Answers to the Reasons commonly urged by the Maintainers of the first Opinion I. ALL Interpreters are agreed That the Deluge was so far Universal as it overwhelm'd all the then inhabited part of the World and that all the Race of Mankind except Noah's Family were destroy'd by it But some are of opinion that the whole Globe of the Earth was cover'd with Water which others again as positively deny II. They that hold the Affirmative in the first place ground themselves upon the express words of Moses who introduces God laying his Commands upon Noah Chap. 6.19 of every living thing of all flesh to take two of every sort into the Ark to preserve the several Species of them lest they should be lost Which Command Noah accordingly obey'd and taking Pairs of every Bird every Beast and every creeping thing upon the Earth according to their several Kinds placed them in the Ark. Now these Expressions denote that all living Creatures whatever were to be destroy'd for otherwise Noah might have recruited himself much easier out of some other Country where the Deluge did not reach and consequently where they were not destroy'd than have kept them in the Ark which was infinitely more troublesome As for the Birds especially there was no necessity to gather them because as they could have easily flown to the dry places so after the Country that was overflow'd was dry again they would have soon returned Nay it had been much more commodious for Noah to have gone to that part of the World which was not cover'd with Waters than to be shut up so long in the Ark. Secondly As the Species of all Animals are said to be preserved by Noah's Care so Moses could not in more express words have told us that all the rest over the face of the World were destroy'd than in the following Lines Chap. 7.21 All the flesh died that moved upon the Earth both of Fowl and of Cattle and of Beast and of every creeping thing c. All in whose nostrils was the Breath of Life of all that was on the dry Land died And every living Substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground both Man and Cattle and the creeping things and the Fowl of the Heaven If a Man was never so much minded to tell his Reader that all sorts of Creatures in all places were destroy'd 't is impossible to do it more plainly How can the Birds of any one Country be supposed to be lost if they had the next Country to fly to which was free from the Flood Could not so much as one wild Beast save himself thither by flight Thirdly We are told in the eighth Chapter that Noah staid within the Ark till such time as the Earth was dried when it had been much more easie for him to have gone to some of those Countries which had not been visited by the Deluge especially since the Soil of such a place would have been much better for him upon all accounts than that of a Country corrupted by the Salt Water Nay he might as we observ'd before have fled thither before the Flood with his Family and all his Effects and so have avoided the Fatigue and Trouble of building an Ark which employ'd him without question a whole year Fourthly The heighth of the Water shews that the whole Terrestrial Globe was covered for since the highest Mountains under Heaven were covered fifteen Cubits that is two and twenty Foot high with Water 't is certain that no part of the Earth could escape the Flood and so we find that when the Waters began to decrease the first place the Ark lighted upon was on the highest ridge of the Gordiaean Mountains 'To these Reasons which are borrowed from Moses's Narration we will not add the general Consent of ancient and modern Interpreters because all of them purely depend upon it Now those that are of Opinion that it was no otherwise Universal than as it overflow'd so much of the World as was inhabited by Mankind and destroy'd all Men but those that escaped in the Ark think they have defended their Hypothesis with invincible Arguments and in the next place have produced Answers to all the above-mentioned Reasons which to say the Truth do not equal the Force of Arguments After the same manner those that maintain that all the World was covered with the Flood prove their Opinion out of Scripture much better than they resolve the Objections of their Adversaries III. That only the inhabited part of the World suffer'd by the Flood they think is manifest from hence That since God Almighty only proposed to destroy Mankind there was no necessity for the Flood to reach farther than Men had planted themselves It is likewise past Dispute that he design'd to punish Men alone because Men alone are capable of Sin in whose Destruction if any Beasts are involved they perished for no other reason but because they happened to be in the same place where Men lived Now before the Flood Mankind could not extend it self far and perhaps had not exceeded those Countries which lie about the Tigris and Euphrates 'T is a foolish thing says Isaac Vossius in his Dissertation de Aetat Mund. p. 283. to imagine that Mankind was so much multiplied before the Flood as to inhabit all the corners of the Earth How slow Humane Nature was in producing Men at that time we may easily gather from this That Noah was but the ninth from Adam Whoever computes the Matter fairly will see that from those eight Persons who escaped the Flood till the time of the Dispersion of the Nations more Men might be born than from Adam alone in the space of two thousand years Nevertheless 't is certain that before the Confusion of Babel Mankind possessed but a small part of Asia Therefore those Persons are very much mistaken who suppose that in Noah's time the whole World was inhabited when perhaps only Syria and Mesopotamia were planted Now no reason obliges us to extend the Inundation beyond the Bounds of the inhabited World Nay on the other hand 't is absurd to say That the Effects of the Punishment which was inflicted upon Mankind should be exerted where no Men were to be found Secondly If we consider how prodigious the heighth of the Waters must be to cover all the highest Mountains in the World there is not Water enough either in the Sea or Clouds to rise so high If there are no Mountains whose tops are above three Miles high for which consult Isaac Vosstus in Pomp. Melam l. 5. c. 2. and Varenius's Geogr. Gen. l. 1. c. 10. yet the Water must have risen so high But 't is evident that neither the Sea-water nor that in Fountains and Rivers nor Showers were sufficient to effect it The Water which is contain'd within the Earth could never be carried so high unless the Earth sunk in and the Mountains were levell'd which contradicts the Mosaical History and though the Water of
the Clouds were joyn'd to it yet 't is impossible it should ascend so high since we see 't is made up of Vapors exhaled from the Waters below for the collected Water of the Clouds must have made a much greater Mass than the Globe of the Earth if it could so far overflow it as to exceed the highest Mountains twenty Foot at least which may be proved by considering the greatness of the watry Circles which must encompass the Earth and the farther they are removed from the Center of it must needs be so much the greater Some Persons to clear themselves from these Difficulties in the first place pretend that the Air was condens'd in its lowest parts and in the Caverns of the Earth or at least something else served instead of Water And lastly That even the Air condensed into Water fell down with the Rain But all these are mere Conjectures of which Moses mentions not the least Syllable besides they must needs confess that they add Miracle to Miracle merely to overflow those Countries where there is no reason why a Deluge should be sent If we should suppose the whole circumambient Air saith the above-mentioned Vossius in Epist ad And. Col. p. 385. to be turned into Water yet we shall never make the Mass of Waters rise one and thirty Foot and a half higher than the Superficies of the Earth My reason is Because Water will never be made to rise higher either by Pumps or any other attractive Power For the Air that presses without and forces the Water into the Tub or Pump makes an exact aequilibrium with the Water which is included in the Tub. Therefore according to the weight of the Water inclosed in the Tub is the weight of that Cylinder of Air which presses the Water without so that if the whole body of Air were condensed and turned into Water yet the Superficies of the Waters would not be above thirty two Foot high To this we may add That to turn this Air into Water it must be so much condensed that a certain quantity of it must equal the like quantity of Water in weight But to effect this the Air must be at least eight hundred times thicker than it is for it appears by undoubted Experiments that the exact weight of this lower Air which we breath and which without question is the heaviest is eight hundred times heavier at least than that of Water See Edm. Halley's second Dissertation in the Transactions of the Royal Society T. XVI p. 104. Others that cannot digest this Condensation of the Air are of opinion that the Rain and sea-Sea-water was rarefied However if we