txhtaxy of Che theological ^tmimxy PRINCETON • NEW JERSEY -5»^«€- PRESENTED BY HENRY VAN DYKE LidRARY OF PRINCETON ?P •J THEOLOGICAL SEMIwARY N / LHK WORKS OF NATHANIEL LARDNER, D. D. WITH A LIFE BY DR. KIPPIS. IN TEN VOLUMES. VOL. VL LIBRARY OF PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY LONDON : WILLIAM BALL, 34, PATERNOSTER-ROW. MDCCCXXXVIII. JOHN CHILDS AND SON, BUNGAY. CONTENTS OF THE SIXTH VOLUME. A HISTORY OF THE APOSTLES AND EVANGELISTS. CHAP. PAGB XII. St. Paul's Epistles ..... 3 XIII. That the Epistle inscribed to the Ephesians was written to them . - . . . - 112 XIV. That the Churches of Colosse and Laodicea were planted by the Apostle Paul . . - - 151 XV. Of the Seven Catholic Epistles ... 159 XVI. St. James, the Lord's Brother - - . 162 XVII. The Epistle of St. James - - - 195 XVIII. St. Peter ...... 203 XIX. The Two Epistles of St. Peter .... 254 XX. The Three Epistles of St. John ... 275 XXI. St. Jude, and his Epistle ... .298 XXII. The Revelation of St. John - - - - 318 XXI II. The Order of the Books of the New Testament - 329 XXIV. That the Books of the New Testament, consisting of a Collection of Sacred Writmg?, in two parts, one called Gospel, or Gospels, or Evangelicon ; the other called Epistles, or Apostles, or Apostolicon, were early known, read, and made use of by Christians - 340 XXV. The Question considered, whether any Sacred Books of the New Testament have been lost - - - 352 JEWISH TESTIMONIES. Preface . . . . ^ . 365 I. The Faith of many Jewish Believers in early times, a Valuable Testimony to the Truth of the Christian Re- ligion - - - - - - 371 II. Of the Treatment given to the Primitive Christians by the unbelieving Jews .... 388 III. Josephus, with his Testimony at large to the fulfilment of our Saviour's Predictions concerning the Destruction of the Temple and City of Jerusalem, and the miseries coming upon the Jewish people . . - 393 n CONTENTS. CHAP. A. D. PAGE IV. Three Paragraphs in the works of Josephus, concerning John the Baptist, our Saviour, and James the Lord's Brother, and Observations upon his Writings and Testimony - ... - 480 V. The Mishnical and Tahnudical Writers - - - 505 VT. Joseph Ben Gorion, or Josippon - - - 531 VII. A Recollection of the preceding Articles, and Reflections upon them . . _ . . 558 TESTIMONIES OF ANCIENT HEATHEN AUTHORS. I. The Epistle of Abgarus, King of Edessa, to Jesus, and the Rescript of Jesus to Abgarus, - - 596 n. Of the Knowledge which the Emperor Tiberius had of our Saviour Jesus Christ - - . 606 III. A Monumental Inscription concerning the Christians in the time of Nero . . . . IV. Pliny the Elder . . . . . V. Tacitus ...... VI. Martial ...... VII. Juvenal -...,. VIII. Suetonius ...... . . . 623 77 625 100 62G . . . 635 . . . 638 110 641 SUPPLEMENT SECOND PART OF THE CREDIBILITY GOSPEL HISTORY. VOL. VI. HISTORY OF THE APOSTLES AND EVANGELISTS. CHAP. XII. ST. PAUL'S EPISTLES. I. The Introdvci'ion. II. The two Epistles to the Thcssai- lordans. III. The Epistle to the Galatians. IV. The Jirst epistle to the Corinthians, V. The first Epistle to Timothy. VI. The Epistle to Titns. VII. The second Epistle to the Corinthians. A^III. The Epistle to the Romans. IX. The Epistle to the Ephesians. X. The second Epistle to Timothy. XI. The Epistle to the Phi- lippians. XII. The Epistle to the Colossians. XIII. The Epistle to Philemon. XIV. J'he Epistle to the Hehreics. Sect. I. The Introduction, I SHALL now endeavour to settle tlie time of St. Paul's epistles, of Avhich Origen said i ' If* any man reads them ' with attention, I am persuaded, hcAvill admire the writer's ' abilities in expressing great things in vulgar language ; or, ' if he does not admire them, himself will appear ridiculous.' It cannot but afford satisfaction to know the order of time in which they were written. It will not oidy be at- tended with pleasure, but will also contribute to the right understanding- of them. For wrong dates have been the occasion of many mistakes. Baronius observes, that some * See Vol. ii. ch. xxxviii. B 2 4 A History of the ^^postles and Evangelists. have imagined the shipwreck at Melita, related in Acts XXV ii. to be one of the three mentioned by St. Paul, 2 Cor. xi. 25, not considering-, that the second epistle to the Co- rinthians had been written several years before. J have put the passage'' in the margin, as quoted by Lewis Capellus. The author of the commentary upon thirteen of St. Paul's epistles, in the fourth century, made '^the same mistake, and several others of a like kind, in explaining the paragraph of 2 Cor. xi. 25, 26. Of St. Paul's fourteen epistles, thirteen have been g'ene- rally received by catholic christians in all times. I there- fore need not now allege the testimonies of ancient christian writers, which may be seen in the preceding* volumes of this work. But as the epistle to the Hebrews has been sometimes doubted of, I shall observe the evidences of its genuineness. ^V^ith regard to the others, I shall do little more than show the time Avhen they were written. And I Mould take it for granted, that they who are disposed to examine the arguments in this chapter, have first read the history of St. Paul, in the preceding chapter : Avhich will bo of groat use, and prevent the trouble of luunerous references. Sect. II. The two Epistles to the Thessalonians. The first .and second epistles to the Thessalonians are noAv generally allowed by learned interpreters and chronologers '' Quantum juvet, quamque sit utile, certo tenere tempus, quo Pauli episfo- loe ab eo fuerunt scriptie, recte observavit Baronius ad A. C'. 58, sect xlii. Sed liic, inquit ille, et iilud necessario monendum putamus lectorem, nonnullis accidisse, lit temporum ignoratione in raaximos errores incidant, putantes nimiruni nanfragium apud IVIelitam passum, quod Lucas uarrat. Act. xxvii. unum e tnbus luisse a Paulo enumcratis, 2 Cor. xi. non animadvertentes, so- cundam istani epistolam ad Corinthios longeante iilud naufragium esse scrip- tani. CJuamubrem scrupulosa, quae videtur, in historia tenipoi-uni indagatio, qu;uit.im conferat ad veram atque gemianam Divinae Scripturae interpretatio- nem, quisque facile judicabit. Haec rectissime Baronius. Itaque hac in parte operam nostram cjusmodi indagatione post alios coUocavimus. Lud. Cap. Append, ad Ilist. Apost. p. G3. '^ ' Nocte et die in profundo maris fui.'] Hoc foctum est, quando missus est Romam, cum appellasset Caesarem. Tunc desperatione vilae in alto, id est, in profundo maris fuit, mortem ante oculos habens. ' Periculis in mari.' .lam supcriiis dixit : ' Ter naufragium feci, nocte et die in profundo maris fui.' Quod aliud periculum fuit in mari ? Sed lioc est periculum, quando in mari, hoc est, in navi, milifes cogitaverant onuies custodias occidere, ne quis ena- tans eflitgeret. Quod periculum ceuturio prohibuit inferri, ne Paulus occide- retiir, ut eum vi\'um Romam produceret. In 2 ep. ad Cor. xi, 25, 26. p. 202 ap. Anifjros. in App. tom. II. Si. Paulas Epistles tu ihc Thcssaloiiians. 5 to be tlie two first written epistles of St. P;iul. The time aiul place of writii)o- them may be deduced from tlie epistles themselves, and from the history of St. Paul's travels in the book of the Acts. Some have thought, that^ the first at least, if not also the second, m as written at Athens, lint 1 suppose it to be now generally allowed, that' both these epistles were written at Corinth : whereby we are also as- sured of their time. For it w as formerly shown to l)e pro- bable, that ^ St. Paul came to Corinth before the end of the year 51, and stayed there till the beginning of the year 53. In the Synopsis ascribed to Athanasius, thes first epistle to the Thessalonians is said to have been written at Athens, and'' the second, very absurdly, at Home. Theodoret, as' before quoted, saw these to be the two first written epistles of the apostle. The'' first he supposed to have been written at Athens, and the second not long- af- ter, either at Athens or Corinth. For he does not seem to say distinctly, at m hich of these two cities the second was written. Nevertheless I suppose it may be shown that they were both written at Corinth. St. Paul came from Thessa- lonica to Berea : which place he left in haste, because of the violence of the Jews, who came thither from Thessalo- nica, and " stirred up the people," Acts xvii. 10 — 13. " And then immediately," says St. Luke, " the brethren sent away Paul, to go as it were to the sea. But Silas and Timothy abode there still. And they that conducted Paul, brought him unto Athens. And receiving" a commandment imto Silas and Timothy to come to him with all speed, they departed," ver. 14, 15. Accordingly, as we may suppose, Silas and Timothy did soon come to him. And Paul, hav- ing" great concern for the Thessalonians, whilst he Avas at Athens, sent Timothy to them. As he says, 1 Thess. iii. 1, 2, " Wherefore, when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone. And sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow-labourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and comfort you, con- cerning' your faith." From Athens Paul went to Corinth, where he stayed a year and six months. There Timothy ^ Ante Pauli vincula omnium prima scripta est ad Thcssalonicenses utra- que. Scriptae autem omnino videntur duae istae epibtolas Athenis. Lud. Cap. Hist. Ap. p. 63. * Peai-son, Ann. Paulin. p. 11 — 13. Mill. Proleg. num. 4. et 6. ' See vol. V. ch. xi. 8 Synops. S. S. n. 66. ap. Athan. T. II. p. 196. ^ Num. 67. lb. p. 197. ' Vol. v. ch. cxxxi. " Praef. in Ep. Pauli, T. HI p. 3. 6 A Hislorij of the Apostles and Evangelists. came back to him from Tliessalonica. Comp. Acts xviii. 5, and 1 Tliess. iii. 6. And Silas, or Silvanus, and Timothy are joined with the apostle in the inscription of the epLstle. Near the end of this epistle, ch. v. 27, are these remark- able Avords : "I charge," or adjure, "you by the Lord, opKi^tv vfia9 70V Kvpiov, that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren." It is likely, that from the beginning- all christian assemblies had readings of the Scriptures of the Old Testament. Paul, knowing the plenitude of the apos- tolical commission, now demands the same respect to be paid to his Avritings, with those of the ancient prophets. This is a direction fit to be inserted in the first epistle writ- ten by him. And the manner in which it is given, suggests an argument that this was his first apostolical epistle. The second epistle to the Thessaloifians appears to have been written soon after the first, and at the same place. And Silvanus and Timothy are joined together with the apostle in the inscription of this epistle, as well as of the former. These two epistles theiefore I suppose to have been writ- ten at Corinth, in the year of Christ 52. Which is also the opinion of Mill, and others. But by whom these epistles Avere carried to the Thessalonians, we do not perceive. Some objections have been made against the above-men- tioned date of these two epistles. But the point is so clear, that I do not think it v/orth the while to prolong this argu- ment in examining them. They who are curious, may see those objections well answered by Dr. Benson, in the second edition of™ his history of the first planting the Christian religion. Sect. III. The Epistle to the Galatians, The epistle to the Galatians is inscribed after this man- ner: " Paul, an apostle, and all tlie brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia." Upon which Jerom observes, ' In" other epistles Sosthenesand Silvanus, ' Prolegom. num. 4—7. "> Vol. ii. p. 119—122. " In alus epistolis Sosthenes et Silvanu.% interdum et Timotheiis, in exordio przeponuntur : in hac tantum, quia neccssaria erat auctoritas plurimorum, omnium fratmm nomen assumitur. Qui et ipsi forsitan ex circumcisione crant, et a Galatis non contemptui ductbantur. Plurimum quippe facit ad populum corrigendum multorum in una re sententia atque consensus. Quod autem ait, ' Ecclesiis Galatia?,' et hoc notandum, quia hie tantum generaliter UOQ ad unam ecclesiam unius urbis, sed ad totius provinciEe scribat, ecclesias : St. rauVs Epistle to iJie Galaticms. 7 ' and sometimes also Tiiuodiy, are mentioned at the begin- ' ning-: but in this, for adding- the greater weight and au- ' thority, are put " all the brethren :" who, perhaps too, ' were believers of the circumcision, and not despised by the ' Galatians. And the consent of many is of great use to ' satisfy people. " To the churches of Galatia." Here also, ' as he proceeds, it is to be observed, that in this place only, ' Paul writes in general, not to the church of one city only, ' but to the churches of a whole province: and that he calls * them churches, whom afterwards he reproves as corrupted ' with error. Whence we learn, that a church may be un- ' derstood in a two-fold maimer : both of that which has no ' spot, or wrinkle, and is indeed the body of Christ ; and of ' that which is assembled in the name of Christ, without * complete and perfect virtues.' Tertidlian" seems to have thought this one of St. Paul's first written epistles; as has been observed by Grotius,i* M'ho transcribed the passage, though long-, into his preface to the epistle to the Galatians. Fabriciusi likewise has taken notice of it. Theodoret,"" the^ Synopsis of sacred scripture, ascribed to Athanasius, and^ the author of the Argument in fficumenius, reckon this among the epistles written at Rome, and conse- quently a late epistle. But I see no ground for that opinion, there not being in the epistle any notice taken of an im- prisonment at the time of writing it. However Lightfoot" was also of the same opinion. He et * ecclesias' vocet, quas postea errore argiiat depravatas. Ex quo noscen- dum, diipliciter ecclesiam posse dici ; et earn, quae non habet maculam aut rugam, et vere corpus Christi sit ; et earn, quae in Cliristi nomine absque ple- nis perfectisque virtutibus congregetur. In ep. ad Gal. cap. i. T. IV. p. 225. " ab illo eerie Paulo, qui adliuc in gratia rudis, trepidans deniquc, ne in vacuum cucurrisset, aut curreret, tunc primum cum antecessoribus Aposlo- lis conferebat. Igitur, si fei-venter, ut adhuc neophytus, ad versus Judaismum aliquid in conversatione reprehendendum e.xistimavit, passivum scilicet con- victum, postmodum et ipse usu omnibus omnia futurus, ut omues lucraretur, Jndaeis quasi Judaeus, eteis qui sub lege, tamquamsub lege ; tu illam solius conversationis, placiturse postea accusatori suo, reprehensionem suspectam vis haberi, etiam de praedicationis erga Deum prevaricatione. TertuU. adv. Marc. 1. i. cap. 20. p. 443. '' Tertullianus, in primo adversus Marcionem, hanc cpistolam inter primns Pauli fuisse existimat, &c. Grot. Pr. in ep. ad Gal. 1 Scripsisse hanc epistolam adhuc neophyfum, et in gmtia rudem, adeoque inter primas non dubitat affirmare Tertullianus. Fabr. Bib. Gr. 1. 4. cap. V. torn. III. p. 155. ' Tag HIV dr) aWaQ avo Tr]Q 'Piofirjg aTn<^H\s, Kat ravrtjv fiiv riyHfiai ti\v ■KQOQ VakaraQ ypat epistolam ad Romanos in itinere Hierosolymam versus A. C. 58. exaratam banc epis- tolam arbitrantur. Fabr. ubi supra, p. 155. St. PauVs Epistle to the Galaliuns. 9 * the Mosaic law. And,' says lie, ' to the like purpose the ' apostle M'rites to the Koinaiis. But them he had never seen, ' and he treats theiu very respectfully, and enlargeth upon ' the doctrine of the gos[)cl with greater prolixity. To the * Galatians he writes more briefly, and as their master, and ' not without some severity in his reprehensions. He adds, ' that he is inclined to their opinion, who suppose this epistle ' to have been Avritten not long alter that to the Romans, ' and in the May to Jerusalem, in (he year of Christ 58.' Mill being a man of great judgment in these things, and what he says appearing at first sight plausible, I shall tran- scribe it below. He thinks, that"^ this epistle was not writ- ten until after that to the llomans, probably at Troas, or some other place in Asia, as Paul was going to Jerusalem. And he thinks that Paul refersto the collections lately made in Macedonia and Greece, Gal. ii. 10. And the apostle writes not oidy in his own name, but also in the name of all the brethren, mentioned Acts xx. 4. who were with him at Troas, and accompanied him to Jerusalem. Moreover, this epistle M'as written by the apostle with his own hand, and the more easily and readily, though in a journey, because he had just before treated the same argument in his epistle to the Romans. This epistle therefore is placed by Mill at the year 58. Upon all which I beg leave to remark, as follows. First, that those Avords, " all the brethren which are with me," need not to be understood of those who were with Paul at Troas, and were setting out with him for Jerusalem. Thereby may be intended the brethren of some other place where Paul was. Secondly, the apostle Paul was able at any time * Paulo post dictatam lianc, quge Romanis inscripta est, scripsit Paulus epistolani ad Galatas, ut appaiet ex cap. ii. 10. 6 km tairsSaffa avro thto TTotrjaai. His enim verbis aperte indicat Apostolus, epistolam banc poRt ministerium seu studium, quod eleemosynis pro ecclesia Hierosolymitana colli- gendis impendebat, scripsisse se, dum aoristo utitur, tairn^aaa Touiaat. In itinere itaque versus Hierosolymam versatus D. Paulus alicubi banc episto- lam exarasse videtur, et quidem Troade fortassis, ubi septem dies moratus est ; postquam in Asiam veniens comperisset Galatas ad aliud evangelium «ra> rax(o)c translates fuisse. Audita nempe, jam ut videtur ab appulsu ejus in Asiam, istri mro^aaicf., arrepto calamo, propria manu, contra quam factum in aliis epistolis, (excepta forte una ad Pbilemoncm,) totam istam scripsil episto- lam, acrem et objurgatoriara, nomine suo, omniumque, qui cum ipso erant, fratrum jam Troade, Sopatri, Aristarchi, Secundi, Gaii, Tycbici, Tropbimi, Titi, Silae, alioruin. Scripsit autem co celerius, et festinantius, quod idemar- gumentum in hac epistola prosequeretur, quod tractaverat paulo ante in epis- tola ad Romanos, cujiis fere sen=us in banc transfundit. — Scripta est statim, ut dixi, post epistolam ad Romanos, anno aerae vulgaris Iviii. Proleg. num. 30, 31. 10 A Ilislonj of the Apostles and Evangelists. to represent the doctrine of the gospel to any churches, suit- ably to their particular case and circumstances, whether he had just before treated of it in an epistle, or not. So that the agreement between the epistles to the Romans and the Galatians, is no proof that they were written very soon one after another. Thirdly, when Paul says, ch. ii. 10, " The same w hich I also was forward to do :" he cannot intend the collections made in Macedonia and Greece, with which he was going to Jerusalem. If that had been his meaning, he would have expressed himself more particularly, like to what he says to the Romans, ch. xv. 25 — 27. What he says here, he might have said, when at Ephesus, before he set out for Macedonia, and indeed at any time, and in any place. For he had been always mindful of the poor in Judea. I apprehend, that the apostle's words are to be interpreted in this manner. " The same, which I also had endeavoured to do, or had been careful to perform :" referring to his con- duct, even before that proposal of the three apostles at Jeru- salem : and intending, probably, in particular, the contri- butions brought by himself and Barnabas from Antioch to Je- rusalem,some while before,as related Acts xi.29. Which con- tributions, as may be well supposed, had been promoted by our apostle's exhortations. Fourthly, St. Paul says to the Galatians in this epistle, ch. i. 6, " 1 marvel, that ye are so soon removed from him that called you unto the grace of Christ, unto another gospel." Those expressions cannot pos- sibly suit the date assigned by Mill, that is, after the passover of the year 58. Which must have been above four years after even Paul's second journey in the country of Galatia. Another opinion has been proposed by the ingenious and thoughtful authcr*^ of Miscellanea Sacra, and embraced bys Dr. Benson : that the epistle to the Galatians was written at Cori-nth, when the apostle was first there, and made a long- stay of a year and six months. Whilst Paul was there, he received tidings of the instability of his converts in Galatia, with which he was much aflccted. Whereupon he wrote this epistle, and sent it by one of his assistants. At that season he might well say at the beginning of his address to them: "I marvel, that ye are so soon removed from him that called you unto the grace of Christ." Nor is (here in the epistle any hint of his having been with them more than once. The epistle therefore was written at Corinth, or per- ^ See there the Abstract of the Scripture History of the Apostles, p. 31, and the Postscript to the Preface, p. 5G— 58. E History of tlie first Planting the Christian Religion. B. 3. ch. v. sect xi. Vol. ii. p. 118, 119. first edit. p. 13G, 137. second edit St. PauVs Epistle (0 the Galatians. 11 haps at Epliesus, when Paul was first tliere, in his Avay to Jerusalem, as mentioned, Acts xviii. 19 — 21. This opinion is proposed by the above-mentioned author, as his own. And I make no doubt, that it was so, and the fruit of his own inquiries and observations. Nevertheless it is not quite new. Say L'Enfant and Beausobre, in their ge- neral preface to St. Paul's epistles: ' We'' find not in the ' epistle to the Galatians any mark that can enable us to ' determine M'ith certainty, at what time, or in what place, ' it was written. It is dated at Rome in some printed copies ' and manuscripts. But there is nothing- in the epistle itself ' to confirm that date. Paul does not here make any men- ' tion of his bonds, as he does in all his epistles written at ' Rome. He says indeed, ch. vi. 17, that " he bears in his ' body the marks of the Lord Jesus." But he had often ' suffered, before he came to Rome. There are therefore' ' some learned chronologers, who place the epistle to the ' Galatians immediately after the two epistles to the Thes- ' salonians. They think it was written between the third ' and fourth journey of Paul to Jerusalem, and between his ' first and second journey into Galatia. This opinion ap- ' pears to me very probable. For since the apostle says,, ' " he wonders, that they were so soon turned unto anotlier ' gospel," this epistle must have been written a short time ' after he had preached in Galatia. Nor can we discern in ' the epistle any notice of the second journey which St. Paul ' made into this country. For this reason it is tlionght that ' the epistle to the Galatians was written at Corinth, where ' the apostle made a long stay, or else in some city of Asia, ' particularly Ephesus, where he stayed some days in his * way to Jerusalem, Acts xviii. 19 — 21. Therefore, in all ' probability, the epistle to the Galatians was written from ' Corinth, or from Ephesus, in the year 52 or 53.' Nothing could be said more properly. And I think this date may be further confirmed by some other considerations. Paul says to the Corinthians, xvi. 1, " Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so do ye." Which shows that at the Avriting of that epistle to the Corinthians, in 5<), he had a good opinion of his converts in Galatia, and that he had no doubt of their respect to his directions. Which, probably, had been sent to them from Ephesus, during his long abode *> Sect. xlii. p. 24—26. ' Here, in the margin, are put the names of Usher and L. Capellus, witliout any references. Nor have I found the places where this opinion is maintained by them. 12 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. there, by some one or other of his assistants. This good temper of tlie Galatians may be supposed owing to the letter sent to them some time before, and to his second visit to them, related, Acts xviii. 23. And now Ave shall be better able to account for what ap- pears very remarkable. When Paul left Corinth, after his long' stay there, he aa ent to Jerusalem, having a vow. In his way he came to Ephesus. Acts xviii. 19 — 21, " And Avhen they desired him to tarry longer with them, he con- sented not. But bade them farewell, saying : I must by all means keep this feast that cometh at Jerusalem. But 1 Avill return again unto you, if God w ill." When we read this we might be apt to think that Paul should hasten back to Ephe- sus, and return thither presently after he had been at Je- rusalem. But instead of so doing, after he had been at " Jerusalem, he went down to Antioch. And after he had spent some time there, he departed, and Avent over all the country ofGalatia, and Phrygia, in order, strengthening the disciples," A^er. 22, 23. We now seem to see the leason of this course. At Corinth he heard of the defection of many in Galatia. Whereupon he sent aAvay a sharp letter to them. But considering the nature of the case, he judged it best to take the first opportunity to go to Galatia, and support the instructions of his letter. And both together had a very good effect. Gal. iv. 19, 20, " My little children, of Avhom 1 travail in birth again — I desire to be present with you, and to change my voice. For I stand in doubt of you :" or, 1 am perplexed for you. Noav then, Ave see the reason of the apostle's not coming directly from Jerusalem to Ephesus. HoAvever he Avas not umindful of his promise, and came thi- ther, after he had been in Galatia. Upon the Avhole, the epistle to the Galatians is an early epistle. And, as seems to me most probable, Avas written at Corinth, near the end of the year 52, or at the very begin- ning of the year 53, before St. Paul set out to go to Jerusa- salem by the Avay of Ephesus. But if any should rather think, that it Avas Avritten at Ephesus, during the apostle's short stay there, in the Avay from Corinth to Jerusalem, that AviJl make but very little difference. And still according- to our computation, this epistle AA^as Avrittenat the beginning of the year 53. Ch. vi. 11, " Ye'' see how large a letter I have Avrilten unto you Avith my OAvn hand." Ilereljy some understand the apostle to say, that this, Avith what folloAvs to the end of the epistle, Avas Avritten Avith his ^ Ictrt TrrjXiKoiq i'luv yfxtnnamv typa^a tij (jiy x^T'' St. Paurs Epistle to the Galatiuns. 13 own liaud. So 'Jeroin, and '"Grotius. Others understand St. Paul to speak of the Avlioh; epistle. So thouglit "Chrys- ostoui, and "Theophylact, and I'Thcodoret, and ''the author of the Conuuentary upon thirteen of St. Paul's epistles. Which interpretation is approved by "^Wolfius. " How long a letter 1 have written unto you." Which some interpret after this manner: " In what large letters 1 have written unto you," intending- the deformity, or inele- gance of the characters. Which sense is also found in di- vers* ancient authors. But it is not approved of either by *Beza, or " Wolfius, ' Hi qui circumcidi Galatas volebant, disseminaverant, alia Paulum facere, alia praedicarc. Hanc opinionem quia non poterat Paulus apud omnes prae- sens ipse subvertere seipsum per literas repraesentat. Et ne aliqua suppo- sitse epistolee suspicio nasceretur, ab hoc ipso usqi>e ad finem manu sua ipse perscripsit, ostendens superiora ab alio exarata. Hieron. in ep. ad Gal. T. IV". p. 314. ■" In aliarum epistolarum fine qucedam scribebat sua manu. 1 Cor. xvi. 21 ; 2 Thess. iii. 17; et Col. iv. 18; caetera manu aliena, ut videre est, Ro- man, xvi. 22. Hie vero Paulus sua manu scripsit omnia quse sequuntur, ut recte putat Hieronymus. Id autem multum erat in homine adeo occupato, et, ut videtiu", non multum assueto Greece scribere. ' Quantis Uteris,' id est, ' quam multis.' Solent adjectiva magnitudinis poni pro adjectivis ad nume- rum pertinentibus. Sic Graccum roaoi, ' tanti,' utroque sensu usurpatum. Grot, ad Gala!, vi. 11. " TLuravQa (sdev aXKo aiviTTtrai, aW on avroq iypaipt ttjv nriroKrjv cnra- aav, 6 ttoXXtjc yvrjcriortjrog aijjieiov i]i'. k. X. Chr. in loc. T. X. p. 727. B. ° In loc. T. II. p. 492. '' Haaav, wg eoih-i, Trjv Ci ttiv £7riToXr;v avroQ sypaipE. Theod. in loc. ** Auctoritatem dat epistolre suae. Ubi enim holographa raanus est, falsum dici non potest. In loc. ap. Ambros. in App. p. 230. ' Idem vero [Grotius] quamvis praeeunte Hieronymo, errat, quando haec verba non ad totam hanc epistolam, sed ad ea tantum, quce inde usque ad finera leguntur, vult referri. Rectius Chrysostomus. Addit idem causam, cur totam epistolam sua manu exararit, ut nempe omnis voBeutg suspicio idtoypaf-p hoc praecideretur iis, qui dicere alioquin poterant, nonnulla illi inserta, quas Apostoli sententiae non responderent. Wolf, in loc. ^ To St 7rj;XiK0ig, f^ot doKU s to [xtyeOog, aXKa rrjv afxop^iav twv ypafj^taruv tii Beausobre, translate in the like manner. In Beausobre's remarks upon the New Testament, pub- lished after his death, is this note upon the text Ave arc considering: ' " How^ large a letter, TrrjkiKoi^ f^pafjifiuai" ' Some, says Theodoi-et, explain this of the largeness of the ' letters, others, that the letter Avas ill Avritten, as if the apos- ' tie had said : " I have Avritten to you Avith my OAvn hand, ' though I do not Avrite well." St. Jerom, in his commentary ' upon this place, says, he had heard someAvhat of the like ' kind from somebody. But he does not seem to approve of poni solere, quemadmodum et Grsecum rotrot utroque sensu usurpetur. Longius autem a vero aberrant, qui to 7r?;XtKoc ad designandam • charade- rum,' quibus iisus sit, * magnitudinem,' spectare putant, ut TryjXiKu ypaiifiara sint literae majusculae. Addit [Le Cene] Apostolum hanc epistolam non {lotuisse appollare TrrjXiKrjv respectu longitudinis, cum longiores scripserit alias, mo vero scriptionem non tam multorum verbomm, quam quod earn totara sua manu scripserat, qui alias caeteris pauca quaedam subscribere consueverit, longam appellat. Praeterea haec ad Galatas, si tres priores, et unam ad He- brceos exceperis, reliquas omnes longitudine excedit. Wolf, in loc. *■ 'H/i£ie 87£ ypanf.iaTa liipi as iCt^aneOa aizo Trig IncaiaQ. " Videtis quara longis Uteris vobis scripserim mea manu. Bez. " Voyez quelle grande lettre je vous ai ecrite de ma main. Le Clerc. y Voyez quelle grande lettre je vous ai ecnte de ma propre main. B. ^ ' Quelle grande lettre.' Quelques uns, dit Theodoret, expliquoient ce mot de la grandeur des lettres, et d'autres de ce que la lettre etoit mal ecrite, les caracteres mauvais : * Je vous ai ecrit de ma main, quoique j'ecrive mal.' St. Jerom, dans son Commentaiie sur cet endroit dit avoir oui dire quelque chose d'approchant, a quelqu'un dont il ne paroit pas approver la pensee. Beaus. Remarques sin- le N. T. p. 466. St. Paul's first Epistle to the Corinthians. 15 ' it/ I transcribe at length^ below the passage referred to. But Jeroni, having- mentioned that observation of some learn- ed man of his time, does himself seem to trifle, when he adds, ' That St. Paul's letter to the Galatians was great for the ' sense. And .so were all his letters, though short.' How- ever, this interpretation may be approved by some. It is in the note of Beza, above'' transcribed. Sect. IV. The J^irst Epiatle to the Corinthians. The first Epistle to the Corinthians was written at Eplie- sus, as all may perceive. Says the apostle, 1 Cor. xvi. 8, 9, " But I will taiTy at Ephesus, until Pentecost. For a great door and effectual is opened unto me. And there are many adversaries." And ver. 19, he says : " The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord." Those two good christians bad come with Paul from Corinth to Ephesus, when he was first there, and stayed but a short time, as appears from Acts xviii. 18, 19. And there they continued, as we suppose, till after Paul left Ephesus, to go into Macedonia. This epistle is placed by ''Pearson in the year 57. Mill thinks*^ it was written before the passover of the year 57. According to our computation'^ of St. Paul's times and travels, this epistle was written at Ephesus, in the spring of the year 56. Which ^ was also the opinion of the French ^ ' Videte qualibus Uteris scrips! vobis :' aou quod giaades literae fuerint, [hoc quippe in Grseco sonat 7r>j\tKotc,] sed quod suae manus essent eis nota vestigia; ut, diun literarum apices recognoscunt, ipsum se putarent videre, qui scripserat. In hoc loco vir apprime nostris temporibus eruditus, miror quo- modo rem ricUculam loquutus sit. Paulus, inquit, ' Hebraeus erat, et Graecas ' Uteras nesciebat. Et quia necessitas expetebat, ut manu sua epistolam siib- ' scriberet, contra coasuetudinem curvos tramites Hterarum exprimebat : etiam * in hoc suae ad Galatas indicia caritatis ostendens, quod propter illos id quo- ' que, quod non poterat, facere conaretur.' Grandibus ergo Paulus literis tcripsit epistolam, quia seiisus erat grandis in literis. Grandes Paulus literas non solum tunc ad Galatas, sed etiam hodie scribit ad cunctos : et quamvis parvi sint apices, quibus ejus epistolae conscribuntur, tanien magnae sunt literae, quia in literis magnus est sensus. Hieron. Comm. in Gal. T. IV. p. 315. *" See note S p. 13. "^ Scribat primam ad Corinthios epis- tolam, cum Sosthene respondens epistolae Corinthorum. Pearson. Ann. Paulin. p. 15. Anno Ivii. ^ Quando igitur ? Hand diu sane antequam ex Asia abiret anno aene vulgaris, Ivii. et quidem ante illius anni lesfum paschale. Proleg. num. 9. ^ See Vol. v. ch. xi. ^ La i. Epitre aux Corinthiens fut ecrite d'Ephese au printemps de I'annee 56. Pref. Gen. sur Ics Ep. de S. Paul. sect. 45. p. 27. 16 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. commentators before named, L'Enfant and Beausobre. Some have argued from cb. v. 7, '• For Christ, our passover, is sacrificed for us," that it was ncnv the time of the Jewisli passover, or that it was just over. But to me it seems, that the apostle might make use of that expression, and buiJd an argument or exhortation upon it in any part of the year. And when a year was begun, he might speak of staying wJiere he was, till some distant feast. And supposing the epistle to have been written early in the spring, he might think of continuing at Ephesus till Pentecost. This letter was carried to Corinth by Stephanus, Fortunatus, and Acha- ichus, mentioned, 1 Cor. xvi. 17, 18, who had come to the apostle from the Corinthians, and are supposed to have brcuglit a letter Avith them. See 1 Cor. vii. 1. It was af- ter writing this epistle, that the tumult happened, which was caused by Demetrius. For as Lightfoot" says: ' Between ' ver. 22 and 23 of this xixth chapter of the Acts falleth in ' the time of St. Paul's writing the first epistle to the Corin- ' thians.' Consequently this epistle was sent away before the tumult raised by Demetrius, and other silversmiths, re- lated by St. Luke, Acts xix. 23 — 41, nevertheless, after Paul liad fought with beasts at Eohesus, as he says, 1 Cor. xv. 32. When that tumult of Demetrius was appeased, Paul seems to have been at rest. And though he did not judge it prudent to stay any longer there, he took leave of his friends with deliberation. " And after the uproar Mas ceased, Paul called unto him the disciples, and embraced them, and departed for to go into 3Iacedonia," Acts xx. 1. The firstepistle to the Corinthians, therefore, according to our account, Mas Mritten at Ephesus, in the beginning, or the spring, of the year 56. Sect. V. The First Epistle to Timothy. The first epistle to Timothy Mas written, according to ''Pearson, 'Whitby, ''Basnage, 'Cave, '"' Fabricius, "Mill, and others, in the year of Christ 64 or 65, some while after St. Paul's release from his confinement at Rome. In ° Light- foot this is the epistle written next after the first to tlie 6 Vol. I. p. 299. '' Pearson, Annal. Paulin. An. 64. p. 22. ' Wh. in his preface to Uie epistle. ^ Ann. 62. n. vii. ' Cay. H. L. in Paulo. " Bib. Gr. 1. 4. cap. v. T. III. p. 157. ■^ Proleg. num. 123. " See Hannony of the N. T. Vol. i. p. 307 St. PauVs first Epistle to Thnullnj. 17 Corinthians. It is the same in i' Baronius and i Estius. Who say, that this epistle was written in Macedonia, when Paul was there the second time. In this date agree in the main •^Dr. Benson, and *Dr Doddridge. This also Mas the o|)inion of Hammond, as may be seen in his preface to this epistle. Witsius, after having- considered the reasons of Lightfoot and Pearson in behalf of their several opinions, hesitates,* and cannot say exactly when this epistle was written : though he does not judge it needful to defer it so long- as Pearson did, that is, till after St. Paul's deliverance from his imprisonment at Rome. Lewis Capellus w as in doubt which was first written, whether" the second epistle to the Corin- thians, or the first epistle to Timothy. However, he thinks that both were Avritten not long after St. Paul had left Ephe- sus, to go into Macedonia. Consequently his opinion was not very different from that of Lightfoot, Baronius, and Es- tius, before recited. According- to Theodoret, in his general preface to St. Paul's epistles, the first four are the two epistles to t!ie Thessalonians, and the first and second to the Corinthians. ' The ^fifth, says he, is the firstepistle to Timothy. For af- ' ter the introduction he says ; " As I besought thee to abide ' still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou ' mightest charge some, that they receive no other doctrine," ' 1 Tim. i. 3. It is manifest therefore, that when Paul went ' the second time into Macedonia, he left the most excellent p An. 57. n. 187. "i Scripta est autem haec epistola, posteaquam Paulus, Epheso relicta, sicut habetur initio XX. cap. Actorum, profectus est in Macedonian!. Id quod ip- siusepistolae verba statim initio declarant. Unde cum Cardinale Baronio col- ligimus, in Macedonia scriptam esse. Est. arg. 1. ep. ad Timoth. p. 758. ' History, &c. B. 3. ch. vii. sect. v. p. 167, &c. iirst edit. p. 184, &c. sec. edit. See also his preface to the first ep. to Tim. sect. iii. ^ See Family Expositor, Vol. III. p. 305. notee, p 319, note b, p. 332, noter. ' Non tamen aeque constat, scriptionem epistolae differendam esse ad solu- tionem Pauli a Romanis vinculis. Neque enim omnia Pauli itinera descripsit Lucas, sed notabiliora qusedam. Pronuntiemus itaque, de tempore, quo scripta est prior Pauli ad Timofheum epistola, non liquere. Wits, de Vit. Paul, sect. 9. num. v. " Posterior ad eosdem Corinthios epistola, et prior ad Timotheum, certant de proprietate, et sub judice lis est. Utraqiie autera scripta est paulo postquani Paulus Epheso discessisset, adeoque dum Macedonian! peragraret. Sed utra tempore prsecedat, non liquet. Lud. Cap. Hist. Ap. p. 72. *' JJEHTTTriv riya^ai tojv Trpog TifioOtov tijv TTportpav. Mtra yap Ce to Trpooifiiov stoj thyself in the house of God." Words which mightily suit the pre- sent time. St. Paul went into Macedonia, with a design to forward the collections for the poor saints in Judea, and then to go to Jerusalem. And it may be well supposed, that he had then hopes of calling" in at Ephesus, in his way to Judea, and there seeing" Timothy. However, he could not yet say the time. Which also is plainly agreeable to the apostle's circumstances at this season. For we perceive from what St. Luke writes in the Acts, and from (he second epistle to the Corinthians, written some while afterwards in Macedonia, that Paul was not then able long before hand to fix resolutions about the time of journies to be under- taken by him. Farther, the time assigned by Pearson, and those who ag"ree with him, must be wrong". It appears from Acts xx. 17 that when Paul was going- to Jerusalem in the former part of the year 58, there were elders at Ephesus, and pro- iDably in the neighbouring" cities of Asia. But when Paul wrote this epistle, there seems to have been a want of such officers at Ephesus, or thereabout. For a main design of it appears to be, to instruct Timothy in the proper qualifica- tions of such men, and to admonish him to use great care and caution in the choice of them. Once more, I am of opinion, that the second epistle to Timothy was written soon after Paul had been brought to Rome a prisoner from Judea. Therefore, if this epistle be prior to it, it must have been written before Paul Avent to Jerusalem, with the contributions of the christians of Greece, and Macedonia, and other places. There is, however, a difficulty attending" our supposition. For Timothy is joined with Paul in the inscription at the beg"inning of the second epistle to the Corinthians, gene- rally allowed to have been vv'ritten in Macedonia. And in Acts XX. 4, Timothy is mentioned ajnong" those who accom- panied Paul into Asia, when he was g"oing- to Jerusalem with the above-mentioned contributions. All which may induce some to think, that either Timothy did not return to Paul, before he left Ephesus, or that Paul took Timothy with him, when he went into Macedonia. To which I answer : we have showed it to be very pro- bable that Timothy returned to Ephesus before Paul left it. The apostle therefore might send Timothy this letter from Macedonia, and afterwards send for him, to come thither to c 2 20 A Hislory of the Apostles and Evangelists. him, having some special occasion for his assistance. And though this was not entirely agreeable to the apostle, he might be the rather disposed to it, hoping, that as he went to Jerusalem, he should hav e an opportunity to leave Timo- thy at Ephesus. Which, as I apprehend, he did, when he came to Miletus. Farther, this difficulty is very much abated by the account formerly given of this period of our apostle's history. For it was then shown, that there was a space of almost two jears between St. Paul's going from Ephesus, when he went into Macedonia, and his coming to Troas, in the way to Je- rusalem. Timothy therefore may have resided at Ephesus above a year, and yet be with the apostle at the writing of the second epistle to the Corinthians, which was not sent to them till near the end of the year 57. Dr. Benson'^ supposeth this epistle to have been written at Troas, soon after the apostle was come from Ephesus. And indeed many learned men think, that Paul now went into Macedonia by the way of Troas. This has been col- lected from 2 Cor. ii. 12, 13. But that appears to me a difficult text. And it may be disputed, whether Paul there refers to his journey from Ephesus. For it is difficult to conceive, how the apostle could have reason to expect Ti- tus at Troas at that season : considering, that his removal from Ephesus had been sudden, or, however, somewhat sooner than he had intended. How then was it possible for him to have made an appointment for Titus to meet him at Troas punctually at the time of his arrival there. But allowing" Paul to have gone from Ephesus to Mace- donia by the way of Troas, it will not follow, that this epis- tle was written there. It may be concluded from 1 Tim. i. 3, that the apostle was now in Macedonia, or had been there, since he left Ephesus. Accordingly, Lightfoot, Baronius, and Estius, before named, suppose this epistle to have been written in Macedonia. >Says > Lightfoot : 'It is apparent ' from 1 Tim. i. 3, that this epistle Mas written after Paul's ' setting out from Ephesus for Macedonia. Now it can- ' not be conceived to have been written when he was going * toward Macedonia. For then he was but newly parted ' from Timothy. And it is not likely, that he would so ' write to him, when he was but newly come from him. ' Therefore it cannot but be concluded, that this epistle was ' written whilst he Mas in Macedonia, or the parts there- " See his, preface to the first epistle to Timothy, sect. hi. y Harmony o( N. T. Vol. i. p. 307. Si. Paul's Episllc to Ttlus. 21 ' about, at this time that we are upon.' To which 1 readily assent. I shall add only what is also already hitited by Light- foot, that it is very improbable, that the apostle should use those expressions, 1 Tim. iii. 14, " hoping- to come and see thee shortly," before he had been in Macedoiiia. .St. Paul was much more likely to say this, when he had been some months absent from Ephesus, than when he had been come away but a few days only. I should now say more particularly when this epistle was Mritten. And 1 think it must have been written in the year 5G. In the beg-inning- of that year, according- to our account, Paul wrote the first epistle to the Corinthians. Before Pen- tecost in that year he left Ephesus. And before the end of that year, T suppose, he might write this epistle to Timothy. The place is not absolutely certain. Before writing- this epistle the apostle had been in Macedonia, since he left Ephesus. But whether he was now in that country, caimot, I apprehend, be fully determined by those expressions, 1 Tim. i. 3. However, this may be reckoned very likely, that the apostle was either in Macedonia, or near it. Lewis Ca- pellus, as before observed, was in doubt which was first written, this epistle, or the second to the Corinthians. About that I have no doubt. We shall soon see clear proof, that the second epistle to the Corinthians was written not long- before the end of the year 57. This first epistle to Timothy was written in the year 56, and probably, some good while before the end of it. Sect. VL The Epistle to Titus. Says Theodoret immediately after Avhat was transcrilied from him above concerning- the first epistle to Timothy : ' After that, ^as I think, was written the epistle to Titus. ' For being- still in those parts, he desired Titus to come to ' him, saying: '• When I shall send unto thee Artemas, or ' Tychicus, be dilig-ent to come to me at Nicopolis. For I ' have determined to winter there," Tit. iii. 12. They say, ' that Nicopolis is a city of Thrace, nigh unto Macedonia.' * Mt-a TavT-qv vTToXafifiavo) Tr}v "TvpoQ Tirov ytypafOai' tv tKiivoiq yap en Siayiijv TOiQ ntpem, KaToKafitii' avrov vapijyyvijffe. Atyei ce htwq' otuv iTffii\/('i Aprtpav. Tt/v Ce NikottoXii' Qpq.KMt]v fiiv iroKiv eivai (pam, ry Se MaKt^ovi^ TTiXa'Cuv. Theod. T. 111. p. 4. C. 22 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. So writes Theodoret in his general preface to St. Paul's epistles. And in his note upon Tit. iii. 12, he says, ' Nico- ' polis* is a city of Thrace, nigh unto Macedonia. It is ' manifest therefore, that he wrote this epistle when he was ' ill Macedonia and Achaia.' Following- the opinion of this learned ancient, which I think to be very right, the epistle to Titus was written in the year 56, and Paul spent the winter of that year at Nico- polis. If it be asked, when was Paul in Crete? I answer, in general, a short time before he wrote this epistle, as may appear from those words : " For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting', and ordain elders in every city, as 1 appointed thee," ch. i. 5. More particularly, Isdppose, that Paul had been in Crete in this year 56, since he came from Ephesus, to go into Macedonia. About this time, I think, he was in Crete and lllyricum, as well as in Macedonia. But as I do not indulge myself in making conjectures, I do not attempt to describe the order of the apostle's voyages. It was be- fore shown to be probable, that'' between Paul's leaving Ephesus in the spring- of the year 56, and his coming- to Troas, after the passover, in the year 58, in his way to Jeru- salem, there was the space of about two years. In that time Paul might do, and probably did, more than is particularly related by St. Luke. Few learned men, considering- the conciseness of St. Luke's manner of writing, can make any difficulty to allow, thaf^ he has not related all the apostle's journies. It is observable, that Titus was the person who was sent by Paul into Dalmatia, when he was come to Rome. As it appears from 2 Tim. iv. 10. Which may be reckoned an argument that he had been there before. About this time the epistle to Titus was written, according to the opinion of divers learned men, to whom I refer: as ''Baronius, ""Capellus, "^ Hammond, and sLightfoot. Estius'^ * Tfjc OpaKYjc e^iv r) 'NikottoXiq, ry 6t MaKi^oviq. TrtXa^ft. Ay]Kov toivvv b)Q Kar iKUvov rov Kai^wv, Kaff 6v tv ry 'MciKi^oviq. Kca A^j^ntct SierpiPti', cypa^pE Tt]v t7n^o\i]v. Ibid. p. 5 15, A. ^ See Vol. v. ch. xi. "^ Nequeeuim omnia Pauli itinera descripsit Lucas, sed notabiliora quaedam. Wits, de Vita Pauli. Sect. 9. num. v. ** Baron. Ann. 57. num. ccix. « Lud. Capell. Hist. Ap. p. 16. et GO. Vid. et Jacob. Cap. Compend. in Apost. Hist. Chionol. Tab. ' Prsef. in ep. ad Tit. 8 Lightfoot's Works, Vol. i. p. 309, 310. '' Quando scripta sit heec epi.stola, non liquet, nee facile ex Actis Apost. coUigi potest, quod in lis non kgatur Paulus Cretam ingressus fuisse. Verisimile est, ante captivitatem Apostoli, fjuia vinculorum hie nulla mentio. Inio, cum dicit cap. iii. ' ibi c- ' nim statui hiemare,' plane signiticat, non esse viiictum. Est. Argum. ep. ad. Tit. St. Paul's Epistle to Ttlus. 23 could not tlctcrmiiie the time of this (!j)isth! exactly : but he thought it v.as \\ ritten beiore the apostle's iiiiprisonnieiit at Jerusalem and Rome. Cave in his 'llistoria Literaria phiceth this epistle in the year 63. Y)ut, when he wrote the lives of the ap()stl(;s, h' 'US' NikottoXic r>je OpaKijg t~i. Chrys. in 'I'lt. hom. 6. ib. p. 7G6. B. 'i Scribit igitur Apostolus St. Paul's second Epistle to the Corinthians. 25 tie to mean Nicopolis in Epiriis. Neither of these interpre- tations is any prejudice to our arg'ument. In Avhich soever of" those countries Nicopolis was situated, the apostle was as likely to be there at the time supposed by lis, as at any other. At Nicopolis the apostle wintered, in the year 56, accord- ing- to ujy computation. Consequently, this letter was written some time before, in the year 56. When tiie winter was over, Paul came into Macedonia, where he had been before, since he came from Ephesus. From Macedonia he came into Greece. Sect. VII. The Second Epistle to the Corinthians. Whilst the apostle was in Macedonia, at this time, he wrote the second epistle to the Corinthians, A. D. 57. Concerning- this there can be no doubt, if we attend to the epistle itself. From which it plainly appears, that the apos- tle was then in Macedonia, and was going- to Greece, parti- cularly to Corinth. So 2 Cor. ix. 1 — 5. "For as touching- the ministering- to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write unto you. For I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia : that Achaia was ready a year ago Yet have I sent the brethren lest haply, if they of Macedonia come with me, and find you un- prepared, we (that we say not you) should be ashamed in this same confident boasting-. Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they would go before unto you and make up beforehand your bounty." — See also ch. viii. and ch. xiii. I, " This is the third time I am coming- to you." According to Pearson,"^ this epistle w^as written in Mace- donia, in the year 57 ; according to ^ Mill, near the end of that year. I likewise think that it was written in the year 57, probably, in September, or October. For the apostle, plainly, was soon to go to Corinth, where he might arrive, as I apprehend, in November. I suppose it was now above a year since writing- the first 6 Paula et Eustochium, de Nicopoli, quae, in Actiaco littore sita, nunc posses- sionis vestrffi pars vel maxima est, &c. Hieron. Pr. in ep. ad Tit. T. IV. P. I. p. 407. Nicopolis ipsa est, qua ob victoriam Augusti, quod ibi Antonium et Cleo- patram superant, nomen accepit. Id. in Tit. cap. iii. ib. p. 439. ' Annal. Paulin. p. 15. A. D. Ivii. ' sub fineni, ut vi- detur, anni aerse vulgaris Ivii. Proleg. num. 21. 26 Jl Hislory of the Apostles and Evangelists. epistle to the Corintljians. The reasons of that supposition were mentioned' formerly. And need not to be repeated here. Timothy was with Paul at writing- this epistle : for his name is in the inscription. It is likely that" he had come from Ephesus to the apostle in Macedonia, either upon oc- casion of some affairs of that church, or at the desire of the apostle, who needed his assistance. As before said. Sect. VIII. The Epistle to the Romans. The epistle to the Romans is dated by ^ Pearson in the year 57, by ^^Mill in the year 58. According to our compu- tation of Paul's journies there can be no reason to hesitate about either the time or the place of this epistle. It was written at Corinth in the beginning' of the year 58, before Paul set out on his journey to Jerusalem. As St. Luke's few words in Acts xx. 1, 2, 3, afford great light, and are a sure guide, I recite them here. " And after the uproar Avas ceased, Paul called unto hira the disciples, and embraced them, and departed" [from Ephesus] " for to go into Macedonia. And when he had gone over those parts, and given them much exhortation, he came into Greece. And there abode three months." In the space of these three months was written the epistle to the Romans. According to Theodoret the cpistietothe Romans" is the seventh in order of time, having been written by the apostle after the two epistles to the Thessalonians, and to the Corin- thians, the first to Timothy, and the epistle to Titus. He adds , ' Thaty the epistle to the Romans was written from ' Corinth, is manifest from the conclusion. For there the ' apostle recommends Phoebe, calling her " deaconess of ' See Vol. V. ch. xi. " Fateor, cum Paulus esset in Macedo- nia, una cum illo fuisse Timotheum, 2 Cor. i. 1 ; et postquam hyemeni tran- segisset in Epiro, Tit. iii. 12, ac per tres menses commoratus m Graecia, Act. XX. 2, 3, reversusque esset in Macedoniam, illi adfuisse Timotheum, Act. xx. 4, ac recta cum illo ivisse Troadem. Quae omnia contingere potuerunt, post- quam Paulus reliquisset Timotheum Ephesi ; ex qua urbe tamen iventad Paulum, sive propter negotia Ephesinse ecclcsiiE, de quibus Paulum consul! ab eo oporteret, vel ut pareret Paulo, quem, ut videmus, et postea invisit, lon- giore itinere, Romam usque, 2 Tim. iv. 9. Hammond. Prsef. in 1 ep. Ti- moth. ex versione Cierici. " Annal. Pauiin. p. 15. * Proleg. num. 26. " 'EjSSofiijv rrjv Trpog 'PioficuHQ tirtartCKt' fiira yap St] ravrag aTraaag Tuvrtjv avror ytyoa^Evai SiSaffKii. k. X. Theod. T. 111. p. 4. C. y Ibid. p. 5. St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans. 27 ' the church in Cenchrea," which was a borouoh of the ' Corinthians, Rom. xvi. 1. Besides, he says: " Ga us, my ' host, and of the whole church, salutcth you," vcr. 23. By ' host he means the person who entertained him. And that ' Gains was a Corinthian we learn from the first epistle to ' the Corinthians. For thus he writes to them : " 1 thank ' God that 1 baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius," ' 1 Cor. i. 14. The epistle to the Romans therefore is the ' last of the epistles Mritten from Asia, and Macedonia, and ' Achaia : and is the seventh in order, as has been shown. ' The rest were sent from Rome.' So Theodoret. AV ho might have added, as a proof that this epistle was written at Corinth, Avhat follows in ver. 23, " Erastus, the chamber- lain of the city, saluteth you." For by the city I suppose to be meant Corinth. But whether this Erastus be the same who is mentioned by St. Luke, Acts xix. 22, as one of St. Paul's assistants, I cannot say certainly. The time of writing- this epistle is farther manifest hence. It was written after that Paul had completed his collections in Macedonia, and Achaia, and when he was setting- out for Jerusalem. For so he writes, ch. xv. 25, 26, " But now I go unto Jerusalem, to minister unto the saints. For it has pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are in Jerusalem." ver. 30, 31, " Now I beseech you, brethren, that ye strive together with me, in prayers to God for me : that I maybe delivered from them that do not believe in Judea, and that my service, which I have for Jerusalem, may be accepted of the saints.'* Consequently, it is probable, that it m as now near the end of the three months, that the apostle staid in Greece. Whence " he returned to Macedonia, and after the days of unleavened bread sailed from Philippi to Troas," upon the continent of Asia, Acts xx. 3 — 6. And then went to Jeru- salem, where he arrived about the time of Pentecost in the year 56. If St. Paul came to Corinth in November 57, the epistle to the Romans mio ht be sent thence in the month of Febru- ary, in the year 58. Sect. IX. The Epistle to the Ephesians. Concerning- St. Paul's epistles, written during his mipri- soiiment at Rome, particularly the epistle to the Ephesians. 28 A llislory of the Apostles and Evancjelists. Soon after writing the epistle to the Romans, as was be- fore hinted, Paul set out from Corinth, on his journey to Jerusalem. In a short time after his arrival there, he was apprehended. And he was kept a prisoner in that country till he was sent to Rome. During- his stay in Judea, we know not of his correspond- ing- with any churches, or particular persons, by writing. But at Rome, though a prisoner, he wrote divers letters. Grotius says, that^ tliough all St. Paul's epistles are excel- leiitj he most admires those written by him when a prisoner at Rome. And of the epistle to the Ephesians he says, it ' surpasseth all human eloc|uence. It is generally supposed, that St. Paul wrote there four epistles: to the Ephesians, the Philippians, tlie Colossians, and Pliilemon. Jeroin has twice*" spoken of these four epis- tles, as Avritten at Rome. Theodoret having- spoken of the epistle to the Romans, ;s the seventh in order, and the last of those that were sent from Asia, Macedonia, and Achaia, says: ' The'^ rest were sent from Rome : the first of which 1 take to be that written to the Galatians.' Lighlfoot*^ like- wise supposed the epistle to the Galatians to have been writ- ten at Rome, and the first of those that were written there. That is a wrong- computation, as must appear from what has been already said. But beside the four above mentioned, the second epistle to Timothy might be written at this sea- son. The epistle to the Hebrews likewise, if it be Paul's, was probably written about this time, either during the apostle's imprisonment, or soon after it, before he left Rome and Italy. St. Paid's imprisonment, from the time of his being appre- hended at Jerusalem, to his coming to Rome, was the space of almost, or quite three years. For a short time he was confined in the castle of Antonia at Jerusaleu). Thence he was sent to Ca-saiea by the sea-side, the seat of the Roman governor, who at that time was Felix. Where he was kept ' Omnes epistoiae Pavili egregiaj sunt ; sed omnium in primis, quae Roma ex vinculis missse sunt. Gr. Pr. in ep. ad Col. ^ rerumsub- limilatem adoequans verbis sublimionbus, quara ulla unquam habuit lingua liumunH. Grot. Pr. in ep. ad Eph. '' Quod Romae in vincula conjectus, banc epislolam misent eo tempore, quo ad Philemonem, et ad Co- lossenses, ct ad Philippenses, in alio loco scriptas esse monstravimus. Hieron. in Eph. cap. iii. T. IV. p. 347. Scril)it igitiir ad Philemonem Ronue vinctus in carcere, quo tempore mihi videntur ad Philippenses, Colossunses, et Ephesios epistoiae esse dictatae. In Philem. ib. p. 445. in. "^ Tuq yap drj aXKag airo Tr]Q 'Pio^rjc tTTCTfiXf Kcii TTpwrrjv fin' riynfuii T)}v TTCirg raXarag yputpTjvai. T. III. p. 5. d 1 ightt. Vol. i. p.323. St. Paul's Epislle lu (he Ephesians. 29 ill Herod's judginent-hall, Acts xxiii. 35. And tliougli af- terwards there was an order for enlarging- the first strictness of his custody, " and that his acquaintance should be per- mitted to come to him, and minister to him," ch. xxiv. 23, 1 suppose he was still confined in the above-mentioned pri- son. And, perhaps, this new order imported little more, than leave for his friends to bring him needful refreshments, and take care of his health. It does not appear, that during- the space of two years and several months, whilst he was in Ju- dea, he wrote any letters, or received any, as before inti- mated. Says ''Wall: 'Those two years of imprisonment ' under Felix seem to have been the most unactive part of ' St. Paul's life. There is no account of any preachings, or ' disputations, or of any epistles written in this space.' In- deed, considering- the violent opposition made by the Jews throughout the whole space of the apostle's being- in that country, I apprehend there was no attempt made by Paul, or his friends, to procure him intelligence from the christian churches abroad : and that the Roman governor could not allow of any such thing. He Avould rather have set Paul at liberty, and let him go quite away. But when Paul was brought to Rome, though he was under a guard, he was " suffered to dwell by himself, in his own hired house." Acts xxviii. 16 — 30, where he was t>vo years. Having such liberty, he wisely improved it, not only by discoursing- with all those who came to him, but also by writing- several epis- tles. Of all these epistles, the first written seems to me to be that to the Ephesians. 1 think it was drawn up by the apos- tle, as soon as conveniently could be after his friends at Rome had taken a lodging- for him, and he was settled in it. A. D. CI. The epistle is inscribed " to the saints which are at Ephe- sus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus." But I apprehend that the apostle thought of the christians throughout Asia, properly so called, whether living at Ephesus, the chief city of the country, or not. To the like purpose f Hammond : and also Mr. Pyle, who paraphraseth the first verse of the epistle in this manner : ' Paul, called to be an apostle, send- ' eth this epistle to the church of Ephesus, and lo all the ' christians of the lesser Asia, those faithful christians, that « Notes upon the N. T. p. 267, 268. ' Ephesum fuisse pri- inam Metropolim Lydi?e, vel proconsulaiis Asire, ostendimus in notis ad Co- loss, iv. 16. Itaque epistola hsec, Ephesiis inscripta, non est putanda ad eos solos pertinere, verum etiam ad alias urbes provinciae, imo et totius Asiae. Hammond. Preef. in ep. ad Eph. 30 ji History of the Apostles and Evangelists. ' firmly rely upon the clirisiian relig-ion for salvation, with- ' out the observation of" the Mosaical ceremonies.' We are led to this supposition by what St. Paul says near the con- clusion of his first epistle to the Corinthians, written at Ephesus : " the churches of Asia salute you," 1 Cor. ch. xvi. 19. And that epistle to the Corinthians is addressed " to the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours." And the second epistle to the Corinthians is addressed " to the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia." After the salutation of these christians, at the beginning of the epistle, he praiseth God for the gospel-dispensation, now made known to all men, agreeably to the gracious pur- pose long since formed in the divine counsels. " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world," ver. 3, 4, to 12. He then reminds them of their first faith in the gospel, and the circumstances of it. " In M'hom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise. Which is the earnest of our inheritance," ver. 13, 14. After Avhich he lets them know, that in his confinement, since he came to Rome, he had heard of the continuance of their faith, and of their love for all christians in general : which had filled him with transports of joy and satisfaction. " Wherefore I also, having heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers : that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom :" or that they might be more and more illuminated, and established iu the prin- ciples of true religion, ver. 15, 16, and to ver. 23. The account that had been brought him of the christians at Ephesus by Tychicus, as may be supposed, having been very agreeable, the apostle does not censure them for any great irregularities in conduct, as he does the Corinthians, nor for any remarkable vas written in the first year of the apostle's imprison- ment at Rome, and not very long after his arrival there. Consequently this epistle, being there referred to, must have been sent about the same time. That the epistle to the Ephesians is I ere referred to, has been the opinion of many. So thought 'Tilleraont. Who, supposing that the second to Timothy was Mritten in a second imprisonment of the apostle at Rome, placeth the writing of this to the Ephesians in the year 65. Whitby, in his preface to the epistle to the Ephesians, observes, ' In his close of this epistle St. Paul speaks ' thus to them, ch. vi. 21, 22, " That ye may know my af- ' fairs, and how I do. Tychicus shall make known unto ' you all things."' And in the second epistle to Timothy he saith, " Tychicus have I sent unto Ephesus," 2 Tim. iv. 12. So Whitby. But forgetting-, as it seems, what he had said in some other places. However, this shows how natu- ral and easy it is to think the epistle to the Ephesians in- tended in that place of the second to Timothy. And it is what most would think, if not biassed by some prejudice. Theodoret, in his general preface to St. Paul's epistles, says, ' the ''apostle sent to the Ephesians and the Colossians ' at the same time, and sent them by the same messenger,' meaning Tychicus. But in his preface to the epistle to the Ephesians, having quoted Eph. vi. 21, 22, he goes on : ' And' that he sent Tychicus from Rome, he shows in his ' second epistle to Timothy, saying, do thy diligence to come to me shortly. And Tychicus have 1 sent to Ephesus,' 2 Tim. iv. 10 — 12. So Theodoret, without considering the consequence. For he supposed the second to Timothy to have been written but a short time before the apostle's mar- tyrdom. But if the epistle to the Ephesians was written when the apostle was first at Rome (as Theodoret allows) and if he refers to it in his second epistle to Timothy, it will ' Saint Paul, art. 49. et Note 58. Mem. Ec. Tom. I. ^ Kat /if V Tc.i Kui EfeaioiQ Kai KoXoaacuvfft Kara rov uv-ov lypm^E ■)(^^ovov, tvt Ttot' tTnTo\oJV ctuKoviij afi(j)OTtcii.i)v %p);(Ta/x£i'Oc. Thcod. T. III. p. 5. ' TovCf. fiaKupiov TvxiKOv utto TrjQ 'Poi/ij/c aTnr(i\e' km rsro tv rrj jrpof TifioOeov hvTipa ciSaoKfi. k. X. 11). p. 292. A. St. Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians. 35 follow, that this was written soon after that to the Ephesi- ans, and when the apostle was first at Rome. However, there are difficulties attending- this opinion M'hich must be considered. f'irst, it is said that the epistles to the Ephesians and the Colossians were sent by the same messenger. Comp. Eph. vi. 21, 2'2 ; Col. iv. 7, 8. The epistle to the Colossians was sent away from Rome when the apostle had hopes of en- largement. Consequently, the epistle to the Ephesians was written about the same time. I answer, that this is no proof. For Tychicus might be sent twice into the same coimtry, in the time of the apostle's two years' imprisonment. Tychicus might be sent to Ephe- sus, with this letter to th(? Ephesians, soon after the apostle's arrival at Rome, and come back to him, and be able to take another journey into those parts a year after, when the apos- tle was about to beset at liberty. Secondly, it is said that there is a great agreement be- tween the epistle to the Ephesians, and that to the Colossi- ans. This last, as is allowed, Avas written in the second year of tlie apostle's confinement, and when it was near its end. Consequently, the epistle to the Ephesians was writ- ten about the same time. To which I answer : undoubtedly, there is an agreement between these epistles in several things, taken notice of by ■"Grotius and others. But it does not therefore follow that they were sent away together. For, as has been observed by "Lightfoot, it is likely that the apostle kept copies of his letters. If so, it might be easy for him to write after the same manner at different times, to people not very remote from each other, and M'hose circumstances were much alike. Indeed, without keeping" copies of his letters, I believe it would be no difficult matter for St. Paul to repeat the chris- tian principles, and exhortations to christian virtues, at several times, in like expressions, if the circumstances of men required it. And there are several things in the epistles themselves, which afford good reason for thinking that they were not ■" Proxima huic et arguracnto, et verbis ctiam, est ilia ad Colossenses, eo- dem, ni fallor, scripta tempore. Grot. Praef. in ep. ad Eph. Vid. et ejiisd. Pr. in ep. ad Coloss. " ' It may be the " parchments," 2 Tim. iv. 13, were the originals of those ' epistles that he had already written. For that he sent transcripts, and re- ' served the originals, may be collected from these passages. " I Tertius, who * wrote out this epistle," Rom. xvi. 22. See also 1 Cor. xvi. 21 ; Col.iv. 18 ; ' 2 Thes?. iii. 17. For all tlie epistle beside was written with another hand.' Harmony of the N. T. Vol. T. p. 316. 1> 2 36 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. written and sent away at the same time : and that the epistle to the Colossians was written some while after that to the Ephesians. From what is said in the second chapter of the epistle to the Colossians, concerning" the worshipping of angels, and other matters, it may be conclnded, that the apostle had received from those parts some intelligence, which he had not, when he wrote the epistle to the Ephesi- ans. For there those matters are not at all touched upon. And though there is a resemblance between these two epistles, they are very difierent. For the epistle to the Ephesians is a good deal longer than that to the Colossians, though the fore-mentioned article in the second chapter to the Colossians is entirely wanting : and in those places where there is an agreement, there are differences. Nor is there in tlie epistle to the Ephesians any notice taken of Timothy, or Epaphras, or Mark, so expressly men- tioned in the epistle to the Colossians. Which must be reckoned a very strong, and even a demonstrative argument, that these two epistles were not Avritten and sent away at the same time. In this date of the epistle to the Ephesians I have fol- lowed °Lightfoot: from whom I have had great assistances in settling the time of St. Paul's epistles. 1 have likewise had, in this instance, assistances from I'Baronius, lEstius, ""Hammond, and ^Witsius. Baronius* and Lightfbot first speak of the second epistle to Timothy, though they do not deny the epistle to the Ephesians to have been written before it. But as we are now inquiring into the order of time, I have judged it best to adhere to that strictly. A few weeks, yea, a few days, might make a great alteration in the apostle's circumstances at this time. And some of his friends and assistants might be daily coming to Rome from the provinces, and getting- access to him in his apartment. By comparing these two epistles I am led to think, that when the apostle wrote the second epistle to Timothy, he had been longer at Rome, and was better acquainted with the world about him, than when he wrote the epistle to the Ephesians. Basnage is singular in his sentiment concerning the tinie of this epistle. ' That" it Avas written at Rome, when Paul " As Ix-forc, p. 32.5. p Annal. 59. num. xv. Vid. et num. xx. 'I Prsef. in ep. ad Eph. ■■ Pra^f. in ep. ad Ephes. " Wits, de Vit. Paul. sect. xii. num. vi. et ix. ' Haec cum ita sint, nos tanicn primum egimusde ipsa ad 'rimotheum scripta epistola, eo quod multa in ea de rebus suis Romae gestLs ipso significet, ex quibus intexeretur his- toria; quarum nulla est mcntio in Epistola ad Ephesios. Baron. Ann. 59. num. XV. " Epistolaruni omnium, qua^ primis in vinculis exa- St. Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians. 37 ' was prisoner there,' he says, ' is nuinif'est. But he thinks ' it to have been the hist epistle which wtts sent thence by ' the apostle. He argues well enough that it was not sent ' with the epistle to the Colossians. And hesupposeth that ' Tychicus was sent twice into these countries by the aposth; ' from Rome.' He should therefore have concluded, that this letter to the Ephesians was carried by Tychicus, not after those other epistles, but before them. Says St. Paul, 2 Tim. iv. 12, " And Tychicus have 1 sent to Ephesus." 1 suj)pose the apostle here to refer to the epistle to the Ephesians, which was carried from Rome to Ephesus by Tychicus. But still, perhaps, it may be ques- tioned, M'hether those two epistles, that to the Ephesians, and the second to Timothy, were sent away together. Ba- ronius^ says they Mere. He says, the apostle puts the pre- terit for the present. So Eph. vi. 21,22. " That ye may know my affairs, and how I do. Tychicus shall make known unto you all things, whom 1 have sent unto you fer the same purpose." And unquestionably, that way of speak- ing-is not uncommon. Instances are obvious. So Philem. ver. 12, " Whom I have sent aoain." Which may be ren- dered : " whom I am sending again" to you. See also ver. 19—21, and Philip, ii. 28. So here in 2 Tim. iv. 12. The words may be rendered: " And Tychicus I am sending to Ephesus." Nevertheless, as that interpretation in this place is not certain, I would not be positive. The epistle to the Ephesians, I think, Mas carried from Rome by Tychicus, either at the same time uith the second to Timothy, or a short time only before it. And, according- to my calculation, the epistle to the Ephesians M'as M^ritten at Rome, soon after the apostle's ar- rival there, in 61, and before the summer of that year. It was the first epistle written by the apostle in that city. ravit Apostolus, ea quae ad Ephesios, ultima esse videtur. Ludovico enim Capello noil assentimur, qui eodem tempore ad Colossenses et ad Ephesios epistolam scriptam esse statuit. Agebat Romae Epaphras, dum Paulus scri- bit Colossensibus. Col. i. 8. Urbe autem aberat, cum ad Ephesios misit epis- tolam, in qua ne verbulo quidem meminit Epaphrae. Quinetiam non, ut ad Colossenses, sic et ad Ephesios, nomine suo et Timothei scnbit. Prseterca per Tychicum missa est epistola. Eph. vi. 21. Queede alia prorsus Tychici pro- fectione intelligenda sunt, quam cujus meminit ad Colossenses iv. 12. Aho- quin Timothei ac Epaphrse mentionem quoque injecisset. Ann. 61. num. vii. " Verum eidem tabellario, nempe Tychico, dedit etiam tunc Paulus epis- tolam ad Ephesios. Licet in ed ad Tmiothami dicat : Tychicum misi Eplie- sum : famen praeteritum tempus pro praesenti usurpasse videtur, sicut cum, ad Ephesios de eodem scribens, ait : ' Ut autem et vos sciatis, quae circa me sunt nota faciei Tychicus quem misi ad vos ad hoc ipsum.' Bar. ann. 59. num. xv. 38 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. And it Avas sent away a short time before the second epis- tle to Timotljy, of which I shall speak next, or together with it. Sect. X. . The second Epistle to Timothy. We come now to the second epistle to Timothy, which Are suppose to have been sent away together with that to the Ephesians, or soon after it, A. D. 61. 3Iany learned men speak of a second imprisonment of Paul at Rome, and suppose that this second epistle to Timo- thy was then written, in G7 or 68. But I do not know that we have any good account of a second imprisonment of Paul at Rome. He suffered martyrdom there, as some think, in 64 or 65, or as others, in 67 or 68. But that he might do, without a previous imprisomiient of any duration. For he might be apprehended on a sudden, and be put to death presently. Which may be reckoned as likely as not. Before I proceed to the proofs that this second epistle to Timothy was written during Paul's imprisonment at Rome, when he was sent thither from Judea bv Festus, I Avould premise, that I suppose, with most learned moderns, that Timothy was now at Ephesus. It has been thought that Timothy Avas not there, because it is said, ch. iv. 12, " Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus." But that argument is of no force. There was no need to say, I have sent Tychicus to you. There are many similar, or parallel Avays of speaking in St. Paul's epistles, 1 Cor. XV. 32. He speaks of his having' " fought Avith beasts at Ephesus :" where he certainly Avas at that time, as appears from xvi. 8. And 2 Tim. i. 17, he says : " When Onesi- phorus Avas at Rome he sought me out very diligently." He does not say, Avhen he Avas here. Lightfoot'' observes, that from the epistle itself it may be concluded, that Timo- thy Avas at Ephesus. For, 1. He directs him to salute the household of Onesiphorus, ch. iv. 19, Avho Avas an Ephesian, ch. i. 16 — 18. 2. He directs Timothy to take Troas in his Avay to him, ch. iv. 13, Avhich was the Avay that Paul had gone from Ephesus, 2 Cor. ii. 12, and to Ephesus again, Acts XX. 5. 3. He warns him of Alexander, ch. iv. 14, who was an Ephesian, 1 Tim. i. 20; Acts xix. 33. So Light- foot. To Avhich, 1 think, may be added, 4. Paul's salutation of Priscilla and Aquila, ch. iv. 19, who, probably, Avere noAv * Vol. i. p. 324. St. Paul's second Epistle to Timothy. 39 returned to Ephesus, and settled there, where they had been Cornierly, Acts xviii. 18, 19—26 ; and 1 Cor. xvi. If). For certainly they were not now at Rome, where Paul liiniself was : though they were there when he wrote the epistle to the Romans, ch. xvi. 3, 4. Here it may be asked : when did Timothy come to Ephe- sus 'I And how long had he been there ? I answer, that by a very easy and probable conjecture, it may be concluded, that he was left there when Paul was going up to Jerusa- lem, with the collections which he had made among the Gentile christians, for the poor saints in Judea. For Timothy is expressly mentioned by St. Luke among- the apostle's company in that journey. Acts xx. 3, 4, 5." " x4Lnd as he was about to sail into Syria, he purposed to return through Macedonia. And there accompanied him into Asia, Sopater of Berea and Timothy, and of Asia, Tychicus, and Tro- phimus." Timothy therefore was in Paul's company, and werit w ith him as far as Asia, in which Ephesus stood. And so far, I suppose, all above mentioned accompanied Paul, but not into Syria. I apprehend that Timothy and Tychicus stayed in Asia. For we have not any intimations from St. Luke or St. Paul, or any way, that these two were with the apostle at Jerusalem. Every one is here able to recollect, that when Paul went into Macedonia in the year 56, about the time of Pentecost, he left Timothy at Ephesus, 1 Tim. i. 3. But for some rea- sons, which may be well supposed to have been good and sufficient, he came from thence to Paul in Macedonia. For he is joined with Paul in the salutation, at the beginning of the second epistle to the Corinthians. And, as has been just seen, he attended Paul when he left Macedonia to proceed to Jerusalem. But no man can doubt that Paul would bo willing to replace Timothy at Ephesus, where his presence Avas of great importance, if an opportunity should ofler. Such an opportunity there now was. And, very probably, it was embraced. And Paul parted with him at Miletus, where he had sent for the elders of the church of Ephesus to meet him. Tillemont says : ' It" is not said what became of Timothy ' during the two years that St. Paul was prisoner in Judea.' 1 think I may presume to say he w as all that time at Ephe- sus, and parts adjacent in Asia. Du Pin was of the same opinion, whose words I transcribe^ below. " S. Timothee, Mem, T. II. •>' On pourroit dire neanmoins, et je ne m'eloignerois pas de ce sentiment, que S. Paul le laissa a Ephese, quand s'etant arrete a Milet, il envoya querir les pretres de I'eglise d'Ephese 40 A Histury of the Apostles and Evangelists. Tillemoiit adds presently afterwards : ' It is however cer- ' tain, tliat Timothy was at Rome, when the apostle wrote to ' Philemon, the Philippians, and the Colossians : forasmuch ' as he is named jointly with him in the titles of those three ' epistles.' How Timothy came to be then at Rome, we shall see presently. Paul therefore parted with Timothy at Miletus, as just said. And I think that when the elders of Ephesus were come to 3iiletus, Timothy joined himself with them, and stood at the head of them : and consequently was one of those, of whom it is said : " And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul's neck, and kissed him : sorrowing- most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied bun tq the ship," Acts xx. 37, 38. Of this Paul takes notice in the most affectionate manner, 2 Tim. i. 4, " Greatly desirous to see thee, being- mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy." Doubtless Paul was much affected by the tears of all the rest, but especially Timothy's : and was now " greatly desirous to see him," « ho had been so deeply struck M'ith the thoughts of never seeing- his face any more. Timothy, then, was at Ephesus when this epistle was sent to him. And he had been there from the time that Paul left Miletus, to go to Jerusalem, and during- his imprisonment in judea. The observation that Paul here refers to the tears shed by his friends at his parting with them at Miletus, appears to rae very obvious: though it has been hitherto entirely over- looked, so far as I know. And it M-ill directly lead us to the true date of this epistle. It is a most proper beginning of a letter sent by Paul to Timothy at Ephesus, soon after his arrival at Rome from Palestine, at the time we suppose: but it is very unlikely to be taken notice of in an epistle written several years afterwards, and after there had been an inter- view, as there certainly was, when Paul was at Rome. I shall now observ^e divers particulars, confirming- the sup- position, that St. Paul's second epistle to Timothy was written during the apostle's imprisonment at Rome, and near the begiiming- of it. Act. XX. ver. 17, Car nous lisons, que, comme S. Paul partoil pour aller en Asie par MacCdoine, Timothee fut un de ceiix qui 1' accompagnerent en Asie. ch. XX. 4. £t nous ne trouvons plus Timothee a sa compagnie, ni a Jerusa- lem, ni pendant sa prison de Cesaree. Si cela est, Timothee aura ete etabii par S. Paul pour gouvemer les eglises d' Asie en 58. Du Pin, Diss. Prehni. !. 2. ch. 2. sect. viii. Si. Paul' a second Epistle to Timothy. 41 1. The circumstances of the apostle's imprisonment at Rome, when sent thither by Festus, and at the time of writ- ing- this epistle, are exactly the same. Says St. Luke, Acts xxviii. 16, " Paul was suffered to dwell by himself, with a soldier that kept him." And ver. 30, " Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him." Here are two remarkable particulars. First, that Paul " dwelt by himself, with a soldier that kept him:" that is, after the manner of the Romans, by an iron chain of conve- nient length, he was fastened to a soldier, w ho had one end of the chain upon his left hand, and Paul the other end upon his right hand, as was largely shown ^ formerly. To this St. Paul refers in this his second epistle to Timothy, i. 16, speaking of Onesiphorus : " He oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain." So exactly, Acts xxviii. 20, " Because for the hope of Israel, I am bound with this chain." Secondly. The other remarkable particular is, that when at Rome, " Paul dwelt in his own hired house, and received all who came in unto him." Such also was his case at writ- ing this epistle, as appears abundantly from ch. iv. 10, and other places. He had with him Demas, Crescens, Titus. The first was g'one to Thessalonica, Avithout his approba- tion : the others were gone, whither he had sent them, as it seems. And Luke Avas still with him. And at ver. 21, he sends salutations to Timothy from divers persons, and from the church at Rome in general, saying : " Eubulusgreeteth thee, and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia, and all the bre- thren." Which shows that people had free access to the apostle when he wrote this epistle. 1. Obj. However, it has been objected, thaf^ when One- siphorus came to Rome, Paul w'as close shut up, and Onesi- phorus had much difficulty in finding him. Which is different from the imprisonment of which St. Luke has given an account. To which I answer, that Onesiphorus had no uncommon difficulty in his access to Paul, Avhose words are, 2 Tim. i. 16, 17, " The Lord give mercy to the house of Onesiphorus. ^ See Vol. i. B. I. ch. x. * In secuadis vinculis alia sta- tim rerum fades fuit. Tunc enini ' Oaesiphorus,' inquit, * cum Romam venisset, solicite me quaesivit, et invenit,' i. 17. An opuserat, ut Onesiphorus aTTfiSaiorepov, et cum tanto studio ac solicitudine qua^reret Paulum, et ex tani sedula mquisitione inveniret, si apostolus aut in eadera domo, aut cum eadem libertate, et non in arcta et abdita custodia praedicasset ? Peareon, De Success, primor. Rom. Episcop. Diss. i. cap. 9. n. viii. 42 j1 History of the Apostles and Evangelists. For he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain. But when he was at Rome, he sought me out very dilig-ent- Jy, and came unto me :" that is, 1 think : ' Onesiphorus has ' been often with me, and refreshed me, with presents, and ' with his conversation, without being at all ashamed of me, ' though I had a chain upon me.' Which shows, that One- siphorus might come to visit the apostle, when he pleased : and might give him as much relief as he saw good. ' Yea, ' says the apostle, as soon eis he came to Rome, he made in- ' quiries after me, and came to see me without delay.' Here appear not any tokens of Paul's being- under a very strict confinement. But here are evidences of his being in such a condition, as that represented by St. Luke, when he had been brought from Judea to Rome. Onesiphorus seems to have come to Rome soon after the apostle's arrival there. In order to find him out, and know where he was, it was needful to make some inquiries. How else should any man find a stranger in a great city ? Whether he was quite at liberty, or in one of the prisons of it, some inquiries would be needful. And when Onesiphorus had found the place where Paul was, he came to it without any difficulty. Witsius'' speaks exactly to the like purpose : and suppos- eth, th.at after some inc^uiries, (such as are needful, v, hen a man comes to a large city, and wants to see a stranger newly arrived,) Onesiphorus found Paul with the soldier in his own hired house. The case I take to be this. Onesiphorus came to Rome upon his own secular business. He knew very well that Paul had been carried thither as a prisoner. But what was become of him he did not know: whether he had been set at liberty, or was still a prisoner, or had been put to death. Upon coming- to Rome therefore, not long after Paul had been brought thither, he made anxious inquiries after him. And hearing where Paul was, he readily came to him, not- withstanding his disgraceful circumstances, being chained to a soldier. And so long as he stayed in Rome, he made the apostle frequent visits, and afforded him such refresh- ment as %vas in his power. '' Quando Onesiphorus Paulum Romse quaesitum venit, uon videtur inve- nisse in carcerem conjectum, arctaqiie ciistodza detentura, sed militi suo alli- gatum, in diversiolo. Sic enim Paulus : Kai ttjv aXvaiv fis ovk tni}axvvQt]. Et sane qiiamvis vincula Pauli nota fuerint in toto Piaitorio, non tamen inde conscquitur, Pauli domum ita notara omnibus fuisse, ut homini peregre advenienti, in urbe quje orbis compendium erat, ad captivi Judeei domum in- veniendam diligenti inquisitione non fuerit opus. Praesertim si attendamus, facta hcec esse initio vinculonim Pauli, antequam eum celebritatis gradum esset nactus. Wits, ubi supra, sect. 12. num. vi. St. Paul's second Epistle to Timothy. 43 2. Obj. But it is urged, that St. Paul says, 2 Tim. ii. d," " Wherein 1 suffer, as an evil doer, even unto bonds." To which I answer, that the word, here rendered bonds, is the same that is used in other epistles, written during- the apostle's imprisonment at Rome, when sent thither by Fes- tus. Col. iv. 18, " Remember my bonds." Mj/>/z(oi/ev€T6 ^a 7WV beafiwv. The same word is used at least four times in the epistle to the Philippians, ch. i. 7, 13, 14, 16, and in Philem. ver. 10, and 13; Hebr. x. 34. And to the Ephe- sians he says, ch. iii. 1, "I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ," o cea^uo9. And ch. iv. 1, " The prisoner of the Lord." Not to mention any other places. When Paul was so bound, he had reason to say, " he suffered as an evil-do- er," or malefactor, " even unto bonds." He Mas not a malefactor, or notorious offender, nor a criminal : bnt was innocent in the view of the Roman laws, as well as in point of reason, justice, and ec(uity. Bathe suffered, " as an evil- doer." Had he uot reason to say so when he was sent bound from Judea to Rome ? Had he not been prosecuted as a malefactor? Did not the Jewish multitude, who first laid hold of him, intend to kill him? Acts xxi. 31—36; xxiii. 27; xxiv. 6. Did not the multitude, who heard hhu with patience for a while, at length say: " Away with such a fellow. For it is not fit that he should live?" ch. xxii. 22. Does not Festus say to king Agrippa, and the large assembly at Csesarea, " Ye see this man, about Avhom all the multitude of the Jews have dealt with me, both at Jerusalem, and also here, crying, that he ought not to live any longer?" ch. XXV. 24. So that he nas prosecuted as a malefactor all the while that he was in Judea. Nor does it appear that there was any likelihood of his escape, but by appealing to the emperor. And was he not after all sent bound to Rome with many obnoxious personsunder the command of a centurion ? Certainly, I think, these things afforded sufficient ground for Paul to say what he does in this place to Timothy. But to insinuate from these expressions that Paul was now in some close confinement, his friends debarred access to him, and himself forbid the use of pen, ink, and paper, 1 humbly conceive, is altogether without foundation. It is inconsistent with the whole tenor of the epistle, and with the apostle's writing, or inditing, and sending such a letter as this to Timothy. Wherein too he desires Timothy to come unto him. St. Paul's imprisonment at Rome, Avhen sent thither by Festus, was occasioned by his zeal for the liberty of the 44 A History of the Apostles arid Evangelists. Genliles, as is nianifest from Acts xxii. 21, 22. Of wliich be also takes notice, Eph. iii. 1, saying" : " 1 Paul, the ])ri- soner of Jesus Christ, for you Gentiles." His imprisonment at Rome, at the time of writing- this epistle, was owing to the same thing. For lie says here, ch. i. 11, 12, " Where- unto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teach- er of the Gentiles. For the which cause I also suffer these things." This is very observable. And indeed the twelve verses at the beginning' of this epistle are a most proper in- troduction to an epistle sent to Timothy by Paul at the time for which we argue. Thus the circumstances of Paul's confinement at the time of writing- this epistle, compared with the circumstances of that confinement at Home, of which St. Luke has giv-en a general account, and in wliich it is allowed that St. Paul wrote epistles to the Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, show it to be one and the same imprisonment, and that this epistle also was written about the same time with them. St. Luke was with the apostle at Rome when he wrote this epistle, 2 Tim. iv. 11. And we know from tiie Acts, that he went with Paul from Judea to Rome, when he was sent thi- ther by Festus. He is likewise mentioned in the epistles to the Colossians and Philemon, written during- this imprison- ment. But it would be presumption to say, that St. Luke was with the apostle at Rome, in another imprisonment, three, or four, or five years after this: especially, when we see that his history of St. Paul in the book of the Acts, con- cludes M'ith the account of his two years' imprisonment at Rome, when sent thither by Festus. 3. Since the apostle's coming- to Rome, he had had with him, beside Luke, who accompanied him, Demas, Crescens, Titus, Tychicus, four of his assistants and fellow-labourers. Which might be likely enough to be expected, when Paul was sent from Judea to Rome. But it cannot be said to have been likely at any other season. But at this \t was. For Paul's imprisonment in Judea had lasted above two years. And it must have been known to all Gentile christi- ans throughout the world, and observed by them m ith as- tonishment and grief. And his last apj)earaiice before Festus and others, at Csesarea, Mas a very remarkable thing, and must have soon come to the knowledge of all christians in Syria, Asia, Greece, and Italy. At that assembly it was determined that Paul should go to Rome. He took shipping at Cfesarea with others. He had a long and danoerous voyage. And after such an imprisonment in Judea, as that Si. Paul's seco7id Epistle to Timothy. 45 related by 8t. Luke, wifli all its rircumstances, it may be reckoned highly probable, that some good miinber ot" the apostle's aftectioiiate friends, especially his fellow-labourers, if not too much engaged, shoulu form a design, and do their utmost, to meet him at Kouje. It seems to me very likely, that some such persons should with this view get to Rome, before Paul himself. Accordingly, we have seen four such persons mentioned by Paul in this epistle. It is a striking circumstance, and exceedingly favours our argument for the time of this epistle. 4. Says St. Paul, 2 Tim. iv. 20, " Erastus abode at Co- rinth:" which is agreeable to the account of St. Paul's journey to Jerusaleni, as related by St. Luke. For Acts xix. 22, Erastus is expressly mentioned as " one of those Avho ministered to Paul," whom he sent from Ephesus to Macedonia. Nor is Erastus among those who went witli Paul from Macedonia, Acts xx. 4. It'^ is therefore very Jikely that he stayed at Corinth, and did not go Mith the apostle to Jerusalem. This Timothy knew very well. Ne- vertheless, it- is very properly mentioned together with other particulars, showing Timothy the reasonableness of his coming to him, and the need which the apostle had of his presence. We should here recollect what was formerly said of the apostle's situation at Rome, after a long and close confine- ment in Judea. And then we shall easily account for Paul's mentioning to Timothy divers things which had happened some good while before. In a word, Paul may take the same notice of several things which had happened before parting with Timothy at 3Iiletus, in the same manner that l«e would have mentioned them, supposing him to have stayed but a few weeks at Jerusalem, and then sailed from Ceesarea to Rome, and soon after his arrival at Rome, had written to Timotiiy to come to him. For all the time of the apostle's close confinement in Judea had been sunk and annihilated in his computation. 5. In the same verse, " Trophimus have I left at Miletus sick." Another particular leading to that date of this epis- tle for which we argue. We know from Acts xxi. 29, that Trophimus wr.s with ^ ' Erastus remansit Corinthi.'] Fucrat in Macedonian! missus a Paulo. Acts xix. 22. Deinde Corinthum redierat, ibique manserat, nee venevat Ro- mam. Grot, in 2 Tim. iv. 20. * Quod Erastum Corinthi mansisse scribit, non tamquam rem novara incognitamque Timotheo renun- tiat : refert tamen, uti attinentem ad scopum suum, &c. Wits, de Vit. Pauli, sect. xii. n. vi. 46 A History of the Jlposlles and Evangelists. Paul at Jeriisaleni. It may be reckoned probable that he set out with Paul from Caesavea to go to Rome. St. Luke indeed, Acts xxvii. 2, mentions not expressly any compani- ons of Paul in his voyage, beside himself and Aristarchus. Nevertheless Trophimus likewise may have embarked with him. The reason of not mentioning him may be, that he did not complete the voyage, having fallen sick, and therefore had been left at 3Iiletus. This Timothy might know very well. Nevertheless it is htly taken notice of by Paul, in a letter written soon after finishing the voyage, and when writ- ing- to Timothy to come to him. But when was Trophimus left at Miletus'? Beza^ was in- clined to read here MeXirt], JVJelita, Malta, instead of MiXrj-iv, Miletus, which conjecture is approved by «Grotius. But if Miletus should be reckoned the tru6 reading-, Beza sup- poseth that Trophimus might be set on shore in the time of that slow sailing, mentioned. Acts xxvii. 7. Lightfoot^ con- cludes from w hat is in Acts xxvii. 2, that Paul had a good opportunity to leave Trophimus at Miletus. This will be farther confirmed, if we admit the interpre- tation given by Wall, without any view to the use which we are about to make of it. ' Acts xxvii. 2, " Meaning to sail ' by the coasts of Asia." MeWovjc? 7r\eiu Ta? kutu -rr^v Aaiav * 7077-«9. The ship meant to call at some places in Asia. This ' is a different phrase from that, ch. xx. 16, TrapaTrXevaai ' 'E06(Toi/, to sail by Ephesus, that is, to leave it, to pass by ' it, withoutcailing.' It is, t!ien,a very easy and natural sup- position, that Paul might have an opportunity of setting Trophimus on shore at Miletus. ^ Nempc ill illi tardi navigatione cum pra;teiveheretur litus Asiae, sicuti aarratur, Act. xxvii. 7. Quamquam potius conjicio legendum ev MfXtrj;, ill Melita, quod vocabulum facile fuit in MtX;jr(;j depravare. Bez. in 2 Tim. iv. 20. e Omnino assentior doctissimo Bezae legenti sv MsXtry. In itinere Hierosolymis Paulus Meliten attigit, non Miletuin. Grot, in loc. '' ' But when was he left ? Not when Paul went toward Jerusalem, and sent ' for the elders of Ephesus to Miletus, Acts xx. For Trophimus went, and ' was with Paul at Jerusalem, xxi. 29. But it was when Paul returned from ' Jerusalem, as has been said, though it be not particularly mentioned, that he ' touched there. Luke says plainly, that at Paul's coming away from Ju- ' dea in his voyage to Rome, it was their resolution " to sail by the coasts of ' Asia," Acts xxvii. 2. Which would have been a fairer ground to have ' concluded upon, that Paul was at Miletus in this voyage, since that was a ' part of those Asian coasts, than to change Miletus into Melita, upon no ' ground at all. And certainly the very scope of the apostle in that passage ' will not admit of that change. For he is not telling Timothy of Erastus's ' abode at Corinth, or of Trophimus's sick stay at Miletus, as things unknown ' to him, but as things very well known, yet mentioned to him, as making to ' the apostle's purpos*'.' Lightfoot's Harmony of the N. T. vol. i. p. 324. iil. Paul's second Epistle (u 'iiviothy. 47 fi. St. Paul desires Tiinotliy to come to liirn sliortly, ch. iv. 9. y\iul iiiKjiiestioiiabK he did so. ^Ve find liis iiaiiie in the salutations at the beginning- of the epistles to the IMii- li|)[)ians, the Colossians, Philemon, written during- this im- prisonment, and near its period. Witsius' observes, that in the Acts there is no account of Timothy's accompany ino- Paul to Rome. Timothy therefore not being there at the beginning of the apostle's captivity in that city, he might have occasion to send a letter to him, at the time supposed by us. This particular is well enforced by Witsius at the beginning of his argument upon the date of this epistle. 7. Ver. 11, St. Paul says, " Take Mark, and bring him with thee." And doubtless Timothy did bring Mark to Rome. For he is mentioned with others. Col. iv. 10, and Philcm. ver. 24, and comprehended in those general expres- sions, Philip, iv. 21. Grotius in'' his notes upon 2 Tim. iv. 9, 11, says the same of Timothy, Luke, and Mark, that 1 hav e done. It is strange that he did not discern the consequence which is so obvious: that this second epistle to Timothy must have been written before the e])istles to the Philippians, the Colossians, and Philemon. But that he discerned this consequence, does not appear clearly from his preface to this epistle. Whether he did, or not, he admits our interpretations. And the con- sequence is unavoidable. It follows also from what he says upon ver. 20, of Trophimus having been left at Melita, in Paul's voyage from Judea to Rome, as before observed, and from some other things said by him in his annotations on this epistle. Which may be taken notice of hereafter. 8. Ver. 13, " The cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, especi- ally the parchments." As St. Paul went to .Jerusalem by the way of Troas, we are hereby led to the time of this imprisonment : especially ' Pro certo habent, Timotheum initio priorum Pauli vinculorum Romfe non fuisse. Etenini in Actibus Apostolicis nihil ultra de Timotheo dicitur, qiiam quod Paulutn Hierosolymam proficiscentem in Asiam fueiit comitatus, cap. XX. 4. Exinde nulla Timothei mentio ; de itinere Hierosolyinitano, nedum de navigatione Romana, sh ypw. Quia vero res ipsius adeo Pauli rebus innexae fuere, ipseque tam eximiam sustinuit personam, vix videtur prseteriri potuis?e in tanta rerum, quag Paulo acciderunt, varietate, &c. De Vit. Pauli. sect. 12. num. V. ^ ^—scaffov tXOnv vpog fit ra^fwc" nempe Remain. Et hoc fecit Timotheus, ut apparet, Coloss. i. 1. Philem. i. Hebr. xiii. Philip, ii. 19. Grot, in 2 Tim. iv. 9. vid. et in ver. 1 1. AsKac i-i jiovoQ jxiT ijiH. Nam post iter illud, quod fine Actorum descrip- sit, mansit in Italia cum Paulo. Col. iv. 14. Philem. ver. 24. MapKov ava\a(ii>iv ayayt [lera aavTB. Et hoc desiderium Pauli imple- lum est. Vide Philem. 24. Coloss. iv. 10. Id. in ver. 11. 48 A Hislory of the Apostles and Evangelists. when we consider, that Timothy accompanied the apostle in that journey as far as Asia. And Paul here seems to write to Timothy, as knowing- Carpus, and that these things had been left with him. If it be objected, that' Paul had at that time several friends with him, who might be willing to take care of those things: we"" readily answer: it is true. Nor need it be supposed that in any other journey Paul was without a sufficient num- ber of friends, to perform for him any needful service of that kind. There might be other reasons for leaving those things behind him. We need not inquire, Avhat ^^'e\•e those reasons, nor what were those things. However I shall observe here what Lightfoot says of the word, rendered cloak in his account of St. Paul's journey from Troas to Jerusalem: ' when" he ' goes now from thence, it is most likely, was the time when * he left his cloak and parchments with Carpus, 2 Tim. iv. ' 13. His cloak. For he was now going among his own ' nation in Judea, and therehe was to wear his Jewish habit. ' And he left his Roman garb here, till he should come into * those Roman quarters again.' 9. The progress of the gospel at the time of writing this epistle, and the other epistles, confessedly written in the time of St. Paul's imprisonment at Rome, w hen sent thither from Judea, appears to be the same, or very much alike. To the Philippians he writes, ch. i. 12, 13, " I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which have happened unto me, have fallen out rather to the furtherance of the gospel : so that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places." See also ver. 14 — 18. In this second epistle to Timothy, he says, ch. ii. 9. that " though he suffered unto bonds, the Avord of God was not bomid." And see ch. iv. IG, 17. And at ver. 11, he desires that Mark would come to him : " for," says he, " he is pro- fitable to me for the ministry :" supposing, that he should ' Quia jubet nbi adferri psenulam, quam Troade apud Carpum reliquerat, et libros. Ineptum autera est vel cogitaie Paiilura haec Troade reliquisse, quum tot secum haberet comites, et collectas Hierosolymam perferendas, et navem ubique conduceret. Ap. Wits. ibid. sect. 12. num. iv. "" Respondetur : non magis ineptum esse cogitare, Paulutn pa^nulam suam cum bbris quibusdam et membranis Troade reliquisse in ilio itinere, quod Lu- cas iTieminit, quam in alio, quod supponitur, quocumque. Si enim id consulto factum sit, ratio consilii seque nobis in obscuro manet ; quippe nullibi tradita. Si per oblivionem aliquam aut negligentiam ejus qui Paulo ministrabat : quo plures erant, majorisque momenti sarcinne, eo I'acilioresse videtur unius alicu- jus, et vilioris, forsan, neglectus, &c. Wits. ib. sect. 12. num. vi. " As before, p. 298. St. Paul's second Epistle to Timotlnj. 49 have cm])!()ymeiit for liini, whoroiii ho might promote the interest of the gospel. Paul could speak more distinctly of his successes, and of the oppositions which he met with at Rome, in the epistles written a short time before his enlarge- ment. l?ut even now he appears to have had in prospect those things, which were afterwards accomplished. 10. At ch. iii. 11, he reminds Tiniothy of" the persecu- tions and afflictions which he had endured at Antioch, Ico- nium, Lystra, all well known to Timothy. Which is very proper and seasonable, at our supposed time of writing* this epistle: more seasonable than it would have been several years afterwards. Some, perhaps, may think it reasonable to expect more notice taken of the apostle's imprisonment in Juclea, and at Rome. But Ave suppose that to be the very imprisonment which he was now under, and of which he often speaks in this epistle, saying, that he " suffered trouble, even unto bonds : that he endured all things for the elect's sake :" that " Onesiphorus was not ashamed of his chain :" that he had " made an apology, when all men forsook him." But if this letter had been written several years after his imprison- ment in Judea and at Rome, it would have been reasonable to expect some references to it, as a thing past, in his ex- hortations to Timothy, in speaking of persecutions and af- flictions formerly endured by him. 11. CI), ii. 22, " Flee also youthful lusts." An exhorta- tion to Timothy more suitable now than several years after- wards. Indeed, this whole epistle is an admonition to Timothy, as a christian and a minister, better suiting the time of St. Paul's imprisonment at Rome, when sent thither from Judea, than any later time. 12. Ch. iv. 16, 17, " At my first answer no man stood M'ith me, but all men forsook me. Notwithstanding-, the Lord stood M'ith me, and strengthened me, that by me the preaching- might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear. And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion." These words afford a strong- argument that this epistle w as written when Paul was sent bound from Judea to Rome. For it is much more reasonable to think that Paul Mould speak of such an apology in an epistle written soon after it was made, than in an epistle written five or six years after- wards. That Paul speaks of an apology made at the time supposed by us, is very probable. And this text was so understood by several ancient writers. Euse- bius, Jerom, Chrysostom, and Theodoret. The words of VOL. VI. K 50 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. "Eusebius I transcribe below in his own langiiag'c. Jerom's words were transcribed by usP formerly, and are fit to be repeated here. Tbey represent the same sentiment with that in Eiisebius : from whom, probably, and from some other ancients, he learned it. ' If should be observed, says he, ' that at the time of his first apology, Nero's g-overnment not ' being" yet quite deg"enerated, nor disgraced with the horri- ' ble wickedness which historians speak of, Paul was set at ' liberty, that he might preach the gospel in the Mestern ' parts of the v/orld : as himself writes in the second epistle ' to Timothy, dictated by him in his bonds, at the time he ' suffered.' And what follows. And Chrysostom, in a homily upon the fourth chapter of this epistle : ' How,' says"^ he, ' shall we understand this first ' apology? He was at first brought before the emperor, and ' escaped. But when he had converted his cup-bearer, then ' he was beheaded.' Theodoret is very express in his comment. ' When^ upon ' his appeal he was sent to- Rome by Festus, having* apolo- ' g-ized for himself, he was dismissed as innocent, and went ' into Spain, and other nations. By the first apology there- ' fore he meaneth that which was then made. " And I was ' delivered out of the mouth of the lion." 80 he calls Nero, ' as being- emperor, and a cruel man.' Indeed this defence, or apology, cannot relate to any other time. For he says : " But the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me: that by me the preaching- might be fully known, and all the Gentiles might hear." This could not be said at any supposed second imprisonment, when tlie " TOTS fitv ovv n:roXoy»;(7a(ii£i'oi/, ctvQiQ nri ti]v ts KijttvyiiaTog ^laKO- viav \oyoq e^^'- TtiXacOat tov otto'^oXov' ^tvTspov £f tTzi^avTa T-g avry ttoKh TU) Kar avTov TiKtuoOt^vai /.laprvpKf)' tv qi SeafJioic i\OfitvoQ ttjv Trpug T>]v mroXoyiav, Kai tijv TzapuTco^aQ TtXtiujcnv. Eucoq ytroi Kara jitv apy^ag t)iiUi}Ttpov ra 'Nipcovog ciaKitfitvH, paov tt}V inrsp r« SoyiiciTog tk HavXn Kara- tii-)(9i]vca airoXoyiav' TTpoiXOovrog Ss tig aQtp.iTng roXiiag, jxtTa toiv aXXwv-, Kai ra Kara rivv airoroXwv tyxttpi(y9t]vai. H. E. 1. ii. cap. 22. p. 62. A. et D. I" See Vol. iv. ch. cxiv. '^ Sciendum autem, in prima satis- factione, necduni Neronis imperio roborato, nee in lanta crampente sceleia, quanta de eo narrant hisloriae, Paulura a Nerone dimissum, ut evangel! um Christi in Occidentis quoque partibus prcedicaret : sicut ipse in secunda epis- tola ad Timotheum, eo tempore quo et passus est, de vinculis dictans epii^to- 1am, &c. De V. I. cap. 5. "^ Uciav £e TrpojTijv a7roXoyiai> Xtyei ; Ilap£T?j »j^?j t({i "Sepwvi, koi hifvytv. EtthSi] Es tov oivoxoov avrn Karrjxn'^i, tote avrov aTnrtjjLtv. In 2 ep. ad Tim. cap. iv. hom. 10. T. XI. p. 722. 13. " 'Hj'tKa rj; E^£;jT8 TrapnrefKpOr), aTzoXoyriaa^ivog iog uBwog ctipsiO}]. IIpwTijv ruivov utto- Xoyiav Ti]V tv tKiivy Ty (Kdijixia ytytvr]fitvi}v (KaXtcre. k. X. In 2 op. Tim. iv. 16 torn. III. p. 506. St. Paul's second Epistle to Timothy. 51 apostle was near his end. But must relate to (he prospect of success, which he had soon after he Mas brought from Judea to Rome. At that time tiiese expressions were ex- ceedingly proper, and his expectations were fully answered. As may be collected from Philip, i. 12 — 20, and ch. iv. 22. Witsius has some observations upon this place, Avhich^ de- serve to be transcribed. So do likewise the observations of another learned writer," they being* well suited to illustrate this text. For farther clearing up this point, I must stay somcAvhat longer here. I cannot but think it very evident, that Paul Avas now brought before the emperor, and that he here refers to it. Lightfoot supposeth, ' that' in those words, " at my ' first answer," Paul does not refer so much to what, or how ' many answers he was called to : but intimates, that even at ' the first pinch and appearance of danger, all that shoidd ' have been his assistants started from him.' And that may be the meaning. Nevertheless it is not impossible, that Paul might make two apologies, one soon after the other, at the first of which all forsook him: whereas, at the second, there were some, who appeared with him, and spoke in his behalf. But however that may be, I am of opinion, that Paul was brought before Nero himself, and that he here speaks of it. ' Puto haec ad ea quae Romae tunc gesta sunt referenda esse. Ibi enim con- stitutus tunc fuit Paulus, ut in summo totius mundi loco, unde evangelii ab ipso praedicati sonus, non tamquara buccinae, scd tanquam tonitru, quaqua- versura audiretur. Porro ea, quae Romae, quae in Praetdrio, quae ad tribu- nal Caesaris dicebantur, vel agebantur, in tanta confluentium multitudine, celeri faina, per omnes totius propemodum orbis gentes vulgata fuere. Quibus non parum ponderis ex eo accessit, quod captivus isfe, tam mirabilium rerum anunciator, a popularibus quidem suis accusatus, sed a Caesare absolutus, vel certe non damnatus esset. Wits, de Vit. Paul. sect. 12. num. xxxii. " Idem jam a Paulo indicatum, 2 Tim. iv. 16, 17. * In prima mea defcn- sione nemo mihi adfuit, sed omnes,' nimirum Christiani, Romae tum Pauli a^rcgati, * me deseruerunt. Dominus autem mihi adfuit, et confortavit me, ut per me promulgatio evangelii compleretur, et omnes gentes illud au- dirent : Etenim liberatus fui ex ore leonis,' quocum jamjam mihi erat depug- nandum. Paulus docet, sese, adjuvante Deo, ab intentata sibi cum leoue depugnatione fuisse ereptum ; sese caussam suam ita dixisse, ut liber et invio- latus fuerit dimissus e Praetorio ; Deum hoc pacto promulgationem evangelii promovisse, et in celebritatem deduxisse, ac ad securitatem. Securitas adnun- tiationis sita est in voce TrXjjpo^opiac, quae a nave, plenis velis ac liberrime in- vehente, est desumta. Eum igitur finem liberationis suae Numen Supreinum voluerat esse proprium, ut Paulas in posterum eo liberius doctrinam evangelii evulgaret. Roma erat locus celeberrimus. Quidquid ibi gerebatur, id puta- batur agi in luce orbis terrarum. Caussa itaque Pauli inde innotuit ac incre- buit passim, ac quicumque de ea aliquid audiebant, avidi fuerunt redditi doctrinae quoque ipsius, quam docebat, audiendae et cognoscendae. J. Ch. Harenburg. Otia Gandershcm, Observ. 8. sect. 3. " As before, p. 322. E 2 52 A liislury of the Apostles and Evangelists. Several"' moderns have perceived this. But though this opinion Iiad never the patronage of any great names, I ap- prehend it might be deduced with certainty from St. Luke's history in the Acts. He is very concise in what he says of Paul after his arrival at Rome. Nor has he said, that Paul was brought before Nero. But it may be argued, and con- cluded from what he has said. When Paul was first brought before Festus at Caesarea, after he had been left bound by Felix, at the end of two years' imprisonment, and Festus proposed that he should " go up to Jerusalem, and be there judged before him : Paul said, I stand at Ca?sar'sjudgment-seat, where I ought to be judged," Acts xxv. 9, 10. "Then Festus, when he had conferred Avith his council, answered, Hast thou ap- pealed unto Csesar ? Unto Ctesar tlrou shalt go," ver. 12. Therefore that was now determined. When Festus first spoke to king Agrippa about Paul's affair, he said to him, " But when Paul had appealed to be reserved to the hear- ing, or judgment, of Augustus, I commanded him to be kept, till I might send him to Csesar," ver. 21. And when Festus actually brought Paul before Agrippa, and the rest, he said, " He himself having appealed unto Augustus, 1 have determined to send him," ver. 25. After Paul ha l^nnlins, divers other courtiers, of the greatest eiin'nence and tlistinction, ami per- haps Seneca. It may be likewise supposed, that some Jews, delegated by the council at Jerusalem, appeared, to plead against Paul. If there were none, it nuist have been under- stood to be a disrespect to the emperor, and a great prejudice to the cause of the accusers. If there were any such here, it would show the reasonableness of Paul's expectation, that some of the christians at Rome should have attended likewise. At this time (unless there was another audience soon af- ter) the emperor pronounced sentence upon 1 ;i;d, and signed the order of his confinement : such as is related by St. Luke, Acts xxviii. IG, 30, 31. And though Paul was not accpiitted, nor set at liberty, it may be esteemed a favour- able decision. It was after this audience of the emperor, and this sen- tence, that Paul sent for the Jews at Rome to come to him. But when he laid before them his case, and spoke of the proceedings ag'ainst him in Judea, and of his appeal to Cae- sar, they were very humble, and even low spirited, and did not choose to enter into discourse upon the matter. Paul says, Acts xxviii. 19 ; " But when the Jews spake against it, I was constrained to appeal to Ccesar : not that 1 had ought to accuse my nation of." These Inst words may be understood by some, as if he had said,' Not that I ' have any cause of complaint ag-ainst my nation.' Which would be great complaisance indeed, after he had received so much hard usag-e from the Jews. But the words may be thus rendered : ' Not that 1 have a design to accuse my ' nation of any thing-.' And in that manner they are rendered by ^Le Clerc and ''L'Enfimt, in their French translations. And it is agreeable to '^Beza's annotation upon the place, who is another good judge. This sense is very becoming- Paul, and was very suitable to his circumstance and situa- tion at that time. It was very proper to pacify the Jews at Rome, who might have been apprehensive of Paul's making- use of his interest in the emperor's court against them, after y Buirhus is computed to haA'e died in the year of Christ 62, and Seneca in the year 65. Vid. Basn. Ann. 62. num. i. et Ann. 65. num. iv. ^ Mais les Juifs s'y opposant, j'ai ete contraint d'en appeler a Cesar, sans que j'aye neanmoins dessein d'accuser ma nation, en quoique ce soit. CI. * sans que j'aye dessein neanmoins d'accuser ma nation, en quoique ce soit. L'Enf. ^ Est autem hoc addition a Paulo, ne putarcnt Judaei ipsum constituisse criminari gentem suam apud Csesarem ; cum hoc unum potius ageret, ut nuUo hostium incommodo causam Christi et innoccn- tiam suam tuerctur. Bez. 56 A Hislor'j of the Apostles and EvangeUsis. he had been so ill used in Judea. But all he aimed at was the vindication of his own innocence, that he might with greater liberty preach the gospel. Here we see the ground of the difference between Paul's imprisonment in Judea, and at Rome. The difference is manifest. Whilst in Judea, it does not appear that he had any communication with other churches out of it. He is wholly engaged in his own defence, and does but just se- cure his life against the violence of the unbelievino- Jews, and their council. But when he came to Rome, and his apology was over, he was permitted to live by himself, in his own hired house. There he receives intelligence by messengers of the churches, who come to him from divers f>arts. He makes converts, and writes letters, and has fel- ow-labourers, whom he sends abroad, 'as he pleaseth. We now see the ground of this. As "^Jerom says, ' the apostle ' being sent to prison by the emperor, he becomes acquainted ' with the emperor's family, and makes the persecutor's ' house a church.' Referring to Philip, iv. 22. When Paul was in Judea, he was the governor's prisoner, whose good will was restrained by the influence of tlie people of the country. Now he is the emperor's prisoner, who allows what liberty he pleaseth. And when granted, none dare to control, or abridge it in any measure. Hence all the ad- vantages of this iniprisonment, and the happy conclusion of it. Having so much liberty, and being able to receive all who came to him, he makes many converts and many friends, some in the emperor's own fanaily, and near his person. Says the apostle in this very epistle, ch. iv. IG, 17, " At my first answer no man stood with me. Notwithstanding- the Lord stood Mith me, and strengthened me, that by me the preaching might be fully known, and all the Gentiles might hear." It is a case much resembling that of our apostle be- fore at Corinth, Acts xviii. 9—11, " Then spake the Lord unto Paul in the night, by a vision : Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace. For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city. And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them." And though he was brought before Gallio the governor, and accused ; he was acquitted, and continued there yet a good while. In like manner here, " the Lord stood by Paul, strengthened him, and delivered him." And he afterwards " dwelt two whole years at Rome, preaching the kingdom of God, and ■^ A CiBsare migsus in CQicerem, notior fiiniiliie ejus factus, persecutoris do- mum Christi fecit ecclesiam. In ep. ad I'hilem. T. IV. p, 445. in. St. Paul's second Epislle to Timothy. 57 teaching- tliosc things wliicli concern the Lord Jesus, no uinu forbidding- him," Acts xxviii. 30, 31. ' Some may say, that during- tin's space sevci-al of the apos- tle's friends and fellow-labourers were apprehended and imprisoned: which seems inconsistent with the supposition of his being- committed by the emperor, with an order for allowing- Inm all the liberty which he enjoyed. For Aris- tarchus is spoken of as his fellow-prisoner, Col.iv. 10, and Epaphras, Philem. ver. 23. And Timothy is said to have been set at liberty, Heb. xiii. 23. Who therefore must have been confined. To ^hich 1 answer, that these imprisonments of some of Paul's friends aiid fellow-labourers do not at all Aveaken our supposition, but confirm it: forasmuch as Paul's liberty was not abridged, but continued the same all along, until he was quite enlarged : which affords reason to think that the method of his confinement was appointed and ordered ])y an authority above control. And it is easy to conceive how it came to pass that some of Paul's friends were impri- soned : Avhen it is considered that he must have had many enemies, and some of his friends acted imprudently, and there were others, who from envy and ill-will were prompted to behave irregularly, with a view of bringing- him and his best friends into danger, by exposing them to general re- sentment, and especially the resentment of men in power. As we learn from Philip, i. 15—17. And yet it does not appear that any of Paul's fellow-labourers endured a long imprisonment. It is not unlikely that they were taken up and imprisoned by some inferior officers, to gratify the fury of the common people, w ho did not dare to keep them long- in custody, nothing material appearing against them. As .Jerom'* observes, such frequent short imprisonments and speedy releases were common at the first rise of the chris- tian religion, before Nero became an open persecutor, and before the publication of such edicts as affected the lives of the followers of Jesus. All these considerations cannot but be of great weight to ^ Quod autem crebro Paulus in carcere fuerit, et de vinculis liberatus sit, ipse in aLo loco dicit : ' In carceribus frequenter :' de quibus nonnunquam Domini auxilio, crebro ipsis persecutoribus nihil dignum in eo niorte inveni- entibus, dimittebatur. Necdum enim super nomine christian o senatus consulta praecesserant ; necdum christianum sanguinem Neronis gladius dedi- carat. Sed pro novitate praedicationis, sive a Judaeis invidentibus, sive ab his qui sua videbant idola destrui, ad furorem populis concitatis, missi in carcerem, rursum impetu et furore deposito, laxabantur id agenfe Dommo, ut in loto orbe nova prxdicatio disseminaretur. In Philem. ver. 22. T. IV. p. 453. 58 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. determine tbe time of tliis epistle. However, there are some difficulties that ought to be taken notice of. 1. Obj. " For 1 am now ready to be offered up, and the time of my departure is at hand," 2 Tim. iv. C. These expressions led- Eusebius of Csesarea, and '"Jerom, who followed him, and » Chrysostom, though he did not fol- low either, to say that this was the last epistle of St. Paul, written only a small space of time before his martyrdom. And many learned moderns have been of the same opinion, as is well known. But let us attend to Lightfoot. ' There'' is one passage,' says he, ' in this epistle, which has caused some to doubt ' about the time of its writing. That is what he says, ch. iv. ' 6 ; "I am now ready to be offered up, and the time of my ' departure is at hand." Which wouldmake one think that ' he was now ready to be martyred and taken away. And ' it has made some believe this was the last epistle that ever ' he wrote. But when v. e compare his own words again, * ver. 17, 18, and Philip, i. 25, and Philem. ver. 22, it maketh ' past controversy, that he speaketh not of his sudden raar- ' tyrdom, but that he is to be understood in some other sense. ' x4nd indeed the resolution of the difficulty lies open ' and conspicuous in the very text itself. Paul looked upon ' Timothy, as the prime and choice man that was to succeed ' him in the work of the gospel, when he himself should be ' dead and gone: as being- a young" man, not only of singular ' qualilications for that work, but of whom there had been ' special prophecies to such a purpose, 1 Tim. i. 18. He ' exhorts him therefore, in this place, to improve all his pains ' and parts to the utmost " to do the work of an evangelist, * to make full proof of his ministry," ch. iv. 5, for that him- ' self could not last long", being now grown old, aiul worn ' out w ith travail, and beside all that, in bonds at present, ' and so in continual danger. Therefore must Timothy be ' fitting" himself daily to take his work, when he is gone.' So Lightfoot, and, as seems to me, very properly. To the like purpose Estius upon the same text. Whom' I transcribe below. ' H. E. ]. 2. cap. 22. ' Quoted Vol. iv. ch. cxiv ; from De V. I. cap. V. 8 Quoted likewise as before. " Vol. I. p. 324. ' Quare quae hie ab Apostolo dicuntur non ita sunt accipienda, quasi pl;ine sentiat sese jam jam rapiendum ad martyrium ; praesertim cum alia qusedam ejusdem epistolae repugnent huic intellectui. Sed tantum significant, ipsuin, ctsi de tempore mortis et passionis incertum tamen per carceres et tnbunalia parari ad victimam. Quocirca non apparet haec a Paulo dicta fuisse per revelationem ahquani de instaute martyrio sibi factani. lUud etiam con- St, Paul's second Epistle to Timothy. 59 I likewise place below'' apart of Baron iiis's solution of the same difficulty, which appears to me very sufticient. That Paul had now no certain and prophetic view of suf- fering- martyrdom immediately, is apparent from several things in this epistle: particularly from his desiring Timo- thy to come to him, and to bring Mark with him, as " pro- fitable to him for the ministr}." He supposed therefore, that he should have an opportunity to employ him in the service of the gospel. He likewise must h;ive hoped to receive, and use the things left at Troas, M'hich he desired Timothy to bring to him. Obj. 2. St. Paul says, ch. iv. 18, " And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me un- to his heavenly kingdom." By which many have supposed, that the aposth; does not express any hope of being now delivered from death, or the present danger, or any other temporal evil, but from sin, and from all unworthy conduct of his own. So say ' Le Clerc and "'Whitby. "Paul had been delivered out of the mouth of the lion." But he did not now expect any such deliverance. He only hoped to be preserved from sin, and to be brought to God's heavenly kingdom. But I do not think that to be St. Paul's meaning*. It is inconsistent with what he had just said: that " the Lord had stood by him, and strengthened him, that by him the siderandum est, Paulum loqui, ut jam senem, et laboribus confectum, qui pro- inde non multum v.tae tempus sibi reliquum arbitretiir. Ac quoniam noa dubitaf, se martyrio finiendura, idcirco et de eo tamquam bievi future loqui- tur : ' Ego enini,' inquit, * jam delibor.' Sensus et connexio est: Idcirco, cum tam seria obtestatione te discipulum meum officii tui admoneo, quod jam senex sim, et incertus quamdiu futurus superstes. Jam enim, tamquam victima Chriito destinata, per hos carceres, et gravissiraos quos patior adversarionim impetus, immolari incipio. Est. ad 2 Tim. iv. 6. " eo enim sensu haec putant accipienda esse verba, quasi proxime esset Paulus martyrio coronandus, sicque ab eo spiritu prophetico esse pronuntiata. Sed dicant velim : Nonne idem ipse Paulus in eadem testatur epLstola, sibi Dominum apparuisse, dum in summo illo discrimine versaretur, hortatum- que esse, ac fore praedixisse, ut per ipsum in omnes Gentes praedicatio imple- retur ? Quomodo igitur haec sibi cohaerent, ut instans Paiili consummatio esset, idemque ipse, sic a periculo liberandus, in omnes gentes praedicationem eyangelii propagaturus esset ? Et reliqua. Ann. 59. n. xiii. xiv. ' Non de la moil, mais des mauvaises actions, qu'il auroit fallu que S. Paul fit pour Teviter. Clerc. "■ Dr. Whitby's note upon ver. 18, is, * If he will deliver him,' as Chry- sostom says, -why does he say, " I am otfered ?" Observe therefore his words. He says not, he will again deliver me " out of the power of the lion :" but only, that ♦' he will preserve me from every evil work, and to his heavenly kingdom.' The place of Chrysostom, wtiich I suppose to be here referred to, may be seen, on 2 ad Tim. cap. iv. hom. x. tom. XI. p. 722. Ed. Bened. 60 A Hislorjj of the .'Tpostks and Evangelids. preaching- might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear." AVhich could not be done presently. But must require some time. To me it clearly aj)pears, that the apostle's words express faith in God, and hope of the divine protection in future difficulties and dangers; or, that God would still deliver him, and uphold him in his service, against all the desi<>-ns of evil men. And when he had done the work, still remaining for him to do, and fulfilled his testimony to the gospel, he should be " brought safe to God's heavenly kingdom." Accordingly, he was preserved for some good while after this, enjoying, so far as we know, as much freedom in preaching the gospel, as ever he did, till a period was put to his life by martyrdom. As before observed, Avhat the apostle says here at ch. iv. 16 — 18, much resembles what is said, Acts xviii. 9 — 17. And the apos- tle's circumstances at Corinth and Rome were much alike. 3. Obj. Once more, it may be said, the state of things shows this epistle to have been written many years after the first epistle to Timothy, and when Paul was near his death. For he says here, ch. i. 15, " This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me. Of whom are Phygellus and Ilermogenes." Which implies that great corruptions now prevailed in Asia, particularly in the church of Ephesus. To which I answer : that if the Asiatics, here spoken of, were now at Rome, or had been lately there, we are not hereby led to think disadvantageously of the christians at Ephesus, and in Asia in general. That such are the persons here intended, has been the opinion of many, and is very probable. It was formerly observed, that "Chrysostom hereby understood such as were at Rome. Estius, upon the place, says, this" was the general opinion of the Greek Avriters. And indeed it is in P(Ecumenius, who expressly says, that they which are in Asia is the same as they which are of Asia. To the like purpose Theophylact : ' They'i in ' Asia are such of Asia as were then at Rome.' Dr. Ham- mond's paraphrase is to this purpose, 'Thou*^ hast heard, I * believe, that in my affliction Ihave been deserted by all the " Vol. iv. ch. cxviii. " Porro secundum Grcecorum expositio- ncm, non est sermo de iis, qui, Paulo liaec scribente, in Asia erant, sed qui ex Asia RonKim venerant. Est. in loc. P '0( tv T-g Amc^C Turf^iv, o'l tK tijc; Aaiag' CEcum. in loc. T. II. p. 261. '' KuTlXlTTOV aVTOV ol TVaVTlQ W T)J ACK}, TSTITIV 01 IK T1JC AfflUQ tVClllUVTig ry 'Pojyitp Thcoph. T. II. p. 806. ■■ AufUvisti, lit opinor, ab Asiaticis cliristianis, qui erant Romne, cxccpto solo Onesiphoro, me deseituni fuisse, in mea calamitate. Hammond, in loc. ex versione Cleric, St. Paul's second Epistle to Thnothij. 61 * Asiatic cliristians at Rome, excepting" only Oiiesiphorus.' So that this interpretation is confirmed by the connection, it fullouing- immediately afterwards, " The Lord give mercy to the house of Onesiphorus. For he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain, liut when he was at Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me." Rightly does Ilanmiond say, that Timothy had heard of this. It was likely, that before this letter canje to Timothy's hands, he might have heard in general, how the christians at Rome, particularly those of Asia, had carried it toward liis great master, now in bonds. But it seems by the apostle's way of speaking", that he thouglit he gave Timothy some farther information, especially when he added," Of whom are Phy- gellus and Hermogcnes." Beausobre was for the late date of this epistle. Nevertheless he supposeth** the apostle to speak of some Asiatics, Avho had been with him at Rome, but were returned to their own country. Mr. Mosheim^ speaks largely to this place. He understands hereby some Asiatics, who had left Paul, and were gone home. He thinks they were guilty of iinkindness, and are chargeable with inconstancy : but he does not suppose that they for- sook the apostle's doctrine, or endeavoured to make inno- vations. There is no ground therefore to suppose that Paul here speaks of a general corruption and defection of the Christi- ans in Asia. 1 know not of any other objections that deserve consider- ation. From what has been argued therefore, I conclude, that this epistle to Timothy was written at Rome, when Paul was sent thither by Festus in the year Q\. For determining" the time of the year we may receive as- sistance, not only from those who are for this early date, but from those likewise who are for a later date of this epistle. From Paul's desiring" Timothy to come to him, before ' II y a de I'apparence, que quelques Asiatiques, qui avoient suivi S. Paul a Rome, I'avoient abanclonne, et s'en etoient retournes dans leur pais. Beaus, upon the place. ' Discesserant hi sine dubio, et in patriam reverterant, quod, Paulo Romae in vincula conjecto, vittc suse metuebant, desperabanlque, fore aliquando, ut is libertati restitutus itinera, quae meditabatur, persequeretur. In hoc vitii est ahquid : fratrem enim, et multo magis Dei legatum, cui praesidio et solatio esse possis, in vitae discrimine positum, relinquere, animi levis est, et christi- anae disciplinse imniemons. Verum nihil habet heec inconstantia, ex quo intelligi possif, ideo hos homines domum rediisse, ut, quce ex Paulo percepe- rant, dogmata oppugnarent, novasque res inter christianos molirentur. Mo- shem. De Reb. christian ante Constantin. Sec. i. num. Ix. in notis. 