Tons 10. 7^ Ihreahing Jloor of Alad\ AM^VHtatad, signiflrs a brafkhU or thorn, it bu been understood by the Aiabio, not as a suia's namn, but as lbs name of a flam, but all the other vtraiona and ihs Targuima eon- ■idsr it Bs dw name of a man. Thrediiac floors were sJwaya in the field, in the open air; and JUaa was probably what we would call a gretU farmer, or chief, or some eUtn or tribe in that place. Jerom supposed the place to have been about two leaguea from Jerieho, but we have w> certain tnlbnnation on this poiau The fiinwal prooessioo lUWad here, prDbid>ly as atibrding paabirage to their aattla, while they observed the ssmr day maurning wUdi terminated the funeral soleranities; after which, remained, but the interment of the corpse. The Mounuog of the ancient Uri>rews was usually ot seven days continuance, Numb. xix. 19. Eooles. xxiL 12. 1 Sam. zasi. 13. thourfa on certain oeoasiona, it waa extended to MHf days. Numb. zx. 29. Deut. xxL 13. xxxiv. a but nsMr ieikger. Tim seventy di^ mourning mentioned mixm, was that of the Egyptieas, and was rendered necesamrj by the long process of. embalming, which obliged ihem to kem the body out of tbe grave for eeeenty daya, mm we learn Dotb from Herodotus ud Diodortu. Seven dmffa, by the order of God, a mu was to mourn for his <Uu t beeause, during Qiat time he wt« CMwidered m wtrfasw J but when dtOMwan #ti'>**"^, he was to purify hii— elf, and oonsider tbe mourning as ended, Numb. xix. 11, Ml thm God gave seven dajw, in some casos tiUrty,
10 mmm m 1 maiL ever in hia own estimation wiser them dM word of God, has added eUam whole months to the •Mi,wbiali nature itself pronoouoes to be absuid, beeause
11 ii iBMpable at sapponoig grief lor sneb a tune, and dm mourning is wr, exsmt m die first ssven, cr uiirty digF% a men «il«iu ffl ssiiJiirfsrf raacs; a groM mtnttoifcassJiasfcwi^ttiateoaTisttitiitfgfitsownfaiPflsrisir. wbo will rise up on the side of Ood and eoanaon setMe,
13 And his sons did unto him according as he
13 For " his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried Iiim in the cave of the fioW of Machpelah, (which Abraham " bought with the Reld, for a posseeeion of a burying-place, of Ephron the Hittite,) before Mamre.
14 ^ And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and Ins brethren, and all that went up with him to burv his father, after he had buried his fother.
15 \ And when Joseph's brethren saw that their lather waa dead, * they said, Joseph wiQ peradventure hate us, and will certainly reqtdte UB all the evil which we did unto him.
16 And they 'sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying. Thy father did commano before he died,
and restore becoming sorrow on the deall) of a Klativq, to decency of garb and moderation in its continuance 1 Sup* pose the near relatives of the deceased were to be allowed seven i*ym of secluaiiHi from society, for the purpose of mritoattng on death and eternity, and after thia, to appear in a mourning habit for thirty oaya, every important end would be accomplished, and n)rpocriey, die too common attendant of man, be banished, especially from that part of his life, in which deep sincerity is not lesa becoining, than in the moat solemn act of his religious inlercouraa with Ood.
In a kind of politico-religious institution, formed fay his ^vsent nuuesty Ferdinana IV. king of Naples ana tbe Sicilie^ I find tbe following lationu institute relative to this poinL "Tliere shall be no mournings among vou but only on (he death of a faOier, mother, kuaband, or vife. To render to these the last dutiea of ubclion, ehild' ran, vivea, nod huabanda only shall be permitted to wear a aign or embtam of grief; a man may wear a crape tied round hia right arm: a woman, a black handfterchirf around her neck: and this in both casea, for only two months at the moaU" — Is tliere a purpose which religion, reason, or decency can demand, that would not be answer* ed 1^ such external mourning as thial Only such rala* tiv^ aa the above, brothers and aisters being included, can mourn: all Mhers make only a part of the dumb bypo- Cfitic^s^ts.
Verft 12. And hia ama did unto him] Thia and tbe thirteenth veree have been auppoaed by Mr. Lodte and others, to belong to the conclusion of the preceding chapter, in which connexion, they certainly read more oonsiatently than they do here.
Verae 16. Sato that their father vaa €Uad] Thia st once argues both a aenae ^ guilt in their own conscience^ and a -want (tf eoi\fidenee in their brother. They might have supposed that hitherto be bad forboiM to punish diem, merely on their Other's ocoounl, but now mat he was dead, and Joseph having them completely in his power, they imagined that he would take vengeance on them for their fonner conduct toward him.
Tius conscience records criminality, and giving birth to continual Cssra and doubtfolneea, destroys all peace ol mincLeecurity.aiideonfldeaea. On tb» su^aot an el^gut poet has spoken with bia usual point and disoannenb
We have eeen thi^ in the preceding hiatory, often ez- Mwlifisd ut the cue vt Jemvb'a brathrm. ^
Terse IS. TTty father dtd eommand] WhlAerhedid or not, we oaimot tell ( some think they had feigned this story — but that is not so likely: Jarob niigfac have had suspicions too, and might have thought that the best way to prevent evil, was to bumble themselves before ihenr teother, and get a fresh assurance of hia forgivama.
Terse 17. 7^ aervanta ^ the ihd <if ihyfaOur} Tlwen words wen wonderfitlly well chosen t and spoken at once, in the most fineUde manner, both to Josepl^s piety and 10 hia JUial^aetion. No wondsr ibeo, that As wqx, tsAw theyapake ^^^j^
and their sin; 'for they did onto thee evil: and now we pray thee, forgive the trespaas of the servants of ' the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.
