1--4. Of the Judaical distribution of the Old Testament. § 5-11. The original and nature of their oral law and traditions. § 12-14. The whole disproved. § 15-20. Agreement of the Jews and papists about traditions, instanced in sundry particulars.

§ 1. THE apostle in dealing with the Hebrews about the revelation of the will of God made unto their fathers, assigns it in general unto his speaking unto them in the prophets, ch. i. 1. This speaking unto them, the present Jews affirm to consist of two parts. 1st, That which Moses and the following prophets was commanded to write for the public use of the church. 2dly, That which being delivered only by word of mouth unto Moses, and continued by oral tradition until after the last destruction of the temple, was afterwards committed unto writing. And because those who would read our exposition of this Epistle, or the Epistle itself with profit, had need of some insight into the opinions and traditions of the Jews about these things, I shall, for the sake of them that want either skill or leisure to search after them elsewhere, give a brief account of their faith, concerning the two heads of revelation mentioned; and therein discover the principle, means and nature of their present apostasy and infidelity.

§2. The Scripture of the Old Testament they call 7, the reading, and divide it into three parts: 1st, inn, the law; 2d,, the prophets; 3d, no, the writings, by divine inspiration, which are usually called the Hagiographa, or holy writings. And this distribution of the books of the Old Testament is in general intimated by our Savionr, Luke xxiv. 44. πάντα τα γεγραμμένα εν τω νομω Μωσέως, και προφηταις, και ψαλμοίς. All things written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms; under which last head, all the poetical books of the Scripture are contained. Thus Rabbi Bechai in Cad Hacke

the law (so ;התורה שלשה חלקים תורה נביאים כתובים,nach

sometimes they call the whole volume) is divided into three parts, the law, the prophets, and the holy writings. All comprized generally under the name of the law; for so they say in Midrash Tehillim, Ps. lxxviii. 1. in owani rinn

i, the psalms are the law, and the prophets are the law; that is the whole Scripture.

This distribution, so far as it is intimated in the words of our Saviour, doth evidently arise from the nature and subject matter of the books themselves. And this was the received division of the books of the Old Testament, whilst the Judaical church continued. But the Post-talmudical doctors overlooking or neglecting the true reason of this distribution, have fancied others taken from the different manners and degrees of revelation, by which these books were given out to the church. Amongst these they make the revelation to Moses the most excellent, and are very vain in counting the privileges and pre-eminences which it had above all others; these are elsewhere examined. In the next degree they place those which proceeded from the spirit of prophecy, which they distinguish from the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. Yea, in the eleven degrees of divine revelation, assigned by Maimonides Mor. Nebu. par. 2. that by inspiration is cast into the last and lowest place. But their distinctions are groundless. In all the prophets it was the inspiration of the Holy Ghost alone, that enabled them infallibly to declare the mind of God unto the church, 2 Pet. i. 21. but because God was pleased to use various ways of representing things to the minds of the prophets, therefore the Jews have fancied different degrees of revelation.

Now the books thus given by the Spirit of prophecy they make of two sorts, 1st, wxx, the former prophets, which are all the historical books of the Old Testament written before the captivity, as Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings; Ruth only excepted. 2d, un, the latter prophets, which are all the prophetical books peculiarly so called, Daniel only excepted; that is, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve minor prophets. Of the last sert, or in Cethubim, books written by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, are the poetical books of the Scripture; Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Canticles, Lamentations, with Ecclesiastes, whereunto they add Ruth, Daniel and the historical books written after the captivity, as the Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah, which make up the canon of the Old Testament. Why sundry of these books should be east into the last division, as the story of Ruth, and the prophecy of Daniel, they can give no tolerable account. The other books also, written after the captivity, are plainly of the same nature with those which they call the former prophets. And for that of Daniel, it contains in it almost all the eminent kinds of revelation, whereby they themselves would distinguish the Spirit of prophecy from the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. Neither have they any reason for this distribution; but finding the general division before mentioned to have been received in the church of old, they have at their pleasure disposed of the particular books into these orders, casting Daniel, as is probable,

into their last order, because so many of his visions and prophecies relate unto other nations besides their own.

The law or the books of Moses they call w, or the Pentateuch, from the number of the books; or in wain twain, the fives, or the five parts of the law; whereunto Hierome in his Epistle to Paulinus, wrests those words of the apostle, 1 Cor. xiv. 9. I had rather speak als hoyous, five words in the church; as if he had respect to the law of Moses.

These five books they divide into Parascha, or sections, whereof they read one each Sabbath day in their synagogues. Genesis is divided into twelve sections, Exodus into eleven, Leviticus into ten, Numbers into ten, Deuteronomy into ten, which all make fifty three. By reading one each day, and two in one day, they read through the whole in the course of a year, beginning at the feast of tabernacles. And this they did of old, as James testifies, Acts xv. 21. "For Moses of old time, hath in every city, them that preach him, being read in the Synagogues every Sabbath day. Some of them make fifty four of these sections, dividing the last section of Genesis into two, beginning the latter at Chap. xlvii. 28. constituting the following chapter a distinct section, though it have not the usual note of a section prefixed unto it, but only one single Samech; to note, as they say, that it is absolutely closed or shut up, on account of the prophecy of the coming of the Messiah, Ch. xlix, whose season is unknown to them.

