THE FIFTH BOOKOF THEIR CONSISTORIES.

[509]Bodin. Mag. dæmon. l. 1. c. 6.

[510]Maimon. tract. Idolol. c. 11. sect. 10. 12.

[511]Bodin. Mag. dæmon. l. 2. c. 1.

The fifth, ‎‏שאל אוב‏‎Schoel Ob,a consulter with Ob, orwith familiar spirits.Obsignifieth properly abottle, and is applied in divers places of Scripture toMagicians, because they being possessed with an evil spirit, speak with a soft and hollow voice,as out of a bottle. TheGreekcalleth them ἘγγαστριμύτηςVentriloquos;such whose voice seemeth to proceed out of their belly.[512]Such aDivinerwas the Damosel,Acts 16. 16.in St.Augustinesjudgement,[513]and is probably thought so by most Expositors, who are of opinion, that thespiritofPythonwith which this Damosel was possessed, is the same which thespirit of Obwas amongst theHebrews. Hence theWitch of Endor, whomSaulrequested to raise upSamuel, is said inHebrewto have consulted withOb; but among theLatineExpositors she is commonly translatedPythonissa,one possessed with the spirit of Python.

[512]Chrysostom. 1 Cor. 12. Tert. adv. Marcion. l. 4. c. 25.

[513]August. 1. de doct. Christ. c. 23.

The sixth is, ‎‏ידעני‏‎Iiddegnoni, aWizard; in theGreek, he is translated sometimes Γνώστης, acunning-man. In both Languages he had his name fromknowledge, which either theWizardprofessed himself to have, or the common people thought him to have. TheRabbiessay,[514]he was so called inHebrew from a certain beast named by themJadua, in shape resembling a man, because these Wizards when they did utter their Prophecies, held a bone of this Beast between their teeth. This haply might be someDiabolical Sacrament or Ceremony, used for the Confirmation of the league betweenSatanand theWizard.ProphaneHistory[515]mentioneth Divinations of the like kind, as thatMagicianswere wont to eat the principal parts and members of such beasts which they deemedProphetical, thinking thereby, that by a kind of μετεμψύχωσις the Soul of such Beasts would be conveyed into their bodies, whereby they might be enabled for Prophecy.

[514]P. Fag. Levit. 19. Verum Athenæus bestiam hanc vocat καταβλεπάδα. Vid. Bodin. Mag. dæmon. l. 1. c. 6. p. 18.

[515]Perer. de Mag. p. 57.

The seventh is ‎‏דורש אל המתים‏‎Doresch el hammethim; theGreekanswereth word for word, ἐπερωτῶν τοὺς νεκροὺς,An enquirer of the Dead, a Necromancer. Such Diviners consulted withSatan in the shape of a dead man. A memorable example we find recorded,1 Sam. 29.There, KingSaulabout to war with thePhilistines(God denying to answer him either bydreams, or byUrim, or byProphets) upon the fame of theWitch of Endor, he repaired to her, demanding thatSamuel might be raised up from the dead, to tell him the issue of the war. Now that this was not in truthSamuel, is easily evinced, both by testimonies of the learned, and reasons.First, it is improbable, that God who had denied to answer him by anyordinary means, should now deign him an answer so extraordinary.Secondly, no Witch or Devil can disturb the bodies or Souls of such as die in the Lord, because they rest from their labors,Rev. 14. 13.Thirdly, if it had beenSamuel, he would doubtless have reprovedSaul for consulting with Witches.

The eighth is ‎‏שאל מקלו‏‎Scoel maklo,A Consulter with his Staff.Hos. 4. 12.Jeromesaith the manner of this divination was thus:That if the doubt were between two or three Cities, which first should be assaulted; to determin this, they wrote the names of the Cities upon certain staves or arrows, which being shaked in a quiver together the first that was pulled out determined the City.Others[516]deliver the manner of this consultation to have been thus:The consulter measured his staff by spans or by the length of his finger, saying, as he measured, I will go, I will not go, I will do such a thing, I will not do it, and as the last span fell out, so he determined: This was termed by the Heathens ῥαβδομαντεία or βελομαντεία,Divination by rod or arrows.

