Heathens not only those of the Hebrews nothing hinders but he might sometimes designedly help Natural Causes on their behalf VII It appears also from the Death of the Egyptians that the Sea was divided as I have said First Moses says that when the Israelites went into the Sea The Egyptians pursued and went in after them in the Night-time to the midst of the Sea even all Pharaoh's Horses his Chariots and Horse-men Exod. 14.23 The Egyptians believed that the Israelites took hold of the Opportunity of an Ebbing which was greater than it used to be and that therefore they ought presently to pursue them least the Passage should be stopt by the return of the Waters Tho' the Egyptians were transported with anger yet had they suspected that it was a Prodigy they had certainly never been so mad as to go into the Channel of the Sea and they might have seen that it was undoubtedly a Miracle were it not that they might with some likelyhood ascribe the thing to an Extraordinary Reflux When the whole Army of the Egyptians came into the Sea and the Israelites got to the opposite Shore that is in the Third Watch of the Night as we learn from what follows Moses was commanded to smite the Sea which being done Exod. 14.27 The Sea return'd to its strength when the morning appear'd Which seems not to have happen'd by degrees but God made use of an extraordinary South-Wind which brought back with a great violence and in a very short time the Waves which stood still by the strength of the North-Wind This we learn from Moses's Song Exod. 15.10 Thou didst blow with thy Wind the Sea covered them They sank as lead in the mighty Waters c. If the Waters were congealed and heaped up on both sides what need was there of a Wind to make them return to their place As they stood up only by the Will of God they might return into their Channel by the same Will provided God would have recall'd the Efficacy of his Power for they had dropt down by their weight like melted Ice Lest the Egyptians should avoid by flying the violence of the Reflux besides the South-Wind by which it was hasten'd Moses says That God Troubled the Host of the Egyptians and took off their Chariot-wheels that they drave them heavily Exod. 14.24 25. That we may the better understand this we must remember that the Army of the Egyptians was made up only of Chariots and Horse-men For Pharaoh brought with him no Infantry to overtake more easily the Israelites nor did he want any seeing he might easily rout an unarm'd People only with his Chariots and Horse-men Besides the March of the Horse-men and Chariots was made slower by a secret Efficacy of the Divine Power Three things might make that Passage more difficult to the Egyptians than to the Israelites 1. There might be in some Places abundance of Mires too deep to drive Chariots and Horses thro' them without great trouble whereas Men a Foot might easily get over them especially the Israelites who were used to wander with their Flocks in the Marshes of Egypt Tho' the Bottom of the Sea is not the same every where yet no Body will wonder that I say there might be here and there some Miry Places in a Space that was some Miles Broad a little while after the Sea left it 2. If there were no Mires in some places there was abundance of deep Sand in which Wheels will sink deeply and thro' which Horses can go but slowly Diodorus Siculus says Book III. There is a vast quantity of Dirt and Sand in that Sea and that the Floods sometimes carry so much Sand about the Ships that Sail in it that they stick fast in the Ground That Sand hindered without doubt the Chariots and Horses from going fast If it be objected that Moses says several times that the Israelites went thro' the Sea as thro' a Dry Land I answer It ought not to be so understood as if the Channel of the Sea had not been so much as moist and dirty The Land is said to be Dry because there was no Waves upon it and it is opposed not to Moistness but to Water as Gen. 1.9 And God said let the Waters under the Heaven be gathered together unto one place and let the Dry Land appear and God called the Dry Land Earth See also Chap. 8.13 Philo therefore laid too great a stress upon that Word when he said that the Isrelites went thro' the Sea as thro' a way paved with Stones for as he goes on the Sand grew hard and made one solid Body Miracles have been often invented to explain some Words of Scripture upon which they put too literal a Sense of which the Holy Writers never so much as dream'd 3. The Bottom of the Sea being uneven and full of Rocks and †See Theophras Hist of Plants Book IV. ch 8. Shrubs could not give a Free passage to the Chariots Nay 't was almost impossible for those who drived the Chariots and hastened to pursue the Israelites in the Night time and then to make their escape to the Egyptian Shores not to encumber and hinder one another and even to overturn their Chariots and break the Wheels against the Rocks Now some Chariots overturned or broke were sufficient to disturb the whole Army and it could go but slowly whilst their Ranks were broke and every Horseman endeavoured to go faster then another This Moses seems to teach us in the words I have quoted All which things I have mentioned did without doubt hinder the march of the Horse and Chariots When the Israelites saw this besides they perhaps observed that the Wind was turned knowing that the Sea would presently flow in they began to think more seriously of making their escape Then at last they perceived that the God of the Israelites was not less Powerful in the Sea then he had been in Egypt So that condemning their rashness they turned back and made haste to the Egyptian Shoar but the Waves breaking upon them they were Drowned Josephus not only says that the Water of the Sea was driven on the Egyptians by the Wind but also that there arose at the same time a violent Storm which perhaps he learned from the Egyptian Priests of his time The Egyptians added that their Ancestors were forced to come home and leave off pursuing the Israelites by reason of the Storms as it appears from Justin Book 26. Ch. 2. But Moses says that they all Perished in the Sea and that not one of them escaped to bring the News of their Calamity From whence one may observe by the bye that Josephus omitted that part of the Tradition of the Egyptians because it was contrary to the History of Moses but willingly alledged according to his Custom that part which was not inconsistent with it VIII If the Histories of Manetho and of some others who wrote the Antiquities of the Egyptians were extant we might
which because they were either obscure or of a doubtful Signification we translated literally lest we should obtrude our own private Conjecture upon the Reader for the true meaning of the Sacred Writers Sometimes too we have retain'd even the words when we saw the Learned disputed about the Signification of them with doubtful Success but a few Examples will sooner shew whether we did well in this than a long Harangue Therefore Chap. 6.14 we turn'd Arcam facies nidis instructam rather than mansiunculis after St. Jerom or Cellis because though several rooms seem to be understood in which the Creatures were lodged separately yet for all we know Moses may mean a Floor or something else that is called Kinnim Castellio borrows the word Loculata out of Varro who calls a Fish-pond so where the Fish are kept in several Chests which suits not ill with this place though we durst not follow him What seems to be the meaning of Servus Servorum Gen. 9.25 we have shewn in our (c) As in a numerous Family there are several sorts of Servants so some of them are in a more honourable Post than others and command those below them who may therefore be said to be Servants of Servants But since this is the earliest mention we find of Servitude it may not be amiss to examine the Rise of it So long as Men were but few in number and mindful of their common original lived together there seems to have been no such thing as a Slave or Servant in the World for the two causes of Servitude Poverty and Force were wanting But upon the Dispersion of Mankind into abundance of Colonies several that were not able to maintain themselves without a dependance upon others parted with their Liberty merely to be sustained After the Trade of War became fashionable many that were taken Prisoners