thofe that had been bribed, in order to pro cure their efcape, it proved that He was fully fatisficd about that matter : when they not only faid, but demonftrated it to be fo; by fhew- ( 181 ) fhewing that both the Paper and Pens which they made ufe of failed them. 21 This was the powerful Operation of that invincible Providence, which from Heaven came in to the Jews Affiftance. Chap. V, i rTHEN calling to him Hermo, who *¦* had the care of the Elephants, as full of fierce anger, and intirely unchange able in his rage, 2 He commanded, that againft the next day, they fhould make the Elephants, iii number 500, drink large quantities of frank- incenfe, and a. great deal of unmixed wine; and when they were become rriad with the large quantity of this potion, they fhould then introduce them to meet the fate of the Jews. 3 And when He had given this command, He returned to his feafting ; Inviting thofe of his friends, and of his army, who were the greatefl enemies to the Jews. 4 Now the Governor of the Elephants, Hermo, exactly performed what he was en- join'd. <; And befides, the Servants appointed to that bufinefs went out in the evening, and bound the hands of the poor wretches ; and took all other care that was neceffary to fccure them : fuppofing that this nation N 3 was ( I«2 ) was at once, that very night, to be utterly deftroyed. 6 Now the Jews, who feemed to the Heathen deftitute of all prote&ion, on ac count of that fatal neceffity which encom- pafs'd them ; together with their bonds ;• 7 Did all, with an inceffant cry, and with tears, call upon the Almighty Lord ; the fupreme difpofer of all power ; their mer ciful God and Father, by prayer. 8 To difappoint that unholy decree which was made againft them ; and to deliver them, with a glorious manifeftation of him felf from that fatal death, which was juft before them, at their feet. 9 So the fervent fupplication of thefe people afcended up to Heaven. lo But Hermo having given the mercilefs Elephants their potion, and filled them full with a fufficient quantity of the wine, and of the frankincenfe, was ready at 'the Palace, in the Morning, to inform the King there of. ii But He who beftows what he pleafes on all men, had eaft a fleep upon the King, a thing good in the night, but now fent in the day, 12 And he was detain'd by a moft fweet and deep fleep ; that he flept, by the procurement of the Lord of all things ; and was greatly dif- appointed of his unlawful purpofe; and migh tily deceiv'd in his immutable contrivance. 13 But ( i8* ) 1 3 But the Jews having efcaped the ap pointed hour, praifed their holy God ; and prayed again to him, who is eafy to be re conciled, that he would fhew the ftrength of his powerful hand to the proud Heathen, 14 And when it was about halfway paft the ninth hour, He that was to call the Guefts, when he faw the Guefts in great numbers about him, came and jogged him. 1$ And when he had, with difficulty, awaked him, he informed him, that the time for the feaft was paffing on ; and add* ed a few Words about the other defign. 16 Which the King refle&ing upon, He betook himfelf to his feaft ; and command ed, that the Guefts that were come to the feaft fhould fit down over-againft him. 1 7 Which being done, he exhorted them to think of nothing but good cheer at pre fent, and to refolve to be very merry ; and allot this evening to gladnefs. 1 8 But in the progrefs of the mirth, the King fent for Hermo, and Asked him, with bitter threatening, For what reafon it was that the Jews were fuffered to out -live that day? 1 9 And he informed him, that he had compleatly finifhed what he was command ed to do, even over night, as the King's friends did alfo bear him witnefs : 20 Whereupon, with a barbarity worfe than that of Phalans, he faid, Let them N 4 tfiank ( i84) thank his fleep that day for the delay : but againft the next morning, without any pro- craftination, do thou, in like manner, pre pare the Elephants for the Deftru&ion of thefe wicked Jews. 2 1 Which when the King had faid, all that were prefent did joyfully, and with pieafure commend it. And fo they were difmift every one to his own houfe. 22 Nor did they enjoy themfelves fo well that night in fleeping, as in devifing all forts of indignities againft thofe whom they e-. fteemed poor wretches. 23 Now aflbon as the Cock had crow'd in the Morning, and Hermo had armed the ^Elephants in the great Cloyfter ; he fet them agoing. 24 And as for the multitude of the peo ple in the City, they crowded to fee the moft miferable fpe£tacle ; earneftly expecf ing the morning. 2 5 But the Jews, as in fufpenfe in their minds, till the critical point of time fhould come, offered up their Interceffion, with abundance of tears, in mournful ditties, with their hands ftretched out towards Hea ven ; and prayed to the Moft High God to affift them a^ain immediately. 26 But before the rays of 'the Sun were fpread abroad, and while the King waited for his friends, Hermo flood ready^ and cal led upon him to come forth : informing the King OS. ) King that what he had commanded was ready. 27 Which when he underftood, and was aftonifhed at that unreafonable exit, being feized with an univerfal Stupor, he asked, What that matter wa£ which was thus dili gently perfected by him ? 28 Now this was no other than the pow erful Interpofltion of that God who governs all things, who had made him, in his mind, intirely forgetful of what he had before con trived. 29 But Hermo, and all his friends, fhew ed him all, faying to him, O King, The Beafts and the Troops are ready according to thy own earneft purpofe. 30 But He was filled with deep wrath at what they faid ; becaufe, , by God's Provi dence, he was derprived of all his under- ftanding and memory, as to [his commands about'} that matter : and looking upon Her mo, with a threatening Countenance, he faid, 3 1 If thy parents or grand-children had been here, they had deferved to have been a glorious prey for the wild beafts, inftead of thefe innocent Jews ; who have de monftrated beyond others an intire and un- fhaken fidelity both to my felf, and to my Anceftors. 32 And, indeed, were it not for that af fection which our education together, and the advantage I have received from thee ¦ - has ( i8_ ) has preferv'd, Thou fhouldft have been put to Death for what thou haft done. 3 3 So Hermo underwent an unexpected and dangerous threatening ; and was eaft down in his vifage and countenance. 34 Every one of the King's friends alfo went off with a ruf ul countenance, and dif- miffed every one of thofe that were met to gether in the crowd to their own private affairs. 3 $ i They cryed with an exceeding great voice in fupplication to the Governor of the Univerfe, to have pity upon them, and fhew his prefence in their relief, who were juft at the gates of the other World. Chap. VI. i TVJOW there was one Eleazar, a Man L\| eminent among thofe Priefts that were brought out of the Country, and one already ftri:ken in Age ; and adorned with all forts of Vertues in the courfe of his Life ; who bid the Elders that were about him to Call upon the Holy God, and made this prayer : # 2 O moft Powerful King, The moft High Almighty Lord God, who Governeft the whole Creation in Mercy : 3 Look, O Father, upon the Seed of Abra ham, upon the Children of Jacob, who was fanciified to Thee, the People of thy Ho ly portion, who are Strangers in a ftrange Land, and are perifhing un juftly. 4 Thou didft deftroy and drown Pharaoh, when He multiplied his Chariots, the then Lord of this Country of Egypt, when He was puffed up with a lawlefs infolence, and a tongue fpeaking great things ; and didft fend the light of thy mercy upon the Stock of Ifrael. .) At the forjner time the Jews were ftrongly tempted to forfake their Religion, and to become Worfhippers of Bacchus : at the latter Religion was not diredtly concerned at all ; but the Matter of Succeffion to the Crown only. (6.) At the former Time all the Jews of Egypt were equally in danger of Deftru&ion ; but at the latter none but the Alexandrian Jews were in fuch danger. (7,) At the former time the Elephants flew none ; but at the latter they flew many of thp Jews Enemies. (8.) The ( 29. ) (8.) The Decree for figning the Jews with an c.»».ff„ Ivy-leaf, as Worfhippers of Bacchus, in the Hid O.&n.T. Maccabees, as Dr. Prideaurt has juftly obferv'd, ¥t-ll-ad was proper to Ptolemy Philopator j as are the An' Zl6' Words of the Author of the Greek Etymologhon -, by him produc'd. Ptolemy Philopator, fays he, was called Gallus ; becaufe he was ftigmatix'd or marked with a Leaf of an Ivy, in the fame Man ner as the Priefts called Galli. Of which Mark we hear no tidings in the Cafe of Ptolemy Phyfco. (9.) The Means of the Jews Deliverance in the Hid Maccabees, were all extraordinary and providential •, but in Jofephus, in good Meafure, human and political : I mean, done by the Per- fuafion of the politick Concubine of Phyfco : who eafily guefs'd, that if the Alexandrian Jews, who had chiefly fupported the Greek Kingdom of the Ptolemies in Egypt all along, were once utterly deftroy'd, their Dominion \yould npt laft long in that Country. (lo-) TheFeftivals appointed on thefe twOOcca- fions, were too different to be fuppofed one and the fame Feftival. For that in the Illd Maccabees was for feven Days, in Memory of the feven Days original Feftival which the Jews celebra ¦ ted, at the King's Changes, before they left the Hippodrome. The other under Phyfco, for one Day •, in Memory of that fingle Day whereon they were then delivered. And, indeed, the Cir cumftances of thefe two differeiVt Hiftories, dofo exaftly agree to the Characters and Times pf thefe two different Kings of Egypt, that they are a great Confirmation of the two Accounts before lis. Nor is there thence any foundation for reducing them to one and the fame Hiftory. Nor does the Agreement of a few Circumftances in ( 204 ) in both thefe Narrations, any more prove them. one and the fame, than the Agreement of the like few Circumftances in either of them, with the parallel Narration of Heliodorus or Apollonius^ in the fecond Book of the Maccabees, chap, iii, proves them to have been the fame with either of them. In fhort, when the reftored Jews had left off their old Idolatry, after the Babylonian Captivity, and had fet up the Worfhip of the One True God • and while* they were exaSt in the Obfervance of his Laws, God was pleafed,, in an extraordinary Manner, to deliver them from five feveral terrible Deftru6.ions, which their Heathen Enemies in tended to bring upon them, (i.) In the Days of Darius Hyftafpis, from Hofopbernes. (2.) In the pays of Artaxerxes Longimanus, the Perfian, froifl Haman. (3.) In the Days of Ptolemy Philopator, flora, himfelf. (4.) In the Days of Antiochus Epiphanes^ from himfelf (?.) In the Pays of Ptolemy Phyfco, from himfelf. Which indeed feems to have been one of the laft eminent Deliverances which was youchfafed to them. For not very long after this, that Nation was fubdued and made tributary \py the Romans -, the'Sedf s of the Pharifees and Sad- ducees arofe ; the 'Rabbins corrupted their genuine Religion,by. their vain and ungodlyTraditions. the Jews evaded thePreaching of John theBaptift -, they rejefted the Preaching of our Bleffed Saviour-, and, at laft, they crucified Him, their true Meffiah. Whereupon they were judicially hardened, ' to their own Deftru&ion •, and given up intirely into the Hands of the Romans ; who went a great Way John. xi. towards the Abolition, not only of theirholy Place. 48. the glorious Temple of Jerufalem ; but of their Nation alfo, in all thofe Parts of the World. N. B. The ( 20$ ) N. B. The Reafon why this Book of the Mac cabees is omitted in many of the vulgar Latin and other Copies, and was lefs known than the othej two, and fo called not the firft but thethirdBooh,as alfo why that Hiftory, as well as the other fet down in Jofephus, were lefs taken notice of by the Body of the Jewifh Nation than many ethers that we have in their facred Records -, feems plainly to have been this ; that here no others were con- cern'd than the Egyptian Jews in the former, and the Alexandrian Jews in the latter Cafe. However, the annual Memorials of thefe Deli verances, obferv'd afterwards in Egypt and at Alexandria ; the conftant place the Hid Book of the Maccebees hath in all oUr ancient Copies of the Greek Bible, even in the Roman and Alexandrian MSS. themfelves ; the Place it alfo hath in all the Copies of the LXXXVth Apoftolical Canon 5 toge ther with the Authority of the Synopfts Sacra Scriptura, belonging to Alexandria it felf, and of Eufebius's Chronicon •, all which own it for tenuine : together with the exa£t Agreement of oth Hiftories to the Circumftances of the Times and Places whereto they feverally belong •, are Evident Arguments of their authentick Nature : and that, in the Words of Dr. Prideaux, concern- ConneB. of ing the IIIdBook of Maccabees, (with which yet, by the 0. and Miftake, He confounds the Account in Jofepbus ; N. Teji. and which He, groundlefsly, fuppofts to have ^f"^ come down to us in a Romantick Drefs, with fome Enlargements and Embelliftments of a Jewifh Inven tion ;) it is not to be doubted but the Ground-work of it is true ; and that there really was fuch a Perfec tion raifed again fi the Jews of Alexandria by Ptole my Philopator, as this Book relates. Only we ought Mere to Note, that the conftant Name of this, as of ( 266) of a Bbok of the Maccabees ; while its Hiftory is about Jo Years ancienfer than that in the other* Books under the fame Name ; makes it not a little x Mace, probable, that this Title of Maccabee was elder _i. 4. than Judas Maccab&iis-, and that the ufual Jewifh Fancy of its original from the firft Letters of thofe Priei.ubi Hebrew Words, Mi Camoka Baelim Jehovah '. fupra. i. e. Who is like unto thee among the Gods, 0 Ex.xv. xi. Jebovah ? which has been fuppofed the Motto of Judas' 's Standard, is no more than a latter Jewifh Fancy, and, like many more of fuch their modem Fancies, deftitute of all original Authority what- foever. N B. I would very willingly here prefent the Inquifitive Reader with a Tranflation of the Greek Verfion of that IVth Book of the Maccabees, which' contained the authentick Hiftory of the famous John Hyrcanus, the High-Prieft next after the Maccabees : concerning which theAuthor of the firft i.Maccab. Book of Maccabees, or whoever added the two laft xvi._3.24. Verfes to that Book, fpeaks thus: As concerning thi reft of the ABs of John, and his Wars, and worthy Deeds, which he did, and the building the Walls [of Jerufalem] which he made, and his Doings : beholi thefe are written in the Chronicles of his Priefthodd, from the Time he was made High Prieft, after his Father. But tho' itiappears not only that Jofephus of old made ufe of that Book in Hebrew ; but that Santes Pagninus, the learned Author of the In- terlineary Latin Verfion of the Bible, had a Greek Ethic. Copy of it at Lyons, in the Days of Sixtus Senenfis, tibVwth. yer (joes jr never appear to have heen publifhed, Grec.wv.p. nor^ £nce tj.at L_bary was burnt, can we nowre- 5 * cover it. All that I can therefore do in this Cafe is to give the Reader the Words of Sixtus Senenfis ^whoisherfe our only original Author. ' The fourth Book of 4 theK' ( 207 ) the Maccabees, fays he, which the Synopfis of Bibiioth. Athanafius reckons among the Apocryphal Scrip- SanH.i.p tures, contains the Hiftory of 3 1 Years: i.e. the 59# A&sof John theMaccabean,who took theSumame of Hyrcetnus, from his Conqueft of [owe] Hyrcanus. This Man obtained the Office of High-Prieft of his Nation, with thecivil Authority, after the Slaughter of hisFatherSizweoM, [Simon the Great -f\ by the Fraud of Ptolemy ; and immediately drew out his Army to oppofe him that had flain hia Father. After this he made a League with An tiochus, King of Syria : after Whofe Death he took many Cities of Syria by Force. He was the firft of the Jews that ever hired Strangers, as Auxiliaries ; by paying them Wages. He took out of David's Sepulchre 3000 Talents. He re newed that League with the Romans, which his Father had already made. He fought and beat Antiochus Gxygenus, King of Syria. He befieged Samaria, theCity that xiSrallea\ Jerufalem, a whole Year, and ra'fed it to the Ground. He alfo broughtRivulets into it ; and by overflowing the very Ruins, and all that remained of the City, after it was rafed, he made it quite difappear. He rebuilt the Walls of Jerufalem, when they were fallen down by Age. And after he had happily performed all this, he died in the 31ft Year of his Reign : having been very eminent on three Accounts ; i. e, as a Erie ft, a Prince, and a Prophet. The beginning of it is this, in the Greek MS. Copy which we read at Lyons, in the Library of SantesPagmnus, that very learned Preacher' : " And after Simon was flain, John his Son was High Prieft in his ftead." ' The Series and Hiftory is almoft the fam_ with that in the XHIth Book of Jofephus Ami- ( soft ) 6 Antiquities. But the Stile, abounds with the ' Idiotifms of the Hebrew Tongue, and is thereby; * very unlike his. We may heHce .plainly, « gather, that they who fuppofe thelVth Book of ' the Maccabees; to be that wherein Jofephus de- * cribesthe Martyrdom of the Maccabean Mother,1 fr and her feven Children ; and which is extant * in fome of the Greek Bibles wjth this Infcripti- 4 on, Jofepbvs concerting the Maccabees, ate mii- ! fekfci '; TJfE ( 2Q9 ) THE EPISTLE O F T H E Jews of Jerufalem T O T H F Jews of Egypt, in the Days of Jonathan the High-Prieft.' 2 Macc. I: per tot. II. i— -18.' Tranflated from the Greek, the Latin, and the Syriack Copies: all contained in the POLYGLOTT. i r ll H E Brethren the Jews that be 1 at Jerufalem, ^ and in the land -*- of Judea, wifh unto the Bre thren the Jews that are throughout Egypt, health and peace. 2 God be gracious unto you ; "and re member his covenant that he made with Abraham, Jfaac, and Jacob, his faithful fer- vants ; P 3 And ( 210 ) 3 And give you all an heart to ferve him, ind to do his will, with a good courage, and a willing mind ; 4 And open your hearts in his law, and commandments ; and fend you peace ; 1 And hear your prayers y and be at one with you ; and never forfake you in time of trouble : 6 And now we be here praying for you, 7 What time as Demetrius has begun to reign, in the 169th year, [of the Seleucid^-^ Ant. Mr. Chrift 144.] We the Jews wrote unto you, [in the days of Judas Mactabausf] in the extremity of trouble, that came upon us in thofe years : from the time that Jafon and his company revolted, [2 Mace, iv.] and were fent from the kingdom [of the Greeks] into the holy land ; {_ And Burnt the porch, [whofe gates had been rebuilt by Nehemiah, ii. 8.] and fhed innocent blood. Then we prayed unto the Lord and were heard : we offered alfo fa- crifice-, and fine flour, and lighted the [feven] lamps, and fet forth the [twelve'] loaves [of the Sbew-bread.~\ 9 We now alfo write unto you, that ye keep the feaft of purification, as that of tabernacles, in the mbnthCapu : [feven or eight days.] 10 In the 1 88th [148th] year the peo ple that were at Jerufalem, and in Jud&a, and ( 211 ) and the council, and Judas, fent greeting/ and health unto Ariftobulus King Ptolemies mafter, [tutor-] who was one of the ftock of the anointed Priefts _ and to the Jews' that were in Egypt .- [fayingj] n t InafmUch as God hath delivered us from great perils', we thank him highly ; as having been in battel againft the King .' [Antiochus the Great.] 12 ' For he eaft them out that fought within the holy city. 1 3 * For when the commander, [Antio chus,] was come into Perfia, and the army with him, 'that feemed invincible, they were flain in the temple of Nanea, by the deceit of Nanea's Priefts.. 