Commentaries, Commentary on Judges · Chapter 1
¶The commentarie of Maſter Peter Martyr vponupon the Booke of Iudges.
THere be ſome whiche deuide the holy ſcriptures into foure parts,Of the diuiſion of the holy Scriptures. and aſcribe ſome bokes as wel of the old teſtament as of the new, to lawes, ſome to hiſtories, ſome to prophecies, and other ſome agayne to wiſdome. But it is not meete ſo to deuyde the bookes of the holye ſcripture one from an other, bicauſe that in the bokes of Exodus, Leuiticus, Numeri, and D…uteromie, in which they appoint lawes to be conteined, are founde almoſte as many hiſtories as lawes. Beſides that in the bokes which they aſſigne to prophetes, lawes of liuing vprightlye are oftentimes written and clearely expounded. Neither can we properly ſeparate the bokes of Salomon & other of ye kynd (which they wil hauehave proper to wiſdome) from lawes and prophecies. For there are in them ſentences here and there written, which ſeruing for the inſtruction of life, hauehave alſo wtout controuerſy the nature of lawes. Furthermore for ye that in thē are very many ſecretes opened vntounto the church by the inſpiration of the ſpirite of god, they poure vndoubtedly into the attentife hearers, oracles of thinges to come. It may eaſily he graunted, that all theſe things which they make mentiō of, are founde in the holy bookes: I meane the precepts of liuing, notable hyſtories, prophecies of thinges to come, and alſo moſte wiſe ſentences and ſayinges: but in ſuch ſort, that in maner in eueryevery booke they are ſet forth vntounto vsus diſperſedly, neither yet would I that theſe holy bookes ſhould be deuided one from an other by theſe endes and limittes.
I would rather thinke as the learned ſorte doe alſo iudge, that whatſoeuer thinges are conteyned in the holy Scriptures ſhould be referred vntounto two principall heades, the lawe I meane and the goſpell.There be two principal pointes whereunto al the whole ſcriptures are referred. For eueryevery where are declared vntounto vsus either the precepts of god of vpright liuing, or whē we are reproued to hauehave ſtrayed frō thē by reaſō of weakenes or els of malice, ye goſpel is layd forth before vsus, wherin by Chriſt that thing wherein we hauehave offended is pardoned, and the ſtrength and power of the holy ghoſt promiſed vsus, to reforme vsus againe to the image of god, whiche we had loſte. Theſe two thinges maye we beholde in all the bookes of Moyſes, in the hiſtories, Prophetes, and bookes appointed to wiſdome, and that not onelyonly in the olde Teſtamente, but alſo in the newe, and they are not ſeparated one from an other by bookes and leaues, but by that maner which is now declared.What thinges are entreated of in thys boke of Iudges. And this is ſufficient as touching the generall matter of the holy ſcriptures. But nowe we muſt peculiarly ſpeake of this booke, that we may vnderſtand what things they be which are entreated of in the ſame. And to the ende we may the more plainly vnderſtande this, it is nedefull to call to memory thoſe thinges which were ſpoken of in the former bookes.
In Geneſis is ſet forth the creation of the worlde, then howe of Abraham, Iſaac, Iacob and his twelue childrē was engendred the people of god and how they wer brought into Egipt to driue away their famine.
Exodus teacheth the greate encreaſe, and incredible multiplication of the Iſraelites, the maner alſo and forme wherby they were of god by Moyſes deliuered from bondage and ſet at liberty, and how they wer excellētly adorned with lawes, iudgementes and ceremonies, whiche thinges are alſo comprehended in the bookes of Leuiticus. What is cōtayned in ye bookes which go before the iudges.The booke of Numbers conteineth very many paſſages of the Hebrewes, and diuerſe placings and orderings of their tents in the deſert places, & alſo certain vſages of thoſe rules which were preſcribed before of god in the lawes. And laſtly of al in Deuteronomy. When Moyſes ſhould depart out of this life, he like a moſt faithfull miniſter of god, & moſte learned preacher, repeteth vntounto the people almoſt the whole lawe. After whoſe death Ioſua captain of the Hebrewes led the people beyond Iordane, and poſſeſſed ſome parte of the promiſed land of Chanaan, and deuided it as god had commaūded to his whole natiō by tribes. Whē he was dead god gouerned the Hebrewes by certain excellent mē which were called Iudges, of which Iudges this booke which we hauehave taken in hand to enterpreate hath his name and title.
Why thys is called the booke of the iudges.But for the better vnderſtanding of the title therof we muſte know that this word Shaphat in the Iewes tongue ſignifieth ſomtime to execute the law, and to iudge the cauſes betwene thē which are at controuerſie, which office yet is not proper to thoſe Iudges, of whiche we nowe entreate. For there were Leuites appointed which ſate and gaue iudgement at the gates of eueryevery citye, and aboue all iudgementes ſate Senadrim which were an aſſembly of 70. elders.