by the Enemy and had their Lives spared were by Force reduced to the State of Slaves partly that they might not be in a Capacity to hurt them for the future and partly that they might not be kept Gratis and the Vernae that is the Sons of these were by the Misfortune of their Birth subjected to the same Condition Annotations upon that place It may be a Hebraism like Sanctum Sanctorum Canticum Canticorum to denote the vilest sort of Slave and it may without a Hebraism too be said Servus Servorum Nay Castellio has not alter'd these words which is somewhat strange considering how much he indulges himself all along in his beloved Periphrases We have (d) In thee all Nations of the Earth shall be blessed The meaning of which place according to our Author is this Whenever thy Name or Example is cited most of the Eastern Nations shall use the following Form of Benediction May God bless thee as he blessed Abraham Thus Gen. 48.20 In thee shall Israel bless saying God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh shewn Chap. 12.3 what is the meaning of in aliquo bene dicere and our Exposition seems to be well grounded because 't is agreeable to the Genius of the Hebrew Language But least those that interpret these words after a different manner should complain that they were robb'd of a Text as also because otherwise we must have made use of too long a Periphrasis we have translated it word for word Castellio has here translated as they would have it In te omnes beabuntur orbis regiones Chap. 6.4 we find this passage in Moses There were Nephilim we render it Giants in those days where the word (e) The Radix Naphal from whence this word is undoubtedly derived not only signifies to fall but to rush on after the manner of Robbers for which reason Aquila translated it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Symmachus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nephilim seems to import Robbers but because it does not fully appear whether such sort of People are meant in that place we thought it advisable to retain the Hebrew word They that after the Septuagint and vulgar Translation have translated it Giants have indeed own'd themselves to be of their Opinion but have brought no Arguments to prove it And indeed neither from the Story it self nor from the Signification of the word are they able to bring one proof that Giants are meant here On the other hand both the Story which relates them to be Viros Fortes and the word it self favour our Interpreation yet for all that we durst not insert it amongst Moses's words For the same reason we have not changed the word Shiloh Chap 49.10 because its Signification is unknown Our * See Dissertation XII Annotations upon that place have made it appear that no one knows what is the true meaning of it However were we to chuse our Opinion we should incline to follow the Translation of the Septuagint because it is less Obnoxious to the Calumny of the Jews and cannot be pretended to carry the least Partiality in Favour of the Christian System Therefore in our Paraphrase we have taken the same course with the LXX but in the Version rather chose to make use of the Hebrew word VI. But a much greater Difficulty we found it to translate the Conjunctions and Prepositions by reason of the different meaning which each of them has in the Holy Scriptures For whereas the Latin Conjunctions and Prepositions have not so large a Signification the Ambiguity of them is so far restrain'd by the structure of the Sentence that they can only be taken in one Sence but among the Hebrews who take but little notice of their Situation one small Particle has the Significations of the Latin ones So that if we should sometimes use a Latin Conjunction or Preposition which generally answers that in the Hebrew our Translation would appear very uncouth to a Latin Ear but if we use another we fix a determin'd Sence of our own upon that which seems to be doubtful in the Hebrew Let us do what we can we shall find it a difficult matter to avoid these Inconveniences nay I dare say no Interpreter was ever yet able to do it For instance Vau supplies the place of all the Conjunctions and if we may believe Chr. Noldius has seventy three Significations the chief of which is Copulative like that of the Latin Conjunction Et. Nevertheless if it were always translated like Et it would not only be the most disagreeable thing in the World to one that understands Latin but nothing would be more obscure and perplex'd since with the Latins 't is not all one whether you say Et or whether you say Atque Aut Tamen Certè c. Now if it so happens that the place is doubtful and the Conjunction Et cannot possibly be used because it would spoil the Sence in Latin a Man must of necessity make use of another and so determine the meaning of that place which before was doubtful Now in this as well as several other Matters we find
'T is worth Observation says our Author here that the two words of which this name is compounded signifie in the Arabian Laminam aeri◠aut ferri but as far as we can find by the Holy Writ which is our only resort in this case they are wholly unknown to the Hebrew Tongue though as it appears by the Context there is no question to be made but this is the true signification of them Chapter v. 22. Besides the Etymology of the word Babel is more happily deduced from the Chaldee word Bilbel confudit than from the Hebrew Balal which signifies the same for there is a greater Affinity between Babel and Bilbel than between Babel and Balal But to deliver my Sentiments freely concerning the Antediluvian and some other ancient Names many of them were not so much given them as Names at their Birth to distinguish them from other Men as they are to be looked upon as Sirnames afterwards bestowed upon them for some particular Event or Accident that befel them And from hence it came to pass as we have already shewn that these Names were changed by the Hebrews as 't is certain some of them were changed by the Arabians The first begotten Son of Adam was Cain as Moses tells us a Tiller of the Ground which furnish'd the Arabians with an occasion to reckon the Lord knows who one Habdel hharits that is to say the Servant of a Tiller among the Sons of Adam which rather signifies Cain's manner of Living than another Son of our first Parents as some People imagin'd Concerning which Consult Schickard in the Prooemium to his Catalogue of the Persian Kings His other Son was called Hebel that is a fading thing that soon disappears because he was kill'd by his Brother in his Youth We know indeed that some Expositors have conjectur'd that from a Prophetical Spirit this Name was given him at his Birth by his Parents but a bare simple Conjecture can never amount to a Demonstration A Person of singular Piety and consequently instructed in all the Knowledge of Divine Matters which those Times were capable of is called Hhanoch from the Verb Hhanach that is docuit instituit whence the Participle Hhanouch doctus learned For this reason the same Man is called by the Arabians Idris which signifies learned for daras with the Hebrews and Arabians is accuratè subtiliter indagavit His Son was called in After-ages Methouschelahh i. e. After his Death a breaking out to wit of Waters happened After the Flood Peleg that is Division the Son of Heber in whose days the Earth was divided Chap. 10. v. 25. We have also observed on the (c) Monsieur le Clerk here observes that Nimrod is derived from the Hebrew Radix Marad to Rebel from whence the Arabick word Maridon is derived which signifies Obstinate Proud or Insolent And such sort of a Man he must needs be continues our Author who first dissolved the Paternal Government and affected a Superiority over his Brethren I can never perswade my self that this Name was given him as soon as he was born no more than several other Names were given to others which have a relation to their Disposition or the Inventions they found out They rather seem to be their Cognomina or Sirnames of which their Posterity had some remembrance when their Names were utterly forgotten Tenth Chapter v. 8. that Nimrod was no very honourable Title for him to whom it was given Perhaps we might discover several others of the like kind if we had a fuller and larger History of those Times But these we have cited are more than sufficient