should admit so great a Rarefaction of Water they are Vossius's own words yet to make the quantity of it no more than fifteen times greater than usual which is the least we can suppose it ought properly to be called a Mist and not Water wherein as neither Men nor the other Terrestrial Creatures could have been destroyed so the Fishes could not have lived in it Besides had Noah's Ark been made of the lightest Cork imaginable yet so light and thin a body could never have supported it If any one should still insist that the Waters were created out of nothing and annihilated again after all Living Creatures were destroyed it may be said in the first place That there is nothing to countenance this Conjecture to be found in Moses who on the other hand expresly tells us That the Waters of the Abyss and the Heavens were sent upon the Earth And in the next place it ought to be consider'd Whether 't is suitable for the Divine Wisdom to create a mighty Mass of Waters to overflow those places where there were nothing but Beasts and afterwards to annihilate them Lastly It appears from the eighth Chapter That the Waters were diminish'd by the Wind and not by any extraordinary Effect of the Divine Omnipotence From hence a third Argument is deduced whereby they endeavour to prove that the Deluge was only particular God says Moses Ch. 8.1 sent a Wind and the Waters abated The only thing the Wind could do was That a few more Vapours should be exhaled or that the Water should more swiftly be carried into some certain place into which of its own accord it would not run soon enough but it could never exhaust the Ocean Who can therefore believe that the whole Earth cover'd with Waters to so prodigious a heighth could be dried up by the Wind 'T is certain this could no more be effected by the Wind than in the Beginning of all things the Sea could be compell'd into its Alveus by it especially if we consider that the Sun perpetually draws up Vapours from the Earth even without the Wind which Vapours being in too great Plenty in the Air fall down back again upon the Earth in Showers Besides if the Wind could draw up so vast a quantity of Water in Vapours it would follow That there would be always much more Water in the Clouds than in the Ocean since if they were all pour'd down they could cover the whole Earth not the highest Mountains excepted But we have already shown that this cannot be done Fourthly If the sea-Sea-waters were spread all over the Face of the Earth the Trees and smaller Plants could scarce have been preserv'd from Destruction and if all Trees in all Countries had been spoil'd by the Saltness of the Water how came they to be propagated again since God is no where said to have created them a-new Now no one will be so Obstinate as to deny that in the compass of a year or somewhat less both Plants and Seeds will be corrupted in Salt-water And those that are skill'd in Natural Philosophy will scarce affirm that they would grow again out of putrified Mud fermented by the Sun as was formerly believed 'T is true the force of this Argument is somewhat abated if the Patrons of the Universal Deluge answer as they use to do that the Saltness of the Sea was very much taken off by so great a quantity of fresh Water mingled with it However 't is hard to imagine how several Plants could continue so long a space even under fresh Water without being kill'd Fifthly If all the Animals of all Countries in the World came to Noah in general as 't is plain they must needs come suppose both Hemispheres were covered with Water It may be enquired into how so many Animals which are peculiar to America could come from that Continent to Mesopotamia If America is any where joyn'd to our part of the World it must be far Northwards under a cold Climate which Beasts that are proper to the Torrid Zone cannot endure Nay if we suppose it to be joyn'd to our Climate under a more favourable Latitude how could the American Beasts but the Serpents more especially possibly get over so many Rivers and Lakes and Mountains and find their way through so many Woods in so long a Journey
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
History Matters being thus no one will doubt that the Laws which are contain'd in Exodus Leviticus Numbers and Deuteronomy are the very same that were written by Moses ' T is certain that the Laws which were written in Moses's time were still extant in the Reign of Josiah as it appears from 2 Kings 22. nor can any tolerable Reason be assign'd why they were not incorporated at least into the Books of the Pentateuch Therefore whatever Laws we find in the Pentateuch we ought to look upon them as written by Moses himself and consequently the greatest part by much of the Pentateuch came from the same hand Nay 't is evident that several other things were writ by him Secondly Moses is said Deut. 31.22 to have written the Song which we find in the following Chapter and since that is set down word for word as he made it we cannot deny that the rest which belong to the Law are the very words of Moses without opposing the plainest Truths imaginable Thirdly He is in express Terms said to have written some part of the History of the Hebrews for he transmitted in Writing the War against the Amalekites and God's Sentence pronounced against them Exod. 17.14 After the like manner he writ the several Mansions of the Israelites in the Wilderness Numb 33.2 Moses wrote their goings out according to their Journeys by the Commandment of the Lord. And yet that part of their History which we find in that Chapter of Numbers was not of so great a Consequence as to be writ before the rest from whence it naturally follows that the four last Books of the Pentateuch at least were written by Moses for if he writ all the Laws and the whole History of Israel he is certainly the Author of these Books wherein nothing else is contain'd for who after Moses had once written would attempt to write and model them anew Indeed if we consider the frequent Repetitions which we met with in these Books and the great disorder in the delivery of the Law we shall soon be inclin'd to think that these Books are come to our hands just as they were at several times first written by Moses in that long uncomfortable Pilgrimage in Arabia Deserta For if they had been compil'd out of Moses's Memoirs they had certainly been digested into better order and all the Repetitions had been cut off as is usually done in Works of that nature but if we except a few Passages they have descended to Posterity just as they were publish'd at first when a full Collection was made of all that Moses writ and at several times repeated to the Israelites who after all these Repetitions did scarce understand their own Law sufficiently But about the middle of this Age a certain Author that shall be nameless started up whose Opinion afterwards found some Disciples and these have been so hardy as to deny that Moses was the Writer of the Pentateuch and pretend to shew several Passages in him which were manifestly writ since his time Aben-ezra indeed had formerly deliver'd himself much to the same purpose but worded it so warily and obscurely that he is hardly to be understood Now we will here consider their Reasons III. Their Arguments are partly drawn from the Stile of the whole Book and partly from particular places As for the former they pretend that the difference of Stile which is easily observ'd in the Pentateuch plainly shews that it was not written by one hand for some places are writ in a short compendious Stile full of Ellipses and others in a loose redundant one But this Objection soon vanishes if we consider that the variety we find in these Volumes is rather to be ascribed to the unrefin'd Condition of the Hebrew Tongue than any diversity of Writers Others object That Moses never speaks of himself in the Pentateuch in the first Person but that all his Actions and Speeches are related in the third but these People are easily confuted by the Example of Xenophon Coesar and Josephus and other Historians of the first Class who whenever they have occasion to speak of themselves alway do it in the third Person But 't is not so easie to solve some Arguments that are drawn from several places of the Pentateuch although some of them I must own are trivial enough as will appear by examining them In the first place they object that passage in Gen. 2.11 12. The name of the first is Pison that is it which compasseth the whole Land of Havilah where there is Gold and the Gold of that Land is good there is Bdellium and the Onyx-stone Now this they say was written by one that lived in Chaldea because Pison as they imagine is a branch of the Euphrates which after it has washed Chaldea falls into the Persian Gulf and then the Geography of these Countries according to them does not seem to be so well known in Moses's time that so particular an account could be given of them especially if we consider at what a great distance they lay But we have shown that the Country of (b) Bochart l. 5. c. 5. Hieroz Part 2. supposes the Land of Havilan to be that part of Arabia near Catipha and Bahare where precious