Excerpt from The History of the Dispersion of the Jews; Of Modern Egypt; And of the Other African Nations

The history of the eastern Jews is very oh scure and perplexed. The rest of that people are greatly ignorant of what happened to their bre thren in those remote countries, and have re ceived' very imperfect intelligence from thence. They who survived the demolition of the temple and city of Jerusalem, and escaped the fury of the Roman soldiers, retired, some into Galilee, but a much greater number into Egypt and Cy rene. The learned Dr. Lightfoot, however, con jectured that the Jewish sanhedrim was not abolished, but only removed to Jamnia, and from thence to Tiberias, where it subsisted till the death of Judah the saint; and that academies were erected in other cities, whilst the nation was still governed by a patriarch. But all this rests on the bare authority of their traditions, which, in What concerned the Jewish honour, are not to he depended on, and seem, in this particular, to be entirely false for it does not appear, that the Romans left to 'that court the least shadow of power or authority. Ou the contrary, we know that the whole nation, on account of their fre quent and bloody rebellions, was grievously op pressed; and it is not probable, that a people become so odious and detestable, would be per mitted such a supreme gourt, and one which had so great and extensive authority. Besides, if Titus had made any concession of this nature to the Jewish people, Josephus, as well for the honour of that emperor, as for the credit of his nation, would, doubtless, have noticed it. And Domitian is known to have hated the Jews too much to have allowed them such a signal privi lege; for he was rather a persemitor than a friend.

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