Miscellanies Christian and Judaical, Chapter 33 – Chapter 39
CAP. XXXIII. Of the New Testament Language, or the Greeke.
THe Greeke tongue is the key which God vsed to vnlocke the tents of Sem to the sonnes of Iaphet. This glorious tongue (as Tully cals it) is made most glorious by the writing of the New Testament in this language. God hath honoured all the letters by naming himselfe after the first and the last:Thucyd. lib. 1. as Homer shewes the receit of all the Grecian ships, by shewing how many the greatest, and how few the least contained, Iauan is held both by Iewes and Christians to hauehave planted the Country. The tongue is likely to be maternall from Babel: The Iewes vponupon Genesis the forty ninth, thinke that Iacob curseth his sons Simeon and Leuies fact, in one word of Greek Macerothehem, that is, foreign their swords: but all the Chaldees and other Translations render it better, their habitations, Gen. 49.5. The ancientest Heathen Greek aliue is Homer, though the tongue was long before, and Homers subiect of Ilias treated of in Greeke verse by Euanders Wife of Arcadia, as some hauehave related. Homer watered the tongue, and in succeeding ages it flourished till it grew ripe in the New Testament. The Dialects of it familiarly knowne to be fiue. The Attick, the Ionick, &c. The Macedonian was something strange, as appeares in Clemens Alexandrinus, Strom. 5. Especially their deuout Macedonian, or about their oraisons: How God scattered and diuulged this tongue of the Greekes ouer the world, against the comming of Christ, and writing of the New Testament, is remarkeable. Alexander the great with his Macedonians, made the Easterne parts Grecian. The Old Testament at Ptolomaeus his request, translated into Greek, was as an Vsher to bring in the New Testament, when Iaphet should come to dwell in the tents of Sem. The Iewes vsed to keepe a mournefull fast for that translation, but as Iewes mourne, so hauehave Gentiles cause to reioyce. In like sort, for the preparation for the Gospell of late (which as farre as Antichrist his power could reach, lay depressed, but not ouerwhelmed;) the Greeke tongue at the sacking of Constantinople by the Turkes, was sent into these Westerne climates; that we might heare Christ speake in his owne language, without an Aegyptian to interpret to vsus, as Ioseph had to his brethren: What need we now to rely vponupon a Latine foundation, when we hauehave the Greeke purity? Neuer did the Turke any good to Chri…tianity, but this, and this against his will, but God worketh all things for his owne glory: And we may say of the poore inhabitants of Grecia, as of the Iewes, by their impouerishing we are inriched.
As Athens in old time was called the Grecia of Grecia, so the New Testament for language may be stiled the Greeke of Greeke. In it (as vponupon the crosse of our Sauiour, in the title) are three tongues, Hebrew, Greek, and Latine. Greeke the foundation, the other two but little additions. In the Greeke Master Broughton hath giuen learned rules and examples of the kinds of it, viz. Septuagint, Talmudick, Atticke and Apostolicke. The Hebrew or Syrian (for so that word Hebrew in the title of the crosse must bee vnderstood) is easily found out euen in translations. Latine there is some in the Gospells, but not much. foreign, Census for tribute. foreign a ward or watch: Matthew. 28.11. foreign spiculator, Marke 6.27. which word is vsed by Targum Ieruselamy in Gen. 37. of Potiphar, that hee was Rabh Sapulachtaria: Princeps spiculatorum. And some other words of the Latine tongue, which language in our Sauiours time the conquest of the Romans had scattered in Ierusalem: and in the parts adioyning, and so may one finde some Latine in the Syrian Testament: and abundance of Greeke.
CAP. XXXIIII. Of the Chaldee and Syrian Tongues.
THe Chaldee and Syrian tongue was once all one, as appeareth in Genesis 31.47. Ezra 4.7. Dan. 2.4. In Character indeed they differed, they of Babilon vsing one kind of letter, they of Syria another: This was that that nonplust the Babilonian wizards about the writing of the wall, so that they could not read it, though it were in their owne language, because it was not in their owne letter. In after-times the very languages themselues began to vary: as the Chaldee in Daniel, and Onkelos and Ieruselamy and Ionathan, and the Syrian in the Testament doe witnesse. The Paraphrafts do much differ between themselues for purity of speech, and all far short of the Bible Chaldee. They are very full of Greeke words, and so the Syrian: a relique of Alexanders conquests: some thinke they finde some Greeke in Daniel. Montanus himselfe renders Osphaia foreign all along. Foure kind of characters is the Chaldee to bee had in, or if you will the Chaldee in two, and the Syrian in two. Our Bible and Paraphrasts and Rabbins Chaldee is in the Hebrew letter, and the other kind of letter is the Samaritan. The Syrian hath either a set letter, such as we hauehave the New Testament imprinted in, or their running hand, such as the Maronites vse in their writing for speed: there is no great difference betwixt them, as you may see by their Alphabet.
CAP. XXXV. Of the Arabian Language.