[516]Vid. Drus. in Deut. p. 592.

The ninth was ‎‏ראה בכבד‏‎Roe baccabed,a diviner by intrales,Ezek. 22. 21.Nebuchadnezzarbeing to make war both with theJews, and theAmmonites, and doubting in the way, against whether of these he should make his first on-set: First he consulted withhisArrows and Staves, of which hath been spoken immediately before:Secondly, he consulted with theintrals of beasts. This practice was generally received among theHeathens, and because theliverwas the principal member observed, it was called ἡπατοσκοπία,Consultation with the liver. Three things are observed in this kind of divination. First, the colour of the intrals, whether they were all wellcoloured. Secondly, theirplace, whether none weredisplaced. Thirdly, thenumber, whether none were wanting; among those that were wanting, the want of the liver, or the heart chiefly presaged ill: That dayJulius Cæsarwas slain, it is storied, that in two fat Oxen then sacrificed, the heart was wanting in them both.

There were inIsraeldistinctCourts, consisting of distinctpersons, the one principally forChurch-businesses, the other foraffairs in the Commonwealth; the one anEcclesiastical Consistory; the other aCivil Judicatory:[517]Of these, and their several censures, and punishments, it remaineth now to be spoken.

[517]Junius Analys. Expos. Deut. 17.

These different Consistories, orCourtsof Justice, we find first distinguisht,Deut. 17. 12.He which will not hearken unto the Priest, nor unto the Judge. Where the people ofIsraelare directed, in what cases, and to what persons they should make their Appeals from inferiourCourts; namely, thePriests,in matters spiritual, orceremonial, and to theJudges,in matterscivil or criminal. These two Courts are more plainly distinguished,2 Chron. 19.whereJehosaphat, reforming many abuses inChurchandCommonwealth, first appointed thorow-out all the fenced Cities ofJudah,secular Judgesto determine criminal causes,ver. 5.And atJerusalemhe appointed aSpiritual Court, consisting ofLevites, Priests, and the chief Fathers of Israel,vers. 8.And in causes spiritual for the Lord,AmariahtheHigh priestwas chief: in causes criminal for the King,Zebadiahwas chief,ver. 11.Likewise theProphet Jeremiahis condemned to die by theConsistory of Priests,Jer. 26. 8.But by theConsistory of Princes, or secular Judges sitting in the gate, he was absolved and discharged,vers. 16.Yea, although the tyranny ofAntiochus, and the troublesome times insuing had bred such a confusion in matters of Government among theJews, that an evident distinction can hardly be found in theNew-Testament, yet some foot-steps, and imperfect tokens of both Courts are there observable, principally,Matth. 21. 23.It.Matth. 26. 3.TheChief Priestsand theElders, of the people, are named as two distinctConsistories: and each Consistory seemeth to be differenced by its proper name: Thesecular Consistorytermed συνέδριον, ACouncel: thespiritualtermed συναγωγὴ,a Synagogue.They will deliver you up to the Councels, and they will scourge you in their Synagogues,Matth. 10. 17.Hence that great Assembly ofProphetsand holy men called together byEsra, for the reformation of theChurch, after their return fromBabylon, is calledSynagoga magna,A great Synagogue.

The Office of theEcclesiastical Court, was to put a difference between thingsholyandunholy, and betweencleanandunclean,Levit. 10. 10.and todetermineAppeals in controversies of difficulty. It was arepresentative Church. Hence is thatDic Ecclesiæ,Mat. 18. 16.Tell the Church, because unto them belonged thepower of Excommunication, the several sorts of which censure follow in the next Chapter.

