by their traditions. It is however probable, that fuch heavy cenfures reached only the greatest part of them, and that all the Pharifees were not of fo odious a character. Bating the timoroufnefs of Nicodemus (t), we obferve in his whole behaviour and conduct a great deal of goodness and honesty. We may pafs the fame judgment upon Gamaliel. If Saul perfecuted the church of Chrift, he did it out of a blind zeal; but without infifting upon the teftimony he bears of himself, it is manifest from the extraordinary favour of God towards him, that he was not tainted with the other vices common to that fect. What he fays of it, that it was the fricteft of all, cannot admit of any other than a favourable conftruction. Of the Effenes. These are no where mentioned in fcripture, because they The third fect among the Jews, was that of the Effenes. lived in defarts, and feldom refided in cities (*). It is notwithstanding worth while to give fome account of them, because of the great conformity of fome of their maxims with those of the Chriftian religion. They have been confounded with the Rechabites; but very wrongly, fince thefe were of a much longer ftanding. Befides, they were not originally Jews: but the pofterity of Rechab, one of the defcendants of Jethro, the father-in-law of Mofes, and a Midianite. It was the name of a family, and not of a fect. It is true that the Rechabites led a very uncommon kind of life, prefcribed them by Jonadab their father, the son of Rechab, as we read in the prophet Jeremiah (u). They drunk no wine, they built no houses, but lived in tents; they neither fowed feed, nor planted vineyards; but ftill they were no Sectarists. They may properly enough be compared with the Nazarites, (of whom we intend to give an account hercafter) but with this difference, that the vow of the Nazarites was of divine inftitution, whereas that of the Rechabites was a human appointment, but approved of by God. As for the Effenes, they all along made a fet among the Jews, as we are affured by two credible authors, viz. Philo (x) and Jofephus (y), who have given an exact and pretty uniform defcription of them. It is fuppofed, with a good deal of probability, that this fect began during the perfecution of Antiochus Epiphanes, when great numbers of Jews were driven into the wilderness, where they inurid themselves to a hard and laborious way of living. There were two forts of them; fome lived in fociety, and married, though with a great deal of warinefs and circumfpection. They dwelt in cities, and applied themfelves to hufbandry, and other innocent trades and occupations. Thefe were called practical. The others, which were a kind of Hermits or Monks, according to the primary and original fignification of that word (z), gave themfelves up wholly to meditation. Thefe were the contemplative Effenes, otherwise called Therapeuta, () John iii. (*) Philo neverthelefs fays that there were about four thousand in Judea. Phil. p. 678. (u) Jer. xxxv. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. (x) Philo ubi fupra. See alfo 1 Chron. ii. 55. (y) Jofeph, de Bell. Jud. 1. ii, c. 7. (~) Monk, or poraxos, originally signifies a perfon that lives a folitary and retired life. Therapeuta, that is phyficians, not fo much upon the account of their ftudying phyfic, as of applying themselves chiefly to the cure and health of the foul. It was to preferve it from the contagion of vice, that they avoided living in great towns, because the noife and hurry that reigns in fuch places, were inconfiftent with that fedatenefs which they were fo fond of, and that befides they were hereby lefs expofed fo temptations. It doth not appear that they had any traditions, like the Pharifees, but as they were Allegorifts, they had feveral myftical books, which ferved them for a rule in explaining the facred writings, all which they acknowledged and received. Both thefe forts of Effenes followed the fame maxims. They drank no wine; and were eminent for their frugality and continence. All kinds of pleasure they were perfect ftrangers to. They ufed a plain fimplicity in their difcourfe, and left to philofophers the glory of difputing and talking eloquently. Commerce they did not meddle with, imagining that it is apt to make people covetous. There was no fuch thing as property among them, but they had all things in common; and whenever any one was admitted into their fociety, he was forced to give up his goods, for the use of the community. As they were charitable one towards another, and hofpitable to ftrangers, want and indigence were things they knew nothing of. All fuch arts as were destructive of mankind, or hurtful to the public, were banished from among them. They reckoned war unlawful, accordingly they had no workmen that made any forts of arms. However, when they travelled, they carried about them a fword to fecure themselves against the thieves and robbers, that were then very numerous in Judea. They never took any thing with them, because they 'were fure of finding all neceffaries wherever they came. There was among them neither masters nor flaves. All were free, and served one another. There was notwithstanding a great deal of order and fubordination between them. The elders efpecially were very much refpected, and the difciples had a great veneration for their moters. They never fwore, at least without mature