62 A History of the Jpostles and Evangelists. winter, Tillemont" concludes, that this epistle was written near the middle of the year. Witsius thinks it^' was written in the be"innino- of the summer. So likewise '"^Baronius. It seems very probable, that Paul came to Rome about the end of February, or soon after, before April, or at the utmost in the beginning- of it. But before the writing of this letter several things had passed. His apology before the emperor was over, Onesiphorus had made the apostle divers visits. Several of the apostle's assistants or fellow-labour- ers had been with him, since his arrival, and had taken directions from him. Demas was gone to Thessalonica, Crescens to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. The epistle to the Ephesians likewise, I suppose to have been written before, and if it had not been sent away, it lay ready, at least, to be carried by Tychicus, together with tlris to Timothy. If therefore Paul came to Rome in March, this letter might be sent away iti May, or the beg-inning' of June. The direction, ch. iv. 21, " Do thy diligence to come before winter," might proceed from tenderness for Timothy, the apostle himself having- lately felt the inconveniences of a winter-voyage ; and may also lead us to think there would be need of Timo- thy's making- despatch, after the receipt of this letter, lest he should be overtaken by bad weather. In dating- this epistle at the time I have done, I have fol- lowed " Lightfoot, ^Baronius, ^Estius, ^^ Hammond, ''Wit- sius. Wiio have all well asserted this date. Witsius, the last mentioned, has an argument upon the point, which he has all along- conducted with great candour, and concluded*^ " II y prie S. Timothee de le venir trouver avant I'hiver, ainsi ce ne pouvoit pas etre pliis tard que vers le milieu de I'annee. S. Paul, art. 49. Mem. torn. I. * Observant, jussisse hac epistola Paulum, ut festinato ad se accederet, et, si fieri posset, ante hiemera, assiunto secura Marco. Venit autem Paulus Ro- mam, mense, ut creditur, Februario. Pone, scriptani hanc epistolam esse ineunte aestate : potuit Timotheus cum Marco ante hiemem Romae esse ; ubi fuit, quando iliae scribebantur epistolae, quibus praefixiim illius nomen est : quemadmodum et Marcus ibi fuit, quo tempore scnbebatur ilia ad Colossen- ses, et ad Philemonem. Quidquamne probabilius est, quam omnia ista ex mandato Pauli esse facta ? Ubi supra, sect 12. num. v. * Sed et cum illud admonet, ut ante hiemem se Romam conferat : certe, si quis exacte consideret tempus, et locum ipsum, Timotheumque agentem in Asia, ut ejusmodi reddi posset epLstola, et ipse Troadem ad sumendam psenu- 1am proficisceretur, ac Romam ante hiemem se confenet : plane inveniet, hoc ipso anno, ineunte sestate, hanc ad Timotheum scriptam epistolam. Baron, ann. 59. num. x. * Harmony of the N. T. in his Works, Vol. i. p. 3-24. > Annal. 59. num. x. '^ Praef. in 2 ad Timolh. * Praef. in 2 ep. ad Timoth. '' De Vita et Rebus Pauli Apost. sect. xii. apud Meletem. Leyd. p. 182, &c. ■^ Mea si desideretur nriKpiaic:, fateor equidem aliquamdiu me in rationum St. Paul's second Epistle to Timothy. 63 with much modesty : though to me he seems to have re- moved every ditficuhy in .1 very satisfactory manner. And he speaks of Sahnero, as being- of the same opinion. And besides, in the course of the argument cites from Cocceius, and Solomon Van Till, (with wliose writings I am but little acquainted,)diversobscrvations, conHrming- the same opinion. Cave likewise was of this opinion, when he wrote the Lives of the Apostles, and the first volume of the Lives of the primitive Fathers, in English'; expressing- himself very clearly, and properly, both in** the life of Paul, and" the life of Timothy, but when lieAvrote his Historia Literaria, he speaks in the article of St. Paul, as ^ if he had quite changed his mind : though in the article of St. Peter, as it still stands in the new edition at Oxford, he e speaks exactly as he liad done before. If he altered his mind, I suppose it must have been in compliance Avith Pearson, who of late has been followed in this particular by many; Avho, if (hey h.ad carefully read the above-named authors, might easily have discerned the superiority of their arguments. To him'' likewise 1 suppose it must be chiefly ascribed, conflictu animi ancipitem haesisse, quae quibus anteponenda; sint. Omnibus famea peipensis, non dissimulo, eo me magis propendere, ut scriptionem hujus epistolae ad priora Pauli apud Romam vincula referendam esse arbitrer. lb. sect. 12. num. viii. •* ' It is not improbable, but that about this time St. Paul wrote his second ' epistle to Timothy. I know that Eusebius, and the ancients, and most mo- ' dems after them, will have it written a little before his martyrdom, induced ' thereto by that passage in it, that he was " then ready to be offered, and the ' time of his departure was at hand." But, surely, it is most reasonable to ' think that it was written at his first being at Rome, and that at his first * coming there, presently after his trial before Nero. In it he appoints Timothy * sliortly to come to him, who accordingly came, and his name is joined to- * geiher with the apostle's, in the front of several epistles, to the Philippians, * Colossians, and Philemon.' Cave's Life of St. Paul, sect. 7. num. 5. p. 103, 104. * Life of Timothy, num. vii. f Epistolam secundam ad Timotheum scriptam esse Romae, in prima Pauli captivitate contendit cl. Hammondus. Sed errat omnino vir eruditissimus. Quisquis enim totius epistolae contextum, omnesque hujus temporis circum- stantias serio perpenderit, quin scripta sit anno 64, paulo ante Apostoli mar- tyrium, dubitare nequit. De S. Paulo. Hist. Lit. torn. I. p. 12. K Durante biennali captivitate, Paulus inde scripsit quatuor vel quinque epistolas, ad Colossenses, Ephesios, Philippenses, et Philemonem, in quibus nuliae notae, nulla indicia, unde vel divinando quis asaequi posset, Romae Petrum tunc fuisse. In posteriori ad Timotheum, quam hoc etiam tempore scriptam esse, ma.Kime est probabile. Carcere Romano liberatus, dum ad- huc in Italia haereret, scripsit epistolam ad Hebraeos. De Petro, H. L. p. 9. ■^ Paulus Romae [A. D. Ixvii.] e carcere in discrimen vitae vocatur ab altero Nerone, et apologiam habet, sive ' defensionem suam,' vel ' sui/ quod in pri- 64 A l]istori/ of ike Apostles and Evangelists. that by the apostle's first answer, or apology, many of late have understood an apology made in a second imprisonment at Rome. Which, as ' before shown, is contrary to the ge- neral opinion of ancient christian writers : and indeed ap- pears to me a"^ very unlikely meaning-. And to him I suppose it to be entirely owing- that 'Paul's lion, Mdiom™ all christi- ans in general had hitherto understood to be the emperor Nero, has on a sudden dwindled into "Elius, or Helius, the emperor's freed man and favourite. Upon the Mhole, it appears tome very probable, that this second epistle to Timothy was written at Rome, when Paul was sent (hither by Festus. And I cannot but think, that this ought to be an allowed and determined point. Accord- ingly, 1 now proceed to mention some observations in the May of corollaries. 1. This second epistle to Timothy affords not any argu- ment that Peter was not at Rome, when Paul came thither a second time, and suffered martyrdom. Upon these words, ch. iv. 16, " At my first answer, no man stood with me, but all forsook me," Beza says: ' Where" oribus vinculis factum non est ; ubi habuit tantuni * defensionem et confirma- tionem evangelii,' adversus Judaeos scilicet. Annal. Paulm. p. 24. ' See before, p. 50 — 53. '' Euselje, S. Jerome, S. Chrysostome ea quelques endroits, et Theodoret, ont eiUendu cette premiere defense de son premier voyage. S. Chrysostome s'en eloigne en d'antres endroits, et I'entend d'une premiere comparition de S. Paul devant Neron dans son dernier voyage. Mais I'autre sentiment est plus autorise, et foade sur le sens le plus naturel du texte, &c. Du Pm, Diss. Prelim. P. II. 1. 2. ch. ii. sect. viii. p. 53. ' In qua defensione tantum erat et Pauli et suorum periculum, ut omnes sui eum desererent, et nemo illi adesset, 2 Tim. iv. 16, 17. Sed ereptus est ex ore leonis, nempe Helii Caesareani. Ann. Paulin. ibid. ■" I refer to the collections of Grotius upon 2 Tira. iv. 17, whereby it ap- pears to have been common to give such denominations to bad princes, not to their officers. And I shall transcribe here a curious passage, to which he only refers, showing, that Nero, for his bad temper, was early called a lion. Adde haec scholiastis in Juvenalis Sat. v. Seneca sub Claudio, quasi conscius adulte- riorum Julise, Germanici filiae, in Corsicam relegatus, post triennium revocatus est. Qui etsi magno desiderio Athenas intenderet, ab Agrippina tamen, erudi- endo Neroni, in palatium adductus, sBev'um immanemque natum et sensit cito, et mitigavit, inter familiares solitus dicere ; non fore saevo illi leoni, quin, gus- tato semel hominis sanguine, ingenita redeat seevitia. Lipsius in notis ad Tacit. Ann. 1. 12. cap. 9. " Nobis sane non probatur conjectma doctissimi Peai-son, qui, communis sententiae perttcsus. Helium Caesareanum designatum fuisse existimat in Anna- libus Paulinis. Neronis potius et furor et dignilas, apta ea metaphora signifi- catur ; quomodo, defuncto Tiberio, Marsias Agrippae libertus dixit domino suo, Mortuus est Leo. Basnag. £win. 64. n. vi. ° Ubi tum Petrus, si Roinae erat ? Num enim quaeso Paulum deseruisset ? Sed (|uod in genere dif itur, etsi non temere sic loquitur Paulus, ita tamcn acci- piendum est, ut aliqui excipi potuerint, sed perpauci. Bez. in loc. St. Pauls second Epistle to Timothy. 65 ' was Peter then, if lie was at Rome? Did he desert Paul in ' the time of liis ditHciilty :' But the good man adds : ' That ' Paul's general expressions need not to be understood abso- ' lutely, without any exception.' That is very charitable and benevolent. But indeed, if Peter had then been at Rome, he could not have afforded any assistance to his brother apostle. Nor would Paul have expected it of him. For Peter was himself an obnoxious person. Paul'' refers only to such, as by their station were likely to be of some use to him, if they had appeared with him, and had exerted them- selves in his behalf. But though Peter's not appearing upon that occasion af- fords not any argument that he was not then at Rome, the entire silence concerning him throughout this epistle, affords good reason to think he was not then at Rome. For ch. iv. 2, Paul sends salutations from Eubulus,Pudens, Linus, and Claudia. If Peter had been tlien at Rome, he would have been mentioned likewise. We do justly argue from St. Paul's omitting- Peter among his salutations sent to divers of the Roman christians, ch. xvi. that Peter was not then in that city. It is also rightly argued from the silence con- cerning Peter in the epistles to the Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon, that Peter was not at Rome when they were written. To which ought to be added this second epistle to Timothy, as farther confirming the same thing", if written about the same time. But then, if it was written in the year 61, as I suppose, it will not afford any argument against Peter's being at Rome in 64 or 65, and then suffer- ing martyrdom there. About which there ought not to be any doubt. That Peter suffered martyrdom at Rome, is said by the same writers that speak of the martyrdom of Paul there. The i martyrdoms of both the apostles have a like degree of credibility. For neither is Paul's Tuartyrdom at Rome founded upon the testimony of any sacred book of the New Testament. If this second epistle to Timotljy was writ- ten at the time here argued for, we have no proof from scrip- ture that Paul was a second time at Rome. Nevertheless, he must have been there a second time, if he suffered mar- tyrdom there, as ecclesiastical history says. Consequently, P Loquitur cle iis qui prodesse poferant, et qui gialia valebant apud aulicos, Potest et ita exponi : ' Omnes,' id est, pene omnes. Est. in loc. 1 Denique si mentitur traditio de loco Petrini martyrii atque sepulchro, quo nobis indicio liquebit Paulum Romae interfectum fuisse atque condituni ? Unum nobis est argumentum fama constans, in quo etiam fundamento coUo- catur quae per animos invasit, de Petri in urbem et adventu et morte, immova explorataque Veferum sententia. Basnag. ann. 64. num. x. VOL. VT. F 66 Jl Hislorij of the Apostles and Evangelists. the martyrdom of Paul at Rome, lias no other, nor better evidence, than the martyrdom of Peter in the same city. 2. We cannot conclude from this second epistle to Timo- thy, that St. Luke was qualified to write the history of the apostle Paul for the space of several years lower than he has done in the book of the Acts. Whitby says upon ver. 11, of the fourth chapter of this epistle : ' Hence it appears, that Luke must be alive in the 12th or 13th year of Nero, >vhen this epistle was indited.' 8t. Luke might be then alive. But this epistle, if written in the 7th or 8th of Nero, affords not any proof that Luke lived to the 12th or 13th of Nero, or that he was then with Paul. And it may be reckoned probable, that St. Luke did not accompany the apostle after his release from his imprison- ment at Rome. Again, says Wall upon Acts xxviii. 30, 31, ' St. Luke ' wrote this book about the year C3. It is a wonder that ' he did not add the history of the rest of his life, whither he ' went, when he was set free, and what he did in the five ' years afterwards. One might have guessed, that Luke ' died about this time. But it was not so. He was with ' Paul a little before Paul died ; as appears from 2 Tim, iv. ' 11.' Bnt, that St. Luke was alive and \^ ith Paul in the year C7, or GS, cannot be inferred from this epistle, if it was writ- ten in the year 61. 3. We are now able to vindicate the character of Demas. Says Wall upon 2 Tim. iv. 10, ' At the former imprison- ' ment, five years ago, Demas was one of Paul's fellow-Ia- ' bourers. As we learn from Philem. ver. 24.' But that remark will appear preposterous, if the second epistle to Timothy was written before that to Philemon, as I think it M'as. Upon our order of the epistles the case w ill stand thus. Some time after Paul's coming" from Judea to Rome, upon the appearance of some unexpected difficulties, Demas, m'Iio had come to Rome to meet Paul, was discouraged. He did not apostatize from the christian religion. But out of too great regard for his own safety, he absented himself from the apostle, and went where Paul had rather he should not have gone. This is what St. Paul intends, when writing- to Timo- thy, he here says: " Demas hath forsaken me, having- loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica," ch. iv. 10. lint it was not very long before he returned. Ac- (•ordingly, Paul niakes honourable mention of him, Col. iv. 14, and Phileni. 24, epistles, written near the end of his con- finement at Kome. St. Pauls second Epistle to Timothy. 67 How disagreeable to think, tliatafellow-labourer of Paul, who had attended hiiu in his bonds, near the end of a two year's imprisonment at Rome, should afterwards forsake him ! According" to our account his fault, whatever it might be, was first, and his repentance last: and so sincere and complete, that Paul readily accepted of it, and joins him M'ith his best friends in the salutations sent to Colosse, and Philemon. And, perhaps, Demas had been very useful at Thessalonica, though the apostle did not send him thither. Grotius upon 2 Tim. iv. 10, says : ' we"^ conclude from ' Philem. ver. 24, and Col. iv. 14, that Demas repented of ' his fault.' But that is inconsistent with the late date of the second epistle to Timothy. For if those texts prove Demas's repentance, the second to Timothy must have been written before those two epistles: as **Beza perceived, when he al- lowed the repentance of Demas. 4. Cave's argument* for the time of St. Mark's writing his gospel, built upon the supposition, that this second epis- tle to Timothy, in which that evangelist is mentioned, was written just before St. Paul's martyrdom, is of no value. 5. This second epistle to Timothy, affords not any argu- ment ag-ainst the supposition, that the epistle to the Hebrews was written by St. Paul in the year 63, about the time of his being released from his confinement at Rome. Le Clerc in his French edition of the New Testament, in his notes upon Heb, xiii. 23, says: ' Nothing" of that kind ' happened to Timothy, during- the life of St. Paul, if it had, ' he would not have failed to take notice of it in his second ' epistle to him, written a very short time before his death. ' And he would have thence taken occasion to say something ' to Timothy, byway of conunendation and encouragement, ' or otherwise. If then Timothy was not imprisoned, during ■■ Vide hie etiam bonos interdum metu aut malis exemplis niutari. ' Quare, qui stat, videat ne cadat.' Sed et culpas hiijus poenituisse Demam colligimus ex loco Philem. 24. et Coloss. iv. 14. Grot, ad 2 Tim. iv. * Videtur ille postearesipiscensad Paulum revertisse, ciim fiatejus mentio in epistola ad Phllemonem, quam probabile est post hanc scriptam fuisse, cum in oa fiat mentio Tmiolhei ipsius in inscriptione, atqiie etiam Marci, quasi jam cum Paulo versantis. Bez. ad Tim. iv. 10. ' Factum id circa annum 65, Petro et Paulo jam morte sublatis. Cum enim ilium epistola secunda ad Timotheum, non longe ante martj'rium scripta, Ilomam accersiverat Paulus ; probabile est, Marcuni vel eodem, vel saltern se- qiienti anno illuc venisse, ibique Evangelium vel primum condidisse, vel prius conditum edidisse. H. L. T, 1. p. 24. in Marco. " II n etoit rien arrive de semblable a Timothe, pendant la vie de S. Paul, qui lui ecrivit sa 2 epitre tr^s peu de tems avant que de mourir, et qui n'au- roit pas man' * Simul autem et praepara mihi hospitium.' Non puto tam divifem fuisse apostolum, et tantis sarcinis oaustum, ut prseparato egeret hospitio, et non una contentus cellula, breves corporis sui spatio aedcs amplissimas existimaret. Si autem hoc non dispensatorie, sed vere quis existimet imperatum, apostolo magis quam Paulo hospitium praeparandum est. Ventunis ad novam civitatem, praedicaturus crucifixura, et inaudita dogmata delaturus, sciebat ad se plurimos concursuros : et necesse erat, primum, ut domus in celebri esset urbis loco, ad quam facile conveniretur. Deinde ut ab omni importimitate vacua, ut ampla, qua2 plurimos caperet audientium ; ne proxima spectaculorum locis, ne turpi vicinia detestabilis : postremo, ut in piano potius sita esset, quam in ccenaculo. Quam ob causam eum existimo etiam Romoe in conducto mansisse biennio. Nee parva, ut reor, erat mansio, ad quam Judaeorura turbae quotidie conflue- bant. Hieron. in I'hilcm. ver. 22. T. IV. p. 453. St. Paul's second Epistle to Thnothij. 71 the superiority of his discourse above that of all other men, and such the works which God enabled him to perfonn, as could not but secure him the regard of all serious and discerning- men. And^ success in his work would alleviate all his suti'erings. For which reason we also ought to re- joice in them, and on account of the testimony thereby g'iveii to the truth and innocence of the christian doctrine. In the introduction to the first part of this work, where our concern was with facts occasionally mentioned in the books of the New Testament, I said : ' Here is withal an account of ' proceedings and sentences of courts of judicature, in cities ' of the first rank, and most general resort : and of some ' discourses made before persons, next under the Roman ' emperor, of the highest rank and distinction :' referring- to the history in Acts xxiii. xxiv. xxv. xxvi. But now 1 should choose to say: ' And of some discourses made before per- ' sons of the highest rank and distinction, not excepting- the * Roman emperor himself.' From M'hat has been just now argued, it appears to be very probable, that Paul, when brought to Rome, pleaded once, if not twice, before Nero. And though those pleadings may have been very short; yet from thence, and from the treatment which Paul had pre- sently afterwards in the imperial city, ariseth a very forcible argument for the innocence of the christian doctrine and its teachers. Every one perceives, that St. Paul's pleadings upon the occasions before referred to, in the presence of the Jewish council at Jerusalem, and before Felix, and Festus, and Agrippa,at Ca-sarea, do us great honour. Particularly, in this last mentioned apolog-y, the doctrine which Paul preached as received from heaven, was reported to those great personages, and the honourable company attending them. He lays before them the history of his life, from his youth up, before he was a christian, and afterwards. He plainly declares his doctrine, and the zeal with which he had spread and propagated it every Mdiere, among' Jews and Gentiles, and his unwearied diligence in the cause in which he was engaged. And in the end all acknowledge, that he did nothing- contrary to the peace of society : and that he might have been set at liberty. But having- appealed to the emperor, it Avas now requisite that the cause sliould be referred to his tribunal, and be finally determined there. ^ Simul autem admiranduni de magnanimitate apostoli, et in Christum mente ferventis. Tenetur in carcere, vinciilis stringitur, squalore corporis, ca- romm separatione, pcenalibus tenebris coarctatur ; et non sentit injiiriam, non dolore cruciatur ; nihil novit aliud, nisi de Christi evangelio cogitare. Ilieron. in Philem. torn. IV. p. 450. m. 72 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. Here therefore is another testimony to the innocence of Paul and his doctrine. Festus, the governor of Judea, cer- tainly wrote a letter to the emperor, giving- an account of Paul. Of this all may be satisfied, who observe what is said, Acts XXV. 24 — 27. So Lysias, the tribune, and command- ing officer at Jerusalem, when he sent Paul to Felix at Ccesa- rea, wrote a letter, containing an account of the prisoner, and the proceedings against him hitherto, ch. xxiii. 25 — 30. In like manner now acted Festus. Nor can it be imagined, that any governor should presume to falsify, prevaricate, or dis- guise, in such a letter. It might be very respectful to the emperor, and favourable to the prisoner. But there could be nothing but truth. And there must have been all the truth, that Avas needful to give a just notion of the cause. And yet Paul is not condemned, but' obtains an order for such a custody, as leaves him at liberty to " dwell by him- self, in his own hired house," and to receive all M'ho came to liim, and to discourse to them of his doctrine. Here he was two years : during which time he had no molestation. And at length he was released. He was all that time in one place. And the place of his abode was well known. He might have been called for at any time. But there were no complaints made against him, or none such as could induce those in power to change the order first given. When Paul lay bound in the castle of Antonia, at Jerusa- lem, after he had been brought before the Jewish council, and his life was in imminent danger ; " the night following, the Lord stood by him, and said. Be of good cheer, Paul : for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Home," Acts xxiii. 11. Which word of our Lord was fully accomplished : as we are assured in the history, which .St. Luke has given of the apostle's going to liome, and dwelling in that city two whole years, and in the epistles, Avritten by himself, tluring that period: which by the divine goodness are still preserved to us. According to the preceding argument, the second epistle to Timothy was sent away from Rome, about the summer of the year Gl, probably in May, or June. Sect. XL The Epistle to the Philippicms. There still remain three epistles of St. Paul to be con- sidered by us, which are generally allowed to have been written «lining the time of his injprisonment at Rome: the St. Paul's Epistle to the PJiilippians. 73 cpistlos to the Pliilippians, the Colossians, and Philemon. And 1 shall speak of them in tlie order in which they have been just nanted. The epistle to the Philippians was written in the second yearof the apostle's imprisonment. Timothy, who had come to liim ft'om Ephesus, according" to his desire, 2 Tim. iv. f) — • 21, is joined with the apostle in the inscription at tin; hegin- ning" of the epistle. It seems to have been written not long' before the end of his two years' imprisonment. For he had some hopes of a release, ch. i. 24, 25. " Nevertheless to abide in the Hesh, is more needful for you. And having- this confidence,! know that I shall abide, and continue witliyou all, for your furtherance, and joy of faith." Yea, he ex- presseth hopes of making- tlie Philippians a visit, ver. 2G, " That your rejoicing" may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me, by my coming" to you again." And ch. ii. M), " But I trust in the Lord Jesus, to send Timothy shortly unto you," and ver. 23, 24, " Ilim therefore 1 hope to send pre- sently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me. IJut I trust in the Lord, that I also myseU' shall come shortly." But though he had hopes of obtaining his liberty, he was not yet certain of it. As appears from those wordsjust cited, " so soon as I shall see how it will go with me :" and from ■what he says, ch. ii. 17, " Yea, if I be offered upon the sacri- fice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice Avith you all." See also ch. i. ver. 20. In the mean time, he sends back to them Epaphroditus, who had come to Rome, with a kind present from the cliristians at Philippi, and Avho had been dangerously sick, but was now recovered. And it is likely that by him this epistle Avas carried. So it follows in ver. 25 — 30, of the second chapter, " Yet I supposed it ne- cessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and com- panion in labour, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my Avants. 1 have sent him therefore the more care- fully : that when ye see him again, ye may rejoice." Of their kind regard to him, he speaks again, ch. iv. 10 — 19. In the end of the epistle he sends salutations to the Philippi- ans from " the brethren that a\ ere Avith him," and from " all the saints, chiefly these of Coesar's household." Who may be supposed to be the apostle's converts, and the persons Avho chiefly contributed to his being set at liberty, and had already given him hopes of it, and may likcAvise have been friendly to him in other respects. And at the beginning of this epistle, ch, i. 13, speaking of the progress of the gospel, he says : " So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and all other places." 74 A Hisiory of the Apostles and Evangelists. The salutations in this epistle are singular, being tlifferent from those at the end of the other epistles, written about the same time. First it is said, " The brethren which are with me greet you :" intending, as 1 apprehend, Mark and others, the apostle's fellow-labourers, mentioned by name near the end of the epistles to the Colossians and Philemon, but not so mentioned here. Then it is added, " All the saints salute you :" meaning all the christians at Rome in general, " chiefly, they that are of Caesar's household." The kind present from the Philippians, it is likely, had recommended them to the notice of all at Rome. That testimony of respect for the apostle was highly pleasing, and very edifying to the christians in that city. It seems to have been a handsome sum. And it maybe reckoned probable, that the collections made for the apostle at Rome, and the cmitributions brought in from abroad, were all put into one bank, and lodged in the hands of some person or persons of good credit and sub- stance. Possibly, there was now a superfluity. For St. Paul says to these Philippians, " I have all, and abound. I am full." If there was any thing superfluous, beyond what was requisite for his maintenance at Rome, it would be of use for defraying the expenses of the journies which he had in view. And this may be one reason, why this epistle is inscribed " to all the saints, which are atPhilippi, with the bishops and deacons." For there must have been such offi- cers in many of the churches to which the apostle sent let- ters, though they are not mentioned. But the bishops an II paroit par la, quo Philemon etoit un des Pasteurs de I'eglise de Colosses. Beaus. ' IToXfi/ ^£ iiy^t rag KoXo.Tffnc;. Km ?/ oiKia Se avra fi^XP'' ''** TrapovroQ /itjus- vtjKe. Theod. arg. ep. ad Plulem. T. III. p. 516. ^ Theop. ep. ad Plulem. T. 11. p. SCI. ' Si autem Philemon, ad quern hoec cpistola scribitur, Onesimi dominus est et ad Colossenses refertur, quod ex iis sit, ratio nos ipsa et ordo deducit, quod et Philemon Colossensis sit, et eo tempore communem ad om- nem ecclesiam Onesimus epistolam tulerit, quo privatas et sui commendatrices ad dominum literas sumserat. Est et aliud indicium, quod in hac eadem epistola et Archippus nominatur, cui hie cum Philemone scribitur : ' Dicite," inquit, * Archippo : Vide niinisterium, quod accepisti a Domino, ut illud impleas.' Ex quo puto, aut Episcopum fuisse Colossensis ecclesiae, cui admonetur studiose et diligenter pra:e.>se, aut evangelii praedicatorem. Aut si ita non est, illud mihi impraesentiarum sufiicit, quod et Philemon, et Archippus, et Onesimus ipse, qui literas perferebat, fuerint Colossenses, &c. Coram, in Philem. T. IV. p. 445. 78 j^ History of ike Apostles and Evavgelists. more may be intended thereby, tlian, in general, tliat Phile- mon was some way useful in helping- forward the gospel. In the Apostolical Constitutions,™ Philemon is said to have been ordained bishop of Colosse by the apostles. But their testimony is of very little weight. I do not perceive Jerom to say expressly, that" Philemon Mas bishop, or elder at Colosse. Perhaps he was not positive about it in his own mind. The author of the Commentary upon thir- teen of St. Paul's epistles, by some reckoned to be Hilary, deacon of Rome, says, that" Philemon had no ecclesiastical dignity, but was one of the laity. And (Ecumenius, in his prologue to the second epistle of St. John, formerly'' cited, appears also to have thought Philemon to be a man in a private station. Perhaps some have been the rather unwilling- to allow, that Philemon was a bishop, or elder, because he had a wife, whose name was Apphia, and because he was a man of substance, who had one slave at least, if not more. Nevertheless we have just observed two learned men, of very good judgment, Grotius and Beausobre, who were not much swayed by those considerations. One of whom thought Philemon to have been an elder in the church of Ephesus : the other, one of the pastors of the church of Colosse. To them I can now add i Dr. Doddridg-e. However, as the thing- is of no great importance, so I must acknowledge, that it is not very easy to be decided. St. Paul's expression, " fellow labourer," as before observed, is ambiguous. His manner of address, which is very ear- nest, farther induces me to hesitate. If Philemon had been an elder, he must have known his duty : and could not have needed so pressing- an exhortation to receive a penitent, and him one of his family. Onesimus, unquestionably, was received by the church of Colosse, as a good christian, upon the apostle's recom- mendation. It is as reasonable to think, that Philemon was reconciled to him : and, probably, gave him his freedom. In the Apostolical Constitutions'^ he is said to have been bishop of Berea in Macedonia. When Ignatius wrote his epistle to the Ephesians, about the year 107, their bishop's ■" Const. Ap. 1. 7. cap. 46. " Scribunt igilur Paulus etTimotheus Pliilemonicarissimo et co-operatori ; qui ideo carrissimus dictus est, quod in eodem Ciirisfi opere versetur. In ep. ad Philem. p. 446. ° Philemon nulla eiat ecclesiasticae ordinationis praeditas dignitate, scd vir laudabilis, unus eJc plebc, &c. Proleg. in ep. ad Philem. p See Vol. v. ch. ix. 1 Sec his preface lo Philemon, p. 585, and his Paraphrase of the first verse, p. 589, of tlie Family Expositor, Vol. V. Lib. 7. cap. 46. St. Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews. 79 name was Oncsimus. And Grotlus* tlioiiolit him to be the same, for whom Paul interceded with Philemon. But tliat' is not certain. Sect. XIV. The Epistle to the Hebrews. I shall inquire, 1. To whom it was written. 2. In m hat languag-e. 3. IJy whom. 4. The time and place ot writing- it. I. In the first place let us consider to whom this epistle was written, A. D. G3. Sir Isaac Newton thought, ' that" this epistle was writ- ' ten to Jewish believers, who left Jerusalem about the ' time that the war broke out, and went into Asia.' Accord- ing to this account, the epistle could not be written till some >vhile after the breaking out of the war in Judea, in the year 66. But it will be difficult to show, that Paul, whom Sir Isaac allows to be the writer, lived so long. Not now to mention any thing else. Dr. Wall was inclined to the same opinion, or somewhat not very different. 'I^ agree, says he, that the epistle was ' written to Hebrews, that is, to the Hebrew Christians of ' some place. But for the place or country, I think, they ' were rather the Hebrew Christians of Asia, (Ephesus, Mi- ' letus, and thereabout,) Macedonia, Greece, &c. where St. ' Paul had spent most of his time, than that they were those ' of Jerusalem,' &c. The late Mr. Wetsteiu conjectured, that" the epistle was written by Paul to the Jewish believers at Rome, soon after he had been released from his confinement in that city. Which conjecture, I believe, will be followed by very few. And OS it has no ancient authority, and is destitute of all appear- ance of probability, I suppose it need not be confuted. '^ See before, notes p. 77. ' Vid, Basnag. Ann. CO. num. xxvii. " ' The epistle to the Hebrews, since it mentions Timothy, as related to the ' Hebrews, must be written to them, after their flight into Asia : where Timo- ' thy was bishop, and by consequence after the war was begun.' Newton's Observations upon the Apoc. of St. John, ch. i. p. 244. '' Critical Notes upon the N. T. p. 317, 318. * Si conjecturse locus est, existimaverim potius ad Judaeos qui Romse dejye- bant, et Christo nomen dederant, scriplam t'uis?e : quo admisso, facile intelli- gitur, qui factum, turn ut Paulus, qui Roma quidem, sed non Italia, excedere jussus erat, brevi se rediturum speraret, turn ut Itali Romanes salutarent Wetsten. N. T. torn. II. p. 386, 387. 80 A History of the Apostles and Evavgelists. Liglitfoot thought, ' That^ this epistle was sent by Paul ' to the believing- Jews of Judea, a people, says he, that had ' been much engaged to him, for his care of their poor, ' getting- collections for them all along in his travels.' He adds: ' It is not to be doubted, indeed, that he intendeth ' the discourse and matter of this epistle to the Jews ' throughout their dispersion. — Yet does he endorse if, and * send it chiefly to the Hebrews, or the Jews of Judea, the ' principal part of the circumcision, as the properest centre ' to which to direct it, and from whence it might be best ' diffused in time to the whole circumference of the dis- ' persion.' Whitby, in his preface to the epistle to the Hebrews, is of the same opinion, and argues much after the same man- ner with Lightfoot. So likewise J Mill,^ Pearson, "^ Lewis Capellus, and Beza in his preface to this epistle, and the editors of the French N. T. at Berlin in their general preface to St. Paul's epistles, and in their preface to this epistle in particular. Of this Mr. Hallet had no doubt, who in his Synopsis of the epistle says: ' This epistle was particularly designed for the He- ' brew Christians, that dwelt in one certain place, and was * sent thither, as appears from the apostle's saying, ch. xiii. ' 19, 23. " I beseech you the rather to do this, that I may ' be restored to you the sooner. 1 will see you." And ' what particular place can this be supposed to be, but ' Judea ? There the Christians >vere continually persecuted ' by the unbelieving Jews, as we read in the Acts of the ' apostles, and as St. Paul takes notice, 1 Thess. ii. 14. Hebr. * X. 82 — 36. ch. xii. 4, 5. By these persecutions the He- ' brew Christians were tempted to apostatize from Christi- ' anity, and to think, there was strength in the arguments ' urged by the persecutors in favour of Judaism. The * apostle therefore sets himself to guard against both these ' dangers.' And what follows. This appears to me to be the most probable opinion. For 1. It is the opinion of the ancient christian Mriters, who received this epistle. It may be taken for granted, that this was the opinion of " Hai-mony of the N. T. Vol. I. p. 340. y Per Hebraeos autem istos potissimum fideles Hierosolymitanos intelligit, apud quos ante duos annos va-satus fuerat. Hinc illud, Iva airoKaraff- rado) vfiiv. cap. xiii. 19. Mill. Prolog, num. 83. * Annal. Paulin. p. 20, 21. * Ex quibus conjiccre licet, banc epistolain a Paulo sub finem prionim vinculorum Roma scriptum fuisse ad Hierosolymitanos Judaeos, qui in Christum crediderant. L. Capel. Hist. Ap. p. 80 St. Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews. 81 Clement'' of Alexandria, and*" Jeroni, and' Eiithalius, who supposed this epistle to have been first written in Hebrew, and afterwards translated into Greek. It may be allowed to have been also the opinion of many others, who quote this epistle, as written to the Hebrews, when they say no- thing- to the contrary. Nor do 1 recollect any ancients, who say it was written to Jews living' out of Judea. Chrysostom says, thaf the epistle was sent to the believ- ing- Jews of Palestine. And supposeth, that the apostle afterwards made them a visit. Theodoret'^ in his preface to the epistle allows it to be sent to the same Jews. And Theophylact= in his argument of the epistle expressly says, as Chrysostom, that it was sent to the Jews of Palestine. So that this'' was the general opinion of the ancients. 2. There are in the epistle many things especially suit- able to the believers in Judea. Which must lead us to think it was written to them. 1 shall select divers such passages. 1.) Hebr. i. 2, " Has in these last days spoken unto us by his Son." 2.) Ch. iv. 2, " For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as to them." 3.) Ch. ii. 1—4, " Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things that we have heard how then shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was con- firmed unto us by them that heard him : God also bearing them witness with signs and wonders, and with divers mira- cles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost." Does not that exhortation, and the reason, with which it is supported, peculiarly suit the believers of Judea, where Christ himself first taught, and then his disciples after him, confirming their testimony with very numerous and conspi- cuous miracles ? 4.) The people, to whom this epistle is sent, were well acquainted w ith our Saviour's sufferings, as they of Judea ^ Ap. Euseb. H. E. 1. 6. cap. 14. *^ Scripserat, ut Hebrasus Hebraeis, Hebraice, id est, suo eloquio disertissime. De V. I. cap. v. ** Argiim. ep. ad Hebr. ap. zac. p. 670. * Us Se naiv tTri'^iXKii ; Ejuot Sokh tv 'ItpoooKvfioiQ km UaXainvt]. Avo jxev sv tTt] iizoir](Jiv ev ''Pwfiy dtSefievoQ' tiTa a(pEi.9r], fira tiQ rag 'Ziraviag rjXQtv' lira hq laSaiav tfir}, on kul IsOaisf itdi. Kai rort iraXiv ijXOtv ng 'P(Dfii]v, ort Kcu vTTo Ntpwvof avyptQi]. Pr. in ep. ad Hebr. T. XH. p. 2. ' Vid. Theodoret argum. ep. ad Hebr. s Xotc tv UaXai'sivy h KM 'lipo(ToXvnoig iTTt^iXXii. Theophyl. arg. ep. ad Hebr. p. 872. ^ Voyez la pref. de Beausobre sur I'epitre aux Hebr. num. xxxviii VOL. VI. G 82 Jl IliMory of the ./Jpostles and Evangelists. iiiustliave been. This appears in ch. i. 3 j ii. 9, 18; v. 7, 8; IX. 14, 28; X. 11 ; xii. 2, 3; xiii. 12. 5.) Cb. V. 12. " For Avben yc ciigbt to be teacbers of otbers," and v/bat follows, is most properly understood of cbristians in Jerusalem and Jiidea, to whom tbe gospel was first preached. G.) What is said, cb. iv. 4 — 6, and x. 26-29, is most properly applicable to apostates in Jiulea. 7.) Ch. X. 32 — 34, " But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions to tbe end of ver. 34. This leads us to the church of Jerusalem, which had suffered much, long before the writing this epistle, even very soon after they had received the knovvledge^f tbe truth. Comp. Acts viii. 1 ; ix. 1, 2; xi. 19; and 1 Thess, ii. 14. Grotius' supposeth as much. 8.) Those exhortations, cb. xiii. 13, 14, must have been very suitable to the case of the Jews of Jerusalem, at the supposed time of Mriting this epistle, a few years before tbe war in that country broke out. 9.) Tbe regard shown in this epistle to tbe rulers of the church or churches, to which it is sent, is very remarkable. They are mentioned twice or thrice : first in ch. xiii. 7, " Remember your rulers, who have spoken unto you the M ord of God : whose faith imitate, considering the end of their conversation." These were dead, as*" Grotius ob- serves. And Theodoret's note is to this purpose: ' He' ' intends tbe saints that were dead, Stephen the proto-mar- ' tyr, James tbe brother of John, and James called tbe Just. ' And there were many otbers, who were taken off by the ' Jewish rage. Consider these,' says be, ' and observing- ' their example, imitate their faith.' Then again at ver. 17, " Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit your- selves. For they watch for your souls." And once more, ver. 24, " Salute all them that have the rule over you, and all the saints." Upon which Theodoret says : ' This"" ' way of speaking- intimates, that their rulers did not need ' such instruction. For which reason he did not write to ' Post Stephani mortem vehementer vexati fuere illi in Judea christiani, ut viderc est, Act. xi. 19. 1 Thess. ii. 14. Grot, ad Heb. x. 34. '' Loquitur autem de iis, qui jam obierant, ut ostendunt sequentia. ' Qui vobis locuti sunt verbum Dei :' nempe in diversis oppidis : forte etiam diversis temporibus, cum mortuis alii successerint. Id. ad Hebr, xiii. 7. ' In op. ad Hebr. cap. xiii. tom. III. p. 459. D. "" AiviTTtTca u Xoyof, wq oi TrporraTtvovrfg avTwv roiavTT]^ SidaaKoKiag sk txpriaav' oh di) x^'f'^^' >*'-* £(Cf(i/o»e inf^tiktv, aXXa rmg uaOnTaic. Ibid, p. 4G2. D. St. PauVs Epistle to the Hebrews. 83 ' them, but to their disciples.' That is a fine observation. And Whitby upon that verse, says: 'Hence, it seems evi- ' dent, that this epistle was not sent to the bishops or rulers ' of the church, but to the whole church or the laity.' And it may deserve to be considered, whether this repeated no- tice of the rulers among them does not afford g-round to believe, that some of the apostles were in Judea ? Whether there be sufficient reason to believe that, or not, I think these notices very proper and suitable to the state of the Jewish believers in Judea. For I am persuaded, that not only James, and all the other apostles, had exactly the same doctrine with Paul : but that all the elders likewise, and all the understanding men among the Jewish believers, embraced the same doctrine. They were, as I apprehend, the multitude only, ttXijOo^, plebs, or the men of lower rank among them, who were attached to the peculiarities of the Mosaic law, and the customs of their ancestors. This may be argued from what James and the elders at Jerusalem say to Paul. Acts xxi. 20 — 22. " Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are that believe. And they are all zealous of the law What is it therefore ? The multitude must needs come together." It is hence evi- dent, that the zeal for the law, which prevailed in the minds of many, was not approved by James, or the elders. That being the case, these recommendations of a regard for their rulers, whether apostles, or elders, were very proper in an epistle sent to the believers in Judea. For these reasons I think that this epistle was sent to the Jewish believers at Jerusalem, and in Judea. But there are objections, which must be considered. 1. Obj. Ch. vi. 10, " God is not unrighteous, to forget your work and labour of love, in that ye have minister- ed to the saints, and do minister." Upon which Dr. Wall " remarks: ' Here again we are put upon thinking, to Mhat ' church, or what christian this is said. For as to those of ' Jerusalem, we read much in Paul's former letters, of their ' poverty, and of their being ministered to by the Gentile ' christians of Galatia, Macedonia, Corinth : and in the Acts, * by the Antiochians : but no where of their ministering to ' other saints. If it is of them that St. Paul speaks this, it ' must be meant of their ministering to their own poor. * For that they were famous at first, when the rich men sold ' their lands, and brought the money to the apostles, and ' they had all things in common, and none lacked. But in ' the time since that, they were very poor, and were relieved " Critical Notes upon the N. T. p. 306. c 2 84 A Hislury of the Apostles and Evangelists. ' by other churches.' The h\te Mr. Wetstein, M^hose " words I place below, argued much after the same manner with Dr. Wall. This objection perhaps, might be strengthened from Heb. xiii. 2, " Be not forgetful to enter- tain strangers." And from ver. 16, " To do good, and to communicate, forget not." Answ. But the poverty of the Jews in Judea, and the contributions of the Gentile churches for their relief, are no reasons, why such admonitions as these should not be sent to them. They are properly directed to all christians, that they may be induced to exert themselves to the utmost. The Gentile churches, among- whom St. Paul made collec- tions for the saints in Judea, Mere not rich. As he says, 1 Cor. i. 26, " For ye know your calling, brethren not many mighty, not many noble, are called." And of the churches in Macedonia, he says, 2 Cor. viii. 2. " How that in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy, and their deep poverty, had abounded unto the riches of their liberality." In like manner there might be instances of liberality to the distressed, among the believers in Judea. There is a fine example recorded, Acts ix. •36 — 39. Nor was there ever any city or country in the world, to whom that exhortation, " be not forgetful to enter- tain strangers," or, " be not uinnindful of hospitality," 7j;s 0/Xo|ei/tas p/ eTTikavOaveaOe, could be more properly given, than Jerusalem and Judea. For the people there must have been much accustomed to it at their festivals, when there was a great resort thither from all countries. And the writer of an epistle to the christian inhabitants of Jerusalem and Judea would naturally think of such an ad- monition ; being desirous that they should not fall short of others in that respect. And Ave may here not unfitly re- collect the history of St. Paul's going- to Jerusalem, and how he and his fellow travellers were entertained at Ca'sa- rea, in the house of Phili|) the evangelist, and at Jerusalem, in th(! house of Mnason, an old disciple. As related Acts xxi. 8 — 16. 2. Obj. Upon ch. xiii. 18, 19, the same? Dr. Wall says, ' One would think, that Paul should have prayed and pur- ' posed to go any whither, rather than to Jerusalem, where ° Secundo, non possiint intelligi, qui Ilierosolymis degebant. Hi enim pauperiores erant, ct opus habebaiif, ut eorum inopia ab aliis ecclesiis subleva- retur. lis vero, ad quos hsec epistola scripta est, commendatur beneficen- fia, xiii. IC; vi. 10. Erant ergo tales, non qui stipem accipere, sed qui dare debebant, solebantque. Wetst. ubi supr. p. 368. fin. p As before, p. 316. St. Pauls Epistle to the Hebrews. 85 ' he had been so used: and where he fell into tliat five * years' iinprisonniciit, from which he was but just now de- ' livered.' To the like purpose alsoi Mr. Wetstein. But there is not any improbability, that Paul might now desire to see his countrymen in Judea; if he might go thither with safety, as 1 think he might. Almost three years had now passed since he left Judea; and his trial, or apology, had been over two years. And he was now set at liberty by the emperor himself. No man, not very pre- sumptuous, would admit a thought of disturbing- liim. However, I suppose, that the apostle would behave dis- creetly : so as to give no needless provocation to any, and that he would stay but a short time in Judea, and then go to Ephesns. There have been men of good sense, who have supposed, that Paul went to Jerusalem about this tiine, par- ticularly Chrysostom"^ among the ancients, and' divers mo- derns, one of whom is*^ Pearson. 3. Obj. ' St." Peter's epistles were written to the Hebrew ' christians, scattered in Asia, and Pontus, Galatia, Cappa- ' docia, and Bitliynia. St. Paul must have written an epis- ' tie to those Hebrew christians, to whom St. Peter writes ' his two epistles. For St. Peter, 2 epist. iii. 15, cites to ' them what " Paul had written unto them." No epistle of ' Paul was written to Hebrews, particularly, but this. So ' that these must be the Hebrews of the above named ' countries.' To which I answer, that St. Peter's epistles were not sent to Jews, but to Gentiles, or to all christians in general, in the places above mentioned, as will be clearly shown here- after. When St. Peter says, " as Paul has Avritten unto you," he may intend Paul's epistle to the Galatians, and '' some other epistles Avritten to Gentiles. If he refers at all to this epistle to the Hebrews, it is comprehended under that expression, ver. 16, " as also in all his epistles." 4. Obj. This epistle to the Hebrews seems to have been written in Greek. But if it had been sent to the Jewish believers in Judea, it would have been written in Hebrew. 1 Ubi supra, p. 386. '' See before, p. 81. ' Lud. Capell. Hist. Apost. p. 39. L'Enfant et Beausobre, Pref. generale sur les epitres de St. Paul. num. Iv. ' Paulus e Creta cum Timotheo in Judasam navigat. Heb. xiii. 23. Annal. Paulin. p. 21. A. Chr. 64. " "Wall, as before, p. 318, 319. " Videtiir respicere Pefrus ad Rom. ii. 4. ubi de Dei ' longanimitate' similia habet his quae docet hie Petrus: dicereque ad Asiaticos scriptam epistolam, quae ad Romanes data, eo quod epistolae Pauli, quamquam ad singulas ecclesias, et homines singulos, missa?, omnium christianorum illius aevi communes jure haberentur. Cleric. H. E. A. 69. p. 459. 86 ^ History of the Apostles and Evangelists. To which I answer, that allowing- the epistle to have been written in Greek, it might be sent to the believers in Jiulea. If St. Paul wrote to the Jewish believers in Pales- tine, he intended the epistle for general use, for all chris- tians, whether of Jewish or Gentile original. Many" of the Jews in Judea understood Greek. Few of the Jews out of Judea understood Hebrew. The Greek language Mas almost universal, and therefore generally used. All St. Paul's epistles are in Greek, even that to the Romans. And are not both St. Peter's epistles in Greek ? and St. John's, and St. Jude's? Yea, did not St. James likewise write in Greek, who is supposed to have resided at Jerusa- lem, from the time of our Lord's ascension, to the time of his own death? His epistle is inscribed " to the twelve tribes scattered abroad." But I presume, that they of the twelve tribes vvho d^velt in Judea, are not excluded by him, but intended. Nor could he be unwilling-, that his epistle should be read and understood by those, who were his special charge. The epistle written by Barnabas, a Levite, or ascribed to him, was written in Greek. Not now to men- tion any other Jewish writers who have used the Greek lang-uage. n. Thus we are unawares brought to the inquiry, in what language this epistle was written. For there have been doubts about it among- both ancients and moderns. So that M'e are obliged to take some particular notice of this point. But I should have deferred the consideration of it, till we had observed the writer of the epistle, if the just mentioned objection had not brought this inquiry in our way in this place. And it may be recollected, that'' I formerly alleged divers learned and judicious moderns, who have been of opinion, that Greek, and not Hebrew, was the original lan- guage of this epistle. To them I now add several others: y James Capellus, ^S. Basnage, ^'Mill in his Prolegomena " lis n'ont point eu d'autre raison de croire, que S. Paul avoit ecrit en Hebreu, que celle qu'il ecrivoit a des Hebreux. Or cette raison, toute vraisemblable quelle paroit, n'est point convaincante, parcequ'il est certain, que la langue Grecque etoit entendue dans la Judee, quoiqu'elle ne fut pas la langue vulgaire. Tous les auteurs du Nouveau Testament ont ecrit en Grec, bien qu'ils ecrivissent pour tous les fideles, soit Hebreux, soit Gentils. Beaus. Pref. sur I'e'pitre aux Hdbreux. num. xv. " See Vol. iv. ch. Ixxii. y Jacob. Capell. observat. in ep. ad Hebr. sect. ii. et iii. '■ Ann. 61. num. vi. ^ Et sane magis adhuc futilis est eorum sententia, qui banc epistolam Paulo quidem Ilebraice scriptam volunt, ab alio autem aliquo traduclam fuisse in sermonem Graecum. Nihil enim clarius atque evidentius, quam earn lingua Graeca primitus conceptam fuisse, &c. Prolegom. num. 95— 98. St. Paul's Epistle lo the Hebrews. 87 to the New Testament, and '' the late Mr. Wetstein. and also Spanheini'^ in liis Dissertation concerning the author of tliis epistle, which well deserves to be consulted. One argu- ment for this, both of'' Spanheim, and'' Wetstein, is taken from the Greek paronomasias in the epistle, or the frequent concurrence of Greek Avords of like sound. Which seems to be an argument not easy to be answered. Some ancient christian writers were of opinion, that the epistle to the Hebrews was written in the Hebre\v language, and^ translated into Greek by Luke, or Clement of IJome. Jerom= in particular, seeius to have supposed, that this epistle was written in Hebrew. And Origen also is some- times reckoned among tliose, who were of this opinion. But I think I have shown it to be probable that'' he thought it was written in Greek. It seems likewise, that they must have been of the same opinion, who considered the elegance of the Greek language of this epistle as an objection against its having been written by St. Paul. For if the Greek epistle had been supposed to be a translation, the superior elegance of the style of this epistle above that of the other epistles of Paul could have afforded no objec- tion against his being the author of it. Indeed the ancients, as Beausobre said' formerly, had no other reason to believe that St. Paul wrote in HeljreM', but that he wrote to the Hebrews. So likewise says'" Capellus. The title deceived them. And because it was written (o '' Ad haec observamus, 1. epistolam ad Hebraeos, qure nunc Grace exsfat, non esse interpretis, sed ipsius auctoris. Qui putant ad Hebrseos non aliter quam Hebraice scnbi debuisse, manifesto falluntur. Omnes enim novi foede- ris libri, etiam Matthaei, ut ad ipsum vidimus, lingua Graeca scripti sunt. Hanc linguam plerique Judaei norant. Wetstein. T. Gr. T. II. p. 385. <^ Spanh. De Auctore epist. ad Heb. Part. III. cap. ii. torn. II. p. 245 — 252. ^ Nono, decretorium fere argumentum est a Graecorura idiotisrais, hac in epistola passim conspicuis. Pauca haec de raultis. Auctor. cap. v. versu 8. elegantem adhibet irapiovo^amav, Scil. 'EiiaOtv a(f uv cn-aOe, qualem Ile- braismus non ferebat. Graeci contra miresibi in talibus placent, &c. Spanh. ubi supr. n. xii. p. 249. "^ Porro manifestse reperiuntur paro- nomasias, et ujioioTiXtvra, quae si in aliam Imguam convertantur, pereunt. Hebr. v. 8. et ver. 14. kuXh ts koi kukh. vii. 3. cnraruip, ajxriTop. xi. 37. t.irpia9i](Tav, iTTEipaaOijaav. ix. 10. /Spw^aai Km rroyfiaai. xiii. 14. nevHuav Kat IMeXXaffav. Talia auctor potius sectatur quam interpres. Wetst. ib. p. 385. f See Vol ii. ch. ii. xxii. and Vol. iv. ch. Ixxii. s Vol. iv. ch. cxiv. ^ See Vol. ii. ch. xxxviii. and Vol. iv. ch. Ixxii. ' Vol. iv. ch. Ixxii. See likewise here, p. 86. note". ^ Qui volunt hanc epistolam Hebraice scriptam, hos decepit titulus. Cum enim ad Hebraeos scribebatur, Hebraice quoque scribi debuisse sunt opinati. Sed meminisse debuerant, etiam Ilierosolymis magnum fuisse linguae Graeca; usum. Cis Hicrosolyrnam paucissinii Judaei aliter quam Graece loqucbantur. Jacob. Capel. Observat. in Nov. Testam. p. 109. 88 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. Hebrews, they concluded it was written in Hebrew. For none of the ancients appear to have seen a copy of this epis- tle in that language. HI. I now proceed to the third inquiry, Mho is the wri- ter of this epistle. And many things offer in favour of the apostle Paul. 1. It is ascribed to him by many of the ancients. Here I think myself obliged briefly to recollect the testi- monies of ancient authors, which have been produced at large in the preceding- volumes. And I shall rank them under two heads : first, the testimonies of writers who used the Greek tongue, then the testimonies of those who lived in that part of the Roman empire, where the Latin was the vulgar language. There are some passages^ in the epistles of Ignatius, about the year 107, which may be thought by some to con- tain allusions to the epistle to the HebreMs. The epistle seems to be referred to by"" Poly carp bishop of Smyrna, in his epistle written to the Philippians in the year 108, and" in the relation of his martyrdom, written about the middle of the second century. This epistle is often quoted as Paul's by° Clement of Alexandria, about the year 194. It is received, and quoted as Paul's by p Origen, about 230. It was also received as the apostle's by i Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria in 247. It is plainly referred to by' Theog- nostus of Alexandria, about 282. It appears to have been received by^ Methodius, about 292, by '^ Pamphilus, about 294, and by" Archelaus, bishop in Mesopotamia, at the begirming of the fourth century, by " the Manichees in the fourth, and '^ by the Paulicians, in the seventh century. It was received, and ascribed to Paul by'' Alexander, bishop of Alexandria, in the year 313, and byy the Arians in the fourth century. Eusebius, bishop of Ctesarea, about 315, says, ' There'' are fourteen epistles of Paul, manifest and ' well known: but yet there are some, who reject that to ' the Hebrews, alleging, in behalf of their opinion, that it ' was not received by the church of Rome, as a writing of ' Paul.' It is often quoted by Eusebius himself,'^ as Paul's, and sacred scrij)tnre. This epistle was received by*^ Atha- uasius without any hesitation. In his enumeration of St. • See Vol. ii. p. 87, 88. ■" P. 106 " P. 111. "P. 225, 239. I' P. 495, 501. "1 P. 690, 721. ^ Vol. iii. p. 152. » P. 194—196. ' P. 226. " P 258 ' P. 403. ^ P. 448. " P. 567 y P. 581, 582. ' Vol. iv. p. 98, 102, 103. * P. 119,120. b P. 155,157. St. Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews. 89 Paul's fourteen epistles, this is placed next after the two to the Thossalonians, and before the epistles to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. The same order is observed *- in the Synopsis of scripture ascribed to him. This epistle is received as Paul's by'' Adamantius, author of a dialogue against the Marcionites in 330, and by*" Cyril of Jerusalem, in 348, by' the council of Laodicea, in 363. Where St. Paul's epistles are enumerated in the same order, as in Athanasius, just taken notice of. This epistle is also received as Paul's bys Epiphanius, about 368, by '' the Apostolical Constitutions, about the end of the fourth century, by' Basil, about 370, by'' Gregory Nazianzen, in 370, by Amphilochius' also. But he says it was not received by all as Paul's. It was received by'" Gregory Nyssen, about 371, by" Didymus of Alexandria, about the same time, by" Ephrem the Syrian, in 370, and byi' the churches of Syria, by'i Diodorus of Tarsus, in 378, by"^ Hierax, a learned Egyptian, about the year 302, by^ Serapion, bishop of Thmuis in Egypt, about 347, by ^ Titus, bishop of Bostra, in Arabia, about 362, by " Theodore, bishop of Mopsuestia, in Cilicia, about the year 394, by ^ Chrysostom, at the year 398, by'^ Severian, bishop of Gabala, in Syria, 401, by'^ Victor of Antioch, about 401, byy Palladius, author of a life of Chrysostom, about 408, by^ Isidore of Pelusium, about 412, by* Cyril, bishop of Alexandria, in 412, by'' Theodoret, at 423, by'^'^ Eutherius, bishop of Tyana, in Cappadocia, in 431, by'''' Socrates, the Ecclesiastical Historian, about 440, by'^'^ Euthalius, in Egypt, about 458, and, probably, by *^' Dionysius, falsely called the Areopagite ; bys?^ the author of the Quaestiones et Responsiones, commonly ascribed to Justin Martyr, but rather written in the fifth century. It is in'''' the Alexan- drian manuscript, about the year 500, and '' in the Sticho- metry of Nicephorus, about 806, is received as Paul's by'''' Cosmas of Alexandria, about 535, by" Leontius, of Constan- tinople, about 610, by™"" John Damascen, in 730, by"" Pho- <= P. 162, 163. "^ P. 167. ^ P. 173, 174. f P. 182. e p. 187-189. " P. 227. « P. 279. '' P. 287. ' P. 292, 293. ■" P. 29G. " P. 303. " P. 310. pp. 321,322. iP. 377. ' Vol. iii. p.288. » P. 271. » P. 274, 404. " Vol. iv. p. 395. " P. 537, 547. -^ P. 571. " P. 586. y Vol. V. p. 6. ^ p. 10. » p. 13. " P. 15, 17. " P. 33. ^"^ P. 172. « P. 71. 'f P. 73,74. sE Vol. ii. p. 129. "" Vol. V. p. 82. " P. 86. "" P. 95. " P. 143. ■"■" P. 147. "" P. 150. 90 Jl History of the Jlpostles and Evangelists. tins, about 858, by" ttlciimenius, about the year 950, and by P Theophylact in 1070. 1 shall not go any lower. I shall now rehearse such authors as lived in that part of the Roman empire, where the Latin was the vulgar tongue. Here in the first place offers Clement in his epistle to the Corinthians, written about the year 96, or, as some others say, about the year 70. For though he wrote in Greek, we rank him among Latin authors, because he was bishop of Rome. In his epistlei are divers passages, generally supposed to contain allusions, or references to the epistle to the Hebrews. Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons, about 178, as we are assured by Eusebius, alleged "^ some passages out of this epistle, in a work now lost. Nevertheless, it does not appear, that he received it as St. Paul's. By Tertullian, presbyter of Carthage, about the year 200, this^ epistle is ascribed to Barnabas. Caius, about 212, supposed to have been presbyter in the church of Rome, reckoning' up the epistles of St. Paul, mentioned thirteen only, omitting that to the Hebrews. Here I place Hippolytus, who flourished about 220. But it is not certainly known where he was bishop, whether at Porto in Italy, or at some place in the east. We have seen evidences, that*^ he did not receive the epistle to the Hebrews as St. Paul's. And perhaps that may afford an argument, that though he wrote in Greek, he lived where the Latin tongue prevailed. This epistle is^ not quoted by Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, about 248, and afterwards. Nor does it appear to have been received by" Novatus, otherwise called Novatian, presbyter of Rome, about 251. Nevertheless it was in after times received "^ by his followers. It may be thought by some, that this epistle is referred to by^ Arnobius, about 306, and ^ Lactantius about the same time. It is plainly quoted by ^another Arnobius in the fifth century. It was received as Paul's by"^ Hilary, of Poictiers, about 354, and by "^ Lu- cifer, bishop of Cagliari, in Sardinia, about the same time, and by'' his followers. It was also received as Paul's by'= C. M. Victorinus. Whether ^ it w as received by Optatus, of Mile vi, in Africa, about 370, is doubtful. It was received as Paul's by& Ambrose, bishop of Milan, about 374, by'' ° P. 154, 155. P P. 157. '' Those passages are alleged, with remarks, vol.ii. p. 46—50, and see p. 53. ' P. 176—178, and 182. * P. 288—291. ' P. 397—400. - P. 425,436. " Vol. iii.p. 40— 43, and 55. " P. 115—117. " P. 116, 120, 121. y P. 479. -^ P. 538,539. M\480. "Vol.iv.p. 179. <^ P. 250. "P. 251. <= P. 256. • P. 328. 8 P. 334. »■ P. 366. St. Paul's Epislle lo t)ic Hebrews. 91 the Priscillianists, about 878. About the year 380, was publislied a coinnientary upon thirteen epistles of Paul only,' ascribed to Hilary, deacon of Home. It was received as Paul's by ^ Philaster, bishop of Brescia in Italy, about 380. But lie takes notice that it was not then received by all. His successor Gaudentius, about 387, quotes this' epistle as Paul's. It is also readily received as Paul's by'" Jerom, about 392. And he says, it was generally received by the Greeks, and the christians in the east, but not by all the Latins. It was received as Paul's by" Rufinus in 397. It is also in** the catalogue of the third council of Carthage in 397. It is frequently quoted byi' Augustin as St. Paul's. In one place,i he says, ' It is of doubtful autho- ' rity with some. But he was inclined to follow the opinion ' of the churches in the east, who received it among- the ' canonical scriptures.' It was received as Paul's by "^ Chro- matins, bishop of Aquileia, in Italy, about 401, by ^ Innocent, bishop of Rome, about 402, by* Paulinus, bishop of Nola, in Italy, about 403. Pelagius" about 405, wrote a commentary uponthirteenepistlesof St. Paul, omitting that to the Hebrews. Nevertheless it was received by ^ his followers. It was received by" Cassian, about 424, by'' Prosper of Aquitain, about 434, and by y the authors of the works ascribed to him: by^ Eucherius, bishop of Lyons, in 434, by^ Sedulius, about 818, by^ Leo, bishop of Rome, in 440, by*^ Salvian, presbyter of Marseilles, about 440, by'' Gelasius, bishop of Rome, about 496, by* Facundus, an African bishop, about 540, by*^ Junilius, an African bishop, about 556, by= Cas- siodorius, in 556, by'' the author of the imperfect Work upon St. Matthew, about 560, by '' Gregory, bishop of Rome, about 590, by^'' Isidore of Seville, about 596, and by" Bede, about 701, or the beginning* of the eighth century. It may be now needful to make a few remarks. It is evident that this epistle was generally received in ancient times, by those christians, who used the Greek lan- guage, and lived in the eastern part of the Roman empire. I forbear to insist here on the seeming- references in Ignatius » P. 381. " P. 386, 387. ' P. 388. " P. 436, 451, 454, 455. » P. 483, 484, • P. 487. p P. 494, 506—509. 1 P. 508. ' P. 581. * P. 586. « P. 589. " P. 590. ' P. 591. " Vol. V. p. 29. =• P. 36. ' P. 38, 39. ' P. 52. " P. 57, 58. " P. 62. ' P. 65. <* P. 76. ^ P. 101. ' P. 107. 8 P. 110, 113. '^ P. 121. « P. 129, 130. '"' P. 135—137. " P. 144. 92 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. and Polycarp. But Clement of Alexandria, before the end of the second century, received this epistle as Paul's, and c^uotes it as such frequently, without any doubt or hesita- tion. And had a tradition from some before hira, concerning the reason Avhy the apostle did not prefix his name to this, as he did to the other epistles. Concerning- the Latin writers, it is obvious to remark, that this epistle is not expressly quoted, as Paul's, by any of them in the first three centuries. However, it was known to Irenaeus, and Tertullian, as we have seen, and possibly to others also. It is generally supposed, that there are divers allusions and references to this epistle, in the epistle of Clement of Rome, written to the Corinthians. However, I formerly mentioned™ two learned men, who did not think that a clear point. I have since met with another of the same mind, whose words I place" below. And I must likewise refer to a consideration, formerly" proposed: that the little notice taken of this epistle by Latin writers in the second and third centuries; and Eusebiusi' and Jeromi assuring us, that by many of the Romans in their time this epistle was not received; seem to weaken the supposition, that Clement had often alluded to this epistle. For if the church of Rome, in his time, had owned it for an epistle of Paul, it is not easy to conceive, how any Latin christians afterwards should have rejected it, or doubted of its authority. HoAvever, it is manifest, that it was received as an epistle of St. Paul by many Latin writers in the fourth, fifth, and following' centuries. The reasons of doubting' about the genuineness of this epistle, probably, were the want of a name at the beginning, and the difference of argument, or subject matter, and of style, from the commonly received epistles of the apostle, as is intimated by "^ Jerom. Whether they are sufficient reasons for rejecting this epistle. Mill be considered in the course of our argument. 2. There is nothing in the epistle itself, that renders it impossible or unlikely to be his. " See Vol. ii. p. 50. " Sed quis dubitaret, quin ex epistola ad Hebraeos multa habeat, cum Eusebius ilhid diserte annotet ? Nee tamen illud tarn exploratura est. Phrasium et sententiarum aequabtas, ex qua illud unice derivandum est (nam niisquam a Clemente citatui) non est adeo perfecta et frequens, non adeo singularis, ut ex Ep. ad Hebraeos eas repetitas esse, inde eviacatur.' Herman. Venein. Diss. ii. de Tit. ep. ad Ephes. num. viii. p. 343. ° See Vol. ii. p. 54. p Vid. Euseb H. E. 1. 3. c. 3. p. 72. B. C. and in this work, Vol. iv. eh. Ixxii. 1 See Vol. iv. ch. cxiv. ■• Ibid. id. St. Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews. 93 For the epistle appears to have been written before the destruction of Jerusalem ; as was of old observed by'' Chry- sostoni, and ' Theodoret, and has been argued also by many moderns." That the temple was still standing-, and sacrifices there offered, may be inferred from ch. viii. 4, " For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest : seeing there are priests, that offer according to the law:" and from ch. xiii. 10, " We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat, which serve the tabernacle." Moreover, if^ the temple had been destroyed, and the worship there abolished, the writer \vould not have failed to take some notice of it, in support of his argument, and for abating' the too great attachment of many to the rites of the Mosaic institution. To this purpose speaks Spanheini in a passage which I have transcribed below. And in like manner another learned commentator, to'' whom I refer. It is also probable,'' that those words, ch. iii. 13, " While it is called to-day," refer to the patience which God yet continued to exercise toward the Jewish nation. He seems to have had in view the approaching desolation of Jerusalem, which would put an end to that " to-day," and finish the time which God gave to the Jews, as a nation, to " hear his voice." And Light- foot y argues from ch. xii. 4, " Ye have not yet resisted unto blood :" that the epistle was written before the war in Judea was begun. Indeed those words have been the ground of an objection against this epistle having' been sent to the believing- Jews in Judea, because there had been already several martyrdoms in that country. That difficulty I Mould now remove. And I have received from a learned friend the following- observation, which may be of use. ' It seems to me,' says he, 'that the^ apostle here, as well as in the preceding ' Vid. Chrysost. Pr. in Ep. ad Heb. T. XII. p. 4. C. D. ' Theod. in Heb. xiii. 9, 10. " Quaerentibus, quo tempore, et unde scripta sit epistola ad Hebraeos, nihil est quod respondeamus, nisi sciiptam fuisse, cum Judan adhuc gloriarentur templo Jerosolymitano, et sacerdotio Mosaico : de quibus ubiqiie loquitur scriptor, ut etiamnum stanti- bus. Cleric. Hist. Ec. An. 69. p. 461. " Quia nata haec epistola, stante templo et Levitico sacerdotio Heb. viii. 4. Neque alias necesse fuit declamare in sacrificioram usum, et praxin sacer- dotii, penitus eo templi et urbis et reipublicae eversione sublato. Neque maxnne omnium praegnans argumentum Judseis confundendis, et coercendis pseudo- apostolis, ab ipsa jactura cultus, et Hierosolymitanse sedis restitutionis spe nulla amplius afFulgente praefermisi?set. Spanhem. ubi supra, P. II. cap. vi. p. 3. T. I. p. 229. " See Beausobre's preface to the epistle to the Hebrews, num. iii. " The same. y Harm, of the N. T. Vol. i. p. .339. ' 'Trpog rrjv ctfiapriav avTayuviKojievoi. 94 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. ' context, alludes to the Grecian games or exercises : and ' he signifies, that they, to whom he writes, had not been ' called out to the most dangerous combats, and had not ' run the immediate hazard of their lives. Which, 1 sup- ' pose, might be said of them, as a body, or church.' And I shall transfer hither Mr. Beaiisobre's note upon this place. ' There had been martyrs in Judea, as Stephen, and the ' two James's. But for the most part the Jews did not put ' the christians to death, for want of power. They were ' imprisoned and scourged. See Acts v. 40, and here ch. ' xiii. 3. And they endured reproaches, and the loss of ' their substance, ch. x. 32 — 34. These were the sufferings, ' which they had met with. The apostle therefore here ' indirectly reproves the Hebrews, that though God treated ' them with more indulgence than he had done his people ' in former times, and even than his own Son, they never- ' theless wavered in their profession of the gospel. See ' ver. 12.' 3. There are divers exhortations in this epistle, much resembling some in the acknowledged epistles of St. Paul. 1.) Heb. xii. 3» " Lest^ ye be wearied, and faint in your mind." Gal. vi. 9, " And** let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." And see 2 Thess. ii'i. 13. and Eph. iii. 13. 2.) Heb. xii. 14, " Follow*^ peace with all men, and holi- ness, without which no man shall see the Lord." An exhortation very suitable to Paul, and to the Jewish believers in Judea : admonishing them not to impose the rituals of the law u|)on others, that is, the Gentile believers, and to maintain friendship with them, though they did not em- brace the law. It has also a resemblance with Rom. xii. 18. But the words of the original are different. 3.) Heb. xiii. 1, "Let brotherly love continue:" and what follows to the end of ver. 3. Then at ver. 4, " Marriage is hononral)le. l^ut fornicators and adulterers God will judge." Here is an agreement with Eph. v. 2, 3, " And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us. But fornication and all un- deanness, and covetousness, let it Jiot be once named among" you." Ver. 4, " For this ye know, that no fornicator, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, has any inherit- ance in the kingdom of God." 4.) Ch. xiii. If), "But'' to do good, and to communicate. * iva ju] Kaiii]Tt, Tciig x^ivx^ic fKXvojuvoi. '' To Se KciXov TroiHvreg fxr] tiacuKM^tv' Kaip

;iT«t, KaraTriTaa- fiaroq, et Trpocpopn. Bez. in loc. " See Mr. Hallet upon the place, note ' p. 336. St. Paurs Epistle to the Hebrews. 97 passed about with so great a cloud ot" witnesses, let" us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us, and p let us run with patience, the race that is set before us. Ver. 2, " Looking unto Jesus, wlio** for the joy that was set before liini endured the cross." And ver. 3, " Lesf ye be wearied, and faint in your minds." And ver. 12, " Wlierefore " lift up the hands that hang" down, and the feeble knees." All these texts seem to contain allusions to the celebrated exercises and games of those times. And under each of them I have referred to, or transcribed the notes of some learned critics and conmientators, tending to illustrate them. And to these may be added, if I mistake not, the place before' taken notice of, ch. xii. 4, " Ye have not resisted unto blood, striving" against sin." 10.) Ch. xiii. 9, " Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines." Atcaxut"} TroiKiXai's kui ^evatv firj TTcpi^epecyOe, Eph. iv. 14, " That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine" KXvSwvi'^o/nevot, kui vefiifjyepofxevoi Travri avefii^ Tij;v «/xnprKTv nvTayiovt'Co/itvot. VOL. VI. II 98 Jl Hislory of the ./Jposlles and Evangelists. 12.) CI). xiii.20, 21, " Now the God of peace make you perfect." Which is a title of the Deity, no where fbiiiul ill the New Testament, but in St. Paul's epistles. And in fhem it is several times, and near the conclusion, as here. So Rom, xv. 33, " Now the God of peace be with you all." See likewise ch. xvi. 20, and Philip, iv. 9. And 1 Thess. v. 23. And " the v ery God of peace sanctify you Avholly." And 2 Cor. xiii. 11," And the God of love and peace shall be with you." 5. The conclusion of this epistle has a remarkable agree- ment with the conclusions of St. Paul's epistles in several respects. 1.) He here desires the christians, to whom he is writing', to pray for him, ch. xiii. 18, " Pray for us." So Rom. xv. 30; Eph.vi. 18,19; Col. iv. 3; 1 Thess. v. 25; 2 Thess. iii. J. 2.) It is added in the same ver. 18, " I'or we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly." Which may well come from Paul, some of the Jewish be- lievers not being- well affected to him, or being even offended with him. So says^ Theodoret upon this place, and Chry- sostom'"^ to the like purpose, very largely. To which might be added ver. 32, " And I beseech you, brethren, to suffer the word of exhortation." It is also observable, that St. Paul inakes a like profession of his sincerity, in pleading against the Jews, before Felix, Acts xxiv. 16. 3.) Having- desired the prayers of these christians for himself, he prays for them, ch. xiii. 20, 21, " Now the God of peace make you perfect through Jesus Christ : to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen." SoRom. xv. 30 — 32, having- asked their prayers for him, he adds ver. 33, " Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen. Com- pare Eph. vi. 19 — 23, and 1 Thess. v. 23 ; 2 Thess. iii. 16. 4.) Ch. xiii. 24, "Salute all them that have the rule over you, and all the saints. They of Italy salute you." The like salutations are in divers of St. Paul's epistles, Rom. xvi; 1 Cor. xvi. 16— 21; 2 Cor. xiii. 13; Philip, iv. 21, 22. Not to refer to any more. 5.) The valedictory benediction at the end, is that which Patil had made the token of the genuineness of his epistles, 2 Thess. iii. 18. So here, ch. xiii. 25, "Grace" be with * Aia/3f/3X>;ro avroiQ, wi; ravavTiu t]v rrjg X'^'P"""? fUTsaiav. Theod. in loc. T. III. p. 46-2. '■ 'iii.apTv^uTai ^t Kaiivroig i^r\Q rj etti'^oXt) VTTapxsffa ITauXs, rq) ypa^siv, on k a toiq ctc/toff (mh avviTTa6i]aaTt, Kai eic th \iyfiv, TrepiaaoTipov tv\i(TQt, 'iva ra-^iov aTroKara'raOoj vfjiiv. Eiitlial. ap. Zacagn. p. 670. ^ Kai t/c ts \eyuv, yivwoKen tov ccCtXfoi' Tjuwv Tifio6iOv anoXiXvutvov ov'tig yap av, oifiai, ccTriXiiaiv etg ^utKOi'iav TijioGeov, H fu] ITaDXoc. k. X. Euthil. ib. p. 6?]. H 2 100 A Hisfori/ of lite Apostles and Evangelists. "set at liberty," that is, from iniprisoninent : the other is dismissed, "sent abroad on an errand." In this last sense it was understood by Eutlialius. Who, in the place just cited, says, ' That scarcely any one can be thought of, be- ' side Paul, who would send Timothy abroad upon any ser- ' vice of the gospel.' And indeed this passage doth put us in mind of what Paul says to the Philippians, ch. ii. 19, "But r trust in the Lord Jes'is, to send Timothy shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort when I know your state. Him therefore I hope to send presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me. But I trust in the Lord, that I also myself shall come shortly," ver. 23, 24. Which induced Beausobre to say in the preface to this epistle: ' The sacred ^ author concludes with asking" the prayers of ' the Hebrews, ch. xiii. L9, "That he may be restored to ' them." These words intimate, that he was still prisoner, ' but that he hoped to be set at liberty. Therefore he adds, ' i)i the 23d ver. that he intended to come and see them m ith ' Timothy, as soon as he should be returned. If this ' explication be right, this epistle was written at Rome some ' time after the epistle to the Philippians, and since the depar- ' ture of Timothy for Macedonia.' Thus we are brought to the time of this epistle. Never- theless, before I proceed to speak distinctly to that, I would conclude the argument concerning- the writer of it. All these considerations just mentioned, added to the testimony of many ancient writers, make out an argument of g'reat weight (though not d(;cisive and demonstrative) that the apostle Paul is the writer of this epistle. It should be obs(>rve(l, I have hitherto declined the use of two arguments often insisted uj)on in discoursing" of this point. One of Avhich is the testimony of St. Peter: 2 epist. ch. iii. 15, 16. This 1 have omitted, because I am not satisfied that he and the author of this epistle write to the same per- sons. Nor does it appear certain to me, that St. Peter there takes any particular notice of this'' epistle as one of Paul's. '' Preface sur 1' epiire aux Ilc'breiix. n. 37. p. 429. '^ Says Mr. Hallet, Introduction, p. 21, " Some learned men have attempted ' to prove this point from wliat St. Peter says, 2 Pet. iii. 15, 16. If it could ' be proved, that lie speaks of the epistle to the Hebrews, the testimony of this ' apostle would fully determine the dispute. But as I do not think, it can be ' certainly proved, that he speaks of this epistle, without proving that St. Paul * was the author of it, 1 cannot argue from this passage. Those on the other ' side go upon the supposition, that St. Peter's epistles were written to the * Hebrews, or Jews. But it seems to me abundantly more natural to suppose, ' that they were written to Gentile christians, if we consider many passages of ' the epistles themselves.' St. Paurs Epistle lo the Hebrews. 101 However as many learned men look upon that passage of St. Peter, as a full testimony to Paul's being- the writer of this epistle, 1 shall refer to several, or transeribe below a part at least of what they say : particularly '' Mill, ' Spau- lieim, and ^ Basnage. The other argument omitted by me is that taken fronj lleb. X. 34, " For ye had compassion of me in my bonds." On this insist sJSpanheim, '' JMill, and 'Basnage, to prove that this epistle was written by l\aul. But Mr. James Pierce translates the words thus: " For ye sympathized with those who were in bonds." And in his notes says : ' Were it cer- ' tain, that the common is the true reading- of the place, ' there would be little room left to doubt of the epistle's be- ' ing- written by St. Paul. But the Alexandrian, and other ' manuscripts, of the best note, read here ^etr/uof? instead of * ^effyuot9 ^8. And the same is confirmed by ancient versions.' And that this is the truer reading, may be seen in Bengelius, ^\ etstein, and Mdl himself: thou<>h in his arauuient con- cernmg- the author of the epistle, he has been ])!eased, to argue from the conunon reading-. If Paul here referred to his bonds, 1 should think he intended his imprisonment in .Judea, as Mill thought, not at Rome, as Basnage does, in the place just cited. I make no doubt but that the He- brew believers in Judea afforded St. Paul relief and com- fort, whilst he lay prisoner at Csesarea. But as I do not here discern any plain reference to that, 1 do not form any argument from this text, in behalf of the writer of the epistle. "^ Et quidem epistolam banc earn ipsam fiiisse, quara ad Hebraeos chiisti- anos nii«erat apostolus ooster, disertis verbis D. Petri constat. Ep. 2. cap. iii. 15, &c. Mil. Proleg.ntim. 86—91. •^ Vid. Spanhem. Diss, de Auct. ep. ad Hebr. Part. 1 cap. ii.. *' Hubrae.s Pauluni scripsisse, planum est ex posteriore Petri ; ' Paulus pro sibi data sapientia scripsit vobis.' Hebraeos enim adibat scripto Petrus cir- cumcisionis apostolus. Qusenam autem Pauli ad Hebraeos scripta epistola, si nostra non est ? Ipsa igitur est, quae omnium in manibus versatur atque oculis. Basn. ann. 61. num. iv. 8 Prima esto circumstautia vinculorum ilia mentio. Capite x. ver. 34. Constat enim, soli Paulo, et fere semper, venisse hoc in usu. Et quas omnes ex Italia transmisit epistolas, vinculorum suorum mentione quasi distinxit. Spanh. ib. P. II. cap. 4. '' Aucforem habet haec epistola, si qua usquam alia, D. Paulum. Alloqui- lur auctor Ilebrzeos istos, velut ipsius in carcere meniores, ejusque vinculis av)nraOi]aavraQ. Ista apostolo nostro congruere, nemo non videt. Hieroso- lyma ip?e duos ante annos eleemosjmas ecclesiarum detulerat, ubi ab universa illic ecclosia benigne exceptus erat, toto tempore, quo Caesareas mansit incar- ceratus. Mill. Prol. num. 85. ' A manu catenata epistolam in Italia exaratam fuisse, cernimus et videmus : ' vinculis meis mecum atl'ecti fuistis.' Barnabam vero aut Lucam compedibus in Italia fuisse detentos, vete- rum in monimentis ne minima quidem litera invonimus. Basnag. An. 61. n. iv. 102 A History of the .Apostles and Evangelists. I say no more by way of argument. But there are ob- jections, which ought to be considered. 1. Obj. Heb. ii. 3, "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed vmto us by them that heard him f ' Hence it has been argued, that the writer of this epistle placeth himself with those who had received the doctrine of the gospel from Christ's apostles. But Paul had it from Christ himself, as he says at large in the first chapter of the epistle to the Galatians. This has been thought by ^ Grotius and Le Clerc' a good reason M'hy Paul should not be es- teemed the writer of this epistle. To which I answer, that it is not uncommon for Paul to join himself with those to whom he is writing, and to say us, where he might say you : especially, when he says any thing that is liumbling, and that might be thought disagreeable. So Col. i. 12, 13, " Giving thanks to the Father, who has delivered us from the power of darkness." This I take to be a plain instance. To which might be added, according to the judgment of some commentators, Eph. ii. 3, and Tit. iii. 3. The note of Grotius upon this last cited text may be observed. And now I transcribe below "' the answer of Mr. Wetstein to this objection : which is in the main agreeable to what I have just said. I would also observe, that there is another instance in this epistle, much resembling the iext, upon m hich the pre- sent objection is founded. Heb. xii. 1, "Wherefore ^ Proeterea Paulo banc epistolara abjudicat, quod hujus scriptor se iis annu- meret, qui non a Christo, sed ab ejus discipulis, notitiam evangelii acceperit. cap. ii. 3. Cum contra Paulus aucloritatem sibi addat inde, quod banc notitiam a Chiisto ipso acceperit. Grot. Pr. in ep. ad Hebr. ' Videtur et scnptor epistola; ad Hebrseos, cap. ii. 3. &c. eorum numero censeri velle, qui evangel ium acceperant ab iis, a quibus auditus erat ipse Christus. Quod in Pauluni non quadrat, qui evangelium ab ipso Jesu Christo et Deo accepisse se non falso gloriatur, Gal. i. Cleric. H. E. A. D. 69. p. 459. " Ilebr. ii. 3. Paulus se iis annumerat, qui notitiam evangelii a discipulis Christi acceperunt ; cum taraen ad Galatas non semel testetur, glorieturque, se non ab hominibus, sed ab ipso Chrisito fuisse institutum, Gal. i. 1, 12, 17 ; ch. ii. G. Ratio discriminis ex modo dictis manifesta est. In cpistola ad Galatas id agit, ut auctoritatem suani adstruat ; hie autem, ubi de '-upplicio desertoribus imjiendente loquitur, ut minus ingrata esset comminatio atque admonitio, seipsum illis annumerat, conmi. 1. An I'mac npotrtxni' roig aKsa- Oiimv, uri TTOTE Trappywyitv ttwq r/^Hc t.K^iv%o{iiBa. Postquani igitur ita rffipissct, consequens erat, ut in eadeni figura pergeret, sciiberetque t)Tic tT(DTt]{Ha tic t'luar ((3tf'.auo9t}. Ita Eph. ii. 3; Col. i. 12, 13 ; Tit. iii. 3. ubi gentium pecca+a, et pojuam imuiineiitem describit, et seipsum illis annumerat. J. J. Weti-tein. N. T. torn. II. p. 384. St. PauVs Epistle to the Ih-brews. 103 let us lay aside every weight, and the sin wliich (h)es so easily beset us." And this way of writiii<^ is suit- able to Paul's style and method in liis acknowledged epistles. Secondly, I would farther add, if it might not be esteemed too prolix, that in divers other places Ave find Paul, Avhen he asserts the resurrection of Jesus Christ, insisting also upon the testimony of the other apostles, and likewise of other disciples. Thus, preaching" at Antioch in Pisidia, Acts xiii. 30, 31, " Hut Cod raised him from the dead. AikI he was seen many days of them, which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, M'ho are his witnesses unto the people." And also 1 Cor. xv. at the beghming : wliich I shall recite largely, as full to the point. " Moreover, bre- thren, I declare unto you the gospel, mIucIi 1 preached unto you, which also ye have received. By m hich also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you. For I delivered unto you first of all, how that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures : and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day, according- to the scriptures: and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve. After that he was seen of James, then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me." And this context, perhaps, will justify me in proceeding- somewhat farther. When St. Paul says, 2 Tim. ii. S, " Remember, that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, according- to my gospel :" he intends, as I apprehend, to lead Timothy to recollect the gospel, that had been preached by him in such and such circumstances, confirined by miracles Avrought by him, and agreeable to the pro- phecies of the ancient scriptuies, and the testimony of the other apostles, and disciples of Christ. As he also says, at ver. 2, of the same chaptei-, " The things that thou hast heard of me among- many witnesses:" literally, " by many wit- nesses :" that is, confirmed by many witnesses. And he may be supposed to intend not only " the prophets, which is Grotius's interpretation, but likewise the testimony of all the apostles of Christ, and of many others, to which he had appealed in his preaching. Upon the whole, it seems to me, that tlie expression of this text is highly becoming- the apostle Paul, especially, suppos- ing him to be here Avriting- to the believers of Jerusalem ana(p9ai Se Efipawir 'Eppa'iicrj rpiofy. Ahkuv St (piXortjioic avnjv fiidepurivtvaavTa, (leSuvai ToiQ 'EWjitiv, k. \. ap. liii-eb. 11. E. 1. (J. c. 14. in. ■■ Vol. 11. ch. xxxviii. from Euseb. H. E. 1. 6. cap. 25. • H. E. 1. .3. cap. 38. St. Paurs Epistle to the Hebrews. 105 ' those two writings very dift'erent.' This passage has been ah'ca(Jy twice quoted by us : once in the eliapter of* Cle- ment' bisiiop of Rome, and again in that" of Eusebins. Phihister, bishop of 15rescia, about 380, as fornierly quoted, says, ' There^ are some, who do not allow the epistle * to the Hebrews to be Paul's : but say, it is either an ' epistle of the apostle IJarnabas, or of Clement bishop of ' liome. But some say, it is an epistle of Luke the evangelist. ' 3Ioreover, some reject it, as more eloquent than the ' apostle's other writings.' Jerom, about 392, in his article of St. Paul in the book of Illustrious Men, as'" before cited also, says, 'The epistle, * called To the Hebrews, is not thought to be his, because of ' the difference of the argiunent and style: but either liar- ' nabas's, as Tertullian thought, or the evangelist Luke's, ' according- to some others; or Clement's, bishop of Rome: * who, as some think, being much with him, clothed and ' adorned Paul's sense in his own language. Moreover ' he wrote as a Hebrew to Hebrews in pure Hebrew, it ' being- his own language. Whence it cauie to pass that, * being- translated, it has more elegance in the Greek, than ' his other epistles.' I need not allege here any more testimonies relating- to this matter. We sufficiently perceive by what has been said, that many ancient christians supposed the Greek of this epistle to have a superior elegance to the received epistles of St. Paul. And to some of them the Greek was their native language. And others, as Jerom, though Latins, may be supposed to have been good judges in tliis matter. Some learned men of late times, as Grotius and Le Clerc, liave thought this to be an insuperable objection. Of this opniion likewise was'' Jacob Tollius: who in his notes upon Longinus, Of the Sublime, has celebrated the sublimity of this epistle, and particularly the elegance of the begin- < ning- of it. Which alone he thinks sufficient to show, that ' Vol. ii. ch. ii. " Vol. iv. ch. Ixxii. ^ Ibid. ch. ex. " Ibid. ch. cxiv. " Ejusmodi Tjypiy/Ltse. k«i avairav the Hebrews. 109 ' be his, than tlic first epistle of .John is ilonied to be John's ' upon that account.' Tilk'Uiont says, ' Possibly'' Paul considered it as a book, 'rather than a letter: since he makes an excuse for its • brevity, ch. xiii. 22. For indeed it is short for a book, ' but loiio- for a letter.' The same thoui>ht is in ' Estins. "This may induce us to recollect an observation of Chry- sostom to the like purpose, formerly "' taken notice of. It is, I think, observable, that there is not at the begin- ning- of this epistle any salutation. As there is no name of the writer, so neither is there any description of the people, to whom it is sent. It appears from the conclusion, that it was sent to some people in a certain place. And, undoubt- edly, they to whom it was sent, and by whom it was received, knew very well from whom it came. Neverthe- less there might be reasons for omitting an inscription, and a salutation at the beginning-. This might arise from the circumstances of things. There might be danger of offence in sending- at that time a long letter to Jcms in Judea. And this omission might be in part owing- to a regard for the bearer, who too is not named. The only person named throughout the epistle is Timothy. Nor was heat that time present with the Mriter. Indeed I imagine, that the two great objections against this being a genuine epistle of the apostle ; the elegance of the style, and the want of a name and inscription, are both owing- to some particular circumstances of the writer, and the people to w hom it was sent. The people, to whom it was sent are plainly Jews in Judea; and the writer, very probably, is Paul. Whose circumstances at the breaking up of his confinement at Kome, and his setting out upon a new journey, might be attended with some peculiar em- barrassments; which obliged him to act differently from his usual method. IV. Thus we are brought to the fourth and last part of our inquiry concerning this epistle, the time and place of writing it. Mill was of opinion, that" this epistle was written by Paul in the year C3, in some part of Italy, soon after he had been released from his imprisonment at Rome. ^ S. Paul. art. 46. Mem. T. I. ' Sed post haec omnia, an vera ratio omissse salulationis est, quod haec epistola scripta est per modum libri, non per niodum epistolas ? Unde in fine dicit : ' Efenim perpaucis scripsi vobis.' Quod de epistola non erat dicturus, cum sit epistola prolixa. Est. de Auct. Ep. ad Hebr. p. 893. ™ See Vol. iv. ch. cxviii. " Interea, mox ut e carcere evasit apostolus, recessit in ulteriorem aliquam Italiae partem, ibique scripsit episto- 1am ad Hebraeos. Proleg. num. 83. 110 A Hislory of the Apostles and Evangelists. Mr. Wctstein° appears to have been of the same opinion. TillemontP likewise placeth tliis epistle in tlie year -63, immediately after the apostle's being set at liberty ; who, as he s^ays, was still at Rome, or at least in Italy. Basnage'J speaks of this epistle at the year 61, and supposeth it to be written during the apostle's imprisonment. For he after- wards speaks of the epistle to the Epliesians, and says, it *■■ was the last letter, which the apostle wrote during the time of his bonds. L'Enfant and Beausobre, in their general pre- face to St. Paul's epistles, observe, ' that "* in the siibscrip- ' tion at the end of the epistle it is said to have been ' written from Italy. The only grovmd of which, as they ' add, is what is said, ch. xiii. 24. " They of Italy salute ' you." This has made some think, that the apostle wrote ' to the Hebrews, after he had been set at liberty, and when ' he was got into that part of Italy which borders upon ' Sicily, and in ancient times was called Italy. Nevertheless, ' there is reason to doubt of this. When he requests the ' prayers of the Hebrews, that " he might be restored to ' them the sooner," he intimates, that he was not yet ' set at liberty.' Accordingly, they place this epistle in the year 62. There is not any great difference in any of these opinions concerning the time, or place of this epistle : all supposing, that it was written by the apostle, either at Rome, or in Italy, near the end of his imprisonment at Rome, or soon after it was over, before he removed to any other country. I cannot perceive why it may not be allowed to have been written at Rome. St. Paul's first epistle to the Corin- thians was V, ritten at Ephesus. Nevertheless he says, ch. xvi. 19, •' The churches of Asia salute you." So now he might send salutations from the christians of Italy, not ex- cluding, but including those at Rome, together with the rest throughout that country. The argument of L'Enfant and Beausobre, that Paul was not yet set at liberty, because he requested the prayers of the " Hebrews, that he might be restored to them the sooner," appears not to me of any weight. Though Paul w^as no longer a prisoner, he might request the prayers of those to wliom he was writing, that he might have a pros- perous journey to them, whom he was desirous to visit, and " Wetst. N. T. torn. II. p. 387. in. p S. Paul. art. 46. '' Ann. Gl.num. ii. — vi. ■■ Epistolarum oninium, qiias primis in vinculis exaravit apostolus, ea, quse ad Ephesios, ultima esse videtur. Ibid. num. vii. ' Pref. gen. sur les epitres deS. Paul. num. lii. Si. P(/iut the show- ing that is deferred till by and by. 3. That this epistle was sent to the church at Ephesus, we are assured by the testimony of all catholic christians in all past ages. This we can now say with confidence, having" examined the principal christian Avriters from the first ages to the be- ginning of the twelfth century. In all which space of tioie there appears not oi^ who had any doubt about it. The testimony of some of these is especially remarkable, on account of their early age, or their learning, or some other considerations. One of them, remarkable for his early age, is Ignatius, who was bishoj) of Anti(»ch in the latter part of the first, and the beginning of the second century, and sufl^ered martyrdom at Rome in the year 107, or, as some think, in 110. In a •• See Dr. Benson upon 1 Tim. iii. 15. I *> IIG A History of the .^Jposilcs and Evangelists. letter of his to the Ephesians, m ritten at Smyrna, as he was going from Antioch to Rome, he says, ' Ye ' are the com- ' panions in the mysteries of the gospel of Paul, the sancti- ' fied, the martyr, [or l)ighly commended,] deservedly most ' happy, at whose feet may 1 be found, when I shall have ' attained unto God, m ho throughout all his epistle makes ' mention of you in Christ Jesus.' He plainly means the epistle of Paul to the Ephesians, in which the apostle commends those christians, and never blames them. So I wrote in the first edition in 1734, Avhen I collected the passages of Ignatius, bearing testimony to the books of the New Testament. Afterwards, in 1735, was published the letter above mentioned at the end of the first edition of Dr. Benson's History of the first Planting the Christian Re- ligion. Which occasioned my adding a note upon that quo- tation from Ignatius, at p. 154 — 156, of the second edition of the first volume of this work in 1748. ' The learned writer of that letter, instead of ^wTj^iovcvei * v/iiwu would read ^ii")]uovevuj vfiwp : meaning that Ignatius ' himself mentioned the Ephesians in every epistle. In an- ' swer to which I said, that conjecture appears to be with- ' out foundation : forasmuch as in all the editions of Igna- * tius's epistles the verb is in the third person : not only in ' the Greek of the smaller epistles, Avhich [ translate, but ' also in the old Latin version of the same small epistles. ' Qui in omni epistola memoriam facit vestri in Jesu Christo, ' So likewise in the Greek interpolated epistles, and in the ' Latin version of the same. There is therefore no various * reading. And a new one ought not to be admitted, unless ' the sense should rec^uire it. Which it does not appear ' to do here. For Ignatius is extolling the Ephesians. And ' one part of their glory is, that the apostle throughout his ' epistle to them had treated (hem in an iionourable manner.' So I wrote in the note just referred to. And though that learned writer has been since pleased to publish a postscript to his letter, he has not produced any manuscript, or version of this epistle of Ignatiuf, where the verb is found in the first person. However, in order to support his proposed reading he excepts to our interpreting the word fwrjfiovevio, of an honourable mention. In answer to which 1 f. ad Comm. in S. PauliEp. ap. Bib. P. P. T. X. p. 144. II. " Ephesii sunt Asiani. Hi, accepto verbo, veritatis perstifeiunt in fide. Hos conlaudat Apostolus, scribens eis Roma a carcere. Argum. ep. ad Eph. ib. p. 217. A. ° qu£e scripsit S. Ignatius, S. Paulum ' in tota epistola memoriam eomm facere in Jesu Christo.' Haec a martyre non otiose aut frigide, sed vcre, imo signanter et vigilantcr dicta sunt. Tota eniju epistola, ad Ephesios scripta, ipsos Epliesios, eorumque honorcm et ciuani maxirae spectat, et sunmie honorificam eorum memoriam ad posteros Iransmittit. In aliis epistolis apostolus cos, ad quos scribit, saepe acriter objurgat aut parce laudat. Ilic omnibus modis perpetuo se Ephesiis applicat, illosque tamquani egrcgios christianos tractat, evangelio salutis firmiter credentes, et Spiritu promLisionis obsignatos, concives s;inctorum, et dumesticos Dei. Pro its sa^pe ardenler orat, ipsos hortatur, obtestatur, laudat, utniinque sexum sedulo instruit, suum erga eos singiilarera atiectum ubiquc prodit. Pearson. Vind. Ignat. Part 2, cai). x. subinit. The Epistle inscribed lo lite Ephcsiuns was written tu them. ] 19 * remain, hoiv to reconcile the present reading" in lonatins, ' with Dr. Mill's reasons aoainst 8t. Paul's ctjisth' bcinji ' Mritten to the Ephesians. The most j)lausihle solution ' otMhicli seems to be that in 3Ir. Locke. ' And what there follows to the end. 1 think we should cheerfully accept of Mr. Locke's, or any other reasonable solution of the difficulty, if there be any. This, so far as 1 am able to judge, is better than to attempt the alteration of a passage in an ancient author, wilhout the authority of any manuscript, when there is nothing- in the coherence, that necessarily requires it. And much better, than to alter a text of an epistle of the New Testament, contrary to the authority of all manuscripts, and the concurring testimony of all ancient christian writers. Beside that passage, there arc in Ignatius's epistle to the Ephesians, many allusions and references to St. Paul's epis- tle to the Ephesians. Which shows, that he believed that epLstle to have been -written to the church at Ephesus. Those allusions (though not all of them) were taken notice of by us long- P ago. And Dr. Jortiu having observed, that'i Ignatius in his twelfth chapter takes notice of St. Paul's epistle to the Ephesians, and his martyrdom, adds, ' And as he was w riting to the same church, he often alludes ' to the apostle's letter to them.' But there is one word in the twelfth chapter of Ignatiiis's epistle to the Ephesians, of which I have not yet taken sufficient notice. I mean the word avm-iva-at. " Ye are," says he, " the companions of Paul in the mysteries of the g-ospel :" or, "ye are partakers of the mysteries of the gospel w ith Paul." This is said out of a regard to St. Paul's epistle to the Ephesians. And it fully shows, that Ignatius thought that epistle to have been sent to the church, to which himself was then writing. For that is their distin- guishing- character : at least it is a character, Avhich is more especially the character of the christians to whom that letter is written. I formerly ^ gave an account of Palladius, author of a Dialogue of the Life of Chrysostom, about the year 408. In that work Palladius has an argument, in which he observes, ' that Paul had called the Cretans liars. Tit. i. ' 12; the Galatians stupid. Gal. iii. 1 ; and the Corinthians ' proud, 1 Cor. v. 2. On the other hand*' he calls the '' See Vol. ii. p. So. i See the first volume of his Remarks upon Ecclesiastical History, p. 56. ' Vol. v. p. 6. " 1] UVaTToKlV TTl'^HQ 'PoJ/iOt8C OTTOIOoXw)', Kal flV^aS E0£(Tt8e> Oig KOI v\l^)]\oTf(>oi> tTTiTtWu, Kai (piXa£i\ ithout insisting now on any other places. " But that ye may also know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus a beloved brother, and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known unto you all things; whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts." This plainly shows, that the epistle had not a general inscription, " to saints and faithful men," but was inscribed to the saints of some place. And who should they be, but the saints and faithful at Ephesus: to whom it is inscribed in all Greek manuscripts, and in all versions, and in all catalogues of the b;ioks of the New Testament, whether composed by councils or others ? 4. Once more. St. Paul himself says, 2 Tim. iv. 12, " And Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus," very prol)ably referring to this epistle, as^ Mas shoMn some M'hile ago. This is Mhat Whitby intends at the begimiing of his preface to this epistle before transcribed. ' That this epistle to the Ephe- ■^ See Vol. iv. ch. xcvii. ' See before, p. 34. The Epistle inscribed to the Ephcsians was written to them. 127 ' sians was indeed written by St. Paul, and directed to ' them, and not to any other churcli, we cannot doubt, if we ' believe either the epistle, or St. Paul himself'.' By the testimony of the epistle he means the inscrij)tion at the beginning-, where is " at Ephesus," in all manuscripts and versions. By the testimony of St. Paul himself he means what is said, 2 Tim. iv. 12, Cjuoted above. Having" finished the argument in favour of the genuineness of the common inscription of this epistle, which to me ap- pears suflicient and satisfactory, 1 now propose to con- sider objections, which have been raised by Mill, and others. I.Obj. 'It is said, that there are in this epistle divers ' expressions, not suited to the christians at Ephesus, where ' Paul had been twice, and spent there almost three years. ' See Acts xviii. 19—21 ; xix. and xx. l,and 17—38.' Says Mr. Pierce, in the place before referred to, repre- senting Mill's argument, 'He has proved it highly impro- ' bable, that the epistle was at first Mritten to the Ephcsians. ' St. Paul had resided among' them, and " kept back no- ' thing- that was profitable unto them." How then ' could he write to them, as though he had never seen, or ' been among- them, but only had heard of them ? Eph. i. 5, ' " Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord ' Jesus, and love to all the saints." Again, is it likely he ' would refer those to whom he had declared all the counsel ' of God, so long- together, to a bare report of himself? ' Eph. iii. 2, " If ye have heard of the dispensation of the ' g-race of God, which is given me to you-ward." Or ' would he suppose, that they m ho had heard him preach a ' thousand times would need to " understand his knowledge ' in the mystery of Christ," from m hat lie said in a few verses, ' or even the whole of that short epistle?' Eph. iii. 4. To the like purpose another learned author, whom like- wise I shall transcribe here, that this objection may appear in all its strength, ' He"' intimatefh, that he had oidy heard ' of their faith in Christ, and of their love to all christians, ' ch. i. 15. Again, he not only mentioneth his " hearing ' of their faith in Christ," but, ch. iii. 1, 2, he speaks, as if ' he was dubious, whether they had heard of the extraordi- ' nary revelations, which he had received from heaven.^ ' And verses 3, 4, he intimateth, that if they had never heard ' of these things before, they might understand them from ' the brief hints which he had given them in this epistle. Is ' this like St.Paul's style to the churchesof hisoM n planting ? ■" Dr. Benson's History of the first Planting the Christian Religion, Vol, II. p. 272. fii-st edit. p. 292. second edit. 128 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. ' Or could a few lines, or even a larg-er epistle than ' this, have given them so clear a knowledge of St. Paul's ' illumination, as their hearing him a thousand times? For ' had he not been among them for the space of three years, ' warning" every one of them night and day with tears?' But this difficulty, if I mistake not, Avill disappear upon farther consideration, and a fuller examination of the matter. First. It appears from the epistle itself that the chris- tians, to whom it is sent, were not unknown to Paul, nor they to him; but they were mcII acquainted with each other. That the apostle was acquainted with these christians, must, I think, be evident to all, wlio read without prejudice the lirst fourteen verses of the first chapter of this epistle. L insist only upon ver. 13, " In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salva- tion : in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with the holy Spirit of j)romise." How could the apostle v/ritethus to any, but to such, whose conversion to Christi- anity he was Avell acquainted with, and that upon their believing- they had received gifts of the Spirit ? How could any man write thus to people whom he had but lately heard of? There are also many other passag-es of this epistle, which show the apostle's knowledge of the state of these christians, both before, and after their conversion. Some of which I must select here. Ch. ii. 1, 2, " And you hath he cpiickened, who Mere dead in trespasses and sins: wherein in time past ye walked according- to the course of this world." and throughout that chapter to the end. Then at ch. iii. 13, "Wherefore I desire, that ye faint not at my tribulation for you, Avhich is your glory." That must be said to christians, of whose tender affection for him he was very sensible : recollecting-, it is likely, what had happened at Miletus, as related, Acts xx. 36 — 38. And indeed it is throughout an affectionate, as well as instructive and useful epistle. Ch. iv. 20, " But ye have not so learned Christ." Ver. 21," If so be," or ""forasmuch as ye have heard him, and " ' Si tamen illud audisf is ;'] ' Si tamen,' Graece, ' siquidem.' Non enim dulntans hoc dicit apostolus, sed magis rem • confirmans,' uti post Chry?osto- miim annotat Tiieophylactus. Nam et alias ititerdum vim confinnandi habet conjunctio, si, ut secunda?ad Thessalon. prime vers. 6. Est. ad Kph. iv. 21. The Epistle Inscribed to the Ephesiaiis was written to them. 129 have been laui>ht the truth as it is in Jesus." This the apos- tle knew very well. I cannot I'orbenr to recite this place more largely, from ver. 20 to 34, "Ikit ye have not so learned Christ, foras- nuich as ye have heard him, and have been instructed in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to° put off' with respect to the former conversation, the old man, which is corrupt accord- ing-to deceitful lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and to put on the new man, which is created accord- ing* to God in righteousness and true holiness." Certaiidy these are St. Paul's own converts and disciples. The case of these people resembles that of the Galatians, Ch. iii. 1, " Before whose eyes Jesus Christ had been evidently set forth crucified among- them." But to these christians, at Ephe- sus, the apostle expresseth himself with more mildness, as was fit, than to the Galatians. Then ver. 30, "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye were sealed unto the day of redemption :" or with M'hich ye were sealed in the day of redemption. These Gentile christians had received the Spirit. And from whom, I pray, if not from St. Paul '? And that they had a variety of spiritual gifts, is manifest from ch. v. 18 — 20. Ch. v. 8, " For ye w^ere sometime darkness : but now are ye light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light." Which shows, that the apostle knew the state of these christians before and after their conversion. And that St. Paul was acquainted with then), and they with him, appears to me very evident from ch. vi. 21, 22. Secondly, at ch, i. 15, are words, upon which an objec- tion has been formed, as we have seen. " Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints :" that is, according to Mr. Locke's para- phrase : ' Wherefore I also here in my confinement having- ' heard of the continuance of your faith in Christ Jesus and ' your love to all the saints.' And in his preface to this epistle Mr. Locke has these expressions. ' Wherefore ' when he heard that the Ephesians stood firm in the faith, ' whereby he means their confidence of their title to the ' privileges and benefits of the gospel, without submission ' to the law, he thanks God for them.' Whitby's paraphrase of this verse is to this purpose : * Wherefore I also having- heard of your stedfast faith in the ' Lord Jesus, and your increasing- love to all the saints ; that ° See Dr. Doddridge upon the place, whose version, in the main, I have here adopted. VOL. VI. K 1 30 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. ' is, that the faith and love wrought in you continues sted- ' fast, and aboundeth.' To the like purpose also? Grotius, whose words I have placed below. Theodoret's note upon ver. 15 and 16, is to this purpose : ' Hence some have supposed, that the apostle vrrote this ' epistle to the Ephesians, when he had not yet seen them. ' But they should consider, that writing- to the Corinthians, ' concerning- Avhom he had received some disagreeable in- ' formation, he says, " It has been related to me of you, my ' brethren, by them which are of the household of Chioe, ' that there are contentions amorig you," 1 Cor. i. 11. As ' therefore when he had received information of some things ' disagreeable, he wrote with grief of mind : so when he ' had received an account of things aofreeable concernin"- ' these Ephesians, he bestows commendation. He praiseth ' them, both for their piety and for their liberality to the ' saints ; whereupon he also gives thanks to God, the author ' of all fi'ood thino-s.' So that this text was no difficulty at all with Theodo- ret. However, it may be expedient that 1 should enlarge somewhat farther. I observe, then, that St. Paul writes in the same manner to Philemon, his own convert, \> hose faith therefore he cer- tainly knew. Philem. 4, 5 : "I thank my God, making- mention of thee always in my prayers : hearing of thy love, and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints." That Philemon had been converted to the faith of the gospel by Paul, I suppose to be evident from ver. 19: " Albeit 1 do not say unto thee, how thou owest to me thy ownself besides." So that text i has been generally understood : and how it can be interpreted other- wise, I do not conceive. Whitby's paraphrase is: '"Albeit I do not say unto ' thee, how thou owest to me," by m hom ihou wast con- * verted, " even thy ownself," or the Mell-being of thy soul ' " besides." ' Beausobre and L'Enfant in their preface to the epistle to Philemon express themselves in this manner. ' Philemon ' was a considerable person at Colosse, a city of Phrygia. ' St. Paul had converted him, either at Ephesus, or some p Loquitur autem Paulus de profectu evangelii apud Ephesios, ex quo ipse ab illis di&cesserat. Grot, in Eph. i. 14. '* Cx'terum, si ad jus meum redeam, propter sermonem Christi, quern tibi evangelizavi, et christianius effectus es, teipsiim niihi debes. Hieron. in Ep. ad Philem. T. IV. p. 4.02. The Epistle inscribed to the Ephcsians was written to them. 131 ' other city of Asia, when he preaclied the gospel in that ' country : or else at Colosse itself, in one of the journies ' which lie had made in Phrygia.' There are some other things to be observed here concern- ing" this person. For in the first verse of that epistle Paul calls Piiilemon beloved, and his fellow-labourer; which, if I am not mistaken, indicate personal acquaintance, and injply their having laboured together in the service of the gospel at Colosse, or Ephesus, or in some other place. And yet St. Paul, writing- to Philemon, speaks of his " having- heard of his faith and love." Still flirther, it appears to me highly probable, that One- simus, in whose behalf this epistle was written, knew Paul before he saw him at Jtome. lie either had seen Paul at his master's house at Colosse, or else at Ephesus, when attending upon his master there. Paul was a prisoner at Kome, and could not go abroad. " He dwelt in his own hired house, Mith a soldier that kept him," Acts xxviii. 16, and 30. It is likely, therefore, that Onesimus came first to Paul. Being- in straits, and knowing Paul's benevolent temper, and what civilities he had received from his master, Philemon, he might hope for some relief from him. Or, possibly, hearing- that Paul was at Rome, and recollecting- the discourses which he had heard him make, when attend- ing on Philemon, he was touched with remorse for the faults which he had been guilty of, and came to Paul for farther instruction in the things of religion, and for advice and comfort. He might also encourage himself with hopes of Paul's interceding- in his behalf, and obtaining- a reconcilia- tion with his master. Says Beausobre in his preface to the epistle to Philemon, ' It can hardly be doubted, that the repentance of his fault ' obliged Onesimus to come to Paul, whom he knew to be ' his master's fiiend. For otherwise, he might have remained ' unknown at Rome.' Philemon then Avas well known to Paul. Nevertheless, at the beginning of his epistle to him, he thanks God, " having heard of his love and faith." The meaning- is, he had received information of the continuance of his faith, and of its bearing good fruit. If Paul could write thus to Philemon, his convert, friend, and fellow-labourer, he might M rite in a like manner to other christians, to whom he was no stranoer. So likewise to the Colossians, ch. i, 3, 4; " We give thanks to God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you : since we heard of vour faith in K 2 132 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints :" that is, having- heard of the continuance of your faith, and of the good fruits of it. This he had been assured of by Epaphras, who had come to the apostle at Rome. It is not to be supposed, that Paul now first heard of the faith of the Colossians or the Laodiceans. 1 think that the Colossians Mere Paul's own converts, and that the church there had been planted by him. But supposing- that to be uncertain, I imagine, it cannot be questioned, that the church there had been planted a good while ago, by some of the apostle's assistants and fellow-labourers. Consequently, the apostle did not now first know, and hear of the faith and love of the christians at Colosse. He must have known it before he came to Rome, and before Jie was apprehended at Jerusalem. But he liad lately received good tidings concerning- their steadiness and perseverance from some, who had come from them to him at Rome. St. Paul, since his coming- to Rome, had received from Tychicus an account of the state of things at Ephesus, which upon the whole was very pleasing. He had received from Epaphras a like account of the state of things at Co- losse, and particularly a good account of the conduct of Philemon. For all which he praiseth God in his epistles to them. Indeed it could not but be matter of much joy to the apostle, to hear of the continued faith of christians in several places, notwithstanding- the many difticultics attend- ing- the profession of Christianity^, and notwithstanding the discouragement which his own long- captivity might have occasioned in the minds of many. In these three epistles, to the Ephesians, the Colossians, and Philemon, are the same expressions, near the beginning, " having- heard of your faith and love." And they are all to be understood in alike manner. If these words Mere to be understood in the epistle to the Ephesians of " noM' first Jiearing:" it might be as M-ell argued, that the epistle could not be Mritten to the Laodiceans. For, as before intimated, it may be reckoned certain, that before Paul came to Rome he knew of the faith of the church at Laodicea. Thirdly, in the next place I consider that part of the objection, which is raised from Eph. iii. 2, 3, 4, " If ye have Inward of the dispensation of the grace of Cod, Mhich is given me to you-nard : how that by revelation he made knoM'U unto me the mystery, as 1 Mrote before in a iew Mords : m hereby ye may understand my knoM'ledge in the mystery of Christ. »> The Epistle inscribed to the Ephcsians was written to them. 133 To wliicli part of the objectiou I answer, that " if" ye liave Ijeard of the dispensation," may be rendered, '* since," or " forasmuch as ye have heard," and what follows. So Thcophylact, approved by Whitby upon the place. I observe farther. These things are as properly said to the Ephcsians, as to any other christians in that country, or thereabout. They were all acquainted, and much alike acquainted with them. If such expressions might be used in an epistle to the Colossians, or the Laodiceans, they might be used in an epistle to the Ephcsians. No Centile christians, whether converted immediately by Paul himself, or by some of his assistants or fellow-labourers, could be ignorant of it. Nor could Paul doubt m hether they knew it. Nevertheless he might judge it proper to hint these things, the more to contirm the instructions, and exhorta- tions which he sent them, and to secure (heir steadiness in the faith and profession of the pure gospel of Christ, as they had been taught. And does he not speak more largely, and more distinctly of this matter, in his epistle to the Galatians, whom none ever denied to be the apostle's converts? Gal. i. 11—20; " But I certify you, brethren, ^ivwpi^w Be vfiiif, that the gospel, Mhich was preached of me, is not after men. For ye have heard of my conversation in time past But it pleased God to reveal his Son in me Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not." These things the Galatians were not ignorant of. But in his epistle he reminds them of them, and in a very solemn manner. The writers, from whom this objection was taken, speak of the Ephcsians having- heard the apostle 'preach a thou- ' sand times,' and ask: ' Could the apostle suppose, that ' they who had heard him preach a thousand times, could ' need to understand his knowledge of the mystery of ' Christ, from what he said in a few verses, or even from ' the whole of this short epistle?' But those expressions appear to me very strong, and even unjustifiable: though they are Marranted by ^ Mill, whom those learned men follow. He and they seem to conceive of the christians at Ephe- sus, as a small society, consisting- perhaps of two or three hundred people. And they speak, as if they supposed that church to have been formed and planted before the apostle came thither, or very soon after his arrival : and that they had all heard him preach once at least every day of the ■■ Quomodo convenit hoc civibus Ephesinis, qui sexcenties praedicantem aiidierant apostolum ? Mill. Prol. num. 72. 134 A Hislory of the Apostles and Evangelists. three years that lie resided in that city. How else could they think that the christians at Ephesus had heard Paul preach a thousand times 1 He says indeed to their elders at Miletus, Acts xx. 31, that "for the space of three years he had not ceased to warn every one night and day with tears." Certainly the apostle was very diligent in making* converts, and in confirming" the believers there. But con- versions were made gradually, not all at once, as is evident from the account, which we have of Paul's preaching- at Ephesus, in the nineteenth chapter of the Acts ; where also St. Luke observes, at ver. 10, " that all they which dwelt in Asia, heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks." This may lead us to think that Paul bad many converts in several parts of Asia., Some of these may have seen, and heard the Apostle at Ephesus once only, or however not often. To all these the epistle to the Ephe- sians was sent. The inscription " to the saints and faithful at Ephesus," the chief city, woidd comprehend all the be- lievers in the country. And some converts may have been made since the apostle Avas there. However, though it should be allowed, that most of these christians had heard the apostle often, the reading" of this epistle might be of great use to them. For it is an excellent epistle, as all must allow, and not inferior to the most admired of St. Paul's writings. I have now considered the first, and, as I suppose, the principal objection, 2. Obj. It is said, ' that in all St. Paul's epistles, written ' to particular churches, there is some particular case men- ' tioned, respecting each church, that seems to be one reason ' at least for writing" to them : which is also observed in his ' epistle to the Colossians, whom he there cautions against ' the worship of angels.' I answer. That is a just observation. And the same may be found in Jerom's preface to his Commentary upon this ej)istle to the Ephesians : where he says, as** the blessed John in the Revelation, writing to the seven churches, either reproves the faults, or commends the virtues of each : so likewise, he says, does the apostle Paul in his epistles. And ' Necesse est enim, ut juxta diversitates loconim, et tcmporiim, c1 hominum, quibus scnptae sunt, diversas et causas, et argumenta, etongines habeant. Et, quomodo beatus Joannes in Apocalypsi sua ad septem scnbens ecclesias, in unaquaque earum specialia vol vitia reprehend.t, vel virtutes probat ; ifa et sanctus apostolus Paulus per singulas eccles:as vulneribus niedetur illatis, nee ad instar imperiti medici uno collyrio omnium oculos vult curare. Pr. i. in ep. ad Eph. T. IV. p. 320. The Epistle iiisaibed lo the Ephesians was wriltni lo them. 135 he supposcth this epistle to have been written to the cliris- tiaiis at Ephesiis, and to be suited to their case. But v.e are not to expect, that even an apostle should censure, and find (iiult Avhere there is little or no occasion for it. It becomes him to own the good tenjper and con- duct of any church that deserves it. And what church could be so likely to deserve mild treatment, as the church at Ephesus, which had had so much of the apostle's pre- sence, and of his favourite disciple Timothy, upon whom he has bestoMed so great commendations'? 1 Cor. iv. 17; xvi. 10; Philip, ii. 19—22; and who undoubtedly would be faithful and diligent, where he was sent occasionally only, or where he was stationed for a while. This was the case here. I suppose that Timothy was left at Ephesus, when Paul went up to Jerusalem. There he continued till after the apostle's arrival at Rome, and after the writing of this epistle to the Ephesians, of which we are now speaking. Moreover, as is well known, when Paul was going up to Jerusalem, he delivered, at Miletus, a most pathetic charge to the elders of that church, and to Timothy with them, as 1 suppose. See Acts xx. 17—38, particularly 28—31, which certainly must have excited all to faithfulness and zeal in the performance of their duty. Indeed he says, " I know, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock." There would arise men, that would endeavour to devour, and lay Maste the church of Ephesus. Nevertheless, I think these earnest Avarnings of the apostle must have been of great use to defeat the designs of such evil men : so that they should not be able to do nuich mischief there, at least for some M'hile. And says the apostle, ver. 31 ; " Watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to Avarn every one of you night and day with tears." This the apostle does again very suitably in this epistle, in divers places which cannot be overlooked, nor passed by us here. So Eph. iv. 1, " I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you, that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called." ver. 17, " This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles," and what follows. So also ch. v. 1 And vi. 12 — 17. These warnings have, probably, a respect to temptations, which the Ephesians might meet with from their heathen and idolatrous neighbours, and from deceitful and artful men among christians. To such things as these Jerom supposed Paul to have an eye in this * epistle. ' Scribebat ad Ephesios Dianam colentes Scribebat autem ad metropolmi 136 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. And these written warnings, as well as others, seem to have had a good effect. The church of Ephesus appears to have behaved commendably for a good while. This may be collected from Rev. ii. 1—6. And Ignatius at the begin- ning of his epistle to them says, ch. vi. ' And indeed ' Onesimus himself does greatly commend your good order ' in God : that you all live according to truth, and that no ' heresy dwells among you.' And ch. ix. ' 1 have heard of ' some, who have passed by you, having- perverse doc- ' trine : whom you did not suffer to sow among you.' And to the like purpose in other places of that epistle. 3. Obj. It is said, ' that Timothy's name is not mention- ' ed in the introduction to this epistle : though it is found in ' the beginning of the epistle to the .Colossians, and that ' to Philemon. Hence it is argued, that Timothy ^as un- ' known to all, or most of the church, to whom this epistle ' was written. Consequently it was not sent to the church of ' Ephesus where Timothy was well known.' In answer to which 1 would say, first, that I can see no reason, why St. Paul should scruple to put Timothy's name at the beginning of an epistle, written to christians, Avith whom Timothy was not personally acquainted. Secondly, There can be no reason to doubt, that Timothy was as well knoAvn to the christians at Laodicea, as at Colosse. Thirdly, Therefore there must have been some other reason for omitting the name of Timothy at the beginning of this epistle. Fourthly, That reason presently offers, and proba- bly was this, that at writing this epistle Timothy was not with the apostle at Rome. I think Timothy was now at Ephesus. Movv then could his name be placed at the beginning of an epistle written to the Ephesians from Rome ? 