Only here take notice, that as in theCivil Consistories, consisting ofseventy Judges, which was the supreme Court, there were two sate as Chief; namely, one whom they termedNasi,The Lord Chief Justice; and the other whom they termedAbbeth din, theFather of the Senate: so in theEcclesiastical ConsistorytheHigh-priestand hisSagan, orsecond High priestsate chief there,2 King. 23. 4.That theHigh priestsate in theSanhedrimnecessarily, is an errour;[518]for he was not elected into that Company, except he were a man of extraordinary wisdome. Again, note, that sometimes bothConsistoriesassembled together, as often as the matters to be determined were partlyceremonial, partlycivil, partly belonging to theChurch, partly to theCommonwealth: which being not noted, causeth the Courts not to be distinguished by many Expositors. This meeting and joyning of bothConsistoriesoften appeareth in theGospel. Thechief PriestsandEldersmeet together.

[518]Moses Kotsen. in Sanhedrin.

They had threeDegrees of Excommunication. The first was called in theN. T.a casting out of the Synagogue,John 9. 22.by theJews[519]Nidduii.a separationorputting away. It signified[520]a separationfrom all commerce or society either with man or womanfor the distance offour Cubits; alsofrom eating or drinking with any; from the use of the marriage-bed, from shaving, washing, or the like, according to the pleasure of theJudge, and the quality of the offence. It was of force 30 days, yet so that they might be shortened upon repentance. He that was thusexcommunicated, had power tobe present at divine service, to teach others, and learn of others; he hired servants, and was hired himself, but always on condition of the aforesaidseparation. If he remained impenitent, according to the pleasure of the Judge, his punishment was increased, either to the doubling or the tripling of the time, or to the extending of it to their lives end; his male-children were not circumcised; if he died without repentance, then, by the sentence of the Judge, a stone was cast upon his Coffin or Bier, to shew that he was worthy to be stoned. They mourned not for such a one with solemn lamentation, they followed him not unto the grave, nor buried him with common burial.

[519]‎‏נודי‏‎ Significat hæc vox Separationem, Elongationem; deducitur à verbo ‎‏נדה‏‎ Separavit. Hinc etiam Proscriptus, profligatus, aut separatus quispiam dicitur ‎‏מיודה‏‎

[520]Buxtorf. ex Rabbinis Epist. Heb. pag. 55.

The second was called in theN. T.a giving one over to Satan,1 Cor. 5. 5.By theJews‎‏חרם‏‎Cherem. For the better understanding of this word, we must know that it is not used in this sense in theOld Testament; there we shall find it applied topersons, or tothings; if topersons, then it signifietha devotion of them to God by their death,Levit. 27. 29.If tothings, then it signifietha devotion of them unto God, by separating them from ordinary use. Hence it is thatAchanis punisht for stealing thedevotedthing,Josh. 7.Personsthusdevoted, were termed by theGreeksἀναθέματα; anddevoted things, ἀναθήματα.[521]Notwithstanding, in theApostlestime, bothCheremand ἀνάθεμα, signified asecond degreeof Excommunication, differing from the former. First because it was not done in aprivate Court, but published in the audience of thewhole Church: Secondly, maledictions and curses were added out of the Law ofMoses, At the publishing hereof Candles were kindled; and when the curses were ended, they put out the candles, in token that the excommunicate person wasdeprived of the light of heaven. This kind ofexcommunicationwas exercised against theincestuous person, and againstHymenæus,[522]andAlexander.[523]

[521]Budæus ἀναθέματα dici tradit, homines sacros, (i.) quorum capita inferis dicata sunt & devota; ἀναθήματα vero donaria diis consecrata.

[522]1 Cor. 5. 5.

[523]Tim. 20. 1.

The third was called in theNew Test.by theSyriacknameMaranatha,1 Cor. 16.that is,the Lord cometh;Maransignifieththe Lord, andAthacomethand this they say was instituted byEnoch,Judg. 11.TheJewscalled itSchammatha, the Etymology of which word I find to be twofold. Some say[524]it soundeth as much asMaran Athathe Lord cometh.Schemsignifieth theLord, andAthacometh: others say[525]it soundeththere is death,SchemsignifyingthereandMithadeath. Hence we may render it anexcommunication to death. And this is thought[526]to be the reason of that phrase,1 John 5. 16.There is a sin unto death, i. which deservethexcommunication to death.R. Gersom[527]forbade the breaking open of letters, under the penalty of all three sorts ofexcommunication. And this was termedExcommunicatio in secreto nominis tetragrammati: see the form thereof in theChapter of the Sadduces.

