It was now taught that prophecy in general was a peculiarity of the Old Testament ("lex et prophetae usque ad Johannem"); that in the new covenant God had spoken only through apostles; that the whole word of God so far as binding on the Church was contained in the apostolic record - the New Testament; 2 and that, consequently, the Church neither required nor could acknowledge new revelations, or even instructions, through prophets.
The first Spanish drama written by Jews was entitled "Esther," by Solomon Usque and Lazaro Gratiano, published in 1567; and there is another entitled "Comedia famosa de Aman y Mordechay," produced anonymously in Leiden in 1699.
Thus Greek words are transliterated, as " chedrio " from KEBp6 w, " heremus "from €pmios; Greek idioms are reproduced, as " usque nos duci captivos," _ fws rou npas aixuaXwrw05vac, and retranslation into Greek is frequently necessary in order to correct the misrenderings of the translator or the corruptions already inherent in the Greek.
Samuel Usque, a Lisbon Jew, deserves a place to himself for his Consolagam as tribulagoes de Israel, where he exposes the persecutions endured by his countrymen in every age down to his time; the book takes the dialogue form, and its diction is elegant and pure.
To this new period belong Einleitung zur historic der vornehmsten Reiche and Staaten, also the Commentarium de rebus suecicis, libri XXVI., ab expeditione Gustavi Adolphi regis in Germaniam ad abdicationem usque Christinae and De rebus a Carolo Gustavo gestis.