Chap. VIII The Several Manners of Divine Revelation
As Idolatry originally sprang from mistaking of Scripture; so Witch-craft and Sorcery, (which holdeth near affinity with Idolatry) seemeth to have had its first beginning from an imitation of Gods Oracles. God spake in divers manners, Heb. 1. 1. By dreams, by Urim, by Prophets, 1 Sam. 28. 6, 7. when the Lord would by none of these answer King Saul, then he sought to a Witch. To these might be added Gods speaking from between the Cherubims, his answering by Visions, Angels, and Voices: but the chief manners of revealing himself, observed by the Hebrew Writers, are four, which they term486 four degrees of Prophecy, or Divine Revelation: somewhat therefore being spoken of these, I purpose to explain the several sorts of unlawful divinations mentioned in Scripture.
The first degree was נבואה Nebuah, Prophecy. This was when God by certain visions and apparitions revealed his Will.
The second was רוח הקדש Ruach Hacodesch, The inspiration of the Holy Ghost, whereby the party was inabled without Visions or Apparitions, to prophesie: some shewing the difference between those two add,487 that the gift of Prophecy did cast a man into a trance or extasie, all his senses being taken from him; but the inspiration of the Holy Ghost was without any such extasie, or abolition of the senses, as appeareth in Job, David, Daniel. Both these degrees, as likewise Urim and Thummim ceased in the second Temple, whence their ancient Doctors say, 488 that after the latter Prophets Haggai, Zachary, and Malachy were dead, the Holy Ghost went up or departed from Israel. Howbeit, they had the use of a voice or eccho from Heaven. In which speech we are not to understand that the Holy Ghost wrought not at all upon the creatures, or that it wrought not then in the sanctification of men, as in former times, but that this extraordinary enabling men to prophesie by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, then ceased; and in this sense the Holy Ghost was said to have departed from Israel. Unto this common received opinion, that passage might have reference, Acts 19. We have not so much as heard whether there hath been an Holy Ghost or no. That they did not doubt the distinction of persons, appeareth clear, if that be true which some have noted,489 that the ancient Jews before Christ were so catechised in that point, that they observed the Mystery of the Trinity in the name יהוה Jehovah, for though the name consisted of four letters in number, whence it was called τετραγράμματον Quadriliterum, yet there were but three sorts of Letters in the name: י Jod signified the Father, who was the beginning of all things: ו Vau is a conjunction copulative, and denoted the third person in Trinity, which proceedeth from the Father and the Son, ה He signifieth the Son of God. The Rabbines have a saying, that God made all things, in litera ה He. They may allude to this, that he made all things by his Word: he said, Let there be thus and thus, and it was so: but they may also allude to the second person in Trinity. And furthermore, they note that ה He, is doubled in this name, to demonstrate both Natures of our blessed Saviour.
The third degree, was Urim and Thummim. Urim signifieth light, and Thummim perfection. That they were two ornaments in the High-priests brest-plate, is generally agreed upon: but what manner of ornaments, or how they gave answer, is hard to resolve. Some490 think them to be the four rows of stones in the brest-plate, the splendour and brightness of which foreshewed victory; and by the rule of contraries, we may gather, that the darkness of the stones not shining presaged evil. Others491 say it was the name Jehovah put in the doubling of the brest-plate, for that was double Exod. 28. 16. Others492 declare the manner of consulting with Urim and Thummim thus: First, they say493 that only the King, or else the Father of the Consistory had power to consult, or to propose the matter unto the Priest, and the Priest only had power to resolve. Secondly, that the matter proposed must not be trivial, but of moment and great difficulty. Thirdly, that this holy writing, termed Urim and Thummim, consisted of all the Tribes names, and likewise of the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; so that no letter of the Alphabet was wanting. The question being proposed, some say that the letters which gave the answer were כולמות (i.) they did arise and eminently appear above the others. An example they take from 2 Sam. 2. 1. When David asked the Lord, Shall I go up into any of the Cities of Judah? the Lord answered, עלה Gnaleh, go up. Here, say they, ע appeared out of the name of שמעין Schimeon, ל out of the name of לוי Levi, ה out of the name of יהודה Jehudah. Others say, that the letters which represented the Oracle were מצטדפות (i.) that they did after a strange manner joyn themselves into perfect syllables and entire words, and made the answer compleat. Many other opinions might be reckoned up, but he spoke best, who ingenuously confessed that he knew not what Urim and Thummim was.494
The fourth degree was בת קול Bath Kol, filia vocis, the Daughter of a Voice, or an Eccho; by it is meant a voice from heaven declaring the will of God; it took place in the second Temple, when the three former degrees of Prophecy ceased: it gave testimony of our Saviour; Lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased Mat. 3. 17. It was in truth the Prologue, Preface, or type of that true voice of the Father, that eternal word which revealed his Fathers will unto mankind.