to shew that some of those Sirnames might be changed by Moses And therefore their Argument of Primitive Antiquity deduced barely from Names is not of that Consequence as the Rabbins and those that implicitly follow their Authority may imagine However since the other reasons that are alledged by the Jews fall infinitely short of this we lie under no Obligation to trifle away our time in confuting them especially since the Vanity of them has been already demonstrated by the Learned Huetius III. There seems to have been but one Language before the Deluge This we are sure of that there was but one in the Family of Noah till the Fantastical Project of the Building of Babel was set on foot that is to say as long as they continued all in the same place But after that upon the account of some Differences arising at Babylon Mankind was dispersed into several Provinces of the World and when in process of time these distant Families preserved either none or but a small Correspondence one with another several new Dialects sprung up Thus we see that the Latin Tongue has given birth to the Italian Spanish and French Tongues not to mention the several Dialects of each of these So the Saxon Tongue alone begot the Modern German the Dutch and English We have * See this handled at large in the sixth Dissertation elsewhere shewn that the variety of Languages did not immediately arise by any sudden miraculous Impression of the Divine Power and indeed those that maintain the contrary Opinion own that there was rather a variety of Dialects than of new Tongues Therefore the Primitive or first Language has upon several accounts been changed as for instance it was turn'd by the Arabians into the Arabick by the Chaldees it was wrested into the Chaldean and by the Canaanites insensibly changed into the Canaanean Dialect The Jews who fansied it to be the Hebrew Tongue pretend it remain'd without Change or Corruption in the Family of Heber which nevertheless is no where attested in the Holy Scripture Nay on the other side it sufficiently intimates that the Posterity of Heber who continued on the other side the Euphrates rather spoke Chaldee as we shall see anon Since therefore the Rabbins are not able to produce one positive Testimony out of the Bible to prove that the Antediluvian Language came down intire and incorrupted to the Descendants of Heber they endeavour which is the last Refuge of a declining Cause to evince it by far-fetch'd Reasons They pretend that neither Heber nor his Son Peleg from whom the Israelites are lineally descended were concerned in building the Tower of Babel But this is a downright Dream supported by no manner of reason as we have shewn in our sixth Dissertation First They pretend that the Family of Cham assisted by some of the Posterity of Shem and Japhet fell upon this design and that Nimrod was the chief Surveyor and Encourager of the Work which they gather chiefly from Gen. 10.9 10. where Babel Erech Acchad and Chalne in the Land of Sinaar are said to be the beginning of Nimrod's Kingdom But nothing more can be evinced from hence but only that Nimrod after the rest of Mankind had quitted Babylon continued there still with his Family and was either the Master or Founder of those Cities Secondly They mightily inveigh against
and in abundance of other places But then that very liberty they assume to themselves of guessing is a plain Demonstration that it was not generally believed at that time that the Copies were free from Faults since they were supposed to stand in need of Correction so often Besides we find that the Book which the Masorites made use of and was of venerable Antiquity without question has frequently faults in the * Text. Chetib which are amended in the †Margin Keri and which are often wanting in the Samaritan Copy As for instance the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Finalis which is to be found in the Samaritan is often omitted in the word Naharah a Girl which ought not to be left out and hi is frequently read for hou which generally speaking is amended in the Samaritan Book 'T is true these and some others of the like nature are but small inconsiderable Mistakes however they shew that Mistakes might creep in and indeed did creep into the Text and if they did it in a word so common and easie as Naharah certainly they would much sooner do so in an obscure difficult and rare word especially where the Sence was abrupt and the Series of the Oration did not help out the Transcribers who did not understand it Nevertheless because the Books of the Law were more frequently read than any of the rest and are more easie to be understood I must own there were but few Faults in them and those of small Importance And moreover that our Copy I mean that of the Masorites seems to be more Correct than the Samaritan for which reason I have all along Faithfully set it down not so much as changing a Letter As I hinted above some Faults are left by the Masorites which might have been amended but 't is better in my Opinion that those very Faults should be left in the Copy than that it should smell too much of a Critical hand which I have often observed in the Samaritan though it is not without its Faults as Learned Men have long since taken notice After all to deliver my own Sentiments upon a serious Examination of the whole Matter I am clearly of opinion that no Books of great Antiquity have arrived to our hands so correct as are the Holy Writings of the Hebrews although 't is certain they are much the oldest of any I mean those that were copied out by the Diligence of the Masorites and so transmitted to Posterity And that this did not happen without a particular Providence which has hitherto so miraculously preserved the Sacred Histories and the Revelations of the Prophets for the common Benefit and Use of Mankind no Man is better satisfied than my self I have likewise frequently in this Book defended the common Readings against the Conjectures of Learned Men as any one may see that will peruse my Annotations At the same time I freely own that the most indefatigable and judicious Lud. Cappel has infinitely deserved of the Sacred Learning by his Critica Sacra and Arcanum Punctuationis To speak ingenuously most of his Opinions do extreamly please me and I have set them down as if they had been so many Demonstrations But since I was obliged to chuse one certain Edition to follow and that the most accurate I have only followed the Masoritick Copy in my Translation as being the most correct of all and yet I have not neglected to set down in my Commentary all the various Lections out of the Samaritan and the Ancient Interpreters that seem'd to be of any Moment But I shall say more of this Matter in the following Dissertation Dissertation II. Of the best Manner of Interpreting the Bible I. The End of this Dissertation II. What it is to Interpret and the Principal Heads of that Method which we have follow'd III. How Difficult a Matter it is to Interpret the Holy Writings IV. What seems the best way to attempt it V. Hebraisms after what manner they are to be translated VI. The Difficulty of turning the Hebrew Particles into Latin VII What trouble there is in a Narration that consists of Preterperfect or Future Tenses joyn'd together by the Conjunction Vau. VIII The Masorite Copy to be follow'd as the most correct IX What Assistances are to be had out of the Old and Modern Interpreters X. What helps the neighbouring Languages afford XI Of what great use the comparing of several places of Scripture is XII What helps may be safely borrowed from Etymologies XIII That the Errors of some later Interpreters may be more easily avoided now than in the last Age. SINCE after the Labours of so many Learned Men who both in this and especially the last Age have endeavoured to Interpret the Holy Scriptures 't is my Lot also to undertake the same Province I think it but necessary to acquaint the Reader upon what Motives I attempted and after what manner I have perform'd it I am sensible that I have engaged not only in a very difficult but a most invidious Affair by reason of the different Parties and Factions that disturb the Repose of the Christian World For in a Business of this nature if a Man does not do something singular to distinguish him from the rest he must expect to meet with the Contempt and