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Why, t, he will exclude all the teftimonies of the ufe of the word among Greek authors uninfpired, efpecially Heathens; which is unreasonable: If our tranflators had confined themfelves to this rule, they would have made but poor work in their version of fome part of the Bible, where a word is but once used, or at leaft but very rarely in that fenfe in which it is to be taken. Now if a controverly concerning the ufe of a Greek word in fcripture arifes, which cannot be determined by it, though I do not fay this is the cafe in hand, what methods must be taken? Will it not be very proper to consult Greek authors, either Chriftian or Heathen, and produce their teftimonies, efpecially the latter? who cannot be fufpected of perverting the ufe of a word, having never been concerned in our religious controverfies. But it feems, if we will make use of them, we must be laid under an obligation to prove that they were delivered under the immediate infpiration of the holy Ghoft:" was ever fuch an unreafonable demand made in this world before? Or was the infpiration of the holy Spirit ever thought neceffary to fix and determine the lenfe of a word? But I am willing to lay afide thofe teftimonies in this controversy. And,

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2dly, Be confined, as he would have me, to the ufe of the word in the New Tellament; but then I muft, it feems, be confined to the use of it, as applied to the ordinance of baptifm, which is alfo unreafonable: He fays the word, whenever applied to the ordinance, fignifies pouring or sprinkling only; which is a fhameful begging of the queftion; and if I fhould fay it only fignifies dipping or plunging, whenever applied to it, how must the controverly be decided? Muft we not refer the decifion of it to other texts of fcripture? It is true, the circumstances, which attend the adminiftration of the ordinance are fufficient to determine the true fenfe of the word, and I am willing to put it upon that iffue; but I know he will not ftand to it: Befides, why has he himfelf brought other texts of fcripture into the controverfy, where the ordinance of baptifm is not concerned? as Mark vii. 4. Heb. ix. 10. 1 Cor. x. 2 as alio the Septuagint verfion in Daniel iv. 33. why may not others take the fame liberty? And what miferable replies has he made to my inftances out of the latter? that in 2 Kings v. 14. he fays, difcovers that they, that is, the Septuagint, understood no more by it than, λww. No more than au! Is not that enough? Is not as a word that includes in it all kinds of washing, especially bathing of the whole body; and is always used by the Septuagint to exprefs the Jewish bathings, which were always performed by immersion; and that Naaman understood the prophet of fuch a kind of washing, is manifest from his use of it; he dipped himself in Jordan, na to gnua Exicas, according to the word of Elisha.

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As for the other in Ifai. xxi. 4. he fays, " it is no wonder they made use of "the word, for they knew very well that fin procures fhowers of divine dif

pleasure to be poured upon a perfon, people, and nation." I defire the next time he pretends to baptize an infant, that he would pour showers of water upon it, if he thinks proper, according to this fenfe of the word Bal, which he allows of. But however, though thofe teftimonies must be laid aside, yet,

3dly, I hope Lexicons may be made ufe of to direct us in the fenfe of the word, if it is only as it is ufed in the New Teftament. Yes, that will be allowed of; for Mr M. himself confults Lexicons, though he does well to let us know fo; for one would have thought, by his pofitiveness, that he had never looked into one in all his life. Well, but what do the Lexicons fay? How do they render the word Baliw? Why by mergo, immergo, to dip or plunge into; and this they give, as the first, and primary sense of the word; but do they make use of no other words to express it by? Yes, they also use abluo, lavo, to wash; and they mean fuch a washing as is by dipping, but Mr M. p. 38. afks, where do they tell us fo? I anfwer in their Lexicons. Let Scapula be confulted, who thus renders the word parlo, mergo feu immergo: Ut que tingendi aut abluendi gratia aque immergimus. But,

4thly, Let us now confider thofe texts where the word is ufed in the New Teftament; I am willing to be confined to thofe which Mr M. himself has fixed upon, and we will begin,

First, With Mark vii. 4. and when they come from the market, except they wafh or baptize (themselves) they eat not; which may be understood either,

1. Of the things they bought in the market, which they did not eat until they were washed: Thus the Syriac verfion reads the words; and what they buy in the market, unless it be washed, they eat not: The fame way read all the oriental verfions, the Arabic, Ethiopic, and Perfic. Now this must be understood of thofe things that may be, and are proper to be washed, as herbs, &c. And nobody will question, but that the manner of the washing thefe was by putting them into water. But,

