Jews in America, Part 2 – Part 3
Part Second. Some contrary reaſonings removed, and firſt in the generall.
CHAP. I.
THere be ſome that by irrefragable arguments, they ſuppoſe, evince and overthrow all conjectures that the Americans be Jewes: Apocryphall Eſdras in Hiſtoricalls may be of ſome credit, and that ſentence of his by many is applyed to this very purpoſe; and theſe very people, the ten tribes led away captive by Salmanaſar, tooke this counſell among themſelves, that they would leave the multitude of the Heathen, and goe forth into a farther Countrey, where never man dwelt, that they might there keepe their ſtatutes, which they never kept in their owne land, and they entred into Euphrates, by the narrow paſſages of the river, for through that Countrey there was a great way to goe, namely of a yeere and an halfe, and the ſame Region is called Arſareth, &c. 2 Eſdr. 13. 40. &c. aAcoſt. l. 1. c. 9Acoſta is of opinion that theſe words thus produced by many, make in truth againſt this conjecture, and that for two reaſons. 1. The ten Tribes went ſo farre to keepe their ſtatutes and ceremonies, but theſe Indians obſerve none of them, being given up to all Idolatries: And is this at all conſequent, ſuch was their purpoſe, therefore the ſucceſſe muſt be anſwerable? is it likely they ſhould be ſo tenacious in a farre and forraigne land, that never kept them in their owne, as the next words expreſſe? His ſecond Argument is of like force, for tis not ſaid, that Euphrates and America be contiguous, or places ſo neere one the other, muchleſſe that the entries of that River ſhould ſtretch to the Indies; but hee tells of a very long journey taken by them, ſuitable to the places of their removall, and approach, which was to a Countrey where never man dwelt, and what Countrey could this be but America? all other parts of the world being then knowne and inhabited: Beſides there hath bin a common tradition among the Jews, and in the world, that thoſe ten tribes are utterly loſt; in what place are they then like to be found if not in America? for they ſhall be found againe. Some conjectures that they came from Norway, and be of that nation, have bin mentioned, with the improbability alſo thereof; and now lately T. Gage ſets forth his new ſurvey of the Weſt Indies, his long abode there, and diligent obſervation of many, very many remarkable paſſages in his travells; there I hoped to read ſomewhat of their originalls, and finde him bGages ſurvey. p. 73.affirming that the Indians ſeeme to be of the Tartars progeny, his reaſons are, 1. Quivira and all the Weſt ſide of the Countrey towards Aſia is farre more populous than the Eaſt next Europe, which ſheweth theſe parts to be firſt inhabited; but if the meaning be, the nearer Tartary the more populous, therefore they came from thence, its falls in with the third reaſon. 2. Their barbarous properties are moſt like the Tartats of any; this argument militates with more force for their Judaiſme, to which many of their rites be ſo conſonant, both ſacred and common, as hath been ſaid. And thirdly the Weſt ſide of America, if it be not continent with Tartary, is yet disjoyned by a ſmall ſtraite; but the like may be ſaid of ſome other parts, that they be or may have been neer ſome other maine lands, and ſo by that reaſon of ſome other race and extract. 