The Christian Synagogue, Book 1 · Chapter 3
CHAP. III. Of the second Helpe.
foreign, or the right pointing of a Scripture.
THE dDe accent. lege Buxtorf. tiber, et gramat et Eliam levit.points and accents are naturally Canon.bred with the Scriptures, delivered by GOD to Moyses, out of Mount Sinai, and so to the posteritie.
Talmud, eTalm. Ierus. l. Iomo. cap. 1 Medrash ex Zohar. Othun …ullehu cegupha lo naphsha.Omnes literae sunt vt corpus Confir.sine anima. Letters without points, are like a body without a soule.
The Hebrewes say, *Me…r. shex Zohar. Halkore belo hametbeg carrok…b belo harezen.Qui legit sine puncto, vt qui equitat Illust.sine fraeno, that is; He who reades without the points, is as he who rideth without a bridle. And againe, Col perish shelo gnal derech hat agnamim lo tob lo, Omnis expositio quae non secundum punct a accentus non bona est; that is, Every exposition which is not according to the points, is not good for thee to follow. Therefore the Hebrewes cals the accents tagnamim accentus, because they season the reading, and giues it the right relish, as sawce doth the meate.
The right pointing of the Scripture, is a most necessary Canon.helpe for vnderstanding the Text.
After the Lord said, let the waters bring forth abundantly Gen. 1. 20.every creeping thing: and let the fowles flie vponupon the earth. * Where this starre * is placed, it shewes alwayes the wrong reading.1. Example.Because the vulgar Translation marketh not the point Atnach, at creeping things here; therefore sundry hauehave gathered, that the Fowles were created of the waters, contrary to the Text, Gen. 2. 19. Out of the ground the Lord God formed eueryevery beast of the field, and eueryevery fowle of the ayre.
And they offered burnt offerings, (to wit) Lambes: and Exod 24. 5.they sacrificed peace-offerings (to the Lord) to wit, Bullockes. *
There gTalm. intract. de festis. … 6. supe. Exod. 24. 5.was a question betwixt the Disciples of Hillel, and the Disciples of Schammai, what were the sacrifices which were offered by the Israelites in the wildernesse, the sect of Hillel held, that it was the daily sacrifice or burnt offering which they offered: The sect of Shcammai held, that it was a voluntary sacrifice which they offered: but if they had marked the right pointing of the Text, this controversie would hauehave soone ended; they might hauehave seene two distinct sacrifices set down there. They should not hauehave read the Text without the distinction Atnach, at burnt offering, as they did (and they offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace-offerings.
And he was with the Lord fortie dayes and fortie nights, Exo. 34. 28.and he did neither eate bread nor drinke water: and he wrote vponupon the Tables. *
Who wrote vponupon the Tables, whether God or Moyses? Deut. 10. 2.Deut. 10. 2. It is expresly sayd, that God wrote the second Tables, then for to cleare the place in Exodus, wee must marke the accent Atnach, set downe before (and,) and Moyses did neither eate nor drinke: here is the rest, and he wrote (to wit, God) or dum scriberet scilicet Deus, while as he wrote, (to wit, God.)
But when the daies of her purification shall be fulfilled, Levit. 12. 6.whether for a sonne or a daughter; shee shall bring a Lambe. *
Augustine not observing the Hebrew point Segolta, which is put after daughter, thought that she was to offer her offering for her sonne as well as for her daughter, contrary to the Scripture; for the male childe was to be circumcised the eyght day, & consequently was cleane; and the females were circumcised in the males. The sonnes of Iacob say to Hamor, Shall we giuegive our Sister to Gen 34 14one that is vncircumcised. But this we will consent vntounto you, that eueryevery male be circumcised among you.
Fortie stripes shalt thou giuegive him, but no moe.Deu 25. 2. 3
The Iewes had a tradition of giuing the guiltie thirtie nine stripes, but not full fortie. I received of the Iewes 2 Cor. 11. 24.th…ice fortie stripes lacking one: the reason commonly is, why they substracted one was for pittie: but the ground of the subtraction was the custome of the Iewes following the eTalmud.Talmudike reading, omitting the distinction which is in the Text; for the Text distinguisheth these two, He shall be beaten before him with a certaine number, then it subioynes, Thou shalt beate him with fortie stripes: but the Talmudick reading ioynes them both together, passing by the point, (He shall be beaten before him with a certaine number, with the number of fortie) that is, that which goes next vntounto fortie, or immediately before fortie, the Text sayes not (say they) fortie in number: for then full fortie must be vnderstood; but because the Text sayes, Rammisper in numero, in number, he would say; Let him be beaten with as many stripes as hee may beare according to his desert.