deliberation, becaufe they had an ex'treme averfion for a lye; and their word was more facred than the oath of any other. However, when they admitted any perfon into their number, they made him" bind himself by folemn execrations and "profeffions, to love and worship God (a), to do justice toward men, to wrong no one, though commanded to do it; to declare himself an "enemy to all wicked men, to join with all the lovers of right and equity; to keep faith with all men, but with princes especially, as they are of God's appointment, and his minifters. He is likewife to "declare, that if ever he comes to be advanced above his companions, "he will never abuse that power to the injury of his inferiors, nor diftinguish himself from those below him, by an ornament of drefs or apparel: But that he will love and embrace the truth, and feverely "reprove all lyars." "He binds himself likewife to keep his hands "clear from theft and fraudulent dealing, and his foul untainted with "the defire of unjust gain: That he will not conceal from his fellow"profeflors (a) Jof. de Bell. Jud. 1. ii. c. 7. ་་ "profeffors any of the mysteries of religion; nor communicate any of "them to the prophane, though it fhould be to fave his life. And "then for the matter of his doctrine, that he thall deliver nothing but "what he hath received: That he will endeavour to preferve the doc"trine itself that he profeffes; the books that are written of it; and the 66 names of thofe from whom he had it. Thefe proteftations are used as a teft for new comers, and a fecurity to keep them faft to their duty. Upon the taking of any man in a notorious wickedness, he "is excluded the congregation: And whoever incurs this fentence, "comes probably to a miserable end. For he that is tied up by these "rites, is not allowed fo much as to receive a bit of bread from the "hand of a stranger, though his life itself were in hazard; So that men "are driven to graze like beafts, until they are confumed with hunger. "In this diftrefs, the fociety hath fometimes had the charity and com"paffiou to receive fome of them again." I have fet down this paffage all at length. 1. Because the oath which the Effenes exacted of thofe whom they admitted into their order, was nearly the fame as that, which, according to Pliny (*), the primitive Chriftians were used to bind themfelves with. 2. It appears from thence, that the Effenes were not fo eager to gain profelytes as the Pharifees. This Philo teftifies. Their morality was both pure and found; and they reduced it to these three particulars: 1. To love God; 2. Virtue; and 3. Mankind. Religion they made to confift, not in offering up facrifices, but according to St. Paul's advice (5), in prefenting their bodies as a holy facrifice to God, by a due performance of all religious duties. It is notwithstanding fomewhat furprising, that Jews who profeffed to follow the law of Mofes, which punished with death all thofe that prefumed to speak ill of the legislator, and who befides were ftricter obfervers of the fabbath than the reit, fhould omit fo eflential a part of worship, as facrificing was. And therefore Jofephus fays, "that they fent their gifts to the temple, "without going thither themfelves; for they offered their facrifices apart, in a peculiar way of worthip, and with more religious ceremo "nies (c)." Thofe two authors (d) have very much cried up the extreme firmness of mind, which the Effenes have fhewed upon feveral occafions, as under diftreffes and perfecutions, fuffering death, and the moft grievous torments, even with joy and chearfulnefs, rather than fay or do any thing contrary to the law of God. Such being the difpofitions of the Effenes, they could not but be inclined to embrace Chriftianity; but they must not be confounded with the Chriftians, as they have been by Eufebius (e), fince it may easily be made appear, that when Philo gave an account of them, there were hardly any Christians in the world. This fect was not unknown to the heathens. Pliny (f), and Solinus (g), fpeak of it, but in fo very fabulous and obfcure a manner, as plainly fhews (*) Plin. Epift. 1. x. Ep. 97.-Seque facramento non in fcelus aliquod obftringere, fed ne furta, ne latrocinia, ne adulteria committerent, ne fidem fallerent, ne depofitum appellati abnegarent. (b) Rom. xii. 1. (d) Viz. Philo and Jofephus. (ƒ) Flin. l. v. c. 17. (c) feph. Antiq. I. xviii. c. 2. fhews that they had no true notion of them. Thus much is certain, that there was a great conformity between the Effenes and Pythagoreans; as there was between the Sadducees and Epicureans; and the Pharifees and Stoicks (*). There is frequent mention of Profelytes in the New Of the Profelytes. Teftament, and therefore it will be proper to add here a word or two about them. They were heathens that embraced the Jewish Religion, either in whole, or in part, for there were two forts of them. Some were called the profelytes of habitation, or of the gate, because they were allowed an habitation among the children of Ifrael, and were permitted to live within their gates. These were not obliged to receive or observe the ceremonial law, but only to forfake idolatry, and to obferve the feven precepts, which, as the Thalmudifts pretend, God gave to Adam, and afterwards to Noah, who tranfmitted them to pofterity. The 1ft of thofe precepts forbids idolatry, and the worshipping of the