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Show i-8 . - of their Scriber~ L I. B. r. fignifieth Numbererl, or Comp11terJ, and u app1yed to the Mafor,ites,be~aufe they fpent their time in reckon·· iog, and nurnbnng 1 not onel y the verfes, but the words ~lfo and letters of each Book throug.hout the Bible; whi~h a-s it is an argument of t~eir induftry, m Auguflin. in (m) [o. Iike~ife of God1 providence, in the pr_eferv~-tfal. ·e,o• tion ot his truth inviolable. As the ~vifi men tn.then' Preaching prefiea Traditions ; fo the scribes clave to a Drwjiu1 dt . the written word, whence they were (n) termed Text· Jribfetlid,J.. men or Ma~+ers of the Text. And to this purpofe it is cap,I3. wor't h our') "o br..e rvi·n g, .t ha t wh e reas-b ot h t he S·e n" b es aod the Pharilees fought to fafl:en accufa.tions-upon our Saviour, Mat .9. The Scribes accufed him of blaf. phemy~ v. 3· The Pharifees of eating with Publicans and"finners) v.tl. The Scribes acclilfation was a-breach of the Law ; the Pharifees a breach of Traditions. oV;de 'thitbir. 3, The DijpNter (o) He infifi-ed upon Allegories~ancl in u.f11 fearched out myf\ical interpretations of the Text. Hence hirnfelf was termed Durfchan, and his e~pofit ·ion, or Hamil y, Midrafch; and their ScnogJ, Beth Hammidrafch: ·rhey were counted the profound eO: Interpreters, whence that of the Pfalmift, Pf1'J. 84. 7. P targum, Pf. They gofromflren&th toflrength,(p )is interpreted:ftom s4·7"· their Temple to their Beth:Hammidrafch, from an infe. riour to ~n higher School. Hereby we fee the difft· r.ence between thofe three forts. of Predicants mentioned by Saint Pa!tl. The Wife men were teachers of Traditions, the Scri.bes teachers of the Text according to the literal interpretation land the Difp.uters teachers of Allegories and Myfter.ies; which fabulous expofit" tiuns, becaufe they-breed quefiions and difputations ~nT~~fl) "'~f'xva-t, : 1i~;J·4• ·Hence is it,tbat fuch an expo.• fitor is termed ~u,nnt.ru)J A Difputer. Thtfe three forts. of Preachers, which S. P aulttrmeth, the 1Fifeman, the Scribe and the Difputer. 1 Cor.1.1.0 are by the Hebrews named cr~n chacham, iQ,o Sopher, jWi, Darfchan. CHAP. L lB. I~ - Of their 7'itle R~thhi, C H A P. VII. of their Title Ra6hi •. fA. Bout the time of ot1r Saviour Chrifi: his Nati'~ fl vity, Titles began to be multiplied; and a. mongfr the reft, thefe of Rab, Rihbi) Rabbi, and Rah-han, were in efpecial ufe: ttcy all are derived from · J'J, Rabab, Ggnifying~ multiplicatu~ fuit, and they fOund as much as "JroA.vp.~~,~~1~, that is, a 1\'lttfter, or Do§/ or eminently gifted with variety ofKnowledge. Concerning thefe titles, they write thus, (a )that Rab•- a Aruch~in vact-:· hi i~ a more excellent title than E·ttb, and RAbban more ''JN excellent then Rabbi; and the fimple narn·" without any title, as H aggai:-Zitchary, Malac6y,was ·more excellent· than Rabban, About this time they ufed a fet form of Difcipline in their Schools. The Scholar was termed ,•o7n, Talmid, ;t Qi[ciple, in refpett of his hearning-l 1tcP Ktttan, a Junior) in refptc1: ofh1s minority; ,,nl - ~ · Bachur, that is, one chofen, or eleOedin rtfpect of his elef1i()n, or c~opt~ttion, into the number of Difcip1 es; After he had proved a good Proficient~ and wasthooght worthy of fame degree, then was he by im-· pofition ofhan_ds made a Gradu4te 1:Jn Chaher,a Companion · to a Rabhi. This impofition of hands, they " t errne d rtJOO, vel r.'ID'J.JCJ, sem. t.c a b, or Semi cut h ,)~1..0.,,0 ,: 1n which Cere~ony they obferved in imitation of Mo~ ~~~ et towards )ojhua. The Lord fa td nnto Mqfes, Take '.deft Sc~tligero · th c:J ,a, h r f 1\.T • h · h S · · d mterprete : OU JO;IJHa t e 10ll 0 nHn, Jn W Offi lS t e ptrlt, an Eto tihi imprmtJ RHt tliine hand upon him, Numb.2 7. 18. At which time m11num & ma. he that impofed hands on him, nfed ( b; this form of mu rrhi ~"!Po.fi* d .,rr: . h db h .rr: d ~ td efto.1rtb,er. ~v.or s, la;1 uctate t ee, an · e t ou a.JJociate .A,ter this c. 5 .p.264 .t~ide when he. was worthy to teach others, then was· he tti9m Cun.t~m called' B.abbi, ancf· whereas in his minority, his own :;p~i,·He/1. 1 " · E 3 name |