2. If the words defign the washing of perfons, they must be understood, either of the washing of their whole bodies, or elfe of fome part only, as their hands or feet: It seems most likely, that the washing of the whole body is intended, as Grotius", Vatablus, Drufius', and others think; because washing of hands is mentioned in the preceding verfe. Befides, to understand it thus, better expreffes the outward, affected fanctity of the more fuperftitious part of the people. All the Jews washed their hands and feet before eating; but those who pretended to a greater degree of holiness, wafhed their whole bodies, efpecially

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pecially when they came from a market; and of this total ablution of the body is Luke xi. 38. to be understood. And here I cannot forbear mentioning a paffage of the great Scaliger to this purpose. "The more fuperftitious part of the Jews, fays he, not only washed their feet, but their whole body. Hence they were "called Hemerobaptifts, who every day washed their bodies before they fat down. "to food; wherefore, the Pharifee, which had invited Jefus to dine with him, "wondered that he fat down to meat before he had washed his whole body, "Luke xi. But those that were more free from fuperftition, were contented "with washing of their feet, instead of that univerfal immerfion. Witness the "Lord himself, who being entertained at dinner by another Pharifee, objected "to him, when he was fat down to meat, that he had given him no water for "his feet, Luke vii.”

3. If, by this washing, we understand only the washing of their hands when they came from market; then it will be proper to inquire in what manner this was performed: And it must be obferved, that whatever was the manner which they used, it was not used as a national custom, or as it was according to the word of God; but what was most agreeable to the traditions of the elders, as is manifeft from the text itself. Now this tradition is delivered in their Mifna in these words; "They washed their hands before they eat common food, by an "elevation of them; but before they eat the tithes, the offering, and the holy "flesh, they washed by immersion '." It is reported in the fame tract, that Jobanan Ben Gud-Gada, who, they fay, was one of the most religious in the priesthood, "always eat his common food after the manner of purification for eating "of the holy flesh;" that is, he always used immersion before eating; and it is highly reasonable to fuppofe, that the Pharifees, especially the more fuperftitious part, who pretended to a greater ftrictnefs in religion than others, used the fame method. It deferves alfo to be remarked, that this tradition, which fome of the Jews have been fo tenacious of, that they would rather die than break it, is by them faid to be founded on Lev. xv. 11. and hath not rinsed his bands in water; where the Hebrew word w is used, which fignifies a washing by immersion and fo Buxtorf renders it. Moreover, in the abovesaid Misna

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we

* Judæi vero fuperftitiofiores non pedes tantum, fed & corpus totum intingebant. Hinc nurogbanTisa dicti, qui quotidie, ante difcubitum, corpus intingebant. Quare Pharifæus ille, qui Jefum ad cœnam invitaverat, mirabatur eum, antequam totum corpus abluifset, difcubuiffe: ori & @EWTor Carlin TOY Ty apre, Luc. xi. Puriores vero a fuperftitione, pro univerfali illa Batticel contenti erant odoley, hoc eft, pedilavio. Teftis dominus ipfe, qui alii Pharifæo, a quo cœna exceptus fuerat, objicit, fibi difcubituro aquam ad pedes datam non fuiffe. Luc. vii, udwę £# Tas. Todas pe un idanas. Scaliger de Emend. Temp. lib. vi. p. 571.

I Trad. Chagigah, c. 2. §. 5.

Tract. Yadaim. c. i. §. 1—3. &c. ii. §. 3.

we are told many things concerning this tradition, as the quantity and quality of the water they used, the vessels they washed in, as well as how far this washing reached, which was py, by which they meant, either the back of the band or the wrist, or else the elbow, as Theophylact observes on Mark vii. 3. who in this is followed by Capellus". Now fome one of thefe, the word zuyun, intends, which we tranflate oft. As to their manner of washing, it was either by taking water in one hand and pouring it upon the other, and then lifting it up, that the water might run down to the aforefaid parts, that fo it might not return and defile them; or elfe it was performed by an immersion of them into water; which latter was accounted the most effectual way, and uled by the more fuperftitious part of the Jews. Now thofe who contend the most for a washing of hands, and not the whole body, as Pocock P and Lightfoot, yet frankly acknowledge that it must be understood of washing of them by immersion. Lightfoot's words are thefe, "The Jews ufed, fays he, “a washing of hands ;" that is, by lifting them up in the manner before defcribed; and an immersion "of the hands; and the word pra, ufed by our Evangelift, feems to antwer to the former, and Bal.(val, to the latter." So that from the whole, fuppose washing of hands is here intended; yet the fenfe of the Greek word, BazTięw contended for, is neverthelefs effectually fecured: Nor need we be much concerned at 2 Kings iii. 11. being thrown in our way by Mr M. p. 41. For,