18 And hie brethren also went and ' fell down before his face; and they Boid, Behold, we be thy servants.
19 And Joseph said unto them, "Fear not: • for am I in the place of God 1
20 • Bat as for you, j-e thought evil against me; but * God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, Bsitia this day, to save much people alive.
21 Now therefore fear ye not'. ' I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake * kindly unto them.
22 H And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his
Verae 19. Ant I in the pUxc« of Ood?] These worda may be undenrood either m & questum, or an affirmative propotUUm. How should I take any fanher notice of your transgremion'? I havo passed uWi (be matter lies BOW between God and you. Or, In tno order of divine Providence, I am now tn CSod's place: hehu fUmished me with means, and made me a distributer of his bounty; I will therefore not only nourish you, but also yoUr little ones, ver. 21. and therefore, he spake comfortably unto them, as in chap. xlv. 8. telling them, that he attribtiled the whole business to the pariicular providence fff God, rather than to any itt will or maOce in them; and that, in permitting him to be brought into Egypt, God had graeiouely saved iheir lives, the life of dieir father, the hves of the people of Canaiui, awl of the Egyptians: as therefore God had honoured him by making him vicegerent in the dtspenntions of his especiiU bounty toward so many pe<q>le, it was imposeible he should be displeased with the meant bywhich this was brought about.
Verse 22. Jotaak dwelt in Egypt'] Conthiued in Egypt eiter his return from Canaan, till his death, ht, and Ai« Jather'a house, all the deseendanU of Israel, till the Exodut or departure under the direction of Moses and Aaron, which was one hundred and forty-four years after.
Verae 23. Wert bnmtlU up upon Josepa't knees.] "Hiey were educated by nim, or uiidcr his direction: his cons, and their children continuing to acknowledge him OB tM/rtarcA, or head of the fitmirjr, as long as he lived.
Verae 24. Joeeph taid — I die] i. e, I am dying, and God wiilturdv et»t/y(m,hewill yet again give you, in the time when it snail be essentially necessary, the most signal proof of hi* unbounded love toward the seed of Jacob.
And briitff you out of Ihi* land] Though ye have here every thing that can render life eorofertoAle, yet this im not the typical land, the land given by cooenant, the land which represents the real that remains for the people of God.
Verse 25. Ye ohaU carry up my banes] That I m^y finally rest with my ancestors in the land which Ood gave to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and which is a ftedgt ae it is a (vpe of (he kingdom q/" ksmen. Thus ■ays the author oi the epistte to the Hdtreioa, chap. xi. "ByrATm, Joseph when he died (ri)i<ur>.r, when dying) mode mention of the departure (e£9Isv, of the xxoddb) of the cfaildren of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones." From this it is evident, that Joseph considered all these things as typical; and by this v^ commandmenL ezpresseuhis &iiK in the immortality of the soul, and the general resurrection of the dead. This oath, by which Joseph Ihea bound his brethren, their poBteri^ considered as binding on themselves; and Sf o»s took care, when he departed from Bgypt, to carry up Joeeph'a body with him, Exod. xiii. 19. which was afterward buried in Sudum (Josh. xziv. 32.). the very portion which Jooeb had purchased from the Amoritea, and which he gave to hie eon Joseph, OeiL zlviii. 22. Aets vTi. 16.
Verse 26. Jotsph died, being a hundred and ten years eld] -^wp TWO (3 ben meak pelter shanim; literally, tht son qfa hundred and ten years. Here the period of time ne lived, is personified; all the years of which it was composed, being represented as a nurse or JfiAef*, feeding, nDuriehii^, and aupporting him to the end. lliiB figure, irtiieh le termed by rtietoricians prootmopeioy is very frequent in S<aipture; and by this, •irttws, vices, forms, attributes, and qualities, with every part of inanimate nature, are represented as endued with raasan and apssdh, aid Mrforming all (he aetiona of iaM%«t beugs.
23 And Joseph saw Ephraim's cbudren ■ of the third generation: ""the children also of Machir, the son of Manasseh, ■ were * brought up upon Joseph's koees.
24 IF And Jioseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God • will sorely visit you, and bring yoa out of this land, unto the land ' which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
23 And e Joseph took an oath of the chBdren of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones firom hence.
26 H So Joseph died, being a hundred and ten years old: and they *■ embalmed him, and fa< was put in a coffin in Egypt.
They embalnied him] See on ver. 2. TTie same precautions were taken to preserve his body as to pT«serve that of his btfaer Jacob: and this was particularly necessary in hia case, because his body was to be carried te Canaani an hundred and fcr^-feor yaan after; iriiieh,as EusetHoa obMrves, was the duration of die Ivaeliter bondage, after the death of Joseph.
Andhsieas put in a e^n in Egypt.] On this Mdiject I shall subjoin some useful remarks from Ifarmei's Observaikns, which several have borrowed witboM acknowledgment I quote my own edition of thia tntk, vol. iii. p. 69, &0. Lond. 1808.
"There were eonw mediode of honouring Iht dsai, whidi demand our attention: the being put in a c^n has b^n, in particular, considered as a mark of distinction.
" With us, th(! poorest people have their e<iM»s.- if the relations cannot afford them, the parish is at the expeaose^ In the east, on the contrary, th^ are not alv^ made use of, even in our times. The andent Jews probably buried their dead in the same manner: neither was th^ body of our Lord put in a a0n i nor that of EUska, whose bones were touched by the corpse that waa let down a little after, into his sepulchre, 2 Kings xiiu 21. TbKt aiffina were anciently made use of in Kgypt aU agree I and antique coffins of stone, and of sycamore 'wood, are still to be seen in that country, not to mention those said to be made of a sort of pasteboard, formed W folding and ghieing cloth togedier, a great number of times, which were eurionsly plastered, and then paiiAd with hieroglyphics.
"As it was an ancient Egyptian custom, and was sot used in the neighbouring counuies, on these account^ the Barred historian was doubtless led to observe ot Joseph, that he waa not only tmbolmtd, but was also pot in a cqj^n, bodi being practioea almost peculiar to dw E^ptians.