Stones are dug up and the Pison to be that Branch of the Euphrates which Petrus Texeira an Eye-witness affirms to fall into the Persian Guâ—ph at Catipha near Bahare But our Author places Havilah nearer to Judea not far from Coelesyria In 1 Sam. 15.7 Saul is said to have destroy'd the Amalekites with Fire and Sword from Havilah until thou comest to Sur that is over against Egypt Now who can believe that Saul marched with his Forces an hundred and fifty German Miles for so much 't is at least from the Frontier of Israel to Havilah in Bochart's own Tables especially if he considers how destitute of all Provisions Arabia Deserta was and that Saul's Army consisted of 200000 fighting Men. Besides if Havilah had been more remote than Sur the Sacred Historian would not have said that Saul wasted the Country of the Amalekites from Havilah to Sur but from Sur to Havilah Therefore Sur and Havilah he concludes to be the Borders of those People the former to the South and the latter to the North. As for the Pison he is of opinion that some Footsteps of it are to be found in Chrysorrhous which rises near the City of Damascus plentifully supplies it with Water and is in a manner wholly lost in several little Streams as Strabo l. 16. and Pliny l. 5. c. 18. tell us Petrus Belonius Observat l. 2. c. 91. says That Damascus is so abundantly furnish'd with Water from this River that not only every private House but every Garden has a Fountain out of it Now this Description admirably agrees with the Hebrew word Phison which is derived from the Hebrew Root Phasha diffusus fuit The Greeks called it Chrysorrhoas because of the Gold Sands found
Innocent should be saved in the midst of Sinners Secondly Where it is said That all living Creatures were destroy'd the place must be understood only of those Animals that were within the Limits of the overflow'd Countries Which is not only the answer of Vossius but of Dr. Stillingfleet Nay from what has already been said concerning the word All we may gather That 't is not inconsistent with the Mosaical Narration to suppose that not all but many Animals and especially such as were in a more particular manner serviceable to Mankind were destroy'd Thirdly Noah tarried in the Ark till the Waters were dried up because it would be more convenient for him to set footing in a Country which he was formerly acquainted with and which was free from Wild Beasts than in an unknown place full of Savage Creatures No doubt on 't but the Soil was sufficiently damag'd by the Stagnation of the Water but Mesopotamia and the adjoyning Countries being watered by vast noble Rivers received less Detriment from the Salt Water than others that were destitute of fresh Streams so that 't is reasonable to believe they recover'd their former Fertility in a short space Fourthly The highest Mountains that were covered to so vast a heighth by the Flood were those which were scituate in these Countries beyond which Mankind was not at that time propagated Nor does that Addition Vnder Heavens oblige us to believe the contrary since it is sometimes used of a few neighbouring Countries as Deut. 2.25 On that day will I begin to send the Fear and Terror of thee through the People under all the Heavens Sub omni Coelo Having thus consider'd what might be said in behalf of this Opinion against the former it now remains to be enquir'd how far according to this Hypothesis the Deluge might extend But since we do not know what Countries were then inhabited What Man dares presume to define the Bounds of the Flood Perhaps that Tract of Ground which lies between the four Seas the Persian the Caspian the Euxine and the Syrian in which compass we find the Tigris the Euphrates and several other vast Rivers were by the Eruption of all Waters and by the Clouds gathered from all parts of the World by the Divine Power and there condens'd into Moisture buried and overflow'd 'T is true this could not be effected without a Miracle but then there is no way to solve the Difficulties of so great a Cataclysm without a Miracle However the less and fewer of this Kind we suppose provided the rest may be conveniently explain'd that Exposition uses to be accounted the most agreeable to Truth by all Interpreters because God is never so prodigal of Miracles as to have recourse to them where Natural Causes are sufficient much less does he violate and overturn all the establish'd Laws of Nature without good reason In this very History we find that God was pleased to give Noah notice when it was time for him to go into the Ark because he could scarce know it of himself but he does not tell him the time when he was to go out of it but left the Matter wholly to his own Discretion because he might very well know it without the Divine Assistance He might if it had so pleased hâ—â— have preserved all the Animals in the Ark alive without any Aliment which had made the Ark considerably lighter and had saved Noah a great deal of trouble and yet we see he did not do it because these Creatures might be supplied with Food by Humane Diligence Where the Industry of Man ceases there the Divine Help begins and Vice versâ Thus the Favourers of a Particular Deluge support their Opinion but it has been objected against them That if this Supposition were true the Superficies of the Water could not have been perfectly Spherical and consequently that the Ark in this great Declivity must necessarily incline to the lower places But as Vossius has very well answered that which happens in lesser Inundations the same might fall out in this great and more than Natural Deluge For the same Power which drove the Seas and Clouds to that Tract of Earth which was to be destroy'd did likewise sustain the Ark and the Declivity of the Water as long as there was occasion for it Dissertation VI. Concerning the Confusion of Languages I. What is meant by The whole Earth was of one Lip II. And Let us make our selves a Name III. Who are denoted by the Children of Men. IV. This passage Let us go down examined V. The different Opinions how the Confusion was effected VI. That the Design of Babel might be Foolish but was not Impious Some Conjectures why God thought fit to blast it I. BEFORE this wonderful Confusion happened at Babel the Sacred Historian expresly tells us Gen. 11.1 That the whole Earth was of one Lip and of the same words or as we have translated it of one Language and of one Speech because 't is evident that the word Lip both here and in several other places signifies Speech and the reason of it is Because the Lips are no less serviceable to us in speaking than the Tongue it self see Isaiah 19.18 No one doubts but that one Universal Language was spoken by all Mankind at this time but whether Moses has here a regard to that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is not so plain Perhaps these words may signifie that Men lived in a State of Peace and Concord because 't is equally necessary towards the Building of any City that Men should agree in their Sentiments and Inclinations as well as in their Language Nor does the Idiom of the Hebrew Language reject this Interpretation Thus for instance to denote the unanimous Agreement of the Canaanites to beat back the Israelites by main force They gathered themselves together says the Sacred History Joshua 9.2 to fight with Joshua and with Israel with one mouth Thus likewise the False Prophets agreeing together in their Predictions declared good unto the King with one mouth 1 Kings 22.13 Hence it is that to speak with the Lip of another is the same thing as to agree as appears by the above-cited place of Isaiah In that day shall five Cities in the Land of Egypt speak the lip of Canaan and Swear to the Lord of Hosts that is to say They shall be of the same Opinion with the Hebrews that inhabit the Land of Canaan And indeed the words Vnum Labium una Verba seem rather to signifie Agreement of Mind than of Language although 't is certain there was but one Language then in the World For by cadem or una verba we are not here to understand the same Sounds and the same Syllables but voces consentientes Unity of Mind Solomon Jarchi expounds it the same design II. Learned Men have rightly enough observed that in Scripture to make ones self a Name is all one as to get ones self a Fame or Reputation in which sence this