4. The people of Quivira neereſt to Tartary, are ſaid to follow the ſeaſons and paſturing of their cattell like the Tartarians; this particular, a ſpecies of the generall, delivered in the ſecond reaſon, is there glanced upon, but all he ſaith of this nature, and others with him, are ſo farre from weakening our conjecture, that they may be embraced rather as friendly ſupports thereunto, if others have gueſſed right that conceive the Tartars alſo themſelves to be Jowes. Mathew Paris cM. Parisad An. 1240 mei p. 732. & 756., no meane man in his time, was of that opinion; in his famous hiſtory he mentions it as the judgement of learned men in that age, it is thought the Tartars, quorum memoriaeſt deteſtabilis, are of the ten Tribes, &c. Yea and of latter times Dr Fletcher dIn M. S.a neere neighbour to them while he lived among the Ruſſes as Agent for Queen Elizabeth, ſuppoſeth the ſame, and giveth divers probable arguments inducing him thereto: the names of many Townes in Tartary the ſame with thoſe in Iſraell, Tabor, Ierico, Choraſin, &c. They are circumciſed, diſtinguiſhed into Tribes, and have many Hebrew words among them, &c. for hee addeth other probabilities; yea and the ſame M. Paris eƲbi ſupra▪ſhewes that the Jewes themſelves were of that mind, and called them their brethren of the ſeed of Abraham, &c. There was another tranſmigration of them when Veſpatian deſtroyed Ieruſalem; their owne, and other Hiſtories ſpeake little thereof: it might be well worthy the endeavours of ſome ſerious houres to enquire after the condition of that Nation ſince our moſt deare Saviours Aſcenſion; a ſtrange thing is reported by themſelves, and of themſelves, and with ſuch confidence fBuxtorſ. Synag. Iud. c. 9. mei p. 231:that tis in their devotion. It ſaith when Veſpatian wan Ieruſalem, he gave order that three ſhips laden with that people might be put to Sea, but without Pilot, oares, or tackling, theſe by windes and tempeſts were woefully ſhattered, and ſo diſperſed, that they were caſt upon ſeverall coaſts; one of them in a Countrey called Lovanda, the ſecond in another region named Arlado, the third at a place called Bardeli, all unknown in theſe time, the laſt courteouſly entertained theſe ſtrangers, freely giving them grounds and vineyards to dreſſe, but that Lord being dead, another aroſe that was to them, as Pharaoh to old Iſraell, and he ſaid to them, he would try by Nabuchodonoſors experiment upon the three young men, if theſe alſo came from the fire unſcorch'd, he would believe them to be Jewes, they ſay Adoni-Melech, moſt noble Emperour, let us have alſo three daies to invoke the Majeſty of our God for our deliverance, which being granted, Ioſeph and Benjamin two brothers, and their coſin Samuell, conſider what is meet to be done, and agree to faſt and pray three daies together, and meditate every one of them a prayer, which they did, and out of them all they compiled one which they uſed all thoſe three daies and three nights; on the morning of the third day one of them had a viſion upon Eſa. 43. 2. which marvelouſly encouraged them all: ſoone after a very great fire was kindled, and an ininnumerable company of people came to ſee the burning, into which they caſt themſelves unbidden without feare, ſinging, and praying till all the combuſtible matter was conſumed, and the fire went out; the Jewes every where publiſhed this miracle, and commanded that this prayer ſhould be ſaid every Monday and Thurſday morning in their Synagogues, which is obſerved by them to this day ſaith Buxtorſius: In this narration if there be any truth wee may looke for ſome confirmation thereof from America. But that there be no Jewes in thoſe parts, Io. de Laet endeavours otherwiſe to evince; as 1. They are not circumciſed, therefore not In Grot:Jewes; but their circumciſion hath been made ſo manifeſt, that this reaſon may well be retorted; they are circumciſed, therefore they be Jewes.
Againe the Indians are not covetous, nor learned, nor carefull of their Antiquities, therefore they are not Judaicall; in which allegations if there be any ſtrength, it will be anſwered in the examination of thoſe three following ſcrupulous and difficult queſtions.
1. Whence and how the Iewes ſhould get into America.
2. How multiply, and enpeople ſo great a Continent, ſo vaſt a land.
3. How grow ſo prodigiouſly rude and barbarous.
CHAP II. Anſwer to the firſt Quere, How the Jewes ſhould get into America.