^Bishop Patrick, on this poseoge takes notice of the Egyptian coffins of sycamore wood and paotehoard^ but he does not mention the contrary usage of the neighbouring countries, which was requisite, in order fiilly to illustrate the place: but even thi^ perhaps, would not have oodveved die vhole ilhougU of the saored author.
**Afr. lUaiUel conjectures, that aU were not inclosed in cqfins, which were laid in the Egyptian repoartoriea Ot the dead; but that it was an honour appropriated to persons of distinction; for after having given an account of several niches which are found in (how chambers of death, he adds; ' But it must not be imagined, that the bodies deposited in these gloomy apartments were all inclosed in chests, and placed in nitmes. The greater part were simply embalmed, and swathed; after which, they laid dtem one by the side of the other, without any ceremony- Some were even put into these tombs u/ithoui any embalmtng at all; ot widi tuch a sli^t oiie. that there remains nothing of them in the linen la which they were wrapped, but the bones; and these half rotten. It is probable, that each considerable family had one of these burial-places to themselves; that the nitfus were designed for the bodies of the heads of (he femily; and that thosn of their domestics and slaves had no other care taken of tl<em, than mervly li^ng them in the ground after beiiw slightly embalmed, and sometimes even wilhoat tkaiz which was probafaiy all that was done to heads U fiuiiliea of lesa distmetion.'^ Lett. 7. p. 391. The same author gives an account of a mode of burial anciently practised m that country, which has been but recently aiscovend: it consisted in ^eing the bodies, after they were awalhed up, on a layer of <^iaitnal, and covering them with a nat, dMerabeior nad amn tv ei^ feat deqk
" Hence it aeemi erident iBat eoMnt were not univcruilfy tued ia Egjrpt, and were only uaed for persona of emuMDce and dieimction. Ii is also icaaonable to believe, duu io times so remote aa those of J<m^, ihey might hav« be«o much leu common than ofterward, and uiat consequently, Joseph's being put in a coffin in Egypt, might be mentioned with a design to express the great hoavura the Egyptians did him in death, as well as in life; being treated after the most sumptuous manner, gmbalTtu^Kod put into a cqffin. "
It is BO objection to this account, that the widow of Noin's son is represented as carried forth to be buried, in a rtfif, or bitr; for the present inhabitants of the Levant, wno are well known to lay their dead in the earth unindosed, caiTT them frequently out to burial in a kind of ooMn, whicn is not depoaitea in the grave, the body being taken ont ^ it, and placed in the grave in a reclining tKMtura. It is probBbfe, therefore, that the coffins used ai Nain, were of the same kind, being inieikded for no other purpose but to carry the body to the place of inlennent, the Dody itself being buried without them. See RmsSL's HisL of Ali^rpa, vol. L p. 306, &c.
It is veiT prtteble, that the chief difference was not in Mikg wim, or irfMottf a coffin i but in the txpmnteatxt of the oofna itself; aome of the Egyptian coffins being made of granite, atid covered all over with hieroglyjiiiicB, the ratting of which must have been done at a prooieioua expens&both of time aitd money, the stone being so hard, that we nave no tools by which we can make any impres- ■ioa on iL Two of tfane are now in the British Huseum, that appear to have belonged to some of the nohlt* of Egypt liey are dug out of the solid stone, and adorned Titn almost innumerable hieroglyphic*. One of these, vulnrly caJled Alexaikder's tomb, is ten feet three inches ana a quarter long; ten in^s thick in the sides: breadth at top nve feet three inches and a half: breadth at bottom four feet two inches and a half: and three feet ten in depth, la such an one I suppose the body of Joseph was deposited t and such an one could not have been made and timnqKHled lo Canaan at an expense that any private tndiviflual could bear. It was with incredible labour and at an oxtraordinary expense, that the coffin in question was removed the distance of but a few miles from the ship that brought it from Enrpt, to its present residence in the British Huseum. JudgB then, at what an expense such a eoffin must have been digged, engraved, aixi transported over dt» desert from Egypt to Canaan, a distance of three hundred miles 1 We need not bs surprised to bear of carnages, and horsemen, a very great company, when such a eomn was to be carried so mr, with a auiiaole company to •tiend it
Josh's lift was the sftorfett of all die patriardis t for which Bishop Patrick gives a sound phyaical reascm— he was the son of his fathers obi age. It appears from Archbishop Usher's Chronolooy, diat Joseph governed Egypt - under four kings: M*pira7iuithoau, Thm«*U, Ameno^U, and Onu. His govemmenl, we know, lasted et^Uy years: for when he stood before Pharaoh, he was tiurtif years of age, chap. zli. 46. and he died vhga ha waa MM hundred and Un, from which subttaa tktriy, ■ad there remaln,/burse9re.
On the AaracUr and amduxt of Joseph, many remarks Iwve already been made in the preceding notes. On the nUeot of his pitty there can be but one opinion. It was Way exemplary, and certainly was tried in cases, in which few instances occur pertanring _fidetitt/. His high ■MM of the holiness of Ood, the strong claims of justice, and the risbta of hospit^^ and gratimde, led him in the inataoe* en the solicitations of his master'a wife, to act a part which, though absolutely just and proper, can never De sufficiently praised. Heathen authors boast of some persoas of wen singular constancy; but the intelligent naderwill reeoUeet, that ihew nlatiou atani in general in ibeir fabulmu hUtbrUt, and are destitute oi those ebaraeieristics which truth essentially requires; such I mean as the story of Hippolytut and Pfuedra; BtUeropAoR and Arttea or SAaiobaa / Pdau and AatydatMo, and odien of this complexion, which appear to be marred pictare% taken fkom this highly finished original, which the inspind writer has birlv diawn ^m life.