must of necessity follow that it was all swallowed up in the Sands every way encompassing it which might so much the more easily be done because the Inhabitants of hot Countries use to divide their Rivers into several smaller Branches for the benefit of their Fields and this is the reason that these Rivers being thus exhausted in several places are not able to carry their Waters to the Sea We brought the like instance of Chrysorrhoas in Gen. 2.11 I know indeed the Counterfeit Aristeas very gravely tells us that Jordan carries its Waters into another River near the Country of the Ptolomies which River has a Passage into the Sea But every body knows this to be a meer Fiction and are satisfied that the Lacus Asphaltites has no Outlet But to return to Moses he not only informs us that the lower-most part of the Plain of Jordan was well water'd but he compares it to two well water'd places and that part of it which by reason it receiv'd so great Plenty of Water was exceeding fruitful he thus describes as the Garden of the Lord as the Land of Aegypt in the way that leads to Zoar. This is the true Order of Moses's words which if they were to be read as we find them in our Bibles it would be an Hyperbaton therefore they are to be placed as we have done them For from this mountainous Country which we have already described out of Josephus where Abraham pitched his Tents when Lot parted from him as he went to the opposite Hills beyond Jordan by Zoar he first saw the Vale of Jericho watered with a most plentiful Fountain then Jordan and Callirrhoe Therefore this Plain by which Men went to Zoar very well deserved to be called well-watered An Example of the like Perturbation of the words we find in Genesis 25.18 But if any one will not admit of a Trajection here the Syrian Interpreter published in the London Polyglots furnishes us with another convenient Reading where for Zoar we meet Zoan that is Tanis mentioned by Moses Numb 13.23 and Psal 78.12 And indeed to describe any well-watered place one cou'd not produce a fitter instance than the Lower Aegypt and particularly where the Road was from Canaan to Tanis For it was not only abundantly refreshed with the Nile cut into several Branches but it was full of Lakes and Morasses To confirm which Assertion because 't is sufficiently known to all that are not utterly unacquainted with the Chorograpy of Aegypt I will only alledge the Testimony of Strabo lib. 17. p. 552. Above the Mendesian and Tanitic Mouth of the Nile is a vast Lake c. then the Tanitic Mouth and the Tanitic Province in which is Tanis a samous City Between the Tanitick and Pelusiack Mouth through which those that come from Canaan to these places must travel there are Pools and great and continued Morasses full of Villages But 't is wholly indifferent to us whether Lection viz. that of the common Bibles or that of the Syriac Interpreter the Reader will be pleased to follow provided he remembers that the Plain of Jordan is compared to the Lower Aegypt upon the account of its well-watered Pastures As for the Paradise of the Lord to which it is likewise compared we cannot say any thing of it here which we have not taken notice of in our * See the 12th Dissertation Annotations In the third place we must take notice that there were Pits of Bitumen in this Tract of ground as Moses informs us Gen. 14.10 where after he has related the Overthrow of the Men of Sodom the Valley of Siddim says he was full of Slime-pits and the Kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled and were there destroyed From this remarkable Passage we gather that even before there was any such thing as the Lacus Asphaltites that Plenty of Bitumen boil'd up out of the ground and there was used to be got Which being diluted by the confluence of so many Waters it becomes Liquid as we are told by Pliny lib. 35. c. 15. though it seems to have been thick before for the reason alledged in our Commentary Least the Reader should be at a loss we have transcribed Pliny's words and some others of the like nature concerning Bitumen out of other Authors Bitumen says he which in some places is a Mud in others an Earth is a perfect Limus or Mud as it comes out of the Lake in Judaea but in Syria near a Sea-port Town called Sidon it is an Earth Both of them may be made thick and consistent There is likewise a sort of Liquid Bitumen as that which comes from Zant and Babylon c. All which the Greeks call Pissasphalson from the likeness of Pitch and Bitumen Consult Dioscorides lib. 1. c. 99 100. Strabo in abundance of places tells us that Bitumen was got both out of the Earth and out of Fountains These are his words lib. 16. p. 511. Great quantities of Bitumen grow in Babylonia of which Eratosthenes speaks after the following manner The Liquid Bitumen which they call Naphtha is to be found in Susiane the dry which will grow hard in Babylonia a Well of which stuff there is near Naphtha Consult likewise what he says of a Fountain of Bitumen in the Province of the Apolloniata lib. 7. p. 219. and the several Authors cited by Is Causaubon upon that place But as Moses mentions Pits of Bitumen in the Plain of Jordan so likewise does Herodotus l. 6. c. 119. tell us of a Pit which affords three sorts of things for they draw Bitumen Salt and Oyl out of it after the following manner 'T is drawn out by a Bucket with half a Bottle fastned to it which serves instead of a Picher this being let down into the Pit whatever it brings up is immediately poured into a Cistern and being poured out of that into another it produces three several things it affords Bitumen and Salt presently c. But this was Liquid Bitumen some of the Ancients have even taken notice of the Caverns from whence the Babylonians had it dry Curtius lib. 5. c. 1. There is a Cavern in that place from which a Fountain throws up a prodigious quantity of Bitumen so that 't is manifestly plain that the Babylonian Walls of mighty Workmanship were cemented with the Bitumen of this Fountain This therefore was the Nature of this Soil this the Situation of the Cities in the Plain of Jordan Upon which it happened as we shall hereafter see that as the Ground sunk down a great Lake of Bitumen sprung up in its room III. As the Babylonian Soil was wonderfully fertile by reason it was irrigated by the Euphrates and the nature of the Country so the lower most part of this large Plain was for the same reason of equal Fecundity with it And as the Babylonians who flowed in all manner of Plenty were addicted to all sorts of Lust so the Sodomites and their Neighbours by the same Infirmity of humane
Nature which uses to abuse God Almighty's Gifts abandoned themselves to all the degrees of Wickedness as Moses particularly informs us Gen. 18 19. After Men were satiated with good things says Philo in his Book concerning Abraham this Satiety after the manner of the World soon begot Wantonness If we may take Cicero's word for it Men derive their Manners not so much from the Seed of their Parents as from those things which are afforded by the nature of the Soil and our manner of Living The Carthaginians were not born deceitful and Liars but made so by the Nature of the place for by reason of the abundance of their Harbours and their frequent Dealings with Merchants and Strangers the desire of Gain put them upon the Art of tricking and cheating The Genoeses inhabiting a Hilly Country were hard and clownish the very Nature of their Soil taught them this which produces nothing but with much Cultivating and Labour The Campanians were always proud by reason of the great Fertility of their Land the Plenty of Fruits the Wholesomeness and Beauty of their City From this Abundance and Superfluity of every thing arose that Pride which disposed these People to demand of the ancient Romans that one of the Consuls should be chosen out of Capua and afterwards that Luxury which helped to ruine Hannibal whom all the Difficulties and Fatigues of War could not conquer Cicero argues after this rate in his Oration de lege Argrario delivered before the People against Rullus and likewise in another which he spoke in the Senate-house He is utterly against the sending a Colony to that place which by reason of the Fruitfulness of the Soil and the Plenty of all things is said to have begotten Pride and Cruelty All which things exactly proved true in the Inhabitants of the Plain of Jordan whose Soil that we may observe this by the by was not unlike that of the Campanians which to this day abounds in Bitumen and Sulphur Now these People as they were corrupted by Prosperity so it seems Adversity made not the least Impression upon their Minds or reform'd their Manners Although they were conquer'd by the Etymaeans and their Confederates which Afflictions might have awaken'd a less flagitious People to a Sense of their Duty yet it wrought not any good Effects upon these Debauchees who as soon as they were delivered out of Captivity carried their old Customs and Vices home along with them See the 14th Chapter of Genesis Now the Sinfulness of these People did not only consist in this that they were given to Uncleanness and Lasciviousness as appears from Gen. ch 19. but in all manner of Wickedness Certainly the Debauchery of that place could admit of no new Accessions but was already arrived to its heighth where they cou'd think of abusing Strangers after so abominable a manner Therefore Josephus deservedly begins this History with the following words The Sodomites waxing proud for their Riches and Wealth grew contumelious towards Men and impious towards God so that they were wholly unmindful of the Favours they received from him They hated Strangers and burnt in mutual Lust with one another Hence we see that in the Prophets the proverbial Appellation of wicked Men is that of Sodom and Gomorrah Thus Isaiah calls the People of Jerusalem ch 1.10 Hear the Word of the Lord ye Princes of Sodom listen to the Law of your God ye People of Gomorrah See likewise Ezekiel 