The Jews were difpers'd over all the World, but chiefly feated themselves in Rome, and Alexandria, and Antioch, the three principal Cities of the Empire; in all which they had great and peculiar Privileges; and in Alexandria they had Magiftrates of their own, and liv'd under a peculiar Government by themselves. Never any other Nation had fuch various Changes and Revolutions, to mix them with the reft of the World; and never any People were fo industrious and zealous, and fo fuccefsful in the Propagation of their Religion. They had their Profeucha, and their Synagogues for Divine Worship, and for Reading and Explaining the Scriptures; which Men of all Religions were admitted to hear, in all places where-ever they dwelt; and in Egypt they had a 'Temple like that at Jerufalem, built by Onias, which drew mighty Numbers of Jews thither, and continued for the Space of Three hundred and forty three Years, till the Destruction of Jerufalem by Titus; and in the Synagogues the Scriptures were read in the Greek Tongue, which was the most univerfal Language then in the World. Some have affirm'd, that as much of the Scriptures as was written in Solomon's time, was then tranflated into the Syriac Tongue; and there is little doubt but that at least part of the Bible was tranflated into Greek, before the time of Alexander the Great: but the Verfion of the Septuagint became foon difpers'd into all hands, which was made at the Command of Ptolemaus Philadelphus; to whom likewise, and his Father, Ariftobulus dedicated an Expofition of the Law of Mofes. The Jews in their Kalendar appoint a Fast upon the Eighth day of the Month Tebet, which anfwers to our Twenty fixth of December, because the Law was then tranflated into * AƐ, xiii. 42. Hieron. in Dan. xi. Eufeb. Præpar. Evang. L. 13. c.12. Greek Jofeph. Antiq. 1. 14. c. 12. Philo in Flacc. r Greek at the Command of this King, and they add, that there was Darkness all over the World for Three Days upon that account. But this must have been a Contrivance of the Jews fince the Propagation of the Gospel, when they found this Tranflation cited against them, and were urg'd by Justin Martyr and others with its Authority. The Jews of Alexandria kept a Day of Rejoicing, in Remembrance of this Tranflation, in Philo's time, and Jofephus fpeaks with Approbation of the making it. But when the Jews fent Men purpofely chofen, into all Countries to blafpheme Chrift and his Religion, and inserted Imprecations upon Chriftians into their Forms of Prayer; it is no wonder, that they fhould appoint a Fast in Detestation of a Tranflation, which prov'd fo happy an Instrument in the Converfion of many to Christianity. By all these means, vaft Multitudes of Profelytes were made to the Jewish Religion in all Parts of the World. What Numbers there were at Rome of this Religion, we know from the Roman Poets and Historians, and we have as good Evidence of the spreading of it in other Places. Not to repeat what has been already related, nor to mention particular Perfons of the greatest Note and Eminency, nor particular Cities, as Damafcus, where it more remarkably prevail'd, it is evident what Numbers of Perfons, in all Nations, profefs'd this Religion, from the incredible Treasures which Craffus found in the Temple of Jerufalem, being Ten thousand Talents, amafs'd there by the Sums of Gold fent from all Places by the Jews, and fuch as became Profelytes to their Religion: And for the Truth of this, Jofephus cites Strabo's Authori ty, who fays, "that the Jews were every where di fpers'd, and every where gain'd Men over to their Religion; and that in Alexandria they had their Ethnarcha, or proper Magiftrates, by whom they were govern'd. And another Proof of the Multitudes of Profelytes made to the Jewish Religion, may be had from the great Numbers affembled at their Paffovers, and at the Feasts of Pentecoft, out of every Nation under Heaven. Thus mightily prevail'd the Religion of the Hebrews, till their City and Temple, by a Divine Vengeance, as Jofephus often confeffes, was destroy'd; and the Law it felf, with the Utenfils of the Temple, was carry'd among the Spoil in Titus's Triumph. And when the Jewish Religion had its full Period and Accomplishment, the Chriftian Religion, which fucceeded in the Room of it, and was prefigur'd by it, foon fpread it felf into all Corners of the Earth, and is at this day preach'd among all Nations. But before I proceed to confider the Propagation of the Chriftian Religion, it may be requifite, 1. To produce fome Teftimonies of the Heathens, concerning the Jews and their Religion. 