Senadrim.Furthermore ye word ſignifieth to reuenge & to ſet at libertie, which theſe excellent mē performed, whoſe noble acts ar declared in this volume. They by their authoritie, through their might and counſell, deliuered the Iſraelites when they were oppreſſed of ſtraungers, and kept them in the obſeruing of the law & true worſhipping of God. And that their office may the better be perceiued, we wyll briefly expound the face and eſtate of that publike weale. God himſelfe was the true and proper king of that nation,Of the common wealth & eſtate of the Iewes. for he onelyonly had the principal power there, but not as he had ouer other nations, but ſo, that he by his becke, oracle, and certain commaundement, gouerned the eſtate of the Iſraelites, which he promiſed to do in the .18. chap. of Exodus. Wheras he ſaid that that people ſhould be hys chiefe kingdome. But bycauſe he would alſo vſe the miniſtery of men, he prouyded al thyngs neceſſary for the Hebrewes, fyrſt by Moyſes and then by Ioſua as long as they liued. They exerciſed the office of princes or captaines, which men being dead god would hauehave the beſt and moſt excellent men to hauehave the rule ouer thē (for ſuch men were picked out to be of the ſenate, whoſe excellent conditions are ſet forth as well in Exodus as in Deuteronomy: for the lawes of God would not ſuffer eueryevery one to be called to that office.That is whē ye beſt men are gouernours ouer the cōmō weale) If thou ſhalt therfore conſider theſe men then ſhalt thou ſee the forme of that gouernment which is called Ariſtocratia. But bicauſe that it was not lawfull to attempt great matters without the peoples conſent, we may therfore iuſtly thinke that it was alſo a common wealth which endured to the tyme of Saule and Dauid the firſt kings. That eſtate therfore in reſpect of god was a kingdome, but in reſpect of the Senate & thoſe chiefe men it was Ariſtocratia. Bicauſe in electing of thē they had no regard to their riches but to their vertue and godlines, & for yt the weightieſt matters wer referred to the people, therfore we may ſay it was a cōmon welth. Wherfore it manifeſtly appeareth yt the adminiſtratiō of matters of the Iſraelits was very well tēpered of three kinds of gouernments.What was the cauſe of the rayſing vp of Iudges. And bicauſe, wheras many gouerne the common wealth, it is nedefull when daungerous tymes doe happen, for the better ſucceſſe and expedition of thinges to be done, one muſte be appointed which may hauehave both ye chief rule & alſo ye chief authoritie: for ye which cauſe ye Romanes created often tymes both Empe…ors & alſo Dictators. So god whē ye Iſraelites wer moſt greuouſly oppreſſed of their enemies, iudged it mete to deliuer them and bring thē to libertie, he euermore ſtirred vp ſome one man by his ſpirit, whom he endued with noble vertues, ſtrēgth of body, warlike arte and other gifts mete for that purpoſe which ſhuld be brought to paſſe, by whoſe induſtry & good ſucceſſe the people might be deliuered from tyrantes.
Betwene forrayne nations and the Iſraelits in this ſimilitude,The difference betwen the iudges & princes of the heathen. thys difference is to be marked. Emperors and Dictators were appointed and choſen of men. But the iudges of the Hebrues wer not declared by the voyces of mē,The iudges were neither properly lords nor kinges. but by ye ordinance & inſpiratiō of god. They could not be properly called capitaynes or kinges or els lordes, Poſteritie or ſucceſſion was here of no force, neither was there a regard to one perticular tribe or family, neither was there required the election of mā or the cōmon aſſent of ye people. In humane publique weales theſe vſe to take place, but God in thys hys publique weale preferred whom he pleaſed to be iudge in ye gouernmēt of things. Beſides that, they which are choſen by the cōmō voyce of mē muſt firſt be endued wt excellent ſtrēgth & vertues, but god made thoſe whō he decreed to be Iudges & ſetters at libertie of ye Iſraelites, notable and moſt excellent vppon the ſodayne, though they were neuer ſo much rude and vnmete of nature. And that this is true, witneſſeth the 2. chapter of this boke where it is thus written, God raiſed them vp Iudges, which deliuered them out of the handes of their oppreſſours. &c. And therunto is added when the Lord had raiſed them vp a iudge, he was with the iudge, and deliuered Iſraell al the dayes of his lyfe. Moreouer theſe men in time of theyr authoritye were not in dede Lords ouer the Iſraelites, but onelyonly wrought with authoritye, admonition, counſell and exerciſing warlyke trauayles. This is made playne by that that Gedeon as it is written in the .8. chap: when he had gotten the victorye ouer the Madianites, when it was offred hym to be king ouer Iſraell he refuſed it. For the people ſayd vntounto hym: Reygne thou ouer vsus and thy ſonne. By the which wordes they dyd not geue the kingdome onelyonly vntounto him, but alſo to hys poſteritye. But he would none of it, yea he anſwered them thus. I wil not reign ouer you, God ſhal reygne ouer you. And it is written in ye fyrſt boke of Samuel that God ſayd vntounto the Prophet, They hauehave not caſt thee away but me,The papiſts do impudentlye claime vntounto thē ſelues the title of ſpirituall honour. that I ſhould not reygne ouer them. It appeareth therefore manifeſtly yt theſe Iudges were neyther kynges nor yet Lordes of the Iſraelites. I would to god that this kynde of authoritye were diligently marked in the popyſh Church, where wicked men do ſo impudently vſurpe vntounto themſelues ſpirituall promotion, ſeing that Chriſt hymſelfe as he is the true prieſt, ſo alſo is he oure only prieſt, for he only pacifyeth the father towardes vsus and they whiche are gouernoures of the Church here on earth are to be counted only as hys miniſters. Wherfore they can not clayme vntounto themſelues that title, but they muſte caſt away Chriſt and do hym iniurye.