THE Jewes did not come into America, as is feigned of Ganimed aHygin. Aſtron., riding on Eagles wings, neither was there another Arke made to convey them thither, the Angels did not carry them by the haires of the heads, bBel, & Drag.as Apocryphall Habakuk was conducted into Babylon, theſe were not caught by the Spirit of the Lord and ſetled there, as Saint Philip was from Ieruſalem to Aſotus, Act. 8. 5. They were cAgathias Hiſt. m p. 142.not guided by an Hart, as tis written of the Hunns, when they brake in upon the nearer parts of Europe dIn Euagr. l. 4. c. 18., Procopius reports of the Mauriſii, an African Nation, that they were of thoſe Gergeſites or Jebuſites ſpoken of in the Scriptures, for he had read a very ancient writing in Phaenician Characters thus, foreign, i. e. We are they that fled from the face of the deſtroyer Ieſus the ſonne of Nave; and ſo the Septuagint names him, whom wee call the ſonne of Nun, and as foreign formerly, foreign was not in thoſe daies of ſuch odious ſignification: It may be ſaid theſe might paſſe from the parts of Aſia into Lybia by land, but the Jewes could not ſo get into America, which is thought by ſome to be very farre diſtant on every ſide from the Continent; el. 1. 19.Acoſta therefore ſuppoſeth the Natives might come at firſt by ſea into that maine land, alledging ſome experiments to that purpoſe, but in the next Chapter he judgeth it more probable, whoſoever the inhabitants be, that they travelled thither by land; for though ſome few men happily by tempeſts, might be caſt on thoſe ſhores, yet it is unlike, ſo large a part of the earth by ſuch mishaps ſhould be repleniſhed. F. Cotton (f), it ſeemes was puzled with this ſcruple, therefore in his memorialls he propounded to Tract. P. Cott.the Daemoniaque that Interrogatory, Quomodo animalia in inſulas, &c. Quomodo homines, how got men and other creatures into thoſe Iſlands and Countries. Acosta gƲbiſupra.ſubſcribes at length to the ſentence of St. Auſtin hDe C. D. l. 16. c. 7.for the entrance of Beares, Lions, and Wolves, that they arrived thither, either by their owne ſwimming, or by the importation of curious men, or by the miraculous command of God, and miniſtration of the Angels, yet his iIdem.finall determination is, and he lived ſeventeen yeeres in that Countrey, America joyneth ſomewhere with ſome other part of the world, or elſe is but by a very little diſtance ſeparated from it. And it may yet be further conſidered, the ſcituation of Countries is much altered by tract of time, many places that were formerly ſea, are now dry land ſaith Strabo kGeograp. l. 1., a great part af Aſia and Africa hath bin gained from the Atlantique Ocean, the ſea of Corinth was drunk up by an earthquake, Lucania by the force of the water was broken off from Italy, and got a new name; Sicily ſaith lApol. c. 39.Tertullian, the ſea gave unto the mAelian. Var. Hiſt. p. 455.earth the Iſland Rhodes; Pliny nl. 2 c. 89 91.mentions divers places, Iſlands long ſince, but in his time adjoyned to the Continent, and the ſea hath devoured many Townes and Cities, that were anciently inhabited; that Vallis Silveſtris as the Latin tranſlation renders, Gen. 14. 3. or of Siddim, i. e. Laboured fields, as tis in Hebrew, was certainely a vaile of ſlime-pits in the daies of Abraham and Lot, ver. 10. which very place about foure hundred yeeres after, was a ſea, the ſalt ſea, ver. 3. Between Thera and Theraſia an Iſland ſuddenly appeared, ſaith oChro. Anno 46Euſebius, and the ſea perhaps hath broken into ſome places, and of one made a double Iſland; all Ages and Nations tell of the water and the Earth, how they gain one from the other: and thus ſome pVerſt…g. c. 4. Lamb. Peramb. p 18.have conjectured, that our Brittaine ſince the floud, was one Continent with France, for the diſtance between them, at Callis and Dover is but ſmall, about twenty foure miles, and the cliffes on both ſides are like each other, for length and matter, equally chalk and flinty, as if art, or ſuddaine violence had made an even ſeparation. Thence Hollinſhead writes confidently, becauſe Lions and wild Bulls were formerly in this Iſland, that it was not cut from the maine by the great deluge of Noah, but long after; for none would repleniſh a Countrey with ſuch creatures for paſtime and delight.Chron. 1. pars. p. 225.