4. Obj. ' At Philippi the church was settled with fixed ' officers, before the apostle wrote. And therefore he ' directs his epistle not only to the clnistians in general there, ' but to the bishops and deacons. But there is no such * thing here : though the church of Ephesus had evidently ' such officers, before the writing of this epistle." See Acts XX. 17. To Mhich I answer, that there must have been fixed officers in many churches, beside that at Philippi. Says AsisEcivitatem, in qua ita idololatria et artium magicarum prsestigiae vigue- rant Haic idcirco universa replicavimus, ut osfenderemus, quare apostolus in iiac vel potissimum epistola ohscuros seiisus, et ignota seculis sacramenta congcbciit; et de sanctaruin contrariarunique virtutum docuerit polestate ; qui sint dajinones, quid valeant. De quibus ait : ' Non est nobis pugna adversum carnem ct sanguinem, sed adversum principitatus et potestates.' Hieron. ubi siipr. p. 322. The Epistle inscribed to the Ephcsians was written to them. 137 St. Liiko, in his account of the peregrination of Paul ami Barnabas in several phices, Acts xiv. 21—23, " they return- ed again to Lystra, and Iconiuni, and Antioch, (in Pisidia,) contirming- the souls of the disciples. And when tht^y had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting-, tliey commended them to the Lord on whom they had believed." Says Beza upon this text : ' In" every ' church they ordained elders, that is, pastors^and deacons, ' and other ofKcers.' From what is said here Luke leads us toconclude, what was done elsewhere. It was not need- ful to mention such things every where. But very pro- bably there were church-officers fixed in all the churches in no long- time after they were planted, and particularly in Greece and Macedonia. From St. Paul's epistle we know, that there were bishops and deacons at Philippi, though not mentioned by St. Luke in his history of the apostle's preaching- there. Acts xvi. 12—40. Beza con- cludes from 1 Thess. v. 27, that^ there were fixed officers in the church at Thessalonica. And it is very manifest from ver. 12 and 13 of that chapter: "And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among- you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you : and to esteem them very iiighly in love, for their work's sake." St. Paul says to Titus, ch. i. 5, " For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordam elders m every city, as 1 appointed thee." When- ever Paul was in Crete, it is reasonable to think, that he made there but a short stay. Nevertheless before he left that island, he had given orders to Titus, to ordain " elders in every city." And not long- after coming- thence he wrote to him an epistle, with particular directions for that purpose. Before Paul left Ephesus, it is likely, that he had ordained several elders in that city, and in the district of Asia. And yet he afterwards wrote to Timothy, giving- him directions concerning- the qualifications of such persons, that he might make a farther supply, Avhere it Avas wanting-. Which must induce us to think, that the apostle was not willing-, that any churches should be destitute of fit guides and instructors for any long- time after they had been " ' Per singiilas ecclesias,' kut SKKXrjffiav. Sic antea dixit Lucas kut oikov, pro ' domatim Presbyteros,' id est, Pastores et Diaconos, et alios ecclesiae gubernationi praefectos. Hie enim, ut alibi seepe, generaliter accipitur Pres- byteri nomen. Bez. in Act. xiv. 23. " Vos, vfiaQ. Hinc apparet, mitti solitas fiiisse aposlolicas epistolas presby- terio, ad quod haec abjuratio et praecedentes duo versiculi proprie pertineant; quoniam alioqui absurda esset haec petitio, si ad totum ecclesiae ccetum refer- rctur. Bez. ia 1 Th. v. 27. 138 .4 History of the Apostles and Evancjelisls. planted. St. Paul's epistle to the Galatians, is inscribed " to the churches of Galatia," without any mention of bishops or deacons. And yet there must have been there men' of that character. St. Peter Avrites to the christians in Galatia, atid other neighbouring" parts, and sends an admonition to such. 1 Pet. V. 1,2," The elders which are among you I exhort. Feed the flock of God, which is among' you." And from the epistle itself it may be concluded with certainty, that there were fixed officers in the churches of Galatia, though they are not mentioned in the inscription. For so St. Paul directs, ch. vi. 6, "Let him that is taught in the word, communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things." There is no notice taken of any elders in the in- scriptions of either of St. Paul's epistles to the Corinthians. And yet th-ere must have been such officers in that church. Clement of Rome, in the first century, in his epistle to the Corinthians, speaking of the apostles, says, ch. xlii. ' They * went abroad, publishing the good tidings, that the king- ' domofGod was at hand. And preaching in countries and ' cities, they " appointed their first-fruits, having first ' proved them by the spirit, to be bishops and deacons of ' those who should believe.' And afterwards, in ch. xliv. ' Wherefore we cannot think that they may be justly cast ' out of their ministry, who '= were either appointed by them ' [the apostles] or were afterwards chosen by other eminent ' men with the consent of the whole church.' So writes Clement. And thus he bears witness to two things. First, that this was the general method of tlie apostles. And, secondly, be assures us, particularly, that this had been done in the church of Corinth. About which, I suppose, he could not be mistaken. There must therefore have been fixed officers in the churches of Thessalonica, Corinth, and Galatia : though St. Paul has taken no particular notice of them in the inscriptions of his epistles. It cannot then be any Just exception against this epistle having been sent to the Ephesians, because their bishops or elders are not named. For it was a common thing Avith the apostle, to inscribe his epistles to the churches, or saints, of such a place, without any particular notice of their officers, though there were men of that character among them. 1 have mentioned above, St. Paul's epistles to the ThessaloJiians, the Corinthians, and the Galatians. To them might be KaOiTuaav rag a-rrapxnc avrojv, CoKifxaaavrsg rfp TrviVjiaTi, hc iirtaKOTTag Kai EiaKovt^g rwv fitWovTwv ■m'Tfvtiv. ' Taf ovv KarazaOivTac iin tKtivuiv, k. \. The Epislle inscribed to the Ephesians was written to them. 139 added the epistle to the Colossians. For that also is in- scribed " to the saints, and faithful brethren in Christ, which are at Colosse." And yet there must have been elders in that church : one is mentioned whose name is Archippus. However, it is in this manner only : Col. iv. 17, " And say to Archippus, take heed to the ministry, which thou hast received of the Lord, that thou fulfil it." Nor does the apostle send his salutations to the church in Laodicea by hiin in particular, but by the saints to whom the epistle is inscribed. See ch. iv. 15. Once more, Timo- thy, as is generally allowed, was at Ephesus when St. Paul MTote to him those two epistles, which we have. When the first was written, there must have been some elders in that church, and yet more at the time of writing- the second. It cannot be contested by any. Nevertheless no salutations are sent to the elders of Ephesus, in either of those epistles. 5. Obj. ' If this epistle was sent to the Ephesians, it ' may be thought very strange, that St. Paul should not ' salute any of his friends there, where he had many friends ' and acquaintance.' But 1 cannot perceive this to be of much weight. There is no epistle of St. Paul that has so many salutations in it, as that to the Romans, whom he had never seen. There are no salutations of particular persons at the end of the first epistle to Timothy, who was then at Ephesus. 1 sup- pose Timothy to have been in the same city likewise, M'hen Paul wrote his second epistle to him. Nevertheless there are in it no particular salutations, except those in ch. iv. 19, " Salute Priscaand Aquila, and the household of Onesipho- rus." Tychicus went with this epistle to the Ephesians. And what is said ch. vi. 21 — 23, would be instead of many particular salutations, and fully answer the end. For Tychicus is there required to " make known unto them all things, and to comfort their hearts." I might add, that no particular persons are saluted by name in either of the epistles to the Thessalonians, nor in the epistle to the Gala- tians, nor in that to Titus, excepting only Titus himsell^ to whom the epistle is sent. 6. Obj. Mr. Wetstein says, ' that y the epistle to the * Ephesians is written to Gentiles, whereas the church at ' Ephesus consisted chiefly of Jews.' I answer: That the epistle, called, to the Ephesians, is y Imprimis vero observandum, cum ecclesia Ephesina ex Judaeis potissi- mum collecfa fuerit. Act. xviii. 19, 21, 24, 25; xix. 9, 10, 17; xx. 21; Apoc. ii. 2, 7 ; earn, ad quam haec epistola scripta est, non ex Judseis, sed ex Gentilibns fuisse congregatara. Wetst. N. T. torn. II. p. 239. 140 A History of the apostles and Evangelists. written to Gentiles, or to such chiefly, is alloMed, and is very manifest. And it seems to me very evident, from the history which we have of St. Paul's preaching at Ephesus, in the book of the Acts, that the apostle's chief harvest there vras from among the Gentiles. For a while indeed he taught in the synagogue, but the behaviour of the .Jews obliged him to withdraw. Whereupon he preached in another place. And I should conclude from what is in Acts xix. 17—40, that the apostle had many more converts there among Gentiles, than Jews. 7. Obj. ' It is argued from Col. iv. 16, that this epistle ' was sent to the Laodiceans. For St. Paul says there : ' " and when tins epistle is read among you, or has been ' read among you, cause that it be read also in the church ' of the Laodiceans : and that ye likewise read the epistle ' from Laodicea." Hereby, as is argued, must be intended ' the epistle called, to the Ephesians, but really sent to the 'Laodiceans. For, says 3Iill, ^ and likewise others after ' him, this epistle called, to the Ephesians, and the epistle to ' the Colossians, were both sent by the same messenger, and ' at the same time.' To which I answer, that if the epistle, called, to the Ephe- sians, be the epistle intended by the apostle, and sent at the same time with that to the Colossians, it is manifest, that it was not sent to the Laodiceans. This may be concluded from what is said to the Colossians, ch. iv. 15, " Salute the brethren which, are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house." This plainly shows, that there was not now any epistle sent to the Laodiceans. If there had, there would have been no occasion for the apos- tle to send this order to the Colossians. For it is impos- sible to write a letter to any persons, or societies, without saluting- them, or doing- somewhat that is equivalent. And it is manifest, that in the epistle inscribed to the Ephesians, the christians, to whom it is sent, are saluted. Particularly ch. i. 1,2, and ch. vi. 21, 22, 23. This has appeared evi- dent to learned men of the first rank, and different commu- nions. So* Baronius, and Tillemont. This last says, ^ Quidni igitur scripta fuerit ad Laodicenses? Sane per eundem nun- tium inissa erat haec epistola, per quem delata erat epistola ad Colossenses, Tychicutn scilicet, nee non eodem tempore. Mill. Prol. num. 74. ^ Sane nullam eidem tabellario ad Laodicenses fuisse a Paulo datara episto- 1am, satis constat : duni in ea, quam turn scripsit ad Colossenses, salutari mandat eos, qui Laodiceae essent fideles, sic dicens: ' Salutate fratres, qui sunt Laodiceae.' Libentius igitur Chrysostomo ac 'I'heodoreto inhseremus;, quam caeteris, ut nulla a Paulo scripta fuerit epistola ad Laodicenses. Baron, ann. 60. num. xiii. The Epistle inscribed lu the Ephcsians teas wrillcn to them. 141 ' tliat^ since St. Paul orders the Colossiaiis to salute those ' of Laodicea in his iiaiue, it is a certain sign, that he did ' not write to them at that time.' Dii Pin says; ' If'' St. ' Paul had written at the same time to the Laodiceans, he ' would not have charged the Colossians to salute them in ' his name.' And James Basnage : ' St.'' Paul did not * then write to the Laodiceans, siiice he salutes them in his ' letter to the churcli of Colosse.' The acute and honest Mr. Peirce, though nuich inclined to Will's opinion con- cerning this epistle, saw this di(iiculty aiul owned it. ' But ' I have one objection,' says he, ' which I cannot so easily * get over. And were it not for that, I might fully agree ' with him. ]My objection is, that it seems highly impro- ' bable, that St. Paul should send his salutations to the ' Laodiceans, in the epistle which he wrote to the Colossians, ' in case he had sent that epistle to the Laodiceans by the ' same messenger.' 1 am not unwilling to allow, that the epistle spoken of in the latter part of verse 16, of ch. iv. to the Colossians, is our epistle to the Ephesians : "and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea :" that is, the epistle that is to come to you from Laodicea. So the place is rendered in the French Testament of L'Enfant and Beausobre, " and" cause likewise to be read among you that w hich the Laodi- ceans will send to you." And their note is this, ' " that ' from Laodicea: that is to say, that which will come to you from Laodicea." For the original has that sense.' If the epistle to the Ephesians was sent away by the apostle at the same time with those to the Colossians, and to Philemon : I should think, that Tychicus went first to Ephesus, and there left the epistle to the Ephesians, with an order, that it should be forwarded to Laodicea, and so to Colosse. Tychicus having left that letter at Ephesus, went forward with Onesimus to Colosse : where they de- livered the epistles to Philemon, and the Colossians. And tlien I suppose, that Tychicus's commission was at an end. '' Et puisque S. Paul ordonne aux Colossiens de saluer de sa part ceux de Laodicee, c'est un marque indubitable, qu'il ne leur ecrivit point alors. S. Paul, note 69. Mem. Ec. tom. I. ■-" En elFet, si saint Paul, eut ecrit en meme temps aux Laodiceens, il n' eut pas charge les Colossiens de les saluer de sa part. Diss. Pre!. 1. 2. ch. 2. sect, viii. ^ S. Paul n'ecrivoit pas alors aux Laodiceens, puisqu'il leur fait une salutation dans la lettre a I'eglise de Colosse. Basn. Hist, de r Eglise, 1. 8. ch. 3. n. iii. * Et faites lire de meme parmis vous celle que les Laodiceens vous envoyeront. . ' Gr. ' celle de Laodicee,' c'est a dire, ' celle qui vous viendra de Laodicee.' Car I'original a ce sens la. 142 ^ History of the Apostles and Evangelists. He had no order to go to Laodicea. Tlie apostle's saluta- tions to the brethren at Laodicea Mere to be taken care of by the Colossians. But I rather think, as before shoAvn, that the epistle to the Ephesians was written very soon after the apostle's arrival at Rome, and then carried to Ephesus by Tychicus. And when Tychicus went now in the second year of the apos- tle's imprisonment, with these epistles to the Colossians, and Philemon ; he came ashore at Ephesus, and there left express orders, that the epistle, formerly sent to them, should be soon forwarded by them to Laodicea, and so to Colosse. Having- so done, he went, as before said, with Onesimus to Colos-se : where they joined in delivering- the letters to Philemon, and the church at .Colosse. And now the commission of Tychicus was at an end. 8 Obj. ' Once more, it is observed by learned men, ' that Marcion said, this epistle was written to the Lao- ' diceans, or called this the epistle to the Laodiceans.' To which I answer, first. Humphry Hody denied, that^ Marcion reckoned the epistle called, to the Ephesins, to have been written to the Laodiceans. And indeed this point seems to lie in great obscurity. Nor is it said by any one beside Tertullian, that 1 know of. Secondly. Suppose Marcion to have affirmed this, what does it avail ? Grotius says, in his preface to this epistle, ' Marcion '' called this the epistle to the Laodiceans. Nor ' was there any reason why he should falsify in this matter.' And to the like purpose others. To which I answer: Ca- tholic Avriters of the same time, and since, call this the epis- tle to the Ephesians. Nor is there any reason why they should folsify. Yea, the same is said, not only by all catho- lics, but likewise by all heretics in general. Let Marcion's 8 Decern tantum epistolas Pauli, cum particujis quibusdam ex epistola ad Laod. recepit Marcion hseitticus, quas librura apostolicum inscripsit. De cseteris scripturarum Jibris nullum agnovit, praeter Evangeliura Lucas, iliudque mutilatum. Epistolas etiam, quas recepit Paulinas, niutilavit, vitia- vitque Simonius, in Hist. Cnt. N. T. cap. 15. contendit, Marcionem nuilam epist. ad Laod. recepisse, sed epi^tolara ad Ephesios lalso inscripsisse ad Laodicenos, Sed in hoc Epiphanius falli non potuit, qui in apostolico Marcionis recenset epistolam ad Ephesios loco 7mo, et illam ad Laodicenos loco llino. TTpog AaoliKiie la. Ideo vero dicit Tertullianus contra Marc. 1. v. cap. xi. ' Epistolam quam nos ad Ephesios praescriptam habemus,' a Mar- cione * ad Laodicenos inscriptam fuisse,' quoniam locus, qui ex Epistola ad Laodicenos a Marcione adductus est, in epistola ad Ephesios exstabat. Quod etiam observat Epiphanius. Hod. de Bibl. Text, origin, p. 6G4. ** Marcion banc epistolam vocat ad Laodicenses, ex fide, ut credibile est, ccclesiEB Laodicensis. Nam cur in ea re mentiretur, nihil erat causa;. Grot. Pr. in ep. ad Eph. The Epistle inscribed to the Ephcsians was written to them. 143 oiTtlit be ever so gootl, this is a siiflicient answer. For what interest had the catholics to I'alsif'y lierc? If Marcion said, this epistle was sent to the Laodiceans, he must have been mistaken. AVe are assured, that what he said is false, from the unanimous testimony of numerous men, who had no interest to deceive, and could not be deceived. But Marcion's credit is very little in such an affair as this. The same Avriter, who speaks of Marcion's ' calling- this the epistle to the Laodiccnns, I mean Tertullian, does also let us know, that'' Marcion rejected the epistles of Paul to Timothy and Titus. And chargeth ' him with altering- the text of scripture, openly employing- a knife, not a stile. And speaks particularly of his leaving- out texts "' in the epistle to the Ronrans. ^Vill any say, that Marcion had good reason for so doiiig ? or that all this Mas owing- to his supe- rior care and judgment above other christians? For my own part, I think not. And if he said, that this epistle v^as written to the Laodiceans, not to the Ephesians, he was mistaken at least. He had not, and could not have, any good reason for it. Mill, " and other learned men after him, in defending their opinion concerning- this epistle, magnify the care and exact- ness of Marcion. ' He flourished, they say, in the begin- ' ning- of the second century, and lived at Sinope, in Paphla- ' gonia, which was in Asia Minor, as ^vell as Laodicea. ' And he affirmed that the epistle called, to the Ephesians, ' was actually an epistle to the Laodiceans. Most probably, ' he had heard so from such as knew the fact, and could ' inform him: or rather, had seen some of the manuscripts, * Avhich gave it that title.' But all this is said without any ground. Such suppo- sitions are easily made. But there is no proof of the truth of them. If there be any credit to be given to what the ancients say of Marcion, he must have been a very rash, and arbitrary, and careless critic provided he at all deserve ' Tertull. adv. IMarc. 1. 5. cap. xi. '' Miror tamen, quum ad unuiu hcniinem literas factas receperit, quid ad Timotheurn duas, ctunatn ad Titum, de ecclesiastico statu compositas, recusa- verit. Adv. Marcion. 1.5. cap. ulf. p. 615. ' Marcion enim exerta et palam niachaira, non stylo usus est j quoniain ad materiam suam csedem scripturarum confecit. Id. de Praesc. Hser. cap. 38. " Quantas autem foveas in ista vel maxime epistola Marcion fecerit, aufe- rendo quee voluit, de nosfri instrumenti integritate patebit. Adv. Marc. 1. 5. cap. 13. " Sedomninoverisimile est, Marcionem, qui Sinope aliquamdiu agebat, baud procul a Laodicea, sive ex popularium suorum Iraditione, seu ctiarn auctoritate exeraplarium quorumdam, banc epistolam tanquani ad Laodicenses scriptam citas.se. Mill. Prol. num. 78. 144 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. the name of a critic. And if he thought this epistle to have been written to the Laodiceans; it is likely, that he took up that opinion Avithout much inquiry, or examination, and without sufficient reason, and perhaps without assign- ing any. Jerom" speaking of Marcion and Basilides, who, as he says, were not friendly to the Old Testament, and altered the gospels and epistles of the New Testament, and rejected both the epistles to Timothy, and the epistle to Titus, ana that to the Hebrews, he adds : ' And if they assigned any ' reasons, why they did not reckon these epistles to be the ' apostle's, we should endeavour to make an answer, and ' perhaps might say what would be sufficient to satisfy the ' reader. But now since with heretical authority they pro- ' nounce, and say, this epistle is Paul's, and that not : they ' may be fitly answered on the side of truth, in the same ' manner that they assert falsehood.' And Tertullian having- spoken of Marcion's admitting the genuineness of the epistle to Philemon, adds, ' Never- ' thelessP I wonder, that when he receives an epistle to one ' man, he should reject two to Timothy, and one to Titus, ' which treat of the oovernment of the church. He had a ' mind, I suppose, to alter also the number of the epistles :' that is, as he had done of the gospels : which j)assage, as the reader may remember, Mas quoted by us i for- merly. It hence appears, that Tertullian knew not why Marcion rejected the epistles to Timothy and Titus. He knew that 3Iarcion rejected those three epistles. But he was not aware of his having assigned any reasons for so doing : ° Licet non sint digni fide, qui fidem primam irritam fecerunt, Marcionem loquor et Basilidem, et omnes haereticos, qui vetus lanianttestamentum; tamen eos aliqua ex parte feremus, si saltern in novo continerent manus suas, et noa auderent Christi vel evangelistas violare, vel apostolos. Nunc vero cum Evangelia ejus Christi dissipaverint, et apostolorum epistolas non apostolorum Christi fecerint esse, sed proprias, miror, quomodo sibi christianorum nomen audeant vindicare. Ut enim de casteris epistohs taceam, de quibus quidquid contrarium suo dogmati viderant, eraserunt, nonnullas integras repudiandas crediderunt; ad Tiraotheum videhcet utramque, ad Hebraeos, et ad Titum, quam nunc conaraur exponere. Et si quidem redderent causas, cur eas apostoH non putarent, tentaremus aliquid respondere, et forsitan satisfacere lectori. Nunc vero, quum haeretica aucloritate pronuntient, et dicant : Ilia epistola Pauli est, haec non est ; ea auctoritate refelli se pro veritate intelligant, qua ipsi non embescunt falsa simulare. Hieron. Pr. in ep. ad Tit. T. IV. p. 407. P Miror tamen, quum ad unum hominem literas factas receperit, quid ad Timotheura duas, et unam ad Titum, de ecclesiastico statu compositas, recu- saverit. Adfectavit, opinor, etiam nvunerum epistolarum interpolare. Adv. Marcion. 5. cap. ult. p. 615. D. °- See Vol. li. ch. xxvii. num. vii. 11. See also here, note ^. The Epistle inscribed to the Ephesians was written tu them. 1 45 which shows, 1 think, that Marcion acted arbitrarily in such things as these. Indeed Tertullian, speaking of Marcion's attempting, or designing to alter the inscription of the epistle to the Ephesians, useth this expression : ' as "^ if he had made more ' than common inquiries about it.' But I suppose Tertul- lian, to speak by way of irony, and sarcastically : not al- lowing Marcion uncommon diligence and exactness, but intimating, that a man who acted thus, should be very care- ful to be rightly informed. All this 1 have said in the way of a general answer to the argument taken from the supposed opinion of Marcion. I will now more particularly inquire what Marcion said and did, and what might be the ground and reason of his opi- nion and conduct. And I think there are but two writers, from whom we can receive any information, Tertullian and Epiphanius. The first is Tertullian. ' P pass by another epistle,' says he, ' which we have inscribed to the Ephesians, but heretics * to the Laodiceans.' Afterwards : ' According' to the true testimony of the ' church, we suppose that epistle to have been sent to the * Ephesians. But Marcion once had a mind to alter the ' title, as if he had made a very diligent inquiry into that ' matter. But the title is of no importance, since the apostle ' wrote to all, when he wrote to some.' I hope I have rightly translated the word ' gestiit.' I think it meaneth, ' had a mind to,' or ' was inclined,' or showed an inclination so to do. By these passages of Tertullian we are assured, first, that this epistle, which was in the hands of catholic christians, was, in all its copies, inscribed to the Ephesians. And Tertullian was persuaded, that it was the true testimony, or tradition of the church from the beginning. Secondly, in the first of these passages Tertullian says, that heretics called this the epistle to the Laodiceans : by heretics meaning, as I suppose, Marcion and his followers. Thirdly, Tertullian says, that once, or upon some occa- sion, Marcion had a mind to alter the title of this epistle. ■■ See below, note'. ^ Prsetereo hie et de alia epistola, quam nos ad Ephesios praescriptam habemus, haeretici vevo ad Laodicenos. Tertull. adv. Marcion. 1. 5. cap. xi. ' Ecclesias quidem veritate epistolam istam ad Ephesios habemus emissam, non ad Laodicenos. Sed Marcion ei titulum aliquando intcrpolarc gestiit, quasi et in illo diligcntissimus explorator. Nihil autem de titulo interest, cum adomnes apostolus scripserit, duin ad singulos. lb. cap. xvii. p. 607. VOL. VI. L 146 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. Here it may be questioned, whether by title be meant what M'c cnll a running title, affixed to the epistle, or the inscrijjtion, which makes a part of the epistle, and is inserted at the beginning of it. I rather think this last to be intend- ed. But take it either way, TertuUian supposed, that Marcion had in his copies the same title, or inscription, with the catholics, that is, to the Ephesians, oratEphesus. Nor does TertuUian say, that Marcion ever inserted the inscrip- tion to the Laodiceans, in any of his copies. It seems to me that he did not. Consequently, what TertuUian says is, that Marcion, and his followers, sometimes at least, called this the epistle to the Laodiceans, and perhaps quoted it by that title. But he had not in his copies any title, or' inscription, different from that of the catholics. Marcion gave out, that the epistle, called by the catholics, to the Ephesians, was written to the Laodiceans. He affirmed this to be right, and that the catholics were in the wrong in calling it an epis- tle to the Ephesians. For he was persuaded it was Mritten to the Laodiceans. I think this is the most that is said by TertuUian, or that can be collected from him. Yea, it seems to me, that I have in a strong manner represented the whole of what is said by him. I now proceed to Epiphanius, who says, ' that " Marcion ' received only ten epistles of Paul. They are these. The ' first is that to the Galatians, the second is the first to the ' Corinthians, the third is the second to the Corinthians, the ' fourth that to the Ilomans, the fifth is the first to the Thes- ' salon ians, the sixth the second to the Thessalonians, the ' seventh is that to the Ephesians, the eighth to the Colos- ' sians, the ninth to Philemon, the tenth to the Philippians. ' He has also some parts of an epistle to the Laodiceans.' So Epiphanius. It is well known, that Marcion had an evangel icon, and an apostolicon, or a gospel and an apostle. In the former, as is generally said, he had St. Luke's gospel only. But concerning the truth of that account I make no inquiries now. Our concern at present is with St. Paul's epistles only. And Epiphanius here expressly says, that Marcion received ten, and placed them in the order in which they are rehearsed above. He likewise says, that Marcion had " "Exu ^i Kui nri'7o\ag Trap' avrt^ th uyiH aTroToXs CfKa, alt; fiovaig Kf}(fii)Tai. Ai c^£ fTTtToXfft a'l Trap nvT'ii \tyofitvai iiai ttqwti] fitv irpog VnXaraQ t[3i)Ofi7] vpoQ F.^otihq, oy^oi) irpoi; KoXoiraatic "^'X^*- ^^ "■"* Trpoc Artofiiffiof Xfyo/uvtir ijfpi]. Epipli. H. 42. num. ix. p. 310. 7%e Epistle insm-ihed to the Kphesians waswrillen to them. 147 some parts of" an epistle to the Laodiceans. And lie quotes, as from him, those words which are in Eph. iv. 5, 6, after this manner : " One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one Christ, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." Having so done, he says : ' Nor' did ' the unhappy Marcion think fit to take that passage from ' the epistle to the Ephcsians, but from the epistle to the ' Laodiceans, which is not the apostle's.' This account of Epiphanius led H. Hody to say, that Marcion received eleven epistles of St. Paul. James Bas- nage was of the same opinion. He says : ' It "' has been ' conjectured by some, that Marcion confounded the epistle ' to the Laodiceans with that to the Ephesians. But ' that conjecture cannot be maintained. For he distinguished ' two epistles of St. Paul, one to the Ephesians, and another ' to the Laodiceans. And Epiphanius reproacheth him, ' because he rather chose to take his passage from the ' epistle to the Laodiceans, which was not Paul's, than ' from the epistle to the Ephesians, where are the same ' words.' And indeed, I apprehend, that if we had Epiphanius only, many might be of the same opinion. But comparing- him and Tertullian, and examining carefully the whole article of Epiphanius, I think it must appear more probable, that Marcion did sometimes quote the epistle to the Ephesians, as if it had been sent to the Laodiceans. Nor can I per- ceive any good reason to think, that any letter to the Laodiceans was forged so early as the time of Marcion. And now I would observe, that Epiphanius seems to have been well acquainted with Marcion's apostolicon. For he'' had his writings, and composed a treatise against him, called Scholion, or Scholia, which he inserted, somewhat altered, in his article of the Marcionites, in his large work, called the Panarium, which we have. Having observed this, I say, that from Epiphanius it ^ Ov yap i^o'^s tii) tKieivornnx) Mnp/citiivt mro Tt]g irpog Evas the same as in the catholic copies. If not, his alteration here, as well as in other places, would have been observed. The other is, that all those, called heretics, so far as we know, had this epistle inscribed to the Ephesians. The Manichees agreed with Marcion in divers of his peculiarities. Nevertheless, in their copies this epistle was inscribed to the Ephesians. This has appeared from the quotations of it in the writ- y Praeter hanc tamen ad Ephcsios epistolam, piifat Epi))hanius, recepta etiam esse a Maroionc cpistolse ad Laodicenses fraj^menta. E;^ft ^t km ttjq TTQOQ AaoSiKiaQ juni], inquit. E quibiis tamen nnicum illiid a se pi'odiictum rcpcrit. Jac. Usscr. Diss, de Ep. ad Laod. Y'/je Epistle inscribed lo llic Ephesians was written lo ihem, 149 ings of Faustus, and Sccuiulinus, formerly ' taken no- tice of. Bnt though the inscription of this epistle was the same in Marcion's, as in the catholic copies, he sometimes quoted it as an epistle to the Laodiceans, and was of opinion that it was written to them. We are therefore now to inquire into the ground and reason of this opinion. Pamelius^ in his notes upon Tertullian, as cited by arch- bishop Usher, (fori have not his edition at hand,) conjec- tured, that the words of Col. iv. KJ, were the occasion of this opinion of Marc ion. So likewise says'' Estius. It is very probable, that those words '^ gave occasion to the forging an epistle to the Laodiceans. Theodoret, not far from the beginning- of the fifth century, as formerly'' cited by us, says in his conunentary upon that text : ' Sonje ' have hence imagined, that the apostle had also written to ' the Laodiceans, and they have forged such an epistle. ' Nevertheless, the apostle does not say " the epistle to the ' Laodiceans, but from Laodicea." ' That is the unvaried reading of this text in all the copies of the New Testament, and in all ancient Greek "^ writers. And I have suspected, that the epistle to the Laodiceans was forged by a Latin, and that the Latin version of that text gave occasion to it. Fabricius*^ in the introduction to ^ See Vol. iii. ch. Ixiii. mini. iv. 4. num. v. ib. sect. vii. =* Jacobus Pamelius, Annot. 259. in lib. 5. Terh-illiani adv. Marcioneni, ' Fortassis,' inquit, occasionem dedit Marcioni hujus tituli huic epistolae impo- nendi, quod legisset, Col. iv. * Salutale fratres,' &c. Usser. Diss, de Ep. ad Laod. '' Sciendum praeterea est, Marcionem, antiquum haereticum, occasione praesentis loci, epistolae ad Ephesios scriptae litulum mutasse, inscribendo eam ad Laodicenos, tamquam ea non ad illos, sed ad hos scripta esset, &c. Est. ad Col. iv. 16. "^ * Et eam, qua? Laodicensium est, voslegatis.'] Horum verborum occasione abususquispiamconcinnavit, at- queevulgavit epistolam quamdam, velut a Paulo scriptam ad Laodicenses. Est. in Col. iv. 16. ^ See Vol. v. p. 17, 18. ' As some proof of this, I allege the note of Theophylact upon this verse. * Which is the epistle from Laodicea ? ' It is the first to Timothy. For that was written from Laodicea. However ' some say, it is an epistle, which the Laodiceans had sent to Paul. But what ' good the reading such an epistle could do them, I do not know. Tt^ ^t tjv ri eK AaoSiKdac ; »'; Trpog TifioOtov TrpwTt). AiVjj yap £K AaoSiKuar; typa'; izpttirri twv ovofia^Ofjievcov Ka9o- XiKwv tTTtToXfajj/ (Lvai XeyeTai. H. E. 1. 2. c. 23. p. 66. D. 117] ce rag avTiKiyontvaq napiXOwv- Ti]i' luSa Xiyoi, Kai tuq Xonraq KaQoXiKUQ i-i-oXaQ. llj. 1. 6. cap. 14. in. ' See of this work, Vol. ii. ch. xxxviii. num. xiii. oil TO tvayyiXiov to kutci Iwavvtiv iTviyiypafifif.vov, Kai »'/ £:rtj rj KadoXiKr). Ap. Euseb. 1. 7. cap. 25. p. 273. D. Vid. ib. p. 274. B, And in this work. Vol. ii. ch. xliii. num. xiv. * Petrus scripsit duas epLsfolas, quae catholicoe noniinantur. Dc V. I. cap. i. Jacobus unam tantum scripsit epistolam, quae de septem catholicis est. lb cap. 2. Judas, frater Domini, parvam, quae de septem catholicis est, epistolam reli- quit. Ib. cap. 4. 160 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. country, or to particular persons, as St. Paul's epistles are, but to christians in general, or to christians of several ^ countries. This is the case of five, or the greater part of them, with which the two others are joined. Moreover when the first epistle of Peter, and the first of St. John, were called catholic by the most early christian writers, the two smaller of St. John were unknown, or not generally received. II. These epistles are several times called canonical by s Cassiodorius, about the middle of the sixth century, and '' by the writer of the prologue to these epistles, ascribed to Jerom, though not his. The reason of which appellation is not certainly known. Nor is it easy to perceive the pro- priety of it. Du Pin says : ' Some ' Latins have called ' these epistles canonical, either confouivding the name with ' catholic, or else to denote, that they also are a part of the ' canon of the books of the New Testament.' III. Of these epistles two only, the first of St. Peter, and the first of St. John, were universally received in the time'' of Eusebius. However, the rest were then well known. In proof of which I shall allege one passage only from him. ' Here,' ' says he, ' it will be proper to enumerate in a sum- ' mary way the books of the New Testament, which have ' been already mentioned. And in the first place are to be ' ranked the four sacred gospels. Then the book of the ' Acts of the Apostles. After that are to be reckoned the ' epistles of Paul. In the next place, that called the first ' epistle of John, and the first of Peter. After these is to ' be placed, if it be thought fit, the Revelation of John. ' And among the contradicted, but yet well known to the ' most, [or approved by many,] are that called the epistle of ' James, and that of Jude, and the second of Peter, and the ' second and third of John.' ' Or, as Leontius expresseth it, ' They are called catholic, because they are * not written to one nation, as Paul's epistles, but in general to all.' See Vol. V. ch. clviii. e Octavus codex canonicas epistolas continet apostolorum sed cum de reliquis canonicis epistolis magna nos cogitatio fatigaret, subito nobis codex Didymi Gi-seco stylo conscriptus in expositionem septem canonicarum epistolarum Domino largiente concessus est. De Instit. Div. Lit. cap. 8 . Vid. et Cassiodorii Complexiones canonicarum Epistolarum septem. ** Prologus septem Epistolarum canonicamm. Ap. Hieron. torn. I. p. 1667. ' Diss. Prelim. 1. 2. ch. 2. sect. ix. ^ Vid. Euseb. H. E. 1. 3. cap. 3. cap. 24. et cap. 25. ' axq e'^T}g Trjv (ptpofitvrjv Iwavvs irpoTepav, km 6noiu}(: Tr)v Uirps Kvpwreov (TriToXrjv to)v ct avrCKtyofiivwv yvojpifiwv S' hv ofioig roig ttoWoic y) Xcyofjiivri IciKajfin (ptptrai, Kai /; IsCa' r]TS Il£Tp« SiVTspa fTTi^oXr] kcil >/ ovo^a'Cofiivr] ^ivripa icai rpirr) lioavpH. Ibid. c. 25. in. See also in this work, Vol. iv. p. 96. Of the Seven Catholic EpUllcs. 161 And in the preceding- volumes of this work we have observed all the seven to have been received by Athanasius, E])iphanius, Jeroni, Augustine, and many other Avriters; but the Syrian churches received "' three only of these epistles. Nor does it appear, that more were received by" Chrysostom or " Theodoret, And Amphilochius, in iiis Iambic poem, says, ' Of'' the catholic epistles some receive * seven, others three only.' However, as we proceed, we shall particularly consider the claims of the disputed epistles, under the names of those to whom they are ascribed. IV. Before I conclude this introduction, I would take notice of the order of these epistles, because there is some variety in ancient authors. In the passage cited from Eusebiusat the begiiming of this chapter, he says, that the epistle of James was the first of those called catholic. In the passage, since taken from him, where he mentions these epistles according to the degree of authority which they had obtained, he first speaks of the first epistle of John, and the first of Peter. Nevertheless, when he comes to those that were contradicted, the epistle of James is first named. This is the order in the festal epistle of Athanasius : ' Seven i ' epistles of the apostles,' says he, ' called catholic ; of James ' one, of Peter two, of John three, and after them, of Jude ' one.' Which is our present order. The same order is observed in the catalogue of Cyril of Jerusalem, the council of Laodicea, Epiphanius, Gregory Nazianzen, Amphilochius, Jerom's letter to Paulinus Euthalius, Gelasius, bishop of Rome, the Alexandrian manuscript, the Stichometry of Nicephorus, patriarch of Constantinople, Leontius, J. Damascenus. The same order is in Bede's prologue to these epistles, largely transcribed by us ^ in its proper place : where he assigns reasons of this order, and particularly, why the epistle of James was placed first. In other authors is a different order. By Rufinus' they are rehearsed in this manner: ' Two epistles of the apostle Peter, one of ' James, the brother of the Lord, and apostle, one of Jude, ' three of John : the Revelation of John.' One may be apt to think, that St. John's three epistles are here mentioned last, that they might not be separated from the book of the Revelation. In the canon of the third council of Carthage, they stand in this order: 'Two* epistles of the apostle "^ See Vol. iv. ch. ciii. and ch. cxix. and Vol. v.ch. cxlviii. " Vol. iv. ch. cxviii. num. iv. and viii. " Vol. v. ch. cxxxi. num. iv. P KaOoXllCUV ETTt'^oXo;)-' TIVEQ fitv kiTTa (puffiv, ot Se Tptig (lOVaQ. Amphil. p. 132. ver. 310, 311. And see Vol. iv. ch. xcix. 1 lb. ch. Ixxv. num. iii. ■■ See Vol. v. ch. clix. ^^ Vol. iv. ch. cxv. ' Ch. cxvi. VOL. VI. M 162 A History of the ^4poslles and Evangelists. ' Peter, three of the apostle John, one of the apostle Jiule, ' one of the apostle James.' In Augustine's work of the Christian Doctrine: 'Two" epistles of Peter, three of ' John, one of Jude, and one of James.' In the catalogue of pope Innocent: ' Three' epistles of John, two epistles of ' Peter, an epistle of Jude, an epistle of James.' In the commentary of Cassiodorius '' upon these epistles they are in this order : ' Two epistles of Peter, three of John, of Jude ' one, of James one.' CHAP. XVI. ST. JAMES, THE LORD'S BROTHER. I. His History from, the N. T. ichereby he appears to have been an apostle. II. His History J'rom ancient authors. A passaye Jrom Etisebins concerning him, with remarks, shoxciny him to be the same tvith James the son ofAlphevs. III. A passage oj' Evsebins, containiny tico quotations from Clement oJ' Alexandria, mentioniny his appointment to be bishop, or residiny apostle at Jerusalem, and the manner of his death. IV. A passaye oJ' Oriyen, speaking of our Lord's brethren, and the death of James, V. A Chapter of Ensebius, containiny accounts of his death from Heyesippus, and Josephus, tvith remarks. VI. The time of his Heath. VII. How he was related to our Lord, and in what respect he was his brother. VIII. That he icas an apostle and the son of Alphens. IX. WJiy called the Less. X. Surnamed the Just, and other marks of respect shown him.. XI. A Review of tvhat has been said. I. THERE is frequent mention of James in the Acts, and St. Paul's epistles. If he Mas an apostle he must be James, the son of Alpheus, always distinctly named in the cataldgues of the ^postles,^ in the first three g'ospels, and in " Vol. iv. ch. cxvii. num. ii. * Ch, cxxii. " Vol. v. ch. cliii. num. iv. » Mat.x. 3; Mark iii. 18; Luke vi. L5 ; Acts i. 1.3. St. James, the Lord^s Brother. 163 the first chapter of the Acts. For '' there was but one other apostle of this name, James the brother of John and son of Zebedee. However, the proofs of his being- James the son of Alpheus are deferred for the present. I begin with MTiting- the history of James, mentioned in the Acts and St. Paul's epistles. St. Paul, reckoning up the several appearances of our Lord to the disciples after his resurrection, says, 1 Cor. xv. 5 — 8, " That he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve. After that he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once;" meaning-, I suppose, at the place in Galilee, where he had appointed to meet the disciples. " After that he was seen of James, then of all the apostles;" meaning, it is likely, when they were M'itnesses of his ascension. " And last of all he was seen of me also." By James must be here intended the same that is mention- ed by St. Paul elsewhere. Moreover James, the son of Zebedee, had been dead a good while before writing this epistle to the Corinthians, in the year of Christ 56. It is likely, that St. Paul speaks of him, who was still living. And he here speaks of a particular appearance of Christ to him. We learn from Jerom, that in the gospel according to the Hebrews, there was an account of a particular appearance of our Lord to James, the Lord's brother, who, according- to his computation, governed the church of Jerusalem thirty years. It is to this purpose. ' Very '= soon after the Lord ' was risen, he went to James, and showed himself to him. * For James had solemnly sworn, that he would eat no ' bread from the time that he had drunk the cup of the Lord, ' till he should see him risen from among them that sleep. ' It is added a little after: " Bring," saith the Lord, " a table ' and bread." And lower, " He took bread, and blessed, ' and brake it, and then gave it to James the Just, and said ' to him : My brother, eat thy bread. For the Son of man is ' risen from among them that sleep."' '' Nulli dubium est, duos fuisse apostolos Jacobi vocabulo nuncupatos : Jacobum Zebedaei, et Jacobum Alphaei. Hieron. adv. Helvid. T. IV. p. 137. fin. '^ -Evangelium quoque, quod appellatur secundum Hebraeos, et a me miper in Graeciim Latinumque sermonem translatum est, post resurrectionem Salvatoris refeit : Dominus autem cum dedissct sin- donem servo Sacerdotis, ivit ad Jacobum et apparuit ei. Juraverat enim Jacobus, se non comesturum panem ab ilia hora, qua biberat calicem Domini, donee videret eum resurgentem ' a dormientibus.' Rursusque post paululum. ' Afferte,' ait Dominus, ' men«ani et panem.' Statimque additur. ' Tulit panem, et benedixit, ac fregit, et post dedit Jacobo Justo, et dixit ei : Frater mi, comede panem tuum, quia resurrexit Filius hominis a dormientibus.' De V. I. cap. 2. M 2 164 ^^ History uf the Apostles and Evangelists. I think this; story may be sufficient to show, that James, called the Just, and the Lord's brother, was in high esteem with the Jewish believers, who used theg(;spel above men- tioned. But some of the circumstances of this account must needs be fabulous. Nor is there any reason to think that James, or any of the apostles, had a certain expecta- tion of tiie Lord's rising from the dead : nevertheless I shall mention a thought to be considered by candid readers. Possibly this account is founded upon the history recorded in Luke xxiv. 13 — 35, of the two disciples, to whom the Lord appeared on the day of his resurrection, " to whom be was known in breaking of bread." One thing more may be concluded from this passage. They who used this gos- pel, thought James, the Lord's brother, to have been an apostle. For here is a reference to his partaking in the eucharist, appointed by our Lord, where none were present beside the twelve. Hov.ever, as I have proposed a conjecture concerning' the history in Luke xxiv. it ought to be observed, that the two disciples, there mentioned, were not apostles. For at ver. 35, it is said, that when they were returned to Jerusalem, " they found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them." Upon that text of St. Paul, Dr. Doddridge '' mentions a conjecture, which had been communicated to him: that .lames had not seen our Lord after his resurrection, until the time there mentioned by St. Paul. ' That by sickness, ' or some other accident, James had been detained from ' meeting his brethren, both on the day of our Lord's ' resurrection, and that day sevennight, and likewise at the ' time when Christ appeared to the five hundred. And ' that he might in this respect be upon the level with them, ' our Lord appeared to him alone, after all the appearances ' mentioned before.' But I take that conjecture to be with- out ground, as well as very improbable. St. Paul's words do not imply that our Lord had not been seen by James before, but that this was a particular appearance to him alone, as*^ Augustine has observed. Who likewise adds very judiciously : ' Nor did Christ now first show himself ^ See the Family Expositor, Vol. IV. p. .380. * * Postea,' inquit, ' apparuit Jacobc' Non tunc autem primum accipere debemiis visum e>-,=e Jacobo, sed aliqua propria manifestafione singulariter. ' Dei nde apostolis omnibus ;' nee illis tunc primum, sed jam ut familiarius convo rsaretur cum eis usque ad diem adscensionis sure. Aug. de Consens. Evang. 1. 3. cap. 2.5. num. 85. tom. III. p. 2. St. James the Lord's BTothcr. 165 ' to all the apostles.' Which agrees with Lightfoot's ^ inter- pretation of that text. I have one thing more to add. It seems to me, that James liere spoken of, was an apostle. And it will atibrd a good argument, that Jamos, sometimes called by ancient christian writers bishop of Jerusalem, was an apostle. Gal. i. 18, 19, " Then after three years 1 went up to Jerusalem, to see Peter, and abode witii him fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother." This text seems decisive in favour of the apostleship of James. St. Luke speaks of the same thing- in this manner, Acts ix. 27, " Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles." Comparing these two texts together, 1 conclude, that James noAv resided at Jerusalem, and acted there as president of that church. And I imagine, that Barnabas first brought Paul to James, and James brought him to Peter. Tims Paul had communion with all the apostles, though he saw and conversed with none of them, beside James and Peter. When St. Peter had been delivered out of prison, in the reign of Herod Agrippa, about the time of the passover, in the year 44, " he came to the house of Mary, M^here many were gathered together, praying. And when he had declared unto them, how the Lord had brought him out of prison, he said : Go show these things to James, and to the brethren," Acts xii. 12—17. This also gives ground to think, that James now presided in the church of Jerusalem. Before, Acts xi. 29, 30, it is said : " Then the disciples at Antioch determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judea. Which also thev did, and sent to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul." Hence, some have concluded, that James was not now at Jerusalem. But there is no reason for that supposition. For it would imply also, that none of the apostles were at Jerusalem; whereas, probably, they Mere all there, or near it. We have proof from the next chapter, already cited, that James, the son of Zebedee, and Peter were there. For the former was ^ ' After the appearing to above five hundred brethren at once, which we * suppose, and not without ground, to have been that last mentioned ih.; ' apostle relateth that " he was seen of James," 1 Cor. xv. 7, " and then o;' ' all the apostles." Which does plainly rank this appearance to James between ' that to the five hundred brethren on the mountain in Galilee, and his coming * to all the apostles, when they were come again to Jerusalem. Which James ' this was, Paul is silent of, as all the evangelists are, of any such particular ' appearance. It is most likely he means " James the less," of whom he ' speaks often elsewhere.' Harmony of the N.T. Vol. I. p. 273. 166 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. beheaded, and Peter imprisoned at Jerusalem by Herod Agrippa about this time. And when Peter had been brought out of prison he desired his friends to inform James of it, as we have just seen. Therefore he certainly was then at Jerusalem. There are two w ays of understanding that expression. By elders may be meant elders in general, not excluding the apostles. So in the place of Paul, before cited: "After that he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once." Where the apostles are not excluded, but included in the word brethren. For it is reasonable to think, that divers, yea, most, if not all, of the apostles, w ere present at that tim.e. So here the apostles may be included in the general deno- mination of elders. Or by elders may 'be meant such as are called elders by way of distinction from apostles, as in Acts XV. 4, 22; xxi. 18, who might be persons more especially entrusted with the receivino- and the distributing such con- tributions. Neither of tliese senses oblige us to think that James was not now at Jerusalem. When the controversy about the manner of receiving the Gentiles was brought before " the apostles and elders," assembled in council at Jerusalem ; " after there had been much disputing," Peter spoke, and then Barnabas and Paul. After all which, James speaks last, siuns up the argument, and proposeth the terms upon which the Gentiles should be received. To which the whole assembly agreed. And they sent letters to the Gentiles in several places accordingly. Acts xv. 1—29. It is manifest, I think, that James presided in this council. And it may be thence reckoned probable, that he was an apostle, as well as pre- sident ofthechurcli of Jerusalem. Chrysostom, in a homily upon the fifteenth chapter of the Acts, says: ' James ^' was bishop of Jerusalem, and therefore spoke last.' In the same place he justly applauds the pro- priety of his discourse in the council. St. Paul, in the second chapter of the epistle to the GaJa- tians, giving an account of some things which happened when he was that time at Jerusalem, but are not mentioned in the book of the Acts, speaks of James, Cephas, and John, as pillars: " who also gave to him and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship." Those expressions strongly imply that James was an apostle, and presiding apostle in the church of Jerusalem. * ETTiaKonoc i)v Tt}g iv 'ItpoTo\i>itoiQ (KKXrimoQ ovror' ?to v^foog Xfytt. la Act. Ap. honi. 33. p. 253. T. IX. St. James the Lord's Bi oilier. 167 Jeroni, iti his book against Helvidius, allows that '' the texts, which 1 have already cited, irom the epistle to the Galatians, show James, the Lord's brother, to have been an apostle. Afterwards, in the same chapter, giving an account of what happened at Antioch : ver. 11, 12, he says, that "when Peter was come thither, he did eat with the Gentiles, before that certain came from James : but when they were come, he withdrew, and separated himself, fearing them of the circumcision." This, 1 think, implies that James resided at Jerusalem, and presided in that church, and that he was greatly respected by the Jewish believers there. Once more. Acts xxi. 17, 18, when Paul went up to Jerusalem, about Pentecost, in the year 58, the day after our arrival, says St. Luke, " Paul went in w ith us unto James, and all the elders were present ;" and w hat follows. Here is another proof that James resided at Jerusalem, and superintended in that church.' In what has been now alleged we have perceived evi- dences of James being related to our Lord, forasmuch as he is called his brother, and that he was much at Jerusalem, and presided in that church, and that, probably, he w as an apostle in the highest sense of that w ord. We have also seen reason to think that be was much respected by the Jewish believers. And though Ave do not allow ourselves to en- large upon every thing said of him in the history of the council of Jerusalem, and his reception of Paul Avhen he went up to Jerusalem, and was imprisoned, yet I suppose that every one may have discerned marks of an excellent character, and of his admirably uniting zeal and discretion, a love of truth and condescension to weak brethren. His epistle confirms that character. I think likewise that the preservation of his life, in such a station as his, to the time when he is mentioned last by St. Luke, (which we suppose to have been about the time of pentecost, in the year of Christ 58,) may induce us to believe, that he was careful to be inoffensive in his behaviour toward the unbelieving part of the Jew ish nation, and that he was had in reverence by many of them. '' et frater Domini apostolus sit, Paulo dicei>te : ' Deinde post trien- ' nium veni Jerusalem, videie Petram.' Gal. i. 18, 19. Etia eadem epistola : ' Etcognita gratia, quae data est mihi' cap. ii. 9. Adv. Helvid. p. 138. in. ' Dr. Whitby, in his preface to the epistle of St. James, has argued in a hke manner that 1 have done, that he was an apostle in the strict acceptation of the word. And to the same purpose also Cave, at the beginning of his Life of St. James the Less, in English. 168 ^ History of the Apostles and Evangelists. II. I should now proceed to write the history of this per- son from ancient authors. But that is a difficult task, as I have found, after trying more than once, and at distant spaces of time. 1 shall therefore take divers passages of Lusebius, and others, and make such reflections as offer, for finding out as much truth as we can. Eusebius has a chapter'' ' concerning our Saviour's dis- ' ciples.' Where he speaks of all these following, as said to he of the number of the seventy : Barnabas, .Sostheiies, Mho joins with Paul in writing the first epistle to the Co- rinthians, Cephas, whom Paul resisted at Antioch, of the same name with the apostle Peter, but different from him, Matthias, chosen in the room of Judas, and he who was put up with Matthias, and James, to whom jChrist showed him- self after his resurrection, as related by St. Paul, 1 Cor. XV. 7. ' He ' likewise,' says Eusebius, ' was one of those call- ' ed our Saviour's disciples, and one of his brethren.' Upon this it is easy to observe, that beside the loose and inaccurate manner in which this chapter is written by our historian, here are, probably, several mistakes. Some things will be readily assented to, as not unlikely ; that Matthias, and the other disciple put up with him, were of the seventy. But omitting some other tilings, there is no good reason to say that Cephas was different from Peter, or that Sosthenes v»as one of the seventy. If those thitigs are wrong, there is the less reason to rely upon that account which places James, the Lord's brother, in the number only of his disciples, or of the seventy. However, we here seem to discern the opinion of our Ecclesiastical Historian, that James, the Lord's brother, so often mentioned in the Acts, and St. Paul's epistles, was not one of Christ's apostles. And there we have also his interpretation of these words. Cor. xv. 7, " then he was seen of ail the apostles." By " m hich he understands others, beside the twelve. And to the like purpose" Origen. And it was formerly shown at large, in the chapter of Euse- bius, that ° he did not esteem this James an apostle in the highest acceptation of the word. It may be observed like- wise, in the large accomit formerly given of Jerom's opinion concerning this James, that p he seems not to be quite free '' tlipi T(ov fia9r]Toiv m ^o)Tt}poQ -ijfuov. H. E. 1. i. cap. 12. p. 30. lS,TniTa 5' oj(p9ui avrov \aKw(i See Acts viii. ]. ^ u) Trpog Tiov aTrOToXaJV o rrig emaKOTTTjQ Tr]C iv lipoaoXvfioiq tyKtxupi-^o epovof. H. E. 1. 2. cap. 23. m. Vid. et 1. 2. cap. 1. in. p. 38. B. ' Tov -yap laKcofSn 9povoi' rn TrpioTS Tt]g ' IipoffoXvixaiv tfcicX/jcrtag rrjv nntTK0Tn]v Trpog rs Swrj/poc (cat raiv a7ro<^o\u)v vTroStKafitve, k. \. 1. 7. c. 19. •> CoDstit. 1. 8. cap. 35. ' Jacobiis, qui appellatur frater Domini, cognomen to Justus post passionem Domini statim ab apostolis Hierosolymorum Episcopus ordinatus. De V. I. cap. 2. 172 A Hislury of the Apostles and Evanyeltsls. tiaiis, he speaks as'' if the Lord himself h^id given him this high trust : meaning-, perhaps, no more than that Christ gave it him by the apostles : or that they in so doing- had acted by divine inspiration. Epiphanius'^ ascribes this appointment to our Saviour himsell", as do ^ Chrysostonj, and fe' fflcumenius, and'' Photius. The Latin author of a Commentary upon thirteen of St. Paul's epistles, says, James' was appointed bishop of Jerusalem by the apostles. Nicephorus's account is, that"" he Mas so appointed by our Saviour, or, as some said, by the apostles also. I shall cite no more Vvriters relating- to this point, but pro- ceed. ^ IV. I would now take a passage of Origen, from the tenth tome of his commentaries upon St.. Matthew, where he discourseth upon Matt. xiii. 55, 56, " Is not this the car- penter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us ?" ' They ' thought, ' says Origen, that he was the son of Joseph and Mary. ' The brethren of Jesus, some say, upon the ground of ' tradition, particularly what is said in the gospel accord- ' ing to Peter, or the book of James, were the sons of ' Joseph by a former wife, who cohabited with him before ' 3Lary. They who say this, are desirous to maintain the ' hoiiour of Mary's virginity to the last : [or her perpetual ' virginity :] that the body chosen to fiiitil what is said, ' " the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power ' of the Highest shall overshadow thee," Luke i. 55, might ' not know man after that. And I think it very reasonable, ' that as Jesus was the first fruits of virginity among men, ' Mary should be the same among women. For it would be ' improper to give that honour to any beside her. This ' James is he whom Paul mentions in Ijis epistle to the Gala- ' tians, saying: " Other of the apostles saw 1 none, save ' James, the Lord's brother." This James was in so great ' repute with the people for his virtue, that Josephus, who ** Nunc hocsufficiat, ut propter egregios mores, et incomparabilem fidem, sapientiainquenon mediam, frater dictus sit Domini; et quod primus ei eccle- siae praeluent, quae prima m Christum credens ex Judaeis t'uerat congregafa. Dicuntur quidem et caeteri apostoli t'ralres Domini. Sed praecipue hic Irater dicitur, cui filios matris suae ad Patrem vadeiis Dominus commeadaverat. In ep. ad Gal. cap. ii. 19. <= Haer. 78. num. vii. ' Chr. in ep. 1 ad Cor. hom. 38. p. -355. torn. X. e CEc. ad Act. xv. 13. T. I. p. 122. ^ Phot. Ep. 117, ' Jacobum vidit Hierosolym;e, quia illic erat constitutus ab aoostolis epis- copus. In ep. ad Gal. cap. i. 19. ^ Niceph. 1. 2. cap. 38. ' Origen. in. Matt. T. X. p. 462, 463. T. III. Bened. p. 223. tom. I. Huet. St. James, the Lord's Brother. 173 ' wrote twenty books of the Jewish Antiquities, desirous to ' assign the reason of their suffering' such tilings, so that ' even the temple Avas destroyed, says, that those things ' were owing to the '" anger of God for what they did to ' James, the brother of Jesus, called Christ. And it is won- ' derful, that he Avho did not believe our Jesus to be the ' Christ, should bear such a testimony to James. Ho also ' says, that the people thought they suffered those things * upon account of James. Jude wrote an epistle of few ' lines indeed, but filled wilh the powerful words of the ' heavenly grace, who says at the beginning-: " Jude, a ser- ' vant of Jesus Christ, and brolher of James." Of Joses and ' Simon we know nothing.' Origen, in" his books against Celsus, quotes Josephus again, as speaking of James to the like purpose. But there are not now any such passages in Josephus : though they are quoted as from him, by " Etisebius also. But he does not say whether from his Jewish War, or from his Antiquities, or in what book of either, as he sometimes does, Avhen he quotes Josephus. Jerom has twice quoted Jose- phus for these things : first in this p article of St. James, and then in that ^ of Josephus himself : but not much more ex- pressly than Eusebius. Upon the long passage of Origen, just transcribed, I woidd observe as follows : It is strange, that Origen should take such particular notice of the epistle of St. Jude, and say nothing of the epistle of James, whose history he was Avritiiig% when it was not unknown to him. It may be suspected that a para- graph has been lost and dropt out of the Commentary in this place. It is also strange that he should say he knew nothing of Simon : when it is probable that he likewise was one of Christ's apostles, called " Simon the Canaanite" by Matthew, ch. x. 4, and Mark iii. 18, " Simon Zelotes" by Luke, vi. 15, and Acts i. 13. '" (ini]Ktvai, Kara ji}j3ov Tov aciX(pov Irjas 7« Xtyo/ievs XjOtTSj vtt' avruiv TETuXfxiJiJ,tva. Kai TO Oavfia'^ov f^iv, on tou Irjcrovv »/jua>v « KaTaSt^ajjitvoQ uvai XpiTor, aSt yrrov Ia(cw/3i;j diKaioavvrjv enaprvptjm ToaavTi}v. Siyii h, on /cat 6 Xaog ravra tvofiL^t ^la rov Jaicojl^ov TrtirovQtvui' llfpi ^e luxrtjtp, Kai 'S.tfiojvog sStv Wooiirraf-iiv. lb. p. 463. Bened. p. 223. Huet. " Contra Cels. 1. i. p. 35. et 1. 2. p. 09. Cantab. 1. i. cap. 48. et 1. 2. cap. 13. Bened. " H. E. 1. 2. cap. 23. p. 65. C. D. p Tradit idem Josephus, tantaeeiim sanctitatis fuisse, et celebritatis inpopulo, ut propter ejus necem creditum sit, subversam esse Hierosolymam. Hier. De Vir. 111. cap. 2. i Hie confitetur et propter interfectionem Jacobi apostoli dirutam Hierosolymam. lb. cap. 13. J 74 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. From what Origen says of (he death of James it may be concluded, that in his time christians were persuaded that James had died a martyr for Christ, and had been killed by the Jews, notwithstanding' his eminent virtue. Though the passag-es to Avhich Origen refers are not now in Josephus, and thongh it should be supposed that there was some inac- curacy in Origen's quotations of him, or references to him, I think it must be allowed, that christians had in his tune a tradition concerning the death of James, and that it hap- pened in circumstances very dishonourable to those who were the authors of it : insomuch that many were disposed to think it was one of those things for which God was much offended with the Jewish people. Moreover we have already observed a brief account of th^ death or martyr- dom of James in Clement, older than Origen, though in part cotemporary with him. All farther notice of that passage of Origen is deferred till we come to consider how James was related to our Lord. V. As the death of James has been mentioned, I shall now immediately take the accomits of it which are in Euse- bius. And I will transcribe a large part of the twenty- third chapter of the second book of his Ecclesiastical History. ' But when Paul had appealed to Coesar, and Festus ' had sent him to Rome, the Jews being disappointed in ' their design against him, turned their rage against James, ' the Lord's brother, to whom the apostles had assigned ' the episcopal chair of Jerusalem. And in this manner ' they proceeded against him. Having laid hold of him, ' they required him in the presence of all people to renounce ' his faith in Christ. But he, with freedom and boldness ' beyond expectation, before all the multitude, declared ' our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to be the Son of God. ' They, not enduring the testimony of a man who was in ' high esteem for his piety, laid hold of the opportunity, ' when the country was without a governor, to put him to ' death. For Festus having died about that time in Judea, ' the province had in it no procurator. The manner of the ' death of James was shown before in the words of Clement, ' who said, that he was thrown off from the battlement of ' the temple, and then beat to death with a club. But no ' one has so acciuately related this transaction, as Hege- ' sippus, a man in the first succession of the apostles, in the ' fifth book of his Commentaries, whose words are to this Si. James the Lord's Brother. 175 purpose : James/ tlie brother of our Lord, undertook, together with the apostles, the government of" the ehurch. He has been called the Just by all fronj the time of our Saviour to ours. For many have been named James. But he was holy from his mother's womb. lie drank neither wine, nor strong drink, nor did he eat any ainriuil food. There never came razor upon his head. He neither anointed himself with oil, nor did he use a bath. To him alone was it lawful to enter the holy place. He wore no woollen, but oidy linen garments. He entered into the temple alone, where he prayed upon his knees. Insomuch that his knees were become like the knees of a camel ; by means of his being continually upon them, worshipping- God, and praying fur the forgiveness of the people. ' Upon account of his virtue he was called the Just, and Oblias, that is, the defence of the people, and righte- ousness. Some therefore of the seven sects, Mhich there were among- the Jews, of whom T spake in the former part of these commentaries, asked him,* which is the gate of Jesus : or, what is the gate of Salvation. And he said, Jesus is the Saviour, or the way of salvation. Some of them therefore believed that Jesus is the Christ. And many of the chief men also believing, there was a disturbance among the Jews, and among the scribes and pharisees, who said there was danger, lest all the people should think Jesus to be the Christ. Coming therefore to James, they said, we beseech thee to restrain the error of the ' AiaSix^TaiSe Tr\v iKK\r\atav yara tojv arroToKwi' 6 aSekfogTg Kvpts laKWjSof, . \. p. 603. C. D. '^ eTTvvQavovTO ctvrs, rig r) Ovpa ~s Ij;ff8 ; koi tXeye tstov uvai tov Swrjjpa. Le Clerc, in his observations upon tliis passage of Hegesippus, says, lie does not understand those words, ' what is the gate of Jesus.' And, per- haps, the place has been corrupted. Tic '/ Ovpa rs Itjan ; quod quidsibi veht, non intelhgo. Sed forte locus est conuptus, H. E. p. 416. Ann. Ixii. Mr. Mosheim thinks, with great probability, tliat the question put to James was, ' What is tlie gate, or way of salvation ? Tell us, how we may obtain eternal ' life.' James answered, ' The gate of salvation is our Saviour Jesus Christ.' Vitiura vero ejus non in vocabulo Gvpa, sed potius in nomine I?jo-a quaeri debere censeo. Judsei, quod manifestum est, sciscitantur sententiam Jacobi de via seu de ostio salutis, id est, de vera ratione ad salutem Eeternam perve- niendi. NuUusergo dubito, quin patrio sermone, quo utebantur, vocabulum Jeschuah adhibuerint, at que ex Jacobo qusesiverint : Die, rogamus, nobis, quodnam tibi videatur esse salutis ostium. Graecus quaestionis hujus inter- presvero, aut sermonis non nimis gnaiais, aut minus attentus, nomen proprium Servatoris nostri, Jesus, cernere so putabat, et perperam idcirco, quum awrripin ponendum ipsi fuisset : Tr^ r) Ovpa ttjq ffwrtjpiag ; vocabulum Irjas scribebat : Tjc V dvpa Iijffti ; Ita si Judaeorum quaestio intelligatur, nihil fieri aptius potest responsione Jacobi : ' Ostium salutis est Servator noster, Jesus Chnstus.' Moshem. De Reb. Christianor. ante Constantin. Sec. prim. num. 23. p. 95. />• 176 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. people. We entreat lliee to persuade all that come hither at the time of passover to think rightly concerning- Jesus. For all the people, and all of us put confidence in thee. Stand therefore upon the battlement of the temple, that, being- placed on high, thou mayest be conspicuous, and thy words may be easily heard by all the people. For because of the passover, all the tribes be come hither, and many gentiles. Therefore the scribes and pharisees, before named, placed James upon the battlement of the temple, and cried out to him, and said, O Justus, whom we ought all to believe, since the people are in an error, following Jesus who was crucified, tell us ^ what is the gate of Jesus. And he answered with a loud voice. Why do you ask me concerning- .the Son of man : he even sitteth in the heaven, at the right hand of the great power, and will come in the clouds of heaven. iVnd many were fully satisfied, and well pleased with the testimony of James, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David. But the same scribes and pharisees said to one another, We have done wrong- in procuring such a testimony to Jesus. Let us go up, and throw him down, that the people may be terriHed from giving credit to him. And they went up presently, and cast him down, and said. Let us stone James the Just. And they began to stone him, because he was not killed with the fall. But he turning himself, kneeled, saying, 1 entreat thee, O Lord God the Father, forgive them: for they know not what they do. As they were stoning him, one said. Give over: what do ye? The just man prays for you. And" one of them, a fuller, took a pole, which was used to beat cloths with, and struck him on the head. Thus his martyrdom was completed. And they buried him in that place, and his monunient still remains near the temple. This James wa« a true witness to Jews and Gentiles, that Jesus is the Christ. And soon after Judea was invaded by Vespasian and the people were carried captive.' ' So writes Hegesippus at large agreeably to Clement. For certain, James was an excellent man, and much esteemed by many for his virtue : insomuch that the most thoughtful men among the Jews were of opinion, that his death was the cause of the siege of Jerusalem, which followed soon after his martyrdom: and that it was owing to nothing else, but the wickedness ' See before, note '. " Kai\a(io)i' tiq air avTt^v, f'lQri^v yvatpHov, TO %v\ov ev I'o nirnru'Cf ni 'ifinria, TfVfyKi Kara Tr]c KirpaXtft; th ciKaiH. lb. p. 65. 13. St. James the Lord's Brother. 177 committed against him. And' Josephus says the same ill these wdrds :' ' These tliinos befell the Jews in vindica- tion of James the Just, who was brother of Jesus, called the Christ. For the Jews killed him, who was a most righteous man.' " The sftine historian, in the twentieth book of his antiquities, relates his death in this manner." The emperor being informed of the death of Festus, sent Albinus to be prefect in Judea. But the younger Ananus, who, as we said before, was made high priest, Avas haughty in his behaviour, and very enterprizing. And moreover he was of the sect of the Sadducees, who, as we have also observed before, are above all other Jews severe in their judicial sentences. This then being the temper of Ananus, he thinking he had a fit opportunity, because Festus was dead, and Albinus was yet upon the road, calls a council. And bringing before them James, the brother of him who is called Christ, and some others, he accused them as transgressors of the laws, and had them stoned to death. But the most moderate men of the city, who also were reckoned most skilful in the laws, were offended at this pro- ceeding. They therefore sent privately to the king,[[Agrippa the younger,] entreating him to send orders to Ananus, no more to attempt any such things. And some Mcnt away to meet Albinus, who was coming- from Alexandria, and put him in mind, that Ananus had no right to call a council without his leave. Albinus, approving' of what they said, Avrote a very angry letter to Ananus, threatening' to punish him for what he had done. And king' Agrippa took away from him the priesthood, after he had enjoyed it three months, and put in Jesus, the son of Damneeus.' " These are the things which are related of James, whose is the first of the epistles called catholic." ' Thus I have given a literal version of almost the whole of this chapter, being' desirous that my readers should sec the acctumts which ancient writers have given of James : though they are not altogether so credible, nor so entertain- ing, as might have been wished. Nor do they any where lie in better order than here. And therefore 1 have chosen this chapter. The same things are transcribed by Jerom from Eusebius, in his chapter of James the Just, in his cata- logue of ecclesiastical writers : l)ut very inaccurately, blend- ing- together Hegcsippus, and Clement, and Josephus : so O -/HV luKTrjTTog UK aTru)Kvi](Ti KM THT lyyocKpMQ tTTinaprvpfcrOai, H wv

)(n Xf^fwv" 'Tavra St (Tu;x/3e/3?; ictv IsSaioiQ Kar' tKSiKritriv laKaijiH th Sikoih, og tjv aSt\(poc Irjas rs XtyofiiVH Xpirn' tTrtiSrjTrep SiKuiorarov avrov ovra oi Isiaiot awtK-tivav. lb. p. 65. D. VOL. VI. N 178 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. fliat, without comparing- Eusebius, it could not be known what belongs to one, and what to the other. For which, I think, he deserves to be censured. Nor could I pass it by without notice, as an use may be made of it. For it may induce us to suspect, that tO such carelessness and inac- curacy of quotation we owe those passages of Josephus, in which he is said to have assigned the death of James as the sole cause of the ruin of the Jewish people. And now I proceed to make some remarks upon the chapter of Eusebius, and the passages therein (pioted by him. 1. In the first place, it appears from Eusebius's introduc- tion, at the beginning of the chapter, that he supposed the martyrdom of St. James to have happened at a time when there was no Roman governor in Judea, after the death of Festus, and before the arrival of Albinus in the province. What reason he had for this we do not certainly know. We do not observe any notice of that circumstance in what he has transcribed from Ilegesippus. It is indeed expressly said in the passage of Josephus. But if that passage be the only foundation for the opinion, its authority may be qires- tioned. For divers learned men have suspected the genu- ineness of that part of the passage, which speaks of the death of James. As will be shown more particularly by and bv. 2. Upon the first cpiotation, which is from Hegesippus, it is easy for any one to observe, that " there are in it many things very unlikely: as ^ that James should live in the maimer here represented, and particularly, that he should eat no animal food : that he had a right to enter into the holy place when he pleased, whether thereby be understood the holy of holies, or only the temple: that the scribes and " Et Jacobus Justus, ecclesiae Hierosolymitanae antistes, quem misere truci- darunt : quod ipse Josephus paucis, copiosius Hegesippus apud Eusebium memorioe prodiditj quamquam in nanatione hujus muUa sunt, quibusnemo, nisi lerum velerum et christianarum et Judaicarum prorsus ignarus, fidem liabeat. Moshem. De Reb. Christian, ante Constantin. Sect. i. sect, xxiii. p. 93. '^ ' Hie ab uteromatrissanctus fuit :' Nazireatils nempe vote Deo consecratus, ut sequentia ostendunt. Nee fieri hoc potuisse ncgarim. * Nee vinum unquam bibit, nee siceram.' Itadebuit, si Naziraeus fuit. ' Ab animantium carnibus abstinuit.' Hoc vcro Pythagoricuni et superstitiosuni fuit institutum, de quo nihil in Mosaica lege, et cujus reuni fuisse Jacobum, etiam postquam christianus factus est, vix credibile fit. ' Comam nunquani totondit.' Recte, atque ordine. Sic enim Lex jubct. Num. vi. 3 — 5. ' Neque ungi, neque lavare balneo corpus unquam solitus.' Non tantum praeter, sed et contra legem hoc luit, (jua multse ablutiones Judaeis impositae. Nee certe sordes quaesitae quidquam ad sanctitatem faciunt. Cleric. Hist. Ec. Ann. Ixii. not. 2. p. 415. SL James, the Lord's Brother. 179 pharisees should place liiiu on a pinnacle, or battlement of the temple, to deliver his opinion to the people concerning* Jesus : that they should throw him down thence, and kill him in the temple, or any of the courts of it: that they should bury him near the place in which he is here said to have been killed : when the Jews, and all other people in those times, usually buried their dead without the walls of their cities : and, finally, that he should have a monument, or pillar over him, near the place where he was buried, which remained to the time of Hegesippus, after the war was over, and the city of Jerusalem and the temple had been overthrow'ii. Concerning" which last particular, Jerom, in the catalogue above mentioned, says, 'He^ was buried ' near the temple, where he had been thrown down. He ' had a conspicuous monument, till the siege of Titus, and ' that since by Adrian. Some of our people have thought ' that he was buried on mount Olivet. But that is a mis- ' taken opinion.' So that even in Judea there were dif- ferent opinions concerning* the place were James was buried. Nevertheless, I presume, all were persuaded that he had suffered martyrdom from the Jews at Jerusalem. There was no different sentiment about that. However, this difference of opinion concerning- the place where St. James was buried, deserves our notice ; for it may lead us to suspect some mistake in the account of Hegesippus. Possibly, St. James Mas buried in mount Olivet, though there was a pillar erected near the place where he was killed. 1 think this may be of use to remove some difficulties in the account of Hegesippus. The pillar, which he saw, might be erected, after the siege of Jerusa- lem, by some who remembered the place where St. James had been killed. And some from that monument might conclude he had been buried there, though really he was not. I have made some remarks upon the passage of Hege- sippus. A fuller critique may be seen in other'' writers: partly aggravating the improbabilities of this account, partly « softening them, and striving to remove difficulties. Ac- cordingly Petavius says, ' that ^ though there are in it y et juxta templum, ubi et praecipitatus fiieral, sepultus est. Titulum usque ad obsidioncm Titi, et ultimam Hadriani notissimum habuit. Quidam e nostris in monte Oliveli eum putaverunt conditum; sed falsa eorum opinio est. De V. I. cap. 2. " Vid. Joseph. Scaliger. Animadvers. in Euseb. Chron. p. 193, 194. J. Cleric. Hist. Ec. A. D. Ixii. Pefav. Animadvers. ad Epiphan. Haer. Ixxviii. Vales. Annot. in Euseb. H. E. 1. 2. cap. 23. et Tillenaont, S. Jacque le Mineur, Mem. Ec. torn. I. Basnag. Ann. 33. num. 184, &c. " Ngc diffiteor nonnulla vel ab Hegesippo prodita. N 2 180 A History of the /Ipostles and Evanrjelists. ' several things very unlikely, yet the Mhole history ought ' not therefore to be rejected.' To whom I am not unwilling to accede. But as I have not room to enlarge upon parti- culars, for showing the reasonableness of that judgment, I must be content with recommending a careful and impar- tial attention to the observations of the Avriters to Avhom I have referred. However, I may by and by have an oppor- tunity to mention a few thoughts, beside what I have al- ready said, for removing difficulties and answering- objec- tions. 3. Eusebius says, ' that many thoughtful mesi among ' the Jews were of opinion, that the death of James was the ' cause of the siege of Jerusalem, and that it was OAving ' to nothing else but the Avickedness committed against him, ' and that Joseph us says the same.' Origen speaks to the like purpose, as Ave have seen : but not fjuite so strongly. The same is said by Jerom more than once. I mean ^ in his book of Illustrious Men, and "^ also elsewhere. But neither he nor Eusebius expressly say, in Avhat place of Josephus. Which may make us think that they borrowed this from Origen. Nor does Origen inform us in Avhat Avork of Josephus those things Avcre said, though he has mentioned them several times. Which may dispose us to think that they Avere no where expressly in Josephus. 4. Eusebius proceeds, and snys, that in the twentietii book of his Antiquities, Josephus had related the death of James, in a passage Avhich he there transcribes. Which passage is still in the works of Josephus. And Avhat is there said, may be very true, for the most part : ' that ^ ' Ananus the younger, being high-priest, and a man of an vel ab aliis inserta, quas parum probabilia videantur. Sed totam ipsara histo- rian! nego propterea damnandam esse. Petav. Animadv. ad Epiph. H. 78. n. iii. p. 332. '' Trad.t enim Josephus, tantse eum sanctitatis fuisse et celebritatis in populo, ut propter ejus necem creditum sit, subversara Hierosolymam. De V. I. cap. 2. Vid. et cap. 13. '^ Transeamus ad Jacobum, qui frater Domini dicebatur, tantae sanctitatis, tantoeque justitiae, et perpetuoe virginitatis, ut Josephus quoque historicus Judaeoram propter hujus necem Jerosolymam subversam ret'erat. Hie primus episcopus ex Juda;is Jerosolymae credentis ecclesiae. Adv. Jovin. 1. 1. T. IV. P. 2. \i. 182. in. '' Facile quidem crediderini Jerosolymitanos proceres graviter tulisse, quod synedriumsuaauctoritateinstituisset, cum dudum jusgladii a Romanis Judaeis cssetereptum : quod iterum inconsulto Csesare ab Anano usurpatum timebant, negenti suae gravi fortasso poena luendum csset. Sed quae de Jacobo, Jesu, qui Christus dicebatur, fratre, habentur, nicrum adsumentum male feriati chri-tiani esse videntur : qua de re alibi diximus. Cleric, ubi Kupr. sect. ii. p. 415. Conf. ejusd, ArsCrit. part III. sect. i. cap. H.nuni. xi. St. James, the Lord's Brother. 181 ' hanghly and ciitrrprizing" temper, when tlieic was no ' JJonian governor in Jndea, convened a council, and had ' some stoned to death, as transgressors of tlie laws : and ' that many of the most discreet and moderate men among- ' the Jews were offended at this proceeding: forasmuch as ' v.hilst Judea was in the state of a province, the high-priest ' had no right to call the council together, without leave, ' and they feared that this action would be resented by the ' emperor.' All this, I say, is very likely. Nevertheless those words, " James the brother of him who is called Christ," have been suspected to be an interpolation. And probably*^ are so. Supposing*^ those words to be an inter- polation, we can gather no more from that passage, than that Ananus did illegally condemn several persons to death, as transgressors of the Jewish laws. But who they were, or whether any of them were christians, or not, cannot be determined with certainty. 5. Eusebius supposeth, that this passage of Josephus con- firms the account given by Hegesippus : whereas^ it appears, on the other hand, very difficult to reconcile them. I do not perceive Hegesippus to say any thing- of Ananus, the high-priest. Nor has he expressly mentioned the Sad- ducees, of which sect Ananus was. Nor does Hegesippus say a word of the council of the Jews. And as the punish- ment of stoning, when ordered by magistrates, was gene- rally inflicted on men out of the city, it is probable, that they who were put to death by the procurement of Ananus, suffered without Jerusalem. But according to Hegesippus, James died at the temple, or near it, and was buried not far off from the place where he expired. 6. Since what is said of James in the passage of Josephus, is justly suspected to be an interpolation, it ought not to be regarded. Learned men of late times * See Vol. i. p. 83, 84. See here likewise, note "*. ' See Dr. Benson's History of St. James, sect. ii. p. 12. the second edition. 8 Quid magis contrarium esse potest, qiaam haec Josephi, et ilia Hegesippi narratio ? Nam Josephus quidem damnatum esse scribit in publico Judaeorum concilio ; Hegesippus vero, per seditionem ac tumultum populi occisum. Et Hegesippus quidem fuste I'ullonis necatum in media urbe, Josephus aiitem lapidatum occubuisse narrat. Fiebat autem lapidatio extra portas civitatis, ut notumest. Vales. Annot. ad Euseb. 1. 2. cap. 23. p. 41. Secundo, qui fidem habent narrationi Hegesippi, eos oportet, aut Josephimi falsi argiiere, aut suspectum habere hunc locum, quo res publice Jerosolymae gesta, adeoque notissima, aliter narratur; utrairari subeat, -ab Eusebio Josephi et Hegesippi \'erba allata, eodem capitc, nee eum tentasse ea in concordiam redigere, aut alterutrius narrafionis fidem in dubium ncn revocasse. Cleric. Ars Crit. P. 111. sect. i. n. xii. 1 82 A Histor'j of the Apostles and Evangelists. find'' it very difficult to determine how James died. But that difficulty, as seems to me, is much increased by paying- too much regard to a passage, the genuineness of which is far from being certain. Josephus indeed is an older author than Hegesippus, and he is an historian of good credit. But we should be first assured that the account is his. If a passage, or part of a passage, has been inserted in his works, and there is good reason to think it not his, it should be disregarded, and stand for nothing. If we once set aside that passage, we may scon come to a determination concerning the manner of James's death. That James had suffered martyrdom at Jerusalem, was the general persuasion of christians in the time of Eusebius, and before, as we plainly perceive. Two ancient christian wri- ters of the second century assure us, that his death was completed by the blow of a fuller's pole, with which they are wont to beat wet clothes. And Hegesippus, in particu- lar, and at large, relates that his death was effected in a tumultuous manner. The tumult began at the temple ; wliere the scribes, and pharisees, and other Jews, entered into discourse with James. He, standing upon some emi- nence, which Hegesippus calls •n-rcpvyiov, and M'e now generally render a battlement, or pinnacle, openly declared and argued, that Jesus was the Christ, or the expected Messiah, and that his doctrine contained full instruction how men may be saved and obtain eternal life. At which some leading men among the Jews were much offended. They then laid hold of him, and perhaps dragged him out of the temple. Some of the people threw stones at him. And though he earnestly prayed to God in the behalf of those who abused him, they persisted in their abuses, till one struck him Avith a long* pole, which put an end to his life. St. John has recorded two instances of the Jews taking up stones to throw at our Lord, when he was teaching in the temple, ch. viii. 59, and ch, x. 31. The first is in these words: "Then took they up stones to cast at him. But Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. They took up stones to cast at him." And if our Lord had not saved himself by a miraculous exertion of power, they Avould have tljen killed him. Divine l^rovidence not interposing- in a like manner, when a like attempt was made upon James, he fell a sacri- *• Potest tamen fieri, ut Jacobus hoc tempore mortuus sit. Sed gemis mortis ignotiim. Cleric. II. E. Ann. Ixii. num. iii. in. Si. James, the Lord's Brother. 183 fice to the rage of the unbelieving part of the Jewish peo- ple at Jerusalem. Nor ought it to be thought exceeding strange, or abso- lutely unaccountable, that some scribes and pharisees, or other Jews, should gather about James at the temple, and ask his opinion concerning Jesus, though they knew it very Mcll already : or that they should come to him with pre- tences of great respect, and assurances of paying a regard to his judgment. Formany like things are recorded in the gospels: which every one is able to recollect. 1 shall therefore take particular notice oidy of that second instance, mentioned by 8t. John, of their taking up stones to throw at our Lord, John x. 22 — 31, " And it was at Jerusalem, the feast of the dedication" And " Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him : How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them : 1 told you, and ye believed not. The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him." They came to Jesus, and desired an answer to a question that had been answered before. But they pretend now to desire it should be answered in the plainest and fullest man- ner. Nevertheless they could not hear the answer with patience. I said just now, that two ancient writers of the second century, Clement and Hegesipp us, assure us, that the death of James had been completecl by a fidler's pole, after he had been thrown off from the temple. [ suppose this must have been the opinion also of Eusebius, who has taken notice of these things, and of other ancient christians. It is the account which ' Jerom gives of the death of James, in his article, in the book of Illustrious Men, and likewise "^ elsewhere. The same is said by ^ Epiphanius. Let this suffice for the circumstances and the manner of the death of James. VL The time of the death of James may be determined without much difficulty. He was alive when Paul came to Jerusalem at the Pentecost, in the year of Christ 68. And it ' Qui cum praecipitatus de pinna templi, confractis cruribus, adhuc semi- vivus fullonis fuste, quo uda vestimenta extorqueri solent, in cerebro percussu?, interiit. De V. I. cap. 2. ^ Hie autem Jacobus episcopus Jerosolymorura primus fuit, cognomento Justus: qui et ipse postea de templo a Judaeis praecipitatus, successorem habuit Simonem, &c. Comm. in ep. ad Gal. cap. i. T. IV. p. 237. ' Haer. 78. num. xiv, p. 1046. 184 A History of the Apostles and Evangelisls. is likely that he was dead when St. Paul Mi'ote the epistle to the Hebrews, at the beginning- of the year G3. Theodo- ret," upon Hebr. xiii. 7, supposeth the apostle there to refer to the martyrdoms of Stephen, James the brother of John, and James the Just. According- to Hegesippus the death of James happened about the time of the passover, which might be that of the year 62. And if Festus was then dead, and Albinus not arrived, the province was >vithout a governor. Such a season left the Jews at liberty to gratify their licen- tious and turbulent disposition. And they Mere very likely to embrace it. We may therefore very reasonably place this event at that juncture. And it is now the general opinion of learned men, that James died about that time. Pearson,'^ who seems to admit the genuineness of the whole passage of Josephus, placeth the death of James in the year 62. Him Mill ° follows. Le Clerc, who disputes the genuineness of those words that relate to James, alloMS that p he might die about that time. This also is agreeable to Tillemont's i computation. And I refer to ^ Yalesius. VH. It still remains that we consider on what account he was called the Lord's brother, and whether he be the same as James the Son of Alpheus. James, as we have seen, is called by St. Paul " the Lord's brother," Gal. i. 19. All christian writers in general speak of him in the like manner. The cjuestion is, in what sense he was so. That James was not the son of JMary, or our Lord's brother by nature, has been well argued by christians in former times, both ^ Latins and * Greeks, from our Lord's Avords U[)on the cross, recorded John xix. 26, 27, where he ■" Theod. torn. III. p. 459. ° Aon. Paulin. p. 19. A. Chr. Ixii. " Prolegom. num. 56. p H. E. An. GQ. num. iii. '' S. Jacque le Mineur, art. vii. in. ■■ Vales. Annot. ad Euseb. 1. 2. cap. 23. p. 41. * Verum homines pravissimi hinc praesumiint opinion! su^ auctoritatem, quod plures Dominmn nostrum fratres habuisse sit traditum. Qui si Mariae filii fuissent, et non potius Josephi ex priore conjugio suscepti, nunquam in tempore passionis Joanni Apostolo transcripta esset in matrem, Domino ad utrunuiue dicente, Mulier, ecce filiiis tuus, et Joanni, Ecce mater tua ; nisi quod desolatse solatium caritatem filii in discipulo relinquebat. Hilar. Pict. Comm. in Matt. cap. i. p. C12. Ed. Bened. ' Et TjTav dt TiKva ry Mapt^, Kai u VTrrjpx^v ciVTy avT]p, Tivi Xoyy TrapiSiSa Ti)v Mafjutv Ttij Iwavv)], Kai top lwavvi]v ry Majjt^ ; Epiph. Haer. 78. num. X. p. 1042. C. Eiyap tyvo) avrt]v, Kai iv ra^ti yvvaiKog iixct ttojq ujg mrpOTarevTov avrtjv, Kai uStva txnt^avy rqt fiaOijTt] Traparidirai, Kai KeKevei avrot iig ra idia avTrfv Xa^Hv; Chrysost. in Matt. hom. 5. T. VII. p. 77. St. James, the hordes Brother. 185 recommends the care of his motlier to John : requiring her to consider him as her son, and him to take care of her, as his mother. And indeed it has been the opinion of all christians in general, that Mary was always a virgin, and that she never had any children by Joseph. We must therefore inf|uirc in w hat respect this James was our Lord's brother, and some others his brothers, or sisters. Eusebius, in a chapter quoted some w hile ago, the first of the second book of his ecclesiastical history, without hesita- tion says, ' that " James was said to be the Lord's brother, ' because he also was called the son of Joseph. And Joseph * was reckoned his father, because the virgin Mary was es- ' poused to him.' Origen " in a passage also cited '" above, says, that the brethren of Jesus were the sons of Joseph by a former wife, who had cohabited with him before Mary. And he men- tions it as supported by an ancient tradition. This was the opinion'' of Epiphanius, and of many >' ancient writers, both Greeks and Latins. Jerom, in his article of this person, in his Catalogue of Ecclesiastical Writers, says : ' James,^ who is called the ' Lord's brother, surnamed the Just, was as some think, ' the son of Joseph by another wife, but, as seems to me, ' the son of Mary, sister to our Lord's mother, mentioned by * John in his gospel, John xix. 25.' And in his book against Helvidius he delivers it as his opinion, that'" those called our Lord's brethren in the gospels, Avere so named, as they were cousins, or relations. He speaks to the like purpose also ** in Jiis commentary upon Matth. xii. 49, 50. " Tor£ Ci] (cat laKwfiov, rov th Kvpia Xtyo^tvov adeXipov, oti St] kcu ovtoq I(o(Tt]!p 6Jvo/iaHg, k. X. Theoph. in Gal. i. 19. ' KararaOiVTog tv6vg IaKw/3 th a^tXfa KvptH KoKHfitva Kat a7roToX« tTTiaKOTru Trptom vIh lojfftjijj (pvaei ovrog, k. X. Haer. 29. n. iii. " El yap ]fxavai vi> tXeytp rjOiXev, tvqv Kat t^ tTipa yviopwuaTog thto Trotrjmu Sr/Xov, Kai uirtiv tov th KXwTTa, (neiQ Kat evayytXi'^tjg iXiyiv. Chr. in Gal. cap. i. T. X. p. C78. E. St. James, the Lord's Brother. 189 ' hiiii that lionomablo nppclhition, when he might have said ' " the son of Cloophas," as he is called in the gospels.' Theophyhict likewise says, ' tJiat ^ Paul calls him the Lord's ' brother, by the way of an honoural)le distinction, when he ' might have called him the son of Cleophas. Nor was he ' the Lor]g tKctXnv irooTtpn^aTa. Eus. H. E. 1. 2. c. 1. p. 38. B. ' P. 169, 170. *■' 'O ovofiaaOnQ inro iravrojv ^tKaiog otto tcjv th Kvpta ;;^poi'(ov l^typi Kai rinu)v. Ap. Euseb. 1. 2. c. 23. p. 63. D. '' Aia ytToi Tt}v vTnp(io\t]V tijq ^iKawffvvrjg avTu iKaXfiro CiKaiog kcu QfiXiac. lb. p. C4. A. ' kui iKpa^av avno, Kai inroi'' AtKcue, (1) TTavriQ TniOtrrQai o<^tiXo//n'. lb. D. Vid. Ct p. 65. A. ft B. '' Jacobus, qui pppellalurfrater Domini, coguoniento Justus. DeV. I. cap.2. ' Hie aulem Jacobus episcopus Jerosolymoriim primus fuit, cognomento Justus ; vir tanta' sanctitatis et rumoris in populo, ut fimbriam vestimenti ejus certatim ciiperent atlingcre. ' In Gal. T. IV. p. 237. in. *" Toj/ yap laKw(in Qpovov r« Trpwrs ti}q ' lipoaoXvfiiJiV tKrXt](nag hq cevpo TTefvXuyiin'ot' o'l rrjce Kara ?iaSox>1v Trcptiiroi'Ttg actX(poi, k. X. H. E. I. 7. c. 19. The Epistle of St. James. 195 this person so regularly, as that of some others. For which reason it may not be amiss to take a summary view of what we have seen. James, sometimes called the Less, the son of Alpheus, and called the Lord's brother, either as being- the son of Joseph by a former wife, or a relation of his mother Mary, was one of Christ's apostles. AVe have no account of the time when he was called to the apostleship. Nor is there any thing- said of him particularly in the history of our Saviour, which is in the g-ospels. But from the Acts, and St. Paul's epis- tles, we can perceive that after our Lord's ascension he was of note among- the apostles. Soon after St. Stephen's death in the year 30, or thereabout, he seems to have been ap- pointed president, or superintendant in the church of Jeru- salem, where, and in Judea, he resided the remaining part of his life. Accordingly, he presided in the council of Jeru- salem, held there in the year 49, or 50. He was in great repute among- the Jewish people, both believers and unbe- lievers, and was surnamed the Just. Notwithstanding which he suffered martyrdom in a tumult at the temple : and, probably, in the former part of the year 62. He wrote one epistle, not long before his death, of which we shall speak presently. CHAP. XVII. THE EPISTLE OF ST. JAMES. \. The Evidences of its Gennmeness. H. When written. Ml. To whom. HAVING now done all I am able for clearing- up the his- tory of this person, I come to consider the epistle ascribed to him. Here I would observe the evidences of its genuineness and authority, the time when, and the people to whom it was written. I. And for the first point. This epistle seems to be alluded, or referred to, by Clement bishop of Rome, Vol. ii. ch. ii. num. xxxvii xl. and by Hermas, ch. iv. num. xxviii.—xxxiv. It is not expressly quoted by Irenteus, o 2 196 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. Nor are there in him any undisputed references to it, ch. xvii. num. v. 1, 2, 7. Nor do we perceive it to be quoted by Clement of Alexandria, ch. xxii. num. viii. nor by Ter- tullian, ch. xxvii. num. xi. 1. This epistle is quoted once or twice by Origen, but as of doubtful authority, or not received by all, ch. xxxviii. num. xi. We do not observe any notice to be taken of this epistle by Cyprian, V^ol. iii. ch. xliv. num. vii. It seems to be referred to by Commo- dian, a Latin writer, about the year 270, ch. xlix. num. iii. 6. It is probable that it was received by the Manichees and Paulicians, ch. Ixiii. sect. vi. num. iv. 9; sect. ix. num. ii. 5, 10—12. It seems to be referred to by Lactantius, ch. Ixv. num. vi. 6. From a passage of Eusebius, cited in the* preceding chapter, it appears, tliat in his time, the beginning- of the fourth century, all the seven epistles called catholic, were well known, and received by many. And he expressly says, that the epistle of James was the first of them. And to the like purpose again in another passage to be here taken notice of by us. Having given a particular account of the death of James, called the Just, and the brother of the Lord, and bishop of Jerusalem, he concludes the chapter in this manner. ' Thus far,' ** says he, ' concerning James, ' who is said to be the writer of the first of the epistles called ' catholic. But it ought to be observed, that it is spurious: ' [meaning, that it was a contradicted book of scripture, or ' at the utmost, that it was doubted of, or rejected by ' many :] forasmuch as there are not many of the ancient ' writers, who have quoted it : as neither that called Jude's, ' another of the seven epistles called catholic. However Me ' know that these also are commonly used [or publicly read] ' in most churches, together with the rest.' This passage is very satisfactory. For it assures us who was the writer of this epistle : nanjely, James, before spoken of, called the Lord's brother, surnamed the Just, who gene- rally resided at Jerusalem. It also assures us, that though it had been doubted of by some, it Mas then generally re- ceived, and publicly read in the assemblies of christians. They mIjo have leisure and are curious, may see m hat was farther observed by us formerly, relating to the opinion of ^ See before, p. 160, IGl, ToiavTa kui tu Kara rov laKOjfiop, ov i) Trpivrt} tmv ovonaZofxivuiv kuGo- "KiKtav tivai Xtytrai. I^tov Ot i)q voOivtrai. Ov noXXoi yuv rwv iraXaiojv avTijc iixviiiiovivaav, (!jq n^e tt]c Xiyonivrfq ln£a, nine kui uvttiq «c'7C roiv iTzra Xiyofitvbjv kuOoXikojv. 'O/iuic Ce laynv kui Tavrnr fiira riot' Xonruv iv ttXhtuiq ctStinoiTuvnivag iKKXr)ai(tiQ. H. E. 1. 2. cap. 2-3. p. 66. Comp. Vol. iv. p. 104. The Epistle uf St. James. 1 97 Eusebius himself concerning- this epistle, and the writer of it, Vol. iv. ch. Ixxii. num. ix. 17 — 24. I only add here, that this epistle of St. James is one of the three catholic epistles received by the Syrian christians, and by Chrysostom and Theodoret. And that after the time of Eusebius, this, and the other six catholic epistles, Mere received by all Greeks and Latins in general : and are in the catalogues of canonical scripture composed by councils and learned authors : as was show n in a foregoing- chapter. However, there might be still some few who doubted of its authority, especially intheeast, as wasobservcd. Vol. V. ch. clii. 7. This epistle was received by Jeroni, as was distinctly and largely shown in his article. Vol. iv. ch. cxiv. num. viii. 6. Wlio in one place says, ' The*" apostles, James, Peter, John, ' Jude, wrote seven epistles, of few words, but full of sense.' It may nevertheless be worth the while to recollect here particularly what he says of it in his book of Illustrious Men, transcribed there at p. 125, ' James, the Lord's ' brother, Avrote but one epistle, which is among ' the seven catholic epistles. Which too'' is said to have ' been published by another in his name. But gra- ' dually, in process of time, it has gained authority. ' This is he of whom Paul Avrites in his epistle to the Gala- ' tians. And he is often mentioned in the Acts of the ' Apostles.' • Which likewise,' says Jerom, ' is said to have been * published by another in his name :' that is, even that one epistle is said by some to be spurious, and not really writ- ten by James, though it bears his name. But I do not believe there is reason to think that was ever said by any. And I am persuaded, that what Jerom says here is owing to a mistake of his, not rightly understanding Eusebius : who, as may be remembered, says, ' This James is said to ' be the author of the first of the epistles called catholic. ' But* it ought to be observed that it is spurious.' By which Jerom understood Eusebius to say, that this epistle w^as falsely ascribed to James, and was not his : whereas Eusebius means no more than that it was a conti-adicted book, not received by all as of authority : or at the utmost, that it was doubted of, or rejected by many. This I sup- ' Vol. iv. ch. cxiv. num. v. ** Quae et ipsaab alio quodam sub nomine ejus edita asseritur. * ireov h wc vo9tvtTai fiiv. H. E. 1. 2. cap. 23. p. 66. C. 198 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. f»ose to have been clearly shown before. See Vol. iv. ch. xxii. num. viii. 4 — 6; and also num. ix.24.'^ The reason why this epistle Avas not received by all, I sup- pose to have been, that it was not certainly known that James, the writer of it, was an apostle. We have observed several ancient writers, who did not allow him to have that high character. There were two apostles of this name : James the son of Zebedee, and James the son of Alpheus. That the writer of this epistle was not James the son of Zebedee, must have been evident. Nor was it certain that he was the son of Alpheus. Another reason of doubting- of his apostleship may have been that he was often called bishop of Jerusalem, and said by some to have been ap- pointed to that office by the apostles. - This also may have contributed to the doubt, whether he was one of the twelve apostles of Christ. Other reasons have been assigned in late ages, why some might hesitate about receiving- this epistle as a part of canonical scripture. But those reasons are not to be found in the most early antiquity : whereas w^e can plainly per- ceive, that not a few learned christians of the first ages were not satisfied the writer was an apostle ; which must have occasioned a demur concerning the high authority of the epistle. If this James was not one of the twelve apostles, he was nevertheless a person of great distinction, as he was the Lord's brother, and resided many years at Jerusalem after our Lord's ascension, as president, or superintendent of the church there, and of the Jewish believers in Judea in gene- ral. Accordingly, Eusebius, Avho did not think this James to be one of the twelve apostles, in his commentary upon Isaiah, reckons fourteen apostles, meaning Paul, and this James, though not equal to him. Sec Vol. iv. ch. Ixxii. num. ix. 23. And Jerom likewise, in one place, formerly taken notice of, reckons this James, brother of the Lord, an additional apostle with Paul, beside the twelve, Vol. iv. ch. cxiv. num. viii. 6. But I think it manifest, that James the Lord's brother, who resided at Jerusalem, several times mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, and in St. Paul's epistles, was an apos- tle, one of the twelve, and consequently the same with him who is called the son of Alpheus. And as this epistle has been all along ascribed to James, the Lord's brother, f I likewise refer to Dr. Leonard Twell's Examination of tiie late new (ext and vei-sion of the N. T. Part. 2. ch. 2. p. 82 ; who speaks to the like purpose. The Epistle of St. James. 199 surnanied the Just, 1 receive it as apart of sacred scripture, and think it ought to be so received. II. Concerning- the time of tliis epistle, there cannot be very different apprehensions. Mill s says it was written before tlie destruction of Jerusalem, aud a year or two before his own dealh, about the year 60: vvhich is also the opinion of' Fabri- cius. But tliat appears to me rather too soon. If St. James suffered martyrdom in the year 62, I should be inclined to think this epistle was written in the beginning of that year, or in 61, and but a short time before his death. Eusebius says, ' When' Paul had appealed to Caesar, ' and had been sent to Rome by Festus, the Jews, who had ' aimed at his death, being disappointed in that design, ' turned their rage against James, the Lord's brother, who ' had been appointed by the apostles bishop of Jerusalem.' In like manner Tillemont, adopting that thought, says, ' St. ' Paul ^ having been sent to Rome near the end of the year ' 60, by Festus, governor of Judea, the Jews finding them- ' selves not able to accomplish their design against him, ' turned their rage against James. Nevertheless they did ' not show it till eighteen months after, when Festus being ' dead, and Albinus, who succeeded him, not being yet ' arrived, the province was without a governor.' That the Jews were much vexed, Avhen Paul was sent to Rome, and had thus escaped out of their hands, is very rea- sonably supposed. But that their vexation upon that ac- count was the occasion of the death of James, is mere con- jecture. Nor does any thing like it appear in the accounts of his death, which Eusebius has transcribed from He- gesippus, and Josephus. If 1 likewise may be allowed to mention a conjecture, (which is at least as probable as that just taken notice of,) 1 should say, I am apt to think, that the death of James was partly occasioned by the offence taken at his epistle : in Avhich are not only sharp reprehensions of the unbelieving- Jews for the crimes committed by them, but also affecting B De tempore, quo scripta est, certum est in prirais exaratam fuisse ante excidium Hierosolymitanum. De hoc enini, ut et general! Judaeorum calami- tate veluti jam imminente, loquitur cap. v, 1. Jam vero Jacobus statim post Festi mortem martyrium obiit, teste Josepho, anno ferae vulgaris, ex rationibus Pearsonianis, quas libenter sequor, Ixii. adeoque uno vel altero ante mortem, scriptam censuerim hanc epistolam, circa annum Ix. Prol. num. 56. '• Bib. Gr. 1. 4. cap. v. n. ix. torn. III. p. 165. ' H. E. 1. 2. cap. 23. in. '' S. Jacoiie le Mineur, Art. vii, Mem. Tom, T, 200 A Hislory of the Apostles and Evangelists. representations of the dreadful calamities coming upon them, ch. iv. 1, 8. V. 1 — 6, III. I am now to consider to whom this epistle was sent. Beza says, it' was sent to the believing Jews, dispersed all over the world. Cave™ seems to say to believing- Jews chiefly. And ° to the like purpose Fabricius. Grotius " says, to all the people of Israel living- out of Judea. Wall's account of this epistle is this : ' It p was written to such ' Jews (being now Christians) as were dispersed abroad out ' of Judea. This epistle consists of general exhortntions ' to piety, patience, and other moral virtues. It has twice ' or thrice mentioned our Saviour : but has nothing of his ' miracles, or teachings, or death, or resurrection, or ourre- ' demption by him : of which Paul's, and Peter's, and John's ' epistles are full.' To me it seems, that this epistle was written to all Jews, descendants of Jacob, of every denomination, throughout the world, in Judea, and out of it. For such is the inscription : " James, a servant of God, and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes, M'hich are scattered abroad, greeting." No expression can be more general, than " the twelve tribes." There is not any limitation, restraining it to chris- tians, or believers in Jesus. Nor does he wish them grace or peace from Jesus Christ. It is only a general salutation, or greeting. Indeed he does not dissemble his own cha- racter. He calls himself "a servant of God, and of the Lord Jesus Christ." He takes upon himself the character of a christian, and perhaps of an apostle. But he does not so characterize those to whom he writes. Nor is there any christian benediction at the end of the epistle. Nor can I see why " the twelve tribes scattered abroad" should not comprehend those of them in Judea, which were the peculiar charge of the writer. And divers things in the epistle seem to belong to them especially. He means therefore the people of the twelve tribes every where, in Judea, and out of it. A large part of the epistle is suitable to christians. But there are divers paragraphs, that must be understood to be addressed to unbelieving Jews, particularly, ch. v. 1 — 6. as ' fideUbus omnibus Judaeis, cujuscumque tribus sint, per orbem terra- rum dispersis. Bez. ad cap. i. 1. "■ Scripsit, Paulo, ut videtur, ante mortem, epi^tolam cathoLcam Judaeis tv ^lao-Tropa, Christianam praecipue doctrinam professis. Cav. ILL. in Jacobo. " Ad JudiEos maxime Christianismura amplexos, qui usquequaque dispersi degcbant. Ubisupr. p. 160. " Id est, gente Israelitica qui erant extra Juda^am. Gr. ad loc. "' Crit. Notes upon the N. T. p. 144. The Epistle of St. James. 201 is generally allowed. I think likewise, that the first ten verses ofch. iv. are addressed to unbelieving- Jews. Where it is said, " Whence come wars and fightings among- you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts, that war in your members'? Ye lust, and have not. Ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain. Ye fight, and war." These things could not be said to christians. They must relate to those disturbances, which, some while before the Roman war broke out, were every where among the unbelieving- Jews. lam of opinion, that this way of writing was chosen to abate the offence, which the reproofs, and exhortations, and warn- ings of the epistle were likely to occasion. St. James writes in a general way. Let all apply to themselves those things, which belong- to them. AVall's note upon ch. v. 6, is to this effect, ' This is spoken, not to the christians, but to some rich ' heathens, or infidel Jews, that oppressed and murdered ' them. No christians of those times had any Mars, or ' fightings, such as ch. iv 1. or killing-, as here : viz. not in ' the time of James, bishop of Jerusalem.' And says Whitby upon ch. iv. 1, " Whence come wars ?" ' This epistle seems to have been MTit(en about the eighth ' of Nero, and the sixty-second of Christ, the year before ' the death of James : before which time the Jews had ' great wars and fightings, not only M'ith their neighbours, ' [see note upon Matt. xxiv. G,] but even among them- ' selves, in every city and family, saith Josephus : not ' only in Judea, but in Alexandria, and Syria, and many ' other places.' A very proper note upon the text, as seems to me. And what he says upon the following- verses of that chapter, and upon ch. v. 1—6, and in his preface to the epistle, sect. v. and vi. deserves also attentive regard. Where indeed he expressly says, ' Since James writes to the whole twelve tribes, 1 doubt ' not but those of Palestine must be included.' Mr. Pyle i has spoken clearly to the like purpose in the preface to his paraphrase of this epistle. I shall now transcribe a part of Venerable Bede's note ■i These circumstances gave occasion to this apostle, the residentiary of the circumcision in Judea, to indite this epistle partly to the infidel, and partly to the believing Jews It was directed to the Jews and Jewish converts of the dispersion. Yet, as that to the Hebrews was intended for the general benefit of all the scattered tribes, though directed to the natives of the holy land ; so, no doubt, this had an equal respect to them, over whom James immediately presided, in the special character of their bishop. Pyle's Para- phrase, Vol. ii. p. 290, 291. 202 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. upon tbe beginning* of this epistle. From the words, " scattered abroad," he is led to think of what is said, Acts. viii. 1, that upon occasion of the persecution against the church at Jerusalem, after the deatn of Stephen, they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles, and says, ' that ^ James ' writes this epistle to those who were scattered abroad, and ' suffered persecution for the sake of righteousness : nor to ' them only, but also to those, who though they had be- ' lieved in Christ, were not careful to be perfect in good ' works, as what follows in the epistle plainly shows: and ' likewise to such as continued unbelieving, and to the utmost * of their power persecuted those who believed.' Which appears to me very right. ■■ Legimus, occiso a Judaeis B. Stephano, quia facta est in ilia die persecu'io magna in ecclesia, quae est Hierosolymis, et omnes dispersi sunt per regiones Judaeee et Samariae, pi-ster apostolos. His ergo dispersis, qui persecutionem passi sunt propter justitiam, mittit epistcum. Nee solum his, verum etiam illis, qui, percepta fide Christi, necdum operibus perfecti esse curabunt, sicut sequentia epistolae plane testantur; necnon et eis, qui etiam fidei exortes durabant, quin et ipsam in credentibus quantum valuere, persequi ac perturbare studebant. Bed. Expos, super Jacob. Epist. 203 CHAP. XVIII. ST. PETER. I. His history to the time of our Saviour's ascension. II. To the council of Jerusalem, in the year 49. III. He goes to Antioch, where he is reproved by St. Paul for dissimulation. IV. His travels, and the time of his coming to Rome. V. The time of his death. VI. Several things, hitherto omitted, or but lightly touched upon. 1. His episcopate at Antioch. 2. His having been Jive and ticenty years Bishop of Rome. 3. His children. 4. His wife's martyrdom. 5. His absconding at Rome. 6. The manner of his crucijixion. VII. That he was at Rome, and suffered martyrdom there. I. ' THE land of Palestine,' says" Cave, ' at and before tlie ' coming- of our blessed Saviour, was distinguished into * three several provinces, Judea, Samaria, and Galilee. * This last was divided into the Upper and the Lower. In ' the Upper, called also Galilee of the Gentiles, within the ' division belonging to the tribe of Naphtali, stood Bethsaida, ' formerly an obscure and inconsiderable village, till lately ' re-edified '' and enlarged by Philip the tetrarch, and in ' honour of Julia daughter of Augustus, called by him ' Julias. It was situated upon the banks of the sea of Gal i- ' lee, called also the sea of Tiberias, and the lake of Genne- * sareth, which '^ was about forty furlongs in breadth, and ' a hundred in length, and had a w ilderness on the other ' side, called the desert of Bethsaida, whither our Saviour ' used often to retire.' ^ At this place was born ^ Simon, surnamed Cephas, or Petros, Petrus, Peter, signifying a stone or rock. He was a fisherman upon the fore-mentioned lake or sea : as was also, in all probability, his father Jonas, Jonah, or John. He had a brother, named Andrew. Which was the oldest of the two is not certain. For concerning this there were different opinions among the ancients. Epiphanius'^ sup- » Life of St. Peter, sect. i. '' Joseph. Antiq. 1. 18. cap, 3. al. 2. in •^ Id. de B. J. 1. 3. cap. 10. al. 18. * Jolm i. 44. * H. 51. num. xvii. 204 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. posed Andrew to be the elder. But according- to Cbrysos- tom/ Peter was tlie first-born. So likewise ^ Bede, and'' Cassian, Avho even makes Peter's age the ground of his precedence among- the apostles. And Jerom himself has expressed himself in the like manner, saying-, ' that ' the ' keys were given to all the apostles alike, and the church ' was built upon all of them equally. But for preventing- ' dissension, precedency was given to one. John might ' have been the person. But he was too young. And ' Peter was preferred upon account of his age.' St. John ^ has informed us of the first acquaintance of Simon Peter with Jesus, to whom he was introduced by his brother Andrew. " He findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him : We have found the' Messiah. And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said : Thou art Simon, the son of Jonas. Thou shalt be called Cephas." Undoubtedly, they had been from the beginning among those, who are said to have " looked for the kingdom of God, and waited for redemption in Israel." Andrew had received Jesus as the Messiah. And his brother Simon readily concurred in the same belief and profession. They had heard John, and, as may be supposed, had been bap- tized by him, as all Jews in general were. Being from his testimony, and by personal conversation with Jesus, convin- ced, that he was the Messiah, it is likely, that henceforward they often came to l)im, and heard him, and saw some of the miracles done by him. We may take it for granted, that they were present at the miracle at Cana in Galilee, it being expressly said, that " Jesus and his disciples were invited to the marriage solemnity" in that place, John ii. 1, 2. It is also said, ver. 11, " This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory. f Horn, in Matt. 58. al. 59. T. VII. p. 586. D. • 8 In Evang. Joann. cap. i. *• Interroganti ergo Domino Jesu Christo, quern eiim crederent respondit primus apostolorum Petms, unus ulique pro omnibus. Idem enim unius habuit responsio, quod habeat [f. habebat] omnium tides. Sed prinium debuit respondere, ut idem esset ordo * responsionis, qui erat honoris, et ipse antecederet confessione, qui antecedebat setatc. Cassian. de Incarn. 1. 3. cap. 12. ap. Bib. P. P. tom. VII. ' At dicis, super Petrum fundatur Ecclesia; licet id ipsum in alio loco super omncs Apostolos fiat, et cuncti claves regni ccelorum accipiant ; et ex aequo super eos Ecclesioe fortitudo solidetur: tamen propferea inter duodecim unus eligitur, ut, capite constituto, schismatistollatur occasio. Sed cur non Joannes electus est virgo ? iEtati delatum est, quia Pelrus senior erat : ne adhuc adolescens, ac pene puer, progressse aetatis hominibus pra^ferretur. Adv. Jovin. 1. i. T. IV. p. 1G8. " Ch. i. 35—42. St. Pder. 205 Aiul his disciples believed on him :" that is, were confirm- ed in the persuasion, that he was tiie Messiah. The call of Andrew and Peter to a stated attendance on Jesus is recorded by ' three evangelists. Their father, Jonas, seems to have been dead. For there is no mention of him, as there is of Zebedee, when his two sons wer. called. It is only said of Andrew and Peter, that when Jesus called them, " they left their nets, and followed him." At that time Jesus made them a magnificent promise. " Follow me," said he, " and I will make you fishers of men." ' In time you will be qualified by me to gain men, ' and to recover them, in great numbers, from ignorance ' and error, folly and vice, and form them to just sentiments ' in religion, and the practice of virtue.' From this time they usually attended on our Lord. And '" Mhen he completed the number of his apostles, they were put among them. Having before written the history of St. John at large, 1 need not be so particular in that of Peter, because these two apostles were much together. However, I intend to take notice of the most remarkable things in his life, espe- cially after our Saviour's ascension. Simon Peter was married when called by our Lord to attend upon him. And upon occasion of that alliance, as it seems, had removed from Bethsaida to Capernaum, where was his wife's family. Upon " her mother our Saviour in a very gracious manner wrought a great miracle of healing. And 1 suppose, that when our Lord " left Nazareth, and came and dwelled at Capernaum," (as mentioned Matt. iv. 13,) he made Peter's house " the place of his usual abode, when he was in those parts. I think we have a proof of it in the history just taken notice of. When Jesus came out of the synagogue at Capernaum, " he entered into Simon's house," Luke iv. 38. Comp. Mark i. 29, which is well paraphrased by Dr. Clarke : ' Now when Jesus came out ' of the synagogue, he went home to Peter's house.' And there it was that the people resorted unto him in the evening, Luke iv. 40 ; Matt. viii. IG ; Mark i. 32—34. Another proof of this we liave in a history which is in St. Matthew only, ch. xvii. 24 — 27, of our Lord's paying at ' Matt. iv. 18—20 ; Mark i. IG-IS; Luke v. 1—9. "> Matt. X. 1 — 4; Maik iii. 1.3—19; Luke vi. 12—16. " Matt. viii. 14, 15 ; Mark i. 29—31 ; Luke iv. 38, 39. " It is called " Peter's house," Matt. viii. 14. " Simon's liouse," Luke iv. 38. " The house of Simon and Andrew," Mark i. 29. 206 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. Capernaum tlie (ribute-money for the use of tlie temple, and his directing- Peter, when he had found a piece of money, in the manner there prescribed, to pay it for both of them. The text is to this purpose. " And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received the tribute- money, came to Peter, and said : Doth not your master pay tribute? He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the bouse, Jesus prevented him." The beg-inning- of that account at ver. 24, is thus paraphrased by Dr. Clarke. ' Now when they Avere come home to Capernaum, where ' Jesus used to dwell, the officers appointed to gather ' the yearly offering for the service of the temple came to * Peter.' After the miracle of the five loaves, and two fishes, " straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him to the other side, whilst he sent the multitudes away." In their passage they m.et with a contrary wind. "In the fourth watch of the night," near morning, " Jesus came toward them, walking on the sea." And there not being- yet light enough to know who he was, they were affiighted, thinking it had been an appari- tion, and cried out for fear. Jesus then spake to them, and they knew him. After which follows a particular concern- ing- Peter, related by St. Matthew only. " Peter p answered him, and said : Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on (he water. And he said, Come. And M'hen Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go fo Jesus. But M'hen he saw the sea boisterous, he was afraid : and beginning- to sink, he cried, saying : Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him And when he was come into the ship, the m'uhI ceased." Peter at first presumed too much upon the strength of his faith, and was forward to show his zeal. However, this must in the end have been of use to con- firm his faith. He had here great and sensible experience of the knowledge, as well as the power of Jesus. As soon as his faith failed, our Lord suffered him to sink. And upon his calling- for help, Jesus immediately stretched out his hand, and saved him. The next day our Lord preached in the synag-ogue at Capernaum, as related by St. John, ch. vi. 24 — 05, where many, who expected from the Messiah a worldly kingdom, were ofl'cnded at his discourse. And it is said, ver. 66—69, " From that time many of his disciples," who had hitherto followed him, and professed faith in him, " went back, and p Matt, xiv. 28—31. St. Peter. 207 walked no nioro with liini. Then said Jesus unto the twelve : Will ye also go away ? Then Simon Peter answered him: Lord, to whom should we go? Thou hast the words of eter- nal life. And we know, and are sure, that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Some time after this, when our Lord had an opportunity of private conversation with the disciples, he inquired of them what men said of him, and then, whom they thought him to be 'I " Simon Peter answered and said. Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Matt. xvi. 13-16. So far likewise in Mark viii. 27—29, and Luke ix. 18-20. Then follows in Matthew, ver. 17—19. " And Jesus answered, and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar- Jona : for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my father which is in heaven." That is, ' It is not a ' partial affection for me, thy master, nor a fond and incon- ' siderate regard to the judgment of others, for whom thou ' hast a respect, that has induced thee to think thus of me. • But it is a just persuasion formed in thy mind by observ- ' ing* the great works which thou hast seen me do by the ' power of God, in the confirmation of my mission and ' doctrine,' " And I say unto thee, Thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my church And 1 will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven." By which many interpreters suppose, that 'i our Lord promised to Peter, that he should have the honour of beginning to preach the gospel, after his resurrection, to Jews and Gentiles, and of receiving- them into the church. If so, that is personal. Nevertheless, what follows: " And whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven." This, I say, must have been the privilege of all the apostles. For the like things are expressly said to them, Luke xxii. 29, 30, John XX. 21—23. Moreover, all the apostles concurred with Peter in the first preaching both to Jews and Gentiles. As he was president in the college of the apostles, it was very fit, and a thing of course, that he should be primarily ^ Dr. Clarke is very singular in his paraphrase of that text. Matt. xvi. 18, ' You shall be the first preacher of my true religion to the Gentile world.' And ver. 19, ' You shall first open the kingdom of the Messiah, and make the ' first publication of the gospel to the Gentiles.' Upon both verses also refer- ring to Acts X. When I first observed this, I was surprised. Nor could I see the ground of it. But now I guess, that he confined this personal privilege to Peter's first preaching to Gentiles at the house of Cornelius, because Peter was then alone, and none of the apostles were there with him : whereas after the pouring out of the Holy Ghost, all the apostles were present with him. Acts ii. 14, " But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lift up his voice.". 208 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. concerned in the fii"st opening of things. The confession, now particularly before us, Avas made by him. Bnt it was in answer to a question that had been put to all. And he spoke the sense of all the apostles, and in their name. I suppose this to be as true in this instance, as in the other, before taken notice of, which is in John vi. 68, 69. In the account which St. John has given of our Saviour's washing the disciples' feet, Peter's modesty and fervour are conspicuous, John xiii. 1—10. AVhen"^ the Jewish officers were about to apprehend our Lord, " Peter having a sword, drew it, and smote a servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear." Our Lord having- checked Peter, touched the servant's ear, and heal- ed him. So great is Jesus every where ! They that laid hold of Jesus, led him away to the house of Caiaphas. The rest of the disciples now forsook their Master, and fled. " But Peter followed him afar oflf unto the high priest's palace, and went in, and sat with the ser- vants to see the end." Here Peter thrice disowned his Lord, peremptorily denying that he Avas one of his disci- ples, or had any knowledge of him, as related by * all the evangelists. For which he soon after humbled himself, and wept bitterly. We do not perceive that Peter followed our Lord any farther, or that he at all attended the crucifixion. It is likely that he was under too much concern of njind to appear in public, and that he chose retirement, as most suitable to his present temper and circinnstances. On* the first day of the week, early in the morning, when Mary Magdalene, and other m omen came to the sepulchre, bringing the sweet spices which they had prepared, " they saw an angel, m ho said unto them, Be not afl^righted. Ye seek Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen. Go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead :" as in Matthew. " Tell his disciples, and Peter:" as in Mark. "And behold he goes before you into Galilee." That was a most gracious disposal of Pro- vidence, to support the disciples, Peter in particular, under their great affliction. Our Lord first showed himself to Mary Magdalene, and afterwards to some other women. On the same day like- wise on which he arose from the dead, he showed himself ' John xviii. 10, llj Matt. xxvi. 51—54 ; Mark xiv. 46, 47 ; Luke xxii. 50, 51. » Matt. xxvi. 57— 71 ; Mark xiv. 53—72; Luke xxii. 54 — 62 ; John xviii. 15 — 27. » Matt, xxviii; Mark xvi; Luke xxiv ; John xx. St. Peter. 