The works of the Reverend and learned John Lightfoot D. D., late Master of Katherine Hall in Cambridge such as were, and such as never before were printed : in two volumes : with the authors life and large and useful tables to each volume : also three maps : one of the temple drawn by the author himself, the others of Jervsalem and the Holy Land drawn according to the author's chorography, with a description collected out of his writings.

Harmony and Explanation.

Vers. 18. And many other things he Preached, &c.

WHosoever shall read the latter part of the former Section, and this verse together as a continued Narration, he will see how fitly and closely they joyn together, and he is to take this as an Epiphonema to the whole story of Johns Ministery; that be∣sides those particular speeches of his, mentioned by the Evangelists, he preached many other things, and used divers exhortations to the people, whilest: he was abroad and at liberty, which he was not very long after that occurrence mentioned in the former Section.

Vers. 19. But Herod the Tetrarch being reproved for Herodias, &c.

Because we are fallen upon a strange and most unlawful match in Herod the greats fami∣ly, will the reader have the patience, before he come to look on this particular act of Herod the Tetrarch (his marrying his brothers wife) to take a view a little, of old He∣rods whole family, and divers strange marriages in it, as they may be picked up in several places in Josephus, and to acquaint himself in brief with the pedegree of that stock, which may be some light for the understanding both of this and of some other places in the New Testament, which relate to the story of that house.

We will begin with Antipater Herods Father, the first of the Family that came to honour.

This Antipater being an Edomite, had by his wife Cyprus an Arabian, these four sons, Phasaelus, Herod, Joseph, Pheroras, and one daughter named Salome, Joseph. Antiq. lib. 14. cap. 12.

Herod, the second son of Antipater, commonly called Herod the Great (the King of the Jews, Luke 1. 5. the murderer of the Sanhedrin at Jerusalem, Joseph. Antiq. l. 14. cap. 17. Juchasin fol. 19. and murderer of the children at Bethlehem, Matth. 2. and of his own chil∣dren, as we shall see anon) had nine wives, and by seven of them he had children, Joseph. de bell. lib. 1. cap. 18.

1. He married Doris a woman of Jerusalem before he was King, and by her he had a son called Antipater: but this wife he put away, after he came to the Kingdom, that he might marry another, Ibid. cap. 17. and this his first born son Antipater, he caused to be slain, but five days before his own death, Id. Antiq. lib. 17. cap. 10.

2. His second wife was Mariam or Mary the beautiful: the daughter of Alexander, the son of Aristobulus, and of Alexandra the daughter of Hyrcanus, Antiq. 15. cap. 2. by her he had three sons Alexander and Aristobulus, Antiq. 16. cap. 8. and Herod, de bell. 1. 18. which Herod died young at Rome, whither he was set forth for his edu∣cation.

And he had also by her two daughters, Salampsio, and Cyprus, Antiq. lib. 18. cap. 7.

His wife Mariam he slew upon the accusation of his sister Salome, and some suspition and discontent, Antiq. 15. cap. 11.

Her two sons that lived, he married thus; Aristobulus to Bernice the daughter of Sa∣lome his own Sister, by whom he had three sons, Herod, Agrippa (he that is called Herod, Act. 12.) and Aristobulus: and two daughters Herodias and Mariam: this Herodias is she that we have here in hand. Alexander he married to Glaphyra the daughter of Archelaus a forain King, and by her he had two sons Tigranes and Alexander, De bell. 1. cap. 18.

These two sons of Mariam, Aristobulus and Alexander, their Father caused to be slain as well as he had slain their Mother. Antiq. 16. cap. 17. But his two daughters he married to their near kinsman Salampsio to Phasaelus her nephew, and Cyprus to Antipater, her cousen german the son of Salome Herods sister, Antiq. lib. 18. cap. 7.

3. A third wife he had which was called Malthace a Samaritan, and by her he had two sons Antipas and Archelaus, and one daughter called Olympias, De Bell. lib. 1. cap. 18. Ar∣chelaus is he of whom there is mention, Matth. 2. Antipas is that Herod, that we have in hand: Archelaus married Glaphyra his brother Alexanders widow, Ant. lib. 17. c. 15. Olym∣pias was married to her Fathers own Nephew, Joseph. De bell. lib. 1. cap. 18.

4. His fourth wife Cleopatra of Jerusalem bare him Herod and Philip. Ibid. & Antiq. 17. cap. 1. this Philip was Herodias her husband till Herod his brother took her from him: not this Herod born of the same mother, but Antipas the son of Malthace, who was also cal∣led Herod as was said before.

5. He had another wife called Pallas, by whom he had a son called Phasaelus. Ibid. and this Phasaelus had a son of his own name to whom Salampsio was married, mention∣ed before.

6. A sixth wife Phaedra bare him a daughter called Roxana, Ibid.

7. And a seventh called Helpis bare him a daughter named Salome. Ibid.

And two wives besides these he had, which bare him no children, whose names Jose∣phus hath not mentioned, but hath left this mark upon the matches, that the one of those wives was 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and the other 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 both his neeces or his very near kind∣red. Ibid.

