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VINDICATION O F T H E
HISTORY O F T H E
Old Teftament, In Answer to the
Mifreprefentations and Calumnies
o F
THOMAS MORGAN, M.D.
A N D
MORAL PHILOSOPHER.
By Samuel Chandler.
When Men will ie learned beyond the Meafures of Sobriety, they
mufi run into Schemes and Methods if fhikfofhtling equallj
abfurd and irreligious. Mor. Philof. Vil. l.p. jgg.
Nihil difjimulatio froficit. Faucis imponit lenjiter extrinfecusfn-
duBa fades. Veritas in omnem partem fui femper eadem efi.
^ce decipiunt nihil hahent folidi . Tenue efi mendacium: Per-
lucet fi diligenter infpexeris. Seneca Epfi. 79.
L O N 2) O iV;
Printed for J. Noon, at th.eWhite-Hart, Cheapfide, R. HetV,
at the Bible and Crmn, and J. Davidson at the .<%*/,
both in the Poultry. MDCCXLI. < , .

iv PREFACE.
Proof, I wifh it had never been in my Power to hav^
produced. The C haraper of Ahrahzm ever was ^ and Jlill if
highly venerable throughout all the eaflern World,
md is mentioned in the Jewifli and Chriftian Writings
with the great efi Honour and Regard. And yet from
one incident in his Life, this Moral Philofopher hath
painted him as one of the mofi abandoned and profligate^
Wretches, that ever lived in a Nation. I'a aggravate
his Charge againfi him, he tells us what I think the
Uijlory doth not fay \ that he prevailed on Sarai to
deny her being his Wife; and then that, he would
have proftituted her and facrificed her ChaUity ;
yea that he was ready, /. e. prepared and difpofed, to
proftitute and facrifice her Chaftity, to fecure him-
feh'"a Settlement in Egypt. Had he mentioned this
in the Manner the Scriptures do, had he complained
of it as an Inflame of Imprudence, or c^s fiarce recon-
cilable with Integrity, or his known Faith in and De
pendance on God, or fpoken of it as a Conduct that
might have endangered her Chafiity, I fhould have
taken little or no Notice of it. ' But furely the whole
of Abraham' J CharaEler will free him from the Charge
of a Bcfign of Profiitution, a Readinefs to facrifice his
Wife's Cbaflity; and that for a Reafon, which I am
perfiaded he would never have given, if he had care
fully read ihe Hiflory that was before him, for a fettle-
ment in Egypt, contrary to God's Promife, that he^
fhould be fettled in Canaan. Surely this is not ufmg
the venerable Patriarch with that Candour which his
Nams

PREFACE. V
Name and Char aSier deferves-, efpecially as this part of
his Hijlory is capable of a much more favourable Turn,
and which therefore I think would have been much
more agreeable to the fplendid Title of a Moral Philo
fopher to have given it.
Jofeph'j Character as mentioned in the Old Tefia-
ment, appears truly amiable and excellent, and he hath
heen in all Ages juflly efleemed as a Pattern of Forti
tude and Chaftity. His Integrity in his Majler's Houfe
was without Blemifh. His Refufal to comply with
the repeated Solicitations of his Mifirefs, fhewed a Mo
deration and Temperance une onq^uer able by theftrongefi
Perfuafives. The Principles on which he grounded his
jRefufal, fhewed himjufi, generous, and rationally re
ligious. My Mafter hath committed all that he hath
to my Hand, neither hath he kept back any Thing
from me but thee, becaufe thou art his Wife : How
"then can I do this great Wickednefs and fin a-
gainft God? Can any Man read this, without being
'charmed with fo lovely a Conduct, or refrain fro-m
'commending fuch Piety and Honour ? I would there
fore hope that the Philofopher himfelf will, upon a
cooler RefleEiion, wifh the following Infmuation had
never dropped from his Pen, Viz. * Wherher Jofeph
during this Confinement in the King's Prifon, and
the great Power and Truft there committed to him,
had not made up the Matter with his old Miftrefs,
is not faid, and I fhall prefume to determine no-
tliing about ' it. Not to mention the UnUksUhood of
* Vol. III. p. 9.
~" .A -^3, a,Pri'

vi PREFACE.
a Prifoner's carrying on a criminal Correfpondence with
the Wife of the Captain of the Guards, of a powerful
King, during his Confinement in a Jayl, the Hifiory, he
allows, makes no mention of it. Why then doth he
make the Suggeflion ? Why doth he leave it in fuch Un
certainty, but to create a Sufpicion in the Reader s
Mind of the Truth of it? If the Hiflory fays nothing
of it, what could give rife to fo cruel an Injinuation?
'Tis in my Judgment unjufi even to fufpeSi another
"f a Crime without Foundation, and much more to
propagate and make publiek fuch a groundlefs Suf
picion. Hannah, the Mother of Samuel, had been long bar
ren, and having made a Vow to God at his Houfe that
if he would give her a Son, fhe would devote him to
the Lord, fhe returned to her Houfe ; and as the Hif-
torian expre fly ohferves, Elkanah * her Husband knew
his Wife, and the Lord remembred her. But the
Philofopher offended with Samuel, bears hard upon
his Mother, and tells Dr. Leland, -f he might be
nearer allied to the high Priefthood than he ima
gines, that fhe told her Diftrefs for a Child to the
Priests, and thdit Samuel' & Sons lay with the Wo
men who came up to the Sanftuary, with their
Gifts and Offerings. And in order to ftrengthen the
Suggeflion of her being debauch' d by the Priefts he af-
f,rms, that the Lord took him and bred him up
as hrs own Son, arid cloathed him while a Child,
as a Prietl", in a linen Ephod ; that he knows not
» 1 Sam. i. 19. Vol. III. p. 308. how

PREFACE. vii
how far this may help out Samuel's 'Right to the
Prieflhood, and that all this the hiflorian hath
plainly and frankly told us. Whereas the hiftorian
hath neither plainly nor at all told us, that fhe told
her Diftrefs for a Child to the Priests, nor tha,t
the Lord took him, and bred him up as his own
Son, and cloathed him with a linen Ephod whilfl
a Child •, nor is there the leafi Infmuation in him of
her criminal Commerce with the Priefis. The Philo
fopher, fhould have fpared an helplefs Woman, and
not have introduced the God of Ifrael as a favourer of
thofe Crimes of the Priefis, at which he expreffed the
higheft Indignation, and funifhed with the mofi exem
plary and lafiing Judgments.
His Treatment of Mofes, in all Parts of his Cha
racter, is extreamly fevere. He frequently reprefents
him as a Conjurer, exprefsly calls him an Impoftdr,
and that he may farther faften on him the Chara£ler
<?/fl Murtherer too, he doth not fcruple z« the mofi
pofitive Manner to tell the World, that * he was fo
cruel and blood-thirfly a Man, as that he was not
fuffered to live in his Poflerity, or furvive himfelf
in his Iffue : hereby making his being Childlefs ajvfi
Judgment of God upon him for his Cruelty, and the
immediate Punifhment of his Love of and Delight in
Blood. And yet Mofes did live in his Pofterity, and
had a numerous one too fo long after his Deceafe, as tie
Reigns of David a,nd Solomon, fome of whom were
in Stations of great Dignity under the Reigns of
thofe Princes, as is evident' to the ftrongeft Con-
viSiion from the facred Hifiorians. -f Tlie Song
* Vol. III.p. 335. f I' Chron. xxiii. 14, isf^r. xxvi.24, iSc.
A 4. * of

vVil P R E F A C Fl.
of Mofes yutKGerfhom aftd Eliezer. Of the Sons or
Gerfhom, Shehiel was the chief And the Sons of
Eliezer were Rehahiah the Chief And Eliezer had
none other Sons, but the Sons of Rehabiah were
very many. And Shebuel, the Son pi Gerfhom, the
Son of JVIofes, was Ruler of the Treafi^res. And his
Brethren hy Eliezer were over all the Treafures of
the dedicate Things, which the King and chief
Fathers and Captains had dedicated. The mofi
friendly Apology that can he made for the Philofopher
here is, that he wrote without thinking or reading ;
and I wifh for his own fake, that he would be more
careful of his FaSs, and not put it into any Man's
' Power even to fufpe£i, that he takes Pleafure in
fpeaking reproachfully and injurioufiy of the Dead.
W^^t were the Sentiments of the Antients on this
Head, may be known by many firong Tefiimonies. *
Homer. 'Tis impious to infult the Dead, f Archi-
lochus in Srobasus. 'Tis not juft to reproach men
that are dead. % Sop hoc les. He that lives fhould
defend the Dead as remembring that he himfelf
mufl die. l| Plato thought it an Argument of a fordid
womanifh'
* sa os-/« uTAiAivoieiv iv' Ati'^Atriv iuxirui^ai. Odys y
V. 412. ^'
f K ya^ tS-K» Kctr^aswt Kisrti^iv st w/J'iii.riv- Stob
lit. 124.
Aav>ii/.ifw, Lariff. <:pitd. Eund. Ibid. Kuvsoy,

PREFACE. ix
tiPomanifh bafe Difpofition to treat ill e\>'en the
Body of an Enemy when he himfelf was dead, aid
compares thofe who did it to Dogs, fnarling at th?
Stones which flruck them, and not medling with
thofe who threw them.
'Tis a noble Paffage of Demoflhenes : * What Man
can be ignorant, that tho' every Man that lives
is fubjedt to more or lels Envy, yet that even aa
Enemy will no longer hate or difhonour the Dead ?
And fo inviolable was the Reverence that they thought
due to them, that it was one of the Laws of Solon : -j-
Let no one fpeak Evil of the Dead, even tho' he
fhould be reproach'd b}«'any one of his Children.
This Law, % as Ulpian in his Commentary on the
place obferves, extended to all the Dead, whatever
were their Characters. And therefore the Orator im-
putes it to Leptines, as the highefi Aggravation of his
Conduct, that he reproached and charged with Crimes
XUCft)!',.*/ TO/5 Aj5-M« O/f sSf ^Aildofl-/ XstASTct/J/Kfl-/, T« /StfAAo)/-
lot ^x '"'¦TOf^SCoij. Plat, de Republ. \. 5. p. 4^^, ^^'/V.
Serran'. * Tii yetp XK Qi'f'i lav irtf^wv, on nn ^%y ^as-i •ru<^i]i
VTTKn rii n irhmav v sAoItwi' z^onc Tv; Ti&i'salai J^i nj^g
Tar ep^dpac vJ^m ill (//«¦£/• Demoft. de-ccron. p. 52^. Edit.
Francof. Stobffius reads the lafi Words, isS'm ATiij.y)7^. Stob.
Sentevt. p. 603. Edit. tert.
Mw Myeiv KUKwi roy n^nefja,- ^aiS'' av vra ra metvn t/j
tLKisn veuJ'ay. Demo&.cmt. Leptin. p. 556.
i O 'S,o^»voi co/ttDf aTMQ^opswirj ras nSfviolct; a-Ta.vjK? Mytif
KtKf(){, K«,y ipi^i^njjti rii vtto ray ita.ii'ai n riS^ymolo? vSfi- the

