Happily metaphrased by Mr. Diyden:
A'erse 23. Were brought up on Joseph's knees.] They wefe educated by him, or under his direction: his sons, and their cliildien continuing to acknowledge him aspalriarch, or hea^ of the family, as long as he lived.
A.M.2m (lie: and 'God will surely visit you, ^^ '""^ and bring you out of this land, unto tJie land ''which he swfire to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 25 And 'Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit
v)iU surely visit you, he will yet as^ain give you, in the time when il sliall be essentially necessary, the most signal proof of his unbounded love towards the.'ieed of Jacob.
And bring you out of tliis laud] Th(«i2:h ye have here every tiling tliat can render life comfortable, yet this is not the typical land, the land given by corenanl, tile laml wllicli represents the rest that remains for tiie people of God.
Verse 25. Ye shall carry up my hones] 'I'lial I may finally rest with my ancestors in the land which God gave to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and which is a pled:;e as it is a type of the k-ingdom of heaven. Thus says the author of the epistle to the Hebrews, chap. xi. 22. " By FAll'H, Joseph when he died (te^^cutuv when dyi/is:,) made mention of the dc|wrture {EloJoyoftlie EXODL's) of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concernin;^ his bones." From this it is evident, that Joseph considered all these things as t>/picai; and by this very commandment, e-tprcssed his faitli in the immortality of the soul, and the general resurrection of the dead. This oath, by which Joseph then bound his brethren, their posterity considered as biiidin;^ on themselves; and Moses took care, w hen he departed irom Kgypt, to carry up Joseph's body with him, K\od. xiii. 1''. which was afterwards buried in Slieclient, (Josh. xxiv. 32.) the very portion whii h Jacob had purchased from the Amorites, and which he gave to bis son Joseph, Geii. xlviii. 22. Acts vii. 16.
Ver.<e 26. Jovp/j died, being a hundred and ten years old] D'Jii' Tii'yi nXD p ben mi-ah te-eser slianim; literally, the fMi of a hundred and ten yurs. Here the period of time he lived, is personified; all the years of which it \vas composed, being represented as a 7iurse or father, feeding, nourishing and supporting him to the end. This figure which is termed by rhetoricians prosopopeia, is very frequent in Scripliirc; and by this, virtues, vices, forms, attributes, and qualities, with every part of inanvnate nature, are represented as fndiied with reason, a. id speech, and pertbrming all the actions <if intelligent be:ngs.
Tluy embalmed htm] See on ver. 2. The same ]irec;uitions were taken to ])icservc his body as to preserve that of his father Jacob; and this was particularly necessary in his case, because his body was to be carried to Canaan, an hundred and forty-four years after; which, as Eusebius observes, was the duration of the Israelites' bondage, after the death of Joseph.
And he iias put in a cofin in Egypt.] On this subject I •hf.ll subjoin some useful remarks from Il.irnnr's Observations, wl ich several have borrowed, wiiliout ackiiovvlcdgmenl. I tjuot'i iny own edition of this ^Vcrk, vol. lii. p. 69, &c. Lond. 18UQ.
you, and ye shall carry up my bones
26 ^ So Joseph died, being a hundred and ten years old: and they ''embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
" There were some methods of honouring /he dead, which demand our attention: the being put in a cojin, has been in particular, considered as a mark of di-slinction.
" With us, the poorest pto|)le ha\e thtir cq/lins: if the relations cannot allbrd tiiem, the parish is at the ex|>ense. In the East, on the contrary, they are not alwaj-s made use of, even in our times. The ancient Jews probably buried their dead in tiie same manner: neither was llie body of our Lord put in a cojin; nor that of Elislta, whose bones were touched by the corpse that was let down a little after, in;o bi» sepulchre, 2 Kings xiii. 21. That co^Shs were anciently made use of in Egypt, all agree; and antique coflins of stone, and of sycamore wood are still to be seen in that country, not to inention those said to be made of a sort of pasteboard, formed by folding and glewing cloth together, a great number of times, which were curiously plaistered, and then pamted witb hieroglyphics.
" As it was an ancient Egyptian custom, and was not used in the neighbouring countries, on these accounts, the •Sacred Historian was doiil)tless led to obs-rve of Joseph, that he was not only embalmed, but was al.so put in a cofjin, both being practices almost peculiar to the Egyptians.
" Bishop Patrick on this pa'^sage, takes notice of ihc Egyptian coffins of sycamore wood, and jjtisteboard, but he does not mention the contrary usage of the neighbouring countries, which was requisite, in order fully to illuslrato the place: but even this, perhaps, would not have conveyed the ichole thought of the Sacred Authi>r.
" Rlr. Maitlet conjectures, that all were not inclosed in coffins, which were laid in the Egyptian repositories of the deail; but that it was an honour ajipiopriated to persons of distinction; for after having given an account of several niches which are found in those chambers of death, he adds; ' But it must not be imagined, that the bodies deposited in these gloomy apartmerits, were all inclosed in chests, and placed in niches. 'I'iic greater part were simply embalmed, and swathed; after which, they laid them one by llie.side of the other, without any ceremony. Some were even put itilo these tombs icithout any embalming at all; or witli such a slight one, that there remains nothing of llicin in the linen in which they were wrapped, but the Itones; and ihssc half rotten* It is probable, that each considerable fannly had one of these burial places to thenisi Ives: that the niches were designed for the bodies of the heads of the I'ainily; and that those of their domestics and slaves, had no other care takeYi of them, than merely laying them in the ground alter being.slightly embalmed, and sometimes even without that; which was probably all that was tlone to heads <A' famiUe» o£ less distinc lion.' Lett. 1. p. 281. The same author gives an account! of a mode of burial anciently practised in that country, I which lias been but recently discovered: it consisted in placint>' the bodies, after they were swathed up, on a layer ot charcoal, and covering them with a mat, under a bed of sand seven or eight ftet deep.
