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.

§ This Temple.

Meaning the Temple of his body, as the Evangelist himself explaineth it; which may be understood, either because his body was the Temple of the Godhead, as Col. 2. 9. or because it was represented by the material Temple in which God dwelt presentially, as the Godhead did in Christ bodily. The Temple was a glorious figure of Christ, in Gods dwelling there amongst men. In giving his Oracles there; in the services tendred and ac∣cepted there, &c. And therefore it was that wheresoever the Jews were in any part of the world, they were in all their prayers to turn their faces towards the Temple, 1 King. 8. 38, 42, 44, 48. Dan. 6. 10. And thereupon it was that when the Jews destroyed Christs ••ody, the Temple rent from the top to the bottom, in one of the choicest parts of it.

Vers. 20. Forty and six years was this Temple in building.

Although all that space of time and state of the Jews that passed betwixt the return out of Babylon, and the destruction of Jerusalem, be generally and indeed properly said to be under the second Temple, yet in exact strictness and reality there were two Tem∣ples in that space, namely, that that was built by Zorobable, and that that was built by Herod: Of the former we have the relation in Ezr. 3. & 6. Of the latter we have the story in Joseph. Antiq. lib. 15. cap, 14. Expositots upon this place, take no notice of this duplicity, because they account that Herod did not build, but only repair the Temple: and they generally understand this 46 years building, of the time and space that the Tem∣ple was getting up in the days of Zorobable, or instantly after the return from the Baby∣lonian captivity: The parcels of which sum every several Expositor almost doth cast and reckon up by several counters. It were endless to alledge, much more endless to examine them. I shall spare that labour, since I have given my thoughts concerning the reigns of the Persian Kings of those times in another place, and I cannot but hold still unto that ac∣count, as conceiving it to be the very account of Scripture: namely, that Cyrus reigned 3 years, Artaxerxes Ahashuerosh after him 14 years, and Artaxerxes Darius 32 years, when Nehemiah went back to him, having finished Jerusalem street and wall: 49 years in all, or 7 weeks, as Dan. 9. 25. Out of these 49 years, if you seclude the two first of Cyrus, [for in his second the Temple was begun] and the thirty second of Darius, as years only current, you have exactly 46 compleat years, from the beginning of the founding of Zo∣robables Temple, to the finishing of the city, and compleating of the buildings and service∣disposal of the Temple with it.

And reckoning also after such a maner of reckoning, [namely, by casting out years that were only current] it was exactly 46 compleat years since Herod began the building of the Temple, to this very time that Christ and the Jews have this discourse: For Herod fell upon that work in the eighteenth year of his reign, as Josephus relateth in the place fore-cited, and he reigned 37 years, even till Christ was two years old, as we have pro∣ved in the first part of the Harmony, at Sect. 7. or Matth. 2. And Christ at this time of his discourse was in the thirtieth year of his age, or just twenty nine years old and an half. All which sums if the Reader cast up, and count as we did in the account before, he will find how fitly [if one will so take it] these words may be applyed to the Temple of He∣rod, forty and six years hath this Temple been built.

Vers. 22. They believed the Scripture, &c.

The Scriptures whatsoever had spoken of Christs death and resurrection, the Disciples are said here to have believed after his resurrection. But did they not believe them be∣fore? It is undoubted they did, with a general historical belief, but after the resurection they made use of those texts and words with a more special and peculiar application and experience.

Vers. 23. Now when he was in Ierusalem at the Passover, &c.

It was the custom of the Nation to come to Jerusalem some space of time before the Fe∣stival, that they might purifie themselves against the Festival came: Now Christ in this space was purifying the Temple, by casting out buyers and sellers, and driving out the cattle; and when he was then asked for a miracle, he would do none, but when the Feast was come, he beginneth to work miracles abundantly, and many believed on him. Now beginneth he most plainly and publickly to shew himself being now in the chief City, in the general concourse of all the Nation, and in the greatest solemnity of all the year.

Vers. 24. But Iesus did not commit himself unto them.

Some understand this of his not-committing and imparting the whole and full doctrine of the Gospel to them; but the very carriage of the Text sheweth, that it is to be un∣derstood of not-trusting his person with them, because he knew their heart, and saw that there was mischief and rottenness in some of them against him.