Before the light of God went out in the Temple, Samuel 1 Sam. 4. 4.slept.
The not regarding the point made a wrong reading. Before the light of God went out, * Samuel slept in the Temple. 2 Sam 7. 18.No man might sit in the Temple, farre lesse sleepe in it. The King sat onelyonly in the outward Court, and the Priest stood: therefore when Samuel slept, hee slept in a Chamber hard by, and not in the Temple.
The iust by faith, shall liue; Wee must be first iust by faith before God, and then liue; and not first iust, and Habac. 2. 4. Rom. 1. 17.then liue by faith before God: this is the right reading. But some reade it wrong, thus; The iust, * shall liue by faith. That the former is the true reading, is proued by the Apostle, Rom. 1. 16. 17. OnelyOnly the iust shall liue before God: but the iust by faith is onelyonly iust; therefore onelyonly the iust by faith shall liue before God. The Covenant of the Law sayes, (hoc fac, & vives) Doe this and thou shalt liue; here subiectum, of this proposition is, hoc fac; and the attributum of it, is, vives. So this in the new covenant; The iust by faith shall liue, here subiectum is, The iust by faith, attributum, shall liue.
They shall deliver you into their meetings and Synagogues, Mark. 13.ye shall be beaten, and shall be presented before Rulers and Kings.
The wrong reading, they shall deliver you to their Iudicatories, * and in their Synagogues ye shall be beaten: they were not beaten in their Synagogues, but before the civill Iudges in their Iudicatories.
He began, to be about thirtie yeares of age, * being as is supposed Luk. 3.the sonne of Ioseph.
foreign incepit, is not construed here with the Genitiue Seal. emend. tempor.case foreign, but is put absolutely here, according to the Hebrew phrase; as in Gen. 9. 20. Tunc coeperat, Noe plantare vineam, To plant a Vineyard, and drinke of the Wine thereof. The wrong reading is thus; Then he began to be about thirtie yeares of age, without any distinction. Dionysius following the wrong pointing, makes him but seuen and twentie yeares when he began his Ministery. Keplerus makes him to begin his Ministery in the beginning of his thirtieth yeare. But he began his Ministery in the beginning of his thirtie one yeare, being full thirtie.
This is life eternall to know the onelyonly to be true God, and Ioh. 17. 3.whom thou hast sent Christ: This is the true reading.
The Arians pointed the place wrong, thus; This is life eternall to know the onelyonly, * to bee the true God, and whom thou hast sent Christ. So they would seclude Christ from being true God: For the exclusiue particle foreign, belongs not to the subiectum, life eternall, but to the attribute, The true God. Which particle in the Greeke sheweth cleerely, foreign: and the sense is this; I hat yee may know the Father to bee that God, who is onelyonly very God. If the Comma, were put after (onelyonly) then it would seclude the attribute, the true God, from the Sonne, and the holy Ghost: but when it is rightly placed, it secludes the attribute onelyonly from Creatures. Solus Pater est Deus, (solus) secludit attribu…um, ab alijs personis, sed vera lectio abominibus Creatur…s.
If any hearken not to our speech by an Epistle, note such a 2 Thes 3. 14.man.
The wrong pointing is this; If any man hearken not to our speech, * note him by an Epistle. For it is not the Thessalonians, but Paul that should write the Epistle.
Whose names are written in the booke of the Lambe slaine, Revel. 13. 8.from the beginning of the world. *
Slaine, here is not referred to these words, from the beginning of the world, but to the words going before; written in the Lambes booke from the beginning of the world.
Then said Paul: Iohn verily baptized with the baptisme Acts 19. 5.of repentance, saying vntounto the people; That they should beleeue in him which should come after him, (that is) in Christ Iesus: So when they heard him, they were baptized in the Lord Iesus: This is the right pointing. That they should beleeue in him which should come after him, that is, in Christ Iesus, and when they heard him, * &c. taking them for Lukes words: This is the wrong reading.