16.46 Seqq. IV. And therefore the Divine Justice offended at these horrid Enormities resolved utterly to destroy some Cities situated in the farthest part of the Plain of Jordan which Moses relates to have been done in the following manner The Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah Brimstone and Fire from the Lord out of Heaven and he overthrew those Cities and all the Plain and all the Inhabitants of the Cities and that which grew upon the ground Gen. 19.24 25. We have already shown that this whole Tract of Land was full of Bitumen which as it will easily take fire was soon kindled by the Lightning and the Flame was not only to be seen upon the Superficies of the Earth which frequently happens in such places without the Destruction of the Inhabitants but so pierced into the Subterranean Veins of Brimstone and Bitumen that that matter being destroyed the whole Earth sunk down and offorded a Receptacle to the Waters flowing thither All which Particulars we will now endeavour to handle more copiously and to illustrate by other Examples First Though Moses only mentions two Cities which God destroy'd by Lightning namely Sodom and Gomorrah yet there were two more destroy'd at the same time Adma and Zeboim which lay near the two above-mentioned Cities as appears from Chapter 14.2 Nay Moses himself affirms as much Deut. 29.23 where taking occasion to describe the Punishments with which God would visit the wicked Israelites he tells them that Strangers as they travelled that way should gaze upon their Lands burnt up with Brimstone and Salt in which there should be no sowing nor should any thing grow nor any Herb appear as in the Destruction of Sodom Gomorrah Adma and Zeboim which the Lord overthrew in his Anger and Wrath. See likewise Hosea 11.8 Now the reason why these two last Cities were omitted seems to be because perhaps the Kings of these places were tributary to those of Sodom and Gomorrah Strabo indeed in his sixteenth Book does not mention that only four Cities were subverted by this Subterranean Fire but thirteen but perhaps he might be deceived in this matter as well as he was in believing that the Lacus Serbonis was the same with the Asphaltites .. Perhaps to nine other smaller Towns which depended upon these four were destroyed at the same time 'T is certain that Ezekiel does not only make mention of Sodom but its Daughters Chap. 16. that is the Cities that were situate in the same Province As I live saith the Lord God to Jerusalem thy Sister Sodom and the Daughters thereof that is to say the Cities which it had built around it or else sent Colonies into have not done as thou and thy Daughters have done It may not improbably be supposed that Strabo a Man of great Diligence and infinite Reading might have an account of the number of these Cities from some Writer of the Phoenician History Secondly God is said to have rained down Fire and Brimstone from the Lord which is a Periphrasis for Lightning as in Psalm 9. ver 6. He will rain Whirlwinds upon the Wicked Fire and Brimstone and Ezekiel 38.22 I will punish him with Pestilence and Blood a mighty Shower Stones of Hail FIRE and BRIMSTONE will I rain down upon him Now Thunder is therefore called Fire and Brimstone which is as much as to say Brimstone set on fire and lighted So in the third of Genesis v. 16. we find Pain and Conception that is Pain which follows Conception He that is desirous to see more Examples
of this nature let him consult H. Grotius upon John 3.5 But the reason why Thunder is thus described no one certainly can be ignorant of that has either smelt those places that have been struck by Thunder or has read what Learned Men have writ upon this occasion I will only give my self the trouble to set down two or three Testimonies Thunder and Lightning likewise says Pliny lib. 35. c. 15. have the Smell of Brimstone and the very Light or Flame of them is sulphureous And Seneca in the second Book of his Natural Questions ch 21. tells us that all things that are struck by Lightning have a sulphureous Smell And indeed our Natural Philosophers have plainly demonstrated that the Thunderbolt is nothing else but a sulphureous Exhalation For this Persius in his second Satire calls it Sulphus Sacrum Ignovisse putas quia cum tonet ocyus ilex Sulphure discutitur sacro quam túque domúsque On the other hand because the Thunderbolt is of a Sulphureous nature the Greeks seem to have called Brimstone in their Language 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Divine by a proper name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because it comes from God Now God is not barely said to have rained down Brimstone and Fire but Brimstone and Fire from the Lord where the Addition of from the Lord which at first sight may appear to be superfluous does more particularly describe the Thunder-bolt which by the Hebrews and other Nations is frequently called the Fire of God and Fire from God Thus in the second Book of Kings c. 1. v. 12. THE FIRE OF GOD came down from Heaven and devoured him See likewise Job 1. v. 16. Isaiah uses the same Expression c. 66. v. 16. He shall be punished with the FIRE OF THE LORD After this manner the Latin Poets speaks herein intimating the Graecians as Ovid. Met. l. 15. Jamque opus exegi quod nec Jovis ira nec Ignes Nec poterit ferrum nec edax abolere vetustas Statius in the first Book of his Thebais Ilicet Igne Jovis lapsisque citatior astris Tristibus exiluit ripis Because Men have no power over these kinds of Meteors and 't is impossible for them by any contrivance to ascend up to the Clouds therefore God is supposed to dwell there and to cast his Darts from thence although he is equally present in all places and does not send his Thunderbolts for any peculiar reason Thirdly Though Moses does not inform us after what manner the Thunderbolts subverted these unhappy Cities and the adjoining Territory yet since he makes mention of them we cannot comprehend how it happen'd any otherwise than that the Thunderbolts falling in great plenty upon some Pits of Bitumen the Veins of that combustible Matter took fire immediately and as the Fire penetrated into the lowermost bowels of this bituminous Soil these wicked Cities were subverted by a Tremor and sinking down of the ground We will not here enlarge how easily Naphtha which is a sort of Liquid Bitumen is set on fire The Reader may at his leisure consult what Strabo l. 16. Plutarch in the Life of Alexander and Pliny l. 2. c. 105. have said upon this Subject Perhaps in some part of this delicious Plain which was overthrown there was only the thick Bitumen but even the very Vapour of that Matter which exhales from Grounds impregnated with it is easily set on fire In Lycia the Hephoestian Mountains if you do but touch them with a lighted Torch immediately take fire so that the very Stones in the Rivers and the Sands in the Water burn If you take a Stick out of these Waters and draw Furrows upon the ground with it according to the common report a track of Fire follows it These are Pliny's words l. 2. c. 106. There is a small Hill in the Province belonging to Grenoble from whence a Smoke of a Bituminous Smell is perpetually seen to proceed Now this Smoke by a lighted Flambeau or Chaff is soon set on fire which we our selves knew to be true by Ocular Experience In that lamentable Earthquake which in the Month of January 1693. shook all Sicily after so prodigious and miserable a manner some Authors of very good credit have assured us that Thunderbolts fell in several places of the Island And this Observation is not unknown to the Ancients for Seneca Quoest Nat. l. 2. c. 30. says Aetna has sometimes burnt exceedingly and thrown up a wonderful quantity of burning Sand the day obscur'd by the Smoke and Ashes so that the People were terrified at so unexpected a Scence of Darkness At these times as the common Tradition goes there is a great deal of Thunder and Lightning And therefore the â—itumen which is so plentifully found in the Soil of Sodom might be set on fire by a Thunderbolt and since it flows or is dug not from the Superficies of the Earth but from Veins of a mighty depth when once it had taken fire the Flame must of necessity run along all those Veins and at last shake and subvert the ground The same thing frequently happens to the Fields about Aetna and Vesuvius for the very same reason Innumerable Authors have written of the Soil of Sicily but Justin shall serve for all who in the beginning of the fourth Book thus describes it The Earth is naturally thin and friable and by reason of the several Caverns and Pipes so penetrable that the greatest part of it is exposed to the violence of the Winds Nay the Genius of the Soil is proper for generating and nourishing of Fire because it is said to be crusted within with Sulphur and Bitumen which is the reason that when the Wind struggles with the Fire under ground it frequently belches out sometimes Flames sometimes Vapours and sometimes Smoke and that in several places Cornelius Severus prosecutes this Argument at large in his Poem intituled Aetna The same Observations have been made of the Grounds that lye about the Vesuvius in the Kingdom of Naples and several Towns have frequently been there overthrown by Earthquakes Pliny the Younger in the 16th Epistle l. 6. where he relates the Death of his Learned Uncle who was suffocated as he approached too near the fire of that Mountain The Houses says he with frequent and prodigious Tremblings nodded and as if they had been removed from their Foundation seemed to move this way and that way And Seneca in the sixth Book of his Natural Questions ch 1. has the following Passage We are told that Pompeii a famous City of Campania was subverted by an Earthquake This Concussion happen'd on the * Which is our fifth Nones of February under the Consulate of Regulus and Virginius and occasioned incredible losses in Campania which though it was never free from these Motions yet it seldom suffer'd by them That which Seneca tells us happen'd to the City of Pompeii do we say was the very same Calamity which visited these Cities in the Plain of
