Sheaves of Grass, inPsal. 12. 6, 7.
36.Let them become as the Grass growing upon the House top, which withereth before it be plucked up, whereof the mower filleth not his hand, nor he that bindeth Sheaves his bosome.Though thefilling of the hand, and mention ofSheaves of Hay, may seem strange unto us, who use neither handfulls nor Sheavesin that kind of Husbandry, yet may it be properly taken, and you are not like to doubt thereof, who may find the like expressions in the Authoursde Re rustica, concerning the old way of this Husbandry.
Columella,[225]delivering what Works were not to be permitted upon the RomanFeriæ, or Festivals, among others sets down, that upon such days, it was not lawfull to carry or bind up Hay,nec fœnum vincire nec vehere, per religiones Ponteficum licet.
Marcus Varro[226]is more particular;Primum de pratis herbarum cum crescere desiit, subsecari falcibus debet, et quoad peracescat furcillis versari, cum peracuit, de his manipulos fieri et vehi in villam.
And their course of mowing seems somewhat different from ours. For they cut not down clear at once, but used an after section, which they peculiarly calledSicilitium, according as the word is expounded byGeorgius Alexandrinus, andBeroaldusafterPliny;Sicilire est falcibus consectari quæ fœnisecæ præterierunt, aut ea secare quæ fœnisecæ præterierunt.
Juniper Tree, in1 King. 19. 5, etc.
37. When ’tis said thatEliaslay and slept under a Juniper Tree, some may wonder how that Tree, which in our parts groweth but low and shrubby, should afford him shade and covering. But others know that there is a lesser and a larger kind of that Vegetable; that it makes a Tree in its proper soil and region. And may find inPlinythat in the Temple ofDiana SaguntinainSpain, the Rafters were made of Juniper.
In that expression ofDavid,[227]Sharp Arrows of the mighty, with Coals of Juniper; Though Juniper be left out in the last Translation, yet may there be an Emphatical sense from that word; since Juniper abounds with a piercing Oil, and makes a smart Fire. And the rather, if that quality be half true, whichPlinyaffirmeth, that the Coals of Juniper raked up will keep a glowing Fire for the space of a year. For so the expression will Emphatically imply, not onely thesmart burning, but the lasting fire of their malice.
That passage ofJob,[228]wherein he complains that poor and half famished fellows despised him, is of greater difficulty;For want and famine they were solitary, they cut up Mallows by the Bushes, and Juniper roots for meat. Wherein we might at first doubt the Translation, not onely from the Greek Text but the assertion ofDioscorides, who affirmeth that the roots of Juniper are of a venomous quality. ButScaligerhath disproved the same from the practice of the African Physicians, who use the decoction of Juniper roots against the Venereal Disease. The Chaldee reads itGenista, or some kind of Broom, which will be also unusual and hard Diet, except thereby we understand theOrobanche, or Broom Rape, which groweth from the roots of Broom; and which, according toDioscorides, men used to eat raw or boiled in the manner ofAsparagus.
And, therefore, this expression doth highly declare the misery, poverty and extremity of the persons who were now mockers of him; they being so contemptible and necessitous, that they were fain to be content, not with a mean Diet, but such as was no Diet at all, the roots of Trees, the roots of Juniper, which none would make use of for Food, but in the lowest necessity, and some degree of famishing.
Scarlet Tincture, inGen. 38. 28. Exod. 25. 4, etc.
38. While some have disputed whetherTheophrastusknew the Scarlet Berry, others may doubt whether that noble tincture were known unto the Hebrews, which notwithstanding seems clear from the early and iterated expressions of Scripture concerning the ScarletTincture, and is the less to be doubted because the Scarlet Berry grew plentifully in the Land ofCanaan, and so they were furnished with the Materials of that Colour. For thoughDioscoridessaith it groweth inArmeniaandCappadocia, yet that it also grew inJudæa, seems more than probable from the account ofBellonius, who observed it to be so plentifull in that Country, that it afforded a profitable Commodity, and great quantity thereof was transported by the Venetian Merchants.
