Commentary on the Holy Bible

Verse 23. O Naphiali, satisfed with favour] Thouf^ this may refer to the very great fertility of the country ibat fell to thia tribe, yet certainly something more is intended. Scarcely any of the tribes waa more particularly favoured by the wondrous mercy and kindness of God, than this and the tribe of Zebulun. The light of the glonoua Gospel of Christ ahone brightly here. Halt. iv. 13, 1& 16. Christ's chief residence was at Capernaum in this truM) Uau. ix. 1. Hark ii. 1. and this city, through Christ's ^onMsnt residence, and the mighty miraclea tw wrought in repreaented as being evmed urdo heaven. Matt. xi. 23. And it ia generally allowed that the apostles were principally of the tribe of Naphtali,' who were to posses* the west and the south, to diapenae the Gospel tlirough all the other, tribes. The word a> yam, which we here tranalate west, literally signifies the sea; and probably refers to the sea of Gcnesareth, which was in Ihis tribe.

Verse 24. Let AAer be bte—ed wiA Aildren] Let him have a numerous posterity, continually increasing.

Ltoi him be aeeeptable to hie brethren] May he be in perfect union and harmony with the other trUiea.

IM hint flip his foot tn oil.] Let Mm have a fertile soil, and an abuudance all the conveniences and comteMofUfe.

Yorse 35. T&jr shoes diall be irm and bran) Soms lysss this may refer to the iron and copper mines in their territory; but it ia more likely that it relates to ih^ satisfied with favour, atid fuU with the blessing of the Loan I ■ possess thou the west and the soaih.

24 T And of Asher he said, Let Aeher be blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and lei him " dip his foot ih oiL

25 " Thy shoes shall be f iron and brass; and as thy dave, so ahall thy strength be.

26 f There i* •> nOne like unto the Cod of ' Sf shurun, *wAo rideth upon the heaven io thy help; and in his excellency on the sky.

warlike disposition, as we know that greaves, boots, shoeSf &c of iron, Arass, and tin, were used by aitcient warriora. Ooliah had greaves of brasa on his legs, 1 Sam. xvii. 6. and the brazen-boottd Greeks, \a>JcsKmfiitt Axsui, is one of the epithets given by Homer to hla heroes: see Iliad. H. ver. 41.

And as thy days, so aliall thy strength be.] If we lake this clause as ic appears here, we have at once an easy •eikse; and the eayii^, I have no doubt, has comforted dte aoula of multitudes. Hie meaning is obvious: "Wbaiever thy trials or difliculties may be, I shall always gi^-e thee grace to support diee under, awl bring thee tlirougfa them?' The original is only tteo words, the latter of which has been traoslated in a erest variety of wa;^ "^ai "pB^ai uheyameyea dabeea. Of the fint term then can be no doubt, it literally means and as thy days; the second word, lUi deba, occurs nowhere else in the H^wev bible: the Septuaginl have rendered it by ia%vi, strength, and moat of the Versions have followed them, but otSoa have rendered it qfflietian, old age, fame, weakneaa, &e. Ac It would be almost endless to follow interpreter* through their coiijectures concerning its meaning. Ii is allowed amoiig learned men, that where a word octura not as a verb in the Hebrew Bible, its root may he legiumat«ly sou^t in the Arabic He who cootroveris this poaiiion knows little of the ground on which he stands. In this language the root is found; 1^ daia, sigoifies ht rested, was ^iei. This gives a very good aeoae, and a very at^wwpraue one i for as the borders of this tribe lay on the vicinl^ of the Pbmnioian^ it was naturally to n expected that they should be constantly exposed to irru^ tions, pillage, &c. but God, to give tbem co>\fidenc* m hia protection, say^ " according to thy [lays, all circum* stances and vicissitudes, ao anall thy rest be;" while faithful to thy God, no evil shall touch ihee; thy daja shall increase, and thy quiet be lengthened out. This ia an unfailing proraiae of God, I will keep him tn perfect peaca whose mind is atnyed upon me, lusaiiar he trust«th in me; therefore tnst in the Lord for ever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlastinK strength, Isaiah xxvi. 4. Some derive it from LlS^ (MOL As abowded in riehesi the interpretation dien would be, A» thy days inciease, ao shall tty riches, Thia makea avery good sense also. Ses Saae^ mtdter.

Hoses having now finished what God gave him to predict ponoeming the twelve tribes, and what he was led in the fulness of his heart to way for in their behalf^ addresses all the tribes collectively under the names Je^unat and lerad; and in an ode of astonishing energy and el^ gance, describes this wondrous people wad their still wonderfiit privileges. The reaner will observe, that though the latter part of this chapter appears In the farm of prose in our Bibles, yet it is written in hemisiieiu, or short metrical lines, in the original, which is the fonn in which all the Hebrew poetry is wriiiea; and as in otfaw cases, so in this, it would contribute much to the ean understanding of the author's roeaniMr, were the transbuioa produced in Kncs corresponding to thoaeof the originaL

Verse 26. There is wmeHke unto the God ^ JmStunin] We have already seen the literal meaning m Jeshttrun, chap, xxxii. 15. but besides its literal meaning, it aaema to be used aa an expreasion of particular afectian; beacs Catmei understands it aa a dimixtUiee of the word JerotL We know that rsnw, sofu^ in the mouth of St. Jobi^ aignifies much lese than tums, whidi, properly tratialslwl, would be belored children, a term which at ooee ibowa the helpleasness ot the offspring, and the tender kfiecttoa of die parent. So Jeshurun may be undersMwd here; and hence the Septuagint seem to have apprehended Iha faO force of the word by translating it m q^Fwrs^vM^ the beloeed one, the obiect of Ood'a especial delight.

Israel's God, and Ooifs Israel, have DO feUowa. What were all die gods of ths natioiis, even supposiag ifasr were real beings, in eompsrisoa of lbs Awiigh^ I Am what nation under heaven eould be oom pared to ns Israsl

27 The eternal God £# tty « reAi^e, and underneath are the everlastine arms: and "he ehall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and ehall sav*, Destroy them!

23 * Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: * the fountain of Jacob thatt be apon a land of corn and wine; also his 'heavens shall drop down dew.

29 ' Happy art thou, O Israel! ' who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, • the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency I and thine enemies shall ' be found liars unto thee: and thou shalt tread upon their hicb places.

AND Moses went out from the plains - -■ ■ of Moab • unto the mountain of

Nebo, to the top of ' Pis^h, that U over aeaiiut Jericho. And the Lord t showed him ul the land of Oitead, '■unto Dan.

2 And ail Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manaaaeh, and all the land of Judah, i unto the utmoRt sea.

3 And the south, and the plain of the valler of Jericho, * the city of palm trees, unto Zoar.

4 And the Lord stud unto him, ■ This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, 1 will give it unto thy seed: » I have caused thee to see it, with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.

5 IT So Moses the servant of the Lord died there m the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord.

6 And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor: but "no man kaoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.

7 1[ p And Moses -was a hundred and twentr years old when he died: ^ his eye was not dim, nor his ' natural force ■ abated.

Rideth upon Ae htavm, Ac] Uoitet heaven and earth in thy defeoca and supDorl, aod comes widi irresutible velocity to Hcoour aiKraefiMkl thee, and to discomfit thine advenoriet.

Verae 27. The aemal Ood] Dtp vfjM eldkey kedem, thtjbrmer God: Ha who was of old. Not like the gods v4iich were lately come up. Hz who ever va^ and ever will bo: and Hs who wot, is, and wUI be, unohangeably holy, wisct just, and mercimlt sea the note on Gen. XXI. 33.

BveHa^tng arms} Am the arm is the emblem of BBtMT, and or power in a state of exertbm, dte words here state, that aa unlimited, and unconcjuerable power shall be eternally exerted in the derence of Ood's OainA, and in the behalf of all those who trust in him.

Thrust out ttu enemy] He will expel all the andent inbabiianta, and put thee in possession of their land.

Versa 2& Arod t&«n dwi <ltMff— alms] This people shall not be ineorporxUed widi any odier pso]^ under beavsn. A prophecy which oontiDues to be (ulfilled to the very letter. Every attempt to unite them with any other pstme haa proved absolutely ineffectual.

l^efimntain Jac^ His o^sprtng dudl possess a Moat wtile land— such was Palestine.

Verse 29. Happy art tfim, Ac.\ "nwx ashrey, 0 the happinesa'of lanull it it tDeflU>le — ineonceiv^>l»-^>ecauae ttiey are a peopta saved by the Lord— have.aiieh a salvsp tioa as it beecnnea the mfinite perfeotions of God to bestow: He is their Help, their never-failing strength, and the shield of that helpt be deftnda their d^snee— mvm them, and preseroea them in a etat* of salvatioo.

Sword Od-Kt emellency /] Or, wAots svmd, his all tonquering woan, it thine exeetleney, in its promises, diraataoingiL praoepti^ Ac. dbo. St. I^U, in bis exhortation to the Christiana at Epheau^ uses the same netepbor, TUe Halo ymi As Svoan of As Snarr, whiA is Oe Woan <if God.

7%uu enemies ahatt be found liare] Who said thou ahouldst never be able to gain possession of this good land; for thou ahaU tread on, suodue, their bi^ puees, even their best fitrtified cities.

I^ie blessinn eontained in diis chapter bshmg also u dM spiritual brasl of Ood, who^ aeeording to die divine ivomise, shall have a eoroplete victory over all their spiritual foes; shall have all their inward enemies, the whole of the carnal mind, destroyed; (or the blood of Jesus Christ, applied by the energy of the eternal Spirit, shall not only blot out all their sin, but purify their hearts from all anngltteausness: and thus being delivered from their enemiet^ they shall love Ood with all their heart, and serve him in righteousness and true holiness without fcsir before him, all (he days of their life. There are many circumstances and expressions in this ode similar to several in the prophetical olessing pronounced by Jacob on his twelve sons. Gen. xlix. fcr the subject is die same in both dnptarai the reader is Iherefore requested to compare the two plaees, and u eonsidet the mlea on each, as they have aone tendency to east light on eaah other. Both these chapters constitute M)vt of those Scriptures wbidi, aceoiding to St Pan!, Rom. rv, were written for our leammg: and, as to instruct the reader, and make him wise unto salvation, was the gracious design of Oodj wa should particularly b^ m him " that we may in such wise hear them, rsot^ mark, learn, and inwardly digeU them, that by patients and eont/M of his holy wwd, «a may embrace and ev*r bold fiwt the blessed hope ot everlasting life which he has given us in our Saviour Jcaos Christ." Collect for the eecond Sunday in Advent. NOTES ON CHAPTER XXXIV. Verse 1. And Miees went out] This chapter could not have been written by Hoses. A man certainly cannot giva an account of his own death and burial. We may thmfore consider Hoses' words anding with the conclusion of the preceding ch^ter, as what flMlowa could not possibly have been written by himself. To suppose that he antidpaied these circumstances, or that they were shown to him hy an especial revelation, is departing far from propriety and necessity: and involving the Bub|eci in absurdity: fbr Ood gives no proptietie intimations but such as are aboo« lutelv necessary to be made, but there is no neoesainr here, for die Spirit whicli htspired the writer of the following book, would naturally communicais the matter ihat concludes this. I believe, therefore, that Deut. xxxiv. should constitute the Jlret thapter of the book of Joehua.

On this subject, the following note from an intelligent Jew, cannot be unacceptable to me reader.