WMjUdUjf to tua maator is not less evident; and God's apprawuimi of his eondnet is strongly marked; for he eaused whatsoever be did to prosper whether a slave in the house of his master, a (Nrisoner in the dungeon, or a •rime minister br the throne; which is a full proof that ■is wajm pleoseu him, and this is more clearly seen in tha providantul deliverances by whidi he was favoured.
SiaiooB. Oa the one hand it is aaserted, that " he found I Bgyptiaas t^frttpta^ and that he availed himself of a moat afflicting providence of God, to reduce them all into a ttate of uavtrj/y destrOTcd their political ccmaequence, and made their king despotic." In all these respects, his political meaaurea have beenslnHOgly vindicated, not tmly as being direUed by God, but as being ofrrtous/y the beat, every thing considered, for the safety, honour, and welfare bt bis sovereign and the kingdom. It is true, he boueht the landa of £e people for the king; but he fai-med them to the original occupiers again, at the moderate and fixed crown rent of mudfth part of the produce. " Thus did be provide for the liberty and independence of the people, while he strengthened the authoriiu qf tM Icing by making him sole proprietor of the lands. And to secure tiie people from farther exaction, Joseph made it a law over all the land of Egypt, that Pharaoh (i. e. tha king) should have only the fifui pott: which law subsbted to the time of Hesea, chap, xlvii. 21 — 26. By this wise regulatioiL" continues Dr. Hales, "tha people bad fburfifou et the pivduce of the lands for theu' own us& and were exempted from imv farther taxes, the king being bound to si:q)port his civij and military establishment out of the crown rents." By the original constitution of E^ypt established by Menea, and Thoth or Hermea, his pnme ntinistw, the lands were divided into three portion*, be* tween the king, the pri^eta, and the milUary, each party beinc bound to support its respective establiahinent by tlie produce. See the quotation from Diodorua Siculus. in the note on chap, xlvii. 23. It is certain, therefore, iluit the constitution of Egypt was considerably altered fay Joseph, and there can be no doidit, that mucn additional power was, by diis alleratimi, vested in the hands of the sing; but as we do not find that any improper use was made of this power, we mav rest assured that it was so qutU^ed and reatricted bv wnolesome reg\dation», tliough iheyare not here particularized, as complctBly to prevent all abuat of the regal power, and all tyrannical usurpation of popular rights. That the people were nothing but slaves, to the king, the military, and the prieatt, before, appears from the account given 1^ Dioduus; each of the three eataiea probably allowing them a ccrtun portion of land for their own use, while cultivating the rest for the use and etnoli^ meni of their masters. Matters however became more regular under the edminiBtration of Joseph; and it is, perhaiw, 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 bleBsings that it owed to the wisdom and prudence of Joseph, diat he reduced it lo a rtgular /orm of government, giving the people such an interest in the rafety of the state, as was well calculated to ensure their exertions to defend the nation, and render the oottafitutian fixed and permanent.
It is well known that Jtu^n^ one of tha Romaa histodans, has made puticular, and indeed htmouiable mention of Joteph't admiqistration in Egypt, in the account ha gives of Jewish affairs, lib. xzxvl chap. 2. How the relation may have stood in Trogua Poitipeiua, from whose voluminous work in forty-four books or volume^ Justin aMdgsd his history, we cannot tell, as the woric of IVoguB is irrocoverably lost; but it is evident that the aeoount was lldwa in die main from die'Hosaie histtmr, and it if written with as much candour as can be expectea from t,prefudieed and unprineipUd heathen.
JtnaimiM tetate inter Jralrta Joseph fuit, iui. " Jos^ was the youngest of bis brethren: who being envious of his excellent endowments, stole him, and privately soM him to a eompany of foreign merchants, by whom he waa carried into Egyifrt, where having diligently cullivaiod magic arte, he became, in a short time, a prime fiivouriie with the kiiig himself. For he was the most sogacknis of men, in explaining prodigies; and he vas the first who constructed the science of mlerpreting dream*. Nor woa there any thing relative lo laws, human or divine, with irtiich he seemed unacquainted; ior he predicted a fiuluia of the crops many yeua befbre it took place; and the inhabimnbi of Egypt must have been fomished, had not the kii^, through lus counsel, made au edict to preserve the frails (or- several yeara. And hia experimenu were so powerful, that the responses appear to have been given not by man, but by God." TwUaque experimenta, c^ua Juerunt, ut non ab homine^ aed a Deo, reaponaa dari viderantur. I believe Justin refers here, in the word experimenia, to his figment of tiutgieal incantation^ eliciting oracular artwers. Others have translated die words: " So aixaUmt were hia regvlationa, that they seemed rather, to be oracular reaponata, not given iff man, but by God."
I have already compared Joaei^ with his father Jacot^ see ettap. xlviii. 12. and aball mske no apology fin- having given toe latter a most decided superiority. Joseph was great; but his greatness came thmogh the inlerpoaition of praciicaU}/ great, under the ordinary wmaaga of Proviaenoe; and towarda the close of bu lify, not leu diathi- rished for piety toward G|od, thiu hit son Joseph wa% the holiest period of his life.
"Hius temiiuuM the Book of OKmair, the most ancient record in the world; including the history of two grand •ubjectB, CuATiov, and Pbovjdesce; of each of which it gives a. Bummary, liut astonishingly minute and detailed aceouni. From this book, almost all the ancient philosojAiere, astronomers, ehronologists, and historians, have taken ibeir respective data: tuid all the modern improvements and accurate discoveries In ditferent arts and ieienc(», have only served to confirm the facts detailed fev Moses, and to show diat all the ancient writen on mese Mitgeets have imtvadud to, or needed from Titnu •Dd the p^momtna m luUurt. in the exact proportion as l^lKn/oUotoed OttMimMehlMtojy. In this book the csBATivB powxK and siraaoT of Ooa are first inb^uced to the reader's notice j and the mind is overwhelmed with those grand creative acts fay which the univerae was bKMight into being. When this account is completed, and die introduction of Btn. and its awfiil consequences in the destiuetion of the eaun by a jtooc^ noticed, then, the Almighty Creator is next introduced as the bestouk and rnEBSBVCB of the world; and thus the history of Providence commences — a history, in which the mind of man is ^temately delisted and confounded, with the infinitely varied plana of madom and nurcy, in preservii^ the human ^eciea, counteracting the evil propenaities oT men and devtla, means of graeimu in/tuenea ctmveyed through rdigwu* in»tUution»f planting and watering the seeds of truth and righteousness, which nimself had sowed in the hearts of men; aixl leading forward and maturing die grand purposes of his grace and goodness, in the final salvation of the human race.
