A defense of the sincere and true translations of the holie Scriptures into the English tong against the manifolde cauils, friuolous quarels, and impudent slaunders of Gregorie Martin, one of the readers of popish diuinitie in the trayterous Seminarie of Rhemes. By William Fvlke D. in Diuinitie, and M. of Pembroke haule in Cambridge. Wherevnto is added a briefe confutation of all such quarrels & cauils, as haue bene of late vttered by diuerse papistes in their English pamphlets, against the writings of the saide William Fvlke.

MART. 11. And as for the Hebrewe grammar in this point, were it not for troubling the Reader, we could tell thē that the word, sinne, in Hebrew is not here of the foeminine gender, (as they suppose) but of the masculine. so sayth S. Hieror. ex∣presly* 1.1 vpon this place, who had as much knowledge in the He∣brew tongue, as all these new Doctors. Aben Ezra also the great Rabbine, in his Hebrew commentaries vpon this text, sayth, it is a meere forgerie and fiction, to referre the masculine relatiue o∣therwise than to the word, sinne: which, though elsewhere it be the feminine gender, yet here it is a masculine, according to that* 1.2 rule of the Grammarians, that the doubtfull gender must be dis∣cerned by the verbe, adiectiue, pronoune, or participle, ioyned with the same: as the sayd Hebrew Doctor doth in the word, pa∣radise, Gen. 2. which there by the pronounes he pronounceth to be a feminine, though elsewhere a masculine. Lastly, if the worde sinne, were here, and alwayes only a feminine, and neuer a mas∣culine: yet they haue litle skill in the Hebrue tongue, that thinke it straunge to matche masculines and feminines togither in very good and grammaticall construction. Whereof they may see a whole chapter in Sanctes Pagninus with this title, Foeminea masculeis iuncta. that is, Feminines ioyned with masculines.

FVLK. 11. Not only the Hebrue Grammar, but the same phrase vsed before, maketh plainely for our transla∣tion. That S. Hierome saith, the Hebrue is of the mas∣culine gender, as great an Hebritian as he was, he may not carrie the matter away with his authoritie, except he bring an instance, where it is of the masculine gender.

The Iewish Rabbins, patrones of free will, as ignorant of the grace of God, erre in this place, as they doe in a thou∣sand more, and are forced to inuent straunge applicati∣ons of the worde, appetite, to make their sense probable. How the gender of Hebrew wordes may be found out, we are not now to learne, which because you haue but lately learned, you thinke all men ignorant thereof, but your selfe. By the chapter of Pagninus, where he sheweth that feminines are ioyned to masculines, you might learne that chataoth is the feminine gender, although it be ioyned with a participle of the masculine gēder. Who* 1.3 also might haue taught you, the difference of nounes en∣ding in he, praecedente camets, to be this, that feminines haue the accent in the last syllable, masculines in the last* 1.4 saue one, and therefore chataoth in this place, hauing the accent in the last syllable, notwithstanding the par∣ticiple, which is masculine, must needes be of the femi∣nine gender.

Notes

• * 1.1

  q. Hebr. in Genes.
• * 1.2

  Quinquarboreu••▪
• * 1.3

  〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉
• * 1.4

  ••ilr•• & milel. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