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.

§. For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.

This is the speech of the Evangelist, not of the woman of Samaria, for it was needless for her to tell our Saviour of the distance that the Jews and Samaritans kept one from another, which both the Nations knew well enough: but it was necessary that the Evan∣gelist should relate so much to us, both that the womans question, How is it that thou be∣ing a Jew askest water of me, might be the better understood, and also that the great work done by our Saviour in the conversion of so many Samaritans, might be set out the more glorious, by how much the hatred between the two Nations was the greater; This dis∣sention and fewd betwixt them did proceed from several causes and occasions.

1. There had been a continual enmity between the Inhabitants of the two Countries Judea and Samaria even while they were both of the seed of Israel, from the time of the ten Tribes revolt under Jeroboam, to their captivity by Shalmanezer, as is copiously set out in the book of Kings and Chronicles.

2. When the ten Tribes were captived out of their land, the King of Assyria planted Samaria with men of divers Nations and divers Idolatries, 1 King. 17. 24. &c. And sent among them some of the Priests of the ten Tribes to instruct them in Religion, 1 King. 17. 28. Jos. Ant. lib. 9. cap. 14. And so the Country fell into an hotch-potch of Religion, in some things like the Jewish, in many things exceeding Heathenish. And the people sometime shewed friendship to the Jews, sometimes enmity, sometimes claiming kinred of them when they saw them in prosperity, pretending to have been descended from Joseph but sometimes again scorning and despising them when they saw them brought to any ebb or in calamity. Jos. Ant. l. 9. c. 14. & lib. 12. cap. 7.

3. When the Tribes of Judah and Benjamin were brought to the lowest ebb, and cap∣tived out of their own land into Babel, then did these Samaritans get elbow-room and in∣solency against them, against their coming to their own land again. These were the main opposers and hinderers of the building of the Temple, Ezra 4. called the Adversaries of Judah and Benjamin, vers. 1. and the people of the land, vers. 4. yet pretending to seek God, and to sacrifice as well as the Jews, vers. 2. &c.

Here the fewd and hatred began to be more apparent, and as the Samaritans were thus bitter to the Jews, so the Jews to their power were not behind hand with the Samaritans. For (if we may believe their own Authors) Ezra, Zorobabel and Joshua gathered all the Congregation into the Temple, and brought in three hundred Priests, and three hundred books of

the Law, and three hundred Infants, and they blew Trumpets, and the Levites sung and chan∣ted, and cursed, excommunicated, and separated the Samaritans by the secret Name of God, and by the glorious writing of the Tables, and by the curse of the upper and lower house of Judgment; that no Israelite eat of any thing that is a Samaritans: for he that doth, doth as if he eat swines flesh: Nor that any Samaritan be proselyted to Israel, nor have any part in the Resurrection, as it is said, what have you to do with us to build the house of the Lord our God? Nor have you any part or right or memorial in Jerusalem. And they wrote out and sent this curse to all Israel in Babel, and they added thereto curse upon curse, and the King fixed a curse everlasting to them as it is said, And God that hath caused his name to dwell there, destroy all Kings and people that shall put to their hands to alter it. Haec R. Tanchuma. fol. 17.

