Explication of the Judicial Laws of Moses, Part 1 · Chapter 40 – Chapter 42
CHAPTER XL. Of their Capitall puniſhments.
IOSH. 7. 25. And all Iſrael ſtoned him with ſtones, and burned them with fire after they had ſtoned them with ſtones.
THere were ſundry ſorts of puniſhments inflicted upon malefactors by the houſe of judgement among the Iewes. Some of them were burnt, ſome of them were ſtrangled, ſome of them were ſtoned, and ſome of them were beheaded, and ſome of them were drowned.
He that lay with his mother, or daughter in law the wife of his ſonne, or with a maide that was betrothed,Who were ſtoned. Deut. 22. 24. Or if a woman bowed downe to a beaſt, Levit. 20. 16. ſo the blaſphemer, Levit. 24. 14. and Idolater, Deut. 17. 5. So he who offered his ſeed to Molech, Levit. 20. 2. He that had the ſpirit of divination or was a wizard, Levit. 20. 27. He that profaned the Sabbath, he that curſed his father or his mother, Levit. 20. 9. ſo the diſobedient ſonne was ſtoned to death. Deut. 21. 21. He that perſwaded or enticed others to Idolatry, Deut. 13. 1. all theſe were ſtoned to death.
Firſt the Prieſts daughter if ſhe committed adulterie. Secondly he who lay with his owne daughter. ThirdlyWho were burne. he who lay with his ſonnes wife. Fourthly he who lay with his daughters daughter, or with the daughter of his wiues daughter. Fifthly he who lay with his mother in law, or with the mother of his mother in law, or hee who lay with the mother of his father in law, his wife being yet aliue; even all theſe were burnt. Ioſh. 7. 15. He that is taken with a curſed thing ſhall be burnt with fire, and verſ. 25. all Iſrael ſtoned him with ſtones, firſt he was ſtoned, and then burnt.
Thoſe who killed were beheaded, and thoſe who fellWho were beheaded. away to Idolatry.
The fourth ſort of puniſhment was ſtrangling; wch wasWho were ſtrangled. the lighteſt ſort of puniſhment capital among the Iewes. Firſt he who did ſtrike his father or his mother. Secōdly he who ſtole a man in Iſrael. Deut. 24. 7. Thirdly any old man who hearkened not to the voice of the Synedrion. Fourthly a falſe Prophet; and he who lay with another mans wife. Fiftly, he who defiled the Prieſts daughter; all theſe were ſtrangled. And the Iewes ſay, whereſoever this puniſhment is ſet down, let his bloud be upon his owne head, it is to be underſtood of ſtoning; but where the phraſe is found, let him die the death, and the puniſhment not ſet downe in particular, then it is to be underſtood of ſtrangling. But this holdeth not, it is ſaid Exod. 21. 12. he that ſmiteth a man that he die ſhall ſurely bee put to death: ſo it is ſaid, that the adulterer ſhall die the death, yet he was not ſtrangled but ſtoned. Ezek. 16. 40. Ioh. 8. 45.
This ſtrangling the Romanes changed into crucifying,foreign crucifigere foreign Crux. foreign Arbor. foreign. which was called [zacaph] crucifigere, and the croſſe was called [zeceph] crux, and [gnetz] arbor, and the Greekes called it foreign lignum geminum.
Laſtly drowning, Mat. 18. 6. It were better that a milſtone were hanged about his necke, and that he were drowned foreign dimerſio in pelagus, ſubmerſio.in the midſt of the Sea; and the Greekes had foreign, they were put in a cheſt of lead, and ſunke in the Sea, as Caſaubon ſheweth out of Athenaeus.
What ſort of puniſhment is meant Quest. Gen. 17. 14. he that foreign Exciſio.is not circumciſed, that ſoule ſhall bee cut off from his people?
The Hebrewes expound this ſort of puniſhment diverſly, Anſw. Kimchi ſaith, he ſhall be puniſhed by the Lord, but he addeth, that he is much miſtaken who thinketh that the child not being circumciſed is ſecluded from the life to come. Moſes Cotzenſis thinketh, that theſe who were not circumciſed the eight day, ſhould dye without children, alluding to that place Levit. 20. 20. But all of them agree in this that the puniſhment is inflicted by the Lord.
Exod. 31. 14. Whoſoever doth any worke on the Sabbath Object. day he ſhall be cut off from his people, and bee ſurely put to death, by cutting off here is meant, cutting off by the Magiſtrate, why ſhould it not then be ſo underſtood in that place Gen. 17. 14. ſo Levit. 20. 6. If any goe after wizards, I will ſet my face againſt him, and cut him off; by cutting off here is meant, to be cut off by the Magiſtrate, why is it not ſo then to be underſtood in that place of Geneſis before mentioned?
