the Man has fpoke, or wrote on it. Jewel rare and ufeful.

Its then a Reinbeck, 1692. fays,

That our Laborious Tranflators were like the old Mariners, who Coafted it along by the help of former Translations, but knew not the Magnetick Vertue in the Points of this Compass. But what Tranflation fhall a Man Confide in? The Lxx. fays Voffius, for that was before Chrift's time. Refp. He cannot prove that Chrift, or his Apostles ufed it, but the contrary may be proved.

Secondly, Voffins owns that there are four different Editions of that: The Compluten, Venetian, Roman, and Alexandrian. there is no fuch variety in the Original, nor in its Points.

Thirdly, None of them are Uncorrupted, as he grants, nor is there Credibility that any of them are the True Copies of what was before Chrift. The Alexandrian is preferred in England, and put in the Polyglot, because a Famous MSS. of it is in the King's Library. Another fays, because a Noble Lady, Madam Thecla, was the Tranfcriber, the only Authority it has, but enough, may be for that Day. Modo pulchra fuit. I find the half of that Famous Prophecy, Ifaiah 9. 4, 5The wonderful Counsellor, the frong God, the Eternal Father, the Prince of Peace; all that I find wanting in it, 1 Sam. 18. v. 18. a great part of that Verfe is wanting, viz. And David faid unto Saul, who am I, and what is my life, or my father's family in Ifrael. Bifhóp Ufher fays, Whatever we have now under that Name of the Lxx. was certainly never seen by them. Drufus fays, Its a Reproach to impute this Book called fo to them. Calovius Glaffius, Salma fius, and Alting, in his Theol. Hift. do all Speak to the fame purpofe. And indeed, I wonder to what purpose

་

purpofe Origen fhould have Collected his Hexapla

Octupla, if the Lxx. had been fo pure a Piece in his Days. Ferom fays of it, That in his Day there were Three contending for the Prehemency; the Alexandrians, the Antiochean, and that called the Middle: And if we will stand to Jerom's own Verdict, I think he values that least of all, that is in the Octupla of Origen. But let Capellus's own Verdictcommend it, who fays, Its corrupted in thoufands of places..

Secondly, The Latin Hieron. fay the Papifts, indeed it were to be valued if we had it, for tho my Quotation is loft, it seems his Tiberian Jew taught him Skill in this Affair. But where is it? The Vulgar, and his own Quotations agree not: Ergo, the Vulgar is not his. Secondly, they have, Corrupted it, or Corrected it (by what Rule?) often, and as Weems fays of Clement, he Tranfgrefs'd the Canon of the Church, that forbids Baptifm before the Child is born, for he declared it Authentick and then Corrected it. But among all their Ca nons at Trent, none were obtained with fuch Dificulty, nor fuch Irregularnefs, as that of making the Latin Tranflation Authentick: Its thought not to have above Forty Votes. I fancy we might gather more for the English. It is true, its much better; but a Tranflation will never be an Original, nor what is Human become Divine.

R. Jebuda Levita, the Author of Cofri, who li ved about Seven Hundred Years ago, was the laft we find had Skill in this Affair. He fays, The Scope of Speech is to put that in the Mind of the Hea

rer,

which was in the Mind of the Speaker. This Intention (fays he) is best known from the Speakers own Breath and Gesture: But the Accents fupply that want

in the Bible for Coherence and Stops, Questions and Anfwers, Admiration, and other Affections, are Indicated by them,about which there are many Books wrote; I wishwe had now one of them. He was Tranflated into Hebrew, Anno Chrifti 1140. But the Authors of late Comments on him, as R. Jebu Mufcatus fays, The heaps of our Comments arife from Ignorance of the Accents; for we have loft the Knowledge of them. And fo fays Arcavolti in his Grammar, which he calls Aream Aromaticam, Venice, 1602. Their Ulfe is forgotten, and hence we fee their Shapes taken faithful Care of in the Edition of every Hebrew Bible, and their Names in every Grammar, without any thing further faid about them, except fome change of the Vowels by their Prefence. R.Calonymus, 1594. in his App. to Balmes Grammar, De Accentibus, fays, The use of them is loft through their frequent Exiles, Travels, Povetry, and Diftreffes, yet not without their Fault. Neither has any made it their Business to restore and recover it, though of so great Moment.

