Exposition of the Laws of Moses, Exegesis 9 · Part 18
EXERCITAT. Of the diviſion of the Law and the Prophets, in paraſhoth and haphtaroth.
Act. 15.21. For Moyſes of old time had in every City them that preach him, being read in their Synagogues every Sabbath day.
THe Scriptures were not divided into Chapters,foreign as we have them now divided, therefore the Iewes ſay, that the whole Law is Inſtar vnius peſuk, that is, but as one verſe.
The Old Teſtament was divided into paraſhoth and Haphtaroth; this diviſion into paraſhoth was moſt ancient, Act. 8.32. The place of Scripture which he read was this, foreignin the Greeke it is foreign the Section, and the Syriacke calleth it paſuka.
They diſtinguiſhed not theſe paraſhoth and haphtaroth by numbers, as we doe our Chapters; they ſayd not the firſt paraſhah, the ſecond paraſhah, but they diſtinguiſh them by the firſt words of the Section; as the firſt paraſhah is called Bereſhith, the ſecond Elle toledoth Noah, &c.
They uſed to divide and diſtinguiſh theſe great paraſhoth and haphtaroth three wayes. Firſt, they diſtinguiſhed them with three great P P P. Secondly,foreign they diſtinguiſhed them with three great Samechs, as Gen. 20.10. theſe Samechs or Semucheth make not ſo great a diſtinction as when they are diſtinguiſhed by three great P P P: foreignfor there is ſome coherence (whch they are diſtinguiſhed by Samech) with that which goeth before. So in the particular paraſhoth when yee ſee them diſtinguiſhed by paraſhah or by Semuchah; but onelyonly with great letters,foreign as Gen. 32.2. this word vaijſhlahh beginneth the paraſhah in great letters.
Ioh. 7.37. In the laſt day, that great day of the feaſt, Ieſus ſtood and cryed ſaying, &c. This was the eight day of the feaſt of the Tabernacles,They read three ſections upon the eight day of the feaſt of tabernacles when the Law was ended. and it is called the great Sabbath. This day they kept Feſtum laetitiae legis, The feaſt of joy, becauſe they ended the reading of the Law that day; and the next Sabbath they called it Sabbath bereſhith, becauſe they began to reade the booke of Geneſis againe. And yee ſhall ſee that this day they read three Haphtaroth or Sections,foreign. the firſt was haphtaroth elle pekudi lejom ſheni ſhel Succoth, and it began, 1 King. 7.51. So was ended all the words which King Salomon made, &c. And that day Salomon ſtood up and bleſſed the people; So the true Salomon Ieſus Chriſt bleſſed the people In that great and laſt day of the feaſt. The ſecond haphtarah which was read this day, was Ioſh. 1. haphtaroth ſhimhhath torah. foreignSectio laetitiae legis, becauſe the Law was ended, and Ioſhua began the Prophets. The third paraſhah which they read was, Malac. 3. Haphtaroth ſabbath hagadol, foreignand it ended thus, Behold I will ſend you Eliah the Prophet, and ſo they joyned the laſt Section of the Law, and the laſt Section of the Prophets both together, and it was in this day that Ieſus Chriſt ſtood up and ſpake to them; the true Salomon, the true Ioſhua, the end of the Law and the Prophets. And whereas the Iewes on this day delighted themſelves much with banqueting, and drinke; Ieſus Chriſt calleth all thoſe to him who thirſt, and he promiſeth to refreſh them; If any man thirſt let him come unto me and drinke.
Scaliger holdeth, that the Apoſtle, Coloſſ. 2.16. Let no man Iudge you foreign in parte Sabbathi, In Elencho trihareſ. cap. 21. pag. 217.ſignifieth that, which the Hebrewes call Paraſhah, and which the Talmud calleth Perek or Chelek, or which the Greekes call foreign but the Apoſtle meaneth onelyonly here,foreign that he would not have the Iewes to condemne the Coloſsians, for not obſerving their Iewiſh Sabbaths; as he would have the Gentiles to abſtaine from things ſtrangled, and blood, Act. 15.29. That they might not give offence to the weake Iewes.
