and drink the bloud And also purposed to consume all the Wheat Wine and Oil which are reserved and sanctified for the Priests and not lawful for the People to touch Wherefore I thy Handmaid knowing all this am fled from their presence for God hath sent me to work a thing with thee that all the Earth shall wonder for thy servant feareth the Lord and worshippeth the God of Heaven day and night And now let me remain with thee my Lord and let thy servant go out in the Night to the Valley and I will pray unto God that he may reveal unto me when they shall commit their sins that I may shew them unto thee and then mayest thou surely go forth with thine Army for no Man shall resist thee and I will bring thee to Jerusalem in such safety that there shall not so much as one Dog bark against thee Now was Holofernes so well pleased with the words of this Woman and so far in love with her beauty that he commanded her Lodging to be made in the Tent where his Treasure lay and to prepare her Diet of the same that he himself did eat and drink of but notwithstanding she told the King that she might not eat of his Meat lest she should offend her God but I can satisfie my self quoth she with such things as I have brought Then how shall we do quoth Holofernes if these things that thou hast brought do fail where shall we have the like to give thee As truly as the soul of my Lord liveth quoth she thine Handmaid shall not spend all that I have till God have brought to pass in my hand the thing that I have determined And so being licensed to go out and in every night at her pleasure to pray she went three nights together into the Valley of Bethulia calling upon God to prosper her device for the deliverance of his People and at each time returned to her Tent again And upon the fourth day as it happened Holofernes by God's providence to make a great Banquet unto his Lords he sent Vago his Chamberlain to Judith to counsel her to come and keep Company with him that Night for it were a shame for us quoth he if we should let such a Woman alone and not talk with her we will allure her lest she do mock us And when the Messenger had done his message brought Judith to Holofernes his spirit by and by was moved and ravished with her beauty Sit down now quoth he and drink with us and be merry I will drink now my Lord quoth she and rejoyce because my state is exalted more than ever it was before And so she eat and drank before him of such things as her Maid had prepared Then Holofernes rejoyced so much in Judith that he drank more Wine at that time than ever he had done in one day before Now when the evening was come and every Man departed and gone to their Lodging Vago the King 's Chamberlain shut the Chamber-door and went his way to Bed leaving none but Judith in the Chamber with Holofernes for her Maid was commanded to stand without the Chamber-door to wait her Mistress coming forth to pray And as Holofernes lay stretched along upon his Bed overcome with Wine Judith stood by his Beds side and prayed on this wise O Lord God of all power strengthen me and have respect unto the works of my hands in this hour that thou mayst set up thy City of Jerusalem like as thou hast promised O grant that by Thee I may perform the thing which I have devised and so took down his Sword and holding him fast by the hair of his Head said Strengthen me O Lord God of Israel in this hour and with that smote off his Head and rolled the dead Body aside and got her forth to her Maid and put the Head in her Wallet and went forth together as though they had gone as their custome was to pray And so passing by the Host and coming nigh to the City of Bethulia she called to the Watchmen to open the Gate for God is with us quoth she and hath shewed his power in Israel And when the Gates were set open the People received her young and old with such joy as never the like was seen Then said Judith Oh praise ye the Lord and give thanks unto our God which hath not taken away his mercy from the house of Israel but hath destroyed our enemies this Night by my hand And behold here his Head whom the Lord hath slain by me his Minister and returned his Handmaid without any reproach of villany wherefore give praise and thanks to our God whose mercy endureth for ever Now take the Head and hang it upon the highest place of your Walls and in the morning when the Sun appeareth go forth with your Weapons like valiant Men and make as though ye would set upon your enemies who will then prepare them to Armour But when they shall go to raise up their Captain and find him without a Head there will such a fearfulness fall upon them that every Man will seek to save himself by flying then do ye follow them without all care for God hath delivered them into your hands And so the Israelites followed the Assyrians which kept no order and slew them down right And when they had slain all their enemies and gathered up the spoil they gave the Tent of Holofernes and all that belonged to him unto Judith by whom God had so mightily wrought their deliverance and had her in great honour all the days of her life who at the Age of an hundred and five years