And if theſe be no more but conjectures that America was once united to the other world, or but a little divided from it, time and the ſea two inſatiable devourers have made the gap wider: But the queſtion is not in what age, before, or ſince the Incarnation of our Lord the Jewes tooke their long journey, and planted there; but how the way was paſſable for them: Malvenda qIbid.ſpeakes confidently that they might come into Tartary, and by the deſerts into Grotland, on which ſide America is open; and Mr Brerewood rIn 10. de Laet. p. 126.aſſures us that the North part of Aſia is poſſeſſed by Tartars, and if it be not one Continent with America, as ſome ſuppoſe; yet doubtleſſe they are divided by a very narrow channell, becauſe there be abundance of Beares, Lions, Tigers, and Wolves in the Land, which ſurely men would not tranſport to their owne danger and detriment, thoſe greater sIbid. p. 116.beaſts indeed are of ſtrength to ſwimme over Sea many miles, and this is generally obſerved of Beares: and tIbid. & p. 25.Herrera ſaith, the inhabitants of the Weſt Indies came thither by land, for thoſe Provinces touch upon the Continent of Aſia, Africa, and Europe, though it be not yet fully diſcovered, how, and where the two worlds be conjoyned, or if any ſea doe paſſe between them, they are ſtraites ſo narrow, that beaſts might eaſily ſwimme, and men get over even with ſmall veſſells; Our Countrey man Nich. Fuller uMiſcellan. Sacr. l. 2. c. 4.gives in his ſuitable verdit for the facile paſſing into Columbina, ſo he calls it from the famous firſt diſcoverer, ſaying, from other places they might find ſeverall Iſlands not farre diſtant each from other, and a narrow cut at laſt through which paſſengers might eaſily be conveyed; and Acoſta wHiſt. l. 7. c. 3… &. l. 1. c. 20.tells that about Florida the land runs out very large towards the North, and as they ſay joynes with the Scythique or German Sea; and after ſome other ſuch mentionings, he concludes confidently, there is no reaſon or experience that doth contradict my conceit, that all the parts of the Earth be united and joyned in ſome place or other, or at leaſt, approach very neere together, and that is his concluſive ſentence. It is an indubitable thing, that the one world is continued, and joyned with the other.
CHAP. III. Anſwer to Queſtion 2. How ſuch a remnant ſhould enpeople ſo great a part of the world.
THE whole Countrey of Jewry, whence wee would have it probable that the Americans came, is not above one hundred and ſixty miles long, from aT. 3. Ep. p. 69▪Dan to Beerſheba, and the breadth is but ſixty miles, from Ioppa to Iordan, in St. Ieromes account, who knew it ſo well; and how ſome few Colonies, as it were removing from thence ſhould multiply into ſuch numbers, that ſo large a Countrey ſhould be filled by them, is a ſcruple that hath troubled ſome conſidering men. America in the latitude of it is bLerius. p. 169.is foure thouſand miles; and Biſhop Caſa's cAnte p. hujus 24. n.hath ſaid already, that the Spaniards in his time had forraged and ſpoyled Countries longer then all Europe, and a great part of Aſia; it ſeemes incredible therefore that the Incommers, who were but few in compariſon, as a little flocke of Kids, ſhould ſo marvelouſly ſpread into all the Weſterne World; for the Americans before that Spaniſh devaſtation, filled all the Countrey. But this will not ſeeme ſo difficult, if former examples be taken into conſideration; dVerſteg. p. 188.ſome have made ſpeciall obſervation of the foreign ſuch as had many children; tis much that Acoſta eHiſt. l. 6. c. 22▪writes of one of the Inguas or Kings of Peru, that hee had above three hundred ſonnes and grandchildren; tis more that Philo Iudeus fQu. in Gen. & Comeſt. c. 37.tells of Noah the Patriarke, who lived, hee ſaith, to ſee twenty foure thouſand proceeding from him, all males, for women were not numbred. We uſe to ſay, Rome was not built in one day; and indeed Eutropius gHiſt. l. 1.ſpeaking of the Empire of that City, ſaith, at firſt none was leſſe, but in its increment it exceeded all others by many degrees, ſo that he who reades the ſtory thereof, reads not the acts of one people, but of all Nations ſaith Florus hProlog. ad l. 1; yea and Seneca ide Conſolat ad Helv. c. 7.looking on Rome in its minority, and her immenſe magnitude afterward, is amazed thereat; this one people ſaith he, how many Colonies did it ſend into all Provinces, he writes of numerous encreaſes from other Cities alſo, as Athens and Miletus, but it will be nearer to our purpoſe to obſerve, how ſmall the number of Iſraell was at his firſt diſcent into Egypt, how ſhort a time they tarried there, what cruell waies were taken to ſtop their encreaſe, and yet how much, and how marvelouſly they multiplied, and then it will not be ſtrange, that a farre greater number, in a longer time ſhould or might grow into ſuch vaſt multitudes. And for the firſt tis moſt certaine, all the ſoules of the houſe of Iacob which came into Egypt were ſeventy. Gen. 46. 