209 to Peter, tliougli the circumstances of this appearance are nowhere related. However it is evident from Luke xxiv. 33, 34. f'or when the two disciples who had been at " Em- maus, returned to Jerusalem, they found the eleven gathered togetlier, and those that Avere with them, saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared unto Simon." That must be the same appearance which is mentioned by St. Paul, 1 Cor. XV. 5, " and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve." And it has been observed, that as Mary Magda- lene was the first woman, so " Peter was the first man to whom Jesus showed himself after he was risen from the dead. In the twenty-first chapter of St. John's gospel are some appearances of our Lord to his disciples, in which Peter is greatly interested, to which the attentive reader is referred. Our Lord there graciously aflbrds Peter an opportunity of making- a threefold profession of love for him : which he accepts, and renews to him the apostolical commission, and as it were re-instates him in his high and important ofiice : requiring him, as the best testimony of love for his Lord, to feed his sheep M'ith fidelity and tenderness. And notwith- standing his late unsteadiness, our Lord encourageth this disciple to hope, that in his future conduct he would set an example of resolution and fortitude under great difficulties, and at length glorify God by his death, in the service to which he had been appointed. As we have now proceeded in the history of this apostle to the time of our Lord's ascension, it may be worth the while to look back, and observe those things in the gospels, which imply his peculiar distinction, or at least are honour- able to him. By Mark ch. v. 37, and Luke viii. 51, we are assured, that Peter was one of the three disciples whom our Lord admitted to be present at the raising of Jairus's daughter. That particular is not mentioned by Matthew, ch. ix. 18—26. From all the first three evangelists we know, that Peter was one of the three whom our Lord took up with him into the mountain, where he was gloriously transform- ed. Matt. xvii. 1 ; Mark ix. 2; Luke ix. 28. He was also one of the three whom our Lord took with him apart from the other disciples, when he retired to prayer, a little be- fore his last sufferings. As we know from Matt. xxvi. 37; Mark xiv. 33. But tliat particular is omitted by Luke, ch. xxii. 39—46. " aW IV av^pam THZtp TrpioTif), t<(> fiaXi'^a avrov ttoOsvti i^itv- Chrys. in 1 Cor. horn. 38. Tom. X. VOL. VI. P 210 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. And if it might not be reckoned too minute and particu- lar, I would observe some things of this kind mentioned by one evangelist only. There are several such things deserving notice in St. Matthew. 1. In the catalogue of the apostles, Matthew only ^ calls Peter " chief," or " the first," ch. x. 2. He only has the account of Peter's desiring to come to Christ upon the water; and what follows, ch. xiv. 28— 31. 3. He alone has recorded what our Lord said to Peter, when he gave him the keys of the kingdom of heaven, ch. xvi. 16—19. 4. He only relates our Lord's paying the tribute- money for Peter, ch. xvii. 24—27. 5. lie likewise says that after Peter had denied Christ, " he wept bitterly," ch. xxvi. 75. In St. Mark are chiefly two things to be observed, as honourable to Peter. The first is, that he was one of the four apostles to whom our Lord addressed himself, when he foretold the destruction of the temple, and the calamities attending it, Mark xiii. 3. The other is, that in the message, sent by the angel to the disciples after our Lord's resurrec- tion, Peter is particularly named, ch. xvi. 7. In St. Luke are these things remarkable. First, that when our Lord warned Peter of his danger, he also assured him, "he had prayed for him that his faith might not fail," Luke xxii. 31, 32. Secondly, we perceive from St. Luke that our Lord appeared to Peter in particular on the day of his resurrection, though the circumstances of that appear- ance are not recorded, ch. xxiv. 33, 34. In St. John's gospel are divers things honourable to Peter. 1. The profession of faith in Christ, related John vi. 67—09. 2. Peter's remarkable humility, expressed in an unwillingness that Jesus should wash his feet, with our Lord's particular discourse to him, ch. xiii. 0—10. 3. Peter's zeal in cutting off the ear of the high priest's servant is related by other evangelists. But St. John only mentions Peter by name, ch. xviii. 10. 4. It is, I think, honourable to Peter, that when he and John went together to the sepulchre, John, only stooping down, looked in : but Peter went in, and searched the sepulchre. After which John also went in, ch. XX. 4—8. 5. St. John only mentions Peter's faith and zeal in " costing himself into the sea," to go to Christ, ch. xxi. 7. 0. Our Lord's discourse with Peter concerning his love to him, and his particular, repeated charge to " feed his sheep," ver. 15—17. 7. Our Lord's predicting to Peter his martyr- dom, and the mrnnK'r of it, ver. 18, 19. St. Peter. 211 It is observable, that Matthew and John, the two apostles, have mentioned more of these prerogatives of Peter than the other two evangelists. We may hence conclude, that the apostles, when illuminated by the Spirit with the know- ledge of the true nature of Christ's kingdom, were quite free from envy, and that Peter was not assuming- and arrogant among his brethren. It may be here observed likewise, that as our sacred historians were not envious, so neither were they fond and partial. The several advantages and virtues of Peter are recorded by some only. But his fault in denying Christ, when under prosecution, is related by all. II. In a short time after our Lord's ascension, Peter, as president in the college of the apostles, proposed, that in the room of Judas another sliould be chosen out of the men that had accompanied them during the time that Jesus had been with them. And Avhen two such had been nominated, and they had by prayer appealed to God, " who knows the hearts of all men, the lot fell upon Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles." Acts i. 15-26. I have here, and elsewhere, spoken of Peter as presiding among the apostles, or having a primacy of order. For it appears in what has been just mentioned, and in other things related afterwards. And it is observable, that in all the catalogues of the twelve apostles Peter is named first, though there is some variety in the order of the names of the other apostles. I might add, that'" wherever the three disciples, Peter, James, and John, are mentioned together, Peter is always put first, though there is a variety in the order of the names of those two brothers, James and John, sons of Zebedee. He is also first placed, where " four are named, Andrew being added to them. And like- •wise where y only he and John are mentioned. There is an exception in Gal. ii. 9, where the order is James, Cephas, and John. The reason of which I take to be, that ^ James there mentioned, then presided in the church of Jerusa- lem, where Paul then Mas. I place below *^ the thoughts " See Mark v. 37, and Luke viii.51 ; Matt. xvii. 1 ; Maikix. 2 ; Luke ix. 28 J Matt. xxvi. 37 ; Mark xiv. 33. " See Mark xiii. 3. y Luke xxii. 8 ; Actsiii. 1 ; iv. 13, 19 ; viii. 14. ^ See before, p. 167. " Ordinis primatum quod attinet, ilium a Petro abjudicari non posse ccnse- mus, si qua fides evangelio. Neque ulla ratio assignari potest, cur Apostolo- rum in indiculo a tribus Evangelistis exhibito, Petrus semper ordinem ducat. Quippe sola necessitate numerandi non scribitur Matthseo ' primus Petrus:' (sic enim sequens secundus dici debuisset : ) scd quia in divino hoc collegio praesidem agebat. Eo quidem munere functum fuisse, ubique Scrigt^ra testatur. p 2 212 A Hislorxj of ihe ./Jpostles and Evangelists. of Basnage concerning- this point, who speaks to the like purpose: without denying- the equal dignity of the apostles, or ascribing to Peter any jurisdiction over them. For which there is not any the least foundation eitjier in the Gospels, or the Acts. On the day of Pentecost next ensuing, the promised gift of the Holy Ghost came down upon the apostles and their company. And upon this occasion " Peter, standing' up with the eleven," preached to a great number of people assembled about the apostles, and asserted the resurrection of Jesus, and with such force, that about three thousand w ere converted and baptized, Acts ii. 14 — 47. Afterwards Peter and John healed a poor man at the temple, who had been lame from his birth, a well known person, forty years of age. And many being gathered about them, Peter made an aftecting discourse, whereby majiy were awakened and convinced. And in a short time after this, the number of believers at " Jerusalem was ^ about five thousand," ch. iii. and iv. 4. But the Jewish priests and rulers were much offended. And whilst Peter and John were speaking to the people, their officers came and laid hold on them. And it being then evening, they put them in prison till the next day. On the morrow there- fore they were brought before the council. Having been examined, they were at length dismissed, Avith a charge not to preach any more in the name of Jesus, and were severely threatened if they did, ch. iv. 1—22. The number of believers being much increased, and many being in low circumstances, " some who were pos- sessed of Ileuses, or lands, sold them, and l)rought the Aliorum sane Apostoloriira ordinem mutavit Lucas in Actis, primum tamen Petro locum servavit : Pettus, Jacobus, Joannes. Quid, nonne praesidis funjctio fuit, surgere in medio discipulorum, eosque monere, ut in proditoris Judoe locum alium sufficerent Apostolum ? Si ordmis causa non praeerat Apostolis, cur Petrus surgens cum undecim Judffios miraculum linguaium stupentes alloquitur Cur etiam dum Joannis eiat in coniitatu Petrus, et claudum sanandimi allocjuitur, et senatum Ilierosolyniitanum compellat, et Simoni Mago niinitatur? Rationis est quidem et consiietudinis, ut Icgatoruni primus orationem habeat, quomodo Paulus, qui Barnabam eminebat, proeibat in loquendo. Ut ad pauca redeamus, is Petro collatus honor est, ut primus et in Judaeis, et in Gentibus, Ecclesiae I'undamenta jaceret. Qui longe maximus honos principem Apostolorum decuit, nee a praesidis muncre divelli potest. Annon nol)iliores Apostolatus functiones honoratiori competebant? Basnag. ann. 31. num. Ixxv. ** How tiiat five thousand in Actsiv. 4, ought to be understood, was shown at p. GG of Vol. V. I shall now add here the words of Seueur. Ainsi croissoit TEglise Chretienne parmi les Juifs. Et elle se montoit bien alors a cinq mille personnes. A. C. .35. Histoire de I'Eglise, et de PEmpire, Vol. 1. p. 133. St. Peter. 213 prices of the tilings that were sold, and laid them at the apostles' feet. And distribution was made to every man according- as he had need." But a certain man named Ananias, and Sapphira his wife, when they had sold a pos- session, brought a part of the price, keeping back the rest, though they declared it to be the whole price. For this they were reproved by Peter, and were charged with hav- ing lied to God himself, who acted by the apostles. At this reproof Ananias and Sapphira were both struck dead by the inunediate hand of God, in a small space of time, one after the other, ch. iv. 34—37; v. 1—11. We have here, as seems to me, a proof, that Peter now presided in the assembly of the apostles, and the whole church of Jerusalem. " And," after this, " by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people insomuch that they brought forth the sick in the streets, arid laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them. There came also a multitude out of the cities round about Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them that were vexed with unclean spirits. And they were healed every one." Ch. V. 12—16. 1 put this in the history of St. Peter, as he has a share in it. But I do not think that all the miracles here spoken of were wrought by his hands, or by his shadow passing by. It seems that many of these miracles Avere Mrought by other apostles, as hinted, or expressly said, at the beginning of the citation, in ver 12. In a word, there were now miracles M rought at Jerusalem in great numbers, by all and every one of the apostles. This may be also farther argued hence, that hereupon all the apostles were taken up, as is said ver. 17, 18, " Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, and were filled with indignation. Aiul they laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison." The event may be seen in what fol- lows, ch. V. 17 — 42. However, 1 am willing to allow, that there were no miracles wrought by the shadow of any of the apostles, except Peter's. This •= seems to be most agree- able to St. Luke's expressions. *^ Omnibus accurate perpensis, illorum opinionis magis sunius, qui soli Petro id auctoritatis concessum fuisse putant, ut ipsius umbra segroti a morbis suis recrearentur. Neque id obscure Lucas indicat. Praemissis enim Aposto- lorum prodigiis, subinde hoc addit. ' In plateas efFerebant aegrotos, et pone- bant in Ifctis, ut venientis Petri vel umbra inumbraret aliquem eoriun.' Cur non dixit, ' ut praetereuntium Apostolorum vel umbra,' si facultatem ejusmodi aChristo nacfa fuit ? &c. Basnag. Ann. 34. n. xviii. 214 A History of the Apostles and Evangelisls, Upon the death of Stephen " there arose a great perse- cution against the church that was at Jerusalem :" inso- much that all the believers in general " were scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, ex- cept the apostles. Then Philip," one of the seven, " went down to Samaria, and preached Christ to them." And many of the people there believed. " Now when the apos- tles, which were at Jerusalem, heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John," that they might confer upon them the gift of the Holy Ghost. Which they did by prayer, and laying on of their hands. Here Peter reproved Simon of Samaria as he is called : Avho himself was a believer for a while, but had given proofs of insincerity. These two apostles then returned to Jerusalem, and in their way thither " preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans." ch. viii. 1—25. St. Paul, who informs us of his return to Jerusalem, three years after his conversion, has assured us, that he then saw Peter and James, and no other of the apostles. Gal. i. 18, 19. And St. Luke having given the history of St. Paul's opposition to the disciples, and of his conversion, and return from Damascus to Jerusalem, says, that " Bar- nabas brought him to the apostles," Acts ix. 1—30. These two accounts are easily reconciled. Paul saw only Peter and James. But they received him in the name, and with the approbation of all the apostles, and thus he had com- munion w ith them. It follows in St. Luke's history. Acts ix. 31, " Then had the churches rest throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Sama- ria, and were edified ; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied." This rest, as was formerly shown, commenced in the year 40, and probably continued a year or more. This season, as we may well suppose, was improved by all the apostles, and by Peter, in particular. Of whom it is said, that he passed through all parts of the country, " and came down also to the saints that dwelt at Lydda." Here, in the name of Jesus Christ, he healed ^neas, mIio had the palsy, and had kept his bed eight years. Whilst he was in that place, a christian woman, named Tabitha, died at Joppa, Mhich was not far off. The disciples therefore sent to Peter de- siring him without delay to come to them. Which he did, and there restored her to life. " And he tarried many days at Joppa, with one Simon, a tanner," ch. ix. 32-43. St. Peler. 215 Whilst Peter was there, Cornelius of " Caesarea hy the sea-side," (the city where the Roman governor had his resi- dence,) a centurion, a worshipper of God, but not of the house of Israel, nor a Jewish proselyte, had a vision ; Avherein he was directed by an angel, to send to Joppa for Simon, w iiose surname was Peter ; from whom he Avould receive farther information in the things of relig"ion. When the vision was over, he called two of his servants, and a pious soldier, and sent them to Joppa. The day after, as they drew near the city, Peter went up to the top of the house to pray, about the sixth hour of the day, or noon. There he fell into a trance or ecstacy, and had a vision. A vessel descended, wherein were all sorts of living creatures, M'ild and tame, clean and unclean. " And there came a voice to him, saying, Kill and eat. But Peter said. Not so. Lord. For I have never eaten any thing' that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time. What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common, While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him. Behold, three men seek thee. Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting- nothing ; for 1 iiave sent them. On the morrow Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa, six in number, accompanied him." The next day they arrived at Caesarea, and entered into the house of Cornelius, where were also many others his relations, and intimate friends, whom Cor- nelius had invited to come thither. " Peter said unto them, Ye know, how that it is an unlawful thing for a Jew to keep company, or to come unto one of another nation. But God has shown me, that I should not call any man common or unclean." Whilst Peter was preaching-, and speaking to them the things concerning Jesus Christ, and before he had finished, " the Holy Ghost fell on all of them that heard the word. And they of the circumcision, which believed, were astonished, as many as came Avith Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak Avith tongues, and magnify God. Peter therefore commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days." ch. x. Thus the door of faith or the kingdom of heaven, or of the Messiah, Avas opened to Gentiles,and they Avere received into the church of God, And, if 1 may say it, God now cleansed all Gentiles, and showed Avith full evidence and divine attestations, that all men of every nation, Avho became worshippers of God, and believed in Jesus, Avere accepted 216 A History of the Apostles and Evangelisisi. of him, as his people, and the members of his church, and in the way of salvation, without circumcision, or taking- upon them the observation of the rituals of the law of Moses. While Peter tarried at Coesarea, the apostles and bre- thren that were in Judea, heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him, saying: " Thou Aventest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them." But Peter gave them an ac- count of the transaction from the beginning, and all were satisfied. " When they heard those things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying ; Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life." An opinion has obtained among christians in late ages, that Cornelius was a proselyte of the gate. Which opinion is founded upon a supposition, that there were among the Jews two sorts of proselytes: some called proselytes of the covenant, or of righteousness, Avho were circumcised : and others, called proselytes of the gate: who, though they were not circumcised, observed some things, not obligatory in themselves, as is supposed, in order to facilitate commerce between the Jews and them. What those things were, or supposed to be, I do not now inquire. However, for clearing up this matter I would observe, that there was but one sort of proselytes among the Jews : and that Cornelius Mas not a proselyte, but a Gentile. First. There was but one sort of proselytes among the Jews. They were circumcised. So they became Jews by religion, and were admitted to eat the passover, and to par- take of all religious privileges, as the Jews by descent did. They were called " strangers, or prcselytes within the gates," and " sojourners," as they were allowed to dwell, or sojourn among the people of Israel. And they Mere so called, because they could not possess land. For according to the law of Moses, all the land of Canaan Mas to be given to the twelve tribes of Israel, the descend- ants of the patriarch Jacob. Which enables us to discern the propriety of the expression just mentioned. What has been now said, may be illustrated by some texts: which, though well knoMU, shall be alleged here. Exod. xii. 48, "And M'hen a stranger shall sojourn M'ith thee, and will keep the passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised. And then let him come near, and keep it. And he shall be as one born in the land. 49, One law St. Pder. 217 shall be to liim that is home-born, and to the stranger that sojourneth among- you." Lev. xvii. 8, Whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers, which sojourn among- you, that ofFereth a burnt-oflering-, or sacrifice ver. 13, children of Israel, neither any stranger, that sojourneth among- you." The same again, ver. 15, " One of your OAvn country, or a strang-er." Numb. ix. 14, " And if a stranger shall sojourn among- you, and will keep the passover to the Lord ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land." Numb. XV. 15, " One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you as ye are, so shall the stranger be before the Lord. 16, One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth among- you." In all these places by " stranger," and " strang-er that sojourneth among- you," 1 suppose to be meant, men circum- cised, according- to the law of Moses. Perhaps, it may be here asked, Could none, then, dwell among- the Israelites in the land of Canaan, but proselytes, or circumcised men ? To which I answer. It seems to me, that no other had the privilege of a settled abode, or resi- dence there, that is, to sojourn in the land. However, I think, there must have been an exception for travellers, passing- through the country, even though they were idola- ters, and for some, whose traffic was needful, and therefore allowed of. As Patrick says upon Dent. xiv. 21, ' There ' were some called Nocherim, which we here translate ' aliens: who were mere Gentiles, and not suffered to have ' an habitation among- them, but only to come and go in their ' traffic with them.' And, if I mistake not, an argument of the apostle may be hence illustrated ; Eph. ii. 13, " But now, in Christ Jesus, ye who some time were afar off, are made nigh," very nigh, even to a coalescence, " by the blood of Christ." Ver. 19, " Now therefore ye are no more strangers, and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God." The apostle alludes to the state of things in the Jewish commonwealth. " Now therefore," says he, " ye are no more strangers, and foreigners." Those are not terms of distance, as they seem to be in our transla- tion, and as some have supposed, but of nearness. They are expressive of all the favour and privilege which could be vouchsafed to any, not of the natural seed of Israel, be- 218 A Hislory of the Aposlles and Evangelists. fore the manifestation of the gospel. ' " Now '^ therefore ' ye are no longer guests." Such you might be, and be ' well, and civilly entertained ^ for a while, though you ' were aliens, and sojourners, as the Jewish proselytes ' were who might live in the country, but bad few privi- ' leges, they not being- allowed to possess land, nor to have ' any share in the government of it; " but ye are fellow- ' citizens with the saints :" you have equal rights of citi- ' zenship with the people, and natives of the country ; " and * are God's domestics." You are brought into the court ' and family of the king of the country, and are admitted ' to his presence, and to attend upon his person.' The whole of this is much the same with what is said, 1 Pet. ii. 9, 10, and Rev. i. 6. I place belgw a Latin version ^ of this text, which appears to me to be right. Proselyte is a word of Greek original, equivalent to stranger, long- since become a technical word, denoting a convert to the Jewish religion, or a iew by religion. In the fourth commandment they are called " thy stranger within thy gates." Exod. xx. 10, and Deut. v. 14. _ According to the Jewish way of reckoning, agreeably to the law of Moses, there were three sorts of men in the world : Israelites, called also home-born, or natives ; strangers within their gates, and aliens. So Deut. xiv. 21, " Ye shall not eat any thing that dieth of itself. Thou shalt give it to the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it : or thou mayest sell it to an alien." Or, otherwise, there Avere two sorts of men, circumcised and uncircumcised, Jews and Gentiles, or Heathens. A proselyte, as before said, is a man circumcised ac- cording to the law of Moses, or a Jew by religion. This is the sense of the word in all the texts of the New Testa- ment, where it is used. Matt, xxiii. 15, " Ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte." Acts ii. 10, " Jews and proselytes." Acts vi. 5, " Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioch." Ch. xiii. 43, " Religious proselytes." There never Avas any doubt about preaching to these, and receiving them into the church. Such were amonjr St. Peter's hearers Apa ovv ovKtTi £?■£ j;fvot, Kai TTapoiKOt aWa ffvfnroXiTai to)V ayiun', Kat oiKttoL TH QiH. * The Greek word ^ivoq, like the Latin word •hospes,' signifies both a ' host' and a * guest,' an entertainer, and him tliat is entertained, et qui domo suscipit, et qui suscipitur. In Rom. xvi. 23, it is used in the fonner, here in the latter sense. ^ Nempe igitur non amplius estis hospites, et inquilini, sed concives sanctorum, ac domestic! Dei. St. Peter. 219 of his first sermon. And one such person at least was among" the seven deacons in the church of Jerusalem. In this sense the word is always understood by ancient christian writers. Says Bede, in his exposition of the second chapter of the Acts: ' They » called those proselytes, that ' is, strangers, who being* of Gentile original, had embraced ' circumcision, and Judaism.' To the like purpose '' another Latin writer, of the ninth century, in his commentary upon St. Matthew's gospel. So likewise ' Theodoret, and '' Eu- thymius. Nor do I believe, that the notion of two sorts of Jewish proselytes can be found in any christian writer be- fore the fourteenth century, or later. Cornelius is not called a proselyte in the New Testament. It is said of him, that ' he was " a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house :" that is, he was a truly good man. What is there said of him is only his personal character. Here is not any thing, denoting" a religious denomination, as some have thought. And it is plain, that notwithstanding" his piety, he was an alien. Peter would not have conversed with him, if he had not been directed by an express command. The reason is, that there is no appointment in the law of Moses for receiving" any men into covenant with God or to communion with his people, but by circumcision : which implied an obligation to obey all the Laws of the Mosaic institu- tion. het us now go over, and observe the most remarkable particulars of this history. Cornelius, and his friends, are called Gentiles, ch. x. 45 ; ch. xi. 1, and 18; ch. xv. 7, that is, 'gojim,' a Hebrew word, very frequent in the Old Testament, and rendered by us " nations," or " heathen," or " heathens." And in our version of the New Testament likewise is several times s ♦ Judaei quoque et proselyli.'] Proselytos, id est, advenas, nuncupabant eos, qui, de Gentibus originem ducentes, circunicisionem et Judaismum eli- gere malebant. Non solum ergo, inquiunt, [f. inquit,] qui natura sua Judsei ex diverso orbe convenerant ; verum et ii, qui de prseputio nati, eorum adhae- sere ritui. Bed. Expos, in Act. Ap. cap. ii. ^ Proselytus dicebatur Gi-aece advena ; quia de alia gente ad legem ipso- rum convertebatur, vit fuit Jethro, et Achior. Et multamillia virorum fuenmt, qui de Gentibus circumcisi fuerunt, et Deum cceli crediderunt. Christian. Dnithmai". Grammatic. Exp. in Matth. ap. Bib. PP. Tom. XV. p. 156. A. Oi e'^ iBviiiv TrpoaiXrjXvOoTeg, Kcti Kara rsf (thq vofisg TroOijcravTeg ttoXi- TiveffOai, Ttjv aCiKov vap avTiov (T(payriv vnofievacn' TrpocrrjXvrsg yap rsrsc iovofiaas. Theod. in Ps. xciii. al. xciv. ver. G. Tom. I. p. 775. Conf. Suid. V. IIpoffijXvroQ. ^ Proselytum vero Judsei appellabant, qui ex Gentili etfectus fuisset Judaeus. Euthym. in Ps. xciii. p. 39G. ap. Bib. PP. T. XLX. Ei;(7£/3;;c k"' (pofia^uvog rov Oior, aw navn t(^ oiki^ avra. 220 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. put " heathen" instead of" the nations," or " the Gentiles." 2 Cor. xi. 26 ; Gal. ii. 9, ch. iii. 8. In the next place ^ve take notice of the vessel let down from heaven, and set before Peter. There were in it " all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping' things, and fowls of the air :" some of them altogether aljominable, and exceeding- tilthy in the eye of JcM s. Hereby are represented the people, who had sent for Peter, though pious, because they were uncircumcised. But it is likely, that herein are also included, and represent- ed, Gentiles of all sorts, men of every nation, all men uncir- cumcised in general, whether worshippers of God, or not. Ver. 13 — 16, "And there came a voice to him, saying': Arise, Peter, kill and eat. But Peter said : Not so. Lord, for I have never eaten any thing* that is common or un- clean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time : what God has cleansed, that call not thou common. This was done thrice ; and the vessel was received up again into heaven. " " What God has cleansed, that call not thou common :" denoting', that those people, which were most impure in Jew isli esteem, were now cleansed or to be cleansed, and to be received as pure and holy. Omitting' some other things, in the next place we observe Peter's address at the house of Cornelius, ver. 28; "Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing' for a man that is a .Jew to "^ keep company, or to come to a man of another nation." The people, therefore, to whom Peter had been sent, and among" whom he now was, were such, as no Jew might converse with, according- to the Law of Moses, and their established custom. " A man of another nation :" aX\o(pv\u} : an alien or foreigner. Jerom observes, that" ™ ' KoWaaOai rj ■!rpompxi(j9ai aWovould * have any more hesitated to preach to idolaters, than to ' Cornelius. Only in that case, they must have begun ' with proving the unity of God ; which they had no ' need to do in the case of Cornelius, since he already be- ' lieved it.' 224 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. And as 1 have this opportunity, I shall now cozniDunicate to the public some other thoughts of Mr. Hallet, relating- to the same subject, Avhich I received from him at the same time. ' That the decree in Acts xv. relates to the idolatrous ' Gentiles in particular, is manifest. Indeed it is demon- ' strable from ver. 19, m here St. James speaks of those, ' " who from among the Gentiles are turned to God." ' Their being " turned to God " here is the same as their ' becoming christians. They were not turned to God be- ' fore. And therefore they were (not devout, but) idolatrous ' Gentiles. They were plainly of the same sort with the ' Thessalonians, who " turned to God from idols," 1 Thess. ' i. 9, who are acknowledged to be idolatrous Gentiles. ' The same character then will prove,, that tlie others were ' so too. The same thing' is demonstrable from ver. 17. ' For the expression, " all the Gentiles," can never be ' restrained to a few proselytes of the gate. Farther, the ' letter of the church of Jerusalem was directed and sent to ' the believing Gentiles in Antioch, &c. ver. 23, to decide a ' dispute which was raised there. But the dispute there ' was about idolatrous Gentiles in particular, ver. 2, 3, 5. ' Consequently, the letter must be interpreted to speak of ' the same persons. Nay, the church at Antioch was com- * posed of such as had been idolatrous Gentiles. And ' therefore the letter must relate to that sort of men. And ' when Paul went through Syria, Cilicia, Derbe, Lystra, &c. ' (where it is allowed, there were converts from among the ' idolatrous Gentiles,) " he delivered the decrees to them," ' i. e. the said idolatrous Gentiles, to " keep," ch. xvi. 1, 4.' So Mr Hallet. Dr. Doddridge, in the third volume of his Family Ex- positor, which is upon the Acts of the Apostles, has many acute and judicious observations, relating to this subject. And I am well satisfied, that he intended to Mrite a disser- tation concerning Jewish proselytes. Which is also ac- knowledged by * the learned editor of bis posthumous volumes : though no such thing has been found among his papers. And in his general introduction to the first epistle of St. Peter, Dr. Doddridge freely declares, ' that ' there is no sufficient crround to suppose, that there ever to suppose. ' were any such persons, as proselytes of the gate.' And bethinks,' that what he has suggested in his notes upon ' the Acts may convince an attentive reader.' And indeed I am of the same opinion concerning what he has said in • See the note at the bottom of p. 218, of the sixth volume of the Family Expositor. St. Peter. 225 tliose notes. For wliich reason I do not so inueb regret the loss of tlie dissertation, as otherwise I sliould. Says Sueur, sjieakiiig" of St. Peter's vision of the sheet : ' God* thereby showed unto his servant, that thenceforward ' he would Iraveall the people of the world, without excep- ' tion, called to partake in his gracious covenant in his son ' Jesus Christ, and to the knowledge of salvation by him.' That it was so understood by the primitive christians, we have lately seen. And that this whole transaction was so understood by the apostles, and by tlie evangelists, their fellow-labourers, is manifest from the sequel of the history in the book of the Acts. For removing difficulties, and fully clearing up this point, it may be needful to consider that text. Gal. ii. 1, 2, " Then fourteen years after, J Aveiit up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus w ith me also. And I went np by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel, which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain." Some" who contend for tlie supposition of two sorts of proselytes among the Jews, and think that the gospel ■was preached several years to such as they call " proselytes of the gate," before it was preached to idolatrous Gentiles ; and understand the decree of the council of Jerusalem to bind those proselytes only, say, that the conversion of idola- trous Gentiles was unknowai to the church at Jerusalem, w hen that decree was made, and explain the above-cited words after this manner : ' That " Paul communicated what ' he had preached to the Gentiles, only to James and ' Peter, and John, the three renew ned apostles of the * circumcision, and that under the seal of the greatest se- * crecy.' But that cannot be St. Paul's meaning. For most, if not all the converts at Antioch, must have been idolaters. But, supposing for the present, that they had been devout Gen- tiles; it is universally allowed, that before the controversy arose at Antioch about circumcising- the Gentiles that be- lieved, the gospel had been preached for a good while by ' Et puisque Dieu lompoit cette separation, il raontroit a son serviteur, que de-la en avant il vouloit appeller indifferement tous les peuples du nionde ;i son alliance de grace en son fils Jesus Christ, et a sa salufaire connoissance. J. Sueur Hist, de I'Eglise, &c. A. C. 41. Tom. I. p. 165. " See Miscellanea Sacra in the Preface, and Essay iv. and Dr. Benson's History of the first planting the Christian Religion, Vol. ii. chap. iii. sect. i. ii. &c. ' Miscell. Sacr. Ess. iv. p. 50. Dr. Benson, as before, Vol. ii. p. 52. second edit. VOL. VT. Q 226 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. Paul and Barnabas to idolatrous Gentiles in Cyprus, Perga, Antioch in Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, and other places : of which a particular account is given Acts xiii. xiv. And presently after, St. Luke, relating the journey of Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem, says, ch. xv. 3, 4, " And being brought on their way by the church fof Antioch] they passed through Phenice, and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles : [or heathens :] and they caused great joy to all the brethren. And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church, and by the apostles, and elders; and they declared all things, that God had done with them." In which must have been in- cluded their preaching not only at Antioch in Syria, but also in all the other countries and cities mentioned just before. Of this they gave an account to the church of Jerusalem in general, and particularly to the apostles and elders. And Acts XV. 12, in the council. " Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, de- claring' what miracles God had wrouoht among" the Gentiles by them. And ver. 25, 26, the apostles and elders, in their epistle, speaking" of Barnabas and Paul, say, " they were men that had hazarded their lives for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ." Intending", as may be reasonably supposed, the dangers, and sufferings, which they had met with, when preaching the gospel to idolaters at Antioch in Pisidia, Ico- nium, and Lystra, of which St. Luke has given an account. Acts xiii. near the end, and ch. xiv. to which St. Paul also refers, 2 Tim. iii. 11. These things Paul and Barnabas, or the brethren that went up with them from Antioch, had related to the church at Jerusalem, and to the apostles and elders. For we hence plainly perceive, that these things were well known there, That is St. Luke's history. Let us now observe St. Paul's own words in this text. " Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem. And I went up by revelation, and conununicated to them that gospel, which I preach among the Gentiles :" meaning, as seems to me, thecliurch, or the believing brethren there. So say all the best inter- preters in general. Dr. Hammond's paraphrase is in these words : ' And by God's appointment, cither first signified, ' or afterwards confirmed to me by vision, (such as Paul ' had about several matters,) I went up at this timeto Jeru- ' salem, and gave the church there an account of my * preaching, and the success of it among the Gentiles. This St. Pelei: 227 * 1 tliouglit fit to do, and yet first to do it to those tliat ' were the principal men among" them.' So Hammond. To the like purpose Estius,'"^ whom I transcribe below. Le Clerc's French version is to this purpose. "And" I ex- plained" in public " to the saints the gospel which I preach among- the Gentiles : the w hich I also did in particular to them Mho were in reputation." And Beausobre's: 'I^ ' went thither by revelation, and I confi?rred with the faith- ' ful about the gospel, which I preach among the Gen- ' tiles. I conferred about it also in particular with those ' who were most esteemed among them.' ^ It follows in the same verse : " Lest by any means I should run, or had run in vain." That is : ' This I thought ' fit to do, in order to secure the success of my ministry : * for removing obstacles in the way of my preaching- for ' the future, and that the minds of converts already made ' mio-ht not be unsettled. With those views I conferred ' with the believers at Jerusalem in public, and also in pri- ' vate with those who were most esteemed.' Ver. 3, " But neither Titus, who was with me, being* a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised." The apostle's taking such particular notice of Titus in a letter to chris- tians converted from idolatry, and calling him a Greek, led us to think, that he was originally idolatrous. Ver. 4, " And that because of false brethren, unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty in "■ ' Et contuli cum illis evangelium, quod prsedico in Gentibus.' Augiisti- niis legit : ' Et exposui illis.' Sed intellige, more conferentis. Id enim vult, etiam Hieronymo teste, quod in Graeco est, avtQcfnjv avroic- Nam sensus est: Communicavi cum illis qui Jerosolymis erant, de evangelic, quod prae- dico inter Gentes, deque tota ratione doctrinae meae quam tradidi, et etiam nunc trado Gentibus, quarmn sum Apostolus. Non itaque discendi studio, quod supra negavit, evangelium suum nunc denium cum ecclesia Jerosolymi- tana confert, &c. Est. ad Gal. ii. 2. " J'y allai et j'expliquai en public aux saints I'evangile, que j'annonce parmi les Gentils ; ce que je fis aussi en particulier a ceux qui etoient le plus en reputation. Le Clerc. ^ Or j'y allai par revelation, et je conferai avec les tideles touchant I'evangile, que je pr^chc parmi les Gentils. J'en conferai en particulier avec les pluscelebres entr' eux. Beaus. ' The interpretation given by me of St. Paul's phrase kot i?iav, as equivalent to separately, particularly, may be much confirmed by a passage of Libanius, which I here transcribe. Eyw Se aoi nera Ttjg bXrjQ rroXttog oiSa x«p"'' 0/8 yap fit Kui ccvrov tv toiq nap' tKtwoig iivai ypafinaai Kai naXiv iSta ravrov TToiw. Liban. [ad Mavimum.] Ep. 1157. p. 553. ed. Wolf. To which may be added another from Josephus. Ettei S' inri(Tx>ifiai r>;v ainoXoyidv awavT(ov iSia (Jvyy^axpaf-UvoQ TrapaSojffeiv, eiQ toti Kai rt]V irtpi. aurrjQ ipfii^- I'liav aj'a/3a\8juat. Antiq. 1. 1. cap. i. sect. 1. Accordingly, the Latin Vulgate is thus : ' Seorsum autem iis, qui videbantur aliquidesse.' And, in the margin of some of our Bibles, for privately is put severally : which I think to be the true meaning o 2 228 A History of Lhe Jpostlcs and Evangelists. Christ Jesus, that they might bring' us into bondage." Ver. 5, " To whom we gave phice by subjection, no not for an hour : that the truth of the gospel might continue with vou." Where St. Paul seems to refer to the rise of the dispute at Antioch, which is thus related by St. Luke, Acts. xv. 1, " And certain men, Avhich came down from Judea, taught the brethren, and said : Unless ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye caiuiot be saved." These, as the apostle here says, had intruded themselves into the church of Antioch, that they might bring them into subjection to all the burdensome observances of the law of Moses. Upon that account, and for defeating' their design, he went up to Jerusalem, and there acted, as just shjown. This text, and the explication now given of it, may receive illustration from the account which St. Luke gives of Paul's coming- to Jerusalem afterwards, where he first converses with the brethren, and then has a conference with James and the elders. The result of w4iich is soon made known to all. Acts xxi, 17, " And when we were come to Jerusalem, tlie brethren received us gladl}'." Ver. 18, " And the day following Paul went in with us imto James. And all the elders were present." Ver. 19, " And when he had saluted them, he declared to them ^ particularly what things God had MTOught among the Gentiles by his ministry." Certainly St. Paul here intends heathens and idolaters. Ver. 20, " And when they heard it, they glori- fied the Lord, and said to him" ver. 25, " As touching- the Gentiles which believe, we have written, and concluded, that they observe no such thing.". The connection leads us to suppose, that they speak of all Gentiles whatever, idolatrous, as veil as others. Upon the whole the apostle assures the christians, his converts, in Galatia, that his going to Jerusalem, his declar- ing- there to all, the gospel which he preached among the Gentiles, and his conferring in private with the apostles, particularly with those Avho were reckoned the chief of them, were all done with a view to their benefit," that the truth of the gos{)el might continue with them," and other Gentiles. And the event, as related by St. Luke, and as represented by the apostle himself in this epistle, was en- tirely to his satisfaction. St. Paul in this epistle most earnestly exhorts the Gala- tians, " to stand fast in the liberty with which Christ has St. Pckr. 229 made us free, and not be entangled again witli the yoke of bondage," ch. v. 1, and he severely censures instability in the geiuiine faith of the gospel. It would be, as seems to me, very strange, to suppose him to say, that when he was at Jerusalem, a few years only before writing- this epis- tle, he had studiously concealed the doctrine which he preached among' the Gentiles, from all but some few apos- tles. His so doing-, whether through fear, or from pruden- tial considerations, or any reasons whatever, must have been a g-)eat discouragement to those to wliom he is writing. How could it be expected, that they should openly assert before all the world the true evangelical liberty, if himself had been upon the reserve upon a late and important occa- sion. St. Paul's havino- a private conference with some of the '» pr apostles, is no proof that he had any secrets withheld from the knowledge of others. But it might be a pro- per piece of respect to discourse with those who Mere in great esteem, about what was to be communicated to all. If St. Paul had desired to conceal his preaching- to idolatrous Gentiles, he could not have done it. His preaching- at Antioch, and his and Barnabas's peregrination in divers other countries, related in Actsxiii. xiv. were well known to all the christians at Antioch. And when Paul and Barnabas went thence to Jerusalem about the question that had been started there : it is very likely, that some went to Jerusaleia upon the same occasion, who were on the imposing- side of the question. If Paul had endeavoured to conceal any thing- of an offensive nature, they would not have failed to divulge it. We now proceed in the history. Peter having- by divine appointment and direction per- formed that important service at the house of Cornelius in Caesarea, and having- received Gentiles into communion by baptism, without circumcision according to the law of Moses : and his conduct having- been approved by the apostles, and brethren at Jerusalem : " they who had been scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen," and had hitherto preached the word to none but Jews only, having- heard of this transaction, when they came to Antioch, " spake unto the Greeks, [there,] preach- ing the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them. And a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord. Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church Avhich was at Jerusalem. And they sent forth 230 A History of the jiposlles and Evunyelists, Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch." He after- wards brought Paul thither. And from that time forward the gospel >vas freely preached to Gentiles, as well as Jews, and with great success. Acts xi. 19—26. Soon after the conversion of Cornelius, it is likely that " the rest of the churches" before mentioned was abated, till it was quite interrupted. However, Peter, and the other apostles, still continued in Judea. And according- to the utmost of their power, as the circumstances of things allowed, employed themselves in confirming the believers, and making additions to their number. Toward the end of his reign Herod Agrippa became an open persecutor of the believers; "and killed James the brother of John, with the sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded farther, to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.] And when he lad apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers, to keep him:" that is, sixteen in all, four of which were by turns to watch him : " intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people," Acts X. 1—4. The conversion of Cornelius happened, as I suppose, in the year 41 of our Saviour's nativity, according to the vul- gar computation. And the Easter, or passover, here men- tioned, was probably the passover of the year 44. " Peter therefore was kept in prison. But prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him," ver. 5. And he was delivered out of prison in a miraculous manner, as related ver. 6—11. The divine being' did not allow that a period should be yet put to the life of that apostle. One thing very observable in this history is the composure of Peter's mind in a great extremity, and in the near apprehension of death. For it is said, ver. 6, " And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping- between two soldiers bound with two chains." In that posture the angel found him, who at that instant was sent to assist his escape. Having informed some of his intimate friends, assembled at the house of Mary, in Jerusalem, of his wonderful deli- verance out of prison, " he departed and went to another place," ver. 17. Meaning either another house in Jerusa- lem, or else some city, or village not far from it. Where, probably, he lived privately, till the death of Herod Agrippa, which happened before the end of that year. Some have thought, that Peter now Mcnt to Antioch or St. Peter. 231 Rome. But there is no g-ood evidence of cither of those opinions. Says Mr. L'Enfant upon the place : ' If St. Peter ' had gone to some celebrated city, for instance, Antioch, * according" to some, or Rome, according" to others, no doubt ' St. Luke would have mentioned it, and some of the brc- ' thren would have accompanied him, according to custom. ' From the manner in which St. Luke expresseth himself, ' nothing" is more natural, than to suppose, that St. Peter, * that he might not expose to danger the faithful at the ' house where he first called, and where many were as- ' sembled, retired to some other place in Jerusalem.' In the year 49, or 50, was assembled the council of Jeru- salem, concerning" the question, " whether it was needful to circumcise the Gentiles who believed, and to command them to keep the law." At this assembly Peter was present, and in the debate clearly declared his opinion, that " the yoke of the law should not be laid upon the neck of the disciples" from among" the Gentiles. As a cogent argument for his opinion, he reminded the assembly, how by divine appointment he had preached the word of the g-ospel to Gentiles at Caesarea, and that God, " who knoweth the hearts of all men," had shown his acceptance of them by giving to them the Holy Ghost, though uncircumcised. By which it had been made manifest, that they might be saved by faith in Jesus Christ, without the rituals of the law. Whilst Paul was this time at Jerusalem, James, Peter, and John, " gave to Paul and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship," that they might proceed in preaching to Gentiles: >vhilst they, and the other apostles, still con- tinuetl in Judea to preach to those of the circumcision. Gal. ii. 6-10. III. Some short time afterwards, as it seems, Peter was at Antioch, as we learn from St. Paul, Gal. ii. 11—16. 1 place this journey of Peter to Antioch, after the council of Jerusalem, according" to the general opinion. But Basnage argues, that '' it was before it. If it was not till after it (as I rather think) it could not belong. For Barnabas was now at Antioch. Whereas in a short time after their return ^ lllud nobis verisimilias, Concilii Hierosolymitani celebrationi anteces- sisse Petrinam hanc in Syriae metropoli commorationem. Argumenfo est disceptatio Pauli cum Petro, cujus dissimulationem obmisset auctoritate Synodi, si jam coacta fuisset. Quin imo nulla Petro, et timendi Judaeos, et eorum gratia sese separandi a Gentibus, causa fuit, si turn temporis promulgata fuisset Concilii Hierosolymitani Epistola ; quo veluti clypeo, ad omnes telorum Judaicorum ictus tutus erat. Basnag. Ann. 46. num. xxv. 232 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. thither from Jerusalem, he and Paul parted. Here Peter at first conversed freely with the Gentile converts. But when there came thither from Judea some Jewish believers, zealous for the law, " he separated himself, fearing- them of the circumcision." Herein Peter acted contrary to his ommi judgment and declared opinion, through fear of the dis- pleasure of others. St. Paul therefore represents his con- duct, as dissimulation, or hypocrisy. What he now did, in compliance with the zealots for the law, v.as a thinp; of very bad tendency. St. Paul therefore justly " withslood him," and so showed him to be blamable, that Peter ac- quiesced. Hereby, as Paul expresseth it, " he "^ compelled the Gentiles to judaize," or become Jews. For his separat- ing* from them, as imfit for converse and communion with the apostles of Christ, and the believers from among- the Jews, implied, that they were not acceptable in the sight of God, nor in the way of salvation : and that in order to be saved, it was needful for them to be circumcised, and keep the law. It was, as I suppose, soon after the council, and the year 50, in which Peter came to Antioch. And I imagine, that he now first of all went abroad out of Judea, into Gen- tile countries. It is very likely, that he was desirous to see the christian people at Antioch. But hitherto he had been little used to converse with Gentiles. And when some zealous Jewish believers came to Antioch from Jerusalem, he was alarmed: recollecting, it is likely, how some at Je- rusalem had contended with him after he was come from Csesarea, because he had been M'ith men uncircumciscd, and " did eat with them," Acts xi. 23, and very well know- ing-, from long- and frequent experience, the prevailing tem- per of the people of his country. But it is reasonable to think, that Peter never more showed the like unsteadiness, but was firm ever afterwards. This is the last time that Peter is expressly mentioned "= ' He compelled the Gentiles to judaize,' or become Jews.] Our trans- lation is, " Wiry compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?" But it is far from benig exact. Tt ra tdvi] avayKu^iis mSaTCav ; to judaize is to become a Jew, or proselyte to the Jewish religion. Esther viii. 17, " And many of the people of the land became Jews." Or, as in the seventy " were circumcised and judaized." Kat ttoWoi tojv eOpmv 7rspitTiixvo)'Tv,Kai mcaiCov. The Greek word is used in the same sense by Josephus. De B. J. 1. 2. cap. 18. n. 2. ' ATrtcKtvaaQai yap thq IsiaisQ Sokhvtc^ iKa-rot, tuq inoa'i'iov-ag iixov tv vTro\ Vcrum ego priorem sententiara tanquam longe verisiniiliorem am- plector, turn quod in Babylone I'arthica magna csset Judaeorum frequenfia, qui aixnaXojrapxriv suum habuerunt; turn quod Petro Antiochia discedenti facilior ac commodior esset in haec loca transitus, in quibus eum diu praedi- casse, nemo, opinor, facile negabit. Cav. H. L. in Petro. p. 6. Et. Conf. Basnag. Ann. 57. num. iii. et ann. 46. num. xxv. ' Vid. Euseb. II. E. 1. 3. cap. i. ' IliTpoQ 6 Kopv(paioiQ, rr]v tv Avrioxtiqi Trpwr/jv 6ini\iu)>pr](!a^iv rn jSatriXtfi 'Pojutj, k. X. In Princip. Act. Ap. hom. 2. T. III. p. 70. ^' Superest aliquid, quod ex hoc Petri loco discamus. Primum igitur cog- no5cimus hie, quod aliunde non constat, Babylone etiam fuisse Petrum, magnamque ibi messuisse Christo messem. Heiimann. Nova Sylloge Diss. Part. II. p. 113. 238 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. be probable, that he and Peter snfiered martyrdom at Rome in 64, or C5. Cave '^ likewise, in his Life of St. Peter, written in Eng- lish in 1676, placeth the death of this apostle in 64 or 65. Nor Avas l)is mind much altered Mhen he published his Historia Literaria in 1688. For there also he supposeth that St. Peter ^ died a martyr at Rome, in the year of Christ 64, at the beginning of Nero's persecution : and indeed expresseth himself with a great deal of assurance and positiveness. Jerorn concludes his article of St. Peter saying-, ' He ^' was ' buried at Rome in the Vatican, near the triumphal way, * and is in veneration all over the world.' We likewise formerly "^ saw a passage of Caius, about the year 212, where he speaks of the tombs of the two apostles, Peter and Paul, at Rome. And Chrysostom, in a passage lately cited, supposes St. Peter to have been buried in that city. VI. I shall now take notice of a few things hitherto entirely omitted, or but slightly touched upon. His epis- copate at Antioch, his having- been five and twenty years bishop of Rome, his children, his wife's martyrdom, said to have absconded at Rome, the manner of his crucifixion. 1. We have seen several authors Avho speak of Peter's having- been at Antioch. Chrysostom seems to Iiave sup- posed, that ^ he Mas there a good while. This may be ^ ' The date of his death is differently assigned by the ancients. ^That ' which seems to me most probable is, that it was in the tenth of Nero, or the ' year 65. Which I thus compute. Nero's burning of Rome is placed by ' Tacitus under the consulship of C. Lucanus, and M. Licinius, about the ' month of July, that is, A. ch. Ixiv. This act procured him the hatred and ' clamours of the jxiople. Which having in vain endeavoured several ways to * remove and pacify, he at last resolved upon this project, to drive the odium * upon the christians. Whom therefore, both to appease the gods, and please * the jieople, he condemned as guilty of the fact, and caused to be executed * with all manner of acute and exquisite tortures. This persecution began, as * we may suppose, about the end of that, or the beginning of the following, * year. And under this persecution, I doubt not, it was St. Peter suffered, ' and changed earth for heaven.' Cave's Lite of St. Peter, sect. xi. * Tandem sub Nerone, forsan circa annum 63, Romam venit, fideles, quos ibi reperit, in ordinem redegit, ecclesiam constituit, auxit, et mox san- guine suo locupletavit Obiit igitur sanctus Petrus anno Christi 64, Neronis 10, sub initium persecutionis Neronianfe, ut in opere \ernaculo, ' De Vitis Apostolorum,' latius disseruimus. Etenim cum Nero ob grande illud scclus, Romanaj Urbis incendium, in odium omnium venisset, abolendo rumori, inquit Tacitus, crimen conjecit in christianos, eosque hac de causa quEGsitissimis pocnis affecit. Quin hac occasione rapti sint ad martyrium Apostoli, nemo, cui sanum sinciput, dubitare potest. Hist. Lit. dePetro, p. 5. *• See Vol. iv. ch. cxiv. num. viii. 7. '^ Vol. ii. ch. xxxii. num. i. 1. •1 See before, p. 236. St. Peter. 239 also implied in the passage of Joroin before cited '^ from his book, of Illustrious Men, where he speaks of Peter's epis- copate of Antioch. And in his commentary upon the epistle to the Galatians, he says, that ^ Peter was first bishop of Antioch, and afterwards bishop of Rome. Euse- bius, speaking- of Ignatius and his epistles, calls s him the second bishop of Antioch after Peter. Jerom '' calls Igna- tius the third bishop of Antioch after Peter. They both suppose Euodius, of whom ' Eusebius speaks elsewhere, to have been the first bishop of Antioch, or the first after Peter. What real foundation there is for all this, is hard to say ; whether it be built entirely upon what St. Paul writes, Gal. ii. 11 — 16, or Avhether there Mas some other ground for it. But, as before said in the account above given of St. Peter's travels, I think that St. Peter did not stay long- at Antioch, the first time he was there, which is mentioned by St. Paul, but returned to Judea, and after some time leav- ing that country, he went to Antioch again. Where he might stay a while, and then go and preach in the countries men- tioned at the beginning- of his first epistle, and then go to Rome. 2. It has been said, that Peter was bishop of Rome five and twenty years. This is said by Jerom in ^ his book of Illustrious Men, and ' in his Chronicle, or his Latin edition of Eusebius's Greek Chronicle, or Chronical Canon, as it is sometimes called : where*" he added divers things, not said by Eusebius himself. * See before, p. 236, note '. ^ Denique primiim episcopiiin Antiochenae ecclesise Petmm fuisse accepimus, et Romam exinde translatum ; quod Lucas penitus omisit. Hierou. in ep. ad Gal. cap. ii. 1 1 — 13. T. IV. P. I. p. 244. s . TjjQ icaT AvTioxiuxv Ufrps CuiSoxr\Q itvTepog rijv eiri(JKOTrr]v KEK\i]nojfiivog. H. E. 1. 3. cap. 36. p. 106. D. •^ Ignatius, Antiochenae ecclesiae tertius post Petrum apostolum episcopus. De V. I. cap. 16. ' H. E. 1. 3. cap. 22. ^ Post episcopatum Antiochensis ecclesiae, et praedicationem dispersionis eorum, qui de circumcisione crediderant in Ponto Romam pergit : ibique viginti quinque aanis cathedram sacerdotalem tenuit, usque ad ultimura annum Neronis, id est decimum quartum. De V. I. cap. i. ' Petrus apostolus, qiium primus Antiochenam ecclesiam fundasset, Romam mittitur, ubi evangelium praedicans xxv annis ejusdem urbis episcopus perse- verat. Chron. p. 160. "" ' Ibid. xxv. annis ejusdem urbis episcopus perseverat.'JAdjecta sunt abHieronymo, et ab eodem repetuntur in Catalogo Scriptor, Ecc. Graeca enim non habent. Ab Assumtione Domini, ad id tempus, quo Petrus conjectus fuit in vincula ab Herode Agrippa Petrus semper fuit in Palaestina, aut Syria. Herodes obiit quarto anno Claudii. Quomodo igitur anno secundo Claudii profectus est Romam ? Quomodo riginti quinque annos Romae perseveravit ? Scaliger. Animad. p. 189. 240 A History of the Aposlks and Evangelists. But this is inconsistent with tlie history in the Acts. Nor is it any where expressly said by Eusebius : though, per- haps, it might be argued from some things said by him. How the origin of tliis notion is accounted for by " Pagi, and ° Baluzo, both Romanists, may be seen in their oAvn words, which I transcribe below. 1 refer likewise to ■' Basnage, and Dodwell.'i In all whom are good observa- tions relating to this point. 3. Clement of Alexandria "^ reckons Peter among those apostles, who had children. According- to him Philip was another. Epiphanius says, that ^ Peter came to Christ after he was married, and had children. Jerom, in his first book against Jovinian, takes notice, that * in the Cir- cuits, probably meaning the Recognitions, mention was made both of Peter's wife and daughter. But, says he, tliat is not a canonical book. And still we have a passage in the Recognitions, where St. Peter's wife is mentioned : but, as " Cotelerius observes, what was said of Peter's " Praestat hie Lactantii citati vciba in medium afferre. * Apostoli per annos ' XXV. usque ad principium Neroniani Imperii per omnes provincias et civi- ' tates ecclesise fundamenta miserunt. Cumque jam Nero imperaret, Petrus ' Romam advenit.' Ex his viginti quiiique annis, qui ad praedicationem omnium Apostolorum ex aequo pertinent, orta videtur opinio de xxv. annis, qui vulgo tribuuntur S. Petro in scde Romana. Pagi, ann. 43. num. iii. ° Fortassis ergo ex his viginti quinque annis, qui ad praedicationem omnium Apostolorum seque pertinent, orta est opinio de viginti quinque annis, quos quidam veteres, innumerabile recentiorum agmen, sancto Petro apostolo tri- buunt in sede Romana. Sane hcet frustra et supervacanee a nonnullis negari putem adventum ejus ad urbem Romam, qui clarissimis veterum testimoniis comprobatus est ; de tempore tanien multum ambigo, cum videam tot tantas- que difficultates habere eorum sententiam, qui ilium Romam venisse volunt Oaudio imperante, ut coacti sint duplicare profectionem ejus in urbem, et duplex item ejus cum Simone Mago certamen comminisci, primo quidem temporibus Claudii, dein principatu Neronis. Quae res quam absurda sit, cum id a nullo veterum proditum sit memoriae literarum, pervident istarum rerum periti. Itaque si fas es;et recedere a vulgari, et in animis hominum insila ojjinione, ei Lactantianam lubenter praeferrem ; id est, Petrum quidem Romae praedicasse evangelium facile concederem, non sub Tiberio Claudio, ut vulgo putant, sed sub Nerone Claudio, &.c. Steph. Baluz. annot. ad hbr. de M. P. cap. 2. p Ann. 42. n. x. xi. •> Diss. Singularis. cap. iii. n. 1. p. 13. ' jj Kui uttotoKhq ai^oSoKijia'CHai ; Wirpog jitv yap Kca i>i\i7nroc iwaiSo- iroirjaavro. Clem. Strom. 1. 3. p. 448. D. et ap. Eustb. II. E. 1. 3. cap. 30. ' Mera yap to yrjjiai, kcu riKva KiKTrjaOai, kui irtvQipav £%"''» <^vviTv\i t(ij ffuiTTipi, 1% laSaiojv upucofiivoc- Hacr. 30. num. xxii. p. 147. B. ' Possumiis aufem et de Petro dicere, quod habuent socrum eo tempore quo credidit, et uxorem non habuerit ; quamquam legatur in IlepioSoic et uxor ejus et filia. .Sed nunc nobis de canone omnc certamen est. Contr. Jovin. 1. 1. T. IV. P. II. p. IGS. in. " ' Die autem postera sedens cum uxore Petri.'] Testatur Hieronymiis contra Joviniauum scribcns, legi in Pcriodis et uxorem Petri et filiam. Ea Si. Peter. 241 daughter is Maiitiiig. Possibly these things may illustrate the words of Peter, recorded Matt. xix. 27, " Behohl, we have forsaken all, and followed thee. What shall we have therefore?" And indeed Origen, in his Connnentary upon St. Matthew, says: 'It' seems that Peter did not leave ' nets only, but also a house, and a wife, whose mother the ' Lord healed of a fever, and, as may be supposed, chil- ' dren, and possibly likewise some small estate.' 4. Farther, Clement of Alexandria," cited also by =' Eusebius, informs us : ' It was said, that the blessed Peter ' seeing his wife led forth to death, rejoiced for the grace ' of God vouchsafed to him, and calling" to her by name, ' exhorted and comforted her, saying" : " Remember the ' Lord." ' If time and place had been mentioned, it would have added to the credibility of the story. Ihnvever, she might be at Rome, as we know Peter Avas. And if so, she might suffer about the same time with him. For Nero's ])ersecution took in people of both sexes, and of all condi- tions, as we know from the accounts given by Tacitus. And we learn from St. Paul, that Peter was attended by his wife in his travels. 1 Cor. ix. 5. 5. It is also said, ' that y St. Peter being imprisoned at ' Rome, or being in some imminent danger of suffering, the ' brethren there entreated him to consult his safety by flight, ' and to reserve himself for farther service and usefulness. ' At length he was persuaded, and went out in the dark ' night. But when he came to the gate, he saw^ Christ en- ' tering into the city. Whereupon he said : " Lord, whither igitur Circuituura pars, in qua de Petri filia (Petronillam illam vooant) sermo erat, nunc desideratur. Uxorem autem memorant prseterea Clem. A. Str. 7. ubi et martyrium illiusrefert verbis, quae citantur ab Eusebio, iii. 30. Origenes ad Matt. xix. 27. Epiphanius, H. 30. n. 2"2. Hieronymus, ep. 34. Coteler. ad Recognit. 1. 7. cap. 25. " Origen. in Matt. Tom. XV. p. 682. T. IIT. B.-ntd. ' * ^aci ynv, tov fiuKapiov UtTpov Qiaaanivov ttjv avrs yvvaiKa ayofitvrjv rr]v tTTi Bavarov, r](sQi]vai tiiq K\r\o, et in sublime pedibus elevatis, asserens, se indignum, qui sic crucifigeretur, ut Dominus suus. De V. I. cap. i. '' Primum Petrum rapuit sententia, legibus Neronis, Pendere jussum praeniinente ligno. Ille tamen, veritus celsae decus semulando mortis Ambire tanti gloriam magistri, Exigit, ut pedibus mersum caput imprimant supinis. Quo spectet imum stipitem cerebro. ritpi THQ ayaOsQ awoToXsc- Yierpng Sia i^rjXov aoticov Kat ovTw jxapTVpiirra^ nrvptvOt] iiQ rov o^juXofiivoi' tottov ttiq io^tjQ. * Ala ^jjXov o IlavXoc virofiavr}^ f3f>af3twv eTnaxiv, " Kai ini TO Tipfia ti}^ bimnMQ i\Qun>, Kca jicipTvpiicac (tti twv y'lysjitvujv, ouTwg aTrrjWayri th Kotr^H kui ttr to uyiov tottov nro^diOr], vito^ovi]q yei'ojun'Of IxtyiTor i>noyp(tfii^to£, ^ 'Vhtouj toiq avCpaait' Oiitog TToXiTivaafiivoig (jvvr]9poia9ri noXv ttXijOoq tKXiKTwr, o'lTiPtg iroXXaiQ (UKiaig koi ^affavoig Sin i^rjXov TraGovTig vTToSiiyfia (co\Xtvas, he may be reasonably excused from naming- the emperor, or being- otherwise moK; particular. This epistle was written soon after some troubles, which the christians at Rome had met with, as appears plainly from the beginning- of it: meaning-, it is likely, either the persecution of Nero, or of Domitian, the next persecutor of the christians. It is not at ail strange, that at such a time Clement should think him- self oblige*! to circumspection in the manner of his ex- pressions. Indeed the primitive christians were always very careful, not to speak disrespectfully of heathen princes, or other magistrates, how much soever they suftered froju them. The epistle begins in this manner. 'The calamities and ' afflictions, brethren, which have befallen us, have some- ' what retarded our answer to your inquiries.' Those afflictions intetid, as before said, the persecution of Nero or Doimtian. And it" so, certainly there is much mildness in the expressions. But a very different style is used pre- sently after in speaking- of the dissension which there was among- the christians at Corinth. It is called ' a wicked ' and ungodly sedition, mdjecoming the elect of God, fo- ' mented bv a few rash and self-willed men.' 246 A Histoiij of the Apostles and Evangelists. Bishop Pearson has argued from this place, that ''■ Peter and Paul did not die by order of Nero himself, but by order of the prefects of the city, when Nero was absent, and, particularly, on Feb. 22, in the year of Christ 68, and the last year of Nero. And he says, that^ the Greek word, which 1 have rendered governors or magistrates, never denotes the emperor, but only the prefects of the city or of the provinces. But Pearson was very unhappy in that observation. For Nero -was at Rome in the beginning- of the year 68. Pagi ^ and Basnage "^ have shown, that whereas Nero was ab- sent from Rome almost two years, the greatest part of 66, and 67, he arrived at Rome from Greece in Decem- bei- 67. And the word, which I have rendered 'governors,' is often used, not only for prefects, but also for king's and emperors, or other supreme magistrates. Of ^ which I place several instances in the margin. However both the noun and the verb are general words, and are used concerning governors supreme and subordi- nate. As is apparent from that nell known text, Luke iii. 1, " Now* in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius ^ S. Paulus (cum Petro) ultimo Neronis anno martyrium fecit. Factum autem id est sub Praefectis in urbe, ut testator Clemens Romanus, absente scilicet Nerone, Febmarii die 22. Ann. Paulm. p. 25. A. D. 68. ^ Quod si Romam diserte non expresserit, Neronem certe multo minus delineavit. Dicit enim Paulum em tuiv I'lysntvojv. Neque enim j/ys^fvot Imperatore, in provinciis pi-seseilim, Prsesidum loca sub variis nominibus obti- nebant. Neque haec vox tantum in provinciis solennis fuit, sed etiam Roms Tales erant Romae, ultimo Neronis anno, duo Praefecti Praetorio, Tigellines et Sabinus, et cum summa potestate Helius. De Succession, prim. Romse Episcop. Diss. i. cap. 8. sect. ix. '' Ann. 67. num. ii. "^ Ann. 66. num. vi. et 67. n. v. ^ 1 Kings XV. 13, it is said of Asa, " And also Maachah his mother he removed from being queen." In the lxx. it is thus : Kai rtjv ava rt/v HT]ripa tavTH ixtTi^rjat th firi iivai j/ys/ifvjjv. 2 Cliron.vii. 18. When God appeared to Solomon, he said, " Then will I establish the throne of thy king- dom. There ^hall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel." Ovk e^apOjiatrai ffoi riyi' them strang-ers, either on account ' of their dispersion, or because that all who live relig-iously ' are called strangers on this earth, as David also says: " I '^ Ad posteriorera autem B. Petri epistolani. Nee fuit ea scripta, queni- admodum prior, solii Judceis roig ek SuKTTropac, sed omnibus in universuni fidelibus, turn ex Judaeis, turn ex Gentibus, ad Christum conversis. Quod liquet tum ex ver. 1. cap. i. toiq iffOTi[iov ri/jtv Xaxuf^i ttitiv, (quod de Gentibus proprie dicitur) tum ex eo quod cap. iii. 15, 16. dicit Paulumad eos scripsisse in omnibus suis epistolis. Atqui pleraeqiie omnes Pauli epislolse scriptae sunt ad Gentes ad fidem Christi conversas. Capell. Hist. Apost. p. 44. ^ EkXsktoiq TrapiTTiStjfioiQ.'] To TrapeTri^rjuoiQ, rjToi ^la tijv SiairTTopav inrtv, ij (cat on iravTiQ o'l Kara Qiov ^lovng irapsmhjuoi Xtyovrat ttjq yrfQ, u>q kui Aafii^ (prjirn', k. X. CEcum. T. II. p. 483. 262 Jl Histoiij of the Apostles and Evangelists. ' am a sojounier uitli thee, and a stranger, as all my fatliers ' were," Ps. xxxix. 12.' " Scattered throughout Pontiis or, of ^ the disper- sion of Pontiis, Gah^tia : — " so he calls them, not because they had been driven out from their native country, but because he writes to the christians of divers countries, who also were but a few, or a small number, in every place where they dwelled. This may suffice for showing-, that these two epistles Mere sent to all christians in general, living in the countries, mentioned at the beginning- of the first epistle. 1 shall now show, that these christians were for the most part of Gentile stock and original. 1 Pet. i. 14, " As obedient children, not fashioning your- selves, according to the former lusts in your ignorance." This might be very pertinently said to men converted from gentilism to Christianity ; but no such thing- is ever said by the apostles, concerning- the Jewish people, who had been favoured with divine revelation, and had the know- ledge of the true God. And ver. 20 and 21, he says, that " through Christ they did now believe in God." There- fore they Mere not Morshippers of God, till they were ac- quainted M'ith the christian revelation. In like manner, ch. ii. 9, St. Peter speaks of those to mIioui he writes, as " hav- ing been called out of darkness into God's marvellous light." Moreover, they once Mere not God's people, ver. 10, " VVhich in time past Mere not a people, but are noM^ the Eeople of God : which had not obtaned mercy, but now ave obtained mercy." Words resembling those of St. Paul, Rom. ix. 24, 25, where he is unquestionably speaking of Gentile converts. There are also other expressions, M'hich plainly shoM', that these persons had been Gentiles, and had lived in the sins of gentilism. Ch. i. 18, " Forasmuch as ye knoM% that ye Mere redeemed from your vain conversation, received by tradition from your fathers." And ch. iv. 3, " For the time past of our life may suffice us, to have wrought the will of the Gentiles: M'hen we M^alked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abomina- ble idolatries." St. Peter does not charge himself Mith such things. But they to whom he M'rites had been guilty in those respects. And by May of condescension, and for avoiding offence, and for rendering his argument more effec- tual, he joins himself M'ith them. Once more, when St. Peter represents the dignity of ^ EkXiktOic TrapcinSr]noir Ciainropai; Uovts, St. Peter's Epistles. 263 those to wlioMi lie writes, upon account of their christian vocation, ch. ii. 9, " as a chosen generation, a peculiar people, a royal priesthood :" certainly, the expressions are most pertnient, and eniphatical, if understood of such as had been brought from gentilism to the faith of the gospel, as indeed they plainly were. For he llier> says, '• t!;ey were (o show forth the praises of him, who had called them out of darkness into his njarvellous light." To all which might be added, what was hinted before, that the persons to whom Peter writes were, for the most part, the apostle Paul's converts. This must be reckoned probable from the accounts which we have in the Acts of St. Paul's travels and preaching. Whence we know, that lie had been in Galatia, and the other countries, mentioned by St. Peter at the beginning of his first epistle. More- over he observes, 2 Ep. iii. 15, that " his beloved brother Paul had written unto them." We may reasonably sup- pose, that he thereby intends St. Paul's epistles to the Galatians, the Ephesians, and Colossians, all in those countries, and for the most part gentile believers. Nor do I see reason to doubt, but that Peter had before now seen and read St. Paul's two epistles to Timothy. And if we should add them, as here intended also, it would be no prejudice to our argument. For those epistles likewise were desianed for the use and benefit of the churches in those parts. To me these considerations appear unanswerable. I shall therefore take notice of but one objection only, v> liich is grounded upon cb. ii. 12, "Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles : that whereas they speak against you as evil-doers, they may by your good Morks, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visita- tion." Upon the first clause in that verse Beza says, that '^ this place alone is sufficient to show, that this epistle was sent to Jews. But I think not. From St. Paul may be alleged a text of the like sort, 1 Cor. x. 32, " Give no oflencc, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, [Kai 'EWryrr/,]] nor to the church of God." It might be as Avell argued from that text, that the Corinthians were by descent neither Jews nor Greeks, as from this, that the persons to whom St. Peter Avrote, Mere not originally Gentiles. In the text of St. Paul, just alleged, by Jews and Gentiles, or Greeks, are intended such as were unbelievers. So it is likewise in the ' Inter Gentes. iv toiq iOvitiv.} Vel uiius hie locus tribubus illis dispenis proprie fiiisse iuscriptam hunc epistolaui convincit. Bez. in loc. 264 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. text of St. Peter, which we are considering- : as is apparent from the latter part of the verse, above transcribed at large. St. Peter had a right to distinguish those, to whom he writes, from the gentile people among whom they lived : as he had at the beginning of his epistle called them elect, or choice ones, and strangers, and they likewise went by the name of christians, as we perceive from ch. iv. 16. St. Peter's two epistles then were sent to all christians in general, living in those countries: ihe greatest part of wh(»ni had been converted from gentilism, or heathenism. Hi. Onr next inquiry is, concerning- the place where these epistles were m ritten. At the end of the first epistle St. Peter says: " The church that is at Babylon, elected together wrth you, sal iiteth you." Which text understood literally, has been thought by some to denote Babylon in Assyria, or Babylon in Egypt. By others it is interpreted figuratively, and supposed to denote Jerusalem, or Rome. So that there are four opinions con- cerning the place where this epistle is dated. All which must be considered by us. 1. Pearson by Babylon supposes to be meant'' a town, or city, of that name in Egypt. But it seems to me, that*= little can be said for this opinion. Babylon in Egypt is an obscure place. It Avas a frontier town, or strong castle, with a garrison, as it is described by ^ Strabo : in whose time, the reign of Tiberius, was quartered there one of the three Roman legions, appointed to keep the Egyptian people in order. In such a place, as may be supposed, there "^ were but few Jews and not many inhabitants of any sort, beside soldiers. This opinion likewise is altogether without the authority of ancient christians. If St. Peter had written an ** Explodatur figurata, admittatiir liferalis expositio. Non opus eiit, iit in Assyriam nos conferamus, si nudo urbis nomine standum esse arbitremur. Alia enim erat urbs Babylonis nomine insignita, eaqne Judseae multo vicinior, a Babyloniis, post dira prophetarum vaticinia, Ptolomaeorum permissu con- difa et habitafa. Pearson, de Succ. Rom. Episc. Diss. i. num. vii. &c. '^ Dims enim vetus ferrarum orbis habuit Babylones, alteram clarissimam iilam Chaldaeonim rcgiam, alteram castelium quoddam Jigypti a Babyloniis couditum. Posteriorem hie nominari, nemo crediluriis tuisse videtur, nisi fama fuisset vulgata, prioris Babylonis aefate nihil supeifuisse, ceile nullos prorsus ei fuisse incolas. Ilenmann. Nova Sylioge Dissertat. P. II. p. 106. AvaTrXevaavrt o' eri Ba[3v\ojv TttyfifiTiov TO)v ^pHpsTTwv T//V AiyvnTOv. Strab. ]. 17. p. 807. a), p. IIGO. " Abundasse Jud^is iEgyptiacam Babylonem, vix probabile videtur, propter et consfilutiim in ea civifate Romanorum pra'sidium, cum signis et aquilis suis quae Judaeis odio erant, et vicinitatem Alexandrise, in qua liben- tius degebant. Basnag. Ann. 46. num. xxvii. St. Peter's Epistles. 265 epistle ill Egypt, in all probability, it '^ would have been dated at Alexandria. But there is net in early antiquity any intimation, that >^ the apostle Peter was at all at Alex- andria, or in any part of Egypt. If St. Peter had been at Babylon in Egypt, and had founded a ehurch there, it would have been a church of great renown among christians : whereas'' there is not for the first four centuries any notice taken of a church, or bishop in that place. Le Clerc, who' follows Pearson, says, in his notes upon 1 Pet. V. 13, ' Thereby ^ is to be understood, not Babylon, ' which lay on the east side of the Euphrates, and where ' Peter never was, but a city in Egypt, so called, and ly- ' ing not far from the place where now is Cairo.' But what proof is there of Peter's ever having been in Egypt, more than of his having been in Assyria? 2. Lewis Capellus conjectured, that' by Babylon is to be understood Jerusalem. But it is a mere conjecture, quite destitute of foundation in antiquity. And therefore, in my opinion, no more to be received, than the preceding- interpretation. 3. Divers other learned men think, that by Babylon is f Si Petrus in vEgyptiaca Babylone versatus est, cui probabile fiet, noii petivisse Alexandriam, civitatem totius orbis secundum Romam nobilissimam, magnoque Judseorum numero frequentem ; cum Alexandriee in vicinia exstaret Babylon, et moris asset apostolorum, aliqua in regione vestigium ponentium, metropoles adire, ut majus theatrum haberet evangelii prsedicatio, quae inde veluti ex fonte manabat urbibus provincialibus irrigandis. Id. ibid. B Quod vero in ^gypto unquam versatus fuerit, ne levissima quidem anti- quitatis umbra obtendi potest. Cav. de Petro, H. L. p. 6. Quis vero veterum dixit, Petrum se Alexandriam contulisse ? Hoccinedissi- mulassent tot eruditi scriptores, quos Alexandrina peperit ecclesia ? Basnag. ib. ^ Liquet omnes ecclesias apostolicas magnae existmiationis fuisse vetenbus. Hinc illud TertuUianum : ' Percurre ecclesias apostolicas, apud quas ipsae • adhuc cathedrae apostolorum suis locis president.' Proindeque ecclesia, quae Memphitica Babylone fuit, apostolicis esset inferenda, et multo honore cumu- lata fuisset, utpote a Petro fundata. Jam vero tam obscura fuit Babylonica ilia ecclesia, ut labentibus quadringentis amplius annis, in antiquitatis monu- mentis nuUo vestigio reperiatur : nulla fuit episcoporum successione, nulla martyrum passione nobilis. Quod de ecclesia apostolica, et in Iniperio Romano constituta, vix cogitatione fingi potest. Basn. ubi supra. ' Vid. ejus H. E. anno. 61. num. vii. et Annot. ad Hammondi Praemoni- tionem in 1 Petri epistolani. ^ II faut entendre, non la Babylone, qui etoit a Torient de I'Euphrate, et ou S. Pierre n'a jamais etc; mais une viUe d'Egypte, qui senommoit ainsi, et qui n'etoit pas loin de lieu ou est-bati leCaire. Le Clcrc. sur. 1. ep. de S. Pierre, V. 13. ' Ego potuis conjicerem Jerosolymae I'uisse scriptam, et Jerosolymam a Petro fuisse dictam figurate Babylonem ; quod turn lempo- ris Jerusalem non esset amplius urbs, sed spiritualis quaedam Babylon, in qua ecclesia Dei captiva quasi tenebatur, et gravi servitute premebatur, quatenus [jridem a Judaeis persecutionem pati coeperat. Cap. Hist. Ap. p. 42. 266 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. meant Babylon in Assyria. So '" Beza, " Lightfoot, " Bas- nage. Cave, who supposeth i" the first epistle of St. Peter to liave been written at Babylon in Assyria, thinks that i his second epistle was written at Rome. They who reject this opinion say, that"^ the Assyrian Babylon was at that time almost deserted. On the contrary, they who embrace it, say, there ^ w ere multitudes of Jews in that country. Which may be true. For there were many Jews in most countries. But it would have been more to the purpose to produce some evidence from anti- quity, that Peter was in that country. The primitive christians had in their hands St. Peter's first epistle. And it was universally received as his. And it is dated at Babylon. And yet ecclesiastical history aflfords no ac- counts, that this apostle was in Assyria or Chaldea. Is not this a proof, that ^ there was not any very ancient tradition, that he was in that country ? We just now observed pas- sages of Origen, Epiphanius, Gregory Nazianzen, Jerom, Chrysostom, relating to St. Peter's travels. But none have mentioned Babylon as a place where he travelled and preached the gospel. Says 3Ir. Beausobre : ' As " Peter was the apostle of the ■" Babylona proprie accipio pro celebri ilia Assyriae urbe in qua turn esset Petrus, circumcisionis apostolus. Bez. in 1 Pet. v. 13. " See his sermon upon 1 Pet. v. 13. Vol. ii. p. 1141 — 1147, and many other places in his works. ° Basn. ann. 46. num. xxvii. P Verum ego priorem sententiam, tanquam longe verisirailiorera, amplcctor, turn quod in Babylone Parthica magna esset Judaeorum frequentia, &c. Cav. in Petro, H. L. p. 6. 1 Epistola secunda Romae, utvidetur, paullo ante mortem scripta. Id. ibid. ■■ An urbem illam S. Petrus adire maxime concupivit, quam Prophetarum vaticinio, et justo Dei judicio percussam esse novit ? Pearson, ubi supr. sect. iv. Paullatira igitur defecit Babylon, a regibus primo, deinde a populo deserta. lb. num. V. ^ In Assyria, ubi Babylon, immensa fuit JudaBorum multitudo, quos sub Petrinum cecidisse apostolatum, certum, exploratimique est ; ut nusquam gentium provinciam administrare suam felicius potuerit. Basnag. ann. 46. num. xxvii. ' Sunt qui in dicta Petri epistola Babylonis nomine non Romam, sed Baby- lonem ipsam, quae caput fuit Assyriorum, designari contendunt. Verum hi omnium veferum patruni testiinonio refelluntur. Certe qui Petrum Babylone sedisse volunt, ostendant nobis oportet successionem episcoporum, qui Baby- lonis ecclesiam post Petrum administrarunt. Quaa (malum!) impudentia est, id quidem quod nemo veterum dixit, femere affirmare, Petrum scilicet sedem fixisse Babylone ; id vero quod veteres omnes scriptores disertissime prodiderunt, pcrtiuaciter negare ! Vales. Annot. in Euseb. 1. 2. cap. 15. p. 33. Negant en im Petrum Romae fuisse; quod lestatur antiquitas. Atfirmant autem Babylone fuisse, vel in iEgypto, vel in Chaldaea; quod nulla prodit historia. Est in 1 Pet. v. 13. " Comme il etoit I'apotre des Juifs disperses pami les Payens, S. Jacques etant demeure en Judee, il alia a Babylone et dans les provinces voisines, ou St. Peter's Epistles. 267 * Jews scattered abroad among the Gentiles, St. James liav- ' ing stayed in Judea, he went to Babylon, where a great ' number of the Israelites had remained.' But may I not take the liberty to ask a question, and say, who assigned to these apostles those several provinces, with such limita- tions? St. James stayed in Judea. It is allowed. We are certain of it from the history in the Acts. Nevertheless he did not confine his regards to the Jews in the land of Israel. For he wrote an epistle, addressed " to the twelve tribes scattered abroad." And if Peter also was an apos- tle, chieiiy, of the circumcision ; it was not of those only, who were in Gentile countries, but of those likewise who were in Judea : where, as I apprehend, he spent the greatest part of his life, even after our Saviour's ascen- sion. Mr. Beausobre says, * Peter went to Babylon, where a ' great number of Israelites had remained.' That is, he imagined that he did so. And it was fit for him so to do. As Basnage, in a passage " cited not long ago, says : ' There was a multitude of Jews in Assyria, where was ' Babylon. Nor could he any where more successfully ' execute his apostolical commission.' And because we imagine that Peter might very fitly preach the gospel in Assyria, we conclude that he went thither. But such rea- sonings, if calmly considered, are of no weight. It would be much better to allege some ancient testimonies, in be- half of St. Peter's journey into Assyria, or Parthia. Mr. Wetstein thinks that St. Peter's first epistle was written in the country of Babylon, in Mesopotamia. As there is somewhat new in his arguinent, I place below ^^ a large part of it. In particular, he says, that when a per- il etoit reste un bon nombre d'Israelites. Hist, de Manich. 1. 2. ch. 3. T. I. p. 181. '' See note ^ " Cur Babylon in Italia potius, aut ^gypto, qiiam in Mesopotamia sit quaerenda, causam non video. Vetercs quidem Romam intelligunt. Quod recentiores observant, Babylonem proprie dictam, quo tempore Petrus haec scribebat, habitatam non fuisse, veriim est. At (praeterquam quod et Ste- phano Byzantino et Lucano constat, etiam Seleuciam eo tempore nomine Babylonis fuisse appellatam) possumus Babylonem interpretari non urbem, sed totam regionem. Huic observationi addo aliam, quae licet mihi nunc primum in mentem venerit, suum tamen apud me pondus habet. Nimirum ubi de plunbus vel provinciis vel urbibus loquimur, vel ubi ad plures scnbi- mus, ordini naturae convenientius et simplicius videtur, ut incipiamus non ab ea, quae loqucatibus vel scribentibus est remotissima, sed proxima. Huiic ordinem servavit Paulus, Col. iv. 13. et Joannes ex Patmo, Apoc. i. et ii. Hu 10 ordmem accurate servavit etiam Petrus, si scripsit ex Mesopotamia mi- nima autem, si vel ex JEgypto, vel ex Italia eum scripsisse existiraemus. Wetsten. in 2 Pet. v. 13. T.II. p. 697, 698. 268 A History of the Apostles and Evanyelisls. son writes to the people of several cities, or countries, it is natural to begin with that which is nearest to him. So does Paul, Col. iv. 3, and St. John in Patnios, Rev. i. and ii. The like order, says he, is also accurately observed by St. Peter, it" he wrote from Mesopotamia, not if we suppose him to have written from Italy or Egypt. But such observations, though ingenious and plausible, are not demonstrative and decisive, even when they are just and right. AVhich cannot be said of this. For sup- posing St. Peter to have been in Mesopotamia, the country nearest to him would be Cappadocia, as lying more east- ward and more southv.ard than the two first named. Cer- tainly Pontus and Galatia were farther oft' from Mesopota- mia than Cappadocia. The truth is, St. Peter begins at the north, and so goes round. And that way of begin- ning does as well suit Rome, as Babylon, so far as 1 can see. Beside all this, there ofters an argument, which appears to me decisive. If the Assyrian Babylon was not now subject to the Romans, but to "^ the Parthians, (which I suppose to be allowed by all,) it cannot be the place in- tended by St. Peter. For the people, to Avhom he writes, were subject to the Romans. And at the time of writing this epistle he must have been within the territories of the same empire, 1 Epist. ii. 13, 14, " Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man, for the Lord's sake : Avhether it be to the king," or rather emperor, as formerly y shown, " as supreme : or unto governors sent [from Rome] by him for the punishment of evil-doers, and for the praise of them that do well." Again, ver. 17, " Honour the king :" or rather, the emperor. If St. Peter had not now been M'ithin the Roman territories, he would have been led to express him- self in a different manner, when he enforced obedience to the Roman emperor. This argimient appears to me very obvious. And yet I do not know that it has ever been thought of by any before. Which makes me almost suspect the validity of it: though I cannot discern where the defect lies. St. Peter requires subjection to governors sent by the emperor: undoubtedly nieaning- from Rome. 1 suppose that way of speaking might be properly used in any part of the empire. But it might have a special propriety, if the writer was then at Rome: where indeed, in all probabi- lity, Peter then was. 4. So that we are now come to the fourth opinion con- * Vid. Strab. 1. IG. p. 108]. in al. p. 745. " See Vol. i. p. 89. St. Peter's Epistles. 269 ccriiiiig" the date of this epistle. W hich is, that by Babylon St. Peter figuratively means Rome. This is the opinion of ' Grotius, and "^ Whitby, and '^Valesius, and all the learned Avriters of the Roman communion in general. They have, confessedly, in their favour, ti)e testmiony of antiquity ; which is no small advantage. Eusebius having- an account of St. M rk's gospel, and of its having- been written at the request of St. Peter's hear- ers at Rome, adils : ' and " it is said, that Peter mentions ' this Mark in his epistle, Avhich, they say, he Mrote at ' Rome: and that himself calls that city Babylon figura- ' tively in those words : " The church that is at Babylon, ' salutes you, as does Mark my son." ' This interpretation some suppose Eusebius to ascribe to Papias. But '' Spanheim denies it. And perhaps it is not certain. Whether Papias said so or not it was the pre- vailing opinion in the time of Eusebius. Jerom in his book of Illustrious Men, in his article of St. Mark, transcribes the just cited passage of Eusebius, but expresseth himself more positively. ' Peter " makes men- * tion of this Mark in his first epistle, figuratively denoting ' Rome by the name of Babylon. " The church which is ' at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you, as ' does Mark my son." ' '■ De Babylone dissident veteres et novi interpretes. Veteres Romam inter- pretantur, ubi Pclrum fuisse nemo verus christianus dubitabit ; novi Babylo- nem in Chaldfca. Ego veteribus assentior. Nam quod Romam Babylonem vocavit, non in hoc lantnm serviit, ut si deprehenderetur epistola, non posset inde sciri, quibus in locis viveret. Verum etiam congruentias plurimas inter Babylonem et Romam vide, Orosii ii. 2, 3, 4. Grot, ad 1 Pet. v. 13. * See him upon 1 Pet. v. 13. '' Romam Pefriis figurate Babylonem vocavit, vel ob magnitudinem et potentiam, vel propter impietatem. Potest etiam alia ratio hujus cogno- minis aflerri, quod scilicet, ut Babylonii Judaeos in servitutem redegerant, sic Romani tunc Judaeos ditioni suse subjecissent. Sunt qui in dicta Petri epis- tola Babylonis nomine non Romam, sed Babylonem ipsam, quae caput fuit Assyriorum designari contendunt. Verum hi omnium veterum patrum testi- monio refelluntur. Vales. Annot. ad Eu>eb. H. E. 1. 2. c. 1.5. p. 33. '^ Ta St MapKa fiviifiovivuv tov TltTpov iv Ty Trporepi} fTriToXy, »})/ Kai avvTCt^ai ipamv in' uvttiq 'Pw/xtjc' arinaiviiv ti tut avrov Tr)V ttoKiv rponiKOJ- rtpov Bal3v\(tiva, Trpoan—ovra ha tbtwv' AoTraZirai vjxag ?'/ tv BaftvXon'i avvtKXiKTr], Kai MapKog 6 v'log ju«. Eus. H. E. 1. 2. c. 15. ■^ Atqui primus omnium Eusebius narrationi de Marco ha?c subjungit: ' Esse, qui dicerent Romam figurate Babylonem appellari.' Nee tamen Papiae ipsi adscribi eam interpretationem, quidquid vulgo sentiant, Valesio ipso verba hsec a prioribus sejungente, supra demonstratum est. Vid. P. III. num. xii. Spanhem. Diss, de ficta Profect. Petri ad Rom. Part iv. num. ii. torn. II. p. 375. * Meminit hujus Marci et Petrus in epistola prima, sub nomine Babylonis figuraliter Romam significans: Salutat vos quae m Babylone est coelecta, et Marcus filius mens. De V. I. cap. viii. 270 A Ilislortj of the Jlpostles and Evangelists. Bede/ by Babylon uiiderstooil Rome, as did ^ (Eciiine- iiius. However, it may be here properly recollected, tliat '' formerly we saw an author, Cosmas ot" Alexandria, in the sixth century, who hereby seems to have understood Baby- lon in Assyria. This opinion concerning the place of writing- this epistle is much confirmed by the general tradition of the ancients, that St. Mark's gospel was written at Rome, at the request of Peter's hearers, and that Mark here mentioned is the evangelist. Nor is this contradicted by Cosmas, but con- firmed by him. For he expressly says, ' that ' Mark, the ' second evangelist, wrote his gospel at Rome by the direc- ' tion of Peter.' They ^ M'ho reject this interpretation^ affect to slight Pa- pias : whereas there is no good reason for it. If he said so, certainly his testimony would be of some value. But we do not clearly perceive that this was in Papias. However, it is said by Eusebius. It was then a common opinion. Nor did he know of a better. Others insiiuiate likewise, that ' the reason why Jerom was willing to confound Rome with Babylon, was, that he was out of humour with the people of Rome ; which seems to me to be groundless. Jerom only transcribes what he had found in Eusebius. They who reject the accounts of those two learned ancients should by all means produce some evidence that Peter was in Mesopotamia. We have good assurance that St. Mark's gospel was written at Rome, and that Peter preached and suffered martyrdom there. His two epistles therefore, probably, were written in the same city, a short tin)e before the period of his life. Mill varies. In his note upon the place, he is for Baby- Ion in Egypt. But in his Prolegomena "" he is for Rome, ^ Babylonem typice Romam dicif, videlicet propter confusionem niulti- plicis idololatrisc, &c. Bed. expos. 1 Pet. v. 13. •^ HafivXiova ce Tt]v 'P(i)[ir]v Sia to TTipKpavec KaXci, 6 Kai BafivXiov ttoXXj^ xpovio taxnKi. QScum. in loc. torn. II. p. 526. A. " See vol. V. p. 97, and 100. ' P. 94, and 336. ^ Quod si ut RufiniB interpretatur, teste Papia nititur, infirmo sane tibicine fultum est. Nee temere ad tropum in iiominibus urbium aut regionum est recuirendum, nisi ubi propria vocis significatio locum habere non potest. Wetsten. N. T. toni. II. p. 697. ' C'est une imagination de Papias, que les anciens ont adopte avec trop de facilite, et que S. Jerome auroit rejetteo avec mepris, si, dans la mauvaise humeur ou il etoit contre Rome, il n'eut ete bien aise de la confondre avec Babylone. Beaus. Hist. Manich. 1. 2. ch. 3, T. I. p. 181. ■" Romae eam scriplam fuisse, notant ex traditione veterum Eusebius, Ilioroiiynjus in Catalogo, et alii pernuilti. Ilanc enim Babylonis nomine designatara voluit Petrus, ecu communi turn temporis apud Judaeos suos appel- St. Petei-\s Epistles. 271 and argues well enough for that opinion, i suppose that to be his final determination. It may be best for nie now to conclude this argument with a part of M'hitby's note upon 1 Pet. v. 13, which is very agreeable also to the note of Estius upon the same text. ' That Babylon, is figuratively here put for Rome, ' is an opinion so early delivered by Papias, and which af- ' terwards so generally prevailed, (as we learn from Eusebius, ' Jerom, and (Ecuinenius,) that I subscribe to the note at ' the end of this epistle, cypacpr] aTra'Pivfirj^, " it was written ' from Rome," styled also " Babylon" by the author of the ' Revelations, ch. xvii. and xviii. For the apostle, at the ' time of writing it, must be at Rome, figuratively, or at ' some city, properly called Dabylon. Now as it is uncer- ' tain whether St. Peter ever was at Babylon in Chaldea, ' or in Egypt, and improbable (hat he made any considerable ' stay there : so it is very improbable he should do it when ' near his end. At Rome ar.d Antioch, where he confess- ' fedly resided, church history is copious in giving an ac- * count of his successors in those sees. But who can show ' any thing of this nature, with reference to either of tliose ' Baby Ions? &c. &c.' IV. The only thing remaining" to be observed by us is the time of writing these two epistles. Which I think to be the year G3, or G4, or at the latest 65. 1 suppose Paul to have left Rome in the spring of the year 63. St. Peter was not then come thither. If he had been there, he would have been mentioned by St. Paul in some of his epistles, written near the end of his imprisonment at Rome. How- ever, not very long after St. Paul was gone, St. Peter might come thither. Here, 1 suppose, he preached for a while freely, and with great success. And it appears to me probable, that both these epistles were written at Rome, not long before the apostle's death. That he was old, and near his end, when he wrote the second epistle, is apparent from ch. i. 14. And that the first epistle to the same christians had not been written long before, may be argued from the apology which he makes for writing this second epistle to them ; ch. i. ver. 13 — ^15, " Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. Yea, 1 think latione: quae quidem et in huiic usque diem apud eos obtinet. AbarbincI, aliiquerecentioresJudaei, commenfanfesiii prophefias de Bal)ylone, ad Romam istas referunt ; quod, sicut a Babyloniis ohm in seivitutem redacti fuerint, ifa postca jam a Romanis, &c. Proleg. num. 59, 60. 272 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. it meet, as lono- as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by way of remembrance. KnoAving, that shortly I must put oft' this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ has showed me. Moreover, I will endeavour, that you niay be able after my decease to have these things always in re- membrance." It is not unlikely, that soon after the apostle had sent away Silvanus with the first epistle, some came from those countries to Rome, where was a frequent and general resort from all parts, bringing- him informations concerning the state of religion among them: which induced him to write a second time for the establishment of the christians, among whom he had laboured. And he might well hope that his last words, and dying- testimony to tlie doctrine, which he had received from Christ, and had taught for many years Avith unshaken stedfastness, would be of great weight with them. V. 1 have now gone through the four inquiries proposed at the beginning of this article. I shall here add only a few remarks upon 1 Pet. v. 13, " The " church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you. And so does Mark, my son." The word " church" is not in the original, but is inserted in the translation. The same word is supplied in " OEcii- menius, and '' in the Latin, and other ancient versions, with the approbation of i Grotius, and many others. But Mill '■ in his notes upon this text, where he understands the word Babylon literally, of a city of (hat name in Egypt, argues, that thereby is intended 8t. Peter's wife, or some honourable christian woman, of the city of Baby- " AmraZiTcii vnag 7) iv Baftu\wvi avviicXeKTrj, Kai Map/cog o VLog /<«. " Anwa'CtTcii vfiag rj iv 'RajivXioin ikkXijoui awtKXiKTr]. '' EicKXijcTia prEcfigunt Lin. [margine. manu lecentiori :] CEcumen. Vulg. Syr. Arab, ^thiop. ex interpretamento Mill, in loc. 1 Ad vocem awiKXiKTt], et Syrus, et Arabs, et Latinus, addunt nomen eccle- siae, recte. Nam et ad ecclesiam scribit, et hsec, et ilia, pariter Deo electa, id est, a mundo segregata. Grot, in loc. ■■ Nempe pro indubitato sumitur, ecclesiam Babyloniorum hie intelligi. Atqiii vero, si de ecclesia hie ;ermo, quum nulla ejus nientio facta sit in pr?e- cedentibus, aperte dixisset Petrus tKKXrjma iv Ba(3vXu)vt Mihi quidem vehemens suspicio est, per rrjv iv BajSuXwin avviKXiKTi]v, mtelligi hie Petri uxorem, fidei simul suscepta?, vilse, laboruiii, sociam ; quaj Babylone, iEgyp- tiaca tunc, cum haec scriberentur, egerit. Si dicas, lUud jj tv BafivXwvi denotare pofius feminam aliqnam, qute fixam sedem habuerit in Babylone, nihil equidem repugno. Esto r) iv BapvXuivi sive uxor Petri, sive etiam opu- lenta quaedam ae illustn loco nata I'emina apiid Babylonios, quae apostolum hospitio exceperit ; certe nihil hoc loco de ecclesia Babyloniorum. Mill, in loc. St. Fetcfs Epistles. 273 Ion, where he then was. Which conjecture is countenanced by ^ Wall. Dr. Ileumann proceeds farther. First, he says, tl)at * by " Mark my son," we are to understand Peter's own son, which he had by his wife. And " then by " elected together with you," is to be understood an excellent Jew- ish woman of Babylon in Assyria, m houj, with many others, Peter had there converted to the christian faitli, and after- wards married : his iirst wife, mentioned, Luke iv. 38, by whom lie had Mark, being- dead. But it appears to uie very unlikely that St. Peter should send salutations to the christians of several countries from a woman, not named by him. Beza says well, that^ St. Peter omits the noun " church," as is often done with regard to words of common use. What was the sense of christians in former times, appears from (Ecumenius, and the versions taken notice of above. The same sense appears in "■" the Complexions of Cassiodorius, and ^ the Exposition of Bede. With regard to St. Mark, Qilcumenius says, ' that y Peter ' calls him "his son" according to the spirit, not accord- ' ing to the flesh. Him he permitted to write the gospel. ' But some, as he adds, have presumed to call Mark ' son of Peter according to the flesh, arguing from Luke's ' history, in the Acts of the Apostles: where Peter, having" * ' The word " church" is not in the Greek, but put by the translators, as * understood in the Greek. Dr. Mill thinks it to mean Peter's wife, who, ' being now at Babylon with her husband, did salute those christians to whom ' the epistle was written. And then the reading of the words will be : " She ' who is your fellow-christian at Babylon, saluteth you."' Wall, p. 357. '■ Similem errarunt errorem, qui queni ' tilium suum' hie loci nominavit Petrus, eum non naturalem ejus fui-se filium, sed spiritualem arbitrati sunt. Maneat nunc, Petrura de filio sibi ex conjuge nato loquij quem facile ex hoc ipso loco cognoscimus fuisse socium paternorum itinerum, et simul avvipyov tv Xpi'T({>. Heum. ubi supr. p. 110. " Relinquitur igitur, ut statuamus, loqui apostolum de uxore sua. Baby- lone nata, ac tum, cum ilai versaretur Petrus, una cum aliis utriusque sexus Judaeis in ecclesiam Christi traducta. Hoc enim sibi volunt haec verba : r/ tv BafSvXwvi avviKkiKTT]. Quis nunc non videat, Petiiim banc vto(pvTov, singulari baud dubie pietate et prudentia conspicuani, duxisse in matrimonium, comitemque postea habuisse sacroram itinerum ? Ex quo sequitur, priorem uxorem, cujus Lucae iv. 38, mentio, e qua susceperat Marcum, fuisse extinc- tam. Heum. ibid. p. 112, 113. " Ecclesige nomen omittit ut in vocabiJis communi usu tritis fieri solet. Bez. " Salutationes quof|ue ecclesise, quam de Babylonia, id est, de seculi istius confusione, dicit elect.vm, ct Marci filii sui pia institutione transmittens. Cassiod. in loc. " Expos, m 1 Pet. cap. v. ^ MapKov Se vtov Kara irvtvfta kclKh, aW « kutu tjapxa. CEcum. T. 11. p. 526. A. VOL. VI. T 274 A History of the j^postks and Evangelists. ' been delivered out of prison by an angel, is said to have ' " come to the house of Mary, the mother of John, >vhose ' surname was Mark," as ''■ if he had then gone to his own ' house, and his lawful wife.' That is a wrong deduction from the words of Acts xii. 12. But we hence perceive, that those people supposed Mark the evangelist to have been the same as John, sur- named Mark. And I would also farther observe here, by the way, ' that CEcumenius^' computes Silvanns, by whom St. Peter ' sent this epistle, and who is mentioned, chap. v. 12, to be * the same who is several times mentioned by St. Paul in * his epistles, particularly 1 Thess. i. 1. 2 Thess. ii. 1.' Who likewise, very probably, is the 'same as Silas, often mentioned in the Acts. (Ecumenius there calls Silvanus " a most faithful man, zealous for the progress of the gospel." Indeed all must be sensible that he was an excellent man, who from gene- rous principles attended the apostles of Christ in the jour- nies undertaken by them in the service of the gospel. His deputation from the apostles and elders, and church of Jerusalem, with their letter to the christians at Antiocb, is very honourable to him. Acts xv. 27, 32. His stay there, and Paul's choosing him for his companion in his travels, when he and Barnabas separated, farther assure us of his just sentiments concerning the freedom of the Gentiles from the yoke of the law, and of his zeal for promoting true religion. ^ ioQ tiQ Tfiv iav'H oiKuiv inavtkSovTa, Kai ri)v vofiifiijv (jv^vyov. lb. B. * ETtTOC vTTtp(iaX\ovTMQ 6 1.i\ovavoc ovrog, koi Trtpi to Kijpvyfia tvBvfiug (lywvi^oyLtvoc, uyt Kai YlavkoQ avTS fi7'ri[iov(vii, Kai avvf^yov avrov fierct Ttfio- Otti tv raic tTTjToXatg 7rapaXa/i/3avft" TlavXog, Xeyiov, km '^ikovavog Kai TtfiO- OioQ. (Ecum. ib. p. 525. D. 275 CHAP. XX. THE TPTREE EPISTLES OF ST. JOHN. I. Their genuineness shown from testimony and internal characters. II. The time of n-ritinvish ' believers are especially regarded. Nevertheless we think ' that St. John directed it to all believers of his time in ge- " Vol. ii. p. 243. ** Seciinda Joannis epistola, quae ad virgines scripta est, simplicissima est. Sciipla vero est ad quandam Babyloniam, Electam nomine. Adurabr. in ep. 2. Joan. <= As before, p. 584. ' Ad fideleseum scripsisse, abunde patet ex scopo epistolae, (;ap. i. 4, toto- que ejus argumento. Facile etiam admittimus, speciatim fideles ex Hebrjeis innui. Universis tamen credentibus sui tempons Joannem banc epistolam destin;\sse putamus, quia nulla restrictionis occurrit mentio. Lamp. ibid. num. iii. 105. St. John's three Epistles. 283 ' iieral : forasmuch as there appears not in it any expression ' of limitation.' Du Pin says, ' Though ^ there is no inscription, it appears ' from the beginning" of the second chapter, that it is address- ' ed to many christians. And there is no proof that it is ' sent to Jews rather than to Gentiles.' On the other hand. Dr. Benson '' thinks, ' that the apos- ' tie wrote this epistle to the Jewish christians in Judea and ' Galilee.' But the former opinion appears to me more probable. For, 1. It is always called a catholic epistle. So it was called by Dionysius of Alexandria, as before seen, as well as by later writers. 2. It really appears to be so. For there are not in it any expressions of limitation. 3. There could be very little occasion for that admonition to believers in Ju- dea, in the year 68, after the Mar was broke out, which is in ch. ii. 15 ; " Love not the world, nor the things that are in the world." That admonition is rather suited to people, who were supposed to be in easy circumstances, and are in danger of being ensnared by the allurements of prosperity. 4. Nor has the concluding exhortation of the epistle, " keep yourselves from idols," any special suitableness to believers in Judea : but is much more likely to be directed to christians living in other parts of the world. fficumenius in his comment upon the last verse of this epistle says, it ' was written to the whole church in ge- neral. And in the proem to his commentary upon the second epistle he ^ calls the first a catholic epistle. And he says, ' that ^ epistle is not written to a certain person, * nor to the churches of one or more places, as the blessed ' Peter's to the Jews in their dispersion, nor as James's ' before him, to the twelve tribes of the Jewish people. ' But he writes to all the faithful in general, whether ' assembled together or not. For which reason there is ' no inscription to that epistle, as there is to the other ♦ two.' To me therefore it seems, that this epistle was designed 6 Dissertat. sur la Bible. 1. 2. ch. 2. sect. xi. "^ See his preface to St. John's first epistle, sect. iv. ' (pafiev 81', tog tirtidav tKKXriaKf 6\y ravra sypa^tv, k. \. Qllcum.T. II. p. 602. B. " ib. p. G05. B. ' Oil yap TTpog wpicTfiivov eypa-ipe TrporruTrov, ovde Trpog eKKXijtriav tottwv Tivojv, aiffiTtp £7roi?;(T£v 6 jxaKapiog flsrpof a(pwpiafievii}g Trpog rag tv ry liaairopq, fmat}fiaivojif.vog lacaioig ypa^etv" Kai, Trpo rara 6 Qtiog laKtojiog raig SwStKci ^vKaig aWa iraai Tn^oig kolvov Troisfifvog rov Xoyov tK/cX»jffta?8 oide. lb. p. 606. C. 286 A History of the Apostles and Evanyelists. ' male nor female." ' And before, he speaks " of this epis- tle being written to a particular woman. In the Adumbrations of Clement of Alexandria, as we now have them in Latin, this ^ epistle is said to be written to a Babylonian woman, or virgin, named Electa. And of late many learned men, whose '" arguments I place below, choose to read this inscription thus: " To the lady Electa," or " Eclecta." But in my opinion the con- clusion affords an objection. For it is not very likely that two sisters should both have one and the same name. So it may be sometimes : but very seldom, as I imagine. This was a difficulty with '^ Wolfius and > Tillemont. Dr. Heumann supposeth, that ^ this woman's name was Kuria, or Kyria, and renders the inscription after this man- ner : " To the elect Kyria." Which opinion is embraced by =• Dr. Benson. But ^ Wolfius is not quite satisfied Avith it. Tillemont has observed, that*^ in the Synopsis of Atha- " KadoTi Kai TrpefffSvTspov tavrov tv ravraig ypaipn, Kat irpog yvvaiKa, KM trepov Ta'iov, iva Kai avrov, too-Ttp Kai Tr]V yvvaiKU fiiav. Id. p. 605. B. " Secunda Joannis epistola, quae ad virgines scripta est, simplicissiraa est. Scripta vero est ad quandam Babyloniam, Electam nomine. Significat autera electionem ecclesiae sanctae. Clem. A. ed. Potter, p. 1011. " Epistola secunda scripta est ad quandam Babyloniam, Electam nomine, ut legas in Adumbrationibus ad banc epistolam, quse ferantur sub nomine Clementis Alexandrini. Nomen enim propriura feminee esse Electam, recte observarunt viri doctissimi, perinde ut E/cXf/croc viii nomen est apud Hero- dianum. Eandem Joannes Kvpmv vocat, quemadmodum Latini feminas honestas vocabant dominas, sive domnas. Et Kazianzenus ep. iv. Kvpia ry fiijTpi. Fabr. Bib. Gr. 1. 4. cap. 5. torn. HI. p. 343. EkXektt] quoque litera majuscula scnbitur apud Wechelium, et in editione R. Stephani, quam secutus est Millius, quamvis ipse eo nomine christianam feminam indicari existimet. Wolf, in 2 ep. Jo. p. 323. Electus cubicularius fuit Imp. Commodi genere vEgyptius, &c. Wetstein. ad Joan. ep. 2. p. 729. " Electam proprii nominis vocabulo vix habuerim, per comma 13, ubi raatronai hujus soror itidem tKXtKri] appellator. Quod ut illius aetatis moribus non respondet, ita soror ilia ticXs/crij, tanquam Christiana, commode vocari poterat. Wolf. ib. p. 325. y Et on trouvede la difEculte a croire qu ficXetcrj; en soit un, [nom propre] parceque S. Jean. ver. 13. ledonne aussi a la sceur de cette dame, n'etant pas ordinaire que deux sceursaient le meme nom; et parcequ' il auroit dii etre devant Kvpia plutot qu' apres. S. Jean 1' Evangeliste. note xiv. Mem. T. I. ^ Heuman. Poec. T. II. p. 421—427. et T. III. p. 14, &c. * See his preface to the second and third epistles of St. John, sect. iv. *> Posterius hoc argumentum me etiam adducit, ut nee Cyriae nomen pro- prium hie agnoscam. Ita enim apostolus scripturus erat : Kupt^ r^ tK-Xf/crj/, quemadmodum ver. 1, epistolae tertiae : Tai(i> t({> ayaTri^T'i). Siniili scribendi ratione utitur Paulus. Rom. xvi. 5, KairaataQt ETraivtrov rov ayairt)TOv fin. Vid. etiam ib. ver. 8. et 12. et 13. Wolf. ib. p. 325. *^ Neanmoins Saint Athanase met ypa^ti Kupt^, icat roig rtKvoig avrijc, par St. John's three Epistles. 287 imsius Kvpiu seems to be taken for a })roper name. But that is not clear. The expression is anibig-uous, and may be as well rendered: 'the'' elder writes to a lady, and her ' children,' as to Kyria, and her children. So'' likewise thought Wolfius. Before I proceed, I must detain the reader, M'hilst I ob- serve, that the article of the Synopsis, quoted by Tillemont, is exactly the same w ith the hypothesis, or argument, pre- fixed to St. John's second epistle in ' the second tome of fficumenius. However, 1 do not suppose it to be really (Ecumenius's. I allow it to be a part of the Synopsis, generally thought to have been con)posed by Athana- sius, bishop of Alexandria, in the fifth century, as ' formerly shown. Qicumenius himself seems to me to have supposed this epistle to have been sent'' to a christian woman, whose name is not known. However in one place, in his prologue, he has these expressions : ' He' calls her " elect," either from ' her name, or on account of the excellence of her virtue.' Finally, then, others understand this inscription agree- ably to our own translation : " The elder to the elect lady and her children." This'' has hitherto been the common opinion, and is favoured by' Beza,'" Mill," Wall," Wol- fius, 1' Le Clerc, and others. And Tillemont, in the place before referred to, says : ' The second epistle of St. John is ' inscribed to eKXeKTtj Kvpta. St. Jerom translates the word ' Kvpia by dominae,'lady. And it is difficult to translate ' otherwise in the fifth verse, where St. John repeats the ' same word.' It is not easy for me to decide in such a variety of opinions, ou il paroit avoir pris le mot de Kvpiq. pour un nom propre. Mem. Ec. T. I. S. Jean I'Evangeliste, note xiv. "* Tavrijv u)Q TrparjSvTtpog ypa(pEi Kvpia Kai roiq TtKvoiq avTr)Q. Athan. Synops. S. S. T. II. p. 190. ed. Bened. * Mihi quidem id ex phrasi ista non admodum liquet. Wolf. ib. p. 323. f CEcum. T. II. p. 603. 8 Vol. iv. p. 161, 162. •> Alio ^£ Ty iKKtKTTj ravTy Empaprvpei, k. X. Qicum. tom. II. p. 606. D. ' EK\tKrt]v de t) ano m ovoparoc, t] utto TTjg ttsqi rriv apiTr)V (pikonpiac, KaXu. Id. p. 606. B. ^ Alii utramque vocem pro appellativa habent, matronseque nomen simili silentio tectum censent, quo suum Joannes ipse texit. Haec communior fere est sententia. Wolf. ib. p. 324. ' See before, note ", p. 285. "" Prolegom. num. 151. " Critical notes upon the N. T. p. 378. ° Ubi supra, p. 326. i> Quoique ce mot puisse etre un nom propre 11 est assez vraisemblable que e'est ici un nom appellatif, qui signifie, que c'etoit une Dame Chretienne, a qui S. Jean ecrivoit, et qui etoit connue a ceux qui lui devoient rendre cette lettre, &c. Le Clerc, Remarques sur la 2 ep. de S. Jean. 288 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. each one of which is supported by great patrons. The ar- guments for a proper name, either of Eclecta, or Kyria, are plausible, and specious. But it is an object of some moment that this notion was little, if at all, known to the ancients. If it had, they would not have supposed that St. John here writes to the church of Christ in general, or to some christian church in particular. The Latin Adumbra- tions of Clement of Alexandria, as they are called, are not very material. The passage of the Synopsis, quoted by Til- lemont, is ambiguous. (Ecumenius has just mentioned llie opinion, that Eclecta might be the name of the person to M horn St. John wrote. But he does not seem to adhere to it, as has been observed by Estius.'' Nor is there any no- tice of this interpretation by Jerom, or Cassiodorius, or Bede, authors in which it would be very likely to be found, if it had been known in ancient times. And why it should not have been known, if there is any foundation for it, would not be easily shown. That Jerom did not take Kvpia to be a proper name, appears not only from the Latin version of this epistle, but likewise from his book of the Interpretation of Hebrew names : where, as formerly "^ observed, there are no proper names collected out of the second epistle of St. John, thonoh there are other out of his two epistles, and indeed from all the seven catholic epistles, excepting only this one of St. John's second epistle. V. The third epistle of St. John is thus inscribed : " The elder to the beloved Gains." there' seem to be two of this name mentioned in the Acts, and St. Paul's epistles. In the disturbance at Ephesus, it is said : " Having caught Gains and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's com- '1 Electae.' Non liquet, an hoc sit nomen pioprium mulieris, ad quam scribitur epistola, an commune ; id quod potius existimandum videtur ; quo- niam in fine epistolse etiam soror ejus vocatur ' electa.' Non solent autem in eadem i'amilia diise proles esse cognomines. Posse sumi tanquam commune, (Ecumenius sua expositione ostendit, et recte. Videtur fuisse mulier nobilis sive genere, sive opibus. Alioqui poterat vocare filiam Sed moris est apud bene moratas geutes, infirmiorem sexum titulis et aliis decentibus modis honorare. Est. in Joan. ep. ii. ver. 1. ■■ See Vol. iv. ch. cxiv. num. vi. ^ Gains quidam inter comites ejus nominatur in tumultn Ephesino, Act. xix. 29. qui Derbffius videtur dici, Act. xx. 4. Habebat etiam Corinthi hospitem Gaium, Rom. xvi. 23. quem ipse l^aptizaverat, 1 Cor. i. 14. An hi sint iidem inter se, aut cum Gaio Joarmis, quis dispiciet ? Beda, Pseudo-Dexter, Lyranus, aliique affirmant Id quoquc novum procieare dubium potest, quod Gaius Paulinus Corinthi sedem ac domicilium habucrit, noster vero pro- culdiibio in Asia liabitaverit, brevi ab apostolo visitandus, de cujus extra Asiam post excessum Neronis itineribus lota antiquitas silet. Lampe, Proleg. in Joan. 1. 1. cap. 7. num. xii. St. John''s three Epistles. 289 panions in travel, thoy rushed with one accord into the lliea- tre." Acts xix. 29. And among- the same apostle's fellow- travellers, who accompanied him in his journey toward Jerusalem, is mentioned " Gains of Jlerbe," xx. 4. There is another Gains, who appears to have been an inhabitant of Corinth. 1 Cor. i. 14; Kom. xvi. 23. I see no reason to think that Gains, or Caius, to whom St. John writes, was one of them. He seems to have been an eminent christian, M'ho lived in some city of Asia, not far from Ephesus, where St. John chiefly resided after his leaving' Judea. For at ver. 14, the apostle speaks of " shortly coming to him." Which he could not weW do, if Caius lived at Corinth, or any other remote place. Grotius thought him to be a good christian, who*^ lived in one of the churches or cities men- tioned in the Revelation. Mr. Whiston " supposes Caius to have been bishop of Pergamos. Mill "•' was inclined to be of the same opinion. But this is said only upon the ground of the pretended Apostolical Constitutions, which in this case are of no authority at all. Dr. Heumann "■" in his Commentary upon this epistle of St. John has some curious and luicommon observations. He* does not choose to trouble himself with inquiring who Caius was : the knowledge of which, he thinks, would be of no great use. It is sufficient that we know him to have been a good christian. Nevertheless he appears to slight the opinion just mentioned thaty he was bishop of Pergamos, And he argues likewise, that ^ he is different from those of the same name mentioned in the Acts, or St. Paul's epistles. And indeed it cannot be thought strange, that in the times of the apostles, there were several christians of this name: which seems to have been as common a name among- the Greeks and Romans, as any name whatever. Dr. Heumann says, that '^ Diotrephes, mentioned by St. John, ver. 9, and said, to " love to have the pre-eminence," ' Vixit hie Caius in aliqua ecclcsiarum, quarum mentio in Apocalypsi. Grot, in 3. ep. Joan. ver. 1. " Commentary upon St. John's Epistles, p. 14, 15, 16. " Alteram vero illam ad Gaium, ecclesise Pergamensis episcopum, ab ipso Joanne (si quid Apostolicariun Const itutionum auctori credimus) ordinatum. Mill. Prol. num. 152. * Commentarius in Joan. Ap. epistolam tertiam. Ap. Nov. Syllog. Disser- tation. P. I. p. 276—328. " Ibid. 277. y Millius, Constitutionibus Apostolicis credulus, Caium hunc ecclesise Per- gamenae episcopum scribit in Prolegomenis suis ad N. T. Eandem amplexum esse sententiam Guil. Whistontim in suo in hanc epistolam commentario, quis mirabitur > lb. p. 277. in notis. ^ P. 277, 278. » Ibid. p. 306, 307. VOL. VI. U 290 ^4 History of the Apostles and Evangelists. was not a heathen magistrate, nor a heretic, nor a bishop, but a deacon in the church to which he belonged. Upon Mhich I observe, it was easy to show that Diotrephes was not a heathen magistrate. Dr Heumann seems likewise to have proved, that '' Diotrephes was not a heretic. For, as he argues, if Diotrephes had been a corrupter of the true christian doctrine, it would have been the duty of the apostle to caution christians against familiar converse with him, in like manner as he does in the tenth and eleventh verses of his second epistle. Moreover, in that case, the apostle would have signified his errors, and would have di- rected men to beware of the leaven of Diotrephes. But this he has not done. He only reproves his pride, want of hospitality, and a perverse contempt, not of the apostle's doctrine, but of his direction for receiving strangers. He also quotes^ Calovius, as speaking to the like purpose. And the late Mr. Mosheim, who, as I suppose, had not seen Dr. Heumann's Dissertation, and g'ives a very different account of this epistle in several respects, allows that "^ Dio- trephes was not a heretic. So likewise argued Mr. Lampe"^ before either of them. But I cannot say that Dr. Heumann has proved Diotre- phes not to have been a bishop. For 1 think that every thing said of him in the epistle implies his being president, '' Nunc, ille Diotrephes qiiis fiierit, investigandum venil. Erasmus ' novae heresis auctorem' vocat in Paraphrasi. Ac ita jam olim sensit Beda Vc- rum recte Buddeus hanc sententiam respuit. Quod si enim corruptor doctrinae apostolicae fuisset Diotrephes, apostoh fuisset avocare christianos a familiari cum ipso consuetudine ; id quod fecit hasreticis in secunda; suae epistolae versa decimo et undecimo. Fuisset item apostoli, notare ipsius errores, et, ut a fer- mento Diotrephis caveatur, prascipere. Jam vero id non facit, sed superbiam duntaxat ejus notat, et inhospitahtatem, et protervam non doctrinae Joannis, sed praecepti ejus de hberalitate in pios exules exercenda, contentionem. lb. p. 302, 303. •^ Etiam Calovius ad h. I. hac de causa negat Diotrephen fuisse haereticum. * Si haereticus fuisset,' inquit, ' gravius sine dubio acturus adversus eum, et Caium aliosque, de seductione ipsius cavenda moniturus fuisset Joannes.' Quod ar- gumentum accepit a Cornelio a Lapidc, cujus pene omnes sunt annotationes, quas ad hanc Joannis epistolam cxhibet Calovius. Heuman. ib. p. 303, note (z.) ^ NuUam igitur Diotrephes rcligionis dogmatibus injuriam inferebat, sed iniquus tantum erat, ct ultra moduni rigidus dignitatis suae custos. Mo&hem. dc Reb. Christianor. p. 176, 177. * De causa rixae et contentionis inter Diotrephen et Joannem in diversa abeunt intorpretes. Bartholomaeus Petri : * Credibile est,' inquit, • fuisse quempiam ex illis Judaeis titulo tcnus christianis, qui Christi fidem ita susci- piendam putabant, ut simul servaretur lex caeremonialis Mosis.' Sed optime observat Calovius, si Joannes id innuisset, quod turn sine dubio acturus ad- versus eundem, et Caium aliosque de seductione ipsius cavenda moniturus esset. NuUius sane dogmatis, seel factorum tantum pcrversorum, Diotrephes incusatur. Lamp. Prol. 1. 1. cap. 7. sect. xiv. St. Jokn's thn'c Epistles. 291 or chief director of tlungs in the churcli to which Caius belonged. However, we will consider his «nrgu- nients. In the first place he says, the*^ principal reason why learned men have thought ]3iotrephes to be a bishop is be- cause they have understood those words, at ver 10, "and casteth tiieni out of the church," of excomniunication. But those words, he says, are capable of another sense. They seem rather to mean, that by ill treatment he forced those strangers to leave the church, to which they had applied for relief, and to go elsewhere. But granting- this interpretation to be right, Diotre- phes might nevertheless be a bishop. For that ill treat- ment might be owing to an abuse of his episcopal power and authority. Again, says Dr. Heumann, thes fault of Diotrephes lay in seeking' pre-eminence; which shows he was not a bishop : for then he would have had pre-eminence. Nor does a man seek what he has already. But I cannot perceive that observation to be very mate- rial. For a bishop may show improper love of power and pre-eminence by arbitrary proceedings in the society over which he presides, and by an arrogant behaviour toward neighbouring bishops or superintendants, his equals, and perhaps, in some respects, his superiors. Finally, not to take notice of any other arguments of this kind, Dr. Ileumann thinks, that '* Diotrephes was deacon, f Alii igitur Diotrephen fuisse illius ecclesiae episcopum crediderunt, hoc potissimum usi argumento, quod exconimunicasse scribatur pics exules. Ve- rum infra docebimus, * ejicereexecclesia,' hie non esse excomniunicare, atque adeo affingi Diotrephi excommunicationem judicio praecipiti. lb. 303. K Ac vel vcrbum (piXo'jrpwTivwv demonstiat nobis, eum baud fuisse episco- pum : episcopus enim est 6 TrpwTivwv in ecclesia. Atqui quod quis jam habet, non cxpetit. lb. p. 303, 304. ^ Jam cum clarissime cognoscamus, nee haereticum, nee episcopum, nee presbyterum, nee ethnicum scilicet reipublicaerectorem, fuisse Diotrephen, via satis aperta est ad personam ejus inveniendam. Statim enim mentem nostrum haec subit quscstio : An forte fuit illius ecclesiae diaconus, hoc est, bonorum ecclesiasticorum administrator ? Hoe enim offieium eertis hominibus jam initio christianac ecclesiae demandatum fuisse, ex Act. vi. notum est. Ac sane facilis nunc et perspicuus nobis videtur totus hie locus noster. Prseerat scilicet serario ecclesiastico Diotrephes. Erat ejus pauperibus inde erogare peeunias. Advenas autem fratres ideo non sublevabat, quod vix eeelesice illius pauperibus alendis satis viderctur suppetere. Id eausatus, alio discedere, aliorum auxilium implorare, jubebat : imo, dum nihil ipsis suppeditabat, eogebat hoc ip;o eos ik Trjg tKKXtjdiag, ex ilia ecclesia, excedere, atque ita erat iK(ia\\o)v avrug s/c rrig iKK\)]' Beausobre. This opinion is uuicli disliked by '» Dr. Ileuniann. Mr. Moslieim ' likewise argues against it, as an opinion quite destitute of foundation in antiquity. Others think that Diotrephes was a Jew, and zealous for the law, and that he Avould not receive these strangers, con- verts from among the Gentiles, because they did not take upon them the observation of the rites and ceremonies of the law of Moses. This opinion is mentioned by ^ Lampe. But he argues Avell against it. And indeed both these opinions were confuted before, when we showed that Diotrephes was not a heretic, or that there is no reason to think him so. It has been of late a common opinion among learned men, that ^ St. John hero speaks of some, particularly Jews, who had gone out into the world to propagate the christian reli- gion. Who had acted upon a generous and disinterested principle, refusing to take any thing from those among Avhom they laboured, and whom they had converted to the christian faith. And they think that St. John commends Cains for encouraging such teachers, and blames Diotre- phes for not receiving and helping them. But that opinion appears to me without foundation. For I see nothing that " Nolebat autem christianos circumcisos ab incircumcisis, seu Gentilibus, in ecclesiam admitti. Cleric, ib. 1* Son nom est Grec. Ce qui fait juger, qu'il etoit Pay en d'origine ; et c'est peut-etre pour cela qu'il ne vouloit pas qu'on recut Chretiens d'entre les Juifs, fort meprises par les Gentils. Pref. sur ii. et iii. ep. de S. Jean. p. 585. Voyez aussi la reraarque sur I'ep. ii. ver 9. •• Heuman. ubi sup. p. 303. note {a). "■ Earn (causam) viri docti quaerunt in conditione coram, quos beneficiis et amore ecclesise excludebat. Diotrephen nempe suspicantur origine fuisse Ethnicum, illos vero, quos recipere nolebat, Judaeos. Ex quo efficiunt, insi- tum Ethnicorum animis contemptum Judseoruni tantum apud cum potuisse, ut sanctissimum amoris prseceptuni violaret. In hac conjectura, \k verum fatear, nihil est quo moveri queat aliquis consideratus et rerum christianarum non impentus. Nam, ut omittam, omnibus earn prassidiis destitutam esse, si nomen Diotrephis excipias, quod Graecuni est ut taceam, nusquam aliquid memorial proditum extare, unde pateat, tam immani Judseorum odio et despicientia christianos ex Graecis flagrasse, ut in fratribus eos habere nollent, et omni amoris fructu spoliarent, &c. Moshem. De Reb. Christian, ante Const. M. p. 175. ^ Sec before, p. 290, note ^ ' Tertiam epistolara scripsit Gaio cuidam Horainis liberalitatem laudat, qui prsecones quosdam evangelicos, e Judaea gente, qui a Gentilibus nihil accipere voluerant, opibus suis adjuvisset. Cleric, ubi supr. Diotrephen duplici nomine S. Joannes objurgat : primum ideo, quod im- perium sibi arrogaret in ecclesia deinde proplerea quod durum se ac inhu- manum fratribus bene de religione Christiana promeritis exhiberet. Egresst erant quidam ex coetu, cujus membrum Diotreplies crat, ad propagandum inter vicinas gentes religioncm christianam, &c. Moshem. iJj. p. 175. 294 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. should lead us to think preachers here spoken of, but only strangers in want. Ver. 5, " Beloved," says St. John to Caius, " thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers :" ' that is, to the members of the church to which ' he belonged, and to strangers who came to the city ' where he dwelt : whom he had received civilly, ' and courteously, and relieved generously if they were ' in want.' Ver. 6, " Which have borne witness of thy character be- fore the church." ' Some such persons, or some members of ' that church, had been at the place where St. John resided. ' And before the church they declared his good temper and ' liberality.' " Whom if thou bring forward on their jour- ney, after a godly sort, thou shalt do well," ' And it will ' be very commendable in you, if after this any other such ' persons should come to your city, you shall act in a like ' manner to them also, receiving them kindly, and forward- ' ing them in their way. This will be very becoming your ' christian profession.' Ver. 7, "Because that for his name's sake they went forth, taking- nothing of the Gentiles." We learn from Bede, that " there were in ancient times two interpretations of these words. ' For the name of ' Christ they went forth to preach the gospel. Or for the ' faith of Christ, and the profession of his name, they had ' left their native country, or had been expelled from it.' This ^ is the sense for which Dr. Heumann contends, and therefore often calls these strangers exiles. He supposeth these strangers to have been Gentile con- verts, who had forsaken their native country, or had been driven out of it, destitute of all things. However this place may be understood partly otherwise : ' That we who are christians ought to help these strangers ' in their difficulty, especially because they have not sought ' for relief among unbelieving Gentiles : though some even ' of them might have been disposed to give them assistance.' Grotius "^ explains the place in that manner. The same " Duabus autem ex causis pro nomine Domini sunt profecti, aut ad prae- dicandum videlicet nomen ejus proprie sponte venienfes, aut propter nomi- nis sancti fidem et confessionem a civibus seu contribubibus suis patria expulsi. Bed. in 3. Joann. Ep. " Nam exules ilii christiani e patria sua cum egressi sunt, nihil quidquam suorum bonorum acceperunt ab hostibus suis ilthnicis, sed coacti sunt abire sine ullo vitae subsidio, Heumann. ubi supr. p. 327. ^ Mtj^sv Xafij3avvvTtc cnro riov iGvotv. In manuscripto ano ruv tOviKwi/. I'otuerant in istacalamitateadjuvari misericord ia rwv4?w, •extraneorum.' St. John's three Epistles. 