$3. They also divide the law into lesser sections; and those of two sorts, open and close, which have their distinct marks in their Bibles, and many superstitious observations they have about the beginning and ending of them. Of the first sort there are in Genesis, 43. of the latter 48. In Exodus, of the first sort 69. of the latter 95. In Leviticus, of the first sort 52. of the latter 46. In Numbers, of the first 92. of the latter 66. Deuteronomy, of the first sort 34. of the latter 379. in all 669. Besides they observe the number of the verses at the end of every book : as also that in 1, Levit. xi. 42. is the middle letter of the law; 7, Lev. x. 16. the middle word; Levit. xiii. 33. the middle verse; and that the number of all the verses through the law is 23,206.

Moreover, they divide the law, or five books of Moses, into 53.70, Sedarim, or distinctions; whereof Genesis contains 42. Exodus 29. Leviticus 23. Numbers 32. Deuteronomy 27. which kind of distinctions they also observe throughout the Scripture, assigning unto Joshua 14. Judges 14. Samuel 34. Kings 35. Isaiah 26. Jeremiah 31. Ezekiel 29. the lesser prophets 21. Psalms 19. Job 8. Proverbs 8. Ecclesiastes 4. Can ticles and Lamentations are not divided; Daniel 7. Esther 7. Ezra and Nehemiah 10. Chronicles 25.

Besides, they distribute the prophets into sections called Haphters, that answer the sections which are read every Sabbath day in their synagogues. And this division of the prophets they affirm to have been made in the days of Antiochus Epiphanes, whom they call wn, that wicked one, when the reading of the law was prohibited unto them. All which things are handled at large by others.

§4. Having for a long season lost the promise of the Spirit, and therewith all saving spiritual knowledge of the mind and will of God in the Scripture, the best of their employment about it, hath been in reference to the words and letters of it, and in this their diligence hath been of use, in the preservation of the copies of it entire and free from corruption. For after that the canon of the Old Testament was completed in the days of Ezra, and points or vowels added to the letters, to preserve the knowledge of the tongue, and to facilitate the right reading and learning of it, the industry, diligence and curiosity which they have used about the letter of the whole Scripture is incredible. The collection of their pains and observations to this purpose is called the Massora, or Messara, consisting in critical observations upon the words and letters of the Scripture; begun to be collected of old, even it may be from the days of Ezra, and continued until the time of composing the Talmud, with some additional observations annexed unto it since that time.

The writers, composers and gatherers of this work, they call , whose principal observations were gathered and published by Rabbi Jacob Chaiim, and annexed to the Venetian Bibles; whereas Before the Massora was written, in other books innumerable. In this their critical doctrine, they give us the number of the verses of the Scripture, as also how often every word is used in the whole, and with what variety as to letters and vowels; what is the whole number of all the letters in the Bible, and how often each letter is severally used, with innumerable other observations which have their use; the sum whereof is gathered by Buxtorf, in his excellent treatise on that subject. And here is the knowledge of their masters bounded; they go not beyond the letter, but are more blind than moles in the spiritual sense of it. And thus they continue an example of the righteous judgment of God, in giving them up to the counsels of their own hearts, and an evident instance that the letter of the Scripture is unable to impart the saving knowledge of the will of God, if men do not also enjoy the Spirit promised in the same covenant to the church of the elect, Isa. lix. 21.

§ 5. Unto that ignorance of the mind of God in the Scripture, which is spread over their minds, they have added another prejudice against the truth, in a strange figment of an oral law, which they make equal unto, yea in many things superior to

that which is written. The Scripture becoming a lifeless letter unto them, as the true understanding of the mind of God was utterly hid from them, it was impossible that they should rest therein, or content themselves with what is revealed by it. For as the word, whilst it is enjoyed and used according to the mind of God, and is accompanied with that Spirit which is promised to lead them that believe into all truth, is full of sweetness and life to the souls of men, is a perfect rule of walking before God, and is that which satisfies them with wisdom and knowledge: so when it is only enjoyed outwardly as such a writing, without any dispensation of suitable light and grace, it will yield men no satisfaction; accordingly they will constantly turn aside to other means and ways of knowing and serving God. This being so eminent in the Jews, and the Medium they have fixed on to supply that want, which they suppose to be in the Scripture, (but which is indeed in themselves,) proving to be the great engine of their hardening and obstinacy in their infidelity; I shall first declare what it is that they intend by the oral law, and then briefly shew the absurdity and falseness of their pretensions about it. Though it must not be denied, that it is one, of the most ancient fables that is credited amongst any of the sons of men at this day.

§ 6. This oral law they affirm to be an unwritten tradition and exposition of the written law of Moses, given unto him in mount Sinai, and committed by him to Joshua and the Sanhedrim, to be by them delivered over by oral tradition unto those who should succeed them in the government of that church. It doth not appear that in the days of Christ or his apostles, whilst the temple was standing, that there was any stated opinion amongst them about this oral law; though it is evident that not long after, it began to be received by the body of the people. Nay it is evident that there was no such law then acknowledged; for the Sadducees who utterly reject all the main principles of it, were then not only tolerated, but also in chief rule, one of them being high priest.

That they had heaped together many superstitious obseryances under the name of traditions, is most clear in the gospel; and it doth not appear that then they knew to whom to assign. their origin; they therefore indefinitely called them the traditions of the elders, or of those that lived of old before them. After the destruction of their temple, when they had lost the life and spirit of that worship, which the Scripture revealed, betaking themselves wholly unto their traditional figments, they began to bethink themselves how they might give countenance to their apostasy from the perfection and doctrine of the written law. For this end they began to fancy that these traditions were no less from God, than the written law itself. For when Moses