and then Simon III. will be the first who enjoyed it in that high degree; for he flourished in that emperor's time, and was lineally defcended from Hillel, in whofe line it continued till its abolition, A. C. 429, as we fhall fee in the fequel. OUR defign, however, is not to go through an historical account of those pontifs, especially as we find it fraught, by the Jewish writers, with the most abfurd and fabulous legends, and miraculous exploits. What we have already given by way of specimen, of fome of the former, will easily incline our readers to excufe us from doing the like by the latter; and to think it fufficient, that we take notice of their most material tranfactions in every age they have flourished, and stripped of all the rabbinic fables, and of every thing that is dubious, controverted, or impertinent. HAVING thus far fettled the most probable æra of their Refidence rife, our next business will be to fix the place of their refi- at Tibe dence; which, tho' fome have supposed to have been Lyd- rias. da, or Jamnia, yet is, by the far greater number, allowed to have been the famed city of Tiberias, fituate on the lake of its name; and fo called by Herod who built it, in honour of An acade Tiberius t, and which became afterwards the capital of Ga- my foundlilee, and the refidence of Agrippa, on whom Claudius the ed there. emperor bestowed it, and from whom it was also called Claudia Tiberias. This city, famed for its advantageous fituation, as well as for its medicinal waters, was chofen, as less liable to give umbrage to the jealous Romans, to be not only the patriarchal feat, but likewife that of the Jewish learning, a new academy being foon after founded in it, which became famous for its learned men; particularly the compilers of the Mifbnah; of which more in its proper place (P). THE De his vid. vol. ii. p. 425, 459, & feqq. fub. note (Y). Vid. & Jos. Ant. 1. xviii. c. 3. Bell. Jud. 1. ii. c. 8. to fuch a height, as to take may MOD. HIST. VOL. XIII, (P) Buxtorf adds (z1), that it did ftill fubfift in Jerom's time; L and The patriTHE authority of these Patriarchs hath been much exagarchal au- gerated by the Jews, in order to repel a powerful argument abority. urged by the Chriftians of thofe early ages, that the fcepter, or regal authority, mentioned by Jacob, was departed from them. But whatever they may write of it, it was rather a fhadow of power, than a real one; and the Romans were too jealous of it to let them enjoy it in any higher degree. It was mostly confined to religious and controverted matters. They had officers of feveral ranks under them, whose businefs it was to carry their decifions, and to regulate other mat, ters, under their cognizance, in all places where their authority reached. And these were stiled Apoftoli, Legati, and the like. They likewife levied the tribute that was paid to the Patriarch (Q), and, at their return, gave him an account of the state of the Jews under his dependance; and were also used as counsellors by him; on which account they held a rank fuperior to the reft. The chiefs of the fynagogues, fchools, and academies, were likewife nominated by, and • Gen. xlix. 10. See alfo Anc. Hift. vol. iii. p. 317, and (B). Their apoAles or of ficers; and that it was at this academy (Q) What this tribute was which he exacted from the Jewi nation, whether the didrachma paid formerly to the temple, and fince to Jupiter Capitolinus, but released by Nerva either in part or wholly, or fome other impofed by him, is hard to guefs. But it is undeniable, from the origin of that tribute to maintain a new dignity and union among the difperfed, from the writings of the rabbies, as well as from fome of the imperial laws, that fuch a tribute was univerfally paid to the patriarch of the weft, and was conveyed to Tiberias from all (*) See An. Hift. vol. iii. p. 220, & feqq. the countries of the difperfion, and not to the chief of the captivity at Babylon as Bartolocc hath affirmed. All the fynagogues of the weft were bound to pay it; and that which was levied in Egypt, where the Jews were richer than in most other places, amounted to a very great fum; and it was perhaps on that account, in part, that he went thither in perfon. Epiphanius tells us, that it was paid in all the provinces of Sicily, and the imperial laws mention its being paid in all the parts of the Roman empire where any Jews were fettled. And we are further told, that it was exacted with fuch feverity that the people were at length forced to complain of the avarice of those pontifs, in order to obtain a relief; till at length we find it quite abolished by Julian the apostate, an. 363, if the letter quoted to prove it be really his (22). (22) Jul. epift. noww Igdaiwy, p. 223. obliged obliged to receive their directions from him; and the imperial laws gave him the title of Illuftris, or Clariffimus; and Titles. fome of them forbad the Christians to moleft or use them difrefpectfully, though we find nothing in any of them that hews that they had the power of life and death. THEY could inflict fevere cenfures, penances, and even excommunication, as well as fome corporal punishments; but in this last they are charged to have abused the indulgence which the laws gave them; and to have fuffered, if not ordered, delinquents, especially thofe that were found inclined to, or had embraced, Christianity, to be whipped to death. As their dignity was hereditary, and exceeding profitable on Abuse of many accounts (R), it came at last to be fo abused, that the their pow emperor Theodofius the younger was obliged to iffue out an er. edict to fupprefs the exorbitant power they had affumed, and to reduce it to its proper limits. It was cuftomary for them to enrich themselves, not only by the exactions lately mentioned, but by felling of places under them, fuch as chiefs of the academy, of the schools, of the fynagogues, &c. and, by-and-by, depofing them, and putting others in their place ', the licenfing of new fynagogues, fetting up tribunals, and trying of caufes between Jews and Chriftians, were fome of the abufes fuppreffed by that edict. THUS much for the origin of the patriarchate in the