After giving a minutely detailed aceount, and yet in a Ts^ short compass, of the peapHng tiu earth, ascertaining anaaettliag the bounds of tneaifiuent nations of mankinfi,' die sacred writer proceeds with the history of one family only; but he chooses that one, through which, as Irom an ever-during fountain, the streams of justice, grace, goodness, wiadam, and truth, should emanate. Here we see a pure well of, living water, springing up unto eternal life, restrained, it is true, in its j>tiTticular influence to one people, till, in the fulness ef time, the fountain riiould be opened in the house of David, for sin and for uneleanness in general, and the earth filled with the knowledge and. salvation of God: thus by means of one family, as extensive a view of the economy of providence and grace is afforded, as it is possible for the human mind to compreheitd.
In Uiia Kpilome, how wonderful do the workings of Proridenee appear I An astonishii^ concatenated train ef ttapendmts and miwttte events is laid before us; and every transaction is so distinctly marked, as every where to exhibit the Jlnger, the /land, or the arm of Oodl But did God lavish lils providential cares and attention on this one family, eirctuBiveof the rest of his intelligent ofTspring? No: For' the same auperintendence, providential direction, and influence, wonld'be equally seen in alt the eoneems of human life, in the preserntion of individuals, the rise and fUl of kingdoms and states, and in all the mi^ty uvolunoMB, natural, marat, and polilieal, in the universe, were God, as in the preceding instances, to eive us the detailed history; but what was done in the fomlly of Alwaham, was done in behalf of tlie whole human race. This specimen is intended to show us, that God doet itork, and that against llhA, and the c^ienuiona of his htuid, no nnjjHU, no canned, no eunnln^ m men or devils can prevail— that he who walks uprightly, walks securely; and that all things work together for good to them who love Ood. That none is so i^nOTOJiL totr, or loeL that God cannot inHruet, raise up, udaaiw.* InawordMi^owshimselflivthishutorytoDe the invariable yWerut of mankind~~tha.t ne embraees every opportunity to do them good — and, speaking after the maooer of men— tlmt he rejoices in the frequent recurrenoe <^ such opportunitier: that every man, considering the subwet, mw be led to exclaim, hi beltalf of all bu feUow& HEUOLD aow HE Lorvra THEM!
On the eharacitar of Moaes, aa a HnroaiAir and priumcvniEB, <fer in hia U^tative character be does not yet appear,) much mieht be said, did the nature of this woik admit. But as brevity has bntn every where studied, and minute details rarely admitted, and only where absolutely tteceasary, the enndid reader will excuse any deficieaciea of this kind whieh he may have already noticed.
Of dwMeuraeyand importuiJayofUoassMaftiatoriafi, ■•1)7 namplea an given in theoomm of dw BOtMi wUk 1S& suggested: and the nieceedtng books wOl afitwd many opportunities for tarthCT rem&rkB on theM topics.
The character of Mooes, as a phUoaopher and Aronologirt, has undergone the severest scrutiny. A class ofphilosophers, professedly infidels, have assailed the Mosaic account of the formation of die universe, and that of the general deluge, with such repeated attadis, as aoERciendr proved, that, in their appreliension, the [Hilars of dieir system must be shaken mto ruin, if tliose accounts eoirld not be proved to be &Ise. TVaditions, supporting dilTerent accounts from those in lh« sacred histo^, have been borrowed from the most barbarous, as well as the most civilized nations, in order to Bear on tliis argument. Tliese, backed by various geologic observations, made in extensive travels, experiments on the formation of different ttrata or beds of earth, eidier by inundations or volcanic eruplHnu^ have been all condensed into one apparently suong but strange argument, intended tu overthrow the Mosaic account of the creation. The argument may be sCatel dins: "The account gi^-en by Moses of die time when God commenced his creative acts, is loo recent; for, according to his (Senesis, sir thouaand yean have not yet ela[wed since the formation of die universe; whereas a varie^ '^.^'^ nomena prove that the earth itself must have existed, u not from etemitj[, yet, at \eB*l fourteen, if not tventy ikmtsand years." Tliis I call a atravge argument; because it is well known, that all the ancient nations in the world, the Jews excepted, have, to secure iheir honour mod respeetftbility, assigned to tliemselves a duration of the most improbable kngth; and have multiplied monAt, weelc*, and even dayt, into years, in order to support dieir p^tensioM to the most remote antiquity. Tiie mSlibna of yean which have been assumed by the Ckineee and the Hindoo^ have been ridiculed for their manifest absurdity, even by those pIiiloBOphers who have brought the contrary Aarge against the Moiuic account I So notorious are the pretensions to remote ancestry, imd remote eras in every fatee and fabricated system, of family pedigree, and national antiquity, as to produce doubt at the very first view of dieir subjects, and to cause the impartial inquirer after truth, to take every step with the extreme ot cautioa, knowing imt in going over such accounts, be every where trends oo • kind of enchanted ground.
When, in themiost of these, a writer is found, who, without saying a word of the systems of other nations, professes to give a simple account of die creation and peophn^ <rflhc earth, and to show the very conspicuous part that his own people acted among ilie various nations of ihe'worM, and who assigns to the earth and to its inhabitants a duration comparatively but as of yeeterday, he comes forward with such a varied of claims to be hcara, read, and conaidn«(^ as no other writer can pretend to. And as he departs from die universal custom of all writers on similar anbjecta, in assigning a comparatively recent date, net only to his own nation, Iwt to the universe itself, he must have been actuated by motives essentially different from ilioae which have governed all other ancient historians and chrtmologists.
