The words of the covenant, the ten words. From this is formed the Greek Axaλoyos, or the law of ten words, or precepts: all which in their substance are moral and universally obligatory on all the sons of men. That part of the law, in Scripture called

o, judgments, Exod. xxi. 1. which determines rights. between man and man, and punishments upon transgressions, with special reference to the interest of the people in the land of Canaan, is by us usually termed the judicial law. And the institutions of ceremonial worship are most commonly expressed by the name of pn, the whole system whereof is termed the law ceremonial.

§ 3. The Jews either do not acknowledge, or do not much insist on this distinction, though it is evidently founded in the things themselves; but casting all these parts of the law together, contend, that there is amongst them 613 precepts. For the numeral letters of 7, denote 611 of them; and the other two, which, as they say, are the two first of the decalogue, were de-. livered by God himself to the people, and so come not within the compass of the word torah in that place, whence they take this important consideration, namely, Deut. xxxiii. 4. "Moses commanded us a law," that is, of 611 precepts; two being given by God himself, completes the number of 613. The folly of these things is obvious to all; yet this is a part of their oral law, to which, as hath been shewed, they ascribe more oftentimes than to the written word itself.

§ 4. Of these 613 precepts, 248, they say, are affirmative precepts; because there are, as they affirm, so many distinct members or bones in the body of a man; of this I leave our anatomists to judge and 365 negative precepts, because there are so many days in the year; man being bound to keep the law with his whole body all the year long; both which numbers make up 613. And lest this observation should not seem sufficiently strengthened by these arguments, they add that which they suppose conclusive, namely, that in the decalogue there are 613 letters, if you will but set aside the last two words; and this, in common civility, cannot be well denied unto them.

§ 5. These 613 precepts they divide or distinguish into twelve families, according to the number of the tribes of Israel; that is, either general part into twelve; first the affirmative, and secondly the negative. And although this distribution be not satisfactory for many reasons, as others have shewn, yet for the advantage of the reader, I shall here give a summary account of them.

§ 6. The first family, which hath relation to God and to his worship, consists of twenty precepts. These, as well as those which follow, I shall briefly enumerate, without any examination of the reasons which may have led the Jews to place them in

their several stations.

12.

1. Faith, and acknowledgment of God's divine essense and existence, Exod. xx. 2. 2. Faith of the unity of God, Deut vi. 4. xxxii. 39. 3. Love of God, Deut. vi. 5. x. 4. Fear of God, Deut. vi. 13. 5. Acknowledgment of God's righteousness in afflictions, Deut. viii. 5. 6. Prayer to God, Exod. xxiii. 25. Deut. xi. 13. 7. Adherence to God, Deut. x. 20. 8. To swear by the name of God, Exod. vi. 13. Deut. x. 20. 9. To walk in the ways of God, Deut. xxviii. 9. 10. To sanc

tify the name of God, Levit. xxii. 32. 11. Twice a-day to repeat that section, "Hear, O Israel," Deut. vi. 7. xi. 19. 12. That we learn and teach the law, Deut. v. 1. xi. 8. 13. To wear phylacteries or tephilin on the head, Deut. vi. 8. 14. To wear them on the arm, in the same place. 15. To make fringes, Numb. xv. 38-40. 16. To put writings of the Scripture on the posts of our doors, Deut. vi. 9. 17. That the people be called together to hear the law at the end of the feast of tabernacles, Deut. xxxi. 12. 18. That every one write him a copy of the law, Deut. xxxi. 19. 19. That the king moreover write out another for himself as king, Deut. xvii. 28. 20. That at our eating of meat we give thanks or bless God, Deut. viii. 10. This is the first family, which though it sometimes fail in educing its precepts from the word, yet good use may be made of the observation, in reducing these things to one certain head.

§ 7. The second family, of the first general head of affirmative precepts, contains those which concern the sanctuary and priesthood, being nineteen in number. 1. That a sanctuary, tabernacle or temple should be built, Exod. xxv. 8. 2. That being built it should be reverenced, Levit. xix. 30. 3. That the priests and Levites, and no other, should always keep the temple, Numb. xviii. 2. 4. That the work or ministry of the temple should be performed by the Levites, Numb. xviii. 23. 5. That the priests should wash their hands and feet before their ministry, Exod. xxx. 9. 6. That the priests should attend the lamps of the sanctuary, Exod. xxvii. 21. 7. That the priests should bless the people, Numb. vi. 23. 8. That every day the shew-bread should be renewed. 9. That incense should be offered twice aday on the golden altar, Exod. xxx. 7, 8. 10. That the fire on the altar should be kept always burning, Levit. vi. 12, 13. 11. That the ashes should be removed from the altar every day, Levit. vi. 10. 12. That the unclean should be separated from the camp and temple, Numb. v. 2. Deut. xxiii. 10. 13. That Aaron and his posterity should have the principal place and honour in sacred things, Levit. xxi. 8. 14. That the priests should wear the garments appointed to their special ministry, Exod. xxviii. 15. That the ark should be carried on the shoulders of the

2.