" Hence it seems evident that coffins were not universalli/ used in E^typt, and were only used for persons of eminence and distinction. It is also reasonable to believe, that in times fo remote as those of Joseph, they might have been much less common, than afterwards, and that consequently, Joseph's being put in a coffin in Egypt, might be mentioned with a design to express the great lionouis the Egyptians did him in death, as well as in life; being treated after the most sumptuous manner, embalmed, and put into a coffin."
It is no objection to this account that tiie widow of Nain's son is represented as carried forth to be buried, in a aopoi;, or hier; for the present inhabitants of the Levant, who are well known to lay their dead in the earth uninclosed, carry them frequently out to burial in a kind of coffin, which is not deposited in the grave, the body being takai out of it, and placed in the grave in a reclining posture. It is probable, therefore, that the coffins used at Nain, were of the same kind, being intended for no other purpose but to carry the body to the place of interment, the body itself being buried without them. See Russel's Hist, oi Aleppo, vol. i. p. 306, &c.
It is very probable, that the chief difference was not in being with or without a coffin; but in the expensiveness of the coffin itself; some of the Egyptian coffins being made of granite, and covered all over with hieroglyphics, the cutting of which, must have been done at a prodigious expense, both of time and money, the stone being so hard, that we have no tools by which we can make any impression on it. Two of these are now in the British Museum, that appear to have belonged to some of the nobles of Egypt. They are dug out of the solid stone, and adorned with almost innumerable hieroglyphics. One of these, vulgarly called Alexander's tomb, is ten feet three inches and a quarter long; ten inches thick in the sides: breadth at top five feet three inches and a half: breadth at bottom four feet two inches and a half: and three feet ten in depth, and weighs about 10 tons. In such a coffin, I suppose the body of Joseph was deposited: and such an one could not have been made and transported to Canaan at an expencethat any private individual could bear. It was witii incredible labour and at an extraordinary expense that the coffin in question was removed the distance of but a few miles from the ship that brought it, from Egypt, to its present residence in the British Museum. Judge then, at what an expense such a coffin must have been digged, engraved, and transported over the desart from Egypt to Canaan, a distance of three hundred miles? We need not be surprized to hear of carriages and horsemen, a very great company, when such a coffin was to be carried so far, with a suitable company to attend it.
Joseph's life was the shortest of all the patriarchs; for which Bishop Patrick gives a sound, physical reason — he was the son of his father's old age. It appears from Archbishop Usher's Chronology that Joseph governed Egypt under four kings: Mephramuthosis, Thmosis, Amenophis, and Orus. His government, we know, lasted eighty years: for when he stood before Pliaraoh, he was thirty years of age, chap. xli. 46.
and he died when he was one hundred and ten, from vvhicl^ subtract thirty, and tliere remain, fourscore.
On the character and conduct of Joseph, many remaritg have already been made in the preceding Notes. On tbe, subject of his piety there can be but one opinion. It W9»:; truly exemplary, and certainly was tried in cases, in which, few instances occur of persevering fidelity. His high sense of the holiness of God, the strong claims of justice, and the rights of hospitality and giatilude, led him in the instance of the solicitations of his master's wife, to act a part, which, though absolutely just and proper, can never be sufficientlj. praised. Heathen authors boast of some persons of suchsingular constancy; but the inteUigent reader will recollect,! that these relations stand in general, in their fabulous histo, ries, and are destitute of those characteristics which truth es-, sentially requires; such I mean, as the story of Hippolytus and Ptaedra; Bellerophon and Antea or Sthenobasa; Petani and Astydamea, and others of this complexion, which appear to be marred pictures, taken from this highly finished original, which the Inspired Writer has fairly drawn from life.
H is fidelity to his master, is not less evident; and God'* approbation of his conduct is strongly marked; for he caused whatsoever he did to prosper, whether a slave in the house of, his master, a prisoner in the dungeon, or a prime minister, by the throne; which is a full proof that his ways pleased him, and this is more clearly seen in the providential deliverances by which he was favoured.
On the political conduct of Joseph, there are conflictjtif opinions. On the one hand it is asserted, that " he found the Egyptians a free people, and that he availed himself of a most afflicting providence of God, to reduce them all into a state of slavery, destroyed their political consequence, and made their king despotic." In all these respects, his political measures have been strongly vindicated, not only as beinff directed by God, but as being obviously the best, every thing considered, for the safety, honour, and welfare of his sove* reign and the kingdom. It is true, he bought the lands of the people for the king; but he farmed them to the original occupiers again, at the moderate and fixed crown rent of one fifth part of the produce. " Thus did he provide for the liberty and independence of the people, while he strengthened the authority of the king by making him sole proprietor of the lands. And to secure the people from further exaction, Jo> seph made it a law over all the land of Egypt, that Pharaoh (i. e. the king) should have only the fifth part: which lawsu)>< sisted to the time of Moses, chap, xlvii, 21—26. By this wise regulation," continues Dr. Hales, " the people had four fifths of the produce of the lands for their own use, and were exempted from any further taxes, the king being bound to support his civil and military establishment out of tbe i crown rents." By the original constitution of Egypt established by Menes, and Thoth or Hermes, his prime minister, ■ the lands were divided into three portions, between the king, ' the priests, and the military, each party being bound to suj^ port its respective establishment by the produce. See the quotation from Diodorus Siculus, in the Note on chap, xlvii. 23. It is certain therefore, that the constitution of Egypt wa«' considerably altered by Joseph, and there can be no doubt,! that much additional power was, by this alteration, vested ip the hands of the king; but as we do not find tliat any im»' proper use was made of this power, we may rest assured that it was so qualified and restricted by wholesome rei^ulations,. tbou^ch they are not here particularized, as completely to pre-; Tent ull abuse of the regal power, and all tyrannical usurpation of popular riijhts. That the people were nothing but (laves to the kiiti;, the military, and tiie priests, before, ap|)ears from the account given by Diodorus; each of the three estates probably allowing them a certain portion of land for tlieir own use, while cultivatuii;' the rest for the use and emolument of their musters. Matters however became more regular under tiie administration of Joseph; and it is per- Laps, not too much to say, that previous to this, Egypt was without a fixed regular constitution, and that it was not the least of the blessings tliat it owed lo the wisdom and prudence of Joseph, that he reduced it to a rtirulur form of gorenimcnt, giving die people such an interest in the safety of the state, as was well calculated to ensure their exertions to defend the nation, and render the constitution fixed and per- I Dianent.