And to look a little further into the stock: Salampsio his daughter, had by Phasaelus his Grandchild three sons and two daughters, Antipater, Herod, Alexander, Alexandra, and Cyprus. Alexandra married to a Cypriot, but died childless. Cyprus was married to Agrippa the son of Aristobulus the son of Mariam, (this was that Herod in Act. 12.) by whom she had two sons, Agrippa and Drusus, and three daughters, Bernice, Mariam, and Drusilla, Act. 18. cap. 7. Such marriages as these were in old Herods family, the father of this Herod, that we have in discourse. And now let us look upon the marriage that we have before us, between Herod and Herodias:

1. Herodias was neece both to Philip and Herod, both to her former husband and her latter, for she was daughter to their brother Aristobulus, whom their father had slain, as was said before. Josephus must here be corrected by the Evangelist, for he saith, Herodias was the wife of Herod, Herod the Tetrarchs brother, but not by the same mother, Antiq. lib. 18. cap. 7. There was indeed a Herod which was Philips brother of the same mother, Cleopatra, but this Herod the Tetrarch (called also Antipas) was the son of Malthace.

2. He might not have married his brothers wife (though he had been dead) he having had seed by her, for so is it very generally held that Herodias daughter that daunced off John Baptists head was the daughter of Philip. If brethren dwell together (as heirs to one possession) and one of them die and have no child, then her husbands brother shall go in unto her, &c. Deut. 25. 5. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 But if her husband leave ei∣ther son or daughter, or sons son, or sons daughter, or daughters daughter, behind him, (as R. Sol. explains it) then might not he marry his brothers wife. Lev. 18. 16. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brothers wife: it is thy brothers nakedness. Lev. 20. 21. If a man shall take his brothers wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brothers na∣kedness, they shall be childless. Whereupon Aben Ezra giveth this note, That none of the unlawful marriages mentioned are called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or an unclean thing, but only the marrying of a brothers wife: And the Jews do make this one of the thirty six offenders that deserve cut∣ing off, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 He that goeth in to his brothers wife: Kerithuth per. 1.

3. It was still worse to marry her, as he did, whilest his brother Philip was alive: for Philip died not till the twentieth year of Tiberius Caesar, and John was imprisoned in the sixteenth or thereabout. Joseph. Ant. l. 18. c. 6.

4. And which was yet worse, he divorced his lawful wife the daughter of Aretas King of Arabia, that he might marry Herodias: and he had basely violated the laws of Hospita∣lity in coming to lodge with his brother Philip, as a friend and guest, and tempting and winning his wife from him. Josephus giveth us the story thus, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 &c. Herod the Tetrarch married the daughter of Aretas, and lived a good

while with her: But being sent for to Rome, he lodged in his brother Herods house, (here Jo∣sephus mistaketh Herod for Phi••••p) And falling in love with Herodias his wife (now she was the daughter of Aristobulus their brother and sister of Herod) Agrippa the great (Act. 12. 1.) he dared to make the motion of a marriage, which she imbracing, they agreed that he should take her home to himself when he returned from Rome: and it was also contained in the Ar∣ticles of agreement that he should put away the daughter of Aretas: And so he did, which caused a war betwixt him and Aretas. Idem, ibid. cap. 7.

What other evils Herod committed, we cannot give so particular account of, because they are rarely if at all recorded: but by these two desperate facts of his, in his wretch∣ed marriage, and in his bloody murther of the Baptist, we may well guess the temper and conversation of the tyrant: a wretch strong in wickedness and strong in power, and yet not spared by the Baptist, but reproved and told home by him of his villanies, as he deserved. And here we may fitly parallel this second Elias reproving Herod and Hero∣dias, and suffering for it, with the first Elias doing the like by Ahab and Jezabel.

Vers. 20. He shut up Iohn in prison.

As desperate as he was in wickedness, yet the Evangelist tells us, that he reverenced John, and heard him gladly, and did many things after his admonition, Mark 6. 20. but when John comes so home to him about his abominable marriage, then Herodias another Jezabel strikes in and strikes the stroke for Johns silencing: for she had had a quarrel against him, Mark 6. 19. seeing this his doctrine tended to her divorce: Yet durst not the cruel couple for shame imprison John upon the plain terms of the proper cause of his imprisonment, which was because he spake against their cursed marriage, but they use another colour as Josephus relateth, namely, because Johns popularity was dangerous to∣wards some insurrection or innovation. He relates the story thus, Herod slew John called the Baptist, being a good man and one that injoyned the Jews, to follow virtue, and to use up∣rightness one towards another, and devotion towards God, and to knit together by Baptism, &c. And divers being converted to him, (for they were well pleased with the hearing of his words) Herod fearing that this his perswasiveness with the people, might tend to a revolt, (for they were ready to do any thing upon his counsel) he thought it best to lay hold upon him and kill him, before any insurrection were: rather than repent too late when a change came: And so was John upon this suspition of Herod sent prisoner to Machaerus castle and there killed, Antiq. lib. 18. cap. 7. where he also relateth, that Aretas (the Father of her whom Herod had put away that he might take Herodias) and Herod (upon this and other quarrels) having pitched a set field and battel, all Herods army was cut off, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 And some of the Jews thought that Herods Army was destroyed by God, and he most justly punished for the murder of John the Baptist.

And thus hath this bright and burning lamp shone abroad, till the Sun of righteousness appeared and began to eclipse him: The time that he had preached and baptized had been some twenty months or thereabouts: from about Easter, to about November, twelve∣month after: The time of his imprisonment, was some months also above a twelvemonth, namely from November or thereabout, very near unto Easter twelvemonth after, as will be conspicuous in the insuing progress of the story.