2. To fhew, That there have been always remaining divers Memorials of the True Religion among the Heathen. 3. To confider the Authority of the Sibylline Oracles. 1. As to the Teftimony of Heathen Authors, it were no more an Objection against what has been alledg'd, though they had taken no notice of the Hiftory of the Jews, than it can be fuppofed to be an Objection against the Truth of the Taking of Tray, or the Building of Rome, that the Scriptures make no mention of either of them. The Greek Hiftorians were fo ignorant of Foreign Affairs, as Jofephus has obferv'd, that Ephorus, one of the beft of them thought Spain to be but one City and neither Hero * Jofeph. de Bell. Jud. 1. 7. c. 17. A. ii. 5. pag. 979. Jofeph, contra Ap. 1. 1. ५ y Ibid. c. 24. dotus a dotus nor Thucydides, nor any Hiftorian of their Times, made any mention of the Romans. The Roman Authors are but of a very late date, in comparison: and the Greeks, befides their ignorance in Antiquity, and in the Affairs of other Nations, are known to have been a vain People, who defpifed all befides themfelves, accounting them Barbarians, and taking little notice of Rome it self, before they fell under its Power. Nothing more memorable ever befel the Romans than the taking of their City by the Gauls, this happened, fays Plutarch, if we may credit their Chronolgy, which is fo confufed in things of much later Date, a little after the Year CCCLX, from the building of Rome. He thinks an obfcure Report of this went as far as Greece; for which he cites Heraclides Ponticus, an Author of no credit, as he confeffes; and Ariftotle, who faid that Lucius preferved the City; tho' the Prenomen of Camillus was Marcus, and not Lucius: Which is an evident Argument how little the ancient Greeks knew of Rome. Pliny obferves, that Theophraft us was the first that wrote any thing, with exactnefs, of the Romans, and that Theopompus, before whom no Author had mentioned them, only faid, that the City was taken by the Gauls; and Clitarchus, who next took any notice of it, faid only, that an Embaffy was fent from thence to Alexander; but Arrian proves that none was fent. The Affairs both of the Romans and Carthaginians, before the fecond Punick War were but little known to the Greeks: for which Reafon Polybius found it requifite in his Two firft Books, to give an account of the preceding State of Rome, before he entred upon the Hiftory of that War. с d Yet many of the Heathen Writers, as Jofephus fhews, have made famous mention of the Jews; though others a Nos quoque diclitant Barbaros, spurciùs nos, quàm alios, Opi cos appellatione fadant. Cato maj. apud Plin. Hift. Nat. l. 29. c. 7. Plutarch. in Camill. Plin. Hift. 1. 3. C. 9. Polyb. 1. 1. init. d have have given a wrong and malicious Account of them, whom he proves to contradict one another, and fometimes themselves. Some, again, have omitted the mention of the Jews, though they had never fo much occafion for it; of which he gives a remarkable Inftance in one Hieronymus, who though he were Governor of Syria, and wrote a Book of the Succeffors of Alexander, and lived at the fame time with Hecateus, both being contemporary with Alexander; yet never vouchfafed to speak of the Jews, of whom Hecatans wrote a particular Book. The general Silence in relation to the Jews, in the Hiftories of Alexander's Life, could proceed from nothing but Envy and Illwill; fince it is incredible, that a People fo very confiderable as the Jews, fhould be the only Nation, whom he over-looked, without requiring the least Submission from them. But the Works of Hecataus, and of many other Greek Authors, are now loft, which were written concerning the Jews, the Fragments whereof are still to be seen in Jofephus, Clem. Alexandrinus, Eufebius, and others. Of thofe whofe Works remain, Herodotus, relating the Victory of Pharaoh Necho, in the Battel at Megiddo, calls Jerufalem, Cadytis; by a fmall variation, as Dr. Lightfoot has obferved, for Kedofha, that is, the Holy City, the ufual denomination of that City. Herodotus likewife faying, that Circumcifion was used by the Syrians in FaLeftine, muft mean the Jews: for all others there were uncircumcifed: tho' when he fays, that they acknowledged themselves to have received it from the Ægyptians, this fhews, how much he was mifinformed concerning them, and how justly the Ignorance of Herodotus in things relating to the Egyptians, is by Scaliger afcribed to the Partiality of the Egyptian Priests, from whom he had his Informations: for they con f i 8 Herod. 1. 2. c. 104Scalig. Not. in Græc. Fragm. p.11. cealed |