The Iewes ſay, that this diviſion in Paraſhoth was moſt ancient, but the diviſion into Haphtaroth was later, and they give this to be the reaſon why they reade theſe Haphtaroth, they ſay, when, Antiochus Epiphanes forbad them under paine of death to reade the Law of Moſes 1 Macch. 2. then they made choiſe of ſome parts of the Prophets anſwerable to theſe parts of the Law. Example, becauſe they durſt not reade Petorah bereſith. They read Eſay. 42. So ſaith the Lord Creator of heaven and earth. Example, 2. the ſecond Paraſha is Elle toledoth Noah, now becauſe they durſt not read this they read Eſay. beſiman, that is,The reading of Moyſes and the Prophets more ancient than Antiochus. at the ſigne 54. (for that which we call a Chapter they call a ſigne) Sing yee barren, &c. But is it likely that Antiochus that great Tyrant,foreign. forbad them onelyonly the reading of the five bookes of Moſes? wherefore the reading of Moſes and the Prophets hath beene much more ancient than the time of Antiochus: therefore Act. 15.21. Moſes is read of old. A Phraſe which ſignifieth a great antiquitie.
When they read Moſes Law,They read the whole Law in their Synagogues once in the yeere. they divided it in fifty and two Sections, and they finiſhed it once in the yeere: They had two ſorts of yeeres, there was Annus impraegnatus or Embolimaeus, and Annus Aequabilis. Annus Impragnatus was that, which wee call Leape yeare, and it had fifty three weekes;Annus impragnatus. embolimaeus. in this yeere they divided one Paraſhah in two parts, and ſo they ended the reading of the Law within the yeare. When it was Annus Aequabilis then it had but fifty two weeks, then they read one Paraſhah for every Sabbath, and in the laſt Sabbath of the yeare, which was the twentie third of Tiſhri, they read that Paraſhah called Latitia legis, which beginneth Ioſhu. 1. And the next Sabbath they began bereſith againe at the firſt of Geneſis.
Theſe Paraſhoth were ſubdivided into ſo many parts, and there were ſundrie who read theſe parts upon the Sabbath, hee that read the firſt, was called Cohen the Preiſt, hee repeated the firſt part of the Section; and then roſe up Catzan, or Cantor, who did ſing the ſame part which the Prieſts had read; then there roſe up in the third place a Levite, and he read his part; Fourthly, there roſe up an Iſraelite, and hee read his part, and at laſt it came to Maphtir, foreign a foreign ceſſare in hiphil dimittere.and hee read the laſt part of the Haphtorah; he was called Maphtir, becauſe when that part was read, the people were diſmiſſed, and ſo the Latine Church ſaid Ite miſſa eſt.
In the weeke dayes, they read upon the ſecond and the fift day of the weeke, ſome part of thoſe Paraſhoth, but not the whole: and the Phariſee meant of theſe two dayes when he ſaid, I faſt twiſe in the weeke Luk. 18.12.
The Greeke and Latine Fathers never cite Chapters as we doe now; Auguſtine in his booke of retractations, Cap. 24. ſaith not, I have written to Geneſis 3. but this wayes, I have written to the caſting out of our parents out of paradiſe. And Gregorie in his Prologue upon the firſt of the Kings, ſaith; I have expounded to you from the beginning of the booke, unto the victory of David.
Who divided the Scriptures firſt into Chapters it is not certaine; they were divided of old two manner of wayes; firſt they divided them into foreign titles, (for ſo they called the greater parts) and then into Chapters as into leſſer parts: others againe divided them into Chapters as into greater parts. It is holden, that Muſaeus preſbiter Eccleſiae Maſſilienſis divided them firſt into titles, and ſubdivided them into Chapters.Genebrard, Chronologia. According to this firſt diviſion Matthew had ſixty three titles, and three hundreth and fifty five Chapters. So Luke according to the ancient diviſion had forty eight titles, and three hundreth and forty eight chapters.
He who began this latter diviſion into Chapters, is holden to be Hugo Cardinalis: according to this diviſion Matthew hath twenty and eight Chapters, and Luke twenty and foure, &c.
Laſtly, it was divided into verſes: this diviſion into Peſuchim or verſes, the Maſoreth found out firſt amongſt the Iewes: The Greekes called them foreign. Scaliger calleth them Commata, and Robertus Stephanus calleth them Sectiunculas, and ſome hold that it was hee that found them out firſt amongſt us.