dyed and was most honorably buried in Bethulia beside her husband Judith he that praiseth or confesseth Judith the Daughter of Beeri the Hittite Gen. 26.34 was Wife to Esau the Son of Isaac Iulius Act. 27.1 was a Centurion of the Band of Augustus to whom Paul with other Prisoners were committed to be carried to Rome and of him gently intreated Julius Down or downy and full of fine beares K. KEDORLAOMER was King of Elam Who Gen. 14. with three Kings more that took his part fought with the King of Sodom and the King of Gomorrha Four Kings against five and other three on their parts which five Kings had been xii years in subjection under him in the Valley of Siddim and put them to flight and spoiled the Cities of Sodom and Gomorrha where they found Lot Abraham's Brothers Son and carried him away with all the Goods of Sodom and Gomorrha which Goods with Lot also were recovered again by Abraham Kedorlaomer the generation of servitude or the house of bondage Keturah was Abraham's Wife who bare unto him six Sons Keturah smelling sweet like spice Gen. 25.1 or perfuming or bound L. LABAN the Son of Bethuel called also Nahor Abraham's Brother had two Daughters Gen. 29. cap. the one named Leah and the other Rachel which two
THE LIVES OF THE PROPHETS Patriarchs Apostles c. WITH The Interpretation of their Names Collected into an Alphabetical Order for the benefit of the Reader LONDON Printed for Nathaniel Rolls at his Auction-House in Petty Cannon Hall near the North-side of St. Paul's Church 1695. TO THE CHRISTIAN READER THE best learned and wisest Philosophers having received no taste or light of the Gospel of Christ but only being led and directed by Nature and Reason held this for a Principle among themselves that MAN was not born to himself only but was framed of Nature such an excellent Creature as he is to that end that he might imploy those singular gifts wherewith he is beautified as Wisdom Reason Memory Discretion and Judgment not only to his own private commodity but also to the profit of his Country and others This good opinion ingraffed in their minds by Nature delivered from one to another by Instruction and so from time to time continued among themselves by consent caused the best able Men among them such as God and Nature had plentifully endued with knowledge and understanding to leave such worthy Monuments as they did to Posterity as Plato and Tully good Rules of life and government Aristotle the hidden secrets of Philosophy Ptolomy the high mysteries of Astronomy Euclyde the infallible Principles of Geometry Varro the necessary observations of Husbandry c. Out of the which so great commodities in all Ages have been reaped and as occasion and good wits have served have also from time to time been encreased If this Principle of theirs be sound and true as indeed I take it to be then of consequence one other depending upon the same must needs be as true and that is this That those Men do nearest approach to the Rule of uncorrupt Nature and do best deserve of a Common-wealth whose labours and travails are bestowed on those things which tend to the best end For by the consideration of the end whereunto each thing leadeth the goodness and excellency of the thing it self is to be known and esteemed As for example If health either maintained or recovered be good then Physick whose chief end is to maintain and recover health must needs be good also If good government publickly and peaceable enjoying of our own privately be a good thing and to be commended then the Law for that it respecteth Justice in all actions and quietness as his chief end must needs likewise be good and deserve the like commendation And as there be many things which for this self same Reason that I have now alledged are to be accounted good and praise-worthy in their kind So I think there is no man so far from Reason but that he seeth by the self same Argument it must needs be inforced that though many Arts and Sciences be good for that their ends be good yet some one there is that is to be accounted as best for that its end is best The chief end of Man in this World what it is I think no Christian man so slenderly instructed that he maketh any doubt thereof For the very Philosophers themselves of whom I spake before were fully resolved that it was to live well and vertuously and affirmed that whereas other Creatures are made groveling and still beholding the ground as they go Man was therefore framed streight and upright that he might always behold Heaven and heavenly things and so by the very shape of his body and countenance be put in mind continually that albeit he were here for a season as a wandring Pilgrim upon earth yet his end was to be a free Citizen and an inheritor of Heaven above And as they by Reason and Conjecture were led so to think so we by Faith and express Commandment are moved so stedfastly to believe If then the knowledge of God and heavenly things be the chiefest end and mark whereat man ought to shoot it must needs be concluded that those Mens studies and labours deserve the greatest praise which are employed to the attaining and directing of others thereunto