west, Great men and of its inftitution in this firft century of the church. of this cen The Jews, to raise the character of their nation, make this tury. and the next century pregnant of learned men, to whom they attribute a great number of celebrated books, which, upon ftrict enquiry, are much more recent, fince they mention facts and writers which are pofterior to them by fome centuries. We fhall therefore wave the far greater part of them, as not worthy farther mention, and throw the others into the margin (S). Vid. Pallad. in vit. Chryfoftom. (R) Some pretend, that it was not fo far hereditary, but that the owner might alienate it, and instance in the famed R. Judab Hakkodefb, who preferred Chanina to his own fon. But that is falfely urged, fince he left the patriarchate to his fon Gamaliel, and alfo made Chamina chief of the academy. And THE Epiphanius affures us, that if The chief THE next century produced feveral remarkable events;" events of the most confiderable of which were, 1. The rebellion they the 2d cen tury. tioned the famed R. Jochaides, author of the book of Zohar (†). The next was Elifba Hagaili, or the Galilean, who wrote a very mystical treatise of the thir. ty-two properties of the law, anfwerable to the thirty-two roads to wisdom (23). One R. Eleazar wrote another of the meafures of the temple (24), and is pretended to have lived whilst it tood; and to have taken them from it, as most of the rabbies fince did theirs from him (25). The next worth speaking of was the poet Ezechiel, who wrote a poem on the exod, or the deliverance from the Egyptian bondage, probably to comfort his nation under their prefent calamities. He is fuppofed to have lived between the times of foSephus, who makes no mention of him, and of Clement of Alexandria, who hath quoted him; fo that he must have flourished about the end of the firft, or the beginning of the fecond, century (26). The laft we shall mention is the teftament of the twelve patriarchs, whofe author hath concealed his religion; but fpeaks fo frequently like a few that the learned Dr. Grabe (27), who first published it in Greek (for till then it was only known by that poor Latin verfion which Dr. Greathead, bishop of Lincoln, who had procured a Greek copy in the 13th century, caufed to be made of it by one Nicholas raised a Grecian, and by fome few other fcattered fragments) believed it to have been wrote originally in Hebrew by fome doctor of that nation, whom he fuppofes to have lived fome time before our Saviour, feeing he follows the common notion of the Jews in expecting a temporal and conquering Meffiah. The bishop above-named feems alfo to have been of the fame mind, feeing he fo bitterly complains of the jealoufy of the Jews, who had kept that work fo long concealed from the Chriftians, left they should urge the prophecies that are in it, concerning the Messiah, against them. Thefe prophecies are indeed very many and pregnant against them, was the book itself of any authority: but it feems rather to have been wrote by fome half converted Jew, who puts into the mouths of the patriarchs fundry prophecies concerning Chrift, but ftill retains a great number of Jewish prejudices, particularly that of his being a temporal, instead of a spiritual, Redeemer; and fo is not fit to be quoted either against Jew or Chriftian. We fhall refer our readers to the authors quoted in the margin for the further character of the book (28), and its pretended verfion into Greek by St. Chryfoftom. And all that we fhall add to it is, that it must have been very antient, fince (†) P. 126 (B). (23) Bartoloc. & Wolf. Bibliot. Rabhin. (24) Middotb. in Taanitb. fol. 7. Wagenfeil. p. 311. (25) Bartolub. fup. (26) Le Moyne facr. tom. ii. p. 356. Bafnag. ub. fup. lib. vii. cap. 11. §ib. (27) Specil. patr. tom. i. § 1. (28) Grabe ibid. Fabric. Apocr. vet. Teft. Nourry. appar. ad Bibl. Bafnag, ub. fup. Calmet, fub voc. Teflament. Prideaux Connect. c. raised under the emperor Trajan. 2. The horrid slaughter they committed in Cyrene, a city of Lybia, and in the isle of Cyprus, and other places. 3 The appearance and punishment of the false messiah Barchocheba; the taking of the city of Bither by the Romans; and the dreadful condition the Jews were reduced to after it. 4. The rebuilding of Jerufalem by Adrian. And, 5. The writing of the Mifbnah, by Judah Hakkadofb, or the faint. 1. THEIR rebellion under fo powerful a prince as Tra- Rebellion jan, can only be afcribed to their impatience under a foreign under Trayoke, aggravated by the mifery and hardships they endured jan, she under it, which made their refentment break out with fuch year of fury, notwithstanding the low ftate they were reduced to, as Chrift115. cannot be read without horror. It began at Cyrene, where the Jews had been fettled for fome centuries, and were become powerful; and had now gained fome confiderable advantages over the Cyrenians and Egyptians. These fled immediately to Alexandria, and filled that city with fuch alarms, that they maffacred all the Jews they found in it. Those of Cyrene, provoked at fuch a dreadful reprifal, which yet they had brought upon themselves, chofe one Andrea, whom Eufebius ftiles king Lacuas, for their head; under whom they Wars with prefently deftroyed two hundred and twenty thousand inha- the Robitants, wafted the whole country of Libya, and fought many mans; dedefperate battles against Martius Turbo, whom Trajan had populate fent with a powerful army against them; infomuch that Adrian Libya. was forced afterwards to fend a fresh colony to re-people that d wafted country (T). ON Eccl. Hift. 1. iv. c. 2. d GANTZ TZEMACH DAVID, p. 104. SOLOMON, filius virgæ tribus Jud. p. 64. Origen quotes it; and could not be wrote before the deftruction of Jerufalem, because it makes particular mention of it, and of the writings of the evangelifts. And thus much fhall fuffice for the writers of this century. (T) Eufebius in the laft quoted place mentions this rebellion at the beginning of Trajan's reign, but in his Chronicle one year fooner but the former, being the more exact, ought to be preferred. The Jews pretend, that this rebellion was caufed L 3 which |