" Most commentators are of (pinion, that Exra was lbs author of die last chapter of Deuteronomy: some think it was JbsfacOi and others the ssvsnly elder^ immediately after the death of Moses t adding, ttuit (be bodt of Deuter* onomy originally ended with die pro^tetic blessing upon the twelve tribes; Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like luto ihee, 0 people, saved of the Lord, &c. and, what now makes the laet chapter of Deuteronomy, was fbnnerly dk» Jlret qf Jbehua, but was removed from thence^ and joined to the former by wav of supplement. This opinion will not Biqiear onnatuiM, if it be considered that eeetians and odier dioisions, as well aa points and pauMs, wen hivented long since these books were wriuen; fur in those early ages, several books were connected together, and followed each other on the same rolL Hie b^inning of one book might therefore be easily transferred to the and of another, and in proeeas of fime, m oonaideredMitareal oonelnaioi^ aa ui lbs ease of DaMeronomy, especially as this supplemental chapter eoatoins an aoeount of die last traiuaeuona and death of the great audior of tba ^niateuch."— Aiecatufer's Heb. and Ei^. PentateuA.

"niis seems to be a perfectly correct view of the subjeeL Hiis chapter forms a very proper commencement to the book of Joshua, for of this last chapter of DwilerODonw^ the first ehapter of Joshua is anevidenteonltrwoMon. Mi the subject be viewed in this light, it will remove every appearance of absurdity aod coniraidietioo, with which, on the common mode of mierpretalion, it stands ndty eneumberad.

Verse 5. So Moses died— according to the word qf 0u Zjord.) nm< ■<b'fV &lpi yehovah, at Ae mouA iff Jdtovah! I. e. by the capeeial eomnuuid aod anthority of the Lord; but it is possible, that what is her« said, retov only to the sentence of his exclusion from the Promised Lant^ when he offended at the waters of Herifaah.

8 f And the children of Is/aet wept for Mwi In the plains of Moab » thirty days: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moeee were ended.

9 IT And Joshua theionof Nun was full of the ^ apirit of wisdom; for * Moaes had laid his hatuls Vlpon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses.

10 IT And there * arose not a prophet since in

TWMm why Mcwet WM buried thaa privateltf, voa, lest the Israeli t«a, prom to idolatry, ahould pay him divioe honoura. Ana Qod would not have the body (rf his feithftil aervfuit abused in this way. AlmoBt all the poda of antiquity were deified ■men — great biujrivera, eminmt ttaie*- men, or victoriom gentrau. — See the acoouot of the Ufe «€Hoaes at the endof this chapter.

Yerae 7. Hit eye teat not dtm\ Even at the advanced ■ge of a hundred and twenty, nor kU natural force abatad: he was ayoun; man even in old notwitfaatanding the unparallejed luirdihiH he had ^ue through. — See Ihe account o(\m life at the end of this chapter.

TerM 10. niere aroee not a prophet, Ac] Among all Ihe succeeding prophets, none was found so eminent in ail mpaeta, nor ao highly privileged as Hoses — with him Ood spue fact to face — admitted him to the cloaest &- «Nlianty aitd greatest friendship with himself. Now all this continued true till die advent of Jeaus Chrial, of whom ^oaeo said, " A prophet shall the Lord vour Ood raise up unto you from among your brethren liLe unto me" — but bow great was this person when compared with Hoses I Hoses deured to see Ood's glory— this sight he could not bear — he saw his back paWa— probably meaning Ood's deeign relative to the latter daut; but Jesu^ the auni^ty Saviour, in whom dwells all ibe fulness of (he Godhead bodily, who lay in the boaom of die FWher, he bath declared Ood (o man. Wondrous system of legal ordinancea that pointed out and tvpified all these thinn 1 and more wonoer^il system of Gospal salvation, which is the body, eoul, life, energy, aodjwt aoeompliahment of all that was vriiten in the Law, in the PaoPHrra, and in the Psalms, concerning the sufferings and death of Jesus, and the redemption of a ruined world, "t^ his agony aad bloody sweat, by his cross and passion, by his death and burial, bis elorious resurrection and ascension, and by the cooling of the Holy Ghoett" Thus ends the Piintatbvch, commonly called the Law of Uosas: a work every way worthy of God its author, and only less than the New Covsmaht, the/<awand (To^slof our L(mi and Saviour JbsosChbibt.

Now to the ever-blesaed and glwious Taimry, Fathzb, WoBD, and SnaiT, the infinite and eternal Oke, from whom alone wiedom, trvth, and goodneee can prooeed, be g^ory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

For a general view of the character of Moaes, and of Ibe importance of the Pentateuch, see the concluding ofaaervatioiis on the next and following pages.

MASonsno Nona ott DsmwunrOHT. number of vereee in Ellbr HAonAanf, Deuter*, ooomr, is 966; the symbol of which is »n, in which word s teaade stands for WO, i nun for 60, and n thelh for 6.

The middle verae ii the tenth of chap. zviL And thou ahaUobaervett do alt that tkey command thee.

Symbol of which is in 3%ag; Psal. ezviii. 37. Bind the Acamcx rei&i cord* to the home qf the attar. In which word n dtath stands for 6, and i gimet for 3.

11 In all ' the signs and the wonders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of EfinH to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land.

12 And in all that * miirhty bnnd, and in all the great terror winch Moses diowed in the eight of all Israel.

Its Perakim^ or modem diapters, are 34, the synifaal e( which is 33^ Ie6ab: Psal. czi. 1. / loitlpraiee the Lard with my uAob bzabt. In which word toe two a 3 belka stand for 4, and the lamed for 30.

Tiw number of open eeetiona ia 34 { of its dose aeeHema 124; total 16S; the symbol of which is oWir yenodkilaai, 149, and eidhvd, 10. 1 Sam. it a 7b mat* Atm to nvBKtrr the tkrrnie hia Quowt. Hie omnerieal letters of the word cfrmr yenaehilam, 14S, with n e< UL taken from -nas eabod, make 168, the total of its ap«H ana close sections.

Hie number of verses in the whole Pentateuch ia &8C, the memorial symbol of which is nsnn hoAammahf JmL XXX. 26. Moreover the lirht qf the moon ehati beaaUte Hght qf TAB aDM. In which word the letters tdn ii

The middle verae of the Law is. LeviL viiL 8. amdka put the breaatplate upon him, ana he put in the breaalplate Ae Dfcm and the thitkhim.

'Die number of ofxh eeetiona in the whole Law is 290, the symbol of which is -^b peri; CanL iv. 16. Let my 6f Inea come into hia garden, and eat hia preeioua mm

The number of its closs eeetiona is 379. the symbol at which occurs in the word njiara biA^uat; Numb. xzx. 10. Or bound her aoul with a band n am oath.

Total number of all the open and doae sectionsi 669, d» memorial qrubo) t^ which ia -win Io UAaan Dtnt. viti. 9. Tuot; shalt wot lack any Aing iai it.

SECTIONS of the book of DeulerODoniy, earrkd a* from Numbers, which ends wilh the roaTT-TtuKo.

The FDRTT'SKVKiTTH, Called ran reah, begins cb^L li S8. and ends chap. xvi. 17.

The PiVTV-TBiao, called >y«Mn kaaiam, begiM Aspb xxzii. 1. and ends chap. xxxiL 61.

We have now paaied through the Pentateuch, and have sndeavoured carwblly to mark its important contents. Its onllottUysMaitat tnebesdof allwritinga in tba worM; and me various sul^ls it embrace^ make it of the utmost consequence to every civilized part of (he earth. Its Philoaophy, juriaprudenee,hiatory, g60grajAy,tnd ehronotogy, enliue it to The respect of the whole human race; wule tta mlem of theology and religion demonstrably pton it to Da a revelation from GOD. But on these topiCM, as many observations have alrmdj been made as the nature of a oonuneniary, professing to Mudy bren^, oan posnbW admit

Of iHoaea, the writer at the Pentateuch, considered ai a AMtorion and pMloaophar, a good deal has been said in the eourseof the notes on the book of Qmaaiai andespeeial. ly St ihs eonohnion otibejSfti^ (AiapHr: to wbiob the nader is pnrtioiilariy relimM.

Of Hoses, as a Ugialaior, volumes might be written and the subject not be exbmiated. What u called tbe lam Mma, is mere VtoperVr die Loib pf Qod: mad rrw Tm> TWot JAovoA, the Law of SAavab, ia tbe grand title of the Pentateuch. Such a definitiiui of dus iwm aa comports with the nature, airudure and demg* el the Pentateuch, has already been given in the »A an Exod. xii. 49. to which the resder is requested to refer. Cnud we coDceive Hoseo to have been the author of this si sir is we must consider lum more than mortal:— no wialoai «■ man has ever yet been aUe to invent such a code of laws.

This merit however has been disputed, and hia laws severely criticised, fay certain persons whose interest it was to prove religion to be a cheat, because they had nans Ihemselvest and whose case must be hqpeleso, oooli it bt wovsdtobetcue. To some, whose mental taste sod *eis^ iqga are itrsagely ponrnrtsd, evm dung in \attthakie»

Wflara ntx only the moat htctnating uptet, but appears to Ur claim to and poeseea eveiy exeellency. Theae have eaJled np Coiifitciua, Menu, Zoroaeter, ajid Mohamned hiiMel^ to diepuie the p^m of eiroellenee with Mows I To enuntne the clairae « aueh competitore, and to decide da Uieir respective merits, would rnqaire a)ar^ treatise, aitd my IhniU conine mo lo a eketcK To any godly, impartial mind, property aeqaainted with the suQect, little needs to be Mud; to those who are prejudiced, all reasoning b thrown aw^. A few words on die raerlt of sach of these competitors must soffiee.

1. To Cm iMc, the great Chinese lawgiver, eormptly oaUad Cmfprniu, an attributeiV in the records of (us eountiy, a number of onlinuoes aiid iostilatioii^ which do honour to hie times and to bis people t but slaa I how nwdi of the darkness, erroneousne«, and inflrmity of the buman miod do thfy exhtNtI And however i^cAtable Ibey may bis, as prtidential maxims and social regulations, ID a certain exlenl, bow little are they calculated to elerale or ennoble (be human mind, or iospire men with a wet notion of Tioe and Tirtnel Hieirwithorhadnoeofmmnotion wTOie Divine natore; his hmhadiiosaaeiiMi bntthatof amvenitnee or naeessify; and notwithslandii^ their boasted oxoelteAce, liave left, from die time of their jvonmlg^ tion to the present day, the sum total of that immense nation, whicfa prmesses to be governed by ihem, in the thickest dailEness of the most aegradii^ idohury, eloselT verging

EttAejm itselfl Not so the KooAie oode; it was the that tightened the aoivvrse, and the glory of the peobo were governed by Its ifictales. We have the firmest ground and me most ample audiority to attert, that the grtaUMkinrt, the vrUeat staUmat, the numtaceomptU/i^ 4d poeU KMrtutori4Mau, the most magnaninunu Aeroes, •na the most Aofy and iM;yWpeo|ile that ever existed, were formed on the mode!, and brought up in the bosom, and under the infiuence of the Mosaic institutiona. While the Proatrbt and EadetiaaU* of Soumoi^ the Afstory and poHic compontion* of David) the inimitablo di*emirte* of baiah, Jeremiah, Joel, Babakkuk, and othera of the Jewish profdiets remain, every intelligent reader will have the fullest prooft of die truth iH the alrave aaaertian. Which shrinks not ondw the pretence of lieing hazardidi but which muBt spring np in every ingennsua mind from the ftillest conviction of its own tr^th, afte a serious perusal lbs sacred code in trueslion. All duse eminent personages were bn»m^t up in dte Mosaic sdiool j and were prepared by ttie Pentateuch for the prophetic influence.