[524]‎‏שם‏‎ Dominus ‎‏אתא‏‎ venit.

[525]Elias Thisbites. in radice ‎‏שמתא‏‎

[526]Betram. de Politia Judaic. c. 2. p. 21.

[527]Buxtorf. Epi. Hebr. p. 59 in dorso Epistolæ subjici solebat hæc abbreviatura ‎‏כהרג מת אסור‏‎i.prohibitum est per anathema. R. Gersom luminis captivitatis (scil. resignare has literas).

In theGreek Churchthere were[528]four degrees of this censure. 1. Σύστασις. Those were censured with thisdegree, who were onlydebarred the Lords Table: as for enterance into theChurch, hearing the Word, praying with the Congregations, they enjoyed equal liberty withother Christians, they might stand by and behold others receive theSacrament, but themselves did notpartake thereof, whence they were calledStantes. 2. ὑπόπτωσις, concerning this censure, all that I read of it is thus; that he that isthus censuredhath admittance into the Church.[529]But his place must bebehind the Pulpit, and he must depart with theCatechumeni, that is suchPaganswho were gained to theChristian Faith, but not fully admitted into theChurch, because they wanted Baptism, and therefore that they might not pray promiscuously with otherChristians, there was a place behind theQuire of the Churchin manner of Cloysters, allotted to them, and was from them calledCatechumenum:[530]This I take to be the place of thissecond degree of Excommunication, so that the force of this censure I think to consist in these three things. First, they werebarred the Lords Table. Secondly, they mightnot stand by at the administration of the Lords supper(which was allowed in the first degree) and this appeareth clearly, because theCatechumeni departed always at the celebration of the Communion, for to them principally it was said,Ite missa est. Thirdly, though they might ὑποπεσεῖνfall down on their knees and pray, and were thence calledSuccumbents, yet this they might not do in the Congregation, but only in that placebehind the quire or pulpit, which was allotted to theCatechumeni, and in this also thissecond degreediffereth from thefirst. The third sort of censure was ἀκρόασις, the party thus censured was permitted to come no further than theChurch Porch, where it was lawful for him to hear the Scriptures read, but not to joyn in prayer, not to approach theLords Table, whence such were termedAudients. The Fourth, and last sort, was πρόκλαυσις, persons under this censure stood quite without the Church, requesting those that entered in, with tearsand weeping to petition theLordfor mercy toward them, whence they were calledPlorantes.

[528]Vid. Justelli not. in codicem canonum Eccl. univers. ad canon 55. Bellar. de pœnit. l. 1. c. 22. & Casaub. Exercit. p. 52. observant quintum gradum quem ille μέστωστιν aliter μέθεξιν appellat.

[529]Vid. Iustel. loco citato.

[530]Hospin. de Templis. p. 88.

Seeing it is commonly thought, thatCainwas censured by the first degree ofExcommunication, calledNiddui, and that the last calledSchammmathawas ofEnochs constitution; both these being of such antiquity, I dare not say that thethree degrees of Excommunicationwere borrowed from thethree sorts of uncleanness, which excluded people out of thethree Camps, though there was an observable proportion between them.[531]Nidduimay be parrallel’d with the exclusion out of theCamp of God alone, which befel those that were defiled by touch of the dead:Cheremmay be compared to the exclusion out of theCamp of God, and the Camp of Levi, which befel those that were defiled of an issue.Schammathamay be compared with the exclusion out ofall three Camps, the Camp of God, the Camp of Levi, and the Camp of Israel, this befel those that were defiled with leprosie; and from theJews, it is probable that theGreekandLatine Churchesborrowed theirdegrees of Excommunication.

[531]De quibus. P. Fagius, in Num. 5. 2.