fars in particular. The 2d recommends the fear of God. The 3d forbids murder. The 4th adultery. The 5th theft. The 6th enjoins refpect and veneration for magiftrates; and the 7th condemns eating of fefb with the blood. This laft, the Rabbins tell us, was added after God had permitted Noah to eat the flesh of animals. Of this kind of profelytes are fuppofed to have been Naaman the Syrian, the eunuch be i longing to Candace queen of Ethiopia, Cornelius, Nicholas of Antioch, and feveral others mentioned in the Acts. Thefe profelytes were not looked upon as Jews, and therefore it doth not appear that there was any ceremony performed at their admiffion. Maimonides exprefly fays, that they were not baptized. The other profelytes were called profelytes of the covenant, because they were received into the covenant of God by circumcifion, which was named the blood of the covenant, because, according to St. Paul (b), men by it were bound to obferve the ceremonial law. They were otherwife called profelytes of righteoufnefs, on account of their acknowledging and obferving the whole ceremonial law, to which the Jews and the Pharifees in particular, attributed the cause of our being accounted righteous before God, as we have obferved in our preface and notes on St. Paul's epiftle to the Romans. The profelytes were alfo ftiled the drawn, to which JESUS CHRIST undoubtedly alluded when he faid (i), No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him; meaning thereby that his difciples were drawn by quite other bands or motives than were thofe of the Pharifees. There were three ceremonies performed at their admiffion: the firft was circumcifion; the fecond was baptifm, which was done by dipping the whole body of the profelyte in water (k). The origin of the ceremony of baptifm is intirely unknown, because it is not fpoken of in fcripture, when mention is made of thofe ftrangers, which embraced the Jewish religion (2); nor in Jofephus (m), when he relates *For a full and particular account of each of thefe fects, See Dr. Prideaux, Con. Part II. B. v. under the year 107. (b) Gal. v. 3. (i) John vi. 44. (k) Main. de profelyt. (m) Jof. Antiq. 1. xiii. c. 17. N relates how Hyrcanus obliged the Idumeans to turn Jews. The Rabbins will have it to be of a very ancient date. Some of them carry it up as high as the time of Mofes. And St. Paul feems to have been of the fame opinion, when he faith that the "Ifraelites were baptized unto Mofes (n)." But after all, as the children of Ifrael were not profelytes, though they had been guilty of idolatry in Egypt, the words of St. Paul cannot admit of any other than a figurative fenfe. The baptism of profelytes may then very properly be faid to have owed its rife to the Pharifees, who had very much augmented the number of purifications and washings. It is manifeft from the gofpel, that it was ufual among the Jews, to admit men to the profeffion of a doctrine by baptifm. For the Pharifees do not find fault with John's baptifm, but only blame him for baptizing when he was neither the Meffiah, nor Elias, nor that prophet. When therefore this fore-runner of the Meffiah baptized fuch perfons as he difpofed and prepared to receive him, he did no more than practise a thing that was common among the Jews, but his baptifm was confecrated and authorized by a voice from heaven (o). The profelytes were baptized in the prefence of three perfons of diftinction, who stood as witneffes. To this Jefus Chrift feems to allude, when he ordered his difciples to "baptize in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoft;" and St. John, when he speaks of the three witneffes of the Chriftian religion (p). The profelyte was asked, whether he did not embrace that religion upon fome worldly view; whether he was fully refolved to keep and obferve the commandments of God; and whether he repented of his past life and actions? John the Baptift did exactly the fame to the Pharifees and Sadducees that came to his baptifm (q). Maimonides relates, that the miferies and perfecutions which the Jewish nation was then expofed to, were alfo reprefented to the profelyte, that he might not rafhly embrace their religion. Jefus Chrift dealt almost in the fame manner with the fcribe, who was willing to become his difciple (r). When the profelyte had answered all the questions that were put to him, he was inftructed in the principal articles and duties of religion, and the rewards and punishments annexed to the breach or obfervance of them in the world to come, that iş, eternal life and death. It is evident from the question which the young man in the gofpel put to Jefus Chrift (s), "Lord, what fhall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" that this truth was already acknowledged and received among the Jews. It is upon the account of these inftructions that were given to profelytes before their being baptized, that the word baptifm is fometimes taken in fcripture for the inftructions themselves, and that to baptize in fome places fignifies to teach, or make difciples. For this very reafon undoubtedly it was, that baptifm is by fome ancient writers ftiled enlightning. The third ceremony performed at the admiffion of a profelyte, was a facrifice, which generally confifted of two turtle-doves, and two young pigeons. (2) 1 Cor. x. 1. (9) Matth, iii. 7 -10. (0) John i. 33. (p) I John v. 8. |