Arrow Against the Separationists, Admonition · Chapter 2
CHAP. II.
A Second ſcandal and a more vnworthy thing is this; to alledge the teſtimonies of ſuch as are not onelyonly fabulous but alſo blaſphemous writers, vnleſſe it were againſt themſelves and ſuch as rely vponupon them. hIam. 3.11.12.Doth a fountaine ſend forth at one place both ſweet water and bitter? Can a fig tree bring forth olives or a vine figges? Can thoſe impious Rabbines that with a blaſphemous mouth do curſe the ſonne of God, and pray dayly againſt the Chriſtians that are renewed after his ſimilitude: Can theſe I ſay with the ſame mouth ſend forth ſweet &wholſom waters of inſtructiō for the flock of Chriſt to drink at? why do you thē lead Chriſtiās for ſpirituall information in the law of God, vntounto that ſwine-trough of the Thalmud? Even thoſe infidelles themſelves do confeſs and yeeld that there are many things that diſable divers perſons to beare witneſſe & make them peſulim lehagned, vnmeet and vnworthy to be allowed for witneſſes: R. Iaakob that compiled Arba Turim, the 4. Tomes of Thalmudicall canons, ſets downe many of theſe cauſes, as namely “Choſhen hammiſch pat, tractat. Eduth, ſigno. 33, 34. 35.wickednes, enmitye, blindnes, deafnes, &c. ſo that they being wicked enimies of the goſpell and of true religion, blinde and deafe that have ſhut their eyes & ſtopped their eares from hearing the word of the Lord by his prophets are therfore by their owne ſentence to be reiected from bearing any teſtimony in matters of religion.
Now their blaſphemies are many: To begin with Maimony, he ſaith of God and repeats it, that he is aMaim. in Miſn. in Ieſudei hatthorah Cap. 2.one of every ſide, & on every corner, and every way one. This he ſaith by way of oppoſition vntounto Chriſtianiſme, and ſo denyes the holy trinitie, and the godhead of Chriſte, teaching an vnity of perſon as wel as of eſſence: Thus where he profeſſeth to deſcribe the foundations of the law, he overthrowes the foundation of our religiō. The holy goſpel conteyning the ſtory of Chriſt, and called Evangelion of the good tydings which it declares, they do blaſphemouſly ſlander, and bR. Nathā in Aruch in Aven gillaion & Elias Lev. in Tiſchbi, in gillaion.call it Aven-gillaion, a viſion of vanity or a volume of iniquitie. There is no part of that ſacred ſtory concerning the birth, the life, the death, the doctrine and miracles of our bleſſed Lord Ieſus, but they have a multitude of blaſphemies touching ech of them, and ſo vile that I abhor to mention them. One impious Rabbine in ſpeciall in a certaine treatiſe which he entitles Nizzachō, which he intēds as a triūph over the goſpel, hath bene bolder then the reſt to publiſh the the ſame, as is cSeb. M…ſt. Annor. in Mat. 1.1. &c.ſhewed at large in the annotations vponupon the Hebrew edition of the goſpel of Mathew: where they are in part refuted. All men know in generall that they deny Ieſus the ſonne of Mary, to be the Meſſias and ſaviour of the world; andthat herein the blaſpheme they ſon of God as a deceiver and as a falſe Chriſt. And yet this they do with ſuch vanitie and contradiction among themſelves, that all may ſee their madnes therein: Some of them ſay that their Meſſias is not yet borne, and others ſay he is borne but not reveiled yet, becauſe of their iniquities. Of them that ſay he is borne and come into the world, ſome ſay he is among the Lepers at Roomegates: and that dTalmud in Sanhedrin. c. 11. Fol. 98.R. Iehoſchua ben levi finding