many other laws, which had no other visible use than that of difcrimination; as, for instance, the three great feafts which the Jews were obliged to keep.

The feaft of the paffover was the memorial of the accomplishment of God's promife to Abraham to deliver his posterity out of the country wherein they were to be in bondage after 430 years; and confequently could not be observed by the Ifmaelites, nor by the Edomites, who had never been captives in, nor delivered out of Egypt, in the fourth gene

ration.

The Pentecoft was a public monument of the promulgation of the law, and all its parts, amongst the children of Ifracl, and confequently, peculiar to that nation.

Thus the feast of tabernacles preferved the memory of that folemn action of the Ifraelites continuance for forty years in the defert.

It were needlefs, after fuch remarkable diftinctions, to obferve here," (which yet was certainly defigned for that end) that God took care to diftinguish that people by fome injunctions, which they were to obferve, in the fashion of their clothes, of their beard, of their philacteries, of their mezouzoth, of their thaleth, of their zizith, and many the like things, the obfervance of all which ferved to hinder any confufion of the people of Ifrael with their neighbours.

CHA P. XVI.

That the Law of Moses engaged the JEWS to the Study of their Genealogies, that they might certainly know that of the Meffiah.

UT if God took care to diftinguish his people from all other nations by fuch an indelible mark, in the practice whereof there was no fear of any trick; seeing no man would circumcife himself without thinking upon it more than once, as the history of the Sichemites affures us; fo one fees, that he took as great a care to divide them into tribes, and the tribes into families, that they might fubfift and continue in a kind of a feparation from one another, although they were at first but one fingle family, and one fingle nation.

Btions fuch an there was

Now to what purpose, I pray, were all those diftinctions, if they had not been defigned to manifeft the Meffiah at his coming?

We fee then, that they could have no other ufe; for, as God had decreed that the Meffiah fhould be born out of the tribe of Judah, so it was neceffary that the feveral genealogies of that tribe fhould be very publicly known.

And therefore one fees that God fecured this, not only with all neceffary care, but even with a caution greater than could have been reafonably defired.

He engages all the tribes of Ifrael to preserve with a kind of affectaX 3

tion,

tion, their feveral genealogical tables; he neglects none of the means that might be useful to diftinguifh the tribe of Judah from other tribes, and the family from which the Meffiah was to be defcended from all the other families of the fame tribe.

Indeed I am not ignorant that anciently one might fee fome other nations using the diftinctions of tribes amongst themselves, much after the fame manner as the Jews did, and that they were careful to preferve their genealogies in order to derive their original from the fame common father; thus we ought to understand what we read in hiftory of the tribes amongst the Athenians. Thus Hippocrates runs up his own pedigree to the twentieth man of his ancestors, and Herodotus mentions feveral instances of the fame care.

But one fees that this affectation was infinitely greater among the

Jews.

For we fee, that they did not only rank themselves every one under the standard of their own tribe, at their going forth out of Egypt, but that God did alfo engage every man to know his tribe exactly; nay、 he compelled them all, in a manner, to ftudy their own pedigrees, that every one might claim, and reap the benefit of the law of Jubiler, which had the force of an entail in refpect of every family, as I am now going to fhew.

There are three things obfervable in that matter.

for

The first is, that it was by a fuperabundant precaution, that God would engage the tribes to continue diftinguifhed from one another, and to preserve and ftudy their feveral pedigrees; namely, he intended by that means to prevent the objection which might otherwife have been made, that it was impoffible. for a tribe, and a family in that tribe, to continue diftinguished from the rest of the nation, for fo many ages; certainly, if all the tribes in that nation, and all the families in every tribe, did continue, by God's providence, fo long distinguished from one another, there is no doubt to be made, but he could preserve the fingle tribe of Judah, and the family of the Meffiah, diftinguished from all other tribes and families of the people of Ifrael.

The fecond remark is, that it was for this diftinction fake, that the books of the Old Teftament were filled with genealogical tables: to what purpofe elfe had books of that importance, and wich treated of fuch great fubjects, been filled with genealogies? Mofes's books are fuil of them: the first book of Chronicles refumes thofe genealogies with all poffible exactness: there is nothing more confiderable in the book of Ruth, than the genealogy of David and his family.