The right reading makes these to be Pauls words (and hearing him they were baptized) that is, Iohns hearers hearing himselfe. The wrong reading makes them Lukes words, and so make the twelue men whom Iohn baptized, to be rebaptized againe by Paul.
There was a certaine Iew, whose name was Mordecai, the Esther 2. 5.sonne of Iair, the sonne of Shemai, the sonne of Kish, * a man of Iemini; which had beene carried away from Ierusalem with the captivitie.
The right pointing is, not to make a Comma after Kish, but after Iemini: for if it be set after Kish, then the relatiue will hauehave relation to Mordecai; then Mordecai should hauehave liued from the captivitie of Ieconiah, till the Persian Monarchy. Therefore Tichcha set vponupon Kish, is but semi-incisum, and hath not the force of a full Comma. For the Hebrewes hauehave their Semi-incisa, incisa, membra, & puncta: membrum, properly is the point which answers to the Greeke Colon.
Ye see then how that of workes a man is iustified, and not Jam. 2. 24.of faith onelyonly. This is the right reading.
The wrong pointing is, That of workes a man is iustified, and not of faith, * onelyonly.
If it were thus pointed, then it should carry this sense, Ye see then that a man is iustified by workes, and not onelyonly iustified by faith: That is, That he is both iustified by workes and faith; but the point is to be placed before and, and foreign is to be referred to foreign, signifying, Fide sola vel solitaria, The faith that is alone: It is one thing to say, that Man is not iustified by faith onelyonly: which Iames never saith, and were a contradiction to Paul: and another thing to say, That a man is not iustified by faith alone, which is most true, and Paul never denyed it.
That this is the right pointing, and that the place hath this meaning; it is evident thus.
First, by the drift of the place, which is not to shew, what place faith hath in iustification, for that is Pauls drift. Rom. 4. 5. But to shew what faith it is, that hath place in iustification against Solifidians.
Secondly, By the examples alledged, for Abraham was iustified before God, long before the oblation of Isaac; and Rahabs worke could not iustisie her before God, because she was stained with many imperfections.
Thirdly, by collation of other places of the same Text, vers. 14. where he speaketh of the having of faith with workes: and not of iustifying by workes with faith.
Fourthly, the Syriack translates it fide sola, faith alone.
Fiftly, verse 20. foreign without workes is dead, that is, That faith which hath no workes is dead: and not, Faith without workes is dead, as Beza distinguisheth well; as if faith were quickned by workes.
Lastly, when foreign signifieth onelyonly, and not alone, it is other wayes placed, foreign, as the Greekes vse to speake: But placing it after foreign, it signifies foreign, fide solitaria. I conclude this then, that we are iustified by faith with workes associtiuè, but not by faith and workes copulatiuè. I worship Christ with his flesh associatiuè, but not Christ and his flesh copulatiuè. So, I honour the King with his Crowne associatiuè, but, I honour not the King and his Crowne copulatiuè.
The commands are pointed after another manner, then any of the rest of the Scriptures; for some of them ye shall see distinguished by a full point, and lightly: also ye shall see Atnach and Zakeph katon, that is, Colon and Comma maior both ioyned, the first as a note of greater distinction, and this of a lesser. So ye shall see Silluck and A ful point, & a colon.Atnach, ioyned together after some of them.
Whence came this divers pointing of the Law. Obiect.
The reason which the Iewes giuegive is ridiculous, they Answ. say the commands are all ioyned together without any full distinction, Bedibbur echad, sermone vno, at one speech, that is, without any rest, because God pronounced them all with one breath. They are distinguished againe, say they, because men cannot without resting pronounce them.
But the truth is, that the commands, as they are distinguished, so there is a full point, to make the distinction; but because there is a great affinitie amongst them, therefore it is also that they are lightly distinguished; & it is to be marked, that these commands which are set downe without any coniunction in Exodus the 20. Deut. 5. 18. are set downe with a copulatiue, Thou shalt not murder, and, thou shalt not commit adultry; to teach vsus the conioyning of the commands as into one body, which must also be done in our practise. The Schoolemen say well, Tota obedientia est copulatiua, the whole law is copulatiue.Iam. 2. 20.