"where they used to have their Meetings, " and the Power of Judgment was taken "from them, they put on hairy Garments,

tore their Hair off their Heads and faid; "Woe unto us, The Sceptre is departed "from Judah, and the Son of David is

But as it may very juftly be demanded how it appears that the Messiah is here meant by this Shiloh, I think myself obliged to produce my Reasons, for it; because I am not ignorant, that in order to avoid this Conftruction of the Word Shiloh, the Jews have interpreted this Text after many and various manners. My Reasons therefore are these, First, because it is acknowledged by the Jewish Rabbins that the Meffiah, is to be born without an earthly Father. For thus you may find it in the Annotations of R. Mofes Hadarfon, on Pfal. lxxxv. 11. Truth fball spring out of the Earth, and Righteoufnefs fball look down from Heaven. Where he obferves "That R. Joden fays, That is our Salva"tion which shall Spring out of the Earth

" by

" by the Interpofition of God; and thefe "two, that is Truth and Justice shall be "joyned together. And why does the "Pfalmift fay, it fhall fpring out of the "Earth, and not say it shall be born? Be"cause its Birth and Generation fhall not "be like the Generation of worldly Crea"tures but shall be difterent from it, and be "without a focial Conjunction (i. e. of "male and Female) and this just one shall "be our Saviour whom God will fend. "Which is alluded to in the fame Pfal. v.

66

12. where it is faid, yea the Lord fball "give that which is good; and our Land fball yeild her Encreafe. For it is mani"feft that no one knows, or can tell, what "fhall be the Name of his Father, until " he himself fhall come, and make it mani"feft unto us."

And again in his Annotations on Gen. xxxvii. 22. And Reuben faid unto unto them, fbed no Blood, but caft him into this Pit that is in the Wilderness, and lay no hand upon him. "Thus, fays he, it is "alfo faid in Job vi. 27. Yea ye over

"whelm

a

"whelm THE FATHERLESS, and you dig Pit for your Friend. Which is alfo "alluded to Lament. v. 3. We are Or"phans and Fatherless. Upon which R "Barachias remarks, that the holy and "bleffed God faid to Ifrael, ye have com"plained unto me that ye are Orphans and "Fatherlefs; So fhall the Redeemer, which "I will appoint, and raise up from among "yourselves, be without a Father alfo."

As therefore, the Promise made to Eve that the Seed of the Woman should bruife the Serpents Head, is acknowledged by the moft ancient and learned Rabbins to refer to the Messiah, and as according to the aforementioned Traditions, the Messiah is to be born without an Earthly Father, He may very properly be denoted by the particular Characteristic of the Seed of the Woman. And as the Word Shil or Shilo in Hebrew literally fignifies, the Secondina, or Tunicle, in which the Fætus is involved in the Mothers Womb, therefore this is a very proper Expreffion to denote the Offspring of a Virgin, which was to be produced without the help of Man; In the

In

Incarnation of whofe exalted Spirit, there is no more Myftery than in the Incarnation of the Spirit of the meaneft Man alive; the Difficulty being to conceive, not how a Spirit of an exalted Nature, but how any Spirit at all can be united to Matter and made Man. And indeed it is very remarkable that there is no mention made in the Scriptures of the Father of the Messiah from the Time of David.

Secondly, it ought to be applied to the Meffiah, because the following Words, and and to him ball the Gathering of the People be, seems to approprate it to him; as this is a very remarkable Part of the Character by which the Meffiah is denoted in the Scriptures. For to this Purpose was the Original Promife made to Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, that in their Seed fhonld all the Nations of the Earth be blessed. And accordingly the Prophet Ifaiah, when fpeaking of the Messiah, faith, He will lift up an ENSIGN TO THE NATIONS from far, and call unto them from the Ends

* Ijai v. 26. xi. 10, 12.

*

Ends of the Earth. And in another Place he faith, And in that Day there fhall be a Root of Jeffe, which shall ftand FOR AN ENSIGN TO THE PECPLE, and to it ball THE GENTILES Seek. And again, And he fball fet up AN ENSIGN FOR THE NATIONS, and shall affemble the outcasts of Ifrael, and gather together the difperfed of Judah, from the four Corners of the

Earth. With numberless other Places to the fame Purpose; all which amount to just the fame thing, with that which is here predicted of Shiloh by Jacob, that to him, or under his Enfign, fball the Gathering of the Peole be.

And laftly we apply this Word Shiloh to the Meffiah, because it hath been already applied fo, by the most ancient and learned Rabbins among the Jews.

For thus we find this verfe interpreted in the Jerufalem Targum, as well as in the Targums of Jonathan B. Uziel, and of Onkelos, than which there is not better 'Authority among any of the Jewish writers. The Jerufalem Targum renders G

it