14 l For Antiochus,' as though he would marry her, came into the place ; and his s_ Gnu friends that were with, him ; to receive money,; in name of a dowry, 15 * Which when the Priefts of Nanea had fet forth, and he was entred, with a fmall company, into the compafs of the temple ;¦ alfoon as Antiochus was come in: ¦ 1 16 i And opening a privy clooi\of the roof, they threw, ftones' like thunder bolts, and ftruck down the commander : hewed them [that were with him\ in piece. : fmote off their heads ; and eaft them to' thofe that were without «, 4 t .... P 2' ii l fief-' in loc. C 212 ) _7 ' Bleffed be our God in all things, 1 who hath delivered up the ungodly. r 8 * Therefore, whereas we, [Judas, and * the Jews of Judza,] are now propofing to ' keep the purification of the temple upon 1 the 2<;t.h day of the month Cafleu, we * thought it neceflHry to certify you there- * of ; that ye alfo may keep it, [feven or i eight days,] as that of the tabernacles {is ' kept.'] ' We [the Jews, in the days of Jonathan] will alfo give y(3u an account of the fire Neh. vi. which was given us, when Nehemias offer- °; lV ed facrifice, after that he had builded [and purified] the temple and the altar ; [probably upon his fnifhihg the walls of Jerufalem, 4.v. 45' which was done the fame zyh day of Cafleu.] &ljo%h. 1 9 F°r when our fathers were led [out See ciem. of Babylonia] into Per fid [by Darius or Cy- fi*' f o. rusA the Prier^s tnat were then devout'took &>o'r&Ep. the fire of the altar privily, [which they ad Afri . de had before brought to Babylon,] and hid it hufanna. -m an hollow place of a pit, without wa ter : where they kept it fare : [feeding it with fewel continually.] So that the place was unknown to all men : [which was done at the command of Jeremy the prophet, chap. ii. i.] 20 Now after many years were paft, when it pleafed God, Nehemias being fent from the King of Perfia, [Xerxes ,] did fend i vii. 2. xi, II, 12. 16. xii. X m ) fendQf the pofterity of thofe Priefts that had hid it, to the fire : but when they told us they found no fire, but thick water, 21 Then commanded he them to draw it up, and to bring jt. And w.hen the fa- crifiqes were laid on, Nehemias commanded the Priefts to fprinkle the wood, and the things laid thereupon, [the parts of the facripce] with the water: [i. e. to pour fome of that water upon them: as did Elijah, i Kjngs xviii. 32 35.] 22 When this was done, and the time was paft Cxeovo. S_i\6ev as v. 20.] that the Sun had fhone, which was [now] hid in a cloud, there was a great fire kindled : fo that every one niaryelled. 23 And the Priefts, and Jonathan, [one of them, Neh. xii. 14.] and the reft, came .down, and anfwering one another with ac- - clamations, faid, The fire was kindled at the prayer of Nehemias. 24 And the prayer of .Nehemias was af ter this manner : O Lord, O Lord God, Creator of all things ; who art fearful, and ftrong, and righteous, and merciful, and the only King, and the only gracious one ; 25 And: the only giver of all tilings ; the only juft, Almighty, and Eternal Being • Lthouthajt deliverer!: Ifrael from .all trouble- .and d>dft choofe our fathers, and fan£_ify them : P 7 26 Re- ( ?I4%) 26 Receive the facrifice for thy whole people Ifrael : and preferve thine own por tion, and fan&ify it : 27 Gatner our difperfion together : der liver thern that ferve among the Heathen : look upon them that are defpifed, and ab horred : and let the Heathen know that thou art Our God. 28 Afftid them that opprefs us, and with pride do us wrong : 29 Plant thy people again in thy holy place : as Mofes hath fpoken : [Deut. xxx. 4> 5-3 ' ' 30 And the Priefts flood, and fling hymns, until the' facrifice was confumed. 3 1 Now when the Sacrifice was confum ed, and the w^ter that was left, Nehemias commanded them to take great ftones. 32 When this was done, there was kind led a flame from the altar, by which they were confumed : [as in the cafe of Elijah, 1 KJngs xviii. 31, 32. 38.] 3 3 So when this matter was known, it was told the King of Perfta, that, In the place where the Priefts, that were led away, fiad hid ' the fire, . there appeared water1 ; and that Nehemias had purified the facrifices therewith ; f 54 Then the King inclofed the place, and Jsuilt a temple . after he had tried the matter. ' . _ . And (2M) 3 $ And the King took many gifts, and beftowed of them on the IJewifti] Priefts, £ who found and carried that fire, and were now to take care of this flre-temple\] 36 And Nehemias called this thing, Nach- fhar : which is interpreted Purification •. but many men call it Naphtha : [Petroleum : an inflammable oil, derived from Bitumen.] CkAP. II. j TTT is alfo found in the records, that Jere- X m) the prophet commanded them that fhould live afterwards, [AUTocyivo/uus.,] to take of the fire as it hath been fignified : [See 1 Mace. iv. 44, 45, 46.] 2 And how that the prophet, having gi ven them the law, charged them not to forget the commandments of the Lord : [1 Bar. Hi. 9 iv. 7.] and that they fhould not err in their rninefs, when they faw images of filver, and gold, with their or naments. [_ Bar. vi,] 3 And with other fuch fpeeches exhorted he them, that the law fhould not depart from their hearts. [1 Bar. Hi. 9 iv 7.] 4 It was contained in the fame writing, . that the prophet being warned of Qod, com manded the tabernacle, and the ark, to go with him, as he went forth into the moun tain, where Mofes climbed up, and faw the heritage of God. [Deut.-xx&bi. 1 — 6.] P 4 „ And (216) $ And when Jeremy came thither, he found an hollow cave ; wherein he laid the tabernacle, and the ark, and the altar of incenfe ; and fo f topped the door. 6 And fome of thofe that followed him came to mark the way ; but they could not find it : 7 Which when Jeremy perceived, he blam ed them, faying, As for that place it fhall be unknown, until the time that God ga ther his people again together, and receive them unto mercy. 8 Then fhall the Lord fhew them -thefe things ; and the glory of the Lord fhall appear ; and the cloud alfo ; as it was fhewed unto Mofes -,-and as wlien Solomon defired that the place might be h'onourably fan&ified. 9 It was alfo declared, that L[/c it was, when] Salomon, famous for wifdom,' offered the facrifice of. dedication, and of the fi- nifhihg of the temple. [2 Chr. vii. 1.] 10 And- as when Mofes prayed unto the Lord, the fire came down from Heaven and confumed the facrifices : [Levit. ix. 24.] even fo Solomon prayed aMb, and the fire came down from Heaven, and confumed the burnt-offerings. [2 Chr. vii. 1 .] 1 1 And Mofes faid, Becaufe the fin-of fering was not eaten, it was confumed by five [from Heaven, Levit. x. 16 20.] 12 So Solomon kept thofe eight days. 13 The (2I7) 1 3 The fame things alfo are related in the writings, and commentaries of Nehemias : and, How he founded a library, and ga- thered together the afts of the Kings, and of the Prophets, and of David, stnd the Epi- ftles of the Kings concerning the holy gifts, '[after the captivity.] 14 In like manner alfo Judas gathered together all thofe things, [Books ,"] that were loft, by reafon of the war we had : and . they remain with us. . 15 Wherefore if you have need thereof, ¦ fend fome to fetch them unto you. 16 Whereas we then are about to cele brate the Purification, we have written un to you : and ye fhall do well if ye keep the fame days. 17 We hope alfo, that the God that hath ¦delivered all his people, and hath, given them all the heritage, and the kingdom, and the priefthood, and the fan&uary ; 18 As he promifed in the law; will fhortly have mercy upon us, and gather us together out of every land under Heaven, unto the holy place. For he hath deliver ed us out of great troubles, #nd batty, pu rified the place. N. B, Although Epiphanms Accounts of the Lives of the Prophets, feem chiefly derived from the uncertain Jewifh Traditions of latter Ages, whence I very feldom quote them upon any fuch Occafion 3 yet do thofe Traditions con cerning (2l8) cerning this part of JeremiaVs Hiftory, fo nearly agree m feveral Particulars with this elder and more authentick Record^ that it may not be amifs to hear them. The Prophet Jeremias, fays Epiphanius, took away the Ark of the Law, with £' V*' whatfoever was in it, before the Temple was de- f^o ftroyed _ and he caufed them to be fwallowed up in a Rock, and faid to the Priefts of the Peo. pie, and to the Elders that flood by . ' The Lord ' is gone from Sinai, unto the Heavens -, and ' will come again with his holy Power. And this ' ftiall be the Sign of his coming, when all the ' Gentiles fhall worfhip Wood, [the Crofs, or the Ark.] * And he faid to them, no one, either of 1 the Priefts or Prophets fhall open this Ark, be- * fides Mofes, the EletT: of God ; and no one but ' Aaron fhall fay open the Tables that are therein. c And at the Refttrreftjon, the Ark fhall arife ' firft ; and fhall go out of the Rock, and fhall 1 be placed on Mount Sinai ; and all the holy Ones * fhall be gathered together to it, and wait for the * Lord there,and efcape theEnemy that would flay ' them'- And he fealed the Rock with his Finger, with the Impreifion of the Name of the Lord ; and thelmage was as the jngraving of Iron -, and a.Cloud covered the Rock ; and no one knows that place, nor can read that Name to this Day ; nor- will till the Confuinmation of this Age. Now this Rock is in that Wildernefs where the Ark was firft made, between thofe two Mountains where Mofes and Aaron were buried. But in the Nights there is a Cloud like Fire in that Place, according to the Example of ancienter Times, as a Sign that the Glory of God will not depart from his Law. [And God beftowed this Favour upon Jeremias, that he himfelf fhould perform this Myftery, that ( 219 ) that he might be a Partner with Mofes.] See Ben Gorton. I. 20, ?i. who fays, that the Ark fhall be difcovered by no one, till Elfas, or till Elias and Jeremias Come together, in the laft Days. See Matt. xvi. 14. and fabricius, p. mo 1 11 5. who alfo informs us, that there is a pertain unknown Infcription, at the foot of Mount Horeb, viflble to this Day, and engraven In Stone; which the People of that Country fay was left by Jeremias, to fhew the Place where he had left the Ark. A DIS- ( 220 ) . A, ' DISSERTATION. TO PROVE, That the foregoing Epiftle of the Jews' at Je rufalem, to their Brethren in Egypt, is in- tirely genuine and authentick. * BEFORE I can give my Reafons for this Affertion, I muft premife this •, That here are not two Epiftles of the Jews at Jerufalem, to their Brethren in Egypt, diftin_tly Copied. the one from Judas Maccabaus and his Senate at Jerufalem, to Ariftobnlus the Prieft, the Tutor of King Ptolemy, and their Brethren in Egypt ; the other from the Jews at Jerufalem, to their Bre thren in Egypt, in the Days of Jonathan, [21 Years after the other ;] as is commonly fuppofed : but we have here but one Epiftle •, and that from the Jews at Jerufalem, to their Brethren in Egypt, 21 Years after the Purification of the Temple by Judas only. Yet does this Epiftle include that former Epiftle from Judas to Ariftobuhs, as a fufficient Authority for their making the like Re queft now, that Judets had made before ; viz. That the Egyptian Jews would join with them in the Observation of the Feaft of Purification, on the 25th of Cafteu, and that with the fame Solem nity, and m the fame Manner, as the Feaft of Taber- ( 221 ) Tabernacles ufed to be kept by them. They al fo make a great Addition to what Judas had for* merly defir'd, or give a new, and that a very fubftantial Reafon for this their Defire, viz. That Nehemiah and Judas had formerly collected the ancient facred Books belonging to their Nation -, the one after the Babylonian Captivity, and the other after Antiocbus's Perfecution ; that upon the Review of thofe Colle&ions they had difco- vered fomewhat very extraordinary, which they fuppofed their Brethren in Egypt were unacquaint ed with : viz. that Nehemiah, upon his [finifhing the Walls of Jerufalem, and] cleanfing the Tem ple and Altar, had held his Feaft of Purificatipn on the fame 25 th Day of Cafleu, on which Judas had held his ; and that moreover the Fire was kindled by Miracle to confume Nebemiab's firft Sacrifice, as it had been in the Days of Mofes and Solomon formerly : that therefore it would be fit for them to celebrate the fame Feftival in Memory of the one Purification, as well as of the other. This is the diredt Purport of this Epiftle : which that it is genuine and authentick, I thus prove. (1.) The Book that contains this Epiftle, I mean, the fecond Book of Maccabees, is confefs'd on all hands to be, as to other things, a genuine and authentick Book •, without any blot or fufpi* cion of Impofture. (2.) There feems to be no manner of caufe for Suspicion as to this Epiftle ; it ferving no end of Forgery or Knavery whatfoever. When there was an evident Reafon already, why the 25th Day of Cafleu fhould be kept for the Purification of the Temple and Altar by Judas ; to what pur pofe fhould an Epiftle be forged, in order to add another Reafon for the Celebration of the fame Fefti- ( 222 ) Feftival ; unlefs the real Truth of the Fa& did" afford it? (?) This Epiftle is extant intire in all the Co pies and Verfions . the Greek, the Latin, and the Syriack : none, I fuppofe, later then the fecond Century, perhaps none much later than iht firft". Nay, the Greeks which is our Original, feems td have been contemporary with the Epiftle, and >, was perhaps itfelf fent from the Church of Je rufalem, whofe learned Men well uhdet&ooiGreek at that time, to the Church in Egypt, which fpake. that Language only. Nor is any confiderable Claufe in it wholly omitted in any of. thofe three* Languages. (4 ) This Epiftle is naturally connected with the" Contents of the reft of this Book, and feems to have been the original Occafion of that Abridgment of Jafons Hiftory of the woful Perfecution by An tiochus, and happy Deliverance by Judas and his Brethren, which the reft of this Book affords us. This Hiftory was fit to be known by the Jews in Egypt, in order to their joining with the Jews at Jerufalem, in the Celebration of the Feaft pf Pit- rifcation or Dedication. Thus after the Epiftle, to perfuade their Brethren to ' obferve this Fefti val, the reft of the Book is thus introduc'd: ' Now as concerning Judas Maccab&us, and his ' Brethren ; and the Purification of the great * Temple ; and the Dedication of the Altar r — ' All thefe things being declared by Jafon of { Cyrene in five Books, we will affay to abridge * in one Volume, &c.3 (•;.) The Date of this Epiftle from Jerufalem, 6n the 169th Year of the Seleucida, or 144th be fore the Chriftian JEra, agrees very well with the State and Circumftances of the Jews at that Very time. For this very Year Jonathan, with his' ( 22* ) bis Brother Simon, came home to Jerufalem with i A_w« Victory, and this very Year did Jonathan call x"-.33^ tie £Z„ Macc.lx. wh^e 'tls confefTed by the Author of this very ' Book afterwards, that Antiochus Epiphanes died otherwife elfewhere, upon his return from Perfia, as Polybius alfo affirms But certainly our Cri- ticks and Chronologers here utterly forget them felves, when they interpret this Epiftle of Antio chus Epiphanes, who was not dead when it was written. It was for certain Antiochus the Great that is here meant, who in the Diftrefs he was in upon his being beaten by the Romans, and oblig'd to pay great Sums annually to them_ firft attempted to rob the Temple of Jerufalem j but was there repulfed : and then attempted to rob the Temple of the Sabian Idolaters in Perfia but there, as all agree, met with his Death, as this Epiftle informs us alfo. Nay, tWo Circum ftances there are in this Account which fheW the Exaftnefs of thofe that wrote this Epiftle : the one, that though the reft fay it was at the Tem ple of Bel in Perfia : yet was there then no Tem ple of Bel in Perfia at all •, nor indeed any one wL t Hyde de good Reafon, that I known of, can be given, but' ReHg. vet. this, that he was not dead When the Epiftle was ^•^•3- written : or that it was not written at all later ~"9 ' than it pretends to be . Which is a ftrong Chro nological j ( 227 ) nological Character of the genuine Antiquity and Authority of the fame Epiftle. 'Tis, laftly, true, that we find no mention ifl ihe Hebrew Books of the Old Teftament, or in Jofephus from his Hebrew Books, of this miracu lous kindling of the Fire upon the Altar, in the Days of Nehemiah : nor of the Obfervation of the 2 .th of Cafleu on that Account, But then, this is very agreeable to the prefent Epiftle ; which fuppofes the Records lately colle&ed by Judas, to be not generally known before at Jerufalem, nor known then in Egypt, nor indeed ever inferted into any Hebrew Books at all : to which, Hebrew Books both Jofephus and the latter Jews have al moft wholly confined themfelves. Yet is the Name of this Feftival in Jofephus, cporx Lights, or Illuminations, in the plural Number, more agree able to a double Memorial, or to the Reftoration of the Fires at the Altar of Jerufalem, both in the Days of Nehemiah, and in thofe pf Judas, then of the fingle Memorial of Jiidas only. Nor indeed does the Dedication of the Fire on the Altar by Judas, when they ftruck Stones together to kindle that Fire, near fo well fuit the Name, x W*cc: Light or Illumination, in general, as did that fo- *' 5' lemn Dedication by Nehemiah, when fuch an a- mazing Light or Fire was kindled by a miraculous Power. Of which Light ox Fire, in that Manner kindled, we fhall anon have fuch abundant Evi dence produc'd, from another Quarter, as will eafily put this Matter paft all fuch little Ob- jet-ions what foever. Corollary (i.) Our prefent Books of Jeremiah and Nehemiah ate imperfett, and want certain Intire Hiftories concerning them both, of great Importance, relating to the Jewifh Nation and Religion. Q- 2 Cor oil- ( 228 ) Coroll. (2.) It was not Ezrah, as is commonly pretended by the modern Jews, but Nehemiah, who collected and digefted the facred Books of the Old Teftament, after the Captivity of Baby lon. For fo are we here inform'd, that the Writtngs if. 23. atid Commentaries of Nehemias reported, how he founded a Library, and gathered together the Aas of the Kings, and 6f the Prophets, and of David, and the Ep'iftles bf the Kings concerning the holy Gifts. Coroll. (3.) The Copies of the Books of the Old Teftament, excepting perhaps the Penta*- teuch and Pfalms of David, which were eve_ in conftant ufe with the Jewifh Nation ; and, the firft of which had been peculiarly delivered to the Captives in Babylon, by Jeremiah, as We have already feen ; were after the Perfecution by AntiochusEpiphanes,m a fdrheWhat confufed and im perfect State. This we learn by the exprefs Words of this very Epiftle of the Jerufalem Jews 1 who* of all the Jews in the World, had the beft Reafdri to known it. Thefe Books are faid by them to be StxirtTrlGMolx in the Greek, difperfa in the Sy riack, _£h„ decider ant in the vulgar Latin : all diredly implying the fame thing. And no won der, confidering the barbarous Cruelty of that r Mmc. i. wicked King to all that kept Copies of them ; and ?'f 57 his utmoft Efforts to deftroy or disfigure them. 1U' 4 ' Coroll. (4.) It was Judas Maccabaus who was the Collector and Digefter of thofe facred Books, after that Perfecution by Antiochus -, as the Words 2 M.ur. here are exprefs : In like Manner alfo, Judas ga- ii. 14. thered together all thofe that were loft, or difpers'd, or diforder'd, by reafon of the War they had ; and they then remained with them, at Jerufalem. Coroll. (5.) The Jerufalem Jews fuppofed, that the Egyptian Jews had ftill more imperfect Co pies ( 229 ) pies of forae of their facred Books ; and there fore they offer them Copies of their Collection, If they wanted them : If you have need of them, fay the Jerufalem Jews, to the Egyptian, fend • fome to fetch them unto you. Of which Imper fection of the Egyptian Copies, above a Cen tury ealier, we have the Teftimony of Arifteas alfo : when heaffures us, that DemejtriusPbaler ens $ ., Wrote thus to Ptolemy Philadelphus, ' The Cha- ' r° rafter [or Copies] of the Jewifh Books are not ' fo good as they ought to be : as 'tis reported by thofe that have feen them ; which has happ" en- ' ed, becaufe they have not had Royal Care dh> ploy'd about them. And it would be very pro- ' per for you to have thofe Books exactly tran- ' fcrib'd, and tranflated, &c. And 'tis very probable the Egyptian Jews accepted this offer of the Jerufalem Jews ; and did fend and fetch thefe Copies they then wanted. For the Book of Baruth, which is the only Record here appeal'd to that is ftill preferv'd, comes to us from theEgyptian or Alexandrian Jews -, and that in the Helleniftical Greek Tongue only : while the Jews of Jerufalem feerrf afterward to have loft, or difregarded the fame Records, as not being written by any Pro phet, nor preferv'd in the fame Hebrew Tongue with their other Scriptures. Coroll. (_6.) Hence we may learn where the very Tabernacle of Mofes, with its very Ark, [including the two Tables of Stone, and their ten Commandments, and] the Altar of Incenfe, are at this Day : I mean, that they are lodged in a Cave, near Mount Nebo, not far from the Place where Mofes faw the Land of Promjfe ; bqt where they are concealed from all Mankind ; and, as we are here inform 'd, No Manhioweth of im™. ii. them to this Day ; and their Place ftiall be unknown 7, 8, Q. 3 vptil ( 230 ) until the time that God gather his People [the Jews] again together, and receive them unto Mercy. Then ftiall the Lord ftiew them thefe Things ; and the Glory of the Lord fhall appear-, and the Cloud alfo, as it was fhewed unto Mofes. Coroll. (7.) Since the facred Books of the Jews were all along to be repofited in the Tabernacle, and afterward in the Temple, there is great Rea fon to hope, that exa_t Copies of all thofe facred Books, that were extant in the Days of Jeremiah, were by him repofited in that Tabernacle, when he put it in the Cave : as well as we are here afffired, that the Ark, [with its original two Tables, or ten Commandments] and the Altar of Incenfe, were fo repofited by him. So that whatever Imperfe&ions, Corruptions, or Diforders our pre fent Copies labour under, which are evidently neither few in Number, nor fmall in Quality, we have no Reafon to defpair, but that at the time of the Jews Reftoration, perfeft, if not ori ginal Copies will hence be again recovered to that Nation ;' and by their Means to all the World. And furely, upon fuch an Occafion, all good Chriftians will be ready to cry oiiralfo with the Pfalmift, Remember us, O Lord, in the Tfal. cvi. favour of thy People ; and vifit us in thy Salvation. 