The third remark is, that if the genealogy of the priests seem to have been better known than that of other families, by reafon of their being the public minifters of religion, which feems to give the advantage of certainty of diftinction to the tribe of Levi above that of Judah, in that particular; yet we find, that all the families of the whole nation took. much the fame care to preferve their own genealogies; fo that if, after the Babylonian captivity, fome particular perfons were excluded from the prieftly order, to which they pretended, because they could not make out their pedigree, fo likewife all were thrown out from the other tribes, that could not justify their lineal descent,

Nay,

Nay, there is fomething further, deferves to be taken notice of, as being very fingular, in that of Judah; and one ought here to confider a myftery of God's providence, and admire the wifdom of his conduct, in purfuing the defign which Mofes first fets down, and upon which one fees that the whole Jewish ftate was formed; for when God refolved that the Meffiah fhould defcend from the tribe of Judah, and the house of David, he made it more particularly known and diftinguished than any other family in the whole nation, and for that reafon he fets David upon the throne.

Every one knows, that in every kingdom the genealogy of a king, and of the royal family, is, of all others, the moft publicly known.

Now, if the blood-royal alone is always diftinguifhed, how much more muft it be fo, when that fupreme dignity is conferred upon fuch a family, as God had particularly chofen, to have the Meffiah, who is set forth as the defire of all nations, to be born out of it!

From hence I will boldly conclude, that the only end for which God raised David's family to the throne, was because the Meffiah was really to be born out of that family, reduced to a low and private condition, which Ifaiah foretold, faying, That a rod should come forth out of the fem of Jeffe, and a branch grow out of his roots (f); and in another place, That he should grow up as a root out of a dry ground (g); which was very agreeable to the character of a Prophet, and to the low ftate of humiliation in which our Saviour was to appear in the world.

A Solution of fome Difficulties in these Genealogies.

NDEED the difperfion of the ten tribes feems to be a very natural objection, to thofe who would difpute the reflexions which I have already made upon thefe genealogies.

But after all, there is nothing in it but what confirms the more the faid reflexions.

And we may fay, that the entire difperfion of the whole tribe of Ephraim, and of the others which adhered to it in Jeroboam's rebellion, is a mystery of providence which challenges our admiration, as much as the raifing up that family to the throne, out of which the Meffiah was to be born.

To apprehend this the better, we need only call to mind the pretenfions of the tribe of Ephraim: this Ephraim was the younger brother of Manaffeh; but Jacob had given him the birthright, juft as Ifaac before' had given it to Jacob, though it did of right belong to the elder brother. Jacob had particularly bleffed Ephraim, and even made it a form of bleffing for after-ages, as we read in the book of Ruth, that there was () Ifa. liii.

(f) Ifa. xi.

X 4

one

one made for Pharez. Jacob had given to Jofeph two portions in the land of Canaan, and Ephraim had the birthright before Manaffeh, by God's order it was then very natural for the tribe of Ephraim, as all tribes did apply to themselves the feveral privileges promised to their refpective heads, to look upon themfelves as having a particular right to God's bleffing.

And they thought this right of theirs was plainly made out, as by Jofeph's dreams, fo efpecially by the words of that prediction which Jacob gave in favour of Ephraim, the words of which ran fo very high, that after fuch a prejudice, there might very well be a fair pretence for the hope which the tribe of Ephraim had once to fee a Meffiah come out of their tribe, as thofe of Judah expected one out of theirs.

If to all this we add, that Jeroboam's rebellion was authorised by a prophetical infpiration, and by a fpecial fign of God's approbation; and that on the other hand he defired to propose to his people the two calves which he fet up in Dan and Bethel, as fymbols of the Deity, only to purfue the ideas of Pharaoh's dreams, which Jofeph interpreted, the representation whereof did clearly fhew both the greatness of Jofeph, and the particular care of God's providence over him (b); it was then natural to the men of Ephraim, to feed themselves with fuch hopes, as the Jews teach us they did, when, even to this very day, they speak of a Meffiah of the tribe of Ephraim.