In many things men might be sinful in respect ofGods Law, though not liable to punishment, in respect of mans;thou shalt not avenge, nor be mindful of wrong,Levit. 19. 18.which theHebrewsexplain thus,To avenge, is to deny a good turn to one who formerly denied him. Tobe mindful of a wrong, is todo a good turn to one who formerly would not do so much for him; but at the doing thereof, to upbraid the other of his unkindness. They illustrate it thus: whenReubensaid toSimeon, Lend me thy Hatchet; he answereth, I will not lend him: AfterwardSimeonhad need to borrow an Hatchet ofReuben, and saith unto him, lend me thy Hatchet:Reubensaith unto him, I will not lend him, thou wouldst not lend me thine: this is ‎‏נקימה‏‎Nekima,Avengement. Now whenReubensaith toSimeon, Lend me thy Hatchet: he answereth, I will not lend him: afterwardsSimeonborroweth a Hatchet ofReuben:Reubensaith, lo, I will lend it thee, I will not deal with thee as thou dealedst with me, this is ‎‏נטירה‏‎Netira,Mindfulness: both these were sinful, but not liable to mans judgment.

In all civil Courts, five sorts of persons were alwayes present. 1.Judges.2.Officers.3.Pleaders.4.Notaries.5.Witnesses.In thesupreme Court, there was one that was chief over all the otherJudges, they called him inHebrewNasi, inGreekἄρχοντα,The Prince. His leave was craved for the tryal of actions. TheWitnesseswere at least two,Deut. 29. 15.If they were false, they punish’d them with aTalio, the same punishment which he intended against his brother,Deut. 19. 19.TheNotarieswere two,[532]one stood on theright hand to write the sentence of Absolution, and what was spoken in defence of the party; the other stood on theleft hand, to write the sentence of condemnation, and the objections against the party.Drusius[533]thinks thatChristspeaking of the last Judgment had reference to this,He shall set the sheep on the right hand, and on the left the goats,Matth. 25. 23.TheOfficerswere in manner ofSheriffs, they were present toexecute what theJudgesdetermined; whence they carried up and down theirstavesandwhips,[534]as theConsulsofRomehadRodandAxes, carried before them for the readier execution of justice. InHebrewthey are called ‎‏שוטרים‏‎Schoterim, by the Septuagint sometimes γραμματεῖς, in ourEnglishtranslation commonlyOfficers, and by SaintLukeπράκτορες: for, doubtless there is allusion unto them,Luke 12. 58.When thou goest with thine adversary, (ἄρχοντι) to theMagistrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence that thou maist be delivered from him, lest he hale thee to theJudge, and theJudgedeliver thee to theOfficer,&c.ThePleaderwas called ‎‏בעל ריב‏‎Baal rib, he stood on theright handof the party cited into theCourt, whether he pleaded for or against him. TheLordshall stand on the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that judge his soul,Psa. 109. 31.that is,The Lord shall plead his cause. AndSatanstood at theright hand ofJoshua,Zach. 3. 1.that isto accuse him, or plead against him. When S.Johnspeaking,If any man sin, we have an Advocate,1 John 2. 1.he alludeth unto thisBaalrib, orPleader. TheJudges, they examined and determin’d matters and after examination, sentence was pronounced by theJudgein this manner:Tu N. justus, Tu. N. reus,ThouSimonart just: ThouReubenart guilty: at the pronunciation of which the guilty person was dragged to the place of execution.When he shall be judged, let him be condemned,Ps. 109. 7.theHebrewis,Let him go out wicked.

[532]Moses Kotsen. in Sanhedrim.

[533]Drus. præter. Matth. 25.

[534]Moses Kotsen. in Sanhedrim.

The manner of sentencing persons, varied in most Countries. TheJewsby a simple pronunciation of sentence, both absolved men, and condemned them. TheRomans[535]gave sentence by calling in Tables into a certain box or urne prepared for the purpose:if they absolved any, they wrote the letterAin the table, it being the first letter ofAbsolvo: if they would condemn any, they cast in a table withCwritten in it, which is the first letter ofCondemno: if the matter were hard to determine, they would cast in other tables withN L, signifyingNon Liquet. TheGræcians[536]in like manner used three letters: Θ was a token ofcondemnation, which occasioned that ofPersius.