4, 5. ' To fee thy Beauty to thy chofen ones : to rejoice, in the Gladnefs of thy Nation : to glory with thine In heritance. ¦ Amen. Amen. Coroll. (8.) We may hence learn to free our felves from the wild Perplexity learned Men have been in fince the fecond Century, efpecially fince the Days of Origen and Jerom, about the compleat Catalogue of facred Books belonging .to the Old Teftament. Thefe learned Men fuffered themfelves to be gradually perfuaded by the Jews of their times, to difefteem all the old Re cords ( 2_I ) cords of that Nation, excepting thofe that had been preferv'd in Hebrew : while it is moft evii- dent, that fome of their old Records preferv'd in Chaldee, as Tobit and Judith -, as well as many others of them preferv'd , in Greek •, fuch as i Efdras the Scribe, and 2 Efdras the Prophet Wifdom, Ecclefiafticus, Baruch, 2 Maccabees, &c. were originally owned by that Nation, as true and authentick ; and were 4s conftantly owned by the Babylonian and Hellenift Jews, as were the reft by the Hebrews in Judea. And thgugh in the New Teftament, and in Jofephus, the Hebrew Canon of Jerufalem was principally, and almoft only cited as facred in Judea : yet did the Apoftles, and their Companions that travel led among the Babylonian or Hellenift Jews, con ftantly find thofe other Books acknowledged as facred by them alfo, and conftantly cited them as fuch, upon all Occafions. See Supplement to the Effay on the Old Teftament, p. 47, 48. Nor is it improbable thatCopies of feveral of thofeEaftern Jewifh Books, written in Affyria, or Perfia, and Chal- dea ; fuch as Tobit and Judith, and perhaps the 1 ft and 2d Books of the Prophet Ezrah or Efdras, written in that, or perhaps fome of it rather in the ancientPerfick, the Language of the Country where he prophefied, might not be recovered by any of 4 Efd. i. 3, the more Jfeftern Jews, till the Time of the grand Collection, in the Days of Ptolemy Philadelphus ; who would naturally gather thefe for his Library, among the reft. Accordingly, we have ftill ex tant the Septuagint or Alexandrian Greek Verfion of Tobit and Judith. And as for thefe Books of Ezrah or Efdras, that Verfion of them was extant, without difpute, in the firft and fecond Centuries of the Gofpel ; and the old Latin or Italick Ver fion from that Greek is what we have extant at Q 4 this (2.2 ) this Day. And, indqajl, to the wonderful Pro vidence : of the Collection of the Alexandrian Library, by Philadelphus, it is probably owing, that fo many of thofe Jewifh Books that were nqt written in the Hebrew, or in Judea, are ftill pre ferv'd ; though the Jews, ever fince the Days of Barchocab, efpecially in the Days of Origen and Jerom, and by their Means, have prodigioufly, though unjuftly, diminifhed and weakened their Authority and Value among Chriftians. Of all which Matters more hereafter. PRP- ( *n > PROPOSITION, That ancient Sect of the; Magians in Medici. and Perfia, which nfe&ed the groffeft Ido latry, or the worfhip of Images and Idols • find yet paid extraordinary Refpecl to the Sun, to Fire, and to the other Elements ; firft grofe upon tk? Captivity and Difperfion of the ten Tribes into thofe Countries ; and was a Mixture of the old Sabian or grofs Idola try, and of the Religion of thofe Tribes. See Hyde Relig, vet. Perf p. 4, 5. 17, 19. 87, 88. 95. 101. 10$. 108. 120, 121. _2$, 124. 127, £i>V. 1 j8. 276. 166. The Arguments follow : (I.) HHHIS Reformation of the groffeft Part X of the Sabian Idolatry in this Empire, could not come from any other People but the Ifraelit^es. And the reafon of this is plain, be caufe all the other nations of the known, World were at that timeSahians or grofs Idolaters them felves 5 and, by confequence, could never con tribute to the Correction of fuch Idolatry in this Empire/ 'Tis true, thefe ten Tribes were ge nerally themfelyes, in a lower Senfe, Idolaters, and had long worfhipped Golden Calves at Dan and Sethel, before their Captivity ; but then, this. ( 2?4 ) this was not deflgned as grofs or Sabian Idolatry, the worfhip of falfe Gods, or of their Images, but as the worfhip of Reprefentations of the true God only : while all the reft of the World had long been Worfhippers of falfe Gods, and any the vileft Images or Reprefentations of them. For Gen, xiv. ever fince the Days of Abraham, when Melchife- 18,19,20. dek had preferved the worfhip of God at Jeru- Job. xxxi. falem % and fince the Days of Job, a little later, 26", 27,28* when the Countries where he and all his four Friends lived, though not far from Chaldea, ftill efteemed fuch Idolatry highly criminal -, we meet with no other People in all our ancient Hiftories that were free from Sabianifm or grofs Idolatry : to be fure with none in the Neighbour hood of Media and Perfia, at the time we are now treating of, but the Jews only. So that without the Suppofal of a new Revelation from God, and that fupported by the moft evident Miracles •, of which we have not the leaft Inti mation in thefe earlieft times among the Medes and Perfians -, we are obliged to fuppofe, that fuch an eminent Reformation as this of the Magians ; certainly attempted before Zerdufht, and certain ly compleated under him, muft have come from the Nation of the Jews, and from no other. And if we confider that firm and undoubted Belief of the Truth, and that great Zeal for the Propaga tion of their Religion which that Nation ftill had •, as well as the uncommon Opportunity of doing it now in their Hands, by the Widenefs of their Difperfion over thefe Countries •, we fhall not be furprized at their attempting the fame. Nor, indeed, if we withal reflect on the groffnefs of the Sabian Idolatry, and the deplorable Igno rance of its Profeffofs, fhall we be much fur- priz'd at their Succefs therein : efpecially if we obferve, ( 2? fire . and this at firft on the tops of Mountain.* without any Walls encornpafling them ; and then on the fame tops of Mountains, with Walls : biit without a Covering or Cupola •, as we fhall fee here after; Now this isfo like the worfhip of the ten Tribes with Fire on an Altar upon the high Places ; and at the Temple, on Mount Moriab; in the open Air, within the Wallsof the inner Court df the Temple : the lormer by the greater Idola trous part, and the latter by the finaller part of God's true Worfhippers, that no other original but this Will agreeto the Fads concerned. And,indeed^ the exa&nefs of the Cbhieidence, both as to thfe Practices thetnfelves, and as to the Time of the Difperfion of thfe Jews in thefe Countries agreeing with the begining of thofe Practices, petfuadeis u. to feek for no dthferOrigin than that before us. Not need I fet down theParalleiifm of the Pra&ices of the Ifraelites and of the Magians in thisrefpeia, in any other Words then thofe of Dr. Hyde. ' As the _•• 1 5«- • Jews confeffed their Sins to God in the Temple, 1 while the facred Fire was burning by them^fo ' did the Perfians corffefs their Sins to God, while ' the facred Fire was burning by them. And as * the Jews Were obliged to perform other Miniftra- ' tions, as well as to keep the Fire in Day and * 'Night j fo was it with the Perfians. Thefe are ' therefore no more Priefts of the Fire, then were * the Jewifh Priefts : while it was both theirDuties ' to take care of the Fire, and of their other Mi- ' niftrations, and to attend upon them by Night, * as well as by Day'. (5.) This Origin of the partial Reformation of the divine- Worfhip by the Magians in thefe Countries, as derived from the Jews in Captivity ambUg them,' is not a little confirm'd by the like Origin of their Aftronomy. Our late great A- ftronomer < 2.8 ) Proiegom. ftronomer Mr. Flamfteed has truly obferv'd, and *wt. Qbfe*- fully proved, that the Chaldeans themfelves, how ***'• famous foever they afterward- became for their Aftronomy, did not make a Dial, nor obferve one Eclipfe aftronomically, till after the Difper fion of the ten Tribes of Ifrael into thofe Coun tries. Nor does their famous Aftronowical Canoyt begin till after the two. former of thofe Difper- fions. Neither did thofe Aftronomers make ufe of any other Year than what the Ifraelites were in Poffeffion of, from the Infjfcru&ions of Enoch, of 36 5 Days; of which hereafter. So that all the foundations they went upon in Aftronomy, feem to have come to them from the Jews : tho' it muft be confefs'd, theChaldeans carried thatScience much farther afterward, than the Jews had done before : nor can it be denied, that they afterward perverted it alfo to the wicked Purpofes of Ju dicial Aftrology •, the Account of the Origin of which alfo they might have from the fame Jews, out of this Book of Enoch : but which thofe Jews never appear to have either learned themfelves^ or taught the Chaldeans. Now if it be highly probable, that thefe Heathen Nations learned their Aftronomy from the captive Ifraelites, it will not be improbable that they learned from them their Divinity alfo : fo far only, I mean, as to reform their intolerably grofs Sabianifm into the much more tolerable Magianifm : which Refor mation appears to have happened foon after the _ime that the Ifrae\itesi firft came among them. Pro- ( =39 ) PROPOSITION. Zerdufht, the famous Reformer and Legifta tor of the Medes and Perfians, called by the Greeks, according to the Name of a much elder Philofopher, Zoroaftres, did not . appear in Perfia in the Days of Darius Hyftafpis, but in Ba£tria, in the Days of Artaxerxes Mnemon : about the izd Tear of his Reign. The Reafons follow : (i.) rjnHE King to whom Zerduftit firft apply- I ed himfelf, and whom, after a while, he converted to his Religion, as all agree, was one Guftafp, the Son of Lorafp. Now why Darius fhould be fuppos'd to be Guftafp, as the latter Per fians and Arabians imagine, I cannot tell : fince the Name Guftafp has no affinity at all with Darius : efpecially while we meet with one whofe Name was in Greek Hyftafp, which feems not different jjetodoU from the Perfian Guftfap, as a King or Governor at vii. .4. BaBria in the very next Generation. (2.) Lohrafp, the Father of Guftafp, had been „ . himfelf a King, and had refigned his Crown to Afj his Son Guftafp ; which was not true of Hyftafpes, the Father of Darius -, who was ho more than a Captain under Cyrus and Cambyfes, (_.) Am- (24d) fii, , .. Jatry, was not given till the Days of the Prophet -~ Efdras 5 who lived under Artaxerxes [Mnem6n,~\ as himfelf affures us. This Prediction is a moft re markable one, and Is contained in the two firffc Chapters of the fourth Book of Efdras : which we . 4 733- gians [before Zerduftit'] when they had no Altars ; he comes to the Accounts of the latter Magians [after Zerduftit"] when they had both Temples, and Altars, and Fires in thofe Temples, and up on thofe Altars : and he calls thofe Temples di rectly -_u(>aa Fire-Temples, and all this as an Eye witnefs alfo : whiqji greatly confirms the Teftimony of Herodotus, and contradicts the Hypothefis of. the latter Perfians, and Arabians, when they would have their Zerduftit to live as early as Darius Hyftafpis. ' Thus Ctefias, who con tinued his Perfian Hiftory till the third Year of fhe 9?th Olympiad, or the feventh of Artaxerxes Mnemon, is perfedtly filent as to the Matter of Zerduftit. Thus Xenophon alfo, whofe Hiftory of the Perfian War between Artaxerxes Mnemon, and his Brother Cyrus Minor, belongs to the fourth and fifth Years of the fame Artaxerxes, is equally filent. Nay, thus Thucidides, whofe Hi ftory of the Affairs of Greece, as interwoven with thofe of Perfia, ended but 10 Years fooner, In the 15th of Darius Nothus, has not one Sylla ble of the fame Matter. Which Teftimony of Herodotus ; Approbation of Strabo ; and Silence of ( ^i ) . of Ctefias, Xenophon, and Thucidides, who had all fuch great Opportunities of knowing fo great a Revolution In the Religion of the Perfian Em pire, as this by Zerduftit, had it been before that time, ought for ever to put to fllence the Hy pothefis of the latter Perfian and Arabian Hifto- rians ; and to oblige us not to look for it till the Reign of Artaxerxes Mnemon. But then, if we Obferve, that fome time af ter the Days of Darius, there was certainly one Hyftafpes, or Guftafp, the Son of Darius, by the Daughter of Cyrus, as Herodotus, and Diodorus IJ?yi>dou inform us, who was Governor of BaBria -, it is Di j /^i much more likely, that upon his having married 6T "' the Daughter of Cyrus the Great, his Government was afterward turned into a Kingdom ; and that he had a Son whofe Name was Lorafp, and by him a Grandfon, whofe Name was Hyftafpes or Guftafp ; and that this his Grandfon was that Guftafp, the Son of Lorafp, • in whofe Days, and under whofe Dominion, and Patronage, Zerduftit began and accomplifhed his great Reformation. Nor can the Perfian and Arabian Hiftorians be, upon any other foundation, at all reconciled to ancient Hiftory and Chronology. But that in the Days of Artaxerxes Mnemon, when Plato wrote his Arcibiades, this Zerduftit or Zoroaftr eshad'mtirely fettled his new Religion in Perfia is plain, be caufe, he affures us, ' that the Heirs of that ' Kingdom were then to be brought up in his Ap. Hyde, ' Religjon-, and this as a neceffary Qualifica- _-374i375- ' tion for their Entry on the fame Government'. Since, therefore, we have proved, that_ Ze rduftit's Reformation was not heard of in Perfia, in the beginning of Artaxerxes Mnemon s Reign ; and fince Plato's Arcibiades, which mentions him as K. 3 haying ( 245 ) having then fettled his Reformation, was among the firft Writings of Plato, after he returned from his Travels ; which all place before the end of his Reign ; it will be reafbnable to place the beginning of that Reformation near the mid dle of that Interval, or about the 21ft, 22d,or 234 Years of the fame Reign of Artaxerxes Mnemon. PRO- ( 247 ) PROPOSITION. The Religion which Zerdufht eftablifhed thro7 the Medo-perfian Empire, was the True and Divine Religion of the Jews ; only without Circumcifion : as it was m the elder Days of Abraham. TH E Proof of this Propofition is to be taken from the exact Refemblance there is be tween thefe two Religions : which will be little lefs than a Demonftration, that they were, at the bottom, of the fame Divine Original and In ftitution. Thus the learned Dr. Hyde, who is the principal Author that has fearched the Perfick and Arabick Records, concerning the Religion of the ancient Perfians, informs us, that the pro per and peculiar Name and Character of this Per* pan Inftitution, owned by its Profeffbrs, is that _ of The Religion of Abraham ; and of the Zenda- n. jii pefta it felf, which is the Bible of this Religion, that it was the Book of Abraham : and they pre tend that Zerduftit was only a Reformer of thofe $' 338, Errors and wicked Practices, which had, in latter Ages, crept into Media and Perfia, fince the Days pf Abraham. Thus we find in thofe Records, the fame worfhip of the One True God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth ; with the fame full acknow- ^m' ledgment of his divine and incommunicable At tributes, which the Jews, and only the Jews in _ • 44*- thofe Ages profefs'd. Thus the Followers of Zer duftit abhorred all grofs Idolatry, and the worfhip pajpm. of Images, as did the Jews, and %hfy only. And R 4 . tho' ( 248 ) tho' their worshipping before the Holy Fire thau \yas upon their Altars, or before the Sun, has been a long while obje&ed to them as idolatrous, yet do they ever zealoufly deny any fuch idolatrous Pur- pofes whatfoever : and affirm, that their Prayers arid Confeflions of Sin are never made to that Fire, p.$i.i-j6. nor to any other Being but to the One True God c. xxiv. alone. Thus they fpeak of Adam, and Eve, of _-• 3«5- Jofeph, and Mofes, of David, and his Pfalms, of £ ^A] Elijah, of Jeremiah, of Daniel, and efpecially of 314,315. Ezrah; and they fay, that their Reformer Zer duftit was the Servant or Difciple of fome of thefe Jewifh Prophets : which we fhall find was true of the Prophet Ezrah, or Efdras. Thus the Profeffors of the Religion of Zerduftit abhorred Serpents, *.n6 3o5, which the Idolaters or Sabians adored: as if the 306. 4.50' Hiftory of the Fall of Adam, by the Temptation of a Serpent, were known to them. Thus Zer- 6 , duftit informed them, that God made the World ,\ • ' ' in fix Periods : which naturally correfpond to the fix Days of Creation, in the Book of Genefts: in a Memorial whereof they have ftill a fort ct a Week H39.439. 0f feven and eight Days, by turns, to fuit their Weeks to their Months. Thus their famous Doctrine is well known of a C. IX. Good and Evil Being, of Oromazdes and Ari- XXII. manius, or of Light and Darknefs, as of two op- pofite Powers, the former Eternal and the latter Created ; but under a continual ftruggle and con- teft, till the end of the World : when the Good Being will conquer the Evil One, and will ren der all his Creatures happy at the general Refur- re&ion. This is fo evidently deriv'd from the Trid. Jewifh Revelation, that, in the Words of Dean ConneB. Prideaux, it plainly ftiews its Author to have been H Zdlb'\ - ' m^ vers^ ™ *he SacredWritingsof thejewifti Religi- 1 73 jW-c' on : * ™ay a^' an(^ tQ~ have fully believed them alfo- xxxiii. . Thus ( 249 ) Thus the Followers of Zerduftit have the very fame Belief of Paradife, of Heaven, and Hell with the P- 383. 43- Jews; the very fame Opinion of good and evil 6- 43V- Angles, and of their various Names, Offices, and g^g Employments in the World, that we meet with e- K{K. xx.) very where in the Old Teftament. Thus that fun- 449'. 447, damential Pradtice of thofe that followed Zer- 448. Juftit, of taking care of Fires, and above all, of building Fire-Temples every where, with perpe- Mu tual Fires in them ; of choofing out the Wood for the feeding thofe Fires ; ofnot kindling them from P-442.443- common Fires ; of worfhipping, confeffing, and 4*3! 457' finging. before them, with the ufe of Incenfe, ^.355,356. with white Garments, Proftrations, Wafliings, _,-344- &'• or Baptifms, Sacrifices, reading the Zend, Prayers, ?