s PREFACE.
the worthy Dead, who by their Virtues had di-
fervedwell of Mankind whilfi they lived. And un-
qucfiionably Humanity, Morality and true Philofophy
all teach us, to confider the Actions of Mankind in the
7nofi favourable Light that we can, and particularly not
to arraign with too great Severity the ConduCl of the
Dead ; efpecially as they are incapable of appearing in
iheir own Jufiification, and urging in their Defence
thofe Circumfiances, which, if thoroughly underfiood,
might in many Inflames be a full Vindication of their
Behaviour, and in others greatly alleviate the Un-
reafonablenefs and Guilt of it.
I perfuade myfelf, that every Gentleman, who knows
what is due to Reputation and Character, and who
would not be animadverted on without Mercy after
Death, nor have every Errour of his Life reprefented
in the firongcfi Circumfiances of Aggravation, mufi
greatly difUhe every Appearance of Cruelty towards the
Names and Memories of the Deceafed, and rather wifh
that, in all Conlroverfies about Religion and Revela
tion, every Thing of this Kind were carefully avoided,
lecaifc their Truth or Falfehood doth not depend on
the Behaviour of particular Perfons, If Judaifm be
an Impofiure, kt it fairly be proved fo. If Chrifdanity
hath no Founda'ion of Evidence, let it be made appear.
I have no Objection againfi any Man's making the At.
tempt. But, in the Name of God, let it be done with
Decency and Good-Manners, by proper Authorities, by
Reafon and Argument, and by rational Methods )hat
may tetul io difco-vcr Truth, and convince the Judgment of

PREFACE. xi
of the Reader. But fpare the Dead, and treat the
Living at leafi with Decency. Efpecially where the
Controverfy doth not require the canvafing their Cha
racters. What hath the Suggefiion of Jofeph'j mak
ing up the Matter with his Mifirefs, and the defaming
the Mother of Samuel, to do in this Debate ? What
do they prove for, or againfi the Divine Authority of
the Jewifh Lawgiver, or Law ? This is not arguing,
and will never be thought fo by wife Men. Let a Re
gard to Truth and Honefty be inviolably prcferved, the
Debate be managed with Moderation and Temper, and
the infamoics Method of Lying for, or againfi Revela
tion, he religioufiy avoided, and I have nothing to ob
ject againfi it, I wifh that every Caufe was thoroughly
examined, and wherever Truth and Reafon prevail, as
far as I know my own Heart, I am ready to em
brace it.
Judaifm and Chriflianity, I am yet fully perfuaded,
loth owe their Original to God. T have with the ut-
mofi Impartiality, if I am not deceived in myfelf, exa
mined them both. I have taken nothing from Educa
tion, by implicit Faith, t a'm abundantly fenfible of the
Objections that are urged by the Enemies of Revelation
in general, and have received no new Information by
any Thing the Philofopher hath objected againfi Judaifm
in particular. I have no worldly Interefi to ferve,
nor any Views of Preferment and Advantage to fecure,
by dijfemhling my real Sentiments either as to one or the
other of them. And I doubt not, but that great Num
bers of the Clergy, both in the Efiablifhment, and eut of

xii PREFACE.
of if, are, in thefe refpeCts, what they profefs to be,
from as full Conviction and Principle.
I cannot therefore but think it extreamly hard, that "
we fhould all in general be reprefented as Fools or
Knaves. Weare, it feems, * entrenched under im
pregnable Darknefs, and go on with invincible Re- ._
folution to batter and deftroy all moral Reafon and
Philofophy. He bids us, f come out of the Clouds,
and tells the World, that our great Modefty and Shy-
nefs, in not openly declaring what the Dodtrines of
immediate Infpiration and Revelation are, makes it
evident, that our Zeal for them is only in Appear
ance, that we only put it on as a Difguife, and to
ferve a private Turn, which ^ we would not have
the believing Laity take notice pf, or look into ;
and that hereby we make it plain, that while we are
crying out againfi Infidelity, we -have not Divine
Faith enough to fpeak out our Minds, and lead the
People with Honour and Integrity in the Way of
Truth, without Hope of Reward, or Fear of Pu
nifhment from Man.; that our Sophiflry mufl be
Reafon, our Evafions Faith, our Cowardice and
Temporifing Humane Prudence, and our very Ig
norance and Air of Importance Divine Knowledge.
What is the plain Language of all this, but that all
the Clergy of every Denomination, who will not obey
the Orders of this Philofophical Didtator, nor enter
into a Difpute with^ > him about the peculiar DoCtrines
¦of Revclaiion, are a Parcel of difguifed Impo/iors, hy-
* Vol. III. p. 4. t Vol. II. Pref. p. ,9, 20.
pocritical

P R E F A C E. xlii
pocritical Zealots, fecret Infidels, bafe Cowards, igno
rant Pretenders, and folemn temporifing Villains ? Se
vere Cenfure, in an Affair, as to wJoich 'tis impoffible,
he fhould be any competent Judge I and in which I doubt
mt but great Numbers can appeal from him to a more
impartial Tribunal, that they are intirely innocent.
That there are Men of very corrupt Principles and Mo
rals in all Profeffions of Life, is, I am afraid, too
evidently true. But no Body of Men would think
themfelves well ufed, to be in general reproached for
the Crimes of fome particular Perfons among fi them.
Nor do fuch indif criminate Cenfures add any Thing of
Ornament cr Strength to any Argument or Caufe what-
fvever. But furely he might have fpared this ProfuJion of
Good-Manners, and forbore to have firewed all thefe
fragrant Flowers. For the Charge itfelf is not true-
The Doctrines of immediate Revelation have been fre
quently and openly declared, and the Philofopher, if he
hath a mind to fhew his Talent at difputing againfi
them, need not be at a Lofs where to find them, or
with whom to begin. I will point him out the Man,
that feems to have come quite out of the Clouds,
and that never was charged with that Modefty and
Shy nefs, which he fever ely reproaches as unpardonable
Crimes in others. The Man I mean is the Reverend
Mr. Thomas Morgan, once a Diffenting Minifier at
Marleborough, w""^ living, tho'- now no longer extant
in that Character. This once learned Divine, previous
to his Ordination, being asked, " What his Ends were " in

xiv PREFACE.
" in defiring the Office of the Minifiry," gravely
anfwers : The Glory of God, the Good of Souls,
the advancing the Honour and Interefi of Chrifl in
the World, and the placing himfelf in fuch a State
as might mofi effedlually enable him to obtain the
future everlafting BlefTednefs, and help others to
obtain it. And when asked, " Whether he would be
" diligent, in praying, reading, adminifiring the Sa-.
" eramenis, Difcipline, and doing all Minifierial Du-
*' ties," folemnly replies : I purpofe and fhall endea^,
vour, by the Strength of Chrifl, and according to
the Meafurt: of his Strength and Grace afforded me,
io to difchargc my Truft in each of thefe, as to ap*
prove myfelf herein to God, to my own Confcience„| ;
and to the Church of Chrift, and not to count even '
my Life dear to me, fo that I may win Chrifl, ap,
prove myfelf faithful, and finifh my Courfe with
Joy. And finally, being farther asked, to Give an
Account of his Faith, he hath thefe memorable Arti-'
des, which he could draw, mofi of them, from no other*
Source but Revelation, as he then underfiood, or at
leafi profefied to underftand the DoCtrines of it.
I. " I BELIEVE, that from the Nature of Man,
" as a ratioud^ felf-determining Agent — there refults.
*' a neceffary, eternal and immutable Obligation, to the
" mofi perfect and exaCi Obedience or Conformity to
" the Divine Will, however made known to him,
" either in the Nature and Reafon of Things, or by
'* fupernatural and pofitive Revelation.
» "2^. ** I BE-

PREFACE. XV
2. "I BELIEVE that this unchangeable Law of
*' Nature — obliges us, with refpeCi to God — our Fel-
" low-Creatures — and our fives.
3. " As the Holy Scriptures of the Old and
*' New Teflament, contain DoCtrines of the mofi a'w-
" ful and eternal Confequence, relating to the Glory of
" God, and Happinefs of Mankind — As the Truth of
*' thefe Writings are yet farther confirnied by the
*' e>iaCt Correfpondence between Scripture Prophecies
*' and Events, in the mofi pundual Accomplifh-
*' ment of thofe Prophecies — From thefe inherent and
" effential Characters of a Divine Original and Au-
" thdrity, added to miraculous external Evidence : I
" FIRMLY AND STEADFASTLY BELIEVE, that
*' thefe Sacred Writings are the infallible Word and
" I-aw of God to Man, containing all Things necefi
" fary to be believed and praClifed, in order to Salva,
" tisn.
4. " I BELIEVE ^i»^ Doctrine of the ever-bleffed
" and glorious Trinity, as contained in the Sacred
*' Writings : That God the Father, by an eternal Act
" of Generation, hath communicated the Divine Nature
*' and Effence to the Son, who was in the Beginning
*' with God, and who was God.
5. " I BE LI EVE that the Holy Ghofi, in a Man-
*' ner incomprehenfible to us, proceeds both from .the
*' Father and the Son — and therefore I believe, that
*' as the Father is God, fo likewife the Son is God,
*' and the Holy Ghofl is God, , and yet that there
*' €re not Three, but only One fupream, indepen dent.

xvi PREFACE.
" dent, felfexifient Being, of abfolute and infinite:
" Perfection, or God.
6. "I BELIEVE that God created the jirft Parents
" of IVLankind in a State of Happinefs and Integrity —
*' both natural and moral Rectitude — That in this
" State of Innocence and Integrity, God — gave them a
*' compleat and perfect Law — to which wMral Lam
" was fuperadded one pofitive Precept, refiraining
" them from — ^the Tree of Knowledge of Good and
" Evil : A perfect perfonal Obedience to this whole.
" complex Law, being enforced by the Penalty Death,
" on any the leafi Defection or Failure.
7. "I BELIEVE that the Death here threatned,
•' implies not only bare — Separation of Soul and Body,:
" but alfo the Seclufion of both from the Divine Pre-
•' fence and Favour, or the L,ofs of the intire Hap-
'* nefs of the whole Man, Soul and Body.
8. "I BELIEVE that this firft Covenant, or.
*' Law of Works, was not, or could not he reflrairiedi
" perfonally to our firft Parents, but extended to
" all their natural Ofispring, or to the whole Humaal
" Race.
g. "I BELIEVE that our firft Parents — by their i
" Pride, Infidelity and Concupifcence, in eating the)
" forbidden Fruit, lofi their Integrity, forfeited their
" Happinefs, funk into Senfuality, and became mifera-\
'.' bie Vaffals to Sin atid Satan. \
IO. '¦'¦And, I BELIEVE, that this natural Pra-\
" vity. Corruption, and Defect of legal Righteoufnefs"
',^ are derived /r(iw Adam to all his natural Offspring j^
and ¦