Et potis es nigrum, vitio præfigere Theta.

[535]Rosin. Antiq. Rom. l. 9. c. 25.

[536]Eras. Adag. Θ præfig.

Τ was a token ofabsolution; Α, ofampliation. Others signifiedcondemnation, by givinga black stone; andabsolutionby giving awhite stone.

Mos erat antiquis, niveis atrisque lapillis,Hos damnare reos, illos absolvere culpa.Ovid. Metamorph. 15.

Mos erat antiquis, niveis atrisque lapillis,

Hos damnare reos, illos absolvere culpa.

Ovid. Metamorph. 15.

To this there seemeth to be allusion,Rev. 2. 17.To him who overcometh I will give awhite stone; that is, I will absolve and acquit him in the day of judgement.

Note these three phrases, ἀναστῆναι είς κρίσιν,To rise up to judgment; ἀναστῆναι ἐν κρίσει,To rise up in judgment; ἐξελθεῖν καταδεδικασμένος,To depart guilty. The first is applied to theJudgein the execution of Justice,When God rose up to Judge,Psalm 76. 10.that is, toexecute judgement. The second is appliedto the party prevailing in judgment.The men of Nineveh shall rise up in judgement with this generation,Mat. 12. 41.that is,shall be justified before this generation. The last is applied to theparty condemned,Psal. 109. 7.Let him depart guilty or wicked: the ungodly shall not stand in judgment,Psal. 1.The like phrases were in use among theRomans,Stare in Senatu, to prevail in theSenate;Causa cadere,to be cast in ones suit. But these phrases among theRomansI think to have been taken outof their Fence-Schools, where the set posture of the body, by which a man prepareth himself to fight and grapple with his enemy, is termedStatus, orGradus, ascedere de Statu,to give back;Gradum vel statum servare,to keep one’s standing: and from thence have those elegancies been translated into places of Judgment.

Their Civil Courts were two, ‎‏סנהדרים גדולה‏‎Sanhedrim gedola,the great Consistory, orSupreme Senate, ‎‏סנהדרים קטנה‏‎Sanhedrim Ketanna,the lesser and inferiour Court. Thus I find them divided generally by theRabbins: And although the latter was subdivided, as will after appear; yet in old time there were onely two first branches: which division ourSaviour Christseemeth to have followed, calling the lesser Court κρίσιν, by the name ofJudgement: the greater συνέδριον, by the name of aCounsel. Whosoever is angry with his brother unadvisedly, shall be culpable ofJudgement. Whosoever saith unto his brotherRaca, shall be worthy to be punished by theCounsel: Whosoever shall sayFool, shall be worthy to be punished with thefire of Gehenna,Mat. 5. 22.In which words, as there is agradation of sin, 1.Anger, a passion of the mind. 2.Raca,[537]scornful, or slighting speech, asTut, Tush, &c.3.Fool, reproachful and opprobrious names: so likewise there is agradation of punishment. 1.Judgement, a lesser Court. 2.Councel, the greater Court. 3. Thefire of Gehenna: NowGehennawas a Valley, terriblefor two sorts of fires in it: First, for that wherein men burnt their children untoMoloch.[538]Secondly, for another fire there continually burning, to consume the dead carcasses, and filth ofJerusalem; partly for the terribleness of the first, and partly for the contemptibleness of the place by reason of the second fire, it was atype of hell fire it self. We may resolve that text thus,angerdeserved the punishments of thelesser Court;Raca, the punishments of thegreater: andFooldeserved punishments beyond all Courts, even thefire ofGehenna.

[537]Raca non grandis alicujus est sermo convitii, sed magis è contemptu natum est, & neglectu dicentis Chrysost. homil. 16. in Mat.

[538]David Kimchi. Ps. 27. 13.

