9.

God made with Abraham. God faid unto Gen.xvii, Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant, thou and thy feed after thee, in their generations. This is my covenant which ye shall keep between me and you, and thy feed after thee: Every man-child among you shall be circumcis'd. And ye shall circumcife the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. And he that is eight days old fhall be circumcis'd among you, every man-child in your generations; be that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy feed. He that is born in thy bouse, and he that is bought with thy money, muft needs be circumcis'd; and my covenant shall be in flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcis'd man-child, whofe flesh of his foreskin is not circumcifed, that foul shall be cut off from bis people; he hath broken my co

venant.

your

And, in the Law of Mofes, whatsoever is prescrib'd to the natural Ifraelites, the fame is requir'd of the Stranger. For Inftance: Whatfoever man there be of the Levit. boufe of Ifrael, or of the ftrangers that fo- xvii. 10. journ among you, that eateth any manner of

blood;

blood; I will even fet my face against that foul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his People. And fo in other Cafes of the like Nature. And when they conform'd in all thofe Circumstances requir'd in the Law, they were to enjoy the fame Privileges as the true-born Ifraelites Exod. xii. themselves. Thus it is ordain'd; When a franger shall fojourn with thee, and will keep the paffover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcifed, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land. One law shall be to him that is home-born, and unto the ftranger that Sojourneth among you. And this is often repeated as Occafion required.

48.

Mat.

To make these Profelytes, they fpar'd no xxiii. 15. Pains; esteeming it a very meritorious Act. And yet we may obferve, that they who were Home-born valued themselves much upon it, as a more excellent and fuperior Qualification. When St. Paul enumerates the feveral Circumftances in which he might boast himself upon occafion, he canPhil. iii. not conceal this. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flef, I more: circumcised the eighth day; of

4, 5.

the

the flock of Ifrael; of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews.

except they could be legal

However, neither these Profelytes, nor the natural-born Hebrews, were of the Tribe of Levi, ly admitted to the Priesthood, or to execute any of the Prieftly Offices. Though Herod (himself an Idumæan, and confequently, as a Profelyte who pretended to obferve the Law, an illegal Ufurper of the Throne) advanc'd Profelytes to the very Dignity of the High-Priesthood. But that was when they were under Subjection to the Romans; and depriv'd of the Liberty and Power of ordering themselves, in every respect, according to the Mofaical Conftitution. So, much for the Nature and Manner of their Government.

CHAP.

CHA P. III.

SECT. I. The HOLY LAND

HE Country in which thefe Peo

TH

ple were fettled, was a Part of Syria, properly fo call'd: being extended, in Length, from Syria of Antioch to Egypt and Arabia Petraa; in Breadth, from that Part of the Mediterranean call'd the Syriac Sea, to Cale-Syria and Arabia Deferta. The River Jordan runs, in a manner, thro the middle of it lengthways; and discharges itfelf into the Dead Sea; after having, by the way, form'd a Lake, call'd in the Gof pel, the Lake of Gennefareth, and the Sea of Tiberias; above twelve Miles long, and five broad.

This whole Country was anciently nam'd the Land of Canaan; even at that Time when Abraham receiv'd Orders from God to leave Mefopotamia, and to go and dwell there. And afterwards, his Pofterity, when they had conquer'd and driven out the In

habitants

habitants from it, took Poffeffion of it, and divided it among their twelve Tribes. Thofe of Reuben, Gad, and part of Manasseh (as was observ'd before) fat down on the other fide Jordan, the reft on this fide. Many Years after which, when ten of the twelve Tribes were carried away Captive = into Affyria, from whence they never return'd to this Day, the Country on this fide Jordan came to be distinguish'd by the Provinces of Judæa, Samaria, and Galilee: that, on the other fide, by Palestine on the Sea-Coast, Ituræa, Trackonitis, and Chalcidica.

Each of thefe Provinces contain'd feveral Cities or Towns. In That of Judæa, which took its Name from the Tribe of Judah to which it belong'd, were these nine following (befides others of leffer Note;) Jerufalem, Bethel, Jericho, Arimathæa, Emmaus, Bethlehem, Hebron, Kirjath-jearim, and Eleutheropolis. Samaria, fo call'd from the City of that Name, (built by Omri King of Ifrael, and made the Metropolis of the Kingdom, instead of Tirzah) contain'd three, Shiloh, Sichar or Sichem, and Samaria. Galilee, known by

that