PREFACE. xvii
*' and this, mt only by mere mechanical Necefllty,
*' and the Laws of Nature and Generation, but by
*' the pofitive Will and Appointment of God alfo.
13. *'Ibelieve that God—-forefeeing this gene-
*' ral Fall of Man, confulted his Recovery ; and, to
*' that End, entered into a Covenant of Re-
" D E M p T ION with his Son, in which Chrifi's Work
*' « afftgned, and his Reward infured ; that his great
** Undertaking fhould be atteftded with defired Succefs.
14. "I BELIEVE that in Confequence of thi^
*' ETERNAL CoMPACT AND COVENANT bc-
*' tween the Father and the Son, Jefus Chrifi — took
*' upon him the Nature of Man — and by his perfeCi
?' Obedience unto Death, compleated the Work of
** Mar^ s Redemption — making fuch a Prop iti a-
*' TION and Attornment for Sin, as mofi effeCtuallf
*' anfwered the Ends of governing Juftice.
15. "I BELIEVE that in Confideration of this —
*' Purchase of the Redeemer, God the Father has
«f — conjiituted him fupream Regent, Governour and
" Judge in the Mediatorial Kingdom -, or given him
" an abfolute, legifiative, and executive Power, in
" order effectually to obtain the Ends of his Death and
*' Sufferings.16. "I believe that Jefus Chrifi, having by
"THE Merits of his expiatory Sacrifice, or
" Death on the Crofs, fully ^ATi^si's.-a the De-
" MANDS OF OFFENDED JusTiCE, with Regard
*' to the — Covenant of Works— and having alfo me-
•i' rited and obtained of the Father, an Adl of
«' Grace — he did hereupon, as Lord Redeemer, con-
b " ftji^f^

xviii PREFACE.
" ftitute a new Law, or Covenant of Grace,, contain-^ .^
" ing an univerfal conditional Grant of his purchafea -^
" Benefits, Pardon and Eternal Life, to aUwhofioould:'^
" accept him as their Saviour and Lord.
i7."Ibelieve that Jefus Chrift, in order fi-
« ndly—xjo fecure to himfelf a Church of living
" Members, as the Fruit of his Death and Sufferings,.^
" doth vouchfdfe to his own People, or to thofe whoi^
" are in a fpecial Senfe given to him by the Father,
" the peculiar Affiftance of his Holy Spirit, by which^
" t/yey are certainly and eventnall)' p:;vailed on to^
" believe and embrace the Gofpel—Converfion, Rege-f^
" ration, and tine New Nature, being declared to be .'
" abfolutely above and beyond all the Powers of >
" lapfed depraved Nature, and — being every where
'^' in Scripture attributed to the peculiar Afliflance
" and Operation of the Spirit of God. And therefore' 'i
1 8. " I BE L I EVE this fpecial Affiflance and Di-
" vine Grace to be indifpenfably neceffary — and that
" no bare external Means, no Force of Reafon, Ar-.
" gwment or moral Suafion can be {xx^txtntwithouf it.
19. " I BELIEVE that Chrift — hath annexed to
" his Gofpel Covenant two— external reprefenting
*' Signs of the inward EffeCls and Operations of his :
*' Spirit and Grace, the Sacraments of Bapiifm and
" the Lord's Supper : By Baptijhi, thofe who are vi-
" fibly Members of his Church^-are publitkly and fo-
*' kmnly to be^r-recognifed — as fueh, and receive the
¦ *' full Remiffion of their Sins by the Bhod of Chrift'i
*' fignified—by thewafhing of Water— And by the Sa-
«' crm^nt of Chrift'-s BoA;^ and Bhod, his Death ani:,
"^ " . " Sufferings.

PREFACE. xix
*' Sufferings-— -are folemnly to be commemorated ; and
*' thofe mofi inefiimable Bleffmgs, Benefits and Fruits
*' of his mofi precious Blood, Jufiification and Life
*' eternal — reprefented, conveyed, and fealed to true
" Believers in this holy Sacrament.
20. *' I BELIEVE that Jefus Chrifi— for the re-
*' gular Management ofChrifiXan Societies andWor-
" fhip, hath conftituted — a flated fettled Miniflry in
" his Church, to continue to the End of the World,
" feparated from all fecular Employtnents and Avo-
*' cations, and more immediately devoted to the Care of
" Souls, in difpenfing the Word and Sacraments :
" To which holy Work
21. " I BELIEVE, they are, according to the Will
*' and Appointment of Chrift and his Apoftles, is be
*' publickly and folemnly ordained, feparated .tnd fet
*' apart by the Impofition of Hands and Prayer.
22. ''^Finally, I believe, that Jefiis Chrift—"
•' will, at the End of this Evangelical Difpenfation —
*' come to judge the World— And on all finally impeni^
*' tent Sinners, who rejected his Grace, or abufed and
*' turned it into Wantonnefs -, who openly denied
«• the Truth, or held it in Unrighteoufnefs ; who
*' denied the Lord that bought them, and would not
*' have thii Man to reis^n over them, he will denounce
" that dreadful Sentence : Depart from me ye Curfed
" into everlafting Fire, prepar'd for the Devil and
** his Angels."
This, I think, will ie thought a very ionndidSid or-
thodox Confeffion, of which I have given a^ faithful
.jExtraCl ifi tbe Diviners own Words i which I bavg'
t> 2 done.

f

XX PREFACE,
done, w/w^ to perpetuate, asfarasanyfmaltWri^
tings of mine can do it, this Form of found Words,
but to fiew, that the Reproach of the Philofopher^.
againfi, the Divines, that they are modefl and fhy la
not openly declaring what the Doctrines of imme
diate Infpiration and Revelation are, is laid without
anyFqundation ; and that if be hath ^ fl^i^d to be difputing
m thefe Subjects, he may oppofe believing Thomas ta
Thomas the Unbeliever ; let the Doctor take the Di-^
vine to Task for his Principles, and the Philofopher
(barge the Preacher with as ^any jBfurdities ef ar^
irrational Faith as he pleafes. The DoCtor here may^>,
with fome Decency, take what Liberties he thinks fit.
He hath a Right to do it, and well knew the Divine^..
and is the befi Judge in the World what were his ^aA
lifications and real Sentiments. And this, I doubt not,
would be a mofi edifying Controverfy, andgi'se equal'
Pleafure and Entertainment to the learned and unka^nedj.
the beli&ving and unbelieving Part of Mankind.
I cannot help obferving on this Occajion, that after
this memorable Confeffion was delivered, there was a
^«i 0/ prophetick Expreffion, that dropt from the^
Mouth of the wor^^ Minifier, who gave this Reverend!:
Divine his Charge^ ipbich. looks like a Prediction of that:
\?onderful Tranfmutation that hath Jince happened..
His remarkable Words are thefe : *- You have, like-
Timothy, profefTed a good Profeflion before manjf,
Witneffes ; but 'tis your future Conduct mufl fliew
how much you are in Earn,?fl. / wifh this did no f
appear with fo full a Conviction. For he afferts gene-f
* "K^r. j^«Wi!»'s Exhort, p. ^.6.
^ rally.

PREFACE; xxi
f:ally, and without the leafi Exception, that to infiruCt'
iithers in the Principles of fpiritual, incomprefoenjible-y
'und fuperrtatural Religion^ * is the great Art and
iStudy of thofe who aim at fecuring themfelves ah
Orthodox Reputationi at the Expente of Com moil
Senfej, and of all moral Truth and Righteoufnefs.
Now for what End. did this Reverend Divine make^
'and puhlifh his Confeffion of Faith ? Was it not for the
'•-Satisfaction of the Minifier s^ for the InfiruClion of his
People, and as a Sample of the DoCtrine he was after-
'wards to preach to them ? But in this Confeffion, he af
.ferts the eternal Obligation of \ fupernatural Revelation-,
ihe Doctrine of the % Trinity, /i&s incomprehenfible Pro-
teflion of the Holy Ghofi, and many other Articles of
i ipiritual and fupernatural Religion : And therefor e^
if his general Charge be true, doth he not himfelf force
us to thinkj that all this was only the Art and Study
bf the honeft Divine, 'aiming to fecure himfelf an or
thodox Reputation, at the Expence of Common Senfe\
•imd of all moral Truth and Righteoufnefs. He wouldi,
I doubt not, think me whreafonably fevere, fhould I at
tempt to charge him with fuch Hypocrify and Diffimu-
iation. But if he diflikes fuch a ConduS towards fjimfelfi
why fo much Severity towards others ? Wl:>y fhoujd he
¦cenfure and condahn the whole Chrifiian Minifiry, which
he himfelf once folernnly "afferted, was confliituted by
Chrift to the Holy Wd*rk of difpenfing his Wordj
¦asmyfierious, wild Enthufiafis, and as facrificing Com
mon Senfe, and all Moral Truth and Righteoufnefs, he-'
-* * Vol; II. Pref. p; 22. + Art. ift. % 4th, sth.
b 3 ^««y^

xxii PREFACE.
caufe they inftruCl others in thofe Principles of fupef'
natural Religion, which they believe, and whicb hel
formerly called Heaven and Earth to i^itnefs that he
firmly believed? If he then aCted a difhoneft temporifingl
Part, doth it follow that others have no more HonefiyA
than himfelf? Or, if he really believed what he pro-?,
feffed to believe, may not others be fincere in the\
Doctrines they preach, and preach the DoCtrines of fu-]
pernatural Revelation, becaufe they think them of Im
portance to the Happinefs and Salvation of their Peo-}
fie? He, when a Diffenting Minifier, could talk of the\
unchangeable Law of Nature, and the eternal Rulei^
of Righteoufnefs, and pronounce it to be unrepealable ;
and at the fame Time allow, that the Divine Willmightl
be made known by fupernatural and pofitive Revela
tion, and that the Sacred Writings were the Infallible
Word and Law of God to Man ; and from thefe Wri-l
tings, and this Infallible Law of God, could draw Ar
ticles of Faith, and with a folemn Air, pronounce his
Belief even of Things which in the Manner of them he
owned to be abfolutely incomprehenfible. And did
he then fee the Confiftency of the Principles of fuper-\
natural Religion with Common Senfe, .Moral Truth ani
Righteoufnefs? Could he then reconcile the unrepealable'
Law of Nature's being the fixed Rule of Duty, and
Meafure of moral good and evil of Actions, withtheHoly
Scriptures of the Old and N^ Teftament' s being the
Infallible Word and Law of God to Man? If he'
could not^, zvith what Eafe and Juftice might his fe-
verefi Charges be retorted on him ? If he could, why
may not others have as good a Difcernment as he ther^