• I2- Praifes, Muffitations, andOaths before thofe Fires ; are juft like what the Jews did with regard to the perpetual Fire on the Altar of the Temple of Jerufalem. Thus thefe Followers of -Zerduftit had their three Orders of Hierarchy -, as had the cxxviii. Jews their High Prieft, Priefts, and Levites: and, XXX. like them, did they preferve thofe Dignities in the fame Families continually : with the Allow ance of Tiths and Oblations for their Maintain- ance. Thus had they only One High-Pfieft, as had _>-44°448. the Jews, and One grand Temple, at Balch in BaBria ; to which every one of the Religion of Zerduftit, through the whole Medo perfian Monar-' chy, was obliged to go once in their Lives •, as were ^' 459' the Jews, in their fmall Country, obliged to go up thrice every Year to their own Temple at Jerufalem. Thus thefe Magians, that followed Zerduftit, had a particular Feftival or folemn Worfhip on the firft Day of each Month, *as well as on the four Sabbaths ; as had the Jews : they _,-3 5J43S'° rnarried almoft univerfally, and among thofe of their ( 250 ) their ownTribes andReligion only, as did the Jews : f3 as r°fe aSa*n p 9 "' from the dead, the Xllth Day after he died ;and that after his Refurre&ion he declared fome things that he had learned in the other World, and that its Introduction was dire&ly foretold, as the Intro? 'duction of God's true Religion, by the laft Jewifh * Efd' u Prophet Efdras : and that the Providence of God preferv'd it free from Perfecution above loop Years ; and has fince preferv'd it about another 1 000 Years under Perfecution, till this very Day ^ which Duration is only true of the Jewifh and Chriftian ; i.e. the only Divine or True Religions, we fhall fee Reafons to believe, that had this _„.?. 38, Ciunfel,andthis Work been of Men, it would long, 39#' ' ere now, have come to nought ¦, as all other very an cient ( 2$I ) dent falfe Religions have done a great while ago : but fince all the Power of Men has not been able to overthrown it, we may well conclude that it was of God ; that it was no other than God's true Religion, or that the Religion of the Jews, was fettled in the Medo-perfian Empire, by Zerduftit the faithful Servant or Difciple of God's true Pro phet, Efdras: though free from the Burden of Circumcifion : without which, Abraham himfelf, we know, was once juftified before God : and Rom- ivr Which was never given by God to any other Nation IO' * I ' than thofe of his Pofterity, or that became, of their own accord, intire Profelytes to that Religion, in Judea. If it be here objected, that the Books of Zer duftit contain certain wild and wicked Notions _>3°34oS« and Precepts ; particularly that for the Tolera tion,- at leaft, if not Encouragement of Inceft ; infbmuch, that the Priefts of this Religion are jfaid to have been then reckon'd of the beft Origin, jf they were begotten in Inceft ; I reply, that ji,^oU none of thefe Fadts feem to me to be fufficient- j. 135. ly proved. It appears rather by Herodotus and Strab. xv. Strabo, Ctefias and Tertullian, that the Inceft ofhlo6f- the Perfians was earlier than Zerduftit, and that ff*"ol'u it came to them from the Greeks, together with c. ix. Sodomy. And it alfo appears, that it is contrary p0rt*.9.i$ to the great Purity and Sanctity of the Precepts of 1945.50. this Religion, as contained intheSAD DER : and 55-j8 . miraculous Kindling of the Fife at the Jewiftt 355. Temple; by Ordaining them to be all thence-forfh covered, to prevent the Sun's fhining upon the Fires' in them, ('the Pefmiffion whereof was then taken' to be a wicked Thing ;) and thi- contrary to the elder Method of leaving them open. For tag. 213. tnus we ^n^ tne ^act t0 ^ave been, *bat when priks. the Sunftiine was paft, and the Sttn was covered bj a Cloud, though nbt before, this great Fire was kindled. At which Circttmftance every one mar velled • and the moft aftonifhing__aZ<.„.(Tfr.#. were made, that it could not %e kindling naturally,' by the Sun-beams ; but was fuper-naturally kind led, at the Prayer of Nehemiah. (4.) Zerduftit alfo ordain'd a folemn annual Hyde, p. Azur-Ruz, or Fire-Feftival, throughout the fame *&• Empire, upon the very fame ninth Month, in which this miraculous Kindling of the Fire hap pened at Jerufalem. This is that peculiar great Feftival of the Magians, when they make BonC- fires for joy ; when they vifit, and rub, and cleanfe, and . adorn their Fire-Temples : which fhew. their reference to the like Feftival for the Cleanfing or Purifying the Jewifh* Temple, by Nehemiah, in the fame ninth Month, at Jerufalem. Ii It muft indeed be confefs'd, that this Mi racle happened, and this Jewifh Feftival was celebrated, on the 2. thDay of that ninth Month", while this Perfian Feftival was kept on its 9th Day. But this is too fmall a Difference to be made an Objeftfon : becaufe this change of the Day does naturally arife from the conftant Cuf- torn of the Magians, in appointing their Fefti- See Hde vals, through the whole Year. Thefe were ftill c. xix, kept on that Day of each Month, which bear xx. the Name of the Month wherein they fell. Thus becaufe the firft Month was called Phervardin ; and the 19th Day of that, and of every Month, was called Phervardin ; that 19th Day was the conftant Feftival r0f that firft Month. Thus be caufe their fecond Month was called Arde-behiftit, and the third Day of that, and of every Month, was alfo caYledArde-behifht, that third Day was the conftant Feftival of that Month : and fb of the reft. 'Tis no wonder, therefore, that Zerduftit fo far comply'd with the conftant Cuftom of the ' Magians, as to .place that his Azur-Ruz, ot Fire- Feftival, which otherwife would have fallen on 25th Day, upon the 9th Day: fince in that, and in every Month, the 9th Day was called Azur, and thence became the proper Day of the 9th Month for the Celebration of its Feftival. Efpecially, becaufe the 2 5th Day of this, and of every Month, was appointed among the Magians only for making and putting on new Cloths ; and did not permit Men to journey, or to re move from one place to another : which Cuftom would have prevented the Peoples coming up to the Fire-Temples at this Feftival, on that Day. Nor was there indeed any Feftival in the whole Year upon the 25th Day of any Month what- fbever. (?.) The ( 2*6 ) ($.) 'the Magians who followed Zerduftit had a ftrange Way of worfhip, at Lakes, or at Foun- „ , tains ; which is thus defcrib'd by Strabo : ' thejf a y e' ' make a Ditch, and there flay the Sacrifice : but *' ' with fuch caution, that the Water may not-be ' touched by the Blood, which would pollute it. ' After this the Magi lay the Flefh, the Laurel, * and the Myrtle, on a Pile of fmall Twigs, and ' burn them. And after they have made certain ; ' Prayers, they fprinkle Oil, mingled with Milk, ' and Honey ; not upon the Fire, but upoii fhe ' Earth'. All which feems to me an expreffive Memorial of this very Pit or Fountain, and of the, Naphtha brought thence, and made ufe of by Nehemiah, for the Kindling his miraculous Fire at Jerufalem. (6.) Although the firft Fire-Temple was mofjE probably built by Zerduftit, at Tabriz or Taiiriif formerly called Ecbatand, yet the principal Fire- Temple, and principal Seat of Zerduftit . him felf, its High-Prieft, was at Balch in BaBria i but within the Perfian Monarchy : in or near; which Pl_ce, we are affured, by Strabo^ that there was in his Days fuch a ftrange Pit or Foun tain of Naphtha, or Petroleum, or ipftammabli Oil, as mightily refembles the Naphtha before us. Strabo' s Words are thefe ; ' BaBria is a! ' large Country, and fruitful of all things, ex- Strab. xi. ' ceptjng Oil.— Thofe who have dug near the £,785.788. ' River Ochus, which paffes either through, o_ by BaBria, are faid to have difcovered a Foun- ' tain that yields Oil.. rThe Rarenefs of the' ' Thing makes it believ'd with more difficulty'. So that it feems to me not a little probable, that this Fountain, in Strabo, was near to, if not the fame with the Pit mentioned in our Record ; and that Zerduftit chofe to make his principal Seat' and ( 2.7 ) Snd Fire-Temple there, where the King of Perfia had himfelf already built a Temple, upon that Occafion. Efpecially, fince he avoided far an- cienter Temples that had been in that Neighbour hood ; and fince the uncommonnefs of this Foun- „ , • tain, in Strabo, fo well agrees to the uncommon Xq1'*' Origin of that before us. ' (7.) Panfaiiias gives us this authentick Ac count, from his own Eye-fight, of fhe Manner of the Kindling thefe facred Fires, in the Perfian Temples of the Magians in Lydia : Which is a moft remarkable one, and moft naturally pre- ferves the Memorial of the miraculous Kindling of the Fire by Nehemiah at Jerufalem. His Words are thefe 5 ' In the Temple is a certain * ,«$ * Chappel, Wherein there are Afhes upon the * Altar, of a Colour different from common i Afhes. One of the Magi [or Priefts} enters e into this Chappel ; and When he has laid on ' the Wood upon the Altar, he, in the firft Place, 4 puts his Tiara upon his Head ; and, in the fe- ' cond, he calls upon fome one of the Gods, and ' fings out of a Book certain barbarous Prayers^ ' which the Greeks underftood not. Upon which, ' without any Fire put to it, the Wood Was pre- * fently kindled, and a vifible Flame fhone ' therefrom'. Ammianus Marcellinus's Account is alfo remarkable, to the fame Purpofe, viz. 4 That &•$., 4 it was efteemed a great Inftance of Wicked- 4 nefs, either to approach the Altars, or to han- * die the Sacrifice, before one of the Magi had 4 recited his preparatory Prayers, in their ufual ' Forms'. Nor can I omit the fame Ammianus Marcellinus's Account of the Origin of the Fires upon the Altars of the Magians: ' It is re- L. xxifl. ' lated, fays he, if we may credit the Relation, P- z53« 4 that it was a Fire that fell from Heaven which S is ( 2*8) * is preferv'd among them, on their perpetual 4 Hearths : a fmall Portion whereof, 'tis faid, 4 was formerly carried before the Kings of _4/w,- ' as a good Omen'. See Recog. IV. 29. * N. B. This fhper-natural Kindling of the holy Fire at the Temple at Jerufalem, feems to have • been the very laft open and publick Miracle of the whole Old Teftament : and therefore it well deferved fo extended, and fo lafting Me-' morials, as were the Fire-Temples of t he Magians, thro', and even beyond the intire Medo-perfian Empire it felf. N. B. This Miracle, tho' done at Jerufalem, Was yet fo evidently deriv'd from a miraculous Naphtha, within the Perfian Empire ; was fo fully enquir'd into, and attefted to by the King of Perfia himfelf ; and was fo throughly fupported and preferv'd in Memory by the Fire-Temples there, that it feems to have been the' only true and proper Miracle, upon which the Divine Jewifn Settlement of Zerduftit was founded ; with out his own working any Miracles there himfelf. This feems to have been the Cafe of the Repen tance of the Ninivites, upon the Preaching of Jonah, the Jewifli Prophet : who appears to have- had no other Credentials, (befides the conftant Opinion of all the neighbouring Nations, that the Jews had frequently, if not conftantly, true Prophets among them ;) than his miraculous Pre - fervation in the Belly of the Fifh, three Days and three Nights ; as attefted to by the Mariners that were with him. In the fame Manner God foretells to the ten Tribes, by his Prophet Efd ras, a little before this Reformation by Zerduftit, That Upon their Impenitence, after fuch former numerous Miracles among them, thefe Medes and Perfians fhould embrace his true Religion without ( 2 .9 j without them. Tour Houfes [of worfhip^ fays 4 Efd. ii. God,-] wilhlgive to a People that ftiall come ;[to my 35> 3^- future People, the Medes and Perfians ;] who not having heard of me, yet ftiall believe me : to whom I have ftiewed no Signs, yet fhall they do what I have commanded them : they have feen no Prophets, yei ftiall they call their Sins to remembrance, and acknowledge them. Whence, by the way, thofe other pretended Miracles, thofe other aukward and ridiculous pretended Miracles which the later Hyde, p. Perfian and Arabian Writers afcribe to Zerduftit, 315-3.0. feem to me to have been falfe ; and, indeed, no better than the Additions of certain of their more modern injudicibus and legendary Writers. £_.. ( 266 ) E X T R AC T S 0 U T O F T H E Firft Book of Enoch t Concern i ng The Egregori : [or fallen Angels.] Out of Syncellus Chronograph, Cap. ii< i. A NDit came to pafs when the /-\ Children of Men were multipli- <*- -*¦ ed, beautiful Daughters were born to them : and the Egregori coveted them and went aftray after them : and faid, ond to the other, Let us choofe to our felves wives from the Daughters of Men which are on the Earth. And Semiazas, their Ar- chon, [or Prefident] faid unto them, I am fearful that you will not do this thing, and I alone fhall be guilty of this great Sin,. And they anfwered him, and faid, Let every one of us ftyear with an oath ; and let us bind one another under a curfe, that we will ( 2*1 ) will not alter this our purpofe, until we have performed it. Then they all fwore together, and bound one another under a curfe. Now they were two hundred that cjefcended, in the Days of Jared, upon the top of the Mountain of Hermonim. And they called the mountain Hermon, from the oath they had taken, and the curfe they had bound one another withal upon it. Thefe are the Names of their Archontes; (i.) Se- miazas, their Prefident. • (2.) Atarcuph. (3.) Arakiel. (4.) Chobabiel. (5.) Oram- mane, (6.) Ramiel. (7.) Sampfich. (8.) Zj- ftiel. (9.) Balkiel, fio.) Azalzek [Jzael.'J (11.) Pharmaros. (12.) Amariel, (13.) A- nagemas. (14.) Thaufael. (i*jj Samiel. (16.) Sarinas, (17J Eumiel. (18 J Tyriel, (19 J Jumiel, (20.) Sariel. II. Thefe, and all the reft, in the 1 1 70th year of the world, took to themfelves wives, and began to defile themfelves with them, until the Flood : and they bear to them three forts, [as their pofterity. ~] The firft were the great Giants. Now the Giants begat the Naphilim, and the Eliudim were born to the Naphilim. And they increafed in their bulk, and they taught one another, and one anothers wives, witchcrafts, and charms. Azael was the firft, but the tenth of the Archontes ; and He taught men to make fwords, and breaft-plates, and all forts of armour, and metals out of the S 3 Earth ; ( 2*2 ) Earth ; and how they might work in gold, and filver, and make them ornaments for for their wives. He taught them alfo to burnifh, and to paint their Faces, and the ufe of precious ftbnes, and of wafhes. And the Sons of Men made thefe things for them felves, and for their Daughters. And they tranfgrefled, and made the Saints to go a- ftray. And there was great Impiety upon the Earth ; and they perverted their ways. Moreover, their chief Archon Semiazas taught them to have a fpite againft the mind, [or remedies efficacious againft difeafesf] and the roots of herbs that were in the Earth. But Pharmaros, the eleventh, taught witchcrafts, charms, cunning arts, and the diffolution of charms. The ninth taught them Aftrofcopy ; the fourth taught Aftro logy; and the eighth taught Aerofcopy, and the third taught the Signs of the Earth'; and the feventh taught the Signs of the Sun ; and the twentieth taught the Signs of Moon. All thefe began fo reveal thefe Myftefies to their Wives and to their Chil dren. III. Now, afterwards, the Giants began to devour the Flefh of Men, and mankind began to be diminifhed upon the Earth. And the remainder cried unto Heaven, on account of their affli&ion, defiring that their Memorial might be carried up before the Lord. IV. And ( 26? ) IV. And when the four great Archangels, Michael, and Uriel, and RaphaH, and Ga- briel heard thereof, they looked down out of the holy places of Heaven, and faw a great deal of blood fhed upon the Earth, and alb kind of impiety and wickednefs praftifed ; They came in [again,] and faid to one ano ther, that the Spirits and Souls of Men Apoc. v., groan, and intercede, and fay, Introduce 9> I0- our prayer before the Moft High, and our S. '_!{f ' woful eftate before the glory of the -[Divine] 15. Majefty, before Him who in greatnefs is Lord of all Lords. And the four Archan gels came near,* and faid to the Lord of the world, Thou art the God of Gods, and the Lord of Lords, and the King of Kings, and the God of mankind ; and the Throne of thy glory is through all the generations of eternity : and thy name is Holy, and Bleffed for ever and ever. For thou art He who haft made all things, and haft the pow er over all things ; and all things are ma- nifeft and open before thee, and thou feeft all things, and there is nothing that can be hid from thee. Thou feeft what Azasl has done, and what he has introduc'd, and what he has taught ; there is nothing but injuftice and wickednefs upon the Earth, and all kind of deceit upon the dry Land. For he has taught the myfteries, and has reveal ed to the world the things of Heaven. They follow his Counfels. The Sons of Men S 4 aim ( 264 ) aim to know the. Myfteries. Thou haft given power to Semiazas to have the Affi ftance of thofe that are with him : they have gone after the Daughters of Men . on the Earth, and have lain with them, and are defiled with females ; and they have difcoyered to them all their finful practices, and have taught them to do things abomi nable. And now, behold, the Daughters of Men have born children, to them, even the Giants. Perverfe things are diffufed o- ver the Earth ; and the whole Earth is full of injuftice. And now, behold, the Spirits of the Souls of thi Men. that are dead intercede ; and their groaning is come up to the gates of Heayen : nor can they depart, becaufe of the a£ts of violence that are committed upon the Earth, And thou know eft thefe things before they are done, and feeft thefe [Egregori,] and fayeft nothing! "What is to be done in this Matter ? V. Then the Moft High faid ; and He that is Holy, He that is Great, fpake ; and fent Uriel to the Son of Lantech, faying, Go thou to Noe, and fay unto him, in my Name, Hide thy felf : and declare to him the End that is coming : for the Earth fhall intirely perifh : and fay to him, that there fhall come a Deluge upon all the Earth, to deftroy every thing from the face of theEarth. Teach that juft one, the Son of Lantech, what he fhall do,, and thereby preferve his ( 26$ ) Ms Soul in Life, and fhall efcape for wer • and a ftocjs fhall arife from him, and fhall be eftablifhed for all generations, to the end of the work}. VI. And he faid tp Raphael, Go, Raphael, and bind Azael ; tie him hands and feet, and eaft him into the darknefs, and open the defert that is in the defert of Dudael, and go and eaft him thither, and lay under him fharp and rugged Scones, and cover rob. viii. him with darknefs, and let him dwell there 3- for ever, and pbftruQ: his fight, and let him not fee light. And at the day of Judgment he fhall be led away to the burning fire. And heal the Earth, which the Egregori have deftroyed, and difcover the method of heal ing that plague, that they may cure that plague ; and that all the Sons of Men may not perifh by the myftery which the Egregori have difcoyered, and have taught it their Sons ; and all the Earth is laid wafte by the works of the docirine of Azael .