Wherein as God in all Ages hath always stirred up some who have taken great pains therein to the publick commodity of others So in my simple judgment neither this present Work neither the Author thereof deserveth the least commendation And albeit I wot full well that so the Work it self be good it is not greatly material what the Workman be yet like as good Wine is then best when it is drunk out of a clean Vessel and good Meat then most delighteth when the Dresser thereof is cleanly So this Book which of it self I doubt not to be such that it will be liked of all those who delight in God and godliness I trust even for the Author's sake it shall never awhit the worse be welcome Of whose sincere life and great praises although there is good cause why I should speak for that he hath been of long time throughly known to me and I am assured his vertues and integrity to be such that if I should say there are few like him to be found I trust for saying the truth no good man would be offended Yet partly for that I am not ignorant that no man delighteth less to hear his own praise than he doth partly for that there be many causes why I should rather honour him than for lack of sufficient skill and ability meanly praise him I will leave him to thy particular judgment gentle Reader and to the testimonial of the whole World who I doubt not will say no less but that he is a man without fraud or guile and such a one as feareth God As touching the Book it self good reason it is each man should use his own judgment and opinion But if my simple Testimonial may prevail I dare warrant it to be such that what study soever thou shalt bestow in reading the same it shall well requite thy pains And though the Author be such that he rather delighteth in good and vertuous life than maketh boast of any great learning Yet such hath his pains been herein that very good Clerks need take no scorn to receive some light from this his Candel In summ the Book is of God and his holy Saints and therefore to be reverenced collected out of Scripture and therefore no vain fable written briefly and therefore not tedious set forth in plain and simple wise and therefore the better for thy capacity truly reporting the life and death of such as either for sin and those to be avoided either for vertue and those to be imitated have mention made in God's holy Book All that is written therein is written for thy help and instruction Use it then to that end that the Author meaneth that is Not only to increase thy knowledge and so to be made more learned but also to increase thy vertuous life and so to become the better Man R. M. A BRIEF ACCOUNT Of the LIVES of the PATRIARCHS PROPHETS APOSTLES and
thine own Person For so shall we come upon him in one place or other where we shall find him and fall upon him as thick as the dew falleth upon the ground and of all the Men that are with him we shall not leave him one Moreover if he be gotten into a Town then shall all the Men of Israel bring Ropes to that Town or City and we will draw it into the River until there be not one stone sound there This Counsel of Hushai pleased Absalom and the People better than Achitophel's which was even the Lord's determination to destroy the good counsel of Achitophel that the Lord might bring evil upon Absalom And so when Hushai had done according to David's request he caused Sadoc and Abiathar the Priests to send David word of all that was done whereby he escaped Hushai Sense or making hast or holding his peace I. JABES 1 Chron 4.9 was so named * This was Othonicl Caleb's Brother as Lyra reporteth of his Mother because she bare him in sorrow He being more honorable than the rest of his Brethren made a conditional Vow unto God saying ‖ Jacob made the like vow Read his story If thou wilt bless me indeed and inlarge my Coasts and if thine hand be with me and thou wilt cause me to be delivered from evil that I be not hurt Thus far goeth his request which was granted Jabes Sorrow Iabyn was the King of Canaan Judg. 4.2 whose Captain of War was Sisera Twenty Years he troubled Israel very sore But at the last he was overcome of the Israelites and brought to nought There was another King called Jabyn also whom Joshua slew and destroyed his City called * Which City being burnt of Joshua was afterward built again of the Canaanites Hazor as ye shall read in Joshua Chap. 11. Jabyn Understanding Iacob was the youngest Son of Isaac Gen. 25.26.27 cap. and Brother to Esau whose Birth right he bought for a Mess of Pottage and afterward by the counsel of Rebekah his Mother got away his blessing And then to avoid his Brothers displeasure Gen. 28. cap. he was sent into Mesopotamia to Laban his Mother Brother to get him a Wife And chancing to come to a place where he was benighted he took a stone and laid it under his Head and fell asleep And in his Dream he saw a * Christ is the Ladder whereby God and man are joyned together and by whom the Angels minister unto us all graces by him are given unto us and we by him ascend into Heaven Ladder stand upon the Earth reaching up to Heaven and the Angels of God ascending and descending upon it and