Neyther is thys to bee paſſed ouer, that the Iudges whiche were ordayned of god dyd alwayes deliuer Iſraell from the miſerye wherwith they were oppreſſed: but the kinges, into whom ye common wealth did afterwards as it were degenerate, did not alwaies deliuer the people out of bondage, which was cōmitted vntounto them,The eſtate of the Hebrues was better vnderunder the Iudges than vnderunder the kings. yea they oftentimes deſtroyed them and compelled them at the length to ſlauery. Wherfore it is to be iudged yt the eſtate of the Hebrues was farre better vnderunder the iudges than vnderunder the Kynges: not ye God gouerned not that people in tyme of the kyngs, but bycauſe hys adminiſtration ſhewed forth it ſelf more in ye time of ye iudges. And in dede ye people was neuer led away into captiuity vnderunder ye iudges, although they were oftē times oppreſſed by outward tyrantes which they deſerued by their wickednes.Almoſt al the iudges were good and holy men. That age therfore might be called as it were a golden age. Let vsus marke alſo that there wer very few good and godly kings, but almoſt al the Iudges were good and godly. For although as they were men ſo ſometymes they fel, yet we muſt beleue that they returned againe into the right way and repented, for they are not condemned at any time by any teſtimony or Iudgement of the ſcripture as far as I can perceiue. How notably Syrach iudged of them he playnly declareth in hys booke of wiſdom the 46. chap. But we leauyng his teſtimony aſide, let vsus ſee what the Epiſtle to the Hebrues in the xi. chap. doth aſcribe vntounto them, where as it is thus ſayd. The tyme wil be to ſhort for me to tel of Gedeon, of Barach, Sampſon, and of Iephthe &c. All theſe certeinly were iudges, and they are mencioned of there together wt other holy men, which were notable and of an excellent and wonderful faith.
Thou wilt aſke peraduenture, If god loked ſo wel to hys people as long as the iudges were ouer them,Why the Iſraelites were ſo oftentimes oppreſſed of their enemies in the time of the iudges. how came it to paſſe then, that they were ſo often brought into bondage by their enemies? For bicauſe God handled with them faithfully and by a couenaunt.
The league that was made is written in the 30. and 31. chap. of Deut: where god promiſed the Hebrues that all things ſhould proſper with them ſo long as they kept his lawes and worſhipping of him. But if they ſhould fall from hym to Idols, and caſt away the lawes of their god, then ſhould they be deliuered into the handes of their enemies, but in ſuch ſort, that if they repented and would deſire ayde of their god, he would ſtreightwaies be preſent with them, to deliuer them from al the euils wherwith they ſhould be oppreſſed. But we ſhal not nede to ſtand long now about this matter, bicauſe it he proceding forward of the hiſtory, we ſhal manifeſtly perceaue, that the Iſraelits did oftentimes offend. And god chaſtened them as his children with iuſt puniſhments. But when they turned and cried vntounto him, he had compaſſion of them, and deliuered them by iudges out of their miſeries. This remayneth alſo for vsus to declare, yt for as much as Chriſt is called the end and perfection of all the holy bokes, how theſe actes alſo of the iudges may and ought to be referred vntounto him, and how they prophecie him vntounto vsus, as the other holy bookes do. To anſwer to this I will take that which Origen writeth in his firſt Homely vponupon thys boke. Al the workes of god by themſelues are great:After what ſort the holy hiſtories do cōteine & teach Chriſt but when they are conferred together, ſome of them may be called ſmall, and other ſome greate. If god his leadyng of the children of Iſrael out of Egipte and throughe the wilderneſſe ſhould be beholden by themſelues, they are ſurely great woorkes: but if they be afterward conferred with this, that God loued the world ſo, that he gaue his onelyonly begotten ſonne for it, then ſhall this be a great worke, and the others ſmall. But bicauſe in the greater things the leſſe are comprehended (for that they are partes of thē) as the number of two is contayned in thre, and thre in foure. So theſe pryuate deliueries of the people which happened vnderunder the Iudges, for as much as they are comprehended in that principall redemption, which is geuen vntounto mākynd by Chriſt, it muſt nedes be that they ſhuld expreſſe vntounto vsus ye ſame, for that they were certain aſſured partes and figuratiue ſhadowes, and had the ſame authour namely Chriſt him ſelfe. For he which before deliuered the Hebrues by iudges, did afterward redeme al men by him ſelf. And euen as the miſeries of thys lyfe, the ſpoyling I ſay of goods, baniſhments, woūdes & torments are very greuous to the fleſh whē they are pondred by themſelues: ſo when they are conferred wt the anger of god & euerlaſting death, into yt which we incurre by reaſon of our ſinnes, they may moſt rightly be eſtemed ſmall thinges, for that theſe are moſt greuous. Wherfore when we conſider how the Iewes were deliuered frō outward miſeries: Let vsus call to remembraunce, thoſe moſt great euils, frō which Chriſt of his ſingular goodnes hath deliuered vsus. And when as the children of Iſraell do oftentimes eſcape by iudges out of their afflictiōs, they do as it were point with their finger Chriſt vntounto vsus, raiſed vp from the dead, they ſhew vntounto vsus alſo ye laſt reſurrectiō of the ſaints, wherin they ſhal be altogether deliuered from al afflictiōs & infirmities. Wherfore as wel this booke as alſo other holy hiſtories, do wt much profit admoniſh the readers of Chriſt and his members.
And bicauſe I think I hauehave ſpoken enough already of the matter and ſubiect of this boke. I wil now go to declare the forme of the writing therof.What kind of writing is obſerued in this boke. The definition of an hiſtory. It conſiſteth altogether of an hiſtorical kind of writing, as may eaſily appeare to al the readers. An hiſtorye is (as Quintilianus writeth in the ſecond boke, & 4. chap: of hys Inſtitutions) a ſetting forth of a thing done. From which Auguſtine differeth not much, who writeth on the ſecond chap: of Gen: vponupon the letter. An hiſtory is whē a thing done either by god or by mā is ſet forth, & in this diffinitiō he cōprehēdeth as wel prophane hiſtories as holy. But our boke doth chiefly for the moſt part ſet forth thoſe things which wer done by god. But bicauſe al ſetting forth of thīgs done are not of one kind, whē as ſom ar called chronicles, & other ſome named hiſtories, we muſt ſe in which of theſe two, this our declaration muſt be placed, & that can we not wel do except we ſeperate theſe ye one from ye other. Cicero in his 2. boke de Oratore, touching theſe, writeth after this ſort.The difference betwene an hiſtory and a chronicle. The gretians at ye firſt wrote euē as our Cato, Pictor & Piſo did: for an hiſtory was nothīg els but a collecting together of things done yerely, which thīgs that thei might ye better be kept in memory ye chief biſhop frō the beginning of matters of Rome euen to Publius Mutius ye chief biſhop wrote al things that wer done eueryevery yere & brought thē into a commō place, & ſet thē out on a table in his houſe yt the people alſo might frely hauehave knowledge of thē, & they be they which are now called the great yerely Chronicles. This forme of writing many hauehave followed, which hauehave without any deckings or ornamēts left behind them onelyonly the monumēts of tymes, men, places and of things done. Therfore as Pherceydes, Hellanicus, Acuſilaus & very many other we amōgſt ye greciās, ſo is our Cato, Pictor, & Piſo, who cared not for the eloquēt kind of writing, & while that mē might vnderſtād what they ſpake, they counted ſhortneſſe to be the onelyonly prayſe of ſpeaking &c.
