Luther praises the children of Menius for their perseverance in writing letters and evaluates Menius' attempt to resolve the difference between 1 Kings 6:1 and Acts 13:20. 13,20.
Handwritten at Wolfenbüttel in Cod. Gud. Printed by Schütze, Vol. III, p. 207 and by De Wette, Vol. V, p. 488.
To the highly famous man, Mr. Justus Menius, the extremely faithful bishop of the churches in Eisenach and Thuringia, his extremely dear brother in the Lord.
Grace and peace! It is extraordinary, my dear Justus, how the urging and impetuosity of your sons pleased me, who, in order that they might be like you and represent you, their father, by the example of perfect diligence, left me no peace until they pressed out an answer. God grant that they may be so in all things and persevere as such, especially in that which belongs to godliness and honorableness; I wish and desire that this also be done in my children according to the will of God.
With regard to the money full of Weissensee, do what you do. For that magister, a new husband, to whom it is given through the mediation of D. Brück, is quite meager. Those may watch, which have exercised a fraud, or have not exercised.
About your calculation [of years] this is my opinion: I have encountered six quite similar difficulties in one book alone, namely in the One Book of Judges, as you have. And I would still follow your thoughts today if I had not overcome them then, when I was at work and they tormented me. For that you wanted the word 1 Kings 6:1 to be understood as if the 480 years were only to be said of the good judges, not of the people or subjects, as only two years seem to be counted of Saul and only eight years of Joram 1) - you may see how many inconsistencies you will bring up in history here, yes, in the church. For this conclusion is null and void: the people was sinful, therefore there was no people of God at that time or no God of the people, especially of the one who had the promise. Balaam says 4 Mos. 23, 2) 21 [Vulg.]: "There is no idol in Jacob." Whereas Amos says [Cap. 5, 25.], "Have ye sacrificed unto me in the wilderness the forty years?" If therefore under Moses (yes, under Christ there was a Judas and a godless people) there were idolaters at the time when there was no idol in Jacob, even according to his own testimony, since he says, Deut. 12:8 [Vulg.], "Ye shall not do as we do this day, every man what seemeth him right," how much more were there such people under Joshua and others. Yes, Ezekiel says [Cap. 23,3. f.] that the breasts of Ahalibah 3) were touched. And the other prophets say (as also Moses) that they were rebellious against the Lord from the beginning. What is this but that the Church of God is praised as constantly holy and chaste, and yet at the same time it is indicated that there are children of the devil in it, yes, Satan among the children of God! Therefore, I cannot agree with you that 1 Kings 6:1 is to be understood as the number of the good judges only, but rather I will
1) Instead of Horam we have assumed Joram. See Luther's Chronikon, St. Louis Edition, Vol. XIV, 617.
2) De Wette: Num. XXI V.
3) Instead of Aalibas, Aalibae will be read. In the Vulgate: Ooliba; in Hebrew: xxxxxx. - De bet
has put his Conjectur tactus in the text, but the Vulgate reads: fractas.
Letters from the year 1542. no. 2938. 2939. 2940.
believe that Apost. 13, 20. the number 400 is wrongly set for 300, as I have indicated in my chronicle, 1) since also the narration of Stephanus Apost. 7, 6. must give way to the Chronicon of Moses, as I have shown in my Chronicon 2). Therefore, you must bring another comparison of Paul in Acts Cap. 13, 20. with 1 Kings 6, 1. This opinion of yours is not enough for me. Fare well in the Lord and pray for me. Friday after Laurentii [Aug. 11] 1542.
Your Martin Luther.
No. 2939.