2. "Hie hutituta of Mkhu, lately dodied in an Bneliah drera, by the elegant hand of Sir TnlHam Jones, have Men dtought to stand in &ir competition with die laws of Moses. I have read them careniUy, widi strong prejudice in their finvour: and have endeavoured, 10 the nest of my hidgment, duly to appreciate th«r worth. — I have, sought Ibr reMmblancea tn the Mosaic instituti<Hn, because I bought it possible that the same Ood, who was so fiilly known in Jewry, have made at least a partail reve* lation of himsen in Otmlostan; but while 1 alternately admired and regretted, I was ultimately dis^pointed; as I plainly saw that the systeni, in its essential parts, lacked the seal of the Uving Ood. My readers may Jiisdyquestion my competency to lorm a correct opinion of^ the work under coosideraciofi — I diall not dierefore obtrude it, but substitnte that of the trdntlator, who was better qualified than perhaps any other man in Europe or Asia, lo form a cornel judgment of its merits. " The work," sura bcs " now praaantea to lb* Eiurvpean worl^ eontaiiM aoundaoee of enrioas matter, extremely tnleresttngv both to speculative lawyers and antiquaries; with many fteot^Kes iniicb need not to bejtoiotea out; and with many friem£«A«s which caooottie justified or palliated. Itisaaystero of (ieapofftm •nd priftta^/t, both indeed limited bv law, but ar(fuUy arttspiring to nve mutual suf^iort, though with notuu eheeka. It is filled with wtraiure eondUt in metaphyiet ■n(tnaAinilaUlBse;ikyf with idle st^erafitiona, and with a aebmne of Iheolo^ moat ofraeurefy Jlgurtdtte, and conaemeatly liable to aangerma mioeoTKepHon. It abounds wnb mtnutt and Mtwtsft /orm^UUiea, with cerBmonies, (eoenlly abmrd, and often ridieubnu: tbe paniatinuttia mn pariiat and JaneifiUi for some crimes drew^/bily eriMt, and for olhm r^rtktntHtb/ tUgtU: and tbe very mormU, though rigid enough on toe whoU, are in one or two instances, as in thecaaaof light oaffu and piotu Mr> Jury, unaccountably reUzed."— Aktaci to tbe Jhaffnifea of Menu.

We may defy its enemies to prove any of these things agnmat the Penitfeuch. PriMteraft and dcajsoftsm cannot ^»pear under its sanction i Qod m Kura alom^ and the 0rMs4;his htmuU; and be «1k> was prevented by the very lew under which he mioisiared, front having any eorAly properly, could consequienthrhaveiiosaniiarpoissr. — Tbt king, who was afterward chosen, was over cmuddered as Ooo^a deptUy or vicegermt t he was oblised to rule according to die lawa diat were given by Ooa dirchgh Moses | and was never permitted either to dtange them, or odd a aingle^ectpt or ritt to tbe civil or aacred oode of bis try. tlus deapoUm and prie^crafi were ei]ually pr^ eluded. As to its riiea and eersmontca, they are at once dignified and expressive: they point out the holiness of dieir Aiidior, the aiafnluesa of man, the twceaaicy cf an atonement, and the atate of moral excellence to which tlie graee and mercv of tbe Creator has promiaed to raise tbe human soul. As to its punisftmmte, tbey an ever such as the nature and drcumstaiiees of the erina reader Juat and naceMij— and iia ranmb are not such ai flow merely firomaprineipleofrefriftutioKOrr«Rt(nera<«ee^iwtiee;bitt from an enlightened and fatherly tendemesa, which makes obedience to die laws tbe higbeet interest of tbe subject.

At tbe same time tfaat love lo God, and obedience lo Ida commaadmenta are strona;ty inculcated; love and benevo* lence to man are equally enforced, together wi^ fidj/, irtiiofa ia tbe aoul of ofrarfienee; poA-toftam, tbe lift afaoEW* ty; hMpitaHty to stianeers, and Aumantto to ^ whdU bnite cfeation. To all this might be addedT that it rnofades ia it, as well as painit oiU, the Gospel of iba Son of God, from which it receives its OHUiuntnation end perfection, Sucli, reader, is tbe Uw\>f Ood, given dirough Mosea lo the people of lara^

3. Of dM laws of ZwdttM, or ZmAwM; onnnoilly called Zaroastar, it is unnaoeaaarr M spsak at large— Aqr are incapable of comparistm wioi Aa Mosaie eode. Ju delivered in tbe Zmd Averta^ tbey cannot ao properly be called a aysfent, as a cmgerieM of puerility, mperatitioa, and abtuntity; with seiueely a precept or a rite that baa any tendency to elevate the mind, or raise, man from bn sute of moral degradation, to a proper rank in dvilized soeie^ I or to any worthy amirdieneiMi of tbe Maker and Oovamor of tba naiverse. ifarmlaaaness ia tbe aim of die morality they seam to ineutcatei with a oerlain superatiiious reverenee tot fire, probably as the emblem of purUy; and foronimoj l^fe, princapally in reference to the doctrine of die Metmraeyehont or tranmigration of «ra/«v on which it aeema to nave been originally builL.

4. "Hte KoxAM of MoHAtacao is tbe only remaining eompetitor, dnt can be auppoaed to be at all qualified to' dispute the palm widi the Panlatsuch of Moses: out Jfae pretensions of this production will be soon settled, when it ia known lhat it poaaeaaes not one excellence, the purity and rieganoe of t/s language excepted, which it has not \g)trowed from the writings of Jlnw«#and ilie pr»phat»i or die sayings of Chrtat and his apoetie*. This ia a Jiut which none can suecessfttlly dinotet and oi which tbe Koran ila^ bears dts most unsquivocal evidences. What can be ftirty claimed as the premium of the Arab lawsi^ er, makes a motlaj mixture widi wfaat be has sttdea mm the book of Ood, and ia in general as absurd and weak as it is, on die whole, false and wicked. As to the boasted moroHty of the Koran, if will have as little to exult in of this kino, wbea the Lam and die Qorpd Imve taken from it tfaat of which tbey have been plundered, as tbe daw ia tbe feUe had, when the difierent fowls had plucked awu their own feaihers, with which the vain bird bed decorated herself. Mohammed, it is true, destroyed idolatry wherever he came; and be did ihe same by trtu raligion i for.Aidatamand Christianity met with no more quiuttrfiom him, than the grossest error* of pagan idolatrr. To omnpare him with die pore, holy, disnitereslsd, humaae, and neavenly-minded Jewish legislator, would M aa groas political, as it would be palpable religious biaapfasm^' Whenweidlowaatbe waa amaaof a deep and penalnting mind, well aequainied with tbe superstitioas turn of hia oouotrymea, austere, cunning, and hypocritical i a great general, and a bniial conqueror, who ssoned to aaerineeat no odier ahrine than that of hia but and ambition, we d» him no iojoMicet dw whole of his aystsm bears Ibe noiC evident proofs of impositim and forgeryt nor is tbeca a character ttrwbieh imposture can lay daim, lhat does not appear prominently in the Kmran, and in every part of the Mohammedan sysurm. Thechief of thesedistinotivemariis bavs already been examined, ia refMsnoe to dte Pentatouch, in (he eoncludiag note on Exod. xviii. These are alt Coond in die Kona,but not one of them in dw Pentatsueh. Hie Pentateuch, tbarefore. ia of Ood: die Koran MSH from anodier quarter.

6. IV diflhient systems of the Ortcian ttUe jMuw jAero, cannot oome into diis inquiry. — They were m genera] incongruous and contildietorv; and none of them was •ver capable of fwaui^ a net, vmt eonld be said to beva any mwal perpeMtff.

f. Tbe tawaof XMwgiistad So/on eould not prcMrva duM states at thf aula of adrieh diqrinn law; wtailo th« lawsV -HoMt bsve been the means of pnanrviag the people who held (hem, amidat ihe moac terrible n««nee of whit are 'called /artane aod yitf e for nearly the tpace of 4,000 yeanl 'Eliu i« one of uie moat extiMrdinary and •iioniihut^ fiicta in the whole hiatory of mankind.

7. Ttie i-epublie of Plato, of which it ii EuhioiUble to hosier, 18, wlian ■tripped of what it haa bon-owed of Moaes, like the Ulopia ^ Sir T. Uore, thi aerial fignieat of a philosophic mind, en deiire; both ayatemt are inapplica- Dlfl and impracticable in the i»eaent atate of man. To persona under the inHuenca of varioua and discordant paeaiona, atrungly actuated by teif- inter ett, they can never uply. They have no tendency to change the moral atate of society from vice to «Mus.- a nation of miinta suKht ■sree to roeulate tbeir live* and conduct by them,Dul where ia aucn to be found 3 Though Plato baa bonowed mu^ from Hoses, ^et he haa deetroyed tlte effect of the whole by not referring the preeepta and maiima -to Ood, hf whom alone atrengtb to fulfil them eould be Aimiahed. It ia the pr»Tinee of the rerelatton of Ood lo make the knave an hotuMt man; the unholy and prqfimt, pur» and piott*; and to oause all who act by ita dictales, to love one ■oodier with pure hearts farveiuly; and to feel the fiaeet Mtd fdUen imfnamna of

Tho Pentateuch is en or^tTuif avrks nothing tik» it W«a ever found among the nations of the earth. Tbooe who have asserted diat its principal inetitutiofW have been borroared from the EftTptiani^ neither know iba Hoaaio eodk>, aor are acquainted with the Egyptian nydiokia;. Dr. rricatly haa written w«M on this point, and from tua diaeertation 1 shall borrow the following extracts.

" IVy who suppose that Uosea himself was the author of the inatilutiona, civil or religioua, that bear his name, and that in framing them be borrowed much from the Sgyptiuae or other ancient nation^ ranat never have eompared them together: oiherwiae mer eoald not but have perceived many circumsianeea in wnidi ibey di^ most eaaentially from them all. I shall endenvour to point oat the more considerable of them.

" 1. No heathen, ever eoneeived an idea of so great an objKt, aa that of the inetituUooa of Moaea, which appeara to be DMhing leas than the inatniction of all mankind in the gi«at doctrine of the unity, and universal moral govamment of God as the Maker of the worlds and the common Parent of- idl dMhunui race, io opposition to the Bolydteinn and idolatry whicb-lhen prevailed; which, bendea being grossly abanrd in ita prindplea, axid leading to end lew suparatitiona, direatened the world with a deluge of vice and misery. For this purpoae the Hebrew nation was plaeed in the moat eonsprauooa situation among all die eiviliied nations of the world, which wen uuivirnlly ad^otod 10 iMmrj vt the grosaeat kind, to dinnatioBa^ IwarwiuuN^, ud* other mpmtitioaa of nrinilar nMnre^ •ad praetlaed as wu- of religiont aome of thdr rilaa abommabty lieantious, and oaten the most shodcingly aruel, as the nBceasary means of recenunending themselves to the varioua obfecta of their w<MrBhip. Aa all mankind Imagined that their outward proaperity depended upon the abaervance of their reapective religiona, that of ine Hebrew nation was made lo do «o in the most cooapicuouB mamier, as a viaiUe leaaon to all- the world. IViy were ta proeper beyond all other national while tbay adhared to flieir religion } and to suffer in a manner equally «x«mplary and conspicuous, in consequence of their departure from it Of this all mankind miglu «a»ly judge. 'Riese great ideas occur in the sacred books of the Hebrew^ and nowhere else. They are all distinedy advanoed by Moeea, Wd mora fally uiuoMed in the writings of the later yraphats. -But eertaioly nathnff to great and suUime Mukl' have bean suggnted to Mosaa fram any thing that %a aaw In Bgypt, or eould have Ktard of in other countries.