What did God then do, to obviate these pretenfions of the tribe of Ephraim? He difperfed them, together with the other nine tribes that fubmitted to the authority of its kings, and fo confounded them with all those tribes which followed their fortune, that, though there fhould be till fome Ephraimites in the world, yet it would be impoffible for any of them to justify his pedigree fo clearly, as that any Meffiah really defcended from that very tribe, could, by eftablishing his genealogy, put his being of the tribe of Ephraim beyond all contest.

be

Now, according to this notion of things, it is vifible (if we may allowed to enter into the counfels of God) that he did particularly preferve the tribes of Levi and Benjamin, with the tribe of Judah, which was the only tribe that was to be preferved ofneceffity.

First, because, as St. Paul to the Hebrews obferves, there was nothing ever faid, as to the Meffiah, of the tribe of Levi.

Secondly, becaufe God would, by that means, confound the more effectually all the claims of the tribe of Ephraim.

For, in fhort, if the tribe of Ephraim was invefted by God with the kingdom over nine tribes of the people of Ifrael, fo had the tribe of Benjamin been raised up before to the fovereignty over all Ifrael, over the tribe of Judah, and even that of Ephraim itself.

If the tribe of Ephraim was defcended from a younger brother, to whom Jacob had given his bleffing, in prejudice of Manaffeh his elder brother, (which is confiderable, becaufe God hath almoft conftantly preferred the younger before the elder) fo the tribe of Benjamin was defcended from him that was both the younger brother of Jofeph himself, and the youngest of all Jacob's children; notwithstanding which, the tribe of Benjamin

Benjamin did freely yield to the tribe of Judah, and granted that the glory of giving birth to the Meffiah, was wholly due to them.

Be it as it will, there are two reflexions more which must be made concerning these genealogies, which appear very natural in this place. The firft is, that both St. Matthew and St. Luke do begin their Gofpel with the genealogy of the Meffiah.

The other is, that fome time after St. Paul condemns the study of genealogies, which was ftill much in ufe among the Jews, as vain. Why therefore is there fuch a different conduct amongst the disciples of the fame mafter?

Certainly, whoever fhall confider with attention the grounds which I have laid down before, must acknowledge, that both St. Matthew, and St. Luke, ought to have begun their books, as they have done, with the genealogy of the Meffiah.

For, first of all, it was neceffary that the descent of the Meffiah from Abraham by David, fhould be clearly made out: it was requifite therefore that they fhould fet down fuch a genealogy as was known by the whole Jewish nation: now this they have done with very great care; and the thing was fo eafy, and fo well known, that even a blind man of the neighbourhood of Samaria, the chief city of the kings of Ephraim, did publicly call Jefus the fon of David.

But, on the other fide, St. Paul's forbidding the ftudy of genealogies, does not at all contradict the method of thofe two Evangelifts.

In short, he pursues the very fame notions: he saw, that the converted Jews applied themselves to the ftudy of genealogies, which was then fo great a part of the ftudy of their nation: it is still practifed among the Jews to that degree, that fince their difperfion they gave an exact retion of all the Doctors and Rabbies amongst them who have preferved the tradition, and who were profelites of juftice (i). What therefore was to be done in this cafe? He took it for granted, that God had engaged every few to study his own pedigree with care, for no other end but only to have that of the Meffiah diftinctly known whenever he fhould come.

But the use of these genealogies being once over, by the Meffiah's coming into the world, he obferves, with reafon, that it was no longer neceflary to keep up the vain study of all those genealogies.

So that we fee he speaks against the study of pedigrees, much upon the fame grounds as in other places he inveighs against circumcifion; for fince the chiefeft ufe of genealogies, as well as of circumcifion, was to diftinguish Abraham's pofterity from the reft of mankind, till the Meffiah was come, the ufe of these two obfervations was naturally to ceafe after he was once come.

It is, no doubt, for the fame reason, that whereas the Jews in the Apoftie's time took great care, upon all occafions, to take notice of the tribe from which they were defcended, as well as to fet down the names of their fathers; yet one fees that the Apostles did not all affect it. And if St. Paul mentions his being a Benjamite, it was for a particular reafon; for otherwife, as he preached down the diftinction betwixt Jews

(i) Maimon. Præf. ad Jad. Chazaka.