[204] _Hospinian. ex Talmudistis, de Orig. Templ. c. 3._
[205] _D. Kimchi in Hagg. 1. 8. Eadem scribit Rabbi Solomon ibid._
Here it may be demanded, How that of the _Prophet Haggai_ is true; _The glory of this last house shall be greater then the first_, _Hag. 2. 10._ I answer, _Herod_’s _Temple_ which was built in the place of this, was of statelier building than _Solomon_’s, and it was of greater glory, because of _Christ_ his Preaching in it.
_Herod_’s _Temple_ was afterwards so set on fire by _Titus_ his souldiers,[206] that it could not be quenched by the industry of man: at the same time[207] the _Temple_ at _Delphos_, being in chief request among the Heathen people, was utterly overthrown by earth-quakes and thunder-bolts from Heaven, and neither of them could ever since be repaired. The concurrence of which two Miracles evidently sheweth, that the time was then come, that God would put an end both to _Jewish Ceremonies_, and _Heathenish Idolatry_; that the Kingdom of his son might be the better established.
[206] _Genebrard. Chro. l. 2. anno Christi 69._
[207] _Theodoret. l. 3. c. 11. Sozomenus, l. 5. c. 19. 20, 21._
_Their Synagogues, Schools, and Houses of Prayer._
The word _Synagogue_ is from the Greek, συνάγω to _gather-together_; and it is applyed to all things whereof there may be a _collection_, as συναγωγὴ γάλακτος, _copia lactis_, συναγωγὴ πολέμοιο; _collectio quæ sunt ad bellum necessaria_. God standeth in _Synagoga Deorum_, _the Assembly of Judges_: but _Synagogues_ are commonly taken for houses dedicated to the worship of God, wherein it was lawful to _pray_, _preach_, and _dispute_, but _not to sacrifice_. In _Hebrew_ it was called, בית הכנסת _Beth Hacneseth_, the _House of Assembly_. The _Temple at Jerusalem_ was the _Cathedral Church_; the _Synagogues_, as petty _Parish Churches_ belonging thereunto.
Concerning the time when _Synagogues_ began, it is hard to determine. It is probable that they began when the Tribes were settled in the promised Land. The _Temple_ being then too far distant from those which dwelt in remote places, it is likely that they repaired unto certain _Synagogues_ instead of the _Temple_. That they were in _David_’s time appeareth; _They have burnt all the Synagogues of God in the land_, _Psal. 74. 8._ And _Moses_ of old time had in every City, them that preached him, being read in the _Synagogues_ every Sabbath day, _Act. 15. 21._