I It is well known that Justin, one of the Roman historians,! lias made particular, and indeed honourable mention of Joaep/i's administration in Egypt, in the account he gives of Jewish ailairs, lib. xxxvi. chap. 2. How the relation may have stood in Troi^us Pompeius, from whose voluminous work l-'in forty-four books or volumes, Justin abridged his history, '^we cannot tell, as the work of Trogus is irrecoverably lost; but p it is evident, that the account was taken in the main from the Mosaic history, and it is written with as much candour as can be expected from a prejudiced and unprincipled heathen. i Minimus atute inter fruires Joseph fuit: ^c. " Joseph was I the youngi't of his brethren; who being envious of his exl cellenl endowments, stole him, and privately sold him to a I company of foreign merchants, by whom he was carried into, Egypt, where having diligently cultivated mas;ic arts, he bei came, in a short time, a prime favourite with the king himself. For he was the most sagacious of men, m explaining prodigies; and he was the first who constructed the science of interpreting dreams. Nor was there any thing relative to laws human or divine, with which he seemed unacquainted; for he predicted a failure of the crops many years before it took place; and the inluibitants of Egypt must have been ', famished, had not the kmg, through his counsel, made an ■ edict to preserve the fruits for several years. And his expe- 1 periments were so powerful, that the responses appear lo have! been given not by man, but by God." Tantaqae experii Bieota ejus fuerunt, ut non uh liomine, sed a Deo, responsa I dari vidcrenlur. I believe Justin refers here, in the word experimenta, to his figment of iuus,icul incantations, eliciting oracutar answers. Others have translated the words: " So excellent uiere his regulations, that they seemed rather to be oracular. responses, not given by man, but by God." i I have already compared Joseph with his father Jacob, see chap, xlviii. 12. and shall make no apology for having given the latter a most decided superiority. Joseph was great; but his greatness came through the interposition of especial Providences. Jacob was great, mentally and practically gi'eat, under the ordinary workings of I'rovidence; and towards the close of his life, not less distinguished for piety towards God, tfcan bis son Joseph was, in the holiest period of his life.
record in the world; including the History of two grand subjects, CrE.-VTION, and PROVIDtNCE; of each of whieh it gives a sunnnary, but astonisliingly nunute, and defaded account. From this Book, almost all the ancient philosophers, astronomers, chronologists, and historians have taken their resjiective data: and all the modern improvements and accurate discoveries in ddferent arts and sciences, have only served to confirm tlic facts detadcd by Moses, and to shew, that all the ancient writers on llu«e subjects have approached to, or receded (ioui TRUTH and the pha-nomcna of nature, in the exact proportion as they have folloued the ^losaic history.
In this Rook the CREATIVE power and ENERGY of God are first introduced to the Reader's notice; and the mind is overwhelmed widi those grand creative acts by which ihe universe was broui^ht into being. When this account i» completed, and the introduction of SIN, and its awful consequences in the destruction of the earth by a Jhind, noticed, then, the Almighty Creator is next introduced as the RE- STORER and PRESERVER of the World; anil thus tlie hislory of Providence commences — a history, in which the mind of man is alternately delighted and confounded, with the infinitely varied plans of wisdom and mercy, in preserving the human species, counteracting the evil propensities of men and devils, by means of gracious inlhie?tces conveyed through religious institutions, planting and watering the seeds of truth and righteousness, whieh hiniielf had sowed in the hearts of men; and leading forward and maturing the grand purpose* of his grace and goodness, in the final salvation of the human race.
After giving a minutely detailed account, and yet in a rery short compass, of the peopling the earth, ascertaining and settling the bounds of the difierent nations of mankind, the Sacred Writer proceeds with the history of one family only; but he chuses that one, through which, as from an ever-durinj fountain, the streams of justice, grace, goodness, wisdom, and truth should emanate. Here we see a pure well of living water, springing up unto eternal life, restrained it it true, in its;)a)<a7//rtr influence to one people, till in the fulness of time, the fountain should be opened in the house of David, for sin and for uncleanness in genera!, and the earth filled with the knowledge and salvation of God: thus by means of one family, as extensive a view of the oeconomy of providence and grace is afforded, as it is possible for the human mind to comprehend.