Maymone anſwereth to theſe places, diſtinguiſhing Anſw. betwixt the manifeſt tranſgreſſion, and the hidden tranſgreſſion of the Law, if one did violate the Sabbath with a hie hand, and if there were witneſſes, and he were admoniſhed before not to doe ſo, then he was cut off by the hand of the Magiſtrate; but if he was not admoniſhed ſecretly before, and did tranſgreſſe, then hee was cut off by the hand of the Lord. But wee muſt diſtinguiſh betwixt theſe phraſes Levit. 17. 10. and 21. 6. I Difference betwixt theſe two phraſes, I ſhall cut off &c. and thou ſhalt cut off &c.ſhall cut off that ſoule, and thou ſhalt cut off that ſoule; Exod. 22. 18. thou ſhalt not ſuffer a witch to liue, but when hee ſayth, I will ſet my ſelfe againſt that ſoule which eateth blood, and will cut him off from my people, then it is meant, that by his owne hand immediately hee will cut him off.
But what ſort of cutting off by the hand of God is Queſt. meant here?
It is not meant of any bodily puniſhment inflicted Anſw. upon their bodies, or upon their poſteritie, as the Iewes interpret it, but of excommunication and ſecluding them from the Church. So Calvin, Iunius, Deodati expound it.
CHAPTER XLII. Why they gaue wine to thoſe who were going to be executed.
PROV. 31. 6. GiueGive wine unto thoſe that be of an heavie heart.
THey uſed to doe three things to them who were condemned. Firſt, they gaue them wine to drinke to comfort them. Amos 2. 8. They drunke the wine of the condemned in the houſe of their God; that is, they dranke the moſt excellent wine, for ſuch wine they gaue to the condemned. Secondly, they uſed to apply foreign, ſoft wooll, which the Chirurgians apply to wounds to mitigate their paine, becauſe their death was a lingering death. Thirdly, they uſed to hold odoriferous canes or reedes to their noſe to refreſh their braines.
But ſee what miſerable comforters the Iewes were to Chriſt, Luke ſaith▪ foreign, they derided him, Luk. 23. 35. for in ſtead of wine, they gaue him vinegar and gall to drinke, which was a moſt bitter ſort of drinke; and the Lord ſaith Ier. 9. 15. I will feed this people even with wormwood, and giuegive them water of gall to drinke. And for foreign they gaue him foreign, hyſope tyed about a reed and dipped in vineger, and they gaue it him not to quench his thirſt, but to ſmell it in deriſion.
They gaue him wine to drinke mingled with myrrhe, but he received it not, Mark. 15. 23. Chriſt would not drinke this cup mingled with myrrhe (for it intoxicated the braine) that he might be ſenſible of the paine which he was to ſuffer for us. It is a great judgement to be beaten and not to feele it, Prov. 23. 35. The Lord who went willingly to death, did willingly drinke the cuppe of Gods wrath for us; and therefore he was unwilling to drinke this cuppe, which would hauehave made him ſenſeleſſe of the paine.
They gaue him hyſſope in ſtead of wooll which ſhould hauehave mitigated his paine, the tender mercies of the wicked are cruell. Prov. 12. 10.
Chriſt ſuffered in all his ſenſes, in his taſt, they gaue him veneger mixed with gall; in his feeling, whereas they ſhould hauehave applied ſoft wooll, and bound up his wounds, & mitigated his paine, they applied but hyſope ſo in his hearing, he heard their bitter mockes and ſcoffing. And as he felt the grievous paine of the croſſe in all his ſenſes, ſo the wicked ſhall ſuffer the paines and torments of hell in all their ſenſes.
The concluſion of this is, ſin is ſweet in the beginning, but bitter in the end; Adam did eate aſweet fruit, but Concluſion. here is vineger and gall a bitter potion offered to Chriſt for it; the lippes of a ſtrange woman drop as an hony combe, and her mouth is ſmoother then oyle, but her end is bitter as wormwood, ſharpe as a two-edged ſword, Pro. 5. 3.
They giuegive him hyſope; hyſope was the laſt purgation and ſprinkling when the leper was brought into the Campe againe: and David alludeth to this, Pſal. 51. waſh mee with hyſope. So Chriſts death muſt purge us from all our ſinnes, and bring us into the ſocietie of the Saints of God, that there we may dwell for ever.