PR E F A C E. . xxiii
had, and think they can reconcile thefe Things in their own
Minds and Confciences too ? I fhould rejoice to fee him
give the World good Proofs of fuperiour Candour, He-
nefiy, and Integrity to other Men.
He complains grievoufiy, that thofe who wj-ite ag,iinft
him, cannot * reafon or argue without fpme Charge
or other of Immorality, or tnoral Wickednefs or
Infidelity, which with great Freedom and Civility
they'beflov/ upon their Adverfiries. This I aUoio
to be a very high Charge, and that the Proof of it
ought to be proper tionably clear and ftrong. But fure
'tis with an ill Grace tloat any one makes this Com
plaint, who brings himfelf the moft U'nreafonable and
immoral Charges againfi the Living and Dead, and
without any Mercy or Caution accufes them aS guilty of
. the mpft fcandalous and enormvus Crimes. Let the
Philofopher fairly prove, that Jofeph made up the
Matter with his Mifirefs •, that Mofis tvas not fuf*
fer'd to live in his Poflerity, and that Samuel'i Mo
ther was debauched by the Sons of Eli. If he cannot,
I am apprehenfive the World will not call thefe Things
hy the fofter Names of Miftakes and Overfrghts, but
be ready, and that with too much Reafon, to apply ta
him, fome Part of that Rhetorick which Ih hath fo
plentifully beftowed on others.
And as to the Accufaiion, of not telling openly
what the Doctrines of immediate Revelation ar.^,
M hath, I think, no Shadow of Foundation. It hath
been long my Opiition, that Divines cf ell Perfuffions
have rather heen too abundant than dcfedtive in this-,
« Vi5l. II. Pref. p. 15.
b 4 Particular:

xxiv PREFACE.
Particular : And, except their refufing to enter into & v
Difpute with him fhould be thought a Proof of it, I _
know he cannot prove, that any of the Gentlemen, wher j
have a Regard for the Doctrines of immediate Revela-fA
tion, which be himfelf once called God and Man to,
witnefs that he believed, do upon any proper Occafions, ''
refufe openly and honeftly to tell what thofe DoCtrines ?'
are. The Charge itfelf is without any Colour of Rea
fon. Their Articles, their Confeffions, their Catechifms,,
their Sermons, their Writings, are all full of them,
nor can any Man that hath ever read any Thing at all
poffihly be ignorant of them. And therefore his Charges
of Zeal in Appearance and Difguife, of Want of Ron-
cur and Integrity, of Cowardice and temporifing Pru
dence, and the like, are on this Occafion . very unde-^
fervedly beftowed, and will, Iam perfuaded, find little
Credit with the impartial and intelligent World.
Such Charges are in their Nature fo extreamly cri"
minal,^ as that they fhould never be infinuated or brought,
without the mofi fubftantial and dem'onftraiive Evi
dence ; nor by any Perfon but he, whofe Integrity fets
him above all juft Sufpicion himfelf I will not recri
minate, but relate Facts, and leave the Judgment to
God and Man, upon an impartial Comparifon of tbs
following Pajjages.
T. MorganV Confeffion. Dr. Morgan.
Believe that God, fore- A ^ to what the Di- '
feeing this general Fall /*\ vineshave faid about
of .Man, in his infinite the Covenant of Rede mp*
Wifdom and Goodnefs con- tion, / take it to be all
fulted.

PREF
fulted his Recovery % and
to that End enter'd into
* A Covenant of
Redemption with his
,. Son, in which Chrifi's
Work is affigned, and his
Reward enfured-, and that
in Confequence of this eter
nal Compact and Agree
ment between the Father
and the Son, Jefus Chrift
' affumed Flefh. Articl.
f 13th, 14th.

ACE. xx^
MERE Forgery, anA
tbo' it inay be in their Syftem^ ¦
I COULD NEVER FIND
IT IN THE Bible.
Tbe Truth is, the Syfte.-

ed up this Covenant amongft
themfelves, without Con-
fent of either of tbe Par'
ties.
Anf to the Immorality
of the Moral Philof p.
35. Mor. Philof. Vol.
I. p. 223.

Tbe Divine, it feems, folemnly profeffed to believe
what the Doctor could never find in the Bible -, and
what the former counted 3 Sacred Article of Faith, the
latter always looked on as a Forgery, It would be hard
to difpute a Man's own Teftimony of himfelf. Again :
T. Morgan'^ Confejkn. T.Morgan, MoralPhi-
lojbpher.
Be L I EVE tbat Chrift
by his perfect Obedi
ence unto Death, compleat
ed the Work of Marts Re
demption, making fuch a
Propitiation or Attone-
ment for Sin, as moft ef-

I

5f I MS no where faid,
X or fo much as inti
mated, that Chrift died
to difpoje God to pardon'
Sin upon Repentance, or
to make the Exercife of his
Mercy fit and reafonable.

Page 35.

feetually

Scxvi PREF
lectually anfwered the
iinds of governing Juftice.
I BELIEVE that Jefus
Chrifi, having by the Me-.
rits of his expiatory Sacri
fice, or Death on the Crofs,
FULLY SATISFIED
THE Demands of of*- ,
fended Juflice; and hav
ing alfo merited and ob--
tained of the Father an
Act of Grace, or Indem
nity, containing the full
md free Pardon of Sin,
did hereupon, as Lord
Redeemer, confiitute a Co
venant of Grace, contain^
ing an univerfal condi^
tional Gx^nX. of his pur-
chafed Benefits, Pardon
and eternal Life, to all
who byRepentance/6(7a/i:/
put themfelves under bis
ProteSion, and take the
Benefit of that gracious full
Pardon he purchafed by his
Blood. Articl. 1 4th, J 6th.
Whether the Divine did profefs to believe what be
never underfiood, and what he never found intimated
in the Scripture, about Chrifi's fully fatisfyino' the
Demands

A c le.
againfi, the contrary De^
mands of his Jufiice. This :
is all human Invention ana,
not Scripture, and might ¦
rather be called Ravin g'
than Reasoning. ./'
mufi frankly own to you,
tbat I COULD never
UNDERSTAND the DoC-\
trine of Satisfaction, viz. '
tbat God bath accepted the
L)eath and Sacrifice of
Chrifi as a fatisfaCtory and ¦
valuable Confideration fori
bis pardoning Sin upon
Repentance, and tbat upon
this Satisfaction given^ be
is at Ldberty to exercife
Mercy agAinfi all tbe con
trary (Claims of his Jufiice.i
Mor. Philof. Vol. I. p.
- 215, 222.

PREFACE. xxvii
Demands of offended Jufiice, and meriting oF the Far
ther an Act of Grace for all who by Repentance fhouU
take the Benefit of this purchafed Pardon ; or whether
the Philofopher knew. tbe Divine to be, when waking
this Confeffion, in a Fit of Raving, or hath mifrepre-
fented him ; are great Myfleries, quite pafi my Com-
prehenfton, and I mufi leave them to be fettled and ex
plained between themfelves.
It would be eajy to produce more Infiances of the like
Nature, to fhew how intirely the Divine and Philofo
pher differ in their Religion from each other, and how
the one denies and ridicules the very Principles that the
' ether once profeffed be believed as the important Truths
of God. I have no Objection tp their differing from
ene another ; but as tbey are fo nearly related, and j&
clofely united, as that one can fcarce fuffer in his Cha
racter, but the other mufi feel the Injury ; methinks the
Doctor fhould have treated the Divine with peculiar
Tendernefs andComplaifance, and have been very cautious
of denying, or feeming to deny, his ever underftanding
and believing what that Divine once declared be both
underfiood and believed.
I have done, when I have added an humble Requell
to the foregoing Obfervations, viz. That, as the Phi
lofopher will, I doubt not, declare himfelf an Enemy to
aU Perfecution and Injuftice, he will be fo good as to re
concile the following mofi remarkable Pafiage with the
Rules of Morality and Virtue \ which, I confefs, I am
not able to do. As this may be owing to my want of
Judgment, I the rather call in his Affifiance. 'Tis re-
1 Idling

xxviii PREFACE.
iating to the Affair of the Benjamites; * If, fays l>H
the High Priefl himfelf was . here the Oracle, as I
verily believe he was, his engaging the whole King*
dom in fo blbody and deftrudlive a Warj merely td
revenge the E)eath of an infamous, eloped Leviti-
cal Whore, ought to have coft the .Lwj of ali thd;
Priefts in Ifrael with him, as their Director and'
Head, even tho' there had been 40,000 more oi\
them. 1 make no Remarks on the Eolitenefs of the
Sdle, but only obferve, that he exprefsly imputes this
whole Management to the Priefis tbe High PHeft^ ard
doth not, as I can find^ fo much as intimate, that the
Body of Priefis were confederate with him ; and yet
doth not fcruple to doom 40^000 innocent Perfons to an
univerfal Carnage,, merely for the Crime of one Man-.
without fo much as fuggefiing, that tbey were Partakers :
in bis Guilt, I can make no Reflections upon fuch a
Paffage as this -, but only obferve to my Reader, that^
whereas the Philofopher bitterly complains of the Cruelty^:
that was exercis'd on this Occafion, and of the Ragi :
and Malice of the High Prieft^ whom he reprefents as
the fole Author of it-, yet that he doth not himfelf feern '
quite fatiated with the Blood that was fpilt, but thjnks ^
the Deftruction of 40,000 more, and thofe innocent
Perfons, merely becaufe they had the Name of Priefis^ ?
was neceffary to enliven and finifh the Tragedy i If this <
be his real Sentiment, his Philofophy is of a very extra
ordinary Kind ; and all I can io^ is to wifh him a
much better Spirit^ and to recommend him to the
* Anf. to the Immoral, of the Moral Phil. p. i^.
ChrifiiaU

1.