These were the extraordinary means by which God revealed himself to his people of old: ordinarily, he revealed himself by his written word. Notwithstanding the Hebrews say, that the Law, even from the first time of its delivery unto Moses, was twofold: the one committed to writing, which they call תורה שבכתב Thora Schebictab, the written Law: the other delivered by tradition, תורה בעל פה Thora begnal pe, it was also termed their Kabbala, from קבל Kibbel, signifying Accipere, to receive or learn. They say both were delivered by God unto Moses in Mount Sinai, but this latter was delivered from Moses to Joshua, from Joshua to the Elders, from the Elders to the Prophets, from the Prophets to those of the great Synagogue, and so successively to after-ages, till at last it was digested into one Book, containing principally precepts and directions for those Israelites which inhabited the holy Land. It is called Talmud Hierosolymitanum. It was composed in the year of our Lord 230. This because it containeth but a few constitutions, is but of little use. About 500 years after Christ, then was there a more full and exact collection of their constitutions, for direction of those Jews which dwelt in Babylon, and other forreign places; this is termed Talmud Babylonicum, and is of greatest use among Authors; it containeth the body of their Civil and Canon Law. This traditional law they hold to be as authentick as their written word, and that Moses received it from God, when he received the Law; for, say they, were it not for this exposition, the Decalogue it self might have been delivered In hora veloci, in less than an hour.495
Here we must note that the word Kabbala, when it is applied to the Kabbalists, to difference them from the Talmudists, is taken in a stricter sense, and signifieth those subtleties or mysteries which are observed from the different writing of some letters in the Scripture, from the transposing of them, from a mystical kind of Arithmetick, &c. This was never wholly committed to writing, of some instances we have, Gen. 23. 2. Abraham came לבכתה to weep for Sara. Here because the letter Caph is less than the rest, they note496 that Abraham wept but little for Sara, because she was old. Again, the letter Aleph is found six times in the first verse of Genesis: Hence R. Elias collected that the world should endure but six thousand years: because Aleph in the Hebrews computation standeth for a thousand. From the transposition of letters they conclude after this manner; חרם Cherem signifieth Anathema or Excommunication, by a Metathesis or transposition of letters, it is made רחם Rachem signifying mercy; by another transposition it is made רמח Ramach, which letters in the Jews computation make 248, which in their Anatomy, they find to be the just number of members in a mans body: their conclusion hence is, that if an excommunicated person do truly repent then his Cherem is turned into Rachem, his curse turned into a blessing: if he do not repent, then his Cherem entreth into Ramach, the curse entreth into all his members, to the utter destroying of the whole man. Again, איש Isch, signifieth a man. אשה Escha, a woman. Hence they note, that in the name of the man here is י Jod which is not in the name of the woman; in the name of the woman there is ה He, which is not in the name of the man: both these make יה Jah, one of the names of God: these being taken away, in both names there remains אש Esch signifying fire, to shew, that as long as man and wife agree, God is with them: but when they disagree, fire is between them: Thus we see what vain mysteries their Kabbalists observe.
Notes
486 P. Fagius in Exod. 28.
487 D. Kimchi. Præfat. in Psal.
488 Talmud. in Sanhedrin, c. 1.
489 P. Fagius in Exod. 28.
490 Joseph. Antiq. l. 3. c. 9.
491 R. Solom. quemadmodum refert D. Kimchi in radic.
492 Talmud. in Jonah c. 6. vid. P. Fagium in Exod. 28.
493 Abbeth din.
494 R. David in Radic.
495 אלח כ שעח Moses Kotsen. in præf.
496 Baal Turin.