Volume 1

Rabbinical literature: or, the traditions of the Jews, contained in their Talmud and other mystical writings. Likewise the opinions of that people concerning Messiah, and the time and manner of His appearing; with an appendix, comprizing Buxtorf's account of the religious customs and ceremonies of that nation. Also, A preliminary enquiry into the origin, progress, authority, and usefulness of these traditions; wherein the sense of the strange allegories in the Talmud and Jewish authors is explained / By the Revd. Mr. J.P. Stehelin.

Johann Andreas Eisenmenger

Date:: 1748

Credit: Rabbinical literature: or, the traditions of the Jews, contained in their Talmud and other mystical writings. Likewise the opinions of that people concerning Messiah, and the time and manner of His appearing; with an appendix, comprizing Buxtorf's account of the religious customs and ceremonies of that nation. Also, A preliminary enquiry into the origin, progress, authority, and usefulness of these traditions; wherein the sense of the strange allegories in the Talmud and Jewish authors is explained / By the Revd. Mr. J.P. Stehelin. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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$this Rule in the Explication of the Talmud, as well as in that of the Scripture, nothing will be more eafy^ than to fhew the true Signification of many PafTages in it, which feem obfcure. It is faid in the Talmud-Trea- tifes Sanhedrim and Chollinay that the.Earth did leap towards Jhraham, towards Eliezer his Servant, and towards Jacob; this feems foolifli and ridiculous, but the only Defign of it is, to let us know the Alacrity and Speed with which they proceeded in their Journey; the Divine Providence which preferved them wherefoever they went, and profper’d their Way, and the good Suc- cefs they had : The Account of feveral of the Rabbinsh having attained to underftand the Languages of Beafts, Birds, Trees, Herbs, Mountains, and Vallies fignifietb no more than their having made great Improvements in the Study of Natural Philofophy, and their being able to- give a rational Account of the Works of Nature ; the Secret of underftanding every Thing, by rightly under- flanding the SHEMHAMPHORASH c, which is- taught in the Treatife, entitled Majan hachochma, is- defign’d to inflrudl us, that God knows all Things,, even the Thoughts of the Reins, and that all our Know¬ ledge cometh from him, and is in him. The ancient Aflronomers before Copernicus were almofl all of Opinion, that the whole Sphere of Celef- tial Bodies turn’d round the Earth within the Space of four and twenty Hours; the JewiJh Rabbins, in order to explain this to their Difciples, invented the Fable of Rabba Grandfon of Channa, who put his Bread-Bafket again# the Window of the Firmament, which when he had finifli’d his Prayers he could not find again, but was told by a Merchant of the Ifiomaelites, that the Globe of the Firmament, which turns about, took it along with it, and that the next Day the Globe being return’d, the Window of it would be where it was before, and he would find his Bafket. [a]-Traditions cf the Jews, vol. i. p. 121. fb] Ibid. p. 131. {c] Ibid, [dj ibid. p. 104. A& ft$

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