Jordan Nor was this the first time that this Valley was shaken as the Territory about Pompeii was not subverted the very first time it shook as the Jewish Authors affirm from whom St. Jerom has borrowed what follows in his Hebrew Traditions It is frequently asked says he why Lot after he had first prefer'd Segor to his flight up the Mountain that he desired it might escape because he design'd to live there should so soon alter his Mind and depart from Segor to the Mountain We answer that the Conjecture of the Hebrews concerning Segor is agreeable to the Truth viz. that it was frequently overthrown by Earthquakes and was first called Bale and afterwards Salissa and therefore Lot was afraid and said to himself If while the other Cities were standing this was often subverted how can it now expect to escape in the common ruine But to lay aside these uncertain Traditions we will rather observe in the words of the Roman Philosopher that God punished the Sodomites and their Neighbours by a Calamity of a large extent which has not only destroy'd single Houses or Families or Cities but whole Nations which sometimes buries all in Ruines and sometimes in a deep Gulf leaving no Remainders behind it By which it may appear that that which is not now was formerly but triumphs over the most magnificent Cities and is not so merciful as to leave any footsteps of their ancient Glory Strabo in his first and Pliny in his second Book will furnish us with several Examples of this nature some few of which nearly resembling the Destruction of these Cities situate in the Plain of Jordan we have here selected The former Author tells us out of Posidonius p. 40. that in Phoenicia a certain City situate above Sidon was absorpt by an Earthquake Out of Demetrius Scepsius that several Earthquakes have happen'd in Asia Minor by which whole Towns were devoured and the Mountain Sipylus overthrown under the Reign of Tantalas and Marishes turned into standing Lakes And this happen'd at the Destruction of the Vale of Sodom where the Lacus Asphaltites was occasion'd by the Water which there overflowed Nor indeed cou'd it otherwise happen the Soil easily giving way in marshy places As the same Author tells us p. 37. Great as well as small things may be swallowed up since Chasms in the Earth and the burying of Towns and Habitations as it happen'd at Bara Bezona and several other places are said to be caused by Earthquakes Pliny in his second Book ch 88. testifies that the Mountain Epopos a Fire on the sudden breaking out of it was levell'd to the Ground and a Town buried in the Deep For the Arch that supported the Ground breaking in and the Matter underneath being wholly consumed the Soil above must of necessity sink and be swallowed up in these Caverns if they are of a larger extent For this reason 't was suppos'd in Seneca's time that the Mountain Aetna consumed and sunk by degrees because the Sailors cou'd have discern'd it farther off in former times See his 79th Epistle V. After this Territory adjoining to Jordan had thus sunk in it must unavoidably fall out as we said before that the Waters running to this place in so great an abundance must make a Lake of that place which was marshy before as Moses informs us Gen. 14.3 when he relates that the Forces of the Inhabitants near Jordan met in the Valley of Siddim which is now says he the Salt Sea by which name as we shall hereafter observe the Lacus Asphaltites was called And that this was not the only place where a Lake was occasioned by an Earthquake we find from the above-mentioned Passage in Strabo Nay Pliny testifies that in one of the Pythecusae not only a Town was swallowed up in the Deep as we have already observed but that by another Concussion of the Earth a Pool broke out In the beginning of 1693. all Sicily was miserably shaken and not only several Towns overturned but the City Augusta which was built by the Emperor Frederic in the Year 1229. was wholly swallowed up by the Sea If to these Waters perpetually running into it we add the Bitumen which at once broke out of the Earth and mingled with the Water we shall have a full Description of the Lacus Asphaltites We have evidently shown that all that Country abounded with Bitumen before and perhaps what Strabo affirms to have happen'd at Eubaea fell out here which did not cease to feel Shakings in one part or another that the Earth open'd in the Field of Lelantus and vomited forth a Flood of fiery Mud. After this manner the Lacus Asphaltites seems to be made and nothing can be objected against it unless it be that Abraham did not perceive the Earthquake which we say happen'd in this place For Moses tells us Gen. 19.27 that he knew nothing of the matter till he got up in the Morning and went to the Mountains from whence he saw the Smoke arise from the Earth as from a Furnace But besides that Moses no where denies that Abraham was sensible of this Earthquake it might very well be that the Trembling was very inconsiderable or none at all in the Neighbourhood Often small Tracts of Ground are disturbed as Seneca has observed Quaest Nat. l. 6. c. 25. even this Earthquake which has filled the City with so many dreadful Stones did not exceed the limits of Campania Why should I mention that when Chalcis trembled Thebes stood unmolested that when Aegium was every moment expecting to be buried in ruines the City Patrae which stands so near it felt nothing of that Motion That prodigious Concussion which overwhelm'd two Cities Buris and Helice stopt on this side of Aegium 'T is therefore a plain case that the Motion only goes so far and no farther as the Caverns and vacant spaces in the Earth give it leave According to the Depth or Breadth of the Caverns which fell in the Motion must be heard farther or nearer Now these Caverns seem neither to have been very far from the Superficies of the Earth nor broader than the Valley which sunk in since four Cities with the Territories belonging to them were so soon swallowed up and yet the Calamity spread no farther The Memory of this strange Event was not only preserv'd among the Hebrews who afterward inhabited the neighbouring Country but was propogated among the Heathens Strabo indeed l. 16. erroneously confounds this Lake with Sirbonis but in the other part of his relation deserves to be heard It is a vast Lake the Compass of which some Persons estimate to be a thousand Furlongs the Length of it above two hundred Josephus de Bell. Jud. l. 4. c. 26. tells us it is 580 Furlongs in Length and 150 in Breadth the Water of it is extreamly deep and heavy upon which account divers are of no use there for whoever goes into it as high as his Navil is immediately lifted up It is full of Bitumen
which at uncertain Seasons boils up from the bottom with Bubbels like hot Water and then the Superficies of the Lake swells and resembles the rising of a Hill It emits vast quantities of smoaky Ashes that deceive the Eye-sight it immediately rusts Silver and Brass and in short every thing that looks bright and polished except Gold alone When their Vtensils grow rusty the Inhabitants know that an Eruption of Bitumen will soon happen for which reason they go in flat-bottom'd Boats made of Reeds to gather it Bitumen is a sort of Earth which being melted by the Heat spreads mightily but with a little cold Water is soon condensed again into a solid Body and therefore needs Incision Several other Signs convince us that in the Soil of this Country there is actual Fire for they shew us rough Rocks burnt up near Mosais and Caverns wrought out in several places the Earth full of Ashes drops of Pitch distilling from the Rocks the Rivers hot and casting forth an unsavory Smell and their Houses frequently thrown down so that what the Natives of the place relate may very well be credited viz. that thirteen Cities were formerly inhabited in this Tract of Ground the Metropolis of which Sodom has still the compass of sixty Furlongs visibly remaining that by Earthquakes together with violent Eruptions of Fire and hot bituminous sulphurious Water a great Lake was made that the Stones took fire that some of the Cities were swallowed up and others abandoned by