4. Hitherto the Samaritans, after the captivity of the ten Tribes, were Heathenish and no Jews among them save one or a few Priests to teach them the Law according to the ten Tribes usage of it, and as it seemeth by Aben Ezra on Esth. 1. they had the book of Moses law among them, but in so wild a translation, that the first verse of it was read thus, In the beginning Ashima created heaven and earth. (What Ashima meaneth, see 2 King. 17. 30.) but from the times of Ezra and Nehemiah, exceeding many Jews began to be mingled among them, and became Samaritans: The main occasion was this: One of the sons of Jojada the son of Eliashib the High Priest, married the daughter of Sanballat the Horonite a chief man among the Samaritans: for which cause he was driven from the Priesthood by Nehemiah, Neh. 13. 28. Josephus nameth both the man and the woman, and relateth the full story to this purpose. Manasses (saith he) the brother of Jaddua the High Priest had maried Nicasso the daughter of Sanballat. Which thing the Elders of the Jews taking exceeding ill, as a violation of their Laws, and as an introduction to strange marriages, they urged that either he should put away his wife, or that he should be put away from the Priesthood: Yea and Jaddua his brother drave him away from the Altar that he should not Sacrifice. Where∣upon Manasses addressing himself to his Father in Law Sanballat, tells him, that it was true indeed that he loved his daughter Nicasso most dearly, but yet would not lose his function for her sake, it being hereditary to him by descent, and honourable among his Nation. To this Sanbal∣lat replied, that he could devise such a course, as that he should not only injoy his Priesthood still, but also obtain an High Priesthood and be made a primate and metropolitane of a whole Country: on condition that he would keep his daughter still and not put her away: For he would build a Temple on mount Gerizim over Sichem, like the Temple at Jerusalem, and this by the con∣sent of Darius who was now Monarch of the Persian Empire. Manasses imbraced such hopes and promises, and abode with his Father in Law, thinking to obtain an High Priesthood from the King. And whereas many of the Priests and people at Jerusalem were intricated in the like mar∣riages, they fell away to Manasses, and Sanballat, provided them lands, houses and subsistence. But Darius the King being overthrown by Alexander the Great, Sanballat revolted to Alexan∣der and did him homage, and submitted both himself and his Dominion unto him: and having now gotten an opportunity, he made his Petition to him and obtained it of building this his Temple. And that that helped him in this his request was, that Jaddua the High Priest at Jeru∣salem had incurred Alexanders displeasure for denying him help and assistance at the siege of Ty∣rus. Sanballat pleaded that he had a son in Law named Manasses brother to Jaddua, to whom many of the Jews were very well affected and followed after him, and might he but have liberty to build a Temple on mount Gerizim, it would be a great weakning of Jaddua, for by that means the people would have a fair invitation to revolt from him: Alexander easily condescended to his request: and so he fell on to build his Temple with might and main. When it was finished it cau∣sed a great Apostasie at Jerusalem, for very many that were accused and indited for eating of for∣bidden meats, for violating the Sabbath or for other crimes, fled away from Jerusalem to Sichem and to mount Gerizim, and that became as a common Sanctuary for offenders. To this pur∣pose Josephus: To which it may not be impertinent to add the relation of R. Abrah Zac∣cuth about this matter. When Alexander the Great, saith he, went from Jerusalem, Sanballat the Horonite went forth to him (with some Israelites and some of the sons of Joshua the High Priest, who had made marriages with the Samaritans, and whom Ezra and Nehemiah had dri∣ven from the house of the Lord) and he desired of Alexander that the Priests his sons in law might build a Temple in mount Gerizim: and the King commanded that it should be done, and so they built a Temple. Thus was Israel divided, half the people after Simeon the Just and Anti∣gonus his scholar, and their society, following what they had received from the mouth of Ezra and the Prophets. And the other half after Sanballat and his sons in Law, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed out from the house of the Lord, and made ordinances of their own invention: And Manasseh the son in Law of Sanballat, the son of Joshua the son of Jozedek the High Priest, was Priest in this Temple. And then Sadoc and Baithus also became famous, being the Scholars of Antigonus, and this was the beginning of Heresie: for they went in the time of Antigonus their Master to the Temple of mount Gerizim, and became chief men there. And that Temple stood about two hundred years. It was built forty years after the building of the second Temple, Juchasin. fol. 14. col. 2.

And thus was Temple set up against Temple, High Priest against High Priest, and Worship against Worship, and now are the two Nations grown into a greater detestation one of another than ever they were before. And many of the Jewish Nation became Sa∣maritans, enemies to their own Country, kindred and Religion: And it became a com∣mon quaere and quarrel among them, whether was the truer Religion, and whether the truer Temple, that at Jerusalem, or that one Gerizim, as the woman questioneth in this Chapter, vers. 20. and Josephus saith, the Jews and Samaritans mutined upon this dispute in Egypt, Antiq. lib. 12. cap. 1. & lib. 13. cap. 6. And this difference and heart-burning of the Nations in regard of Religion brake out often into open hostility and acts of violence, as the same Josephus giveth examples, Antiq. l. 12. c. 3. & l. 18. c. 3. & l. 20. c. 5. &c.

The Jews in their writings do commonly call the Samaritans 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Cutheans: from Cutha a Country and River of Persia, 2 King. 17. 24. Joseph. Ant. l. 11. c. 4. & l. 9. c. 14. but since Christianity came into glory, their hatred to Christians being equal to what it was to∣wards the Samaritans, they so commonly call Christians by the same name, that it is hard in many places to judge when they speak of Samaritans and when of Christians. Three things (saith the Talmud) make a man transgress against the mind of himself and against the mind of his Creator, and those are an evil spirit, the Cutheans, and the rules of poverty. Erul∣hin cap. 4. And again, They say not Amen after a Cuthean that giveth thanks. Beracoth. c. 8. &c. From these Samaritans Elias Levita conceiveth that the wandering generation of Gipses came. Vid. Tishbi. in voce. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

Vers. 10. If thou knowest the gift of God.

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 The article prefixed (saith Beza) sheweth that he speaketh of some excellent gift, and that is of himself whom the Father offered now unto the woman. And indeed the latter clause expoundeth the former unto this sense, and sheweth that by this gift of God, Christ is to be understood not only as given to the world, Joh. 3. 16. (for this the Samaritan wo∣man knew well enough that the Messias was to come a Redeemer, vers. 25.) but as now come and offering himself unto her: and this our Saviour calleth the gift of God in such a sense as he saith to his Disciples, To you it is given, but to others it is not given, Mar. 13. 11. For though Christ were the goodness of God to all his people, as Hos. 3. 5. yet was it a peculiar gift of God to some particular ones to see and hear Christ work miracles, and preach for their conversion, as Luke 10. 23, 24.