for a Book upon which their Rights of Inheritance, and the Title they had to all they enjoy'd, depended : This was the Deed, by which they held their Estates; and the Laft Will and Teftament, as it were, of their Ancestors, amongst whom the Land was divided. But it is certain, Men are more careful of nothing, than of the Writings by which they enjoy their Eftates; and there is no great danger, when a Will is once come to the hands of the right Heir, that it will be loft or falfify'd, to his prejudice: but if the Books of Mofes were alter'd, it must be upon the account of fome Advantage to fuch as must be fuppofed to make the Alterations; and confequently to the Difadvantagé of others, who therefore would have found themfelves concern'd to oppofe fuch Alterations. But as the Books of Mofes were in the nature of a Deed of Settlement, to every Tribe and Family; fo they were a Law too, which all were obliged to know and observe, under the feverest Penalties: And being fo generally known, and univerfally practis'd, it could no more be falfify'd at any time fince its firft Promulgation, than it could be now at this day. For,

2. Another thing which made the People of Ifrael lefs capable of being impofed upon in this matter, was, That they were by their Laws themselves obliged to the constant Study of them; they were to teach them their Children, and to be continually discourfing and meditating on them; to bind them for a fign upon their hand, that they might be as frontlets between their eyes; to teach them their children, Jpeaking of them when they fate in their houses, and when they walked by the way, when they lay down, and when they rofe up; to write them upon the door-pofts of their houfes, and upon their gates, Deut. xi. 18, 19, 20. Nothing was to be more notorious and familiar to them, and accordingly they were perfectly acquainted with them, and (as Jofephus fays) knew them as well as they did their own Names; they had them constantly in their Mouths, and Thou

M 3

fands

fands have died in defence of them, and could by no Menaces or Torments be brought to forfake or renounce them. And to this end, One Day in Seven. was by Mofes's Law fet apart for the learning and understanding of it. The Jews have a Tradition, That Mofes appointed the Law to be read thrice every Week in their publick Affemblies: And Grotius is of this opinion. However, the Scripture informs us, that Mofes, of old time, had in every city them that preached him, being read in the fynagogues every fabbath-day, A&t, v. 21. It is indeed the common opinion, That there were no Synagogues before the Captivity: But then, by Synagogues, must be understood Places of Judicature, rather than of Divine Worship: for the Courts of Judicature were anciently held in the Gates of Cities, not in any Places peculiarly affign'd for that use but there is no reason to question but the Jews had their Profeucha's, or Places of Prayer, from the Beginning; fince it is incredible, that those who liv'd at a great diftance, and could not come to Jerufalem on the Sabbath-days, and other times of Divine Worship, (befides the three great Festivals, when all their Males were bound to be at Jerufalem) fhould not affemble for the Worship of God in the places where they dwelt; nay, they were by an exprefs Law obliged to it on the Sabbaths: The Seventh day is the Sabbath of reft, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings, Levit. xxiii. 3. They must therefore have Places in all their Dwellings to refort to, where they held their Convocations or Affemblies; which is prov'd out of the Jewish Writers, by a very learned Author. And to thefe Affemblies they went on the New Moons, as well as on the Sabbaths, 2 King. iv. 23. which made the Pfalmift lament, that the Enemy had burnt up all the Synagogues of God in the land, Pfal. lxxiv. 8. And be

Grot. ad Matth. xv. 2.

d

Thorndike, Relig, Assembl. c.2, 3.

ing met together, there is as little doubt to be made but that they read the Law; which was to be read by them in their Families, and much more in their Publick Affemblies, on their folemn Days of Divine Worship. The Books of Mofes therefore were read in their Synagogues, in every City, in uswv dexaiwv, from ancient Generations, or from the firft Settlement of the Children of Ifrael in the Land of Canaan. And thus they still are read by the Samaritans, as well as by the Jews; which fhews, that this was a Cuftom ever obferv'd, not only before the Captivity, but before the Separation of the Ten Tribes.

