ear `Diributlori ofthe Booksof the OldTe/I. ûc, Exercitatio VII.. Of the Judakall dilirihution of th&Ald Tr/lament ; the Original and Nature of their Oral Lam and Traditions ; the whole diJJroved. Agreement ofthe Jews and Papi/ftabout Traditions, inftanced infundryparticulars. H E Apoftle dealing with theHebrews about the Revelation of the Will of 1. God madeunto theirFathers; afsigns it in generali unto his fpeakiug unto them in the Prophets, a. r: Thisfßeaking unto them, the prefent f ews affirm to confift of two Parts ; ( r.. ) That which Mofes and the following Prophets was commanded to write for the publick ufe of the Church': (z.) What being delivered oíily by word of Mouthunto Mojès , and continued by Orali Tradition untill after the luf1dellruEtionofthe Temple, wasafterwards committed unto writing. And became thofe who would read our Expofition of this Epijile, or the Epistle it felt with profit, had need offome infightinto the Opinions and Traditions of the Jews about tilde things, I (hall for the fake ofthem that want either Skill or Leijùre to f arch after them elfewhere, give a brief account of their faith, concerningthe two Heads ofRevelation mentioned ; and therein difcover, both the Principle, lvjeans and Nature of, their pre- fent Apofiacy and Infidelity. The Scripture of the Old Teftament they call Napo, and divide it into three sf. z. parts : f i.,) rfftri 1, the Law: (z. ) D+L+71; the Prophets : (3.) í1+11n2i, the lli- tings,by Diviiselnfpitation,which are dually called the Hagiographa, or Holy wri- tings. And this difrributionof theBooks of the Old TeJlament is in general' intimated by ourSaviour, Luke 14.24. 04y1(6 Tof a aµ¡aiw to vul cijaw ntmzíós, kj flp,tí,a e, of aro s. All thingswritten in theLaw, theProphets, and the Pfalms ; under which lati lead, all the Poetical Books of the Scripture arecontained. Thus Rabbi Bechai in Cad Hac'dmaeh, í1+11t11 C=+K+11.nrfn 1:375n rrsrhw ß-11n7; the Law (fofometimes they call the whole Volume) is divided into three parts, the Law, the Prophet's, and the Holy 1 ri- tingi. All comprized generally under the Name of the Law; for fo they fay in Midrafb Tehidim. Pfalnt 78. v. i. 7-111-1 i=7+2:+1];11 7-In t7+11OP , the Pfalms are the Lam, and . the Prophets, are tht_Law_; that is the whole Scripture, Thisdiftribution fo far as it is intimated in the words ofour Saviour, doth evidently arife "from the Nature andSubjeel Matter of the Books themfèlves. And this was the received divifion of the Books of the Old Teftament, whileft the Judaical Church flood and Continued; But the Poalmudicall Dóüors overlooking or neglofting the true ReafonOf this Diftribution, have fancied others, taken from the different man- ners and degrees of Revelation , by which they were given out unto the Church. Amongftthefe they make the Revelation toMofes the mph/ excellent, and are very vain incoining the Priviledges and Preeminences it had above all others, which are elfewhere examined. In the next degree theyplace thofe which proceeded frail the Spirit ofProphefie, which they diftinguifh fromthe Infpirationof the tidy - Ghrfl. Yea, in the eleven degrees of DivineRevelation afsignedby Maimonides Mor, Nebu:par. 2. That byInjyiration is calf into the laft and lowelt place. But this diftinEtion is groandlefs and meetly fanciedout of the various wayes, that God was pleafed to ufe in repre- fencing things to the mindsof theProphets; when it was in them all, the Injßiration of theHoly Ghojt alone, that enabled them infallibly to declare the mind of God unto the Church, z Pet. s. zt. Now the Books thusgiven by the Spirit of Prophefie they make of two forts; s. C=113%)231 ì=+tC+1l, the former Prophets, which are all the Hiftorical Books ofthe OldTeftament written before the Captivity, as Jofhua, Judges, Samuel, Kings; Ruth only excepted : z.I=11ntL 1t]+b2+13 , which are all the Prophetical Books peculiarly fo called, Daniel only excepted ; that is Ifaiab, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelveMinor Prophets; Of thelait fort,or0+11rD Cethubim, Books writtenby the infpiration of the Holy Ghott, are the Poetical Books of the Scripture ; Pfalms, Job, Prbaerbs; Canticles, Lamentations, withEccl f aftes,whereuntothey.addRuth, Danieland the Hiftorical Books written
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