Elias at the gates of Paradiſe & enquiring for the Meſsias, did by his direction finde him among thoſe Lepers, and aſked him of the time when he would reveale himſelf. Others of them ſay, eEmunath Ichud. p. 44that he is in Paradiſe (to vvit, on earth,) being borne the ſame day that the ſecond temple was deſtroyed, and that Elias muſt firſt anoynt him for King, and that then he ſhall come, &c. Some of them ſay that there be two Chriſtes or Meſſiaſſes, one the ſonne of Ioſeph, an other the ſonne of David, one poore, th'other more mighty: Theſe two Meſſiaſſes the fTargum on Cant. 4.5.Chalde paraphraſt will have to be ſignifyed by the tvvo yong roes that feed among the lilies. And divers of the Rabbines do in other places gAben Ezra & R. Solomon comment. on Zach. 12.10.note the ſame thing. Some hThalmud Sanhedrin. c. 11. fol. 99others of them ſay that King Hezekias was the Meſsias, and that now there is no Meſsias for Iſrael. And iIbid. f. 94R. Thanchom enquiring vvhy Mem is ſhut in the vvord Lemarbeh in the prophecy concerning Chriſt Eſa. 9. vvhereas in other places it is open in the middes of words: he ſhewes this to be the occaſion: vvhen as God ſought to make Hezekias to be the Meſsias, he ſaith that Sennacherib, Gog and Magog yea and the whole conſiſtory or councel of God came vntounto him and ſayd, o Lord of the world, ſeing King David hath praiſed thee with ſo many ſongs why wilt thou not make him Meſſias rather then Hezekias for whom thou haſt done wonders & yet he hath not ſung one ſong vntounto thee: Herevpon he ſaith that immediately the Mem in Lemarbe was ſhut vp, viz. as a token that Hezekias ſhould not be Chriſt: but then after this comes the earth itſelf and opens her mouth and ſaith O Lord of the world I will ſing a hymne vntounto thee in ſtead ofthis righteous Hezekias, & ſo herevpon it vvas concluded that Hezekias ſhould be the Meſſias: Now the proofe which the Thalmud brings to ſhew that the earth did ſing for Hezekias, is taken from Eſa. 24.16. from the vttermoſt part of the earth we have heard prayſes, glory to the juſt, &c. Some of the Rabbines do reckon the yeares & make a computation of times when their Meſsias ſhall come: & this vvith many and great abſurdities & contradictions among themſelves: Others of them ſeing how oft they have bene deceyved do ſay the times are not to be reckoned: R. Samuel bar Nachman & R. Ionathan do lay the curſe vponupon ſuch as preſume to reckon the time of his coming, ſaying, kThal. in Sanhedrin C. 11. f. 97.Let their bones be broken that count the times.
VVhereas they lSeb. Mun. annot. in Mat.blaſpheme Chriſt Ieſus in reſpect of his age, living but three or foure and thirty yeares, as though he vvas accurſed like the wicked, of whom it is ſayd he ſhall not live out half his dayes: ſee vvith vvhat vvarrant & agreement among themſelves they do this: R. Eliezer mTalmud in Sanhedrin c. 11. Fol. 99.ſaith that the dayes of Meſsias ſhalbe 40. yeares, according to the yeares that they had ſeene evill, namely, according to the 40. yeares that they wandred in the wildernes, pſ. 90.15. with pſ. 95.10. & Deut. 8.2 R. Eleazar ben Azaria ſaith that the yeares of Meſsias muſt be 70. yeares according to the yeares of one King, Eſa. 23.15. That one King they ſay is their Meſsias. One Rab ſaith, he muſt live 3. generations, noted in Dor Dorim, ſignifying a generation and generations, which they reckon for three, pſ. 71.5. R. Doſa ſaith that the dayes of Meſsias muſt be 400. yeares, according to