PREFACE. xxix
Chriftian World, as an Object of their great Qompaffion,.
find warmefi Prayers, • i
I am, extreamly forry, that I have bad Occcifton foP
my of thefe perfonal Reflections in a Controverfy about
Religioit, which fhould, I think, be managed with the
greateft Candour, Decency and Good-rMMnners. Nor
fbould I have in tbe leaft complained, bad this philofo
pher urged his Objections againfi the Chriftian and
Jewifh Revelations, with all the Strength and Force of
Reafon that be bad been Mcfier of. I ftill think, as
much as ever I did, tbat every Man bath a Right ta
propofe bis Objections in allMatters of Importance, pub
lickly to tbe World, without any Cenfure of the CiviS.
Magiftrate, or being branded with any Terms of Re
proach and Infamy for doing it., Truth can never fuf
fer by the moft rigid In^iry, nor can it be any Preju
dice to real.R,eligion to befearcbed, even to the Bottom,^
fut furely, .there is a Reverence due to the Perfons of
the Wife and Good, ,and a Tendernefs owing to the very
prejudices of others.; there is a Modefty and Diffidence
Qf ones felf that fhould appear in fallible Men, wha
fet themfelves up in Oppofition to all others ; there is an-
high Refpect tbat ought to be maintained for tbe Cha-.
racters of the Living and Dead ; there are Suppofitions
ef Charity to be made inFavour of thofe who differ from
us : Principles, in which the greateft and deft of Men
have agreed, and which are at leaft fuppofed to be^
founded in Divine^ R,evelation, fhould be debated' with,
Moderation and good Humour -, and when oppofed, bppo-
fed with the fir iCt eft Regard to Truth and Honour. Con
lroverfies in Religion, thus vianaged, wouldbe tbe moft
agreeable-

xxx PREFACE.
agreeable Entertamment, tend te tbe Difcovery of Trutb^ }
the clearing up Miftakes, the Removal of Prejudice^^^
and tbe Confirmation of every Thing that is truly fa* ¦
tred and good.
And furely, a Moral Philofopher /w/i /&(2'y^, of all
ether' Men, kept within thefe Bounds, and been peculi^^
nvly careful not to have tranfgre^ed the Rules of ^o^ _
rality, even for tbe Sake of Moral Truth and Righte-^
nufnefs. But our Philofopher thought, that tbe fofter
end gentler Medicines would not effectually remove ther^
Malignity cf the Difiemper be imagines we labour^^
under ; and therefore as univerfal Dodlor, and the'"',
infallible C?<rer of all manner of Jewifh, Chriftian andi
Glerical Difeafes, he is of Opinion, that bleeding^
Caufiics, Blifiers, md other rsugb and violent Methods,^
ere the only proper and fovereign Remedies in our Dif--:
vrder. Fiir thus he expreffes his Judgment :* 1 ta.hs.,^
the Lethargy to be fo very deep, and the Cafe fo
extremely dangerous, that I think the fharpeft and
Toughefl Methods to be no more than neceffary to
a Cure i and if you fliould imagine the Method to-
be a little too fevere, you mufl; not blame m.e.
Curentur dubii medicis inajoribus segri !
, B0 as I am apprehenfive that the Patients, for'
whom he prefer ibes, will in general difiike bis Pbyjicky
as too hot and violent, and be apt to imagine that he
hath quite mifiaJten their Cafe: T have myfelf one Rea-^
fon, that appears to me a very fubfiantial one, againft
^llown^ bis Pretenfions to be chief fpiritual Phy Mart-
* Vol. I, p. UJ.

PREFACE. xxxi
to thefe Kingdoms ; drawn from an exceUent Maxim
of his own. He tells us : * This is a neceffary Rule
or Principle of human Prudence, which every Man
ought to lay down to himfelf, and adl upon ; not
to regard, or be determined by any Set of Profef-
fors or Teachers in any Thing, concerning which
they cannot agree amongft themfelves. Jf this be
fo necefiary a Rule of human Prudence, as ihe learned
DoCtor hath here magifterially determined, it mufi.
be an equally, yea, a much more neceffary Rule pf human
Prudence, never to regard, nor in any 'Thing to be de-.
terminedby any particular Teacher or Profeffor, when
be cannot agree with himfelf. And therefore, as our
Doctor, in his double Capacity of Priefi andPhilofo^
pher, differs froin himfelf, &nd broaches the mofi effen-
tially oppojite and contradictory Principles, be bath
fairly difcharg'd all the prudent Part of Mankind from
paying him any Regard in any CharoMer, and hath
ftmdemned himfelf, by the oracular Judgment of bif
own Mouth, "to be regarded by none but thofe ^ who are
defiitute (f all Prudence and Underfianding,
^ Vol. III. p. i>|6,. j

CON-

CONTENTS.

O

S E C T. I. ,
F Abnm's Call eut cf Mefopotamia,
Defient into Egypt. ' p. n
SECT. II.
Of tbe original Name of the Land of Canaan, and ihe
Nt^ture of the Country.. P* ^Sf
SECT. III.
Of AbramV Denial of his Wife in Egypt. p. 52
SECT, IV.
Of the Promifes made by God to Abram of the Land of
Canaan, p. yo,
SECT. V.
Of the original Defign of the Patriarchs to fettle i»
Canaan, p. loj
SECT. VI.
Of tbe various Appearances of God to Abraham, p. 1 2 S
SECT. VII, '
Of Abraham' J offering up bis Son., p. J4^
SECT, VIII,
Of tbeliehrev/ Idiom and Phrafeology. p. 2331
ilMi la^i— ¦¦¦¦ I I nil I ¦¦! Ill  iMiiii ^M— MM—^— 1MI, ,11, im , ,m
ERRATA.
Fo R Egypt read Canaan, Page 63. Line lO.
There are feveral literal Miftakes, which the
Reader is defired to correct.

C . ' ¦ , c A p. n.
TH E Hifiory and Character <?/ Jofeph vindicated.
P. 257
SECT. I.
Of ]Qk^]x's early Difpofition. 206
SECT. II.
CyPotlphar. 262
SECT. III.
^Cyjofeph'j Prifon and his Behaviour during his
Confinement. 267
SECT. IV.
Of Jofeph'j deliverance from bis Imprifonment. 277
. S E C T. V,
Of Jofeph' J Advancement. 288
SECT, VL
Of JoCcph's. Conduct in his Minifiry. 305
SECT. VII.
Cyjacob'j Defcent into Egypt. 316
SECT. VIII.
Of JofcphV Management during tbe Famine, 329
SECT. IX.
Of the Caufes of tbe Famine in Egypt. 343 Of

•SECT. X.
Of Jofeph'j enflcpoing the Egyptians. 3 S<*
SECT. XL
Of ibe Egyptian friefibood. |9^
SECT, XII.
Of Cbymifiry, Natural Magick and Experiment a f
Philofophy. 445

-,, SECT. XIII.

1

Of the Antiquity of the Egyptian Superfiitions.

46f

¦¦-.. SECT. XIV. , .

Of tbe Age <?/¦ Sefoftris.

526

SECT. XV.

Superftiiion of Lay Invention and Original.

'55^

SECT. XVL

The Conclufion ^ Jofeph'j Hifiory.

5^

ERRA74.

-.,j

' p. 421. JRjead tlie Quotation from Synefiu! thos. O taithm
X^vo( nvcyKi r^( avjis{ npitts j^ K-pi-ntf. Km yap AiyuT%t
Synes Epift. ij7. p. 199. Vid. etiam Epift. izi. p. 2S«. Edit.
Paris.

(I)

A
VINDICATION O F T'H E
HISTORY O F t HE
Old Teftament, ^c.
¦¦¦' ' " " I ¦ . I in . .,
INTRODUCTION.
MORAL Philofophy implies the Love
and Purfuit of moral Truth and Wif
dom, or that Truth and Wifdom that
relate to the due Regulation and Government
of the Adlions and Condudl of human Life.
To be a moral Philofopher, in this Senfe, is un-
queftionably a very great and excellent Charac
ter, what every Man who values the Honour
and Happinefs of. his own Being ought to be
B ambitious

( i )
ambitious of, and what every honeft ahd good
Man is by fixed- Principle- afld-eonftaflt Endea
vour. Phiiofophers of this Kind, fome at leaft*
I was in good Hopes th,e Chrifiian World might
be allowed to have produced, efpecially amongft
thofe many learqpd Men, whofe Studies have
led them peculiiarly to Inquiries of this Kind^
and who have fo rnany of theni wrote pro-
fefTedly on this irnportant S^bj^ft;
But it feems we are all miftaken, and havS
in thefe laft Ages of the Wofld a new Light
arifen up in the midft of us, that fhines brighter
than Mofes and Jefus themfelves j whoj' nofe
content with calling them to an Account for
their Dodtrines, Condud: and Miracles, boldly
condemns the former as a Conjuror and^Mfiofior,
and ftirewdly infmuates, that the latter wtas * 4
Jpurious and adulterous Birth ; ahd that he is
greatly inclin'd abfolutely to rejeft the Account
of his Refurredlion t as wild and chimerical ;
and- that if five hundred Perfons^ of otherwife tJhe
befi Credit, were th afiert'it, it would not make
it credible, becaufe it would be ftill more probable
that tliey might have been fome way or other der
ceived. If, in Vindication of Mofes and Jefus ^
the Writings, which' contain their refped:iv&
Hiftories, Should be appealed to, his Anfwer is-
ready, viz. t That no Book or Writing can pr'ove
itfelf, and ought not to be admitted upon its owri
Authority, againfi the plainefi Marks and Appear-
tinces of Fraud, Artifice arid Deception ; andtbati
* Vol. III. p. 197. f Page 142, t Page c. if

. •. (3)
if this be not admitted, it miift be impbffthk to de-
tefi or fet afide any Scheme of Impofiiire, Superfii
tions, -or, fdfe Religion in tpe World, ivhich pr'e-
tends^ to-^v^lation dnd Divine Authority, i. e.
The Jewifh and Chrifiian Writings haye tha
l^laineft Marks and Appearances of Fraud, Ar*
tiii^ce^and Deception^ and therefore they cannot
provjB themfelveSj and ought not to Be admit
ted; upon their pv^'n Authority. And tliis is the
grelt Point which our Moral Philofopher hath
P;.Vie^ throujihout his Three Volumes, and
JYhicb b^ repeated Affertions, and innumefaSl^
^iireprfefentations he hath continually laboured
to prpvrei and iro perfuadp his Reader into the
Belief bf. And as for the Gentlemen * v^hb
take ^t .for granted without Proof, that the
Jewifh Gpyernment was, a 'Theocracy, and fup*
pole that the Law oi Mofes was received imme«
diately from the Mouth oi Jehovah hirnfelf,
^0 DiMcutties can afterwards fiand in their tVay :
llhe^^ainefi Marks and Appearances in the tVorld
of D^gn, Artifice and Impofturf, fuch as mufi
truer throw and fet (fide the like Pretenfions in any
other (iovernnient, cptnqt be of the leafi Force or
Confequence againfi this Theocracy. If this fhoidd
be abo'qeany Man's ^mprehenjion, and beyond the
utmofi Stretch of hi,s Faith, or Capacity of his
jiffenti yet, according to thefe learned Perfons,
that\M^n can be no Chrifiian. Yea, fuch is their
ob^inate Bigottry, that they entrench themfelves
mdu" impregnable Darknefi, arid g9 on with in^
* Page 3. *« , „,
B a vmCiblii