How this should be fitly expressed by the wordTolagnoth,Vermis, orWorm, may be made out fromPliny, who calls itCoccus Scolecius, or theWormy Berry; as also from the name of that Colour calledVermilion, or theWorm Colour; and which is also answerable unto the true nature of it. For this is no proper Berry containing the fructifying part, but a kind of Vessicular excrescence, adhering commonly to the Leaf of theIlex Coccigera, or dwarf and small kind of Oak, whose Leaves are always green, and its proper seminal parts Acrons. This little Bagg containeth a red Pulp, which, if not timely gathered, or left to it self, produceth small red Flies, and partly a red powder, both serviceable unto the tincture. And therefore, to prevent the generation of Flies, when it is first gathered, they sprinkle it over with Vinegar, especially such as make use of the fresh Pulp for the confection ofAlkermes; which still retaineth the Arabick name, from theKermesberry; which is agreeable unto the description ofBelloniusandQuinqueranus. And the same we have beheld inProvenceandLanguedock, where it is plentifully gathered, and calledManna Rusticorum, from the considerable profit which the Peasants make by gathering of it.
Oaks, inGen. 35. 4, 8. Josh. 24. 26. Isa. 1. 29. Ezek. 27. 6. Hosea. 4. 13, etc.
39. Mention is made of Oaks in divers parts of Scripture, which though the Latin sometimes renders a Turpentine Tree, yet surely some kind of Oak may be understood thereby; but whether our common Oak as is commonly apprehended, you may well doubt; for the common Oak, which prospereth so well with us, delighteth not in hot regions. And that diligent BotanistBellonius, who took such particular notice of the Plants ofSyriaandJudæa, observed not the vulgar Oak in those parts. But he found theIlex,Chesne Vert, or Ever-green Oak, in many places; as also that kind of Oak which is properly namedEsculus: and he makes mention thereof in places aboutJerusalem, and in his Journey from thence untoDamascus, where he foundMontes Ilice, et Esculo virentes; which, in his Discourse ofLemnos, he saith are always green. And therefore when it is said[229]ofAbsalom, that hisMule went under the thick Boughs of a great Oak, and his Head caught hold of the Oak, and he was taken up between the Heaven and the Earth, that Oak might be someIlex, or ratherEsculus. For that is a thick and bushy kind, inOrbem comosa, asDale-champius;ramis in orbem dispositis comans, asRenealmusdescribeth it. And when it is said[230]thatEzechias broke down the Images, and cut down the Groves, they might much consist of Oaks, which were sacred unto Pagan Deities, as this more particularly, according to that ofVirgil,
Nemorúmque Jovi quæ maxima frondet Esculus.
And, inJudæa, where no hogs were eaten by the Jews, and few kept by others, ’tis not unlikely that they most cherished theEsculus, which might serve for Food of men. For the Acrons thereof are the sweetest of any Oak, and taste like Chesnuts; and so producingan edulious or esculent Fruit, is properly namedEsculus.
They which know theIlex, or Ever-green Oak, with somewhat prickled leaves, named Πρίνος, will better understand the irreconcileable answer of the two Elders, when the one accusedSusannaof incontinency under a Πρίνος, or Ever-green Oak, the other under a Σχῖνος,Lentiscus, or Mastick Tree, which are so different in Bigness, Boughs, Leaves and Fruit, the one bearing Acrons, the other Berries: And, without the knowledge hereof, will not Emphatically or distinctly understand that of the Poet,
Flaváque de viridi stillabant Ilice mella.
Cedars ofLibanus.
40. When we often meet with the Cedars ofLibanus, that expression may be used not onely because they grew in a known and neighbour Country, but also because they were of the noblest and largest kind of that Vegetable, and we find the Phœnician Cedar magnified by the Ancients. The Cedar ofLibanusis aconiferousTree, bearingConesor Cloggs; (not Berries) of such a vastness, thatMelchior Lussy, a great Traveller, found one uponLibanusas big as seven men could compass. Some are now so curious as to keep the Branches andConesthereof among their rare Collections. And, though much Cedar Wood be now brought fromAmerica, yet ’tis time to take notice of the true Cedar ofLibanus, imployed in the Temple ofSolomon; for they have been much destroyed and neglected, and become at last but thin.Belloniuscould reckon but twenty eight,RowolfiusandRadzevilbut twenty four, andBidulphusthe same number. And a later account[231]of some English Travellers saith, that they are now but in one place, and in a small compass, inLibanus.
Uncircumcised Fruit, inLevit. 19. 23.
