Our Lordes famile and many other poinctes depending upon it opened against a Iew, Rabbi David Farar: who disputed many houres, with hope to overthrow the gospel, opened in Ebrew explication of Christianitie; that instructed, Rabbi Abraham Ruben. With a Greke epistle to the Geneveans. By H. Broughton.

The explication & story, of the moneth Aethanim.

The most Lerned Chaldy paraphast Ionathā speaketh thus: of Aethanim. It is the moneth of the ancient, & they called it the first moneth, of festiuity. But now it is the seauen moneth. Thus Dauid Kimchj doth expound him. Aethanim or strength is the month wherin they gathered the fructs & encrease of the earth, to theyr houses. For that cause it is called the feast of gathering frutes. So Aethanim meaneth strength: & fructes & entrease of the earth be the life of a man. And some of our doctoures expound Aetha∣nim, the moneth in which the fathers were borne. The stay (Ae∣thanim) of the world; as the spech, Mich. 7. 2. Heare ye mounta∣••ies; & ye strong foundationes of the earth. Others call it Aetha∣••im from the strength of the lawes that are geuen for this moneth ••••th feastes, & lawes. So Ralbag sayth. I think it called the moneth Athanim, for the feastes: the strong, & teaching iustice: which ••re in this moneth. This for Ralbag. The first day had the trum∣pets; the tenth, expiation; the fiftenth the feast of tabernacles for eight dayes. And Ionathans wordes cited of me afore, be thus expounded of Camchj. Before the time that Israel came from Aegypt, Tisri or Aethanim was the first moneth. For in Tisri the world was made. And by reason that the Children of Isra∣el came from Aegypt in Nisan, it became the head of monethes, & Tisri became the seauenth. For so the blessed God sayd vnto them. This moneth shalbe vnto you the first of monethes. To you, by reason that to the rest of the world it is not first: For Tisri is the first. And this much for the moneth. So Iohn Baptist well might begin the first day; & assemble vnto him much People fourtene day∣es: And our I ord come to him the fiftenth day; when they had lerned of the stronger then the Baptist, who wold baptize

with the holy Ghost, & with fyer. So the four Evangelist••s Celebrating the Baptisme celebrat the birth which was the same day 29. full yeres. So as the first Adam & the other to Noah came to the world that moneth, Christ should come; & that time was fittest for Caesar to bid men resort to theyr cities; & most likely that shepheardes wold yet be abroad with theyr ship; & fittest for men to go into a riuer naked to be Baptized. And by Daniels half seauen Iohn brought in Bap∣tisme; for heathen; as Dauid & Salomon only Baptized prose∣lytes; Maimony in Asure Bia, tract. 12 & 13. And yf his war∣rant had not bene sure, & plain, from Daniel, none might haue com to him for Baptisme. So our Lord begining a new yere of his age then, shewed the same time of moneth to haue geven vs his coming into the world. And the Rabbines in Middras Rabba conclude that Messias shalbe borne in Aethanim or Tisrj; full of feastes to teach of him. And God appointed no feastes for the winter; because of the vnseasonablenes of the weather. Chrysostome mistaking Iohns fathers story, thinking that he ministred not in june but in September, began to dis∣grace the state of the Gospell. Hence Turk & Iew scoph: that we place the byrth where the conception should be; and can yeld no reason of our Gospels narrationes which we make most vnlikely to be true. And Arias Montanus helpes Chry¦sostom; that Zacharie should be high sacrificer, Wheras all Iewes know that the Candelstick, Table & altar of incense were without & dayly gone to by the ordinarie sacrificers. Eli∣as, four times made the begining of Daniels half seauen, might haue taught the Iewes a sure note, what Elias Malachj spake off. Now the end of all the Evangelistes is in the first moneth, towardes leauing the Aegypt of this world at the Pascha. And at Pentecost, after, the law vvas giuen to Moses; when the fyerj lavv of the spirit vvas by Iesus geuen. So the concepti∣on of Iohn, vvher men placed his birth; falleth to Midsom∣er; & birth to the spring Aequinoctial, and likevvise the con∣ception

of Mary fell most fitly to mydvvinter, & our Lordes coming into the vvorld, to the first moneth after the creation, & his redemption, to the first moneth for redemption from Egypt; These matters agree vvith Scripture & plain reason. But novv the altering of the date vvold to much troble the vvorld. It may pass amongest vs; as fit for considering a time vvhen vvinter feastes, & leasure to heare the lavv read hindereth none vvorkes; & according to the conception; very many Lerned men haue cleared the truth, of late; & all are to blame that will folow an old errour here, that disturbeth law & Gospell. Iewes & Turkes look on: & the iust iudge, who hath eyes pure, that they cannot behold euell, will kepe from his heauenly city all that practise lying.