Laughter of the Learned and Unlearned and if he advances any thing unheard of and untouch'd before which I dare presume to say is no easie matter for his Recompense he 's sure to incurr the Hatred and Malice of the World especially as 't is manag'd by the Divines now a-days Nevertheless after I had seriously revolv'd all this in my Mind I was at last determin'd by the Authority of Philo Judaeus who after he has commended the Divine Volumes of Moses as they deserve and shown what a Fatigue and Trouble his Interpreters must expect 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 says he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Yet we must not therefore desist but for the sake of Piety strive to say something above our Power and advance as far as 't is lawful for Humane Minds to aspire that are possess'd with the Love and desire of Wisdom In the beginning of his Book 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Having therefore with God's Assistance as I hope undertaken this difficult Affair I have all along endeavour'd neither to disgust the Nice Reader with any nauseous Repetitions nor disoblige the Lovers of Antiquity with any new Doctrines After what manner I have accomplish'd it I design to lay open in this Dissertation as plainly as I can but first of all I shall shew with what Difficulties I struggled and by what means I was able to overcome them and in this Age particularly better than could be done in the last not that we pretend to a greater share of Judgment but because we have much better helps now to enable us to surmount them II. Before we come to the Interpretation of the Holy Books 't will be necessary to remind
others that occurr in all the Hebrew Writers If you translate it verbatim into Latin a Reader that only understands that Language will ask you what 's the meaning of that Phrase or whether 't is a peculiar Emphasis of the Hebrew Tongue or not If you neglect the Hebraism and omit the Infinitive those that have taken some pains about that Language will complain that here 's a notable Emphasis lost Therefore let a Man manage himself as carefully as he can yet he will lie under a necessity of displeasing one or other I know indeed that some of the later Interpreters instead of the Infinitive which the Latin will not bear use some Adverb or other to express the Emphasis which they imagine to lie conceal'd under this Phrase as Gen. 2.17 Instead of moriendo morieris they have utique morieris and Exod. 3.7 where we find videndo vidi they turn it probè vidi But though we should grant there is some mighty force in this Hebrew Phrase if it can at any time be express'd as in the latter Example I would desire to know what is the meaning of utique morieris Sometimes too they use the trusty Adverb omninò as Exod. 21.20 Omninò vindicator 22. Omninò mulctator 28. Omninò lapidator c. Which Phrases after all are not perspicuous to Latin Ears Now for our part we thought it much better to leave the Infinitive wholly out either because it cannot be express'd in Latin or because 't is not Emphatical but only an usual Form in the Hebrew Law like which there are abundance in the Roman Law that are altogether redundant Consult the above-cited Chapter of Exodus and our (a) Thou shalt surely die as we render it but in the Original 't is dying thou shalt die Upon this place our Author observes that the Hebrews frequently joyn a Verb with the Infinitive or with a Verbal but especially in their Laws rather to conform with the Custom of their Language than to denote any Emphasis Abimelech threatens Gen. 26.11 that whoever touches Isaac or his Wife shall die the death So likewise among the Greeks but chiefly the atticks we see that Nouns of the same Signification are frequently joyn'd to Verbs as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And sometimes among the Latins we meet with vitam vivere and several Expressions of the like nature where no Grammarian ever dreamt that a particular stress is to be laid upon the words but continues our Author In sacris haud 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 acutiores quam opus est sumus Annotations on Genesis 2.17 Sometimes we meet with words that have none of the same Efficacy in other Languages to match them such as Tholedoth Generation for amongst the Latins Generatio scarce signifies any thing else but the Action of getting or the manner how Animals are generated and sometimes perhaps the same as Aetas or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But with the Jews it does not only signifie this but denotes Original Ancestors and Posterity If you are minded to gratifie a Latin Reader and tell him what Generation signifies amongst the Hebrews you must use a long-winded Periphrasis which a simple Translation will never indure We frequently meet with the word Phakad in the Holy Scriptures which uses to be translated visitare to visit and yet that is not the meaning of it as we have (b) The Hebrew word properly signifies curam gerere to take care of and is taken in a two-fold Sence for sometimes it signifies the care of a Friend and sometimes that of a Revenger He that turned the Septuagint Version into Latin before St. Jerom's time has translated several places of it barbarously and unskillfully which St. Jerom by reason it was received in the Latin Churches did not think fit to change Hence it comes to pass that abundance of barbarous or at least improper words have crept into our Lexicons and Modern Versions observed upon Genesis 21.1 The Greeks turn it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Nor does this word signifie different things in respect of the various Conjugations but even in the Conjugation Kal it sometimes signifies a Kindness and sometimes a Punishment A Kindness in the above-mention'd place of Genesis and a Punishment in Exod. 20.5 Nor does any other Language as I know of afford us a word resembling this in signification which may be taken both ways But still it is to be translated and 't is incredible what trouble these and such other words give the Interpreter We have translated it Gen. 21.1 Curam gerere not that it pleased us but beccause we could think of nothing better If we had turned it The Lord as he said visited Sarah Jehovah quemadmodum dixerat Saram visitavit a Latin Reader would have understood nothing else by it but that an Angel visited Sarah in the name of God as the year before Moses tells us three Angels had done the like Chap. 18. Since these and innumerable Idioms of the like nature are every where to be found in the Sacred Volumes an Interpreter must take extraordinary Pains to discharge his Duty Faithfully and Modestly unless he would have his Fidelity call'd in question and his Boldness censur'd We own indeed 't is not so great a Fatigue to translate now after so many great Men whose Translations we have as the first Interpreters to their Cost found it 'T is undoubtedly true that both the Ancient and Modern Translations are mighty helps to us Far be it from us who have found by Experience how great a Task they sustained to detract from the Praises of these deserving Men or to deny the great Service they have done the World by their endeavours to illustrate the Scriptures Nay we are sensible that if they had not carried the Torch before us we had not been able to reach so far as even those that have perform'd the worst in this kind have done But if we may be allowed to speak the truth freely the better part of the Ancients either slavishly follow'd the Track or else digressed too far from it and translated the Hebraisms either with too servile a Superstition or too bold a Freedom nor was it a much less trouble to chuse the best out of their several Versions than to see whether we could not find out a better of our own Generally speaking It was much easier to find what to censure than what to follow To prevent being impos'd upon by the Authority of others every thing was to be carefully weigh'd after the same manner as if we had been the first that undertook such a Work otherwise we had relied on the Credit of other People and neither satisfied the World nor our selves Now what expence of Time and Pains it requires to perform all this only those are able to judge who have attempted something of the like nature for others can never imagine it IV. Nevertheless so many Hardships and Difficulties were to be overcome to attain to a