295 sense is likewise in Estius. Whose" note ii|)on tliis text I shall now transcribe at large, it being- well suited to illus- trate this epistle. Ver. 8, " We therefore ought to receive such, that we might be fellow-helpers to the truth." ' It should he an ' allowed maxim, that we are to show kindness to such : ' otherwise we do not act the part of christians, who ought ' to encourage those who have a zeal for truth.' Ver. 9, "1 Avrote to the church." Or "I should have written to the church," and therein to Diotrephes. But Diotrephes, who loveth to have the pre-eminence among them, receiveth us not." ' I know he would not pay a re- * gard to my directions.' Ver. 10, " Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds, which he does." That is, ' I y will remind him of ' his actions, and reprove and admonish him, in order ' to his amendment, of which I do not despair.' " Prat- ing against us with malicious words." He proceeded so far, as to speak of the apostle in a petulant manner. Perhaps he said, that though St. John did well in giving- out general rules for the practice of piety ; yet he had no right to intermeddle in particular cases, concerning which every one should judge for himself. "And not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church." ' Nor is that all. For he not only refuses to re- Sed maluerint omnia christianis debere. Grot, ad ver. 7. ' Nos ergo.' Nos christiaui ubique locorum o^eiXo/utv aTroXafifiavnv Manuscriptiis, tnroXafx- (iavuv ToiHTHQ : id vero est, opitulari. Id. ad ver. 8. •^ Quod ait apostolus, ' istos profectos pro nomine Jesu Chrisli,' potest bifariam exponi, ait Beda, videlicet, aut ut praedicaturi evangelium ejussponte sint profecti ad Gentiles convertendos, aut ut propter fideni et confessionem nominis Christi per contribules suos patria fuerint expulsi. Similiter, quod sequitur, * nihil accipientes a gentibus,' ambiguum est, an de gentibus ad fidem Christi jam conversis accipiendum sit, an de nondum conversis. Et uterquc sensus sua nititur probabilitate. Illo modo sensus est, quod hi, quamvis annuntiassent, et deinceps forent annuntiaturi gentibus evangelium sen fidem Christi, essentque jam complures gentilium eorum praedicatione conversi, nihil tamen ab iis exigere, velaccipere volucrint necessarise sustentationis, hac scili- cet de causa, ne quod offendiculura darent evangelio Christi De gentibus autem non conversis si scrmo sit, tunc significatur, quod isti percgrini, quam- vis egerent, quacumque tantum ex causa, nihil tamen ab hujusmodi gen- til ibus accipere, nedura petere, voluerint ; ne ii scandalizarentur, et longius a Christiana religione averterentur. Dixissent enim : Ecce nulla est caritas inter christianos Utraque expositio bene probabilis est. Nee satis liquet, utra sit praeferenda. Est. in 3. Joan. ver. 7. y Certe nihil aliud sibi vult apostolus, quam se more suo molissimum, placidissimumque in modum adraoniturum esse Diotrephen peccati sui, rec- tamque eiim revocaturum in viam. Heum. ib. p. 309. 296 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. ' ccivc and entertain these brethren, but he also discourages ' those who would relieve and entertain them. And thus ' he obligeth these strangers to leave your church, and go ' elsewhere.' By these last words most interpreters understand St. John to say, that Diotrephes excommunicated, or cast out of the church, " the brethren," members of it, who were for re- ceiving these stranoers. But Dr. Heumann says, that ^ by the persons whom Diotrephes cast out of the church, must be understood these strangers, not the members of the church. For, as plainly appears, Caiuswas not excommu- nicated, though he had done what was opposed by Diotre- phes. Nor need it be supposed, that all the strangers, here spoken of, were obliged to leave that place, or society. Diotrephes, it is true, discouraged their reception, and some might remove elsewhere. Others of them, however, might continue their abode there, encouraged by Caius and some other pious members of this church, who did not submit to the reasons or the orders of Diotrephes. In this interpretation it is supposed, that " casting out of the chu}'ch," refers not to the persons last mentioned, who would receive these strangers, but to " the strangers," whom Diotrephes would not have to be received. And Beausobre says, the ^ place may be so understood. Dr. ^ Universi videlicet, qui banc tractarunt epistolam, sibi persuaserunt, de- scribi his verbis illud poenae ecclesiasUcae genus, quod excommuuicatio vocari solet. Facile quidem poterat hie error agnosci. Nam primo, Caium, id, quod fieri nolebat Diotrephes, facientem, ab ipso non fuisse excoramunica- tum, in propatulo est. Sed age, rem totara mtueamur propius. Initio igi- tur considerandum quosnam ecclesia ejecerit Diotrephes. Ab omnibus, si Beausobrium excipiiLus, hoc refeitur ad propinquius, thq (SnXofitvag, hoc est, eos qui volebant exules hospitio excipere. Cum vero jam graves attulimus causas, cur non credi possit hos excommunica.tione ejecisse ecclesia, sequitur, ut statuamus, hcec verba, etc r/jc sKK^jmac tK(3n\Xti, pertinere ad remotius, ad fratres exules. His scilicet, dum nee ipse ex aerario aliquid irapertiebat, et aliis quoque, ut nihil ipsis darent, suadebat ac persuadebat, hoc ipso migrare eos cogebat alio, atque ita ' e sua expellebat ecclesia.' Nonerat igitur nostro loco neccsse excommunicationem tribuere Diotrephi. Sed satis evidens est id eum effecisse, quod omissam priorum exulum receptioncm necessario conse- quebatur, ut videlicet exiient ecclesia, aliamque peterent, opum pariter et mi- sericordis abundantiorem Apparet hinc etiam facile, cum volentes exulum misereri KioXevnv hie dicitur Diotrephes, non credi eum debere id vetuisse pro imperio, sed allatis duntaxat causis, cur fieri id non oportebat, mujtos ab hoc pietatis officio revocasse Atquc hoc ipsum nos admonet, verbo, tKlBaWiiv, non necessario significari, omnes illos exules revera abire coactas, sed id etiam recte usurpari de couatu Diotrephis id efficiendi. Heumann. ibid. p. 310—313. ' ' Les chasse de 1' eglise.' Cela se pent rapporter ou aux freres, ou a ceux qui les redolent, ou aux uns et aux autrcs. Sur ver. 10. St. John's three Epistles. 297 Heumann blames him for not saying that ^ it ought to be so understood. There have been various conjectures of learned men con- cerning the reasons of Diotrephes' conduct, Avhich I do not choose to take notice of now. Dr. Heumann supposeth, that Diotrephes had the disposal of the revenues of the church. There came to the place strangers, who needed relief. But Diotrephes opposed the distribution of any of the common stock, and also discouraged such as were will- ing to assist them with their own. For all which, as may be supposed, he assigned some reasons. This appears to me to have been the whole of the affair. But whether these strangers were Jews, or Gentiles, I cannot say. There might be some of both. Grotius " and Lampe*^ tliink they were Jews, who had been driven out of Palestine, or had been reduced to want by the general and grievous calamity of that country, and had come into Asia with hopes of relief, and for the sake of a settlement. Heumann, as before seen, says they were Gentiles. For certain they Avere christians. And St. John, I think, says, that we ought to receive such, whether they be of Jewish or Gentile stock, " that we may be fellow-helpers to the truth :" ' that we also may serve the interests of truth, ' for the sake of which these persons have suffered the loss * of all things.' Ver. 11, " Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good." Here the apostle exhorts Caius to persist in his good conduct, and to be upon his guard, not to be influenced by any bad examples. In the twelfth verse he recommends to him Demetrius, by whom, as may be supposed, this letter was carried. In the 13th and 14th verses he sends salutations, and speaks again of coming to the place Avhere Caius dwelled, and of " speaking with him face to face." Which 1 sup- pose he did. And I please myself with the supposition, that his journey '' Hie enim iu Gallica sua N. T. versione aniraadvertit, haec verba etiam ad remotius referri posse, hoc est, ad fratres exules. Debebat vero indul- gere meditationi, nee id relinquere dubium et incertum. Heura. ib. 311. note (p). "^ 'Yntp TH ovo/xaTog avrn i^rikQov' id est, a Judaea ejeeti sunt per Ju- d I OS incredulos ob Christum. Grot, ad ver. 7. ^ Unde colligimus, peregrinos hos, quorum causam Joannes tarn impense egit, fuisse Judaeos ex Palaestina cum eo profugos, qui pro se aliisque, per to- talem regionis illius devastationem ad summam egestatem, redactis, opem ecclesiarum Asiae florentium implorabant. Lamp. Proleg. 1. 1. c. 7, num. xvi. 298 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. was not m vain. I imagine, tbat Diotrcphes submitted, and acquiesced in the advices and admonitions of the apos- tle. Of this I have no certain assurance. However 1 may add, that neitlier does any one else know the con- trary. VI. Concerning- the time of writing these two epistles, nothing can be said with certainty. Mill "^ placeth them about the same time with the first, in 91 or 92. Whis- ton *^ likewise supposeth that they were all three written about the year 82 or 83. I imagine that St. John was somewhat advanced in age, and that he had resided a good while in Asia, before he wrote any of these epis- tles. Consequently, 1 am disposed to think that these two were not written sooner than the first. And as it was before s argued, that the first epistle was written about the year 80, these two may be reckoned to have been written between the years 80 and 90. CHAP. XXI, ST. JUDE AND HIS EPISTLE. I. His history. II. Testimonies to the genuineness of the epistle, lil. To ic horn it 2V as sent. IV. The time when it icas icritten. 1. THE writer describes himself in this manner at the beginning of the epistle, ch. i. ver. 1, " Jude,^ the ser- vant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James." Those two characters lead us to think that he was one of those called the Lord's brethren, and that he was an ajjostle. Our Lord's brethren, as enumerated in Matt. xiii. o5, are " James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas." In Mark vi. 3, " James, and Joses, and Judas, and Simon." And in the catalogues of the apostles are these. Matt. x. 3, " James the son of Alpheus, and Lebbeus, whose sur- « Proleg. num. 151. ^ As before, p. 278. 8 See above, p. 27?. " la^aQ, Irias Xfu-ru dnXoi;, ndiX^OQ di Io/fw/38. St. Jude, and his Epistle. 299 name was Tliaddeus. Simon the Canaanite." Mark iii. 18, " James the sou of Alpheiis, and Tliaddeus, and Simon tlie Canaanite." Luke vi. 15, 16, "James the son of Alpheus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James." Acts i. 13, " James the son of Alpheus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James." Thus he appears to have been sometimes called Judas, at other times Tliaddeus, or Lebbeus. As I do not in- quire into the meaning- and origin of these names, I re- fer to ^ others. I only observe, that it was no unconmion thing- among- the Jews for a man to have different names, as Simon, sometimes called Simeon, at other times Peter, or Cephas. And Thomas was also called Didymus. " Jude, servant of Jesus Christ." He does not thereby deny himself to be an apostle. St. Paul does not always take upon himself that character at the beginning- of his epistles. It is wanting- in his two epistles to the Thessalo- nians, in the epistles to the Philippians and to Philemon. The epistle to the Philippians begins in this manner ; " Paul and Timothy, servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus, which are at Philippi." It follows. " And brother of James :" meaning- James, sometimes called the Lord's brother, and son of Alpheus, one of the twelve apostles. And he does fitly so style him- self, as that James was the eldest brother, and was of note among- the apostles, after our Saviour's ascension, and in great repute among the Jewish believers. As appears from Acts xii. 17 ; xv ; xxi. 18 — 25 ; and Gal. i. 19 ; ii. 9. We have no account of Jude's vocation to the apostle- ship. Nor is there any thing- said of him particularly in the g-ospels, except what is related in John xiv. 21 — 23, in the account, which that evangelist has given of our Lord's most excellent and affectionate discourses w ith the disciples a short time before his last suffering-. " He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me. And he that loveth me, shall be loved of my Father. And I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith luito him, not Iscariot : Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself to us, and not unto the world! Jesus an- swered, and said unto him : If a man love me, he will keep my words. And my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." This disciple still had the common prejudice concerning- '' See Lightfoot's Hebrew and Talmud ical Exercitations upon St. Matfhcw, Vol. II. p. 176. Witsii Comm. in ep. Judae. num. ii. Cave's Life of St. Jude, in English. Dr. Benson's Preface to this epistle, sect. i. 300 A History of the Apostles and Evanyelists. the kingdom of the Messiah. And he asks our Saviour with surprise, how he could speak of manifesting himself to a few only, when he was about to set up an universal mo- narchy in great power and splendour? our Lord tells him (what he might have known before) that his kingdom, as Messiah, was spiritual,akingdomof truth and righteousness: and that the blessings and privileges of it were peculiar to good men, who obeyed the precepts of true religion, which had been taught by him. Such would be accepted, and approved by himself, and by his heavenly Father, in whose name he had spoken. This they would all know, when he should come again among* them, after his resurrec- tion, and M'hen the gift of the Spirit should be bestowed upon them, and others his followers. As there is little said of Jude in the history of our Saviour before his resurrection, so St. Luke in the Acts has inserted nothing particularly concerning him after it. However, it is unquestionable that he partook of the plentiful effusion of the Holy Ghost at the pentecost next after our Lord's ascension : and that he joined with the other apostles in bearing an open testimony to our Lord's resurrection at Jerusalem : and that he had a share with them in the re- proaches and other sufferings, which they endured upon that account. It may be also reasonably supposed, that for a while he preached the gospel in several parts of the land of Israel, and wrought miracles in the name of Christ. But what tliey were, we cannot say, because they are not recorded by St. Luke nor any other credible historian near the time. As his life seems to have been prolonged, it may be also reckoned very likely, that he afterwards left Judea, and went abroad, preaching the gospel to Jews and Gentiles in other countries. But we have no account of his travels, that can be relied on. Some have said, that he preached in Arabia, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Persia: and that he suf- fered martyrdom in this last-mentioned country. But of these things there remains not any credible history. Indeed, it may be questioned, whether St. Jude was a martyr. It was formerly observed J)y "^ us, that Ileracleon, a learned Valentinian, as cited by Clement of Alexandria, reckons '' among apostles, who had not died by martyrdom, *= See Vol. V. ch. v. note ''. '' Oy yap TravTiQ oi o-w^o/itvoi w/xoXoy»jcrav Tt]V Sue ttiq (pwvt]Q OfjioXoyiat', Kill tKii^Oov' I'i aiv MaTOaiOQ, ' Jude ' who wrote a catholic epistle, did not stylo himself at the ' beginning- of it, brother of the Lord, though h<' was relat- ' ed to him, but "Jude the servant of Jesus Christ, and ' brother of James." ' Which observation serves to show whom Clement took to be the writer of this epistle. He supposed him to be one of them, who are called the Lord's brethren. Matt, xiii. 55; Mark vi. 3; and an apostle. See Luke vi. 16. In that Adun)bration follow brief remarks upon almost every verse of the epistle, except the last, or twenty-lifth verse. It might be observed likewise, that in that place Clement declares his opinion concerning those called the Lord's bre- thren, that they were children of Joseph. This epistle is also quoted expressly l)y Clement in two of his works, which remain entire, the Pedagogue or In- structor, and the Stromata or Miscellanies. In the Pedagog-ue he speaks to this purpose : " I will'^ that ye should know," says Jude, " that God having- once saved the people out of Egypt, afterwards destroyed them that believed not. And the angels, which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he * has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day." And afterwards, he emphatically describes the characters of those who are judged. " Woe unto them, for they have walked in the May of Cain, and run greedily in the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gain- saying of Core." Jude, ver. 5, 0, and 11. In his Stromata, Clement writes to this purpose: 'Of' ' these, and the like heretics, I think, Jude spoke propheti- ' oally in his epistle :' " Likewise also these dreamers," and what follows, to " And their mouth speaketh great swelling- words :" that is, from ver. 8, to ver. 16. And that manner of quoting shows, that the epistle was in the hands of many people, or of all christians in general, to be cons»dted by them. ^ Judas, qui catholicam scripsit epistolam, frater filiorum Joseph, extans valde religiosus, quum sciret propinquitatem Domini, non tamea dixit, se ipsum fratrem ejus esse. Sed quid dixit? 'Jacobus, servus Jesu Christi,' utpote Domini, ' frater autem Jacobi.' Adumbrat. in epist. Judse. p. 1007. ed. Oxon. ^ Paed. I. 3. p. 239. Cetjfioig cticwig vtto i^ocpov aypuov [al. ayiojj/-] ayyi\o)v TtTr)(ii]Ktv. Etti reTojv, oifxai, Km rwv ofjioiuiv a'lpifftwv Trpo^jjnicwe laSav ti>Ty (niToXy fipi]Ktvaf 'Ofioitog fiivroi nai srot ivvTrvia^ofitvoC 6 yafi {nrtp Ty rtX»/0a^ iiriflaX- Xumv iojg, km ro'rof.ia avrwv\a\Hv:ripoyKa. Strom. 1. 3. p. 431. A. B. VOL. VI. X 306 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. I have been thus prolix in rehearsing- these passages of Clement. For they appear to me a sufficient proof of the antiquity and genuineness of this epistle : or that it was written by Jude, one of Christ's twelve apostles. However I would also refer those of my readers, who are willing- to look back, to Clement's testimony to this, and to the other catholic epistles, as formerly observed in*" his chapter. In Tertullian, about the year 200, is but one quotation of this epistle. But it is very express : ' Hence'' it is, says he, ' that Enoch is ciuoted by the apostle Jude.' Intending the 14th verse of the epistle, and making no doubt, that the M riter was an apostle. In Origen, about the year 230, are divers plain quotations of St. Jude's epistle. In his Commentaries upon St. Matthew, M'hich we havestill in Greek, having- taken notice of the words of Matth. xiii. 55, 56, beside other remarks, he says, ' that ^ James is the same ' whom Paul mentions in the epistle to the Galatians, ashav- ' ing' been seen by him.' Gal. i. 19. He also observes a passage, said to be in the Antiquities of Josephus, relating to the same James. Then he adds : ' And ^ Jude wrote an ' epistle, of few lines indeed, but full of the powerful words ' of the heavenly grace, who at the beginning says : " Jude ' the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James." ' These passages are of use to show us whom Origen took to be the writer of this epistle. Again, in the same Commentaries. ' And s in the epistle ' of Jude : " To them that are " beloved [or sanctified] in ' God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ and call- ' ed." ' Once more, in the same Greek Commentaries upon St. Matthew's gospel, having quoted 1 Pet. i. 12, he says: ' But '' if any one receives also the epistle of Jude, let him * consider what will follow from what is there said : " And ' the angels, which kept not their first estate, but left their <= See Vol. li. p. 242—245. '' Eo accidit, quod Enoch apud Judam apostolum testimonium perhibet. De Cultu Fem. 1 1. cap. 3. p. 172. A. * laKw[ioQ Si f-iv ovTOQ, ov Xtyti UavXog iiStiv tv ry Trpog TaXarag tni'ToXy, HTTwv K. X. Comment, in Matt. p. 223. C. Heut. p. 463. B. T. 3. Bened. ' Kai IsSag lypaxptv £7rtco\»;v, oXiyoTixov fJ-iv, TrnrXiqciuntvrjV Si twv Trig upaviH ;^ap^^o£; fppiojxivojv Xoyuiv, vTig iv t'i) 7rpooi/xt(;j npr]Kiv' InSac, lt}(rs XpizH SnXog, aciX(t>og C£ IaKw/3«. Ibid. p. 223. D. al. p. 4G3. D. " Kai IV ry luCa nrizoXy, roig iv 0( See p. 159, of this volume. " P. 304. " P 196. p H. E. 1. 2. c. 23. p. 66. C. X 2 308 A History of the Apostles and Evancjelisfs. ' ever we know, that "^ these also are commonly used ' [or publicly read] in most churches, together with the ' rest.' That passage needs no comment This epistle was generally received in the time of Eusebius, though not by all. Lucifer of Cagliari in Sardinia, about 354, has ^ quoted almost the whole of this epistle. He quotes it expressly, as written^ by the excellent apostle Jude, brother of the apostle James. I need not particularly mention more authors. For after the time of Eusebius, seven catholic epistles were generally received by all christians, Greeks, and Latins. St. Jude's epistle therefore, as well as the rest, Avas received by Atha- nasius, Cyril of Jerusalem, Epiphanius, Didymus of Alex- andria, Jerom, Rufinus, the third council of Carthage. Au- gustine, Isidore of Pelusium, Cyril of Alexandria, and others, whose names may be seen in the alphabetical table in the last volume, under the article of seven catholic epistles. But ' it was not received by the Syrians. And it may not be amiss to observe here, that we have found this epistle oftener quoted by writers who lived before the time of Eusebius, than the epistle of St. James. Of the authors above named there are two, of whom I would take some farther notice. Epiphanius, about 368, in his heresy of the Gnostics, ex- pressly ' cites " the catholic epistle of the apostle Jude, bro- ' ther of James, and of the Lord, written by inspiration.' This epistle is received by Jerom, as written by the apos- tle Jude, as may be recollected by those who have read his chapter in the fourth volume of this work. Where," in his letter to Paulinus, he says, 'The apostles James, Peter, ' John, Jude, wrote seven epistles, of few words, but full of ' sense.' And in the chapter of St. Jude, in his Catalogue of Ec- clesiastical Writers, he says: ' Jude,'"^ brother of James, left '^ 'O/iojQ h ifffiiv Kcu -avrac f^ira tojv Xonrwv ev TrXiiraic dtStJUOaitvfiet'n^ iKicXtjfTiaic. Ibid. "■ See Vol. iv. ch. xci. * Cum exhortetur Judas, gloriosus apostolus, frater Jacobi apostoli, &c. Ap. Bib. PP; T. IV. p. 227. C— E. ' See Vol. iv. ch. ciii. Vol. v. p. 9G, 97. " 'Qq kcu TTipi Turwv, oifiai, tKivrjOr] to aytor Trvtvfia tv t(j> aTroToXy laSq., \tywv ct IV ry vn uvth yparptiag KadoXiKij tmzoXy. InSag St iTiv ovroQ, 6 attX^oQ Ia/cw/3a Krai Kvpis Xtyo/Jiivoc- H. 2(>. n. xi. p. 92. D. ' Vol. iv. ch. cxiv. num. v. " Ibid. num. viii. 8. St. Jude, ami his Epistle. 309 * a short epistle, which is one of tlie seven called catholic. ' But " because of a quotation from a book of Enoch, ' which is apocryphal, it is rejected by many. However at ' length it has obtained authority, and is reckoned among ' the sacred scriptures.' There is some inaccuracy in Jerom's manner of expres- sion. For a book to be at the same time rejected by the most or many, and to be reckoned among the sacred scrip- tures, are inconsistent. But it might have been properly said: 'that whereas it had been rejected by many, because * of a quotation from an apocryphal book; it had at length * obtained authority, and was reckoned among the sacred ' scriptures.' Many learned meny have carefully considered this diffi- culty. But as the ancients overcame it, and at length ad- mitted the authority of this epistle, perhaps it might have been passed over as a thing of no great consequence. In- deed, if there is a credible testimony to any book, or epistle, that it was written by an apostle, such a passage need not cause much hesitation. Origen has an observation in one of his Latin tracts. ' St. Paul ''■ says : as Jannes and Jambres * withstood Moses. This is not found in the public scrip- ' tures, but in a secret book, entitled Jannes and Jambres. * For which reason some have been so daring, as to argue ' against that epistle of Timothy, though in vain.' For cer- tain such an objection could be of little weight against so well attested a writing as St. Paul's second epistle to Timo- thy. Nor ought it to weigh much in this case. I might conclude here. But for the sake of some, shall add the two follow ing observations. 1. It is not certain that St. Jude cites any book. He only says, that'' " Enoch prophesied, saying. The Lord com- " Et quia de libro Enoch, qui apocryphus est, in eaassumitur testimonium, a plerisque rejicitur. Tamen auctoritatem vetustate jam et usu meruit, et inter sanctas scripturas computatur. De V. 1. cap. iv. y Beausobre and L'Enfant in their Preface to the epistle of St. Jude. Dr. Benson in his Preface to this epistle, sect. i. and many others. ^ Item quod ait, ' sicut Jamnes et Mambres restiterunt Mosi,' non inveni- tur in publicis scripturis, sed in libro secreto, qui suprascribitur Jamnes et Mambres. Unde ausi sunt quidam epistolam ad Timotheum repellere, quasi habentem in se textum alicujus secreti. Sed non potuerunt. In Matt. Tract. 35. p. 193, tom. II. Basil. Et in hoc opere, Vol. ii. ch. xxxviii. num. xxv. 14. ■" Verum quicqiiid et vetustis patribus et recentioribus quibusdam videatur, non potest ullo mihi pacto probari, Judam apostolum ex libro scripto tempo- ribus ejus extante, tritaque prophetia suum illud vaticinium deprompsisse. Nam primo id Judas non testatur. Qui simpliciter habet, irgoKpnTivat. Pro- phetiam scriptis ab eo consignatam esse non dicit. J. H. Heidegger. Hist.Patr. Exercita. x. de Prophetia Enochi. sect. v. tom. I. p. 271. 310 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. eth with ten thousands of his saints." Which '' might be words of a prophecy, preserved by tradition, and inserted occasionally in divers writings. Nor is there good evidence, that in St. Jude's time there was extant any book entitled Enoch, or Enoch's Prophecies, though there was such a book in the hands of christians in the second and third cen- turies. 3Ioreover St. Jude might ascribe to Enoch what it is reasonable to believe was the import of his prophecy. I transcribe here an observation, M'hich I have met with : ' St. Jude " in his epistle, from the circumstances of the men ' and the manners of the people to whom Enoch preached, ' gathered what might be the sum of Enoch's preaching, in ' this sort. " Behold the Lord cometh.'' How ? As at the ' giving of the law, " with thousands of his angels, to give 'judgment against all men, and to rebuke all the ungodly ' among them of all their wicked deeds, which they have ' ungodly committed, and of all their cruel speakings, which ' wicked sinners have spoken against him." Upon which ' words the Greeks, not knowing the course of the Hebrews ' in their feigned speeches, imagined, that Enoch left a book ' of his preaching behind him.' Grotius*^ has somewhat to the like purpose. And J. H. Heidegger*" approved of this manner of inter- At neque dicit Judas Henochum ita scripsisse ; neque in libro qui Henochi dicitur, prophetiae hujus vel vola vel vestigium reperitur. Imo credibile est, Judas setate suppositium hunc librum ne quidem in rerum natura fuisse sed a putido et portenso nescio quo Cabbalista Gi-ascanico, vel ab haeretico, et sciolo aliquo Christum professo, sub Henochi nomine procusum esse. Witsius in ep. Jud. num. xli. p. 502. ^ Alii denique verisimilius arbitrantur, habuisse Judam ex nota et confessa eo tempore traditione, quam veram esse Spiritu magistro cognovit, dignamque judicavit, quam sua hac epistola consecraret seternitati. Cui sententiae ego quoque hactenus acquiesco. Wits, ubi supr. num. xli. p. 503. "= The General Review of the Holy Scriptui'es, p. 38, by Thomas Hayne, London, 1640, folio. "* Solebant Rabbini et angelis et magnis hominibus tribuere ea verba, quae verisimiliter dicere potuenmt. Tale illud quod de Enocho habebimus, et illud quod Heb. xii. 21. et Actor, vii. 20, &c. Grot. ap. S. Jud. ver. 9. Solebant, ut modo dixi, Rabbini et angelis et viris magnis tribuere ea dicta, quae dixisse poterant. Id. ad ver. 14. Quod tunc Enoch aut dixit, aut dicere potuit, imminente diluvio, idem Judas ad ingentem illam internecionem, quae Judaeis conturaacibus immine- bat, referre commode potuit. Id. ib. ad ver. 15. * Dtstinguendum accurate est inter fundamentum prophetiae, et ejus formu- 1am. Fundamentum quod attinet, est illud totam tyypa Life of St. Jude, in English, p. 205. • Michael autem hk troKfirjat, non ' sustinuit,' non induxit aninium, impin- gere illi notam maledicti, id est, ulfionem maledicendo sumere. Non quod timucrit diaboluni, sed quod ex decoro omnia agere volueiit. Wits. Comm. in Ep. Juda;, ver. 9. p. 480. •' See Vol. ii. eh. xxxviii. num. xiv. a citation from Origen's Books of Principles. ' Probabile nobis videtur, Judam scripsisse TrfpexH Ii/itk mofiaro^, ethodier- St. Jude, and his Epistle. 313 this text of St. Jude. Instead of " the body of Moses," he would read " the body of Joshua." That is ingenious. Nevertheless the common reading may be right, and may be explained very agreeably to the passage of Zechariah. For, according to an interpretation of that vision, formerly "^ taken from Ephrcm the Syrian, Joshua, the high-priest, there denotes tlie Jewish people. Whom St. Jude might call " the body of Moses," as christians are called " the body of Christ" by St. Paul, 1 Cor. xii. 20, 25, 27; Eph. i. 23, and iv. 12, 16; Col. i. 18. The same interpretation was proposed some while ago, and well supported in a Disser- tation of a learned writer, mIio was not acquainted with Ephrem." Once more. St. Jude says, ver. 6, "And the angels, which kept not their first estate, but left their own habita- tion, he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." To which there is a parallel place in 2 Pet. ii. 4. The learned writer, above quoted, observes, that" neither here have these apostles a reference to any Jewish apocryphal book, but to some text of sacred scripture, or of the Old Testament. But he then deferred showing the place. Nor do I know that these texts ever came in his way afterwards. I wish they had. For I also am much inclined to believe, that in all these places the apostles referred to passages of the Old Testament. This may assist us in forming a judgment concerning the opinion p of the bishop of London, that St. Jude in his epis- nam lectionem esse a manu imperitioris bibliographi, qui, cum nihil ia Scrip- turis memorabile legisset de ' corpore Josuae,' sed contra ex Historia Sacra intellexisset, quid circa ' corpus Mosis ' singulare accidisset, nee interea de loco Zachariae oogitaret, Josuae nonien in illud Mosis commutavit. Sed quam certum est, Judam his verbis respexisse locum ilium Zachariae, tarn quoque certum est, non scripsisse, Michaelem disputasse cum Diabolo de * corpore Mosis.' Imo ex eadem ratione liquidissime patet, Judam, quae hie habet ' de corpore Mosis,' non desumpsisse ex apocrypho aliquo Juda'ici ingenii, in quo banc fabulam ofiendisset. Respexit Judas, ut jam dixi, ad locum Zacha- riae, et inde recte evicit, Satanae, potentissimi angeli, ab ipso principe angeloruni Michaele in judicio in ipsum proferendo magnam habitam esse rationem : ac proin muito minus * potestates ' et ' glorias,' hoc est, potentissimos principes, licet malos, nobisque adversos, a nobis esse vilipendendos. Campeg. Vitrmg. Observ. Sacr. 1. 4. cap. ix. n. 35. p. 1003, 1004. "" See Vol. iv. ch. cii. num. vi. 6. " See Bib. Raisonnee, tom. XXXI. P. II. art. i. p. 243—269. " Quid Petrus et Judas per alterum illud exemplum ' angelorum,' qui ' pecca- verunt, principio et domicilio suo derelicto,' intenderint, et ad quam partem Historise Sacrae respexerint, (ad Historiam enim Sacram respexisse certum est,) nunc praetermitto, alia forsitan occasione commodiore indicandum. Id. ib. num. 35. p See his Dissertation concerning the authority of the second epistle of St. Peter. And here in this Volume, p. 257. 314 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. tie, and St. Peter in the second chapter of his second epis- tle, copied or imitated some Hebrew writer, who had left behind him a description of the false prophets of his own or former times. Which indeed is ingenions, and plausible. Nevertheless 1 think, such conjectures ought not to be pre- sently received as certain. St. Peter, and St. Jude, and all the christians in genei'al of their time, had before them the scriptures of the Old Testament. Many of the cases refer- red to by these apostles are evidently found there, such as Cain, Korah, Balaam, the people of Sodom. And why should not the other instances be taken thence likewise? If they are, I presume, the argument would be more forcible will) all, than otherwise it would have been. Nor does the resemblance of style in St. Peter and Jude afford a conclu- sive argument that they both borrowed from some one Jew- ish author. The similitude of the subject might produce a resemblance of style. The design of St. Peter and St. Jude Avas to condemn some loose and erroneous christians, and to caution others against them. When speaking of the same sort of persons, their style and figures of speech >vould have a great agreement. And certainly I think that the apostles needed not any other assistance in confuting and exposing corrupt christians, than their own inspiration, and an ac- quaintance with the ancient scriptures of the Jewish church. III. We are now to consider to whom this epistle was sent. Witsius says, it^ was written to all christians every where, but especially to christians converted from Judaism : foras- much as St. Jude refers to Jewish writings and traditions. Moreover he wrote to the same christians to whom Peter wrote, who were such as had been Jews. To the like pur- pose ^ Estius. Hammond ^ says, the epistle was written to the Jews scat- 1 Episfola hsec christianis quidem universim, et potissimum Hebraeis scripta est. li quibus scripta est epistola, illis designantur epithetis, quae sine Gen- tium distinctione christianis omnibus competunt ; quainvis credibile sit, potis- simum eos spectari, qui ex Israeiitis in Christo crediderant. lis enim saepiuscule argumentis utitur, quae ex Judaeorum libris, vel etiam traditionibus, desumpta sunt. Videnturque prorsus iidem esse curn illis, quos Petrus posteriore sua epistola compellat. Wits. Comment, in ep. Jud. sect. viii. p. 460. *■ Porro verisimile est, ad eosdem scriptam esse, ad quosscripsit B. Petrus, id est, ad eos praecipue, qui ex circumcisione crediderant. Id ipsum indicant ilia verba versus 5. ' Commonere autem vos volo, scientes semel omnia.' Nam id aptissime Judaeis dicitur, a prima aetata imbutis cognitione historiac sacrae. Est. Argum. in Ep. Jud. " Videtur autem, sicut epislolae Jacobi et Petri, scripta fuisse ad Judaeos dispcrsionis, christianam religionem amplexos, ut confimiarentur contra pravas St, Judc, and his Epistle. 315 tered abroad, who believed the christian religion, to secure them against the errors of the Gnostics. Dr. Benson ^ thinks that St. Jude wrote to Jewish chris- tians, as his brother James had done, and, most probably, to the Jews of the western dispersion. Let us now observe the inscription of the epistle in the Avriter's own words. "Jnde, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called," ver. 1. And ver. 3, " Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation : it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should ear- nestly contend for the faith, wliich was once delivered unto the saints." These expressions, as seems to me, lead us to think, that the epistle was designed for the use of all in general who had embraced the christian reliofion. And if St. Jude writes to the same people to whom St. Peter wrote, that is a far- ther argument for this supposition. For that St. Peter Avrote to all christians in general, in the countries named at the beginning' of his first epistle, was shown " formerly. IV. We now come to the last point, the time of writing- this epistle. Here I shall observe the opinions of several. Dr. Benson's opinion is, ' that " this epistle was written ' before the destruction of Jerusalem, a few Mceks, or * months, after the second epistle of St. Peter : forasmuch ' as the state of things, as represented in both these epistles, ' is very much the same.' Mill's conjecture is, thaf^ this epistle was written about the year of Christ 90. But, as he says, there are no clear evidences of the exact time when it was written. Dodwell,'' whom Cave y follows, argues, that this epistle was written soon after the destruction of Jerusalem, in the year 71, or 72. But the reasonings of those learned men are far from being conclusive. L'Enfant and Beausobre Avere of opinion, that^ this epistle (locfrinas Gnosticorum, qui tunc temporis exorti sunt. Hammond. Admonit. in ep. Judae. Ex versione Cleiici. ' Preface to this ep. sect. ii. p. 44G. See also his paraphrase of ver. 1. " See before, p. 260, &c. ^ Preface to the epistle of St. Jude, sect. iii. p. 448. " Fortasse quidem circa annum vulgaris aerae xc. Verum de ipso praeciso tempore nihil habemus explorate. Proleg. num. 147. * Diss. Iren. i. num. xiv. ' H. L. in S. Juda. ^ On ne se trompera pas en pla^ant cette epitre entre les annees 70 et 75 de r ere chretienne. Pref sur 1' epitre de S. Jude. 316 A History of the Apostles ami Evanyelists. may be placed with great probability between the year 70, and the year 75. AVitsius thinks it ^ was written in this apostle's old age, and in the last age of the apostles of Christ, and when few, or perhaps none of them, were living-, besides St. John. To the like purpose "^ Estius. Qilcumenius in his note upon ver. 17, 18, of this epistle, " Remember the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ : that they told you there should be mockers in the last time," — ' Meaning,' says he, ' by "^ Peter in his second epistle, and by Paul in almost all ' his epistles. Hence it is evident, that he wrote late, after ' the decease of the apostles.' If St. Jude referred here to St. Peter's second epistle, it must be allowed that he had seen it, and wrote after St. Peter : which indeed is the opinion of many. So fficume- nius appears to have thought. So also says ^ Estius. Dr. Benson expresseth himself after this manner : ' that "^ it seems ' highly probable, that St. Jude had seen and read the se- ' cond epistle of St. Peter. For there are found in St. Jude ' several similar passages, not only to those in the second ' chapter of the second of St. Peter, but also in the other ' parts of that epistle.' Nevertheless, I must still say, this appears to me doubtful. For it seems very unlikely that St. Jude should write so similar an epistle if he had seen St. Peter's. In that case St. Jude would not have thought it needful for him to m rite at all. If he had formed a design of writing-, and had met with an epistle of one of the apostles, very suitable to his own thoughts and intentions, 1 think he would have for- borne to M'rite. Indeed the great agreement in subject and design between these two epistles affords a strong- argument that they were * Tempus scriptae hiijus epistolae, uti ad postremam apostolorum setaftni referendum est, quod colligitur ex ver. 17, ita ad extremam quoque Judae senectutem pertinet, &c. Wits, in Jud. num. ix. '' Cseterum apoitolis fuit posterior, non omnibus, sed plerisque jam ante vita defunctis, ut Petro, et Paulo, et Jacobo. Nam Joannes adhuc supererat. Est. ad Jud. ver. 17. '^ VTTO TU)V aTTOToKuv' TOiV VITO YliTpH tV Ty ScVTCf)^ fTTlToX^, KOI illtO llav\n tv iraay /Xor, on eaxuTOV [itra to iraptX- Oeiv Tfi^ anoToXuQ, typarpt ravra. fficum. T. II. p. 633. D. '^ Convenit argumentum hujus epistolae cum iis, quae B. Petrus scribit in secunda epistola, praesertmi capite 2, et initio tertii. Nam quae hie scribuntur, adeo cum illis similia sunt, ut hujus auctor S. Judas earn non solum legisse videatur, verum etiam, partini contraliendo, partim extendendo, partim iisdem vocihus et sententiis utendo, imitatus f'uis?et. Est. Argum. Vid. cund. ad ver. epistolae 17. * Preface to St. Jude, sect. iii. St. Jade, and his Epistle. 317 written about the same time. As therefore I have placed the second epistle of St. Peter in the year 64, 1 am induced to place this epistle of St. Jude in the same year, or soon after, in 65 or 66. For there was exactly the same state of things in the christian church, or in some part of it, when both these epistles were >vritten. I do not insist upon the expression, "in the last time," which is in ver. 18. Some would understand thereby the last period of the Jewish state and constitution, immediately preceding- the destruction of Jerusalem. But I cannot in- terpret the phrase, *' the last time," in Jude, or " the hist days," in St. Peter iii. 3, in so limited a sense. 1 think that thereby must be meant the days of the Messiah, or the late ages of the world. However, undoubtedly, that exhortation, ver. 17 and 18, " But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before by the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ : that they told you there should be mockers in the last time :" do imply, as Witsius and Estius observe, that it was then the last age of the apostles : when several of them had left the world, and few of them were still surviving. Which Avell suits the date before mentioned, the year 64, or 65, or 66. When St. Jude adviseth the christians to recollect, " and be mindful of the words of the apostles of Christ," he may intend their preaching, which these christians had heard, or the writings of apostles, which they had read, and had in their hands. Such discourses of St. Paul may be seen recorded in Acts xx. 29, 30. And he writes to the like purpose 1 Tim. iv. 1^ — 5, and 2 Tim. iii. and iv. They who suppose that St. Jude had seen and read the second epistle of St. Peter, must think that he refers also to 2 Pet. ch. iii. 1 — 5. There are some other expressions in this epistle which may deserve to be here taken notice of by us. Ver. 3, "It was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you, that you should earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints ;" and ver. 5, " 1 will therefore put you in re- membrance, though ye once knew this." These expres- sions seem to imply, that now some considerable time had passed, since the whole scheme of the christian doctrine had been published to the world, and since the persons to whom the apostle is writing were first instructed in it. Upon the whole, as before said, this epistle might be writ- ten in the year of Christ 64, or 65, or 66. 318 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. CHAP. XXII. THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN. I. Its genuineness shoivn from testimony. II, From inter- nal characters. III. Its time. I. WE are now come to the last book of the New Testa- ment, the Revelation : about which there have been differ- ent sentiments among- christians, many receiving" it as the writing of John, the aj)ostIe and evangelist, others ascrib- ing- it to John a presbyter, others to Cerinthus, and some rejecting it without knowing to whom it should be as- cribed. I shall therefore here rehearse the testimony of ancient christians, as it ariseth in several ages. It is probable, that Hernias had read the book of the Re- velation, and imitated it. He has many things resembling- it, vol. ii. p. 69 — 72. It is referred to by the martyrs at Lyons, p. 164. There is reason to think it was received by Papias, p. 118, 123. Justin Martyr, about the year 140, Avas acquainted with this book, and received it, as written by the apostle John. For in his dialogue with Trypho he expressly says: ' And a man from among* us, by name * John, one of the apostles of Christ, in the revelation made * to him, has prophesied, that the believers in our Christ * shall live a thousand years in Jerusalem, and after that ' shall be the general, and, in a word, the eternal resurrcc- ' tion and judgment of altogether,' p. 136, 137. To this very passage we suppose Eusebius to refer in his ecclesias- tical history, when giving' an account of Justin's works, he observes to this purpose : ' He also mentions the Revelation * of John, expressly calling it the apostle's.* See p. 137, note (s ) Among the works of Melito, bishop of Sardis, one of the seven churches of Asia, about the year 177, Euse- bius mentions one, entitled, ' Of the Revelation of John,* p. The Revelulion. 319 159. It is very probable, (liat Melito ascribed this book to the apostle of that name, and esteemed it a book of canoni- cal authority. Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons in Gaul, about 178, who in his younger days was acquainted with Poly- carp, often quotes this book as ' the Revelation of John, ' the disciple of the Lord,' p. 181. And in one place he says : ' It was seen not long- ago, but almost in our age, at ' the end of the reign of Domitian.' Ibid. And see p. 167. Theophilus was bishop of Anlioch about 181. Eusebius, speakings of a work of his against the heresy of Ilermo- genes, says, ' he therein made use of testimonies or cjuoted passages, from John's Apocalypse,' p. 204. The book of the Revelation is several times quoted by Clement of Alex- andria, who flourished about 194, and once in this manner : ' Such an one, though here on earth he is not honoured with ' the first seat, shall sit upon the four and twenty thrones ' judging the people, as John says in the Revelation,' p. 245. TertuUian, about the year 200, often quotes the Revelation, and supposeth it to have been written by St. John, the same who wrote the first epistle of John, universally received, p. 295. Again ; ' the apostle John in the Apocalypse de- ' scribes a sharp two-edged sword coming- out of the mouth * of God,' ibid. He also says, ' We have churches, that are ' disciples of John. For though Marcion rejects the Reve- * lation, the succession of bishops, traced to the original, will 'assure us, that John is the author:' ibid. By John un- doubtedly meaning- the apostle. From Eusebius we learn, that Apollonins, who wrote against the Montanists about the year 211, quoted the Re- velation, p. 393. By Caius, about the year 212, it was as- scribed to Cerinthus, p. 401. It was received by Hippoly- tus, about the year 220, p. 43G, and by Origen about 230, p. 495. It is often quoted by him. He seems not to have had any doubt about its genuineness. In his commentary upon St. John's gospel, he speaks of it in this manner: * Therefore John, the son of Zebedee, says in the Revelation,' p. 512. Se also p. 513, 577. Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria, about the year 247, or somewhat later, wrote a book ag-ainst the Millenarians, in which he allows the Revelation to be written by John, a holy and divinely inspired man. But he says ' he cannot ' easily grant him to be the apostle, the son of Zebedee, ' whose is the gospel according to John, and the catholic ' epistle,' p. 694. He rather thinks it may be the work of John, an elder, who also lived at Ephesus, in Asia, as well 320 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. as the apostle, p. 695. See likewise p. 718, 719, 720. More- over, it appears from a conference, Avhich Dioiiysius had with some Millenarians, that the Revelation was about the year 240, and before, received by Nepos, an Ef^yptian bishop, and by many others in that country, p. 654, 692, 693, and that it was in great reputation, p. 718, 719. It was received by Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, about 248, and by the church of Rome in his time, vol. iii. p. 47, 48, and by divers Latin authors, whose history is written in the third volume of this work. As may be seen in the alpha- betical Table of Principal Matters, in the article of the Re- velation. The Revelation was received by Novatus, and his follow- ers, p. 118, 119, and by divers other authors, whose history is written in that volume. It is also probable, that it was received by the Manichees, p. 404. It was received by Lactantius, p. 541. and by the Dona- tists, p. 565, by the latter Arnobius, about 460, p. 480, and by the Arians, p. 581. In the time of Eusebius, in the former part of the fourth century, it was not received by all. And therefore it is reckoned by him among- contradicted books, vol. iv. p. 97. Nevertheless it was generally received, p. 103, 125. Eu- sebius himself seems to have hesitated about it. For he says, ' It is likely, that the Revelation was seen by John the elder, if not by John the apostle,' p. 125. It may be reck- oned probable, that the critical argument of Dionysius of Alexandria, was of great weight with him, and others of that time. See p. 127, 128. The Revelation was received by Athanasius, p. 155, 157, and by Epiphanius, p. 187, 190, 191. But we also learn from him, that it was not received by all in his time, p. 190,191. It is not in the catalogue of Cyril of Jerusalem, about 348, and seems not to have been received by him, p. 173 — 175. It is also wanting in the catalog"ue of the council of Laodicea, about 363, p. 182. Nevertheless I do not think it can be thence concluded, that this book was rejected by the bishops of that council. Their design seems to have been to mention by name those books only which should be publicly read. And they might be of opinion, that upon account of its obscurity, it should not be publicly read, though it was of sacred autho- rity. And some may be of opinion, that this observation should likewise be applied to Cyril's catalogue just taken notice of. The Revelation. 321 The Revelation is not in Gregory Nazianzen's catalogue, p. 287. Nevertheless it seems to have been received by him, p. 287, 288. It is in the catalogue of Amphilochius. But he says, it was not received by all, p. 293. It is also omitted in Ebedjesu's catalogue of the books of scripture, received by the Syrians, p. 321 ; nor is it in the ancient Syriac version, p. 323. It was received by Jerom, p, 436, 437, 446, 450. But ho says, it was rejected by the Greek christians, p. 456. It was received by Rutin, p. 484, by the third council of Car- thage in 397, p. 487, and by Augustine, p. 494, 514. But it was not received by all in his time, p. 511. It is never quoted by Chrysostom, and, probably, was not received by him, p. 549. It is in the catalogue of Dionysius, called the Areopagite, about 490, vol. v, p. 74. It is in the Alexan- drian manuscript, p. 82, 84. It was received by Sulpicius Severus, about 401, vol iv. p. 575, and by J. Damascenus, vol. V. p. 147, and by (Ecumenius, p. 156, 157, and by many other authors, whose history is written in the fifth volume. Andrew, bishop of Csesarea in Cappadocia, at the end of the fifth century, p. 77, and Arethas, bishop of the same place in the sixth century, wrote commentaries upon it, p. 103. But it was not received by Severian, bishop of Gabala, vol. iv. p. 572, nor, as it seems, by Theodoret, vol. v. p. 19, Upon the whole it appears, that this book has been gene- rally received in all ages: though some have doubted of it, or rejected it, particularly the Syrians, and some other christians in the east. However, for more particulars, see St. John, and the Revelation, in the alphabetical table, which is in the last volume of this work. It may not be improper for me here to remind my readers of the sentiments of divers learned moderns concerning this book, which were put together in Vol. ii. ch. xliii, num. xv. and xvi. after having largely represented the criticisms of Cains, and Dionysius of Alexandria, in the third century, upon the style of this book, and of the other writings ascribed to St. John. Where also is proposed this obser- vation, ' It may be questioned whether their exceptions, ' founded in the difference of style, and such like things, * or any other criticisms Avhatever, can be sufficient to ' create a doubt concerning the author of this book : which ' was owned for a writing of John, the apostle and evan- ' gelist, before the times of Dionysius and Cains, and so far * as we know, before the most early of those who disputed ' its genuineness.' VOL. VI. Y 322 ^ History of the Apostles and Evangelists. II. Having- thus represented tlie external evidence of the genuineness of the book of the Revelation, or of its being written by St. John, I should proceed to consider the in- ternal evidence. But I need not enlarge here, because the objections taken from the style, and some other particulars, Mere stated and considered in the first volume, in the article of Dionysius, above named, bishop of Alexandria. I now intend therefore only to take notice of a few things, of principal note, which learned men insist upon, as arguments, that the Revelation has the same author with the gospel and epistles, that go under the name of the apostle and evangelist John. 1. Ch. i. ver. 1, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his Servants things which must shortly come to pass. And he sent, and signified it by his angel, unto his servant John." Hence it is argued, that'^ John styles himself the "ser- vant of Christ," in a sense not common to all believers, but peculiar to those who are especially employed by him. So Paul, and other apostles, call themselves " servants of God and of Christ." Particularly Rom. i. 1, " Paul a servant of Jesus Christ." James i. 1, " James a servant of God, and of the Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Pet. i. 1, "Simon Peter, a servant, and an apostle of Jesus Christ." Jude v. 1, " Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ." So Moses is called " the servant of God." Numb, xii, 7, and Heb. iii. 2. And in like manner divers of the prophets. And in this very book, ch. x. 7, is the expression : " as he has de- clared unto his servants the prophets." This observation may be of some weight for showing that the writer is an apostle. But it is not decisive. And in the same verse, whence this argument is taken, the phrase is used in its general sense. " Which God gave unto him to show unto his servants." 2. Ver. 2, " Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of ail things that he saw." Some suppose the writer herein to refer to the written gospel of St. John, and to say that he had already " borne testimony concerning the word of God, and Jesus Christ." But, as formerly '' observed, these words may be under- ^ Sed e^so se * inter notabiles Chrisli Jcsii ininistros,' quos ad ecclesiam suam docendam, rcgendam, et curandam adhibebat. Hoc sensu Moses, David, Jesaias, et prophetae omncs sub oeconomia vetere, et Paulus, et alii apostoli sub oeconomia nova, vocantur servi Uei. Vitring. in Apoc. cap. i. 1. '' See Vol. ii. ch. xliii. num. xv. The Revelation. 323 stood of this very book, tlie Revelation, and the things contained in it. The writer says here very properly, at the beginning-, and by way of preface, that he had perform- ed his office in this book, having therein faithfully record- ed the word of God, which he had received from Jesus Christ. For certain, if these words did clearly refer to a written gospel, they would be decisive. But'' they are allowed to be ambiguous, and other senses have been given of them. I*y some they have been understood to contain a declaration, that the writer had already borne witness to Jesus Christ before magistrates. Moreover, I think, that if St. John had intended to manifest himself in this introduction, he would have more plainly characterized himself in several parts of this book than he has done. This observation therefore appears to me to be of small moment for determining who the writer is. 3. Farther, it is argued, in favour of the genuineness of this book, ' that there are in it many instances of conformity, * both of sentiment and expression, between the Revelation ' and the uncontested Avritings of fSt. John.' Divers such coincidences, or instances of agreement, were taken notice of formerly, and remarks were made upon them, Vol. ii. p. 710 — 715. That which is at p. 713, appears to me as striking' as any. I shall therefore enlarge upon it here. Our Saviour says (o his disciples, John xvi. 33, " Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world." Christian firmness under trials is several times represented by "over- coming," or " overcoming the world," or " overcoming the wicked one," in St. John's first epistle, ch. ii. 13, 14; iv. 4; v. 4, 5. And it is language peculiar to St. John, being in no other books of the New Testament. And our Lord says. Rev. iii. 21, " To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." Compare ch. ii. 7, 11, 17, 26 ; iii. 5, 12, 21 ; and xxi. 7. "^ Ver. 2. ' Qui testatus est sermonem Dei, et testimonium J. C. et quae vidit.'] Duplici modo haec accipi possunt, vel Joannem confessionem verita- tis solennem coram tribunali Prsefecti Asiae Romani edidisse, ob quam ipse missus fuerit in exilium ; vel ipsum, evangelic a se edito, solenne de Chiisto, ejusque dictis et gestis edidisse testimonium. Priore sensu vox fiaprvpeiv scriptoribus Grsecis posterioris tempoiis receptissima est, et manifesto etiam sumitur a Paulo, 1 Tim. vi. 13. Veni igitur ultro in illam sententiam, quaj haec Joannis verba refert ad evangelium non praedicatum tantum a Joanne solenniter, sed et scriptis confirmatum Quae si sane sit hujus loci interpre- tatio, certo simul tcstabitur de illius auctore, Joanne apostolo, ac proinde de libri hujus divinitate, et summa auctoritate. Vitring. in Apoc. cap. i. ver. 2. Y 2 324 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. III. Concerning tlie time of writing this book, I need not now say much, having before shown, in '' the history of St. John, that it is the general testimony of ancient authors, that St. John was banished into '^ Patmos, in the time of Donii- tian, in the latter part of his reign, and restored by his suc- cessor Nerva. But the book could not be published till after St. John's release and return to Ephesus in Asia. As Domitian died in 9G, and his persecution did not com- mence till near the end of his reign, the Revelation seems to be fitly dated in the year 95 or 96, Mill ' placeth the Revelation in the year of Christ 96, and the last year of the emperor Domitian. At first he suppos- ed that the Revelation was written in .Patmos. But after- wards he= altered his mind, and thought it was not Avrit- ten until after his return to Ephesus from Patmos. He builds upon the words of Rev. i. 9. If so, I apprehend it might not be published before the year 97, or, at the soon- est, near the end of the year 96. Basnage '' placeth the Revelation in the year of Christ 96. Le Clerc ' likewise, who readily admits the genuineness of this book, speaks of it at the same year. ■^ See Vol. V. ch. ix. num. v. * Eodem ordine septem istse Asiae civitates enumerantur, quo ex Patmo insula adiri debebant. Wetsten. in Apoc. i. 11. torn. II. p. 750. ^ Paucis post conscriptas has epistolas annis, exorta est christianorum per- secutio sub Domitiano. In insula vero Patnio, in quam relegatus erat Joannes, Domitiani ultimo, seu anno serae vulgaris xcvi. facta est ipsi Revelatio, quam universam postea expresso Christi mandato scriptis consigna- vit. Scriptamque Domini ejusdem jussu misit ad septem ecclesias Asitp. Unde manifestum est, visionem non modo Joanni factam fuisse, sed etiam ab 00 literis traditam in insula Patmo. Scriptam fuisse ex praedictis constat anno vulgaris aerae xcvi. sen Domitiani xvi. et quidem ad finem ejusdem im- perii, inquit Irenaeus, seu tempore aestivo aerae vulg. xcvi. Prolog, num. 157. 8 Subjiciemus hie verba Millii, qua2 in emendandis posuerat : ' Hie senten- tiam,' inquit, ' mutavimus. Constat enim ex ipsis Joannis verbis Apoc. i. 9, eum post reditum ad Ephesum hunc librum scripsisse.' Kuster. in notis. num 1.57. Proleg. p. 19. '■ Vid. ann. 9G. num. xii. ' At nemo de auctoritate ejus dubitarat ante Caium, Romanum presbyte- rum, qui circa finem ii. seculi vixit. Cimi Cataphryges eo iibro abuterentur fetum hunc esse apostoli negare, atque a Cerintho, praescripto ejus no- mine, editum dicere maluit. At Justinus, ot Irenaeus, eo antiquiores, et qui cum Joannis discipulis versati erant, apostolo hoc opus tribuerunt. Similiter, cum medio seculo iii. Nepos, in iEgypto episcopus, Chiliastarura deliria eodem Iibro tueretur, Dionysius Alexandrinus eadem de causa Joanni eum abjudicavit. Sed aliter senserant, quicumque Apocalypseos antea mentionem fecerant, excepto Caio, quos scquuti etiam posteri omnes ad unum. Multo fido dignior Irenaius, qui passim hunc librum, quasi Joannis apostoli, ad testimonium vocat, et diserte, lib. v. c. 30. • Neciue enim ante multum tem- * l)us visa est, sed ferme nostra aetate, sub finem imperii Domitiani.' Quae ejus verba Graeca habet Eusebius, 1. 5. c. 8. J. Cleric. H. E. An. 96. num. v. The RcvcluUon. 325 Mr. LowMiaii '^ supposes St. John to have had his visions ill the isle of Patmos in the year 95. Bnt Mr. Wetstein ' favours the opinion of those, who liavc argued, tliat the Revelation was written before tlie Jewish war. He moreover says, tliat '" if the Revelation was Avritten before that war, it is likely that the events of tliat time should be foretold in it. To which 1 answer, that " though some interpreters have aj)plied some things in this book to those times, 1 cannot say whether they have done it rightly, or not, because I do not understand tiie Re- velation. But to me it seems, that though this book was written before the destruction of Jerusalem, there Mas no necessity that it should be foretold here : because our blessed Lord had in his own preaching at divers times spo- ken very plainly, and intelligibly, concerning the calamities coming upon the Jew ish people in general, and the city and temple of Jerusalem in particular. And his plain predic- tions, and symbolical prefigurations of those events, were recorded by no less than three historians and evangelists, before the war in Judea broke out. Grotius, who, as° formerly seen, placeth this book in the reign of Claudius, was of opinion, thatP the visions of this "^ See the scheme and order of the prophecies in the book of the Revela- tion, which is prefixed to his paraphrase. ' Nos quidem, omnibus expensis, cum iis facimus, qui statuunt, Apocalypsin ante bellum judaicum fuissescriptum. Wetst. N. T. torn. II. p. 746. m. '" Quaestio est non levis momenti, cum vera Apocalypseos interpretatio niaximam partem inde pendeat. Si enim scripta est ante bellum judaicum, et bella civilia in Italia 5 nuUo modo probabile est, lantam rerum conver- sionem omnino prseteriri atque neglJgi potuisse. Sin autem post illos motus compositos scripta est, probabilior erit eorum sententia, qui eventus in Apoca- lypsi prsedictosin seculorum sequentium historia quserendos existimant. Id. ib. " Lightfootus in genere censet, Apocalypsin banc editam esse ante novissi- mum Hierosolymorum excidium. Et certe si Joannes banc Revelationem vere a Christo Jesu accepisset sub Claudio, magna cum specie negari non posset doctissimis his viris, quaedara ' sigillorum visa' ad fata judaismi non adeo incommode applicari posse. Sed obstant graves rationes, qua; nos in banc sententiam ire vetant, Vitring. in Apoc. cap. i. ver. 2. p. 7. Vid. et in cap. vi. ver. 1, 2. p. 101—105. " See Vol. V. ch. ix. num. v. 2. F * Et mitte septem ecclesiis.' Nempe hujus visi descriptionem. Neque ad caetera hujus libri pertinet. Diversa visa diversis temporibus Joanni obtigere, ut etprophetis aliis. Grot, ad Apoc. cap. i. 11. Post absolutum Visum, monita salutaria continens ad septem episcopos et ecclesias — sequuntur Visa alia, quae diversis temporibus apostolo obtigere, et postea in unum volumen redacta sunt ; quod et in prophetiis aliis evenit, saepe etiam non annotate tcmporis discriraine, sed dato intelligi ex iis quae loco quoque continentur. Pertinent autem haec Visa ad res Judaiorum usque ad finem capitis undecimi ; deinde ad res Romanorum, usque ad finem capitis vicesirai; deinde ad statum fiorentissimum ccclesi* christianae ad finem 326 A History of the Jlpostles and Evangelists. book were seen at several times, and afterwards joined toge- ther in one book, in like manner as the visions and prophe- cies of some of the prophets of the Old Testament, Concerning- this opinion it is not proper for me to dis- pute, though there appears not any fonndation for it in the book itself, as i Vitringa has observed. But that the book of the Revelation, in its present form, sent as an epistle to the seven churches of Asia, ch. i. ver. 4, was not composed and published before the reign of Domitian, appears to me very probable from the general, and almost universally con- curring testimony of the ancients, and from some things in the book itself. Now therefore I shall transcribe "^ ty part of L'Enfant's and Beausobre's preface to the Revelation, at the same time referring to Vitringa ^ in the margin, who has many like thoughts. » usque, &:c. Ejusdem Annot. ad cap. iv. init. Vid. et ejus Comnientatio ad locaquaed. N. T. &c. citat. in hujus Supplementi volumiiic primo, p. 176. •i Et vero Grotius et Hammondus ipsi causam suam produnt, ubi posteriorem Apocalypseos partem sub Vespasiano Ephesi scriptam concedunt. Quis enim illos docuit, Visa Joannis in Apocalypsi hoc raodo distinguere, et diversa illis et tarn longe dissita assignare tam tempora quara loca ? Nullum indicium, nulla significatio illius lei in ipsa Apocalypsi exstat. Contra dicitur Joannes, quae vidit, ' vidisse in insula Patmo.' Vitr. ib. p. 11, 12. •■ Preface sur 1' Apoc. de S. Jean. p. 613, 614. ' Primo dubium non est, quin si testimoniis Vetemm res conficienda sit, communis antiquae ecclesiae traditio, firmata auctoritate Irenaei, hie multum prooponderet testimonio Epiphanii. Irenaeus enim temporibus Joannis apos- toli propior fuit, tanquam qui eodem adhuc seculo cum Joanne vixerit, et traditionem nobis retiilit sua aetafe communem, et omnibus notissimam. Sed, quod plus etiam momenti causae nostrae addit, non nititur nostra haec sententia de tempore scriptae Apocalypsis sola traditione Veterum. Potest ilk ex ipso hoc libro, etiam absque ulla traditione veteris ecclesiae, demon- strari. Quare secundo observari velim, ex ipsa Apocalypsi evidentissimas adduci posse probationes, ex quibus evincatur, hunc librum non utique sub Claudio, sed omnino post Claudii et Neronis tempora, quinimo sub Domi- tiano, demum in lucem editum esse Quo tempore scripta est Apocalyp- sis, ecclesiae jam per Asiam inferiorem in celeberrimis locis non tantum erant fundatae et constabilitse, sed jamdudum fundatae et stabilitae fuisse supponun- tur. Redarguuntur enim pleraequea Domino gravium vitiorum et criminum, quae tractu longioris temporis ecclesias illas obrepserant. Ephesina jam ' reli- querat primam suam caritatem.' Sardicensis dicebatur, ' nomine vivere, sed vere mortua esse.' Laodicenam ' magnus occupaveret tepor,' eratque ' aerumnosa et miserabilis.' Haec vero quam belle conveniunt temporibus Claudii ! Ex ecclesiis enim septem, quae hie memorantur, in Actibus Apostolo- rum, aliarum mentio non est, quam Ephesinae et Laodicenae. Ephesina autem a Paulo apostolo demum fundata est, secundum Annales Cestriensis, anno Claudii Imperatoris extremo. Litjuet ex iisdem epistolis Joannis, illo tempore, quo edita est Apocalypsis, Gnosticorum haereses quae dicuntur, in florentiseimis Asiae ecclesiis altas jam ogisse radices. Ad illas enim carnalium bominum doctrinas sub mysticis nominibus Bileamitarum et Nicola'itarum in Tfie Revelation, 327 Having quoted Irenieus, Origen, Eusebius, and divers other ancients, placing- St. Jolin's banishment in Patnios in the latter part of the reign of Doniitian, and saying-, that he there saw the Revelation, they say : ' To these incon- ' testible witnesses it is needless to add a long- list of others, ' of all ages, and of the same sentiment: to whom the au- * thority of Epiphanius is by no means comparable.' And then they go on : ' We must add to so constant a tradition ' other reasons, which farther show, that the Revelation was ' not written, till after Claudius, and Nero. It appears from ' the book itself, that there had been already churches for a ' considerable space of time in Asia : forasmuch as St. John ' in the name of Christ reproves faults, that happen not but ' after a while. The church of Ephesus " had left her first variis locis alluditur. Illam haeresim praevidebat Petrus in ecclesia brevi ex- orituram, quando epistolam suam scribebat posteriorem, non longe ante Hie- rosolymorum excidium. Judas, qui epistolam suam edidit, ut probabilis ratio suadet, post Hierosolymorum illud excidium, hoc semen in prima vidit herba. Sed quo tempore scripta est Apocalypsis, non nata tantum, sed confirmata erat haec haeresis, et praecipuas Asia? ecclesias inquinaverat. Quare si Judas apostolus epistolam suam scripsit sub Vespasiano, quis neget, Apocalypsin cditam esse sub Domitiano ? In ipsis illis epistolis passim supponuntur afflic- liones graviores, quas ecclesia Christi religionis suae causa jam sustmebat, et sustinuerat ; et inter illas supplicium capitale, quo confessores veritatis afficie- bantur. Sic Dominus ad angelum ecclesiae Ephesinae : ♦ Novi laborem tuum, K-ai Ti]v inrofiovr]v (T8,et tolerantiam in afflictionibus.' Ad angelum Smyrnensis : • Novi opera tua,' et ttjv eXi\piv, ' afflictionem, et paupertatem.' Ad angelum Pergamenae : ' Nee abnegasti fidem meam, ne qviidem indiebus, quibus Antipas, testis mens fidelis, airiKravOti, occisus est.' Supponunt haec manifeste, tem- pore editae Apocalypsis Gentiles jam coepisse in christianos saevire, et ipsam etiam mortem poenae loco illis quandoque solennibus judiciis irrogassc. Id vero hactenus non liquet factum esse imperante Claudio. Nero, postquam humanitatem exuisset, sanguinem christianum primus bibit ; Romae tamen, magis quam in provinciis. Post Neronem Domitianus, ultimis imperii sui, idem tentavit. Ad quas postremas Domitiani persecutiones in his locis haud dubie alluditur. Neronis enim illam persecutionem in provinciis Romani Im- perii aeque ac Romae arsisse, nee liquet, nee probabile est. Ad Domitiani itaque persecutionem hie manifeste alluditur. Quod argumento est, Apoca- lypsin hanc sub ipso editam esse. Ejusdem hujus Domitianaei temporis ma- nifestum habemus characterem in Joanne. Dicit enim exerte, ' se accepisse hanc revelationem a Domino Jesu, cum ob confessionem veritatis evangelical ageret in insula Patmo.' Vocatque se christianorum, illo tempore ' atflicto- rum, socium in afHictione, regno, et patiente exspectatione Jesu Christi.' Fuit igitur Joannes ' in exilio,' causa veritatis relegatus in insulam Patmon. Id vero quo modo accideret sub Claudio ? Ilium enim in christianos in pro- vinciis aut exilio aut caede saevisse, nuUibi legitur. Domitiani igitur hie, et nullius alius Imperatoris character est. Nero enim christianos capitali supplicio Romse affecit : sed Domitianus plures exilio, paucos morte punivit, ut certi testes sunt Dio et Eusebius, et pluribus prosecutus est Dodwellus. Diss. xi. De Pauc. Mart. sect. xvii. Quid cessamus itaque, tam evidentibus probationibus convicti, fidem adhibere tradition! Vetemm apud Irenaeum ? Vi- tring. in Apoc. cap. i. ver. 2. p. 9 — 11. 328 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. love." That of Sardis " had a name to live, but was dead." The church of Laodicea was fallen into lukewarinness and indifference. But the church of Ephesus, for instance, Mas not founded by St. Paul, before the last years of Claudius. When in 61, or 62, St. Paul wrote to them from Rome, instead of reproving- their want of love, he commends their love and faith, ch. i. 15. 2. It appears from the Revelation, that the Nicolaitans made a sect, when this book was Avritten, since they are expressly named: whereas they were only foretold, and described in general terms by St. Peter in his second epistle, written after the year sixty, and in St. Jude's about the time of the de- struction of Jerusalem by Vespasian. 3. It is evident, from divers places of the Revelation, that there had been an open persecution in the provinces. St. John himself had been banished into Patmos for the testimony of Jesus. The church of Ephesus, or its bishop, is commended for their " labour and patience," which seems to imply persecution. This is still more manifest in the words directed to the church of Smyrna, ch. ii. 9, " I know thy works and tri- bulation." For tl)e original word always denotes perse- cution, in the scriptures of the New Testament : as it is also explained in the following- verse. In the thirteenth verse of the same chapter is mention made of a martyr, named Antipas, put to death at Pergamus. Though ancient ec- clesiastical history gives us no information concerning this Antipas, it is nevertheless certain, that according to all the rules of language, what is here said, ought to be under- stood literally. — All that has been now observed concern- ing the persecution, of which mention is made in the first chapters of the Revelation, cannot relate to the time of Claudius, who did not persecute the christians, nor to the time of Nero, Mhose persecution did not reach the provin- ces. And therefore it must relate to Domitian, according to ecclesiastical tradition.' The visions therefore here recorded, and the publication of them in this book, must be assigned, so far as I can see, to the years of Christ 95, and dG, or 97. CHAP, xxiii THE ORDER OF THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. I. Their order in ancient authors. II. General observations upon their order. III. The order oj' the several parts of theN.T. \. The gospels. 2. The Acts. ^. St. Pants epistles in general. 4. Their order severalbj. 5. Of placing them in the order of time. 6. The order of the catholic epistles. 7. The Revelation. I. IN showing" the order of the books of the New Testament, I beg-in with a passag-e of Eusebius, in a chapter, M'hich is ' entitled. Concerning- the * divine scriptures, which are uni- ' versally received, and those which are not such.' ' But,' says he, ' it will be proper to enumerate here in a summary May ' the '' books of the New Testament, which have been already ' mentioned. And in the first place are to be ranked the ' sacred four gospels. Then the book of the Acts of the ' Apostles. After that are to be reckoned the epistles of ' Paul. In the next place, that called the first epistle of ' John, and the [first] epistle of Peter, are to be esteemed * authentic. After these is to be placed, if it be thought ' fit, the Revelation of John, about Avhich we shall observe ' the difl^erent opinions at a proper season. Of the contro- * verted, but yet well knoAvn, [or approved by the most, ' or many,] are that called the epistle of James, and that of ' Jude, and the second of Peter, and the second and third ' of John : whether they are written by the evangelist, or ' by another of that name.' This passage, as my readers may well remember, was transcribed by us "^ formerly. And here the order is very observable: the four gospels, the Acts, St. Paul's epistles, the two catholic epistles of St. John and St. Peter, which were universally received, and then the books that were controverted, that is, not received by all, though by many. The same order seems to have been followed by that an- cient writer Ireneeus. For in the third book of his Morks * Ilipi rojv ofioKoysiiEVMV Oeiojv ypa(poJV, Kai twv jii] toistwv. H. E. 1. 3. cap. 25. '' TT]Q Kaivrjg SiadijKTjgypaipag. <: Vol. iv. p. 96, 97. 330 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. figaiust heretics, where he is confuting the Valentinians, he '' in several chapters argues from the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Then in the twelfth chapter of that book he largely quotes the book of the Acts. After which he considers the authority of the apostle Paul, and quotes both him and Peter. In the festal epistle of Athanasius, the books of the New Testament are enumerated in this order. ' The *" four gos- ' pels, the Acts of the Apostles, the seven catholic epistles, ' the fourteen epistles of the apostle Paul, and the Revela- ' tion.' They stand exactly in the same order in ^ the Sy- nopsis ascribed to him, though not composed till more than a hundred years after his time. The same is the orders of our Alexandrian manuscript. So likewise in'' Cyril of Je- rusalem : ' the four gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, seven ' catholic epistles, and the fourteen epistles of the apostle ' Paul.' He omits the Revelation. The same is the order of' the catalogue of the council of Laodicea, omitting also the Revelation. So likewise in the ^ catalogue of John Da- mascenus : ' the four gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the ' catholic epistles, fourteen epistles of the apostle Paul, and ' the Revelation.' The same is the order of Leontius. And in the Syrian catalogues as given by ™ Ebedjesu ; ' the ' four gospels, the Acts, three catholic epistles, and the four- ' teen epistles of Paul.' Rufinus's order is ' the " gospels, the Acts, Paul's epis- ' ties, the catholic epistles, and the Revelation.' The same order is in ° the catalogue of the third council of Carthage. In Gregory NazianzenP also 'the four gospels, the Acts, the ' fourteen epistles of Paul, the catholic epistles.' The Re- velation is wanting. The same order is in the catalogue of'i Amphilochius, with the Revelation at the end, mentioned as doubtful. In the Stichometry ■■ also of Nicephorus, pa- triarch of Constantinople about the year 806, ' the fourgos- ' pels, the Acts, Paul's fourteen epistles, and the seven ca- ' tholic epistles.' That is the order of Eusebius, and probably of Irenaeus likewise, as before shown, consequently, the most ancient. It is also the order which is now generally received. And to mo it appears to be the best. ^ Iren. 1. 3. cap. ix. x. xi. «= Vol. iv. p. 155. ' P- 163. g Vol. V. p. 82. " Vol. iv. p. 173. * P. 182. k Vol. V. p. 147. ' P. 142. "> Vol. iv. p. 321. " P. 483, 484. o W 487. i> ]\ 287 1 P. 292, 293. ' Vol. v. p. 86. The Order of the Books of the New Testament. 33 1 111 Epipliaiiius '^ the books of the New Testament are enu- merated in this order : ' the four sacred gospels, the four- ' teen epistles of the apostle Paul, the Acts of the Apostles, ' the seven catholic epistles, and the Revelation.' 1 imagine that this must have been the order of Eutha- lius. For ' he is supposed to have first published an edition of Paul's epistles, and afterwards an edition of the Acts, and the catholic epistles, about the year 490. In his prologue to the Acts of the Apostles, addressed to Athanasius, then bishop of Alexandria, he says : ' Having " formerly divided ' the epistles of Paul into sections, I have now done the like ' in the book of the Acts, and the seven catholic epistles.' Hence I am led to argue that this was his order: Paul's epistles, the Acts, and the catholic epistles. Jeroni's order, in his letter to Paulinus, is^ 'the four ' gospels, St. Paul's epistles, the Acts, the catholic epistles, * and the Revelation.' Which is very agreeable to the order of Epiphanius, and also of Euthalius, if I understand him aright. But in Jerom's work of the interpretation of He- brew names the order is thus : ' The * gospels, the Acts of the ' Apostles, the seven catholic epistles, the fourteen epistles of ' Paul, and the Revelation.' In the letter to Lrcta, the order is, ' the^ gospels, the Acts, and the epistles of the apostles.' Augustine varies. In his work of the Christian Doctrine, the scriptures of the New Testament are rehearsed in this manner : ' The y four books of the gospels, fourteen epistles ' of the apostle Paul, the seven catholic epistles, the Acts ' of the apostles in one book, and the Revelation of John in ' one book.' In another work : ' the gospels,*^ the epistles of ' apostles, [meaning Paul's epistles, and the catholic epis- ' ties,] the Acts of the Apostles, and the Revelation of John.' In one of his works he quotes texts from the books of the New Testament in this order: first ^ from the gospels, next from several of the catholic epistles, then from almost all the epistles of Paul, after that from the Revelation, and lastly from the Acts of the Apostles. In the catalogue of Innocent the first, bishop of Rome, this order is observable: ' The'' four gospels, St. Paul's ' fourteen epistles, seven catholic epistles, the Acts, and the ' Kaer. 7G. p. 941. cited Vol. iv. p. 187. ' See Vol. v. p. G8. Evay/coc roivvv wc; £0ijj/, tt]v llavXa (iifSXov av(yvMKU)Q, avTuca Stjra Kat Tt]voe rrjv tu)v airo'^okiKuv UpateiJiv, ajxa ry rwv Ka9o\tKwv tm^oXwv i(3SofiaSi, irovriaa^, a^vMQ troi 7r£7ro/x0a. Euthal. ap. Zacagn. Monum. Vet. p. 405. ' Cited, vol. IV. p. 436. " P. 437. " P. 471,472. 5 P. 494. M^512. * P. 514. " P. 586. 332 Jl History of tJie Apostles and Evanyelists. ' Revelation.' Isidore of Seville, in his several works, has three or four catalogues of the books of the New Testa- ment. In "^ all of them we see this order: ' first, the gos- ' pels, then the epistles of the apostle Paul, then the catholic ' epistles, after them the Acts, and then the Revelation.' There were, according to him, two parts or divisions of the New Testament, one called the gospels or the evangelists, the other the apostles or the epistles. And in this last part the book of the Acts was placed. The same is the order in the Complexions or short Commentaries of Cassiodorius : they'i are upon St. Paul's epistles, the catholic epistles, the Acts of the Apostles, and the Revelation. The three writers, alleged in this last paragraph, agree very much with Aug-ustine in the two passages first cited from him in the preceding paragraj)h. Chrysostom's order in the Synopsis ascribed to him, as formerly observed, is very singular : ' the ^ fourteen epistles ' of the apostle Paul, the four gospels, the book of the Acts, ' and three catholic epistles.' The catalogue of Gelasius also is particular for the place of the Revelation. For he enumerates the books in this order: 'the*^ four gospels, the Acts, St. Paul's fourteen ' epistles, the Revelation, and the catholic epistles.' I suppose I ought not to omit the order of the books in the S5th Apostolical Canon, as it is called, Avhich is this. ' Thes four gospels, Paul's fourteen epistles, seven catholic ' epistles, two epistles of Clement, the Constitutions, the ' Acts of the Apostles.' I shall transcribe nothing more of this kind. They who arc desirous to see more examples may consult the alphabe- tical table at the end of the last volume, in that article, " The New Testament." Here is enough to be a founda- tion for such remarks as are proper to be made, relating- to this point. II. It is obvious to remark upon what we have now seen, that in the several ages of Christianity, and in several parts of the world, there has been some variety in the disposition of the books of the New Testament, in two particulars espe- cially. For in some catalogues St. Paul's epistles precede the catholic epistles, in others they follow them. And the book of the Acts is sometimes placed next after the gospels, in other catalogues it follows all the epistles. Dr. Mill, who, in his Prolegomena, has an article conceru- ' Vol. V. p. 139. ■• P. 113. « Vol. iv. p. 537. f Vol. v. p. 76. 8 Vol. iv. p. 230. The Order of the Boolts of the New Testament. 333 ing- tilt order of the books of the New Testament, with re- gard to the first particular, the placing in divers catalogues the catholic epistles before St. Paul's, says, 'that'' possibly ' the christians of those times supposed them to deserve ' precedence, because they were not directed to one church ' or person only, as St. Paul's are, but to christians in gene- ' ral, and many churches scattered over the world. Some ' might also thiidc the catholic epistles entitled to prece- ' dence, because tiicy were written by those who were apos- ' ties before Paul, and had accompanied our Lord in his ' personal ministry here on earth.' Mill likewise argues, that this was the most ancient order, because it is that of the Alexandrian, and some other ancient manuscripts. But I do not think that to be full proof. For Eusebius is older, and his order is the same as ours. The same order is in the catalogues of Rufin, the council of Car- thage, Gregory Nazianzen,Amphilochius, and divers others, very probably older than any manuscripts now in being. And in many other writers likewise of great antiquity, St. Paul's epistles precede the catholic epistles. Whereby I am induced to think this must have been the most ancient order. The reason Avhy the book of the Acts was sometimes placed after all the epistles, some may think was because it was not so generally received as the gospels, the thirteen epistles of Paul, and some of the catholic epistles. Mr. Wetstein ' hints at that reason. But I rather think, that by some it was judged proper, that the epistles of apostles should immediately follow the gospels, containing the his- tory of our Lord himself: and that the history of the apos- tles and of their preaching, written by an apostolical man, should not precede, but rather follow their writings. For by Eusebius, as we have seen, the book of the Acts of the Apostles is reckoned among scriptures universally acknow- '' In epistolaram quidem dispositione variatum est. In antiquissimis qiics habemiis manuscriptis, etiam Alexandrino nostio, Paulinis praemissae sunt cafholicae; eo quod hae Judeeis per orbem quaquaversum dispersis, adeoque pluribus ecclesiis, inscriptae sint ; illse vero singulis sive ecclesiis, sive etiam hominibus. Ne dicani, quod in isthac dispositione rationem forsan habuerint dignitatis apostolorum, a quibus scriptae sunt ; ut nempe apostoli Judseorum, iique jam ab initio electi a Domino, ac cum eo per omne mini&terii ipsius tem- pus versati, prasponerentur Paulo, apostolo gentium, ac cui novissime omnium Christus visus erat. Postea autem Paulmae positae sunt ante catholicas. Mill. Proleg. num. 236. ' Apud orthodoxos vcro hie Actuum liber non videtur eodem loco fuisse habitus, quoreliqui N. T. libri. Wetsten. N. T. torn. II. p. 455. 334 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists, ledged by catholic christians. It is so considered likewise by "^ Origen. And indeed, that this has been all along an universally-acknowledged sacred book of the New Testa- ment, appears from our collections from every age of Chris- tianity from the beginning. See " Acts of the Apostles" in the alphabetical table of matters at the end of the last vol ume. Mr. Wetstein ' argues from the 85th Apostolical Canon, where the Acts of the Apostles are mentioned last. To which 1 answer, first, that the age, when those canons were composed, is uncertain. And secondly, that order may have been there chosen out of a regard to the common rules of modesty. For it is thus: 'the™ gospels, Paul's epistles, * the catholic epistles, two epistles of Clement, the Consti- * tutions, and" the Acts of us the apostles.' When a man took upon himself the character of the apostles, and express- ed himself in that manner, it was natural enough to reckon the book, which contained the history of their omu actions, last of all. Surely it is trifling to form an argument from that position in this canon. And Mr. Wetstein might have observed, that in many catalogues, undoubtedly ancient, the Acts immediately follow the gospels : and that, not only in those catalogues where St. Paul's epistles have the pre- cedence before the catholic epistles, but in divers others likewise, where the catholic epistles precede. III. Having made these general observations, I now propose to consider distinctly the order of ihese several parts of the New Testament : the gospels, the Acts, St. Paul's epistles, the catholic epistles, and the Reve- lation. 1. The order of the four gospels has generally been this, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. This is their order in " Irenteus, ^ Origen, '^ Eusebius, in his Ecclesiastical History, and in his ten Canons, as represented in his let- ter to Carpian, "^ Athanasius, Mhe council of Laodicea, * Epiphanius, " the 85th Apostolical Canon, " Gregory Na- '' Vol. ii. ch. xxxviii. num. viii. ' In. Can. Ap. 85. ordo librorum iste reperitur. iv. Evangelia, Epistolae Paiili xiv. Petri, Joannis, Jacobi, Juda}, dementis duae, Constitutiones, Acta. Wetst. ubi sLipr. p. 455. " See Vol. iv. p. 230. Kai ITpnSfiC r'luwv tojv uttotoXwj'. " Vol. ii. p. 170. I' P. 493. " Vol. iv. p. 95. ' P. 155, 1G3. * P. 182. ' P. 188. " P. 230. » P. 285. The Order of the Bouks of the Neiv Testament. 335 zianzen, '" Ampliilochius, "" the Syrian catalogue, > Jeroni, ^ Rufiii, " Augustine, '' the Alexandrian manuscript, '^ the Stichonietry of Nicephorus, '' Cosmas of Alexandria, *^ Ju- nilius, an African bishop, 'Isidore of Seville, e Leontius of Constantinople. And in like manner in all authors and catalogues in general, distinctly taken notice of in the several volnmes of this work. Nevertheless, in considering- the testimony of Tertullian, we thought we saw reason to apprehend, that '' in his time, in the African churches at least, the g-ospels were disposed according to the quality of the; writers: in the first place those two, which were written by apostles, then the other two, written by apostolical men. This was inferred from some expressions m his ' works. But perhaps the argument is not conclusive. However the four gospels are in the same order in'' some Latin manuscripts, still in being-, and also in ' the Cambridge manuscript, which is Greek and Latin : Matthew, John, Luke, Mark. But by Mr Wetstein, we are assured, that '" it is the only Greek manuscript in which the evangelists are so disposed. For certain the other order must have generally prevailed. 2. Concerning' the Acts the question is, in which part of the New Testament it was generally placed by the ancients : whether in the Evangelicon, or the Apostolicon. And un- doubtedly, by those who mention it after St. Paul's epistles, or after all the epistles of the apostles, it was placed in the latter part. But, as we have seen, it is often mentioned by ancient writers next after the four gospels. Was it then reckoned a part of the Evangelicon, or of the Apostolicon? Frojn some passages of Tertullian it was formerly argued by us, that" the book of the Acts was placed in the second part of the New Testament, and at the beginning of it. I Mould now add, that I think the same may be argued from Irenrous, Avho,° having alleged passages from the four gos- * P. 292, 293. " P. 321. y P. 436, 437, 439, 441 ' P. 4S3. " P. 494. b Vol. V. p. 82. «= P. 86. <* P. 93, 94. « P. 106. ' P. 138. B P. 142. " See vol. ii. p. 301. ' Denique nobis fidem ex apostolis Joannes et Matthseus insiunant ; ex apostolicis Lucas et Marcus instaurant, iisdem regulis exorsi. Adv. Marcion. ]. 4. cap. 2. p. 503. A. Vid. et ibid. cap. 5. p. 505. C. D. '' Vid. Joseph Blanchini Evangeliarium Quadruplex Latinae Versionis Antiquae. ' Vid. Mill, Prolegom. num. 1269. "' Vidit tamen, nisi admodum fallor, hunc ipsum codicem Cantabrigiensem, qui unus et solus omnium codicum Greece Scriptorum hunc ordinem servat. Wetsten. Prolegom. p. 28. " Vol. ii. p. 300. ° Vid. Iren. contr. Haer. 1. 3. cap. xi. fin. et cap. xii. in. 336 A Histori} of the Apostles and Evangelists. pels, proceeds to the Acts, and considers v, liat he allegeth thence as the doctrine, particularly of the apostles. And iNiill supposeth, that i* in the most ancient times the Acts were placed with the epistles, but before them, as the first book of that part. However it is observable, that the Cam- bridge manuscript has the Acts of tlie Apostles, though it has not the epistles. But then IMill says, that i volume once had tlie epistles, as well as the gospels. And therefore, probably, tiie book of the Acts stood at the head of that part V, hich contained the epistles. And for certain, I think it best that the historical books of the New Testament should appear together. Accordingly, as we have seen, the Acts do in many ancient catalogues ininiediately follow the gospels. And 1 wish that 3Ir. Wetstein had followed that order which now prevails, and that he bad not placed the Acts of the Apostles, as he has done, at the head of the catholic epistles, and after the epistles of St. Paul. 3. In the catalogues lately alleged, we have seen St. Paul's epistles sometimes preceding the catholic epistles, at other times following them. Here the order, as seems to me, is of little consequence. But I rather prefer our present order, which places St. Paul's epistles first : because, excepting only the epistle to the Hebrews, all of them have been all along universally acknowledged : Avhereas among* the seven catholic epistles, there are but two, Avhich have not been at some times contradicted books. Moreover St. Paul's epistles immediately follow the historical books in Eusebius. Whence I am willing to infer, that it is the most ancient order. 4. I must say something about the order of St. Paul's epistles severally. Our order is that of his thirteen epis- tles, which have been universally acknowledged, and then the epistle to the Hebrews, about which there had been doubts in the minds of manv for a ffood while. Among the ancients there is some variety. To the Romans, the Corinthians, the Galatians, the Ephesians, the Philippi- ans, the Colossians, the Thessalonians, Hebrews, Timothy, Titus, Philemon. So'' in the Festal Epistle of Athanasius, P Primo loco posita sunt Acta Apostolorum. Subsecutae sunt epislolae indubitato apostolicae, quas corrogare undique liceret. Prolcg. num. 195. '' Marci evangelic suffixa est etiam notula, significans, post illud proxinie poni librum Actuum. Verum haec est scribae rccentioris. Sequens en.m folium, quod prima facie duodecim postremos versus epistolae tertiae B. Joannis exhibet, altera primam partem capitis primi Actorura, clare indicat Exemplar hoc jam olira, praeter Evangelia et Acta, complexum fuisse catholicas saltern epistolas. Mill, Proleg. num. 1270. ' Vol. iv. p. 1.55. Ttve Order of the Books of the New Testament. 337 and' in the Synopsis ascribed toliini, and* in the catalogne of the council of Laodicea, and " in the Alexandrian manu- script. In others may be found our present order, as ' in the iambic poem of Amphilochius, the" Syrian catah^gue in Ebedjesu, '^ Jerom, in his article of St. Paul, > Augus- tine in his work of the christian doctrine, ' Q^cumenius, and many others. Epiphanius, observing how Marcion had disturbed the order of St. Paul's epistles, says, thaf in some editions of the New Testament, the epistle to the Hebrews >vas the fourteenth, in others the tenth, being- placed before the two epistles to Timothy, and the epistles to Titjjsand Philemon : and that '' in all good copies the epistle to the Romans Mas the first, not that to the Galatians, as Marcion had disposed them. Theodoret '^ and Chrysostom'' have particularly taken notice, that the epistle to the Romans Avas placed first, though it was not the first in the order of time. Concerning' the reason of that disposition of the epistle to the Romans, Theodoret observes, ' that^ it had been placed ' first, as containing the most full and exact representation ' of the christian doctrine in all its branches. But some say, * it had been so placed out of respect to the city to which ' it had been sent, as presiding over the whole world.' 1 have sometimes thought that first observation might be applied to all St. Paul's epistles, as the ground and reason of their situation. For the first five epistles, that to the Romans, the two to the Corinthians, and the epistles to the Galatians, and the Ephesians, are the largest of St. Paul's epistles. And all that follow are shorter, excepting- the epistle to the Hebrews, which has been placed after those sent to churches, or last of all, after those likewise which were sent to particular persons, because its genuineness was not universally allowed of. But the other, the dignity of the cities and people to whom the epistles were sent, has been more generally supposed to be the ground and reason of the order in which they are » See Vol. iv. p. 163. ' P. 182. " Vol. v. p. 82. ' Vol. iv. p. 292. " P. 321, 322. ^ P. 451. ' P. 494. ' Vol. V. D. 164, 155. ^ Haer. 42. p. 373. C. *• riavra St ra avTiypa <^C T^nvToCairriv txufav SiSatTKaXiav, Kai Ti]v T(x)v loy/iaruv aKpijBiiav £ia ttXhovuv diCaffKnaav. Tiveg St (ov Sei^ai ravra iirayyiXKi}; Marc. Atto rs ivayytXiH km rs aTTo^oKa- Dial, contr. Marcion. sect. 2. p. 54. Basil. Ifci74. p. 821. D. T. I. Bened. Vid. et Epiph. H. 42. n. ix. ' Et super haec, id quod est secundum Lucam evangelium circumcidens. Iren. 1. 1. cap. 27. 2. al. cap. 29, Nam ex iis Commentonbus, quos habemus, Lucam videtur Marcion elegisse, quem caederet. TertuU. adv. Marc. 1. 4. cap. 2. p. 503. Vid. et Epiph. Haer. 42. n. ix. •" Verum .hinc quoque plus elicitur, quam voluit Marcion. Non enim asserere Marcion ausus est, evangel a, qua; e.Ktra Lucam habemus, esse conficta et false evangelistis supposita. Nemo Patrura antiquiorum hujus criniinis Marcionem accusavit. Id tanluni voluit, Lucae evangelium, ductu Pauli conscriptum, reliquis evangeliis praeferendum esse Clarissima haec esse puto. Et quod praetensionem interpolationis attinet, hujus insigne statim cap. 7, [lib. 4. contr. Marc] exemplum afFertur : ' Caeterum et loco et illumina- tiouis opere secundum praedicationem occurrentibus Christo, jam cum pro- phetam incipimus agnoscere, ostendentem in primo ingressu venisse se, non ut legem et prophetas dissolveret, sed ut potens adimpleret. Hoc enim Mar- cion, ut additum erasit.' Cum enim haec verba Matthaei v. 17, inveniantur, hinc inferimus, Marcionem evangelium Matthaei non simpliciter negasse, sed quaecumque en'oribus ejus non patrocinabantur, pro lubitu erasisse. Atque ita proculdubio etiara cum reliquis evangelistis egit. Lampe Proleg. ad Joan. Evang. 1. 2. cap. 1. n. iv. p. 136, 137. " El 7rpoV(T%£rat o zjjc MapKiwvoc (TvvTjyopog (3\a(T(j>Tiiiiag, ro vnp ikhvoic ovo^a^oftti'm' ivayyiXwv \aj3wv avayvioQi, Kai ihprffinc ivQvg tv npooifuiit rr]v 348 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. ' and you will presently see at the very beginning a prool' ' of their impudence. For they have left out our Lord's ' genealogy from David and Abraham. And if you pro- ' ceed a little farther, you Mill see another instance of their ' wickeduess, in altering our Lord's words. "I came not," ' says he, " to destroy the law or the prophets." But they ' have made it thus : " Think ye, that 1 came to fulfil the ' law or the prophets ? 1 am come to destroy, not to ful- ' fil." ' Matt. V. 17. It might be also argued from the dialogue against the Marcionites, that they used St. Matthew's gospel. But 1 forbear to allege any places in particular. So that it may be reckoned probabhe, that Marcion did not reject any of the four gospels. But undoubtedly he made alterations in them, agreeable to his own particular opinion, under a pretence that ° they had been corrupted by some before his time. Perhaps P Marcion filled up St. Luke's gospel out of the rest, taking from them such things as suited his purpose. Tertullian says, that i his gospel, or Evangelicon, had no title. That may have been the reason of it. And we can hence conclude, that in very ancient times, among the ca- tholics, the four gospels were entitled, and inscribed, with the names of the several evangelists. Which '' Isas been denied, or doubted of by some. Marcion had also an Apostolicon. In this were ten epis- tles only of St. Paul, and those diminished, at least some of them. Their order according to him, as we are informed by ^ Epiphanius, was this : the epistle to the Galatians, the first and second to the Corinthians, to the Romans, the first aroTTuiv. AvTriv yap ti]v Karayaaav stti Xpf^ov otto Aa/3i5 Kai Aftpaafi jivtaXoyiav aTTtrefiev. Kai fiiKpov v^ipov Trpdiaiv aWrjv o\j/H KUKovoiav. Afiiv\^avTi^ yap tjjv th Kvpia ip(ovj)v, Ovk if]\Qov, \tyovTOQ, Kurakvaai, rov voftov, 7] rsc TTpocJiTirac, tiroiriaav' AoKUTt, on ?;X0ov TrXjjpwcrai rov vonov, t) Tag 7TpO(p}]Tac ; HXGov KaraXvaai, aX\' a TrXripuffai. Isid. Pel. 1. i. ep. 371. " Vid. Terfull. adv. Marcion. 1. 4. cap. 4. •■ Occurrit primo loco Marcion et Marcionitae, qui corruperunt libros N. T. resectis omnibus iis, quae Judaicae religioni favere putabant, et contracto toto N. T. in duos codices, quorum priorem vocabant evangelium, ex Luca niaxi- mam partem conflatum, et subinde ex reliquis evangelistis integratum. Wetst. Proleg. N. T. torn. I. p. 79. 1 Contra Marcion evangelic, scilicet suo, nullum adscribit auctorem ; quasi non licuerit illi titulum quoque adfingere, cui nefas non fuit ipsum cor- pus evertere. Et possem hie jam gradum figere, non agnoscendum conlendens opus, quod non erigat iroatem, quod nullam constantiam praeferat, nuliam fidem repromittat de plenitudine tituli, et professione debita auctoris. Contr. Marc. 1. 4. cap. 2. ' Vid. Mill. Prol. num. ,347. ' Ilier. 42. num. ix. et alibi. That the Boolis of the New Testament wei'e early known. 349 iiid second to the Tliessaloiiians, to the Ephesians, the Co- lossians, Philemon, the Philippians. He received not any otiier epistles of St. Paul. It is supposed likewise, that he rejected the catholic epistles, and the Revelation. Whether lie received the Acts of the Apostles, I cannot say certainly : though * some leariied men think he did not receive them. But then it should be observed by us, that " the Marcionite Apostolicoii was reckoned very defective by the catholic christians. And it may be inferred from the accounts which we have in the best writers of the most early ages, that Marcion was the most arbitrary and most licentious of all the ancient heretics, in his judgment concerning* the scriptures that should be received, and in his manner of treating such as were received by him. So that his opinion can be no pre- judice to the genuineness or the notoriety of any of those books of the New Testament, which were received by the catholics, and indeed by most heretics likewise. I shall place below * a remarkable passage of Irenaeus, where he says : ' Marcion and his followers curtail the scriptures with ' great assurance, rejecting some entirely, and diminishing- ' the gospel according to Luke, and the epistles of Paul, ' affirming those parts of them alone to be genuine which ' they have preserved. All others, who are puffed up ' with the science falsely so called, receive the scriptures, ' whilst they pervert them by wrong interpretations.' In another place he says, ' that ^^ Marcion alone had open- ' ly dared to curtail the scriptures.' And my readers can easily recollect, how'' severely Tertullian censures Mar- cion ^ for altering the text of the scriptures, openly em- ploying a knife, as he says, not a style, to render them agreeable to his erroneous opinions. ' Acta Apostolorum rejecerunt Marcionilae. Tertullianus adv. Mar- cionem, lib. v. cap. 2. * Si ex hoc congmunt Paulo Apostolorum Acta, cur ea respuatis, jam apparet.' Wetst. N. T. torn. IT. p. 455. " TSpotvtyKi TO Atto^oKikov as, n (cat ra fiaXi'^a inpiKfKOfifitvov tTi. Dialog. adv. Marcion. sect. i. p. 8. Basil, p. 806. T. I. Bened. * Unde et Marcion, et qui ab eo sunt, ad intercidendas conversi sunt scripturas, quasdam quidem in totum non cognoscentes, secundum Lucara autem evangelium, et epistolas Pauli decurtanles, haec sola legitima esse dicunt, quae ipsi minoraverunt. Reliqui vero omnes, falso scientiae nomine inflati, scripturas quidem contitentur, interpretationes vero conveilunt. Iren. adv. Haer. 1. 3. cap. xii. n. 12. p. 198. b. Massuet. " Sed huic quidem, quoniam et solus manifeste ausus est circumcidere scripturas, &c. Iren. 1. i. cap. 27. n. 4. p. 106. [al. cap. 29.] Vid. ib. num. 2. " See Vol. ii. p. 297. y Marcion enim exerte et palam machaera, non stylo, usus est ; quoniam ad materiam suam caedera scripturarum confecit. De Prascr. Haer. cap. 38. p. 246. C. 350 A History of the Apostles and Evanyelisls. However, 1 think, here is full proof, that the books of the New Testament were well known in Marcion's time, and before liim : and that they were collected together in two parts or volumes, an Evangel icon and Apostolicon. He and other christians had a gospel and an apostle. But theirs were fuller than his. 10. We might, perhaps, not unprofitably recollect here those' passages of Eusebius of Caesarea, where he speaks of the scriptures of the New Testament: some of which were universally received, others were contradicted : divers of which last, nevertheless, were received by many. The universally received by the sounder part of christians, were the four gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, thirteen epistles of Paul, one of Peter, one of John. It may be reckoned not unlikely, that all these had been from ancient time in- serted by most christians in their two volumes of the gos- pel and apostle. And, probably, divers of the other books, called controverted, or contradicted, were joined with the rest in the volumes of a good number of christians. HI. There are some observations of Mr. Henry Dodwell concerning the late forming of the canon of the New Testa- ment, which cannot be easily overlooked, and seem to re- quire some notice in this place. 1. He says, ' that "^ the canon of the sacred books was not ' determined, nor what number of them should be of au- ' thority in points of faith, before the time of the emperor ' Trajan, who began his reign in the year of Christ 98.' Ans. If hereby be meant all the books of our present canon, this may be true. But then it is a trifling proposi- tion. For some of them were not written, or have been supposed by many not to have been written, till near the end of the Hrst century. How then could they be sooner made a part of sacred scripture? or how could they be placed in the number of books, esteemed to be the rule of faith ? But the first throe gospels of St. Matthew, St. Mark, and St. Luke, and possibly the fourth likewise, St. John's, and many of the epistles of the New Testament, were well known before the reign of Trajan, even as soon as they were written. And wherever they were known, and by whom- soever they were received, they were reckoned a part of the rule of faith. '■ See Vol. iv. p. 94—100. * Atqui certe ante illam epocham, quarn dixi, Trajani, nondum constitutus est librorum sacrorum canon, nee receptus aliquis in ecclesia catholica libro- rum certus numerus, quos deinde adhibere oportuerit in sacris fidei caiisis dijudicandis ; nee rejecti haereticorum pseudepigraphi, moiiitive fideles, ut ab eorum usu deinde caverent. Dodw. Diss. lien. i. num. 39. in. p. 67. Tkal the Books of the New Testament were early known. 351 2. The same learned man says, likewise, the'' canonical scriptures of the New Testament ' hiy hid in tlie cabinets of ' particular churches and private persons, till the reign of ' Trajan, and perhaps till the reign of Adrian.' But I presume we have now sufficiently shown the false- hood of this, and that the gospels, and other books of the New Testament, were written and published with a design to be read and made use of, and that they were soon di- vulged abroad, and not purposely hid by any. 3. Farther says Mr. Dodwell : 'The*" epistles of Paul ' were well known soon after they were written. His many ' travels, and the mark of his hand at the end of them, oc- ' casioned this.' We readily acknowledge it. It is very true. We think also, that the gospels, the Acts, and other books of the New Testament, were well known soon after they were written : and that in a short space of time many copies were taken of them, and thus they Mere divulged abroad. The first three gospels were Avell known to St. John, and to many others, before he wrote his gospel. Which must have been written before the end of the first century, and, probably, a good Avhile before the end of it. 4. The same learned writer, speaking of the apostolical fathers, Clement of Rome, Barnabas, Hernias, Ignatius, Poly carp, says, they ^ several times quote apocrypha! books. And he so expresseth himself, as if he intended to affirm this of all of them. To which 1 must answer, that so far as I am able to perceive, after a careful examination, there are not any quotations of apocryphal books in any of the apostolical fathers. They who are desirous of farther satisfaction therein, are referred to their several chapters in the second volume of this work, and to*" some additional observations in the Recapitulation of the second part of the Credibility, w hich is in the fifth volume. '' Latifabant enim usque ad recentiora ilia seu Trajani, seu etiam fortasse Hadriani tempora, in privataium ecclesiavum, seu etiatn hominum fcriniis, icripta ilia canonica, ne ad ecclesiee catholicae notitiarn pervenirent. Ibid, num. 38. p. 66. " Sequuntur epistolse Paulinae, quas a prima usque scriptione celeberrimas fecere ipsius apostoli tarn crebrae peregri- nationes, et nota ejus in omni epistola manus. — Proinde raeminit eorum et Petnis, meminitS. Clemens, meminit Ignatius, et Polycarpus. Ibid. num. 41. p. 73. "* Habemus hodieque horum temporam scriptores ecclesiasticos luculentissimos, Clementem Romanum, Bamabam, Hermam, Ignatium, Polycarpum. — Sed et apocrypha adhibent iidem aliquoties, quaj certum est in hodiernis non haberi evangeliis. Ibid. n. 39. p. 67. * See Vol. V. p. 188, 244, &c. 352 A History of the Apostles and Evangelists. 5. Once more. The same learned wriler says, ' that ^ ' before the reign of Trajan, the pseudepigraphal books of ' heretics had not been rejected. Nor had the faithful ' been cautioned not to make use of then«.' Which appears to me an observation of little or no importance. If those pseudepigraphal books were not in being" before the reign of Trajan, how should they be rejected before that time? Tliat they were not sooner in being, has beens sufficiently shown. They are the pro- ductions of heretics, who arose in the second century : who asserted two principles, had a disadvantageous opi- nion of marriage, and denied the real humanity of our Saviour. In that second century many pseudepigraphal gospels. Acts, travels, or circuits of apostles, were com- posed. Which were afterwards made use of by the Ma- nichees, the Priscillianists, and some others. But those pseudepigraphal books of heretics never were joined >vith the genuine writings of the apostles and evangelists. They were always distinguished from them, and were esteemed by all catholic christians in general to be of little value, and no authority. As ap- pears from our collections out of ancient authors, and particularly from the accounts given of those books by '' the learned bishop of Csesarea at the beginning of the fourth century. CHAP. XXV. The qupntion consklrred, v'hether any sacred Books of the Neic Testament have been lost. THEKE is a question which has been proposed by some learned men : whether any sacred books of the New Testament, or any epistles of apostles and evangelists, writ- ten by divine ins|)iration, have been lost? And some have taken the affirmative, particularly'' Mr. John Ens, f See before, p. 350, note \ e Vol. v. p. 247, 248. " See Vol. iv. p. 97, 98 ; and Vol. v. p. 244, 245. * Et certe, pace et incolumi aniicitia dissentientiurn id dictum sit, afFirma- tiva nobis eligi dcbere videtur sententia, et concedi, quod multi divini libri perierint. Joh. Ens, Bibliotheca Sacra, cap. 4. sect. iv. p. 19. Amst. 1710. Whetlier any of the Books of the New Testamcut have been lost. 353 and ^ Mr. C. M. Pfaft', iu a work published by him in the early part of his life. Herman Witsius likewise ' has argued on the same side iu several of his Morks. I. Here, iu the first place, I observe, that some supposi- tions have been made, and propositions laid down by learn- ed moil, which may form a prejudice iu favour of the affirmative side of the question, but afford no proof. Such things should not be advanced by fair disputants. As first, that '' the apostles of Christ were ever ready to serve all the exigences of the church; which is very true. And yet it does not follow that any epistles, or other writ- ings, were composed by them for the general use of chris- tians, beside those which we have. And, secondly, thaf^ it is unlikely that all the apostles of Christ should have written no more letters than now remain : as it is also, that ^ Paul should have written no more than fourteen epistles. These, and such like observations, though adopted bye Witsius, as well as some others, I choose to dismiss without Itaque hoc misso, inspiciamus et rite perpendamus, quid probationi inserviat, ad evincendum, quod apostoli plura exararintscripta vere QioTTvtv^a etdivina, quam nunc extant, id. ib. sect. vi. p. 22. •> Chr. Matth. Pfaffii Dissertatio Critica de genuinis Librorum N. T. Lectionibus. p. 46— 48. Amst. 1709. ■^ Coccejus asseveranter dicit, Judam, prseter banc epistolam, non scripsisse, neque necesse habuisse scribere, neque a Spiritu Sancto impulsum fuisse ut scriberet. Id mihi non videtur certum, imo nee probabile. Apostoli enim, quum universalis ecclesiae doctores et directores essent, et corpore ubique pi^- sentes esse non possent, et frequenter sine dubio ab ecclesiis consulereutur, necesse habuerunt frequenter scribere. Non autem inagis opus fuit omnes apostolorum epistolas superstites manere, quam omnes sermones Christi. Sufficiunt quos habemus, ad peifectum canonem. Wits. Comment, in Ep. S. Jud. sect, xii.p. 463. Vid. Id. De Vita Pauli apostoli. sect. 7. n. xi. sect. 8. n. xxi. et sect. 12. n. xvi. <* Prima observatio est, quod alacres et paratissimi fuerint apostoli ad om- nia conferenda, quae usui et utilitati ecclesiae inservire poterant. Ens, ubi supr. sect. xx. p. 35. ^ Porro attendamus, secim-do, quod quatuordecim habeamus epistolas a solo Paulo conscriptas : et judicet unus- quisque, an sibi probabile videatur, Bartholomaeum, Thomam, Jacobum, Alphaei Andream, Philippum, et Simonem Zelotem, quorum nulla habemus scripta, ne unicam quidcm ad ecclesiae aedificalionem epistolam scripsisse, atquo Jacobum et Judam unicam tantum, Petrum duas, et Joannem tres exarasse ; quum Paulus toties scripserit. Ens, ib. sect, xxxiii. p. 38. '' Immo nee illud veritatis speciem habet, ipsum Paulum non plures quam quatuordecim epistolas scripsisse. Quod tertio observari velim. Id. sect. xxv. p. 41. fi Nullusequidem dubito, quin apostoli omnes pro singular! sua diligentia frequentissimas literas ad ecclesias curae suae commissas dederint : quibus praesentes semper adesse non licebat, et quibus multa tamen identidem habebant inculcanda. Wits. De Vita Pauli, sect. 7. num. xi. p. 98. Laudanda profecto Dei benignitas est, quod ex tot Paulinis epistolis, quae perierunt, banc tamen [ad Philem.] mole exiguam, et de re domestica agen- lem, superaie voluerit. Id. ib. sect 12. num. xvi. VOL. VI. 2 A 354 A History of the Apostles and Evanycluts. a particular discussion, as they contain not any real argu- ment. A man who thinks of our Lord's great character and the unparalleled excellence of his discourses, and the great number of his miraculous works, and that he had twelve apostles, and seventy other disciples, employed by him, all zealous for the honour of their Master, and the good of his people, might be disposed to say : Certainly, there were many gospels, or authentic histories of his lifie, written be- fore the destruction of Jerusalem. And yet, if there is any credit to be given to ecclesiastical history, when John was desired to write his gospel, about the time of that event, or after it, there were brought to him no more than three gos- pels, to be confirmed by him, or to have some additions made to them. One of which only had been m ritten by an apostle, even Matthew's. And it is the concurrent testimo- ny of all christian antiquity, that there were but four gos- pels, written by apostles, and apostolical men. And yet we have no reason to say that the true interest of mankind has not been duly consulted. II. I observe, secondly : it is generally allowed by learned men, and by '' Mr. Ens, and ' Witsius, that the epistles to the Thessalonians are among the first of St. Paul's epistles that remain, or were w^ritten by him. And I think, that the conclusion of the first epistle to the Thes- salonians suggests a very probable firgument, that it is the first epistle which was written by him with divine and apostolical authority for the edification of christians. The words intended by me, are those of I Thess. v. 27, " I charge you by the Lord, that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren." This, as** was formerly observed, I take to be the first instance of enjoining the reading of a christian writing in their religious assemblies, as a part of their wor- ship. Christian people had before now, very probably, read in that manner the books of the Old Testament. St. Paul, who knew the fulness of the apostolical inspiration, asserts his authority, and requires that the same respect should be now shown to his epistle, and that it should be publicly read among them for their general edification. If any such thing had been done before, there would not have been oc- casion for so much earnestness as is expressed in this di- rection. This epistle is supposed to have been written in •^ Ens, ubi supra, sect, xxviii. p. 45. ' At nobis de Paulinis cpistolis nunc est agendum; quarum, quae supersunt, primas esse constat utramque ad Thessalonicenses, Coriathi, ut initio dixi, sciiptas. Ubi supra, sect. 7, num. xii. p. 99. '' See before, p. 6. Wliether any of the Books of the New Testament have been lost. 355 the year 52, consequently not till near t\venty years after our Lord's ascension. If this be the lirst epistle of Paul, written with apostolical authority, there were no sacred writings of his of a more ancient date to be lost. And his other remaining- epistles are as many as could be reason- ably expected. 111. There are many considerations, tending to satisfy us that no sacred writings of the apostles of Christ are lost. 1. The four gospels, which we have, were written ' lor the sake of those who certainly would receive them with respect, keep them with care, and recommend them to others. And if any other such authentic histories of Jesus Christ had been written by apostles, or apostolical men, they would have been received, and preserved in the like manner, and Mould not have been lost. 2. We can perceive from the testimony of divers ancient christian writers, that'" the book of the Acts, which we still have, was the only authentic history of the preaching of the apostles after our Lord's ascension, which they had in their hands, or had heard of; consequently, there was no other such history to be lost. 3. The epistles of Paul, James, Peter, John, Jude, were sent to churches, people, or particular persons, who would show them great regard, when received, and would care- fully preserve them, and readily communicale them to others, that they might take copies of them, and make use of them, for their establishment in religion and vir- tue. If those apostles had written other epistles, and if other apostles had sent epistles to churches planted by them, or to particidar persons, their disciples, or christian friends, the case would have been much the same. Those epistles would have been esteemed, preserved, and frequently co- pied, and could not easily have been lost. 4. Moreover, the apostles and evangelists, who drew up any writings for the instruction or confirmation of christian people, must have been careful of them. The same princi- ple of zeal for the doctrine taught by them, and for the wel- fare of christian people, which induced them, amidst their many labours, fatigues, and difficulties, to compose any writings, Avould lead them to take due care that they should answer the ends for which they were composed. Proofs of such care we evidently discern in divers of the epistles of apostles, which we have. A like care, probably, was taken of the rest, and would be taken of epistles written by any ' See Vol. iv. p. 109, 110. ■" See particularly Vol. ii. p. 174, 280; Vol. v. p. 142, 143, &c. 2 A 2 356 A History of the Apostles and Evantjelists. other apostles. They would be sent by fit messengers, and be faithfully delivered. And they might be accompanied with some proper directions, such as we find in several of St. Paul's epistles : as that in the first epistle to the Thes- salonians, requiring' it to be read to all the brethren : and that in the epistle to the Colossians, iv. 16, that it should be read first among- themselves, and then sent to the church of the Laodiceans : and that they likewise should read the epistle that would be brought to them from Laodicea. All which considerations must induce us to think, that no sacred writings of apostles, composed for the instruction and edification of christian people, their friends, and converts, could be easily lost. IV. There are no sufficient reasons to believe, that any sacred writings of the New Testament have been lost. Let us however see what they are. For divers difficulties have been thought of. 1. St. Paul says," 2 Thess. ii. 1, 2, " Now we beseech you, brethren, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter, as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand." These words, as I apprehend, afford not any proof that St. Paul wrote more epistles to the Thessalonians, than those which we have. For a person, who had never written one letter before, might use such expressions, if he had any ground to suspect that some men were disposed to forge letters in his name, 2. 2 Thess. iii. 17," " The salutation of Paul with my own hand, which is the token in every epistle : so 1 write." But I think he might say this, though it were the very first epistle written by him : provided he thought that he should have occasion to write more, and had reason to sus- pect that there were some men who might be disposed to falsify his name. Nor does it follow that he afterwards wrote any more epistles to the Thessalonians. However, he could not be certain that he should not have occasion to " Atqui hujus rei nullum fuisset periculum, nulla monendi necessitas, nisi varias acccperunt Thessalonicenses epistolas a Paulo missas. Qui enim unam ac alteram solummodo ad ecclesias scribebat epistolas, lUius nomen falsae epis- tolae ad ecclesias datse non facile raentiri poterat. J. Ens, ubi supr. sect. xxix. p. 46. " Illud idem iterumagnoscit apostolus, statimallegato, cap. iii. 17, dato signo epistolis suis peculiari, quo nullae epistolae a se missaj carent. Se dicit ypa(peiv, * scribere.' Quod paucis admodum epistolis vix congruum videtur ; praesertiin quando dicit, se ovrio ypa(ptiv, ut salutatio pro- pria manu sit signum tv iraay tni'^oXy, * in quacuraque epistola.' Quid crat periculi, quod datis epistolis committeretur fallacia, si nullas, prseter et post hasce duas, ad illos daret epistolas ? Id. ib. sect. xxx. p. 4G, 47. IJlietlier any Books of the New Testament have been lost. 357 write to theia again. Ami lie might judge it to be very likely that he shoiihl write more letters, either to them, or to others. This declaration, then, was a proper mark, which might be of use to the Thessalonians, and to others, and a security against all im[)ositions ot" that kind. 3. 2 Cor. X. 9, 10, 11, "That 1 may not seem as if I would terrify you by hitters. For his letters, say they, are Aveighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech conteujptible. Let such an one think this, that such as we are in word by letters, when we are absent, such will we be also in dcin\, when we are present." Hence it is argued, that •' the apostle had before now written more than one, even several letters, to the Corin- thians. To which I answer. It is very common to speak of one epistle in the plural number, as all know. And St. Paul might well write, as he here does, though he had as yet sent but one letter to those to whom he is writing. And from so long a letter, as is the first to the Corinthians, men might form a good judgment concerning his manner of writing letters, though they had seen no other. 4. 1 Cor. V. 9, " I wrote unto you in an epistle, not to company with fornicators." Hence it is argued, tliaf St. Paul had written an epistle to the Corinthians, before he wrote the first of those two, which we have. Consequently, here is proof of the loss of a sacred writing, which would have been canonical, if extant. And it must be acknowledged, that several ' learned men have concluded as much from this text. Others however see not here any such proof. And on this side have argued " Whitby and* others. And I think it is of no small weight, that several ancient writers understood the apostle to say : p Cum duobus illis ex epist. ad Thessalonicenses locis Qonferam Pauli dictum ad Corinthios. 2. x. 9, 10, 11 Quibus verbis apostolus statuit, quod non unam epistolam, sed plures, ad Corinthios scripserit. Id. ibid. sect. xxxiii. p. 4S. *) Inter illas est epistola quaedam ad Corinthios scripta ante illam, quae nobis prima est, de qua apostolus : Eypatpa v/iiv ev Ty iTTiToky, ' scripsi vobis in epistola.' 1 Cor. v. 9. Ens, ib. sect, xxxiii. p. 51. ■■ Ex quibus verbis hoc concludo, ante banc ad Corinthios epistolam aliam exstitisse, ubi Paulus a conversatione cum fornicatoribus eos dehortatu.s i'uerit. C. M. Pfatr. ubi supr. p. 46. Hinc autem apparet, aliara ante banc a Paulo scriptam fuisse epistolam ad Corinthios, quse post interciderit. Estius in loc. Vid. et Grot, in loc. H. Wits, de Vit. Paul. Ap. sect. 8. n. xxi. Mill. Prolegom. n. 8. ' See him upon the place. ' Wolf, curae in loc. Fabric. Cod. Apocr. N. T. p. 918, &c. 358 Jl History of the Apostles and Evangelists. " I have written to you in this epistle." So " Theodoret, " Theophylact, and '" Photius in (Ecumenius. They sup- pose that the apostle here refers to somewhat before said by hirn in the same epistle, and in this very chapter, ver. 2, or 6, 7. And that hereby is meant this epistle, seems to me very evident. That interpretation suits the words. And there are divers other places, where the same phrase is, and must be so rendered, Rom. xvi. 22, " 1 Tertius, who wrote this epistle," O rjpa^a^ Ttjv eiriaToki^v. 1 Thess. v. 27. I charg-e you by the Lord, that this epistle " be read unto all the holy brethren, ava<^vwa6rivai ttju e7rir]' Ovk oidare, on liiicpa ^.v/ii] 6\ov TO (pvpa/xa Z,vfioi ; Theod. in loc. " Ej' TTot^ inidToky : Ev avTy ravTy. Errtidr) yap inrtv avurtpu), oti iKKciOapare tt/jv ■KoXaiav ^vptjv, tov iropvtvKOTU, wg dtdT]XwTai, aiviTTOfitvoQ, ti ov t^jjXsro TO jit) avvap.LyvvcQai Tropvoig' laojg vntvorjoav av on Travrwv Tt>)v TTopvuiv, (cat Tojv TTap" EXXrjffi ^(optJtirOat Sei. 'EpjxrjvevH rotvvv irtpi TToiixJv TraprjyyeiXi. Theoph. in. loc. " Tin typa-\ptv ; Ev oig Xeyti, kui s^i paXXov tTCivdriaan, k. X. Kai TraXiv tKKaOapuTf Tr]v iraXaiav Zv[tt]v, k. X. Toif irogvoig th Kofffie tuthJ] Iva fir] vofiiaiocnv, ovho drew near to him, manifests inquisitiveness and openness to conviction, which are laudable dispositions. And his conversion to the faith of Jesus is therefore a testimony to the truth of the christian religion, which cannot be slighted. " Judas and Silas, chief men among the brethren" at Jerusalem; Acts xv. — xviii. and the latter of them, as it seems, a Roman citizen. Aquila and Priscilla, Jews of Pontus, persons of good understanding, and uncommon piety. Timothy, a young man of good understanding ai Lystra, who from his rhildhood had been instructed in the scriptures of the Old Testament, being the son of a Jewess, 2 Tim. i. His mother Eunice, and his grandmother Lois, also were believers, Acts xii. 12. John INIark, an evangelist, * See the second Vol. (in the fifth of this edition) of ' The Supplement to the CrcdibiHty,' &c. That many Jews believed shown from the N. T. 379 son of Mary, a woman of great zeal and courage in the pro- fession of the christian religion, an inhabitant of Jerusuleni, and nephew to Barnabas, Col. iv. 10. Luke, another evan- gelist, by some thought to be the same as Lucius of Gy- rene ; Acts xiii. I. If so, he was a Jew by birth. If he was not that Lucius, yet very probably he was a Jewish proselyte before he became a christian. With that Lucius of Cyrene is mentioned, in the place Just referred to, " Ma- naen, who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch." A ^ person, undoubtedly, of a liberal education. Apollos, a Jew of Alexandria, an eloquent or learned man, and " mighty in the scriptures " of the Old Testament, Acts xviii. Crispus and Sosthenes, rulers in the Jewish synagogue at Corinth, 1 Cor. 1 ; and Zenas, a Jewish lawyer, Tit. iii. 18. All these I have reckoned up briefly and imperfectly*^ among the Jewish believers; designetily omitting- converts from among- the Gentiles. All these Jews, by their faith and profession, bore a testimony to Jesus, well deserving- cur regard. For they ujust have acted under as great discouragements as can be conceived. They underwent the keenest reproaches from the unbelieving- Jews, their neighbours, for receiving- a person as the Messiah, who, in- stead of working- out a great deliverance for their nation, as was generally expected and earnestly desired, had him- self undergone an ignominious death. For my own part, I always think of these early Jewish believers with peculiar respect. I am not able to celebrate all the virtues of their willing and steady faith under the many difticulties which they met with. But I am persuaded that when the Lord Jesus shall come again, he will bestow marks of distinction upon those who extricated themselves out of the snares, in " MavatjvTt 'Upoj^a m Tirpagxn avvrpocpoc. ' Herodis totrarchae collecta- neus.' Vulg. ♦ At vocabulum awrpoips latius patet, significatque ' eum, qui a prima aetate cum altera educatus est.' Grot, in loc. •^ I say ' imperfectly.' For I have not rehearsed all the Jewish believers, who are expressly mentioned, and by name. I have omitted several : as Jason, who was so friendly to St. Paul at Thessalonica, as related, Acts xvii. 5 — 9 ; Sopater of Berea, Acts xx. 4. These two seem to be the same who are mentioned again, Rom. xvi. 21, where they appear to have been the apostle's kinsmen, and therefore must have been Jews. Aristarchus, a Thes- salonian, Acts xx. 4, who is mentioned again in the epistle to the Colossians, iv. 10, 11, written during the apostle's imprisonment at Rome, or near the end of it, in the year 62. Where St. Paul calls him " his fellow-prisoner ;" and reckons him among those " of the circumcision, who had been his fellow- workers unto the kingdom of God." " Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple ;" Acts xxi. 16. And there are divers others, who may be observed by attentive readers of the Acts, and St. Paul's epistles. 