- and to it do thou afcribe all the Sins [they have corn- See San- VII. And He faid unto Gabriel, Go, Ga briel, to the Giants, that fpurious breed, to the Sons of fornication, and deftroy the Sons of the Egregori, from the Sons of Men. .honk- Send them to fight one againft another, by tho . Ac- war and deftrudion ; and they fhall not cTrf°{ haye length of days ; and their Fathers ttMi fh^fi Slaughen, ( 266 ) fhall have no [room Jor] interceflion for. them, .tho* they promife them an eternity jo f life, and the fight of the light until $©o years. VIII. And He faid unto Michael, Go, Michael, bind Semiazas, and thofe others with him, that have mixed themfelves with the Daughters of Men, fo as to be defiled with them, in their impurity. And when their Sons are flain, and they have feen the perdition of their beloved, bind them for 70 generations, in the recefles of the Earth, uhtil the day of their judgment, until the day of the completion of their end, until the judgment of eternity be fulfilled. Then fhall they be led away into the Chaos of Fire, and into torment, and into the prifon of their eternal reftraint. And whofoever ftgill be .condemned, and deftroyed from this time with them, fhall be bound, until the completion of their generation. . . . IX. And now, as to the Giants, which were begotten of Spirits and Flefh, they fhall call them Evil Spirits upon the Earth ; becaufe their habitation is upon the Earth. Spirits that are gone out of the body of their flefh, becaufe they were deriv'd from Men, and from the Egregori ; whence was the beginning of their Creation, and the beginning of their foundation ; they will be^vil Spirits upon the Earth, the firft Spirits of the Giants, that will be voraci ous. , ( 267 ) ous, and unjuft, and deftru&ive, will fall upon men, and ftruggle with them, and throw them upon the ground, and make incurfions upon them, aftd will eat nothing, but continue without food, and caufe fpeclxes, thirfting, and rufhing upon Men. And the Spirits fhall arife agairjft the Spns of Men and of Women, becaufe they went out of them. It will alfo come to pafs, that from the day of the time of the flaughter, anel dcftru_tion, and death of the Giants, that the Naphilim, and the Strong of the Earth, [the Eliudim] [thofe great Men of renown, > the Spirits that proceed out of their Soul, as out of the flefh, fhall be deftroyers without diftin£tion ; they fhall deftroy thus until the day of their confummatioh, lintil the great Judgment, when the Great Age fhall be fi nifhed, fhall be all at once finifhed. . ; . X. But as to the Mountain on which they fwore, and bound one another under a curfe, there fhall never depart from it told, and Snow, and Froft ; and Dew fhall never defcend upon it, unlefs it defcend up on it for a curfe, until the day of the great Judgment. At that time it fhall be burnt up, and laid low, and it fhall be burning and melting away, as wax by the fire ; fo fhall it be burnt up, arid all its fruits fhall wither away. And now I fay unto you, ye Sons of Men, that there is great wrath a- gainft your Sons; and this wrath fhall not ceafe < 268 ) eeafe from you, until the time of the {laughter of your Sons ; and your belov, ed fhall perifh ; and thofe you honour fhall die from off the whole Earth. For all the , days of their life, from this time, fhall not be more than 120 Years. And do not you think thajt you fhall ftill live more years; for .from this time they fhall have no way of efcaping, becaufe of the wrath which is kindled againft: you in the King of all Ages, Do not you imagine, that you fhall efcape thefe Judgments. . . . £' Thefe things, fays ' Syncellus, are taken out of the firft Book of _ Enoch, concerning the Egregori'.] > Out of Alexander Polyhiftor, apud Syn- cell. P. 33. IN the i6$th Year of Enoch, which was the 1286th from the Creation of the world, by the permiffion of the Supreme God, the Archangel Uriel, who was over the -Stars, difcovered to Enoch what the Month was, and the Tropick, and the Year : as it is related in the Book of the fame Enoch: and that the Year contained $2 Weeks : and that 1286 Years contained 46 Myriads of Days, and 9590 [469-390:] and fix Myriads of weeks, and. 70^6 [67056] [at ( 269 ) 36$ Days to theTear,] wherein Mankind kneW; neither the Month, nor the Tropicks, nor the Year ; nor what were each of their meafures. / N. B, What Foundations of Aftrology were now learned by the Difcovery of the XII Signs, and 360 Degrees of the Zodiak, as diftin£fc from the Length of the Month, and the Year, for the tifes of the Calendar, are, by Polyhiftor, afcrib'd to the 4th Archon j in thefe Words, preferv'd iyY Syncellus : * They were taught^ by the 4th *' 3a: * Archon of the Egregori, Chobabiel, that the ' Meafure of the Revolution of the Sun was in *¦ XII Signs of the Zodiak, and in 360 Degrees'. £»**,$•*• .Which muft moft probably be taken from Enoch 5 who exprefly makes this fourth Archon theTeacher of Aftrology A 0IS- { 270 ) A DISSERTATION. TO PROVE, That this Book of Enoch; whofe Fragments rve have here produced, was really genuine, and was one of the Sacred Apdcryphal or Goii cealed Books of the Old Teftament. THE Reafons of this Propofitiqn, taken from the internal Characters, and external Teftima- •nies, are thefe that follow. (i.) The Cafe of this Book,as well as of thetefta- ments of the XII Patriarchs, is very peculi- ar. For if once it appear they were either of them written at all before the Chriftain Religion. came into the World ; nay, if they were either of them written at all before the Deftrudtion of Jerufalem by Titus, they muft, for certain, be genuine : becaufe the Predictions contained in them both, are fo many, and fo plain, and fo e- vidently agree to the Events that Concerned the Jewifh Nation, and the Chriftian Religion, as late as the Deftrudtion of Jerufalem, that they' could not poilibly be deriv'd from any thing elfe than DivineRevelation. NoW fince the intire Evidence, internal as well as external, confpires toaffureus, that both this Book of Enoch, and the Teftaments' of th6 XII Patriarchs were written before, nay, ( 271 ) long before the DeftruQion of Jerufalem by Titus _ as will appear all along ; we ought to allow them both to be truly genuine. (2 .) The Account Mofes gives us of the Angels of God converting with the Daughters of Men : (for fo the Text was by all Jews and Chriftians read and underftood in the firft, and by almoft all of them in feveral following Centuries :) with its Confe- quence, the Procreation of the Antediluvian Giants, feems little more than an Epitome of the larger original Account of the fame thing in the Book of Enoch : which, in this part, is pretty intirely preferv'd in the foregoing Fragments : as the fol lowing Parallelifm willabundantly inform us. Idolat §.9. He Cult. F*nn §• 10. Advers. Marclon. L. V. §-. 18. Virg. %.l.De Hab. Mulicb. §. 2. Euftb. Prap. V.4. Auguji. De XV. 23. PhiLdeGy- gant. Jo feph. Antit{i I.3. Juft. Apol. I. J. ll.6.Clem. Alex. Strom, lit. p.tfo.V.p. 550. Atbe- nag. Apol. §.22. Tertall.BeDe Veland. Chit : Dei. JVtOSES. • * It came to pafs when Men began to multi- fly on the face of the Earth, and Daughters' were horn unto them, that the \\ Angels of God [MS. A- lex. Phil. Jofeph. jude,] faw the Daughters of Men, that they were fair : and they took them wives of all which they EliOCH. i It came to pafs when the * Gen. vi. Children of Men were multipli. i- — ti ed, beautiful Daughters were\EnocK%% Born to them ; and the Egregori coveted them, and went aftray after them. And they faid one to another, [200 in Number] let ns choofe to our J elves wives from the Daughters of Men which are Gof."^{ on the Earth. — They took to them- VaU Ht^. felves Wives ; and began to defile §. t: themfelves with them. [See the Manner in the Teftament of Ruben,%. 5. and the likeArtempt in Tob. vi.^14.] until the Flood : and they bear to them three forts ¦, the $• 3- 5- 4« ikOSES. they chofe. And fcllL the Lordfaid, My Spirit ftiall not al ways ftrive with Man : for that he alfo is flefti; yet his Days ftiall he an hundred and twenty years. There were Gi ants in the Earth in thofe days : and alfo after that, when the Sons of God [the Children oiSsth] came in unto the Daughters of Men, and bear Children unto them : The fame became migh ty Men, which were of old, Men of renown. And God faw that the Wickednefs of Man was great §. io< in the Earth ; and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And ( 272 J ENOCft <. ihe firft were ihe great Giants r the Giants begat the Nephilim : and the Eliudim were bore to the Nephilim.- And they tranf- grejfed, and made the Saints to go aftray. And there was great impiety upon the Earth, and thef perverted their ways. Nov) afterwards the Giants began to devour the flefti of -Men 5 and mankind began to be diminiflied upon the Earth. — — The Egre gori have gone after the Daugh" ters of Men on the Earth, and have lain with them-, and art defiled with females: and they Jjave difcovered to them all Their ftnful praBices, and have taught them to do things a- bomiiiable. And now, behold;. the Daughters of Men have, lorn Children to them, even the Giants 5 pcrverfe things are diffufed over the Earth ; and the whole Earth is full of injnftice. And now, behold, the Spirits of the Souls of Men that are dead intercede. And now I fay unto yon, ye Sons of men, that there is great wrath againft you, and againft your Smts : and this wrath ftiall not ceafe from you until the time of the flaughter of your Sons _ and your beloved ftiall MOSES. And it repented ihe Lord that he had made Man on the Earth •, and it grieved him at his Heart, &c. ( 27J ) ENOCH.' ftiall perifti, and thofe you honour ftiall die from oft the whole Earth _ lor all the^ Days of their Life, from this time, ftiall be not more than ait hundred and twenty Tears. And do not you think that you ftiall ftiU live more Tears: for from this time they ftiall have no way of efcaping, becaufe of the wrath which is kindled againft you in the King of all Ages. Do not you imag ine that you ftiall efcape thefe i Judgments, Sec. • N. B. We may here obferve, that the Alexan drian Copy diftinguifhes fhe Angels of God, Gen. yi. 2. which had to do with the wicked Daughters of Cain, before the Children of Seth had been per verted -, from the Sons of God, or the Children of Seth, v. 4. with whofe Wives, of the Pofterity of Cain, thofe Angels of God had alfo to do after their Perverfion. Which Copy exactly agrees with all pur Accounts of thefe two Sets of Gygantick Off- fpring before the Flood, Chap. vi. 4.. And this Diftindtion in Mofes, between the Angels of God, and the Sons of God, feems to me, to be juft ; and to give the greateft Light to the prefent matter," of the Defcent of the Egregori, and the Origin of the feveral Sorts of Antediluvian Giants from them. (3.) This Account in Enoch is absolutely necef- fary for the Solution of that otherwife infoluble Problem, of the vaft Bulk of many Antediluvian, and of certain Poftdiluvian Giants : which yet is T fully' ( 274 ) SeeGen. vi. fully attefted to by all ancient Records whatfoevef. 4 8.-.r. iii. x do not mean here fuch finaller and later Giants, i6. -Tfa- as Q0nath, 0f the Height of four, or five, or per- T"J ¦'"'' ' haps, at the utmoft, of fix Cubits : which is by no s'J'chfi- means incredible in the prefent State of things, ef- atho, in pecially nearer thofe Ages, H when all the ancient the Appnd. Meafures taken from human Bodies fhew that tottyEff. thofe Bodies in general were one eighth, if not l"no.Gr0t. one feventh taller than they now are ; but I mean iie.Ventat. fachGiants as were feven, or nine, or twelve : for fo B.eU?. far go the facred Accounts of the Jews •, or even ChriftlA. twentv four, or thirty three, or 60 Cubits tall : for %6;?uet- fo far go the diredt Heathen Teftimonies in this Afmtan. matter ; to fay nothing of the ftill greater Mea- L II. 12. fures of the Poets. Now to- fuppofe, that the bare N". 3- Intermarriages of the Sons of Seth, with the Daugh- II Vid. ters 0f C«i« ; i. e. of theWorfhippers of the'true God lfniffnaf with Idolaters; fhould produce fuch enormous Gi- &>fmpi. anih is contrary to all Fad. and Experience : which I. 8. fhews that fuch gigantick Stature of Children has no Dependance on the Virtues or Vices of Parents. But that unnatural or monftrousMixtures may pro duce an unnatural or monftrous Off-fpring ; and that what Men weakly call the bare Imagination' of the Mother, not knowing, in the mean time, what they fay, nor whereof they affirm, may greatly affedt , the Child, is very agreeable thereto. So that this Enoch §. Account in Enoch, I only mean as explained in _wT_i?a_'. *^e Teftament of Reuben, gives us fuch a rational §. j" c '' Caufe of this enormous Stature of the old Giants as we otherwife are utterly at a Lofs for : and is therefore fo far from rendring this Book incredi ble, as is commonly fuppos'd -, that it is a ftrong Atteftation to its gunuine Truth and Antiquity. Nor doe Enoch and Mofes give any other Account of the Origin of that "great Wickednefs which brought on the Deluge •, I mean, as derived from thofe ( 27. ) antediluvian Giants, than what Ovid had learned out of thofe ancient Heathen Records which he made ufe of, when he compofed the firft' Book of his Metainorphofes : which muft have been pri- 0vid Mc~ marily derived from this Book of Enoch -,the only t^mfrPh.x- antediluvian Record that came among the Greeks f^^e Or Latins of thofe Ages. If any wonder at my mention of certain poftdiluvian Giants alfo^ whofe vaft Bulk ought to be acfcounted for in the Manner here defcrib'd ; he is to Obferve, that we have a like Relation* out of the Revelation of Mofes -, to be hereafter fet down •, of the Defcent of the Giants, the Off spring of the Egregori, 340 Years after the Flood; who feem to have introduc'd' that Ido latry and Wickednefs into the new World, which had been wafhed away With the old one it felf, at the Deluge •, of which more hereafter. Nor do the Records which Ovid followed at all Meta- difagree with this part of our Account, but "ff£- *• v' confirm it alfo. And to the like unnatural Mix tures of thefe poftdiluvianGiants, theOff- fpring of the Egregori, with Women, do I afcribe thofe Races of enormous Giants after the Flood. And thefe, _VW;. as we find by the Writings of Mofes, lafted till xiii-.2S.32, the Introdudtion of the Ifraelites into the Land of ?.?• Deett- Canaan : when Og, the King of Baftian, who reign- lff°\ ••'¦" ed at, or near Mount Herman (the very place of s-'-ii.1' the Defcent of the antediluvian Egregori -, as we is. 2. fhall -find prefently ;) had a Bed 9 Cubits long, and 4 Cubits broad. By whofe Death an end was put to the Race of thefe poftdiluvian Giants ; as Mofes DePlt m alfo informs us,. n. (4.) This Account in Enoch is alfo necefTary for the Solution of another Problem, otherwife equal ly infoluble: I mean, the true Origin of Judicial A- ftrology, and of all the feveral Species-ofMagick-Art T 2 with ( 276 ) f See teft. with all thofe Charms or Incantations, t poifonous Jof.%.6. Herbs, Love-potions, Ceremonies, and Fopperies, dependyig on them, or taught with them, fo fa mous in all Antiquity •, and by which fo great a part of Mankind have always been, and ftill are deluded, and intangled in the groffeft Idolatry and Superftition. Now of this whole Matter, Enoch gives us a moft juft and natural Account : intirely Enoch. §, agreeing with the old and new Teftament, and 2- 5- with all the primitive Books of Judaifm, and Chriftanity - I mean, by alluring us, that they were deriv'J from the fame wicked and unclean Spirits, which had themfelves fallen from their Obedience to their Creator, and who defcended to the Earth from the loweft Region of our Air, where they lived in the immediate Neighbourhood of Man kind. So that this Book of Enoch, by giving us fuch a rational Account of the Origin of all thefe wicked Arts, as we are otherwife utterly at a Lofs for ; is fo far from rendring the Record before us incredible, as is commonly fuppos'd-, that it is rather an Atteftation to its genuine Truth and Antiquity. (5.) There are feveral ftanding Monuments and Memorials of certain Fadts related in this Book of Enoch, ftill remaining, as Evidences of theTruth of thofe Fadts. Thus the Memory of the Defcent of thefe Egregori, and that in the Days of Jared, and that on a Mountain, by the Springs of Jordan, lfld- Of'*- or, as theHebrews write it, Jar den, which fignifies a injmri t Defcent, is preferved by the Name of the principal 132. 'Re- River of Palefti ne to this Day. Nor have we any tend other probable Derivation of it. Thus theMemo- Paldfi. I. ry of the fame Defcent of the Egregori, upon the 4-3- Mountain Hermon, is preferv'd by that Name, 7 which denotes that Anathema, or Curfe, or Ad juration, by which the Egregori conjured toge ther rid ( 277 ) ther in Enoch. Which Name Hermon continues to belong to the fame Mountain, to this Day. Nor Tel nd. have we any other probable Derivation of it. ?aUll- T Thus alfo Sanchoniatho, the Phoenician Antiquary, V'rff-l,. defcribesthe fame eadie&Giants before the Flood, theofcX. as living and taking their Names from Mount 1 70. Caffius,Libanus, Antilibanus, and Brathys, on which they feized: two of which:, at leaft, are very near to Mount Hermon ; on which Enoch fays the Egre gori defcended : and both retain the Names of their feveral Giants to this Day. Nor have we any other certain Derivation of them. Thus, laftly, that Divine Denunciation or Curfe upon Mount Hermon in Enoch, ' that Cold, and Snow, and Enoch. .. * Froft fhould never depart from it ; nor fhould I0, * Dew defcend upon it, unlefs it were for a Curfe, 4 untill the Day of Judgment', Appears to have been fince fulfilled, by the Teftimony of Jerom himfelf, an Inhabitant of Paleftine ; who affures SeeReUnd. us, ' that it was ufual^in his Days, to carry Snow P*i*ft- _•¦ * in Summer from this Mountain, [over all the 323> 324- ' Mountains of Libanus and Antilibanus] as far as f Tyre it felf. The Samaritan Interpreter alfo, with the Jerufalem' Targum, both call this Moun tain, by way of eminence, the Mountain of Snow. Eufebius alfo, and Jerom, and' Hilary, all agree, that in their Pays the Gentile Idolaters had a fa- mous Temple, by the fame Mountain, for the Ex- mfff.juf„ ercife of their profane Religion there : and by ni. 3.] that means, as Hilary fays, they bear witnefs to the Propriety of the Name Anathema, given to it in the Book before us. And whether the Drufes, that are faid to this Pay, to adt the greatefl Lewd- nefs, and to deny the Refurredlipn, and to wor fhip the Devil inftead of God, in Mount Libanus, or nor far from thi$ Mount Hermon, be not the Remains of thefe Idolatrous and profane Worfhip- T 1 . pers, C 278 ; pers, will deferve to be confidered. See Hyde de Relig vet. Perf.p. .6. 491, 492, 493- 549 t~ 554. Thus far of the internal CharaBers ; which, for fo fmall Fragments, ate not a few, nor inconfider- able : I now proceed to the external Teftimonies. Teft. Reu. (6.) The Teftaments of the XII Patriarchs, s .5- which, as we fhall fee anon, are themfelves cited Levi5 10 alm°ft five Centuries before the Days of our Sa- 14 ; _; ' viour, do fully, and frequently cite thefe Re- Jud. § 1. mains of Enoch -, and that by the CharaBer of Zab. 5 3. the Scripture of Enoch : the Book of Enoch the Dan. § 5. righteous : the Scripture of Enoch : the Booh of Bent", q4' Enoc'h f^e righteous : the Scripture of the Law of Enoch : the Scripture or holy Scripture of Enoch : the Words of Enoch the righteous : nor are the Things for which they cite them, at all unwor thy of the higheft of thofe Charadters. (•].) Alexander Polyhiftor, a learned Heathen, Ap. Eufeb. that wrote about a Century before the Chriftian Pr&p. IX. j' without Circumcifion : and though he was but ' a Man, yet was he an Ambaffador to the An* c gels ; and was tranflated, and is preferved to * this Days, as a witnefs of the Judgment of ' God ; that when the Angels, upon their Tranf- * greflion, fell down to the Earth, for a Judg- c ment upon them ; a Man that pleafed him e was tranflated unto Salvation'. Which Paffage feems to be deriv'd, in part, from this Book of Enoch : and, fo far to confirm its juft Antiquity and Authority. (14.) Clement of Alexandria ' believed, thatcer- nj a&' e tain of the Angels fell down from Heaven, out of 6 the love of Women3. And he taught, ' that thofe Strom. V. * Angels, whofe Lot was above, condefcended to _• 5 Jo* f PI ea fur es, [of another Nature,] and told Secrets ' to Women, and whatever had come to their 1 Knowledge : while the reft of the Angels ' concealed the fame, or rather referved thefe 1 things to the coming of the Lord : and that ' from thence did flow the Dodtrine of Provi- ' dence -, and Revelation of fublime Things'. He alfo elfewhere, ' cites Daniel and Enoch as Eohg. p. ' declaring much the fame elevated Philofophick 801. ' Notions : and particularly he affirms, that ' Enoch faid, the Angels that were Tranfgreffors P- 8o8- ' taught Men Aftronomy, [Aftrology :] and Di- e vination, and the other Arts'. So that Clement feems to have had no doubt as to the genuine Truth and Antiquity of this Book, out of which all thefe Paffages are evidently taken. (15.) Tertullian affirms, ' that Enoch of old, r>s Idol. ' predidled, that the Damons, and the Spirits of 4' ' for- 5*5. See Zeph I.,. JWm. L- II. S 10. F/i. L. I L. I. § 3.- ( 284) forfaken Angels would convert all the Ele* ments, every Part of the World's Furniture, that is contained either in Heaven, in the Sea, or in the Earth unto Idolatry; that they might be confecrated in the Place of God, in Oppofition to the Lord.