27. Tis true alſo, though not to all ſo manifeſt, that the time of their abode in Egypt was about two hundred and fifteen yeers, and not more; at firſt appearance indeed it ſeems to be otherwiſe, becauſe wee read, Exod. 12. 40. The ſojourning of the children of Iſraell who dwelt in Egypt, was foure hundred and thirty yeeres, but the Septuagints addition is here remarkable foreign. They dwelt in Egypt and in the Land of Canaan, they and their Fathers, foure hundred and thirty yeeres, and this is one of thoſe thirteen mutations that the ſeventy Interpreters made; when at King Ptolomes appointment they tranſlated the Scripture into Greeke, which they ſaid was done rightly by them, for Iſraell was indeed in Egypt but two hundred and ten yeeres, which collection they make from kBen. Gor. p:the numerall letters of that ſpeech of Iacob. Gen. 42. 2. ו / 6 ד / 4 ר / 200 and there be many impreſſions in the Scripture, evidencing that their abode in Egypt was according to this computation. Saint Paul firſt taught this high point of Chronology, where and how the account muſt begin, namely at the time when the promiſe was made to Abraham, for the Law was foure hundred and thirty yeeres after, Gal. 3. 16, 17. God bidding Abraham get out of his owne countrey, &c. Gen. 12. 1. makes a Covenant with him, ver. 2. 3. and Abraham was then ſeventy five yeeres old, ver. 4. Iſaac is borne twenty five yeeres after, Gen. 21. 5. Iacobs birth is ſixty yeeres after that, Gen. 25. 26. Iacob was one hundred and thirty yeeres old when hee went downe into Egypt, Gen. 47. 28. which together make two hundred and fifteen yeeres, and two hundred and fifteen yeeres after they came all out of Egypt; for when the foure hundred and thirty yeeres were expired, even the ſelfe ſame day departed all the Hoſts of the Lord out of the land of Egypt, Exod. 12. 41. The computation of Suidas lIn Voce foreign.in l Suidas thus computes the four hundred and thirty yeeres of Iſraels being in Egypt, and the land of Canaan: From Abrahams going into Charran to Iſaacs birth, yeers 25 Thence to Iacobs Nativity. 60 From him to Levi. 87 From Levi to Caath. 45 From Ceath to Amram. 63 From Amram to Moſes. 70 From Moſes to their Exodus, and going out. 80 Summe 430 yeeres▪the margent is conſonant hereunto; and how theſe ſeventy in the ſpace of two hundred & fifteen yeers did encreaſe, is next to be declared, which is alſo plainly expreſſed, ver. 37. They tooke their journey from Rameſes to Succoth, about ſix hundred thouſand men on foot, beſide children, ſo great a multiplication of ſo few in ſo ſhort a time, may eaſily convince the poſſibility of a far greater augmentation from a beginning ſo vaſtly different, and the continuance ſo much ſurmounting. The Spaniards firſt comming into America was about the yeere one thouſand foure hundred and ninety: the great diſperſion of the Jewes immediately after our Saviours death at the deſtruction of Ieruſalem, was more then fourteen hundred yeeres before, and their former importation into the City of the Medes was ſeven hundred and fourty yeeres before that; if therefore upon either of the ſcatterings of that Nation, two thouſand or fourteen hundred yeeres, or leſſe then either number be allowed for the encreaſe of thoſe that were very many before, ſuch multitudes will not be miraculous: beſides, in all that time no forraign power did breake in among them; there were thence no tranſplantations of Colonies, no warres did eate up the inhabitants, but ſuch light battailes as they were able to manage among themſelves, in all that long time they did encreaſe and multiply without any extraordinary diminution, till that incredible havocke which was made by the Spaniſh invaſions and cruelties.
CHAP. IV. Anſwer to the third Quaere, about their becomming ſo barbarous.
IF ſuch a paſſage through Tartary, or ſome other Countrey for them were granted, and the probability of ſo numerous multiplication acknowledged, the perſwaſion will not yet be eaſie, that Jewes ſhould ever become ſo barbarous, horrid and inhumane, as bookes generally relate of theſe Americans.
Villagagno aLer. Hiſt. pre p. 8.writing of the Braſilians to Maſter f.Calvin, ſpeakes as if he had bin uncertaine at firſt whether he were come among beaſts in an humane ſhape, ſo ſtupid he found them and ſottiſh beyond imagination: But here every reader may take occaſion to bemoane the woefull condition of mankinde, and into what rude, groſſe, and unmanlike barbarities we runne headlong, if the goodneſſe of God prevent us not.
