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where (if we will reflect on the practife of the popish church, to fay nothing of other churches, where people feem little to understand what is read and fung) we may judge, that nothing is too abfurd and too grofs to be in ufe. And I am furpriz'd that Mr. W. who charges both Jews and Christians with receiving into their canon of fcripture a moft obfcene fong, (n) which they both fo grofly mistake as to take not only for a moral but divinely infpir'd fong; who charges the Jews with wilful and great corruption of the Old Teftament, part of which is read in fynagogues, and almost all read in christian churches; who has so abject an opinion of the primitive chriftians, as to think them capable of having their bible taken from them, and of receiving a falfe bible in its ftead; who takes all the ancient christians to be (0) deceiv'd in believing MATTHEW's gofpel to be written originally, and extant among them, in Hebrew; who thinks the christians reject the most facred book of the New Testament, viz. The Apoftolical Conftitutions from their Canon as well as other canonical books ; who thinks the primitive christians for many centuries almost wholly (p) ignorant of the M 3 hebrew

(n) Suppl. to Effay.

(0) Whifton's Essay, p. 182.
(P) Whiston's Elfay, &c. p. 224.

hebrew tongue, from which language the Septuagint was tranflated, and in which only the grounds of chriftianity could be authentickly contain'd; who is fo deeply fenfible of the anti-chriftianifm of popery, and of the numerous and grofs impofitions in most churches; and who thinks the Athanafian creed, not only to be a modern, forg'd work, but to be contrary to the most exprefs and plain meaning of the gospel, to all primitive antiquity, and to the cleareft dictates of reafon, tho' it be receiv'd by almost all chriftians as the faith once deliver'd to the faints, and repeated in churches with the utmost devotion by the people, and contended for with the greatest zeal by the clergy; I am furpriz'd, I fay, Mr. W. fhould not think the Jews and ancient chriftians capable of receiving the Septuagint, and reading it in their religious affemblies, on fuppofition, that the Septuagint was not an accurate verfion of the hebrew, and that there was fo great a dif cordance then between the Septuagint and hebrew as now appears to be! This will yet feem more furprizing, when it is confider'd; that the copies (q) of the Septuagint in the apoftles times differ'd greatly from one ano

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(q) Simon H. C. du V. T. p. 235. Montfaucon Prelim. ad Origenis Hex. c. 4.

ther; that LukE himself cited (r) á falje copy of the Septuagint; that the whole chriftian world fought (s) one against another about three different editions of the Septuagint, as fays JEROM; that the Septuagint (t) had been corrupted by the Jews, and by them deliver'd to ORIGEN, upon whofe credit their corrupt copy became in time to be generally receiv'd; and yet, that during these first ages the christians look'd on the Septuagint as divinely inspir'd, and as fuch read it in their

churches.

He (u) argues the fame agreement from the extravagant applaufes given to the Septuagint tranflation by the ancient Jews. But these applaufes plainly proceeding from their ignorance and partiality, are of no more weight, than the excefs of difparagement they afterwards run into; for, notwithstanding thofe exceffive applaufes, when they found the chriftians used the Septuagint in their controverfies with them, they readily took hold of all advantages they could; and not contenting themselves with fhowing, that the chriftians did not argue literally and logically from the Old Testament, M 4

they

(r) Whiston's Essay, p.119. (5) lb. p. 115, 116.

(t) Whifton, as cited above by me. (u) lb. p. 6, 7, 8.

they charg'd them with arguing from paffages of the Old Testament falfely tranflated in the Septuagint; about which paffages they were little or not at all concern'd, till the chriftians, by citing and applying them, made them review the Septuagint Translation, and gave them this advantage over them.

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He argues (w) it from the miraculous Story of the feveral interpreters being Shut up in cells apart; each whereof tranflated the whole by infpiration, and concurred word for word with one another. Which story he himself allows cannot be juftify'd; and tho' it fhows a great approbation of the work, yet it fhows the approvers to be weak men, and their approbation to be of no weight, to fay nothing worse of this matter.

He argues, (x) from the filence of authors before the fecond century, and efpecially of the enemies of the gospel, as to any differences between the Hebrew and Septuagint; as alfo () from the converfions wrought by the apostles, in virtue of citations, or proofs brought from the Septuagint, among the Jews; who, in confequence of their

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converfions, muft, according to him, have own'd thofe citations for genuine and agreeable to the then known bible among them; it be ing (z) impoffible, as he fays, for them to have been converted, if the citations had been as different from what they found in their bibles, as the like citations frequently are now from what we find in ours.

But both thefe confiderations will feem of little weight, if it be confider'd:

That we have no jewish authors of that time extant who treat of these matters:

That perhaps no jewish authors did at that time treat of these matters:

That the Jews did, in general, approve of the allegorical way of reafoning used by the apostles, tho' they might diflike the application of it to JESUS CHRIST:

That PHILO the Jew, who wrote in the apoftolical age voluminous works, wherein there is not the leaft notice taken of chriftianity (which feems furprizing) cites, and reafons from, the Old Testament in the fame allegorical manner with the apostles; wherein it may be fuppos'd that he follow'd the method of his nation, and efpecially of the prevailing fect of Pharifees, who first introduc'd it:

That

(z) lb. p. 15.

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