— -That he con demned before hand, at once the Worfhippers of an Idol, and they that make it 5 that the Holy Spirit forefeeing, from the beginning, that even the Doors would be turned into Su- perftition, foretold the fame by his moft an cient Prophet Enoch : that the fame Angels who difcovered fuch Matters, and fuch Enticements, viz. what belongs to Ornaments of Gold, and precious Stones, and the Ways of preparing them ; and, who, among other things, taught how to beautify the Eye-lids, and to die Fleeces of Wooll, were condemned of God _ as Enoch relates, &c - that he knows indeed that fome Perfons did not admit of the Scripture »/ E- noch, becaufe it was not admitted into the Canon of the Jews, &c. But, however, fince Enoch did, in the fame Scripture, foretell things that concerned the Lord, nothing at all ought to be rejedted by us, in which we are concerned. That we read farther, that all Scripture, that may edify us, is given by Divine Infpiration : that it may well be fuppos'd, that this Scrip ture is rejedted, by the Jews, on the fame Account, that they rejedt other Books of the like Nature •, becaufe they refound Chrift : that 'tis no manner of wonder, that while the Jews would not receive Him, when he was fpeaking to them Face to Face, they fhould not receive certain Scriptures which fpake of him , and that the Teftimony of Jude the Apoftle afford ed additional Strength to Enoch'. So that Ter- tullian ( 280 tullian was not only a Believer in this Scripture' of Enoch, but a zealous Vindicator of its facred Authority alfo. N. B. Tertullian here intimates, very juftly and fhrewdly, that the principal Reafops of any doubt about the Authority of this Book of Enoch,' and others of a like Nature, in the Chriftian Church, was from itsAbfence from the Jewifh Canon ; and the Ill-will the Jews 8bare to Jefus Chrift, who was therein moft plainly defcrib'd : as the Paffages refer'd to in the Teftaments of the XII Patriarchs do alfo demonftrate. Neither of which ought to be of any weight with us. Ef pecially, fince it appears to have been a moft ancientBook, belonging to theJewifhNation alone, and by that alone to have been delivered to the firft Gentile Chriftians. Nor is it to be at all Wondered at, that when the Jews had crucified Jefus of Nazareth, they fhould endeavour to fet afide the Authority of any fuch Books as this of Enoch , and that of the Teftaments of the XII Patriarchs, which fo ftrongly, and undeniably de monftrated his being no other than than their true Mefliah. (16.) Origen himfelf, though he were perfnaded ^oftrCelf. by thofejews that taught him theHebrewLanspage, v%. 267! to have as mean an Opinion as poffible of all Peri. Ar- fuch Books, as t6o plainly fupported the Chriftian <*o»J.$... Religion againft them, yet does he feveral times *Y- $a/*-R cite this Book of Enoch by Name •, as laying ff"^'u^f claim to a Prophetick Charadter ; as having an xxxiv! excellent Paffage like one in Hermas ; as con- __».viir. taming many fecret and recondite Notions con- in Joan. p. cerning the Stars ; and as owned by fome for I?I' little or nothing inferior to the Divine Books themfelves : although he did not himfelf care to lay any Strefs on its Authority, becaufe the Jews of (286 ) of his Age did not admit it into their Hebrew Canon. Ap. Op. (17.) The moft learned and accurate Author Athan.-,f. 0f fj-jg Synopfis Sacra Scriptura ; an Alexandrian, in cake. tj_at j..^. _o Correfpondence with the Hebrew Jews, and fo was not biaffed by their Authority-, and one that was nearly contemporary with Ori gen -, as will hereafter appear ; is fo far from any Sufpicion about the Antiquity and Authority of this Book, or of the Teftaments of the [XII] Patriarchs, that though he knew they were nei ther in the Jewifh Hebrew Canon, nor Were pub- lickly read in the Chriftian Churches, yet does he put them at the Head of the facred Apocry pha, or concealed Books of the Old Teftament. Ap. Eufeb. (18.) Anatolius of Alexandria, a learned Chri- mfi. Ecd. ftian Chronologer, little later than the two' Vll.j. former, diredtly cites toc fx^viyi^a., the Mathe- l87- waticks, of the fame Book of Enoch, as authen tick Evidence to prove, that the Jews firft Month [Nifan] was about the [Vernal] Equinox. Which Pafiage well agrees to my former Conjec ture, that the Jews originally deriv'd their Aftro nomy from the Book of Enoch, and regulated their Calendar therefrom in all the paft Ages. He Hab. (T9-) Cyprian affirms, that ' they Were fallen Virg.p.ii.1 and apoftate Angels that fhewed. the ufe of ' precious Ear-rings, and all the reft of the fu- ' perfluous Ornaments of Women, among the c reft of their Arts ; when they defcended to ' earthly Pollutions, and left their heavenly ; Vigour : that they were thefe Angels that taught ; Women to make their Eyes black, and to 4 paint their Faces red, and to change the na tural Colour of their Hair, and to adulterate ' their Mouth and Head -, and all this, at the ' fame time, when they loft their Chaftity to' ' them'. ( 287 ) e them'. Which whole Account Is evidently taken out of this Book of Enoch. So that there is no doubt but Cyprian believed, the Truth and Authority of the fame Book of Enoch. (20.) That the Jews have not always rejefted this Book of Enoch, appears by the Citations made out of it, as out of a genuine facred Book, by See Grabs fome of them, even as early as the Book Zohar. sPic'ik.- Thus Manahem, a Rabbi of the thirteenth Century, S"-1-™?' affures us, that Enoch faid, I faw in Paradife the tVp/S great Angels of the Miniftry, and they cried Holy, epig.v.T.p. Holy, Holy, &c. As alfo, that certain of the lat- 208, 209. 'ter Cabbaliftsfaid, that they found in the Book of Enoch, the Son of Jared, that a certain Secret was revealed to him, when God took him away, together with the reft of his wonderful Secrets. Moreover, fays he, there is mention made of that Book by our Rabbins in Zohar. And know thou, fays he, that according to the Words of that Book, the inferior Paradife was pre pared from that Day wherein the Spirits of the Juft were created, to dwell there, in their own Figure. Thus alfo Manaffeb Ben Ifrael, affures us, that they underftood by the Book of Enoch, that God, after he had taken Enoch up, and had fhewed him all his Treafures, fuperior and inferior, he fhewed him alfo the Tree of Life •, and that Tree which he had forbidden Adam to eat of. And that he faw the place of Adam in Paradife, in which had Adam obferved that Precept, he had lived for ever, and continued to all Eternity. But becaufe he did not obey the Precept of his Lord, therefore was he eaft out to his own Lofs, and fuffered Punifhment. Ludovicus Capellus produces alfo another place out of the Book Zohar, where it fpeaks of the Fall of the Angels Aza and Azael, as alfo of the Nephilim, - or old Giants : which muft very probably have been ( 2§3 ) been taken put of the fame Book of Enoch. As does alfo Sgambat produce another, wherein he mentions the fame Enoch. All which Teftimo- nies fhew, that the ancient jews, even as early as the Book Zohar, were not unacquainted with the Antiquity and Authority of this Book of E- noch ; and probably had fome Hebrew Copy or Verfion of it among, them. (21.) Athanafius, in the Additions to the Sy nopfis Sacra Scripture, if they be his -, and in his more undifputed Feftal Epiftle, is greatly con cerned to run down many facredj Books, which till then had been of the higheff Authority in the Alexandrian Church, and, indeed, in all Chriftian Churchesc excepting perhaps thofe of Judea : and particularly is very angry at the Books then call ed Apocrypha. So that tho' he mention not him felf either the Book of Enoch, or the Teftaments of the XII Patriarchs, yet is there little queftion but he was for rejecting them intirely. And from this Athanafius, as I take it, among the Greeks ; and his zealousFollower Jerom, among the Latins, it was, that thefe and many more ancient facred Books, which till then were generally and juftly of great Authority among Chriftians, were by De- , grees difcarded and not a few of them loft, for many Generations. But what I here produce Athanafius for, is this-, that he confeffes there were fome Chriftians, even as late as his Age, who valued as facred, thofe Apocryphal Books : and for this additional Obfervation, which I muft make upon this Occafion, that However, the Jews had formerly prevailed upon fome of the primitive Chriftians to doubt about this Book of Enoch, and the other Books called Apocrypha,yet could they, never prevail with any hitherto properly to deny or rejeB any one of them. That was peculiar to the" the Athanafians .- and Athanafius himfelf appears to have been the very firft Chriftian that ever did mtirely deny or rejeB them. The Reafon of which •Boldnefs will readily appear when we come to treat of the Synopfis Sacra Script ura, and of Atha nafius _ bitter' Oppofition thereto hereafter. (22.) Hilary of PoiBiers fays, That this Hermon In Pflm is a Mountain in Phoenicia, whofe Interpretation is cxxxii. 3. Anathema. For what the Latins call Anathema^ . in the Hebrew is Hermon-, that there is a thing re lated . in he knew not whofe Book, [the Book of Enoch,] that Angels defired the Daughters of • Men, when they defcended from Heaven ; and that they principally bandied together upon this high Mountain. (2.) Jerom confeffes, that Jude, the Brother Catai. of James, the Author of one of the feven Catho- Scrip. Ecch lickEpiftles, takes a Teftimony out of this Apo- '* J*de- cryphal Book of Enoch : nor does he deny but that the Teftimony cited by St. Jude was then extant therein : as he elfewhere openly confeffes, ' St. Paul took many other Citations out of Apo- In Tit- L * cryphal Books alfo'. Yet does the fame Je rom venture to condemn all thofe Books not withftanding : becaufe they did not appear in the Hebrew Canon of the Old Teftament of that Age. Nay, if we believe him, to that Degree of Impudence had the greatefl Part [he means, I fuppofe, only of the Athanafians] proceeded in his Days -, that St. jude himfelf, was, by that great- eft Part rejeBed, becaufe he fb evidently quoted this Apoayphal Book of Enoch. And if fo, very happy it was for St. Paul, and for Us, that He efcaped the like Rejedtion by the fame majori ty : fince Jerom confeffes, that St. Paul took many Citations out of the Apocryphal Books -, while he alleges but one that St. Jude hatf taken from XJ then.. ~ ( 290 ) them. However, Jerom himfelf foon contradiels what he had faid about the Rejection of Jude on account of this Quotation by the Majority : fince he immediately adds, that, ' However, this Epi- * ftle of Jude had then obtained Authority by its sliipEc- ' Antiquity, and long ufe, [in the Church,] and clef, in " ' was ftill computed among the Books of holy Jude. * Scripture'. Nor, indeed, is there any one Ca non or Catalogue of the Books of the New Tefta ment, either earlier or later than Jerom, fo far as I have obferv'd, that have fewer than -feven Catholick or Canonical Epiftles, or that omit this of Jude among them . as will appear here after. However, this Confeffion of Jerom 's, that after all, St. Jude's Epiftle, which had moft open ly cited Enoch as a true Prophet, before the Flood, and as having an eminent Prophecy ftill preferv'd, was, till his very Days, efteemed by the Church, one of the feven Catholick or Cano nical Epiftles, and a Book of Holy Scripture ; is no fmall Atteftation to its genuine Antiquity, and to that facred Authority, which it had an ciently among Chriftians. In Pfai. (2.4.) The Author of that Commentary on the cxxxii. 3. Pfalms, which is extant among the Works of Jerom, but appears rather to be a Collection out of him, and many other Expofitors, mentions this Book of Enoch as one of theApocryphal Books, that , was then very well known in the Church, and fpoken of by the elder Expofitors. He confeffes alfo, that Origen had cited it, for the Confirma tion of fomewhat that he efteemed Heretical. BeCivitat. (25.) Auguftin, who followed his Athanafian Dei. XV. Leaders, and was willing to get clear of this, 25- and other Books called Apocrypha, does yet con- XVIII.38. fefs> that f0 far 0f this Book 0f Enoch, as is ap- prov'd of, and alleg'd by St. Jude, muft be au thentick, ( 291 ) thenfcick, and contains Divine Sentiments. He alfo intimates, that it was the very great Anti quity of this, and the like Books, that gave the Jews and Chriftians room to fufpedt or rejedfc them- Which Conceflion ftrongly confirms their genuine Antiquity and Authority. It being cer tain, as has been already obferv'd, that if thus t. zlo. Book had fuch great Antiquity, nay, if it wa's p'rih. written at all before the coming of Chrift, or even before the Deftrudtion of Jerufalem by Ti~ tus, it muft be genuine. (26.) Zofimus Panopolites, as Syncellus informs _¦ l }¦ us, Obferves, that the holy Scriptures, or holy Fab™' . Books fay, t that there is a certain Species of *ml 5>I *' * Damons, that make ufe of Women', that Hermes alfo makes mention of this, in his Phyficks ; and that almoft all Writings, both open and apocryphal, make mention of it. This therefore is that which the ancient and divine Scriptures fay, ' that An- 4 gels lufted after Women, and came down, and * taught them all the Works of Nature. For * which caufe, when they had offended, they ' continued excluded out of Heaven 5 becaufe * they had taught Men all things that were 4 wicked, and did no way profit the Soul. The • * fame Scriptures fay, that of them were begotten 1 the Giants'. All which Account is evidently In Confirmation of Enoch, as a Part of the holy, ancient, and divine Scriptures of the Old Tefta ment. (27.) Georgius Syncellus, when he wrote his Chronography, about A. D. 790, fpeaks often of this Book of Enoch ; but, like a true Athanafian, is very angry at it, and at other fuch Books, which had been long rejedted by the Athanafians ; . though without the leaft Pretence of any real Evidence for fuch their Rejection. He only U 2 fays, ( 292 ) p. _4. fay, ' that Enoch was an Apocryphal Book ^ and ' in fome things of uncertain Authority'. How ever, fince almoft all ihat we have left us of this moft ancient Record, is owing to this Au thor's Extradts out of him, it is not fit to omit him. And pity, great pity it is, that Syncellus . ventured to transcribe no more : feeing the Book it felf, which was fo common, and well known for eight or nine Centuries, has never been yet found, fince the Revival of Learning among us. (28.) In the Stichometria of Nicephorus, Pa triarch of Conftantinople, about A. D. 800 ; to be hereafter fet down in part : Enoch and the [XII] Patriarchs, ate at the Head of the facred Apro- cryphal Books of the Old Teftament •, as the Au thor of the Synopfis had long before placed them ; and the Number of the .1'x0') or Verfes, iri the Greek, are 4800 •, and in the old Verfion only 1 500, or not quite a third Part fo large as the Teftament of the XII Patriarchs -, which in the fame Stichometria has in the Greek 5100 5 and in the Latin, 4800 Verfes. (29.) In another Index of the facred Books pub- , lifhed by Cotelerius ; to be alfo hereafter fet down in part : Enoch and the [XII] Patriarchs ftand in the fecond and fourth Places of the fame fa cred Apocryphal Books of the Old Teftament. _ -And now the plain Refult of all the forego ing Evidence is this, that before, and in the firft Century, this Book of Enoch, was, by all, own'd to be genuine, to be a great Apocryphal or Concealed Treafure, nay, perhaps, the oldeft facred Record among Mankind -, that the Apo ftles and Companions of the Apoftles believed it to be fo ; that the firft Gentile Chriftians receiv ed it from the Jews as fuch, and believed and quoted ( 29? ) quoted it as fuch, without Hesitation -, till the unbelieving Hebrew Jews, finding the Strength of the Evidence therein contained for Chrifti anity, gradually diminifhed its Reputation, and, at length, perfuaded the Chriftians firft to doubt of it, and then to rejedt it : which Rejection yet they could never intirely encompafs, till Atha nafius and his Followers refolved to lay afide this, and all the other Apocryphal Books of the Old and New Teftament. N. B. As to the -Ao/n.? to »f «v_, The Tables Tejl. Levi, of Heaven, fometimes quoted in the Teftaments f. £ of the XII Patriarchs, and the Prayer of Jofeph ; $ff Net- which are, by Mr. Dodwell, fuppos'd _o belong to -Tefl. Afer. this Book of Enoch, and about which he has made §. 7- a particular, Differtation, I fee no Foundati- Player of on for all thofe learned Difquifitions about them. vfeJ?h', They feem to me to mean only this, that, as spuiilt '' ufually, the Prophets heard Words fpoken to them, __. I. Not. in the Vifions they receiv'd -, fo did they fome- p. 398— times read fuch Words reprefented as written upon 343- e* Tables before their Eyes : and fince thefe Tables ff^- in the Vifions, were fuppos'd to be feen in Hea ven, they are fitly called The Tables of Heaven. Nor do I at all apprehend any farther Myftery in this Matter. U 3 THE ( 294 ) THE TESTAMENTS OF THE XII PATRIARCHS, the Sons of Jacob, Delivered to their Sons. The Teftament of REUBEN. §. i. A Copy of the Teftament of Reu- i-\ ben, concerning what he gave, ¦*• ¦* in charge, to his Sons before he died; in the _2<;th year of his life. Two years after the deceafe of Jofeph, his Sons, and his Sons Sons came to vi- fit him in his ficknefs: And he faid un to them, My Sons I die, and go the way of my fathers. And feeing there his bre- then, Judah, Gad, and Afer, He faid un to them, Lift me up my Brethren, that I may tell you, and my Sons, what I haver ( 29. > have hid in my heart : for I am from this moment drawing to my end. Then riling up he kiffed them, and weeping faijd, Hearken, My Brethren; and you My Sons, give ear to your father Reuben-, what I give in charge to you : Behold I charge you this day before the God of heaven, that ye walk not in the ignorance of youth and fornication; wherein I indulged my felf, and defiled the bed of my father J a- <__»,xxxv. cob. For, I affure you, that the Lord did "• xlix- therefore ftrike me with a fore plague in 4' my groin, for the fpace of feven months : and I had perifhed, if our father Jacob had not prayed to the Lord for me, be caufe the Lord was minded to flay me. I was thirty years old when I did this evil in the fight of the Lord: and feven months was I fick to death, and with a free heart did I feven years penance be fore the Lord. I drank no wine, nor ftrong Ban. x. 3. drink : and no flefh came within my mouth, I tafled not any pleafant bread : but I mourn ed for my Sin, becaufe it was great: and there ought to be no fufh thing done in Ifrael. §. 