488 THE LAW AND PRECEPTS THEREOF. [EXERC. XX. —
scales, be exact, Lev. xix. 36. 23. That wise men, or men skilful in the law, be honoured, or had in reputation, Lev. xix. 32. 24. That father and mother be honoured, Exod. xx. 12. 25. That they be Seared, Lev. xix. 3.
15. The tenth family concerns WOMEN AND MATRIMONY, in twelve precepts:—1. That marriage be entered into by all, Gen. 1. 28. 2. That a contract or betrothing precede marriage, Deut. xx. 7. 3. That the new married man rejoice with his wife the first year, Deut. xxiv. 5. 4. That the male children of Israel be circumcised, Gen. xvii. 10; Lev. xii. 3. 5. That the widow of a man dying without children marry unto her husband’s brother, Deut. xxv. 5. 6. That he who refuseth so to take the widow of one dying without children, being next of kin, have his shoe pulled off, and be spit upon, Deut. xxv. 7-9. 7. That he who hath violated the chastity of a virgin by force be compelled to marry her, Deut. xxi. 29. 8. That he who hath defamed his wife without cause keep her without hope of divorce, Deut. xxi. 13-19. 9. That he who seduceth a virgin to fornication pay fifty shekels, Exod. xxii. 16,17. 10. That a fair woman taken in war be dealt withal according to the law, Deut. xxi. 10-14, 11. That divorce be made by a writing, or bill of di- vorcement, Deut. xxiv. 1. 12. That a woman suspected of adultery be dealt withal according to the law, Num. v. 30.
16, The eleventh family concerneth CRIMINAL JUDGMENTS AND PUNISHMENTS, and hath eight precepts belonging unto it:—1. That criminal persons not guilty of sins deserving capital punishment be beaten with stripes, Deut. xxv. 2,3. 2. That he who slew a man at unawares be banished from conversing among the people, Num. xxxv. 25. 3. That those guilty of it be hanged or strangled, Deut. xxi, 22, 4, That others, as is appointed, be slain by the sword, Exod. xxi. 20; 5. That others be burned, Lev. xx. 14. 6. That those who deserve it by the law be stoned with stones, Deut. xxi. 21. 7. That those appointed thereunto be hanged up after death, Deut. xxi. 21. 8. That all who suffer death be buried the same day, Deut. xxi. 23..
17. The twelfth and last family of this sort of precepts, which is about JUDGMENTS IN CIVIL CAUSES, contains seventeen precepts :— 1. That the Hebrew servant be dealt withal according to the law, Exod. xxi..2-6. 2. That an Hebrew maid servant be married to her master or his son, if humbled by either of them, Exod. xxi. 8,9. 3. That an Hebrew maid servant may be redeemed, Exod.xxi.8. 4. That only Canaanites, or heathens, may be made perpetual servants, or brought into bondage for ever, Lev. xxv. 45, 46. 5. That he who pro- cures the hurt of any one do repair it by a pecuniary mulet, Exod. xxi. 30.6. That hurt done by a beast be repaired, Exod. xxi. 28, 29. 7. That loss or hurt from the not covering or safeguarding of a pit be re- paired, Exod. xxi. 33, 34, 8. That theft be judged according to the law,
SECT. 15-20.] THE LAW AND PRECEPTS THEREOF. 489
Exod. xxii. 1-4. 9. That the damage done by one man’s beasts in other men’s fields be repaired, Exod. xxii. 5. 10. That damage by fire, voluntarily, be repaired, Exod. xxii. 6. 11. That judgment be made of any thing deposited or trusted without reward, according to the law, Exod. xxii. 7,8. 12. That what is lent or Aired for gain, if lost, be judged according unto the law, Exod. xxii. 10-13; 13. Also what is borrowed for use, Exod. xxii. 14, 15. 14. That things concern- ing buying and selling be judged according to the law, Lev. xxv. 14-17. 15. That the cause of the plaintiff and defendant be judged according to the law, Exod. xxii. 9. 16. That a man pursued by his enemy to death may be delivered with the death of his pursuer, Deut. xix. 6.. 17. That the rights of inheritances be determined - according to the law, Num. xxvii. 8-11.
18. These are the precepts which they gather out of the law, as affirmatively expressed. That some of them, are by no means rightly educed from those texts which they draw them from, will appear at first view unto him that shall examine them. It is also justly questionable whether sundry of them be indeed precepts of God or no, especially as by them explained. But that thisis the just num- ber of the affirmative precepts of the law, that there are no. more of that kind, and that these are all so many distinct precepts, is vain to imagine. Only whereas, in general, the most of the particular commands that belong unto the same things are gathered by them into certain heads, wherein they are summarily represented, I thought not unmeet to give them here in their order.
19. The negative precepts also are by them in like manner cast into twelve distinct families, which, with the same brevity, we shall pass through.
20. The first family of these precepts relates unto FALSE WORSHIP, concerning which they gather up forty-seven prohibitions:—1. That we have no other god but Jehovah, Exod. xx. 3. 2. That we make no wmages for ourselves, nor have ethiors make them for us, Exod.