Quando ingressi fueritis terram, et Plantaveritis in illa ligna Pomifera, auferetis præputia eorum. Poma quæ germinant immunda erunt vobis, nec edetis ex eis. Quarto autem anno, omnis fructus eorum sanctificabitur, laudabilis Domino. Quinto autem anno comedetis fructus.By this Law they were injoyned not to eat of the Fruits of the Trees which they planted for thefirst three years: and, as the Vulgar expresseth it, to take away the Prepuces, from such Trees, during that time; the Fruits ofthe fourth year being holy unto the Lord, and those of the fifth allowable unto others. Now ifauferre præputiabe taken, as many learned men have thought, to pluck away the bearing Buds, before they proceed unto Flowers or Fruit, you will readily apprehend the Metaphor, from the analogy and similitude of those Sprouts and Buds, which, shutting up the fruitfull particle, resembleth the preputial part.
And you may also find herein a piece of Husbandry not mentioned inTheophrastus, orColumella. For by taking away of the Buds, and hindering fructification, the Trees become more vigorous, both in growth and future production. By such a way KingPyrrhusgot into a lusty race of Beeves, and such as were desired over allGreece, by keeping them from Generation untill the ninth year.
And you may also discover a physical advantage of the goodness of the Fruit, which becometh less crude and more wholsome, upon the fourth or fifth years production.
Partition of Plants into Herb and Tree, inGen. 1. 11.
41. While you reade inTheophrastus, or modern Herbalists, a strict division of Plants, intoArbor,Frutex,Suffrutex et Herba, you cannot but take notice of the Scriptural division at the Creation,intoTreeandHerb: and this may seem too narrow to comprehend the Classis of Vegetables; which, notwithstanding, may be sufficient, and a plain and intelligible division thereof. And therefore in this difficulty concerning the division of Plants, the learned Botanist,Cæsalpinus, thus concludeth.Clarius agemus si alterâ divisione neglectâ, duo tantùm Plantarum genera substituamus, Arborem scilicet, et Herbam, conjungentes cum Arboribus Frutices, et cum Herba Suffrutices;Fruticesbeing the lesser Trees, andSuffruticesthe larger, harder and more solid Herbs.
And this division into Herb and Tree, may also suffice, if we take in that natural ground of the division of perfect Plants, and such as grow from Seeds. For Plants, in their first production, do send forth two Leaves adjoining to the Seed; and then afterwards, do either produce two other Leaves, and so successively before any Stalk; and such go under the name of Πόα, Βοτάνη, orHerb; or else, after the first Leaves succeeding to the Seed Leaves, they send forth a Stalk, or rudiment of a Stalk before any other Leaves, and such fall under the Classis of Δένδρον, orTree. So that, in this natural division, there are but two grand differences, that is,TreeandHerb. TheFrutexandSuffrutexhave the way of production from the Seed, and in other respects theSuffrutices, orCremia, have a middle and participating nature, and referable unto Herbs.
The Bay Tree, inPsal. 37. 35
42.I have seen the ungodly in great power, and flourishing like a green Bay Tree.Both Scripture and humane Writers draw frequent illustrations from Plants.Scribonius Largusillustrates the old Cymbals from theCotyledon Palustris, orUmbelicus Veneris. Who would expect to findAaron’sMitre in any Plant? yetJosephushath taken some pains to make out thesame in the seminal knop ofHyoscyamus, or Henbane. The Scripture compares the Figure of Manna unto the Seed of Coriander. InJeremy[232]we find the expression,Streight as a Palm Tree: And here the wicked in their flourishing state are likened unto a Bay Tree. Which, sufficiently answering the sense of the Text, we are unwilling to exclude that noble Plant from the honour of having its name in Scripture. Yet we cannot but observe, that the Septuagint renders itCedars, and the Vulgar accordingly,Vidi impium superexaltatum, et elevatum sicut Cedros Libani; and the Translation ofTremeliusmentions neither Bay nor Cedar;Sese explicantem tanquam Arbor indigena virens; which seems to have been followed by the last Low Dutch Translation. A private Translation renders it likea green self-growing[233]Laurel, The High Dutch ofLuther’sBible, retains the wordLaurel; and so doth the old Saxon and Island Translation; so also the French, Spanish; and Italian ofDiodati: yet his Notes acknowledge that some think it rather a Cedar, and others any large Tree in a prospering and natural Soil.