2. And now, My Sons, Hear me, that I may fhew you what I faw concerning the feven Spirits of error in my repen tance. Belt* fendeth feven Spirits againft ™%%- .a man, which are the fountain of the _. & _v * works of youth : arid feven Spirits are teler- Not. V 4 fend ( «9<5)^ fent to man in his creation, whereby all his works are to be performed. The firft is the Spirit of Life ; wherewith is crem ated his being. The fecond is the Spirit of Seeing ; wherewith cometh defire. The th'rd is the Spirit of Hearing ; wherewith cometh learning. The fourth is the Spirit of Smelling ; wherewith cometh a fen- fa tion for infpiration and expiration of the air. The fifth is the Spirit of Speech ; wherewith knowledge is gained. The fixth is the Spirit of Tailing ; wherewith comes the participation of meat and drink, ^nd through them is engendred ftrength: be-r caufe the fubftance of ftrength is in meat. The feventh is the Spirit of Seed and Ge neration -, wherewith enters in fin, by pleafure. For this caufe, that is the laft thing of Creation, and the firft of Youth : becaufe it is full of ignorance ; and ig norance leadeth the younger fort as a blind man into a ditch ; and as an Ox to a pre cipice. § 3. BefidesLall thefe, there is the eighth Spirit, which™ that of Sleep : wherewith is created the wafting of nature, and the image of Death. With thefe Spirits, arc mingled the Spirits of Error. Whereof, the firft is the Spirit of Lechery ; which lieth within the nature and fenfes of man. The fecond is the Spirit of Unfatiable-- nefs j and lieth in the belly. The third is. ( 297 ) )s the Spirit of Strife ; and lieth in in the liver, and in the bile. The fourth is the Spirit of Bravery andGallantnefs; that the party may appear comely to excefs. The fifth is the Spirit of Pride ; which moveth a man to mind great things, and to think highly of himfelf. The fixth is the Spirit of Lying or Vain-glory, in boaft- ing falfely of a man's felf; and in a de fire to fill his talk, with accounts of his flock and kindred. The feventh is the Spirit of Unrighteoufnefs, with theft, and violent grafping at others goods ; in or der to perform the luftful pleafures of the heart. For Unrighteoufnefs worketh with all other Spirits, by taking guile for its part ner. Unto all thefe Spirits, is matched the eighth Spirit ; which is the Spirit of Sleep and Sluggifhnefs, in error and im- magination ; and fo the fouls of all young folks perifh, becaufe their minds are dark ened, and hidden from the truth, and un- derftand not the law of God, neither o- bey the admonition of their fathers; as it befel me in my youth. And now, My Sons, Love the truth, and it fhall preferve you : It is I that inftrudt you : Hearken to your father Reuben; and let not your eyes run a gazing after a woman ; neither be ye alone with a woman that is mar ried ; neither do ye needlefsly feek out what women are doing. For if I had not feen (298) leen Bilha bathing her felf, in a place t that was covered, I had not fallen into that great wickednefs. But my mind ran fo upon the naked woman, that it fuffer ed me not to fleep, till I had committed that abomination. For while our father Ge».xxxv. Jacob was away at his father Ifaac's, and we *£ . were in Gader, hard by Ephrata, an houfe ' of Bethlehem, Bilha was drunk ; and as fhe lay afleep, uncovered in her chamber, I went in alfo, and feeing her nakednefs wrought wickednefs with her ; and leav ing her afleep went my way. By and by an Angel of God bewrayed my wickednefs to my father Jacob ; who coming home mourned for me ; and touched notBilha any more. §. 4. Do not you therefore look upon the beauty of women ; neither mufe you up on what they do : but walk with fing- lenefs of heart in the fear of the Lord ; and bufy your felves at your work, and in learning, and about your Flocks, until fuch time as the Lord fhall give you fuch a yoke-fellow as it feemeth good to him: that you may not fuffer as I have done. ^ I had not # the affurance to look Jacob in the face, or to fpeak to any pf my Brethern till my father died ; they did fo much reproch me. And to this day my confcience pinches me on account of my Sin. Altho' my father bid me be of good ( 299 ) good cheer ; for that he had prayed to God for me, that the anger of the Lord might pafs away from me ; as the Lord fhewed me. From that time therefore I kept my felf, and did not Sin. On which account, My Sons, obferve every thing that I give you in charge; and you fhall not Sin. For fornication is the deftrufti- on of the Soul ; it feparates from God, and leads unto idolatry ; for it feduces the mind, and theunderftanding,and brings young Men down to the grave before their time : for fornication hath deftroy ed many : for whether the party be old, or noble, it fixes a reproach upon him, with Beliar, and with the Sons of men. And it was becaufe Jofeph kept himfelf from all women, and cleanfed his thoughts from every kind of uncleannefs, that he found grace before the Lord, and before men. For the Egyptian woman did many things to him, and called to the Ma gicians, and brought to him a magick-po- 5- XjL what he gave in charge to his Sons, about all things that they were to do ; and about all things that fhould befal them until the day of judgment. He was * well in health when he called them to him, but he had a Vifion that he fhould foon die. Now when they were gathered together he faid to them, G^.xxxiii §, 2. I Levi was conceived in Charrant _jjiT1V" an^ there was I born: and I afterward came ( .09 ) came with my father to Sychem. Now I was but young, about 20 years of age, when I, with Symeon, executed vengeance on Emor, upon account of our filler Dim. But as I was feeding the flock in Abelmeho- lah, The Spirit of Underflanding of the Lord came upon me, and I faw that all men had darkened their way, and that wicked nefs had built it felf walls, and that iniqui ty fat upon towers : and I was grieved for mankind : and I prayed to the Lord that I might be faved. Whereupon fleep fell up on me, and I faw an high mountain ; It was the mountain of the fhield in Abelmeho- lah : and, behold, the Heavens were open ed, and an Angel of the Lord faid to me, Levi, Come in hither : and I entred out of the firft Heaven into the fecond : and there I faw water hanging between this Heaven and that. And I faw a third Heaven, much more fplendid than thofe two : for its alti tude was immenfe. And I faid to the An gel, Wherefore is this? And the Angel faid to me, Do not thou wonder at thefe things : for thou fhalt fee four other Hea vens, more fplendid, and incomparably finer, when thou fhalt afcend thither ; [to the third Heavens.] For thou fhalt ftand near to the Lord, and fhalt be his minifter, and fhalt declare his myfteries to men, and fhalt openly foretell the future redemption of Ifrael: and by thee, and Judah, the X- 3 LQi'd (?io) Lord fhall be feen among men, faving by them all mankind : and thy livelihood fhall be out of the Lord's portion ; and He fhall be thy field, and vineyard, fruits, -filver, and gold. §. 3. Hear therefore what I have to fay about the feven Heavens. The loweft is on that account the moft melancholy, be caufe it adjoins to all the unrighteoufnefs of Men. The fecond contains Fire, Snow, iiail, which are ready againft the day when the Lord commands them, out of the righteous judgment of God. In this, are all the Avenging Spirits, made ufe of to bring vengeance on the unjuft. In the third, are the Powers of the Hofts, [Po- ers and Hofts,] which are ordained againft the day of judgment, to execute vengeance on the Spirits of Error, and of Beliar. But thofe which are unto the fourth [Heaven] above thefe, are Holy Ones : becaufe the fupream Glory inhabits above all, in the Holy of Holies, above all San&ity. In the next after this, are the Angels of the Pre- fence of the Lord ; who minifter and make attonement with the Lord, for all the fins of Ignorance of the Righteous. Now thefe Offer to the Lord, as a fweelt favour, a reafbnable and unbloody Oblation. In the next under this, are thofe Angels, who car ry anfwers to the Angels of the Prefence of the Lord. In the next after this, are Thrones ( *II ) Thrones and Authorities : wherein Hymns are offered to God perpetually. When there=- fore the Lord looks down upon us, We are mh ;ii 6 all fhaken ; the Heavens alfo, and the Earth, and the Abyffes are fhaken at the prefence of his Majefty. But the Sons of Men ftill fin, and are infenfible of thefe things, and provoke the Moft High to anger. §. 4. Know ye therefore, that the Lord will execute judgment upon the Sons of Men, who, when die Rocks fhall be rent, and the Sun be put out, and the Waters be dri ed up, and the Fire fhall make a trembling, and the whole Creation fhall be difordered, and the invifible Sprits fhall melt away, and the invifible World fhall be defpoiled, at the paflion of the Moft High, will yet be incredulous, and continue in their unrigh teous actions. For this reafon fhall they be adjudged to punifhment. The Moft High then has heard thy prayer, in order to fepar- ate thee from unrighteoufnefs, and to make thee to him a Son, and a Servant, and a Minifter of his prefence. Thou fhalt be as a luminary to illuminate the pofterity of Jacob, with the Light of Knowledge ; and thou fhalt be as a Sun to all the Seed of Ifrael ; and a Bleffing fhall be 'given to thee, and to all thy Seed, until the Lord vifit all the Gentiles in the bowels of his Son for ever. However, thy Sons will lay hands upon him to crucify him. And for this rea» X 4 fan ( .12 ) fon it is that Counfel and Underftanding is given to thee, to admonifh thy Sons about this Matter : for he that bleffeth him fhall be bleffed : but thofe that curfe him fhall perifh. §. $. And the Angel opened me the gates of Heaven, and I faw the Holy Tem ple, and the Moft High upon the Throne of Glory. And He faid to me, Levi, To thee have I given the bleflings of the Prieft- hood, until I come and inhabit in the midft of Ifrael. Then the Angel conduced me down upon the Earth, and gave me a weap on, and a Sword ; and faid, Do thou execute vengeance on Sychem, for Dina ; and I will be with thee : for the Lord hath fent me. And I flew at that time the Sons of Etnor ; as it was written in the Tables of the Hea vens. And I faid unto hiftS, I befeech thee, O Lord, Tell me thy Name : that I may call upon thee in the day of affliction. And He faid to me, I am that Angel who plead for the flock of Ifrael, that it may not be utterly fmitten down : for every wicked Spirit fets himfelf againft them. Now af ter this I awaked, and bleffed the Moft High, and that Angel who pleaded for the flock of Ifrael, and all righteous Men. §. 6. And affoon as I came to my fa ther, I found a brazen Shield : whence it was that the mountain was called . _' . The Shield : for it is near Gebal, on the right hand ( _I? ) hand of Abila ; and I kept thefe words in my Heart. It was I that advifed my fa ther, and Reuben my brother, that he fhould declare to the Sons of Emor that they fhould be circumcifed : for my zeal was kindled G"»-*x:xiv on account of that abomination they had I3,&,<:' wrought in Ifrael. I alfo flew Sychem among the firft, and Symeon [flew] Emor. After Vt _5 &,, which our brethren came and fmote the City with the edge of the fword. Now our father heard of it, and was angry, and grieved j becaufe they had firft received cir- *' °°' Cumcifion, and after that were flain : and he did otherwife in his bleflings. For we *]1*' 5'^' finned in that we did this without his ap probation : and eyen he was afflicted in that day. But I faw that the Decree of God was for jevil upon Sychem ; becaufe they would have done to Sarah as they did to Dina our filler ; though the Lord hindred them. So alfo did they perfecute Abraham pur father, when he was a flranger ; and they trampled on his flocks, when they were heavy upon him ; as they did greatly toxmtntfeblai, one that was born in his houfe. Nay, indeed, they did the fame thing to all ftrangers ; feizing upon their skives by force, and driving thofe ftrangers into foreign countries. And ihewraphofthe Alluded to Lord came ttpm them to the anermoft. byr^lr' ,§. 7. And I faid to my father, 'Sir, Be \6.* jtiot angry : for the Lord will bring to pought: (.14) Vid.Gen. nought the Canaanites by thee, and will XXXV. 5. gj[ve tJle]r ]an(} tQ (.^gg^ an(j tQ J-Jjy fggj after .thee : for from this day, ¦ fhall the City Sychem be called, The City of the fool- ifh : for as any one would deride a fool, fo have we had them in derifion ; becaufe they wrought folly in Ifrael, in defiling our fifter. Upon which we took our filler away thence ; and removed and came to r. • Bethel. G.w.xxxiv •"*"•'• - . 31. xxxv. §. 0. And here again, it was that I faw *' fomewhat as I had done before ; and this after we had flayed there 70 days. And I faw feven men in white raiment, who faid to me, Rife up, and put on the coat of Priefthood ; the crown of Righteouf nefs ; the breaft-plate of Underftanding ; and the robe of Truth ; and the [gold en] plate of Faith ; and the mitre of the Sign ; and the ephod of Prophecy. And every one of them, brought his parti, cular part of the Habit, and put them on me : and they faid, From this time, be thou a Prieft of the Lord, thou and thy Seed for ever. And the firft of them, anointed me with Holy Oil, and gave me the Rod of Judgment. The fecond of them, wafhed me with pure water, and fed me with Bread and Wine, thofe moft Holy Things ; and he clothed me with the holy and glorious Coat, The third, clothed me with a linnen garment, which ( 3*. ) which was like an Ephod. The fourth, put about me a Girdle, as it were of Pur ple. The "fifth, gave me a branch of an Olive-Tree of fatnefs. The fixth, put a Crown upon my Head. The feventh, put a Mitre of Priefthood about my Head, and filled my hands with incenfe, that I might execute the office pf Priefthood to the Lord. And they faid to me, Levi, Thy feed fhall be divided into three prin cipal Branches, for a fign of the Glory of the Lord who is to come. He that be- lieveth, he fhall be the firft lot : and there fhall not be any one greater than he. fteSr: The fecond fhall be in the Priefthood, . . . Family of The third fhall be called by a New Name; j!**™"*' bdfcaufe a King fhall be raifed up out of pJi'Ipold. Judah, and fhall ordain a New Priefthood, according to the type of the Gentiles, [of Melchifedek] and for all the Gentiles. Now his coming will be ineffable, as of a Pro phet of the Moft High, of the Seed of Abra ham our father. Whatfoever is defirable in Ifrael fhall be for thee, and for thy Seed; and ye fhall eat every thing that is good ly to fee to, and thy Seed fhall diftribute ' the table of the Lord ; and out of them, fhall be Priefts and Judges and Scribes : for the San_tuary fhall be kept by their direction. And when I was awake, I "jpderftood that this [Vifion] was like • the other. However, I kept this in my Heart, i -—15. .. 27, ( ?iO Heart, and did not declare it to any Man upon Earth. §. 9. And after two days I 'and Judah went up to Ifaac, with our father. And Gw.xxxv. my Father's Father bleffed me, according to the words of my vifions which I. had feen. And He would not go with us tQ Bethel. Now as we came to Bethel, my fa ther Jacob faw in a vifion concerning me, that I fhould be to them a Prieft with God, And he rofe up in the morning, and by me Offered tythes of all he had to the Lord, And we came to Hebron to dwell. And Ifaac called me frequently to admonifh me of the Law of the Lord ; as the Angel of God had fhewed me. And he inftru&ed me in the Law of the Priefthood, of Sacrifices, of Burnt-offerings, of firft Fruits, of Free will-offerings, and of Thank-offerings. And he fpent fome time every day in teaching me, and was diligent about me hefore the Lord. And He faid to me, Preferve thy felf, My Son, from the Spirit of Fornication : for it is a permanent evil, and will pollute thy Holy things by the means of thy Seed. Wherefore, take to thy felf a wife, whilft thou art yet young, one that is without' blot, unpolluted, but neither out of the race of Foreigners, nor of Gentiles. And before thou entreft into the Holy place wafh thy felf all over ; and when thou killeft the Sacrifice wafh thy felf. And whejo thou a- gaiq ( -I? ) gain prepareft the Sacrifice wafh thy felf. Bring before the Lord the fruit of 12 trees EzehxWli that have their leaves continually ; as Abrd- JL"' ham inftru&ed me ; and Offer a Sacrifice x*n. 2. of every clean Animal, and [every] clean Foul unto the Lord. Offer alfo the firft fruits of what is firft ripe, and of thy wine, a Sacrifice to the Lord : and every Sacri fice fhalt thou fait with fait. §. 1 0. Now therefore, My Sons, keep what- foever I give you in charge : for whatfoever I Have heard of my father's I have declared to you. I am innocent of all your impiety ^-xvil?j and tranfgreflion, which you will be guilty of in the confummation of the ages, in dealing impioufly with the Saviour of the World : feducing Ifrael, andftirring up great mifchiefs to them from the Lord. And you will tranfgrefs, together with Ifrael • infomuch that Jerufalem will not be able to fupport it felf before the face of your wick ednefs. Nay, the veil of the Temple will be rent, and will not cover your fhame. And you fhall be fcattered as Captives a- mong the Gentiles ; and you fhall be for a reproach and a curfe, and for a conculca- tion: for the Houfe which the Lord will choofe, fhall be called Jerufalem : as is con tained in the Book of Enoch the righteous^ §. 11. When therefore I took me a wife, I was 28 years of age, and her name was Melcha, and fhe conceived and bare [a Son,] ( _i8 ) Son,] and called his name Gerfam ; be caufe we were fojourners in our own land : for Gerfam fignifies a fojourner. And I knew this concerning him, that he would not be in the firft rank. Moreover, Kjiath was born in my 3 <;th year, at Sun-rifing. Now I faw in a Vifion, that He flood in the midft of the Congregation on high. For which reafon fhe called his name Kjiath : . . . Beie vei which is [a Congregation ;] [the beginning of lonige. magnitude and inftruSlion.] A third Son fhe alfo bear to me, Merari ; in the 40th year of my life ; and becaufe his mother had hard labour, fhe called him Merari, that is, my bittemefs .- for fhe died her felf. Now Jo- chabed in the 64th year of my age was born in Egypt : for I was at that time glo rious in the midft of my brethren. §.•12. And Gerfam took a wife, and fhe 2x-.vi bear him Lomni, [JLobni,] and Semei. And is, &c: the Sons of Kjiath were Abram, [Amramf] Ifaar, Chebron, and O&iel. And the Sons of Merari were Molthe, and Omoife. And in my 94th year Abram, [Amramf] took my daughter Jochabed to himfelf to wife • for they were born the fame day, both E_e and my Daughter. I was g years old when I came -into Canaan : and 18 years old when 1 flew Sychem : and 1 9 years old when I entred on the Priefthood : and at 28 years of age I took a wife : and when I was 40 L49] years -old I entred into Egypt. And behold behold now, My Sons, the third genera* tion. Jofeph died in my 1 1 8th year* §. i?- And now, My Sons, I charge you, Fear the Lord your God out of your whole Heart, and walk in fimplicity of Heart, ac cording to his whole Law. Do you alfo inftruct: your children in learning, that they may haVe Underftanding in their whole Life, by reading continually the Law of God : for every one that fhall know the Law of God fhall be honoured, and fhall not be a flranger wherever he goes. For he fhall have many friends more than his Parents had ; and many Men fhall defire to ferve him, and to hear the Law out of his mouth. Exercife Righteoufnefs, My Sons, upon Earth, that you may find it in the Heavens : and fow good things in your Souls, that you may find them in your Life : for if you fow evil things, you fhall reap all kind of trouble and affliction. Get Wif dom, in the fear of God, with diligence. For in cafe there happen a Captivity, and cities be deftroyed, and countries, and gold, and filver, and all forts of poffeffion be de ftroyed, no one can take away the Wifdom of the wife Man : nothing can do that but the blindnefs of impiety, and the darknefs of fin. Then will this Wifdom become to him matter of glory, among his enemies ; and like his own country in a foreign land : and he will be difcovered to be a friend in the ( .30 ) the midft of enemies. Whofoever fhall teach thefe things and do them, he fhall fit with a King ; as did Jofeph our brother. §. 14. And now, My Sons, I know from theScripture of Eno c /. ,that in the end you will aft impioufly ; laying hands upon the Lord in all wickednefs : and your brethren will be afhamed of you ; and you will be made a laughing flock to all the Gentiles; For your father Ifrael is pure from the impiety of the High-Priefts, who will lay their hands upon the Saviour of the World. The Heaven is purer than the Earth ^ and you are the luminaries of Heaven, as the Sun, and the Moon. What will all the Gentiles do, if you fhall be darkened with impiety ? and you will bring down a curfe upon that flock of yours, upon which fhall come that Light of the World, which fhall be bellowed on you for the enlightening every Man. You will take it away, and you will teach commands oppofite to the righteous Laws of God j you will fteal the offerings of God, and take away by theft fome of i Sam. ii. his portions ; and you will take poffeffion 1 2, &c Gf tiie choice parts before you facrifice to the Lord ; and in contempt will eat [them] with harlots ; and will teach the commands of the Lord out of covetoufnefs : you will de file married women, and violate the cha- Neh. xiii. ftity • of the virgins of Ifrael ; and Will be *8, 29. joined with wicked and adulterous wives : you ( ?2I J yOu will [alfo] take the daughters of Gen tiles for wives ; purifying them with an illegal purification : and your accompany ing with them will be as that of Sodom and Gomorrhai in impiety : and you will be ffa!