only under the small penalty of "being un"clean till he had washed himself, and till the By " profelytes of the gate," I understand Gentiles by birth, who quitted the heathen idolatry, but did not embrace the Jewith religion; and who, on account of quitting paganism, were permitted to dwell in Paleftine; and had feveral civil privileges allowed them, and liberty to join in all acts of worship that were in ufe before the law (or that were of patriarchal right and ufage, and were not peculiar to the Jews), whilst they dwelt or fojourned in Palestine: on condition only of obferving the laws of fociety, and fuch laws of Mofes as related particularly to themselves, and which were these four just now mentioned. For though, as Selden proves beyond contradiction, more than this was neceflary to make a man a profelyte of the gate, when the Jews were an independent government in flourishing circumftances (particularly their being admitted as fuch by one of their inferior courts, and other agreements which they held them to); yet they confidered all thofe as profelytes of the gate, who worshiped the true God, and abstained from thefe four things, when they came to be more under the power of others, • Lev. xvii. 15. Seld. de Jur, Nat. ap. Heb. 1. ii, c. 3, 4. l. iii. c. 5, 10. S 3 1 That these four prohibitions were given by Mofes to the profelytes of the gate, and at one time and place, will appear from the xviith and xviiith chapters of Leviticus. And in this I have Dr. Spencer with me". The 66 eating things offered to idols," is forbidden in the xviith chapter, from the first verse to the eighth where great care is taken, left the children of Ifrael fhould eat of any of the facrifices or offerings unto devils or falfe gods; by commanding them to eat of no flesh (that was allowed to be offered in facrifice) whofe blood was not firft offered to the God of Ifrael, at the door of his tabernacle: the heathens not eating any meat that had not been offered to devils or falfe gods, fome way or other; and that, they thought, they did, if they either fhewed it to their gods, or offered them all the blood or any part of it. Now, that the Ifraelites might not either use this idolatrous rite themfelves, or eat of any beaft that had been thus offered; they were ordered to kill no beast in the field, that they defigned to eat, but to flay it at the door of the tabernacle, and offer the blood to God; whereby the eating of any thing offered to an idol was most effectually prevented: fince by this means they could eat nothing that had not been first offered to God. And then, as the eating things offered to idols is forbidden the Ifraelites, * Cap. 3. Differt, in loc. § 4. verf. fin. p. 503. and and the method which is to prevent it thus enjoined them, from the first to the eighth verse; so it is forbidden the profelytes of the gate, from the eighth to the tenth. I muft defire the reader to peruse the fourth fection of the third chapter of Spencer's differtation on this fubject, and the first section of the eleventh chapter of his fecond book “De Leg. Hebr. Rit." However, though Grotius, as well as Spencer, is of opinion, that the eighth and ninth verses are meant of a profelyte of the gate; yet moft interpreters think they are meant of a profelyte of righteoufnefs: among which is Dr. Patrick, the late Bishop of Ely, whofe learned Commentary is fo generally esteemed ". But I think to suppose the eighth and ninth verses to relate only to a profelyte of righteousness, is making the law contained in these verses a needlefs repetition: fince the general law, that fays, "one law fhall be to him that is "home-born, and unto the ftranger that fojourneth among you," would have entirely fuperfeded this repetition, and made it altogether unneceffary. 66 "Blood" is expreffly forbiden to the profelytes of the gate, as well as to the Ifraelites; from the tenth verfe to the thirteenth. * See Patr, in loc. * Exodus xii. 49. 66 S. 4 Things 66 Things ftrangled" are as expreffly forbidden to the profelytes of the gate as to the Ifraelites, in the thirteenth verfe. For there the blood of any fowl or beaft, that was caught in hunting, is forbidden to be eat in it; and is ordered to be poured on the ground, and covered with the duft. And that this relates to the eating of the fowl or beast (with the blood in it, or ftrangled) is plain, because thefe are the creatures that used to be ftrangled, as partridges, hares, &c; and because it immediately follows the prohibition of eating blood. For, unless this prohibition be understood of blood kept in the body of the beaft or fowl, it is but the felf-fame prohibition with that in the former verfe: which cannot be supposed, "Fornication," or uncleannefs of all forts, or all abominations or abominable cuftoms of the nations, by which they might defile themselves either after the manners of Egypt or Canaan, that is, all kinds of uncleannefs, are forbidden the profelytes of the gate, chap. xviii. from the firft verte to the end of the chapter. In this too I have Spencer with me. The 26th verfe is exprefs to this purpofe: "Ye fhall therefore keep my ftatutes, and fhall not commit any of these abomi"nations, neither any of your own nation" (that is, neither an Ifraelite born, nor a profelyte of righteoufnefs, who becomes one of your 66 pro your nation, and for whom there is but one law with the Jew), nor the stranger that fojourneth among you" (that is, the felyte of the gate). And the reason that is given in the 27th and 28th verses, why neither any of the Jewish nation, nor the stranger that fojourneth among them, fhould commit any of these abominations, is, " for all these "abominations have the men of the land "done which were before you, and the land "is defiled. That the land fpue not you "out also, when ye defile it; as it spued out "the nations that were before you." Now if all the uncleannefs and abominations forbidden in the former part of the chapter were unlawful even to the nations that inhabited Canaan; how much more must they have been so to the strangers that fojourned among them? and therefore, if any of them did commit any of these abominations, they "were to be cut offy." The profelytes of the gate were, no doubt, forbidden other things by the law of Moses: yet they were fuch as the law of nature forbad too; as idolatry, theft, murder, adultery, falfe witnefs, &c. and which could not be committed without the moft manifest injury to fociety, or at least that form of it that was fettled among the Jews. But as these could admit of no debate among the enquirers at Antioch; y Exodus xii. 29. |