But however these Translations differ, the sense is allowable and obvious unto apprehension: when no particular Plant is named, any proper to the sense may be supposed; where either Cedar or Laurel is mentioned, if the preceding words [exalted and elevated] be used, they are more appliable unto the Cedar; where the word [flourishing] is used, it is more agreeable unto the Laurel, which, in its prosperity, abounds with pleasant flowers, whereas those of the Cedar are very little, and scarce perceptible, answerable to the Firre, Pine and other coniferous Trees.
The Figg Tree, inS. Mark. 11. 13, etc.
43.And in the morning, when they were come fromBethany, he was hungry; and seeing a Figg Tree afar off having Leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon; and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves: for the time of Figgs was not yet.Singular conceptions have passed from learned men to make out this passage of S.Mark, which S.Matthew[234]so plainly delivereth; most men doubting why our Saviour should curse the Tree for bearing no Fruit, when the time of Fruit was not yet come; or why it is said thatthe time of Figgs was not yet, when, notwithstanding, Figgs might be found at that season.
Heinsius,[235]who thinks thatEliasmust salve the doubt, according to the received Reading of the Text, undertaketh to vary the same, reading οὕ γὰρ ἦν, καιρὸς σύκων, that is,for where he was, it was the season or time of Figgs.
A learned Interpreter[236]of our own, without alteration of accents or words, endeavours to salve all, by another interpretation of the same, Οὐ γὰρ καιρὸς σύκων,For it was not a good or seasonable year for Figgs.
But, because men part not easily with old beliefs, or the received construction of words, we shall briefly set down what may be alledged for it.
And, first, for the better comprehension of all deductions hereupon, we may consider the several differences and distinctions both of Figg Trees and their Fruits.Suidasupon the word Ἰschὰs makes four divisions of Figgs, Ὄλυνθος, Φήληξ, Σῦκον and Ἰschὰs and Ἰschὰs. But because Φήληξ makes no considerable distinction, learned men do chiefly insist upon the three others; that is, Ὄλυνθος, orGrossus, which are the Buttons, or small sort of Figgs, either not ripe, or not ordinarily proceeding to ripeness, but fall awayat least in the greatest part, and especially in sharp Winters; which are also named Συκάδες, and distinguished from the Fruit of the wild Figg, orCaprificus, which is named Ἐρινεὸς, and never cometh unto ripeness. The second is called Σῦκον, orFicus, which commonly proceedeth unto ripeness in its due season. A third the ripe Figg dried, which maketh the Ἰσχάδες, orCarrier.
Of Figg Trees there are also many divisions; For some areprodromi, or precocious, which bear Fruit very early, whether they bear once, or oftner in the year; some areprotericæ, which are the most early of the precocious Trees, and bear soonest of any; some areæstivæ, which bear in the common season of the Summer, and someserotinæwhich bear very late.
Some arebiferousandtriferous, which bear twice or thrice in the year, and some are of the ordinary standing course, which make up the expected season of Figgs.
Again some Figg Trees, either in their proper kind, or fertility in some single ones, do bear Fruit or rudiments of Fruit all the year long; as is annually observable in some kind of Figg Trees in hot and proper regions; and may also be observed in some Figg Trees of more temperate Countries, in years of no great disadvantage, wherein, when the Summer-ripe Figg is past, others begin to appear, and so, standing in Buttons all the Winter, do either fall away before the Spring, or else proceed to ripeness.
Now, according to these distinctions, we may measure the intent of the Text, and endeavour to make out the expression. For, considering the diversity of these Trees, and their several fructifications, probable or possible it is, that some thereof were implied, and may literally afford a solution.
And first, though it was not the season for Figgs, yet some Fruit might have been expected, even in ordinary bearing Trees. For theGrossior Buttons appear before the Leaves, especially before the Leaves are well grown. Some might have stood during the Winter, and by this time been of some growth: Though many fall off, yet some might remain on, and proceed towards maturity. And we find that good Husbands had an art to make them hold on, as is delivered byTheophrastus.