Levites, Numb. vii. 9. 16. That the anointing oil should be

made to anoint kings and priests, Exod. xxx. 25-27. 17. That the families of the priests should minister in the sanctuary by turns, but that all should be present at the great anniversary feasts, Deut. xviii. 6. 18. That the priests mourn and be defiled for their near relations, Levit. xxi. 3. 19. That the high priest marry a virgin, Levit. xxi. 13.

This is the second family, liable to the same mistakes in many things with the former, but yet containing a collection of things suitable to each other, and belonging for the most part to the same general head.

§ 8. The third family relates to sacrifices, containing fifty-seven precepts. As, 1. That the Tn tamid, or continual sacrifice, be offered every day, Exod. xxix. 38. Numb. xxviii. 2, 3. 2. That the high priest offer his mincha or corban every day, Levit. vi. 20. 3. That every sabbath day two lambs of a year old be offered as a sacrifice morning and evening, Numb. xxviii. 9. 4. That the sacrifice of the new moon be observed, Numb. xxviii. 2. 5. That during the feast of the passover, the special sacrifices appointed, be added to the continual sacrifice, Levit. xxiii. 6, 7. Numb. xxviii. 19. 6. That at the feast of Pentecost, the offering of new corn be observed, Numb. xxix. 1. 7. That it be accompanied with alms. 8. Likewise that on the day of expiation, Numb. xxix. 7. 9. And that on the feast of tabernacles for seven days, Levit. xxiii. 34. 10. That on the eighth or last day of the feast, Numb. xxix. 35, 36. 11. That on the second day of the feast of the passover an homer of meal be offered with a lamb, Levit. xxiii. 12. That on the feast of Pentecost, two new loaves be offered, with its especial sacrifice, Levit. xxiii. 17. 13. That all things be done aright on the feast of expiation, Levit. xvi. (These general things are evidently put in to fill up the number of precepts that they had fixed on, there being no special precept in them.) 14. That three times in the year an holy feast be kept to the Lord, Exod. xxiii. 14. 15. That on these feasts, all the males appear before the Lord, Deut. xvi. 16. 16. That they should rejoice in all their feasts, Deut. xvi. 14. 17. That the paschal lamb be slain, Exod. xii. 6. flesh be eaten roasted, Exod. xii. 8. 19. That in the second month, on the fourteenth day, another passover be kept. 20. That the lamb be then eaten with unleavened bread, and sour herbs, Numb. xix. 10, 11. 21. That the sounding of trumpets be used with the sacrifice, in the day of the afflicting their souls, Numb. x. 9, 10. 22. That the creatures to be sacrificed should be eight days old and upwards, Levit. xxii. 27. 23. That every creature to be sacrificed, be perfect, Levit. xxii. 18. 24. That salt be used in all sacrifices, Levit. ii. 13. 25. That whole burnt offerings be offered according to the law, Levit. i. 3. 26. That so

18. That his

39.

also be the sin-offering, Levit. vi. 18. 27. And likewise the trespass-offering, Levit. vii. 1. 28. And the peace offering, Levit. vii. 2. 29. And the meat-offering, Levit. xi. 1. 30. That if the whole congregation offend, a sacrifice be offered for it, Levit. iv. 13. 31. If a private man sin by ignorance, he must offer his sin-offering, Levit. iv. 27. 32. That a sacrifice be offered for an uncertain crime, Levit. v. 17, 18. 33. That a sacrifice be offered for sin certain and known, Levit. vi. 2. v. 16. 34. That every one's sacrifice be according to his substance or wealth, Levit. v. 7. 35. That whosoever sinned, together with his sacrifice he make confession of his sin, Numb. v. 6, 7. 36. That involuntary pollution be cleansed by sacrifice, Levit. xv. 13. 87. That women do so likewise in the case mentioned, Levit. xv. 28. 38. That the leper, being cleansed, do offer sacrifice, Levit. xiv. 10. That a woman after child-birth offer sacrifice, Levit. xii. 6-8. 40. That the tenth of every clean beast be separated to the Lord, Levit. xxvii. 32. 41. That every first-born male be sanctified and offered to the Lord, Exod. xiii. 2. Deut. xv. 19. 42. That every first-born of man be redeemed with a certain price, Numb. xviii 15. 43. That the first born of an ass be redeemed with a lamb, Exod. xiii. 14. 44. That if it be not redeemed its neck be broken, Exod. xiii. 14. 45. That any sacred beast, that is firstling or tenth, wherein is a blemish, be redeemed, Deut. xii. 15. 46. That which is changed, and that which it is changed for, are to be both the Lord's, Levit. xxvii. 10. 47. That all offerings, both those which were necessary by legal prescription, and also free-will offerings, be brought to Jerusalem on the next feast, Deut. xii. 5, 6. 48. That all sacrifices be offered at the sanctuary, Deut. xii. 14. 49. That sacrifices vowed out of the holy land, be offered at Jerusalem, Deut. xii. 27. 50. That Aaron and his sons eat the remainder of the meat offerings, Levit. vi. 16. 51. That the males of the house of the priests, eat the flesh of the sin and trespass-offering, Exod. xxix. 33. 52. That holy flesh which hath touched any unclean thing be burned in the fire, Levit. vii. 19. 53. That the flesh of the sacrifices that remain above the third day, be consumed with fire, Levit. vii. 17. 54. That a Nazarite suffer his hair to grow, Numb. vi. 5. 55. That he shave his hair after his vow is accomplished, ver. 9. 56. That every man perform his vows to God, Deut. xxiii. 23. Numb. xxx. 2. 57. That judgment be made of the obligations of vows according to the law, Numb. xxx. 3-5.

