An explication of the iudiciall lawes of Moses. Plainely discovering divers of their ancient rites and customes. As in their governours, government, synedrion, punishments, civill accompts, contracts, marriages, warres, and burialls. Also their oeconomicks, (vizt.) their dwellings, feasting, clothing, and husbandrie. Together with two treatises, the one shewing the different estate of the godly and wicked in this life, and in the life to come. The other, declaring how the wicked may be inlightned by the preaching of the gospel, and yet become worse after they be illuminated. All which are cleered out of the originall languages, and doe serue as a speciall helpe for the true understanding of divers difficult texts of scriptures. ... / By Iohn Weemse, of Lathocker in Scotland, preacher of Gods word.

CHAPTER XL. Of their Capitall punishments.

IOSH. 7. 25. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones.

THere were sundry sorts of punishments inflicted upon malefactors by the house of judgement a∣mong the Iewes. Some of them were burnt, some of them were strangled, some of them were stoned, and some of them were beheaded, and some of them were drowned.

He that lay with his mother, or daughter in law the wife of his sonne, or with a maide that was betrothed,* 1.1 Deut. 22. 24. Or if a woman bowed downe to a beast, Levit. 20. 16. so the blasphemer, Levit. 24. 14. and I∣dolater, Deut. 17. 5. So he who offered his seed to Mo∣lech, Levit. 20. 2. He that had the spirit of divination or was a wizard, Levit. 20. 27. He that profaned the Sab∣bath, he that cursed his father or his mother, Levit. 20. 9. so the disobedient sonne was stoned to death. Deut. 21. 21. He that perswaded or enticed others to Idolatry, Deut. 13. 1. all these were stoned to death.

First the Priests daughter if she committed adulterie. Secondly he who lay with his owne daughter. Thirdly* 1.2 he who lay with his sonnes wife. Fourthly he who lay with his daughters daughter, or with the daughter of his wiues daughter. Fifthly he who lay with his mo∣ther in law, or with the mother of his mother in law, or hee who lay with the mother of his father in law, his wife being yet aliue; even all these

were burnt. Iosh. 7. 15. He that is taken with a cursed thing shall be burnt with fire, and vers. 25. all Israel stoned him with stones, first he was stoned, and then burnt.

Those who killed were beheaded, and those who fell* 1.3 away to Idolatry.

The fourth sort of punishment was strangling; w^ch was* 1.4 the lightest sort of punishment capital among the Iewes. First he who did strike his father or his mother. Secōdly he who stole a man in Israel. Deut. 24. 7. Thirdly any old man who hearkened not to the voice of the Synedrion. Fourthly a false Prophet; and he who lay with another mans wife. Fiftly, he who defiled the Priests daughter; all these were strangled. And the Iewes say, wheresoever this punishment is set down, let his bloud be upon his owne head, it is to be understood of stoning; but where the phrase is found, let him die the death, and the punish∣ment not set downe in particular, then it is to be under∣stood of strangling. But this holdeth not, it is said Exod. 21. 12. he that smiteth a man that he die shall surely bee put to death: so it is said, that the adulterer shall die the death, yet he was not strangled but stoned. Ezek. 16. 40. Ioh. 8. 45.

This strangling the Romanes changed into crucifying,* 1.5 which was called [zacaph] crucifigere, and the crosse was called [zeceph] crux, and [gnetz] arbor, and the Greekes called it 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 lignum geminum.

Lastly drowning, Mat. 18. 6. It were better that a mil∣stone were hanged about his necke, and that he were drowned* 1.6 in the midst of the Sea; and the Greekes had 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, they were put in a chest of lead, and sunke in the Sea, as Casaubon sheweth out of Athenaeus.

What sort of punishment is meant [Quest.] Gen. 17. 14. he that* 1.7 is not circumcised, that soule shall bee cut off from his peo∣ple?

The Hebrewes expound this sort of punishment di∣versly, [Answ.]

Kimchi saith, he shall be punished by the Lord, but he addeth, that he is much mistaken who thinketh that the child not being circumcised is secluded from the life to come. Moses Cotzensis thinketh, that these who were not circumcised the eight day, should dye without children, alluding to that place Levit. 20. 20. But all of them agree in this that the punishment is in∣flicted by the Lord.

Exod. 31. 14. Whosoever doth any worke on the Sabbath [Object.] day he shall be cut off from his people, and bee surely put to death, by cutting off here is meant, cutting off by the Magistrate, why should it not then be so understood in that place Gen. 17. 14. so Levit. 20. 6. If any goe after wizards, I will set my face against him, and cut him off; by cutting off here is meant, to be cut off by the Magistrate, why is it not so then to be understood in that place of Genesis before mentioned?

Maymone answereth to these places, distinguishing [Answ.] betwixt the manifest transgression, and the hidden trans∣gression of the Law, if one did violate the Sabbath with a hie hand, and if there were witnesses, and he were ad∣monished before not to doe so, then he was cut off by the hand of the Magistrate; but if he was not admoni∣shed secretly before, and did transgresse, then hee was cut off by the hand of the Lord. But wee must distin∣guish betwixt these phrases Levit. 17. 10. and 21. 6. I* 1.8 shall cut off that soule, and thou shalt cut off that soule; Exod. 22. 18. thou shalt not suffer a witch to liue, but when hee sayth, I will set my selfe against that soule which eateth blood, and will cut him off from my people, then it is meant, that by his owne hand immediately hee will cut him off.

But what sort of cutting off by the hand of God is [Quest.] meant here?

It is not meant of any bodily punishment inflicted [Answ.]

upon their bodies, or upon their posteritie, as the Iewes interpret it, but of excommunication and secluding them from the Church. So Calvin, Iunius, Deodati ex∣pound it.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Who were stoned.
• * 1.2

  Who were burne.
• * 1.3

  Who were beheaded.
• * 1.4

  Who were strangled.
• * 1.5

  〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 crucifigere 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Crux. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Arbor. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉.
• * 1.6

  〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 dimersio in pelagus, sub∣mersio.
• * 1.7

  〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Excisio.
• * 1.8

  Difference betwixt these two phrases, I shall cut off &c. and thou shalt cut off &c.