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1. The text does not fay that Elifba poured water upon the hands of Elijah, to wash his hands withal: and if he asks what did he then do it for; fuppose I should answer, I cannot tell, how will he help himself? it lies upon him to prove that he did it for that end, which he will not find very easy to do.

2. Some of the Jewish writers' think, that washing of hands, is not intended, but fome very great miracle, which followed upon Elisha's pouring water on Elijah's hands, and is therefore mentioned as a thing known, and what would ferve to recommend him to the kings of Judah, Ifrael, and Edom. But taken in the other fenfe, the recommendation would be but very inconfiderable; befides, they were now in a very great ftrait for water, ver. 9. and they might expect, from his former performance, fome miracle would be now wrought by him for their relief, as was ver. 17, 20. But,

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Spicileg. in Mar. vii. 3.

3. Suppofe

• Buxtorf. Synag. Jud. c. 8. & Lex. Talm. p. 1335. Pocock not. mifc. p. 375, 376, 393. Scaliger. Elenchus Tribæres. Serrar. c. 7. P Pocock. not. mifc. p. 397, 398.

immerfionein manuum טבילת ידים & ,lotionem manuum נטילת ידים Adhibuerunt Juda 4

& videtur vocabulum ala, apud Evangeliftam noftram, priori refpondere, & Banτiwirai pofterori. Lightfoot. Hor. Heb. in Mar. vii. 4.

Vid. R. David Kimchi & R. Sol. Jarchi in loc.

3. Suppofe washing of hands is intended, and that this phrafe is expreffive of Elifa's being Elijah's miniftering fervant, and that it was his ufual method. to wash his master's hands by pouring water upon them; it makes nothing aginst the sense of the word in Mark vii. 4. fince that regards the fuperftitious washing of hands, as has been obferved, which was performed by an immersion of them, and is there juftly reprehended by our Lord.

Secondly, The other text produced by Mr M. in p. 41. is Heb. ix. 10. where the apoftle fpeaks of divers washings or baptifms, which I have afferted to be performed always by bathing or dipping, and never by pouring or fprinkling. And I still abide by my affertion, the inftances produced by him being infufficient to difprove it.

1. He mentions Heb. ix. 19. where the apostle speaks of Mofes's fprinkling the book and people with blood; but does he fay that they were washed therewith? or was ever this inftance of sprinkling reckoned among the ceremonial ablutions? When only a few drops of blood or water are fprinkled upon perfons or things, can they be faid, in any juft propriety of speech, to be washed therewith?

2. He inftances in Exodus xxix. 4. which speaks of the washing of Aaron and his fons, but not a word either of fprinkling or pouring, fo that it makes nothing for his purpose: Befides, the Septuagint here ufe the word aww, by which they always exprefs the Jewish bathings, which were performed by a total immersion of the body in water.

3. His next inftance is Numbers viii. 6, 7. Take the Levites from among the children of Ifrael, and cleanse them; and thus fhalt thou do unto them to cleanse them; Sprinkle water of purifying upon them. But why did not he read on? and let them have all their flesh, and wash their clothes, and fo make themselves clean; that is, by bathing their whole bodies, which was done, as the Targum of Jonathan upon the place fays, in forty measures of water. Now, it was thus the Levites were washed. Sprinkling the water of purification, was indeed a ceremony used preparatory to this bathing, but was itself no part of it, as will more fully appear from,

4. His other inftance in Numbers xix. 18. where it is faid, that tents, veffels, or persons, that touched a bone, or one flain, or one dead, or a grave, were to be Sprinkled; but why did not he tranfcribe the 19th verfe? where his readers would have been informed, that as this fprinkling was to be done on the third and Seventh days, fo after that, on the seventh day, the unclean perfon was to purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water: So that all those afperfions before, were but so many preparations to the general washing or bathing himself all over in water, on the feventh day. I fhall therefore ftill abide by

it,

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