. U) - . ,
mncibie Refolution to batter, and deftrty all moral
Reajbn and Philofophy. How great is the Afo-
defty with which this Moral Philofopher intro
duces his Scheme, and how polite the Compli*
ment he paffes on the whole Chriftian World I
All the learned Gentlemen in it, that are not of
his Mind about the Jewifi) Conftitution, ^«-
trench themfelves ttnder impregnable Darkrufs j and
what is worfe, are united in one common De
fign, to batter with invincible Rejolution, and de
ftroy all moral Reafon and Philofophy I But he^
good Man, with a clear Head and a pure
Heart, free from Bigottry, Superftition and
Fraud, is furrounded with clear and piercing
Light : His Artillery is only levelled againft Air*
tifice and Impofture, and he is the only t'erfon
In the prefent Age and Nation, who is to fight
'the Battles of the Jjord, and to fupport moral
T'ruth and Righteoufnefs, in Oppofition to MofeSy
Zoroafter, Mahomet, and the original Apoftles
of Jefus Chrift. He writes neither for Bread
nor Profit. The Monfters of Priefteraft, Bi
gottry and Superftition, are the Objeds of his
mortal Hatred. Moral Philofophy is the Mi
ftrefs of his AfFeftlons, and he'll enter the Lift
with all Mankind that fliall be fo hardy as to
difpute with her the Prize of Beauty.
This learned and renowned Philofopher clears
his Way to Viftory and Triumph over all hia
Adverfaries, by putting the Armies of ^rael to
Flight, vfith.* the Plagues of Leprojy, Scabs and
* Page 174.
"¦ • Lice,

(5.)
Xdce, with Kvhich they had i^efied the Egypikm^
Pardon me, gentle Reader, 'tis the Philofopher V
cleanly fLanguage, and not mine, He traces them
up from tiieirvery Original, foUovys them, into
Bg^pty purfues them throughout all their Trea-
ohery and Violence, in ruining and enflaving the
Egyptian Nation ; fpreads thpm over that large
and populous Kingdom, puts them into Poffef-
fien of its whole miUte^iy Force, beftows on
them all the chief Places of Power and Profit,
introduces them into all Ife Fbrtreffes and ftrong
Holds } in an InftantdifpoflTefles thera. again, col-
leds them infenfibly into Gofhen, where they
were originally placed, there brings their Throats
to the very Point of the Sword, delivers them
from it by the moft furprifing natural Compaf.*
lion of the Egyptians, whom they had abfolute
ly ruin'd, enflaved, and ftript of all Property,^
even in Money, Goods and Liberty, and ro?ide
perpetual Vaffals to the Crown ; carries them
miraculoufly thro' the Red Sea, and at laft by
the moft bloody Wars, and unnatural Cruelties,
givesi them a fmair Settlement in the Land of
Canaan,, It vvill be worth our while to purfuc
this philofophical Hiftorian throughout the whole
Account he hath g^ven of thefe furprifi,ng Events,
that we may be able to form fome juft Account
of his Fidelity, Integrity, remarkable Candor,
and Love bf Truth. His Method is indeed a
pttle intriciate and involved, and which there
fore, with his Leave, I fhall take the Liberty a
little to vary from, and C9nfider Things in the

Order in which they are reprefented to u?i in
the Writings of the 'Old Teftament > iefpeckll^^
as he hirnfelf * affures us, that hiwiM hM;ht^_
Account from the Hebrew Hifiorians ^^ehtfehet
as they hd've it in their own Books. Ho\v. wei?

he ha:th p^ri)f med this Promif^, will fopn ap;f
pear to the Reader with the fulfeft Gonyiiaion.' "

* ' e H A P. \
Th?. moml ^hUofophrs Accounts of /^^
Hiftom^ «/?" Abraham, mnji^WJ^'
f T V}B^. f^e o^ned^ in Juftipe, to this Gen-;
tleman, that he h^tl^'nOw, and then bpfloMr-,
, fott^e /Complimpnts tipOn thi| anf lent Pa
triarch, and given, ip particular, a, |pierablb
Accpur>t of his Retigiop, Virtue- and IV^Pdera-
tipn., H^ %^f tp,' reprefejpLt^ him, tpgethep

Men, who lengthened, ouf. thpr! Days beyond^ th'^,
cor^mo^. Courjef of t^c^u^^e, hy a firifiji Virtm^
'fempef^'^ck,f-and^ati 'a^ipe,[ l^ric^s Life -, an^,
fpnjmqqds','th|ir t great Piety ^ their, mtire.p^^
pendance.upon (jfod, as t^eir lyifher, Prefii^erJ
informer ^ titreflor y .^and their ffiiB Jkegar%
to' all the pi^enfiitiofls of Mli^ Providence t&ivardi^
thj^m, in the 'i^q^, C^qiirfe of their Lives. How^
' «^ l^e 6. t Pag? 94. ¦ ¦ J 'h)^e g6. ^
2 .*•¦ - veneraWe

(7)
venerable and facred the Charadler he albws
them ! How worthy of Honour and Reverence
their Names and Memories 1 And yet, this
fame: Abram, this moft holy Patriarch, whofe
Virtue was thus ftri<^, and whofe Piety was
thus cotifeftedly great, fhall not efcape the Cen
fure of this Moral PtMlptfopher. Tho' he had
his JKttire Depen<Iance upon God as his Prfeferver
aaid Diredor, and a flridt Regard to the DilJ-
penfetions of his- Plt)videncei * in the whole
Cmrfe of his. Life, yet jb fond was this Patrir-
arch of Egypl^ fo weU perfuaded that this was the
tbwifry God had given him, that he was ready io
proftitute his own Wife, and facrifice her Chaftity ^
to fecure himftlf a Settlement there. "^Yea, not-
withftandiipg his intirePependance upon God, the
Fatriiarch atSed by Craft and Defign, whilft the
King of Egypt was a Msin of ftriSi Virtue, Ho
nour and Clemency. How full of furprifing Con-
traft is this Chara<5er of the Patriarch, in which
fixid: Piety, and a Readinefs to proftitute his
own Wife ; a Regard to^ and intire Depen
dance upon Godi and the meaneft, loweft
Craft and Defign, could thus unite and be cpn-
fiftent. Surely, our Philofopher muft have the
Magick Wand of Mofes himfelf, or have fome
peculiarly phjlofophical Notions of ftrldt Piety,
to reconcile thefe difficult Appearances, and
bring them within the Reach X of any Mans
Comprehenfion^ the Stretch of his Faith, or the
Capacity of his Affent.
* Page »6. + Page 27. t ^^&^ 4.-
? 4 K

In like Manner, Abraham's Mockrationjm.
Contentment were as remarkable as his Ftety,
and ftria Regard to Providence. He was in
deed, as our Philofopher glorioufly paints him
out, a potent, mighty Prince, at the Head ot
a powerful Army, and * might eqfily have con
quered the whole Land of Canaan, and driven out
all the former Inhabitants then fettled tn the
Country, had he thought fit-, for he had a Force
fuperior to any, or all of them. How agreeable
this Account is with Truth and Hiftory we will
enquire afterAvards. ?ut we wiU now. fuppofe
it exadly true, and quite fireefrom Fiftipn and
Romance. And how illuftrious an Inftance doth
this give us of Moderation and Equity in this
Venerable Patriarch ! Tho' he had a Force fupe
riour to any, or all of the Inhabitants of Ca<^
naan, yet be was content with what Prtrvidence
allotted him, and with the lawful Fruits of his
own Labonr and Induftry\ and what is extreamly
furprifing, + hid no Schemes for enriching, and
aggrandizing himfelf, hy invading other Ment
property, and by the Conquefi, Devaftation and
Plunder of other Countries and Nations. He
Jhught only a peaceable Settlement where Provi
dence fhould eaft him. How kind and generous
is this Conceffion in the Patriarch's Favour !
How truly philofophical a Love of Truth is dif-
covered in this Reprefentation ! And yet, this
^very Patriarch, who only fought a Settlement
' ^vhere Providence fhoidd caft him, did, we
* Pagp-g4. "S^ Ibid. '1 ¦' are

( 9 )
are tdd, * endeavour to fecure himfelf a Settle,
ment in Egypt by Craft and pefign, and by a
villainous Readinefs to proftitute his Wife to the
Egyptian King. What doth pur Moral Philor
fopher think that Provide^i^ th^s led hiqi to an
•J^ptian Settlement ? And notwithftanding alf
,his feeming Moderation in not attempting the
Cohqueft of Canaan, and defiring only a peace*
able Settlement j yet when we know the trae
Reafon o| this Cpiidudt in Abram, as our Au^
-thor hath given iti that Conduct wjlU appear no^
Moderatipn, and a Love of Equity, but fome?
•what of a very different and contrary Nature.
,For we are told, that t lahen Abram came
firfi into Paleftine, he fqu,nd it (^ very barren de-
fert Country, but little inhabited^ and very fub-
jeSi to Drought and Scarcity, t ffhe inland Parts
ef it had not been cultivated, or poffeffed, lying
Bpen and defert. From whence '//j plain thdf
¦thefe Hebrew C/«w of firoling Shepherds and
¦Herdfmfn, waited for a more favourable Oppor
tunity, till Providence fhould direB them to fome,.
Country or other, where Towns and Cities had been
built, the Lands cultivated for them, and all the
Conveniencies of Life ready provided to their
Hands, without any Labour, .and without any na
tural Right or Title of their own ; whereas Ca
naan was a Land not iiiorth conquering, purqha.-
fing, or pqffeffing: So that all this peaceably Dif
pofition of the Patriarch, with" refpedt to Ca
naan, waSi, now the Philofopher hath unravelled
* Page z6, 27. t Page 25, 26. % Page 30; the

(lb)
fhe Sea-€t^ only the Efiedl oi IdleaeiS' mA
Sloath J he wanted a Countty ready cultkaHe^^
tp his, Hands, without ajay Labour of his own^
car elfe it proceiedfed frojn Contempt of the Lan4
f>f Camati j it was not wwth conquering, pur-^
chafing^ or pofteffitag. And tho* he laM no
Schemes fpr enriching anfd aggrandkiog himfeli^
|)y invading Other Mens PVopertiiss, and the Qm^
q.ueft of other Nations j yet, it feems, he had
laid fucli a Scheme fer aggrandizikg himfelf bjf
Other Method?, and waited a fevPufabk OppotJ?
tunity, till' Providence fhould diceiSl him ^
fome Country ot other, Mv^ere Towns and Ck
tics had been built,, the Lands cukivated, an3
aB the Co^vcniotices of Life were ready provide
fd to his Hand.?, without natural^ Righ* or Ti»r
tie., J0id'. this^ happened at hfi by a very Ihc^,
^ctdent, whitfibf might Mx^an-'^ s pandfy.if^,
it rich and plentiful Cffweary, and made themy as
tie is |)Ie4fed tO' afture us, the Lords and Mefiets.
of it. Could this be as fully proved, as 'tis,
roundly and confidently afferted, the Philofophe!^
fliould have had my heartiefl Thanks, and
fuHeft Cbncurrence. But his Chara(aer yet is;
not fo ^at in the WorM^, as that his mere
Affertions, fhouMpafs for Proofs, his own Fic>
tions for upcontefted Fads, nor his ignorant or
wilful Mifreprefentatipns, fpr genui^ and au-
tfientick. Hiftory.
S E C T.