The Σῦκον or common Summer Figg was not expected; for that is placed byGalenamong theFructus Horarii, orHoræi, which ripen in that part of Summer, called Ὤρα, and stands commended by him above other Fruits of that season. And of this kind might be the Figgs which were brought untoCleopatrain a Basket together with an Asp, according to the time of her death on the nineteenth ofAugust. And that our Saviour expected not such Figgs, but some other kind, seems to be implied in the indefinite expression,if haply he might find any thing thereon; which in that Country, and the variety of such Trees, might not be despaired of, at this season, and very probably hoped for in the first precocious and early bearing Trees. And that there were precocious and early bearing Trees inJudæa, may be illustrated from some expressions in Scripture concerning precocious Figgs;[237]Calathus unus habebat Ficus bonas nimis, sicut solent esse Ficus primi temporis; One Basket had very good Figgs, even like the Figgs that are first ripe. And the like might be more especially expected in this place, if this remarkable Tree be rightly placed in some Mapps ofJerusalem; for it is placed, byAdrichomius, in or nearBethphage, which some conjectureswill have to be theHouse of Figgs: and at this place Figg Trees are still to be found, if we consult the Travels ofBidulphus.
Again, in this great variety of Figg Trees, as precocious, proterical, biferous, triferous, and always bearing Trees, something might have been expected, though the time of common Figgs was not yet. For some Trees bear in a manner all the year; as may be illustrated from the Epistle of the EmperourJulian, concerning his Present ofDamascusFiggs, which he commendeth from their successive and continued growing and bearing, after the manner of the Fruits whichHomerdescribeth in the Garden ofAlcinous. And though it were then but about the eleventh ofMarch, yet, in the Latitude ofJerusalem, the Sun at that time hath a good power in the day, and might advance the maturity of precocious often-bearing or ever-bearing Figgs. And therefore when it is said that S.Peter[238]stood and warmed himself by the Fire in the Judgment Hall, and the reason is added [for it was cold[239]] that expression might be interposed either to denote the coolness in the Morning, according to hot Countries, or some extraordinary and unusual coldness, which happened at that time. For the sameBidulphus, who was at that time of the year atJerusalem, saith, that it was then as hot as atMidsummerinEngland: and we find in Scripture, that the first Sheaf of Barley was offer’d inMarch.
Our Saviour therefore, seeing a Figg Tree with Leaves well spread, and so as to be distinguished a far off, went unto it, and when he came, found nothing but Leaves; he found it to be no precocious, or always-bearing Tree: And though it were not the time for Summer Figgs, yet he found no rudiments thereof: andthough he expected not common Figgs, yet something might happily have been expected of some other kind, according to different fertility, and variety of production; but, discovering nothing, he found a Tree answering the State of the Jewish Rulers, barren unto all expectation.
And this is consonant unto the mystery of the Story, wherein the Figg Tree denoteth the Synagogue and Rulers of the Jews, whom God having peculiarly cultivated, singularly blessed and cherished, he expected from them no ordinary, slow, or customary fructification, but an earliness in good Works, a precocious or continued fructification, and was not content with common after-bearing; and might justly have expostulated with the Jews, as God by the ProphetMicah[240]did with their Forefathers;Præcoquas Ficus desideravit Anima mea, My Soul longed for, (or desired)early ripe Fruits, but ye are become as a Vine already gathered, and there is no cluster upon you.
Lastly, In this account of the Figg Tree, the mystery and symbolical sense is chiefly to be looked upon. Our Saviour, therefore, taking a hint from his hunger to go unto this specious Tree, and intending, by this Tree, to declare a Judgment upon the Synagogue and people of the Jews, he came unto the Tree, and, after the usual manner, inquired, and looked about for some kind of Fruit, as he had done before in the Jews, but found nothing but Leaves and specious outsides, as he had also found in them; and when it bore no Fruit like them, when he expected it, and came to look for it, though it were not the time of ordinary Fruit, yet failing when he required it, in the mysterious sense, ’twas fruitless longer to expect it. For he had come unto them, and they were nothing fructified by it, hisdeparture approached, and his time of preaching was now at an end.
Now, in this account, besides the Miracle, some things are naturally considerable. For it may be question’d how the Figg Tree, naturally a fruitfull Plant, became barren, for it had no shew or so much as rudiment of Fruit: And it was in old time, a signal Judgment of God, thatthe Figg Tree should bear no Fruit: and therefore this Tree may naturally be conceived to have been under some Disease indisposing it to such fructification. And this, in the Pathology of Plants, may be the Disease of φυλλομανία ἐμφυλλισμὸς; or superfolliation mention’d byTheophrastus; whereby the fructifying Juice is starved by the excess of Leaves; which in this Tree were already so full spread, that it might be known and distinguished a far off. And this was, also, a sharp resemblance of the hypocrisie of the Rulers, made up of specious outsides, and fruitless ostentation, contrary to the Fruit of the Figg Tree, which, filled with a sweet and pleasant pulp, makes no shew without, not so much as of any Flower.
