THERE have been at all Times Priests and Sacrifices; for before there were Temples, or other Places consecrated to the Most High, Abel, Noah, and other Patriarchs, under the Law of Nature, filled this Office. They offered Sacrifices, as we see in Scripture: And the Right of offering, or sacrificing, was particularly reserved to the Eldest of every Family, as M. Petit-Pied proves evidently, in his excellent Treatise concerning the Rights and Prerogatives of Ecclesiasticks in the Administration of Secular Justice, printed in French, at Paris, 1705. in 4to. But in the written Law Priests were more distinguished, and Sacrifices prescribed according to the Order appointed by God himself, and signified by Moses; as may be seen in the Works which we are here going to describe.
Joan. Selden. de Successione in sacerdotium Hebræorum, in 8vo. at Leyden, in 1630, at London, in 1636, in fol. at Frankfort upon the Oder in 1673, in 8vo. with another Treatise. This we are speaking of is divided into two Books. Selden was an Englishman, of Sussex, understood History, Law, sacred Philology, and the Oriental Languages. He died in 1654. We shall have occasion to produce him often in the Sequel of this Work.
Joan. Deckerius, Catalogus Summorum Pontificum vet. Legis. This Catalogue is not printed, as Southwel, or Sotwel, tells us, in his Bibliotheca; the Manuscript is kept at Louvain. Decker was a Native of Hoesbrouck in Flanders, studied at Doway, under Leonard Lessius, went to Rome, where he entered into the Society of Jesuits, and died there in 1619, at 59 Years of Age.
See our Dissertation upon the Succession of the Hebrew High-Priests, prefixed to our Comment on the Book of Judith.
Pauli Slevogh, de 24 Ephemeridiis sacerdotum apud Hebræos. We shall speak more particularly of this Work upon St. Luke, and of the Author upon St. Matthew.
Jul. Bartolocci, de Sacramento Ordinis Hebraici dicto Semicha.
Georg. David Ziegra, de ordinatione & consecratione sacerdotum Hebr. Wittemberg, 1680, in 4to. He has farther written two Dissertations upon the Sacred Unction, spoken of in Exodus xxx. 22, 25. These are in the Thes. Dissert. Philolog. t. 2. p. 900. We shall speak of him upon Genesis.
Henrici Dodwel de uno sacerdotio, & uno Altari.
Joan. Braunius, de vestitu sacerdotum Hebræorum, 2 Vol. in 4to. Amstelod. optima editio, 1701. It may be be convenient here to advertise the Reader, that in the Edition of 1684, there is but one Book, at the End whereof the Author promises a second upon the same Subject. We shall speak more largely of it upon Exodus, and shall there give some Account of the Author.
Hieron. Sopranis, soc. Jes. de vestibus sacris, seu de re vestiaria Hebræorum, & de funeribus. Lugduni, 1643, fol. What Sopranes has written on this Subject is in the Digressions of his Comment upon David, printed at Lyons, 1643, in fol. He was an Italian, of Genoa, turned Jesuit in 1591, and died in 1629, at 57 Years of Age.
Joan. Prideaux, de vestituto Aaronis, in the second of his Orations, printed at Oxford, 1626, and at Zurich, 1672, in 4to. We shall say something of him upon the Revelations.
Didaci del Castillo, de ornatu & vestibus Aaronis. We shall speak more particularly of this Author upon Exodus.
Samuel. Lee, de vestibus Aaronis diatriba singularis. This Lee was a Protestant, and has been already taken notice of in the preceding Article.
Ben. David Carpzovius, de Pontificum Hebræorum vestitu sacro. This Dissertation was printed at Jena, 1655, in 4to. and is among the Academical Dissertations of his Brother John Benedict, printed in Latin, at Lipsick, 1699, in 4to. He was himself of Lipsick, a Lutheran, and died in 1655.
D. Hieronymi, de vestitu sacerdotum, de Fabiolam.
Ejusdem de Ephod & Teraphim, ad Marcellam.
Joan. Alting. Dissert. de Mithra, Stolâ, Ephod, &c. t. 1. operum. We have already spoken of him, and shall again speak of him in the Sequel of this Work.
Robertus Sheringham, ad Tract. Talmudic. Joma Lond. 1648, in 4to. This is the Codex Talmudicus, translated out of Hebrew into Latin, together with a Comment. Herein he treats of the Sacrifices and Ministers appointed for this Office upon the great Day of Expiation, as it is ordained in Leviticus xvi. and Numbers xix. This Author was an Englishman, of Cambridge, and of the Church of England.
Vide & Mishna Edit. Surenbus. tom. 2. We have spoken of this Author in the Part foregoing.
Upon Urim and Thummim, see Spencer, de Legibus Hebræorum Ritualibus, of whom we have said something in the Article of Laws. Spencer wrote likewise a particular Dissertation on this Subject, printed at Cambridge in 1669, and 1670, according to Lipenius. Viller, or, rather, Gantesviller, (John Janes) published Lux é tenebris, which is an Illustration of the Mystery of Urim and Thummim, printed at Hanover, 1675, in 4to. There will be an Opportunity of speaking of him elsewhere.
As for Philip Ribouldeau, see upon Exodus, Article X.
But Andrew Senner has written a Treatise of the Urim and Thummim, printed at Wittemberg, 1677, in 4to. And John Buxtorf, Exercitations concerning the History of the Ark of the Covenant, the sacred and celestial Fire, the Urim and Thummim, printed in Latin at Basil, 1659, in 4to.
To these we may add Martin Becan, who wrote a Latin Treatise concerning the High-Priest of the Old Law, printed at Mentz, 1622, in 8vo. We shall speak of him and his Work in several Places.
John Frischmuth, de vestitu Pontificum Hebræorum Sacro, at Jena, in 1655, and 1669, in 4to. Of the Pontificate of Moses, ibid. 1677, in 4to. He has composed several other Works, which we shall take notice of hereafter.