God himself standing upon the Ladder said I am the Lord God of Abraham thy Father and the God of Isaac the Land which thou sleepest upon will I give to thee and thy seed and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth thou shalt spread abroad to the West to the East to the North and to the South And thorow thee and in thy seed shall all the Kinreds of the earth be blessed Behold I am with thee and will be thy keeper in all places where thou goest and will bring thee again into this Land neither will I leave thee until I have made good all that I have promised Then Jacob awaking out of sleep said Surely the Lord is in this place and I was not aware Oh how fearful is this place it is none other but the house of God and the gate of heaven Then Jacob gat him up early in the Morning and took the stone which he slept upon and set it up as a Pillar to be a remembrance of that Vision and poured oyl upon it and called the place Bethel which before was called Luz And before his departing he vowed saying If God will be with me and keep me in this Journey which I go and will give me Bread to eat and Cloaths to cover me so that I come again to my Fathers house in safety then shall the Lord be my God and this stone which I have set up for a Pillar shall be God's house and of all that thou givest me 29. cap. will I give the tenth unto thee And so Jacob going on his Journey came into the East Countrey where in beholding the Land he saw certain Herdmen lying with their Flocks of Sheep beside a Well at the which they commonly used to water their Sheep to whom he went demanded whence they were They said of Haran Do ye not know quoth he one Laban the Son of Nahor Yea said they we know him well He is in health And behold yonder cometh his Daughter Rachel to water her Father's sheep who was no sooner come but Jacob went to the Well and rolled away the stone from the Wells mouth and watered all her sheep Which done he kissed the Damosel and wept for joy And when the Maid had knowledge what he was she ran to her Father and told him who being joyful thereof went to the Man and brought him into his house Now when Jacob had opened the cause of his coming to Laban it was agreed that Jacob should serve Laban seven years for Rachel his Daughter But when the day of Marriage came Leah the elder was * The cause why Jacob was deceived was that in old time the Wife was covered with a Vail when she was brought to her Husband in sign of chastity and shamefastness Gen. 30 25 c. put in her stead for so much as it was not the custome that the younger should be first married as Laban alledged Then Jacob tarried seven days and took Rachel upon condition that he would serve other seven years for her which being fulfilled he desired Laban that he might depart with his Wives and Children into his own Country again Nay tarry said Laban for I perceive that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake appoint thy wages and I will give it thee Thou knowest quoth Jacob what service I have done thee and in what taking thy Cattel hath been under me for the little that thou hadst before my coming is now increased to a Multitude But when shall I make provision for mine own House also Well what shall I give thee said Laban Then Jacob having knowledge aforehand by the Angel of the Lord what his wages should be said Thou shalt give me nothing at all if thou wilt do this thing for me I will go again and feed thy sheep and keep them and will separate all the sheep of thy Flock one from another and so many as be black speckled or of party colour let that be my wages and whatsoever I take of the rest unspotted let that be counted theft with me Content quoth Laban Then went Jacob and took out all the Males and Females of the Sheep and Goats that were black spotted or of party colour and put them in the keeping of his Sons which lay
be now shut that no man can see us and we burn in lust towards thee therefore consent and lye with us if thou wilt not we will bear witness against thee that a young Man was in the Orchard with thee and therefore thou sentest away thy Maidens Then Susanna sighed and said If I do follow your minds it will be my death and if I consent not unto you I cannot escape your hands It is better for me to fall into your hands without the deed doing than to sin in the sight of the Lord. And with that cryed out with a loud voice and the Elders cryed out against her which clamour on both parties was so great that it was heard among the Servants without which ran to the Orchard door and burst it open to see what the matter was And when the Servants had heard the Elders report of Susanna they were greatly ashamed for there was never such a report made of Susanna before And so on the next morrow the two Elders full of mischievous imaginations declared the matter to Joachim her husband to bring her to death And when she was come with her Father and Mother her Children and all her kinred to be judged according to the law she stood before the two wicked Judges with her Face covered who commanded to take the Cloth from her face that at the least they might be satisfied with her