Buxtorf. The Accents are the best, and most neceffary help for finding out the Senfe of the Holy Scriptures, but neither we, nor the Jews, have any fure and conftant Rule about them, in bis Thefaurus Grammaticus. Likewife his Son in Anturitica fays, No doubt their Ufe is great, but the Jews confefs, and bewail the lofs of this Knowledge. And yet they doubt not but that they have their certain Rules and Methods. And Hottenger, in his Erotemata, fays the fame. Bohl. on I. 12. The certainty of the Explication of Scripture, cannot be attain'd, while the Methods of true Accentuation is neglected in our Academies.

The

The Jewish Rabbies (though that Title is but like our Mafter in Civility, for fince An. 300. there has none arifen with that Title) in their Comments, have been making Obfervations, though not compleated any Grammar about them. R. S. Aben Tisben, in Eccl. fays, The Figure of Irony is known by the affixed Points. I am fure our Commentators faw none on Gen. 3. 22. Man is become as one of us: to imagine that our Great Meffias, at his first entering on his Office of Publishing the Gospel from the Bofome of the Father, fhould compleat his first Sabbath with a Jeft poor Man's Mifery. fhall not read another broken on his poor Church in all his Ministry.

We

A.D.1145.R.A.Ezra,in Bib. Buxtorf, Fol. 501.on Iff. 19. a fmall Remnant; it fhould be a Remnant for a little time; for difting, yo and T, It is, fays he, of a great Moment, to obferve thefe Diftinctions or Accents. Item ex 18. Saadias fays, That in Jer. 23. 6. It should be; The Lord fhall call him our righteoufness. But he condemns the Author of the Points, for divides them, Jehova is not the Nom. to call.

R. Cal. 1 Sam. 3. 3. thus the English: And e'er the lamp of God went out in the Temple of the Lord, where the Ark of God was. And Samuel was laid down to fleep. The Order is violated, not the Senfe. For the Original is this: Before the Lamp of God went out (or was put out) and Samuel was laid down, in the Temple of the Lord, &c. Here is, fays Calen, DD a Parenthefis; they who fay that Samuel fept in the Temple of the Lord, where the Ark was, affert a Falfhood; and they do it by uniting what is diftinguished by a I cannot but take notice, that about Seven or Eight Tranflations are

guilty

guilty of this, viz. Lxx. Vulgar, Munster, Vatablus, Caftalio, Pagnine, Arias, Montanus, the French. But Luther, whom Junius and Tremellius follow, do well, in putting Samuel's Sleeping in the beginning of the Verfe, viz. Samuel being asleep, when the Lamp of God was not extinguished in the Temple of the Lord. And fo the Dutch. But the true Order is: When the Lamp of God was not yet put out [Samuel being afleep] in the Temple of the Lord, &c. Indeed, there is a great Emphasis on Samuel's being afleep, being only two Words, and beginning post

and ending in the Reafon may be, the rarenefs of Vision, the Extaticalnefs of Sleep, or the like. Calon quotes the like, in Gen. 39. 17. The Hebrew Servant which thou brought unto us, came in un→ to me to mock me. The Order is thus in the Hebrew. He came in unto me [the Hebrew Servant whom thou brought to us] to mock me. The Point on Me manifefts it; but Senfe and Reason guided our Tranflators (though they knew not the Hebrew Mark for a Parenthesis) for they could not imagine fhe would charge her Husband with fuch a thing. If the Matter had been difficult, they could have only by Providence happened right.

Abarbanel, in Ifa. 53. (vixit 1508) ver. 9. If be fhall make his Soul, &c. There is a Maccaph between If and Put, therefore most strictly united in Senfe.

by מעמר under

R. Ifaac Arama, Deut. 16. 12. And now Ifrael, what doth the Lord require of thee, &c. How excellently doth the Author of the Accents here Illuftrate the Fear of God, putting an which he Indicates the Intent, and Senfe of God to be. What, O Ifrael! doth the Lord require of thee? Only Fear God, &c. and this too shall be for thy good,