Some naturals are also considerable from the propriety of this punishment settled upon a Figg Tree: For infertility and barrenness seems more intolerable in this Tree than in any, as being a Vegetable singularly constituted for production; so far from bearing no Fruit that it may be made to bear almost any. And therefore the Ancients singled out this as the fittest Tree whereon to graft and propagate other Fruits, as containing a plentifull and lively Sap, whereby other Cyons would prosper: And, therefore, this Tree was also sacred unto the Deity of Fertility: and theStatuaofPriapuswas made of the Figg Tree.
Olim Truncus eram Ficulnus inutile Lignum.
It hath also a peculiar advantage to produce and maintain its Fruit above all other Plants, as not subject to miscarry in Flowers and Blossomes, from accidents of Wind and Weather. For it beareth no Flowers outwardly, and such as it hath, are within the Coat, as the later examination of Naturalists hath discovered.
Lastly, It was a Tree wholly constituted for Fruit, wherein if it faileth, it is in a manner useless, the Wood thereof being of so little use, that it affordeth proverbial expressions,
Homo Ficulneus, argumentum Ficulneum,
for things of no validity.
The Palm Tree, inCant. 7. 8.
44.I said I will go up into the Palm Tree, and take hold of the Boughs thereof.This expression is more agreeable unto the Palm than is commonly apprehended, for that it is a tall bare Tree bearing its Boughs but at the top and upper part; so that it must be ascended before its Boughs or Fruit can be attained: And the going, getting or climbing up, may be Emphatical in this Tree; for the Trunk or Body thereof is naturally contrived for ascension, and made with advantage for getting up, as having many welts and eminencies, and so as it were a natural Ladder, and Staves, by which it may be climbed, asPliny[241]observeth,Palmæ teretes atque proceres, densis quadratisque pollicibus faciles se ad scandendum præbent, by this way men are able to get up into it. And the Figures of Indians thus climbing the same are graphically described in the Travels ofLinschoten. This Tree is often mentioned in Scripture, and was so remarkable inJudæa, that in after-times it became the Emblem of that Country, asmay be seen in that Medal of the EmperourTitus, with a Captive Woman sitting under a Palm, and the Inscription ofJudæa Capta. AndPlinyconfirmeth the same when he saith,Judæa Palmis inclyta.
Lilies, inCant. 2. 1, 2, 16.
45. Many things are mention’d in Scripture, which have an Emphasis from this or the neighbour Countries: For besides the Cedars, the Syrian Lilies are taken notice of by Writers. That expression in theCanticles,[242]Thou art fair, thou art fair, thou hast Doves eyes, receives a particular character, if we look not upon our common Pigeons, but the beauteous and fine ey’d Doves of Syria.
When the Rump is so strictly taken notice of in the Sacrifice of the Peace Offering, in these words,[243]The whole Rump, it shall be taken off hard by the Back-bone, it becomes the more considerable in reference to this Country, where Sheep had so large Tails; which, according toAristotle,[244]were a Cubit broad; and so they are still, asBelloniushath delivered.
When ’tis said in theCanticles,[245]Thy Teeth are as a Flock of Sheep, which go up from the washing, whereof every one beareth Twins, and there is not one barren among them; it may seem hard unto us of these parts to find whole Flocks bearing Twins, and not one barren among them; yet may this be better conceived in the fertile Flocks of those Countries, where Sheep have so often two, sometimes three, and sometimes four, and which is so frequently observed by Writers of the neighbour Country ofÆgypt. And this fecundity, and fruitfulness of their Flocks, is answerable unto the expression of the Psalmist,[246]That our Sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our Streets. And hereby, besides what was spent at their Tables, a good supply was made for the great consumption of Sheepin their several kinds of Sacrifices; and of so many thousand Male unblemished yearling Lambs, which were required at their Passeovers.
Nor need we wonder to find so frequent mention both of Garden and Field Plants; sinceSyriawas notable of old for this curiosity and variety, according toPliny,Syria hortis operosissima; and sinceBelloniushath so lately observed ofJerusalem, that its hilly parts did so abound with Plants, that they might be compared unto MountIdainCreteorCandia: which is the most noted place for noble Simples yet known.