" 2. In no qratem of religion, besidas that of Moeea, mpurifyofvumtUwnyfarloi it. All ibe heathen religinia ware systema of mere c^cnumtea,.on the obeerr- Mwa Of which it waa imagined thai the pnmwity of the mwvnk ataiea dqiended i uid th« sole baaineas of ibe priiaU was to attend to the doe ofaaervanoe of iheae rite% many of which wen ao far fjrom b»ng fttvouraUe to morals, that they were of the most impure and abominable nanire, aa is well knOwn to all who tiave any knowledge of- them. On the contrary, it appean not only from the fan eotnmtmdmaiU, but mmi all the wriiiiws of Hoses, and those of the prophets who suoiceeded nim, that tbo pureat morality, the moat favourable to private and publio MWanaas^waa the principal and ultimale ^ieet td die ft^ML The booka of MoaeB nbeuod with ^rtcspls ^ S14

niorafify, ineuloaled in the moat fmvible manner, and iImt are distinguished from tarn hv baring do penal^ anne«i to Ibein. Such preespls aa toese — Be y* bohf,fvr I am koly and, ffW dsas tta Itmd reqmre ^ Out, imt la do jusitea, (a lore mercy, and lo viaik humbly wiih Ikf Ood could never have been borrowed ffpra any heaiben system oS religion, in tliia moat iioportant relied, the instituUoos of Moaea are a great prtfuiai,and were never copied tw any other lawgiver.

*' 3. Nowhere in all the- iieatben world could Moaea have heard of- such a proper natioMl wrAia, as that which he introduced. lYw Hebrew nation had not only one single objeot of their in>rsA«p, in whl^ they differed easen^ally from all other natione, but ons niUumai alioTf ona precise rituai, and only ana place for the meeting <■ the whole nation at the public festivals. A whole tribiL a twelfth port <rf the nation, Vaa set apart for servicea of n religioas oainie, aifd tbeir proviaiun made to depmd inn greM meaaura upon their perfbrmanee of diemj wwgnoc u) lands oultivaited by thenselve^ but in the produce of tanda oultivated by others. At ifus one greai naiMToal altar, sacrifices were performed every moming and evening « the name and at the ezpeosa of the whole nation; and the manner in wbidi this was done was invariaUe, and iwt left to dte diaeretion of the perfiannera. Ia alt olher.CQun&ies the places of wuahip were mimeronai and Uie diversiqr in the modes of wwahip varied with die eb> jecU of them. In Egypt, in particular, the diffeical nomea were exceedingly hoatile to each othex on this aocount. Hence aroae eodleaa and discordant saperatiiioas,

"4. In no country besides that of the Bebrw, were tbejniUu; yiM^^cala expressly instituted in eonmemoratioQ of Budi great events re^wctiog their luatory and religiocL it is peculiar to this nation also, that the directions for tba celebration of them were reduced to writing at the time of their institution: so that there eould never be anyjBteertain^ about the origin or the reasons of them, lliay were only tliree: — the poasoaer, on tbeir deliverance from tbeir atals of aervitude in Egypi, wben the firmt-bom oCall the Egyptians were deauoyed, and all theirs p«aerv«d| the Peniteott, on the giving of the law from monnt Sinai I and this feast of btiamodai^in eommemontioa of their living in UnU and bootht during ihor travels through the wilderness. Atthefiiatof theie feativala, the JlrM'fruiU of the year were solemnly presented; at the second, the harweat was got in; and at uie last, the nafnge, and all th« greater labours of the vear, were closed. Amonff the beaibHi nations, the fieativalB were numeroua and perplexing. More than aixty were celebrated fay iIm Atheniaiu: the origin and reason of dteir inatituticn wcm uncertain; and none of them were calculated to answer any itnponant moral purposea, but ware too often ibe o&- eaaion, not of innocent feativity, but of intemperance and debaueh'. Several of the heathen fiMtivala were oeMRatel in a manner the most diaguatiag, and itookitig to comiMk modesty, and common aaoae-

" Sacrificing was a mqde more ancient than idolatiy, or the inatilutiona of Mosca ] but among the heathen^ various superstitioua cuitoms were introduced, respecting it, whicb were all excluded from the relision of the Hebrews.

" In the laua of Moaea, in which we find even the moat minute circumatancea of the act of aaerificing preecribe^, there is no menlioo of any thing preceding toe slayiof of the animal, besides bia being otund and of a prvpn- age. It waa not brought with any garland*. No nXw, or oalcea of barley and aal^ w^^ put upon iu back. No vin« waa poured upon ila borne. No hair wba mlten from ita forehead to be thrown into the fire on the altar. And nothing was said about inepectinfj Ote enirail*, with a view to divination, which was a principal ol^ect in all tba heathen sacrificea. The use that waa made of tbe Usetf of ihe.< victims waa peculiar to tbe Hebrew ritual; and certainly not bommred from any healhaa cu^cma that could havs been known to Moaea.

" No heathens knew any thing of the oprinkiinjg V' ^ blood, in the peculiarly aolemo manner in whit^ it was to be done by the Hebrew priests; and eo far were they froa

the offerer was covered with it from henl to foot, and \tM himself in that condition aa long oa be could. tAa ajproaf of this, see the note on Lcvit vig. 23.) Aa Moeea did not adopt any of the heathen cuatoma, it is eqtully evident that they borrowed nothing frotn him with resneet lo sacrifiecs. With them we find no auch diMjnction of sacrificea aa is mode in the books of Moaei^ such as frurnf-of arte^ ^cringe, trupau'qferingt, KoApeaeo-oFenttgaf or ofu* jEean'ttf or waving of the aacriScea. Xltooe DailteDhi% tbareCDro, be oouU nothava had from them* vbatbec ivc MB

diimnr any reBMB far thera or noL Tkvf aithor had iheir origin in ine time of Mcwm, or, which it nost probftble, ««i«prior to his time, tnd to the exiuenee of ictolAUy.

" Oad Moms oopira uy Uung front du hoaibena, he wonhl probably have introauocd ooimihing iheir mw- UrUti which won riiea pariormed in aasiat, and gvnenulv in the nighii w vhioh peculiar privilegei wera anoexed, •ad vfaieh itwaadeemea the graUMt erUne to revaalf all at ihem, circa maianoei of a aoapicious Datura, and evideoUy liable to gnai abuse.

. *' The moal remarkable of iheae myateriaa wero the flMwiniaiH which were celebrated at Athens every four yaan; and eantimiod aiae day*. Whatever these riles wora, it was made death to reveal ibera; and if m attr aon- not regularly initiated, was present at Utia uchimiioD, be was put to death without merey.

" Nothing, aurcJy, like this ran be found in the iosUtutioos of Mooes. Tbe^ was nothing in the Hebrew ritual of wenlup that was any tteret Eveiy thing is expressly Jsaeribed in the writtan Law t and thou^ none bat priests could enter the holy place, or tho holy of holies besides the higfa-priest, every thing that was done by hina there, is M paartisulaTly described «a what was done by the people WitboHt; and no service whatever was performed in the night, except the attendanee at the great altar, to keep the fire in a profw state for eaasaming all the remains of 'Victims; and of diis no memion is made, in the rituaL It ia oaly presuaied by the Jewish writers oa the subject, that it must have been dona of eourae.

" Had Hows borrowed any ihu^ from the heathens, he «ould not have overlooked tna various modes of dMnali<m, iopoery, and witeberaft, their omens of a thousaiid kkid^ their rilea for consiiltiiig the dead in the art.of ne- -eromancy, their distinction of days into hicky and unlucky i whieb ooMtituiad a great part of the religious observances of iU tin heathw natioas, civdiz«d or uncivilized. The Koakaaahad even an order of priests csJled augurt, whose note business it was to observe the 'lig^t of birds, and to make prognostications from them. But so far are we from Andinx any thing of this kind in the books of Moses, of wbidi moae of the Hiodoos are laXU that they are nokim of with the greatest coniempt and abhorrence; and tw n«lenderf to them are direeted tp be put to death.

^ llw oitiea of nAwB have been manUoned, as comparad with the oidimilod nglit-of osyium attached to the temples.of the heathens and this may be considered as a religious as well as a civil institution. But the privUegei of the tabbatieai year, end of the jubiUt, are wholly of. a civil nature } wh th^ must have been an sdmirable security ^of personal liber^, and the property of &milies. No Hebrew could bind mmself for aeryitude more titan MWK years; nor could he aUeaate hia landed property for mon than jtjbf. No gift or sale could have any effect beyimd this term, which was fixed for the whole natioik, ain did not commence at tne time of every particular bargain. In conse^ueoea of this, thougji a family might sul^ by the inprudenoe ot extravagaaca of the headof it, the evil bad a limit I for at tba jubilee all eatatea reverted to the original proprietors.

"In amt, DO penon ean poiuae tha laws et Moseo without MkiMwIedsing them to be truly original: and duir superiority to tboae of other ancient nations, the most Jamed lor their wisdom, is an evidence of tlieir divine origiiL** — DisMTtaiivnontJu Mo»aie Inatitutiona,'

8. On this subject, in general, it may lie just necessary to add, that tite utmost that can be said of ail lawa^ merely Aam«n, if, that they resfron vice^ through the terror « jNUtisbmntt. God's lav not only restiains «ic& but it tatuaes virfus. It alone brings man to the footstool of liie Haker, and keeps him dependent on the strong for strength, oo the wise for wisdom, and on the merciful Tor grace. It abounds widi promises of uppprt and salvation for tlie prcMtui life, wnich no false system dared ever propoae i every where, Moses, jn the most confident maaner, pledges bi» Ood Un the fulfilment of all the exceeding great and nreekMU proniaes with which bia laws are so pleDtifully inierqwned: and while um^ were oiwdtent tbey could say, *' Not one word hath failed us of all the good things which the had oar God spoke oonceming us. Who that dispaasimiately reads tne Pentatatdt, that considers it in it- •el( and ia iu refimnee to that glwtbus Gospel which it was intended to introduce, can for' a moment deny it the jatlm of infiliile superiority over all the systems ever framed or'iauujned man't Well might the Israelitish people Iriiuapnantly azelaim, "There is none like the God of Jesburun ] " end with what striking propriety does the glelioiu lepslator add, "Happy ait tnou, O Israeli who ia like iiikto J&m7. O nettle, saved by the LOBDI"

Havino said so much concernii^ the Pentateudi, there remains little room to say much conrerning Hoaeahimse^i as his characUr ia so much involved in uiat of his work. The genuine history of Hoses is written by him»elf, aoA that- IS found succinctly detailed in the book of Exodua | Jot»phu, the riMtiM, and the orienUU kutgrioiu, hsM written livesof this greatn&n,v^ich are pcriiwi romances] for, by attempting to embellish, they have tiu-ned the whole histo^ into ridicule. Troftu PonmctiM has copied some «f them, unless we allow that his abridger, Jiutitt, is tha aut/ior of the ill-told lalsi^, which is found in his work. But with these relations we have no concern { ard from the account, written by blnueU; collated with the speeeb of 8l Ste|dtel^ABt•viL we learn the foHowiiw foots:

Hosea, the aoo of Amram and Jochebed, bath of tha tribe of Lni, was bom A. M. 2433. B. C. 1571. while tho Israelilea were in a state of bondage in Egypt; aodatdmt time, under tha most distressful persecution, the king Ot l^TBt having issued an edict to destroy all the malt dtilaren of die Hebrews. Added to their parental tStetion, his personal bsau^ (Aott vii. 20.) seenu w have induced his pareau to liazaxd eveir Ibiiw to preserve tbair child's life; they therefore hid him for three months; hit finding, from cireumstancea, that th^ coubl keep him secret Qo longer, ihev were determined to abandon him wholly to the care of Providence. Having provided a lit* tie vessel of bolrusbes, or flags pitched, and thus rendered impervious to the water, th^ set him afloat on the rivfcr Nile, and sent bis sisicr Miriam to watch die «venL Tht dan^uar of Pharaoh, eoning 10 ibat part of the river, either <o make her ^lutiona, or to wash ber clothes, seeing the vessel afloat, commanded it to be brou^l to her^MM being struck with the helpless stale and beauty of ih« cl<ilcC judging that it belonged to one of the Hetwews, ao> lermined 10 preserva iia lilev and adopt it for ber own. Hirian^ his siatei^ who iminediaiely ai^ieared, but wu uokaown to the princesa, offered her services^ to proeure a mine for the child from omou; the Hebrew w<HMn— alio was accordingly employed, ancfiochebed, the mother, was soon hrewht to (lie spot, and the child was immediately committed to her care; the princess being eniiraly ignorant of ihe relation that subsisied between- tlie child and iu nurse. At a prtmer age he waa.token to the Egyptian court, and educated inere as the son of Pharaoh's daugater, and was brought up in all the Uaratttg and nrjnfem of the EgyptianM, and became very eminent both in words and deeds, Acts vii. 22. Here he appears to have sioid nearly Xorty years.- AfterwanL in conee^iuence of having killed one 0!"^ the oppressors of his Hebrew brethren, ht was obliged to toke refuge in Midian, where, entering into the service of Jethro, a priest or prince of that eountiy, hs mar had his daughter Zipporali, whom be liad two kou. Eteaaar and Gcraham; and continued as the guardian « tbe.flocks of bis taiber-is-law for fer^ years. At the eon* elusion of this lime, God manifested himself to him whilt tending die flocks of liis faiher-in-law at mount Uorel^ aiMi gave him a commission to bring Israel out of Egypt. He went on the divine eraad, became associated with his elder brodier, Aaron, opened his coramissioii to the Egy[^ tian kini;^, aim wrought several striking miracles to prove the truth of his divine misuon. The king refusing to let the people go, Goo afllicted him and the land with fin grievous plagues; after which, the people were led out, and a most stupendous miracl^ passed lUrou^ the divided waters of the Kcd sea, which Pltaraoli and his army essaying to do, were drowned. Havino; led tlie Israelites into the deserts of Arabia, commouly called the leildemess, God gave them the most sipial maQifestationa of bis power and goodness, in a series of successive miracles; ana delivered to Moaes, tbeir leader, that iVormofwni, am tltose lavn. which are contained in the Pentateuch. Having governed the people for^ years in the desert, and brought them to the very verge of the Promised Land, be was not permitted to pass over Jordan, with them, butdicd in ihe plami of Moabs white in fomiJiar convorse with his God, in the 120ih year of his age. Care, Isbour, a:id years, had made no inroads upon his constituiion, lor it was particularly marked thit AuL eye wu nof dim, nor Us nMtural/oret abaMi (DeuL xxxiv. 7.) that he preserved all the vivacity of youtbutd the vigour of manhood to a period in which, even et th&t time, old age mode iU greaiest depredations upon those who had no oiber support tHao what Ute ooounon eoune of na-

Sfoaea, it umj be Motamry to enter mon.particularl^ ialo an ezuniiution of hia duunuter and eonducL Tbia U & diffoolt task; but. In unfonm vofulMe, Hit eat.

The euloehim or chamcter pvcn of him by the Spirit <rf God) though very conciae, it yet iiill and aotiafactory. And t/ure arote not a prophet $inee in Israel like unto Mota. wlunn Jelwvah knew fact tofaet; in all the Mignt arid Aa vofuter» vMek tlu Lord ment him to do in the land qf Egt/pt,toPh<moh,andtaaUlii*aorrantt,andiotM bo Imdf andinaUduU mlgA/y hand, (aU-eeoquariiw power and influence,) and inaS &• great terror uAkA Jlfcaea ehoaed in the tight of all lorael. Moaea ia called tim aervani nf Ood; anahehaa fortherthii high character, (hat aa a terBont, he vM/aitl\fttl to God in ail hia hotue, Hflb. in. b. He faithfully diacfaarged the trust repoaed in Idm, and totally fbraieuiw himae^, and hia owtt aeoalar interest, with that idao oThia/anuU^ lia laboured inoaaaantlr to promote Ood'a honour and the peogle'a welbre, wbicn, on manr occasiona, be ahowed were desrer to him than his own life. Moaea was in every reapect a ^eal man.; fbr every virtue that conalitules genuine nobili' ty, was concentred in hia mind, and fully diaplayed in hit CMtdnet. He ever eonducteo bimielf aa a man con- •eioua of his own integrity, and of the guidance and protection Qod, under whoae orders be cottstantly acted. He therefore betrays no eofj/urion in his viewa, nor indoelaion in hia meaaurea — he waa ever without mu^ety, because he was oonscioua of the rectitude of hia motivea, and that the cause which be espoused was the cause of Ood; and that hia power and fiuthfulness were pledced for hia ■aj^ort. His coura^ wad/brtitudt were unmaksn and nncmquerabte, because his reliance waa unremittiiwly fixed on the unchangt/Meneaa at Jkrovar. He ten ^ypt hating an eye to the reeompenee qf reward in another world: and never lost sight of this grand object: ha waa therefore neither diaoouragod by difflatltiea, nor daled by proaperity. He who m Egypt refiiaed to be called the aon of Pharaoh's daughter th^by renouncing the elaim iw mia^ have had on the Egyptian throne, was aerer likely to ne infloeneed by aeeular viewa in the government in the miserable mttfiUiu^M which he led out of that country. Bis rendneialion of the court of Pharaoh, and its advantages, was the amplest proof that he nadw aaof^ atr expeeted honour or emohiment in the witdorneto, among a people who had scarcely any thing but what thw reeeimd by immediate miracle fmn the hand of Ood.

Ihavn more ^an ooea hifd oocaaion to note the <IMrtoraatedntao of Moaea in nftranoe to bis/omi^, aa well aa to hinuel/. This is a singular case: hia own tribe, that of L«ei, he left without any earAly poaoeioion; and Ihougti to minister to <iod was die most bcmouraUe employment, yet ttie Ltvttea could never arise to any poIiHeal eonsequeoce in bmsL Even his own sons became blended in the common ma« of the Levite^ and poisesaed no Idnd of difltiDciion among their brethren. I%oa^ hia eonfidenee in God was ever uitahaken, yet he bad a lifb of toil and perpetual diatreaa, oocasiooed the ignorance, ofaatinai^, and baseness of the people over whom he presided; and he died in their service, leavinc no other properly but his tont bdiind him. Of the apotU taken ia war, wa never read of die portion Moaea i be had none, he wanted nons; hia treasure was in beaveik and where bis traaaure was, diere also was his heart By this disinteraitednesB of Mosesu two points are fiill^ proved, 1st, "niat he waa satiifled, (blly so, tiuit hia miasHm waa divine, and tfuit in it he aerved the living Ood: and, Zdlv, Vmi he helicTed in die immortalHif of the soul, and the dociriite of future rewards and puniahments, and therefore be laboured so to pan through things temporal, that he might tut b)9t minga that are eternal. It is strange that the faith of Moses in these points, should be questioiied by any who had ever seriousl;^ read the Pentatetidt.

The nuinnar in which he bore the sentence of his exclusion from the ^mised inheritance, is an additional proof of his persuasion of dw reality of the invisible world: no testineo% no murmuring, no expatiating on farmer aei^ vices: no passionate entreaties to have the sentence reversed, impear in the spirit or conduct of this truly great man. He bowed to dM decision of that justice wnicn he knew could not act wrong; and having buried die world, as 10 himself, be had no eardily attachments] iie was obeying the willtf Ood, in leading die people and there- ^tore) wfaan his Ifastar^oae to dismiss him from thtaeerviae. ha waa eontant; and n», tridumt ngret or am, anonerappofailad to his office.

'nie moral tharaeter of Moaea ia ahnoet {mmaaUaie. Tbax be offended Jehovah at the waters of MtrUiah, dine ean be no doobtt but in what dte offenea eonsisted, eommWatenanderitieaaramathratalOMtoBaeattain. In die Ma 00 Nomknc 8. Ihava Mddan ttiat Ibrileve

Aould he oatd upon die poiM) and after all, coa^actev is Miged to eome in, to supply the plaee of smMmUM evidence; and ttie nuH is so aKght, humanly api at ini, aa even to glide away from tlie vye of eon^tun itseif Had the offence, whatsoever it waa, beea committed by any ordinary peraan, it would probaiAj have paaaad tntween Ood and the eonaaencc^ without any ptalie rq»ohmaian. But Moaes waa grvat, and evperemintntly fitvottradf and » fiuilt in Aim derived much of its monld^ linqtien^ from these very dreomatanoeo. Ho ihi m&t aondf^tto JLordim0uairktqf thepeopU) ha did not fiilly abow that Ood tnmaelf was the aoU worker; he snpeared by hia conduct to exhibit himself aa an agent intfa*- peosably neoeasary in the pnnniaed miracukua aupply; and this might have had the moM dangerous oonseqiKDcM on the mindaof thtsgroas people, had not God. duis marked-it with his dtqileuun. 1%isawfiil leaami to the leister taqgfat the psopls that their help came frons GOD.a^ not from man; and thai oonsequemly, diey must repose their confidence in hik alone. But this anl^eet iliisiiiiiis lo be more distinctly considered, aa in ifae aceount givsa of hia death this omooe is again brou^t forth to view. God himaelf thus details the 4>eomsianees; " Get da* up into this mouniain, and bebc^ the land of Caaaaa— tad die in the mount whither thou goeat upland be gathered imto ihj people, as Aaron diy bnAar, beeanae y» Ireapasaed against me Axoira nia cmLsaxii or wblasl; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children s( Israd.'*' [diap. xxxii. 49—51.1 "And Moaea went v unta the mountain of Nebo — and tbu Lord rifowed him u the land — and the Lord said unto him, lUa ia Ae land which I sware unto Abraham, unto lotae^ and unto Jaesl^ saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have cauaed dwe la see it with thine eyes, but thoo ahalt not go over thither— ao Noaea, the aervant of the Levd, died there, aceonlinglo (he word of the Lord; and he buried him," chapL xzxiv. 1 — 6. In the tfiove extracts, all die cireuaostaneea rdadve to this event are brought into one point of view { wd we aea sdainly die fltresa mu is laid on the qf^nes ^aiiat God. tc nasFAsaw MAimr mm Amara m cnu- BBK or isBAZLr—Va sAiTCTinBo MB ROT lima Mnwr op thk CHiLDasN OT' IsxABL. — These words dm^ be mderatood thtu; lYie people of themselves wars too mndi prone to take off then- eye from Q«d, consult th^ sensc% and depend upon man; and the nKinn«r in which Mosbb and Aarm parfbrmed the miracle whitli God eonunaadad them to do m hti nuna, waa sndi aa to emfim dtem hi d» carnality of their viewi^ and eansa then to depend on aa armof JUA. Yether^rreahattnat eointo^promiMd land, said the Lord: ajid die death of diem both was tlw fallest proof to diia people, that it was not by mi^t, nor by power, but I7 die Spurit of die Lord of Hosls^ lhai their enemies were expelled, and that themsdvea ware intra, dueed and estabUahed in die promised inlieritaiK& lUs aeemstobe tha spirit of the whole bosineoa: andaslfosas bad no other and ia view but die i^Ofy <rf God, it ansi have been a auprame satisfaietion to hia piona aou^ dial dna end waa so effeetually promote^ duNij^ aven Btttsarpenae of hie life.