He addeth afterward, The nature of things deſireth the order of tymes, it requyreth alſo the deſcription of countreyes, bicauſe in weighty matters and worthy of memory, firſt counſels are loked for, then the acts, & afterward the endes. And as touching counſels is ſignified what the author alloweth. And in things done is declared not only what is done or ſpokē, but alſo how &c. By theſe things we may gather what is the nature of yerely chronicles, and alſo what of an hiſtory: and me thinketh that theſe our narrations are rather to be counted hiſtories thā yerely chronicles, for bicauſe not only things done are ſet forth,The narratiōs of this booke are hiſtories & not yerely chronicles. The opinion of Aulus Geilius as touching yerely chronicles and an Hiſtory. but alſo ye cauſes, counſels and maners are declared. Alſo orations, admonitions, and reprouings, are ſometimes added not without ſome ornamentes: All which thinges pertayn rather to an hiſtory thā to bare yerely chronicles. But now yt we hauehave heard Cicero his opiniō, let vsus alſo heare what Aulꝰ Gelliꝰ writeth in ye .5. chap. of his 5. boke, which writeth this: Some do thinke that an hiſtory differeth frō a chronicle in this, yt whē both of thē are a declaratiō of things done, yet an hiſtory is properly of thoſe things at ye doings wherof he yt wrote thē hath bene preſēt. &c. He folowed not this diſtinctiō, & not wtout cauſe, which neuertheleſſe Seruiꝰ Grāmaticꝰ embraſed, & Iſidorus in his firſt boke of Etymologies folowed hī, which is maruel bicauſe he is not only againſt Cicero, which ſaith yt an hiſtory is a gathering together of thinges done yerely, but alſo againſt Vergil whoſe verſe in ye firſt of the Eneydos is. And now hauehave we layſure to heare the yerely chronicles of our labours. Where he declareth, that yerely Chronicles pertayne alſo vntounto things at the doyngs wherof we our ſelues were preſent. But nowe agayne to Gellius. He ſheweth that there were other which thought hiſtories to be either an expoſition, or els a demonſtration of thinges done. But yerely chronicles were, when things done in many yeres were compiled together, obſeruing the order of eueryevery yeare. &c. According to which ſentence, this our booke cannot be called a yerely chronicle, for that in the narrations thereof, it oftentimes noteth not the yeres wherin things were done. Moreouer the ſame author I meane Gellius addeth Sempronius Aſellios mynde therin, but this was the differēce betwene thoſe whiche woulde leaue behinde them yearely chronicles, and thoſe which enterpriſed to write of thinges done by the Romaynes. The yerely chronicles did declare that onelyonly whiche was done and in what yeare it was done, but that was not ſufficient for an hiſtory to declare what was done, but it muſt alſo ſhew, by what counſell, and after what ſort they were done. And a little after the ſame Aſelio writeth in the ſame booke: for neither can the bookes of the yerely chronicles any thing ſtirre vp the readers to be more quicke to defend the common wealth, nor yet more ſlow to cōmit thinges vnaduiſedly. Furthermore bicauſe that by the knowledge of this booke men are admoniſhed and ſtirred vp to the true worſhippyng of god to repent, to put their truſt in god, and to practiſe all dueties of lyfe cherefully. It conteyneth an hiſtory and not yerely Chronicles. Peraduenture I hauehave expounded theſe thinges with to many woordes, but yet as I ſuppoſe with ſome fruicte.
The number of the yeares that the hiſtory of the iudges conteyneth.But the ſpace of the tyme which is comprehēded in theſe declarations (if we may beleue Auguſtine in his xviii. booke de ciuitate dei, and 22. chap.) is 329. yeares, which he gathereth thus. Whē Rome was builded, the Hebrewes had bene in the land of Chanaan. 718. yeares, of which (as he ſaith) 27. perteyned vntounto Ioſua, 329. to the Iudges, & 362. are referred vntounto the kinges. For Ezechias the king lyued in the tyme of Romulus.