The generally acknowledged extravagance and absurdi^ of alldM chronological systems of ancient times, the great aimplifdty and harmony of that of Moses, iu facta evidentiy oorroared by others, though disgraced by the fablea the^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 baa been supposed to be annihilated, by an argumMit brouQ^t against tne Mosaic account of tne creation, by Mr. Patrick Brydone, F. R. 8. drawn from (he evidence of different eruptions of Mount Etna. The reader may find this in his "Tour through Sicily and Malta," letter vii. wher^ ■peaking of his acouaintanee with the Canonico Seatpero, at Catania, wno was then en^loyed on writing ft natural history of Mount Etna, ha says; "Near to a vault which is nowAtWyfeet below ground, and has probably lieen a burying-place, there is a draw-well, wnera there are several strata of lotas, (i. e. the liquid matter formed of atones, &c. whidi ta diacbarged from the moontain in iu eruptions) widi earth to n considerable ihickneas over each stratum. Jtecupsro has made use of this as an argument to prove the great antiquity of the eruptions of this mountain. For n it requires fwt Mo«wii4 years and upward* to fmn but a scanty soil on tbe munce of a lava, there most have been more than that ^lace of time between each of the eruptions which have famed these strata. But what shall we ny of a pit they sunk near to Jaei, of a great dwdi? Tliey pimed ibnug^ sspsn distinct looos, one under the other, the Mirfaces of wUAintt p«ralH*>d bum of tbem mwmA wUk m
0Ucft btd iif rich earA. Vow, mm he, dte ernption Vhidi Ibrmed the loveat of then wma, if we may be mowed to reaeon from aoMlngv, mtut hare flowed from tb« ntountain U leaat/ourfem Vunuand jeara 1 (Opera tells me, ho is exeeodtngly embomaMaby then ditcoveriea, in wriiinr the history of the raoantaui— That Mom hanga like a atoA veight tipon him, and blunts all faia ceal for inquiry; for that Ke really haa not the con- »eitneeto make Am mountain mo young a» that prtip/ut
" liie btAoa who ia strenuotulr ordiodoz — fiir it is an exeellUit aefr— haa already varnea him to be u^a his guard; and not to pratetra te be a better natural historian Ban Moses; »or to premue to nf^ atiy thln^ that may in the smallest d^ree be deemed eontradictory to kU satood authority."
Hough Mr. Brydo&e produces this as a sneer aeainst ttmlacmi, bishops and orthodoxT, vet the sequel will prore dtat it was good hdvioe, and that the biuiop xna hutch better fnstructed than elnw Atcupera or Bimmu; and that it would have bees much to tiheir aMl^ bad tbey taken bu advice.
I have given, however, this vgument at length, and •ven m the insdioafl dress of Mr. Brydone, whose faith ia Divine Revalatim appears to have been (won a par with thai of Sijiilorfisciipei^ both beiwbaihbd nearly OB the same fcondation, to ahow from the answer, hoV riigiu the strongest arguments are, produced ftoita insalaiad facts br prejudiee and partjaliw^ when brought to ' the teat <rf sober, candid, philDSOohical mvestigatioB, aided by an increased knowleitge of me phenomena of nature, ''in answer to this argument," says bishop Watson, (Lettars to Oibbon) " it might b6 tnved— diat the time neees- Buy for converting lava* into fertOe fteM^ uutt be very difwent, aeeordlne to the diShrent coosisteneies of the Ivraa, and their dilterent situations with respect to «terd- NoAandrf<prea*ion, or their being exposed to umdr, rain*, and ftther circumstances; as for iostanee, the quantity of 4uhe» dcpouled over them al^ they had cooled, Ac Ac. just as the time in which heaps of irtm »tag, which resembles lava, are covered with verdure, is dinbrent at diffisrent fiimaces, according to the nature of the tla^ and situation of the fiimace: and something of this kind is daducible from the account of the canon (Reoupero) himsel^ since the erevieem in the Strata are often lull of rich amod soiL and have pret^ large trees growing upon them. But should not all this be thought sufficient to remove the obfeetioa, I wilt produce the canon an analogy in opposition to his uoalogy, and which is grounded on more eertain bets.
" Ema and Vesuvius resemble each other in the causes which produce their eruptions, in the nature of their laviu, and in the time neoessary to mellow them into soil fit for vegetation: or if there m any sli^t difference in this nSftei, it is probably not greater than what Kibaists between differant lavas of the same mountain. lUs beiiw admitted, irtuch no pUlosopher will deny, the canon^ (Rect^ero's) aiuU(^ will prove just nothing at all, if we can produce an instance of sesen different /omt, with in- UrjottMt ttrofai ^ MgetabU sartt, which have flowed from mmut Vesuvius within the space, not of fourUm ttaHSMui; bat of somewhat leaa than one Aoumnd kundrwd years; Cm then, aeeordiiw' to our analoKir, a •froAns tf tana may be coaered wtm m^etoUa sou in mbout two laavirtd and jifty y*art, instead of roquiring two Ikoasaiut for that purpose.
" The eruption of Vesuvius, wiiich destroyed HereuiatMum and Pomp^t ^ rendered still more umous by the death of PUny^ recorded by his nq>hew, in his letter to TWtfus; dkis event happened a. t>. 79. but we are inftmed fay unquestionable authority (RsmorAs on tfu nattm af&tavU^ NapUo and iU vicinity, by Sir William Hamilton, PhibM. TVansocf. voL Lri. Ji. 7.) thai the muter which covers the ancient town of Areuioaeum, is not the produce of one eruption only, for there are evident marks diat the matter of «i* eruptions has taken its Murse over that which lies immediMehr over dw town, and was the cause of its deatructioo. iTiose strata are either of lava, or burnt matter with vino qf jmod »oU bttwem OumJ" "You perceive," says the bisnop, " with what ease a IUU» attention and iner«a»e qf knowUdgt, may remove a great ditficulty; but had we been able to ■ay nothing in explanation of this phenomenon, we should not have acted h, very rational part, in making our ignornoa tha fawiation our injliUtUth or sufferiitf a TP'T^ philosopher to tab us of our religion." In uiis, as well as in all other cases, the foundation stands sure, bang deeply and legibly impressed With Ood's seal.