Wee marvaile at the Americans for their nakedneſſe, and man-devouring, we cannot believe the Jewes ſhould be given over to ſuch barbarity: But in our own Nation the Inhabitants were anciently as rude and horrid, foreign, ſaith Herodian, the Britons knew not the uſe of apparell, leſt their cloathing In Sev. p. 83.ſhould hide the ſeverall formes and figures of beaſts and other creatures which they paint, and imprint upon their bodies; and Hierome ſaith, when he was a young man, he ſaw the Scots, Gentem Britannicam humanis veſci carnibus, T. 2. Ep. p. 75.and that even here of old were Anthropophagi, is averred by Diodorus Siculus, and Strabo. And to what hath Lib. 6. Geor. l. 4.bin ſaid of the Jewes formerly, ſhall here be added.
It ſeemes ſtrange to us if they be Jewes, they ſhould forget their religion, and be ſo odiouſly idolatrous, although after ſo many yeeres; but, if the Scripture had not ſpoken it, could it have bin believed of this very people, that they ſhould fall ſo often into ſuch foule offences, as, if circumſtances be conſidered, have no parallell. Iſrael, when but newly delivered out of Egypt, by many ſignes and wonders, with ſeverall evident and miraculous impreſſions of Gods Majeſty and power; yet in ſix moneths ſpace all is forgotten, they make unto themſelves a God of their owne, attributing unto it all their deliverance, and ſay, Theſe be thy Gods O Iſrarael which brought thee out of the land of Egypt. Exod. 32. 4. which baſe Idoll of theirs had not its nothing, till they were all come out ſafe thence; who can ſufficiently wonder that thoſe very people who ſaw and heard thoſe terrible things mentioned, Exod. 19, & 20. which forced them to ſay but a while before to Moſes, Talke thou with us, and wee will heare, but let not God talke with us, leaſt wee die, Exod. 20. 19. Yea God himſelfe ſeems to admire at this, and for this to diſowne them, telling Moſes, Thy people which thou haſt brought out of the land of Egypt, they are ſoon turned out of the way, &c. Exod. 32. 8. It may ſeeme paſt beliefe any of Iacobs race ſhould be ſo unnaturall as to devoure one another, as is frequent among theſe Indians; and would it not bee as much beyond credit, if the Scripture of truth, Dan. 10. 21. had not aſſerted it, that theſe ſonnes of Iacob in former times when they had Prieſts and Prophets among them, and the remembrance of Gods juſtice and mercy was freſh in their minds, That they ſhould then offer their ſonnes and daughters unto devills, Pſal. 106. 36. as they did in the valley of Hinnom, 2 King 23. 10. ſmiting bHier. in loc.on the Tabrets while their children were burning, that their cry could not be heard; tis not impoſſible therefore that the Jews ſhould be againe overwhelmed with ſuch ſavageneſſes and inhumanity; nor improbable neither, if to what hath bin ſaid three other things be added. 1. The threats of God againſt them upon their diſobedience, Deut. 28. where be words and curſes ſufficient to portend the greateſt calamity that can be conceived to fall upon the nature of man, as hath already bin in ſeverall things declared; and M. Paris cƲbi ſupra.ſo anſwers the objection, that the Tartars are not Jewiſh, becauſe they know nothing of Moſes Law, nor righteouſneſſe, &c. If when Moſes was alive, ſaith he, they were ſo ſtubborne and rebellious, and went after other Gods, they may be now much more prodigiouſly wicked, even as theſe Americans, being unknowne to other people, confounded alſo in their language and life, and God ſo revenging their abominations. 2. The ten Tribes in their owne land were become extreamely barbarous, renouncing all almoſt they had received from Moſes, Ezek. 36. 17. & 2 King. 17. their captivity is mentioned, and the ſinfull cauſe thereof, more then abominable Idolatries; and they were not onelyonly guilty of wicked, but even of witleſſe impieties: God forbad them to walke after the cuſtomes of the Nations, Deut. 4. 8. and yet, as the Heathen in all their Cities, they built high places, making Images and groves upon every high hill, and under every green tree, and made their ſonnes and daughters to paſſe through the fire, uſing witchcraft and enchantment, &c. 2 King. 17. 8, 9. This was their religion and wiſdome while they were in their own Countrey, and they were no better in the land of their captivity; for it may be, they had not there the books of the Law, nor any Prophets among them, becauſe tis ſaid againe and againe, They left the commandments of their God. And if it ſeeme unlikely, that the Jewes being in America ſhould loſe the Bible, the Law, and ceremonies, then let the Propheſie of Hoſea be remembred, where tis foretold, that the children of Iſrael ſhall remaine many daies without a King, and without a Prince, and without a Sacrifice, and without an Ephod, and without a Teraphim, Hoſe. 3. 4. Yea and before that time there was a lamentable defection of religion in Iſraell.