380 Jewish Testhnonies. which their close connections with others had involved them. And as " they were not ashamed of him, and his words, but confessed his name in the midst of an adulterous and sinful generation, he will not be ashamed of them, but will confess them," and own them for his," when he shall come in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels," Mark viii. 38 ; Mat. x. 32. For certain, I apprehend, that the faith of the Jewish believers is of greater importance than the unbelief of other Jews in the time of Jesus and his apostles. II. What has been hitherto alleged we know from the books of the New Testament. It will be worth while to attend also to the informations of ecclesiastical history. There is good reason to believe, that no christians were involved in the miseries of the last siege of Jerusalem. They are supposed to have left it before the siege began. Sonje went to Pella, as mentioned by Eusebius,'' a city on the other side of Jordan. Others might go elsewhere, into*" Asia, or "^ other remote countries, where they could get a settlement. St. John,s as I suppose, left Judea, and went to Ephesus in the year QQ, or thereabout, a short time be- fore the war commenced. Some Jews of Jerusalem, and other parts of Judea, might go with him, or follow hin) afterwards. And, under his direction and assistance, they might procure a comfortable settlement in some places not far from him. After the war was over in Judea, it is supposed, that the believers, who had retired into the country beyond Jor- dan, returned to Jerusalem, and formed a church there. James, the Lord's brother, who had presided in the church of Jerusalem, died, as we suppose, in the year of Christ 02; who was succeeded by Simeon. In his Eccle- siastical History'' Eusebins placeth his election after the destruction of Jerusalem ; but in his Chronicle' it is so ex- pressed, as if it had been done innnediately after the death of James. That is no very material circumstance : nor are we able to determine which is right, for want of sufficient ^ H. E. 1. 3. cap. 5. p. 75. A. Vid. et Epiph. H. 29. vii. H. 30. n. ii. * See The Supplement, in this Vol. ch. ix. sect. iii. and ch. xx. sect. vi. ' Crc'dibile est, Judaese christianos, non tantum Pella?, ad oituin Jordanis, commoratos es^e, sed et per vicinas, ininio ct leinotiores Romani imperii pro- vincias, in quibus tutiores esse poterant, sparsosesse, &c. Cleric. H. E. ann. 71. num. i. » See The Supplement to the Credib. in this Vol. chap. ix. sect. iv. '' H. E. L. 3. cap. xi. ' Jacobus, irater Domini, quern omnes Justum appellabant, a Judaeis lapidibus opprimitiir ; in cnjus thronum Simeon, qui et Simon, secundus assuniitur. Chr. p. 161. Jewish Believers mentioned by ancient Writers. 381 evidence. By Ilogesippus he is"* said to have been son of Cleophas, brother of Joseph; and therefore was onr Lord's cousin-gernian. But Ensebius mentions that in a donbtful manner. We shoubl therefore, as 1 apprehend, be eantioiis of being' too particular in our decisions about it. However, Eusebius' justly reckons him among- the eye and ear-wit- nesses of tin? Lord : and according'" to Ilegesippus, whose ecclesiastical history Eusebius had before him, he suffered martyrdom in Trajan's persecution. We therefore without hesitation, place his death at the year of our Lord 107; wdiere also it is placed by Eusebius in " his Chronicle. Simeon was then 1'20 years old. By order of Atticus, pre- sident of Syria, he was crucified ; he must therefore have been born several years before our Lord ; and supposing- him chosen bishop of Jerusalem in the year 62, he presid- ed in that church more than forty years. He was succeeded by Justus, a Sew; and, as Eusebius adds, ' there" were then many believers of the circumci- ' sion.' ' The ^ times of the ensuing- successions of bishops ' at Jerusalem, Eusebius says, he could never learn : but ' it was said they had sat in the see for a short time only. ' This he had learned from ancient writers, that to the war ' in Adrian's time, (about the year 132,) there had been ' fifteen successions, who were all Hebrews by birth, and ' had held the genuine doctrine of Christ.' Whose names are all put down by him. In this catalogue of fifteen, Eusebius reckons James the first, Simeon the second ; after which there follow thirteen more. Why their times were so short we cannot say, there is no reason to think that any of them were taken oflf by persecution : but possibly they were all in years, seniority being- esteemed a ground of preference. After i their defeat by Adrian, the Jews were forbid to come to Jerusalem : from that time the Avfx|/tor, tLg y£ ra roiv avTOTTTiov km avTijKowv tnroi av rtf yiyovtvai rs K.vptn. L. 3. C. 32. p. 104. B. '" Ap. Eus. H. E. 1. 3. c. 32. p. 104. C. " Trajano ad versus christianos persecutionem movente, Simon, filius Cleopae, qui in Jerosolymis episcopatum tenebat, crucifigitur. Cui succedit Justus. Ignatius quoque Antiochenae ecclesiae episcopus, Romam perductus, bestiis traditur. Chr. p. 165. " T^tJC iv 'lepoffoXvfioig fTnuKOTrrjg tov Gpovov Ihcuioq tiq ovofia Is-rof, /.IVpiiOV 6(T(i)V {K TTffJtrO/XJJf tig tov Xpl^OV TTJVlKaVTa irtTriTlVKOTlOV f'lg KCH avTOQ wv diaSsxiTai. 1. 3. c. 35. p. 106. ^ L. 4. cap. v. *) lb. I. 4. cap. 6. vid. et Chr. p. 167. 382 Jeivisli Testimonies. church there consisted of Gentiles, whose first bishop was named Mark. That there were Jews who believed in Jesus, we are as- sured even by Celsus the epicurean, who wrote against the christians about the middle of the second century. In divers parts of his work he personates a Jew : it is likely that he had conversed with divers unbelievers of that na- tion. He consulted them, that they might assist him in his argument against the christians, and likewise furnish him with scandal against them if they could. ' In "^ this man- ' ner,' says Origen, ' this personated Jew addresseth those ' who had believed from among the Jews — What ailed you, ' fellow-citizens, that you forsook the law of your country, ' to follow him, whom we mentioned just now, by whom ' you have been miserably deceived, leaving us, and going- ' over to another name, and another way of living?' And Origen, in his books against Celsus, says, ' that^ the ' Messiah had been foretold so long, and by so many, that ' the w hole nation of the Jews were in earnest expectation ' of his coming; but since the birth of Jesus they have ' been divided in their opinion ; for many of them have be- ' lieved that Jesus is the person whom the prophets fore- ' told ; but others rejected him, despising him because of ' the meanness of his outward character.' Irenaeus says, ' there *^ Avere many of the circumcision ' who believed in Jesus, who rose from the dead, hearken- ' ing to Moses and the prophets, who beforehand preached ' the coming of the Son of God.' Among these Jewish believers there were different senti- ments. Origen says, ' there " were two sorts of Ebionites ; ' some who believed Jesus to have been born of a virgin, ' as we do ; some who supposed Jesus to be born as other ' men are.' Origen speaks of both sorts of these men, as fond of the Jewish observances. Afterwards,^ in the same ■■ Contr. Gels. 1. 2. sect. 1. p. 57. Conf. sect. 3. p. 58, 59. * 'Qre TO luSaiwv oXov tOvor T]pTi]fiivov ttjq nepi th (XmZofitvn iTTiSrjurjmiv TrpoffSoKiac, ug ttjv irpog aWijXag Cil'''^'^^^ iXriXvOevai, ts Irjaa iTn6r]ni}}Tai. Ovk av «!■ o'l jujj ^P'*')'**'^'" ''V a7roc ixaKapu^j tivi Kai (!0(pjfTtoj' IhScuoiq Tre7rou]Ktvai, rote Kara ttjv npx'jv ryjg TH ■)(oi'^iavig ci'ipfiriv Kaivr)v kcii aWorpiav ra Qm, irapayyiWovTiQ li erri-oXwv fit) napaciiaaQca avrrjv. Eusub. in Es. c. xviii. p. 424. h Pr. Part. 3. c. iv. p. 7G, &c. ' Credib. P. ii. ch. xxxix. in Vol. ii. ■' Ergo abolendo riimori Nero subdidit reos, ef quaesitif-siniis pcenis afFecit, quos, per flagitia invisos, vulgus christianos appellabat. Tac. Ann. 1. 15. c. 44. ' fia\i<^a IhScuojv irpoOv^icoQ, wq iQoq avTOig, (IQ thto virapyaVTUv. Ap. Euseb. H. E. 1. 4. cap. 15. 133. A. Treatment of tlie Christians by tlie unbelieving Jews. 39 1 ' baths ; in which, the Jews especially, as is usual with theui, ' readily assisted.' We are assured by Jerom, that the Jews anathematized the christians under the name of Nazareans, in their syna- gogues, thrice every day. So he writes in '" his conuucn- tary upon Is. v. 18, 19. And again" in like manner upon Is. xlix. 7, and ° upon the lirst chapter of the prophecy of Amos. Epiphanius says, ' that? the Jews three times every day ' anathematized the Nazareans in their synagogues. For ♦ they were more especially displeased with them, because, ' thouo-h they were Jews, they believed in Jesus as the ChristV All which may be very true. The Jews, as Jerom says, anathematized in their synagogues all christians under the denomination of Nazareans; and yet, as Epiphanius says, they were more especially displeased with those believers who were of the seed of Israel. These passages of ancient christian writers do sufficiently attest the early and continued enmity of the unbelieving- Jews, to all christians of every denomination. There are still some other things to be here taken no- tice of. For some time after our Saviour's ascension, they aspersed the character of Mary^ our Lord's mother, and re- proached him with a spurious nativity. When these as- persions were first given out, we cannot say exactly ; but they are in i Celsus, who wrote against the christians about the middle of the second century; and doubtless he had them from the Jews : they are also in the Talmudical writ- ings, as we shall see hereafter. "• Dicuntur autem haec ad principes Judaeorum, qui supra arguti sunt in avaritia et luxuria; quod, provocati a Domino ad pcenitentiam, et postea ab apostolis ejus, usque hodie perseverant in blasphemiis; et ter per singulos dies in omnibus synagogis sub nomine Nazarenorum anathematizant vocabu- lum christianum. In Is. cap. v. T. 3. p. 53. " Ipse enim bonus pastor posuit animam suam pro ovibus suis, et contenip- sit earn ; qui abominationi est genti Judeeomm, cut ter per singulos dies sub nomine Nazarenorum maledicunt in synagogis suis. Id. in Is. c. xlix. T. 3. p. 353. " antiquumque furorem et iracundiam tenentes, usque hodie in synagogis suis sub nomine Nazarenorum blasphemant populum christianum, et, dummodo nos interficiant volunt igne coraburi. In Amos, cap. i. p. 1378. fin. P On fiuvov yap oi rwv Iscaiwv TraiSeq irpo£ mTnc KiKrrfvrai jxktoq, a\\ avi'^afiivoi euiOiv, km jxtcnjc rj/jiipaCt kui ttiqi sdTrtpav, rpiQ ti]Q tiiitpaQ, ore «i'Xac iTn-iXsaip iv raig avrwv avvaymyaiQ, tnapinvTai avTOiQ, Kai avadifia- rt^BCTt, (ttadKovrtQ, on nriKarapanai 6 9£0f rag Na^wpaiac- ^"i- y°-P '^''^I'oiQ TTipiaaoTtpov tvex>i, erudite nuper demonsti-avit Nathaniel Lardnerus in opere Anglice edito, d.; Fide Hjstoriae Evangelicae. Lond. 1727, 8vo. 2 volum. J. A. Fabric. Lux Evangelii. p. 16. not. (a). 400 JeivisJi Testimonies. lein in the yearG3 before the christian era, about the time of our"*^ Midsummer. Josephus always dates' the loss of their liberty at that time. The same is said by ™ Tacitus. But though the Jewish people then became subject to the Romans, and it may be said, that from that time forward the rod of heaven hung over them, they enjoyed many pri- vileges, and the freedom of their worship, under the mild government of those masters ; as appears botli from Jose- phus, and from the historical books of the New Testqment. When Pompey became master of Jerusalem, he " and some of his officers entered into the temple, and the most holy places of it ; but he took nothing away. There were then in it the table, the candlestick, with its lamps, the pouring vessels, and the censers, alF of gold, and great quantities of spices, and two thousand talents in money ; all which he left untouched; and the day after he gave orders that they who had the charge of the temple should cleanse it, and perform the accustomed sacrifices. And he restored the priesthood to Ilyrcanus. And that after this the Jewish people were, sometimes at least, in a flourishing condition, appears from many con- siderations. It was during this period that° Herod repaired the temple. Excepting the cloud of glory with which the first temple had been favoured, that erected by Herod may be reckoned to have been equal to it in the splendour and magnificence of the building, and in rich and costly pre- sents, and other ornaments. When the Jewish people, after their return from the Ba- bylonish captivity, laid the foundation of the new house, " many of the priests and Levites, and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, wept with a loud voice," Esr. iii. 12. But God encouraged them by the prophet Haggai, in this manner, ch. ii. 3, " Who is left among you that saw this house in its first glory 1 and how do ye see it now ? is it not in your eyes, in comparison of it, as nothing? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord — - — — and be strong, all ye people of the land, and work ; for I am ^ See Priclcviux, in the year before Christ 63, p. 439. And Joseph. Antiq. 1. 14. c. iv. 4. De B. J. 1. i. c. vii. sect. G. ' Tara ra TradsQ roig 'ispoffoXw/ioic ainoi icari'^rjffav 'YpKavog Kai A77-ito/3b- Xog 7r()0c (tWrjXng Taaia^oiTeg. Tj/v re yap e\tv9tpmv n7rf/3aXo/xfv, Kat. vnriKooi 'Pojfiaiuiv KaTtTnutv. Antiq. I. 14. iv, G. And compare what Agrippa says to the Jews at Jerusalem. De B. J. 1. 2. c. xvi. 4. p. 187. '" Romanorum primus Cn. Pompeius Judajos domuit, templumque jure victoria? ingressus est. Tacit. II. 1. 5. c. 9. " De B. J. 1. I. c. vii. G. Conf. Antiq. 1. 14. cap. iv. " Vid. Antiq. 1. 15. cap. xi. De B. J. 1. i. cap. xxi. et 1. 5. cap. v. JosEPHUS. The stale of Jadea. 401 with you, saitli (he Lord of hosts For thus yaitli the Lord of hosts 1 will shake all nations: and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than that of tho former, saith the Lord of hosts. And in this place will 1 give peace, saith the Lord of hosts." Here is undoubtedly, a renewal of the great promise con- cerning the coming of the Messiah, the true Shechinah, whose presence would make this second temple more glo- rious than the first. But here is also a gracious assurance of external grandeur and splendour. ' Silver and gold, and * all the riches of the world, says God, are mine to bestow ' on whom I please. And notwithstanding the present mean ' and despicable appearance of the building before your ' eyes, I will fill it with glory, and will cause it to equal, or ' even surpass, the former in splendour and magnificence * — " For in this place will 1 give peace." My purpose ' is to bless you abundantly, and to give you great pros- * perity.' Which gracious declaration was fulfilled. That they were in flourishing circumstances at the time of our Lord's preaching among them, is apparent: though they were uneasy under subjection to the Romans. Jo- sephus continually speaks of the temple, as very grand and magnificent; and it appears to be so from his large and particular description of it, in the fifth chapter of the fifth book of his Jewish War, just before its final ruin. And when Titus, upon the fire having seized the temple, entered it, with some of his ofticers, he says, ' that '' Titus saw it * to be far superior to the report of strangers, and not infe- ' rior to our boasting's concerning it.' And having related how it was burnt, he says, it might be justly lamented, ' since *> it was the most admirable of all the works nhich ' we have seen or heard of, for its curious structure and * magnitude, and for all the wealth bestowed upon it, as ' well as for the reputation of its sanctity.' And he ex- pressly calls it"^ the temple that was built, or begun to be built, in the second year of Cyrus, under the direction of the prophet Haggai. And our Lord's disciples bear wit- P irap(\9u)v fura rwv iiyEfiovdJV tvSov iQfaearo th van to ayiov, koi ra tv avToj, TToXv ni%> TijQ TTopa TOig aWoipvXoig \wp8, SwStKaroj ^e ti]q 'Sspuvogapx'IC- Antiq. 1. 20. xi. 1. Kai Trpo(7i\afi(iai>i ti]V ap^riv 6 TroXfjuoc dwStKariiJ jitv fTii Ti]g Nfpwrof Jjyfjuoriff^, tTTTaKaiCtKaTipSt ti]q Aypnnra PacnXtiag, Aprf/ii(Tt8 fiTjvog. De B. J. 1. 2. cap. xiv. 4. ' napi]v 6' T] HiiupiitVT) \pov(j>v TTspioSog, i']/iepa SiKari) \wh ni]Vog, Ka9^ tjv Kat TO irponpov vizo m roiv Ba[Sv\ti)vi/ yfyoi/ff ini Ctvrtp!') rtjg Oviinraaiavs iiyi^oviag. lb. sect. 8. * "EaXw }itv ovTog 'l(poao\vfia irit £evTtp({) TTjg OveaTTamavH iiytf.ioviag, TopinaiH /.ujvog oySo?j. lb. 1. 6. cap. X. in. "" De B. J. 1. .5. cap. iii. 1, cap. xiii. 7, 1. 6. cap. ix. 3. 408 Jewish Testimonies. castle of Massada, wliicli happened in the year 73, (as we shall see hereaftei,) the war lasted seven years. V. I think it proper here also to take notice of our Lord's expressions concerning- the sign whereby the approach of these calamities might be discerned, Matt. xxiv. 15, 16, "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, stand in the holy place ; then let them which be in Judea, flee to the mountains." Mark xiii. 14, " When ye shall see the abomination of desolation standing" where it ought not then let them that be in Judea flee to the mountains." Luke xxi. 20, " And when ye shall see Je- rusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desola- tion thereof is nigh." By " the abomination of desolation," or the abomination that maketh desolate, therefore, is intended the Koman ar- mies with their ensigns. As the Roman ensigns, especially the eagle, which was carried at the head of every legion, were objects of worship, they are, according to the usual style of scripture, called "an abomination." By " standing- in the holy place," or " where it ought not," needs not to be understood the temple only, but Je- rusalem also, and any part of the land of Israel. There are several things in Josephus, which will confirm this interpretation. 'Pilate,'^ says he, ' the prefect of Ju- ' dea, sending- his army from Caesarea, and putting- them ' into winter quarters at Jerusalem, brought the carved ' images of Coesar, which are in the ensigns, into the city, ' in violation of the Jewish laws ; since our law forbids the ' making- of images. For which reason the former govern- ' ors were wont to come into the city with ensigns destitute ' of these ornaments. Pilate was the first M'ho set up ' images in Jerusalem: and he did it privately, the army ' making their entrance in the night time : but, as soon as ' the people knew it, they went in a large body to Ctesa- ' rea, making- earnest supplications that the images might ' be removed And at length Pilate gave orders ' for bringing- back the images from Jerusalem to Cae- ' sarea.' And not long- after that, Viteliius, president of Syria, re- ceived orders from Tiberius, to attack Aretas, king- of Pe- tra ; whereupon he was going- to march through Juilea: ' But y some of their chief men waited on him, and entreated ' him not to lead his army through their country, because ' it was contrary to their laws that any images should be ' brought into it, whereas there were a great many in his " Antifi. I. 18. c. iii. sect. 1. y Aiitiq. I. 18. cap. vi. 3. JOSEPiius. Events preceding the Dcstrnction of Jei-usalem. 409 ' army. And lie hearkeiiecl to them, altered liis intention, ' and marched his troops another way.' Our Lord's disciples and followers therefore might well be alarmed as soon as they saw Roman armies, with their idolatrous ensioiis, appear in an hostile maimer in any part of the land of Israel ; but as they approached to Jerusalem, the danger would be more imminent and pressing. And as men unwillingly leave their native country, and their accustomed habitations, and removals are always at- tended with dangers and difficulties, our Lord recommends flight in very urgent terms, lest any of those w ho loved him, and respected his doctrine, should partake in the dreadful calamities of the siege. VL We now observe some events spoken of by our Lord, which would precede the great calamity coming- upon the Jewish nation. 1. One is, that "the doctrine of the gospel" should be preached throughout the Roman empire, and in other places adjoining to it. " And this gospel of the kingdom," says he, " shall be preached in all the world, for a witness to all nations; and then shall the end come:" Matt. xxiv. 14. "And the gospel must first be published among all nations," Mark xiii. 10. And however unlikely that might seem when those words were spoken by our Lord, they were verified. The epistles of the New Testament, still extant, and written to christians in divers cities and countries, are a standing monument of it : for they are sent to believers at Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colosse, Thessaionica, and the Hebrews ; all written by St. Paul. And the epistles of the apostle Peter are directed to christians, residing in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia. And the four gospels, and the Acts of the Apostles, afford evidence, that there were numerous converts to the faith of Jesus ; for they were written for the use of such. St. Paul says, Rom. xv. 19, that, " from Jerusalem, and round about imto Illyricum, he had fully preached the gospel of Christ." He reminds the Romans, i. 18, " that their faith was spoken of throughout the whole world." To the Colossians he observes, " that the gospel had been preached to every creature under hea- ven ;"ch. i. 23, and see ver. G. The prediction therefore of that great event had been accomplished within the limits of the time assigned for it. And Tacitus'^ bears witness that the christian religion, ' Ann. 1. 15. cap. 44. 410 Jewish Testimonies. which had its rise ioJudea, had spread into many parts, and had reached Rome itself, where the professors of it were numerous, and many of them underwent grievous torments in the reign of Nero, about the year of our Lord 04, and afterwards. 2. Our Lord also says to his disciples, in his prophetical discourses concerning- the coming calamities upon Judea ; " Before all these things they will lay their hands upon you and persecute you, delivering you up to the syna- gogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake And some of you shall they cause to be [)ut to death. And ye will be hated of all men for my name's sake," Luke xxi. 12, and IG, 17. And to the like purpose in the other evangelists. The full accomplishment of these things is well known to christians, from the book of the Acts, and the epistles of the New Testament. The apostles of Jesus met with great difficulties in preaching the gospel : and the converts made by them were exposed to many sufferings. Peter and John, and all the apostles, were brought before the Jewish council, and were imprisoned, and beaten, and further threatened : Acts iv. Stephen, an eminent disciple and evangelist, suffered death by stoning; vi. vii. James, the brother of John, was beheaded by King Agrippa ; who also shut up Peter in prison, w ith intention to put him to death also: but he was miraculously delivered; ch. xii. Paul was kept in prison two years in Judea, and afterwards as Jong at Rome. He pleaded before Felix and Festus, Ro- man governors in Judea, and King Agrippa the younger, as Mell as before the Jewish council at Jerusalem ; xxi. ■ — xxviii. And there is good reason to believe that^' he was brought before Nero himself. Many of his sufferings and dangers are enumerated in 2 Cor xi. 23 — 33. They who received the doctrine taught by the apostles, had also their share of afflictions and trials. Paul, whilst he was their enemy, " made havoc of the church, entering into every house; and, haling men and women, committed them to prison: and when they wore put to death he gave his voice against them : He punished them in every synagogue, and persecuted them even into strange cities:" Acts viii. 3, and xxvi. 10, 11. And in his epistle to the He- brews, he observes to them, that " they had endured a great fight of afflictions : partly whilst they were made a gazing- stock, both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly whilst ■' See tliat fully pioved in The Supplcuieut to the Credibility, &c. in this Vol. ch. xii. sect. 10. JosEPUUS. Events preceding the Destruction of Jerusalem. 411 tliey became companions of those wlio were so used ; and tliat tliey had joyfully taken the spoiling- of their g-oods : ch. X. 32 — 34. And Agrippa, before mentioned, began with '' laying his hands uj)on certain of the church ;" Acts xii. 1. And that the believers suffered afflictions in other places beside Jndea, is manifest from 2 Thess. i. 3 — 6; James ii. 5 — 7 ; 2 Pet. iv. 12 — 19. And the Jews at Rome, whom Paul sent for to come to him, say ; " As concerning- this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against." Tacitus confirms the truth of these predictions of our Lord. He lias given a particular account of the sufferings of many christians at Rome, before the desolations of Judea. In the tenth year of ISero, the sixty-fourth of our Lord, there happened a great fire at Rome. Nero was suspected to have set it on fire himself. 'For'' suppressing that ' common rumour, Nero procured others to be accused, and ' inflicted ex(juisite punishments upon those peo[)Ie, who ' were in abhorrence for their crimes, and were connnonly ' known by the name of Christians.' And he says, that ' they were condemned, not so much for the crime of burn- * ing the city, as for their enmity to mankind.' Thus Ta- citus bears witness, not only to their undeserved sufferings, but also (o the reproaches they underwent, agreeably to what our blessed Lord has said, that " they would be hated of all men for his name's sake." However, these innocent sufferers had their supports : for their unerring Master, all whose words were true, has said ; " Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake." 3. Further, our Lord intimates, that before the full accom- plishment of his predictions concerning the miseries coming upon the Jev, ish nation, there would be declensions of zeal among his own professed disciples and followers. "And then sliall many be offended, and shall betray one another — ■ — and because iniquity will ab und, the love of many will wax cold;" Matt. xxiv. 10, 12, and see Mark xiii. 12, 13, and Luke xxi. 16. What is said of this matter in the gospels may be veri- fied from the epistles of the New Testament. The whole epistle to the Hebrews is an argument to stedfastness, im- plying the great danger of apostasy from the faith, or of abatements of zeal for it : " Let us," says he, " hold fast " Ergo abolendo rumori Nero subdidit reos, et exquisilissimis poenis affecit, quos, per flagitia inviso?, vulgus christianos appellabaf Igitur primo cor- repti qui fitcliantur ; deinc!e indicioeorum multitude ingcris, hand perinde cri- mine incendii, quam odio humani generis convicti sunt, &c. Ann. 15. c. 44. 412 Jewish Testimonies. the profession of our faith without wavering- — — And let us consider one another, to provoke unto love and good works ; not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is ; Heb. x. 23 — 25 ; and onwards to ver. 39. And ch. xii. 12, " Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees." In ch. vi. 4 — 9, he shows the great guilt, and the deplorable condition, of such as apostatize. In his second epistle to Timothy, ch. i. 15; " This thou knowest," says he, " that all they which are of Asia [probably meaning such as were then at Rome] are turned away from me ; of whom are Phygellus and lier- mogenes." And afterwards, ch. iv. 16, he complains of other christians at Rome mIio deserted him when he made his appearance there before Nero. " At my first answer [or apology] no man stood with me: but all men forsook me." And again, in the same epistle, ch. ii. 17, he speaks of Hymeneus and Philetus : " who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already, and overthrow the faith of some :" and see 1 I'im. i. 19, 20. I allege nothing more from the books of the New Testament. Tacitus, in his account of Nero's persecution of the christians already quoted more than once, does also confirm the truth of this prediction of our Lord : who says that ' at "^ first they only were apprehended, who confessed them- ' selves to be of that sect: afterwards, many more were ' taken up, whom they discovered to be of their number.' Nor ought this to be thought exceeding strange, not- withstanding- the perfection of the christian doctrine, and the evidences of its truth. For, in a great number of men, it is very likely that some should be overcome by the diffi- culties and dangers attending the profession of it. So says the chief sower of his heavenly doctrine: "some seed fell in stony places. The same is he that heareth the word, and anon witli joy receiveth it : yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while; for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is ofl^ended." 4. Our bl< ssed Lord said (hat before the great calamity, predi' oil Bopvfioi re ijp'^avro, Kai (pGopa iraXiv laSuiMV tyivero. De B. J. 1.2. c. xii. 1. Trjq Si avTrjg I'lfiipag Kai wpag, wff-TTtp ex Saifiovm Trpovoiag, avgpav oi Kaiffapiig Tsg Tcap avrsg Islaiag wg vtto fiiav wpav aTTOff^ayr/vat ^fv vTrtp Siafiimag, KtvuiOrivai le naaav tojv JaSaiuiv Kaioapiiav. De B. J. 1. 2. cap. xviii, 1. 41() Jewish Testimonies. stroyed, ami all Csesarea was at once emptied of its Jew- ish inhabitants. Some fled, whom Florns caught, and sent them bound to the gallies: at which the whole nation was enraged. They therefore divided themselves into several parties, and laid waste the villages of the Syrians, and their neighbouring cities Philadelphia, Sebonitis, Gerasa, Pella, and Scythopolis: and after them Gadara and Hip- rios : and falling upon Gaulanitis, some cities they demo- ished there, others they set on fire. Then they went to Kedessa, belonging to the Syrians, and to Ptolemais, and Gaba, and Caesarea. Nor was Sebaste or Ascalon able to withstand the violence with which they were attack- ed. When they had burnt these to the ground, they de- molished Anthedon and Gaza. Many' also of the villages round about these cities were plundered ; and an immense slaughter was made of the men found in them.' ' The • Syrians destroyed not a less number of the Jews : so that the disorders all over Syria were terrible. For every city was divided into parties armed against each other; and the safety of the one depended upon the de- struction of the other. The days were spent in slaughter, and the nights in terrors, av hi ch were the worst of the two. It was common to see cities filled with dead bodies, lying unburied, those of old men mixed with infants, all dead and scattered about promiscuously, and women without covering for their nakedness.' 'At™ Scythopolis the contention was caiTied so far, that above thirteen thousand Jews Mere killed.' ' After that," other cities also rose up against the Jews that were among them. They of Ascalon slew two thousand and five hundred ; they of Ptolemais two thousand, and put many others into prison. The Tyrians acted in the I ike manner; asdidalso Hippos and Gadara and divers other citiesof Syria.' * At° Alexandria fifty thousand lay dead in heaps: nor would the remainder have been spared if they had not pe- titioned for mercy.' Not long after that, the i' men of Damascus having got (he Jewish inhabitants into the place of exercise, ev tw '•(vfivaaiw, they came upon them unarmed, and slew ten thousand in an hour's time. These are what our Lord calls "the beginning of sor- rows," when there Avere " wars and rumours of wars, one people and nation rising up against another. The end was not yet." Jerusalem was not yet besieged, nor the people ' Ibid, sect. 2. ■" lb. sect. 3. " lb. sect. 5. " Ibid. sect. 7, 8. p De B. J. 1. 2. c. xx. sect. 2. JosEPHUs. The Occasion of the J Far. 117 ill it shut up for universal destruction. But that period was nigh. 8ee Matt. xxiv. G — S; Mark xiii. 7, 8; Luke xxi. 9, 10. VII. And now I think it may not be improper for us to take notice of Josephus's accounts of the occasion of the war. Giving" an account of the contentions of the Jews and Greeks, or Syrians, at Caesarea, where the latter obtained a decree from Nero that the oovernment of the citv belonged to them, he says: ' And this'' occasioned the war which began in the twelfth year of Nero.' Soon after which the Jews at Cfcsarca were treated very contemptuously and in- juriously, till they were all destroyed, as he there proceeds to relate; and Me have already in part transcribed from him. In the last chapter of the Jewish Antiquities he complains much of Albinus, and still more of Floras, who succeeded him, and exceeded him in avarice and cruelty: insomuch, that the Jews were ready to consider Albinus as a benefactor. ' Finally,' "^ says he, ' without adding- any thing more, it was Florus who compelled us to take up arms against the Ro- mans, thinking it better to be destroyed all at once than by little and little.' In his own life he says: ' I* have mentioned all these things to show that the Jews' war with the Romans was not their own choice, but rather that they were compelled by necessity.' In another place he says: ' And ^ at the temple Eleazar, son of Ananias the high-priest, a young man of a daring- temper, and then governor, persuaded those who officiated in the divine service not to accept of the gift or sacrifice of a foreigner. That was the origin of the war with the Romans : for thus they rejected the sacrifice of Caesar for them.' [That is, as I apprehend, they refused to ofl^er prayers and sacrifices, as subjects ought to do, for the emperor, and for the prosperity of the Roman empire.] ' And though many of the high-priests, and of the principal men of the nation, '' Ev Se rHT({) Kai oi Kaiaaptuv 'EWrjvtg viicrifravTec Trap i "Sep 'Jji t;/c TToXfwc apxW' ''■" ^'/e KpiffEwQ (Ko^inav ypanfiUTa. Kai irpoatXaiifiave ttjv apxriv 6 ■jTo\(iiO(; SwStKarq) fnv ith Tijg Ntpwvof I'jyefioviag. De B. J. I. 2. c. XIV. 4. ■■ Kai ri Sii nXtiio ktyeiv ; Tov yap irpog 'Poj/itatsf ■TToXefiov 6 KaravayKaaaq ripLaq apaaOai, ^Xwpog r)v, KpiiTTOv riyHyLivsg aOpoag, t) Kctr oXiyov cnroXtaGai. Antiq. 1. 20. xi. 1. ' on 8 Trpoaipitrig eyevtro th TToXcfiu irpog 'P ■ naiag IsSaioig, aXXa to TrXiov avayKtj. Vit. sect. 6. ' ava-rrtiOii firiStvo'^ aWo^uXs Sixspov t) Ovaiav irpoadtxioQai. Tuto de tjv rs irpog 'Pidfiaisg ■KoXtfin KarafioXrj. T»/v yap vnip thtujv 9v(Tiav Kaicrapog airippiipav. De B. 1. 2. xvii. 2. VOL. vr. 2 E 418 Jewish TeMimomes. earnestly entreated them not to omit the customary respect Tor their governors, they could not prevail.' Afterwards, near the conclusion of" his History of the Jew- ish War, M'hen the city was actually taken, he says : ' But " that which principally encourag-ed them to the war, was an ambiguous oracle, found also in their sacred writings, that about this time some one from their country should ob- tain the empire of the world. This they understood to be- long to themselves; and many of the wise men were mis- taken in their judgment about it: for the oracle intended the government of Vespasian, who was proclaimed emperor in Judea.' That is a very remarkable passage : some farther notice shall be taken of it by and by. That the Jewish people were uneasy under subjection to the Romans, even in our Saviour's time, long before the war broke out, appears from many things recorded in the gospels: as their great aversion to the publicans, though Jews, who were employed in collecting the Roman tribute ; from the question brought to our Saviour " whether it was lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not :" Matt. xxii. 15 — 22 ; Mark xiii. 18 — 17; Luke xx. 19 — 2G; from the attempt of some who followed our Lord for a time to make him a king-: John vi. 15: from their frequent and importunate demands that he would " show them a sign from heaven" meaning some token that he intended to work out for them a temporal deliverance, "that they might believe in him," and have full assurance of his being the Christ : Matt. xii. 38; xvi. 1 — 4; and elsewhere: and from divers other things, which must be obvious to all who have read the gospels with attention. This uneasiness under the Roman yoke continued and increased. Observable here is the answer which Mas made by Titus, after the temple was burnt, to the petition of Si- mon and John, the two great leaders of the factions in Je- rusalem : ' You ^ have never ceased rebelling since Pom- ' pey first made a conquest of your country : and at length ' you have declared open Avar against the Romans. — Our ' kindness to you has encouraged your enmity against us ; ' who have let you live in your country in peace and quiet- ' ness. In the first place we gave you your own country to ' live in, and set over you kings of your own nation ; and far- ' ther, we preserved to you your owtj laws: and withal we ' have permitted you to live either by yourselves, or among ' othersi, as you liked best. And, which is the greatest favour " De B. J. 1. 6. cap. v. 4. " De B. 1. G. cap. vi. 2. JosEPHUS. The Occasion of the War. 419 ' of all, we have given you leave to gather up that tribute ' which you pay to GotI, together with all such other gilts ' as are dedicated to him. Nor have we called those to ac- ' count who carried such donations, nor given them any ' obstruction : till at length you became richer than our- ' selves, even when you were our enemies, and you have ' made preparations for the war against us with our own ' money.' There are other things likewise in Josephus, which de- serve to be taken notice of in this place. Giving an account of the assessment made in Judea after the removal of Archelaus, he says: ' At '"^ the persuasion of Joazar the high-priest, the Jews did generally acquiesce. However, •Judas the Gaulanite, of the town called Gamala, associating- to himself Sadduc a pharisee, excited the people to rebel- lion, telling them that an assessment would bring- in down- right slavery, and exhorting the whole nation to assert their liberty. The whole nation heard their discourses M'ith in- credible pleasure. And it is impossible to represent the evils the nation has suffered, which were owing- to these men : for Judas and Sadduc brought in among us this fourth sect : and there being many who embraced their sen- timents, they not only caused disturbances in the govern- ment at that time, but laid the foundation of those evils which followed : which indeed are owing to this principle, till then unknown among us.' He then delivers the character and principles of the three chief and more ancient sects of the Jews, as he calls them : and after that returns again to the men of whom he had l)een speaking before. ' Judas ^ the Galilean was the leader of the fourth sect. In all other points they hold the same sentiments with the pharisees : but they have an in- vincible affection for liberty, and acknowledge God alone their Lord and Governor. From tliat time the nation became infected with this principle: and Florus, by abusing his power when he Avas governor, threw them into despair, and provoked them to rebel against the Romans.' Those two passages were cited by y me formerly ; and clivers observations were made upon them, which still ap- pear to me not impertinent. But I am unwilling to re- peat them here : and I think that, in the connection in which the}^ are now cited by me, it must be apparent from them, without farther remarks, that the nation in general was in- fected with the doctrine of Judas of Galilee. They had an * Antiq. 1. 13.C. i. sect. 1. " Ibid. sect. 6. > Vol. i. p. 228, &c. 420 Jewish Testimonies. invincible zeal for liberty, scorned subjection to the Ro- mans, their masters, and took up arms against them. As Capellus says, *Florus, ^ by his exactions, forced them ' against their consent, or rather drove them who were al- ' ready disposed to it, and wanted no incitement to rebel ' aoainst the Romans.' J would now take farther notice of the passage above cited, wherein our Jewish historian says, ' what principally encouraged them to the war was an ambiguous oracle found in their sacred writings, that about that time some one from their own country should obtain the empire of the world.' The truth and importance of that observation, as 1 appre- hend, may be confirmed and illustrated by the accounts which Josephus has given of numerous impostors or false prophets, which arose among* them about this time, agree- able to our Lord's predictions, as I shall now sIiom'. ' Whilst '^ Fadus was procurator of Judea, a certain im- postor, called '' Theudas, persuaded a very great multitude, taking their effects with them, to follow him to the river Jordan : assuring them that he was a prophet, and that, causing the river to divide at his command, he would give them an easy passage over: by such speeches he deceived many. But Fadus was far from suffering them to go on in their madness; for he sent out a troop of horse, who, com- ing' upon them unexpectedly, slew many, and took many prisoners. Theudas himself was among the last mentioned. They cut off his head and brought it to Jerusalem. These things happened in Judea whilst Cuspius Fadus was pro- curator.' Fadus was sent into Judea by the emperor Claudius, after the death of Herod Agrippa. This affair of Theudas therefore must be rightly placed in the year of Christ 45 or 46. That is transcribed from the twentieth and last book of the Antiquities. In the same book afterwards, in another chapter, in the history of transactions in the time t>f Nero, Josephus says ; ' Buf" affairs in Judea went on continually growing worse and worse. The country was again filled with robbers and impostors, who deceived the people; but Felix time after time apprehended and put to death many of ' Florus, pessimus homo, qui modis omnibus Judaeos cum vexaretet oppri- merct, cogit vel invites, aut |)otius ultro ruentes impulit, adversus Romanes rcbellare. L. Capp. Hist. Jud. p. 121. ^ Ant. 1. 20. cap. v. 1. '' That Theudas is ditfcrent from liim mentioned by Gamaliel, Acts v. 36, as was shown formerly, Vol. i. li. ii. ch. vii. <^ Antiq. 1. 20. cap. viii. 5. JosEPHUS. False Prophets and Julse Cfirists. 421 theiii.' A little lower : 'And ' indeed, by means of the crimes committed by the robbers, the city was tilled with all sorts of" impiety : and impostors and deceivers persuaded the people to follow them into the wilderness; where, as they said, they should see manifest wonders and signs per- formed by the providence of Cod. And many hearkening- unto them, at length suffered the punishment of their folly : for Felix fetched them back and punished them. About the same time there came a man out of Egypt to Jerusa- lem, who said he was a prophet : and having- persuaded a good number of the meaner sort of people to follow him to the mount of Olives, ho told them that thence they should see the walls of Jerusalem fall down at his command, and promised through them to give them entrance into the city. iJut Felix being informed of these things, ordered his soldiers to their arms; and, marching- out of Jerusalem with a large body of horse and foot, he fell upon the Egyptian, and killed four hundred of them, and took two hundred prisoners : but the Egyptian, getting- out of the fight, escaped.' This same story is also in The War, with some differ- ences in the numbers, which were considered^ formerly. There the account concludes in this manner: ' When '^ they came to engage, the Egyptian fled, followed by a few only. A large part of those who were with him were either slain or taken prisoners. The rest of the multi- tude, being- scattered, shifted for themselves as they could.' This is supposed to have happened in theyear of Christ 55. In The War, in the paragraph preceding- his account of the Egyptian impostor, having- just before related how Judea then abounded with robbers, called Sicarii, he says : ' Beside s them, there was another body of wicked men, whose hands indeed were cleaner, but their intentions were as impious; who disturbed the happy state of the city no less than those murderers. For deceivers and impostors, under a pretence of divine inspiration, aiming' at changes and innovations, made the people mad : and induced them to follow them into the wilderness, pretending- that God would there give them sig-ns and wonders. Felix judging- these proceedings to be no less than the beginning- of a re- volt, sent out his soldiers, both horse and foot, and destroyed great numbers of them.' In the fore-cited chapter of the twentieth book of the Antiquities, speaking- of the robbers in the time of Por* ^ lb. sect. 6. « Vol. i. oh. viii. ' De B. J. 1. 2. c. xiii. 5. b lb. sect. 4. 422 Jewish Testimonies. cius Festus, about the year of Christ GO, he says that ' he '' also sent out both horse and foot to fall upon those who had been seduced by a certain impostor, who had promised them deliverance and freedom from the miseries under which they laboured, if they would but follow him into the wilderness. The forces destroyed him that had deceived ihem, and those that followed him.' Josephus speaks of six thousand who perished in the outer courts of the temple after it had been set on fire. ' The' soldiers,' says he, ' set fire to the portico ; whereupon some threw themselves headlong down the precipice, others perished in the flames : and not one out of so great a num- ber escaped. A false prophet was the occasion of the ruin of those people, who on that very day had made proclama- tion in the city, assuring them that God commanded them to go up to the temple, where they would receive signs of deliverance. And indeed there were then many prophets suborned by the tyrants to impose upon the people, and tell- ing them that they ought to wait for help from God.' And presently after, proceeding to relate the omens and prodigies foresignifying the calamities coming- upon the Jewish people, and the city of Jerusalem, which shall be recited by and by, he says: ' Impostors,'' who spake lies in the name of God, deceived this miserable people. They neither attended to, nor believed, the manifest signs fore- signifying the coming desolation : but like infatuated men who have neither eyes to see, nor minds to perceive, they neglected the divine denunciations.' So truly did our Lord say : " I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not. If another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive :" John v. 43. Our blessed Lord says, Matt. xxiv. 24, " For there will arise false christs, and false prophets, and will show great signs and wonders, insomuch that (if it were possible) they Avill deceive the very elect." But our Lord does not intend to say that any of those false prophets would exhibitor per- form great wonders. The original word is cwanai, they vvill give : the same word that is in the .Septuagint version of Deut. xiii. 1, " If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and he giveth thee a sign, or a wonder ; Kai Biv aot arjjjLciov t) rcpa^, that is, shall propose, or promise, some sign or wonder, as the sequel shows. Parallel with the text just cited from St. Matthew is Mark xiii. 22, " For false christs and false prophets will arise, and will show ^ Ant. I. 20. cap. viii, sect. 10. ' Dc B. J. 1. G. cap. v. sect. 2. ^ Ibid. sect. 3 JosEPHus. False Prophets and false Christs. 423 signs and wonders," the same word again, khi Bwanai tnificia Kai r€pa7a, " in order to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect." Tl)e accounts which Josephus has given of the impostors in his time, show the exact accomplishment of these predic- tions of our Lord : " They persuaded the people to follow them into the wilderness, where, as they said, they would see manifest signs and wonders, performed by the power of God :" or, assuring them, " that God would there give them signs and wonders:" or, that " they should there receive signs of deliverance," and the like. The passages of Josephus bear witness to the fulfilment of our Lord's prediction, "' that many false prophets would arise, and deceive many," Matt. xxiv. 11. Our Lord does also say there, at ver. 5, " And many will come in my name saying, I am Christ : and will deceive many." And it is easy to believe that' some of the many false prophets did expressly take to themselves that title, though Josephus does not say it. But whether they did or not, our Saviour's predictions are verified in the appear- ance of those false prophets. 'Josephus,' says'" arch- bishop Tillorson, 'mentions several of these; of whom, though he does not expressly say that they called them- selves the Messias, yet he says that which is equivalent — that they undertook to rescue the people from the Roman yoke. Which was the thing which the Jews expected the Mes- sias would do for them. And therefore we find that the disciples who were going to Emmaus, and knew not that Christ was risen, and were doubtful what to think of him, say : " We hoped this had been he that should have redeemed Israel :" that is, they hoped this had been the Mes- sias; that being, it seems, a common periphrasis of the Mes- sias, that he was " he that was to deliver Israel." ' Which is agreeable to a note of" Grotius upon the place. All they therefore, who pretended that they were inspired, and sent by God to deliver the Jewish people, were indeed "false Christs." They took upon themselves the character of the Messiah. We may now readily admit the truth of what Josephus says in the passage transcribed not long ago : ' That M'hat principally excited the Jewish people, the wise men, as he ' See Tillemont, Riiine des Juife, art. 36. A. D. &2. ■" Vol. iii. p. 552. " Cliristi nomine popiilus judaicus intelligebat vindicem liber(atis. Naiii illud, ijfitiQ ?e (\-!riZ,o fid', oTi avroc f^'v o /jitWwv XvTpsaOai tov \ then withdrew from the city. The Jews re- sumed courage, and went after him; and coming- upon his rear, destroyed a good number both of horse and foot. That night Cestius lay at his former camp, Scopos. As he went farther oft' the next day, lie even invited his enemies to pur- sue him. The Romans suftered greatly. Among the slain were Priscus, commander of the sixth leg-ion, Longinus, a tribune, and iEmilius Secundus, commander of a troop of horse. It was not without a great deal of difticulty that they got to Gabao, their former camp, and leaving behind their baggage. There Cestius staid two days, and was in great perplexity how to proceed. On the third day he judged it expedient to move.' 'That^ he might march on with the greater expedition, he threw away every thing- that might retard his march. He killed the mules, and the other beasts, excepting only such as carried weapons of war ; which the Romans kept for their own use, and that they might not fall into the hands of the Jews to be afterwards employed against them. In that march they met with such difficulties, that the Jews were near taking- the whole army of Cestius prisoners ; and would have effected it, if night had not come on.' ' In ' their flight they left behind them many engines, for sieges, and for throwing stones, and a great part of their other instruments of war. The Jews pursued them as far as Antipatris, and then returned, taking up the engines, spoiling the dead bodies, and gathering up the prey which the Romans had left behind them. 80 they came back to their metropolis with great rejoicings. They lost but a few men themselves. But they had slain of the Romans and their auxiliaries five thousand and tliree hundred foot, and three hundred and eighty horse. These things happened on the eighth day of November, in the twelfth year of the reign of Nero.' ' After'' that calamity had befallen Cestius,' says Jose- phus, ' many of the most considerable of the Jewish people iorsook the city, as men do a sinking ship.' And it is very likely that at this time many of the chris- tians also withdrew from Jerusalem and Judea. Eusebius says tliat '^ before the war besan, the christians left Jerusa- lem, and went to a place beyond Jordan called Pella. y lb. sect. 7. » Seet. 8. ' Sect. 9. Mira Se rrfv Kstis ffvn, or sooner. Some of the Jewish believers might g'o with him out of Judea, or come to him into Asia afterwards. St. John, in his third epistle, ver. G, speaks of" strang'ers" who were under diffi- culties. Some learned men have supposed that'' thereby are nieant Jewish believers, who had been driven out of Palestisie, or bad fled from it, induced thereto by the ne- cessity of the times and their fidelity to Christ, and had left their substance behind them. I think we may reckon it to be certain, or at least highly probable, that none of the faithful disciples of Jesus were shut up in Jerusalem at the siege : and that most of them left it some while before it began, in the year of Christ 66, or thereabouts, or sooner. Our blessed Lord, speaking of the difficulties of these times, and of the declensions of some of his followers, en- courages faithfulness in strong terms: Mark xiii. 13, " And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake ; but he that shall endure unto the end shall be saved." And Luke xxi. 17 — 19, " And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake; but there shall not an hair of your head perish. In your patience possess ye your souls." And compare Matt. X. 21, 22. These gracious assurances were now fulfilled. The difficulties which the followers of Jesus met with were very great ; and the " love of many waxed cold," and some apostatized to Judaism, to avoid sufferings: nevertheless they gained nothing* by it. They joined themselves to the unbelieving part of the nation, and had part with them in the heavy calamities which befell them. But the faithful followers of Jesus, who were steady to their profession, and attended to his predictions concerning coming calamities, and observed the signs of their near approach, escaped, and obtained safety, with only the lesser difficulties of a flight, which was necessary in the time of a general calamity. The ^ Jews, who had defeated Cestius, upon their return '' H. 29. sect. vii. « See this volume, chap. xx. sect, v ^ lb. c. XX. sect. 3, 4. 430 Jewish Testimonies. to Jerusalem, appointed g^overnors and commanders for se- veral places. JosepI), son of Gorion, and Ananiis the higli priest, were chosen to govern the city, and to repair the walls. Josephus, son of Matthias, our historian, was made governor of both the Galilees. Others were sent to other places. Cestius^ sent messengers to Nero in Achaia, to give him an account of what had happened, and of the state of affairs in Judea, and to lay the blame of all the disturbances upon Florus. Nero,'' as Josephus says, was not a little moved at these things, though he dissembled his concern. However, he chose for a general a man of known valour and experience in war, several of whose important services are here men- tioned by Josephus, agreeably to the testimony of the Ro- man' authors, who represent Vespasian to have been chosen for this service out of regard to his merit, when, upon some accounts, he was disagreeable to Nero. Vespasian ^ sent his own son Titus from Achaia, where he then was, to Alexandria, to fetch thence the fifth and tenth legions. Himself having crossed the Hellespont, went by land into Syria, where he gathered together the Roman forces, and a good number of auxiliaries from the neigh- bouring princes. The ' Jews, elevated by the advantages which they had gained over Cestius, determined to carry the war to a greater g lb. c. XX. sect. ]. h De B. J. 1. 3. c. i. sect. 1, 2. ' Missu Neronis, Vespasianus fortuna famaque, et egregiis ministris, &c. Tacit. Hist. L. V. cap. 10. Claudio principe, Narcissi gratia legatus legioiiis in Germaniam missus est; inde in Britanniam translatus, tricies cura hoste conflixit. Peregrinations Achaica infer comites Neronis, cum, cantante eo, aut discederet sepius, aut pra?sens obdormisceret, gravissimam contraxit otfensam. Prohibitusque non contuberniomodo, sed efiam publics salutatione, secessit in parvam ac deviam civitatem, quoad latenti, etiamque extreina metuenti, provincia cum exercitu oblata est. Percrebuerat Oriente toto vetus et constans opinio, esse in fatis, ut eo tempore Judaea profecti rerum potirentur. Id de Imperatore Romano (quantum eventu posteapatuit) praedictum Judaei ad se trahentes, rebellarunt ; caesoquo praeposito, legatum insuper Syrix consularem suppetias ferentera, rapla aquila fugaverunt. Ad hunc motum comprimendum cum exercitu ampliore, et non insfrenuo ducc, cui tamen tuto tanta res coramitteretur, opus essct, ipse potissimum delectus est ; et, ut industriae experts;, nee metuendus ullo modo ob humililatem generis ac nominis. Additisigitur ad copias dua- bus legionJbu«, octo alis, cohortibus decern, atque inter legates majore filio assumto, ut primum provinciam attigit, proximas quoque convertit in se ; cor- rects statim castrorum disciplina : uno quoque et altero proelio tarn constanter initio ut in oppugnatione castelli lapidis ictum genu, scuto sagittas aliquot exceperit. Suelon. Vespasian, c. iv. " De B. J. 1. 3. c. i. sect. 3. ' lb. c. ii. sect. 1, 2, 3. JosEPHus. Transactions in Judca. A. D. G6. 131 distance. Accoidiiii>ly they niarclicd to Ascaloii, a city always at enmity with them, distant from Jerusalem five hundred and fifty furlonos ; [more than sixty miles.] Here the Jewish people were defeated in two attacks, losing- more than eighteen thousand men, and two of their generals, John the Essene, and Silas the Babylonian. Niger the Peraite, the third general, narrowly escaped with his life. Vespasian,™ when he arrived at Antioch, the metropolis of Syria, reckoned the third city of the Roman empire for magnitude and dignity, found there Agrippa waiting- for him, and taking the whole army with him, lie soon marched forward to Ptolcmais. Titus" making- greater expedition than could have been expected, especially in the winter season, came to his father at Ptolemais, bringing with him the fifth and tenth legions : to which were addetl the fifteenth legion, and eighteen co- horts. There were also five cohorts from Ccesarea, w ith one troop of horse, and also five other troops from Syria. There was also a considerable number of auxiliaries from the kings Antiochus [of Comagene], and Agrippa, and Sc- leucus, and Malchusthe Arabian. So that the whole army of Romans and auxiliaries, horse and foot, amounted to about sixty thousand men, beside servants, whom Josephus represents as far from being useless, according to the Roman discipline. Thus we have pursued the history to the end of the year 66, and into the beginning of (he year 67. Vespasian" staid some while at Ptolennis. However Placidus, who was before sent into Galilee, destroyed many whom he met with in the open countries. He also made an attack upon Jotapata, but was repulsed. Vespasian P leaves Ptolemais, and marcheth with his army in great order into Galilee. Thei first place taken by Vespasian was Gadara, which at that time had in it few men of a military age. Rut he slew all the young people: the Romans, from liatred of the Jews, and resenting the defeat of Cestius, having- no mercy on any age. He also set fire to the city, and burnt all the villages and smaller towns round about; making some to- tally desolate, in others taking* some captives. Josephus"^ leaves Tiberias, and enters Jotapata on the twenty-first day of May. The ' next day Vespasian marches to Jotapata, at ' the siege of which he received a slight wound in one of his feet. ■" Ibid. sect. 4. " lb. c. iv. n. 2. ° L. 3. c. vi. 1. p lb. n. 2, 3. •> Cap. vii. 1. ' Sect. 3. * lb. 4. « lb. sect. 22. 432 Jewish Testimonies. ' Whilst " Vespasian lay with liis avmy before Jotapata, he sent Trajan, commander of the tenth legion, to Japha, not far off. The place was strong' and surrounded by a double wall. A large number made a sally upon the Ro- mans. Being beaten back they retired within the outer wall : but when they came to the inner wall, their felloM'- citizens refused to admit them, lest the Romans should also force their way in with them. And ^ now,' says Josephus, ' it might be seen that God had given up the Galileans to the Romans to be destroyed by their cruel enemies. The number of the slain in the distress between the two walls, was twelve thousand. Of this Trajan gave information to Vespasian, desiring him to send his son Titus thither, that he might have the honour of completing'the conquest.' ' Vespasian, suspecting there might still be some difficul- ty, sent Titus with five hundred horse and a thousand foot. When the place was taken, all the people, young and old, were destroyed. Norie were saved excepting the male infants and the women, who were made slaves. The num- ber of those who were slain now, and in the former attack, were fifteen thousand. The prisoners were two thousand a hundred and thirty. This calamity befell the Galileans on the five-and twentieth day of May.' At ^' the same time the Samaritans got together in a riot- ous manner at mount Garizim. Whereupon Vespasian sent against them Cerealis, commander of the fifth legion, M'ith six hundred horse, and three thousand foot ; who slew them all to the number of eleven thousand and six hun- dred. This happened on the twenty-fifth day of the month of June. Novv " the final attack was made upon Jotapata, which was taken after a siege of forty-seven days. AH of every age were slain, except infants and women. The captives were a thousand and two hundred. The number of slain in the last attack, and in the former encounters, was forty thousand. Vespasian ordered the city to be demolished, and set fire to all the castles. Thus Jotapata was taken on the first day of July, in the thirteenth year of the reign of Nero. I think it may be worth the while to observe here, for showing the violent and desperate disposition of the Jewish people at this time, ' thaty in the distress of the last attack, " lb. sect. 31. * Otog S' T]v apa, 6 ''Pwfxaioig ra raXtXaioiv iraQri j^npi^o/if f oc> k. \. Ibid. " Ibid. p. 32. " Sect. .33—35. '' Tsro ttoWhq (cat Trtpi rov lotarfnov nriKtKTuiv, iv avToj(iipiav Trapu^vvc. JosEPnus. Transactions in Judca. A. D. 66. 433 when the Romans were got witliin the walls of Jotapata, many of the people made away with themselves rather than come into tin; hands of the Romans. Josephus calls them chosen men, who were near his person : they could not kill the Romans; and they resolved not to be killed by them.' Undoubtedly my readers recollect here what was taken notice of' formerly, which happened presently afterwards, in the cave where ^ Josephus and forty other persons of distinction had hid themselves. And several other like in- stances may appear hereafter, as we proceed in this history, which ought not to pass unnoticed. Josephus ^ now came into the hands of the Roman gene- ral. He Avas still a prisoner, and carried a chain : but he had change of apparel given him, and was otherwise well used. The •" siege of Jotapata being over, on the fourth of July Vespasian returned to Ptolemais. Thence he went to Cae- sarea by the seaside. Here he put two legions, for some while, for their refreshment: but sent the tenth and fifth to Scythopolis, that Cfesarea might not be over-burdened. * In '' the mean time he sent some of his soldiers, both horse and foot, to Joppa ; which, though it had been demolished not long since by Cestius, was repeopled by men who had escaped from other cities. Here they built many ships, and exercised a kind of piracy. Upon the approach of the Romans, they betook themselves to their ships, which met with a violent storm and were cast away. The number that perished was computed to be four thousand and two hundred. Here" also some, rather than be drowned, or be cast on the shore, and then be killed by the Romans, put an end to their own lives. The place was now entirely de- molished. However, by Vespasian's direction, a number of horse and foot were left here, with orders to destroy the neighbouring villages. So those troops overrun the country, as they were ordered, and laid waste the whole region.' In ^ a short time Vespasian went from Cfesarea before mentioned, to Coesarea Philippi, to pay a compliment to king KanSovriQyap, wq aStva Ttov'Pu)fiaiwv avtXnv Svvavrai, royt ni) ntsau nvra VTTO 'Pw/uatdjv irpoikajiov, km ffvvaOpoiaOtvne tin ra KaTnXtjyovra ti]C TToXew^ aipag avrng aviiXov- Sect. 34. " See p. 395 . ' ivOa rtffffapaKOVTa fiiv tuiv fKiffriixuv avdpac KaraXafif^avH XavBa- vovTOQ. lb. c. viii. ]. '' lb. sect. 9. <= IbiJ. cap. 9. sect. 1. "> Sect. 2—4. * 'TivtQ Se, WQ KH(pOTipii), ri/i' QaXaa(fav ifQavov, ry tjpii) ^(pnc; avrnc avaipavTsg. lb. sect. 3. ' lb. sect. 7. VOL. vr. 2 F 434 Jetviih Testimonies. Agrippa, by whom he had been invited, and by whom he was now entertained twenty days. Hearings of the revolt of Taricheas, Vespasian sent thither his son Titus. Taricheas'' was a strong place, and had been fortified by Josephus. The number of people who perished in the several attacks, and in taking* the city, was six thousand and five hundred. After' which Vespasian sat on his tribimal to consider what should be done with the people that remained. And at length by his order all the old men, and other useless people, to the number of twelve hundred, were slain. Out of the young men he chose six thousand of the strongest, whom he sent to Nero to work at the Isthmus. The rest he sold for slaves, who were in niimber thirty thousand and four hundred. This was done on the eighth day of September. The place ^ to which Vespasian went was Gamala. Where he met with great difficulties, and many of the Ro- mans were slain. It was taken at last on the twenty-third day of October. When there was no way of escaping left, many Jcm s threw their children, their wives, and them- selves, from the hill on which the citadel was built, into the deep valley below. The number of those who thus preci- pitated themselves was computed to be five thousand. The rest amounted to four thousand. For here the Romans spared none, not even infants. None escaped except two Avomen. To Gischala ' Vespasian sent Titus : here about six thou- sand were slain. But John, son of Levi, who had connnand- ed in the place, escaped and got to Jerusalem, with some others : which,'" as our historian says, was the work of God, who saved John for the destruction of Jerusalem. ' Thus,' says" Josephus, ' was all Galilee subdued, after it had cost the Romans much labour.' The" next chapter of our author contains an account of the state of things in Jerusalem after John came into it. Where he likewise says : ' At'' the same time there were disturbances and civil wars in every city. And all they who were quiet from the Romans, turned their hands one against another. At this time robbers, and others of the K lb. sect. 7. " Cap. x. 1—10. ' Sect. 10. " De B. J. 1. 4. cap. 1. sect. 1—10. ' IbicL cap. ii. n. 1—5. " iiiH Si T]v TO tpyov, apa th (juj'^ovtoq rnv \b)avvi)v nri rov rojv 'IipoavXv- ftiov o\td()ov. Sect. .'3. " r«XiXrt(a [itv nv ovtwq iaXu) iraaa, TToWoiQ ic()w(n irpoyi>nvaffa(Ta 'Pfojuatsf. Sect. 5. " 11). cap. 3. '• lb. sect. 2, 3 JosEPHUS. Transactions in Judcu. A. D. 68. 435 M'orst characters, came into the city, where it had been lonsi" usual to receive all who came: but their numbers consumed those provisions, Avhich might have been of use in a sieo'e.' Tliey '1 now exercised tyranny over the most considerable men. Antipas, a man of royal lineag-e, the most potent man in the city, to whom the care of the public treasure had been committed, they laid hold of, and sent to prison: and after him Levias, a man of great distinction, and Soplias, son of Raguel, a man of like eminence, and both of royal lineage. And ' not thinking themselves safe whilst they were living, they sent some men, of desperate characters, to put them to death in the prison. Dissensions '^ increasing, there were slain' in one night eighty thousand and five hundred ; and afterwards " twelve thousand of the better sort, beside n)any others. Here also are mentioned by name, as put to death by the zealots, or others, divers men of great eminence, whose deaths our his- torian laments in pathetic terms : Ananus,'' the most ancient of the high-priests; Jesus, also high-priest, inferior to Ananus, but yet a person of great eminence ; and Zacharias, son of Baruch ; different from Zacharias mentioned in Matt, xxiii. 35, and Luke xi. 51,as was shown in another'" place. Soon ^ after this, was put to death by the zealots, Gorion, a man of great eminence for his own virtues, as well as upon account of his family, nor did Niger,the Peraite, escape their hands, though he had been so serviceable to them in this war. ' When y they were killing him, he uttered this impre- cation upon them — that, beside the war, they might undergo famine and pestilence, and, after that, come to the mutual slaughter of each other. All which imprecations God rati- fied against those wicked men. And most justly did they soon after reap the fruit of their madness in their mutual dissensions.' These '■ things being heard of in the Roman camp, the commanders were for hastening the attack vipon the city ; but Vespasian, as Josephus says, answered them, that the Jews were not now making armour, nor building- walls ; but they are every day tearing themselves to pieces by intestine wars and dissensions, and suffer greater miseries than could " Sect. 4. ' Sect. 5. » L. 4. cap. V. Et conf. cap. iii. sect. 7. ' Cap. v. sect. I " Mvptoi Ss Kai ci(T;^iXioi twv tvyivwv ovtoj Ste(p6apr}aar>. Sect. 3. " Sect. 2, et 4. " See Vol. i. ch. vi. » lb. cap. vi. sect. 1. ^y lb. sect. 1. ' lb. sect. 2 2 F 2 436 Jewish Testiinonies. be inflicted upon them by us, if they were in our liaiul.s. And it was the best way to let the Jews destroy one another. These tilings we suppose to have happened at the end of the vear (17, and the beDinninq: of 68. ' However, Vespasian was not inattentive to affairs, and took care to reduce other places before he went to Jerusa- lem. He then left Ctesarea for a while, and marched to Gadara, the metropolis of Perea,' as Josephus says, ' and entered it on the fourth day of March.' ' After which he returned to Ctesarea, and left Placidus to carry on the war in those parts; \\\\o^ took Abila, Julias, and Besemoth, and other smaller cities and villages, as far as the lake Asphaltites ; insomuch that now all Perea was in the hands of the Romans, excepting Macherus. This expedition was very fatal to the Jews. Many of the Jewish people were slain by the sword, others were driven into the river Jordan. The number of the slain was not less than fifteen thousand, beside two thousand and two hundred which were made captives. And Placidus had a rich booty of asses and slieep, camels and oxen. This disaster was equal to any that had yet befallen the Jews.' In the mean time ^ Vespasian Avith a part of his army w'ent from Csesarea to Antipatris ; where he spent two days in settling the affairs of that city. On the third day he njarched on, laying waste and burning all the villages. And when he had laid waste all the places about the toparchy of Thamnas, he passed on to Lydda and Jamnia; and then came to Ammaus. Thence he went to the toparchy of Bethlepte- phon ; and destroying that and other neighbouring- places, he slew more than ten thousand, and made captives more than a thousand : and on the second day of the month of July he pitched his camp at Corea, not far from Neapolis, called by the people of the country Mabortha,and then went to Jericho. Not long' afterwards he returned to Ctesarea. And " now, M'hen he was getting- ready all his forces for the siege of Jerusalem, he hears of the death of Nero, Mhich happened on the tenth of June, in the year of our Lord 68. Where- fore Vespasian for a while put oft' his intended expedition against Jerusalein, waiting to see to whom this empire would be transferred, and expecting to receive orders ironi him. During the remaining' part of the year 68 and the year 60, little"* was done by the Romans in the war against the * L. 4. cap. vii. '■ lb. cap. viii. 1. '^ 11). cap. ix. 1, 2. •^ Nihil hoc annoalicnju; uiouienti in JudaeS gesfimi. Pagi ami. G9. n. xiii. JosEPHUS. Transactions in Jadea. A. D. 69. 437 Jews. They kept garrisons in tbe places already conquered, and fortified some places : but they made little progress, and the siege of Jerusalem was deferred. This delay was a favourable opportunity for the Jewish people to consider and relent, and make peace with the Romans their enemies, having first repented of their sins, and humbled themselves before God : but nothing- of that kind came to pass. They went on in their old way, quarrelling" among' themselves, and forming' parties, weakening' themselves by divisions and contentions, and thereby hastening- their ruin. Our Lord foresaw this, as appears from the terms of all his predictions concerning them. He foresaw that nothing- would reclaim them, after his own teachings had failed of the effect. When he Avas come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying : If thou hadst known, even thou, in this thy day the things that belong to thy peace : but now they are hid from thine eyes : for the days will come upon thee that thy enemies shall compass the round, and lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee, because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation:" Luke xix. 41 — 44. He would still send among them prophets, wise men, and scribes, his apostles and evangelists; but they would not hearken to them. They would reject their mes- sage and abuse them : xxiii. 34. Af^ this time, says Josephus, a new war began at Jerusa- lem. And Simon, son of Gorias, who for a M'hilc had been troublesome to the people there by his furious attacks upo i the place, was admitted ^ into the city in the month of April, near the end of the third year of the war. On the third day of July, in the year of our Lord 69, Vespasian was proclaimed emperor ° by the Roman army in Judea ; as '' he had been proclaimed on the first day of the same month at Alexandria; which day was reckoned the beginning of his reign. And may we not be allowed to suppose that Vespasian and Titus were thus advanced by way of recompence for their services, as instruments in the hand of Providence for inflicting that punishment upon the Jewish people which ^ E-rravi'^arai Ss aXKo^ TOig 'lepoaoXvuotc TroKtfioQ. L. 4. c. ix. sect. 3. in. ' Cap. ix. sect. 12. ^ lb. cap. x. ^ Initium ferendi ad Vespasianum Imperii Alexandiiae cceptum, festinante Tiberio Alexandre, qui Kal. Jul. sacramento ejus legiones adegit. Isque primus principatus dies in posterum celebratus, quamvis judaicus exercitus v. nonas Jul. apud ipsum jurasset, eo ardore, ut ne Titus quidem filius exspecta- retur, Syria remeans, et consiliorum inter Municianum et patrem nuntius. Tacit. Hist. 2. cap. 79. Conf. Sueton. Vespasian, cap. 6. Vid. et Pagi, ann. G9. n. vii. et Basnag. ann. 69. n. xxi. 438 Jewish Testimonies. their crying sins deserved, and thiisaccomplisliing the pre- dictions concerning- it? We cannot say that they were truly virtuous; but they v.ere persons of great eminence, and many abilities : and they had a more social and benevolent disposition than many others. Titus in particular is repre- sented by Roman authors as a man of a very amiable ' cha- racter. And Josephus, who was present with him in the war, often says that he unwillingly treated the Jewish peo- ple so severely as he did, and that he often made them offers of mercy, if they would lay down their arms, and accept of reasonable terms. \ espasian,'' not long after this, Avent to Alexandria, and thence to Rome, leaving his son Titus to carry on the war in Judea. Vespasian staid some months at Alexandria, Availing for a fair wind and good weather, or upon account of some political views and considerations. Several extraordinary things are related to have happened during his stay there, Avhich are related very briefly by ' Dion Cassius, more particularly by ™ Suetonius, and still more prolixly by " Tacitus. ' Two men of low rank at Alexandria, one of them blind, ' Titus, cognomento paterno, amor ac deliciae humani generis. Sueton. Tit. cap. i. ^ Jos. deB. J. 1. 4. cap. xi. ' Die. 1. 66. n. 8. p. 1082. ^ Auctoritas et quasi niajestas quasdam, ut scilicet inopinato et adhuc novo principi, deerat : hacc quoque accessit. E plebe quidam luminibus orbatus, item alms debili crure, sedentem pro tribunali pariter adierunt, orantes opem valetudinis, demonstratara a Serapide per quietem, restiturum oculos, si inspuisset; confinnaturum crus, si dignaretur calce contiiigere. Cum vix fides esset rem ullo modo successuram, ideoque ne experiri quidem auderet ; extreme, hortantibus amicis, palam pro concione utrumque teatavit, nee eventus defuit. Sueton. Vespas. cap. vii. " Per eos menses, quibus Vespasianus Alexandriae statos aestivis flatibus dies, et certa maris operiebatur, multa miracula evenere, quis co&lestis favor et quaedam in Vespasianum inclinatio numinum ostenderetur. Ex plebe Alex- andrina quidam, oculorum tabe notus, genua ejus advolvitur, remedium coeci- tatis exposcens gemitu; monitu Serapidis dei, quem dedita superstitionibus gens ante alios colit. Precabaturque principem, ut genas et oculomm orbes dignaretur respergere oris excremento. Alius manu aeger, eodem deo auctore, ut pede ac vestigio Csesaris calcaretur, orabat. Vespasianus primo irridere, aspernari ; atque, illis instantibus, modo famam vanitatis metuere, modo obsecratione ipsorum, et vocibus adulantium, in spem induci : postremo aestimari a mcdicis jubet, an talis coecitas ac debilitas ope humana supcrabiles forent. Medici varie disserere: Huic non exesam vim luminis, et redituram, si pellerentur obslantia; illi il lapses in pravum artus, si salubris visadhibeatur, posse integrari. Igitur Vespasianus cuncta fortunae suae parere ratus, nee quidquam ultra incredibile, lajto ipse viiltu, erecia quae adstabat multitudinc, jussa exsequitur. Statim conversa ad usum manus, ac coeco reluxit dies. Utrumque, qui interfuere, nunc quoque memorant, postquam nullum men- dacio pretium. Tacit. Hist. ■I. cap. 81. JosEPHUs. Transactions in Judca. A. D. QQ. 439 the other lame in one of his hands, came both together to him in a humble manner, saying- that they had been in a dream admonished by the god Serapis to apply to him for cure of their disorders; which they were assured might be done for the one, if he would be pleased to anoint his eyes and face with his spittle; and for the other, if he would vouchsafe to tread upon his hand. Vespasian, as is said, hesitated for a while. However, the physicians having been consulted, they gave their opinion that the organs of sight ■were not destroyed in the blind man, and that sight might be restored if obstacles were removed ; and that tlie other's hand was only disjointed, and with proper remedies mig-ht be set right again. At length, moved by the entreaties of the distempered persons, and encouraged by the flatteries of those about him, Vespasian performed what had been de- sired, and the effect was answerable ; one of them presently recovered the use of his hands, and the other his sight.' I do not see reason to believe that any miracle was now wrought. It was a contrivance between Vespasian and his friends and favourites. Nor " could it be safe for any to examine and make remarks upon an event, which an empe- ror and his favourites recommended to public belief. Suetonius has accounted for these stories in the introduc- tion to his narration, saying that ' somewhat w as wanting to ' give dignity and authority to a new chosen emperor.' And at the beginning* of his Life of Vespasian, he observes, that * the p Flavian family was not renowned for its antiquity.' And it is easy for any to discern, from several things said by Suetonius and Tacitus, that Vespasian was very willing to encourage the belief of extraordinary things concerning- himself. I think that what ^ Spartian writes of some miracles " Ad rei ipsius verilatem quod adtinet, non facile adfirmantibus credere licet, cum vix tutuin asset id negare, quo Imperatori obsequentiores ^gyptii, et quod proinde intererat Imperatoris, verum videri. Fraudes ejus retegere, qui fallere vult, et omnibus Reipublicae copiis instructus est, nunquam tutum fuit, &c. Cleric. Ann. 1.38. n.iii. I' Imperium suscepit, firmavitque tandem gens Flavia, obscura ilia quidem, ac sine ullis niajorum imaginibus. Vespasian, cap. i. 1 Ea tempestate supervenit queedam mulier, quae diceret, somnio se moni- fam, ut insinuaret Adriano ne se occideret, quod esset bene valiturus : quod cum non fecisset, esseccecatara : jussam tamen iterum Adriano eadem diceret, atque genua ejus oscularetur, receptura visum, si id fecisset. Quod cum insom- nium implesset, oculos recepit, quum aqua quae in fano erat, ex quo venerat, oculos abluisset. Venit et de Pannonia quidam natus coecus ad febrientem Adrianum, eumque contigit; quo facto et ipse oculos recepit, et Adrian um febris reliquit : quamvjs Marius Maximus hasc per simulationem facta com- memoret. Spartian. Hadrian, cap. 25. 440 Jewish Testimonies. ascribed to Adrian may illustrate this history : and there- fore I have transcribed him below very largely. Spartian lets us know that Marius Maximus, who before him had written the life of Adrian, and some other emperors, said those miracles were mere fictions. And says the learned and judicious Reimar, in his notes upon Dion Cassius : ' Nor "^ ought we to form any other judgment of the mira- ' cles ascribed to Vespasian.' And perhaps it may deserve notice, that, notwithstanding such fine things were ascribed to Vespasian, Dion presently afterwards says ' he ^ was not ' at all acceptable to the Alexandrians ; but they hated him, ' and ridiculed and reproached him both in public and ' private.' However, Crevier's observation is to'this effect : ' At ' the ' same time we ought carefully to observe that these disor- * ders, which Vespasian cured, were not of an incurable ' nature : and consequently we are at liberty to think ' that the healing them did not exceed the power of the ' daemon.' And indeed popish saints and heathen doemons are much alike: nor is there any great difference between heathen and popish credulity. I cannot forbear to take notice of one remarkable history in this " reign. Sabinus " in Gaul engaged with some others in a revolt from the Romans, but was soon defeated. He might then have escaped into Germany ; but affection for his wife, the best of women, whom he could not carry with him, led him into another scheme, Mhich he communicat- ed to two only of his freed-men, in whom he could con- fide. His country-house Mas burnt down, and he Avas sup- posed to have perished in the flames: but really he retired into a large sutiterraneous cavern, which he had near it. It was universally believed that he had made away Avith him- self: and his Avife Epponina abandoned herself to all the excesses of grief, and for three days and three nights re- fused to take any sustenance. Sabinus hearing of it, and ■■ Sed Marius Maximus haec per simulafionum facta commemorat. Ita diseile Spartjanus, Hadr. c. 25. Nee aliler de Vespasiani miraculis existi- mandum. Reimar. in Dion. Cass. I. 66. sect. 50. p. 1083. * To /itv Otwv ruTotQ avTOv latfivvviv. On fiivrot Kai AXi^avSpitg «;^atpoj/ avT(i>, aWa Kai iravv i)xQovto, k. \. Dio. p. 1082. ■ Hist, of the Rom. Emp. Vol. 6. p. 32. " See Tilleni. Vespasian, art. vi. et xvii. Crevier's Hist, of the Roman Emperors, Vol. vi. p. 103, 104. * Fusi Lingones. Sabinus festinatum temere proelium pari formidine deseruit. Utque famam exitii sui faceret, viiiam, in fjuam perfiigerat, crema- vit ; illic voluntaria morte interiise creditus. Sed (iiiibus artibus latebrisque vitam per novem annos traduxerit, simul amicorum ejus constantiam, et insigne Lpponinae uxoris exemplum, suo loco reddemus. Tacit. Hist. 4. cap. 67. JosEPHUS, Transactions in Jiideci. A. D. 70. 44 1 ilreading- the consequences, sent one of his freechnen to lier, to assure lier of his life, and to advise her to keep up the a[)pearance of a mourner, still avoiding- extremities. After- wards she had access to him, and hore two children, of wliich she delivered herself in the cavern. IJy various artful pre- tences, anti the faithfulness of friends, the truth was kept secret, and Sabinus lay concealed nine years: in which in- terval there were once some hopes of obtaining- the em- peror's pardon ; and Epponina had Sabinus to Rome, so disguised that none knew him. Out, being- disappointed in those expectations, they returned to the place of their re- treat. At length '" Sabinus was discovered. He, and Ep- ponina, and their two sons, were brought before Vespasian. She behaved with becoming- firmness, yet endeavoured to move the emperor's pity. Presenting- her two sons to him : ' These,' says she, ' Ccesar, I have brought forth, and nursed ' in the cavern, that I might increase the number of your ' supplicants.' And, as is said, neither the emperor himself, nor any others with him, could refrain from tears. How- ever, perceiving- that he did not yield, she then upbraided him ; and told him she had lived more happily in the dark- ness of a cave than he upon his throne. Sabinus and his wife were condemned, but the children were spared. Plu- tarch says, that * thereby ^ Vespasian provoked the ven- ' geance of heaven, and brought upon himself the extinc- ' tion of his family. It was,' says he, ' the most tragical ' action of that reign ; a thing- which neither gods nor dse- ' mons could bear the sight of.' Indeed, not only he, but Tacitus and Dion show a dislike of that action. But we have not Tacitus's conclusion of the story, he having de- ferred it to a following book, Avhich is now wanting-. It must appear not a little strange, that a general and his wife should be put to death nine years after a disturbance had been suppressed, and which had no bad consecjuences. When likewise, of the two miscreant rebels and tyraiits at Jerusalem, one only was condemned to death, and the other to perpetual imprisonment. Vespasian did not live long- after this. We now |)roceed in our history. About> this time the Jews became divided into three par- ties, or factions; the leaders of which were John, Eleazar, and Simon ; by whom the city, and every partof it, and the temple itself, were filled with slaughter and bloodshed. This happened, as ^ Josephus expressly says, whilst Titus was with his father at Alexandria, and must therefore be * Dio. I. 66. p. 1090. X Erot. sub fin. > L. 5. cap. i. sect. 1. ^ Ibid. 442 Jewish Testimonies. lightly placed by us in the year G9, and perhaps not far from the end of it. ' So,' as the same writer says, ' one faction fought against the other : \i'hich '^ partition in evil cases may be said to be a good thing, and the effect of di- vine justice.' Eleazar*^ had the temple, John was below him in the city, Simon had the upper part of the city. Simon •= had with him ten thousand, beside the Idumeans : his own men had fifty commanders, of which he was supreme. The Idu- means that joined with him were five thousand, and had ten commanders. With Eleazar Avere two thousand and five hundred of the zealots. John had six thousand armed men under twenty commanders; but soon after the beginning of the siege these two parties united into one ; after which there were but two factions, John's and Simon's. ' But before that union, whilst they were in three par- ties, out of spite to each other, as it seems, they set fire** to several storehouses that were full of corn and other pro- visions ; as if they had done it on purpose to serve the liomans : destroying what had been sufficient for a siege of many years. So they were taken with the famine : which couid not have been, if they had not by this means brought it upon themselves.' So says our Jewish his- torian. Titus'^ now leaves Alexandria, and comes to Caesarea, designing to move forward to Jerusalem, and lay siege to it, having with him an army of about sixty thousand men, Ro- mans and auxiliaries. Ile*^ pitched his camp at the place called Scopus, making' however two other encampments at a small distance, one of which was on the Mount of Olives. Iles presented himself before the city about the time of Passover, which was on the fourteenth day of the month of April, in the year of Christ 70: here he met with difficulties at the first, :is the Jews made furious sallies upon his army ; some of his soldiers were put by them into disorder, and suffered very considerably. The '' city of Jerusalem was surrounded by three walls, excepting- in such parts where were deep vallies which ren- dered the place inaccessible: there it had but one wall. ^ oTTfpavTig, WQ tv KaKOis,aya9ov tiiroi, Kai SiKt]C tpyov. Ibid. '" II). seel. 2, 3. "^ L. 5. cap. vi. 1. Vid. et cap. iii. 1. '^ vTTflxTrtTrpa rnq oiKim: (tith fifzaq, Kai ■Kavro^mrwv nrirrjSeiwv KitTaKcnjvm Se tt\i]v oXiys iravra rov ''> '> t'JTS ttoXei kui civroiQ )/t^); Tra(ir]v. 448 Jewish Testimonies. siege, and the miseries of the people, till the city was taken by Titus. The ^ Roman batteries are now raised at the end of one- and-twenty days' hard labour, and the miseries of the city increase. The Romans begin to batter upon the walls of the tower called Antonia : the Jews make a vioorous de- fence : but the Romans gained possession of it about the middle of July. ' Titus'' thereupon ordered his soldiers to dig" up the foundations of the tower Antonia, to make way for him to come up with his whole army ; and being- informed that on that very day, the seventeenth of July, the daily sacrifice had failed, and that it had not been offered up for want of men, and that the people were g^reatly concerned at it, he sent for Josephus, and commanded him to say to John the same things that had been said before. Accordingly Jo- sephus sought for a proper place to stand in ; and in the name of Titus himself earnestly exhorted John, and those that w^ere with him, to spare their own country, and to pre- vent that fire which was ready to seize upon the temple, and to oflTer to God therein their usual sacrifices. But John cast many reproaches upon Josephus, with imprecations ; adding- withal, that ^ he did not fear the city should ever be taken, which was God's own city: after which Josephus went on with a pathetic speech, which, though it did not persuade John and his adherents, was not altogether with out efl^ect.' And^ some, watching- for an opportunity, fled to the Ron)ans ; of whom were the high priests Joseph and Jesus, and of sons of high-priests three, and four sons of Matthias, as well as one son of the other Matthias, formerly mention- ed, who with three of his sons had been killed by order of Simon, son of Gioi-as ; and many others of the nobility: all whom Titus received very kindly, and sent them to Gophna, a small city, where they might live quietly, follow- ing- their om'u customs; which ofier tliey cheerfully accept- ed : but as they did riOt appear, the seditious within the city gave out that those men had been slain by the Romans. It Avas in vain therefore, they said, for any to go over to the Romans, unless they were willing to be put to death. Titus'' therefore sent for those men from Gophna, and let them go round near the wall with Josephus, to assure the people that they might come over to him with safety. "* L. 6. cap. i. sect. 1 — 8. " Cap. ii. sect. 1, — '■ wc ovK av noTt SeifTUtv aKaxriv, Otov yap vTrap^uv njv ttoXiv. 8 Ibid. cap. ii. sect. 2. '■ Ibid. sect. 3. JosEPHUS. Of the Sicijc of Jerusalem. A. D, 70. 449 If all this be true, as Joseplius writes, it is a proof of the good temper of Titus. Moreover, the Romans were now pushing their conquests upon the temple itself, which Titus seems unwilling to have destroyed. ' And,'' as Josephus adds, ' Titus was much affected wiili the present state of thing's, and reproached John and those with him : reminding them of the regard which had been shown to the temple by the Romans, who had allowed them to erect in the courts of it a partition wall, with inscriptions in Greek, forbiddinji" all foreiijners to enter within those 1 . limits, and allowing them to kill such as did so, though they were Romans. I call to witness,' says he, ' the gods of the country, and every g'od, who ever had a regard to this place; (for I do not now suppose it to be regarded by any of them ;) 1 also call to witness my own army, and the Jews who are with me, and your own selves, that 1 do not compel you to pollute your sanctuary : and if you will change the place of combat )io Roman shall come near it; for 1 will endea- vour to preserve your temple, whether you will or not.' Such ^ things were spoken by Titus, and by Josephus after him in Hebrew, to John and the rest with him ; but they perverted it, as it all these fine offers proceeded from fearfulness, and not from any good will to them. Titus' therefore proceeded in his attacks. His soldiers fought with the Jews at the temple, whilst he continued on the hiiiher oround in x'Vntonia to observe their conduct. They "" had now made a broad way from the tower An- tonia to the temple, and began to play on the temple with their battering engines. The " fight was very desperate. A cloister near Antonia was set on fire. On the twenty-fourth day of July the Ro- mans set fire to another cloister, when the fire proceeded fif- teen cubits farther. 'Whilst'' the Jews and Romans were thus fighting at the temple, the famine prevailed in the city, till at length they did not abstain from girdles and shoes. The very lea- ther that belonged to shields they took off and gnawed. Wisps of old straw became food to them.' At P this time a woman named Mary, of a good family beyond Jordan, who had fled from her native place to Je- rusalem, to avoid the inconveniences of the war in the open country, when all she had brought with her was consumed, or taken from her by the rapaciousness of the tyrants and ' Sect. 4. * Sect. 5. ' Sect. 5, 6. "* Sect. 7. " Sect. 8, 9. *» Cap. iii. sect. .3. p Sect. 4. VOL. VI. 2 G 450 Jewish Testimonies. their adborents, was reduced to such extremity tliat she kill- ed lier sucking- child, and dressed it for food. On "i the eigiith day of the month of August the Roman batteries were completed, and Titus ordered the batteries to play upon the temple. The battle between the Jews and Romans was very desperate. ' Titus "^ retired to the tower of Antonia, and resolved the next day early in the morning* to storm the temple with his whole army, and to encamp about it. But certainly the di- vine sentence had long since condemned it to the hre : and now the fatal day was come, according to the revolution of ages; it was the tenth day of the month August, the same day upon which it had been formerly burnt by the king of Babylon.' ' The' temple was now on fire: nevertheless Titus, still desirous to save it, if possible, came near and went into the sanctuary of the temple with his commanders, and saw it, with what was in it: which he found to be far superior to the accounts of foreigners, and not inferior to our boastings and persuasion concerning it.' As* the fire had not yet reached the inner parts of the temple, Titus gave fresh orders for extinguishing the fire, and preserving the temple; but to no purpose: such was the enmity of the soldiers against the Jews: filled also with the hopes of plunder, and now animated with the rage of war. ' Nor " can we forbear to wonder at the accuracy of the period : for this happened, as before said, in the same month, an Cap. iv. sect. 1. ^ Sect. 5, ' Sect. 7. 'Ibid " Sect. 8. " Cap. v. s;>ct. 1 . " Sect. 2 JosEPHUS. Of the sierjc of Jerusalem. A. D. 70. 451 that the riches of the Jews were heaped up. The soldiers also came to tlie rest of the ch)isters in the outer court, where were women and children and a mixed multitude of people, to the nundjcr of six thousand : and before Cresar had given any orders about it, the soldiers in a rage set fire to the cloister. Nor did any one of that multitu' Tsro ^iiv on vnip rtjv rroKiv a^pov i'^t} pofi(fiai(f. TrapaTr\j}(nov, Kai irapartivaQ iiri tviavTOv KOfiijrtjQ. Mr. Winston's translation is; ' Thus there was a star resembling a sword, * which stood over the city ; and a comet that continued a whole year.' And he has a note to this purpose ; ' Whether Josephus means that this star was ' ditferent from that comet which lasted a whole year, I cannot certainly de- ' termine. His words most favour their being different one from another.' 2 G 2 452 Jewish Testimonies. without difficulty had it shut again. This also appeni<>d to the vulgar a good sigu ; as if thereby God opened to them the gate of happiness. But the wiser men conclude*! that the security of the temple was gone, and that tjie gate was opened for the advantage of their enemies ; and they said it was a sig-nal of the desolation that was coming- upoji them. Beside these, a few days after that festival, on the one-and-twentieth day of May, there appeared a wonderful phenomenon, almost exceeding belief; and the account of it might seem fabulous if it had not been related by those who saw it, and if the following events had not been an- swerable to such signs : for before sunset chariots and troops in armour were seen carried upon the clouds, and surround- ing cities. And at the festival, which'we call the Pentecost, as the priests were going by night into the inner court of the temple, as the custom was, to perform their ministrations, they first felt, as they said, a shaking, accompanied with a noise, and after that a sound, as of a multitude, saying, " Let us remove hence." But, which is still more anful, there was one Jesus, son of Ananus, of a low condition, and a countryman, who four years before the war began, when the city enjoyed profound peace and flowing prosperity, came up to the festival, in which it is the custom for us all to make tabernacles, who on a sudden began to cry out in the temple: "A voice from the eas!, a voice from the west, a voice from the four winds, a voice against Jerusa- lem and the temple, a voice against the bridegrooms and the brides, a voice against the whole people," This was his cry, as he went about both by day and by night, in all the lanes of the city. Some of the chief men were oft'ended at this ill-boding sound, and, taking him up, laid many stripes upon him, and had him beaten severely. Yet he said not a word for himself, nor made any peculiar complaint to them that beat hiu) ; but went on repeating the same words that he liad said before. Hereupon the magistrates, thinking it to be somewhat more than ordinary, as indeed it was, bring him before the Roman governor; where he was whipped till his bones were laid bare. All which he bore without sheddingany tears or making' any supj)lications : but with a mournful voice at every stripe, cried out : " Woe to Jerusa- lem," Albintis, the governor, asked him who he was, and whence he came, and why he uttered those words. To all which he made no answer, but contiMued making" his mourn- ful denunciations to the city. Albinu^, ihinking him to be nmd, dismissed him. And (iK^iceforward, fo the time of the war, he did not go (<» any of the ciliz(>ns ; nor was he seen JosEPHUS. Of the sic(je of Jciusab'iu. A. D. 70. 45i speaking to any ; but only went on with bis mouini'ul de- nunciation, as if it had been his premeditated vow : " Woe, M'oe to Jerusalem." lie did not give ill language to those who beat him, as many did frequently; nor did he thank those who gave him food: but went on repeating to all the doleful presage. But especially at festivals his cry was the loudest. And so it continued for seven years and five months, without his growing hoarse, or being tired there- with, till he saw his presage in the siege ; then he ceased : for going round upon the wall, with his utmost force he cried out : " AV oe, woe once more, to the city, and to the people, and to the temple." And then at last he added : " Woe, woe to myself also." At which instant there came a stone out of one of the engines that smote him, and kill- ed him immediately: and whilst he was uttering these mournful presages, he gave up the ghost.' ' If ^ any one considers these things,' adds Josephus, ' he will be convinced that God takes care of mankind, and by all ways possible foreshows to our race what is for their be- nefit ; and that men perish by those miseries which they madly and voluntarily bring upon themselves.' Thus I have transcribed this whole article of Josephus at length, and in the place and order in which it stands in his own work. 1 must be so candid as to take notice of the re- flections which some learned men have made upon it. To this purpose speaks Dr. Willes, in his first ^ discourse upon Josephus : ' The prodigies, that he saith happened before the destruction of Jerusalem, would agree better to Livy or Tacitus, than to a Jewish historian. — The Hying open of the great brazen gate of the temple is the same as hap- pened at Thebes, just before the great battle of the Lace- demonians at Leuctra, when the great gates of the temple of Hercules opened of themselves, without any one's touch- ing them. I omit many other things of the like nature ; whence it is evident that Josephus endeavoured to Grecise and shape the history of the Jews, as like as he could to those of the Greeks and Romans.' So Dr. Willes. And 1 shall transcribe below the passage of Cicero de Divinatione,'' to which he refers. ' Sect. 4. * Prefixed to L'Estrange's edition of Josephus, p. 3, 4. 8vo. '' Quid ? Lacedaemoniis paullo ante Leuctricam calamitatem, quae signifi- catio facta est, cum in Herculis fano arma sonuerunt, Herculisque simulacrum multo sudoremanavit ? Ateodem tempore Thebis, ut ait Callisthenes, in tem- ple Herculis valvae, clausae repagulis, subitose ipsse aperuerunt ; armaque, quae fixa in parietibus fuerant, ea sunt humi inventa. De Divin. I. 1. c. 24. n. 74. 454 Jeivish Testimonies. Basnage "^ in his History of the Jews speaks after this manner: ' Besides, deception was easy in many of the things ' related by him. The bright light round the altar in the ' night-time : the cow that brought forth a lamb as she was ' led to the altar : the cliariots of fire that were seen in the ' air, and passed over the city with a frightful noise, are very ' liable to suspicion : the opening of the temple seems to be ' rather better attested than the others, because it is said that ' the maoistrate came to shut it. But the meaning was doubt- ' ful. To some it seemed to be an assurance that God had ' opened the treasures of his benediction ; whilst others con- ' eluded that he had abandoned the protection of his temple. ' But it is not easy to deny the truth of the history of the ' man that cried, " A voice from the east, a voice from the ' west," and every day predicted the ruin of the city : for ' this man was brought before Albinus, who examined him. ' He was severely scourged, and he was often beaten by the * people, who could not endure so dismal a noise : but he ' was all along unmoved. His cry continued for the space ' of seven years. At length he was killed upon the walls of ' the city, at the beginning of the siege, TI.ms is not a thing ' about which men might be deceived. Josephus, who re- ' lates it, was at Jerusalem when this preacher, who was ' treated as a madman, denounced its desolation : and he ' might inform himself concerning- his death. So that if ' there are any things to which we ought to attend, it is this, ' in which we must acknowledge somewhat extraordinary.' So says Basnage. I am inclined to go over and examine every one of these prodigies. ' There'^ was a star, a comet resembling a sword, which stood over the city, and continued for a year.' How Mr. Whiston understood this has been seen already. L'Estranffe translates thus : ' What shall we sav to the ' comet that hung over Jerusalem, for one whole year to- ' gether, in the figure of a sword?' Archbishop Tillotson* in this maimer: ' At a little before the destruction,' he tells us, ' there hung over their city a fiery sword, which con- ' tinned for a year together. A little before their rebellion ' against the Romans there appeared a comet, which shined ' so clear in the temple, and about the altar, as if it had been ' day.' It must be confessed that is not exact. Tillemont: <^ L. i. ch. viii. sect. 3. p. 224. ■' Thto ^uv ote virep djv TroXtv aTpov iTt] po/KpaKf TrapanXtjmor, koi Trnpareit'fiQ tir tvicivrov KO/xriTrjc- * As before, p. 554. JosEPiius. Of the siecje. of Jerusalem. A. D. 70. 455 There ^ was also a comet wliicli appeared for a year, and * over Jerusalem an extraordinary star, Aviiich seemed to be ' a sword. But Josephus does not say the time.' Neither is this very exact. However, 1 have also transcribed below the words of Josephus himself. This is the first prodigy. And indeed it is a wonderful and very awful thing-. A star, resembling- a sword, hanging- over a city, for a whole year. — Upon this we cannot forbear to observe that Josephus has not told us the time when this star or comet appeared. He says, ' it continued for a year.' But does not say when. A very strange omission. I must take the liberty to add, that if, about the time of the siege of Jerusalem, or some period within a few years before, there had been a star resembling- a sword, which hung over that city for a year together, I should expect to find it in some author beside Josephus, and an author that does not depend upon him or borrow from him. Tacitus « has mentioned several of the prodigies preceding- the ruin of the Jewish people, but he does not mention this : however, it must be owned that his omitting- it is of no great importance, as he does not appear to have been care- ful to put down every thing of this kind. 2. It follows: 'And before the rebellion, and before the war broke out, when the people were conie together in great multitudes to the feast of unleavened bread, on the eighth day of the month of April, at the ninth hour of the night,' or three hours after midnight, ' so great a light shone round the altar, and the temple, that it seemed to be bright day : which light continued for half an hour.' This prodigy is related by Josephus so particularly and circumstantially, as happening too at the time of passover, when Jerusalem was full of people, and in the year C5, as it seems, that I am not at all disposed to contest the truth of it. I think it must have so happened. But the design of this appearance is ambiguous. And, as Josephus says, some thought it to portend good, others bad things. But that does not affect the truth of the fact. 3. ' And at the same festival a heifer, as she was led by the high priest to be sacrificed, brought forth a Iamb in the •' II parut auRsi une comete pendant un an, et sur Jerusalem un astre extraor- dinaire, qui sembloit etre une epee. Joseph n'en marque pas le temps. Ruine des Juifs. art. 41. « Evenerant prodigia, quae neque hostiis neque votis piare fas habet gens superstitioni obnoxia, religionibus ad- versa. Visae per ccelum concurrere acies, rutilantia arma, et subito nubium igne coUucere tomplum. Expassae repente delubri fores, et audita major humana vox, • Excedere Deos :' simul ingens motus excedentium. Tacit. Hist. 1. 5. c. 13. 456 Jewish Testimonies. midst of the temple.' Here again I hesitate. I am surpris- ed to see so trifling" a story in a grave writer. 1 think Jo- sephus inserted this to gratify his Greek readers. 4. The next prodigy is the opening of the ' eastern gate of the inner court of the temple at midnight :' which, as be- fore observed by Dr. Willes, has such a resemblance with like stories told by credulous heathen people, that it seems to be only an imitation of them, and has therefore the ap- pearance of a fiction, by way of accommodation to the judg- ment of heathen readers. 5. ' Beside these, a iew days after that festival, on the one-and-twentieth day of the month of May, there appeared a wonderful phenomenon, almost exceeding belief: and the account of it might seem fabulous, if it iiad not been related by those who saw it, and if the following- events had not been answerable to such signs. For before sunset chariots and troops of soldiers in armour were seen carried upon the clouds, and surrounding' cities.' Such seeming appearances have often been the effect only of imagination, without any reality. But this is related by Josephus so particularly, and with so much solemnity, that it is hard to contest the truth. And if it be true, this, and the 'light surrounding the altar and the temple ' before mentioned, may be some of those things intended by our Saviour when he said : " And fearful sights, and great signs, shall there be from heaven :" Luke xxi. 11. Of this '' Crevier speaks in this manner: ' I say nothing of the armed * chariotsand troops of warriors that were seen fighting in the ' air. That might be the natural effect of a phenomenon then ' not understood, but which we are now well acquainted with, ' and call the Aurora Borealis, or northern light.' A wise observation tridy ! ^V ho ever before saw or heard of an Aurora Borealis in the day time? Josephus expressly says that these chariots and warriors were seen ' before sun- setting.' 6. ' And at the festival, which we call the Pentecost, as the priests were going by night into the inner court of the temple, as the custom was, to perform their ministrations, they first felt, as they said, a shaking, accompanied with a noise, an History of the Rom. Emp. Vol. vi. p. 240. * H. E. 1. 3. c. vii. Dcm. Ev. 1. 8. p. 402. And see the Credib. Vol. iv. p. 81. " K«i IwnTfwoQ dt fitra ftpaxw ytvofitvog \povov, i fortifications?" At which time he had many like discourses with his friends. He also set at liberty such as had been bound by the tyrants, and were still in the prisons. And when he en- tirely demolished the rest of the city, and overthrew its'- walls, he left those towers to be monuments of his fortune, which had fought with him, and had enabled him to tnke what otherwise would have been impregnable.' ' The^ soldiers were weary of killing. But there were many still alive. Titus therefore gave orders that none should be killed but such as were in arms or made resist- " Cap. ix. sect. ] . * "Zw Gh^j y' iTroXsfirjvaftiv k. X. lb. -'■ Undoubtedly Titus, upon entering into that part of the city which was now taken, and so becoming master of the whole city of Jerusalem, had some discounes with his generals suitable to the occasion. But Josephus, in imi- tation of the Greek and Roman historians, who made speeches for their generals, embellisheth here ; and he makes Titus say some things which he did not say. The tyrants, as Josephus calls them, were guilty of mad con- duct in their divisions, in destroying, as they had done, many stores proper for sieges, and in other respects. But Titus could not charge them with folly and madness in relinquishing the three towers here referred to. Jose- phus has given a particular description of them. De B. J. 1. 5. c. iv. sect. 3. They were strong and lofty buildmgs, raised upon the north wall of the city. Herod had displayed his magnificence in them : but they were not fit for gar- risons, or to be made places of defence. They were rather summer-palaces, fitted for diversion and entertainment, with splendid apartments and sumptu- ous furniture. The Jews did not relinquish any places of defence. They vigorously defended their several walls, and the tower Antonia, and the tem- ple. They had fully exercised all the military skill and courage of Titus, and his many generals, and tired his soldiers : and induced them more than once to despair of victory, as our historian himself has informed us. It appears however from Josephus, that Simon made use of the tower Phasaelus for his own habitation, during a good part of the siege, TijviicavTa yen'iv rvpavvnov airtSiixQi) tov ^ifiiovor. lb. sect. 3. p. 339. in. '■ AvQii; Se Tt]V aS\r]V a^ai'i^tui/ TroXif, Kat Tlixt) KaTavas shut up as in a prison : and the Konian army encompasseefore him, who ordered him to be kept for the triumph at Rome.' ' L. 7. cap. i. sect. 1. » Sect. 2. ' Cap. ii. sect. 1 VOL. VI, 2 H 466 Jewish Testimonies. 'At" Cffisarea Titus solemnized the birthday of his brother Doniitian, on ' the twenty-fourth day of October, in a splendid manner, doing honour to him in the punishment of the Jews; for the number of those who were now slain, in fighting with beasts, or were burnt to death, or fought with one another, exceeded two thousand and five hundred : yet did all this seem to the Romans, though they were destroy- ed ten thousand ways, beneath their deserts. Afterwards Titus went to Berytus, a city in Phoenicia, and a Roman colony ; there he stayed a longer time, and exhibited a more pompous solemnity on his father's birthday, [November 17.] Here a great number of the captives were destroyed in the like manner as before.' ' Having '"^ stayed some while at Berylus, he set forward to Antioch ; and as he went exhibited magnificent shows in all the cities of Syria, making use of the captives as public instances of the overthrow of the Jewish nation.' Af Antioch he was received with loud acclamations. Thence he went to Zeugma, which lies upon the Euphrates : M'hither came to him messeno-ers from Voloo-esus, kino- of Parthia, who brought him a crown of gold, congratulating him upon his victory over tlie Jews, which he accepted. There he feasted the king's messengers, and then returned to Antioch. It does not appear that Titus celebrated any shows there ; and when the people of that place requested him to expel the Jews out of their city, he refused to comply with them, and confirmed to them all the privileges which they had hitherto enjoyed there. Having y sent away the two before-mentioned legions by which he had been attended, one to Mysia, the other to Pan- nonia, and havingf o-iven orders for sendinii" Simon and John, and seven hundred of the tallest and handsomest of the captives, to appear in the triumph at Rome, he went to Alexandria, and thence to Rome, and passing through Palestine, in his Avay to Egypt, he was much moved, as Josephus says, at the sight of the desolations of that country. When ^ Titus came near Rome he was received with great rejoicings by the people, who came out to meet him, as also by his father Vespasian: and though the senate had decreed to them two several triumphs, they chose to have but one. Josephus has not informed us exactly concerning the time of " Cap. iii. sect. 1. " Vid. Pagi ami. 70. n. iii. etBasnag. ami. 70. n. xviii. " Cap. v. sect. 1. " Sect. 2. y Sect. 2, 3. ' Sect. 3, 4. JosEPHUs. 77te Triumph of the Emperors at Rome. A. D. 71. 467 it; and learned critics are now of different opinions : some* place it near the end of tlie month of April, in 71 : others'* arg"uc that it must have been later. ' Many "^^ other sj)oils,' says Josephiis, ' were carried in great abundance ; but the most considerable of all were those taken out of the temple at Jerusalem. There Mas the golden table of many talents; and the candlestick, likewise of gold, with its seven lamps, a number much respected by the Jews; the last of all the spoils was the law of the Jews: after which were carried images of Victory, made of gold or ivory ; after which came Vespasian first, on horse- back, then Titus; Domitian also was there splendidly at- tired, and riding upon a beautiful horse.' ' The '' end of this pompous show was at the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. When they came thither they stood still ; for it was the ancient custom of the Romans to stay till word was brought that the general of the enemy was slain. This was Simon, the son of Gorias, M'ho had been led in the triumph among the captives. A rope was put about his neck, and he was led to a proper place in the forum, where malefactors were put to death. When tidings of his death were brought, all the people set up the shout of joy, and sacrifices were offered up, with the accustomed prayers. The emperor then went to his palace, and feastings were made every where.' ' And*^ now Vespasian determined to build a temple to Peace, which was finished in a short time, and in a splendid manner. Here he laid up those golden vessels and instru- ments, that were taken out of the Jewish temple, as ensigns of his glory : but their law, and the purple veils of the holy place, he ordered to be deposited in his palace.' ' That ^ temple was adorned with paintings and statues. In it were collected and reposited all such curiosities as men are wont to wander all over the world to obtain a sight of.' The book of the law does not now appear in what is call- ed the triumphal arch of Titus, though the table and the candlestick are very visible. Josephus, in his Life, says, that ' when the city was taken, Titus gave him leave to ask what he pleased.' One of his recpiestss was to have the sacred books, which were granted to him. Here, in the History of the War, he seems to say • Vid. Pagi ann. 70. n. vi. *> Basaag. 71. n. iii. <= Sect. 5. -I Sect. 6. « Sect. 7. f lb. Sect. 7. S r.ai (ii(i\i())v lepwv iKa(iov xaQiaaiuvs Tits. Vit. sect. 75. o ,, o 468 Jewish Testimonies. they ^ ^vere deposited in tlie emperor's palace : possibly they were placed there: but Josephiis was allowed to have the use of them when he desired it. The temple of Peace, according to the description which Josephus has given of it, appears to have resembled our Bri- tish Museum, and other like rich cabinets of princes in se- veral parts of Europe. The temple of Peace was burnt down in the reign of Commodus; but it is likely that many of the curiosities deposited in it were preserved from the flames. And the Jewish spoils were in being in the flfth century, and after- wards, though not at Rome, as we learn from ' Adrian R el and. We have seen the overthrow of the city and temple of Jerusalem ; but there still remained some strong places in Judea not yet taken by the Romans, of which Josephus has given an account ; and it is fit we should trace him to the end of his History of the Jewish War: for, as our Lord said, " Wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together :" Matt. xxiv. 28. And see Luke xvii. 37. Lucilius Bassus*^ was sent into Judea by Vespasian as lieutenant, Avhere he received a sufficient army from Cerealis Vitellianus : he soon took Herodion, and made the garrison prisoners. He ' then determined to go to Machoerus : by means of an accident, well improved, he became master of it without much loss on either side. ' Having ™ settled affairs there, he marched hastily to the forest of Jardes ; Avhere, as he was informed, many were gathered together who during the siege had escaped from Jerusalem and Machserus. When they engaged, the battle was fierce and obstinate on both sides ; nevertheless, of the Romans there were not more than twelve killed, and not many m ounded ; but of the Jews not one escaped out of the battle, but they were all killed, being not fewer in number than three thousand : and with them their general, Judas, the son of Jairus, who had been captain of a band in the siege of Jerusalem, and by getting out, through a vault un- der ground, had privately escaped.' '' Tov ds vo/xov avrojv, irpoatra^iv tv roig fSacrtXiioig aTroOtfiivsQ (}>v\aTTiiv. L. 7. c. V. sect. 7. ' Imperante Commodo deflagravit hoc tempi iim Pacis, teste Herodiano, L. i. cap. 14. sed cum eo non periisse spolia Hiurosolymitana ceitum est, quoniam seculo quinto a Christo nato ea in Africam delata sunt, iit mox videbimus, &c. Reland. De Spoliis Tempi. Hieros. cap. 1.3. p. 1.3-3. " L. 7. cap. vi. 1. ' lb. sect. 1 — 4. ■" lb. sect. 5. JosEPHUs, Other Places in Judea reduced. A. D. 73. 469 ' About " this time the emperor sent orders to Liieilius Bassus, ami Liberius Maxinuis, tliat ail Jiulea should be exposed to sale: for he founded not any city there, but re- served the country to himself. However, he assigned a place for eight hundred men, whom he dismissed from the army, which he gave them for their habitation. It is called Ammaus, and is distant from Jerusalem sixty furlongs: he also laid a tribute upon the Jews wherever they were, re- quiring that every one of them should bring two drachmas [half a shekel] every year to the capitol ; the same that they had been used to pay to the temple at Jerusidem.' Bassus" having died in Judea, Flavins Silva was sent to succeed him in the government of that country; who soon made an expedition against Massada, the only remaining fortress ; it was in the possession of Eleazar, a commander of the Sicarii : he was a descendant of Judas, who had per- suaded many of the Jews, as formerly related, not to submit to the assessment made by Cyrenius w hen he came into Ju- dea after the removal of Archelaus. When 1' there was no room left for escaping, Eleazar call- ed together the principal persons, and consulted with them what might be l3est to be done : at which time he made an oration to them to induce them to kill themselves rather than fall into the hands of the Romans. That '' oration had great effect upon many : some however there were who hesitated : he therefore went on, and made another oration to the like purpose : all now were persuaded. They"^ then chose ten men of the number by lot to slay all the rest. When these ten men had withoiit fear slain all the rest, men, women, and children, as determined, they cast lots upon themselves, and he who had the first lot kill- ed the other nine, and then himself. These people so died with the intention that they might not leave so much as one man among them to be subject to the Romans. However, there was one ancient woman, and another woman related to Eleazar, who exceeded most women in knowledge and pru- dence, and five children, who had hid themselves in a cavern under ground : they had carried water with them for their drink, and lay quiet there, whilst the rest were intent upon the slaughter of each other. The w hole number of these people, including the just-mentioned women and children, was nine hundred and sixty. This slaughter was made on the fifteenth day of the month of April, in the year 73, as may be computed.' " Sect. 6. ° Cap. viii. sect. 1. p Sect. G. 1 lb, sect. 7. ■■ Cap. ix. sect. 1, 2. 470 Jewish Teshmontes. When the Romans entered the place the next morning, their surprise was very great, as may be well supposed. Soon ' after this some turbulent Jews were the occasion of disturbances at Alexandria, where six hundred were slain ; and after that in Cyrene, where more than three thousand suffered. The disturbance there was occasioned by the imposture of Jonathan, a Meaver, who* persuaded many people of the meaner sort to follow him into the wilderness, where he promised to show them signs and wonders. Moreover Vespasian sent express orders that the Jewish temple of Onias, as it was called, built in the priefecture of Heliopolis in Egypt, should be demolished : which was done in the year of Christ 74, about two hundred and twenty-four years after it had been first built, as " Pri- deaux computes. We before saw what was the number of those who were computed to have perished iu the siege of Jerusalem : but, taking in also those who had suffered in other places out of Jerusalem, these, added to the eleven hundred thousand that perished in the siege, make the whole number thirteen hundred and thirty-seven thousand four hundred and nine- ty ; an innumerable company still being omitted that pe- rished through famine, banishment, and other " miseries. Which I think to be no aggravation at all. IX. Let us now reflect. 1, All these things have we seen in Josephus, who at the beginning of his work says: ' I"* Josephus, son of Matthias, by birth a Hebrew of Jerusalem, and a priest, who myself at first fought against the Romans, and was afterwards forced to be present at the things that were done, have written this history.' The conclusion of the M'hole work, at the end of the seventh and last book of the Jewish War, is to this effect: ' Here '' we put an end to our liistory, which we promised to deliver with all accuracy to those who are desirous to know how this war of the Romans with the Jews was managed. Concerning the style let the readers judge: concerning the truth, 1 may boldly say, that only has been aimed at throu<>hout the whole work.' Perhaps likewise it may not be amiss to observe what he ' Cap. X. xi. ' — sK oXiyHQ rojv cnropwv ivtiraai irpoatxtiv nvrq), kui Trporjyayd' tig rov ipjjfjov, arjuua kcu tpa(Tnara Sei^dv vTroirxofifvoQ. cap. xi. sect. 1. " See his Connexion, &c. year before Christ 149. p. 266. " See Uslier's Annals, p. 907. in Enghsh, Lond. 1658. " De B. Jiid. in Fr. sect. 1. " L. 7. cap. xi. sect. 5. JosEPHUS. Reflections upon the foregoing History. 471 says of tin's work in liis first book against A|)j)ion, written long" afterwards, near the period ot" liis life. ' As> for myself 1 have composed a true history of that war, and of all the particulars that occurred therein, as hav- ing- been concerned in all its transiictions : for 1 acted as general among those among us who are called Galileans, as long as it was possible for us to make any opposition : and when 1 was taken captive by the Romans, Vespasian and Titus had me kept under a guard, but obliged me to attend them continually. At first 1 was in bonds ; after- wards 1 was set at liberty, and was sent to accompany Titus when he came from Alexandria to the siege of Jerusalem ; during which time nothing was done which escaped my knowledge. M hat happened in the Roman camp, 1 saw, and wrote it down carefully ; what information the deserters brought out of the city, I was the only man that understood it : afterwards I got leisure at Rome : and when all my ma- terials were prepared, 1 procured the help of one to assist me in writing Greek. Thus I composed the history of those transactions. And I was so well assured of the truth of what I related, that I first appealed to those who had the supreme command in that war, V^espasian and Titus, as wit- nesses for me ; for to them 1 first presented those books, and after them to many of the Romans who had been in the war. I also communicated them to many of our own men, who understood the Greek philosophy ; among whom were Julius Archelaus, and Herod, a person of great gravity, and king- Agrippa himself, who deserved the greatest admiration : all these bore testimony tome that I had the strictest regard to truth ; who would not have dissembled the matter, nor have been silent, if through ignorance, or out of favour to either side, I had altered or omitted any thing.' 2. Josephus's History of the Jewish War is an ample tes- timony to the fulfilment of all the predictions of our Lord, concerning the demolition of the temple and city of Jerusa- lem, and the miseries to be endured by the nation during the siege, which were such as had never before happened to any people, nor were likely to haj)pen again. 3. The sufferers in these calamities were generally men of the Avorst characters, robbers and Sicarii, and others too much resendjiing- them. It is reasonable to believe (hat no christians were then shut up in the city, nor many other good men, to partake in the miseries of that long and grievous siege. As St. Peter says, having instanced in the preserva- tion of " Noah the eighth person, when God brought in the J Contr. Ap. 1, i. sect. 9. 472 Jewish Testimonies. flood upon the world of the iing-odly, and then delivering just Lot, M'hen the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were turned into ashes," adds, with a view to other like cases, and pro- bably to the destruction of Jerusalem itself: " The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished," 2 Pet. ii. 5—9. 4. I think it ought to be observed by us that there was not now any pestilence at Jerusalem, but the Jews perished by the calamities of war. It might have been expected that the bad food, which they were forced to make use of in the straitness of the siege, and the noisome smell of so many dead bodies lying in heaps in the city itself, and in the vallies or ditches without the walls, should have produced a plague: but nothing of that kind appears^ in the His- tory : which must have been owing to the special interpo- sition of Divine Providence. Josephus,'' in some of the places where he speaks of the putrefaction of the dead bodies, may use expressions equivalent to pestilential ; but he never shows that there was an infection : if there had, it would have equally affected the Romans and the Jews, and the siege of the place must have been broken up, and the Romans would have gone off as fast as they could. 5. None can forbear to observe the time when all these things came to pass. Our Lord says, Matt, xxiii. 36, " Verily, I say unto you, all these things shall come upon this generation." And xxiv. 34, " Verily, 1 say unto you. This generation shall not pass till all these things be ful- filled." So likewise Mark xiii. 30, and Luke xxi. 32. So it was. All these things foretold by our Lord came to pass before the end of that generation of men. Jerusalem and the temple Avere no more, before the end of the year 70 of the christian epoch, and within forty years after his crucifixion. Concerning the time also our Lord said : " And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness to all nations:" 3Iatt. xxiv. 14. Comp. Mark xiii. 10. This we know from christian writings, particularly the books of the New Testament, most of which were written ' I'l est difficile que tant de peuples renformes dans une ville durant les cha- leurs de 1' ete, de si mtJehantes nourritures et surtout la puanteur de tant de corps morts, n'aient joint la peste a la famine. Joseph n'en i)arle ncanmoins qu'en un endroit, en passant ; co qui marque quelle ne fut pas considerable. Till. Ruim; des Juifs. art. fi7. p. 060. ' Vid. De B. Jiid. 1. 5. cap. xii. sect. 4. JosEPiius. Tlie Value of his Testimony. 473 before the destruction of Jeriisalem. Tliey bear witness that the gospel had been preached to Jews aiul (Jentiles in Judea, Syria, Asia, Greece, Macedonia, and Jiome, and other places, and Avith great success : and the preaching" of the g-Qspel throughout the world was a testimony to all nations that the calann'ties inflicted upon the Jewish people were just and lit. They bear witness that the Jewish nation had been called upon to repent, and were faithfully, and affec- tionately, and earnestly warned and admonished; but they refused to hearken. See the Acts of the Apostles, and Mark xvi. 20; Rom. x. 18 ; Col. i. G, and 23. Says archbishop Tillotson : ' We ** have this matter relat- * ed, not by a christian, (who might be suspected of parti- ' ality and a design to have paralleled the event with our ' Saviour's prediction,) but by a Jew, both by nation and * relig'ion, who seems designedly to have avoided, as much ' as possibly he could, the very mention of the christian name, ' and all particulars relating to our Saviour, though no his- ' torian was ever more punctual in other thing's.' Says Mr. Tillemont:'" 'God had been pleased to choose ' for our information in this history, not an apostle, nor any * of the chief men of the church, but an obstinate Jew, whom ' neither the view of the virtue and miracles of the christians, * nor the knowledge of the law, nor the ruin of his religion ' and country, could induce to believe in and love the Mes- ' siah, who was all the expectation of the nation. God has ' permitted it so to be, that the testimony which this historian * gave to an event, of which he did not comprehend the ' mystery, might not be rejected either by Jews or hea- ' theas ; and that none might be able to say that he altered ' the truth of things to favour Jesus Christ and his disciples.' Dr. W. Wotton says of Joseph us : ' He** is certainly an ' author very justly to be valued, notwithstanding- all his ' faults. His History of the Jewish War is a noble demon- ' stration of the truth of the christian religion; by show- ' ing", in the most lively manner, how the prophecies of our ' blessed Lord, concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, ' were literally fulfilled in their fullest extent.' And Dr. Doddridge, in his notes upon chap. xxiv. of St. Matthew's gospel, says: ' Christian writers*' have always '' Vol. 2. p. 563. serm. 186, the seventh sermon upon 2 Cor. iv, 3, 4. *= Ruine des Juifs, art. i. p. 722. ■^ Preface to his Miscellaneous Discourses relating to the Traditions and Usages of the Scribes and Pharisees, p. xlix. The faults, which he obscives in Josephus, may be seen at p. xxxiii. &c. « The Family Expositor, sect. 160. Vol. 2. p. 373. 