Trees and Herbs not expresly nam’d in Scripture.
46. Though so many Plants have their express Names in Scripture, yet others are implied in some Texts which are not explicitly mention’d. In the Feast ofTabernaclesorBooths, the Law was this,[247]Thou shalt take unto thee Boughs of goodly Trees, Branches of the Palm, and the Boughs of thick Trees, and Willows of the Brook. Now though the Text descendeth not unto particulars of thegoodly Trees, andthick Trees; yetMaimonideswill tell us that for agoodly Treethey made use of the Citron Tree, which is fair and goodly to the eye, and well prospering in that Country: And that for thethick Treesthey used the Myrtle, which was no rare or infrequent Plant among them. And though it groweth but low in our Gardens, was not a little Tree in those parts; in which Plant also the Leaves grew thick, and almost covered the Stalk. AndCurtius[248]Symphorianusin his description of theExotickMyrtle, makes it,Folio densissimo senis in ordinem versibus. The Paschal Lamb was to be eaten with bitterness or bitter Herbs, not particularly set down in Scripture: but the Jewish Writers declare, that they made use of Succory, and wildLettuce, which Herbs while some conceive they could not get down, as being very bitter, rough and prickly, they may consider that the time of the Passeover was in the Spring, when these Herbs are young and tender, and consequently less unpleasant: besides, according to the Jewish custom, these Herbs were dipped in theCharosethor Sawce made of Raisins stamped with Vinegar, and were also eaten with Bread; and they had four Cups of Wine allowed unto them; and it was sufficient to take but a pittance of Herbs, or the quantity of an Olive.
Reeds in Scripture.
47. Though the famous paper Reed ofÆgypt, be onely particularly named in Scripture; yet when Reeds are so often mention’d, without special name or distinction, we may conceive their differences may be comprehended, and that they were not all of one kind, or that the common Reed was onely implied. For mention is made inEzekiel[249]ofa measuring Reed of six Cubits: we find that they smote our Saviour on the Head with a Reed,[250]and put a Sponge with Vinegar on a Reed, which was long enough to reach to his mouth, while he was upon the Cross; And with such differences of Reeds,Vallatory,Sagittary,Scriptory, and others, they might be furnished inJudæa: For we find in the portion ofEphraim,[251]Vallis arundineti; and so set down in the Mapps ofAdricomius, and in our Translation the RiverKana, or Brook ofCanes. AndBelloniustells us that the RiverJordanaffordeth plenty and variety of Reeds; out of some whereof the Arabs make Darts, and light Lances, and out of others, Arrows; and withall that there plentifully groweth the fineCalamus, arundo Scriptoria, or writing Reed, which they gather with the greatest care, as being of singular use and commodity at home and abroad; a hard Reedabout the compass of a Goose or Swans Quill, whereof I have seen some polished and cut with a Webb; which is in common use for writing throughout the Turkish Dominions, they using not the Quills of Birds.
And whereas the same Authour with other describers of these parts affirmeth, that the RiverJordannot far fromJerico, is but such a Stream as a youth may throw a Stone over it, or about eight fathoms broad, it doth not diminish the account and solemnity of the miraculous passage of the Israelites underJoshua; For it must be considered, that they passed it in the time of Harvest, when the River was high, and the Grounds about it under Water, according to that pertinent parenthesis,As the Feet of the Priests, which carried the Ark, were dipped in the brim of the Water, (for Jordan[252]overfloweth all its Banks at the time of Harvest.)In this consideration it was well joined with the great RiverEuphrates, in that expression inEcclesiasticus,[253]God maketh the understanding to abound like Euphrates, and as Jordan in the time of Harvest.
Zizania, in S.Matt. 13. 24, 25, etc.
48.The Kingdom of Heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good Seed in his Field, but while men slept, his Enemy came and sowed Tares(or, as the Greek,Zizania)among the Wheat.
Now, how to renderZizania, and to what species of Plants to confine it, there is no slender doubt; for the word is not mention’d in other parts of Scripture, nor in any ancient Greek Writer: it is not to be found inAristotle,Theophrastus, orDioscorides. Some Greek and Latin Fathers have made use of the same, as alsoSuidasandPhavorinus; but probably they have all derived it from this Text.