the yeares that they have ſeene evill, viz. according to the 400. yeares that Iſrael ſoiourned in Egypt, pſ 90.15. with Gen. 15.13 An other Rabbi ſaith, that the yeares of the Meſsias muſt be 365. acccording to the number of the dayes of the ſun finiſhing his courſe in a yeare: this they gather from the yeare of the Lord mentioned in Eſa. 61.2. R. Nachman bar Iſaak ſaith that his yeares muſt be according to the dayes of Noah vntill this time Eſa. 54.9. R, Ichudah and R. Samuel ſay that his dayes ſhalbe as long as from the creation of the vvorld vntounto the time preſentfrom Deut. 11.21. Others of them ſay, that their Meſsias muſt live ſeven thouſand yeares: This they gather from the vvords of the Prophet, As a bridegroome is glad over the bride, ſo ſhall thy God reioyce over thee, Eſa. 62.5. Now the nEn miſhpat gloſs. in Tal. vbi ſupra.gloſse vpō the Talmud in that place ſhewes vsus how to count 7000. out of that verſe, by reckoning the 7. dayes of the bridegroomes mariage feaſt, and making ech day to ſtand for a yeare, becauſe a 1000 yeares with God is but as one day: and ſo thoſe 7 dayes do note 7000. yeares, Iudg. 14.12.17. with Pſal. 90.4. VVhereas they blaſpheme the name Ieſus given by the Angel vntounto our Lord, & turne it into a curſe, by certaine words according to the initiall letters thereof: ſee what vaine coniectures & collections they make for other names to be given vntounto him: oTalm. in Sanhedrin, Cap. 11. Fol. 98.The Schollers of R. Shiloh ſay that the name of Meſsias ſhalbe Shiloh from Gen. 49.10. & the ſchollers of R. Iannai ſay his name ſhalbe Iinnon from Pſ. 72.17. The ſchollers of R. Chanina ſay his name ſhalbe Chanina which ſignifies grace from Ier. 16.13. Others ſay his name ſhalbe Menachē or Cōforter frō Lā. 1.16. But the name Ieſus they hold in execratiō: ſo that their blaſphemies of his majeſtie may juſtly cauſe their teſtimonie & judgement in expounding the myſteries of holy ſcriptures to be refuſed & not alledged by vsus.
BVt you do not onelyonly alledge them, but even their blaſphemous ſayings and teſtimonies alſo without any note of diſlike: as for example, you %Annot. on Exo. 28.30.tell vsus how the Bab. Thalmud in Ioma Cap. 1. Fol. 21. ſpeaking of Hag. 1.8. vvhere the Hebrew word Eccabda (I wilbe glorified) wanteth the letter H, which in numbring ſignifieth five, ſaith, The want of H, ſheweth the want of five things in the ſecōd temple, which had bene in the first, namely, 1. The ark, with the merciemercy-ſeat and Cherubims: 2. The fyre (frō heavē) 3. The maieſtie or divine preſence:) 4. The holy Ghoſt: 5. And the vrim & Thummim. This Rabbinicall obſervation is moſt impious, falſe and blaſphemous: firſt, it ſerves to overthrow the whole new Teſtament, to deny Chriſt Ieſus, and to condemne all his holy Apoſtles, Evangeliſts, Iohn Baptiſt and other excellent Saints and ſervants of God who lived vnderunder the ſecond templeand worſhipped God therein, as though they all had bene deceyvers & none of them endued with the holy Ghoſte, which this Thalmud ſaith was wanting in the ſecond temple. Secondly, this obſervation is directly contrary to the ſcope of that Prophet in his whole prophecie, and even to the meaning of the word Eccabda I will be glorifyed: The ſpirit entending to promiſe iHag. 1.8. with ch. 2.4-10.more full and excellent revelation of the glory and grace of God in this ſecond temple rather then in the firſt, how abis it ſo to pervert the word of the Lord quite contrary to his meaning?