In this epitome, how wonderful do the workings of Providence appear! An astonishing concatenated train lA'stupeifloitt and minute events is laid before us; and every f.msaction it so distinctly marked, as every where to exhibit Ihetinger, ihe hand, or the ann of God! But did (jod lavish his providential cares and attention on this one family, exclusive of the rest of his intelligent oflspring.'' No: For the same superintendance, providential direction and influence, would be equally seen in all the concerns of human life, in the preservation of individuals, the rise and fall of kingdoms and states, and in all the mighty REVOLUTIONS, natural, moral, and political, in the imiverse, were God, as in the precedmg instances, to give us the detailed history; but what was done in the family of Abraham, was done in behalf of the whole human race. This specimen is intended to shew us, that God does work, and that against him, and the operations of his hand, no might, no counsel, no cunning of men or devils can prevnil — that lie who walks uprightly, walks scrureiy; and lliat all things work together for good to tliem who love God. That none is so igvormit, low, or lost, that God cannot insmict, raise up and suit. In a word, he shews himself by this liiilory, to he the invariable /r/enrf of mankind, — that he embrnrcs every opportunity to do theui good, — and, speaking after the manner of intn, — that he rejoices in the frequent tccurrcncc of such opportunities: that every man consid.jrnig the subject, mav be led to exclaim in behalf of all his fellows, BEHOLD HOW HE lovetu THEM!
On the character of Moses, as a HISTORIAN and PHILO- SOPHER (for in his legislutii-e character, he docs not yet appear) much misT;ht be said, did the nature of thi^ work admit. But as brevity has been every ^here studied, and minute details rarely admitted, and only where absolutely necessary, Ilic candid reader will excuse any deficiencies of this kind which he may have already noticed.
Of the accuracy arid impartiality of Moses as a historia?!, many examples are given in the course of the notes, with such observations and reflections as the subjects themselves suggested: and the succeeding l>ooks will afFord many opportunities for farther remarks on these topics.
The character of Moses as a philosopher and clironologist, has undergone the severest scrutiny. A class of philosophers, professedly infidels, have assailed the Mosaic account of the formation of the universe, and that of the general dtlutje, with such repeated attacks, as sufficiently proved, that, in tlieir apprehension, tlie pillars of their system must be shaken into ruin, if those accounts could not be proved to be false. TraditioHs, supporting difterent accounts from those in the sacred history, have been borrowed from the most barbarous, as well as the most civilized nations, in order to bear on this argument. These, backed by various geologic observations, made in extensive travels, experiments on the formation of ddiei-ent strata or beds of earth, either by inundations or volcanic eruptions, have been all condensed into one apparently strong but strange argument, intended to overthrow the Mosaic account of the creation. The argimient may be stated thus: " The account given by Moses of the time when God conunenced his creative acts, k too recent; for according to liis Genesis, six thousand years have not yel elapsed since the forination of the universe; \\htroas a variety of phcenomena prove, that tlie earth itself must have existed, if not from eternity, yet at least ^'oMcittn, if not twenty thousand years." This I call a strange argument, because it is well known, that all the ancient nations in the world, the Jews excepted, have, to secure their honour and respectability, assigned to themselves a duration of the most improbable length; and have multiplied snonths, weeks, and even days into years, in order to suppoi-t their pretensions to the nio»t remote antiquity. The millions of years which have been assumed by the Chinese and the Hindoos, have been ridiculed for their manifest ab-surdily, even by those philosophers who have brought the contrary charge against the Mosaic account! So notorious are the pretensions to remote ancestry, and remote aras in every false •and fuhrieaied system, of family pedigree, and national antiquity, as to produce doubt at the very first view of their subjects, and to cause the impartial enquirer after tnitli, to Uike every step wuh the tsxtreuic of caution, knowing that jp jfoJn^,
When, in the midst of these, a writer is found, who, without saying a word of the systems of other nations, professes to give a simple account of the creation and peopling of the earth, and to shew the very conspicuous part that his own people acted among the various nations of the world, and v.ho assigns to the earth and to its inhabitants, a duration comparatively but as of yesterday, he comes forward with such a variety of claims to be heard, read, and considered, as no other writer can pretend to. And as he departs from the universal custom of all writers on similar subjects, in assigning a comparatively recent date, not only to his own nation, but to the univer-e itself, he must have been actuated by liiotives essentially different from those wliieh have governed all other ancient historians and chronologisls.
The generally acknowledged extravagance and absurdity of all the chronological systems of ancient times, the great simplicity and harmony of that of Moses, its facts evidently borrowed by others, though disgraced by the fables they have intermixed with them, and the very late invention of arts and sciences, all tend to prove, at the very first view, that the Mosaic account, which assigns the shortest duration to the earth, is the most ancient, and the most likely to be true. But all this reasoning has been supposed to be annihilated, by an argument brought against the Mosaic account of the creation, by Mr. Patrick Brydone, F.lv.S. drawn from the evidence of different eru))- tions of Mount ^tna. The reader may find this in his "Tour through.Sicily and iMalta," Letter vii. where, speaking of his acquaintance with the Canonico Recapcro at Catania, who was then employed on writing a natural histovy of Mount Mina, he says: " Near to a vault w hich is now thirty feet below ground, arid, has probably been a burying place, there is a draw-v.ell, where there are several strata of lavas (i. e. the liquid matter formed of stones, &c. wh'ch is discharged from the mountain in its eruptions) with earth to a considerable thickne.-s over each stratum. Hecitpero has made use of this as an argument to prove the great antiquity of the eruptions of this mountain. For if it requires two thousand years and upwards to form but a scanty soil on the surface of a lava, there must have been more than that space of time, between each of the eruptions which have formed these strata. But what shall ve say of a |>it they sunk near to Jaci, of a great depth? They pierced through seven distinct lavas, one under the other, the surfaces of which were parallel, and most of them covered with a thick lied of rich earth. Now, says he, the eruption which formed the lowest of these lavas, it we may be allowed to reason from analogy, must have flowed from the mountain at \east fourteen thousand years ago! Recupero te\h me, he I is exceedingly embarrassed by these discoveries, in writing the history of the mountain.— That Moses hangs like a dead weight upon him, and blunts all his zeal for enquiry; for that he really has not the conscience to make his mountain so young, as that prophet makes the world.