474 Jewish Testimonies. ' with great reason represented Joseplius's History of the ' Jewish War as the best commentary upon this chapter. ' And many liave justly remarked it as a wonderful instance ' of the care of Providence for the christian church, that he, ' an eye-witriess, and in these things of so great credit, ' should (especially in so extraordinary a manner) be pre- ' served to transmit to us a collection of important facts, ' which so exactly illustrate this noble prophecy, in almost ' every particular circumstance. But as it would swell my ' notes too much to enter into a particular detail of those ' circumstances, I must content myself Avith referring to ' Dr. Whitby's excellent notes upon the twenty-fourth of ' Matthew, and to archbishop Tdlotson's large and accurate * discourse on the same subject, in the' second volume of bis ' posthumous works. Serm. 183 — 187.' Isidore of Pelusium, who flourished about the year 412, in one of his epistles has these expressions: ' If you have ' a mind to know Avhat punishment the wicked Jews under- ' went, who ill-treated the Christ, read the history of their ' destruction, written by Josephus, a Jew indeed, but a lover * of truth, that you may see the Avonderful story, such ' as no time ever saw before since the beginning of the world, ' nor ever shall see. For that none might refuse to give * credit to the history of their incredible and unparalleled ' sufferings, truth found out not a stranger, but a native, and ' a uian fond of their institutions, to relate them in a doleful ' strain.' Eusebius often quotes Josephus, and, in his Ecclesiastical History, has transcribed from him several articles at large. Having rehearsed from the gospels divers of our Lord's pre- dictions of the evils then coming upon Jerusalem and the Jewish people, he adds: ' Whosoever = shall compare these ' words of our Saviour with the history of the whole war, ' published by the above-mentioned writer, must admire our * Lord's great wisdom, and acknowledge that his foresight ' was divine.' In his Chronicle, as we have it from Jerom in Latin, Eu- sebius says: ' In •' subduing Judea, and overthrowing Je- ' Lib. 4. ep. 75. vid. ct ep. 74. 8 n. E. 1. 3. cap. 8. p. 81. D. •^ Titus, Judaea capta, et Jerosolymis subvcrsis, DC millia virorum interfecit. Josephus v'ero scribit undecies centena millia fame et gladio periisse, et alia centum millia captivorum publice venumdata. Ut autem tanta multiludo Jerosolymis reperirentur, causam Azymorum fuisse refert ; ob quam ex omni genero Judx'i ad templum confluentes urbe cjuasi carcere sunt rcclusi. Opor- tuit enim in iisdem diebus eos interfici, in quibus Salvatorem crucifixerant. Chron. p. 162. JosEPiius. The Testimony of other Writers. 475 ' nisalem, Titus slew six liuiuhcd tliousaiul people: but Jo- ' sephiis writes, that eleven liuiulreil thousand perished by ' famiue and the sword, and that another hundred thousand ' Mere publicly sold and carried captives: and he says that ' the occasion of" there being" so great a multitude of people ' at Jerusalem was this, that it was the Uiwc of passover; ' for which reason the Jews, having* con^e up from all parts ' to worship at the temple, were shut up in the city as ia ' a prison. And indeed it was fit they should be slain at ' the same lime in which they crucified our Saviour.' It is certainly very fit that christians should attend to the fulfilment of our Lord's predictions relating' to the Jewish people, which are so frequent, so solemn, and affectionate. The testimony of Josephus is the ntost considerable of all : it is the must full, and j>articular, and exact of any we have, or have the knowledge of : and he was an eye-witness ; and he was manifestly zealous for the honour of his country : he had a great respect for the temple, and its worship, and lor all the peculiarities of the Mosaic law; and he conti- nued to have the same to the last, as appears from his own life and his books against Appion. X. Josephus, in the preface to his own work, intimates (hat some histories of the war had been before written by others: but he represents them as partial and defective, and composed by men avIio Mere not M'ell informed. XJu- doubtedly none of these remain now: they have been lost long since. Justus of Tiberias, contemporary with Josephus, betn'een mIiojii there M'ere many differences, also M'rote a history of the War. Josephus in his Life chargeth him M'ith false- hood, and blames him for not publishing- his work until after the death of Vespasian and Titus, and king Agrippa. Josephus owns' that Justus was Mell skilled in Greek learning : and he plainly says that he wrote of the Mar. I do not clearly perceive Eusebius'' to have knoMU any thing- of Justus but M'hat he learned from the testimonies of Josephus, above referred to by me. Justus' is in Jerom's Catalogue of Ecclesiastical Writers. He seems to ascribe to him tM'o books. Photius"' I think speaks of but one Mork of this author, ' Kaj yap sS' aiTiipoQ r)v TraiCeiar Tijg Trap' 'EWr/ffiv, rj Oappuv nrtxiipifcriv Km Tr)v izoQiav rwv Trpayixurtov thtojv avaypcKpwv, k. X. Joseph. Vit. sect. S. Vid. et sect. 65. " H. E. 1. 3. cap. x. p. 86. B. ' Justus Tiberiensis, de provincia Galilaca, conatus est et ipse judajcarunv rerum liistoriam texere, et quosdam comineiitariolos de Scripturis componcre, &c. Dc V. Leap. 14. ■" AviyvuaOt} Istk TifiipuoQ xpovt/cor, k. X. Cod. 33. p. 20. 476 Jewish Testimonies. which he calls a Chronicle. He says it began with Moses and ended at the death of Agrippa. He also takes notice of Josephus's censures both of the author himself and his work. Stephanus Byzantinus, in his article of Tiberias, says : ' Of" this city was Justus, who wrote of the Jewish war in ' the time of Vespasian.' Diogenes Laertius," in his Life of Socrates, quotes a pas- sage from Justus of Tiberias, and seems to quote the same book that was read by Photius. Several learned modernsP are of opinion that Justus, like Josephus, wrote two books, one of the Jewish War, another of the Jewish Antiquities. Menage,^' in his notes upon Dio- genes Laertius, ascribes to Justus three books, that is. Me- moirs, beside the two before mentioned. I rather think there was but one, and that what Justus wrote of the war was comprised in the Chronicle. Menage's argument from Suidas is of no value ; for Suidas expresseth himself inac- curately; nor does he mention more than two works : the Memoirs, v7To/.iurj/xaTa, are the same Avifh Jerom's Commenta- rioli de Scripturis. Indeed Suidas only transcribes Jerom, or his interpreter Sophronius, and has done it inaccurately. Some "^ learned men lament the loss of this work. Others ^ think it was of little value. I cannot but wish that the work, which was in being in the time of Photius, had also reached us. It must have been of some use. Perhaps the censure passed upon it by Josephus, who was in great credit, has been a prejudice to it. 1 have allowed myself to enlarge in my notice of this wri- ter, who lived at the time, and was an actor in the Jewish war with the Romans. Though his work is not extant, he is a witness to that important transaction. " Ek TavTTiQ r\v Ihtoc, 6 tov IsSdiicov JloXciiov top Kara OvtffTraffiavs \<7opi](jag. Steph. Byz. " ^rjffiv Is?-oe 6 TijSipevc tv ry '^ififiaTi. Diog. La. 1. 2. sect. 41. p Unde colligo, [ex Hieronymi Catalogo,) ut Josephus, ita et Justum, non raodo de Antiquitatibus Judaicis, sed seorsumetiamde Bello Judaico scripsisse. Voss. de H. Gr. Vid. et Vales, Ann. in Eiiseb, 1. 3. cap. x. Tillem. Ruine de Juifs. art. 82. i Scripsit ille Historiam Judaicam, eodem tempore quo Josephus, a quo n)endacii arguitur. Scripsit praeterea vTrofivr)- fiara, quorum meminit Suidas. Scripsit et Chronicon Regum Judaeonim, qui coronati fuere ■, ut est apud Photium : quod opus signat hie Laertius. Menag. in loc. p. 94. ■■ Josephus, in Vita sua, et ahbi, quasi parum fido scriptori conviciatur. Sed, de inimico, non magis ei crediderim, quam Justo de Josepho crederem, si historia ejus exstaret, atque in ea aemulo ab eo detractum viderem. Utinam vero, quacumque fuerit, ad nos usque pervenis- set. Cleric. H. E. A. C. C. cap. vii. » Tillem. as above, art. 80. JosEPirus. The Testimony of other Writers. A77 l*ausanias, who' lived in the second century, and wrote after the year of our Lord 180, speaks" of a uionunieiit of queen Helena at Jerusalem, whictj (city) an emperor of the Romans had destroyed to the foundation. ' Minucius Felix refers' the heathen people not only to ' Josephus, but also to Antonius Julianus, a Roman author, ' from whom they might learn that the Jews had not been ' ruined nor abandoned of God till they had first abandoned * him : and that their present low condition was owing- to their ' wickedness and obstinacy therein, and that nothing" had ' happened to them but what had been foretold.' Who that Julianus was cannot be said. There have been several of that name, one '^ of whom was procurator of Judea, and was present with Titus at the siege of Jerusalem, as we know from Josephus. Tillemont says that ^ possibly lie wrote a history of the siege of Jerusalem. G. Vossius,^ upon the ground of tiiis passage of Minucius, puts Antonius Julianus among- Latin historians who had Avritten a history of the Jews. Minucius reckons Josephus among- Roman Avriters. Dr. Davis suspects it to be an interpolation, and assigns not im- probable reasons in his notes upon the place. Suetonius ^ has mentioned the occasion of the war, the appointment of Vespasian to be general, his and his son's triumph af^ Rome, and several other material things, which have been already observed, or will in time be observed by us from him. What** Tacitus has written upon this subject, so far as it remains, may be taken notice of hereafter. Dion Cassius'' is another witness, whose testimony also may be taken more at large hereafter. ' See Tillem, L'Emp. Marc. Aurele. art. xxxii. " 'E^paioQ Se 'EXevrjg yvvaiKog tiri-^wpiaQ Taipog t^iv tv iroXu 'EoXvfioig, ))p eg tSatpog KaT((ia\iv 6 'Pojfiauov (SaaiXsvg. Pausan. 1. 8. cap. 16. p. 633. " Scripta eorum relege. Vel si Romanis magis gaudes, ut transeamus ve- teres, Flavii Josephi, vel Antonii Juliani, de Judaeis require. Jam scies, nequitia sua banc eos meruisse fortunam : nee quidquam accidisse, quod non sit his, si in contiimacia perseverarent, ante praedictum. Ita prius eos dese- ruisse comprehendes, quain esse desertos ; nee, ut inipie loqueris, cum Deo suo esse captos, sed a Deo, ut disciplinae transfugas, deditos. Minuc. c. 33. Conf. C. 10. " Kai MapKog Avnoviog, 6 Ttjg J>iSaiag nriTpoirog. Jos. de B. J. 1. 6. cap. iv. 3. " Ruine des Juifs, art. 72. y Antonius Julianus Judai'cam videtur Historiam consigaasse, &c. De Hist. Lat. 1. 3. De Historicis incertse aetatis. ^ Sueton. Vcspas. c. 4, 5. " -ac triumphum utriusque judaicum, equo albo comitatus est. Domit. c. 2. >* Vid. Tac. Hist. Lib. v « Die. 1. 66. sub. in. 478 Jewish lestimovies. Pliilostratus says that ' when '' Titus had taken Jerusalem, ' and filled all about it with dead bodies, and the neigh- ' bouring- nations offered him crowns, he said he was not ' worthy of such an honour, nor had he himself, he said, done ' that great work. He had only lent his hand in the service ' of God, when he was pleased to show his displeasure.' Philostratus says that Apollonius was much pleased with that token of wisdom and humanity. He likewise says that i\pol]onius wrote a letter to Titus, and sent it by Damis, to this purpose : ' Apollonius sendeth greeting to Titus ' emperor of the Romans. Since you refuse to be applaud- ' ed for bloodshed and victory in war, I send you the ' crown of moderation. You know for what things crowns ' arc due.' Hence divers learned men have argued that Titus refused to be crowned for his victory over the Jews, Basnage,*' and other learned men, on the contrary, are of opinion that ^ve may rely upon the authority of Josephus, who tells us that ' he went from Antioch to the Zeugma, whither came to him messengers from Vol ogesus, king of Parthia, and brought him a crown of gold upon the victory obtained by him over the Jews ; which he accepted of, and feasted the king's messengers, and then returned to Antioch.' Moreover he accepted of a triumph for his victory over the Jcavs, and all other honours customary upon the like occasions. Never- theless, Olearius, in his notes upon the place, argues that*^ Philostratus needs not be imderstood to say that Titus re- fused the crowns offered him, but only said that he was un- Avorthy of that honour, he having been only an instrument in the hand of God for displaying his just vengeance against guilty uicn. And it must be owned that Olearius expresseth himself with great judgment and moderation. Either way those learned men are to be reckoned mistaken, who have main- '' ETTft h TiTog I'lpijKH ra '2o\vfia, icai vtKpuv vrXca i]V TTavra ra ofiopa re tBvTj i'7i(pavsv avTOv. 'O Se sc jj^is tavrov tuth' [ir] yap avrov ravra npyaaOai, Ot(l) 6t opyr]v ^yvavTi eTTtStcojKtvai rac; iavTS ')(etpaQ, k. X. Philos. de Vit. Apol. 1. C. cap. 29. * Modestiam Titi laudibus effert Baronius, quod, ' oblata sibi corona aurea * a provinciis, noluit coronari, testatus se pror&us indignum.' Usserius, aliiqiie eruditi, illud et ipsum tiadunt, freti auctoritate Philostrati. Basnag. ann. 70. n. xvi. f Quem tamen Joseph! locum immerito Philos- Irato opponi putem. Neque enim Pliilostratus * repudiasse coronam.' Ti- tum ait, atquc ca non accepta Icgatos dimisisse, quod viro docto interpretes persuasere, sed hoc tantum, quod eo honorese indignum dixerit ; justitiae Dei vindicatricis instrumentum, cujus uuUae fucrint in istis patrandis propriae vires, sese exstitisse agnoscens, &c. Olear. in lor. JosEPiius. Jlie Testimony of other Wrd*. Herod the tctrarch had married the daughter of Aretas, anil lived a considerable time with her. Hut, in a journey he took to Rome, he made a visit to ^ Plerod his brother, though nut by the same mother Here falling in love with Herodias, wife of the same Herod, daughter of their brother Aristobulus, and sister of Agrippa the great, he ventured to make to her proposals of marriage. She not disliking them, they agreed together at that time, that when he was returned from Rome she would go and live with him. And it was one part of the contract, that Aretas's daughter should be put away. This' was the beginning of the difference ; and there being also some disputes about the limits of their territories, a war arose between Aretas and Herod. And in a battle fought by them Herod's whole army was defeated.' ' But,' says "^ Josephus, ' some of the Jews were of opinion * Antiq. 1. 18. cap. v. sect. 1. '' Our evangelist.s call him Philip, Matt. xiv. 3, and elsewhere. That diffi- culty was considered formerly. Josephus and the evangelists mean the same person, though they call him by different names. See Vol. i. B. ii. ch. v. ■^ O (^£ apx^v fX^P^f TavTr)v Trotr](TaiJ.tvog, iripi re optov tv Ty yy ry Fafia- XiTiSi, Kai cvvdfiiujQ tKaTtpif} (TvX\iyH(Tt]c:, HS TTokifiov KaOi<^avTai' kcu iJLaxt}S ytvofiivTiQ, £ie(pOapT] ttoq 6 'HpcoSn '^paroQ, k. X. lb. sect. I. Tiai Se Ttov InSaiiop (Sokh, oXojXtvai tov 'lipioSa '^parov hiro m Gts, Kai fxaXa SiKaiojg Ttvvviuvn Kara itoivi}v ItoavvH rs nriKa\sfm>n BaTrriTS. Ktuvh yap THTov Hpw^rjr, ayaOov av^pa, kcu tsq \nlaiHC KiXivovra aptrrjv tTVaa- KHvrag, Km ry npoQ aXXrjXng liKaioavvy km Trpog tov Oeov ivtytfiiiq. ^^poi^fvsc, [3aTrTiafiti> avvtivai' ovtio yap Tr)v fiannaiv aTroSeKrtjv avrtp (pavtiaOat, fir) eiri Ttvojv a/xapTaSoiv TrapaiTiinu x9^l^f^vu)v, aXX t(p' uyviuj. th awyiarog, art St] KCU Ti]Q \pvxTig SiKcaoavvrj 7rpotKKeKuOap^tv)]c. Kat nov aXXwv av-pt(pofitv(i>V JosEPHUS. Of John the Baptist. A. D. 76. 481 that God l)ad suftered Herod's army to be destroyed as a just punishment on him for the death of John, called the Baptist. For lierod had killed him, who was a just man, and had called upon the Jews to be baptized, and to prac- tise virtue, exercising- both justice toward men and piety toward God. For so would baptism be acceptable to God, if they made use of it, not for the expiation of their sins, but for the purity of the body, the mind being first purified by righteousness. And many coming- to him, (for they were wonderfully taken with his discourses,) lierod was seized with apprehensions, lest by his authority they should be led into sedition against him ; for they seemed capable of under- taking any thing by his direction. Herod therefore thought it better to take him oft' before any disturbance happened, than to run the risk of a change of affairs, and of repenting- when it should be too late to remedy disorders. Being taken up upon this suspicion of Herod, and being sent bound to the castle of Machaerus, just mentioned, he was slain there. The Jews were of opinion that the destruction of Herod's army was a punishment upon him for that action, God being- displeased with him.' The genuineness of this passage is generally admitted by learned men : though " Blondell hesitated about it. Tana- quil Faber ^ received it very readily. The genuineness of this paragraph may be argued in the following manner : It is quoted or referred to by Origen in his books against Celsus. ' Besides,'^ says that ancient writer, ' I would have ' Celsus, who personates a Jew, who after a sort admits ' John the Baptist, and that he baptized Jesus, to consider that ' an author, who wrote not long- after the time of John and ' Jesus, says that John was a baptist, and that he baptized Kai yap yc}9i](Tav ittl ttXutov tij aKpoami twv Xoydiu, SeirTag 'HptuSrjQ ro tiri Toaoi'St TTiOavov aura roig avdptonoiQ fir) tm aizoTaaii rivi Tparevnan ytvidQai, rs 0£8 KaKiog 'Hpu)Sy OtXovTog. lb. sect. 2. « Des. Sibylles, 1. 1. c. vii. p. 28,29. f Fab. ap. Haverc. p. 269, 270. * E/3sXo/ijjv S' av KiXaii), ■KpoautnoiiqaavTi tov In^aiov irapa^t^afiivov Triog Iwavvtjv wg /BanriTTji', jSaTTTi^ovra tov Itjffnv, inreiV 6ri to Iwavvtjv yeyovnmi /3a7rriTj;j/, ag a0£ laSdlKti) TrpoffWTTf^ 7rspit9riKtv. OvSe yap avvaTrmm tov lwavvt)v oi IsSawi rij) Ijjci^j, Kai Tr]v lu)avvH rj? ts Irjas KoXatrti. Contr. Cels. 1. i. cap. 48. p. 38. p Ipse accepit uxorem Philippi fratris sui adhuc viventis in uxorem, licet ilia haberet filios ex fratre ejus : earn, iuquam, accepit sibi in uxorem. Oc- cidit autem multos sapientes Israel. Occidit etiam Jochanan sacerdotem magnum, ob id ciuod dixerat ei : Non licet tibi accipere uxorem fratris tui Philippi in uxorem. Occidit ergo Jochananem Baptistam. Josipp. 1. 6. cap. 63. p. 274. '' Fiverat. Se Kara tstov tov xpovov Irjcrag, aotpog avrip, tiye avSpa avrov \iytiv ypy. liv yap TrapaSoKoJV tpyojv 7roit]rr](;, SiSaaKaXoQ avOpwTrwv riov i/Sovrj T aXtjO)] Ctxoiitvuiv. Km TroXXst; fiev IhSulsc ttoXXsc Se kui th 'EXXjj- I'tKU tiri^yaytro. 'O Xpt-roc oiirof r)v. Km avrov ivSn'^n tojv npoJTWv ai'Spiov Trap' iijiiv, 'Tavp(i) tTriTirifirjKOTOQ lliXara, hk inavaavTO o'lyt tt^wtov avrov ayatrriaavTtQ. Ecpavr/ yap avroic rpirtjv fx<^v rjiiipav TraXiv Zuv, tojv OeiU)v ■7rpo(prjT(i}V Tavra rt kui aXXa fivpia Bavfiaffia Trepi avTs uprjKordJV. Eig tri vvv TOJV j^n/rrriHvtov ano raSi wvoyLacr^itvutv ovic tTTtXnrt to (pvXov. Antiq. Jud. I, 18. cap. iii. sect. 3. JosEPHUs. Of Jesus Christ. A. D. 76. 487 ctl a man ; for he perfurined many wonderful works. He was a teacher of sucli men as received the truth witli plea- sure. He drew over to him many Jews and Gentiles. This was the Christ. And when Pilate, at the instigation of the chief men among us, had condemned him to the cross, they >vho before had conceived an affection for him did not cease to adhere to him. For on the third day he appeared to them alive again, the divine prophets having" foretold these and many other wonderful things concerning him. And the sect of the christians, so called from him, subsists to this time.' This passage is received by "^ many learned men as genu- ine : by others^ it is rejected as an interpolation. It is allowed on all hands that it is in all the copies of Josephus's works, now extant, both printed and manuscript : neverthe- less, it may be for several reasons called in question. They are such as these. 1. This paragraph is not quoted nor referred to by any christian writers before Eusebius, who flourished at the beginning of the fourth century and afterwards. If it had been originally in the works of Josephus, it would have been highly proper to produce it in their disputes with Jews and Gentiles : but it is never quoted by Justin Martyr, or Clement of Alexandria, nor by Tertullian or Origen ; men of great learning, and well acquainted with the works of Josephus. It was certainly very proper to urge it against the Jews ; it might also have been fitly alleged against Gen- tiles. A testimony so favourable to Jesus in the works of Josephus, Mho lived so soon after the time of our Saviour, who was so well acquainted with the transactions of his own country, who had received so many favours from Vespasian and Titus, could not be overlooked or neglected by any christian apologist. If this passage had related only to some one of the first followers of Jesus, the omission had not been so remarkable ; but it relates to Jesus himself; it declares his proper cha- racter, his miracles, his crucifixion, and resurrection ; and that all this was agreeable to the predictions of the pro- phets. This passage is not only not quoted by Origen, but Ave can ' Cav. H. L. in Josepho. Hiiet. Dem. Ev. Prop. iii. p. 32, &c. Fab. Bib. Gr. 1. 4. cap. vi. Tom. 3. Whiston in his first dissertation. Spanhem. 0pp. T. i. p. 531. Tillem. Ruine des Juifs, art. 81. and note xl. H. E. Tom. i. * J. Ittigii Prolegom. ap. Havercamp. p. 89. Blondel. des Sibylles, p. 18. Tan. Fabr. ap. Havercamp. p. 267, &c. Cleric. H. E. An. 25. n. iv. et Ars Crit. p. 3. cap. xiv. 488 Jewish Testimonies, perceive that he had it not ; for in the words next following the notice taken of John the Baptist, as mentioned by Jose- phus, and before quoted by us, he adds ; ' The * same writer, though he did not believe Jesus to be the Christ, inquiring- into the cause of the overthrow of Jerusalem, and the de- molition of the temple, when he ought to have said tiiat their attempt upon Jesus was the cause of the ruin of that people, forasmuch as they had put to death the Christ before pro- phesied of; he, as it were unwillingly, and not erring- far from the truth, says: These things befell the Jews in vindi- cation of James called the Just, who was the brother of Jesus called the Christ : forasmuch as they killed him who was a most righteous man. That James is the^same whom Paul, that g-enuine disciple of Jesus, says he had seen, and calls the Lord's brother, [Gal. i. 19.] not so much for the sake of con- sanguinity, as their common education, and agreement in manners and doctrine. If" therefore he says the destruction of Jerusalem had befallen the Jews for the sake of James, with how much more reason might he have said that this had happened for the sake of Jesus who was the Christ, to whose divinity so many churches bear witness ; who, being- now recovered from the pollutions of vice, have given up themselves to the Creator, and endeavour to please him in all things?' Afterwards, in his second book against Celsus, he argues our Saviour's knowledge of futurities from his predictions concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, which had not been effected till the times of Vespasian and Titus. ' Which,' " as Josephus writes, ' happened upon account of James the Just, the brother of Jesus called the Christ; but in truth upon account of Jesus the Christ, the Son of God.' Origen speaks again to the like purpose in his com- mentary upon St. Matthew ; and says that ' this '"^ James, the ' same that is mentioned by Paul in his epistle to the Gala- * tians, [i. 19.] was so respected by the people for his righte- ' ousness, that Flavins Josephus, who wrote the Jewish * Antiquities in twenty books, being desirous to assign the * 'O 5' avrog, KaiToiye airi'^iov ru) Ijjffs wg XpiT'f), ^j/rwv ttjv aiTinv Trig rwv 'ltpoco\vnix)v TTTojaeioc, kui rjjg th van KaOaipsfficog' Seov avrov enrtiv, on ^ TS \r}r!H {tti/SwXj; thtujv airta ytyovi riji Xaoj, tTtti cnrtRTtivav tov 7rpO(pi]rtvo- fttvov Xpirou, K. \. Contr. Culs. 1. I.e. 47. p. 35. " KtTTfp nv Sia laKiojSov avn(if(ir]Kivai \eyei Toig InSaiotg ra Kara tt]V (prjubi- aiv Trie 'lipaaaXtjH, k. X. lb. ' u}g fitv loKTjjTTOc ypafd, dia laKw(3ov rov Sikolov, tov aSt\(l>ov I»j(T8 T« Xtyo/Kf vs XpiTH' ojQ Se »'; aXjjOtta TrnptTi/fft, ^la It)(THV tov XpiTOv tov vwv th QiH. Contr. Cels. 1. 2. sect. 13. p. G9. * Comm. in Matt. Tom. x. sect. 17. p. 4G3. Bencd. T. i. p. 223. Huet JosEPHus. Of Jesus Christ. A. D. 76. 489 ' cause why that people suffered such thing-s, so that even ' their teujple was demolished to the foundation, says that ' those thiiios had happened because of the anger of God ' against them, for what tiiey had done to James the brother ' of Jesus called the Christ. And it is Monderful that he ' who did not receive our Jesus as the Christ, should ascribe ' such righteousness to James. He says that the people also ' were of opinion that they suffered these thing's upon ac- ' count of James.' After Origen, the same saying- of Josephus concerning James is also alleged by" Eusebiusand y Jerom; but with- out saying any more than Origen what work of Josephus, or what book of his works, it was in. There is not now any thing of that kind in any of his Avorks : nor is it easily conceivable that ^ there ever was. But what 1 now allege these passages of Origen for, is to show that it may be hence evidently and certainly con- cluded that Origen never read in Josephus that testimony to Jesus which we now have in his works. I have above mentioned no other Latin author but Ter- tullian, to'' whom Josephus was well known. But I might also have insisted upon the silence of the other Latin apologists for Christianity of the first three centuries, as Mi- nucius Felix, Cyprian, Arnobius, and Lactantius; to whom so extraordinary a testimony to our Saviour, in so celebrated a Jewish writer, would not have been unknown if it had been in him. Eusebius then, who flourished about the year of Christ 315, and afterwards, is the first christian writer in whom this paragraph is found ; and by him ^ it is twice quoted at large. After him, as is well known, it is quoted by "^ Jerom, '^ Sozomen, and many other following writei-s. But it is observable that this paragraph is never quoted by Chrysostom, whom I suspect to have had but little regard " H. E 1. 2. cap. xxiii, p. 65. y Tradit idem Josephus, tantae eum sanctitatis fuisse, et ce'.ebritafis in populo, ut propter ejus necem crediturn sit, subversam esse Hierosolymam. De V. I. cap. 2. vid. et cap. 13. '^ Quod vero attinet ad ista, ravra avu^i^rtKiv InSawiQ Kara sKSiKrjmv laKwfis TH diKaiH, k. X. quae, tanquam a Josepho probata in Antiquitatum libris, aft'ert Origenes, et ex eo, nt puto, Eusebius, aliique, versimile est, ea referri debere fivrjuoviKij} afxapTiifian Origenis Certe nullibi, quod sciam, haberi potuerunt in Antiquitatibus, ut qua? non agant de Hierosolymo- rum excidio. Hudson, annot. ad Jos. Antiq. 1. 20. c. ix. sect. 1. p. 976. ed. Hav. Vid. et Cleric. Ars Crit. p. 3. c. xiv. sect. 8 — 10. ^ et qui istos aut probat aut revincit Judaeus Josephus Antiquitatum juda'icarum vernaculus vindex. Tert. Ap. c. 19. p. 19. ^ H. E. I. 1. c. xi. Dcm.Ev.l. 3. p. 124. ^DeV. I.e. 13. ^ g^z ]_ j c. i. p. 399. 490 Jewish Testimonies. for Eusebius of Coesarea. He several times refers to Jose- phus as a proper writer, from whom men might learn Avhat miseries the Jewish people had undergone in their war with the Romans, * he '^ not being a believer, but a iew, and zea- lous for the Jewish rites, even after the rise of Christianity.' He refers likewise^ to what Josephus says of John the Bap- tist, though inaccurately, as must be acknowledged : but he never takes any notice of this testimony to Jesus ; which surely he would not have omitted, in his many arguments with the Jews, if he had been acquainted with it, and had supposed it to be genuine. Some have supposed that this testimony of Josephus was alleged by Macarius in the time of Dioclesian. But s Fabri- cius has honestly and judiciously observed that there is no reason to take that passage of Macarius for genuine. 2. This paragraph was wanting in the copies of Josephus which were seen by Photius in the ninth century. 1 make a distinct article of this writer, because he read and revised the works of Josephus as a critic. He has in his Bibliotheque •' no less than three articles concerning Jose- phus, but takes no notice of this passage. Whence it may be concluded that it v.as wanting in his copies, or that he did not think it genuine: but the former is the more likely. He refers to the passage concerning John the Baptist in this maimer : ' This ' Herod, tetrarch of Galilee and Pertea, son of ' Herod the great, is he who put to death the great John the fore- ' runner, because, as Josephus says, he was afraid he would ' stir up the people to rebellion. For all men paid great regard ' to John upon account of his transcendent virtue. In his ' time also our Saviour suffered.' How fair an occasion had Photius here to refer also to the testimony given to Jesus, which we now have, if he had seen it? Upon this article -Kaiyap IsSaiOQ t)v, Kai a^oSpa IsSaiog, Kai i^i]\wTT]g, Kat rmv fiira TTiv Xp(TK 7ro|0H(Ti«v. It! Matt. liom. 76. [al. 77.] T. 7. p. 732. Vid. et in Malt. horn. 75. [al. 76.] p. 727. et in Jo. hom, 64. [al. 65.] T. 8. p. 390. f In Jo. hom. 12. [al. 13.] T. 8. p. 73. A. 8 Hoc Josephi loco non utunliir Justinus, Tertullianus, Chrysostoniiis, aliique compliires, quando contra Judaeos disputant. Non produxit Origenes, alia Josephi laudans in libris contra Celsum, Nee Photius quidcni tanto junior meminit, in ciijus Bibl. Antiquitates Josephi bis recensentur, cod. 76, et 238. Ante Eusebium tamen allegaverit ilium Marcarius quidam, cubiculi impe- ratorii prsefectus, siquidem gonuinus sit hujus ad Diocletianum serrno, qui rifi.Ttur in Actis Sanctorum Macarii, a CI. viro W. E. Tenselio, primum in Dialogis menstruis Germanice cditis, A. 1697. p. 556. Sed merito existiman- dum, ha^c Acta martyris Macariani, si non longe post Diocletianum plane conficta, saltern interpolata, atque locum Josephi insertum a recentiore nianu esse. Fabr, Bib. Gr. T. 3. p. 237. •^ Cod. 48, 76, et 238. ' Cod. 238. p. 973. JoSEPHUS. Of Jesus Christ. A. D. 76. 491 of Pliotius the very learned Ittigius in his Prolegomena to Josephus'' has just remarks, invincibly asserting- the abso- lute silence of this great critic concerning this paragraph of Josephus. And very observable is what Photius says in his article of Justus of Tiberias. 'This' writer, labouring under the com- ' mon prejudice of the Jews, and being himself a Jew, makes ' not any the least mention of the coming of Christ, or the ' things concerning him, or the miracles done by him.' This is very remarkable. This silence of Justus concerning" our Saviour was not peculiar to him, but was common to other Jewish writers with hini, very probably intending Jose- !)hus. If Josephus had been an exception, he would not lave been omitted, but would have been expressly men- tioned. 3. This paragraph concerning- Jesus interrupts the course of the narration ; and therefore is not genuine, but is an interpolation. In the preceding paragraph Josephus gives an account of an attempt of Pilate to bring water from a distant place to Jerusalem with the sacred money ; which occasioned a disturbance, in which many Jews were killed, and many others were wounded. The paragraph next following this, about which we are now speaking, begins thus: 'And'" about the same time ' another sad calamity gave the Jews great uneasiness.' That calamity was no less than banishing the Jews from Rome by order of the emperor Tiberius : ' occasioned,'" as he says, ' by the misconduct of some Jews in that city.' This paragraph therefore was not originally in Josephus. It does not come from him : but it is an interpolation insert- ed by somebody afterwards. This argument must be of great weight with all who are well acquainted with the writ- ings of Josephus, who is a cool and sedate writer, very exact in connecting his narrations, and never failing to make transitions where they are proper or needful. I believe it is not easy to instance another writer who is so exact in all his pauses and transitions, or so punctual in the notice he gives when he has done with one thing and " Ap. Havercamp. p. 89. ' wc Ce TCI InSaiuiv vocrutv, laSato^ n Kai avroQ virap^oyv ro yivOQ, rriQ XpiT» TTCt^HmaQ, Kttt Tb)V TTtQl aVTOV TtKldQtVTUiV, Kai TWV VTv' UVTH TtpaTOVpyr]9fVT(i)7', n6tvoc 6Xa>c nvt]iir]v eTroirjffaro. Cod. 33. p. 20. "' Kai VTTo Tovg avTOVQ ■)(povovc trepov rt ^(ivov iOopvfit Tovg luSainc- L. 18. c. 3. sect. 4. " Kai ot jxiv dia KaKtav rsffffapiov avSpwv iXavvovTO Ti]Q TToXfWf. Sect. 5. fin. 492 Jewish Testimonies. goes oil to another. That must make this argument the stronger. Tillemont was sensible of this difficulty, though he thinks that the writers who maintain the genuineness of this pas- sage have made good their point. 'It° must be owned, ' however,' says he, ' that there is one thing embarrassing in ' this passage, which is, that it interrupts the course of the ' narration in Josephus. For that which immediately fol- ' lows begins in these terms : " About the same time there ' happened another misfortune which disturbed the Jews." ' For those words, " another misfortune," have no connec- ' tion with what was just said of Jesus Christ, which is not ' mentioned as an unhappiness. And, on the contrary, it ' has a very natural reference to what precedes in that place : ' which is a sedition in which many Jews were killed or ' wounded. Certainly it is not so easy to answer to this ' difficulty as to the others. I wish that Mr. Huet and Mr. ' Roie had stated this objection, and given satisfaction upon ' it. As for myself, 1 know not what to say to it; but that ' Josephus himself might insert this passage after his work ' was finished ; and he did not then think of a more proper ' place for it than this, where he passed from what happened ' in Judea under Pilate to somewhat that was done at the ' same time at Rome ; and he forgot to alter the transition, ' which he had made at first.' Undoubtedly the difficulty presses very hard, which will allow of no better solution. 4. Let us now observe the paragraph itself, and consider whether it be suitable or unsuitable to the general character of Josephus. ' At the same time lived Jesus, a wise man, if he may be called a man ; for he performed many wonderful works.' But why P should Josephus scruple to call Jesus ' a man V Were not Moses, Elijah, Elisha, and other prophets, men? The wonderful works done by them were not done by their own power, but by the power of God, bearing testimony to their commission, or supporting them in the execution of " Ruine des Juifs, note xl. Ilist. des Emp. Tom. i. P Sed quo judicio scriptum est quod sequilur : tiye avopa avrov Xeyiiv xPy- Quaenam, quaeso, ratio est ? Quia, inquit, -TrapuSoK^v tpyoji' ■nQir)Tr]Q tjv. Ita- que adeo, quando ita vult, du1)itabitur in postenun a nobis, dii an homines appellandi sint Moses, Elias, Elisaius ? Nam et illi fuerunt Tra()aSoS,o)v tpymv Troirjrai. Deinde, cum ait tiye avSpa avrov Xtyeiv xPV^ quid, quaeso, aliud innuere vult, nisi Jesum Dominum esse Deum ? In quo graviter eriat hie pius impostor. Judaji enim ne suspicabantur quidem, Messiam seu Christum fore Deum, sed prajstantissimum aliquem principem ex semine Davidis. Tan. Fab. ap. Ilavercamp. Joseph, p. 2G9. JosEPnus. Of Jesus Christ. A. D. 7Q. 493 it. Moreover, Moses himself, who'' is so highly extolled and magnified by Josephiis, is "^ often called by him a man. Why then should he scruple to say the same of Jesus ? However it should be owned that he has this expression concerning Moses: 'So^ that his legislation, ^liiich was from God, made this man to be thought superior to his own nature.' ' He was a teacherof such men as received the truth with pleasure.' Very honourable to Jesus and his followers! But would Josephus say this of them? And would he call the christian religion ' the truth V *He drew over to him many Jews and Gentiles.' That is not true of the Lord Jesus, if intended of his own personal preaching, before his crucifixion. It was done indeed afterwards. But this manner of speaking- is more suitable to a writer of the second or third century than to Josephus. ' This was the Christ.' Jerom, in his article of Josephus, in his book of Illustrious Men, quoting this passage, puts it thus : ' And ^ he was be- ' lieved to be the Christ.' Which is a qualifying expres- sion for which there is no ground. Nor" did Sophronius, Jerom's Greek interpreter, follow that translation, but puts it as it is in Eusebius, and other Greek'' writers : 'This was ' the Christ.' But it cannot be supposed that Josephus either thought or said that Jesus was the Christ. It follows: ' And when Pilate, at the instigation of the chief men among" us, had condemned him to the cross, they who before had conceived an affection for him did not cease to adhere to him : for on the third day he appeared to them alive again, the divine prophets having" foretold these and many other wonderful tilings concerning him.' All must be sensible that this could not be said by any man but aprofessed christian, which Josephus was not; there- fore he could not WM'ite this. ' And the sect of the christians, so called from him, sub- sists to this day.' Which Mr. Whiston translates in this manner : 'And the * tribe of christians, so named from him, are not extinct at '' Antiq. 1. 3. c. xv. I. 4. c. viii. et alibi. ' QavfiaTOQ Se TijqaptTTjg 6 avijQ, k. \. Ant. 1. 3. C. XV. sect. 3. * OuTiog ri vo^oOtffin th Ben SoKnaa rov avSpa TmroiijKe tt/q avra (pvaeuic KoiiTTova vom^eaOai. Ibid. ' Et credebatur esse Christiis. " O XjOiTOC ovTog r)v. " See particularly Sozomeii, 1. Leap. i. p. 399. 494 Jewish Testimonies. ' this day.' But Mr. W — — , wbo thinks this passage to be Josephus's, should not have rendered (pv\ov, tribe, because (pvXtj is the word always used by Josephus for tribe; and (pvXov, which we have here, always signifies nation "" in Jose- phus: nor were the christians a nation or political society in the first three centuries. Here it is put for sect: it cannot signify any thing else in this place. Jesus is called a ' wise man,' and is said to have « been a teacher of such as received the truth Avith pleasure.' And though he had been crucified, ' they who had before conceived an affection for him did not cease to adhere to him, because he appeared to them alive again.' Here the word denotes sect. Jiut 'a Ipeai^, heresy, is the word generally used by Josephus in speaking ^ of the pha- risees, sadducees, and Essenes, the three prevailing- sects, or different ways of philosophizing among the Jews. The phrase y x/Jiffrmi/a-j/ (pv\ov, here used, resembles the phrase XT"^'^'"'"^'' eOvo-s, which was in use in the time of Eusebius, at the beginning of the fourth century, and de- notes ' the sect of the christians.' Moreover, the expression, 'subsists to this time,' or, is not extinct at this day, imports a considerable space of time since the crucifixion of Jesus ; and does very reasonably lead us to think that the composer of this paragraph lived later than Josephus. These considerations, as seems to me, are sufficient to de- termine the point in question, and to satisfy all men that Josephus was not the author of this paragraph. However, 1 shall add one consideration more. 5. If Josephus were the author of this paragraph, it would be reasonable to expect in him frequent mention of Christ's miracles, whereas he is every where silent about them. Josephus was a pharisee: he believed the miracles of Moses and the Jewish prophets: he believed a divine pro- vidence superintending human affairs, the immortality of the soul, and the rewards of a future state. And he is will- ing enough to relate extraordinary things, or such things as had an appearance of being so. Therefore ^ he tells a story of Eleazar's dispossessing a " OTTH fcai JlapQoi, TO TToXfiiiKOJTarov ^irXor. De B. J. 1. 2. C. 16. sect. 4. p. 189. Hav. llav vfiu)v ro wc Trapavo/jLrjffavTWV KaT7]yopiav 7roit](janivor, nuptcwKt XtvaQtjno/jLtvag. JosEPHus. Of James, tlie Lord's Brother. A. D. 76. 497 a council of judges: and, bringing- before tlieiii James the brother of him wlio is called Christ, and some others, he accused them as transgressors of the laws, and had them stoned to death, liut the most moderate men of the city, Avho also were reckoned most skilful in the laws, Mere offended at this proceeding. They therefore sent privately to the king, [Agrippa before mentioned,] entreating him to send orders to Ananus no more to attempt such things : and some went away to meet Albinus who was coming from Alexandria, and put him in mind that Ananus had no right to call a council without his leave. Albinus, approving of what he had said, wrote to Ananus in much anger, threaten- ing to punish him for what he had done; and king Agrippa took away from him the high-priesthood, after that he had en- joyed it three months, and put in Jesus the son of Damnaeus.' This passage is cited from Josephus by ™ Eusebius, and from the twentieth book of his Antiquities. It is also quoted by " Jerom, but very inaccurately. We perceive likewise that" it was in the copies of Josephus in the time of Photius. Nevertheless, there are learned men, of good judgment,P who think that the words which we now have in Josephus concerning James are an interpolation. They were in Josephus in the time of Eusebius, and after- wards : but it does not follow they were always there : in- deed, there is a good deal of reason to believe that they were not originally in Josephus. I have elsewhere 1 carefully examined the most ancient •" H.E. 1.2. cap. 23. p. 65,66. " De V. I. cap. ii. De Jacobo fratre Domini. ° avQivTiauQ KaQi^ii ffvvfSpiov, kui laKufJov rov aSiXfov r« Kvpis, aw f-ipoiq, Trapavo/iiav aiTiai9t]vai TrapadKiva'Cn, k- X. Phot. cod. 238. p. 977. i* Facile quidem crediderim, Jerosolymitanos proceres graviter tulisse, quod synedrium sua auctoritate instituisset, cum dudum jus gladii a Roraanis esset Judaeis ademtum ; quod iterum inconsulto Caesare ab Anano usurpatum time- bant, ne genti suae gravi fortasse poena luendum esset. Sed quae de Jacobo, Jesu, qui Christus dicebatur, fratre, habentur, merum adsumentum male feriati christiani esse videntur. Cleric. H. E. ann. 62. n. ii. p. 415. Sunt quoque rationes sat graves, quae persuadeant hoec fuisse interpolata, et scripsisse duntaxat Josephum : Kai Trapayaywv itg av-o nvag, icai wg trapavo- ^rjaavTwv KanyoQiav Troij]j irXijy sig £ic 9ava-ov. Clem. A. ap. Eiiseb. H. E. I. 2. c. i. p. 38. D. Couf. ib. cap. 23. p. G3. C. et 65. C. And see in this work, the present Vol. ch. xvi. num. iii. ' Koi \a(i(xjv rig an avrwv, ug riov yvatpEojv, to 't.v\ov iv y aTmrii^i ra ijiaTia, t]vtyKe Kara rrjg Ki(pa\T]g th diicaiH. Kai ovrwg tuaprvprjcrtv. Hege- sipp. ap. Eusob. H. E. 1. 2. cap. 23. p. 65. B. ' Qui cum prfficipitatus de pinna templi, confractis cruribus, adhuc semivi- vus fullonis iuste f]uo uda ve-timenta extorcjueri solent, in cerebro per- cussus interiit et juxta templuni, ubi et prsecipitatus fuerat, sepuUus est. Hier. de V. I. cap. 2. Qui et ipse postea de templo a Judaeis pracipitatus successorem habuit Simonem, quern et ipsum tradunt pro Domino crucifixum. Id. Comm. in ep. ad Gal. cap. i. T. 4. p. 237. " Haer. 78. num. xiv. p. 1046. JosEPHUS. Of James, the Lord's BrotJier. A. D. 76. 499 In this place tlierefore Josepliiis gave an account of some who were accused by Anaiius, and condemned by his coun- cil as transgressors of" the Jewish laws : and what Ananus did was upon several accounts disliked by many discreet and moderate men : but there is not sufficient reason to believe that James was particularly mentioned by him as one of them. It is certain we ought to be very cautious in admitting- quotations from Josephus by later christian writers ; for they had a great regard for him, and were fond of having his tes- timony, whether there was ground for it or not. Theophylact, upon John xiii. 33, and referring' also to John vii. 34, says, ' The '•' Jews sought him when their city was taken, and the ' wrath of God fell upon them on all sides ; as also Josephus ' testifies, that those things happened to them upon account ' of the death of Jesus.' So says Theophylact. But from Origen, as before seen, we have good reason to believe that there was no such ac- count in the works of Josephus, and that he never said any such thing". In Suidas is a long- article at the word Jesus, where it is said that 'Josephus,'" who is often quoted by Eusebius ' Pamphili in his Ecclesiastical History, expressly says, in ' his History of the Jewish War, that Jesus sacrificed with the ' priests at the temple.' There is no such thing there now ; and probably never was in any good copies of the works of Josephus : but as he was an author in great repute with christians, and he was often appealed to, and too often quoted inaccurately, (of which Jerom, in his^ article of St. James, is a remarkable instance,) his works were as likely to suffer some interpo- lations as any writer's whatever. Blondel supposed, that to this desire of making" an advan- tage from Josephus we owe the insertion of the remarkable testimony to Jesus which we have above so largely con- sidered. What Blondel says appears to me so judicious, and so apposite to the purpose, tliat I shall transcribe him ' (1)Q tcui IwcTijTTOc napTDpei, £ia rov Qavarov th tijas ravra avToiQ ytvicQai. In Ev. p. 762. A. * 'Evpofitv sv IwatjTrov, rov auyypatpia rrjQ aXuxreug 'ifpoaoXvfiuv {ov jui'jjjujjv TToWrjv EvffejSiOQ 6 llaiKpiXn ev ry iKKXijoiaTtKy avrn t iitra rtovUpitiiv I'lyiaZt- Suid. V. I); own v.'oids: and let his judgment be added 10 those of Vitiinga and the bishop of Gloucester above quoted. IV. Supposing- Joseph us not to have said any thiug- of Jesus Christ, some may ask : What could be the reason of it ; and how can it be accounted for 1 To which 1 might answer, that such a cjuestion is rather more curious than judicious and important; and it may be difficult to propose a solution that shall be generally approv- ed of. However, I shall hazard a few observations upon the point. It is easy to believe that all Jews who were contemporary with Christ or his apostles, and did not receive Jesus as the Christ, must have been filled with much enmity against him and his followers. We are assured by early christian writ- ers of good credit, such as^ Justin Martyr,^ Tertullian, and others, that the ruling part of the Jewish nation indus- triously spread abroad false and injurious reports among the nations concerning the followers of Jesus. But the polite and learned writers, such as Justus of Tiberias, ami Jo- sephus, might think it expedient to be silent. They had nothing to say against Jesus or the christians with an appear- ance of truth and credibility ; they therefore thought it bet- ter to be silent, and thereby, if possible, bury them in utter oblivion. It is not easy to account for the silence of Josephus any other ^ way. Many things are omitted by him of which he >' A meme dessein, dc tirer avantage de Josephe, quelque main hardie a insere dansses Antiquites, lib. 18. c. 4, des paroles qui luisont d'autant moins convenables, qu'elles contiennent un t^moignage honorable, tant de la per- sonne de notre Seigneur, que de la saintete et verite du christianisme, de la profession duquel cet auteur a toujours ete tres eloigne : et d'ailleurs qu'elles sont notoirement una piece d'attache sans liaison avec le reste de son discours, tant precedant que suivant, et placee a Tendroit qu'elle occupe par affection de parti plutot que par raison. Blondel des Sibylles. p. 28. "■ Dial, cum Tryph. p. 234. D. Par. sect. 18. p. 102. Bened. » Ad Nat. 1. i. cap. 13. p. 59. D. etadv. Marcion. 1. 3. cap. 23. p. 498. '' Le Cardinal Noris se fache avec raison centre Joseph, dece qu'il expedie en dix lignes les neuf annees du regne d' Archelaiis pour laconter au long lesdeux songes, dont on a parle cidessus. Mais on a encore plus de sujet de se plaindre de la negligence, ou plutot du silence afTecte de cet Historien, touchant le denombrement, dont S. Luc parle, et touchant le meurtre des enfans de Bethlehem, du tems dela naissance de notre Seigneur: pour ne pas parler de sa vie, et de sa mort, dont il ne dit rien non plus: car on ne pent guere douter, que le i)assage, ou il en est parle, no soit fourre, par un chretien malhabilc, dans Joseph. S'll eut dit seulement un mot du denombrement, et du massacre de Bethlehem, on n'auroit point la peine de chercher le tems de la naissance de Notre Seigneur. Mais ce Juif malicieux a voulu, autant qu'il etoit en lui, ensevebir cette histoire dans un eteinel oubli, en haine des Chre- tiens. Le Clerc. Bib. Ch. T. 4. Art. i. p. 74, 75. JosEPiius. Concluding Observations. A. D. 76. 501 could not be ignorant : he must have known of the massacre of the infants at Bethlehem soon after the birth of Jesus. The arrival of the wise men from the East, who were conducted by a star, gave concern not only to Herod, but to all .Jeru- salem; Matt. ii. 8. Josephus was a priest : he could not but have heard of the vision of Zacharias the father of John the Ba{)tist at the temple, Luke i. and it was a thing very proper to have had a place in his History. The prophecies of Simeon and Anna at the temple, and other things that hap- pened there about that time, as we may thiidv, nuist have been well known to him : then the preaching and miracles of our Saviour and his apostles at Jerusalem, and in Galilee, and all over Judea ; the crucifixion of Jesus at Jerusalem at the time of a passover; the darkness for three hours at Jeru- salem, and all over Judea; the death of James the brother of John at Jerusalem, by Herod Agrippa ; all these things must have been well known to him. Moreover, before Josephus had finished his work of the Jewish Antiquities, or even the History of the Jewish War, Christianity had spread very much in Asia and in other parts, and at Rome itself, M'here also many had suffered, and that several years before the final ruin of Jerusalem and the Jewish nation. The progress of the christian reli- gion was a very considerable event; and it had its rise in Judea. The sect of the christians, which had its rise in Judea, and consisted partly of Jews, partly of men of other nations, was as numerous, or more numerous, in the time of Josephus, than any of the three Jewish sects, the sadducees, pharisees, and Essenes, whose principles are particularly described by him in the ^ War, and in ^ the Antiquities ; and therefore, as we may think. Mere deserving' of notice: but they were not Jewish enough; they were not entirely Jewish: and they were followers of a leader whom our author did not, and could not esteem, consistently with his prevailing views and sentiments. Josephus was well acquainted with affairs at Rome, and in all the settlements of the Jewish people in Asia, and parts adjacent. He is as exact in the account of the several succes- sions in the Roman empire as any Roman historian whatever. What *^ a long and particular account has he given of the conspiracy against Caligula, and his death, and the succes- sion of Claudius? I do not say that Josephus had read the books of the New "^ De B. J. 1. 2. cap. viii. •> Antiq. 1. 13. cap. v.et 1. 18. cap. 1 = Antiq. 1. 19. cap. i — iii. 502 Jeivish Testimonies. Testament : he might have come to the knowledge of most of the things just mentioned another v, ay : they are great and remarkable events, about M'hich a contemporary, and a man of good intelligence, engaged in public life, could not be ignorant: his silence therefore about christian affairs is wilful and affected. It cannot be owing to ignorance, and must therefore be ascribed to some other cause, whatever it may be. His profound silence, however, concerning- the affairs of the Christians in his time is no objection to their truth and reality. The history of the New lestament has in it all the marks of credibility that any history can have. Heathen historians *^ of the best credit have borne witness to the time of the rise of the christian religion, the country in which it had its orioin, and who was the author of it, and its swift and early progress in the world. Of all those things which are recorded in thegospels and of the progress of Christianity afterwards, we have uncon- tested evidence from the evangelical writers themselves, and frouj ancient christian authors still extant, and from heathen Avriters concurring with them in many particulars. And Josephus, the Jewish historian, who believed not in Jesus, has recorded the history of the Jewish people in Judea, and elsewhere : and particularly the state of things in Judea, with the names of the Jewish princes and Roman governors, during the ministry of our Saviour and his apos- tles. Whereby, as e formerly shown at large, he has won- derfully confirmed, though without intending it, the vera- city and the ability of the evangelical writers, and the truth of their history. He has also, as we have now seen in this volume, borne testimony to the fulfilment of our Lord's pre- dictions concerning the coming troubles and afflictions of that people ; which is more credible, and more valuable, than if given by a believer in Jesus, and a friend and favourer of him ; so that, though all the passages in his works Avhich have been doubted of should be rejected, he would be still a very useful writer, and his'' works very valuable. ' quos viilgus cliristianos appellabat. Aiictor hiijus ndminis Christiis, qui, Tibcrio imperanfe, per procuratorem Pontium Pilatum supplicio affectus erat. Repressaque in prssens exitiabilis superstitio rursus erumpebat, non modo per Judaeam originem ejusmali, sed per Urbem etiam, &c. Tacit. Ann. 1. bO. cap. 44. e See Vol. i. '' Evangelicam quoque et apostolicam historian! Josephus confirmat in multis, etiamsi vol maxime ponamus dubitandum esse de yvjyfftorjjn locoriim de Chrisfo fervatore. hb. xviii. Antiq. cap. 4. de Joanne Baptisla hb. xviii. cap. 7. de Jacobo. 1. 20. c. 8. et qua? de dirutis propter Jacobi nccem injiis- JosEPiius. Coiicludiaij Obscroalions. A. D. 7Q, 503 Josephus knew how to be silent when he thought fit, and has omitted some thin<;;s very true and certain, and well known in the world. In the preface to his Jewish Antifjui- ties, he ' engages to write of things as he found them men- tioned in the sacred books, without adding* any thing- to them, or omitting* any thing- in them : and ^ yet he has said nothing- of the g-oiden calf, made by the Jewish people in the wilderness; thus dropping- an important narrative, with a variety of incidents recorded in one of the books of Moses himself, the Jewish lawgiver, the most sacred of all their scriptures. The sin of the molten calf is also mentioned in other books of the Old Testament in the confessions of pious Israelites : as Neh. ix. 18, and Ps. cvi. 19. Nevertheless Josephus chose to observe total silence about it. A learned critic observed some while ago, as somewhat very remarkable, that ^ Josephus has never once mentioned the word Sion, or Zion, neither in his Antiquities nor in his .Jewish War, though there Avere so many occasions for it, and thouo'h it is so often mentioned in the Old as well as the New Testament : and he suspects that omission to be owing- to design and ill-will to the christian cause. And, if 1 was not afraid of ojffending- by too great pro- lixity, 1 should now remind my readers of a"^ long- argu- ment of old date, relating- to the assessment made in Judea by order of Augustus, at the time of our Saviour's nativity, near the end of Herod's reig-n, recorded by St. Luke, ch. ii. lam Hierosolymis — ex iisdem Joseph! libris laudant Origenes, 1. contr. Cels. et 1. 2. et in Matthaei cap. xiii. Eusebius, 1. 2. c. 23. H. E. Hieronymus, Catalogo Script. Ec. cap. 2, et ] 3. Suidas, Iwcz/Troe, et Itiohq, hodie vero in Joseph! libris non reperiuntur. Fabric. Bib. Gr. I. 4. cap. vi.T. 3. p. 237, 238. T«royrtp lia Tavrrjc Troiqaetv ttjq TTpayfiareiag tirt]yy(iXa[ir]v, nStv npoaOttg, no^ av TTupaXnrojv. Antiq. Pr. sect. 3. p. 3. '' Enidifionem, diligentiam, prudentiam, fidcm, omnes collaiidant, praefer- qiiani ubi nimio est in suara gentem afTectu ; v, gr. in rebus Mosis et Salomonis silentium nonnunqiiani aftectatum, ut in iis quae probro cederent siioe genti. Quahs ex. gr. fuit vituli aiirei i'abrica, et adoratio, tacita Josepho : ita et in iis quae faverent christianae rei, eruditi passim notarunt, et nos siibinde in locis siiis. F. Spanhem. H. E. T. i. p. 258. Conf. J. Otton. Aniraadver- siones in Josepli. sect. ii. p. 305. Havercamp. And by all means see Tillemont's remarks upon this Author's Antiquities, Ruine des Juifs, art. 8 1 . ' Sion, Tzion nomen, montem, munimentum, semel iterumque apud Jose- phum quaerens, nullibi inveni, neque iis etiam in locis, ubi expugnationem arcis Tzion expresse tractat ; quum tamen centies et millies ipsi occasio data fuerit, ita ut plane sentiam ipsuni studio et data opera hoc tarn gloriosum pro Novo Testamento nomen pressisse silentio, &c. J. B. Ottii Animadversiones in Joseph, ap. Havercamp. T. 2. p. 305 '" See Vol. ii. p. 290—305. 504 Jewish Testimonies, I" then quoted a passage from the Antiquities of Josephiis, AA hence it appears that there were then great disturbances in Herod's family, and there were some pharisees who fore- told, or gave out, that ' God had decreed to put an end to ' the government of Herod and his race, and transfer the king- ' dom to another.' Josephus here takes great liberties : and though he was himself a pharisee, and at other times speaks honourably of that sect, he now ridicules them. He says" ' they were men who valued themselves highly for their exact knowledge of the laws ; and talking much of their interest with God, were greatly in favour with the women ; who had it in their power to control kings; extremely sub- tle, and ready to attempt any thing against those whom they did not like.' But it appears that the king, who was then talk- ed of, and who Avas to be appointed according to the predic- tions of the pharisees, was a person of an extraordinary cha- racter, for he says that Bagoas, an eunuch in Herod's palace, ' was elevated by them with the prospect of being a father and benefactor to his country, by receiving from him a capacity of marriage, and having" children of his own.'P All these particulars, thtnigh not expressed with such gravity, as is becoming an historian, and is usual in Jose- phus, cannot but lead us to think that he was not unac- quainted with the things related in the second chapter of St. Matthew's gospel. Says the evangelist: " Noav vvhen Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the East to Je- rusalem, saying: Where is he that is born kingof the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him." The word rendered " (roubled" is of a middle meaning-. How Herod was mov- ed may be easily guessed, and is well known. The inha- bitants (if Jerusalem were differently moved and agitated, partly with joyful hopes of seeing their Messiah "king of the Jews ;" partly tilled with apprehensions from Herod's jealousy, and the consequences of it. It seems to me that Josephus had then before him good evidences that the Messiah was at that time born into the world: but he puts all oft' Avith a jest. Perhaps there is not any other place in his works Avhere he is so ludicrous. " The quotation is as above, p. 292, 293, taken from the Antiquities, 1. 17. cap. 2 sect. 4. p. 831. Havercamp. " P. 292. I' Whiston translates : And for Bagoas, he had been puffed up by them ; for that this king would have all things in his power, and would enable Bagoas (o marry, and to have children of his own body begotten. JosEPHUS. CondudiiKj Observations. A. D. 76. 505 Wc arc not tlierefore to expect tijat ever after he .should take any notice of the Lord Jesus, or thing.s concerning him, it" he can avoid it. And why should we be much concerned about any de- fects in this writer's regard for Jesus Christ and his fol- lowers : who out of complaisance, or from self-interested views, or from a mistaken judgment, or some other cause, so deviated from the truth as to ascribe the fulfilment of the Jewish ancient prophecies concerning the Messiah to Vespasian, an idolatrous prince: who was not a Jew by descent nor by religion ; who was neither of the church, nor of the seed of Israel ? Josephus was a man of great eminence and distinction among his people ; but ^ve do not observe in him a serious- ness of spirit becoming a christian, nor that sublimity of vir- tue w hich is suited to the principles of the christian religion ; nor do we discern in him such qualities as should induce us to think he Avas one of those who were mcII disposed, and were " not far from the kingdom of God :" Mark. xii. 34. He was a priest by descent, and early in the magis- tracy; then a general, and a courtier; and in all showing a worldly mind, suited to such stations and employments; insomuch that he appears to be one of those, of whom, and to whom, the best judge of men and things said, " How can ye believe who receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only ?" John v. 44. CHAP. V. THE MISHNICAL AND TALMUDICAL WRITERS I. The age and the authors of the Mishva and the Talmiids. W. Extracts J'rotn the Mishyia, icith remarks. HI. Ex- tracts from the Tahmids. 1. Of our Saviour's nativity. 2. His journey into Egypt. 3. His disciples. 4. James in particular. 5. His last sufferings. 6. The poiver of miracles in Jesiis and his disciples. 7. A testimony to the destruction oj' the temple by Vespasian and Titus, with remarks. I. THE word Talmud is used in different senses; sometimes it denotes the Mishna, which is the text ; at other times it is 506 Jewish Testimonies. used for the commentaries upon the Mislma : at other times it includes both : 1 shall generally use it as distinct from the Mishna, denoting the commentaries upon it, of which there are but two, the Jerusalem and the Babylonian : of all which good accounts may be seen in Wagenseil's preface to his Tela Ignea Satanae, and in Dr. Wotton's Discourses upon the Traditions of the Scribes and Pharisees, and in many other writings. The most authentic account is that of M. Maimonides, in his preface to the Order of Seeds, which is the first of the six orders into which the whole Avork is divided ; and may be seen in Pocock's Porta Mosis, as it is also prefixed to the first volume of Surenhusius's edition of the Mishna. The compiler of the Mishna is Rabbi Jehudah Hakka- dosch, or the Holy, upon whom the highest commendations are bestowed by Maimonides, ^ as eminent for humility, tem- perance, and every branch of piety, as also for learning* and eloquence, and likewise for his riches; which are magnified by him and other Jewish writers, beyond all reasonable bounds of probability. But it may not be amiss for me to give my readers some farther insight into this work, by reciting an article of Dr. Prideaux m his Connexion of the History of the Old and New Testament. He observes how the number of Jewish traditions had increased : ' vVnd ^ thus,' says he, ' it went on ' to the middle of the second century after Christ, when An- ' toninus Pius governed the IJoman empire, by which time ' they found it necessary to put all these traditions into writ- ' ing : for they were then grown to so great a number, and ' enlarged to so huge a heap, as to exceed the possibility of ' being" any longer preserved by the memory of men. And ' therefore there being' danger, that under these disadvan- ' tages they might be all forgotten and lost, for the prevent- ' ing hereof it was resolved that they should be all collected ' and put into a book ; and Rabbi Judah, the son of Simeon, ' who, from the reputed sanctity of his life, was called Hak- ' kadosh, that is, the Holy, and was then rector of the school ' which they had at Tiberias in Galilee, undertook the work, ' and compiled it in six books, each consisting- of several * tracts, which all together make up the number of sixty ' three This is the book called the Mishna; which book ' was forthwith received by the Jews with great veneration ' throughout all their dispersions, and hath ever since been held in high esteem among them And therefore, as soon » Ap. Poc. Port. Mosis, p. 35, 36. '' The year before Christ 44G, p. 326, &c. Vol. i. The Age and Authors of the Mishna and ihe Talniuds. 507 * as it was published, it became the object of tlie stiulies of ' all their learned men; and tlic chiefest of llicm employed ' themselves to make comments upon it : and these with the ' Mishna niiike up both their Talmuds, that is, the Jerusalem ' Talnuid, and llie Babylonish Talmud. These comments ' they call the Gemara, that is, the Com|)lement; because • by them the Mishna is fully explained, and the whole tra- ' ditionary doctrine of their law and their religion complet- ' ed : for the Mishna is the text, and the Gemara the com- ' ment; and both together is what they call the Talmud. That made by the Jews of Judea is called the Jerusalem Talmud, and that made by the Jews of Babylonia, the Ba- bylonish Talmud. The former was completed about the ' year of our Lord 300, and is pidjlished in one large folio ; the latter was published about two hundred years after, in ' the beginning of the sixth century, and hath had several ' editions since the invention of printing: the last published ' at Amsterdam, is in twelve folios. And in these two Tal- ' muds is contained the whole of the Jewish religion that is ' now professed among them : but*^ the Babylonish Talmud ' is that which they chiefly follow.' The same learned author again afterwards computes that the Mishna Avas composed about the one hundred and fifti- eth year of our Lord, the Jerusalem Talmud about the three hundredth yenr, and the other Talmud about the five hun- dredth year of our Lord. And Wagenseil observes, that ^ Rabbi Jehuda was con- temporary with Antoninus the pious. Mr. Lnmpe,*' speaking- of several of the Jewish rabbins celebrated about this time, says that R. Jehuda, author of the Mishna, died about the year of Christ 194, or according to others in the year 230. Dr. Lightfoot [Fall of Jerusalem, sect. vii. vol. i. p. 3G,9.] says, that ' R. Judah outlived both the Antonines, and Com- ' modus also.' And afterwards, in the same page: 'He ' compiled the Mishna about the year of Christ 190, in the ' latter end of the reign of Commodus; or, as some compute, "= Dr. Wolton, as above, p. 22, 23, says : ' The Jerusalem Talmud wants ' the impertinences, and, consequently, the authority of the Babylonish Gemara * It has Httle of that hyperbolical and fabulous stuff', for which the ' other is so highly valued by the modern Talmudists.' ^ Rabbi Jehudam, qui Sancti cognomen inter suos meruit, et Antonini Pii Imperatoris aequalis fuit, metus mvaserat, ne, ob tantas gentis suae miserias, et in remotissimis terrisdeportationes, Oralis Lex plane in hominum animis obli- teraretur. Wagens. Pr. p. 55. ^ Sed praecipue eminuit R. Jehuda, quem Sanctum nominant, Mishnae auctor, qui circa annum 194, aut secundum alios 230, obiisse creditur. Lampe, Synops. H. E. P. 111. 508 Jewish Testimonies. ' in the year of Clirist 220, and a liundred and fifty years after ' the destruction of Jerusalem.' 1 do not take upon nie to contest at all what Prideaux says of the times of the two Talmuds : but 1 must say a few things about the time of the Mishna. T allow that Rabbi Jehudah, the composer of it, was contemporary with Antoninus the pious; though the stories told by the Jewish writers, of the favours shown him by that emperor, must be reckoned partly fabulous. But, allowing- him to be contem- porary with Antoninus, who died in the year 161, it does not follow that the Mishna was composed so soon as the year of Christ 150. R. Jehudah is supposed to have had a long life ; and the comj>iling- of the Mishna, which must have been the work of many years, and much lefsure and deliberate thought and consideration, may not have been finished be- fore the year 190, or' later. If therefore I place this work at the year 180, 1 think 1 place it soon enough. Besides, it is said that 11. Jehuda had several sicknesses, some of long" continuance, which are particularly mentioned both in the Jerusalem and the Babylonian Talmud, though with some variations. These must have been obstructions to him in his studies, and must have prolonged the labours of his work. The nature of the work also recjuired time. It is not a spe- culation which might be spun out of a man's head at once. But it is n collections of traditions from all quarters, and from the contributions of other learned men of the nation, who had treasured up these hitherto unwritten traditions in their me- mories. One thing" more I may premise here, that'' it is the opinion ' Talmudici Operis fundamenta hoc seculo jacta, circa A. C. 190. Magistri citius, imperante Antonino Pio. Fred. Spanh. 0pp. T. i. p. 687. Vid. et p. 793. E Quamobreni, adhibitis in consilium auxiliumque sapientissimis quibusque, sedulo ab iis, quibns licebat, Judaeis, voce ac per epistolas sciscitatus est, quaenam a parentibus oralis legis scita didicissent, quin ot schedas undique conquisivit, quibus hactenus memoriae causa traditiones iuscriptiE fuerant. Ea omnia, secundum cerfa doctrinae capita disposuit, et in unum volumen redegit, cui nomen hoc Mishna, hoc est, SevrtpucriQ imposuit. Wagenseil. Pr. p. 55. ^ Scilicet, si per Talmud solam Mishnam intelligam, vera affirmavero, nul- 1am in toto Talmude reperiri blasphemiam, nihil christianis adversum, nullam fabulam quoquc, imo nee tjuicquain quod valde a ratione sit alienum. Con- tinet enini meras tantum TraT^ioTrapadoatiQ, et est, ceu diximus, corpus juris judaici olim non scripti. Rem ita se habere, testem idoneum ac locuplefem sistere po?sumus, virum harum reruni scientissimum, omnique dignum pree- conio, Josephumde Voisin. — Wagenseil. Praef. p. 57, Quippe, cjuod in praefatione hujusvoluminis satis dixi, idtarrien nunc iterum dice, in universa Mishna, dc Jesu servatore, nee vola nee vestigium ullum ap- paret, imo ne de christianis quidcm, ejus nomen profitentibus. Id in Confut. Toldos Jeselui. p. x. sect. 4. Extracts out of the Mishna. A. D. ISO. 509 of divers leariieil men, well skilled in this part of learning', that in the Mishna, which is a collection of Jewish tradi- tions, there is little or nothing' concerning our Saviour or his followers. I allow also that here are none of those o|)en blasphemies which may be found in some other JeM'- ish writiuiis. II. I shall now make some extracts out of the Mishna. 1. In the tract concernino- fasts are these words: 'Five' heavy afflictions have befallen our ancestors on the seven- teerith day of the month Tammu/ [June,] and as many on the ninth day of the month Ah [July:] for on the seven- teenth day of Tammuz the tables of the law were broken ; the perpetual sacrifice ceased ; the Avails of the city were broke open ; the law was burnt by Apostemus ; and an idol was set up in the temple. On the ninth day of the month Ab, God determined concerning our fathers, that they should not enter into the promised land ; the first and second tem- ple was desolated ; the city Either was taken ; the holy city was destroyed : for which reason, as soon as the month Ab begins, rejoicings are abated.'^ ' Quinque res luctuosse patribus nostris acciderunt die septimo decimo men- sis Tammuz [sc. Junii.] totidemque die nono mensis Abh [sc. Julii.] Nam xvii. Tammuz fractae sunt tabulae Legis: cessavit juge sacrificium : Urbis moenia perrupta : Lex ab Apostemo combusta, idolumque in templo statutum. Nono autem die mensis Abli, decrevit Deus de patribus nostris, non ingres- suros eos in terram promissam : desolatumest tempkim primum et secundum : capta est urbs B.ther : diruta urbs sancta. Unde ex quo mensis Abh incipit, laetitiam imminuunt. Tract, de Jejuniis, c. 4. sect. 7. Pars 2. p. 3S2. edit Surenii. •^ I think it cannot be disagreeable to my readers, if I here transcribe some observations of Dr. Lightfoot, from what he calls a Parergon. Concerning the fall of Jerusalem. Of his works, Vol. i. p. 362, though they are long : * The temple was burnt dow.i, as Josephus a spectator setteth the time, " on * the tenth day of the month Lous." V/hich he saith was a fatal day to the * temple ; for it had been burnt down by the Babylonians before on that day. * De Bell. 1. 6. c. vii. And yet his countrymen, who write in the Hebrew * tongue, fix both these fatalities to the ninth day of that month, which they ' call the month Ab. And they account that day fatal for three other sad ' occurrences besides. " O.i the ninth day of the month Ab," say they, " the * decree came out against Israel in the wilderness that they should not enter ' into the land. On it was the destruction of the first temple, and on it was * the destruction of the second. On it the great city Either was taken, where * thousands and ten thousands of Israel, who had a great king over them, [Ben * Cozba,] whom all Israel, even their greatest wise men, thought to have been * Messias. But he fell into the hands of the heathen, and there was great afHic- * tion as there was at the destruct on of the sanctuary. And on that day, a * day allotted for vengeance, the wicked Turnus Rufus ploughed up the place * of the temple, and the places about it, to accomplish what is said, " Sion * shall become a ploughed field." Talmud, in Taanith. per. 4. halac. 6. ' Maimon. m Taanith. per. 5.' ♦ It is strange, that men of the same nation, and in a thing so signal, and 510 Jewish Testimonies. ^Vho is meant by Aposteinus, or Appostemus, is not very material, and therefore I do not inquire. 1 allege this pas- sage as an early Jewisli testiniony to the destruction otthe holy city, or Jerusalem, and the second temple, as it is here called. 2. In the tract concerning- the woman suspected of adul- te y, are these words: 'When' the war of Vespasian began, the coronets and bells of bridegrooms were forbidden by a public decree. When the war of Titus began, the coronets of brides were forbidden, and that no man should educate his son in great learning". Because of the final issue of that war every bride was forbidden to come abroad under an umbrella. Nevertheless, our masters Jiave [since] thought fit to allow of it.' ' of which both parties were spectators, should be at such a difference ; and ' \et i.ot a difference neither, if we take Jojephus's report of the whole story, ' r nd the other Jews' constniction of the time. He records that the cloister- ' walk-, commonly called the Porticoes of the temple, were fired on the eighth ' day, and were burnmg- on the ninth : but that day Titus called a council of ' war, and carried it by three voices, that the temple should be spared. But a ' new bustling of the Jews caused it to be fired, though against his will on the ' next day. Joseph, ubi supr. c. 22, 23, 24. Now their Kalendar reckons * from the middle day of the three, that fire was at it as from a centre. And ' they state the time thus : " It was the time of the evening when fire was put ' to the temple -, and it burnt till the going down of the sun of the next day ' And behold what Rabban Jochanan Benzaccai saith : If I had not been m ' that generation, I should not have pitched it upon any other day but the * tenth, because the most of the temple was burnt that day. And in the Jeru- salem Talmud it is related that Rabbi and Joshua Ben Levi fasted for it the ' ninth and tenth days both." Gloss, in Maim, in Taamth. per. 8.' ' Such another discrepancy about the time of the firing of the first temple ' by Nebuchadnezzar, may be observed in 2 Kings xxv. 8, 9, where it is said ' that " in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, came Nebuzara * dan, captain of the guard, and burnt the house of the Lord :" and yet in Jer. ' In. 12, it is said to have been " in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the * n.onth." Which the Gemarists in the Babylon Talmud reconcile thus : ' " It cannot be said on the seventh day, because it is said on the tenth. Nor ' can it be said on the tenth, because it is said on the seventh. How is it then ? ' On the seventh day the aliens came into the temple and ate there, and defiled * it the seventh, eighth, and ninth days. And that day, towards night, they * set it on fire, and it burnt all the tenth day, as was the case also with the ' second temple." Taanilh. fol. 29.' * The ninth and tenth days of the month Ab, on which the temple was ' burnt down, was about the two and three-and-twentieth days of our July * And the city was taken and sacked the eighth day of September following. * Joseph, supr. c. 47.' So Light foot. ' Orto belio Vespasiani, decreto publico abrogatse sunt coronae sponsorum et tympana. Orto bello Titi, cautum est de coronis sponsarum, et ne quis filium in Graecaniciserudiiet. Propter postremum belli impetum, prohibeba- tursponsa in publicum prodiresub uranisco. Sed magisfris nostris visum est, faculfatem ejus rei indulgere. Tractat. de Uxore Adultcrii suspecta. num 14. P. 3. p. 304. Edit. Surenh. Extracts out of the Mishna. A. D. 180. 511 This also is an early testimony to the war, in which the Jewish peoj)le were subdued by those two great generals, Vespasian and Titus. 3. I shall now transcribe below another long' passage from the same tract : a part of which shall be translated. ' When '" Rabbi Meir died, there were none left to instruct men in w ise parables.' When Simeon, son of Gamaliel, died, there came locusts, and calamities were increased. When R. Akiba died, the glory of (he law vanished away. Upon the death of Gamaliel the Aged, the honour of the law vanished, and there was an end to purity and sanctimony. When Rabbi Ishmael, son of Babi, died, the splendour of the priesthood was tarnished. When Rabbi [Judah] died, there Avas no more any modesty or fear of transgression. Rabbi Pinchas, son of Ishmael, said. When the temple was destroyed, all men were covered with shame, both wise men and nobles ; and all now cover their heads : the bountiful are reduced to poverty, and the violent and slanderers prevail : nor is there any to explain the law, nor are there any who ask and in- "^ Mortuo R. Meir, defecere qui homines erudiebant [doctis] parabolis. Moi'tuo R. Simeone Filio Gamalielis, venerunt locustas, et auctae sunt calami- tates. — R. Ahiba mortuo, decus legis cvanuit. — Mortuo R. Gamaliele Sene, Gvanuit honor legis, simulque mundities et sanctmionia, intermortuae. R. Ismaele fiho Babi defuncto, occubuit splendor sacerdotii. Mortuo Rabbi [Juda Sancto] cessavit modestia, et timor peccati. R. Pinchas F. J. ait diruto templo pudore sufFusi sunt sapientes parifer et nobiles ; obnubuntque capita. Libcrales ad pauperiem sunt redacti, contra invaluerunt violenti, et calumnia- fores : nee superest explicans, nee quserens, nee interrogans. Cui ergo inni- tendum est nobis? Patri nostro coelesti. R. Eliezer, cognomento Magnus, ait: Ex quo tempi um devastatum est, coepere sapientes similes esse scribis, scribee ^Edituis, ^Editui vulgo hominum. Vulgus autem hominum, in pejus in dies ruit : nee quis rogans, aut qnaerens superest. Cui ergo innitendum > Patri nostro coelesti. Paullo ante adventum Messiae impudentia augebitur, et magna erit annonae caritas. Vitis proferet fructum, sed vinurn nihilominus care vendetur. Summum in orbe imperium obruetur opinionibus pravis, et nuUi locum habebit eorreptio. Synagogee convertentur in lupanaria, limites Judaeae desolabuntur, et regio, quanta quanta est, devastabitur. Viri insignes oppidatim circuibunt, nee ulla humanitatis officia experientur. Foetebit sapientia magistrorum, a delictis sibi caventes spernentur, et veritatis magnus erit defectus. Juvenes confundent ora senum. Senes coram junionbus sur- gent. Filius irritabit patrem. Nata insurget adversus matrem, nurusque con- tra socrum. Denique, suos quisque domesticos inimicos habebit. Scilicet seculo isto canina facies erit, nee verebitur filius parentem. Cui ergo confi- dendum ? Patri coelesti. — R. Pinchas F. J. ait : Providentia causa alacritatis. -Timor sceleris ducit ad pietatem. Piefas causa est [' gratia '] S. Spi- ritus. Spiritus S. [' fideles '] facit participes resurrectionis mortuorum. Resur- lectio mortuorum obtinget interventu Elias, cujus memoria sacra esto et sancta Deus aeternus benigne concedat ut adventu illius cito salvi sani- quefruamur. Amen. Tr. deUxore Adulterii suspecta. num. 15. P. 3. p. 308, 309. Surenh 512 Jewish Testimonies. quire. What then shall we do ? Let us trust iu our heavenly Father. R. Eliezer, surnanied the Great, says, From the time that the temple was destroyed the wise men began to be like scribes, the scribes like sextons, and sextons like the vulgar; and the vulgar are continually degenerating from bad to worse : nor are there any who ask and inquire. What then shall we do ^ Let us trust in our heavenly Father. A short time before the coming of the Messiah im- pudence will be increased, and great will be the price of provisions. The vine will bear fruit ; nevertheless wine will be sold at a high price. The supreme empire of the world will be overwhelmed with bad opinions: nor will there be room for any to correct them. Syiiagogues will be turned into brothel houses, and the \n hole land of Judea will be laid waste. Excellent men will wander from town to town, and experience no offices of hunmnity. The wisdom of the mas- ters will be slighted, and all who strive to avoid transgres- sion will be contemned, and great will be the dearth of truth. Youno- men will cover the faces of the a5 JosiPPON. Of die Siege of Jerusalem. A. D. 930. 545 be put to death, and that their goods should be given to living' Jews, heirs of the dead. Upon this occasion six thou- sand Arabians and Syrians suffered deatli. A most unlikely thing, and mere romance! No general would show such favour to a resolute people, whom he was besieging with an army. Josephus says that " two thousand of the Jews were thus cruelly destroyed by the Syrian and other soldiers for the sake of the gold hid in their bodies. He also says, Titus was much displeased, and would have ordered his horse to surround the criminals and kill them with darts; but he considered that the number of the guilty exceeded that of the slain. He therefore was obliged to content himself with forbidding that cruelty for the future, upon the pain of heavy punishment. This author moreover says, that ' strict " inquiry was made by Titus after the Romans who had been guilty of the like action ; and they were found to be three hundred and twenty men, whom Titus ordered to be burnt to death in one pit or cistern. After which all Jews who came over to Titus were treated by the soldiers very civilly, and they lived very quiet and unmolested in his camp.' All fiction from this author's fruitful invention ! And the story is made out, as it seems, to do honour to his nation, at the same time that their city was falling into ruin, and they going into captivity ! He likewise tells the story which Josephus has done, of the crucifixion of the Jews before the walls of the city, five? hundred in a day, and sometimes more, as Josephus ?ays. But this author tells it very difl^erently in this manner. Some 1 M'ent out of the city with their wives, and sons and " De B. J. 1. 5. c. xiii. sect. 4, 5. p. 361, 362. ° Fuitque numerus eorum, qui reperfi sunt, turn eoium qui fecerunt, turn eorum qui noverant, trecentorum et viginti virorum. At jussit Titus servis suis, et combusserunt omnes in medio cistemae unius. Et deinceps Judsei cum fiducia in castris Titi degebant, neque ultra fuit adversarius, aut incuisus malus. Sed quotiescunique Romanus inveniebat Judseura aliquem perplexum aut errantem extra castra procul, clam ilium deducens comitabatur usque dum ad castra incolumem, et tranquille, et cum securitate bona reduxisset. cap. 91. p. 413. p De B. J. 1. 5. cap. xi. n. 1. 1 Quando aliqui ab urbe exibant cum uxoribus, et filiis, et filiabus, et par- vulis suis, ut invenirent herbas, Romani, qui illos inveniebant, jugula- bant natos eorum, et dicebant : Jugiilemus hos parvulos, ne adolescant, et suc- cessu dierum pugnent nobiscum, sicut patres illorum. Idcirco Romani truci- dabant infimam plebem, quotquot exibant ab urbe, et suspendebant illos ad arbores ex adverse portae Jerusalem. Sicque faciebant Romani quotidie. Pervenitque numerus occisorum et suspensorum ad quingentas animas. Idem etiam faciebant Simon, Jehochanan, et Eleazarus, iis omnibus, quos capiebant ex cohortibus Romanorum postquam illos per insidias circumvenerant. Eo- f!em modo animadvertebant in eos, qui quosrebant exire, ut perfugerent ad illos. Jugulabant enim eos, et cadavera suspendebant super murum ex adverse Roma- VOL. VT. 2 N 546 Jewish Testimonies. daughters, and little ones, to gather herbs for food ; and the Romans slew all the young- people, saying: 'Let us kill these, lest they grow up and fight against us, as their fathers have done.' So the Romans acted from day to day, till the number of slain and hanged-up amounted to five hundred. The like to this was done within the city by Simon, and John, and Eleazar. They killed and hung up upon the walls all the Ron)ans which they could catch, and all their own peo- ple who endeavoured to go out of the city, till they amounted also to the number of five hundred ; which when Titus saw, he gave strict orders to all the men of his army not to kill any Jews that came out of Jerusalem. If any did so, they should be put to death. For his bowels yearned over Israel. So says this fantastical writer. He computes the taking of Antonia to have been on the fifth day of Sivan, the third month, on the eve of the feast of weeks, or Pentecost; the fourteenth month from the coming of Titus to besiege Jerusalem. So ' at the end of ch. 91. He proceeds,^ in the ninety-second chapter, to relate con- tentions and fightings of the Jews and Romans at the tem- ple, or near it; Mhich I need not rehearse particularly : especially since it is not all exact truth or matter of fact, but exaggeration agreeable to this author's fancy. At the beginning of the ' ninety-third chapter he tells the story of Mary, who, in the extremity of the famine, killed her only child, and - aloud to his men, till he was hoarse, and persisting- in his exclamations, as this author says, till he fell to the ground almost dead. And the priests at the temple fought as long- as tlu^y were able ; and when they saw the fire prevail, they threw themselves into it. As there remained no hopes of preserving- the temple, Titus, before it was entirely consumed, went in, and greatly ad- mired it — Soon after that the Romans set up their idols and images in the temple, and offered sacrifices to them, and reviled the Jews, and blasphemed their law before their idols. He now comes to the signs and prodig-ies, foresignifying^ the calamities that were coming upon the Jewish people, which also are mentioned by Josephns^^ in this same place, after the burning- the temple. 'Nor" did the Jews attend to the words of the sig-ns which happened in Jerusalem, though they were very awful. For a year before Vespasian came, there appeared over the temple a blazing star in the shape of a man, in whose hand were drawn swords. The day in which this sign was seen, was the first of the feast of the Passover? and during the whole night the temple was illuminated as if it had been day : and so it continued throughout the seven days of the Passover.' Thus confound- ing-, as it seems, the first two signs in Josephus, and making them one only, and likewise representing the blazing- star ret ignem— 7-Ac tandem defessus defatigatusque corruit ad terram viribus ex- haustus Postquam itaque incensa fuit domus Sancti Sanctorum, surrexit Titus, et ingressus in Sanctum Sanctorum vidit gloriam domus, et decorem ejus, et splendorera illius Nondum enim tota domus incendio consumta erat, ut pulchritudinem illius, et majestatem ejus contemplaretur. Tunc dixit Titus : Nunc cognovi, quia non est hie aliud, nisi domus Dei. Hoc est ha- bitaculum Dei ccelorum, et tabernaculum ejus Quia magna est majestas domus hujus, et magnus splendor majestatis templi ejus longe supra templiun Romanorum, et omnia templa nationum, quae vidi Deinde surrexerunt Roman), et, extincto incendio, idola et imagines suas in templo statuerunt. Et obtulerunt eis holocausta, et probro atfecerunt Judaeos, et legem eorum coram idolis suis blasphemarunt. cap. 94. p. 436 — 438. " De B. J. 1. 6. cap. v. num. 3. " Neque Judaei animum adverterant ad verba signorum, quse contigerunt in Jerusalem Nam anno uno antequam veniret Vespasianus, apparuit super templum stella quaedam scintillans instar formae hominis, in cujus manu gladii district]. Dies autem, quo visum est signuni illud, fuit primus ex diebus festi Paschatis ; et tota nocte illius diei templum fulsit, et resplenduit tanquam lux diei ; et ita factum est per totos septem dies Paschatis Cap. 94. p. 438. 2 N 2 548 Jewiuli Testimonies. somewhat differently from Josepluis. Then follow in him the other signs token from Josepluis; but I shall not re- hearse them. He has, particularly, that of the man of low- rank, who for several years travelled through the streets of Jerusalem, with his mournful denunciation of ' Woe to the city ;' whom> he calls Joshua, son of Hananiah. When ^ the Romans had got possession of the temple, the Jews fled to mount Sion. Here our author useth a different style from Josephus, who has never used the word Sion in his writings, but always describes tiiat part of the city by other names. Now ■' some priests came to Titus entreating mercy ; bnt he would not grant it, and ordered them to be put to death. Now'' also John and Simon sent messengers to Titus, pro- posing to surrender to him, if he would grant them their lives; but Titus rejected their proposal, and reproached them severely. Whereupon "^ Titus ordered the war to be renewed, and carried on by his army Avith vigour. At*^* this time Zarach ^or Izates] of royal descent, and his brothers, came down from mount Sion, and surrendered to Titus, and were well received by him. Whereupon Simon and his adherents set fire to their goods and treasures which they had left behind them, that they might not come into the hands of the Romans. Simon *" and John escape, and hide themselves in a cavern. y Porro quatuor annis ante hsec signa fiiit vir quidam in Jerusalem, de populo terrae, seu plebeius, nomine Jehoshua, filius Chananiae, et ccepit cla- mare voce magna die ipso festi Tabernaculorum Oderunt autem ilium omnes cives urbis, &c. Ibid. p. 439. ^ Postquam itaque ingressus fuit omnis exercitus Romanorum in templum, diffugerunt Judsei ad montem Sion. Cap. 95, in. p. 440. * Postquam autem libaverunt Romani coram domino suo Tito, ecce pars sacerdotum, qui capti fuerant juxta templum, deprecati sunt Titum, ut seip- sos vivos scrvaret, neve interficeret Tunc Romani irruerunt in illos, et mortui sunt omnes. Cap. 95. p. 440. '' Simon autem et Jochanan miserunt ad Titum sermones pacis et depreca- tionis, orantes pro seipsis, ut vivos servaret Ibid. 440. •^ Tunc jussit Titus Romanis instaurari bellum cum principibus latronum Jehochanane et Simone, quandoquidem se tarn pertinaciter gerebant lb. p. 441. '^ Eo tempore surrexit Zarach, qui quidem erat de filiis Regum, de monte Sion, cum fratribus suis, et cum omnibus filiis seminis regii, et venorunt ad Titum, qui excepit illos cum honore, et bcnigne tractavit Cum ergo vidissent Jochanan et Simon principes la- tronum abiisse Izatam cum caeteris filiis regis, — — abieruit i] si, et combus?e- runt omnia quae pertinebant ad filios regis, et incenderunt domum, et omnes thesauros ejus cornbusserunt, ncacciperent eos Romani p. 441. " Tunc femporisfugientes Simon et Jehochanan, in quadam latebra abscon- derunt se, quocumque se contulcrint. Caeteri veto eorum, qui erant cum eis, JosiPPON. Of the Sieye of Jerumlcm. A. D. 930. 549 Many Jews of good condition surrender to Titus, and lie re- ceives them favourably. Joshua "^ a priest, son of Shebnthi high-priest, conies to Titus, bringing with him two golden candlesticks, which were in the sanctuary, and golden tables, and divers other rich utensils of the temple, and vestments of the priests, and precious stones, all which he made a present of to Titus, who received him graciously. At" this time also came out Gorion the priest, father t)f the writer of this history, and his mother, with their son Bonian. They came out of the house of Simon, in which they had been kept prisoners. Gorion'' lived twenty months after taking the city of Jerusalem. Bonian was a wise and good man. Titus did not take him to Rome with himself, as he did Joseph, but left him to preside over the priests in that country. Now also Phineas, a priest, brought more of the holy things out of the temple to Titus. But our au- thor blames both these priests for delivering such things into the hands of an enemy of the people of God. How- ever, I do not perceive him to make any mention here of the book of the law. At ' that time therefore was taken Jerusalem, with all its et principes Jerusalem, et nobiles Juda, statim atque viderunt fugisse Simonem et Jehochananem, tunc desoenderuut et venientes ad Titum, procubuerunt ante faciem ejus in terram Et Titus benigne excepit illos lb. p. 442. ' Sub id tempus venit ad Titum Jehoshua, sacerdos, filius Shebuthi, Sacerdotis Magni, et attulit secum duo ex candelabris auieis, quae fuerant in Sanctuario. Avexit autem secum omnes mensas aureas, et omnia vasa aurea, et crateres, et acerras, et scutellas, ac etiam vestes ministerii, et vestes sanctJtatis coopertds auro, et circumcinctas lapidibus pre- tiosis, cum magna copia gemmarum Quae omnia donavit Tito, a quo be- nigne acceptus est lb. p. 442. 8 Tunc temporis egtessus est Goiion, sacerdos, pater Josephi sacerdotis auctoris historiarum libri hujus, de carcere suo, de turri videlicet domus Simonis latronis, cum uxore sua, et cum tilio Bonian. Is erat frater Josephi sacerdotis natu minor. Iste quoque Bonian fuit sapiens, magnus, et sacerdos sanctus Nam reliquit eum Titus in Jerusalem, neque abductus fuitabeo, quemad- modum Josephus. Vixit autem pater Josephi postquam capta est Jerusalem, viditque Josephum tilmm suum, per viginti menses, et mortuus est. Tunc etiam temporis captus est Phinehas sacerdos, custos cellarum sacrarii, in quas contulerat omnes thesauros sacerdotum, et vestes sacerdotum sanctas, et dedit Tito thesaunim unguenti optimi, et aromata, et vestes purpureas, c|uibus sanc- tificaverant Sanctuarium Reges domus secundae, et omnia vasa aurea, quae apud se habebat de vasis domi'is Jehovse. lb. p. 443. •• According to Josephus, Gorion was put to death by the zealots, before the siege of the city began : see above, p. 436, and De B. J. 1. 4. cap. vi. sect. 1. What therefore this author says of his father and mother must be all fiction and falsehood. ' Tunc itaque temporis capta fuit Jerusalem, cum omnibus rebus desirabihbus ejus. Deinde ascendit Titus in montem Sion, et cepit ilium. Jussit autem destrui murum civitatis Sion. Jam vero 550 Jewish. Testimonies. desirable things : and then Titus went up to Mount Sion and took it, and ordered that the wall of the city of Sion should be demolished. And three days after that, John, one of the princes of the robbers, being* pinched with hunger, came out of his hiding-place, and surrendered to Titus, beg- ging" mercy of him ; but Titus commanded him to be bound with heavy iron chains, and gave orders that he should be led about before his soldiers, to be derided and insulted by them, and after sevea days he was hanged. And now also, immediately in the same connection, he relates the appear- ance of Simon, though it could not be till some while after- wards. He was first brought before the Roman g-eneral Rupha, or Rufus, and then before Titus: who conmianded him to be bound, and to be led round the whole army, to be exposed and insulted by them, as John had been : after which he was beheaded, and his body was cut to pieces, and thrown to the dog's. Moreover,'' as he goes on, the number of the people that elapso triduo, deficiebat anima Jehochananis priucipis latroaum, prae fame. Surrexit itaque de loco ubi latebat, et egressus inde abiil ad Titum, et corruens ante faciem ejus, et deosculatus pedes ejus dixit ei ; Ser%'a, quaeso, Domine mi Rex. Tunc j ussit ilium Titus constringi vinculis ferreis gravissimis, et obduci ilium, et circumvehi per totum exercitum suum, atque ignominiose tractari tandem post septem dies mortuus est strangulatus Postea egressus est etiam Simon lairo, homicida impius, de loco latebrce suae, quia fames graviter premebat ilium Tunc dixit eis : Venite, et vocate mihi ducem, et tradam me ilU Et vocaverunt Rupha, qui tunc erat Rector seu praefectus mili- tiae Romanorum Et sic fecit ille, deduxitque eum ad Titum. Statim autem ut vidit Titus Smionem, jussit ilUim vinculis constringi, et abduci, et circumvehi per totum exercitum suiim, et ignominiose tractari, et subsannari, quemadmodum fecerant Jehochanani. Erat autem vinctus catenis aereis. Turn denique jussit Titus interfici ilium in vinculis. Itaque amputaverunt illi caput antequam moreretur. Tum dissecuerunt eum in partes, et projece- runt membra cadaveris ejus canibus. lb. p. 443, 444. '' Porro numerus totius populi eorum, qui occisi sunt, quatenus potuerunt cognosci tunc gladio cecidisse sive per Romanos, sive per latrones, ex populo Judaeorum, sive qui de proximo, sive qui de longinquo venerant ad festum, festum scilicet Jehovae in Jerusalem, et restiterant illic propter obsidionem, corrueruntque gladio ; numerus, inquam, fuit mOlia millium, et centum millia : praeter ilfos, qui quidem occisi sunt, sed cognosci non potuerunt, ut numera- rentur. Illi enim taatummodo numerati sunt, qui sepulti et cogniti fuerunt. Qui autem cognosci non potuerunt nou recensiti sunt in numerura. Praeter eos quoque, c|ui postea mortui sunt cum Eleazaro, filio Anaui sacerdotis, post mortem Jehochananis, et Simonis, latronum et tyrannorum crudeliuni. Numerus autem populi ex Judaeis, qui abierunt cum Tito in captivitatem, et quos abduxit secum Romam, sexdecim millia. Et abduxit quidem Romam Josephum sacerdolem : Bonian vero, ejus fiatrem, relicjuit in antistitem super sacerdotes, qui remanserunt in Jerusalem. Ita enim deprecatus fuerat Josephus frater ejus ; et suscepit faciem ejus, et ita fecit. Nam quoad caeteros ex eis, quos Titus cepit vivos, ne unum ex eis vivere passus fuit : sed omnes la- Irenes residues, quotquot vivos comprehendit, interfecit Titus morte probjosa, JosiPPON. Of tlie Sieye of Jeiusulem. A. D. 930. 551 were slain, so far as could be found, who were killt-d by the Romans, or the rubbers, of all the people of the Jews, who, from tlie neiohbouring- country, or from far off, had come up to Jerusalem to the feast, the feast of the Lord, and were sliut up in the city by the siege, was eleven hundred thousand, beside many others whose number was not found, aiul beside those who died with Eleazar, after the death of John and Simon. The number of the people of the Jews who were taken captive by Titus, and carried with him to Rome, he says, were sixteen thousand. He also took with him to Rome Joseph the priest; but Bonian, his brother,he left to preside over the priests in tliat country ; but as for those whom he took captives, he says that Titus put to death at Jerusalem all, and every one of them, in an ignominious manner, ex- cepting- only such as he reserved to take with him; and them he caused to die in a very ignominious manner: for in all the cities, where he made any stay, in his return to Rome, he ordered some of them to be thrown to lions, and other wild beasts, until all whom he had taken with him were destroyed. So says our author. The number of the captives, accord- ing- to Josephus, [De B. J. 1. 6. ix. 8.] were ninety and seven thousand ; many of whom, according- to him, were sold for slaves: but this, so far as I see, is quite omitted by our au- thor, as also the triumph of Vespasian and Titus for their concpiest of Judea. But why does he omit these things ? To me it seems to be owing- to the pride of his heart. The temple had been burnt, Jerusalem was destroyed ; the whole country of Judea had been subdued by the Romans, uncircumcised and idol- atrous people; facts which he could not deny, or disown, however dishonourable and reproachful to his nation ; and he has himself related these events in his way and manner. But yet he was, as it seems, desirous to save his nation from some circumstances of reproach and dishonour; he there- fore forbore to say any thing- of the triumph of Vespasian and Titus, though performed in the metropolis of the vast et ignominiosa in Jerusalem. Quosdam tamen ex eis secura superstites asser- vavit, ut contumelia eos afficeret per singulas urbes transitu? sui, cum conten- deret Romam. Cum itaque profectus est Titusde Jerusalem, accepit eos secum, et abduxit etiam secum reliquum populum captivitatis, quem captivum fecerat ex Judseis : cumque morabatur in singulis urbibus transitus sui, dum iter t'aceret Romam, in quacunque urbe ubi castra raetabatur, educebat quosdam ex latro- nibus illis, et jubebat illos objici leonibus, etferis pessimis, ut devorarent illos, donee cousumpti sunt omnes latrones, quos secum habebat. Cap. 95. p. 444, 445. 552 Jewish Testimonies. empire of the Romans, and published and recorded in pub- lic and durable monuments, as well as in writings of the best credit. From the same principle of pride and vanity, he forebore to say that at this time many Jews, the people of Israel, had been sold for slaves, to live in slavery to un- circumcised Gentiles: so it seems tome. And I think it may deserve to be taken notice of by us, that in the fictitious history which he has given of his journey to Rome, and the inauguration of Vespasian there, he has mentioned a particu- lar, somewhat resembling this : ' For after the coronation of Vespasian, and the death of Agrippa, and !)is son Monbaz before mentioned, when Vespasian began to show favour to Joseph, and ordered his chains to be struck off, Joseph ' pre- sented a petition to Vespasian in behalf of all sons of Israel, who were then in prison at Rome, entreating- that they might be set at liberty ; and upon that condition promising- that he would for the future be a faithful counsellor to the emperor, and serve him according- to the utmost of his ability: which petition was granted by the emperor: and all Israelites who had been bound at Rome, were set at liberty.' Which must be allowed to be one of the fictitious events of that voyage to Rome which is throughout the fiction of this writer's fertile invention, ^ho says what he pleaseth. After this our author™ tells the story of Eleazar, and his men at Massada, but somewhat differently from" Josephus. He does not say that they determined to kill themselves and one another: his account is, that" after the speech of Eleazar, they killed their wives and daughters that they might not fall a prey into the hands of the enemy : and p ' Dixit vero Josephus: Nonne opprobrium mihi est reserari a me catenas ferreas, et interim vincula filiorum Israel, qui mecum sunt Romas, non etiam reserari tuo jussu ? Si ergo nunc audieris me, quandoquidem inveni gratiam in oculis tuis, solves, quaeso, vincula omnium Israelitarum, qui mecum sunt llomse ; et ero tibi consiliarius fidelis omnibus diebus, et inimicus ero inimicis tuis, et adversabor adversariis tuis. Fecit itaque Vespasiauus secundum ser- monem Josephi, et solvit omnia vincula omnium vinctorum filiorum Israel, qui erant cum Josepho Romse. Lib. 6. cap. 78. p. 346. '" Cap. 96. p. 447, 488. et cap. 97. p. 452. " Vid. de B. J. 1. 7. cap. vjii. ix. " Tunc surgentes viri uxores suas et filias suas accersunt, quas osculati et complexi, ita alloquuntur. Melius est in oculis nostris, ut moriamini in terra vestra cum sanctitate et honore, quam ut eatis in captivitatem, et cum oppro- brio in lerram inimicorum vestrorum, et cum idolis gentium, et contu- melia moriamini Cap. 97. p. 452. P Postea egressus est Eleazarus sacerdos cum omnibus viris bellatoribus qui secum erant ex urbe, et miscuerunt ingentem pugnam cum multitudine exerci- tiis Romanorum, et occiderunt multos ex eis absque numero. Ac tandem pugnantes Judaei contra proprias ipsorum animas, donee omnes absumerentur JosiPPON. Of the Siege of Jerusalem. A. D. 930. 553 then tlie men went out of the city and fought with the Ko- nians : of whom they slew very many, till they were them- selves all killed. ' And,' says he, ' here end the wars of the second house.' After which follows^ this author's final lamentation, and in a rythmical sort of poesy, as Gagnier'^ observes, very different from that among the Hebrews at the time when thei • temple was destroyed. ' Woe* is now unto us! For the city of our glory is laid waste. And the house of our sanctunry is thrown down, In which our hope Mas placed, And all the desires of our hearts. And our temple is consumed with fire ; And we have been carried out of our country, And from the heritage of our fathers; Nor have we stretched out our hands to God, in proelio illo raortui pro Jehova, et pro sanctuario ejus. Hue usque desinunt bella domus secundae. Cap. 97. p. 452. 1 Tunc lanientatus fuit Josephus, sacerdos Dei, lamentationera hanc p. 452. ' Lamentatio Ben Gorionis ultima, eaque rythmica, quam, ut Leoninae cujusdara inter Judaeos specimen poeseos non injucundum. hie Hebraice subjunximus. Et credat lector, si potest, sine risu, hanc ab ipso Flavio Josepho compositum fuisse tempori templi excidii. Gagnier. Not. p. 452. * Vae nunc nobis ! Quia desolata est civitas gloriae nostras, Et eversa est Domus Sanctuarii nostri, In quo posita fuit spes nostra, Et omnia desideria cordium nostrorum. Et incensum est Templum nostrum; Et migravimus de terra nostra, Et ex haereditate patrura nostrorum ; Neque ad Deum [extendimus] manus nostras, Ut liberaremur de exiliis nostris, Quae aggravaverunt super nos. In ilium [commissae] iniquitates nostrae ; Et redegerunt nos in captivitatem peccata nostra ; Et humiliaveruiit in terram capita nostra praevaricationes nostrae. Sed adhuc veniet dies, et terminus Redemtionis; et adjiciet Deus nosfer, Ut recordetur juramenti sui ad patres nostros j Et aedificabit civitatem nostram, Et restaurabit templum nostrum, Et colliget disperses nostros, Et reducet captivitatem nostram, Et accelerare faciet Messiam nostrum, Et festinabit ad redimendum nos, Et prosternet inimicos nostros, Et humiliabit osores nostros, Et perdet et delebit hostes nostros, Et nos restituel, sicut in principio. Cap. 97. p. 452, 453. 554 Jewish Testimonies. That we might be delivered fVoin our exiles. And our sins and iniquities Have been aggravated upon us. Our transgressions have carried us into captivity ; And our apostasies have brought us down to the earth. But the day will come, and the time of our redemption ; And our God will deliver us. He will remendjer the oath made with our fathers; And will build up our city, And restore our temple. And gather our dispersions. And will bring back our captivity. And hasten the coming of our Messiah, And will speedily deliver us. And will cast down our enemies, And will humble those who hate us. And will destroy, and root out all our adversaries, And will restore us, as at the beginning.' Here, beside other things which an attentive reader will observe, he expresseth his expectation of the rebuilding the temple at Jerusalem. So likewise, when he gave an account of Herod's building, or repairing the temple, he describes the rejoicings made upon that occasion : 'For' the build- ing*,' says he, ' of the house of the Lord, which we have seen both built and destroyed ; but it shall be raised a third time in honour and glory, and shall be established for ever.' And in like manner in another" place. He is therefore a good witness to the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem, which had been raised after the return from the Babylonish captivity ; in which, as we say, the prophets had foretold the Messiah would make his appearance : see Hag. ii. 6' — 9, and Mai. iii. 1. After his lamentation this author adds, ' But" Titus left a remnant of Israel in the land of Israel, in the city Jabne, and its towns, and in the city Bether, and in its towns, and in Osha, and its towns.' Of all which cities, as Gagnier''' ' Et laudaverant Jehovam cum gaudio propter aedificium Domus JehovjE, quain vidimus, et tedificatam, devastatam. Sed adhuc resediiica- bitur tertio cum laude, et celebritate, et gloria ; et firmabit earn Jehova in aeter- num. 1. 6. cap. 55. p. 243. " Cap. 65. p. 288. sub fin. et p. 289. " Reliquit autem Titus Israeli relifiuias in terrsl Israel, in urbe Jabne, et in oppidis ejus, in urbe Bether, et in oppidiscjus, et in Osha, et oppidis ejus. Cap. 97. p. 454. " Tres iilas urbes, viz. Jabneh, Bether, et Oshah, hoc loco commemorat Ben-Gorion noster, non ex Joseplio auctore sue, qui nihil hie habet de hac belli Judaici coronide, sed ex Pandecfis Talmudicis, nbi frequentissima illarum mcntio occurrit. De quarum urbium situ ct cele- JosiPPON. Of the Siege of Jerusalem. A. D. 930. 555 in his notes observes, there is no notice taken by Flavins Josephus ; though there is in the Tahnndical writings ; and he refers to Lightfoot's works such as are inquisitive. This author proceeds : ' Moreover," Titus reigned two years after he had taken Jerusalem, and then died. Titus was a wise king, and composed many valuable books both in the Greek and in tin; Roman language. Titus was a just and upright man, and all his judgments were in righte- ousness ; but being compelled by necessity he destroyed and laid waste Jerusalem : all which evil came upon Je- rusalem because of the robbers which were in Israel, and because of their wickedness ; as we have shown in this history.' He here says that ' Titus reigned two years after he had taken Jerusalem,' v/liich is very inaccurate. Vespasian did not die before the year of our Lord 79 : after him Titus reigned more than two years, and died in the year of Christ 81 : nor does our author say any thing here of Vespasian, as he ought to have done. But we must not stay to remark upon the defects or inaccuracies of this writer; if we had so done we should never have got through his work ; and every reader is able to observe many such things without my mentioning them. This author gives a good character of Titus ; and he could do no less, after having before related so many favours and civilities conferred by him upon the Jews. Titus also, as all know, is much commended in the History of the Jewish War, written by Flavins Josephus, from which this writer had all his materials that are of any value. But> herein he differs from the Talmudical writers, as Gagnier observes britate maxime post eversa Hierosolyma, consulenda est doctissimi Lightfooti Chorographia Terraj Israelis. Cap. xv. lii. et Ixxxiv. Gagn. Not. p. 454. " Regnavit autem Titus duobus annis postquam cepit Jerusalem, et mortuus est. Porro Titus rex fuit sapiens, magnus in scientia eloquentise, turn in lingua Grasca, turn in lingua Roniana, et composuit libros multos cum sapientia Graece et Romane. Fuitque Titus vir Justus et rectus, et omnia judicia ejus erant cum justitia. Verum necessitate coactus desolavit et delevit Jerusalem. Et quidem desolavit et delevit earn, quia omne malum illud, quod venit super Jerusalem, non venit nisi per latrones, qui erant in Israel, et propter impietatem illorum, uti memoravimus. Cap. 97. p. 456. y Hie magna est discordia Ben-Gorionem inter et Talmudicos Doctores, quam non diffitentur ipsi Rabbini. Nee deesse tamen asserunt sapientes, qui illam contradictionem concilient, quemadmodum affirmat R. David Ganz. Sed quo judicio id tentaverint, judicium sit penes lectorera. Quoad nostrum Ben-Gorionem, ilium hoc loco sibi constare fatendum est. Cum enim in versione Rufini ubique magnas Titi Imp. virtutes summis laudi- bus praedicari legerit, ipseque, Flavium Josephum secutus, ilium ssepius multis elogiis ornavisset, non ausus fuit suos Doctores Talmudicos cum famse suae dispendio sequi, ne videlicet sibi contrarius videretur. Gagn. p. 456. 556 Jewish Testimonies. ill his notes upon this work ; for they represent Titus as ex- ceeding impious and profane, as we also have seen. How tlie learned Jews can reconcile these contradictions is not easy to comprehend ; but they continue to pay respect to this author as well as to the Talmudical doctors. Reland,^ likewise, in his Notes upon the Triumphal Arch of Titus, takes notice of the grievous reproaches and scandal- ous reflections upon him in the Jewish writers; whereby they have shown that they are skilful in the art of slandering, and spare not when they attempt it. Moreover, in this their en- mity to Titus, they bear witness to that great event, the overthrow of their city and temple, of which he was, under God, the instrument. IH. I may now make some general remarks ; but they need not to be many nor long. 1. This writer is evidently an impostor, a detestable cha- racter, which cannot be too much disliked, nor too much censured : he did not live in the time of Vespasian and Titus, as he pretends ; nor is he Joseph the son of Gorion the priest, who was appointed to preside in Jerusalem, or to govern in Galilee. 2. Nevertheless he is a witness to the burning of the tem- ple and the taking of Jerusalem, and the conquest of Judea, by the fore-mentioned emperors: to those events he has borne his testimony, and his testimony is received by the people of his own nation ; especially by the learned among- them. 3. He says that ' Titus was compelled by necessity to de- stroy Jerusalem, and that all this evil had come upon Jeru- salem because of the robbers and their wickedness.' He therefore does not ascribe the calamities which befell the Jews, in the time of Vespasian and Titus, to their sin in rejecting Jesus, and not receiving' him as the Messiah. Their calamities he owns, and thereby bears witness to the fulfilment of our Saviour's prophecies concerning the de- struction of Jerusalem : but he does not acknowledge any guilt contracted by his people in crucifying the Lord Jesus, and persecuting his followers: nor doesJosephus : nor" in- ^ Hebraei narrant, sed ex odio Titi, qucm ilium impium vocant, ac si homi- ncm longe post homines natos sceleratissitnuni diceres, non modo veils sacris eum vasa templi imposuisse, sed ct contaminasse adytum impio facinore, in Gcmara Gittiii. fol. 56. 2. Cepit nieretricem, eaque indLicta in sanctum sanctorum, sfratoque legisvolumine, facinus patiavit super illud. Dein stricfo gladio velum perrupit, unde sanguis, facto miraculo, missus est, sic ut exiens Titus putaret se Deum ipsum peremisse Reland. de Spoliis Templi in Area Titiano. cap. 13. p. 130, 131. * It is said by some learned men, that Maimonides ascribes the destruction JosiPPON. Concluding Remarks. A. D. 930. 557 deed can [ well see how any unbelieving- Jews can make such acknowledgments. Rabbi Isaac, in his Munimen Fidei above quoted, which is written against the christians, quotes John xix. 15, " The chiet-priests answered : We have no king" but CjEsar." Upon which he remarks in this manner: ' This '' shows that, before Jesus was crucified, the Jews were ' subject to the Roman emperors. The emperor here intended ' was Tiberius, who sent Pilate to preside at Jerusalem, as ' appears from the third chapter of Luke at the begiiming-. ' This may suffice for an answer to an objection of the Naza- ' renes, wlio say the Jews lost their kingdom for their sin in ' hanging" Jesus.' This, thougii it be no better than an eva- sion, shows the Jewish temper and principles. I say it is no better than an evasion. The Jewish people, as we know very well, were subject to the Romans in our Saviour's time: but the case was much altered with them afterwards. They were then very happy, and were so for some good while after that, enjoying", under the mild government of the Romans, the free exercise of their religion, and the temple-worship, and many other privileg-es. The distress, and other circum- stances of the sieg"e of Jerusalem, were very uncommon, sufficient to raise the attention of all serious men, and the long" duration, and other circumstances of their captivity and dispersion ev^er since, are also very uncommon and extraor- dinary ; but this is not a time or place for me to enlarge upon them any farther. But it is reasonable to think that unbelieving" Jews must endeavour, some how or other, to evade the arg"ument in favour of Christianity, taken from the destruction of Jerusalem, and their long-continued captivity and dispersion. And beside the passage just now alleged, the same Rabbi Isaac, in the place before referred to, re- lating" to the death of Agrippa, says, ' That the "^ diffbr- of Jerusalem to our Lord. So Dr. Sharps in his argument, &c. p. 38, 39. And De Voisin in Pr. Rugion. Fidei. p. 127. Cerfe R. Moses in tract. De Regibus, et De Bell. cap. 11, propter Jesum Christum excidiiun Jerosolyrai- tanum contigisse fatetur. Id est, ♦ Ille, qui visus est esse Messias, et occi- ' sus est sententia judiciali, &c. ille fuit causa, cur Israel gladio perierit, et reli- ' quiae Israel dispersae sint, et depressse, et cur lex mutata sit.' But how this is to be understood, I cannot well say. I have not the tract of Maimonides here referred to. ^ Heec ibi. Ecce hoc dicto ostenditur, ante Jesu cruel affixionem jam turn Caesares Romanes Juda^is imperitasse. Atque is Caesar [de quo ibi sermo] Tiberius fuit, qui Pilatum Hierosolymis praefecerat, ceu constat ex capitis iii. Lucae initio. Valebit hoc pro response adversas objectionem Nazaraeonim, qua clamitant, Judaeos propter peccatum suspen- sionis Jesu perdidisse regnum suum, &c. R. Isaaci Munimen Fid. p. 446. Conf p. 55, 56. ibid. "^ Caeterum, ob illam, quae inter regem Agrippam et improbos duces factio- sorum exorta fuerat contentionem, denique desolatum fuit templum, uti ex losepho constat. Munim. Fid. p. 417. And see before, p. 538, note '. 558 Jewish Testimonies. * ences between king- Agrippa, and the wicked leaders of ' the factions, at length brought on the desolation of the ' temple.' 4. This work of Josippon confirms the history of the Jew- ish war written by Flavins Josephns, son of JVIatthias ; and it must induce ns to set a real value upon Josephus, and raise our esteem for hin*!. They are both fond of their own peo- ple : but Josephus was indeed contemporary with the events which he records, and with the principal actors in them, and therefore he must have the preference. This author is a plagiary, and knows nothing" of the war of wjiich he writes, but what he has stolen from another, witliout naming- him: and, with all his Greek politeness, Josephus has more the air of sincerity and simplicity than this Hebrew writer. In- deed, it would have been a bad exchange, if, instead of the History of the Jewish War, written by Flavins Josephus, we had palmed upon us the History of the VYars of Jehova, written by Josippon ; who neither was the son of Gorion who presided at Jerusalem, nor the son of Matthias who go- verned in Galilee. CHAP. VII. A RECOLLECTION OF THE FOREGOING ARTICLES, AND REFLECTIONS UPON THEM. I. The precedhif) articles recollected. II. Rejlections upon them. III. Concludinr/ observations. I. I QUOTE no more Jewish * writers. I therefore now proceed to recollect what we have seen, and to make re- * Some learned men have of late appealed to a bock entitled Toldoth Jeschu. I am of opinion that Christianity does not need such a testiinony, nor such witnesses. I have looked it over several times, with an intention to give some account of it ; but, after all, I could not persuade myself to attempt it: for it is a modern work, written in the I4th or 15th century, and is throughout, from the beginning to the end, burlesque and falsehood ; nor does the shameless writer acknowledge any tiling that has so much as a re- semblance of the truth, except in the way of ridicule. I shall however put down here the short censure of Grotius upon this work, though he does not mention the title of it ; not thinking it, as I suppose, worthy to be named. ' Some of the Jews ascribe the miracles of Jesus to a certain secret name. A Recollection of the precediny Articles. 559 marks; but I ueed not recollect the first t«o cliapfeTs : I hope they have not been improperly premised to this work; but they need not to be brought in here in the way of" reca- pitulation and recollection : 1 shall recollect only what we have seen in Jewish writers, beginning with Josephus. Two things are to be regarded by us — their testimony to the Lord Jesus Christ, and to the destruction of Jerusalem. In Josephus there is a paragraph where Jesus is men- tioned very honourably, and agreeably to his true charac- ter: but it is not universally received by learned men as g-enuine. Many are rather of opinion that it has been in- serted in his works since his time. There is in him another paragraph concerning John the Baptist, which is generally received as genuine: and it is a valuable testimony to his preaching, and therein calling- men to the practice of virtue. He likewise says that he was put to death by Herod the tetrarcb ; but he says nothing of that part of his character, that he appeared as the forerunner of the Messiah. He likewise acknowledgeth that there was then in Judea a general expectation of a great person to arise from among them, who should obtain the empire of the world ; and that this expectation was one great occasion of the war with the Romans, and that it was built upon an oracle found in their sacred writings ; and that many of their wise men embraced it, and acted upon it in their engaging in the war. He has also spoken of many false prophets who appeared at that time, promising great advantages to the people if they would follow them, and that many were deceived by them. If they did not call themselves Christs, as well as prophets, they did in eft'ect take upon them the character of the Messiah. In the Mishna it is allowed that tliere is no express men- tion of Jesus Christ, the design of that work being to make a collection of the numerous traditions which hitherto were unwritten ; but I have alleged a paragraph ^ which I think contains an invidious representation of the state of things under the gospel dispensation, in the second century. ' which was put in the temple by Solomon, and kept by two lions, for above ' a thousand years, but was conveyed thence by Jesus ; which is not only false, ' but an impudent fiction, [non mendaciter modo, sed et impudenter confictum ' est.] For, as to the lions, so remarkable and wonderful a thing, neither the * books of the Kings, nor the Chron.cles, nor Josephus, mention anything of • them. Nor did the Romans, who before the times of Jesus entered the tem- ' pJe with Pompey, find any such thing.' Grotius, Of the Truth of the Chris- tian Religion. B. 5. sect. iv. in the version of Dr. John Clarke. And I refer to Wagenseil's Confutation of the Toldoth Jeschu. •> Seeabove, p. 511— 516 560 Jewish Testimonies. In the Talniudical writings Jesus is mentioned : but as Liglitfoot, who was well acquainted with them, says, it was chiefly with a view to wound and reproach him. They call his mother by the name Mary ; but they have aspersed her character, and have assigned to Jesus a spurious nativity. They have mentioned several of our Saviour's disciples, who, as they say, were put to death. They say our Saviour suffered as a malefactor at one of the Jewish Passovers, or in the eve of it, as the expression is. They seem in some places to acknowledge the power of miracles in Jesus and his disciples: and if they had not known that many miracu- lous works were ascribed to him, they would not have in- sinuated that he learned magical arts in Egypt, and brought them thence in a private manner, and then set up himself among his countrymen as an extraordinary person. That is the sum of their testimony upon this article. It would be in vain to expect a great deal from Jews upon this head, who are our enemies. Such are their prejudices, that they are, and always have been, the most inveterate enemies of Jesus and his followers. Concerning the other point, the destruction of Jerusalem, their testimony is more material, indeed very valuable. Jo- sephus, without intending it, has borne testimony to the ful- filment of all our Saviour's predictions concerning the mi- series of the siege of Jerusalem, the desolation of the land of Judea, and the dispersion of his nation. We have above transcribed his account at laroe. His testimony has been repeated, with some variations, in Josippon's History of the Jewish War: and the Mishna, and the Talmuds likewise, acknowledge the conquest of Judea by Vespasian and Titus, the burning of the temple, or the second house, and the overthrow of Jerusalem, which was dug up to the foun- dation. II. But how should (his be? How could this come to pass? What should be the reason of it? Does not this de- serve serious consideration? Amos iii. 6, "Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord has not done it ?" Such things are not the eftect of chance, but are owing to the direction of Providence. Is. xlv. 7, "I form the light, and create darkness : I make peace, and create evil : I the Lord do all these things." But if God inflict calamities u|)on any peo- ple, it is not without reason ; for all his works are done in truth. So again, in the fore-cited chapter of Amos, ver. 1 and 2: " Hear this word, that the Lorht him and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. A\ hen therelore the Lord of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him : He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their season. Jesus saith unto them: Did you never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner ? This is the Lord's doing, and it is mar- \ ellous in our eyes :" Psalm ex viii. 22, 23, " Therefore I say unto you : The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and shall be given to a nation brinoing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but ** De Eliae vero in coelum raptu, unius Elissei, tanquam viri oniui exceptione niajori?, testimoniofidera habent. At nosde Christi adscensu in coelum duo- decim proferiinus testes vitae inculpatue ; de Christo post mortem in tcrris vise nuilto plures. Quae si vera sunt, verum sit necesse est Christi dogma : plane- que nihil a Judaeis pro se adfcrri potest, quod noa et nobis pari aut potiori jure possit aptari. Grot. ib. 568 Jewvih Testimonies. on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. And when the chief-priests and pharisees had heard his pa- rables, tliey perceived that he spake of them. This should be compared with Luke xx. 9 — 18. Here our Lord speaks of the ancient prophets, and then of himself, and shows the dreadful consequences of rejecting" him, and his message. There is another thing that should be observed, which is what our Lord added concerning the treatment to be given to his apostles and evangelists, the prophets of the New Testament, also sent to the Jewish people. Matt, xxiii. 29 — 39, " Woe unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites, because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, and say. If we had been in the days of our fathers we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye are witnesses to yourselves that ye are the children of them who slew the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell ? Where- fore, behold, T send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes. And some of them ye will kill and crucify, and some of ihem ye will scourge in your synagogues, and per- secute them from city to city : that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, [rather son of Jehoiada, 2 Chron. xxiv. 17 — 22,']] whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily 1 say unto you, all these things shall come upon this generation. O Jeru- salem, Jerusalem, thou fhatkillest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee ! How often Mould I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, but ye Mould not. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you: Ye shall not see me henceforth till ye shall say, Blessed is he that Cometh in the name of the Lord." All this is properly said by our Lord in his prophetic denunciations. Not only the rejection of Jesus himself would be " required of ihem," but likewise their refusal to hearken to his apostles. For they likewise were prophets, and spake by divine inspiration. They spake in the name of God, and delivered his mind and Mord, and proved their mission by miraculous works. If therefore, after having- crucified the Lord Jesus, the Jewish people should proceed to treat in like manner his disciples, who were sent to them ; if they should " scourge them in their synagogues," and « See Vol. i. B. ii. ch. vi. &c. Rejlections uporc the preceding Articles. 569 put some of tliein to tltalli, " ami persecute tliein from city to city," (as lie foresaw tliey would,) they woiiltl then bring- upon themselves, in the end, a terrible conde'mnation : and such miseries would befall them, that it would seem as if all the rijihteous blood shed from the foundation of the world had been required of them. And that they did so treat the apostles and other disciples of Jesus, appears from the books of the New Testament. These things may have been already taken notice of by us: nevertheless they must be here briefly recollected. How the apostles of Jesus were apprehended, imprisoned, beaten, and farther threatened, may be seen in the book of the Acts, ch. iv. and v. Somewhile afterwards, ch. vi. and vii. " Ste- phen was stoned, and there was a great persecution against, the church, which was at Jerusalem, and they were all scat- tered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles." Some time after this, when Ilerod Agrippa had been advanced to the kingdom of Judea by the Komans, we are informed, ch. xii. 1 — 4, that " he stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded farther to take Peter also." But after he had been imprisoned he was miracu- lously delivered "out of the hands of Herod, and from the expectation of all the people of the Jews." St. Paul, writ- ing to the Hebrews, cb. x. 33, 34, bids them " call to remem- brance the former gospel at Damas- cus, "the Jews laid wait for him, and they watched the gates day and night to kill him. But (he disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket," Acts ix. 24, 25. Of which great danger, and his wonderful escape, he speaks himself in an affecting manner, 2 Cor. xi. 31 — 33. When he came to Jerusalem from Damascus, "and disputed with (he (irecians," or Jewish proselytes, " they went about to slay him," Acts ix. 29. For which cause the disciples found it |)rudent to bring him down to Coesarea, that he might go to Tarsus. The J(!ws out of Judea acted in (Ik; like manner. At Antioch in Pisidia, l^aul having preached there with some success, bodi among Jews and (jJentiles, " the Jews, moved with envy, stirred up the devout and honourable women, and (he chief men of (he city, anut (he unbelieving Jews stirred tip tlu; Cen- (iles, and ma P. 444. liejiections upon the preceding Articles. 573 * etliiess.' Again, ' Iiulood ^ it was Go P. 451. " P. 462. ° P. 463. P F. 464. 