God is the author of hiſtories.An hiſtory is not to be counted a thing of mans inuention when as god him ſelfe was the author therof, which would hauehave the elders to expoūd to their children and their poſteritie thoſe thinges which he had done for Iſraell in Egipte, in the ſea, and in the wildernes. And he commaunded alſo (as it is written in Exodus) that the warre which was had againſt Amalech, and the victory which the Hebrewes got of him,Hiſtories wer before Moyſes time. ſhould be put in writing, yea and this kind of writing began before Moyſes, for he maketh mencion both of the booke of the battails of the Lord as alſo of the booke of the iuſt men. I will not ſpeake of the Prophetes which with their prophecies oftētimes mixed hiſtories. I paſſe ouer Dauid, who adourned here and there the pſalmes whiche he ſong with hiſtories. I ſkip ouer our Euangeliſtes and the Actes which Luke wrote, in which are written moſte profitable hiſtories in the new Teſtament. If god be the author of theſe bookes as we muſt nedes beleue, thē god muſt be counted the author of hiſtories, which is not a thing for him vnſemely, for an hiſtory is a noble thīg (as Cicero writeth in hys 2.The praiſe of an hiſtory. boke de Oratore, it is a witnes of times, ye light of truth, ye life of memory the mayſtres of life, the meſſenger of antiquitie. &c. Theſe prayſes certainly are great, and they agree not with eueryevery kynde of hiſtories, but with thoſe onelyonly, in which thoſe rules are obſerued,What are requiſite to a true hiſtory. The Latin Hiſtoriographers are more faithful than the Grecians. which ye ſame author hath ſet forth in that place namely, that it ſet forth no lies, or be afraid to tel the truth, that there be no ſuſpicion of fauour or flattery.
Which order although the Latin Hiſtoriographers hauehave more faithfully accō pliſhed than the Grecians (for Quintilianus ſaith in his iiii. chap. of his ſecōd boke that the greke Hiſtoriographers vſed as much licence in writing almoſte as the Poets did) yet Auguſtine in his .131. epiſtle to Memorius the Biſhop, when he amōg other liberall diſciplines attributeth much to hiſtories writing of the truth therof, ſaieth, that he cannot ſee, how thoſe hiſtories whiche are written of men, can wel follow the truth: for that the writers are compelled to geue credite vntounto men, and oftentimes to gather together the brute of the vulgare people,The holy hiſtories are moſt true. whiche writers neuertheleſſe are yet excuſed, if they kepe liberty and write nothing diſceitfull, but there can be nothing at al more true than the hiſtories reuealed and written by the inſpiration of god as our hiſtories are.
Beſides the truth, whoſe knowledge without controuerſie is moſt excellēt,The commoditie of an hiſtorye. by the reading of hiſtories, we get alſo other cōmodities, and thoſe very excellēt. By them we attayne to matter, and moſt aboundant plenty of moſte profitable arguments. For (as Quintilianus writeth in the .iiii. chap. of his .12. boke) Exā ples and hiſtories are iudgementes and teſtimonies.The vſe of examples is double. And the profit of the examples is at the leaſt way two fold. One is, that we ſhould imitate, vſe, allow, and commend thoſe thinges which we are taught to be done of holy mē. We vnderſtande by the diuyne hiſtorye that Abraham was a holye man and dearly beloued of god, and alſo one that kepte very good hoſpitalitie. Whereby we learne that hoſpitalitie is a noble vertue, and very deare vntounto God, and againe we are taughte to auoyde thoſe thinges, which we ſee theſe godlye men to hauehave auoyded. For when we conſider howe Dauid woulde not kil Saul hys deadly enemye, hauing twice libertie to doe it, we gather that it is not to bee permitted that priuate men althoughe it laye in their power ſhoulde … reuenge their priuate iniuries. The other vſe of examples is that of theſe thinges whiche are there declared perticularly, when we ſhall perceaue that they be al like, we may of them gather generally and vniuerſally ſome one profitable ſentence.
By the hiſtory of the Sodomites we note how greuouſly, god puniſhed moſt horrible fleſhly filthines, and that the tribe of Beniamin for the ſame cauſe was almoſt cleane put out, and Ruben the firſt begotten ſon of Iacob for inceſt was put beſides his place and dignity, Dauid for committing aduoutry, incurred horrible puniſhmentes, and Ammon and Abſolon for committing inceſt came to a moſt wycked end, and Troy (as the heathen teſtifye) was vtterly ouerthrowen for aduoutry ſake. Of theſe things therfore in ſuch ſort conſidered which happened perticularly, we plainly ſay that all theſe wandring and vnlawfull luſtes of men are moſt greuouſly puniſhed of god. To which propoſitiō if we ſhal adde this ſentence that now alſo throughout all Chriſtendom ſuch free and wādring filthy luſt raigne eueryevery where, we may ſtrongly conclude, that for this horrible wickedneſſe there hangeth vponupon this our world moſt ſharpe puniſhments.