"The Bishop, who is strenuously orthodox — for it is an excellent see — has already warned him to be upon his guard: and not to pretend to be a better natural historian than Moses; nor to presume to urge any thing, tliat may in the smallest degree be deemed contradictory to his sacred authority."
Though Mr. BryJoiie produces this as a sneer against revelation, bishops, and orthodoxy, yet the sequel will prove, that it was good advice, and that the ]}i.shop was much better instructed than cither Uecvpao or Biydone; and that it would have been much to their credit, liad they taken bis advice.
I have Riven, however, this arpfument at length; and even in tiie insidious dress of Mr. Brydone, wliosc lailh in Divine Revelation, a]ipcars to have been upon a par with that of >>"■- nior Recupero, both beins^ buildcd nearly on the same foundation, to shew from the answer, how slight the strongest arguments are, produced from insulated facts, by prejudice and partiality, wlien brought to the test of sober, candid pliilosophiral investigation, aiikd by ai» increased knowledge of the phenomena of nature. " In answer to this argument," says bishop Watson (Letters to Gibbon) " it might be urged — that the time necessary for converting laias into fertile fields, roust be very diderent, according to tiie difterent consistencies of the lavas, and their diflerenl situations with respect to eUvation and depression, or their being exposed to winds, rains, and other circumstances; as for instance, ihe quantily o/fliAes deposited over them, after they had cooled, &c. &e. just as llie time in which heaps of iron slag, vvliicii resembles lava, are covered with verdure, is different, at different fijrnaces, according to the nature of the stag and situation of the furnace; and something of this kind is deducible from the account of the canon (llecupero) himself, since the cmiccs in the strata are often full of rich good soil, and have pretty large trees growing upon them. But should not all this be thought sufficient to remove the objection, 1 will jiroduce the Canon an anuliigy in opposition to his analogy, and which is grounded on more certain facts.
" Etna and Vesuvius resemble each other in the causes Which produce then' eruptions, in the niuure of their laz-tis, and in the time necessary to mellow them into soil tit (or vegetation; or if there be any slight difference in this respect, it is probably not greater than what subsists between different lavas of the same mountain. This being admitted, which no philosopher will deny, the Canon's (Recupero's) analogy will prove just nothing at all, if we can produce an instance of 4£ren different /a:«.v, wilh inteijacent strata of vegetable curtit, which have flowed from mount Vesuvius within the space, not of fourteen t!i<msand, but of somewhat less than owe thousand snen Inindred years; for then, according to our analogy, ii Urutum of lata may be covered u-ith vegetable soil in about fjco hundred and fifty years, instead of requiring tteo thousand for thai purpo.se.
" The eruption of Vesuvius, which destroyed Herculanemn and Poiiipi'!, is rendered still more famous by the death of I'liny, reeorded by his nephew, in his letter to Tacitus; this event happened A. n. 79. but we are informed by unquestionable authority [Remarks on the nature of the soil of Naples and its vicinity, by Sir William Hamilton, Philos. Transact, vol. Ixi. p. 1.) that the matter which covers the ancient town of //trculaneum, is not the produce of oni eruption only, for there are evident marks that the matttr of six eruptions has taken its course over that which lies immediately over the town, and was the cause of its destruction. Tiicse strata are either of lava, or burnt matter with veins of good soil between them." " You jwrceive," says the bishop, " with what ease, a Utile attention and increase of knoidedge, may remove a great difficulty; but
had we been able to say nothing in explanation of this phaenomenon, we should not have acted a very rational part, in making our ignorance the foundation of our infidelity, or suffer- I ing a minute piiilosophcr to rob us of our religion." In this, I as well as in all other ca.-es, the foundation stands sure, being! deeply and legibly impressed with God's seal. See also Dr.! Greaves's Lectures on tlie Pentateuch.
I On the geology and astronomy oi the book of Genesis, much ' has been written both by the enemies and friends of revelation: I but as Moses has said but very little on these subjects, and I nothing in a systematic way, it is unlair to invent a sj'steni, pretendedly collected out of his words, and thus make him accountable for what he never wrote. There are systems of this kind, the preconceived fictions of their authors, for wliich they have sought su])port and credit by tortured meanings extracted from a few Hebrew roots; and then dignified I them v.ith the title of The Mosaic system of the universe. Thia has aflbrded infidelity a handle which it has been careful to j turn to its own advantage. On the first chapter of Ciencsis, I I have given a general view of the solar system, vithout pretending that I had found it there: 1 have also ventured to apply the comparatively recent doctrine of caloric to the Mosaic account of the creation of light, previous to the formation of the Sun, and have supported it with such arguments as appeared to me to render it at least probable; but I have not pledged Moses to any of my explanations, being fully convinced, that it was necessarily foi-eign from his design to enter into philosophic details of any kind, as it was his grand object, as has been already remarked, to give a history of C'RE.rriON and Providence in the most abridged form of which it was capable. And \i ho, in so few words, ever spoke so much! By Creation I mean the production of every beiiiij animate and inanimate, material and intellectual. And by Providence, not only the preservation and government of all beings, butal*o the variou-i and extraordinaay j)rovisions made by divine justice and mercy tor the comfort and final salvation of man. These subjects I have en<lcavourcd to trace oirt through every chapter of this most important book, and to exhibit them in such a manner as appeared to me the bcRt calculated to promote c/on/ to GoiJ in the Jiiirhest; and- upon earth, PE.iOE AND GOOD WILL^MONC MF.N.