IbeMaaaie account of the wiivmattiy ^ fts tfahnfn iMsbMn triad fcj the bkm* rigid taataabotiuid die nmlt hat been, in the view i>f every candid person, highly ««• ditabte to the sacred historinn. Every Npearance m na* ture, in die structure and composition of the surface and different strata of the earth, has borne an unequrvoeal and decided testtmonv to the tnitli of ihe book of Genejiis: so that at wesent, tncre is, on this subject, ararcely any materia] dinerence of opinion among the most profound philosophers, and moat accurate geoloeiflts.
On the gtiilogy and astronomy of the book of OttDem, much has been written both by the enemies and frinxla of revelation: but as Hoses has said but very little on these subject^ and nothing in a tyatematic way, it is unfidrto Invent a system, pretendedly collected out of his words, and thus make him aecountaole for whet he never wrote. There are systems of this kind, the preconceived fictions of their author^ for which they have aooriit support and credit tortured meanings extracted from a Kw /Tefrrenr roou; and then dignified them with the title of TTu Memaic oy&tem q/* the Univerwe. This h(U affimled infideli^ a buuUe whidi it has been carefol to turn to Its own advantage. On the fu-st chapter of Gene' ris I have nven a general view of the solar system, without pretending ihat I Ind found it there; I have also ventured to m>1y the comparatively recent doctrine of caloric to the Mosaic account of me creation of Hg^ previous to Oie formadon of the stuk and have sapporisd It with sach argummts as appeared to me to render it at least probable; out I have not pledgisd Moses to any of my cxphtoations, being fillly convmcec^ that it was necessarily foineign from his design to enter into jditlosoi^ic detaiu of any kind, As it was his grand object, as has been already ramaned, to give a history of CasATioN and PaoviosircK in the most aont^ged form of which it was e^hle. And who, in so few words ever spohe so much 7 By ertaiioti I mean die prodtietion of every being, animate and inanimate, material and inteltectusj. Atid by Providence, not only the preservation and government of all beings, but also the various and extraordinary provisions mwle by divine jtlstiee and merer for die eomfort and final salvation of man. Iliese sunjeets I have endeavoured to trace out through every chapter of this roost important book, and to exhibit them in such a manner as appeared to me the best calculated to promote gtory to Ooo tn the higfuH j and upon earth pbace, ako qood will amono kxm.
Observationa on the Jewish numner of dividing and reading- the iaw and tbeprojAeto. llie ancient Jews divided the whole law of MoMa inttt fift^-fouT aections, which they read in their aynogMue^ in the courae of the Jl/ly-fim sabbaths in the year, joining t-ao of the shortest twice together, that the whole miriit be finished in one year's space; but in their intereaicS^ years, in which diey addnl a month, they had Jfty^our aabbuhs, and then they had a section for each sahtathi and it was to meet theezigency of the intewalolarf yeai% that they divided the law into fifty-four aaetiOiH at fint Wlun Antiochus Epiphanes forbade the Jews on pain ot death to read their law, they divided the prophet* into the same number of sectitms^ and read them in their synagogues in plaoe of the law.* and wbeiL under the Asmoneans, they recovered dmr liberty, and with it the freo exercise of their religion, though the readingttf tlis law was resumed, they continued Ihe use of the pnipAslfo MetioTU, reading them etmjohidy with those in the law. To this^rsf divtcion and mode of readhig the law, there is a reference, Acta zv. 21. f\tr Moaes qf old time, haffi, in every city, them thai preach him, being aun uf ran aYWAooaoas xvut eAssATH oat. To the second division and coi^foint reading of the law and the prophets^ we also find a reference, Acts xiii. 16. And t^fier the reading <^ the LAW, Aim THB PROPKITS, the rulert qf the eynagogue eent unto them, taying, Ac And that the mvphete were read in this way, in our Lonffe time, w« nave a proo^ Luke iv. 16. Ac wbera^ going into the aynogogue la read on the eabbath dm, ae woe hie euetam, there woe deHvered unto him the book tff the vraphd ZnuoA— and it appears that the prophetical eeetion, tor that sabbath, was taken from the sixty-first diopter of hia IMTophecies.
Then aectiotu have their tedmuMl name*, from (be woidt with which (hey commence: and are maned in the Hebrew Bibles with three sua |>r viudi are an abbreviaiion for nv^a paraAak, a Auction or dtPtstoit,- and sometimee with three ddb tamech'a, which are an abbreviation fgr the word -f<o teder, or n-iio mdrah, an tfrder, a ftill and abeolute division. fonn^ are BeneraUy ciUled rvviar\B paraAioth, diMncHoiu, dtebwn^ ftofu — the latter avvm siderim. orders arrangtintnU i as it is suwosed, that the eeiwe is more fiill anacomplete in Oust, than in the vanuftfotA.
At the end of all the books in the Hebrew Bible, the MMtrrete* have affixed certain note; ascertaining the number at greaier and tmaUer tKtioju, chapters, vertM, and letter*. "Riese they deemed of the Kreotest importiaic% in Older to preserve the iniegri^ of their law, and fbe purity of their prophets. Ana to thia end, they not only numbed every verse, word, and letter, but even went so fu* as to ascertain how often taeh t€tt*r of the aljihabet occurred in the vhoU Bible I Thus sacredly did w^ch over duir records in order to prevent every qtedeaof comvtiai. To some, ihiB has ai^eand trifling; othera have seen it in a difieiait pdat at view, and have giymdiieai^lause todiitt^^iuaxMf and^Kfttffr)^ wbiiAk have b«Q exerted la so many tedioos and vezaiioos researches, inixder topreaerve tte integclQr and bcoflui of ttie XAW or OoD.
nun of all dw ▼saaifl in Bar^Mlk (Genesis) is 1SS4. And the memorial sign of this mm ia ^ ofqA Hstgnifyiog lOOOi^bMicapSi 600; JaM«2 ^ 3^ and Ah UA^im 1634.