(^I )
SECT. I,
Of. Abram> Call mf of^ Mefopptamla, md
^' " ' pffcerit ihtg E^^t, '¦¦"''
§FT'E^..fc^yiIjg.g^,yf^ us 1^^ Account of
j^hg ,;Sei^l9^ent 9^ the If^^r^'ze;j ip the
^^&i?^;fl^he,Plvlofopher tells us, • that!
^ Jmh 'W))b fii^^ tba^ Abram himfif, the-
Fisher (f- pp^ ^kw Shepherd Nation, had no
¥.ig}ml |)g%?j of fettling in Paleftine, biit rather^
mf,d f/llgypf. : , % Tha^ Ood, when he called
^.oiftofrM^m^^^r h(^dpromifed him a mk
^A.pl0ti[ifl. Q)Uf\^try^ \iapd as Qpd'had not yet,
nampd. ^ fiienfjy, where. Abr?>m ai^d his, Pqf-
Ur-W. fi^^M: fmK Egypt migl^t f^m. th mM
protnifing ^l^^, wihich W^ then tbenahefi and
"f^fihntlfyliJ^Pgdqm in theJfforld, The^m.p.
he afferts again : % By the Hebrew Hiflorian\
^fii jiccotinf,^ when Abrami ca^e from Mefo
potamia North-Eaft'Ofard, tho' God had promi-
J§^ ^i^ OiQ^/ntry, yet he: did not knfi^ iphat
•Cm&^fy whiefher E^pt;, Canaan, qr any other.
And.^^iS'iJ; II Tliis IS plain thaf as fifin, as A-
bram Came fo far as Paleftine, and found a, bc^r-
rj^,. dejert Coi0ffy^ he. cojild^vot think this, the
Pl^ce (^gfi?^ him, and therefore he .wejif d^rmty
^ith ^is_ wjk^i ^ft^tatice mid: Patriamfiy into
Egypt, with a Defign to fetfk tliere, asprefiiminQ
* Page 25, f Page t&. % "Page 29. |j Page 88. that.

that mifi he the promifed Lana ; * but being
driven out of it, h found this was not the Q>un-
try God had defigned Um, andfb goes back again
jnfq Catn^an. > ,
I fhould have had no Qbjeclipn to this Aii^
thor's Account, had he only faid, that when
God called him out of Mefopotamia, God did
not at firft name the C?ountry where he and his
Pofterity were to fettlfe. This would have
been, in fome fefpecS, true j but then 'twould
Hot have anfwered, his Purpofe, W2, to fhiW;
that' Ahram originally aimed at Egypt ; and
rfierefore he afferts, that when he came inttf
Paleftine, he could not think that the Place deJ
iBgiied him, and therefore went down intor
Egypt with a Defign to fettle there, as pre-'
fuming that muft be the promifed Land j that
is, he did not know, and had no e^ecial Pro--
fiiife from God of the Land di Canaan, till after ^
his going down to Egypt, and Return from it.
But The particular Thingsr which the Philofopher
here aflerts, are thefe :
I. That God promifed him 'a rich and fertile
Country, without naming it j and that there
fore ./f^r<?/» thought £|7// the moft promi^
fing Place. . /
2. That as Abram could not think Pa^
kftine the Place defign'd him, therefore he
went down to Egypt, as prefumingtbat miift-
be the promifed Land. , {
* Page 27. 3. That

(13)
3. That he went down into Egypt with a
Defign to fettle there. And
4. That he found Egypt was not the Coun
try God defigned him by beipg driven out of it.
And I hope the Reader will carefully ob^
ferve the pofitive, repeated Affertions of this
Philofopher, in reference to thefe Points, and
his frequent Appeals to the Hebrew Writers, as
tho* they had, in the moft exprefs Manner,
delivered all thefe Things as unqueftionable
Fails, that would admit of no Debate. Thus
he tells us, * this is plain from Gen. xii. t And
diat this arears by the Hebrew Hifiot fan's own
Account : And that the Reader will find this whdi
^tory, as I have reprefented it, in Gen. xii.
Would one, after all this, expedt to find, thai
Gen. xii. fhould prove the diredl contrary to all
this, and that the Hebrew Hiftorian pofitively
and exprefsly, in the plaineft Words, confronts
this Philofopher's Account ? His Veracity to
mine upon the Proof.
I. Firft then I fay 'tis not true, what this
Philofopher again and again aflerts. That God
promifed Abram a rich and fertilfi Country y
without naming it, and that therefore Abram
thought Egypt the mofi promifing Place, and
therefore went down into it. For the t Hebrew
Hiftorian remarks, that Terah took Abram
his Son, andhot and Sarai, and they went forth
from Uz of the Chaldees, to go into the Land of
Canaan. And the Reafon of this was, becaufe
• Page 39, I Page 26, 27. t Geii. xi. p. the

. :. ' ' . tn ) , , ^ . •--'.
kheluord. had faid unto Ahvamj get thee out .of
thy tbunlry unto a Land thai twill fiew thee.J^
So that ^i^r^92 both left his owri Country;
^hd travelled into another, even into Canaan^
by divine Dire^idn j'and under this pire<aion
*tis farther remarked, that Abrahi,, Sarai dn^
Lot went forth to go into the Land of C^nttznl^
and Inio the Land of Canaan they edme. f . ./hd
Abham pafied thro' the Land ilAo ihe Place of
Sichem, unto the Plain of Moreh, and the Ca-J
haanite was then in the -Land. , find fhe Lord ap
peared unto KhxMn, andfaid, unto thy Seed vfihn
i G I V E T H I s L A N D . $ AftdT which is ihe tliftory
of -Abram' s going down into £^^?, The ]R.ear-'
der will remark on this Account, that when A^
brdni went out from his fiative Country, he Weni;
forth to go into the Land oi Canaan-, this was
the Country that God fheWedhim^ the- Country
therefore ^ hp' immediately and originally intended
to go tOi that accordingly he came'dire^ly into
it, and tliat when he was arrived there^ Gfod
appeared to him, and a(Sluairy ^ve the fromife
tnd Grant of it to his Pofterity, tefore ever
he went iiito Egypt, or probably fo rrtueh as
thought of it : For he firft went irovnMqrS td
the eaft of Bethel, and travell'd on farther to
the Southward, wherfe hfe ftay .'d till therer arofe
a Farnine in the Land 5 circumftanees whicih,
feem to require fome Lengtli and Diftahee of
Timd. , But whether longer or fliorter, the
Philofopher's Infihtiation cannot be true,- that'
* Gen.XM. 1. + Gen, xii^ s» 6,7. % Ibid* Vm. io,
- God

( ^5 )
God did hot name the Country where Ahr^
?ad his Pofterity fhould fettle, till after hfe
going into Eg;ypt, • and being driven out of
it again by tlje EgyptianKiag. And this falf©
Reprefentation is the more inexctifable, becaufe
he twice quotes the very Chapter, in which
the JPaflages are that I have cited.
As far as appears froin the origiijal Hiftorian,
pod faid nothingdaput theRichne^ andPlentiful-
oefi of the Country that was to be given him j but
only : f Get thee out of thy Cdut^ry, into a Land
thait IwiU fhenig thee, and I wiilmake of thee a
great Nation ', and therefore tho' j vAitn % called
to go out into a Pkcfi which he fknfd cfter re
ceive for an Inherifance, he obeyed, not knowing
whether he went', viz. to receive the Inheritance
promifed him ; yet the very Command to leave
his own Country muft neceflarily be fuppofed
attended, with an Order which Way to bend his
Courfe ; other wife 'twould have been a Com*.
mand that could not hav^ been executed, as
it would have, left Abram at an abfolute Un
certainty where, to have gone. And therefor*
'tis particularly remark'd, that God faid to
him : Get thee^ ts^ a Land 'Whidh Twill fhew thee.
And this Land muft have been Canaan, be-
cauf^.he diredlly went there, and which he re*
ceived the Promife of imcoedist^ly upon, or
foon after his. Arrival there, long before his
going down into Egypt; withoiit a Word about
the Fertility of it, which out Philof^pherthrufb
•Page 27. f Gen. xii, I, 2. J Heb. xJ, 8, int»'

( 16 )
ihtb God's Promife, with no other Defign that
I can fee, but to give fome Probability of Truth
to a Fidtion of his own about Egypt, contrary
to the whole Narration oi^e Hebrew Hifto-
riah. ±. 'Tis equally uhtrue, when he afferts, that
Abram went dmh into Egypt, as prefuming
that mufl be the promifed Land. For before this
Jourhey into Egypt, God exprefsly told Ahrant,
that Canaan, and not Egypt i was the promifed
Land j and therefore he did ndt, could not go
into Eg;^t, as prefuming that Egypt was the
promifed Land ; uhlefs he prefumed upon a
Land as promifed, that Was never promifed
him, and prefumed that not to be the Land,
which was exprefsly promifed him*
3, Hence, with equal Regard to Truth and
the Hiftory, he afferts, * that Abram went
into Egypt with a Defign to fettle there. This,.
he fays, is evident^ ¦ But from whence is it evi-*
dent ? From the Account of Mofes, or the
Nature of the Thing ? Not from the Account
of Mofis, who gives a quite different Reafoa
of his going down into Egypt. ,t There was a
Famine in the Land, and Abram went down
into Egypt, % becaufe the Famine was grievous in
the Land, viz. of Canaan. So that he left Ctf-»
naan, not becaufe he was ignorant that this
was the Country promifed him, but by un-
* Page 26, 88. f Gen. xii. 10.
t 1V\ ins 'D- tor, ot rather, becaufi the Famine Ms
grievous in tie L«nd,
'^'^'- ¦ avoidable

( 17 )
voidable Neceffity -, not with a Defign to fettle
there, but only * to fojourn there. Abram went
down into Egypt to fojourn there, viz. till the
Famine that occafioned his going there fhould
be removed. Nor is there any one Circum-
ftance in the Reafon of the Thing that can
lead any one to imagine, that he went to fettle
there. For how could he entertain any fuch
Defign, when God had exprefsly told him that
his Settlement fhould be in Canaan .? Did he
defign to fettle there in Contempt of God's Pro
mife to him, that he fhould fettle in a quite
different Country ? Was this the Proof of that
^ fir IB Regard to all the Difpenfations of God's
Providence, which the Philofopher tells us this
Holy ^aUmch fiewed in the whole Courfe of his
Life^ 4, 'Tis with the fame facred Attachment to
Truth and Fad, that he infinuates, or rather
aflerts that P^vam. found Egypt t not to be the
Country God had defigned for him, by bis being
driven out -of it by the Egyptian King, and that
he hereby || faw his Mifiake and Difappointment .
For how could he miftake as to the Country
affigned him, when he abfolutely knew from
God himfelf that 'twas Canaan f Or how could
he be difappointed in not being allow'd to fettle
in Egypt, when God told him, in the plainefi
Terms, that he fhould be fetried in a quite dif
ferent Country, and when he never went down
to fettle, but only to fojourn there? The Reader
* Ibid. t Vol. 3. Pag. 96. % Pag, 47. H Pag. 88.
C will