1. At a distant view, there lippeors to be very little observable in (he tfeoA oS Moses; but tin a nearer ajmroecli, we shall find it to have been the noot hanounMe, I migbi add, the most giorioufc with whidi an^ human being waa ever favoured. As lo his death itael^ it ia simply aaid, he died in the land qf Maab— according to Ae wrd ^ the Lord, He waa, aa has already been observed, in a familiBr convemtion with his Maker: and while in the act of viewing the land, and receiving the last inltinnatiao rd^ tive to »(, the ancient covenant widi the patriarchi^ and te performance of die covenant in [nitting their porterlty inn possession of this goodly inheritance he yielded up the gfaoat. and suddenlv paaacd from the verge of die earthh/ into the heavenly Canaan. Thus without die labour ana the delay of pesaing through the type, he entered at ones into the poaaeeaion of the etnUtype; having simply kst die hounr of leading die aeaple a JiUfs/arAar wten, with ao mudi care aiid aolieiiwie, he had Mtnigfai amtfir.

2. There is another circumstance in his death wmA requires particular notice. It ia said. He died — according to the word of the Lord: the orwinal wordi^ 7ki> «a Slpi YAovah, signify literallvol wioien) IIUauaA^ Jehovah: irtuch Jonathan hen UxnU interprets dn^ '>n KMPD npxvs *f9 4f neMJcoA nevmra rfajpya, "bya kiss <if die woBD of Jdwvah and mb haacmB riaa to an ancient tradition among dw Jaws, "dwl <m embneed Moaea, and drew his soul out of hia body by a kiss." The Targumiat adds, that this was " On die seventh d^ of An mouh Adar, the same day of the same month on wUdi he was bom."

buritd kirn, wbi^ w u honour no human being ercr raeeived bnidea hinutlf. Pram the tnditioii referred to by St. Jude, ver. 9. k «ppwt that Michael, tfae aiehangel, WM «mplov«d on thia occsaioni thai Satan diaputed the nutter ■with him, prohably wjJung the burial-place of Moaes to be known, that it might become an excitement to auperatition and idolatrj; but being rebuked by the Lord, he waa oblwed (o give over the eoniention; and though the place or buiial was probably the votfnrf^^ vumniain OD which Moeoa had bees ooDvernog with Ood, mkI wbmre be died, ret Satan himwif could not aaeerta in the «pot, and no man lm»wA <^ hi* te/ndehre vnto this day.

4. Thuj end the Itft and the uorA of the writer of the Peotaleucb, who, by the treaauraa of wisdom and know- Jedga wfaieb he haa amaaaeri in thoae^M booka, faaa enricDM iha whole civilized and mdeed greatly promoted that very eivilisatioik Hia works, we may justly •ay, ta«ve been a kind of UH-hook to almost every writer on gtehgy, gtogn^^ tkranobm, astronomji, natural Aictory, taUa, htriMjfntdmee, poSfieal economy^ thsotogy, Bottry, and enlieittn, from hia time to the preaent Sa.j. Books, to vriiieh the choioest writers and pbflosopfaers m Pagan aniiquiqr han been deeplv indebted: ana which wore the text-books to all the propn»s book^ from which tile Ainasy writen against Divine Revelation have derived their na^ral nligi«>, and all their moral ezeelleoce:— books, written in all the energy and purity (rf the incom> parable hngnagein whidt they are eompowsd; and finally, books, whioi, vot importanee of matter, varied of infornaciwi, dignity' of sentiment, accuracy of fitMs, impartiijity, sinpticitjr, and aoUiBi^ of namtioi^ t*"di"e to iBprove and ennoble theiotelleot and ameUorale the uiyaiealandiMialetHidilionof man,have never beenequuledj wid ean only be paralleled by the Ooavn of the Son oi Oodf Fountain 01 endleaa merey, jnstioe^ truth and benefieenee! Row much an thy gifts and bounties neglected by those who do not rsed 0**a Gno; and by thoae vSo, having read it, are not morally improved by it, and made wiae onto Buntioal

It may be asked bow Moaea, who waa bred up at an idolatrous eourt lAioh be did not quit till the fortieth vear of his ag^ got that ocyuaiw ianc« wiiA the true Ood, which ibe apostle states him to have had: and ibat/aith by which be realiud spiritual and invisible things; and ihnuh wfaieh be deapiaed all worldly gnndeur and seoolar emom- Bunt? By /aiA, saya the apoatl^ M>m$, whm ha wot '«»au to year*, riflutd to b* eaUod Ifcc oomtf i^araak*» dbMtor; tkaoMtg rmAer la m^er t^glXmon vttft As

MOaon; sfteemtnf Vu reproadt qf Ckritt graaUr rUAm than t/u treantrtt in Egypt i forhah»dTt»podvntoOt» rearmptnte ^ the rmoaaxt, Heb. zi. 24, Ae. Tbia ear> tainly implies a degree of religious knowled^ associated with an experimental aequaiotaooe with divme thinn which we can scarcely ever suppoae to have been at all the result of an Egyptian educatiou. But we shall cease to be preaaed with any difficulty here^ when we consider tbei eircumalance of hisbeing providentially nurMd byhi»owa mother, under the authority and direction of the EgypiiaD princess, lliis gave him tne privilege o{ JhmunTintereoarM with hi* pareniM, and oihtrt of the Bebrewa, who worshipped the true God; and from them he undoubtedly learned all (he great truths of that religion which were tau^t and praclued among the patriarchs. Tba circomsianoes of nis Hebrew origin, his exposure on the Nil^ his being bund and adopted by the daughter of Pharaoh, were fiuts wUch could not be Qonoeaiea, and must have beat notorious at the Egyptian court: and when these points are ctmaidered, we need not be surprised that ha never could be no identified among the Efffptiam, as that hia Hebrew extraction should be fo^otten.

"Riat the person whom God designed to be the deliverer of his people, should have been a Hebrew by birth, and have retained all his natural attachment to his own peop)& and yet have been brought up by Phanudi's daughter, ana have bad all the ad vantages of a highly-finished education, which the cireumstonoes of his own fiuniljr oould not have a&rded; is all a masterpiece c4 wisdom in the designs of, the Divine Providence. Besides, Hoses by this educatiim must have been weli knotm, and even poputar, among the EgTptianst and, therefiire, the subsequent public pert be took m behalf of ilw Hebrew, must have excited the greater attention, and procured him the greater respect, both among' the Egyptians and his own people. All these ciroumstances taken together, shew the manifold wisdom and gracious Providence of Ood.

On the whole, we may remark, that when Ood eelle any person to an extraonlinary work, be ao oiders it, in the eourae ot his Providence, that be shall have every qualification neeesaaiy for diat work. This was the case with Moses: — bis Hebrew extraction, the comeliness of hia person, hia Bgrptian education, bis natural firmness and eonslaney of cbuacter, all concurred widi the influences of the Divine Spirit, to make him in every respect such a neraon, oae among millions, «^ waa every loag oualifiea for tbe great wmi wtwdi Ood bad ginn mm to do; and who perfwmed it aocowling to Ibe mind of his Maker. SnTANTorOop, wblldokbI

In tbe above chapters and vanea, I hm, in general, fol- Imrad the diTiaions in the best Haanette Biblea, from synagogue «n th$ aAnaxH dat, and aroOD op roB n aSAS. Andiktnwutt^wred (oJUm-msaooK ortiia PBOPHMT cbaiab; and tehm ke.had opejud Hubookjjtt found Uur^Ure, (Ixi. 1, 2,) vjitre it imm writimi "Ilia Spirit of Ood ia upon roe, because he hath aoointed m lo

E reach tlte Guapel to the poor: he haili acnt me to beal Um roken-^ieartad, to preaeb deliverance to the eapiivea, and recovery «i|^t to the blind: to aet at liberty I hem that are bntiaed: to preaeh tba a«e»iablc year of the Lacd." And he dottd the book, &e. Have ibe Java alierail Ihii haplitatah, knowing iba una- oar bleawd Lord madt «f il ainonc their anccaiors)

In the JlfoMToA, all the taard* and UiUn in the Penia> teuch are alao numbered; but though I find that ibe reaak in any one bookdoea not ezactly cocre^tond to the Maaordia enumeration, I have inserted the whol^ac«oTtlii^ to im moat exact ealeulalioQ 1 could <ditwn. 'lite Blaaoriie^ in numbering how often eadi Utter oceura ia lb* whole Imi^ have propoaed by tbia pious labour to prevent tbe addttiia or omiaMon of even a siogle letter, that the word a( God might be preserved in its original integrity. And bad w the edition thus revised by them, it vrould be of iitfiniia importance. But we must lament that their suceeason have not watched over iliese Sacred Rr cords viih the Mma aerapulouB exactness. We have tmuaa however lo Is 'thanRfilL that the collationa of MSS. CnmieaU and da Aim, have, in a good meaaure, supplied this defect: so that Biill va may aay, " die word of tbe Lord abidedi for ever,"

As this enumeiation of the latwia will appear to bt a matter of curiosity w some, and may plaaae oUient hanog a small space for the fAupoee, I •hall bera avlgoin it. Aleidk R oocan 4^77 timea in iba Pomtcadk

In the srnarogues the law is read entirely through in the fifty sabbatlis of their lunar jear i for they join oertain aeetions together, which are noticed at the end of the tables. But in their in/ermfa^Mi years, in which they add a nton/A, they have then Af^yjfintr sabbaths, and this ia one reoaon why we find KJty^fonr PtntAaka, and Jlftyjiiur UnfJttarsM, insicad of Jf/Iy-fira. See the «enciiMiing laUea.

It haa already been observed, that when Anlioehtu Bpi' jAanea conquered the Jews, about the year 16S before the Clhriatian Era, he forbad the law to be publicly read in the aynagogiies, on ttatn qf dtath. The Jews, that they might liot be wholly deprived of the word of Ood, selected iom other parts or the Sacred Writinea, jt/lWour por- -tiona, which were termed luPirrcaAB, moan hajAtorotii, from toa patar, he dumiwd, Ut toon, opmtd — for though -the Law was diamUwed from their ayoa^t^uea, and was ^o»ed to them by the edict of this persecuting king, yet the proph^ie writing; not being under the itUentiet, were left «pea; and therefore they usm them in place <tf the others. It was from this cuBtnu of the JewL that the primitive Chriatians adojfiud dieira of nading a tesson every aabbaih out of tbe Old and New Testaments: and at this custom the praetiee of die Church, in our own country, in reading oertato portions of the BviwUto and OofptU every Sunday in Iba jraar, was founded.