perfect Translation such as we had conceived an Idea of in our Mind but if we could not reach that heighth we must be content to come as near it as possibly we could Therefore we proposed to our selves constantly to follow a middle way that is neither to render those places that were obvious enough in the Original obscure with the Hebraisms nor out of too nice an Affection of writing Latin to indulge our selves in too bold a Version But this you 'll say a thousand People have threatned to do many years before you were born and yet we do not rest satisfied with their Performances Do you think then that you shall be able to answer our Expectations No I am not so blinded with Self-love as to imagine any such thing but since the Condition of Humane Affairs is such that nothing is perfect in all Respects and nothing pleases all alike 't is sufficient if I do not incurr the Displeasure of all and if my Attempt does not lagg behind the Endeavours of others Cicero formerly translated the noblest Orations of two of the most Eloquent Men that Athens ever bred Aeschines and Demosthenes one against another neither did he literally translate them like an Interpreter as he tells us himself for the Translations are not extant but like an Orator giving them all the Spirit and Life and beautiful turns of the Latin Tongue As this was impracticable in a literal Version he had a greater Respect to the Sence than the Expressions for he did not think himself obliged to tell over all his Authors words to the Reader but to give him them in weight Now since this was not to be done in too strict a Translation of the Holy Books we endeavoured to reach it in a looser Paraphrase that so those Persons that are not delighted with the Barbarousness of a Translation or do not understand Hebraisms may have somewhat to read and understand But perhaps we have departed farther from our Original than Cicero did from his because the Hebrew Language differs more from the Latin than the Athenian way of Writing did from the Roman 'T is true in our Version we have followed the Hebrew closer than the Purity of the Latin will allow us but since it could not be avoided we hope we shall make our Reader some amends by our Paraphrase Therefore though 't is the confess'd Genius of the Latin Tongue to love Perspicuity more than the Hebrew does nay on the contrary endeavours to avoid all Obscurity as much as it can we acknowledge our Translation to be somewhat Obscure but as we are used to commend Pictures not for shewing us a handsom Face but for representing Nature to the Life so a Translation where the Language of the Original is clear ought to be clear and where it is obscure ought to be obscure Now we mean here by obscure not those things that are obscure to the ignorant in Hebrew for then most of the Scripture Expressions would be obscure but those that are not sufficiently understood even by such as are tolerably vers'd in that Language On the other hand by the word clear we do not only mean those things which are obvious to all Understandings not excluding those of the duller sort but which give no manner of Difficulty to the Skillful in that Language or may be so expounded as to leave no Doubt at all in the Minds of the Learned V. Now that we might be able to observe this Method through the whole Work we laid it down for an unalterable Law in translating the Hebraisms which so often occur 1. That all the clear Hebraisms which would bear a Translation should be translated 2. If any of them could not well be rendred into Latin yet if our Ears were accustom'd to them they should be literally translated 3. That all obscure Hebraisms should be retained Which it will not be amiss to illustrate by a few Examples Nothing is more common in Scripture than Speeches and Dialogisms that are usher'd in by the Verb Vaijomer dixit or the Gerund Lemor dicendo Now 't is evident that the former may be fully and pertinently express'd by the Latin word inquit the latter by his verbis and yet the Interpreters have generally forborn to use them as if this forsooth had been too great a Liberty to take Now this runs through all the Bible so that you may find an infinite number of Sentences with these words dixit and he said So in Genesis 3.1 And he said to the Woman yea hath c. 2 And the Woman said unto the Serpent we may eat c. 4. And the Serpent said unto the Woman c. 9. And he said unto him where art thou 10. And he said I heard thy Voice c. 11. And he said who told thee c. 12. And the Man said the Woman c. 13. And the Lord God said unto the Woman c. 14. And the Lord God said unto the Serpent c. 16. To the Woman he said c. 17. And unto Adam he said But why we should servilely be confin'd to the order of the Hebrew words as if there was something extraordinary in them we saw no reason and the comparing of our Version with the rest will shew which of us has express'd himself most agreeably to the Genius of the Latin Tongue So Chap. 8.15 And God spake unto Noah saying Et loquutus esi Jehova ad Noach dicendo or dicens is indeed exactly conformable to the Hebrew words but does not express the meaning any better than Alloquutus est Noachum Deus his verbis 'T is certain that many of the Interpreters by their obscure Diligence have made their Translations so insupportable that they are not to be read without Contempt But let not the Reader imagine that this is occasion'd by the over great care they took to render even the least Particles of Scripture as far as 't was possible for if this Scruple had possess'd them they had never translated the obscure places with so much boldness as if it were not an invidious labour we could easily shew 'T is a common Hebraism to call ones name vocare nomen alicujus instead of nomen imponere To give one the name of As in Chap. 5.29 and 't is often in the Book of Genesis alone And she called his name Noah Et vocavit nomen ejus Noach that is Ei Noacho nomen indidit Noachum cum nomine appellavit There 's not the least reason in the World to doubt but 't is so and yet after the vulgar Interpreter's Example several since have translated it Vocavit nomen ejus Noah which is obscure and barbarous when the Hebrew Phrase is plain enough We frequently meet in the beginning of a Narration Et fuit And it came to pass in the Hebrew As Chap. 6.1 Et fuit cum caepit homo multiplicari And it came to pass when Men began to multiply c. which is the same in
them as being clearly of opinion that nothing ought to be despised which tends to Perspicuity and the Convenience of the Reader Nor will any one as we imagine blame these our Divisions as if they contradicted what we so solemnly professed before viz. That we would follow the Copies of the Masorites For though these Divisions are very serviceable to Perspicuity and Order yet they make not the least Alteration in the Reading or Pronouncing of words in which two respects we said we look'd upon these Copies to be the most correct of all We hope the Reader will not be displeased that after the Example of several Modern Interpreters we have not written the Proper Names as they are now a-days read by the Jews Our Ears have been so long accustom'd to them that we can scarce endure those that either speak or pronounce them otherwise for who with any Patience could hear a Fellow thunder out Chenahan Jitschak Jahacob Mosche Jehoschubak c. as those names are pronounced by the Jews according to the roughness of their Language There are also several words that were otherwise read by the LXX Interpreters than they are by the Masorites as Jerusalem not Jerusalaim Nabuchodonosor not Nebuchadnetsar and such-like Which of them pronounced the rightest we shall not now enquire for we do not regard the thing it self but only the Custom of the Christian Churches from the Beginning But then we observ'd this Conduct to set down the more celebrated and usual Names after the Christian manner and the less known and frequent after the Jewish because generally speaking they do not seem to be written true in the Greek and Latin Books Where-ever we have neglected to do it the Reader is to impute it to our being too attentive upon the things themselves and consequently not able to mind the words and not imagine that we did it on purpose As for what regards the Letters we have