Observations on the Jewish manner of dividing and readii]g the liww.and the Prophets..
exigency of the intcrcakited years, that they divided the law into fifty-foiir sections at first. When Antiorhns Epiphanes f srbade the Jews on pain of death to read their law, they divided the prophets into the same number of sections, and read t/ii-m in their synagogues in place of the lavj: and when under the Asmontans, they recovered their liberty, and with it -the free exercise of their religion, thou;Th the reading of the law was resumed, they continued the use of the prophetic sections, reading them conjointly with those in the law. To this first division and mode of reading the law, tliere is a reference. Acts XV. 21. For Moses of old time, hath, in cferi^ city, them that preach him, being READ IN TtlE SYNAGOGUES EVERY SABBATH DAY. To the second division and conjoint reading of the law and the prophets, we also find a reference. Acts xiii. 15. And after the rending of the lAW, AND THE PIIOPHF.TS, the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, &c. And that the prophets were read in this way, in our Lord's time, \\c have a proof, Luke iv. IG, &c. v.hei'e g-o/n<,' into the synagogue to read on the sabbath day, as wets his ciLitom, there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah — and it appears that the prophetical section, for that sabbath, was taken from the sixty-first chapter of his prophecies. Of these sections the book of Genesis contains twelve: The FIRST, called ri'!£?"l3 bereshith, begins chap. i. ver. 1. and ends chap. vi. ver. 8.
These sections have their technical names, from the words with which they commence; and are marked in the Hebrew Bibles with three DDD Pe's, which are an abbreviation for riii'')D paraskah, a section or division; and sometimes with three DDD Samech's, which are an abbreviation for the word "MD seder, or J^'TlD sidrah, an order, a full and absolute division. The fcroier are generally called JlViyiS parashioth, distinctions, divisions, sections, — the lattei' D'TTD i^iderim, orders, arrange' ments; as it is supposed, tlut the sense is more full and complete in these, than in [Ue parashioth.
At the end of all the books in the Hebrew Bible, the Mtiisoretcs ha\'e aliixetl certain notes, ascertaining the number of greater and smailer seciions, chapters, verses, and tetters. These they deemtd of the greatest importance, in order to preserve the integrity of their law, and the purity of their prophets. And to this end, they not only numbered every verse, word, and letter, but even went so far as to ascertain how often each letter of the alphabet occurred in the whole Bible! Thus sacredly did they watch over their records in order to prevent every species of corruption. To some, this has appeared trifling: others have seen it in a difierent point of view, and have given due applause to that pious zeal and industry, which have been exerted in so many tedious and vexatious researchesi, in order to preserve the integrity and honour of the LAW OF
The sum of all the VERSF.S in Bereshith (Genesis) is 1534. And the memorial sign of this sum is ^^ ")X aleph X signifying 1000; final caph -\ BOO; lamed b 30, and daleth T 4.= 153k
The middle verse of Genesis is ilie fortieth of chap, xxvii By thy sxiord shall thou lite.
The PARASHIOTH, or greater sections are twelve. The symbol of which is the word n( zeh, THIS, Exod. iii. 15. And THIS is my memorial to all generations. Where zuin f stands for 7, and hi n for 5=12.
The SIDtRlM or orders (see above) are forty-three. The symbol of which is the word DJ gam. Gen. xxvii. 33. YEA (DJ gam) and he shall be blessed. Where gimel J stands for S,. and D mem 40=43.
The PERAKIM, or modern division of chapters, are fifty; the symbol of which is ~\b leca, Isa. xxxiii. 2. We have waited FOB THEE. Where lamed b stands for 30, and caph "] for 20^50.
The open sections are 43. — The close sections 48. total 91. the numerical sign of which is KX tse, Gi'.T THEE OUT, Exod. xi. 8. where tsaddi J( stands for 90, and aleph X for 1=91.
The number of letteis is about 52740; but this last is more a matter of conjecture and computation than of certainty; and' on it no dependance can safely be placed, it being a mere multiplication by twelve, the number of sections, of 4395, the known number of letters in the last or twelfth section of the book: on this subject see Buxtorf's T/ienai, p. 181.
All these notes with some others of minor importance, the Reader may find in most editions of the Masoretic Hebrew Bibles, especially in those of Bomberg and Buxtorf, as also in the editions which have flowed from them, particularly in those of Van der Hooght, Simons, Sfc. Some of the unpointed Hebrew BiUes hare these Notes also inserted.
IN WHAT YEAR 01' lUE WOULD, AND WHAT YEAR REFORE CHRIST, EACH EVENT HAPPENED.
The Reader will observe from the Chronological Notes in the martiin of the preceding Work, that in a few instances, I have departed from the Usscrian computation, for which he will rind my reasons in the Notes.
This Table I have considerably enlarged, by inserting the Edomitish Kings and Dukes, and a few other transactions of prophane history, contemporary with the facts mentioned by Moses, by which the Reader will have a synopsis or general view of all the transactions of the first 240O years of the world, which stand upon any authentic records.
The^r^^ year of the world, answering to the 710th year of the Julian Period, and supposed to be 4004 before the vulgar ^ra of the birth of Christ.
First day's work: Creation of the heavens and earth; of light, miiIi the distinction of day and night, Gen. i. 1 — 5.
Second day: Creation of the firmament, and separation of the superior and interior waters, i. 6 — 8.