A* a proper knowledge of Uieae l^pktaraa, or prophttitat aecfums, may Bometimes help to fiz the Arcwdngy of aome eventa in the New Testament, it hath been deemed ^oper to give a taUe of them in eonaezion with the PanahioA, or MctUma of the Law, in the place of whMi ibi^ wera originally read; and wHk which, ever ainea the days of tbe AMmmuanM, or Maecabeet, they continae lo be mwl in the various lynagogues belonging to the BngH^ Portuguete, Italian, DuMi, and Qa-man Jews.

From the above tables the reader will jpewoiva, that though the Jews are agreed in the sectionsintbe Xistatbat are read every aoAfroA; y«t they are not agnad in the At^Maraa^^orBeelioos front the ProfkUtt as it appears above, that the Duleft and Oenufn Jew* £flW in taimi cases from the IlaUan and Portuguae; and ihera are aome slighler vartatioiw besides those above, which X have ■otnotteed.

It IB very likely that in the lima of our Lord, the Slat Ikaphtarab, called Nittabim, htgtA with tlbajtrtt verse of Isai. Ixi. and not with OieltnM, as above; for, from Luke iv. 16—19. wa kam, that the two first venes of ibi* <3wptar formed a part of the AapUoroA for tharsabbath'i reading in which our Lord was present in a synaffogue of Nazareth. And hi cavu to Naxareth, le/ure he Iwl bun bnugfii up; and a* Aw ooaroM wtt, ia vmt 4nto (k* MS

A PERPETUAL TAEL35 ShcwLH^, through lh# emtne of thirteen Lunnr Cyclea (wlnrli eralitarp every jwMftJp vsrlaiiPTil the day of tlic u'rvk wilJi ivliinh Ihc }i'wi*h Year begini., niiu on uiiuib Ilia Puuovcr la field \ as alha the. Icnj^th uf itie

TABLE U.— ConUiQio* liw wholo vaiUUdni in ite KWliBg of tlw ParMUotb, Ot wetloiu oTlto Iaw, fer e*wy ycatoT

To determine upon what day of the week any Jewish month commence* for any f^ven year, aa alao the day of the week upon which the Jews celebrate their principal luta and fesuvali.

Bwrou the reader enUn upon the particular luea of each of tho preeedioff table*, it wQl be neoeuary to ^ve a detailed aooount m the rabbiiUMl computation of time upon which tbey have been coiutruetad. The year uaed by the Jews contains 12 or 13 lunatiMis, which are so artificially disposed, that iu oommeacement conetaiitly Iwpp^ about the time of the autumnal equinor. In order to effect this, Amy have been obliged to have recourse to the sun's revolution through the twelve signe of tlM Zodiac, or, to sprnk man properly, to the quantum of tine wfuch the earth Ukas up in making one complete periodic revolution round the sua. — TbM period of time, according- to the r^ins, {which is the same that is used iu the construction of their cakodar,) is 366 days, 6 hours, 997 cheta/cim (jinntt) and 48 moments; which reduced to our time, is <^ual to 365 dmy% 6 hours, 66 minutes, and 26 seoonds — lOaOchitafcim being contained in one hour, and 76momaUsinae&^at. — l^eBiU. Babbi Part U. p. 407.

Tlw quantity of the ^odical revolution of the moon, amofding U> the nUiins, IS 29 days, 12 hours, end 793 Msla- Jdm, which, also reduced to our lime, is eqiuJ to 29 days, 12houn^ 44 minutes, and 3} seconds; anl twelve times this quantity, or 364 days, 8 hours, 48 minutes, and 40 seeond^ is e^ial to the Jewwi common year, wliich is nearly lld^shartoftbesoburrevoltitiont consequently, to keep tlw ansou of the Tear io dwir respective months, the rabbins enplojr aa «iii6«mniie or ttap year, of 13 hinar nuntbs, ercry second or third year j by means of whi<^ with other oOTTectioH% whidi will be hereafter noticed, tbeir years are fgnnd to correspond bo exactly with the Grctfonan oaleodar, aa not to deviate from it materially, through the course of •ome centuries.

In the huMr c^le of 19^eanH which embraces the prin- «ipal variations m the moti<m of the moon, tbey have 12 common years of 12 lunar months, and 7 embolitmie years of 13 lunar months; and, inorder that all their months may begin as neerlv as possible with the day of the eoniunciion of the sun and moon, they have, alternately, for tiie most part, 29 and 30 days. Thus "Htri, their first month, containsiOdays; AfercA«sean, their second mrath, 29 or 30 1 C»sfau,29or30; Td>tt,79i Sabal,X; Adar,W; Nitan, 30; Ain29;<Sii>an,3l); Tammux, 'i9i Ab, 30; and Elut, 29. In the tmbolitmic year, the thirUatih month, which is named Vtadar, alwaye consists of 30 days.

Tin reason why an emboli*mk ^car, for the most part, Mieoeeds two common year^ is evident from the circumatancea of the lunar year being nearlv 11 days ihorter than the airiar; so that in three yean the laUer gains from the Cormer not fewer than about 32 days; and as only a month of 30dayi isinterodaled in thattime,at theeommenoement ot the hinar cych, it is manifest that two iniercalary years must sometimes happen with only one common year between. Accordingly, the 3d, 6th, 8lh, Ulh, 14lh, I7th,and 19lh years of everv lunar (Tela, are detHwninaten cmMwmie. See Table |. If the lunar synodic levolutioD eoaaiited pnetaaly of 39 dm 12 hours, the asaigniog to the Jewidi months 29 and S> days alternately, would oe sufficient to fix theeommenoement of the diSerent monthsaboat the day of the conjunction, ad ir\finitam,- but as the synodic revolution, according to rabbi Adda, contains 44 minutsi^ 3i see<mdB more t&n 291 days, it is demonstrable that the asstgnment of 29 and 30 days alternately to the months nmst be iasuflSeient, and in the course of a few years must produce a very sensible error.

Ttiu% in order to make this eircomatance obvious to the lowest capacity, let the first paschal fiill moon in the lunar eyele, be supposed to commence precisely at mtd-daf, then it is evident, from the qnantitf of a synodic revolution, aa naeattainad nr the lahbin^ that the nineteen paschal full iBoons, which are oonttined in every eyele, will in this ease happen aa in the following table: where the first column pouts oui the year of the cycle; tfatsecood, the precise pmnt of time in the lunar cycle of the respective paaclial nil DMons} the third, the nearest eoireaponding day, omitting the firaetional parts; and Uie fburtht the difierences of the nnaibers in the third column, or, in other words, the iaUml of timo, expressed in whole numbers, which meGessivs paschal fidl moon. I

From the last column of the preceding tables it is evident that the paschal fiill moons happen constantly after an interval of 354, 366, 383, or 384 day;s, omitting the fraction parts; but the length of the Jewish year may be either 363, 364, 365, 333,194, or 386 davs. The reason of this discordance between the length of the Jewish year, and the interval between two conaocutive paschal full moons, arises chiefly from the circumstance of never bqginningthe year on die first, fourth, or sixth day of the weekTHence, if the new moon, which regulatea the oommencement of the year, should h^>pen on the first day of the we^ the year does not begin till the fiillowing day: and if on the 4th or 6th, the commencement of the year ia dated from the 6lh or sabbath. The reason why the Jews never b<\gin thetr year on the first day of the week, to prevent the occurrence of the celebration of the festival of Bbsanna Itabba on the Sabbath-day: aa some parts of this festival are deemed by them incompatible with the strict observance of the sabbath enjoined on them by the fourth commandment. The reason why die year is never begun on die 4th or 6lh days of the week, is to prevent the occurrence of the great day <rf atonement nn the 6lh or Lord's day: for, as the Jews are bound to keep this last on (he 10th of Tisri, and also to observe it as strictly aa tliey would the sabbath, in (his case, two sablialhs, as it were, would come together, and produce great inconvenienee^ as, in their eatimwna, it is not lawful to bury their dead, or boil their fbo(^ on either of these days.

time to time, an entire da^, lo or from the mean Imgib of the tommm or emboiUmtc year; which correction is always mode in the month Marchavan, or Citltu, just in the same manner as the intercalated day in the Or^orian calendar, is always attached lo the end of February. From this diffiirent varieties in the length of the months Mardunan and Cisfeu, connected with the day of the week upm which the year begins, are produced fourtten different kinds of years among tniB Jewa^ seven of which are common years, and the other teem embolismtc; fbr sometimes these two months have each only 29 dajrs; sometimes they have each 30 dan; and at other times Mardiftan has 29, and Cisfctt 30 days; and the new year mav commence with iho MMofft, or toe 2d, 3d, or &di day of the week. Itie indexes by which these different years are diitin- fnshed in the preceding tables, are, for tKe common years, Pl,5d7,7Dl,7Pi2D3,2P5,and3(/6; andfor the embolismic, 5DI, 3d7. 2P7, 6P3,7D3,7PR and 2Dft. TuBftntfigureof theindexdeuotesthedayor the week tuwo which the year commences; thus, 6 denotes tlie year to tiegin on the fifth day of the week, or Thursday; 3 the third day of the week, or Tuesday, Slc Ac. the letter of the iiufex determines the length o^ the months Marehatvan and Culcu,* thus, P stands for peijerl, i. s. these two months are both perfeM^ each contoming W days; D stands for d^eclive, t. e. each of these months contains only 29 days; and a small d denotes that one of these months is defective, which, in this rase, is always Mardunan. "Hie lost figure of the index ^fgft the dnr of the week upon wlilch the paaaovcr happens; just in the Mune nutnner m the figure denotes the day of tlie week upon which the year b^ns.

For a farther explanation of the index, let it be required to find upon what day of the week the rabbinical yeu of the world B8I7 begins; upon what day of the week the passover is held in that year; and also the length of the months Mardusvan and Ctsleu. To solve this question, we have only to refer to Table I. whera we find the index of the year to be 2 D 5, i. & the year commences on Tiu»- dtm, the pagsoeer is held upon Thwaday, and the months Marciuavm and CUlm are both defectiTe, i. t. have imly 29 days each.

Having premised thus much respeetiof; the mode of constructing the Jewish calendar, we now come to entlatn the chief (Aject of fhe preceding tables, which is to oeiermine the order of renaing the Pareehiolh and Haphtaroth, or seciiotu of the Laio and the Praphtts tot any given year. For this purpose Tobies I. it. and V, are chiefly constructed. In Table I. the index for every Jewish year of the world from 6563 to 5314 (both inclusive) is given J and as these years correspond to all the years of our Lord from 1B07 to 2054, (boOi inclusive,) it will be 242 yean before this table, in its present form, will be entirely antiquated: and it may be rendered nerpetual, by affixine the same routine of inoexes to the 247 yearo, boning with A. D. 2066, and ending with A. D. 2»)I; and to the 247 years subsequent to A. D. 2301, &c. &c. ad irdlnilum. Table II. contains a calendar of sabbaths, for the 14 d^g'ererU leindt of years made use of by the Jews; together with the ParahaA or PareAioth read on the different sabbaths of each. In the first column of the months, the black cirelck or astronomical signs of the conjunction of the sun and moon, poinU out u» figure annexed to it to be the day of the week upon which Qte monlh begins; and when two numbers are t^xed, it is to show that the- conjunction of the luminaries corresponds to bothdays; the lomr of which is always taken for the oommmcement of the moiUh. All the other numbers in tlus column ore the days of the month upon which the Si^batiu happen, except sometimes in the month of Ti&ri, where two numbers occur togetlier, the firat of which is the day ^ Ou wsak and the latter the corresponding day of me month. In order, therefore, to find what Pareehah or Parahioth are read on any given Sabbath, nothin? more is necessary than to look into Table I, for the index of ^ eiven year, and with it to enter ISble II. whert^ uahut the given adibath, in die eohimn of PareMo&f vitiha fiiaad thegivm PareAoh or PareshioA required.