the Inhabitants that cou'd make their escapes Erastothenes on the other hand was of opinion that the Country was overwhelm'd by store of subterranean Pools We will now introduce Tacitus to confirm what has been delivered by Strabo who tells us in the fifth Book of his History ch 6. A Lake of a mighty compass resembling a Sea but of a more odious tast and for the noisomness of the Smells that proceed from it often fatal to the Inhabitants It is neither agitated by the Wind nor does it harbour any Fish or Fowl accustomed to the Water At certain seasons of the Year it throws up Bitumen the use of gathering which Experience has taught as it has done other Arts. Not far from thence are Fields which they report to have been extreamly fruitful in former times and inhabited by large and populous Cities but afterwards were set on fire by Thunder bolts the Footsteps of which Calamity are still remaining but that the Earth which seems to be parch'd and burnt up has wholly lost its fertility For every thing whether it grows Spontaniously or is planted by Man whether Herb or Flower or arrived to full maturity if compress'd moulders away immediately into Ashes Therefore as I readily grant that some famous Cities were here destroy'd by Lightning in times past so I suppose that the Earth is infected by Steams from the Lake and the circum-ambient Air corrupted which putrifies the Fruits of the Earth This Lake likewise has been described by Diodorus Siculus l. 19. by Pliny l. 5. c. 16. and by Solinus c. 36. whom the Reader if he thinks fit may consult when he pleases We will not here examine the particulars they relate altho' we make no question but that abundance of false Reports have been utter'd upon this Subject We will only enquire into the Reasons of the several Names it goes by with all convenient brevity Every one knows wherefore it received the name of Asphaltites since it so plentifully abounds in Asphaltus or Bitumen and the reason why it is frequently called the Salt Sea in Scripture is because the Hebrews call all Lakes Seas and because two other Lakes viz. that of Semechon and Genesareth receive the River Jordan in his passage above both which are fresh Water therefore this third to be distinguished from them was called the Salt Sea Otherwise the Mediterranean Sea is likewise salt altho' 't is certain there is some difference in the saltness In succeeding times it was called the Dead Sea not because the Water of it is immoveable as Justin pretends l. 36.3 but because as Josephus informs us it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is it has no Fish in it The above-mentioned Writers that give a Description of this Lake confirm the opinion of Josephus to whom we will add two Eye-witnesses First Pausanias who in his fifth Book expresly tells us he saw the River Jordan which runs thro' the Lake of Tiberias fall into another Lake called the Dead Sea by whom it is consumed and afterwards adds This Lake is void of Fish who turn back to their accustomed Waters as from a manifest Danger The Second is St. Jerome who upon the 47th Chapter of Ezekiel If Jordan says he swelled by the Rains carries any fishes into it they immediately die and float upon the surface of the fat Water VI. So much concerning the Lake Now let us proceed to say something of its Banks and the circumjacent Country besides what we have already related of it by the by Josephus speaking of the Territory about Sodom thus expresses himself Near this Lake says he is Sodomitis formerly a delicious and fertile Land and famous for the Riches of its Cities but now wholly burnt up After this he goes on in the following words so that you 'd rather think that Tacitus or any Pagan Author spoke rather than Josephus The Reports run That for the wickedness of the Inhabitants it was destroy'd by Thunderbolts Indeed the remainders of the Divine Fire and the Resemblance of five Cities are still to be seen the sight of which gives credit to the Stories that are told of the Country about Sodom After the same manner Philo towards the end of his second Book concerning the Life of Moses The Monuments of that unspeakable Destruction are to this day shown in Syria Ruines Ashes Brimstone Smoak and a slender small Flame still breaking forth certain indications of Fire St. Jude in the 7th verse of his Epistle seems to have his Eye upon this where he says that Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbouring Cities are proposed as a Spectacle bearing the punishment of everlasting Fire This Fire which for so many Ages was fed by the Bituminous Matter and perhaps still continues is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thus Pliny l. 2. c. 106. says That the Mountain Chimaera in Phaselis burns Night and Day with an IMMORTAL Flame after Ctesias who had used the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the same signification in Greek Diogenes Laertius l. 8. § 75. Thus speaks to Empedocles who is reported to have thrown himself headlong into Aetna 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thou hast drunk Fire out of immortal Cups Learned Men are mistaken who imagine that this fire which burnt down the Cities of this famous Valley was therefore called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because 't is a Figure of Eternity or because it was not extinguished till it had destroy'd every thing for it flamed long after that and both Interpretations
before I shew how far the Power of God was concerned in this matter I'llenquire into what could be done by the Power of Second Causes and then I 'll shew what what God himself did towards it and what was done by the Second Causes Lastly I shall answer the Objections of our Adversaries III. God speaks thus to Moses Exod. 14.16 But lift up thy Rod and stretch out thine hand over the Sea and divide it and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the Sea It appears from Verse 20 21. That Moses received those orders towards the Evening Then Moses obeying God's Orders smote the Sea but it was not presently divided for thus we find Verse 21. And Moses stretched out his hand over the Sea and the Lord caused the Sea to go back by a strong Wind all the Night and made the Sea dry Land and the Waters were divided When therefore Moses smote the Sea there arose a strong Wind which divided the Waters by degrees for Moses himself says that the Wind drove back the Waters of the Sea all that Night that is almost all the Night for the Egyptians were already gone into the Sea in pursuit of the Israelites in the Morning Watch as he says V. 24. 'T is well known that the Hebrews divided the Night into three Watches which being so and seeing the Sacred History tells us that the Sea return'd in the Morning-watch 't is likely that the Wind blew almost 12 Hours together from Sun-setting to Sun-rising for the Israelites departed a little after the Equinox of the Spring If we knew in what Watch of the Day or Night the Sea covered the Shores or retired from them we might explain this matter more accurately But seeing the Sea Ebs and Flows in twelve Hours 't is likely that it began to go back in the beginning of the Night and that the Reflux was hastened and encreased by a strong Wind but the next Tide was slower the same Wind blowing still and keeping back the Waves for some time during which interval of time the Israelites went through the dry Channel of the Sea-Let us suppose for Example that the Sea being return'd to the South was to flow again towards the North about the beginning of the Second Watch if there had been no Wind the Sea might have gone back before the Second Watch by reason of the Violence of the Wind and not have returned to the Northern Shores of the Red Sea but some Hours later so that the Israelites might go over during the whole Second Watch that is during four Hours at least Indeed they were already gone through the Sea before the Morning-watch in which all the Egyptians went into the Channel and were Drowned Now that we may understand how so many Thousands of Men might go through the Red Sea in so short a time we ought to consider two things First that the extremity of that Gulph is very narrow as 't is granted by all those who wrote about it and not above two Miles broad It was therefore no difficult thing for the Israelites though they were so numerous to go a great pace through the Channel of the Sea in a few Hours which otherwise could not be understood if it was broader From whence also it follows that the Sea going back towards the South leaves not only the Shores dry but its very Channel because of the narrowness of the place unless it be deeper in some places I think there is no need I should prove that the Israelites went through it at the further end of the Gulph seeing it plainly appears that they did from the situation of the place in which they encamped as it is described Exod. 14.2 Secondly It ought to be observed that there was no need the Israelites should run away in Battle aray and in a long File A great space having been dryed by the Wind they might go over in a large Front as the Egyptians tried to do it after them for the whole Army