Besides, it is not known whither this inconvenience will grow. Origen, in his Octapla, as was declared, fixed the Hebrew original as the rule and measure of all translations. In the reviving of that kind of work by Ximenes in the Complutensian Bibles, its station is left unto it. Arias Montanus, who followed in their steps (con- cerning whose performances under his master the king of Sj^ain, I may say, for sundry excellencies, "Nil oriturum alias, nil ortum tale"), was religiously careful to maintain the purity of the originals, pub- lishing the Hehreiu verity (as it is called by Jerome, Austin, and others of the ancients) as the rule of examining by it all translations whatever; for which he is since accused of ignorance by a petulant Jesuit,^ that never deserved to carry his books after him. Michael Le Jay hath given a turn to this progi'ess, and in plain terms exalts a corrupt translation above the originals, and that upon the principle under consideration, as is abundantly manifest from Morinus. And if this change of judgment, which hath been long insinuating itself, by the curiosity and boldness of critics, should break in also upon ' ]\Iorin. Exercit. de Ileb. Text. Sine. lib. i. esei'. i. cap. iv.
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870 INTEGRITY AND PURITY OF THE HEBREW AND GREEK TEXT.
the protestant world, and be avowed in public works, it is easy to conjecture what the end will be. We went from Rome under the conduct of the purity of the originals; I wish none have a mind to return thither again under the pretence of their corruption.
CHAPTER y.
The original of the points proposed to consideration in particular — The import- ance of the points to the right understanding of the Scripture — Tlie testimony of Morinus, Junius, Johannes Isaac, Cevallerius, and others — The use made by the Papists of the opinion of the novelty of the points — The importance of the points further manifested — The extreme danger of making the Hebrew punctu- ation arbitrary — That danger evinced by instance — No relief against that danger on the grounds of the opinion considered — The authors of the Hebrew punc- tuation according to the Prolegomena; who and what — Morinus' folly — The improbability of this pretence — The state of the Jews, the supposed inventors of the points, after the destruction of the temple — Two attempts made by them to restore their religion : the first under Barchochab, with its issue ; the second under R. Judah, with its issue — The rise and foundation of the Tal- muds — The state of the Jews upon and after the writing of the Talmuds — Their rancour against Christ — Who the Tiberian Masoretes were that are the supposed authors of the Hebrew punctuation; their description — That figment rejected — The late testimony of Dr Lightfoot to this purpose — The rise of the opinion of the novelty of the points — Of Elias Levita — The value of his testimony in this case — Of the validity of the testimony of the Jewish Rabbins — Some considerations about the antiquity of the points: the first, from the nature of the punctuation itself, in reference unto grammatical rules; [the second,] from the Chaldee paraphrase, and integrity of the Scripture as now pointed.
This being, in my apprehension, the state of things amongst us, I hope I may without offence proceed to the consideration of the particulars before mentioned, from whence it is feared that objec- tions may arise against the purity and self-evidencing power of the Scriptures, pleaded for in the foregoing treatise. That which in the first place was mentioned, is the assertion of the points or vowels, and accents, to be a novel invention of some Rabhins of Tihe^^ias in Palestina. This the learned author of the Prolegomena defends with Cappellus' arguments, and such other additions as he was pleased to make use of. To clear up the concernments of our truth in this particular, it will be necessary to consider, — 1. What influence in the right understanding of the text these points have, and neces- sarily must have; 2. What is their original, or whom their invention is ascribed unto in these Prolegomena. As to the assertive part of this controversy, or the vindication of their true sacred original,
ORIGIN OF THE IIEBllEW POINTS. S71
some other occasion may call for additions to what is now (by the way) insisted on. And as I shall not oppose them who maintain that they are coevons with the letters, — which are not a few of the most learned Jews and Christians, — so I nowise doubt but that, as we now enjoy them, we shall yet manifest that they were completed by ""tfiN n^njn nojD, the men of the great synagogue, Ezra and his companions, guided therein by the infallible direction of the Spirit of God.
That we may not seem aspoCanTv, or to contend de lana caprina, the importance of these points as to the right understanding of the word of God is first to be considered, and that from testimony and the nature of the thing itself Morinus, in his preface to his Hebrew Lexi- con, tells us that without the points no certain truth can be learned from the Scriptures in that language, seeing all things may be read divers ways, so that there will be more confusion in that one tongue than was amongst all those at Babylon : " Nulla igitur certa doctrina poterit tradi de hac lingua, cum omnia possint diversimodo legi, ut futura sit major confusio unicse hujus linguae quam ilia Babylonis." Morinus plainly affirms that it is so indeed, instancing in the word nm, which, as it may be variously pointed, hath at least eight seve- ral significations, and some of them as distant from one another as heaven and earth. And to make evident the uncertainty of the language on this account, he gives the like instance in c, r, s, in Latin. Junius, in the close of his animadversions on Bell. De Verbo Dei, lib. ii. cap. ii., commends that saying of Johannes Isaac against Lindanus, " He that reads the Scriptures without points is like a man that rides a horse ayaXm^, without a bridle ; he may be car- ried he knows not whither." Radulphus Cevallerius goes further: Rudiment. Ling. Heb. cap. iv., " Quod superest de vocalium et ac- centuum antiquitate, eorum sententise subscribe, qui linguam Heb- rgeam, tanquam omnium aliarum afyzrunrw absolutissimum, plane ab initio scriptam confirmant; quandoquidera qui contra sentiunt non mode authoritatem sacrse Scripturae dubiam efficiunt, sed radicitus (meo quidem judicio) convellunt, quod absque vocalibus et distinc- tionum notis, nihil certi firmique habeat; " — "As for the antiquity of the vowels and accents," saith he, " I am of their opinion who maintain the Hebrew language, as the exact pattern of all others, to have been plainly written with them from the beginning; seeing that they who are otherwise minded do not only make doubtful the authority of the Scriptures, but, in my judgment, wholly pluck it up by the roots, for without the vowels and notes of distinction it hath nothing firm and certain."