beauty which thing being done the Judges stood up and laid their hands upon the head of Susanna saying As we were walking in the Orchard alone this Woman came in with her two Maidens whom she sent away from her making fast the Orchard door after them Then started there up a young Fellow which lay hid in the Garden and went unto her lay with her Then we which stood in a corner seeing this wickedness ran unto them and saw them as they were together but we could not hold the fellow for he was stronger than we and got open the door and leaped out And when we demanded of her what fellow it was she would not tell us This is the matter and we be witnesses of the same Then Susanna cryed out and said O everlasting God thou searcher of hearts thou that knowest all things before they come to pass thou wotest that they have born false witness against me And behold I must dye whereas I never intended any such thing as these Men have maliciously imagined against me And as she was led toward the place of execution the Lord of Heaven which heard her prayer raised up the spirit of a little Child called Daniel who cryed with a loud voice saying I am clean from the blood of this Woman And when the People heard that they stayed to know of the Child what he meant by his words O ye Children of Israel said he are ye such fools that without examination and knowledge of the truth ye have condemned a Daughter of Israel return again to Judgment for they have born false witness against her Then the People went back again and the Elders took Daniel and set him among them in Judgment Who when he had commanded the two false witnesses to be severed that he might examine them he called the one before him and said O thou that art old in a wicked life now thy sins which thou hast committed afore time are come to light Tell me under what Tree thou sawest this Woman and the young fellow together he said under a Mulberry Tree Now verily quoth Daniel thou hast lied and art worthy of death in that thou hast oppressed the innocent and hast let the guilty go free contrary to the words of the Lord which saith The innocent and righteous see thou slay not Then he called the other and said O thou seed of Canaan but not of Juda Beauty hath deceived thee and lust hath subverted thine heart Thus have ye dealt with the Daughters of Israel and they for fear consented unto you but the Daughters of Juda would not abide your wickedness Now tell me under what Tree didst thou take them companying together He answered under a Pine Tree Now verily said Daniel thou hast lied also against thine head The Messenger of the Lord standeth waiting with the Sword to cut thee in two and so to destroy ye both And with that the whole Assembly cryed with a loud voice and praised God which so miraculously had preserved Susanna that day And so fell upon the two wicked Judges and according to the law of Moses put them both to death Susanna one of those godly Women which followed Christ and his Apostles relieving them with her substance as much as lay in her power T. THADDAEUS Matth. 10.3 was one of the twelve Apostles Thaddaeus praising or confessing Tertullus Act. 14.1 2 c. was a certain Oratour which Ananias the High-Priest had brought with him to inform Felix the Ruler against Paul And when Paul was brought forth Tertullus began to accuse him saying Seeing that we live in great quietness by the means of thee and that many good things are done unto this Nation through thy providence we acknowledge it wholly and in all places most mighty Felix with all thanks Notwithstanding that I be-not tedious unto thee I pray thee that thou wouldest hear us of thy courtesie a few words For we have found this man a Pestilent fellow and a mover of debate unto all the Jewes throughout the World and a maintainer of the Sect of the Nazarites And hath alsogone about to pollute the Temple whom we took and would have judged according to our law But the chief Captain Lysias came upon us and with great violence took him away out of our hands commanding his Accusers to come unto thee Of whom thou mayst if thou wilt inquire know the certainty of all these things whereof we accuse him Tertullus a false reporter or a teller of tails a lyar Terah was the Son of Nahor the Son of Serug Gen. 11.24 25 26 c. He at the age of seventy years begot Abraham but he had before by another Wife Nahor and Haran All the days that Terah lived were two hundred and five years Terah Smelling Look in the story of Abraham Tertius was the name of him that wrote the Epistle of S. Paul to the Romans while Paul indited it Rom. 16.22 saying on this wise I Tertius salute you which wrote this Epistle in the Lord. Tertius a Latine word Thamar 2 Sam. 13.1 2 c. the Daughter of David was so beautiful a young Woman that Amnon her Brother fell sick for her love And when she had visited Amnon at her Fathers commandment and drest him certain meat and brought it into his Chamber he began to force her to lye with him Then she seeing that said Nay my Brother do not force me for no such thing ought to be done in Israel commit not this folly For whither shall I be able to go with my shame