Tenth day: The first woman sins, leads her husband into the transgression, is { called Kve, iii. 1 — 20. They are both expelled from Paradise, iii. 22 — 24. N.B. This opinion, tliough rendered respectable bi/ great names, is very doubtful, and should be received with very great caution, I think it wholly inadmissible; and though I insert it as tlte generally received opinion, yet judge it best to form no guesses, and indulge no conjectures on such an obscure point. 2 Cain and Abel born, iv. 1, 2. 129 Abel killed by his brotLer Cain, iv. 8.
Enos son of Setli born, iv. 26, Hence followed tiie distinction between tlie descendants of Cain and those of Seth: the former bein^ called sons qf men, the latter sons of God, vi. 1 — 4.
Birtii of Cainan son ol' Enos, v. 9.
of Malialaleel son of Cainan, v. 12.
of Jartd son of Mahalaleel, v. 15.
of Methuselah son of Enorli, v. 21.
Enoch is translated in the 365th year of his age, v. 24.
God commissions Noaii to preach repentance to the guilty world, and to announce the deluge. He commands him also to build an ark for the safety of himself and his family. This commission was given 120 years before the flood came, 1 Pet. iii. 10. 2 Pet. ii. 5. Gen. vi. 17.
Noah, his family, and tiie animals to be preserved, enter the ark, the 17th day of the 2d month of this year, vii. 11. The rain commence?, and continues 40 days and nights, and the waters continue, without decreasing, 150 days: they afterwards begin to abate, and the ark rests on mount Ararat, viii. 4.
Seven days after, he sends out a dove, which returns the same day — after seven days he sends out the dove a second time, which returns no more, viii. 8 — 12.
Commencement of the regal government of Eg-ypt, from Mizraim, son of Ham. Egypt continued an indcpendant kingdom, from this time, to the reign of Cambyses, king of Persia, which was a period of 1663 years, according to Constantinus Manasses.
Chedorlaomtr, king of Elam, subdues the kings of the Penlapolis, Sodom, Gomorrah, &c. to whom they continued in subjection for 12 years, xiv. 4.
The calling of Abrani out of UR of the Chaldees, where the family had been addicted to idolatry. Josh. xxiv. 2. He comes to Haran in Mesopotamia, with Lot his nephew, Sarai his wife, and his
Abram comes to Canaan, when 75 years of age. Gen. xi. 4. From this period, tlie 430 years of the sojourning of the Israelites, mentioned Exod. xii. 40, 41. is generally dated.
Abram goes into Egypt because of the famine, xii. 10. causes Sarai to pass for his sister. Pharaoh (Jpophis) takes her to his house, but soon restores her, finding her to be Abram's wife, v. 1 4—20.
Abram and Lot, having returned to the land of Canaan, separate; Lot goes to Sodom, and Abiam to the valley of Mamre, near to Hebron, xiii. '
Chedorlaomer and his allies make war with the kings of the Pentapolis; Lot is taken captive; Abram and his allies pursue Ciiedorlaomer, defeat him and tb" confedLMate king's, deliver Lot and tlfP' other captives, and is blessed by Melchisedek, king of Salem, xiv.
About this time, Bela, the first king of the Edomites, began to reign, xxxvi. 32.
God makes a covenant with Abram — gives him the promise of a son — changes his name into Abraliiwi, and Sarai's into Sarah — and enjoins ciicumcision, xvi. 1,5, 6, &c. Abrahaai entertains three angels on their way to ilestroy Sodom, &c. xviii. He intercedes for the inhabitants, but as ten righteous persons could not be found in those cities, they are destroyed, xix. 23. Lot is delivered, and for his sake, Zoar is preserved, \: 19 ^^c.
Abraham retires to Beer-sheba — afterwards sojourns at (jerar. Abinielcch, king oi' Gerar, takes Sarah in order to make her his wile, but is obliged to restore her, XX.
About tliis time, Jobab, tlie second king of the Kdomitcs, be^'an to rci^ii, xxxvi. 33.
Abrahaiu sends I'^liezer to Mesopotamia to get a Tvife for his son Isaac, xxxiv.
Birth of Jacob and Esau, Isaac their fatlicT li.'ing CO years of age, xv. 22, Ike.
About l!iis time, Uushani, the third king of the Edomites began to i-eign, xxxvi. 34.
God appears to Isaac, and gives him glorious premises, xxvi. 4. He stays at Gerar dr.ring the famine, xxvi. 6.
About this time, Hadad, the fourth king of the Edomites, ',)egan to reign, xxxvi. 35.
Jacob espouses Raciul seven years after his engagement with Laban: Leah is put in the place of her sister; but, seven days after, he receives Rachel, xxix.
Evechous begins to reign over the Chaldeans 224' years before the Arabs reigned in that co'intry (Julius Africanus). Usher supposes him to have been the same xvith Belus, xeho was afteyd'ards luorshipped by the Chaldeans.
About tills time Sandali, the fifth king of the Edornites, began to reign, xxxvi. 3t>.
Jacob and his family, imknown to Laban, set out for Canaan; Laban, hearing of his departure, pursues him; after seven days he comes up v.itli liim at the mountains of Galeed; they make a covenant, and gather a heap of stones, and set up a pillar as a n'.emorial of the transaction, xxxi.
Jacob wrestles with an angel, and has his name changed to that of Israel, xxxii.
Dinah defded by Sliecheui, and the subsequent murder of the Shechemites by Simeon and Levi, xxxiv. >
Joseph, aged seventeen years, falling under the displeasure of his brothers, they conspire to tal^e away his life, but afterwards change their minds, and sell him for a slave to some Ishr.iaelite merchants; who bring him to Egypt, and sell him to Potiphar, xxxvii.