But it is the leſſe mervaile that you ſhould thus produce this teſtimony of the Talmud, when as ſo many learned men have alledged it before you: and eſpecially that “Ioan. Rainold. cenſura libror. apocryph. Tō. 2. praelect. 134.worthy light of our Church, whoſe memorial is bleſſed, who diſputing againſt the Papiſts touching the fire come downe frō heaven which in the ſecond book of the Maccabees is ſayd to have bene reſerved in a pit during the time of the captivitie vntill the ſecond temple was built, doth for their conviction alledge this teſtimonie, to ſhew that that fire was vvanting in the ſecond temple, and therfore in a vvhole lecture throughout the ſame doth labour to procure credit vntounto this teſtimonie. His maine reaſon is, that howſoever the Iewiſh vvriters do aboūd vvith many monſtrous lyes and fables, yet when they ſpeak againſt themſelves & the honour of their owne nation, they are rather to be credited, & their teſtimony receyved. But touching this poynt vve are to conſider: 1. VVhen adverſaries of the truth bearing vvitneſſe againſt themſelves do not agree in that teſtimony with themſelves, then can vve not ſafely receive their teſtimony, hovvſoever they may bring great ſhame vponupon themſelves and may have their mouthes ſtopped thereby. Novv in this Thalmudicall teſtimonie touching the vvant of the five things in the ſecond temple, the Thalmudiſts do not agree among themſelves: for the Thalmud Ieruſalemy alledged by D. Rai. reckoned theſe 5 things to be vvanting: //Tract. Maccoth, Cap. 2. Fol. 32. col. 1.the fire: the arke: vrim and Thummim: the anoynting oyle: the holy ghoſt: The Talmud Babylonique of vvhichwhich D. Rai. confeſſeth he could not come to the ſight of it) leaves out the anoynting oyle and *In Ioma. c. 1. f. 21.reckons vp five or rather 7. other things: the ark, the mercy ſeat, the Cherubims, the fire, the divine preſence, and vrim & Thummim: R. David Kimchi “Commēt. in Hag. 1.8ſpeaking of the five things that ſhould be wanting, doth neither reckon the anoynting oyle, nor the mercy-ſeat, nor the Cherubims: R. Solomon Iarchi in his “Commēt. Ibid.reckoning omits the anoynting oyle, the mercy ſeat, the Cherubims and the ark alſo: ſo that vnleſs he count vrim and Thummim for two, which none of the former did, he muſt come ſhort of the number of five, Aben Ezra in his commentaries on the ſame place omits this myſterie, & thinks it not meet to make any mention at all thereof. Againe the Thalmud Ieruſalemy relates this matter from R. Samuel in the name of R: Acha (not Achar as is printed in the lecture above mentioned:) but the Babylonian Thalmud relates it from R. Samuel in the name of R. Aini. and therein diſagrees alſo. And other differences there are betwixt them alſo, ſo that for this cauſe their credit is like the credit of thoſe //Mark. 14 56.diſagreeing witneſſes that roſe vp againſt Chriſte. 2. Thoſe witneſſes which ſo ſpeak againſt themſelves, that they do vvithall ſpeak againſt the honour of Chriſt therein, are not to be credited: but the Rabbines in this place affirming the holy Ghoſt to be vvanting in the ſecond temple, do herein ſpeak againſt Chriſt, and make him (that aMat 3.16 Ioh. 3.34.receyved the holy Ghoſt & bIoh. 16.13.14. Act. 2.4.communicated the ſame vntounto others more then ever before) to be inferiour vntounto all the Prophets that went before. If this Thalmudicall teſtimony touching the want of theſe 5. things in the ſecond temple vvere true, according to the meaning of the Rabbines, then could not Ieſus be the true Meſſias. 3, It might eaſily be ſhewed by an 100. inſtances, that theſe Rabbines do often ſpeak falſely againſt the honour of their owne nation, and againſt the vvorthieſt men of God in their nation, to honour themſelves vvith the invention of ſome Cabaliſticall conceit: though to the diſhonour of Abraham, of Iaakob, of Samuel, of David, Hezekias, Eliſha, &c. Yet to magnifytheir owne fictions, they tell many fabulous things touching the faults of theſe perſons. And ſo to broch their curious & abſurd conceit from Eccabda vnderunder ſhew of a great myſterie, it is no marvel, nor vnvſuall thing if the deviſers thereof ſhould vtter ſome things againſt the honour of their publique eſtate, eſpecially when thoſe priviledges which they take from the ſecond temple, are given in the ſame place to the firſt temple, for the honour of their nation at that time. As for the antiquity of theſe Talmuds, and Rabboth that relate this teſtimony, it gives no more credit herevnto then vntounto the reſt of their fables and impious traditions: And therfore is of no worth further then it receives confirmation from els where: or ſerves by way of ſuppoſition to convince ſuch as rely vponupon the ſame.