herein follow'd the Ancients that is to say Beth has always the power of the Latin B Zain is pronounced like a Z Cheth as a X which comes the nearest of any to the double Aspiration of the Hebrew Letter which in our Commentary we have express'd by a double H where we have observ'd how the Hebrew words are to be written Teth like a T Jod like the J Consonant of the French Caph like a X Ain like an H though 't is of a different sound but we could not think of a better Pe like the φ of the Greeks Tsaddi like T s Koph like K Schin always after the same manner that is as ch is pronounc'd by the French sch by the Germans sh by the English and lastly Tau like the Greek θ. We could give our Reasons for this way of Pronunciation if they would not take up too much room in this Dissertation But those that are not so well vers'd in these things may consult Drusius's old Hebrew Alphabet But as we hinted before in the more remarkable Names we have had a greater regard to Custom than to the power of the Letters and at other times thought it sufficient to make use of those Latin Letters that nearest resembled them IX Forasmuch as we have endeavour'd to translate and write Annotations upon the Sacred Volumes of the Hebrews after so many Learned Men we freely acknowledge that we have all along made use of the Labours of other Writers and derived considerable Assistances from them In the first place we profess that we have always consulted the Old and Modern Translations in all difficult places but so as never to give a blind assent to what they say but especially the Moderns We weigh'd and examin'd every Word and Expression if it contain'd any Difficulty with no less Care and Application than if no one had gone this way before us and therefore explain'd the Reasons of them which we knew to be certainly so Yet a vast difference ought to be made between the Ancient and the later Versions which we have accurately observed for since as we took notice in the former Dissertation the ancient Interpreters were able to know the Significations of Words and Phrases from the use of the Languages then in being their very Authority is by no means to be despised when it opposes no Reasons deduced from Grammar On the other hand The Opinions of the Modern Interpreters unless they are supported by the Truth ought to be little regarded because they had no other way to find out the Meaning of the Scripture but by long Study as well as we and therefore are not to be admitted unless they give substantial Grounds for what they avouch This is the Reason why we seldom borrow'd any Testimony from the new Translations because that after all the plausible Reasons they give for their particular Versions yet whether the Authority of their Translations goes for or against us 't is of it self of no weight at all However we would not be so mis-understood as if we despised them since we have frequently used them with great Advantage on our side but we thought our selves obliged to make this open Confession that the Reader might know once for all why we alledge their Authority so seldom Besides all or most of their Versions could not be compared without too great a Fatigue to the Reader and too tiresom a Prolixity nor censured without incurring the Envy of several ill-disposed Persons which we would willingly avoid Wherefore we thought it more advised to omit all the Modern Versions whatever and only to take our Testimonies from the Ancient and to compare them one with another though we are far from pretending to give an accurate Collation of them This would have proved too tedious a Work and indeed far different from our Design who intended to find out what the Sacred Writers meant and not how often or how much the Interpreters have deviated from their Sence We have likewise consulted the Annotations and Commentaries of several Writers but more especially have we read over a far greater number of Books that have occasionally treated of Sacred things and explained several Passages of Scripture Out of all these whatever seem'd necessary and to the purpose have we inserted into our Commentaries and indeed we have generally cited the names of the latter But as for those who have professedly written upon the Sacred Books we have more seldom made use of their Names because as they may be easily consulted so large Collections out of their Books are in every Bodies hands Our principal Aim was to set down those Observations by which we believed the Scriptures might be illustrated and not to swell our Volume with a Catalogue of Names which have no Authority in things of this nature But as we said before we have more frequently cited by name those that have not writ a continued Commentary as well out of Gratitude because some of them have given us much greater Helps than all the Commentators put together as also because
then the Exposition of Moses's words this Opinion has found credit enough to last so many Ages But we are in hopes to solve this Argument with as little Difficulty as we did the former and if the Reader will be pleas'd carefully to consider what we say we don't doubt but he will acknowledge as much The Testimonies of Josephus and all the rest may be confuted by one single Argument which we shall first make use of tho' we intend to examine the matter more diligently afterwards All that pretend they have seen the Statue that we may for once grant that they saw something might be deceived by the Inhabitants of the place who perhaps show'd them a Stone or something like one and then very positively affirm'd it was Lot's Wife for how cou'd they know whether they were told the Truth or no Therefore they had behaved themselves more discreetly in my opinion if they had written that they saw a Pillar a Statue or something like it which the Inhabitants called a Statue of Salt but that they cou'd not tell whether it was really so or no. And indeed such a Caution or Conduct was the more necessary in this Country because the People of it were more guilty than any other Nations of imposing old names upon new things meerly to deceive the lovers of Antiquity From Reading the Bible and not from any Tradition of their Ancestors they were used to guess where every thing of Importance was done and so show'd to Strangers who came to visit these places the Footsteps of ancient things which they themselves had devised And this is the Reason that whenever they happen'd to misunderstand the Scripture they blunder in the situation and seign things that were never in rerum naturâ as they do still to this very day Those that have turn'd over the Writings of St. Jerome and some Itineraries of the Holy Land are no doubt on 't sensible how true this Allegation is But to make the matter plain beyond any possibility of denying it we will produce a few Examples out of the vast number that offers itself St. Jerome in his Epitavium * A Noble Matron of Rome that went to visit Palestine Paulae describing her Travels through Judaea In the Shore of Sarepta says he she entred into the little Tower of Elias Now can any Man of tolerable Sense believe that the Cottage where the poor Widow of Sarepta entertained Elias formerly should be standing so many Ages after nor is there any more reason to believe that at Caesarea The House of Cornelius the Centurion the little * Aediculae Cells of Philip and the Bed-chambers of the four Virgin Prophetesses and at Emmaus the House of Cleophas were still remaining and yet all these things were shown to Paula with a world of Assurance The same Lady not only saw the Sepulchre of Christ but likewise kissed the Stone of the Resurrection which the Angel removed from the door of the Monument and with her faithful Mouth licked the place where our Lord's Body lay Afterwards she was shown a Pillar supporting the portico of a Church stain'd with the Blood of our Saviour to which he was said to be bound and whipt and the place where the Holy Ghost descended upon the Souls of a Hundred and twenty Believers Then she went forward to Bethlehem and on the right side of the way stood near the Sepulchre of Rachel having entred into Bethlehem she visited our Saviour's * Specus Cave and saw the Holy Inn of the Virgin In another part of Judea she entred into the Cells of Sarah seeing the place where Isaac was born who you must know pass'd all their Lives under Tents with the