Yet in this kind of arguments that vice is moſt diligently to be taken hede of,Of examples we reaſō what vices are to be eſchewed. which creapeth vpō one before he beware thereof. And ye commeth two maner of wayes. Firſt that we take not vponupon vsus to follow thoſe doynges of the ſainctes which they ſometimes committed vnaduiſedly. For euē as men, they fell ſometimes, & that moſt filthily. Wherfore ye things done by thē, which we do ſet forth as examples to be folowed of vsus, muſt with great iudgement be examined.Auguſtine. Auguſtine writeth of this thing in his 2. booke againſt the 2. epi. of Gaudētius after this ſort. We muſt not alwaies imitate or allowe whatſoeuer good men hauehave done, but we muſt adde therunto ye iudgement of ye ſcriptures, & marke whither thei allow theſe dedes. This father doth very wel admoniſh vsus here, yt although they wer holy mē, & pleaſed god very many waies,The fallings of the ſainctes are not to be folowed. & the holy ſcriptures witneſſed excellently well of them, yet are not all their actions to be iudged abſolute and without fault. For eueryevery man both is a lyar and oftentimes ſinneth. For who woulde followe Dauyd his horrible aduoutrye and betraying of faythfull Souldiours, or the forſwearyng of Peter or hys wycked diſſimulation? ſurely none which hathe but euen a cromme of godlineſſe. Moreouer it ſometymes happeneth that that worke whiche is done well and rightly by ſome excellent perſon, is forbidden of other men, bycauſe God whiche hath geuen a lawe to men, is not ſo bounde vntounto the ſame, that he may not loſe ſome frō that common bonde, when it ſemeth good vntounto him. It is not lawfull for any man to ſteale,God will ſome times hauehave certaine thinges done of godly men whiche be not lawfull for others to do. and yet the Hebrewes when they were led out of Egypt were permitted yea and commaunded of god, to cary awaye the Egyptians goodes whiche they had borowed of them euen agaynſt their willes and without their knowledge. What ſhal we do then? Thus truly, we muſt well and diligently cōferre thoſe thinges which are expounded in the holy hiſtories, with the general rules of the cōmaundementes of God wherewith when we do perceaue that they do agree,The doynges of ſaintes muſt be weighed by the rules of gods Law. let vsus boldly vſe them. But if they diſagree from thē, let vsus recken them either for certaine fallinges or ſingular prerogatiues of ſome, and kepe our ſelues backe from following of them. And theſe prouiſoes beyng added, great profit ſhall come by reading of hiſtories and eſpecially diuine hiſtories. And that did Chriſoſtome very well vnderſtand when as in the preface of his expoſition vpō the Epiſtle to Philemon, Chriſoſtome.he wiſhed that all thoſe thinges had bene written for vsus, which the Apoſtles ſpoke and did, when they ſat downe, what they did eate, or what they did write & other thinges of this kynde. And the ſame Chriſoſtome writeth in his 57. Homily vponupon Geneſis, that hiſtories were geuen vsus by the holy ghoſt to the entente we ſhoulde followe them.Auguſtine. Alſo Auguſtine, in his ſeconde booke and 28. chap. De doctrina Chriſtiana, teacheth that many darcke and hard thinges may ſome times onelyonly be opened by the knowledge of an hiſtory. Moreouer who ſoeuer muche exerciſeth him ſelfe in redyng ouer of hiſtories, he doth not without fruite reuolue with him ſelfe the doinges & examples of our times. There was vponupon a tyme a certaine man euill fauored enoughe,Note a pleaſaunte hiſtorie. who neuertheleſſe was meruelous deſirous of beautifull children: and yet he maryed a fowle wyfe, wherfore he was mocked of eueryevery bodye. This man went into the Citie. where he bought moſt fayre ymages, whiche he ſet in his chambre, and gaue his wife charge that for a certayne ſpace ſhe ſhould eueryevery day moſt earneſtly looke vponupon thoſe ymages. She obeyed her huſbandes commaundement, and by that meanes brought him forth moſt beautifull children. So wil it alſo come to paſſe with vsus, which thoughe we by reaſon of naturall ſinne grafted in vsus are defourmed & lothſome, and are continually prouoked as well by the deuill as by wicked men to vnlawfull thinges, yet if we will attentiuely & diligently gather together the exāples of the ſainctes, trimly paynted forth in the diuine hiſtories, and if we reuolue the ſame in our mynde, we ſhall forthwith ſhewe forth moſt excellent workes & acceptable to God. And now that I hauehave entreated enough (as I ſuppoſe) of the matter and forme of writing of this booke, the nexte is to ſpeake ſome what of the efficient cauſe.
What is the efficient cauſe of this booke.If we would ſearche to knowe the man, by whom God would hauehave theſe thinges written, that can we not vnderſtand by the holy Scriptures. The Hebrewes affirme that Samuel put theſe thinges in wryting: but they ſpeake that without teſtimonie of the Scriptures. Other alſo thincke that euerye Iudge wrote ſuche thinges as were done in his own time, which monument of theirs being in ſondry pampheletes Samuel afterwarde compiled into one certain body or volume. Agayne there be ſome whiche aſcribe all this to Eſdras or to Ezechias the king, which Ezechias the booke of Prouerbes mencioneth to hauehave gathered together ſome of the ſentences (or as ſome call them) the parable of Salomon but I thincke it is not mete for me to ſtāde about this matter, for there is no cauſe why we ſhould curiouſly ſearche out thoſe things which God will not reueale in his oracles wherfore I will returne to declare the principall efficient cauſe of this booke.The ſpirite of God is properly the aucthour of this Booke. We muſt aſcribe al what ſoeuer it is to the ſpirite of God. For Paul writing to Timothe ſayth that the ſcriptures were reuealed by god, and there is no doubte but he ſpake then of the bookes of the olde Teſtament. But thou wilte aſke who ſhall perſuade vsus that the holy bookes were reuealed vntounto men by the holy ghoſt?The ſpirite of God teſtifieth vntounto the faithful that the holy Scriptures came frō God. Euen the ſame ſpirit which hath prouided to hauehave theſe things written, doth make vsus aſſuredly to beleue that they are not the inuentions of men. For nether can the holy lyfe of the teachers nor yet miracles be ſufficient to perſuade vsus of this. It is the ſpirite, the ſpirit I ſay of god which teſtifieth vntounto our ſpirite of this thyng.