THis is the most copious of the Hebrew Dialects, and a tongue that may brag with the most of tongues from fluencie, and continuance of familiaritie. This tongue is frequent in Scripture, especially in Iob, a man of that country: How other parts of the Bible vse it, I thinke may be iudged by the neerenesse of Iudaea and Arabia, and of the two languages. In this one thing it differs from its fellow-Dialects and its mother tongue, that it varieth terminations in declining of nownes, as the Greeke and Latine do, and that it receiueth duall numbers, in forming verbs, as doth the Greeke. Of the largenesse of the Alphabet, and difference from other Alphabets, and quiddits of the tongue, or indeed any thing of the tongue, I cannot say, which I hauehave not receiued of the most industrious and thrice learned (both in this and other the noble tongues) Master William Bedwell, whom I cannot name without a great deale of thankfulnesse and honour: To whom I will rather be a scholler, then take on me to teach others. This tongue was Mahomads Alcoran written in, and is still read in the same Idiome vnderunder paine of death, not to mistake a letter, which is as easily done in this tongue as in any.
CAP. XXXVI. Of the Latine Tongue.
THis is the first Idiome of our Grammar Schooles: A tongue next the sacred tongues, most necessarie for Schollers of the best profession. Whether Latine were a Babel language I will not controuert pro et contra. Sure I dare say, that what Latine we read now, was not at Babel: if we may beleeue Polybius who saith that the Latine tongue that was vsed in Iunius Brutus time was not vnderstood in the time of the first Punicke warre, but onelyonly by great schollers. So much in few yeares it had degenerated. The old Poets compared with smooth Ouid and Tully shew much alteration. This spacious tongue once almost as big as any, and as large as a great part of the world, is now bounded in schooles and studies. The Deluge of the North (the treasurie of men) ouerwhelmed the Romane empire, scattered the men, and spoiled the Latine. Goths, Vandalls, Lombards, and the rest of the brood of those frozen Climates, hauehave beaten the Latine tongue out of its owne fashion, into the French, Spanish, and Italian. But some sparkes of their hammering are flowne into other languages of the West: So that most countries hereabout may owne Rome for a second Babel for their speech confused.
CAP. XXXVII. The Language of Brittaine neere a thousand yeares ago. Ex Beda lib. 1. de Hist. Angl. Cap. 1.
BRittania in praesenti iuxta numerum librorum, &c. Brittaine in my time (saith Bede) doth search and confesse one and the same knowledge of the high truth, and true sublimity in fiue tongues, according to the fiue bookes wherein the Law of God was written: namely, in the English, Brittaine, Scottish, Pict and Latine tongues: And in the ninteenth chapter of the same booke he saith, that when Austen the Monke came from Gregory the great to preach the Gospell in England, he brought with him Interpreters out of France to speak to the English: That language it seemes was then vsuall in England, but whether the French that France speakes now, is a question. William the Conqueror tooke great care and paines to hauehave brought in his tongue with his conquest, but could not preuaile.
CAP. XXXVIII. Ionathan the Chaldee Paraphrast his conceit of Leuies choosing to the Priesthood: translated out of his Paraph. on Gen. 32.24.
ANd Iacob was left alone beyond the foord, and an Angell in the likenesse of a man stroue with him and said, Diddest thou not promise to giuegive tithe of all that thou hadst, and behold thou hast *He had but eleuen sons as yet: but the Hebrew comment vponupon the Chaldee text helps out at this dead lift, and saith, that Rabel was great with child of Beniamin, and so he is counted before he be borne.twelue sonnes, and one daughter, and thou hast not tithed them: Out of hand he sets apart the foure first borne to their foure mothers (for saith the margin, they were holy because of their primogeniture) and then were eight left: He begins againe to count from Simeon, and ended in Leui, for the tenth or tithe. Michael answereth and saith, Lord of the world this is thy lot: &c. thus the Chaldee. On whose words, if they were worth commenting on I could say more.
CAP. XXXIX. Of the Iewes abbreuiature. foreign
THis short writing is common in all their Authors. When they cite any of the Doctors of their schooles, they commonly vse these words, Ameru rabbothenu Zicceronam libhracah, in foure letters thus: foreign thus say our Doctors of blessed memorie. But when they speake of holy men in the old Testament, they vsually take this Phrase Gnalau hashalom, on him is peace, in briefe thus, foreign. Thus when they mention Moses, Salomon, Dauid, or others, this is the memoriall they giuegive them. The Arabians hauehave the like vse in their Abbreuiation of Gnalaihi alsalemo: on whom is peace. The words in Hebrew want a verbe, and so may be constru…ed two wayes: On him is peace, or on him be peace. The learned Master Broughton hath rendered it the former way, and his iudgement herein shall bee my law. To take it the latter way, seemes to relish of Popish superstition, of praying for the dead: which though the Iewes did not directly do, yet in manner they appeare to do no lesse, in one part of their Common Prayer booke, called Mazkir neshamoth, the remembrancer of Soules: which being not very long, I thought not amisse to translate out of their tongue, into our owne, that the Reader may see their Iewish Poperie, or Popish Iudaisme, and may blesse the Creatour, who hath not shut vsus vp in the same darkenesse.