574 Jewish Testimonies. ofi " \Jv of the Clialdees. When he called him out of his country, and from his kindred, and from his father's house, he said: I will make thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great, and thou shalt be a blessing — ■ — And in thee shall all the families of the earth be bless- ed :" Gen. xii. 1 — 3. The fulfilment of which magnificent promise was limited to Isaac, or his seed by Sarah : Gen. xvii. and afterwards to Jacob: Gen. xxvii. xxviii. And when his posterity was greatly increased, after their sojourn- ing a while in Egypt, where they had been treated in a ser- vile manner, God brought thetn out of that country, with a " mighty hand and an out-stretched arm," working many great and conspicuous miracles for- their safety. Whilst they were in the wilderness he gave to them a system of laws, the ten principal of which were delivered from mount Sinai with great solemnity, and then engraved on tables of stone by the finger of God. God then brought them into the land of Canaan, where they became a flourishing and powerful nation, according to the promise made to Abraham concerning Sarah, when she was yet barren, that " she should be a mother of nations, and kings of people should be of her:" Gen. xvii. 16. David intended to build a house for the name of the Lord : but that honour was reserved for his son Solomon : the divine approbation of David's design is manifest ; and God, by inspiration, gave him the form and dimensions of the house, and the order of the worship to be performed there; 1 Chr. xxviii. 11 — 18: "Then' David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, [or of the house, and the apartments thereof,] and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the place of the mercy-scat; and the pattern of all that he had by the Spirit, of the courts of the house of the Lord, and of all the chandjers round about, of the trea- suries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the delicate things. Also for tlu; courses of the priests and the Lovites, ami for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord ver. 19. All this," said David, "the Lord made me to understand in writing [as if it were inscribed on his mind] by his haiul upon me, even all the works of this pattern." When the house was finished, and dedicated by a prayer '1 Gen. XV. 7. Neh. ix. 7. ^ Dedit autem David Salomoni filio suo descriptionem id est, dedit ei formam conspicuam, qualem Deus animo inscripserat, utdicilur infra, ver. 19. Grot. Re/lections upon tlie preceding Articles. 575 suitable lo (l«ei>r(at occasion, 2 Clir. v. vi. wc arc infbrincd, cli. vii. 12, " that the I^oihI appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him : I have heard thy prayer, and have cho- sen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice. 15, !(>, Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. For now have 1 chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever, and mine eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually 19 — 22. But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and serve other o"o and all understanding Israelites, were per- suaded of the divine omnipresence. Nevertheless, as God had determined to make peculiar manifestations of himself at the temple, it was fit that respect should be shown to it. 1 Kings viii. 27—30, " But will God dwell on this earth ? Behold the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee : how much less this house that I have built ? Yet have thou re- spect unto (he j)rayer of thy servant That thine eyes may be open toward this house, night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said. My name shall be there: [Deut. xii. 11.] And hearken thou to the supplication of " The Temple as it stood in the Time of our Saviour, ch. 40, p. 2063. " lb. p. 2004. "* ' If Jerusalem was destroyed exactly • forty years after our Saviour's death, as it is apparent, — then that destruction ' of it befell just in the four thousandth year of the world. And so, as the ' temple of Solomon had been finished anno mundi exactly 3000, 50 in anno ' mundi exactly 4000 both the city and tlie temple that then was, were de- * stroyed, never to be repaired or lebuilt again. And from that time most ' properly bc^an the kingdom of heaven, and the New Jerusalem, when that ' earthly kingdom, and that old city, were utterly ruined.' Hannony of the four Evangelists, vol. i. p. 487. * See his Connexion, &c. year before Christ, 458, vol. i. p. 262, &c. y See his letter to Hiram, king of Tyre, 2 Chr. ii. 1 — 7. Condudiny Observations. 581 lliy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray towanl this place. And hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and when thou hearest forgive." See likewise ver. 45—50. " And when Solomon had made an end of praying", fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt-offering, and the sacrifice ; and the glory of the Lord filled the house," 2 Chr. vii. 1. " And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him : 1 have heard thy prayer, and have cho- sen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice. If I shut up heaven, that there be no rain — or if I send pestilence among- my people, if my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves,and pray, and seek my face,and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land For now have 1 chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever : and mine eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually :" ver. 12 — 16. Accordingly, Daniel, who was renowned for secular wis- dom, as well as for divine illuminations, and eminent piety, when his fidelity to God met with a severe trial, as we are told, ch. vi. 10, "he went into his house, and, his Avindow being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled down upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime." Comp. 1 Kings viii. 48; Ps. v. 3; Jonah ii. 4. And the Lord Jesus was often at Jerusalem, especially at the great fes- tivals. And twice in the course of his ministry he cleared the temple of some abuses and inciunbrances, and severely rebuked those who practised those indecencies, or connived at them. Obs. 2. The temple and the city of Jerusalem were twice destroyed ; once by the Chaldeans, a second time by the Romans. The city of Jerusalem was besieged and taken several times besides; by Antiochus Epiphanes, Pompey, and Herod the Great, and others. But now we confine ourselves to those seasons when the city was ruined, and the temple also was destroyed. Obs. 3. The taking- of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans was a very grievous calamity. The particulars are related, Jer. lii ; 2 Kings xxiv. xxv ; 2 Chron. xxxvi. Daniel, in his confessions, ch. ix. 12, says : "For under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem." It was a calamity not easy lo be paralleled in all it's circumstances. Which was agreeable 582 Jewish Testimonies. to the maxim before observetl, " tlisit vvliere much is given, there also much will be required," and to the words of God by the prophet Amos: "You only have I known of all the families of the earth, therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities." Obs. 4. The final captivity of the Jewish people by the Romans has been a much greater calamity than that by the Chaldeans. It exceeds in many respects. (1.) The distresses of the siege of Jerusalem, and the num- bers that perished there by famine or sword, by the hands of the Ilomans, or by their own intestine divisions, and the numbers carried captive, exceeded all the desolations that ever were. It happened when the city was crowded with people, they being assembled together at one of their fes- tivals ; and the city itself, its buildings, its walls, and the temple were demolished, and thrown down to the foundation, so as they had never been before. So our Lord foretold, Matt. xxiv. 21, "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not from the beginning of the world, to this time : no, nor ever shall be." So Jesus said it would be ; and Josephus says, it was so, and that 'it exceeded all the ' destructions ever brought upon the world by God or ' man.' (2.) The captivity by the Romans has exceeded the former in duration. This second captivity has now already lasted almost seven- teen hundred years, without any the least prospect of a pe- riod to it. That was limited to seventy years only, accord- ing- to the word of God by Jeremiah, ch. xxv. 12 — 18; xxix. 10—14; and Dan. ix. 1, 2. (3,) During the captivity by the Chaldeans, the Jewish people had prophets among thenj, but now they have none. In this second captivity, as they are without altar, and sacrifice, and temple, and city of their own, so are they, all this while, without visions, and prophecies, and divine illu- minations of every kind. In the former captivity they had several prophets of great eminence. Jeremiah continued to pro[)hesy to the remains of the people in Judea several years after the beginning of the captivity. Ezekiel and Daniel prophesied in Babylon. These, and other good men, may have been of great service for bringing men to repentance, and fitting them for the ex- pected deliverance. And, during that period of seventy years, there were miraculous deliverances vouchsafed to some : th(! preservation, particularly, of the three young men Concluding Observations. 583 in the fiery fiiriiaoo : Dan. iii. Then Daniel's satisfactory interpretations of Nebuchadnezzar's dreams, ch. ii. and iv. and Daniel's g-reat advancement, and some other extraordi- nary occurrences, were nuich in their favour. They must have tended to influence the minds of the great princes to whom they were subject; and must have been nieans of facilitating- their deliverance, and accomplishing- their safe return into their own country, and to their happy settlement in it. But we hear not of any such like favourable appear- ances in the present captivity and dispersion. Obs. 5. All these calamities, those of the former and of the latter captivity, have happened to the Jewish people, agreeably to the original plan of divine dispensations con- cerning- them. This observation was mentioned formerly : but it is re- ])eated here as a thing of great importance : and we have an acknowledg-ment of it in Daniel's confessions, with re- gard to the Babylonish captivity, ch. ix. 11 : " Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing-, that they might not obey thy voice. Therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, because vve have sinned against him. — 13 : As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us." See Lev. xxvi. 14 — 46; Deut. xxviii. 15, &c. What is here said of the captivity by the Chal- deans, is as true of the captivity by the Romans, and ought to be in like manner acknowledged. Obs. 6. Our blessed Lord's predictions therefore of evil coming- upon Jerusalem and the people of Judea, did not proceed from private resentment, enmity, malice, ill-will, or any other unsociable affection, from which the mind of the blessed Jesus was always free : but they were declarations of the counsel of God, prophetical denunciations of evil to come, if men did not repent ; faithful warnings to men to take heed to themselves ; and earnest and affectionate calls to re- pentance and reformation, that the impending and threatened calamities might be averted and avoided. A prophet, who is intrusted with the mind of God, must faithfully deliver both |)romises to obedieJice, and threaten- ings to disobedience, as is required. Says Moses to the peo- ple under his care, for whose welfare and prosperity he was greatly concerned, Deut. iv. 5 : " Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God com- manded me. — ver. 25, 26. " But if thou do evil in the sight of the Lord thy God, to provoke him to anger, I call hea- ven and earth to witness that ye shall soon utterly perish 584 Jewish Testimonies. from off the land, wliereunto you g"o over Jordan to possess it : ye shall not prolong- your days upon it : but shall utterly be destroyed." Nor was Jeremiah to be charged with ill-will to the Jewish people when he foretold the desolations of the Chaldean captivity. Obs. 7. The great aggravation of the transgressions of the Jewish people, lay in their not hearkening to the mes- sages of the prophets, which God sent among them. This was observed before from 2 Chron. xxxvi. 15, 10, and from Jerem. xxv. 1^ — ^11, to which I now add that it is par- ticularly mentioned by Daniel in his devout and humble con- fession of the sins of that people, which brought upon them the Babylonish captivity, ch. ix. 5, 6," We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled even by departing from thy precepts and thy judgments. Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, who spoke in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of Israel." By which, certainly, these prophets manifested their fidelity. And the reason of this is, that refusing to hearken to mes- sages of God, faithfully delivered by his prophets, demon- strates obstinacy and irredaimableness. This is represented by our Lord in the parable of the fig-tree, Lukexiii. Q — 10, and of the husbandmen. Matt. xxi. 33, &c. and in other pa- rables and discourses. The parable of the fig-tree, just mentioned, is thus : " A certain man had a fig-tree planted in his vineyard. And he came, and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he to the dresser of the vineyard : Behold these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig-tree, and find none ; cut it down, why cun»bereth it the ground? And he answering said : Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: if it bear fruit, well ; if not, thou slialt cut it down." So God said of old to the people of Israel by Isaiah, after having in a like manner represented his care and cultivation of his vineyard. Is. v. 3 — 5, " And now, O iidiahitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyartl. What could have been done more to my vineyard, than I have done in it? Wherefore, when I looked that it shoidd bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? I will tell you what 1 will do to my vineyard ; I w \\\ take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up : and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden dowr)." This was the case in the time of oiu* Saviorn\ After all other prophets, came Jesus, who taught the pcoj)le in the nameof God, and faithfully delivered his mind to them, and Concltidimj Obsei'vations. 585 railed tliom to icpontaiico, and nr()ii<>lit many wonderful works. There was then a great prolusion of spiritual gifts in iiiniself and his apostles. If their message was not hearkened to, but rejected, and they abused, it would be an aggravated provocation, and would be required of the people to whom they had spoken in the name of God. Obs. 8. Finally, in the eighth and last place, let us now inquire and consider what was the sin, what the sins or otfences, that occasioned the great calamity which befell the Jewish people about forty years after the times of the Lord Jesus, under the conduct of those two generals Vespasian and Titus. We have seen accounts in Josephus, and other Jewish writers, of the distresses then suffered by the Jewish people at Jerusalem, and in other parts of Judea, and of the de- struction and demolition of their city and temple, and their captivity and dispersion, which still continue. And we have seen evident proofs that the hand of God was therein, and that all came to pass by the overruling- providence of God. It is an affecting subject. And if we make inqui- ries into the reasons and causes of these great calamities, we should do it seriously and impartially, and may be dis- posed also to compassion and candour. When God appeared to Solomon, after he had finished and dedicated the temple, he graciously assured him that he accepted the prayer Avhich he had made, and that he would hearken to the prayers which his people should make to him toward that place in their distresses. Nevertheless he declares, 2 Chron. vii. 19 — 22: "But if ye turn away and forsake my statutes, and my commandments, which 1 have set before you, and serve other gods, and worship them : then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them. And this house which I have sancti- fied for my name will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb, and a by-word among all nations. And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it : so that he shall say ; Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land and unto this house? And it shall be answered, Because they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods and worshipped them, and served them. Therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them." This was fulfilled in the Babylonish captivity, when Jeru- salem was taken, and the temple built by Soloujon was burnt down. That was an event which occasioned inquiries into 586 Jewish Testimonies. the reasons and causes of it. And shall we not consider and make like inquiries concerning* the captivity by the Romans, nhich has been attended with so many awful circumstances ? Shall we not say : " Why has the Lord done thus unto this land and to this house?" meaning the second house, built after the return from the Babylonish captivity. For that house also was high, and had been erected with divine ap- probation and encouragement : and the worship had been restored there according- to the appointment of Moses, and was so continued there till its final desolation. If now we ask, " Why has the Lord done thus to this land and people, ami to this house?" it cannot be said, " because they laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them." For after the return from the Babylonish captivity, they were for the most part free from the sin of idolatry, into which they had so often relapsed before. Nor are they now guilty of that sin, for which their dispersion should be continued. For some while be- fore the last destruction of Jerusalem, they appear from all accounts to have been generally very zealous for the law of Moses, and the rites of it, and very diligent in their attend- ance on the temple at Jerusalem, to which they resorted in great numbers, from all parts of the world where they in- habited, at the solemn festivals ; aiul where a large part of the nation was assembled to keep the passover, when the final overthrow befell fhem. We are therefore led to think that these calamities befell the Jewish people because they rejected and crucified the Lord Jesus, who was a prophet mighty " in deed and word before God and all the people," Luke xxiv. 19; who spake as never man spake before, and performed many Monderful works which none had done before. And God has " required it of them," as he said by Moses he «ould do, Deut. xviii. LO. And I must again recite here those afl^ecting and awful, but true, sayings of our Lord, recorded, John xv. 22, 24, "If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin : but now they have no cloak [or excuse] for their sin. If I had not done among them the works which no other man did, they had not had sin : but now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father." The expectation of the Messiah is no new thing. It had not its rise from Jesus or his disciples. It was in being- long before the nativity of Jesus. We are assured ^ by Suetonius, and Tacitus, and Celsus, heathen writers of great ' See the passages of those heathen authors, and of Josephus, all alleged Vol. i. p. 138-140. Concluding Observutiom. 587 learning-, as well as from Josepluis, (hat ' There had been for a long time, all over the east, a notion firmly believed, that, at that very time, some one coming from Jndea should obtain the empire of the world.' Heathen writers say this was contained in the book of" the fates: Josephus, who at the time of his writing the History of the War, was disposed to think as the heathen writers above mentioned do, that Ves- pasian was thereby intended, says, that this expectation was founded upon an ambiguous oracle. Nevertheless he owns that the expectation was general among* the Jewish people, and that it was embraced by ' many of the wise men among- ' them,' as well as by others, and that it was the thing which ' principally encouraged them to undertake the war ' with the Romans.' But upon this head there is now no dif- fereiice between the Jews and us ; all allowing that the ex- pectation of a Messiah is founded on the writings of Moses and the prophets. That this was the lime of his appearance they may have argued and collected from divers texts of scripture, as Dan. ii. 34 — 45; vii. 14; ix.24; and from Hag. ii. 4 — 9; Mai. iii. 1 ; iv. 5, 6. How general and prevailing the expectation of the ap- pearance of the Messiah then was among- all sorts of men, the rulers as well as the common people, we farther know from the books of the New Testament. Luke iii. 15, 16; " And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ or not, John answered, saying unto them all : I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he will baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire." And from John i. 19 — 34, we know that the Jews sent priests and Levites, who were of the sect of the pharisees, to John, were he was baptizing-, to ask him who he was. He declared " he was not the Christ, but was sent before him ; and said : There standeth one am!)ng- you, whom ye know not. He it is who, coming after me, is preferred before me; whose shoes' latchet I am not worthy to unloose." I need not cite any other texts. At that very time Jesus appeared and wrought many wonderful works, irrefragable attestations to his divine mission and authority, and the truth of his doctrine ; of which we are as well assured from the concurring and unanimous testimony of all the writers of the New Testa- ment, as we can be of any thing that ever was done in the world ; or as the Jews are of the nuracles wrought by Moses and the prophets. 588 Jewish Testimonies. Here therefore we may adopt tlie words of our Lord spo- ken to his disciples, Matt. xvii. 12, " But I say unto you, that Elias is come already. And they knew him not, but have done un(o him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them." As he did soon after- wards. For which God has reckoned, and is still reckoning- with them. However, though the treatment given to Jesusand his apos- tles, was a very great offence, there may have been other pro- vocations which occasioned the displeasure of God against his people, and concurred to bring down the vengeance oi heaven upon them. One sin is never alone. There is gene- rally a cuniplication of guilt in all great and aggravated transgressions. Though the Jewish people often fell into the practise of heathen idolatry, and that was one great oc- casion of the Babylonish captivity, that was not the only sin with which they were chargeable. All sorts of innnoralities abounded among them. And Daniel, in the confession which he makes of the sins of his people, says, ch. ix. 5, " We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and havedone wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and thy judgments." So now the greatness of their guilt lay in rejecting and crucifying Jesus the Messiah. But that would not have been done if wickedness had not greatly prevailed among them. Josephus owns, that ' never was there a time ' more fruitful of wickedness than that.' In the gospels the men of that time are spoken of as an " untoward generation, and a wickedand adulterous generation." They werecharge- able with all kinds of evil, and M'ere openly reproved for them by the faithful teacher and prophet whom God sent among them, and whom they so ungratefully used. They were covetous and worldly-minded : Luke xvi. 14, 15, They were exceeding proud awd ambitious of respect and honour. "They did all their « orks to be seen of men. They made broad their phylacteries, and enlarged the borders of their garments. They loved the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and to be called of men. Rabbi, Rabbi ;" Matt, xxiii. 5, G ; and see Mark xii. 38, 39 ; and J.ukexx. 4G ; and Luke xiv. 7. They were extremely uneasy and impatient under the Roman government, to which, by the disposal of Divine Providence, they Mere sub- ject. They were very deceitful and hypocritical, who "de- voured widows' houses, and for a pretence made long ])rayers :" Mark xii. 40, and see Matt, xxiii. 23 — 2S. At the same time they dcjjended upon their descent from Abra- ham, and other external privileges; which rendered all Concluding Observations. 589 exhortations to repent.ince fruitless and ineffectual. See Matt. iii. 9; John viii. fiS, and 39. Accordingly they are represented to have " hardened their hearts, and shut their eyes:" for which reason they did not understand, nor attend to the sigMis of the times, and the evidences of truth set be- fore them : Matt. xiii. 14, 15; John xii.37 — 41. And more- over, they were at this time very fond of traditions, which uiade void the moral law of God. All these charges, now collected from the gospels, might be verified by examples and observations in Josephus. These evil dispositions prevailing among them, especially in their great men who had the chief influence on the people, they did not, and could not believe, but rejected and ill treated the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me recite here John v. 39^44; " Search the scriptures," impartially. " For in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come unto me that ye uiight have life. I receive not honour froiu men. But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you — How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only ?" One thing more 1 must add here. That the time in which our Lord appeared was not a time of gross ignorance. The Jews now had synagogues every where in all parts of Judea, and in many places out of it, where the law of Moses and the prophets were read and explained. The connnon peo- ple in general were well acquainted with those scriptures, and with the explications given of them by their rabbins. Among the scribes and pharisees were many men of very good abilities. Their acuteness and subtilty are manifest in their cavils with our Saviour. Nor were the Jewish peo- ple now altogether unacquainted with the Greek literature. Their three sects of the pharisees, sadducees, and essenes, had occasioned disputes and controversies, and spread the knowledge of the things of religion among* them. It is amazing- that a prophet who teaches men a reasonable doctrine, and works many miracles, all useful and bene- ficent, should be rejected. And it would be still more amazing', were it not that we are in some measure able to account for it, by the bad dispositions before taken notice of. Jesus gave no sign from heaven to induce them to ex- pect from him (what suited their carnal and ambitious views) a deliverance from the Roman government. And all other works, of mighty power and of great goodness, were slighted and despised. Thus prejudice and passion pre- vailed against evidence. And it is a great aggravation of 590 Jewish Testimonies. the guilt of any men, who are knowing and discerning, if they reject tlie truth of which good evidences are set before them. Our Lord liaving made some remarks after the cure of the man born blind, and after his being excommunicated by the pharisees, John ix. 39 — 41, some of them who heard him said unto him: " Are we blind also? Jesus said nnto them : If ye were blind ye should have no sin : but now ye say, We see ; therefore your sin remaineth." Thus they were incurable. And these evil dispositions prevailing in them, brought on that great sin of rejecting and crucifying the Lord Jesus, which God has required of them. The destruction therefore of the -city of Jerusalem, and the temple, and the continued dispersion of the Jews, are a cogent argument for the truth of the christian religion. They confirm the history of the New Testament, and every part of it. If they had not sinned, as they are there said to have done, these calamities had not befallen them. Their suffer- ings bear witness to the spotless life, and excellent doctrine, and wonderful works, of the Lord Jesus. They testify that there had been one among- them greater than Jonah, and wiser than Solomon ; but thev slishted all his wisdom and repented not, as the people of Nineveh did at the preaching of Jonah. They confirm particularly the history recorded in Luke xxiii. 1 — 25: " And the whole multitude of them" [that is, many of the Jewish council] " arose, and led him unto Pilate, saying: We found this man perverting the nation, and for- bidding to give tribute to Coisar, saying, that he himself is Christ, a king. Pilate then asked hinj, saying: Art thou the king of the Jews 1 And he answered him, and said, Thou say est it." [[t is as you say.] " Then said Pilate to the chir/' priests, and to the people, I find no fault in this man. And they were the more fierce, saying : He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Ga- lilee to this place." He then sent Jesus to Herod, who sent him back again to Pilate. " After which, when Pilate had called together the chief priests, and the rulers, and the people, he said unto them ; Ye have brought this man unto me as one that perverteth the people; and behold, I having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching tlies(,' things whereof ye accuse him. No, nor yet Herod ; for I sent you to him. And lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto liim. I will therefore? chastise him, and release him. For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast. And they cried out, all at once, saying: Away Concludiny Observations. 591 uitli this mail, and release unto us Barahbas : (who, lor a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison :) Pilate therclore, willing- to release Jesus, spake again to them. Rut tlicy cried, saying: Crucify him, cru- cify him. And he said unto them the third time: Why, what evil hath he done'i? I have found no cause of death in Iiim. 1 will therefore chastise him and let him go. And they were instant w itii loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified : and the voices of them and the chief-priests prevailed. And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required. And he released unto them him that for sedition and murder was cast into prison, w hom they desired : but he delivered Jesus to their will." Or as in Matt, xxvii. 24, 25, 26, " When Pilate saw that he could prevail no- thing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying : I am innocent of the blood of this just person : see ye to it. Then answered all the people, and said : His blood be upon us, and our children. Then released he Barabbas unto them. And when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified." To these things the destruction of Jerusalem, and the pre- sent circumstances of the Jews, bear witness; as also to the resurrection of Jesus, and his ascension to heaven, and to the plentiful effusion of spiritual gifts afterwards upon his apostles, and others ; w hereby they were enabled to preach the heavenly doctrine, in which their Lord and Master had instructed them. He commanded them to " preach repent- ance and remission of sins in his name, beginning at Jerusa- lem," Luke xxiv. 47. And that they did so, preaching re- pentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ :" or, that they did earnestly call upon the Jewish peo- ple in Judea, andelsewhere, torepent of their sins, and believe in the Lord Jesus; and that they did not receive their in- structions and warnings, but 'killed some of them, scourged ' others, and persecuted them from city to city ;' To all these things, the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, and other calamities brought upon the Jewish people, bear witness: and thus they filled up the measure of their iniquity. The argument, upon which I have now insisted, is not new ; it is old; and has been well managed by divers ancient christian writers. I shall place below the observations made upon the long captivity of the Jews by Jerom" and by Pru- ^ Mulfa, Judsee, scelera commisisti ; cunctis circa te servisti nationibus. Ob quod factum ? Utiquo, propter idololatriam. Quumqiie servisses, crebro 592 Jeivish Testimonies. dentius^ in their own lang-uage. I believe they will be pe- rused with pleasure by some of my readers : and I refer to a '^ place of Chrysostom which was formerly quoted more at large. I likewise refer to^ Origen. Nor can it be said that God has been unrighteous in his dealings with them. All these judgments befell them, ac- cording to the original plan of providence concerning them, and according to tlie prophetic denunciations of their law- giver Moses. Nor can it be said that their continued dis- persion is unrighteous, since they persist in the sin which first occasioned it, and reject Him whom God has sent unto them ; and not only reject him, but reproach and revile him, so as no other people do. And, finally, whenever they repent, they may obtain forgiveness, and be received into misertus tuiestDeus : et misit judices et salvatores, qui te de famulatu Moabita- rum et Ammorilarum, Philistiim quoque et diversariira gentium liberarunt. Novissime sub regibus otiendisti Deum ; et omiiis tua provincia, gente Baby- lonica vastante, deleta est. Per septuaginta annos templi solitudo permansit. A Cyro rege Persarum est laxata captivitas. Esdras hoc et Nehemias plenis- sime referunt. Exstructum est templum sub Dario rege Persarum a Zorobabel filio Salathiel, et Jesu filio Josedec, sacerdote magno. Quae passi sitis a Medis, iEgyptiis, Macedonibusque, non enumero. Nee tibi adducam in memoriam Antiochum Epiphanem, crudelissimum omnium tyrannorum ; nee Cn. Pom- peium, Gabinium, Scaurum, Varum, Cassium, Sosiumque replicabo, qui tuis urbibus, et prsecipue Jerosolymae, insultavere. Ad extremum sub Vespasiano et Tito urbs capta, templumque subversum est. Deinde civitatis usque ad Ha- drianum principem per quinquaginta annos mansere reliquiae. Post ever- sionem templi paullo minus per quadringentos annos et urbis et templi ruinae permanent. Ob quod tantum facinus ? Certe non colis idola ; sed etiam ser- viens Persis atque Romanis, et captivitatis pressus jugo, ignoras alienos decs. Quomodo clementissimus quondam Deus, qui nunquam tui oblitus est, nunc per tanfa spatia temporum miseriis tuis non adducitur ut solvat captivitatem, et, ut verius dicam, exspectatum tibi mittat Antichristum ? Ob quod, inquam, facinus, et tam exsecrabile scelus, avertit a te oculos suos ? Ignoras ? Memento vocis parentum tuorum. Sanguis ejus super nos, et super filios nostros. Et : Venite, occidamus eum, et nostra erit haereditas. El : Non habemus regem, nisi Cffisarem. Habes quod elegisti ; usque ad finem mundi serviturus es Cae- sar), donee gentium introeat plenitudo, et sic omnis Israel salvus fiet ; ut qui quondam erat in capite, vertatur in caudam. Hieron. ad Dardan. T 2. d 610, 611. '' Quid mereare, Titus docuit : docuere rapinis Pompeianae acies, quibus extirpata per omnes Terrarum plagique plagas tua membra feruntur. Exiliis vagus hue illuc fluitantibus errat Judaeus, postquam, patriade sede revulsus, Supplicium pro caede luit, Christique negati Sanguine respersus commista piacula solvit. Prud. Apofh. ver. 238, &c. *= Adversus Judaeos Or. vi. T. i. p. G52, 653. ^ Contr. Gels. 1. 2. sect. 13. Bened. p. 69. Spenc. I. 4. sect. 22. Bened p- 174. Sp. et sect. 73. Ben. p. 212. Sp. 1. 8. sect. 42. Ben. p. 405. Spenc. seu Cantab. Cundudimj Ohservatiom. 593 the (Iiiirch of Cliiisf, and partake in all the privileges of it. and in the end obtain everlasting- life, which God through Jesus Christ has promised to all those who love him. " For God has not cast away his people whom he foreknew ; and if they abide not still in unbelief," they will be graciously received. Rom. xi. 2, and 2-3. The circumstances of the Jewish people deserve the atten- tive regard and serious consideration of all mankind, Jews, and christians, and the men of all nations and religions, where their history is known : as it now generally is, from the books of the Old and New Testament, and from Joseph us, and other writings. The writings of the apostles and evangelists, contained in the New Testament, are faithful records of the life of Jesus, and the promises of the gospel. And the continued subsist- ence of the Jewish people in a dispersed condition, all over theearth, bears testimony to the truth of every thing related by them. Thus God, the Sovereign Lord of all, in his great wisdom, has provided a perpetual and universal living- monu- ment to the memory of the transactions and sufferings of Jesus in Judea ; and of his own veracity in " performing the mercy promised to their fathers, and the oath which he sware to Al)raham ;" Luke i. 72, 73, Gen. xxii. 15 — 18, and, that " when the fulness of the time was come, he sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law% to redeem" mankind from idolatry, and all vice, and from all burdensome rites, whether of Jewish or heathen original. Gal. iv. 4, 5. The circumstances of the Jewish people confirm the faith of christians, and are a loud call to themselves to think, and consider, and repent, and believe. And it should in a like manner affect and awaken all other people. It is a voice which may be heard by those who have not yet seen the gospels, and perhaps are averse to them ; and it should in- duce them to look into them, and carefully examine them. That Jesus is the Christ, is manifest from his agreeing- to all the prophetic descriptions concerning that great person, which are recorded in the Jewish scriptures, that he might be known when he came. He is the seed of Abraham, and the son of David : " the rod out of the stem of Jesse — And the spirit of the Lord rested on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding-, the spirit of counsel and of might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. And to him the Gentiles have sought," Is. xi. 1, 2, 3, 10. He was born of a "virgin," Is. vii. 14, "at Bethlehem in Judea," Mic. v. 2. "In him all the families of the earth have been VOL. VI. 2 Q 594 Jewish Testimonies. blessed," according to the promise made to Abraham, Gen. xii. 3, xviii. 18, xxii. 18. He is " the servant of God, whom he upheld, his elect, in whom his soul delighteth," [or God's well beloved Son,] " and hath brought forth judgment to the Gentiles," Is. xlii. 1. " He hath been a light to lighten the Gentiles, and salvation to the ends of the earth," Is. xlix. 6. " The isles waited for his law, and have received it," Is. xlii. 4. " And (he earth is now full of the knowledge of God, as the waters cover the sea," Is. xi. I). We have "anew heaven, and a new earth," Is. Ixv. 17. "All the gods of the earth have been famished," Zeph. ii. 11. Heathen idolatry, once so general, and so much delighted in by princes and people, is now no more in this |)art of the world ; their temples are demolished, or put to other uses; their oracles are silent ; nor do Jhey receive human or other sacri- fices. And God himself, the Lord of heaven and earth, is no longer served with sacrifices of animals, or oblations of fruits of the earth, but with prayers and praises, and good works of righteousness and mercy ; nor is his worship now confined to any one particular place. The time is come, " when men should neither at mount Gerizim, nor at Jeru- salem, worship the Father: and when the true worship- pers of God shall worship him in spirit and in truth," John iv. 21 — 23. And "in every nation, he that feareth God, Und worketh righteousness, is accepted of him," Acts x. 35. Jesus had "the words of eternal life," John vi. G8. And " God has poured out of his spirit upon all flesh," Joel ii. 28. Is. xliv. 3. Acts ii. 17. And "all men now know God from the least to the greatest of them," Jerem. xxxi. 3, 4. All have just sentiments, and are able to dis- course rationally concerning God, the Creator of all things, and his overruling Providence, and future rewards and pu- nishments. We now worship God on earth, through Jesus Christ, in a reasonable, spiritual, liberal manner, in hopes of obtaining, hereafter, perfection of holiness and happiness in the kingdom of our heavenly Father. Jesus, then, is the promised Messiah who was to come. Nor is there any reason why we sliould look for another. 1 have formerly repeated *^ this subject. But the large and copious testimony of Josephus to the fulfilment of our Saviour's predictions concerning the destruction of Jerusa- lem, and tlie miseries coming upon the Jewish people, and the repeated acknowledgments of (he destruction of the * The circumstances of the Jewish people an argument for the truth of the christian rehgion. Vol. ix. p. 60 — 9]. Concluding Observations. 595 temple in the Mishnical aiul Talmudical writcvs, have com- pelled me to enlarge here, as I have now done. Finally, to put an end to this long* argument ; if we have ©btained the invaluable treasure of the gospel, that " pearl of great price," let us be thankful to God who has so en- riched us by Jesus Christ. And let us be careful to keep it entire, and in all its purity, unalloyed with base mixtures, and undisguised by false colourings. Our own glory and the credit of our religion depend upon this. As for the Jewish people, 1 believe all good christians will readily join with the apostle Paul, and say :" Our hearts' desire, and prayer to God for Israel, is, that they might be saved," Rom. x. 1. Nevertheless I acknowledge that I see no immediate prospect of their general conversion ; and must assent to what the same apostle says in another place, Avho had great dealings with them, after his conversion to the christian faith, as well as before, and had fidl experience of their untractable temper, which is still too much the same that it was in his time : " But their minds were blinded ; for until this day remaineth the same vail, untaken away, in the reading- of the Old Testament ; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. Nevertheless, when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away," 2 Cor. iii. 14 — 10. God grant that we may all know and mind the things which are conducive to our true interests both here and hereafter ! 2 Q 2 TESTIMONIES OF ANCIENT HEATHEN AUTHORS. CHAP, i: The Epistle of Abgarus kinr/ oj' Edessa to Jesus, and the Rescript of Jesiis to Abgarus. AS the authority of these epistles depends entirely upon Eusebiiis, I shall here transcribe his account at length, which is in the thirteenth or last chapter of the first book of his Ecclesiastical History. ' A* History concerning the Prince of the Edessens.' * The divinity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,' says Eusebius, ' being- every where talked of by reason of his ' wonderful power in working miracles, it drew after him ' many people from other countries, and some very remote ' from Judea, who were filled with hopes of relief under all ' sorts of pains and sicknesses. For which reason king Ab- ' garus, who '' with honour governed the nations beyond ' the Euphrates, labouring under a grievous distemper, in- ' curable by human skill, when he heard of the fame of ' Jesus, which was much celebrated, and his wonderful * works attested by the unanimous testimony of all men, ' sent a letter to him by a messenger, entreating him to cure ' his distemper. But he did not then comply with his re- ' quest, yet he vouchsafed to write to him a letter, wherein ' he promised to send one of his disciples vho should cure • his distemper, and also bring salvation to him, and to all ' with him : which promise was not long after fulfilled : for ' after the resurrection of Christ, and his ascension to ' heaven, Thomas, one of the twelve apostles, moved by a * 'I^opia ircpt rn niiv ESsffarjvwv Svva^a. II. E. I. i. cap. 13. p. 31. '' ' Who governed the nations beyond the Euphrates.' That is the lofty ityle of the eastern people. Abgarus was governor of only a small territory. Of the Epistle of Abgurus to our Saviour. A. D. 33. 597 ' divine impulse, sent Tliaddeus, one of Christ's seventy dis- ' ciples, to Edessa, to be a preaelier and an evangelist of ' Clirist's doctrine, by whom all things promised by our ' Saviour were fulfilled. The evidence of this we have from ' the rec()rds of the city of Edessa : for among" the public ' records, wherein are entered the antiquities of the city, ' and the actions of Abgarus, these things are still found 'preserved to this day. It*" will therefore be worth the ' while to attend to the letters, as taken by us for for usj * from the archives, and translated word for word from the * Syriac language. * The copy of the letter which was written by Abyarus the * toparch to Jesus, and sent to him at Jerusalem by the ' courier Ananias. ' " Abgarus, toparch for prince] of Edessa, to Jesus the good Saviour, who has appeared at Jerusalem, sendeth greeting'. I have heard of thee, and of thy cures, performed without herbs, or other medicines. For it is reported that thou niakest the blind to see, and the lame to walk: that thou cleansest lepers, and castest out unclean spirits and daemons, and healest those who are tormented with diseases of a long- standing-, and raisest the dead. Having heard of all these things concerning- thee, I concluded in my mind one of these two things — ■ — either that thou art God come down from heaven to do these things, or else thou art the Son of God, and so performest them. Wherefore I now write unto thee, entreating thee to come to me, and to heal my distemper. Moreover I hear that the Jews murmur against thee, and plot to do thee mischief. I have a city, small indeed, but neat, which may suffice for us both.' Now let us attend,' says Eusebius, ' to the letter which Jesus returned by the same courier, short indeed, but very powerful. It is in these words." ' The rescript oj" Jesus to the toparch Ahyarus, sent by the ' courier Ananias. ' " Abgarus, thou art happy, forasmuch as thou hast be- ' lieved in me, though thou hast not seen me.' John xx. 29. ' For it is written concerning me, that they who have ' seen me should not believe in nie, that they who have not ' seen me might believe and live. As for what thou hast ^ airo Tuv apxetajv I'lfiiv ava.\r} remarks that shall be made. \ arious are the opinions of learned men concerning this history, some receiving it as true, or at leasts being favour- able to it; others rejecting it '' as false and fabulous. I shall put down here the following observations. 1. In the first place, then, I think, we are not to make any doubt of the truth of what Eusebius says, that all this was recorded in the archives of the city Edessa in the Syriac language, and was thence translated into Greek. Eusebius has been supposed by some to say that himself translated it from the Syriac: but that is not clear; nor is it certain that he understood Syriac ; much less have we any reason to say that he was at Edessa, and took this account from the archives himself. 2. This history is not mentioned by any before ' Eusebius : s Cav. H. L. Grabe, Spic. Assem. Bib. Or. T. i. p. 554. Abp. Wake's Intro- duction to his Translation of the ApostoHcal Fathers, ch. ix. Tillem. Mem. Ecc. St. Thomas, T. i. p. 360. Addison of the Christian Religion, section i. num. viii. p. 280. '' J. Basnage, Hist, de I'Eglise, 1. 21. ch. ii. p. 1312. Hist, des Juifs. Vol. i. p. 200. S. Basnag. Ann. 29. n. xxxviii. — xlii. Fr. Spanh. II. E. T. i. u. 578, et 794. Pagi, ann. 244. n. vii. Cleric. H. E. p. 332. fct Bib. ch. T.'xvi. p. 99. Fabr. Cod. Apocr. N. T. T. i. p. 319, &c. Philip. Jacob. Sklerandr. H. Antiq. Ec. Chr. cap. vii. not. Q5. J. Jones upon the Canon of the N. T. Vol. 2. p. 1, &c. Du Pin, Diss. Prelim. Tom. ii, Vid. et Vales. Annot. in Euseb. Colonia, La Religion Chret. autho- Tisee par les Payens. T. 2. p. 339, &c. ' Tous les ecrivains ecclesiasticjues, qui ont ete depuis J. C. jusqu'au temps d' Eusebe, ne nous parlent rii pres ni loin de cette Histoiie, ni de ces Epitres. El qui croira, qu'ils n'en eussent rien dit, si elle leur eut ete connue ? &c. Sueur. Ilistoirede TEglise, et de I'Ernpire. A. J. C. 31. T. i. p. 103, &c. Of the Epistle of Abtjarns to our Saviour. A. D. 33. 601 not by Justin Martyr, iiorTatiai), nor Clement of Alexandria, nor Origen, nor by any other; nor does Eusobius give any hint of that kind; lie had it from Edessa; it was unheard of among- the Greeks till his time; but, having* received it, he thought it might be not improperly transcribed info his Ecclesiastical History. 3. It is not much taken notice of by succeeding' writers. It is not mentioned, i think, by Athanasius, nor Gregory Nyssen, or Nazianzen, nor Epiphanius, nor Chrysostom : Jerom has once mentioned it, and will be cited by and by : but he has not inserted, in his Catalog;ue of Ecclesiastical Writers, either Jesus, or Abgarus; neither of whom would have been omitted if he had any respect for the epistles here produced by Eusebius. This affair is indeed mentioned, or referred to, by Ephrem the Syrian, in his Testament : but that is not a work of so much authority as has been supposed by some : and it is interpolated in several places, both in the Greek and Syriac copies of it; as was observed '' formerly. 4. This whole affair was unknown to Christ's apostles, and to the believers, their contemporaries, both Jews and Gentiles, as is manifest from the early disputes about the method of receiving- Gentile converts into the church. If Jesus Christ had himself written a letter to a heathen prince, and had promised to send to hiu) one of his disciples, and if that dis- ciple had accordingly g^one to Edessa, and there received the king- and his subjects into communion with the church without circumcision, there could have been no room for any doubt or dispute about the method of receiving Gen- tile converts to Christianity. Or if any dispute had arisen, would not this history of the visit of Thaddeus have been alleged *? which would have been sufficient to put all to silence. Nor is there any room to say that this visit of Thaddeus at Edessa was after St. Peter's going- to the house of Cornelius, or after the council of Jerusalem : for it is dated in the three hundred and fortieth year, that is, of the tera of the Seleucidse, or of the Edessens : which is com- puted to be the fifteenth or sixteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, and the year of Christ 2.9; M-hen, according- to many ancient christians, our Lord died, and rose again, and ascended to heaven. Indeed I think it is impossible to reconcile this account with the history in the Acts of the Apostles. 5. If Jesus Christ had written a letter to king- Abgarus, it would have been a part of sacred scripture, aiul woultl " See Vol. iv. p. 306. 602 Testimonies of jJncient Heathens. have been placed at the head of all the books of the New Testament : but it was never so respected by any ancient christian writers. It does not appear in any catalogues of canonical books which we have in ancient authors, or in councils. In the decree of the council of Rome, in the time of pope Gelasius, in the year 496, the epistle of Christ to Abgarus is expressly called ' apocryphal. Nor does Euse- bius himself upon any occasion reckon it up among canon- ical scriptures, received by those before him. The titles of the chapters of his Ecclesiastical History are allowed to be his own. The title of the chapter which has been just transcribed from him is this : A History concerning the Prince of the Edessens. It ^as a story which he had re- ceived ; and he afterwards tells us particularly where he had it. And in the tirst chapter of the second book of the same work, having- mentioned the choice of Matthias in the room of Judas, and the choice of the seven deacons, and the death of St. Stephen, from the Acts, he recites again briefly the history before told concerning Abgarus, and says: 'This™ ' we have learned from the history of the ancients. Now we ' return to the sacred scripture ;' where he proceeds to relate from the Acts what followed after the martyrdom of St. Ste- phen. In short, though Eusebius would not pass over this affair without notice, he seems not to have placed any great weight upon it: and succeeding writers have better under- stood his meaning than some of late times, who have shown so much regard to this relation. 6. It was the opinion of many of the most learned and ancient christians, that our Lorcl wrote nothing : therefore this epistle was unknown to them, or they did not suppose it to be genuine. To this purpose speak" Origen, " Jerom, and I' Augustine. 7. There are several things in this epistle to Abgarus which are liable to exception. (1.) At the beginning of the epistle our Lord is made to say : ' Abgarus, thou art happy, forasmuch as thou hast be- ' lieved in me thouoh thou hast not seen me. For it is writ- ' ten concerning me, that they who have seen me, should not ' believe in me, that they who have not seen me might be- ' I iove in me and live.' SaysDu Pin, and to the like purpose ' Epistola Jesuad Abgariim Rpgem apocrypha. ■" Kai Tctvra fitv wc £? anyaiwv tropiag tinTrOco. MtriwjUEv S' av'iQ f rrt rtjp Otiav ypaipjjv. L. 2. c. 1. p. 39. B. " Contr. Cels. !. i.sect. 45. p. 34. " Hieron. in Ezech. c. xliv. T. iii. 1034. I* De Consens. Evang. I. i. c. 7. et Retract. I. 2. c. 16 Of the Epistle of Jihijarus to our Saviour. A. D. 33. 603 say others : ' Where'' are those words written ? Does not one ' sec that he who made this letter alludes to the words of ' Jesus Christ to St. Thomas : " Blessed are they who have ' not seen, and yet have believed," John xx. 29. ^Vords ' which were not spoken by Jesus Christ until after his ' resurrection, and which were not written until long* after- ' wards : which manifestly shows the forgery of this epistle.' (2.) Our Lord here seems to speak more clearly of his resurrection, or being- taken up to heaven, than he does to the disciples in the gospels. (3.) Christ here defers to cure Abgarus of his distemper. He tells him that ' some time hereafter he would send one ' of his disciples to him, who should heal him.' Which is altogether unworthy of the Lord Jesus, and different from his usual and well-known conduct, «ho never refused to grant the requests of those who sought to him, and expressed faith in his power. Instead of what is here said to Abgarus, after commending his faith, our Lord would have added and said : ' Henceforth thou art healed of thy distemper:' or, ' be it unto thee according to thy faith :' or, ' as thou hast ' believed, so be it done unto thee.' This we can conclude from similar cases, recorded by authentic witnesses : Matt. viii. 13 ; xv. 28 ; Mark vii. 29. 8. There are several other things in this history which are very liable to exception. (L) It is said that, after our Lord's resurrection and as- cension, Thomas sent to Edessa Thaddeus, one of Christ's seventy disciples. But Thaddeus was an apostle, as we learn from Matt. x. 3, and Mark iii. 18. It is likewise here said that ' Judas, called also Thomas, sent Thaddeus.' Upon which Valesius"^ observes : ' Thomas, who was one of the ' twelve, was also called Didymus, as we learn from St. ' John ; but that he was also called Judas, is no where said ' but in this place : for which cause this story is justly sus- ' pected.' Jerom, speaking of this matter,^ says, ' ecclesi- ' astical history informs us, that the apostle Thaddeus was ' sent to Edessa to Abgarus king of Osrohene, who by the ' evansrelist Luke is called Judas brother of James: Luke 1 Diss. Prelim, liv. 2. ch. vi. sect. ]. "■ Thomas quideni, qui fuit unus ex duodecim, dicebatur Didymus, teste Joanne evangelista. Sed eundem Judam esse cognominatum, alibi, quod sciam, non reperitur. Itaque ct hoc nomine narratio ista merito in suspicionem venit. Vales, in loc. p. 21. ' Thaddseum apostolum, eccle:iastica tradit historia missum Edessam ad Abgarum regeni Osroenae, qui ab evangelista Luca Judas Jacobi dicitur, et alibi appellatur Lebbaeus, quod interpretatur corculus. Credendumque est eum fuisse tiinominem. Hieron. in Matt. x. 3. Tom. iv. P. i. p. 35. 604 Testimonies of Ancient Heathens. ' vi. 16 ; and Acts i. 13 ; and elsewhere is called Lebbeus ; ' Matt. X. 3. So that he had three names.' (2.^ When Thaddeus conies to Edessa, he does not go immediately to the king', to whom he was sent, as might be reasonably expected ; but he goes to the house of Tobias, Avhere he stays some while, and works many miracles; M'hich being noised abroad, the king' hears of him, and sends for him. All this is very absurd. If Thaddeus, a disciple of Jesus, had been sent to the king of Edessa, he ought and would have gone to him directly, or would have made application to one of the courtiers to introduce him to the prince. This therefore cannot be true history, but must be the invention of some ignorant though conceited person. (3.) ' It looks not a little fabulous,' says Mr. Jones, ' that ' upon Thaddeus's appearing before the king he should see ' somewhat extraordinary in his countenance, which none of ' the company else could perceive. Eusebius call it opafia ' /le'^/a, a great vision : Vaiesius renders it divinum nescio ' qvid, some divine appearance.' (4.) ' The account in the history,' says the same laborious author, ' that Abgarus designed to make war upon the Jews ' for crucifying Christ, seenis very unlikely; because it is ' plain he was prince only of a small city, and that at a vast ' distance from Judea ; and therefore could never be so ' extravagant as to imagine himself able to destroy so ' powerful a nation as the Jews then were.' (5.) Abgarus is said to have had a grievous and incurable distemper, for which he desired relief of Jesus. This is said over and over. But what the distemper was is not said. Learned moderns,*^ who are not wanting in invention for supplying the defects of ancient history, say, some of them, that it was the gout, others the leprosy. However, presently after the cure of the prince, we are told of one Abdus, son of Abdus, whom Thaddeus cured of the gout. (().) We read not of any other city or country, in the first three centuries, where the people were all at once converted to tlu; christian faith. If the people of Edessa had been all christians from the days of the apostles, it would have been known b( fore the time of Eusebius. And I may add, that if this story, told by our ecclesiastical historian, had beeic * Cet Abgare est qualifie tantot Toparque, ou Prince, et tantot Roy. Por- cope en dit bion des cho?es, qui sont agreaV)les, mais qui sentenl furl la fable. Ce prince etoit travaille d'une maladie facheuise et incurable, (ce que Pro- cope entend de la goutte, et les nouveaux Grecs de la lepre,) &c. Tillem. r,s before, M. E. T. i. p. 361. Of the Acts of Pilate, mid his Letlei' to Tibei-in.i. A. D. 33. 605 cstpotnod oredihio, it would have been much more taken notice of" by succeeding' writers than it" is. (7.) I forbear to remark, as I might, upon that expression of Thaddeus in his discourse with Abgarus : 'Jesus Christ, ' our Lord and God, fulfilled the will of the Father:' or uj)on what is here said of Christ's descent into liell. 9. The observations which have been already made are sufficient to show, that the letter of Abgarus to Jesus Christ, and our Lord's rescript, cannot be reckoned genuine. The whole history is the fiction of some christian at Edessa in ihe time of Eusebius, or not long- before. The people of Edessa were then, generally, christians, and they valued themselves upon it. And they were willing to do them- selves the honour of a very early conversion to the christian faith. By some one or more of them, united together, this history was formed, and was so far received by Eusebius as to be thought by him not improper to be inserted in his Ecclesiastical History. Nor could I omit to take some no- tice of it, as g-reat regard has been shown to it by some. But all my readers may perceive that I bring not in this thing- as a testimony of the first antiquity: though it may afford good proof of the Christianity of (he people of Edessa, at the beginning- of the fourth century, when Eusebius flourished, or before. CHAP. U. OF THE KNOWLEDGE WHICH THE EMPEROR TIBERIUS HAD OF OUR SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. L The Acts of Pontius Pilatp^ and his letter to Tiberius. IL The story of Thamus, in Plutarch, concerning the death oj' Pan, considered. L JUSTIN MARTYR, in his first Apology, which was presented to the emperor Antoninus the Pious, and the senate of Rome, about the year 140, having mentioned our Saviour's " The conversion of the whole city is implied in what is above transcribed ; and so Eusebius understood it ; for he says, in the first chapter of the second book, p. 39. A. Etcrtn rt vvv i^ (Ketva i) naffa riov MSktcdjviov ttoXiq ry th XpiT8 TrpoaavaKiirai TrpoffTjyopKf. 606 Testimonies of Ancient Heathens. crucifixion, and some of the circumstances of it, adds : ' And '^ ' that these things were so done you may know from the ' Acts made in the time of Pontius Pilate.' Afterwards, in the same Apology, having- mentioned some of our Lord's miracles, such as healing diseases and raising the dead, he adds: 'And'' that these things were done by ' him you may know from the Acts made in the time of Pon- ' tins Pilate.' TertuUian, in his Apology, about the year 200, having spoken of our Saviour's crucifixion and resurrection, and his appearances to the disciples, and his ascension to heaven in the sight of the same disciples, who were ordained by him to preach the gospel over the world, goes on : ' Of"" all these ' things, relating to Christ, Pilate, in his conscience a chris- ' tiaii, sent an account to Tiberius, then eu)peror.' In another chapter or section of the same Apology, nearer the beginning, he speaks to this purpose; ' There "^ was an ' ancient decree, that no one should be received for a deity ' unless he was first approved of by the senate. Tiberius, ' in whose time the christian religion had its rise, having re- • ceived from Palestine in Syria an account of such things as ' manifested our Saviour's divinity, proposed to the senate, ' and liivinc his own vote as first in his favour, that he ♦ should be placed among the gods. The senate refused, ' because he had himself declined that honour. Nevertheless ' the emperor persisted in his own opinion, and ordered that ' if any accused the christians they should be punished.' And then adds: ' Search,' says he, 'your own writings, and ' you will there find that Nero was the first emperor who ex- * Kat ravTa on ytyovs, SvvaaOs (ladtiv iK TwviTTi tloiTia lliXars yivofitviov aKTOiv. J. M. Ap. i. p. 76. C. Paris, 1636. num. 36. p. 65. Bened. '' 'On ^t KM ravTci tiroiriatv, (k twv etti ITovroj ITiXare yivoyLivwv nicrwv fiaQtiv dwaaOe. lb. p. 84. C. Paris, num. 48. p. 72. Bened. '^ Dehicic, ordinatis eis ad officium praedicandi per orbem, circumfusa uube in coelum est ereptus, multo melius quam apud vos asseverare de Romulis Proculi solent. Ea omnia super Christo Pilatus, et ipse jam pro sua consci- entia christian us, Caesari tunc Tiberio nuntiavit. Tertull. Ap. c. 21. p. 22. C. ^ Ut de origine aliquid retractemus ejusmodi legum. Vetus crat decretum, ne qui deus ab imperatorc consecraretur, nisi a senatu probatus. Scit M. iEmilius de deo suo Alburno. Facit et hoc ad causam nostram, quod apud vos de humano arbitratu divinitas pensitatur. Nisi homini deus placuerif, deus non erit. Homo jam deo propitius esse debebit. Tiberius ergo, cuj us tempore nomen christianum in seculum intravit, annuntiata sibi ex Syria Palajstinjl quiE illic veritatem istius divinitatis revelarant, detulit ad senatum cum praerogfitiva suffragii sui. Senatus, quia non ipse probaverat, respuit. Caesar in sententia mansit, comminatus pericuhim accusatoribus christianorum. Consulite commentarios vestrcg. Illic reperietis, primum Neronem in banc sectam, turn maxime Romae orientem, Caesariano gladio ferocisse. lb. cap. 5. p. 6. of the Acts of Pilate y and his Letter to Tiberius. A. D. 33. 6()7 ' ercised any acts of severity toward the cliristiaiis, because ' tliey were then very numerous at Rome.' It is fit wo should now observe wiiat notice Eusebius takes of these things in his Ecclesiastical History. It is to this crtect. ' \\ heir' the wonderful resurrection of our Saviour, and his ascension to heaven, were in the mouths of all men, it being" an ancient custom for the governors of provinces to write to the emperor, ami give him an account of new and remarkable occurrences, that he might not be ignorant of any thing; our Saviour's resurrection being much talked of throughout all Palestine, Pilate informed the emperor of it, as likewise of his miracles, which he had heard of; and that, being raised up after he had been put to death, he was already believed by many to be a god. And it is said that Tiberius referred the matter to the senate; but that they refused their consent, under a pretence that it had not been first approved of by them ; there being an ancient law that no one should be deified among" the Romans with- out an order of the senate; but indeed because thesavitig" and divine doctrine of the gospel needed not to be con- firmed by human judgment and authority. However, Ti- berius persisted in his former sentiment, and allowed not any thing to be done that was prejudicial to the doctrine of Christ. These things are related by Tertullian, a 3uan famous on other accounts, and particularly for his skill in the Roman laws. I say he speaks thus in his Apology for the christians, written by him in the Roman tongue, but since translated into Greek. His words are these: "There was an ancient decree, that no one should be consecrated as a deity by the emperor, unless he was first approved of by the senate. Marcus iEmilius knows this by his god Al- burnus. This is to our purpose, forasmuch as among" you divinity is bestowed by human judgment. And if God does not please man, he shall not be God. And, according" to this way of thinking", man must be propitious to God. Tiberius, therefore, in whose time the christian name was first known in the world, having- received an account of this doctrine out of Palestine, where it began, communi- cated that account to the senate: giving* at the same time his own sufFrage in favour of it. But the senate re- jected it, because it had not been approved by themselves. Nevertheless the emperor persisted in his judgment, and « Euseb. H. E. I. 2. cap. 2. ' AtjXoQ mv iKuvoiQ, wg r Soyfian apiaKSTat. 'II St ffvyKXtjroQ, ciri ovk ahrt] StSoKijiaKii, airoyaaro. p. 41. C. 608 Testimonies of Ancient Heathens. ' threatened death to such as should accuse tlie christians." ' Which,' adds Eusebius, ' could be no other than a disposal ' of Divine Providence, that the doctrine of the gospel, which ' was then in its beg-inning, might be preached all over the ' world without molestation.' So Eusebius. I forbear as yet to take particular notice of what is said of this matter by later writers. Divers exceptions have been made by learned moderns to the original testimonies of Justin Martyr and Tertiillian. ' Is there any likelihood,' say they, ' that Pilate should ' write such things to Tiberius concerning a man m hom he ' had condemned to death? And, if he had written them, is ' it probable that Tiberius should propose to the senate to ' have a man put among^ the numbei" of the gods upon the ' bare relation of a governor of a province? And if he had ' proposed it, who can make a doubt that the senate would ' not have immediately complied ? So that, though we ' dare not say that this narration is absolutely false, yet it ' must be reckoned at the least doubtful.' So says^ Du Pin. These and other difficulties shall be considered. Now therefore I shall mention some observations. In the first place, I observe that Justin Martyr and Ter- tullian are early writers of good repute. That is an obser- vation of bishop'' Pearson. These testimonies are taken from the most public writings. Apologies for the christiaji religion, presented, or at least proposed and recommended, to the emperor and senate of Rome, or to magistrates of high authority and great distinction in the Roman empire. Secondly, It certainly was the custom of the governors of provinces to compose Acts, or memoirs, or comnientaries, of the remarkable occurrences in the places where they presided. In the time of the first Roman emperors there were Acts of the Senate, Acts of the City or People of Rome, Acts of other cities, and Acts of governors of provinces. Of all these we can discern clear proofs and frequent mention in ancient writers of the best credit. Julius Coesar ordered that' Acts of the Senate, as well as daily Acts of the People, should be published. K Bib. des Ant. Ec. T. i. p. 24. a. ^ Nihil igitur est, quod in hac historia refelli possit. Et, cum Tertullianus adeo gravis, adeo antiquus auctor, adeo rerum Romanarum peritus fuerit, tutius multo est istam Tiberii ad senatum de divinitate Christi relationem amplecti. Pearson. Lection, in Acta Apost. iv. sect. xv. p. 05. ' Inito honore, primus omnium instiluit, ut tam Senatus quarn Populi diurna Acta conficerentur. Sueton. Jul. Cies. c. 20. Of the Jets of Pilate and liis Letter to Tiberius. A. D. 33. 609 Aiigiistus"^ forbade |)ublis|jiiied the Jews all the favour they .could desire, especially * after the death of .Sejanus ; and is much applauded for it ' by'' Philo.' And what there follows. Ninthly, Still it is urged, ' Nothing' can be more a])surd ' than to su|)p()se that Tiberius would receive for a deity a ' man who taught the worship of one God only, and whose ' religion decried all other deities as mere fiction.' Upon which I must say, nothing can be more absurd than this objection. Terfidlian does not suppose Tiberius to be well acquainted with the christian religion, or our Sa- viour's doctrine. All he says is, that, having- heard of some extraordinary things concerning him, he had a desire to put him among the Roman deities. Tenihly, Tertullian proceeds: ' Nevertheless the emperor ' persisted in his opinion, and ordered that if any accused ' the christians they should be punished.' This was very natural. Though the senate would not put Jesus in the number of the deities, the emperor was still of opinion that it might have been done. And he deter- mined to provide by an edict for the safety of those who professed a high regard for Jesus Christ. Which edict, as Eusebius reasonably sup|)oses, was of use for securing the free preaching of the gospel in many places. But the au- thority of that edict would cease at the emperor's demise, if not sooner. Undoubtedly it could not be in force, or have any great effect, for a long- season. dotes, decerni sibi prohibuit ; etiam statiras, atqiie imagines, nisi permittente se, poni : permisitque ei sola conditione, ne inter simulacra deorum, scd inter ornamenta ajdium, ponerentur. Sueton. Tiber, cap. 2G. K See vol. i. p. 186, 187. " DeLegat. ad Caium, p. 1015. C. D. ' Novcrat Jesum fuis^e hominem Judaeum, uniusque Dei cultorem, ct qii: onmes alios deos, quasi hominum commenta, rejiccret : ac proinde religionem, qua cum iis conjiingeretur, summopere improbaturum, si in ccelo vivcret ; et tamen eum una cum llomanis diis coli voluisset. Quo nihil absurdius fingi poteral. Cleric. II. E. an. 29. n. 06. Of ilic Acts of Pilate and his Letter to Tiberius. A. D. 33. 615 Nor need we to consider tlie ordering" such an edict as this in favour of the christians as an incredible thing-, if we observe what I'hilo says, who assures us, that ' I'iberius'^ ' gave orders to all the governors of provinces, to protect the ' Jews in the cities where they lived in the observation of their ' own rights and customs ; and that they should bear hard * upon none of them, but such as were unpeaceable and * transgressed the laws of the state.' Nor is it improbable that the christians should partake of the like civilities, they being considered as a sect of the Jews. And it is allowed that the Roman emperors did not openly persecute the christians, till they became so numerous that the heathen peo|)le were apprehensive of the total overthrow of their reliiiion. In the eleventh place. Says a learned and judicious' writer, ' It is probable that Pilate, who had no enmity to.vard * Christ, and accounted iiim a man unjustly accused, and * an extraordinary person, might be moved by the wonder- ' ful circumstances attending and following his death, to hold * him in veneration, and perhaps to think him a hero and the * son of some deity. It is possible that he might send a ' narrative, such as he thought most convenient, of these * transactions to Tiberius : but it is not at all likely thatTi- ' berius proposed to the senate that Christ should be deified, * and that the senate rejected it, and that Tiberius continued * favourably disposed toward Christ, and that he threatened * to punish those who should molest and accuse the chris- * tians.' ' Observe also,' says the same learned writer, * that the Jews persecuted the apostles, and slew Stephen, * and that Saul made havoc of the church, entering into * every house, and haling- men and women, committing them * to prison, and that Pilate connived at all this violence, and * was not afraid of the resentment of Tiberius on that account.' Admitting the truth of all these particulars just mentioned, it does not follow that no orders were given by Tiberius for the protection of the followers of Jesus. For no commands of princes are obeyed by all men every where. They are oftentimes transgressed. Nor was any place more likely than Judea, where (he enmity of many against the disciples of Jesus was so great. Nor need it to be supposed that Tiberius was very intent to have this order strictly regarded. For he was upon many occasions very indolent and dilatory; and he was well known to be so. Moreover the death of Stephen was tumultuous, and not an act of the Jewish coun- '* qX\' em fxovag thq airing. De Legal, ad Caiiim, p. 1015. C. I Dr. Jortin's Remarks upon Ecclesiastical HistorVj vol. i. p. 2—4. 616 Testimonies of Ancient Heathens. cil. And farther, the iiitluence of Pihite in that country was not now at its full height. Wo perceive from the liistory of our Lord's trial before him, ns recorded in the gospels, that he stood in fear of the™ Jews, ' He" was ap- ' prehensive that, if he did uot gratify them in that point, ' tiiey might draw up a long- list of mal-administrafions for ' the emperor's view. His condemnation of Jesus at the ' importunity of the Jews, contrary to his own judgment and ' inclination, declared to them more than once, was a point ' gained : and his government must have been ever after ' much weakened by so mean a condescension. And that ' Pilate's influence in the province continued to decline is ' manifest, in that tlie people of it prevailed at last to have ' him removed in a very ignominious manner, by Vitellius ' president of Syria.' Pilate «as removed from his government before the Pass- over in the year of Christ 36. After v.hich" there was no procurator, or other person with power of life and death, in Jndca, before the ascension of Herod Agrippa, in the year 41. In that space of time the Jews would take an unusual licence, and gratify (heir own malicious dispositions, beyond what they could have otherwise done, without control. Twelfth, Some have objected, that Terlullian is so absurd as to speak of christians in (he time of Tiberius; though it be certain that the followers of Jesus were not known by that denomination till some time afterwards. But that is a trifling c>bjection. Tertullian intends no more by christians thaii followers of Jesus, by whatever name they were known and distinguished: whether that of Nazarenes, or Galileans, or disciples. Annate.' Neverthe- less Tertullian was not so ignorant as not to know that there were not any emperors when that ancient decree was passed. His meaning- is, that no one should be deified l)y any man, no not by a consul or emperor, without the approbation of the senale. Finally, We do not suppose that Tiberius understood the doctrine of our Saviour, or (hat h<; was at all inclined to " See particularly John xix. 12. " Vol. i. p. 97. Comp. p. 389. " See vol. i. as before, p. 98. of the Acts of Pilate and his Letter to Tiberius. A. D. 33. (>I7 be a cliristiaii. Nor did Tertulliau iiitcMJil to say any siirli thing-, for iniincdiatcly after the j)a.ssage first cited fr()ni him, he adds: ' But'' the Coesars themselves uould have believed ' ill Jesus Christ, if they had not been necessary for the ' world, or if christians could have been Cocsars.' Grotius'i appears to have rightly understood the import- ance of these passages of Tertullian; whose note therefore upon Matthew xxiv. II, I have transcribed below. Ailmit then tin; right interpretation of Tertullian, and it may be allowed that what he says is not incredible nor im- probable. The Romans had almost innumerable deities, and yet they frequently added to that number, and adopted new. As prj(ps ttjv OtOTTjTct avnKr)^vyQrivai ra XpiTH. (c. X. " At postquam passus est Doniinus Chrislus, atque a mortuis resurrexit, et cliscipulos suos ad praedicanduin dimisit, Pilatus, prffists Palestinai provinciae, ad Tiberium imperatorem atque senatum retulit de passione et rcsurrectione Christi, consequentibusque virtutibus, quae per ipsuni palam faclae fuerant, vel per discipulos ipsius in nomine ejus fiebant, et de co quod crescente plurimo- rum fide Deus crederetur. Tiberius cum sufFragio magni favoris retulit ad senatum, ut Christus deus haberetur. Senatus, indignatione molus, quod non j-ibi prius secundum morem delatum e^set, ut de suscipiendo cultu prius ipse decerneret, consecrationem Cliristi recusavit, edictoque constituit, exterminan- dos esse Urbe christianos ; praecipue cum et Sejanus, praefectus Tiberii, susci- piendae religioni obstinatissime contradiceret. Tiberius tamen edicto accusa- toribus christianorum mortem coinminatus est. Itaque paullatim immutata est ilia Tiberii Ca^saris laudatissima modestia, in poenam contradictoris sena- tus. l\ Oros. 1. 7. c. 4. " Zonar. Ann. T. 2. p. 176 * Niceph. 1. 2. c. 8. Conf. 1. i. cap. 16. Of the Acts of Pilate and his Letlci- lo Tiberius. A. D. 33. 619 rcceivofl as true. But soino make additions or alterations ill Tertidliaii's <>ri<>iual narration, which diminish the credi- bility of Hie xshole. Orosiiis not only says that the senate refused to coniply with the proposal of Tiberius, but also that they were so provoked as to order, by an edict, ' that the christians should be expelled the city:' which is loading- the history with two g-reat absurdities. For it is very improbable that the christians should be so numerous at Rome, in the time of Tiberius, as to occasion an uneasi- ness to the senate. And it is equally improbable that the senate should behave so rtulely to the emperor. Tertullian's account is free from such thinos, and oug'ht not to be reject- ed because of additions made by later writers. The truth of Tertid Man's account has been contested by divers learned moderns. I have already taken notice of what is said by Du l*in, and have also considered the ob- jections of some others. 1 now willingly refer to divers others ^ on the same side. Other learned men y have em- braced it as true, and have taken a g-ood deal of pains to vin- dicate it against objections. Pearson,'- in particular, is very favourable to this history ; and in the course of my argu- ment I have quoted him several times. The late Mr. Mosheim'' also was of opinion that it ought not to be en- " Tan. Fabr. 1. ii. Ep. xii. Vandale de Orac. p. 455. et Diss, de Actis Pilati. p. 608, &c. Amst. 1700. Cleric. H. E. ann. 29. n. 96, &c. Basnag. aim. 33. n. 192 — 196. et Exercifat. p. 136, &c. Sig. Havercamp. Annot. ad Tertul- lian. Apol. cap. v. Jortin's Remarks upon Ecclesiastical Hist. vol. i. p. 2 — 4. y Sueur Histoire de I'Eglise et de I'Empire. Tom. i. p. 130, 131. TiUem. Mem. Ecc. T. i. S. Pierre art. 19. et notes xvi. — xix. Fr. Balduiii. Comment, ad Edicta veterum Principum Roman, de Christianis. p. 20 — 24. 1727. Tub. Eckhard. non christianorum de Christo Testimonia. cap. iv. J. A. Fabr. Lux Evangelii. cap. xii. p. 220 — 222. La Religion Cliret. autorisee par le temoignage des anciens auteurs Payens. Par D. Colonia. Tom. 2. ch. xi. Lettre de M. Iselin Docteur et Professeur en Theologie a Basle, sur le projet concu par Tibere, de mettre N. S. J. C. au nombre des Dieux de Rome. Bib. Germanique, T. 32. p. 147, &c. et T. 33. p. 12, &c. '^ Pearson. Lection, in Act. Ap. iii. et iv. ■• Negant hodie viri sagaces ei erunditi, fidem huic narrationi habendaiii esse. Ego vero superstitiosi nomen minime fomiido, si dixero, non prorsus earn niihi rejiciendam videri. Moshem. Institution. H. Christianae Maj. Sec. i. P. i. c. 4. sect. ix. p. 109. A. D. 1739. Sunt quideni viri eruditi, quibus hoc alienissinium a vero videtur : sed his alii, doctrina non inferiores, rationes opponunt baud facile deslruendas. Id. de Reb. Christian, ante Const. M. p. 92. Erudite, post Theod. Hasaeum peculiari libello de Decreto Tiberii, quo Christum ret'erre voUiit in numerum Deorum, Ersurti 2715. 4. edito, pro veritate hujus facti militavit ven. Jac. Christoph. Isellus, epistola GaUica, h I could not forbear to propose it to be considered : nor do 1 think (hat any can dislike my placing* it here before my readers. CHAP. IV. PLINY THE ELDER. CAIUS PLINUS SECUNDUS, or'' Pliny the elder, was born at Nerona, in the reign of Tiberius. He had divers public posts under the emperors Vespasian and Titns; not- withstanding which he redeemed a great deal of time for reading and writing, in which he was indefatigable. He was suffocated in the smoke and ashes of Vesuvius, in the fifty-sixth year of his age, and the first year of the reign of Titus, in the year 79. His Natural History was published, and inscribed to Vespasian; or, as others think, to Titus, in the year of our Lord 77, before he was emperor. In his History is a chapter concerning the origin of magic ; where are these words : ' There '^ is another sect of magi- ' cians, depending on (or deriving from) Moses, and Jamnes, ' and Jotapes, who were Jews, but many thousand years ' since Zoroaster. Still so much later is the Cyprian.' audent, quippe quam nemo unquam vidit, et Cyriacus Anconitanus primus protulit, homo, quod omnes sciunt, fallax, et, si quis alius, malae fidei, &c J. L. Moshem. Listit. Hist. Ec. p. 37. Verum magni homines post Scaligerum dubitant, quid de fide et auctoritate monumentihujus statuendum sit : et, ut arbitror, justissimashabent dubitandi causas. Nemo enim vel Hispanorum, vel Lusitanorum, lapidem hunc un- quam vidit, quod ipsi doctissimi Hispaniae viri non diffitentur. Is vero, si aliquando extitisset, magna certe cura ob insigne pretium asservatus fuisset. Id. De. Reb. Christian, p. 109. » Vid. Plin. Ep. 1. vi. 16. et 20. Voss. de H. 1. i. cap. 29. Fabr. Bib. Lat. I. 2. c. 13. Basnag. ann. 77. ii. et 79. v. Tillem. H. E. Tite. art. vi. Crevier's History of the Roman Emperors. B. xvii. vol. 6. p. 291. '' Est et alia Magicis factio, a Mose, et Jamne, et Jotape Judaeis pendens, sed multis millibus annorum post Zoroastrem. Tanto recentior est Cypria. Plin. Nat. Hist. 1. 30. cap. i. De Origine Magicaj artis, quando, et a quibus cceperat, &c. VOL. VI. 2 s 626 Testimonies of Ancient Heathens. Some have thought, that in this last Pliny refers to the blindness inflicted by St. Paul on Ely mas the sorcerer, in the presence of Sergius Paul us, proconsul of Cyprus, and related in Acts xiii. but I do not affirm it. CHAP. V TACITUS. I. His history, time, and works. IT. Pomponia Gracina, a Roman lady, accused oj' ajoreiyn svperstition in the year of Christ 57, the fourth year of Nero's reign. III. His account of Nero's jjersecntion of the christians. IV. His testimony to the Jewish icar, and the destruction of Jeru- salem by Titus. I. CAIUS CORNELIUS TACITUS,* whose ancestors are unknown, was'* older than theyoung;er Pliny, who Avas born in the year of our Lord 61 or 62. In the year 77 or 78 he married the daughter of Cnseus Julius Agricola, "^ famous for his consulship, and government of Britain. He*^ enjoy- ed divers posts of honour and trust under Vespasian, and the following emperors. He was prsetor of Rome, under Domitian, in 88, and consul in the short reign of Nerva, in 97. The year was opened by Nerva and T. Virginius Ru- fus, who were then both of them the third time consuls. Virginius Rufus, who was a man of great eminence, and then of a great age, died in his consulship ; whereupon'' Tacitus was substituted in his room, and pronounced his panegyric. But, as has been often observed, his writings have gained him more honour than all his dignities. His works seem to have been published by him in this order: first, his De- ■* Vid. G. J. Voss. de Hist. Lat. Lipsii Vit. Tacit. Fabric. Bib. Lat. Toin. i. Bayle Diction. Tillemont, H. E. Trajan, art. 27. '' Equidem adolescentulus, quum jam tu fama gloriaque floreres, fe sequi, tibilongosed proximus intervallo et esse et haberi conciipisccbam. Plin. 1. 7. Ep. 20. •■ Consul egregiaa tinn spei filiaiii juveni mihi despondit, ac post consulatum collocavit, et statim Britanniae praepositus est, adjecto pontificatus sacerdotio. Tacit. Vit. Agr. cap. 9. "^ Vid. Tacit. Hist. 1. i. cap. i. ^ Laiidatus est a consule Cornclio Tacito. Nam hie suprcmus felioifati ejus cumulus accessit, laudator eloquentissimus, &c. Plin. 1. i. cp. 2. Tacitus. Nero's Persecution. A. D. 100. 627 scriptioii of Germany, nexf, The Life of Agiicola, liis father- in-law ; after that his History, beginning- with Galba, atul ending at the death of Doniitian ; and lastly, liis Annals, beginning with Tiberius, and ending at the death of Nero. Both these works are now imperfect. Tacitus and Pliny the younger lived together in intimate friendship. They ' revised each other's Avritings before publication. Divers of Pliny's letters are written to him ; in particular those ^ two wherein Pliny gives an account of the eruption of Vesuvius, and the death of his uncle. They were sent as memoirs, to be inserted by Tacitus in his his- tories. It is allowed that'' Tacitus flourished in the first century ; 1 therefore place him here in the year 100, the third of the emperor Trajan : and though the two last, and principal of his works, were not published till some time after, un- doubtedly he was now employed in collecting materials for them, and in composing them. Nor did either of them come down any lower than the death of Domitian. II. In his Annals, at the year of our Lord 57, he writes thus: ' And' Pomponia Grcecina, a lady of eminent quality, married to Plautius, who, upon his return from Britain, had the honour of an ovation, being accused of practising a foreign superstition, was referred to the cognizance of her husband. And he, according to ancient institution, in the presence of the family, sat in judgment upon the life and reputation of his wife, and pronounced her innocent. Pom- ponia lived to a great age, and in perpetual sorrow, after the death of Julia, daughter of Drusus, procured by the intrigues of Messalina. For the space of forty years she wore no habit but that of mourning, nor admitted any senti- ments but those of grief. And this behaviour, which in the ' Librum tiium legi, et, quam diligentissime potui, annotavi quae commu- tanda, quae exiraenda arbifrarer. — Nunc a te librum meum cum annotationibus tuis exspecto. O jucundas, O pulchras vices ! Plin. !. 7. ep. 20. Vid. et I. 8. ep. 7. 8 Petis, ut tibi avunculi mei exitum scribam, quo verius tradere posteris possis. Gralias ago. Nam video, morti ejus, si cele- bretur a le, immortalem gloriam esse propositam. L. 6. ep. 16. Vid. et ep. 20. '' Tacite Historian Romain, a fleuri dans le premier siecle. Bayle Diction. ' Et Pomponia Graecina, insignis femina, Plautio, qui ovans se de Britan- niis retulit, nupta, ac superstitionis extemae rea, mariti judicio permissa. Isque prisco instituto, propinquis coram, de capile famaque conjugis cognovit, et infontem nuntiavit. Longa huic Pomponiae aetas, et continua trisfitia fuit. Nam, post Juliam Drusi filiam dolo Messalinae interfectam, per quadraginta annos, non cultu nisi lugubri, non animo nisi maestoegit. Idque illi imperi- tante Claudio impune, mox ad gloriam vertit. Tacit. Ann. 1. 13. c. 32. 2 s 2 628 Testimonies of Ancient Histori/. reign of Claudius escaped with impunity, afterwards re- dounded to her glory.' As it was about fourteen years from the death of Julia, to this trial of Pomponia, Lipsius ^ suspects the reading of ' forty years ;' and his emendation is approved by some, rejected by others. I rather think it to be right, as it is in all copies. Nor does Tacitus compute from the death of Julia to the time of this trial, but to the time of Pomponia's death. ' She lived,' he says, ' to a great age: and all the time from the death of Julia to her own death, which was the space of forty years, she was a perpetual mourner.' This foreign, or extraneous superstition, of which Pom- ponia was accused, is supposed by Lipsius, in his' notes, and by"" others, to be the christian religion: and we maybe inclined to that opinion ; but we cannot be certain of it. I have transcribed the whole account of this lady, that every one may the better judge for himself. III. After a description of the terrible fire at Rome, in the tenth of Nero, and the sixty-fourth of our Lord, in which a large part of the city was consumed, and an account of the orders given for rebuilding and beautifying it, and the methods used to appease the anger of the gods, Tacilus adds : ' But" neither all human help, nor the liberality of the em- peror, nor all the atonements presented to the gods, availed to abate the infamy he lay under of having ordered the city •^ Vid. Not. ad loc. ' Sttperstiiionis exteynce rea.'] Cliristianismi credo acciisatam, sive, ut tunc confundebant, judaismi. Lipsius in loc. Forte chnstianam pietatem intelligit. Nam apparet, sanctam mulierem fuisse Pomponiam Graecinam. Tacitus loquitur ut Ethnicus. Rheaanus in loc. '" Christi doctrinam a Pomponia fuisse degustatam, noa immento conjici- mus. Basnag. ann. 57. p. ii. Pomponia Graecina fut accusee de suivre una superstition etrangere, dit Tacite ; ce qui se peut entendre du christianisme. TiUem. Neron. art. v. " Sed non ope humana, non largitionibus principis, aut deum placamentis decedebat infamia, quin jussum incendium crederetur. Ergo abolendo rumori Nero subdidit reos, et quaesitissimis poenis affecit, quos, per flagitia invisos, vulgus christianos appellabat. Auctor nominis eji'.s Christus, qui, Tiberio imperante, per procuratorem Pontium Pilatum supplicio affectus erat. Re- pressa in praesens exitiabjlis superstitio rursus erumpebat, non modo per Ju- daeam, originem ejusmali, sed per Urbem etiam, quo cuncta undique atrocia aut pudenda confluunt, celebranturque. Igitur primo correpti qui fateban- tur, deinde indicio eorum multitudo ingens, baud perinde in criniine incendii, quam odio humani generis, convicti sunt. Et pereuntibus addita ludibria, ut ferarum tergis contecti, laniatu canum interirent, aut crucibus affixi, aut flammandi, atque, ubi defecisset dies, in usum nocturni luniinis urerentur. Hortos suos ei spectaculo Nero obtulerat, et Circense ludicrum edebat, habitu aurigae permixtus plebi vel circulo [curriculo legit Lipsius] insisfens. Unde, quanquam adversus sontes, et novissima exempla meritos, miseratio oriebatur, tanquam non utilitate publica, sed in saevitiam unius absumerentnr. Ann. 1. XV. c. 44. Tacitus. A''cro's Persecution. A. D. 100. 629 to be set on fire. To suppress therefore this coininou rumour, Nero procured others to be accused, and inflicted exquisite punishment upon those people, who were in abhorrence for their crimes, and Mere commonly known by the name of christians. They had their denomination from Christus, who in the reign of Tiberius was put to death as a criminal by the procurator Pontius Pilate. This pernicious superstition, though cliecked for a while, broke out again, and sprea(f, not oidy over Judea, the source of this evil, but reached the city also; whither flow from all quarters all things vile and shameful, and where they find shelter and encouragement. At first they only were apprehended who confessed them- selves of that sect; afterwards a vast multitude, discovered by them: all which were condenmed, not so much for the crime of burning the city, as for their enmity to mankind. Their executions were so contrived as to expose them to derision and contempt. Some Avere covered over with the skins of wild beasts, and torn to pieces by dogs ; some were crucified ; others, having- been daubed over with combustible materials, were set up as lights in the night time, and thus burned to death. Nero made use of his own gardens as a the- atre upon this occasion, and also exhibited the diversions of the Circus, sometimes standing in the crowd as a spectator, in the habit of a charioteer, at other times driving a chariot him- self: till at length these men. though really criminal, and de- serving- exemplary punishment, began to be commiserated, as people who were destroyed, not out of a regard to the public welfare, but only to gratify the cruelty of one man.' Divers facts of the evangelical history are here attested: that our Saviour was put to death as a malefactor by Pontius Pilate, procurator under Tiberius : that from Christ the people called christians had their name and sentiments: that this superstition, or religion, had its rise in Judea, where also it spread, notwithstanding the ignominious death of the founder of it, and the opposition which his followers met with from the people of that country afterwards : that thence it was propagated into other parts of the world, and as far as Rome, where in the tenth or eleventh year of Nero, and before, christians were very numerous : and that the pro- fessors of this religion were reproached, and hated, and underwent many and grievous sufferings. Certainly the great number of christians at Rome at this time, and their sufferings, are two things very observable. And though they were so hated, and Tacitus himself is so much offended with them, he owns the cruelty Avith which they were treated was so excessive as to excite compassion. 630 Testimonies of Ancient Heathens. Nay, it seems their destruction was looked upon by many, not as a public benefit, but an act of savage cruelty. Wijicli shows, after all, that they were not such monsters of" wicked- ness as they are here represented. And all this guilt, this enmity to mankind, which Tacitus imputes to them, could be nothing else, as has been well observed ° by learned men, but their neglect of the ordinary worship of the gods. It will not be disagreeable to compare this article of Tacitus with the account of the fire at Rome, and the ensu- ing- persecution of the christians, which is given by Sulpi- cius Severus, an elegant christian writer of history and in the Latin tongue, who flourished about the year 400. ' In P the mean time,' says Sulpiciu's, ' when the number ' of the christians was greatly increased, there happened a ' fire at Rome while Nero was at Antium. Nevertheless, the ' general opinion of all men cast the blame of the fire upon ' the emperor. And it was supposed that his aim therein ' was that he might have the glory of raising the city again ' in greater splendour. Nor could he by any means suppress ' the common rumour that the fire was owing to his orders. ' He therefore endeavoured to cast the reproach of it upon ' the christians. And exquisite tortures were inflicted upon ' innocent men: and moreover new kinds of death were in- ' vented. Some were tied up iu the skins of wild beasts, ' that they might be worried to death by dogs. Many were ' crucified. Others were burnt to death ; and they were set ' up as lights in the night-time. This was the beginning' of ' the persecution of the christians. Afterwards the profession ' of the christian religion was prohibited by laws; and edicts ' were published that no man might be a christian. At that " Tacitus libro xv — de christianorum suppliciis — Ubi ' flagitia,' et ' odium humani generis,' nihil aliud sunt, quam laisorum deorum neglectus ; quam eandem caussam etiam Judaeis maledicendi Tacitus habuit, et Flinius major, cui Judaei dicuntui' * gens contumelia numinuni insignis.' Cleric. Annot. ad Grot, de Ver. Rel. Christian. 1. 2. sect. ii. P Interea, abundante jam christianorum multitudine, accidit, ut Roma . incendio conflagraret, Nerone apud Antium constitute. Sed opinio omnium invidiam incendii in principem retorquebat, credebaturque imperator gloriam innovandae urbis quaesisse. Neque ulla re Nero efficiebat, qum ab eo jussura incendium putaretur. Igitur vertit invidiam in christianos; actaeque in in- noxios crudelissimae quaestiones. Quin et novae mortes excogitatae, ut ferarum tergis contecti, laniatu canum interirent. Multi crucibus affixi, aut flamma usti. Pierique in id reservati, ut, cum defecisset dies, in usum nocturai luminis urerentur. Hoc initio in christianos saeviri coeptum. Post etiam, datis legibus religio vetabatur j palamque edictis propositis, christianum esse non licebat. Tum Paulus ac Petrus capitis damnati, (|Uorum uni cervix gladio desecta, Petrus in crucem sublatusest. Sulp. Sever. Sacr. Hist. lib. 2. cap. 41. al. cap. 29. Tacitus. The Destruction of Jerusalem. A. D. 100. 631 * time Paul and Peter were condemned to death. The former * was beheaded, Peter was crucified. So writes Sulpicius. It is not unlikely that he had read Tacitus. However, I think it ought also to be supposed (hat he had other memoirs besides. Sulpicius says that Nero was at Antium when the fire began. The •' same thinj^ is observed by Tacitus, w ho also says, tliat Nero did not come to Rome till the fire had ap- proached his own palace, which at length, with every thing- near it, was consumed. IV. It is not needful for nie to translate or transcribe all that Tacitus says of the Jewish people, of "^ whose original he was ignorant, and writes very absurdly, and therefore is called by Tertullian^ a great liar. Nor need I translate exactly his history of the Jewish war. I observe however these following" particulars. He says, that' Judea was first brought into subjection to the Romans by Pompey. After which he gives a sunmiary account of their afl^airs under Herod and his sons, the em- perors Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero. ' He mentions " Felix, whom he represents as a bad man, asid tyrannical in his government. However, the Jews,' he says, ' bore the exactions of their governors, till the time of their procurator Gessius Florus, under Avhom the war began. Cestius Gallus, president of Syria, came to his assistance: but he being defeated, Nero sent Vespasian into Judea, who was a g-eneral of great merit and reputation, and having- also under him good officers, in the space of two years,' mean- ing the years 67 and 68, ' he reduced the open country, and all the cities of Judea, excepting- Jerusalem. The next year,' 69, ' was taken up in civil wars ;' meaning- the time of the short reigns of Galba, Otho, Vitellius, till the acces- "i Eo in tempore Nero Antii agens, non ante in Urbem regressus est, qiiam domui ejus, qua Palatium et Maecenatis hortos continuaverat, ignis propin- quaret. Neque tanien sisti potuit, quin et Palatium et domus et cuncta circum haurirentur. Tacit. Ann. 1. 15. cap. 39. "' Tacit. Hist. 1. v. cap. 2. * Cornelius Tacitus, sane ille mendaciorum loquacissimus. Apol. c. 16. p. 17. A. * Romanorum primus Cn. Pompeius Judaeos domuit, templumque jure victoriae ingressus est. H. 1. v. cap. 9. " Claudius, detunctis regibus, aut ad modicum reductis, Judaeam provin- ciam equitibus Ronianis aut libertis permisit, e quibus Antonius Felix, per om- nem saevitiam ac libidinem, jus regium servili ingenio exercuit Duravit tamen patientia Judaeis, usque ad Gessium Florum procuratorem. Sub oo belkim ortum, et comprimere coeptantem Cestium Galium Syrias legatum, varia prcfilia ac seepius adversa excepere. Qui ubi lato aut t^edio occidit, missu Neronis, Vespasianus fortuna famaque et egregiis ministris intra duas aestates, cuncta camporum, omnesque praeter Hierosolyma urbes, victore exercitu tene- bat. Proximus annus, civili bello intentus, quantum ad Judaeos per otium 632 Testimonies of Ancient Ueatliens. sion of Vespasian. ' The following- year, [and the begin- ning" of it,] Titus was appointed to attend the affairs of Jiidea ; who now drew near to Jerusalem and besieged it. Tacitus supposeth that Titus was in haste to go to Rome to enjoy the pleasures and splendour of the city. He there- fore carried on the siege with the greatest vigour. The army likewise was intent upon plunder, and eager to gratify their revenge. The city however was strong by situation, and with good walls and ramparts : the high tower Antonia, conspicuous from far. The temple itself was like a citadel Avell fortified. They had a fountain of water that ran con- tinually, and the mountains were hollowed under ground. Moreover they had pools and cisterns for preserving rain water. And there was a great conflifence of people. For the men of the other cities that had been reduced, and in general all the turbulent and seditious people of the nation, came hither. There were three captains,' or heads of factions, ' and as many armies, Simon, John, called also Bargioras, and Eleazer, w ho occupied several parts of the city. Among themselves they had fierce contentions, and therein great cjuantities of provisions were consumed. Eleazer being killed, they were reduced to two factions. These fought with each other till the near approach of the Romans obliged transiit. Pace per Italiam parta, et externas curse rediere. Aiigebat iras, quod soli Judaei non cessissent. Siinul manere apud exercitus Titum ad omnes principatus novi eventus casusve utilius videbatnr. [Ejusdem anni principio Caesar Titus perdomandae Judaese delectus a patre. Lib. v. cap. i. in.] Igitur castris, uti diximus, ante inoenia Hierosolymorum positis, instructas legiones ostentavit. Judaei sub ipsos muros struxere aciem Mox cessere hosles, et sequentibus diebus crebra pro portis proelia ferebant, donee assiduis damnis intra moenia pellerentur. Romani ad oppugnandum versi. Neque enim dignum videbatur, famem hostium opperin : poscebantque pericula, pars vir- tute, multi ferocia, et cupidine praemiorum. Ipsi Tito Roma, et opes, volup- latesque ante oculos : ac, ni statim Hierosolyma conciderent, morari videban- tur. Sed urbem, arduani situ, opera molesque firmaverant, quis vel plana satis munirentur. Nam duos coUes immensum editos claudebant muri per artem obliqui, aut introrsus sinuati. [Conf. 1. 2. cap. 4.] Alia intus moenia, regiae circumjecta. Conspicuoque fastigio turris Antonia, in honoiem M. Antonii ab Herode appellata. Templum in modum arcis propriique muri, labore et opere ante alios. Ipsae porticos, quis templum ambiebatur, egre- gium propugnaculum. Fons perennis aquae, cavati iub terra montes, et piscinae cisternacque servandis imbribus magna colluvi, et caeterarum urbium clade aucti. Nam pervicacissimus quisque illuc perfugerat, eoque seditiosius agebant. Tres duces, totidem exercitus. Extrema et latissima moenium Simon ; mediam urbem Joannes, quem et Bargioram vocabant ; templum Eleazarus firmaverat. Multitudine et armis Joannes ac Simon, Eleazarus loco pollebat. Sed proelia, dolus, incendia, inter ipsos, et magna vis frumenti ambusta. Mox Joannes, missis per speciein sacrificandi, qui Eleaza- rum manumque ejus obtruncarent, templo potitur. Ita in duas factiones civi- tas discessit, donee, propinquantibus Romanis, bclltim externum concordiara Tacitus. The Destruction of Jerusalem. A. D. 100. 633 them to agreement. There were maiiy prodigies foresigni- fying- their ruin, which were not to be averted by all the sacrifices and voavs of that people, superstitious in their own way of worship, (hough ditterent from all others. Armies were seen fighting in the air with brandished weapons. A fire fell upon the temple from the clouds. The doors of the temple were suddeidy opened. At the same time there was a loud voice declaring that the gods were removin"': which Mas accompanied with the sound as of a multitude going- out. All Mhich things were supposed by some to portend great calamities. But the most had a strong per- suasion that it Mas said in the ancient Mritings of the priests,' that is, ancient Mritings in the custody of the priests, ' that at that very time the East should prevail, and that some who came from Judea should obtain the empire of the Morld. Which ambiguities foretold V^espasian and Titus. But the conjmon people, according to the usual influence of human passions, having once appropriated to themselves this vast grandeur of the fates, could not be brought to understand the true meaning by all their adversities. We have been assured, that the number of the besieged amounted to six hundred thousand. And more bore arms than could have been expected from that number. For great was the reso- lution of all, both men and Momen. Against this city and people Mas Titus sent. As the city could not be taken by assault, different posts Mere assigned to the several legions. Battering engines of all kinds were prepared : and all the methods hitherto practised in sieges by the ancients, as mcII as new inventions, M'ere employed on this occasion.' So writes Tacitus, who could and might have been more particular in his history of the JeM'ish war in the several pareret. Evenerant prodigia, quae neque hostiis, neque votis piare fas habet gens superstitioni obnoxia, religionibus adversa. Visae per ccelum concurrere acies, rutilantia arma, et subito nubiiim igne collucere templuni. Expassse repente delubri fores, et audita major humana vox, ' Excedere deos :' simul ingens rriotus excedentum. Quae pauci in metum trahebant : pluribus per- suasio inerat, antiquis sacerdotum literis contineri, eo ipso tempore fore, ut valesceret Orieiis, profeclique Judeea rerum potirentur. Quae ambages Ves- pasianum ac Titum praedixerant. Sed vulgus, more humanae cupidinis sibi tantam fatorum magnitudinem interpretati, ne adversis quidem ad vera muta- bantur. Multitudinem obsessorum, omnis aetatis, virilis ac muliebris sexus, sexcenta millia fuisse accepimus. Arma cunctis, qui ferre possent ; et plures quam pro numero audebant. Obstiuatio viris feminisque par. Ac si trans- ferre sedes cogerentur, major vitse metus quam mortis. Hanc adversus urbem gentemque Caesar Titus, quando impetum et subita belli locus abnueret, ag- genbus vineisque certare statuit. Dividuntur legiombus muria, et quies prcE- liorum fuit : donee cuncta expugnandis urbibus reperta apud veteres, aut novis ingeniis, struerentur. Tacit. Hist. l.v. cap. 9 — 13. 634 Testimonies of Ancient Heathens. parts of tliat country, and likewise of the siege of Jerusalenh But liis dislike of the subject, as it seems, and his love of brevity, have made him very concise. However, it is not unlikely that in the next book, which, with all the following- books of that Avork, is lost, there was an account of the triumph of Vespasian and Titus at Home in the following" year. Nor is it unreasonable to suppose, that there were also some more particulars concerning the event of the siege of Jerusalem : but what they were we cannot now say. It is also worth our while to observe, that in this jfifth book of his history, from which the preceding article has been taken, at his entrance upon his account of the war, he says, ' he'' was going to relate the final enJ of the renowned city of Jerusalem.' He likewise takes notice that ' Jerusalem^' M'as the capi- tal city of Judea, and that the temple there had in it immense riches.' Nor should we omit to observe, that in the first chapter of this book he has reckoned up the forces with which Vespa- sian was furnished for carrying on this war, and not very disagreeably to Josephus : ' For'' he mentions the three le- gions quartered in Judea, the twelfth brought in from Syria, and other legions from Alexandria, beside the armies of the Koman allies, the kings Agrippa, Sohemus, and Antiochus, and a large body of Arabians, always averse to the Jews, and some volunteers of distinction even from Rome and Italy, who were willing- to serve under Titus, a general of such renown and expectation, desirous to signalize their valour before him, and thereby to recommend themselves to his favour.' And though we do not find in Tacitus every thing that we ntight wish for, certainly what we have in his remaining works is a very valuable testimony to the accomplishment '' Sed quia famosae urbis supremum diem tradituri sumus, &c. Histor. 1. 5. c. 2. in. "" Magna pars Judeeffi vicis dispergitur. Habent et oppida. Hierosolyma genti caput : lllic inmiensze opulentise teniplum. &c. Ibid. c. 8. " Ejusdem anni principio, Caesar Titus perdomandae Judaeae delectus a patre Tres enim in Judaea legiones, quinta et decima, et quintadecima, vetus Vepasiani miles, excepere. Tradidit et Syria duodecimam, et adductos Alexandria duo et vicesimanos tertianosque. Comitabaiitur viginti sociae co- hortes, octo equitum alte. Simul Agrippa Sohemusque reges, et auxilia regis Antiochi, validaque et solito inter accolas odio infensa Judaeis Arabum manus. Multi, quos Urbe atque Italia sua quemque spes acciverat occupandi principem adhuc vacuum. His cum copiis fines hostium ingressus, composite agmine, cuncta (?xi>lorans, paratusquc decernere, baud procul Hierosolymis castra facit. Tacit. Hist. I. 5. nn. i. Martial. A. D. lUO. 635 of our Lord's pretlictioiis concerning the destruction of Je- rusalem, and the overthrow of the Jewish people. He must have read Josephus; many things are evidently taken from him: however he difters from him sometimes. It is somewhat strange that he should not compute a greater number within Jerusalem at the time of the sieae than six hundred thousand. How shall we account for this? I an- swer, that j)erliaps Tacitus had met with some other accounts of the Jewish war beside that of Josephus. And I am apt to think it not unreasonable to believe, that Tacitus m ver read Josephus with so nuich care and diligence as we christians have since read him. Moreover, six hundred thousand may be a certain nunjber, used for an iin.certain, denoting, that the city was then very full of people, and not intending- to say there were no more. CHAP. VI. MARTIAL. I. His time and icritin(js. II. His testimony to the j'orti- tnde of christians. I. MARTIAL," or M. Valerius Martialis, author of fourteen books of epigrams, was born at Bilbilis in Spain, in the reig'n of Claudius. He is supposed to have come to Rome in the reign of Nero, when he was about twenty years of age, and to have lived there thirty years, beloved by the emperors, especially Domitian, after whose death he retired into his own country. As he lived long enough to"^ write some epigrams in commendation of Nerva and Trajan, I have placed him so low as the last year of the first century, and "^ the third of Trajan. He was intimate with Juvenal, and well acquainted with Pliny the younger. Martial was poor. When^ he left Rome, Pliny made him a handsome present; » Vid. Voss. de Poet. Lat. Tillemont, H. E. Domitien. art. 23. ^ Vid. L. 12. Epigr. v.— ix. L. xi. 4, 5. x. 34. "^ Domitiani, Nervae, et Trajani, tempora ingenio suo illustravit. Senex aiitem, Urbe relicta, patriam siiam repetens, in ilia obiit sub eodeni Trajano. Fabric. Bib. Lat. 1. 2. c. 20. De M. V. Martiali. ** Audio, Valerium Martialem decessisse. Et moleste fero. Erat homo ingeniosus, acntus, acer, et qui plurimum in scribendo et salis haberet, et 636 Testimonies of Ancient Heathens. and when he heard of his death, he lamented it very affec- tionately. II. This writer has been supposed to refer to the patient fortitude of christians, in voluntarily enduring the greatest pains, rather than sacrifice to the gods, or do any thing con- trary to the principles of their religion. ' You*" have, perhaps, lately seen acted in the theatre, Mucius, who thrust his hand into the fire. If you think such an one patient, valiant, stout, you are a mere sense- less dotard. For it is a much greater thing when threat- ened with the troublesome coat, to say I do not sacrifice, than to obey the command' — burn the hand.' However, the two last verses of the epigram may be otherwise rendered, after this manner: 'For it is a much greater thing, when threatened with the troublesome coat, you are commanded to burn your hand, to say; 1 will not.' But 1 can see no reason for brinoino- in the troublesome coat to oblige a man to act the part of Mucius in the theatre. And I much rather incline to the sense given in the first translation. I shall therefore place below the remarks *^ of Stephen Le Moyne upon this epigram, who makes no doubt lliat Martial refers to ihe christians, and declares that what Mucius did, is not comj)arabIe to the resolution of christians under the suflerings which they endured. The troublesome coat, or shirt, here mentioned, a cruelty which, as we have before learned from Tacitus, the innocent fellis, nee candoris minus. Proseqiuitus eram cum viatico discedentem. Dederam hoc amicitias : dederam etiam vereiculis, quos de me composuit Plin. Lib. 3. E. p. 21. ^ In matutina nuper spectatus arena Mucius, imposuit qui sua membra focis, Si patiens fortisque tibi durusque videtur, Abderitanae pectoia plebis babes. Nam, cum dicatur, tunica prye?ente molesta, Ure manum, plus est dicere : Non facio. Martial. I. x. Epigr. 25. '' Facinus Mucii non videtur, inquit Martialis, cum fortifudine christianorum comparandum. lllc ustulandam manum suam flammis exhibuit, ut ista con- stantia reliquum corpus suum servaret. Sed christiani totum corpus igni voraudum tradunt, imo igni lento; et patiuntur t^e supervesliri cereo indu- mento, ut instar cereorum ardeant ; quod tamen possent declmare, si vellent, et si religioni popularium suorum, et sacris imperatoris, faciles se alligarent. Sed malunt in cineres et favjljas redigi, et se vivos ardere, qtiam sacrificare, vc! tbura adolere : ct cum ad id compelluntur, dicunt, Non tacio, non sacri- fice— et tunicae molestae pra?sens et tremendum supj)licium illos a sacris suis non potest avellere, vel n)ininum terrere. St. Le Moyne Varia sacra, p. 1041, 1042. Vid. tt Korlbolt. De perseculionib. primit. Ec. p. 25. Martial. His Testimomj to Christian Fortitude. A. D. 100. 637 christians unjustly snftered, was ntade like a sack, of paper or coarse linen cloth ; and having been first besmeared within and withont with pitch, wax, rosin, sulphur, and such like combustible materials, or dipt all over in them, was put upon the persot) for whom it was appointed ; and that he mioht be kept upright, the more to resemble a flaming torch, his chin was fastened to a stake fixed in the ground. That this was esteemed a cruel death is manifest from Seneca ; who, describing the greatest causes of fear, writes to this purpose: * Imagine s here,' says he, ' a prison, cro.ss- ' es, and racks, and the hook, and a stake thrust through ' the body and coming' out at the n)outh, and the limbs torn ' by chariots pulling adverse ways, and that coat besmeared ' and interwoven with combustible materials, nutriment for ' fire, and whatever else beside these cruelty has invented, ' It is no wonder if, in such a case, fear riseth high, where ' the variety of evils is so great, and the preparation is so ' terrible.' It is Iience apparent, that this was one of the worst pu- nishments which cruelty had invented. I do not know but some may think I ought to have quot- ed this passage of .Seneca, not only as a description of this coat and the cruelty of it, but also as an allusion to the suf- ferings of the christians, who felt it in so great numbers ; for Seneca's death happened not'' before April in the year 65; whereas the fire at Rome began in July the preceding year, and the persecution of the christians ' commenced in Novem- ber following; but, in my opinion, it is better not to insist upon any reference here to the sufferings of the christians. 8 Cogita hoc loco carcerem, et cruces, et eculeos, et unciim, et adactum per medium hominem, qui per os emergat, stipitem, et distracta in diversum actis curribus membra, illam tunicam, alimentis ignium et illitam et intextam ; quicquid, aliud, praeter haec, commenta sasvitia est. Non est itaque mirum, si maximus hujus rei tinior est, cujus et varietas magna, et apparatus terribilis est. Senec. Ep. 14. '' See Tillemont, Neron. art. xxii. ' See vol. V. ch. xi. near the end of the chapter. 638 Testimonies of Ancient Heathens. CHAP. VII, JUVENAL. I. His time mid writhiffs. II. His testimotiy to JVe/o's persecution oj' the christians. III. His testimony to Domitian^s persecution. IV. An observation concerning Seneca the philosopher. I. DECIMUS JUNIUS JUVENALIS,'^ or Juvenal, author of sixteen satires, which we still have, is computed to have flourished in the reigns of" Domitian, Nerva, Trajan, and Adrian. And, as Lipsius well says, he^ was contemporary with Pliny the younger, Tacitus, and others of that age. Nevertheless we do not find Juvenal at all mentioned in any of the letters of Pliny wow extant. I place him next to his friend Martial, and in the same year, the last of the first century of the christian epoch. II. He seems to refer to Nero's persecution of tiie chris- tians in some lines' of his first satire, which are thus trans- lated by Mr. Dry den : But if that honest licence now you take. If into rogues omnipotent you rake. Death is your doom, impal'd upon a stake, Smear'd o'er with wax, and set on fire to light The streets, and make a dreadful blaze by night. Or, more literally : ' Describe a g'reat villain, such as was Tigellinus, (a corrupt minister under Nero,) and you shall suffer the sauie punishment with those who stand burning' in their own flame and smoke, their head being held up by a stake fixed to their chin, till they make a long- stream (of blood and ruiming- sulphur) on the ground.' '' Vid, Lips. Epist. Qu. 1. 4. Ep. 20. Fabr. Bib. Lat. 1. 2. cap. 18. Tillem. H. E. Domitien, art. 24. '' Ergo, meo arbitrio, compar Juvenalis Plinio juniori, Tacito, et illi classi fuit. Lips. I. c. ^ Pone Tigellinum, taeda lucebis in ilia, Qua stantes ardent, qui fixo gutture f'umant, Et latum media sulcum deducit arena. Juven. Sat. i. ver. 155, &c. Juvenal. /7m- 'Ivstimony to Dumitiun's Persecution. A. D. 100. 039 If' is tli(M)|)iiiion of Joseph Scaliger, and many other learned men, tliat Nero's cruelties to the christians are here intended : and that some punishments of men accused of magic in the reign of Nero are here referred to, is affirmed by an'' ancient scholiast upon this place of Juvenal ; who' likewise speaks of them as exhibited for a spectacle; as is particularly described by Tacitus. And Suetonius (as we sliall presently see) calls the christians, ' men of a new and ' magical superstition.' In another satires'' Juvenal speaks of the pitched shirt, or troublesome coat, which they were covered with who M'ere condemned to that punishment. And I shall place below •' a part of Prateus's note upon that place. III. In another satire Juvenal speaks of the death of Do- mitian in this manner; 'Many' illustrious men he destroyed who found no avenger; at last he perished, when he became formidable to the rabble. This ruined him, who long- before was stained with the noble blood of the Lamite.' The verses are thus translated by Mr. Stepny : What folly this ! But oh ! that all the rest Of his dire reign had thus been spent in jest ! And all that time such trifles had employed, In which so many nobles he destroyed. He safe, they unrevenged, to the disgrace Of the surviving', tame, Patrician race. But when he dreadful to the rabble grew. Him, who so many lords had slain, they slew. '' Scholia Juvenalis : ' Nero maleficos homines taeda et papyro ef cera ' supervestiebat, et sic ad ignem admoveri jul)ehat, ut arderent.' Haec Scho- liastes ille in illos versus Juvenalis, qui sine dubio de christianis dicti sunt. Jos. Scaliger. Animadv. in Euseb. Chron. p. 197. Videatur Id. De Emendat. Temp. 1. V. p. 471. ^ Vid. not '', supra. f Idem Scholiatses : ' Vivus ardebis, quemadmodum in munere Neronis ' vivi arserunt, de quibus ille jussit cereos fieri, ut lucerent spectatoribus quura ' fixa essent guttura, ne se curvarent.' Id. Scalig. 1. c. p. 197. Et vide annot. ad Juvenalis locum. 8 Ausi quod liceat tunica pun ire molesta. Sat. 8. lin. 235. '' Vestis erat e charta, cannabe, stuppa. Uiinebatur bitumine, resina, pice. Turn circumdabatur iis qui grave quidpiam, et maxime incendia, moliti fue- rant. Qua demum incensa vivi comburebantur. Annot. in loc. ed. in usum Delphini. ' Atque utinam his potius nugis tofa ilia dedisset Tempora saevitiae, claras quibus abstulit Urbi lUustresque animas impune, et vindice nullo. Sed periit, postquam cerdonibus esse timendus Coeperat. Hoc nocuit Lamiarum ceede madenti. Sat. iv. ad fin. 640 Testimonies of Ancient Heathens. JEMus Lamia, nliose death is likewise particularly ineti- tioned by'' Suetonius, undoubtedly was a man of a very an- cient and noble family. And Domitian had killed many other senators. The christians were generally of the meaner rank of people, and more despised still for their religion than their condition. But they were not all of the rabble, or coblers and tailors, as Juvenal would insinuate. Anu Flavins Clement, one of those whom Domitian put to death near the end of his reigii, and whose death, as Suetonius ex- pressly says, hastened Domitian's ruin, was of the imperial family ; and, as we think, a christian. However, it is ob- servable, that Juvenal says Domitian's death soon followed after some acts of cruelty toward mean people. Herein he aarees with and confirms the accounts of some christian writers, particularly that of Coecilius, or Lactantins, in his book of the Deaths of Persecutors; who observes, that 'Domi- ' tian' had been long permitted to exercise great cruelties upon ' his subjects : but when he began to persecute the servants of ' God, he was soon delivered up into the hands of his enemies.' IV. It may be observed, that I do not allege, among" wit- nesses to Christianity, or the affairs of christians, the philo- sopher, L. A. Seneca. There is extant a correspondence between him and St. Paul, in fourteen letters ; which may be seen in Latin, in ™ Fabricius, and in Latin and English in " Mr. Jones, with remarks. They were in being in St. Jerom's time, and Seneca therefore is mentioned by him" in his Catalogue of Ecclesiastical Writers. But they are mani- festly spurious and of no value; and therefore are not en- titled to a place here: nor do they deserve any regard. I have put this advertisement here, at the end of the chap- ter of Juvenal, because he is the last author of the first cen- tury who is alleged by me. ^ Sueton. Domit. cap. x. ' Post hiinc, [Neronem] iiiferjectis aliquot annis, alter [Domitianus] non minor tyrannus orsus est : qui cum exerceret invisam dominationem, subjec- torum tamen cervicibus incubavit quam diutissime, tutusque regnavit, donee impias maiius adversus Domiiuim tenderet. Postquam vero ad persequendum justum populum instinctu daemonum incitatus est, tunc traditus in manus inimicorum luit pcenas. Caec. al. Lact. De M. P. c. 3. ■" Cod. Apocr. N. T. Tom. 2. p. 880, &c. Conf. ejusd. Bibl. Laf. T. i. p. 367. " See Jones of the Canon of the N. T. Vol. 2. ch. x, p. 80, &c. " Lucius Annfeus Seneca Cordubensis, Sotionis Stoi'ci discipulus, et patruus Lucani poetae, continentissimae vitae fuit. Quern non ponerem in Catalogc Sanctorum, nisi me illae Epistolae provocarent, quae leguntur a plurimis, Pauli ad Senecam, et Senccas ad Paulum. In quibus, cum esset Neronis magister, et iliius temporis potcntissimus, optare se dicit, ejus esse loci apud suos, cujus sit Paulus apud christianos. Hie ante biennium, quam Petrus et Paulus coro- narentur martyrio, a Nerone intcrfectus est. Ilieron. De V. 1. cap. xii. Suetonius. A. D. 110. 641 CHAP. VIII. SUETONIUS. I. His history, time, and irorh's. II. T/ie Jews expelled J'rom Rome in the reiijn oj' Claudius. III. His account of JVero's persecution. IV. His testimony to the Jewish war, and the overthrow of the Jewish people. V. Of' Domitiaji^s persecution o/' the christians. VI. The sum oJ' his testimony. I. CAIUS SUETONIUS TRANQUILLUS,=^ son of Sueto- nius Leiiis,'' flourished in the rei<>ns of Trajan and Adrian, to the latter of whom he was secretary : which '^ place he lost about the year 121. Pliny the younger had a parti- cular friendship for Www. Several of Pliny*s letters still ex- tant are written to him ; and he performed for him divers good offices. Suetonius, having' no children by his wife, Pliny procured for him from Trajan /?/« trium liherorum, or the privilege of those who have three children. His recom- mendation of him to the emperor is very aflfectionate, and exhibits a very amiable'' character. That he was born about the beg-inning of the reign of Vespasian, is argued hence — that^ about twenty years after the death of Nero, or in 88, he speaks of himself as a young man. It may be supposed therefore, that in the thirteenth of Trajan, or the year of our Lord 110, he was not less than forty years of age. He was the author of a good number of books, of which there are now none remaining, but his ' Lives of the First ' Twelve Csesars,' and a part of a work 'concerning Illus- ' trious Grammarians and Rhetoricians.' =■ Vid. Voss. de Hist, Lat. 1. i. cap. 26. Bayle, Diction. Hist, et Crit. Sue- tone. Tillemont, H. Emp. Adrien, art. 24. '' Interfuit huic bello pa'er meus Suetonius Lenis, tertiae decimae legionis tribunus angusticlavius. Sueton. Orthon. c. x. *= Scepticio Claro praefecto prsetorii, et Suetonio Tranquillo, epistolarum magistros, multisque aliis, qui apud Sabinam uxoreni, injussu ejus, familiarius se tunc egerant, quam reverentia domus aulicae postulabat, successores dedit — Spartian. in Adrian, cap. xi. ** Suetonium Tranquillum, probissimum, honestissimum, eruditissimum virum, et mores ejus secutus et studia, jampridem, Domine, in contuliernium assumpsi, &c. Plin. 1. x. ep. 95. ^ Denique cum post viginti annos, adolescente me, exstitisset conditionis incertae, qui se Neronem esse jactaret, &c. Sueton. in Neron. cap. ult. VOI,. VI. 2 T 642 Testimonies of Ancient Heathens. II. Suetonius, ill (lie life of the emperor Claudius, m lio reigned from the year 41 to 54, says of him : ' He' banished the Jews from Rome, who were continually making- dis- turbances, Chrestus being- their leader.' This passage undoubtedly confirms what is said, Acts xviii. 2, that " Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome."^ Some learned men are not satisfied that this relates to the christians; but it is well known that our Saviour was sometimes called '' Chrestus by heathen people. And it is not impossible that the Jewish enmity against those of their own country, or others who had embraced Christianity, might produce some disputes and disturbances which came to the emperor's knowjedge. This seems to be the meaning- of Suetonius, that ' there were disturbances among- the Jews and others at Rome, upon occasion of Christ and his followers.' If this passage were clear, we should have a testimony from an heathen author of good note, that there were chris- tians at Rome before the end of the reign of Claudius; as indeed we know there were from an authentic writer of our own. Acts xviii. 2, and 26. And compare Rom. xvi. And though it should not be reckoned clear and decisive, it has such an appearance of probability as has satisfied many learned men of good' judgment. This passage of Suetonius is expressly cited by'' Orosius, a christian historian of the fifth century. But he was not clear about the meaning of it. III. In the life of Nero, whose reign began in 54, and f Jiidaeos, impulsore Chresto, assidue tumultuantes, Roma expulit. Claud, cap. 25. B See Vol. i. p. 259. '' — Perperam Chrestianus pronunciatur a vobis, &c. Tertull. Ap. c. 3. Sed exponenda hujusnomiiiis ratio est, propter ignorantium errorem, qui cum im- mutala litera Chrestum, solent dicere. Lact. Divin. Inst. 1. 4. c. 7. ' Cum dixi supra, sub JudaBorum nomine comprehensos christianos, id dixi quodcomplures ante me, multo me eruditioies. Nequetamen id impedit quo minus durior fuerit conditio christianorum, ut etiam ia judaica religione multa novantium, pluresque homines a paganismo abducentium. Quo spectat illiid Suetonii de Claudio, * Judaeos, impulsore Chresto,' (id est, per christianum dog- ma,) ' assidue tumultuantes, Roma expuht, &c.' Grot. App. ad. Comm. de Antichristo, p. 499. Vid. et Cellarii Diss, de primo principechristiano, § viii. et Basnag. ann. 51. num. 68. Cleric. H. E. ann. 29. n. xc. Heumanni Diss, de Chresto Suetonii ap. Dissertation. Syll. T. i. p. 536, &c. Kortholt. De Persecut. Ecc. p. 4. Tob. Eckhard. non Christianorum Testimonia, c. 1. S, Havercamp, annot. ad Tertullian. Apol. cap. 3. p. 42. '' Sed me magis Suetonius movet, qui ait hoc modo. ' Claudius Judaeos, impulsore Christo, assidue tumultuantes, Roma expulit.' Quod utriim contra Christum tumultuantes Judaos coerceri et comprimi jusserit, an etiam christi- anos simul, velut cognatae religionis homines, voluerit expelli, ncquaquam dis- cernitur. Oros. Hist. 1. 7. c. 6. Suetonius. A. D. 110. 643 ended in 68, Suetonius says: ' The' christians were punished ; a sort of men of a new and magical superstition.' Suetonius here assures us, that the christian religion was lately arisen, and that it had already gained footing- in the empire. From his calling" it a ' magical superstition,' it may be argued that'" there were some things of an extraordinary nature |)orformed by the christians : or that they endeavoured to justify their embracing the religion of Christ, as of divine original, upon the ground of some wonderful works, which bore testimony to its truth and authority. I have translated the word ' malefica,' used by Suetonius, ' magical,' agreeably to the judgment of divers learned men. But Mr. Mosheim " thinks the word to be equivalent to ' exitiabilis,' in Tacitus, meaning ' pernicious.' The chris- tians were singular in their religious sentiment, and opposed the religions of all nations. The Romans therefore considered them, he thinks, ' as enemies to all mankind,' and disposed to disturb the public peace. In the word ' new,' undoubtedly, there is a sting. For, as Tacitus says of the Jews, ' Whatever" might be the origin of their religion, it has the advantage of antiquity.' That the christians were roughly handled in the reign of Nero, we have seen from Tacitus, a contemporary writer. Nevertheless, it has been observed by some learned men, that P Suetonius does not say particularly that they were ' Afllicti suppliciis cliristiani, genus hominum, superetitionis novae et male- ficae. Sueton. Nero. cap. IG. "" • Maleficos' incantatores, inagicis rebus studentes, venenarios, interpreta- tur Barth. Adv. viii. ] 7. x. 6, 45, 57. — Pro talibus christianos habuerunt deter- rimis Gentiles, forte quia daemonia illis parebant, et ad illorum contestationem ejiciebantur Exiode capiendum putat Barthius, Luc. vi. 22. Kat iKfiaXiDtri TO ovona vfiuiv, rrjv aSiXrpijv rrjv iavrs i^eduKti. Philost. de V. A. T. 1. 8. cap. 25. " P. 639. ' Cum vero inihi Domitianus Augustus sororis suae nepotum delegaverit curam. Quintil. Imp. 1. 4. Pr. "' Ex hac liberos tulit Titum, et Domitianum, et Domitillam. Uxori et filiap superstes fuit : atque utramque privatus amisit. Sueton. Vespas. cap. 3. " Vid. Pagi et Basnag. ut supra, note '', p. 647. et Reimar. in Dion. Cas. 1112. / ^ Suetonius. A. D. 110. G49 the expulsion ot" the Jews and christians out of Rome in the reign of Chuulius; to the persecution of the christians in the time of Nero; to the Jewish war, and the reduction of Judea by Vespasian and Titus, and therein is a witness to the ac- complishment of our Saviour's predictions concerning- the cakunities coming upon that people. He likewise mentions the death of Flavins Clement, which we suppose to have happened in the time of Domitian's persecution (tf the christians. To all these things does Suetonius bear testimony, who is an historian of the best credit, and lived at the end of the first, and the beginning of the second century. Our next author will be the younger Pliny, at the begin- ning of the second century. 1 have placed Suetonius before him, and in this volume, because his testimony has a near affinity with the particulars mentioned by Tacitus, and the two other last mentioned writers. END OF THE SIXTH VOLUME. JOHN CHILDS AND SON, BUNGAY. Libraries