The moſte daungerous error of the Antichriſtes muſt diligently be taken hede of, whiche dare affirme,It is not the Church which geueth authoritie to the Scriptures. that it is the Churche which bringeth authoritie to the holy Scriptures, when as it is cleane contrary. For what ſoeuer authoritie or eſtimation cōmeth vntounto the Churche, that all whole cōmeth of the worde of God. It is horrible to be heard, that the holy oracles and wordes of god ſhould get their credite by men which are otherwiſe lyers. But theſe things they faine to the entēt that ſeyng they are manifeſtlye founde often tymes to hauehave decreed and ratified in the Sacraments & doctrines farre otherwiſe than the holy ſcriptures will beare. Whiche thing they would defend yt they may do it, bycauſe the Churche whiche doth bring authoritie and credite to the worde of God, may alter things in the holy Scriptures, as pleaſed it. Wherfore we muſt reſiſte them by all meanes poſſible in this thyng which they take vponupon them to do. We may not ſuffre our ſelues to be brought to thys poynte, to thincke that the Scriptures hauehave had their credite and authority by the Churche. And yet do I not write theſe thynges as thoughe I woulde deſpiſe or contemne the dignitie of the Churche, vntounto the whiche,There be three offices of the Churche touching the word of God. The Churche as a witneſſe kepeth the holy Bookes. I do attribute thre offices and them moſte excellent as touchyng the worde of GOD. The firſte of them is, that I do confeſſe that the Church as a witneſſe hath kept the holy bokes. But thereby it can not be proued, yt it is lawful for it to peruert or alter any thing in the holy bookes. Experience teacheth vsus that publique and priuate wrytinges are committed to ſcriueners (whiche are commonly called notaryes) to be layd vp and diligently kept of thē. And yet there is none that is in his right wittes which wil ſay that he may alter any thing in them, or wil beleue that their authoritie is of greater force, than their willes were whiche deſired to hauehave the ſame written.The worde of God reuealed and written. Neither ſhall it be here vnprofitable to obſerue the difference betwene the worde of god as it was reuealed at the beginning to the Prophetes & ſainctes & as it was afterwardes preached or written. For we do eaſely acknowledge betwene theſe, that there is onelyonly difference of tyme, and not of the authoritie or efficacie.
For we confeſſe that the worde vnwritten was more auncient, than that which was afterward appointed to letters, and we graunt that either cōferred together was geuen to the Churche, but in ſuche ſorte, that the Churche (as we hauehave ſayd) can not by any meanes wreſt or chaunge it.The office of the Churche is to publiſhe and preache the worde of God. And this vndoubtedly is the ſecond office of the Church, to preach & publiſh the wordes committed vntounto it by God. In which thing it is lyke a common crier, who althoughe he do publiſhe the decrees of princes and magiſtrates, yet he is not aboue the decrees or equal vntounto them in authoritie. But his whole office is faithfully to pronounce all thynges as he hath receaued them of the princes and magiſtrates. And if he ſhould otherwiſe do, he ſhould be counted altogether for a traytour. Wherfore the miniſters of the Churche ought to care and ſtudy for nothing ſo much as to be founde faithfull. We acknowledge alſo the laſt office of the Churche to be,The Churche diſcerneth the holy bokes frō counterfaite & ſuch as are Apochriphas. yt ſeyng it is endued with the ſpirite of God, it muſt therfore diſcerne the ſincere & vncorrupted bookes of holy Scriptures from the counterfaite and Apocriphas, whiche is not yet to be in authoritie aboue the worde as many do fooliſhely dreame. For there are very many which can diſcerne the true & propre writings of Plato and Ariſtotle from other falſely put to them, & yet in compariſon of iudgement they are neither of greater lernyng nor yet of equall, with Plato or Ariſtotle. And eueryevery one of vsus cā eaſely know God from the deuill, & yet are we not to be coūted equal with God, & much leſſe can we thinck that we do excel him. So the Churche ought not bycauſe of this to preferre faith or authoritie thereof before the Scriptures.
Auguſtine.But they ſay, Auguſtine ſayeth, I would not beleue the Goſpell except the authoritie of the Churche did moue me therunto. But in that place is read (to moue together) for in very dede,Faith is not poured in by the miniſter but by God. it is the ſpirite of God, which poureth faith into the hearers of his worde. And bycauſe the miniſters of the Churche are his inſtrumentes, they are rather to be ſayd to moue with, than abſolutely to moue. The ſame Auguſtine writeth in his 28. booke and ſecond chap. againſt Fauſtus, that the Maniches ought ſo to beleue that the firſt chap. of Matthew was writtē by Matthew, euen as they did beleue that the Epiſtle whiche they called Fundamentum, was written by Maniche, bycauſe vndoubtedly they were ſo kept by their elders, & from hande to hand deliuered vntounto them. This is it therfore that the Churche moueth withall to beleue the Goſpell, bycauſe faithfully it kepeth the holy ſcriptures, preacheth them, and diſcerneth them from ſtraunge Scriptures. The ſame father manifeſtly witneſſeth in his 6. booke of his confeſſions the 4. and 5. chap. that God him ſelfe in very dede did geue authoritie to the holy ſcriptures.Tertullianus Irenaeus But Tertullianus and Irenaeus hauing to do againſt heretikes did therfore ſend thē to the Apoſtolicall Churches, bycauſe they did not admitte the whole ſcriptures: Wherfore they would that they ſhould take their iudgemēt of thoſe Churches which were certainly knowen to be Apoſtolical. For it was meete that thoſe Churches ſhould continuallye remayne both witneſſes and alſo keapers of the holy ſcriptures: and yet therfore they did not decree that the authoritie of the Churche ſhould be preferred before the ſcriptures.
What is to be thought of a certayn rule of the Logiciens.But the aduerſaries ſay, that they are led by the ſentence, whiche is cōmonly vſed among Logiciens: EueryEvery thyng is ſuch a thyng by reaſon of an other, VVherfore that other ſhal more be counted ſuche. Wherfore they reaſon after this maner: If by the Churche the Scripture hath hys authoritie, it muſt nedes be that the Church much more hath that authoritie. But they remē ber not that this ſentence put by the Logiciens taketh place onelyonly in finall cauſes, and is of no ſtrength in efficient cauſes. For althoughe our inferior worlde be made warme by the ſunne and the ſtarres, yet doth it not thereby followe that they are farre more warmer. And agayne when immoderate men by wyne are made droncke, we can not therby conclude the wyne to be more dronken than they. Yea the Logiciens teache this, that this their ſentence is then ſtrong and of efficacy in efficient cauſes, when ſuch efficient cauſes are brought forth whiche are whole and perfect, and not whiche are perciall and maymed, whiche rule is not obſerued of our aduerſaries in this argument. For the Churche is not the whole and perfect efficient cauſe of that faith and authoritie whiche the holy Scriptures hauehave with the faithfull. For if it were ſo, then were it very eaſy to perſuade the Ethnickes and Turkes of the holy Scriptures, and to bryng the Iewes to receaue the new Teſtament, and how true this is, the thing it ſelfe witneſſeth. And I thincke. I hauehave ſpoken enough of the efficient cauſe of this booke and of the holy Scriptures.
