Observations Natural and Moral, Chapter 21
CHAP. XXI. How the Hebrewes diſtinguiſhed the ages of man.
1 Sam. 2.33. And all the encreaſe of thy houſe ſhall die young ones.
THe Hebrewes doe not divide the ages of man as the Greekes doe, The Greeks divide the life of man into ſeven periods.or as the Latines. The life of man is called by the greekes Hebdomas becauſe it is divided in ſeven periods; the firſt is his infancie untill he bee ſeven yeare old; the ſecond is pueritia childhood untill he be foureteene yeares old; the third is adoleſcentia, youth-head untill he bee twentie five yeares of age; the fourth is virilis aetas untill he bee fiftie: the fift is aevi maturitas untill he be ſixtie; the fixt is ſenectus untill he be eightie; the ſeventh is decrepitaſenectus from eightie to the day of his death.
But the Hebrewes diſtinguiſh the life of man after this manner; How the Hebrewes diſtinguiſh the life of man.firſt they are [hajonekim lactantes, ſucking children untill they bee three yeares old; foreign lactantes. foreign aliquando eſt nomen aetatis, aliquando non.Secondly, [nagnarim] pueri ratione aetatis untill they bee thirteene; they ſay, ratione atatis, for oftentimes nagnar non eſt nomen atatis in the Scripture. Ioſeph when he is thirtie yeare old is called nagnar, Ioſhua when hee is fiftie five yeares old is called nagnar: ſee Pſal. 127.4. and Prov. foreign aliquando nomen proprium, & aliquando nomen ſpeciei.5.18. ſo Ioel 1.8. So Adam is ſometimes nomen ſpeciei, and then it comprehendeth infants and men. Infants who know not the right from the left hand, Ionas 4.11. and ſometimes it ſignifieth a man come to age, and then it is oppoſite to the child. But when Nagnar is a name of age, then it comprehendeth from three yeares old to thirteene, Thirdly, he is iſh, when hee hath paſt thirteene and a day, foreign aliquando late ſumitur, aliquando eſt nomen officij.then hee beginneth to obſerve the Law and is filius pracepti, and weareth his phylacterie. Sometimes, this word [iſh] is taken more largely. 1 Sam. 17.12. venerat in viros, id eſt, ſenex erat; and ſometimes it is nomen officij, the name of a husband, Hoſ. 2.
Fourthly, they are bechurim from twentie yeare old to ſixtie, Exod. 30.41. foreign electi.becauſe then they were choſen for the warres.
Fiftly, ſenectus, and it was three fold, foreignfirſt zickna when he was ſixtie yeares old.
The ſecond is [ſhebha] canities from ſeventie to eighty.foreign
The third is, foreign[Iaſhiſh] ſilicernium or decrepita ſenectus, 2 Chro. 36.16. The ſword of the Chaldaans ſpared not the old man nor him that ſtooped for age. By this wee may ſee that they tranſlate not theſe words rightly, they ſhall die in the flowre of their age, 1 Sam. 2.33. for they dyed long before that time: The meaning then is this, thy ſonnes ſhall not die when they are children, but when they are iſhim paſt thirteene yeares of age, and when they ſhall have ſo much underſtanding to ſee themſelves put from the holy ſervice of the Lord, the Lord ſhall cut them off before they come to bee men, which the Hebrewes call more excidij, before they come to the flower of their age. Not unlike unto this place, is that phraſe Hoſ. 9.12. orbabo cos ab homine, that is, Orbabo eos ab hemine quid.I will cut them off that they ſhall not become men, or before they ſhall become men.
As the age of man is divided, The ages of the Church.ſo Auguſtine divideth the age of the Church, firſt infantia when he called her out of Aegypt; Secondly pueritia when ſhe lived under the pedagogue of the Law till Chriſt came; thirdly in adoleſcentia under Chriſt; fourthly, in ſenectuie, under the Apoſtles and laſt decrepita ſenectus now.
So the Church of the Gentiles was in infantia from Adam to the flood; The ages of the Church of the Gentiles.ſecondly in adoleſcentia from the flood to Abraham; thirdly ſhe was in her widdowhead from Abraham to Chriſt: in this time the Gentiles were rejected, and Abrahams poſteritie onelyonly choſen. This time of her rejection is called but momentū vel modicum temporis, Eſay. 54. for as the earth although it be twentie thouſand miles about in circuit, yet it is but a point in reſpect of the heavens; ſo is this time from Abraham to Chriſt, but a point in reſpect of eternitie. Chriſt ſaith, a little while, & ye ſhall not ſee me, and a little while, and ye ſhall ſee me, Ioh. 16.16. It was but a little while from Chriſts aſcenſion to his comming againe in reſpect of eternitie
The concluſion of this is, Concluſion. the Lord when hee made the Almond rod to bloſſome, Num. 17. hee ſignified that Aarons children the Prieſt-hood ſhould floriſh; therefore the Hebrewes called the Prieſts ſonnes flores ſacerdotales: but here when Eli and his ſonnes were to be cut off, the rod withered and decayed in him, and the children did beare the iniquitie of their fathers.