Pharez and Zarah, the twin-sons of Judah, born about this time, xxxviii. 27— 30.
Joseph, through the false accusation of his mistress, is cast into prison, where about two years after, he interprets the dreams of the chief butler and the chief baker, xxxix, xl.
Jo.seph makesliimself known to hisbrethren; sends tor his lather, and allots him and bis household the land of Goshen to kinij's treasury, xlvii. 14. He liuys all the cattle, xivii. 16. All the Egyptians give themselves up to be ground, xlvii. 18, &c. The seven years offtmnne ended. About this lime Saul, the sixth king of
37. Jacob having blessed his sons, and the sons aged 147 years. He is embalmed and carried into Canaan, and buried in the cave of Marhpelah, xlix. 1. About this time Baal-hanan, the seventh king of the Edomites, began to reign, xxxvi. 38.
Joseph dies, aged 1 10, 1. having governed Egypt fourscore years.
About this time, lladar or Hadad, the eighth and last king of the Edomites, began to reign, xxvi. 39.
About this time the second aristocracy of Edomilish dukes begins, xxxvi. 40 — 43,
Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, born forty years befor^^ he was sent by Woses to spy out the land of Canaan.
liamessei Mittwun died in the 67th year of his reign, under when), and his son Amenophis who succeeded him, the children of Israel endured the cruel bondage and oppression rneniioned iu Exod, c. I.
1 HE name by which this book is generally distinguished, is borrowed from the Sephtagint, in vhich it is called I'.^o^os, Exodus, the going out or departure; and by the Codex Alexandrinus, EfoJo? Aiy-jTrrov, the departure from Egypt, because tlic departure of the Israelites from Egypt is the most remarkable fact mentioned in the whole book. In the Hebrew Bibles it is called rilDw' n'pN'l ve-elli;h Shemoth, these are the names, which are the words with which it commences. It contains a history of the transactions of 145 years, beginning at the death of Joseph, j where the book of Genesis ends, and coming down to the erection of the Tabernacle in the wil- ^derness, at the ibot of Mount Sinai.
In this book Moses details the causes and motives of the persecution raised up against the Israelites in Egj-pt— the orders given by Pliaraoh to destroy all the Hebrew male children, and the prevention of the execution of those orders, through the humanity and piety of the mid wives appointed to deliver the Hebrew women. The marriage of Amram and Jochebed is next related — ■ the birth of I^Ioscs — the manner in which he was exposed on the river Nile, and in which he was discovered by the daughter of Pharaoh — his being providentially put under the care of his own mother to be nursed, and educated as the son of the Egyptian princess— how, when fortv years of age, he left the court, visited and defended his brethren — the danger to which he was in conseijuence exposed — his flight to Arabia — his contract with Jethro, priest of Midian, whose daughter Zipporah, he afterwards espoused. While employed in keeping the flocks of his father-in-law, God appeared to him in a burning bush, and commissioned him to go and deliver his countrymen from the oppression under v.hich they groaned. Having given him the most positive assurances of protection, and power to work miracles, and having associated with him his brother Aaron, he sent tlicm first to the Israelites to declare the pui-pose of Jehovah, and afterwards to Pharaoh, to require him in the name of the Most Pligh to set the Israelites at liberty. Pharaoh, far from submitting, made their yoke more grievous; and Moses, on a second interview to convince him by whose authority he made the demand, wrought a miracle before him and his courtiers. This being in a certain way imilaied by Pharaoh's magicians, he hardened his heart, and refused to let the people go, till God, by ten extraordinary plagues, convinced him of his omnipotence, and obliged him to consent to dismiss a people, over whose persons and properties he had claimed and exercised a right founded only on the most tyrannical principles. The plagues by which God afflicted tlie whole land of Egypt, Goshen excepted, where the Israelites dwelt, were the following;
1. He turned all the waters of Egypt into blood. 2. He caused innumerable J/'o^gs to come ever the whole land. 3. He aillicted both man and beast with immense sxiwms of xeimin. 4. Af.
terwards with a multitude of different kinds of insects. 5. He sent a grievous pestilence among their cattle. 6. Smote both man and beast with boils. 7. Destroyed thfeir crops with grievous storms of hail, accompanied with the most terrible thunder and lightning. 8. Desolated the whole land by innumerable swarms of locusts. 9. He spread a palpable darkness all over Egypt: And, 10. In one night, slerc all ihcjirsl-born, both of man and beast, through the whole of the Egyptian territories. What proved the miraculous nature of all these plagues most particularly, was, 1st. Their coming exactly according to the prediction, and at the command of Moses and Aaron. 2dly. Tlieir extending only to the Eg^'ptians, and leaving the land of Goshen, the Israelites, their cattle and substance, entirely untouched.
After relating all these things in detail, with their attendant circumstances, Moses describes the institution, reason, and celebration of the passovcr — the preparation of the Israelites for their departure — their leaving Goshen and beginning their journey to the promised land, by the way oi liameses, Suecoth, and Etham. _ How Pharaoh, repenting of the permission he had given them to depart, began to pursue them with an immense army of horse and foot, overtook them at their encampment at Baal-zephon, on the borders of the Red-sea. — Their destruction appearing then to be inevitable, Moses further relates, that having called earnestly upon God, and stretched his rod over the waters — they became divided, and the Israelites entered into the bed of the sea, and passed over to the opposite shore! Pharaoh and his host madly pursuing in the same track, the rear of their army being fairly entered by the time the last of the Israelites had made good their landing on the opposite coast, Moses stretching his rod again over the waters, they returned to their former channel, and overwhelmed the Egyptian army, so that every soul perished!