Of the ende of this booke.And now laſtly order ſemeth to require, ye ſeyng we hauehave ſpoken of the matter, forme and efficient cauſe of the holy bookes, we ſhoulde alſo entreate ſomewhat to what end they were written. Wherin I thincke it not nedeful to kepe the reader long, for that before when I entreated many thynges of an hiſtorye, I hauehave expounded alſo the profite and commodities whiche come therof, whiche no doubte of it, belong vntounto the ende: but nowe preſently I will ſay thus much compendiouſly, that all theſe thinges are mentioned by the holy ghoſt, that we ſhoulde behaue our ſelues vprigthly both in proſperitie and alſo aduerſitie.
For we learne by the examples of holy men, when we are afflicted with ſundry troubles and miſeries, ſtedfaſtly to holde our faith, to put our hope in God, to call vponupon him only, & therewithall to repent vsus of our ſinnes whiche thinges if we do, he will no leſſe be preſente to helpe vsus, than we know yt he oftentimes deliuered the people of the Iewes. And this Paul declared, when he ſayde to the Romaines, whatſoeuer things are written, they are written for our learning, that we thorough patience and conſolation of the Scriptures might hauehave hope. Moreouer we are inſtructed, in proſperous thinges to kepe the feare of god, leſt we fal into grieuous ſinnes, by whiche meanes we might be made guiltie both of puniſhement in this lyfe, and alſo of euerlaſtyng damnatiō. Finally we may moſte manifeſtly gather the ende of reading of theſe bookes out of the Apoſtles doctrine, whiche he deliuered to Timothe, writing after this ſorte in his ſecond Epiſtle and third chap. All Scripture geuen by inſpiration of God is profitable to doctrine, to reprouing, to correction and to inſtruction which is in righteouſneſſe, that the man of God may be perfect and prepared to al good workes.
And now that as I ſuppoſe I hauehave ſpoken enough of the end and other cauſes of this booke, I will come nygher to the expoſition of the ſame, & firſt I wil declare whether this booke according to the ſentence of the Hebrewes be the ſecond booke of the firſte Prophetes, whoſe coniunction is ſo great with the hiſtory of Ioſua that a man woulde eaſely ſaye that they be both one.Whether the booke of Ioſua ought to be reckened with the booke of Iudges. And peraduenture there be ſome which ſuppoſe that Ioſua ſhould be reckened with the iudges: to whom I will not ſubſcribe. For iudges were raiſed vp of god, when the people were oppreſſed with outwarde enemies, but when Ioſua was proclaymed prince, all the affaires of the Iſraelites were in good proſperitie. For Sihon and Og moſt mightie kinges were ouercome, and that office was cōmitted to Ioſua, wherby Moyſes being dead he might leade the people ouer Iordane and take poſſeſſiō of the lande of Chanaan, and deuide the promiſed lande by lottes vntounto the children of Iſraell, and beſides that the people did ſet their handes to a decree whiche they had made of Ioſua, that he whiche obeyed not his voyce ſhould be killed, as we read it written in the firſt chap. of his booke. But there is no mention made of ſuche thynges as concernyng the Iudges. And yet both the bookes are ſo like and of ſuch affinitie, that many thinges are repeated in this our booke eſpecially in the beginning, whiche no doubte were done when Ioſua was yet lyuing.
There reſteth now to admoniſhe the reader ſomewhat of the partes of this boke.The partes of the booke of Iudges. There are as many principall membres in it as there were Iudges to Samuels tyme. For yt in eueryevery one of them ſtill riſeth vntounto vsus a new hiſtorye. But the firſt of all was Othoniel, of whom we will ſpeake in the third chap. So that all thoſe thinges whiche are written vntounto that place do contayne the thynges done from the death of Ioſua vntounto Othoniel. And certainly bycauſe the Iewes, as long as Ioſua liued, worſhipped god a right, & kept the lawe as muche as the weakeneſſe of mā coulde do: god ſtil wrought with them accordyng to his couenaunt, & gaue thē a great victorye ouer their enemies, ſo that eueryevery tribe ouercame his enemies for the moſt part which were yet adioynying to their borders. And then when the Iſraelites obteynyng the victorye did tranſgreſſe the commaundements of their god, & did not cleane deſtroy the nations which they had ouercome as god had commaunded them, yea they made them tributaries vntounto them, god therfore grieuouſly admoniſhed them by his meſſanger, bycauſe they had not onelyonly ſaued their enemies, but alſo had moſte filthyly honoured theyr gods. So that god was not wtout a cauſe angry with them, and deliuered them into the handes of outwarde tyrannes. But when they were ſorye for it and called vponupon their god, he had compaſſion of them, and rayſed them vp Iudges, by whom they might be deliuered, & when they were deliuered, they fell agayne to Idolatry & they were afflicted againe, & they repented, wherby in courſe their deliueries and oppreſſions are ſet forth. But their firſt oppreſſiō worthy of memory was vnderunder Chuſan Reſanthaim, from the which Othoniel the firſt of al the iudges reuenged them, of whom we will ſpeake in his place. But now we will put here vnderneth the wordes of the holy hiſtory.