remainders of Abraham 's Oak Then she went into the Sepulchre of Lazarus and beheld the Inn where Mary and Martha dwelt I will instance in no more since these are sufficient to show that credit is to be given to those People that show every thing with that wonderful exactness perhaps some Persons with whom Credulity and Faith pass for one and the same thing will maintain that all these things were truly shown to Paula but we have all along profess'd that we don't write to Gentlemen of so voracious a Belief who will with as much obstinacy combat Truth and Reason as they swallow foolish Stories with ease If we were to gather such sort of Stories out of the Modern Itineraries it would require no great trouble to collect them since they frequently fill both sides of the Page in most of them Let the Reader only consult Bellonius and Thevenot whose Observations we have often made use of when they describe the Holy Places and if he is not as heartily weary of them as ever he was of the most insufferable talkative Coxcomb in the World I will give him leave to apply my Writings to what use he pleases I have already declared that I don't write 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to unthinking Creatures who will admit and reject whatever they think fit without any Reason on their side However I cannot forbear to Transcribe one exceeding foolish Passage out of Bellonius to show how prettily these Holy Jugglers banter poor credulous Stangers out of the Bible He tells us l. 2. c. 8. that among other things that are to be seen without Jerusalem they show in the City Wall a triangular Stone which they say is the very same which the Scripture mentions Psal 118. v. 22. viz. the Builders refused I humbly suppose there is no occasion to show how monstrously absurd this is Now to return to the Statue of Salt we should not think our selves guilty of ill Manners should we suspect that Josephus did not see so much as the least resemblance of a Statue altho' we by no means despise that Writer especially when he comes to the latter part of the Jewish History yet we wou'd never engage in so unsteoenable a Province as to quit from the Imputation of being sometimes a Fable-monger In the first Book of his Antiquities ch 2. he tells us that Adam having foretold that there wou'd be a Destruction of all things one by Fire and t'other by Water the Antediluvians built two Pillars one of Brick and the other of Stone and Engraved all their useful Inventions upon each of them that if the Brick Pillar happen'd to be carried away by the Inundation the Stone Pillar remaining might preserve these Monuments for the use of Posterity He tells us after all that this Stone Pillar was still extant 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Land of Sirias where this Land of Sirias lies 't is to be supposed not far from the Isle of Pines we will not here enquire but few I am apt to think will be able to prevail with themselves to believe that this Antediluvian Pillar was standing in Josephus's time But if this does not argue the Fabulousness of a Writer and his Friends alledge for him that he was imposed upon by the
in the Animals which any one might have discovered at first sight In short most of the Reasons of the Hebrew names are supported by very slight Conjectures and are by no means to be obtruded as certainly true upon such as are well skilled in these matters not to repeat what we said before that but few of the Animals had names immediately given them but only as our first Parents took notice of them or knew them by frequent Experiments And he took one of his ribs c. 2.21 From this or some such sort of a Narration among the Orientals Plato in Eusebius's Opinion Praep. Evang. l. 12. c. 12. seems to have taken what he writes concerning the nature of the first Man in his Symposian where he supposes that he was at first 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 both Man and Woman growing together and that this Animal afterwards was divided into two parts one of which became a Man and the other a Woman The ancient Rabbines reading this Passage in Plato as they were always fond of Monsters and Prodigies they soon liked it and endeavoured to countenance this strange Opinion by some places of Scripture absurdly applied as particularly c. 12. Male and Female he created them Now that this Doctrine was first borrowed from Plato and afterwards crusted over with the Authority of the Bible to recommend it the better we shall be soon convinced if we consider that the Rabbines had several other Opinions of the same nature which they took originally out of this Philosopher and then published them as if they had taken them out of the Scriptures as the notion of the Transmigration of Souls and the like Therefore we have no reason to wonder as the Learned Grotius does that the Rabbinical Expositions agree so well with Plato's Doctrine Thus we see the Christian Interpreters frequently expound the Scripture so as to make it support the Hypothesis of the ancient or modern Philosophers And were not ashamed c. 2.25 We use to blush when we are discovered committing something which is in its own nature evil and consequently unlawful or when we do something which is indeed lawful but not in such a manner or at such a time Neither of which cou'd be said to be here for neither is it immoral â—o go without Cloaths neither if it is unlawful to do so before others is it unlawful before ones Wife alone 'T is therefore somewhat strange how our first Parents should afterwards be ashamed of the Nakedness when there were no more in the World but themselves Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering ch 4.3 Grotius thinks this was done by no positive Command of God but merely by the Dictates of nature which suggested to him that as a conspicuous Respect was to be paid to his Maker so he was obliged to shew it by offering those things to him which are most esteemed by Men. Several ancient Christians and Jews were of the same Opinion as Outram in his Treatise De Sacrificijs l. 1. c. 1. has shown But others assign the Original of Sacrifices to an express Command of God which I am the easier inclined to believe because that in the beginning of the World after our first Parents were guilty of so notorious a Defection Mankind in all probability was too rude and ignorant to find out of themselves that the Benificence and Power of God was to be acknowledged by these external Ceremonies God who 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fed them and was their Governor as Plato speaks of the Men of the Golden Age seems to have taught them these Rites least in process of time they should forget their Creator Of the firstlings of the flock and the fat thereof ch 4.4 Since eating of Flesh seems to have been unknown before the Flood therefore Grotius supposes that no Victims were sacrificed because nihil deo sacrari solet nisi quod in usu sit hominum As this reason is by no means to be rejected so he omits another of no less importance which is brought from the Scarcity of Creatures In the beginning there were but small numbers of Oxen Sheep and Goats and therefore it is scarce credible that the munificent Lord of the Universe wou'd have them lessened merely for his own honour since it wou'd be so prejudicial to Mankind For the same reason Triptolemeus enacted a Law 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that no Animals should be hurt 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to worship the Gods with the fruits of the Earth Long after him Draco commanded the same for which consult Porphyrius de Abstinentia l. 4. Varro de R. R. l. 2. c. 4. speaking of the Oxe hic socius hominum in rustico opere cereres Minister Ab hoc Antiqui manus ita abstineri voluerunt ut capite sanxerint siquis occidisset Quâ in re testis Attice testis Attice testis Peloponneses To come now to Abel's Oblation since the Hebrew hhalab signifies Milk as well as Fat I should chuse to render it by the former and believe that by a common 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with the Hebrews Abel brought of the firstlings of his Flock and of the Milk thereof is put instead of Abel brought of the Milk of the firstlings of his flock 'T is credible that God wou'd have them signify by this Rite that the increase of all Creatures was