JExamp. I. Required the Parahah at POrMAfoA Bppointed to be read in the synagogue on the second nlifaaUi of the month Sivan, A. M. 6572.— In Tabu I. the index for the year is 6 d 7; from which it appears, try Table U. that it is the second Jewish common yw; and the second sabbath of Sivan, in this year, is upon the 12th day of the moittb, over against whicn, in the column of Pareahioth, b 36^ the numoer of the Pareshah required. By a reference to the list of Parakioth givea at the end of the Commentary, on the lost chapter of Deuteronomy, we find that this section of the Law commences witti Numb. iv. 21. and ends at vii. 89. of the same book. The HdphtoraK read on this saUiath, appears by the some list, to be the xHith chapter of Judges, from tna 2d to the 26m verse t in Table V. the I2th of Sivan. A. H. HT2 isthe aamawidi aw23d of May, 1312.

Einted to be read on the fourth of T^mmux, A. M. M34.— Tabu I. the index for die year is 7 D 3; which index corresponds to the fifth erobolismic year in Table II. con- ■equently the fourth sabbath of T\immuz fiUls on the 28th of the month; and the PareMoth fiw the ^ven day are the 42d and 43d. Tt\a former commences at the aeeond verse of the xxxihchapter of Numbers, and the tatter iscontiimcd from it to the end of thebook. By a reference to TUde T. the 28th of T^mmiu, A. M. 658< answers to the 24lh of July, 1824.

N. B. The figure and capital letter found in the first column of Table V. at the bc^ning of each Jewish year, ^ov to which of the fixitteen kinds of yeariL acoerding to their disposition in TMt U. the said year belongs; thus 1 C stands for the first common year; 5 E, dte'fifih embolismtc year, &c &c. &c.

When, in the column of ParaMo^ or HaptUaroth, in Tables Q. and V. the word cAtspur is affixed to any particular sabbath, it points it out to be the great day of arom' ■mmxT, for which a particular sBrrioe la appomted. "Hie <w^u»e Law read on that day b^tna with the 27di of zxiiid chapter of Levitiat*, and ends with the

Wlien the word mccoth is affixed to any particular sabbath, if it be tlie 15th of 2\*r£, it is the day upon whMl the fenst of labemadea commences; the portion of iIm lav for which occasion berans at the 34th verse of the xzind chapter of LeeiiiaU. Tbt Haphtorah ia the avtbehoder ' of the vrojAet ZaJuiriah; but on the sabbaih whicfabllows the 16th of Tisri, if it be within the octave of the fcaal of tabcntacles, the portion of the prophets which is read is the xxxviiith chapter of Exeku( aceordtog to tlM Qerman Jews; but the other Jews read from Exck. xzzviii. 18. to xxzix. 16.

"Hie capital letters B. L. which are affind to dte fiftyfourth wctiOD frf the low, in the third odunm of Tible v. stand for book of the Law. TTtis secticn is read on the 23d of Tisri, which is oontriMd so as never to happ» oo the saUnih, as the day upon which it is read is a time of great festivity among the Jews, for dieir having eompletod the reading of the fifty-four Paresbioth, whiS 1 comprise the whole Dook of the Law. The asteriA affixed to the 23d day of Tisri, in Table V. and its corresponding time in the Oregoria^ eomputatitm, is designed to show that this day happens On a Week day, and not on the sabbath, as oil the other days in die same columns do.

When 1 Paa. or 2 Pat. is affixed to any partieulor sabbath, it is the first or second sabbath of the vuamtr, upon which, if die I&th of Niean be the sabbath day, the portton of ihe prophets read on the occasion is the Tui ctttpter of Joshua, all but the first verse. If ihm be oolv afu sa^ both in the feast of the passover, the HairiitonA is the 14 first verses of the xzxviith chapter of i^ekiel; to which some add the three following. If dtere be Iw sabbaths in the feast of Ihe passover, the bitter is termed the octara, upon which ihey read the whole of the QmWehfc and also dieproi^ halah, from the 32d vene of the xth efaifMr to the end of the tmlfth.

When Pmt. is a&xei to any partionlar stfibaib, it is the sectmd ^ay of the feaH >^ penUcoat, upon which oecasion the ttid, ivth, vth, and vim chapters of the |iiii]ita( Habakkuk, u^ether with the book of AuM, are read.

Besidea the 64 secdona of the law which are regularly read through in the oooneof a JewiA year, whether itbe comvum or emboHamic, then are,>ter iNtiior PAkaauen which are generally read in dtemoaih Afarof a eeiswi^ and in Veaaar of an emAoIt^nttc year. Tbeae ore Siekaiifn, "na JSocftor, n-in Para, and vnrm BatkadtJ^; and are marked down in Tables XL and T. fav dieir initial letters S, Z, P, and H. Hm minor PareriianL SBnuaa commenoea widi tht llth vene of the xxxtn cfauinaf Exodua^ and ends at the 16th vcvm oI dta aaoM i ZacBOi begins with the 17dt vene of AexzvAdiajitar of Aato^ onomy, and ooniaina the divine nuledtetionnpoB the Analekites; Paka begins with the xixth diaptor of Number^ and ends with the chapiter; and HAcnoossa be«ns widi die lOdi vene of the xiith chiqtter of Kxod^ and eodi at the 20th verse of the some chapter.

When the Jewish year oomraenoes tux the sBfafaadi, (which circomatance is nOdeed ia the ihiid oohmm ef 1^ ble y. whenever it ooour%) Lev. zziii. 2C and Nni^ xnx. 1—7. an read.

When die 26d) of CWe» falls on the sabbadi, die cootracdon En. for sttctenta, dedication, is affixed to the nmaber of die PorcaAo&in IVLbles IL and V. to show Oat it is the day to be held incommemoratianof dtaaltoi'ebaiaK (isdfeafad afrvah to die aerviee of Ood, after itt poriSoiiai from its pollutions 1^ Antiochua.

lUiles III. ondlv. are eonstmcted to determine tbedsy of the week upon which the principal Jewish Casts and feasts are held for any given year. One exanq>le wilt bs sufficient to illustrate tmse tables. Examp. Required ths day (rf the week upon which the prineipal Jewidi fiasia aad fmrts b^tpened in Iba Jewidi year of uw world 8S73.—By a referenoo u Tabui L this year corraifKnds to A. Il 1813; and in Tablk IIL in die same stfuare wiA 1813* >a the ci^iital letter C, whitdi ^ws that the nnmheia is column C, (rf TbUc IV. over against the di&rent iaim and feativala, are the dm of the week required. Tfaai^ the oomnMDeementofnsri is CD tlM second and third di^ of dw weA t dw Alt of OadoUak OD ttw 14di t feat ef ATomoMT on dM 14lh| dia fcaatof tabemMeaea 2d I fiMOtuufc Ai6fra oo dw Irtf the LaUHa LafU,9i joy fin- the Lavr. on tlM 3d} dw oommeaoemeBt t£Marehetwm on the 3d end 4th| the eoauneoeeoMnt of Oiafn on the 6th| die Eneania on the 1st; (he eommrwecmeat of T<iba on die 6*) dw feat of die lOdi of 7U«< oo 1st; the eommenceount of Stbat on the abbatfa; the oobt meiKement of Adar oo ttw 1st and 2d; dte oommeoeeiBcat of Faiufar on the3daod4di( dw/M of After ontte 2d;di«fcaatof Pmimm du 3d| daecHaaww naitai iVison oaths 6th I the feast of the passover on the ftki dw ooameaeMnent of JSar on die tdi and 7Ai AaSH

Ofltfr OD tlw 3d; the commeiieenwnt of Slvan on the first; the feaat petUeetat on the 6th; the commencement of

T^fflicson tbe2daiid3d: the.^of the 17diof Tammuz on the 5tb; the commeneemont of ilft on the 4th; the Jiut of the 9th <^ ^fr OD the 5th; and the commeacemeDt of Eltd on the 5th and 6th dajra oif the week.

Table TI. needa little explanation; the titles of iti difTerent edumM being mfficient for this puxpoae. The Jtrtt oolumn dwnn the year of the world according to the Jewkh nekoninK: the ateond eolamn the year of oiir Lord, the, letter Bjin the eame column, shove each bUMxUU or Itap year. The 3d and 4tfa columns oontain the btnar eytM aod golden manben, "niejI/ZA column afaows the month, and day of the month, on vnich the Jewish uaasover fslls, from the present year, 1812, to the year 1900. The rixth oohimn marks ine day on which EatUr foils durins the same period. The ttienih oolumn shows the year of our Lord cotresponding with the beginning of the Jewish year in (he Jtrtl cbhimn; and also on what day of what month the Jewish year, according to the Chtigorian oalendar, commences. By the slightest itispeetion ot these tiUiles, ainr person may at once see the- day on whktl die Jewish passorer, and the Christian Eatter; Mbfiir my year of Oie above period from 1812 to 1900;

On the salijeet of the preceding laite$ there irill H dmibtiess, various opinions among the readers of this work. Some may even think them ludus, while others will judge them of considerable imporlanee. Hie writer has only to say, that no odker part of the work has ocoaiBoned so mndi b^cwr and so moch eijwnsa Nottatng of this nature, on the same plan, has ever before met the eye of the EnglM. reader; nor does any other tanguaga alfotd a stmilar •ufajeel, at oms K» sxfoM^ In the pbmandso etmeiat in the executim. Those who best understand iIm work will perceive, that it re<iuired no common indiutry, to say nothing of other requisite giialifieaiumM, to constnicl such tables, even with the extensive vork of BartoioteCw Jliblioiheca Rabbinita before him, to which the present collection of tables acknowledges high obligadonB, llie writer could not consider his comment on the Pentateuch as even tolerablv complete, withwt such an apparattu as is here pfodticea, which it is hoped every minister of the word of God will find of (he utmost use to him, in various matters connected with the Jewish alhirs: but on this subject nothing need be added, as the tables and their uses nave been alreedy so largely exphiined. In bis prospectus, the author promised " every requisiia table i" and nad be not added Out, he must have eonndetcd iitpUdgt givm to the public not redeemed.

On the Bubieci of the aeeompanyiiw map, a good deal has already Seen said: — ^it is scarcely necessaiy to add, that great care and nuns have been teiken to mue it even geruraity oorreet It will be found, in some particulars, to differ from that cf Dr. Siaw, placed at the end of Bxodtu I and, perhaps, in the situabon of some places, from the eamnunt itselL Hue was unavoidable i the comm»t was fonned from the tacrtd Uxty the nuw was eonstnicted from odwr authorities: to have Jbrtei them to an acreanwot in every particular^ would have been to do violence to the respective authorities on which they are founded* and the words of God must not yield lo the sayings of men. We have not an aeeurate geographical knowledge of the promised land: and, iherefore, are not certain of the real nomci^ and true situation, of various places mentioned in the Pwuatauoh: add to thia^ that mmy of ibe plaeea are long ahwa urtinet: and ottaars hurt cfaaaged tbeir MHM^ so as to bo BO iMiger diSBOfnibk^