And therefore this obscurity might easily occasion such variety in Translations and Expositions. Forsome retain the wordZizania, as the Vulgar, that ofBeza, ofJunius, and also the Italian and Spanish. The Low Dutch renders itOncruidt, the GermanOncraut, orHerba Mala, the FrenchTuroyeorLolium, and the EnglishTares.
Besides, this being conceived to be a Syriack word, it may still add unto the uncertainty of the sense. For though this Gospel were first written in Hebrew, or Syriack, yet it is not unquestionable whether the true Original be any where extant: And that Syriack Copy which we now have, is conceived to be of far later time than S.Matthew.
Expositours and Annotatours are also various.Hugo Grotiushath passed the wordZizaniawithout a Note.Diodati, retaining the wordZizania, conceives that it was some peculiar Herb growing among the Corn of those Countries, and not known in our Fields. ButEmanuel de Sainterprets it,Plantas semini noxias, and so accordingly some others.
Buxtorfius, in his Rabbinical Lexicon, gives divers interpretations, sometimes for degenerated Corn, sometimes for the black Seeds in Wheat, but withall concludes,an hæc sit eadem vox aut species, cum Zizaniâ apud Evangelistam, quærant alii. But Lexicons and Dictionaries byZizaniado almost generally understandLolium, which we callDarnel, and commonly confine the signification to that Plant: Notwithstanding, sinceLoliumhad a known and received Name in Greek, some may be apt to doubt, why, if that Plant were particularly intended, the proper Greek word was not used in the Text. ForTheophrastus[254]namedLoliumΑἰρα, and hath often mentioned that Plant; and in one place saith that Corn doth sometimesLoliesceredegenerate intoDarnel.Dioscorides, who travelledoverJudæa, gives it the same name, which is also to be found inGalen,ÆtiusandÆgineta; andPlinyhath sometimes latinized that word intoÆra.
Besides,Loliumor Darnel shews it self in the Winter, growing up with the Wheat; andTheophrastusobserved that it was no Vernal Plant, but came up in the Winter; which will not well answer the expression of the Text,And when the Blade came up, and brought forth Fruit, or gave evidence of its Fruit,the Zizaniaappeared. And if the Husbandry of the Ancients were agreeable unto ours, they would not have been so earnest to weed away the Darnel; for our Husbandmen do not commonly weed it in the Field, but separate the Seeds after Thrashing. And thereforeGalendelivereth, that in an unseasonable year, and great scarcity of Corn, when they neglected to separate the Darnel, the Bread proved generally unwholsome, and had evil effects on the Head.
Our old and later Translation renderZizania,Tares, which name our English Botanists give untoAracus,Cracca,Vicia sylvestris, calling them Tares, and strangling Tares. And our Husbandmen by Tares understand some sorts of wild Fitches, which grow amongst Corn, and clasp upon it, according to the Latin Etymology,Vicia à Vinciendo. Now in this uncertainty of the Original, Tares as well as some others, may make out the sense, and be also more agreeable unto the circumstances of the Parable. For they come up and appear what they are, when the Blade of the Corn is come up, and also the Stalk and Fruit discoverable. They have likewise little spreading Roots, which may intangle or rob the good Roots, and they have also tendrils and claspers, which lay holdof what grows near them, and so can hardly be weeded without endangering the neighbour Corn.
However, if byZizaniawe understandHerbas segeti noxias, orvitia segetum, as some Expositours have done, and take the word in a more general sense, comprehending several Weeds and Vegetables offensive unto Corn, according as the Greek word in the plural Number may imply, and as the learnedLaurenbergius[255]hath expressed,Runcare quod apud nostrates Weden dicitur, Zizanias inutiles est evellere. If, I say, it be thus taken, we shall not need to be definitive, or confine unto one particular Plant, from a word which may comprehend divers: And this may also prove a safer sense, in such obscurity of the Original.
And therefore since in this Parable the sower of theZizaniais the Devil, and theZizaniawicked persons; if any from this larger acception, will take in Thistles, Darnel, Cockle, wild strangling Fitches, Bindweed,Tribulus, Restharrow and otherVitia Segetum; he may, both from the natural and symbolical qualities of those Vegetables, have plenty of matter to illustrate the variety of his mischiefs, and of the wicked of this world.