owing to him And perhaps for the same reason the Aegyptians offer'd Milk to their Deities See Diod. Bibl. lib. 1. A Fugitive and a Vagabond shalt thou be ch 4.12 It may not be amiss here to observe that amongst the Graecians and other People in the earliest times of Antiquity Murder was punished with Banishment Thus Medon the Brother of Ajax was banished to Phylace 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Far from his native Country having killed a Man Several Examples of this nature Feithius has collected in his Antiqu. Homer l. 2. cap. 8. And as the Learned Spelman has observed in the time of the Saxons it was not punished with Death here in England Shem Ham and Japhet c. 5.32 Tho' we read that Noah begot these three Sons after he was five hundred years old yet it is not mentioned which of them is the eldest However we may gather that the Rights of Primogeniture belonged to Japhet from Gen. 11.10 Shem was a hundred years old and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood that is in the sixth hundred and second year of Noah for the Deluge fell out in the sixth hundred compleatly And therefore Shem was born to Noah when he was five hundred and two years old and consequently was not his first-begotten since he began to get Children when he was five hundred years old And as for Ham he is expresly said Gen. 9.24 to be the youngest Whence it necessarily follows that Japhet was the eldest who is therefore tho' by the bye called Shem's elder Brother Gen. 10.21 Nevertheless either because the Nation of the Hebrews was descended from Shem
his Pass against the Irruptions of the Syrians and Arabians fortified it with a Wall fifteen hundred furlongs in length which reached from Pelusium to Heliopolis Diod. lib. 1. p. 52. and upon the same account perhaps it was that Nero the Son of Psammetichus King of Aegypt drew a Trench from the Pelusiac Arm of the Nile to the Gulf of Arabia and endeavoured to joyn the Mediterranean to the Southern Sea They knew not that Joseph understood them for he spoke unto them by an Interpreter ch 42.23 Although the Aegyptian and Hebrew Language nearly resembled one another yet there might be that difference between them as the Canaanites and the Aegyptians cou'd not understand one another in ordinary Discourse Thus we see the French don't understand the Italians or Spaniards although these three Languages are derived from the Latin and thus in the time of the Kings the Jews did not commonly understand the Chaldean Tongue as appears from 2 Kings ch 18. v. 26. Now 't is evident from this place that Jacob's Sons spoke in the Canaanitish Language unless we wou'd rather suppose them to speak Chaldee and not a Tongue which was only peculiar to one Family as the Rabbines pretend for then how had it been possible to have procured an Interpreter unless we suppose that one of Jacob's Servants had run away from his Master and fled into Aegypt of which we don't find the least mention They sate before him the first-born according to his Birth-right and the youngest according to his Youth and he took and sent Messes unto them but Benjamin 's Mess was five times so much as any of the rest ch 43. v. 33. Though we have no account in any Profane Authors of the Customs used by the Ancients at their Feasts which equal this in Antiquity yet it may receive some Illustration from what we find in Homer In the first place Homer's Heroes did not sit down promiscuously as we do about our round Tables but every Man according to his Quality or the Respect which the Master of the Feast was minded to show him Thus Hector upbraids Diomede when he run away that the Grecians honour'd him with a Seat and Flesh and full Cups 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here seems to be the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Eustathius has remarked upon this place that is the chief Seat at Table Secondly 't is evident that in the Heroical times they used long Tables or perpetuae mensae as Virgil calls them So that the most honourable Seat was consequently at the upper end where we may suppose Reuben sate and his other Brethren below him according to their Age. Thirdly as here in Moses so we find in Homer that each of the Guests had his equal Dividend of Meat unless a greater Portion was bestowed upon any one of them to show him more Honour For this reason as Athenaeus informs us l. 11. Homer calls them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or equal Feasts In short as it appears from the above-mentioned place in Homer where mention is made of Diomede that he had a larger share of Victual allow'd him upon the score of his Valour so Joseph ordered Benjamin to be treated after this manner honoris causâ The Cup whereby my Lord divineth chap. 44.5 The sacred Volumes no where take notice of any Divination perform'd by a Cup and what several Learned Men have told us of the Effusion of Wine in the Jewish Sacrifices out of a Cup is nothing to the purpose since it does not at all appear that they gathered any Auguries that way The ancient Grecians indeed made a Judgement of future Events by the noise of the Wine poured out in honour of the Divinity and before their Libations pray'd to the Gods to send them some auspicious Signs Sometimes too they threw this Wine into the Fire and the greater the Flame was so much the better was the Omen We find in 2 Samuel 23.16 that Water was sometimes poured out unto the Lord but the Scripture in no place informs us that the Jews gather'd any Omens from thence And therefore as the Greeks borrow'd great part of their Religious Rites from the Aegyptians 't is probable that the latter observed the same Method in their Libations and that Joseph had a respect to them here That you may dwell in the Land of Goshen ch 46.34 'T is unquestionable that the Land of Goshen ' was situate in the Lower Aegypt as also that it was the first Province or Nomus which a Traveller coming out Syria enters since Jacob so soon as he came thither sent to acquaint Joseph with the news of his Arrival By this place it appears that it was famous for rich Pastures otherwise it wou'd ne're have been offer'd to a Company of Shepherds as the most convenient place in the Kingdom for them 'T is likewise certain that this Tract of Land was appropriated to the Aegyptian Shepherds who lived separate from the rest of their Country-men For otherwise how cou'd Joseph conclude that this Province wou'd be assigned to his Brethren immediately upon their discovering what Occupation they followed unless it was the Custom of that Nation so to do As will plainly appear by the following words For every Shepherd is an Abomination to the Aegyptians ch 46.34 Learned Men are used to enquire upon this place the first whether it appears by any Testimony out of Prophane Authors that the Aegyptians avoided the Company of Shepherds The second for what reason they hated them As for what regards the former we don't here mean all Shepherds in general but only such as fed Sheep or Goats According to Herodotus l. 2. c. 164. the Aegyptians were divided into seven Classes Priests Soldiers Cow-herds Hog-herds Merchants Interpreters and Sea-men As for the Cowherds we no where find that the Aegyptians despised them but the above-cited Historian expresly affirms so much of the Hog-herds ch 47. where he tells us that the rest of the Aegyptians refused to have any Alliances with them Among the Mendesians if we may believe him Goat-herds lived in great reputation because they worshipped Goats But these same People that looked upon it to be a hainous Sin to sacrifice Goats thought it no Crime to serve Sheep after that manner The contrary to which was observed by the Thebans as we find in the same Author So far Herodotus who is more particular in this Affair than any one else however he does not seem to consist with himself for since he makes two different Ranks of his Hog-herds and Cow-herds why does he not farther branch them out into Goat-herds and Shep-herds c. with much more reason on his side Diodorus comprehends them all under the name of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Pastors but does not acquaint us in what Credit they lived with the other Aegyptians Now with Submission to Persons of greater Learning I am of Opinion that as the Aegyptian Superstition varied with respect to Time