And then, at the end of every Seven Years, the Law was read in the most publick and folemn manner, in the Solemnity of the Year of Releafe, in the Feast of Tabernacles. Mofes wrote a Book of the Law, and commanded it to be put in the fide of the Ark, Deut. xxxi. 26. as the Two Tables of Stone were put into the Ark it felf, chap. x. 5. and this he deliver'd to the Priests, and to all the Elders of Ifrael, and' commanded them, faying, At the end of every feven years, in the folemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles, when all Ifrael is come to appear before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choofe: thou fhalt read this law before all Ifrael, in their hearing. Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the Lord your God, and obferve to do all the words of this law: And that their children which have not known any thing, may bear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to poffefs it, Deut. xxxi. 10, 11, 12, 13. How is it poffible that any more effectual care could have been taken to fecure a Law from being deprav'd and alter'd by Impostures? Every seventh Day, at least, was fet apart for the

• Samaritan. ad Jof, Scalig. Epift. Antiq. Eccl. Oriental. p. 120.

M 4

reading

reading and learning it, in their feveral Tribes, throughout all the Land; and then once in seven years it was read at a publick and folemn Feaft, when they were all obliged to go up to Jerufalem. And for this purpose, Mofes wrote a Book of the Law, which was put in the fide of the Ark, that it might be there for a Testimony against them, if they fhould tranfgrefs it, much more, if they should make any Alterations in it.

And out of this Book the King was to write him a Copy of the Law, Deut. xvii. 18. and this Book of the Law was found by Hilkiah the High-Priest, in the House of the Lord, 2 Chron. xxxiv. 14. 2 Kings xxii.8. For after all that the wicked and idolatrous Kings could do to fupprefs the Law of Mofes, and draw afide the People to Idolatry, the Authentick Book of the Law, written by Mofes himself, was still preserv'd in Jofiah's time, befides the feveral Copies which must be difpers'd throughout the Land, for the ufe of their Synagogues, and those which must be remaining in the hands of the Prophets, and other pious Men.

And there is little reafon to doubt, but that this very Book written by Mofes, was preferv'd during the Captivity, and was that Book which Ezra read to the People. It is by no means credible, that the Prophets would fuffer that Book to be loft, much less that they would fuffer all the Copies generally to be loft or corrupted; which indeed, confidering the number, was hardly poffible. Is it probable that Jeremiah would ufe that favour which he had with Nebuchadnezzar, to any other purpose, rather than for the Preservation of the Book of the Law? This ufe Jofephus made of his Intereft with Titus, to preferve the Holy Scriptures. And the Jews fay, that both the Tabernacle and the Ark were fecured by Jeremiah, in the burning of the Temple, at the time of their

g

f Jofeph, vit. fub fin.

f 2 Maccab, ii. 5.

Captivity,

Captivity, and confequently the Law was preferv'd, which was kept in the fide of the Ark; but it is much more probable that the Book of their Law was fecur'd, than the Ark it self, that being both more easily convey'd away, and not fo tempting a Prey to the Enemy. We find the Law cited in the time of the Captivity, by Daniel, Dan. ix. 11. by Nehemiah, Nehem i. 8, 9. and in Tobit, who belong'd to the Ten Tribes, Tob. vi. 12. and vii. 13.

And it is not to be doubted, but that these and other pious Men had Copies of it by them, and were very careful to preferve them. Maimonides fays, that Mofes himself wrote out Twelve Books of the Law, one for each Tribe, besides that which was laid up in the fide of the Ark; and the Rabbins teach that every one is obliged to have a Copy of the Pentateuch by him: And Ezra and Nehemiah are faid to have brought Three hundred Books of the Law into the Congregation affembled at their Return from Captivity. It is certain, there were Scribes of the Law, before the Captivity, and in the time of it, Jer. viii. 8. Ezra is ftiled a ready Scribe in the Law of Mofes, and the Scribe, even a Scribe of the words of the commandments of the Lord, and of his ftatutes to Ifrael; And by Artaxerxes, in his Letter, he is call'd a Scribe of the law of the God of heaven, Ezra vii. 6, 11, 12, By which it appears, that there were Scribes of the Law during the Captivity, who were known by this folemn Style and Character, and whofe Care and Employment it was, to study and write over the Law of whom Ezra was the principal at the time of their Return.

It is most probable then, that the Book of the Law was preferv'd in Mofes's own hand, till the coming of the Jews from Babylon; befides the Copies that were

Maimon. Præf. in Seder Zeraim. p. 3.

1 Druf. de Trib. Sect. 1. 3. c. 11. Pirke Rab. Eliefer c. 38. p.101. preferv❜d