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.

VERS. LX.

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉.

Many false witnesses came.

ENquire, Whether these are to be called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Of which the Talmudists speak at large, especially in the Treatise Maccoth. m 1.1 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 are commonly rendred False witnesses; and deservedly: and yet Maimonides reckons up these as necessary, in that City where the Council of twenty three, is placed: Why, saith he, is such a Council not set up, but in a City where there are an hundred and twenty men? Namely, that there may be three and twenty for the Council, and three ranks consisting of sixty nine men, and ten men to attend upon the affairs of the Synagogue: two Scribes, two Bishops, two to be judged, two witnesses. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 &c. The reason of the thing is a little obscure: the characters of the men you may take in these examples. The witnesses say, We testifie that N. killed N. They say to them, How do you depose this, when the killer, or he that was killed, was with us in such a place on that day. These as yet are not 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 But if they should say, How can you testifie this, when you were with us on that day, n 1.2 &c. On which Mish∣nah, thus Maimonides, The witnesses depose, that Reuben killed Simeon: and afterwards Ko∣hath and Hushim come, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and disprove their testimony: there come afterwards other wit∣nesses, and depose the same with the former, namely, that Reuben killed Simeon: and Kohath and Hushim disprove their testimony also; if a second, third, and fourth, nay if a thousand

pair, come and depose the same thing, while those two so disprove them, they must all dye by the testimony of these two, &c.

There was the like Testimony in other things: thus in the first Halacah of the Chap∣ter quoted; 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 How are witnesses made 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉? We testifie con∣cerning N. that he is the Son of a divorced Woman, &c. They do not say, Let this witness (if he prove false) be made the Son of a divorced Woman, instead of the other, but he is beaten with forty stripes. The words are obscure enough; but their meaning is this. Since a false witness was by the Law to suffer the same things which by his perjury he had designed to bring upon another; it is here enquired, in what cases a witness is so far to be accounted false, as to undergo such a retaliation? And it is answered, Not in all; and this reason is alledged, If any one, by false witness, should endeavour to deprive ano∣ther of his legitimacy, and by consequence of the privilidges of being legitimate, by saying that he is the Son of a divorced Woman, though he were indeed 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 a false witness, yet he must not be punished in the like kind, to be made as the Son of a divor∣ced Woman; but he must be whipped. But in capital cases the custom was, that who∣soever endeavoured to procure death to another person by false witness, must himself be put to death.

Notes

• m 1.1

  Chap. 1.
• n 1.2

  Maccoth. Chap. 1. hal. 6.