While they were in their owne land, for a long ſeaſon they were without the true God, and without a reading Prieſt, and without Law, 2 Chron. 15. 3. yea and as Chryſoſtome dChriſoſt. in 1 Cor. 2. m. p. 218.affirmes that the Book of Deuteronomy had been loſt along time among Chriſtians, and was lately recovered from duſt and rubbiſh a little before his daies; ſo tis moſt certaine that in Ioſiahs reigne, Hilkiah the Prieſt found the Booke of the Law in the Houſe of the Lord, which when the King heard read unto him, hee was aſtoniſht, as at a new and ſtrange thing, and rent his clothes, 2 King, 22. 8. &c. and this was the Booke of the law of the Lord given by Moſes, 2 Chro. 34. 14. which was then little knowne or regarded among them, ver. 24, 25. &c. But thirdly, the ſtupor and dulneſſe of Iſraell was even admirable, when our Saviour came into the world, for they give no credit to their owne Prophets read in their Synagogues every Sabbath, the Shepherds publiſh what they received from the Angells concerning Chriſt, Luk. 2. 17. Simeon proclaimes glorious things of Jeſus, and they will not heare, ver. 25. Wiſe men came from the Eaſt to Ieruſalem enquiring and diſcourſing, but ſtill they apprehend not; yea they ſhut their eyes againſt all the marvailes that Chriſt performed among them, ſuch as would have convinced not onelyonly Tyre and Sidon, but even Sodome and Gomorrha: the heavenly Sermons of the Sonne of God wrought upon ſtones, harlots, publicans and ſinners, but thoſe Jewes remaine inflexible againſt all, and at his death they ſtill continue ſeared and ſtupified; the veile of the Temple is rent, the earth did quake, the ſtones were cloven aſunder, and the graves did open, but their hearts are ſhut up ſtill; yea and at his reſurrection there was a great earthquake, the Angel of the Lord comes downe from heaven, his countenance is like lightning, for fear of him the keepers become as dead men, Chriſt riſeth againe in glory, and the watch ſhew the High Prieſts all theſe things, they are hereupon convinced, but they will not b… convinced; for they take counſell together, and with mony hire the ſouldiers to ſay, the diſciples ſtole away his body while they ſlept; if it be therefore well conſidered of what dark & darkned condition the Iſraelites were in theſe times, how many yeeres have paſſed ſince, what meanes they have had to increaſe their rudeneſſe and incivility, and irreligion; no way, commerce, or means left to reclaime them, it will not ſeem ſo ſtrange if they be wholly barbarous, ſeeing alſo the vengeance of God lies hard and heavy upon them for their injuſtice done to his Sonne, nam crucifixerunt eIn Io. Tr. 4.ſalvatorem ſuum & fecerunt damnatorem ſuum, ſaith St. Auſtin, they crucified their Saviour, and made him their enemy and avenger. It is no marvaile then, ſuppoſing the Americans. to be Jewes, that there be ſo few mentionings of Judaicall rites and righteouſneſſe among them; it may be, and is, a wonderfull thing rather, that any footſtep or ſimilitude of Judaiſme ſhould remaine after ſo many ages of great iniquity, with moſt juſt divine diſpleaſure therupon, and no poſſibility yet diſcerned how they ſhould recover, but manifeſt neceſſities almoſt of praecipitation into further ignorance, groſſeneſſe and impiety; the loſſe of which their cuſtomes and ceremonies, in ſo great a meaſure, in time may prove advantagious towards their converſion, ſeeing they cannot be obſtinate maintainers of Moſaicall Ordinances, the love and liking whereof and adheſion to them, was ever a prevailing obſtacle to the knowing Jewes, and that is a conſideration tending directly to the laſt part, and particular, and will helpe, I truſt, to encourage us who are already deſirous, not to civilize onelyonly the Americanes, … even to Goſpellize and make them Chriſtian.