9. The fourth family of affirmative commands, respects cleanness and uncleanness, whereof they reckon up eighteen precepts; as, 1. He that touches that which dies of itself is unclean, Levit. xi. 39. 2. Eight kinds of creeping things are unclean, Levit. xi. 29. 3. Sundry things that may be eaten, are yet ca. pable of uncleanness, Levit. xi. 34. 4. A woman in her natural

15.

17. That the red heifer

disease is unclean, Levit. xv. 19. 5. And she that is delivered of a child, Levit. xiii. 2. 6. The leper is unclean and defileth other things, Levit. xiii. 2. 7. A cloth infected with leprosy is unclean, Levit. xiii. 47. 8. And an house likewise, Levit. xiv. 35. 9. He that hath an issue is unclean, Levit. xv. 2. 10. And to the same purpose, Levit. xv. 16. 11. And in a woman, ver. 25. 12. A dead body is unclean, and defileth, Numb. xix. 14. 13. All cleansing must be accompanied with bathing or washing, Levit. xv. 16. 14. The cleansing of the leper must be with cedar, hysop, scarlet wool, and the other ceremonies, Levit. xiv. 2. The leper must shave all the hair off his head on the seventh day, Levit. xiii 45. 16. The leper must not go abroad, but with the signs of his leprosy, Levit. xiii. 45. be burned according to order, Numb. xix. 2. 18. That the water of the ashes of a red heifer be sprinkled in purification, Numb. xix. 19. § 10. The fifth family of this sort of commands, concerns alms and tithes, consisting of thirty-two precepts. 1. That alms be given to the poor, Deut. xv. 8. 2. That he who promiseth the price of redemption for the first-born, pay it assuredly, Lev. xxvii. 2. 3. That he who is to pay the redemption price of an unclean firstling, pay it accordingly, Lev. xxvii. 11. 4. That the price of a devoted house be so paid, according to the judg ment of the priest, Lev. xxvii. 14. 5. The same of a field, Lev. xxvii. 16. 6. That he who deceiveth by ignorance, add a fifth part to the price of the thing itself, Lev. xv. 16. 7. That the fruits of the fourth year be dedicated to God, Lev. xix. 24. 8. That the corners of the fields be left to the poor to cut and gather, Lev. xix. 9. 9. That ears of corn be left for the poor in harvest, Lev. xix. 9. 10. That a sheaf of corn forgotten be left for the poor, not sought for again, Deut. xxiv. 19. 11. That the gleanings of the vine branches, be left to the poor, Lev. xix. 10. 12. And the grapes that fall to the ground, v. 20. 13. That all first fruits of the earth be brought to the sanctuary or temple, Exod. xxiii. 19. 14. That the words appointed, Deut. xxvi. 5-7. be repeated over the first fruits. 15. That the heave-offering, or terumah for the priest, be observed, Deut. xviii. 4. 16. That the tithes be separarated for the use of the Levites. 17. That a second tithe be taken by the owners, to spend at the tabernacle or at Jerusalem, Deut. xiv. 22. 18. That out of the tenth of the Levites, a tenth be taken for the priests. 19. That on the third and sixth year, in the room of this second tenth, a tenth be given to the poor, Deut. xiv. 28, 29. 20. That confession be made over the tithes, Deut. xxvi. 13. 21. That a cake of the dough be separated unto the priests, Numb. xv. 20. 22. That the whole increase of the land every seventh year be common to all, Exod. xxiii. 10, 11. 23. That the seventh year be a year of rest to the whole land, Exod. xxiv. 21. Lev. xxv. 2. 24. That the year of the jubilee be reckoned by the years of rest, or weeks of years, Lev.