-^iom. puffed up on account of your Priefthood, as Vj/viiL4' elated in oppofition to other Men. And 9—13. not this only, but you will be puffed up in 24> 2% Oppofition to the commands of God : you Will make a jefl of Holy things, laughing at them, with contempt. §. 1 5. For thefe caufes, that Very Temple which the Lord fhall choofe fhall become defolate ; and you fhall be captives among all the Gentiles ; and you fhall be an abo mination among them ; and fhall receive reproach and eternal fhame from the righ teous judgment of God ; and all thofe that fee you fhall avoid you. And were it not for the fake of Abraham, and Ifaac, and Ja cob your fathers, not one pf your Seed fhould be left upon the Earth. §. 16. And now I know what is in the Book of Enoch, that you will [after that] Ban_ ;« wander [in error] feventy weeks [of years ;] 24,25, z..- and will profane the Priefthood, and pol lute the Sacrifices1, and will make the Law of none effeft, and will defpife the words of the Prophets ; in your perverfe behavi our you will perfecute righteous men, and hate the godly ; you' will abominate the words of thofe that fpeak truth ; and yott Y will ( .22 ) will declare that Man that comes to renew the Law, by the power of the Moft High, to be an Impoftor. And, at laft, as you will fuppofe, you will flay him ; without knowing of his refurreftion : [and] you will receive innocent blood malicioufly upon your Head. And for his fake, your Holy Place fhall become defolate ; being profanT ed to the foundation : and your place fhall not be pure ; but you fhall be among the Gentiles for a curfe, and for a difperfion ¦ until the fame perfon fhall vifit you again, and fhall have compaflion upon you, and fhall receive you by faith and water. §. 17. And fince you have heard about the feventy weeks, Hearken [alfo] about the Priefthood : for the Priefthood fhall be according to every Jubilee. And in the firft Jubilee, He that fhall be firft Anointed into the Priefthood fhall be great, and fhall fpeak to God as to a Father ; and his Prieft hood fhall be compleat, with the fear of the Lord : and in the day of his gladnefs" he fhall rife again for the Salvation of the bamneL World. He that fhall be anointed in the . Sam. i. fecond Jubilee fhall be conceived in the for- row of beloved [Sons,] and his Priefthood fhall be honourable ; and He fhall be glo- Jehoiadah. nfed by all. But the third Prieft fhall be affumed in forrow. And the fourth fhall be in troubles ; for unrighteoufnefs fhall be laid upon him, and multiplied againft him: and At Jeremiah. \\\ ( Ui ) and all Ifrael fhall hate every one his neigh bour. The fifth fhall be affumed in dark- #/&** nefs; as alfo the forth, and the feventh. S£ But under the feventh fhall be fuch a pro- Jonathan. fanation as I am not able [or permitted] to Vfd-J°^ exprefs ; before the Lord, and before Men : 7. "2" for they that fhall be the aftors will know it; On account of which they fhall be in Under Ar- Captivity, and be fpoiled, and their land mZZ. 'And their fubflance fhall be brought to no- 42/w.x. thing. And in the fifth week [of years] 45>4<*. they fhall return to their Land, which was become defolate ; and fhall renew the Houfe Of the Lord. But in the feventh feptenary fhall come Priefts that fhall be Idolaters, e[uarrelfome, lovers of money, proud, un juft, impure, Sodomites and Buggerers. §. 18. And after vengeance fhall have been taken of thefe, by the Lord, and the Priefthood fhall fail, the Lord will raife up a new Prieft ; to whom all the words of the Lord fhall be revealed. And He fhall make a Judgment of Truth, in the fiilnefs of days. And His Star fhall a- Matt.n.x. rife in Heaven, as of _ Kjng, affording light, the light of Knowledge, above the Sun in the day-time. And He fhall be mag- ignat.ad nified in the whole World, until his affump- ^IfffV tion. *This perfon, fhall fhine as the Sun jiah'sjrji in the Earths He fhall take away all dark- coming. nefs, out of the lower World, and there *fat-sMft fhall be peace in all the Earth. The Hea- _»„ com. Y 2 vens, '».?• ( 3*. ) vefns, fhall leap for joy in his days ; and the Earth fhall be glad, and the Clouds fhall rejoice, and the knowledge of the Lord, fhall be poured out upon the Earth, as the water of thfe Teas. And the Angels of Glo ry, and of the Prefence of the Lord, fhall rejoice in Him. The Heavens fhall be ope ned ; and out of the Temple of Glory, fhall the Sanftification come upon Him, with the voice of his father, as [it came'} dS'ir"1 *unt0 Abraham, the father of Ifaac. And U. the glory of the Moft High, fhall be pro- Matt.in. nounced upon Him -, and the Spirit of Un- GenH'xii. derftanding and of Sanftification, fhall reft 11, i z. upon Him.* By water fhall He impart the 15—18. glorious Gifts of the Lord to his Sons, in truth, for ever : and there fhall be none to fucceed to Him, from one generation to another, for ever. And under his Priefts hood, the Gentiles fhall be multiplied in knowledge, upon the Earth •; and fhall be illuminated, by the grace of the Lord. But Ifrasl, fhall be made little by their ig norance^ and fhall be darkened by their for- row. And under his Priefthood, all fin fhall fail, and the wicked fhall leave off to af- flift ; but the righteous fhall reft in him. . ... For He fhall open the gates of Paradice ffff 1U' and fhall flop the threatening fword, that was «,ifd.nn. placed againft Adam; and fhall give to his Gen iim "^°ty ^nes' t0 eat of tne ^ree of Life ; and JplcAhf. the Spirit of Holinefs fhall be upon them. And ( 32. ) And Beliar fhall be bound by him; and .xx.i,_,_. He fhall give power to his Children, to Luc' XI9' tread upon all the wicked Spirits; and the Lord fhall rejoice in his Children; and the Lord fhall be pleafed with his belov ed, for all ages. Then fhall Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, leap for joy : I alfo fhall be glad ; and all the Saints fhall put on glad- \ nefs. §. 19. And now, My Sons, Ye have heard all. Choofe therefore for your felves, either darknefs or light ; either the Law of the Lord, or the Works of Beliar. And we anfwered our father, faying, We will walk before the Lord, according to his law. And our father faid, The Lord is See j0^ witnefs ; and his Angels are witneffes ; and xxiv, Ifam witnefs ; and Ye are witneffes of this word df your mouth. And we faid, They are witneffes. And thus Levi made an end of the Charge that he gave to his Sons : and he ftretched out his feet, and was ga thered to his fathers: having lived 137 years. And they put him in a coffin, and' afterward buried him in Hebron, near to Abraham, and Ifaac, and Jacob. JUDAS. §. 1. \ Copy of the words of Judas, £\ which he fpake to his Sons be* lore he died, They gathered themfelves Y 5 together ( .26 ) {together unto him ; and he, faid unto thepi f I was my father's fourth Son j and my mo ther Lea nanied me Judas ; faying, / will 5 j. X1*' give praife unto the Lord, becaufe he hatq farther given me a fourth Son, I was quick and diligent in my youth, and obedient tq my father in whatfpever he commanded me : and I honoured my mother, and my mother's filter : and it came to pafs affoon as I grew to man's eftate, my father Jacob) prayed for me, faying, Maift thou be a King, profperous in all things. §. 2. And the Lord gave me favour iij /all my works, both in the field, and at home. I perceiv'd that I could keep pace with an hind : fo I caught her, and made Vid.Gen. [her] meat fpr my father. I caught fheT xhx.$,9. goats on the race; and I over-ran every creature that was in the plains. I over took and caught a wild mare, and tarn? ed her. I alfo flew a lion; and took a kid out of his mouth. I took a bear by the foot, and threw him down a precipice : and if any wild beaft turned upon me, I tare it, as I would tare a dog. I kept pace with a wild boar, and over-running him I tare him to pieces. A fhe-leopard had af faulted a dog in Hebron : I caught her by the tail, and threw her at a diftance, and fhe was dafhed to pieces, in the borders of 0aza. I caught a wild bull that was feed ing in the cpuntry, by his horns ^ and fwing- ( .27 ) ing him about till I blinded him, then I threw him down, and flew him. §. 5. And when two Kings of the Ca naanites came upon the flocks armed, and much people with them, and I was alone, I ran upon the King of Tyre, and held him faft, and I trip'd up his Legs, and threw him down, and fo flew him. As for the other King of Thaphue, I flew him as he fat upon his horfe ; and by that means I dif perfed all the people. I caught Achor the King, a Man that was a Giant, and fhot his arrows both forward and backward ; as he was on horfeback ; and I threw a ftone of 60 pounds at his horfe and flew him. And when I had fought with Achor for two hours I flew him ; and dividing his Shield into two parts, I cut off his Legs. Now affoon as I had plucked off his breaft-plate, behold eight Men, his companions, began to fight againft me. So I wrapped up my garment in my hand, and flung ftones at them ; and flew four of them : upon which the others ran away. Moreover, our fa ther Jacob flew Belifath, the King of all Kings, a Giant in ftrength, of 12 cubits high. And trembling fell upon them, and they left off fighting againft us. On this account my father was unconcerned in the battels, when I was with my brethren : for he faw in a Vifion concerning me, that an T 4 Angel ( 328) Angel of power followed me in all occa. fions, that I might not be overcome. §. 4. Moreover, we liad a war on the South, greater than that ax. Sychem: wherein, I -encamped with my brethren, and purfued a 1000 Men, and flew of them 200 Men, and four Kings. And I got up to them up on the wall, and flew two other Kings ; and fo we fet Hebron free ; and we reco vered aft the Captives that thofe Kings hacj taken. §. 5. 4nd we went away the next day to another city, that was ftrong, and walled ; and lay very near us, and threatened our death. I therefore, and Gad, made our approach on the Eaft-fide of the city ; while Reuben and Levi did it on the Weft and South. Now they that were on the wall^ thinking that /we were alone, gathered to gether from other places againft us ; fo that my brethren came privately on each of their quarters, and attended by the help of poles upon the walls,, and entred into the city, while they were ignorant of it. And we took it by the edge of the fword : as alfo we took thofe that fled to the tower, upon our burning that tower. And when we went away, the Men of Thaphue fell upon the Captives, whom we had taken ; and they retook them with our children. Upon "which we joined battel with them at Tha- ( }2"9-> pkue, and flew them, and burnt the city, and took aft that was in it as fpoils. §. 6. And when I was at the waters of1 Chuzeba, the inhabitants of Jobel came to us, to^fight with us : and we joined battel and flew them : we flew alfo thofe that came from Selom, their confederates, and gave them np opportunity to break in upon us. They alfo of Mechir came upon us on the fifth day, to retake our Captives : and we led pur army againft them, and* beat them in an hard fight : for there were ma ny ftrong Men among them : and we flew them before they could afcend up to that high ground where we were. But when we came to their city, their women rolled down flones upon us, from the top of the hill upon which the City flood. And I and Symeon hid our felves behind them, and took their hights, and deftroyed the whole City. §. 7. Moreover, on the next day we were informed, that the cities of two Kings were coming upon us, with a great com pany. Upon which, I and Dan pretending to be Amorites, and auxiliaries, entred into their city ; and in the dead • of the night we opened the gates for our brethren, when they came :, and we look them all, and what they had for fppils ; and overthrew their three walls. In Thamna alfo we made our approach, where all the the treafure of the ( __o ) Kings that fought againft us was repofited ; at which time I received an affront, and was in a paflion at it, and I rufhed upon them with violence, at the top of the hill. They flung upon me with flones, zn&[fbot] with bows : and had not my brother Dan% came to my fuccour, they would have flain me. We came therefore upon them with fury, and they all fled. And pafling by another way they came and begged of our father, and he made peace with them ; and [afterward] we did them no harm : but , made them our confederates , and reftored all their Captives to them. Moreover, I built Thamna ; and my father [built] Ram-, hael, I was 20 years old when this war happened : and the Canaanites were afraid of me, and of my brethren. §. 8. Now I had much cattel ; and I had an head Shepherd, Jeram the Odola- wite, to whom when I came, I faw there Barf an the King of Odolam. And he made us a feaft ; and at his defire I excepted of his Daughter Beffue to wife. And fhe bare me Eir, and Aunan, and Silom. Of which, God flew two, before they had any chil- fohting dren : for Silom lived, and you are his chil- tothatcom- dren. XisiL . $• 9* 0ur fatner *n& we mac^e a peace that came for 1 8 years with his brother Efau .- and e/Silom. his Sons did the fame with us, after we caijie out of Mefoptamia, from Laban : and at (3.1 ) at the end pf thofe 18 years, in the 4©t_| year of my life, Efau, my father's brother, . came upon us, with an heayy and ftrong force ; andrhe fell by the bow of Jacob, and vid.Gem was taken up [for] dead in moun. Seir, fjj%z%' and went up above Eirramna and died. fLiiL- And we purfued after the Sons, of Efau, »ef"'rfrt, Now they had a City, and its walls were pf iron, and its gates of brafs : and we were not able to get into it : and we in? veiled it round, and befieged it. And fince they did not open their gates, after 20 days fiege, I brought a ladder in their very fight, and [held] my fhield over my Head ; and I went up, and fuftain'd Hones as heavy as three talents : and when I was got up, I flew four of their mighty Men : and the next day Reuben and Gad flew fix more of them. Then they defired us to make peace; with them : and having obtained the con sent of our father, we received them as tributaries ; and they always paid us 500 cores of Wheat : 500 baths of Oil : an4 1 <;oo meafures of Wine ; until wev went down into Egypt. §. 10. Now after this my Son Eir mar* ried Thqmar, out of Me fopotamia, the Daugh ter of Aram. And Eir was wicked, and Gen.xxii difpuf ed with himfelf about Thamar • be- 1. caufe fhe was not of the Land of Canaan : Job-*x*,)\: and the Angel of the Lord flew him, on the 2 third day at night : and he knew tier not, ( ??o by the craftinefs of his mother : for fhe would not that he fhould have children by her : and he died in his wickednefs. And when it was proper to marry her again, I gave her to Aunan. He alfo in his wicked nefs did not know her : though he lived with her a year. And when I threatened: him, he accompanied with her: but he fpilled his Seed upon the ground ; accord^ ing to the injunction of his mother. I would alfo have given her Silom in maiv riage : but my wife Beffue would not per mit me to do fo : for fhe was ill-affected towards Thamar ; becaufe fhe was not of the daughters of Canaan, as fhe her felf Was. §. u. I knew indeed, that the flock of Canaan was wicked : but the inclinations of youth blinded my mind. And when I faw her [Beffuef] pouring out the wine, I was feduced by drinking too much wine ; and I fell into her fhares. This Beffue, in my abfence, went and topk a wife for Silom, out of the Land of Canaan. And when I knew what fhe had done, I curfed her, in the bitternefs of my Soul ; and fhe alfo died in the wickednefs of her Sons. §. 12. Now after thefe things, while Thamar was a widow, fhe heard, after two Ge„. years, that I was going to fhear Sheep; xxxviii. and adorning her felf with vyedding gar ments, fhe fat over-againft the city, at the gate ; 13—26. ( m ) gate : for it was a Law of the Amorites, that a bride fhould fit publickly for fornica^ tion at the gate, for feven days. When therefore, I was drunk at the water of Cho- zeb, I did not know who fhe was ; on oc- coiint of the wine I had drank. Her beau ty alfo feduced me, by the form of her drefs. And turning in unto her, I faid, I will come in unto thee : and fhe faid, What wilt thou give me ? And I gave her my ftaff, and my girdle, and the diadem of my kingdom. And affoon as I had accompa nied with her, fhe conceived. And not knowing what fhe had done, I would have had her flain. But when fhe had fent me the pledges privately, fhe put me to fhame : and when I had called her, I made her re peat what I had faid to her in fecret, when I fpake to her, as I lay with her in my drunkennefs. And I was not able to flay her, for this thing was from the Lord. For I faid, perhaps fhe does this in deceit, and has received the pledge from another wo man. But I never approached to her again^ unto my death. For what I had done was- an abomination in all Ifrael. They alfo that were in the City faid, there was not any harlot in that City ; for fhe came from ano ther place to fit for a while in the gate . fuppofing that no body knew that I had gone ill to her. Now after this, we came into Egypt, to Jofeph,. on account of the [9 mine. I was ( _?4 ) t was then 46 years old ; and I lived there! 75 years. §. 13. And now what I fay, I give you in charge : Hearken, My Sons, to your father Judas ; and keep all thefe layings^ in order to your performing all the righ< teous laws of the Lord, to your obeying the commands of God ; and do not yoti follow your own defires, nor the imagina* tions of your own thoughts, in the pride of your Heart ; and do not you glory, i_ the a&ions of the virtue of your youth: for even this is evil in the eyes of the Lord. For I ufed my felf to glory, that in the wars, the face of no beautiful Wo* man had feduced me; and I reproached Reuben, my brother, about Bilha, myfo; ther's wife. And the Spirit of Envy, and of Fornication, flood in array againft me, until I fell upon Beffue the Canaanite.; aiuM upon Thamar, who had been married to my Sons. And I faid to my father-in-law, I will confult my father, and fo I will take thy daughter. And he fhewed me an im- frienfe quantity of gold, to be given me with his daughter ; for he Was a King. He alfo, adorned her with gold and pearls, and- ordered her to pour the wine out to us at the feaft, [fo as be(l to fhew] the beauty of Women. And the wine perverted mine? Eyes, and pleafure darkened my Hearts; and falling in love with her, I yielded ( ... ) to her, and tranfgreffed the command of the Lord,*_nd the command of my fathers 5 and took her to wife. And the Lord re-. compenfed me according to the imagina tion of my Heart • for I had no joy in her fons. §. 14. And now, My Sons, Be not drunk with wine ; for wine perverts the Mind from the truth, and implants the paflion of Iuft, and leads the Eyes into error* For the Spirit of Fornication ufes wine as its inftrument, for the pleafure of the Mind : for indeed both thefe take away thepowef of the Man: for if any one drink wine to drunkenefs, he diforders his Mind, by fil* thy reafonings unto fornication ; and in flames his Body for the obfcene a£k ; and if an opportunity of Iuft prefent it felf, he is guilty of the fin, and is not afhamed of ik This, My Sons, is the nature of wine, that the drunkard is afhamed of nothing; for lo, it feduced even Me, not to be afhamed or the multitude of the City ; for I turned a- fide to Thamar, in the eyes of them all, and committed a great fin ; and upon drinking the wine, I uncovered the covering, of the uncleannefs of my Sons: I did not reve rence the law of God, but took a Canaanite Woman to wife. My Sons, He that drinks wine ftands in needs of Underftanding, and the Underftanding that is neceffary to the drinking of wine is this, that he drink no longer ( ?.o longer than his fence Of fhame* rerttain. j but if he goes beyond this bound, the Spi rit of Deceit infinuates it felf into his Mind,' and makes the drunkard talk filthily, and break laws, and lay afide fhame, nay, it makes him glory in his difhonour ; fuppo* pofing it to be a good thing. §. i