The middU verse of Genesis ia the. fortieth of chap. xxviL Bjf Qiy neord thalt Hum live.
The PAaAamoTK, or greater sections, are twelve, "nte nmbol of which is the word re zeh, this, Exod. iii 16u And THIS u my memorial to all gentratimu. Where xain I stands for 7, and U n for 6 = 12.
The PSBAKiu, or modem division of cbaflen, are fiftyi the symbol of which ia ^7 Uea, laa. xxxiiL 2: We fcova teaUei pob tui. Where lamad h stands fur 30, and capft n for 20 = 60.
The open eeaUmt are 43.-1^ cfosa wcfims 48. total 9L TheDumertealngnttfwbichisMste^cnrnmon', Exod. xL & vhere JaodiiE s alaada for 90^ and oMn far 1=91.
The nvmher of letters is about 62740t but this last b more a matMr of conjecture and mmpiUalion than of cer* UUntys and on it no dependence can safoly be placed, it being a mere multiplication by Hedae, the number of aeo* tioiu, of 4395, the known number of tetters in dhe fast or ' twlflh section of the book: on this subject see Buxtoff s TiberioM, p. 181.
All these notes, with some others of minor importance, the reader may find in most edititou of the ICavmiio Hebrew Bibles, especially in those of Bamberg and Biutaift as alao in the editions which have flowed from them, Mideolarhr in thoae at Van dtr Simoiu, Ae.
Tbu reader will obtepre fitmi the chronolo^cal notes in the margin of the preceding work, that in a few instaocM I have dmvted from the Vaherian computation, for which he will find mj Teosona in the notet.
liu* ttUe I have eonnderably enlarged, by inserting the EdomUish kin^a and dukea, and a few other tmnsactioiH of profane hiatWT,e<MUempomr with the acta mentioned bv BIoMi. l^whMdi the reader will haveatynopais, orgen*> nl view, of all tna tramaeliona of die fint 2400 yearaof tne wtirU, which atand upon any aulhentb reeorda.
The JM year of the world, anaweiing to the TlOth Tear of the Julian Period, and auppoted to be 4004 before the vulgar «n u lha birth of Cbnat.
nm 4Ks*t work: Crealloa ottka haamwand e^rib; of lisht. witb the dMacUon of day and alf ht, Oen. i. I— 5. Beeondday*. CiMtioaitftlMflnnaaent.and aeparatlon of tiM superior aad lafiiiior waters, i.
and nan, i. St-S8. Sevenlli day: Set apart and hallowMl to be a Sab balb. or day of reat for ever, ii. S, 3. Tcntli day; The llrit wonan tins, leads her baaband into the transgTestion. is called Eve. tii. 1— ao. They are both expelled from Paradise, ID. 43-94.
9 Csin and Abel bom, Iv. 1.9. 1S9 Abel killed by bis bioUwrCala.lv. 8. 130 BIrtb of Beth. iv. IS. 939 Bnos. ton of Beth, bom, I*. SO. Bence followed Iba distinct loo between tbedesceadantsorCain and tboae of Selh; the fornier beinf called «<m» ^ Mtn, the latter lom pf Ooi, vl. I~4. 3KS Birthof Cainan, son of Enoa, V. 0.
•30 Death of Adain, aged 930 years, v. 3. ■07 Enoch is translated in tbe 3CSth year of Us age, Y. S14.
Calaan dies, aged 910 years, v. 14. MBO Hahalaleel dies, and BOS years, t. IT. IM Jared dies, aged fin years, V. 90. 1330 |God commissions Nosh to preach repentance to the guilty world, and to announce the deluge. He commands bin also to build an aifc for lb* •afely of Wnuelf and bis flunily. This com- Misstos was livan 140 years beAws the flood eaaw. 1 Pat. HI. 1& 9 Pat. II. S. aen.vL17. Btrtt of Japbotb, son of Noah, v. 31. eompaied wltbi.Sf.
The Mssral MXtlGE. vU. Haan, Us Eunlly, aodlbe animals to be preserved enter tbe ark, tbe 17th day of tbe second month of this year, vil. II. The rain eonmeaces snil eontlnnes 4D days and nights, and the waters cMthinewiibotttdeefeaslnc.UOdaya: thnr^tterward begin le abate, and the ark faau en no«nt Ararat. Till. 4.
Seven days after, he seiHls out a dove which re turns the same day^ftor seven days be sends out tbe dove a second time, which returns no more, viii. 8—13.
Noah, his family, dec. leave fba ark. He oOfars SBcriAces to God, vill. and Ix.
Birth of Arphaxad, son of flhem, x). JO. IL
Building of the tower of Babel, xi. 1—
About this time, Babylon was built by the com mand of Ntmrod.
Birth of Ran, son of Peleg, xi. 18.
Commencement of the regal government of Egypt, from MtKraim, son of Ham. Egypt continued an independeni kingdom from this time to the reign of Cambyses, king of Persia, which was a period of 1063 years, according to Consiaoil nus Man asses.'
Birth of Serug, son of Ren, xl. 90.
About this time, ^laleus founds the kingdom of
Birth of Jiram, son of Terah, xL 98. of Ssrai. wife of Abnun.
Chedortaomer, king of Etam, subdues the kingsof the Ptniapelia, Sodom, Gomorrah, &c to whom they continued in auhJectJon for IS years, xiv. 4.