Thegreater Court, by way of excellency, was called theSanhedrim, which word came from theGreek, συνέδριον,a place of Judgement: It was also called ‎‏בית דין‏‎Beth din,the house of Judgment.[539]It was distinguished from the otherCourts; first, in respect of the number of theJudges, which wereseventy one, according to the command ofGodtoMosesat their first institution,Numb. 11. 16.Gather unto meseventymen of theEldersofIsrael, whom thou knowest that they are theEldersof the people, the Governours over them, and bring them unto the Tabernacle of the Congregation, and let them stand there with thee. From the latter words of this Text, it is observed, that there wereseventybesidesMoses; and therefore after his decease they alwaies chose onechief Judgein his room, not reckoning him among theseventy; they called himNasi, thePrinceorchief over the seventy. Theseseventyare thought[540]to be chosensixout of everyTribe, save theTribe of Levi, out of which onlyfourwere chosen. Others think[541]the manner of their choice was thus; six of every Tribe had their names written in little scrolls of paper: inseventyof these scrolls was written ‎‏זקן‏‎Zaken,Senex,an Elder, in thetwo other ‎‏חלק‏‎Cheleck,pars,A part; these scrolls they put into a pitcher or urn, and those that pluck’d out a scroll whereinElderwas written, were counted amongst the number of theJudges; those that pluck’d out the other scrolls, in which aPartwas written, they were rejected,Numb. 11. 26.The senior of theseseventywas called ‎‏אב בית דין‏‎Ab beth din, theFather of the Judgment Hall. The whole Set[542]orBench of Judges, sate in manner of an half circle, theNasisitting in the midst above the rest, the other sitting round about beneath, in such manner that theFather of the Judgement Hallsate next to theNasion the right hand. Thelesser Consistorywas subdivided into two sorts, one consisted oftwenty three Aldermen, and two suchConsistoriesthere were inJerusalem, the one at thedoor of the Court before the Temple, the other at thedoor of the Mountain of the Temple: yea, in every City throughoutIsraelwhere there were sixscore housholders, such a Consistory was erected: the other sort oflesser Courtsconsisted only of aTriumvirate,three Aldermen; and this was erected in the lesser Cities, which had not the number of sixscore housholders.

[539]Moses Kotsen. fol. 186. col. 2.

[540]Fran. Junius. Analyt. expos. Num. 11.

[541]Solom. Jarchi.

[542]Moses Kot. f. 185. col. 2.

The second difference[543]between thegreater Consistoryand thelesser, was in respect of the place. Theseventysate only atJerusalem, within theCourt of the Temple, in a certain house called ‎‏לשכת הגזית‏‎Lischath hegazith,the paved Chamber, because of the curious cut stones wherewith it waspaved: by theGreeksit was called λιθόστρωτον, thePavement.Pilatesat down in the Judgement Seat, in a place called thePavement,John 19. 13.The other Consistory sate all in thegates of the Cities. Now because the gates of the City are the strength thereof, and in their gatestheir Judges sate: Hence is that,Mat. 16. 18.The gates of Hellshall not overcome it, that is, neither thestrengthnorpolicyofSatan.

[543]Moses Kotsen. ibid.

Lastly, they differed in respect of theirPowerandAuthority: theConsistory of seventyreceivedappealsfrom the otherinferiour Courts,[544]from that there was no appeal: Again, theConsistory of threesate not on life and death, but onely on petty matters, as whipping, pecuniary controversies, and such like; the other of twenty three sate on life and death, but with a restrained power; they had not authority to judge anwhole tribe, the High-priest, false Prophets, and other such weighty matters: this belonged only to theseventy in Jerusalem:[545]Hence is that,O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the Prophets,Luk. 3. 34.The means how they tryed the falseProphetwas thus; they observed the judgements which he threatned, and thegoodwhich he prophesied to a place: if the judgements took not effect, this did not argue him afalse Prophet, because God was merciful, as in the case ofHezekiah, and the people might repent, as theNinivitesdid: but if he prophesiedgood, and that came not to pass, they judged him afalse Prophet. The ground of this tryal they make the words ofJeremiah the Prophet, which prophesied of peace when the word of the Lord shall come to pass, then shall the Prophet be known that the Lord hath truly sent him,Jer. 28. 9.

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