of the Egyptians had not been drowned if few of them had gone together seeing those that were beyond had been at a great distance from those that were in the Front But all the Egyptians were drowned not one excepted from whence it is manifest that they went into the Channel of the Sea in a large Front IV. But I must consider more carefully the strength of the Wind which blew upon the Sea Exod. 14.29 The Children of Israel says Moses walked upon dry Land in the midst of the Sea and the Waters were a Wall unto them on their right hand and on their left Which words ought not to be taken in a literal sence nor those which we find Exod. 15.8 With the blast of thy Nostrils the Waters were gathered together the Floods stood upright as an heap and the depths were congealed in the heart of the Sea Who sees not that this is a Figurative Speech For 1. God blows not with his Nostrils nor did Moses believe he did who teaches every where that God hath no humane shape 2. There is a great difference between a Heap of Corn and a bulk of Ice nor could the driving of the Waters into the Ocean be compared to both but in a Figurative sence from whence it appears that neither of them can be understood in a proper sence 3. Had the Waters been congealed on both sides there had been no need of a Strong Wind blowing all that Night to uphold its Weight for from the time the Water was divided and congealed on both sides it could not return into the middle Channel but by the melting of the Ice In like manner the Water might be said to be as as a Wall unto the Israelites because they could not go through it on the Right hand or on the Left nor does any thing hinder but there might be some Water on their Left Hand in deep Pits tho' the greatest part of it was removed to the Right Hand by the Ebbing of the Sea and the Ford through which they went was left dry Thus Nahum 3.8 the Sea is said to be a wall to the City of No. Art thou better says the Prophet than populous No that was situate among the Rivers that had the waters round about it whose rampart was the Sea and her wall was from the Sea I think therefore that such was the Division of the Waters of the Red Sea that when the Wind which encreased its Ebbing had driven all the Waters except that which remained in deep Pits from the further end of the Gulph towards its Mouth there appeared a large Ford over against the Israelites through which they went to the opposite Shore which could the more easily happen because that Sea being full of Fords when there happens a greater Reflux then ordinarily those Fords are left dry tho' as I shall shew hereafter the Wind which God raised drove the Sea farther then ever it was before or hath been since
that we know of Most of those who described that Sea say that 't is Fordable They also say that it hath a violent Ebbing and Flowing P. Belonius Observ Book II. ch 67. Speaking of a Town call'd now Tor says That it is Situated on a high place for the Sea swells sometimes so much that it overflows the Fields and surrounds the Town with its Waters Nor can it be otherwise in a Narrow Streight especially when it reaches from South to North for the Sea flows from the South thro' a Narrow Passage with great violence and having no room to Expatiate it must needs be high on the contrary when it Ebbs it must of necessity leave many Fords empty and the extremity of the Golph almost dry However a place out of Psalm 136. v. 13. may be objected against my Hypothesis There 't is said That God divided the Red Sea into Parts which words seem to imply that the Waters were so divided by the Wind as to be driven on the right hand and on the left But they might be said to be divided into Parts if the Water remain'd on both sides tho' it was not heap'd up by the strength of the Wind for the Water which return'd towards the South was separated from that which remain'd in the Northern Pits Which Water left in those Pits may be call'd a Part because it was separated from the rest of the Water by the violence of the Wind. We read in the Annals of Geneva that in the Year MCCCCXC the South-wind blew with so great a Violence that the Water of the Rhone a most swift River flowing from the Leman Lake to the South stood still a quarter of an Hour In like manner the Wind might encrease the Motion of the Ebbing Sea and stop its Impetuosity when it flowed again It was observed in Holland in the Year MDCLXXII that the Ebbing of the Sea lasted Twelve Hours which hindred the Descent of the English whether this was the Effect of the Wind or some other cause is not well known Why therefore could not the Ebbing of the Red Sea last longer than it usually did through the Divine Will and return Later to the same Shores V. Having thus explain'd the Words of Moses which concern the thing itself it will not be needless to enquire from what part of Heaven the Wind blew The Lord says Moses caused the Sea to go back by a strong East-Wind all that night as our Translation renders it But I am of Opinion the Hebrew word Kadim cannot here signifie an East-Wind because such a Wind was fitter to drive the Floods to the Shore wherein the Israelites were than to divide the. Waters unless we suppose that it blew only on a certain part of the Sea so as to hinder the Waters from running in the middle But who can apprehend how so many thousands of Men could I will not say stand in the Channel of the Sea but go thro' it in so short a time whilst so violent a Whirl-wind blew in their Faces I should think therefore that the Word Kadim denotes not that part of Heaven from whence this Wind blew but a Violent Wind from whencesoever it blew Nor did Moses add the word strong because the Wind call'd Kadim is not commonly a violent one but because the Wind which drove the Waters of the Red Sea towards the Ocean was extreamly violent The word Kadim signifies a violent Wind Psal 48.8 Ezech. 27.26 Job 27.21 Jer. 18.17 Isa 27.8 Jon. 4.8 we may therefore understand by the word Kadim a North-wind Nor could any other Wind open a passage to the Israelites thro' the Fords of the Sea as I have shewed VI. The thing it self favours my opinion as we have seen and no strong Argument can be brought against it from the words of Moses Some therefore will perhaps endeavour to confute it some other way Viz. by accusing it of Novelty But I may shelter my self under the Authority of Josephus who seems to have had the like thoughts when he compared the Passage of the Israelites with Alexander's March thro' the Sea of Pamphylia in these words Book II. towards the End No Body will admire that strange Story that Men who liv'd many Ages ago and were free from malice found a way to escape even thro' the Sea whether God would have it so or whether it happen'd by chance seeing the Sea of Pamphylia gave way to Alexander King of Macedonia who liv'd not long ago and open'd a Passage to him when he had no other when God design'd to destroy the Empire of the Persians I shall not enquire whether those Two Events may be compar'd in every thing 't is false that Alexander had no other way and they differ in other things But however it appears from those words that Josephus believe not without reason that Alexander's Passage was like that of the Israelites in this Viz. in his going thro' the Sea when the Wind turn'd which he could not do whilst it blew I shall here set down the words of Arrianus who relates the thing thus Book I. He lead those who were with him thro' the Sea all along the Shore No Body can go that way but when the North-Wind blows but if the South-Wind blows hard none can go thro' the Shore It happen'd then not without the Will of God as he and those that were with him said that a violent South-Wind turn'd into the North and so he had a quick and easie Passage It appears from those words of Arrianus who relates the thing as Josephus understood it that this latter Historian had the same thoughts as I have concerning the Passage of the Israelites thro' the Red Sea Josephus might also have added out of Livy Book XXVI Ch. 45. if he knew it what that Historian says concerning the taking of New Carthage by P. Scipio Africanus to stop thereby the Mouth of the Romans who denied the Truth of the History of the Hebrews The Words of Livy run thus As soon as he was told the Sea Ebbed he lead his Army to it because he heard from some Fisher Men who had been there in some light Boats and were gone thro' the Fords when their Boats stuck that he might easily go to the Wall of the Town a foot It was about the middle of the day and besides the Water was going back according to its ordinary Ebbing a violent North-Wind arose blowing the same way the Sea Ebbed which so laid open the Fords that in some places the Water came only to the Belly and in other places scarce to the Knee Scipio having carefully observ'd this and ascribing it as a Prodigy to the Protection of the Gods who open'd a new way for the Romans thro' the Sea he commanded his Souldiers to follow Neptune as their Guide But neither Scipio nor Alexander could know that the North-Wind would blow when it was necessary for them And seeing the Providence of God ruled the Actions of the