( i8 )
will obferve that this whole Account of the Phi
lofopher is diredlly contrary to that given by
the Hiftorian he profeffes to take it from, and
that he hath given it with his Eyes open, and
the Hiftory before him.
But there is one more Particular, which I
muft take Notice of, before I difmifs this
Head. He tells us that * this Appearance of
God to Abram mefitioned Gen. xii. is the firfi
Infiance of the fupream God or Jehovah appear
ing and converfmg with Men. But this is not
true. For we read t of Jehovah frequently
converfing with Adam^ putting him into the
Garden, giving him the Law of Food, J bring
ing the Beafts and Fowls to him for Names,
bringing the Woman to him for his Wife, ex
amining, judging and condemning him and her
after their Tranfgreffion, from whofe Prefence^
both he and fhe endeavoured to hide themfelves
amoti^fi the Trees of the Garden. God is alfo
reprefented as converfing with, judging and'
pronouncing the deferved Curfe on || Cain, who
is exprefsly faid to go out from the Prefence of
Jehovah, Long after this Jehovah is declared
to con verfe with ATo^^ ; and in all thefe Conver-
fes of Jehovah with Men, 'tis highly probable,
there was an Appearance of that Glory, which
the Jews call Shechinah, or the divine Habita
tion ; and I think 'tis litde lefs than certain,
that there was fome very glorious Appearance
of the divine Prefence, or Majefty to our firft
* Pag. 88. t Gen. CJiap.ii. J Chap. iii. || Chap. 4,
Parents,

( 19 )
Barents, from the very Nature of the Things
tranfadted between God and them, and from
the remarkable Expreflion, of their hiditig them
felves from the PrefencS of the Lord. But tho'
the Manner may be uncertain, yet the Hiftory
exprefly contradidls the Philofopher's Affertion,
viz. that in Gen. xii. we have the firft Inftance
of Jehovah appearing and converfing with Men.

SECT. II.
Of the Original Name of the Land of Canaan,
and the Nature of the Country.
FR O M fo bad a Beginning of the Hiftory
of the Hebrew Nation, one would be
apt to fufpedl not much greater Care in the'
Sequel j and I am forry that I am forced to
fay, he hath too uniformly maintain'd his mo
ral CharaBer, as a Writer, throughout. This
will farther appear from his Account of the
Land of Canaan. He fays : * When Abram
came firfi into Paleftine, he found it a very barren
defert Country, but little inhabited, and very fub-
jeSl to Drought and Scarcity. And again : t This
Land of Paleftine or Philiftia, for that was the
original Name of it, was now in a Manner open
and uninhabited, as to the inland, mountainous
Parts of it, and the Plains of Jordan, which lay
* Vol. 3. Pag. 25. t Pag. 27.
C 2 ne>it

( 2b )
next -to Arabia ; and the Land is called Canaan,
becaufe that was afterwards the Name of it, when
the Canaamtscame to fettle there. * Moks might
call it Canaan, becaufe the Canaanites -had^ been.
fettled there, and had well peopled and cultivated
fhe Country. Thofe Obfervations are feveral
Times afterwards repeated, and particularly he
tells us : + That whilfi Jofeph kept his Interefi
at the Egyptian Court, the Canaanites were riot
yet fettled in the Land, but the inland mountain
ous Parts of the Country lay wafi and unculti
vated, and were not worth conquering. I pre
fume thefe Remarks about the Badnefs of this,^
Country are fo frequently repeated, for the"
Sake of the Inference he draws from them :
That ^¦AdX.iw^X jeemed a very unlikely Place,
for the Accomplifhment of the Promfe of God, to
give him a rich and plentiful Country ; an Ob-
fervation he takes care his Reader fhall not for
get, by refrefhing his Memory with it once and
again. But 'twill not be amifs to point out the
Particulars contain'd in thefe Accounts. As
I , He afferts that the original Name of the
Land of Canaan was Philifiia.
2. That it was afterwards called Canaan by
Mofes, when the Canaanites came to fetde there.
3, That whilft Jofeph kept his Intereft at
the Court oi Egypt, the Canaanites were not
yet fettled in that Land.
4. That when Abram firft came into it, and
even fo long after as the Time of Jofeph, Pa-
» Pag. 236. t Pag. 24, 25. X Pag. 26. lefiine

( ^I )
leftlne' was a very barren defert Country, but
Uttle inhabited, very fubjedl to Drought and
Scarcity, and the inland mountainous Parts of
it open, waft and uncultivated, and not worth
poffeffing or conquering. And that therefore
5. Paleftine feemed a very unlikely Place for
the Accomplifhment of God's Promife to him,
to give him a rich and fertile Country.
I. He afferts that the original Name of the
Land of Canaan, was Paleftine or Philiftia,
from the Philiftines who firft took Poffefiion of it,
and mt Canaan. And in this he is extremely
pofitive, as tho' he were abfolutely fure of his
Point, and dealt in , Demonftration. "5^s fome
Objection againft this Account, that almoft all the
learned Men, who have ever fpoken of this Sub
ject, have been of an Opinion contrary to the
Philofopher J ihejewifio Paraphrafts, * Jofephus,
t Philo, almoft all the Moderns of any Repute
for ^^earning, and the Knowledge of Antiquity,
% Bochart, II Marfham, Reland, Cumberland, and
many others that might be mentioned, who
unanimoufly allow Canaan to be the original
and moft ancient Name of this Country, as a
Thing beyond all reafonable Queftion or Dif
pute, and who I imagined had confidered this
Matter with equal Care and Impartiality as our
Philofopher.
* XitvAyAioi H my vw hJ^iticiy Ka.\ii^ivnv ukwa^x. at 'avn
XtyAYiiuetv 'j'foo'nyopivffe. Jofeph. Antiq. 1. i.e. 6. §. 2.
t T«c ci<xi>tx.iitv iviMiv us ooiviKW xj 'Supia.y rm wiMv,
^ Ila.h.AKlvm, H ToTS Tpatnyon^lTO, Xctynycciay. Phil, de vit.
Mofis. p. 486.
t Geog. Sac. 1, 4. c. 34. tJ Can. CUron. p. 233.
C 3 And

( " )
And unqueftionably, the Land of Canaan is
the original and conftant Name by which 'tis
fpoken of in the Hebrew Hiftorians, fo called
from Canaan, the youngeft Son of Ham, whofe
Pofterity firft took Poffeffion of, and fetded in
it ; even as Egypt is cajled * an^'D p^? The Land
o/'Mitfraim, from another of Ham'?, Sons, for
the fame Reafon. After the Hiftorian had re
counted the Pofterity of Noah'% three Sons, he
adds : Thefe are the Families of the Sons of
Noah, after their Generations in their Nations, ¦
ajid by thefe were the Nations divided in the
Earth after the Flood. And accordingly as .|. Si-
don, Heth, ¦ Jebufi, Emori and Girgafi, are
exprefsly faid to be the Sons of Canaan -, fo we
adually find their Pofterity, j the Hittites, A-
morites, Girgafhites and Jebufites, amongft the-
Inhabitants of the Land of Canaan. And that
Sidon was fituated in this Country, needs no
manner of Proof. And that 'tis fo called from
this Canaan, is plain. For 'tis called \y!^'2 ^^^?¦
The Land of Canaan, i. e. the Land which Ca
naan and his Poilerity poffeffed, and not ^jyj^n ^'li^
The Land of the Canaanite. Thus Terah \\ and'
Abram, and Lot went from Uz, to go into the
Land of Canaan, And § i?ito this Land of Ca-
naan, Abram and Lot came. And this is almoft
its conftant Name in the Hebrew Hiftorians.'
Nor is it onoe called, as I can find, in the Old
Teftament Records, the Land of the Canaanites,
* Gen. xiii. IC, &c. Gen. x. 32. f Gen. x. 15, 16.
I Gen. .XV, 20, 21. |j Gen. xi. 31, § Gen. x;ii. 5.
except

( 2-3 )
^cept where it denotes the whole Country, as
poffeffed by the Pofterity of Canaan in general,
and not by the particular People c3}\zdCanaanites;
or where the Names of the other Nations are
added to them. * Thou madeft a Covenajit with
him to give him the Land of the Canaanites, the
Hittites, the Amprites, the Perizzites, the Jebu
fites, and Girgafliites ; and from fuch Places as
thefe, our Philofopher may prove," if he thinks
proper, that the Country was neither called
originally Canaan, or Palefiine, but Hittina,
Amoritina, or any other of thefe Names this
incomparable Critick likes beft. '
'Tis true, the Name Canaan, or Canancea, is
feldom to be met with in Greek Authors. But
the Origin of Nations is not to be derived from
them, who are too late and fabulous to be de
pended on in thefe Matters. However, there
are not wanting fome Footfteps of this ancient
original Name, even amongft them. In \ San-
fhoniatho's Fragment, prcferved by Eufebius,
Ifiris is called the Brother 0/ Chnaa, and faid
to be the firfi Phenician ; where Chnaa is un
doubtedly Canaan, which Hebrew Word may
be as well pronounced Cnaan, the Sheva under
3 being rather for accelerating the Pronunciation,
than defigned to form a diftindl Syllable in
fpeaking. X Eupolemus alfo, cited by Alexander
* Exod. iii. g.
+ V'p/f. i«AA(pof X.!*^! TU crpaiTis ^irovo[Jia,S-iVTos ioiyiKe;.
Prsepar. 1. i. c. lo. p. 39.
J BaCuKuniK yap Mynv Trparov yiviSrAi EmXcc, nv iiycti Kf 0-
VW iK rum /s yiViSee.1 BMAof, li) ^acctai'' rvrovJ^i rov x"-^""*^
ymMM rot Trarspa, rm iainnm. fraepar. 1. 9. c. 17. p. 419.
Polyhifior,

3

( M )
Polykiftor, and from' him by Eufebius, tells us S
That the Babylonians affirm, that the firfi Belus,
who is Saturn, was the Father of Bel-ds and Cha*
man, and that this Chanaan begot the Father of
the Phenicians ; who, according to Mofes, v^as
Sidon. J Nicholaus Damafcenus, Hiftor. 1, 4, cit
ed by Jofephus, tells us, that Abraham depart
ed from Damafcus into the Country that was
then called Canaan, now Judasa. § Stephanus
Byzantinus alfo hath preferved this original
Name. Chnaa, fo is Phenicia called, and the
national Name is, Chnai, As therefore the
Country and the Man have the fame Name, as
Canaan was the Father of the Phenicians, and
his Pofterity were called Canaanites, who inha
bited it after him, Canaan muft have been its
original Name ; and the Canaanites, his Pofte
rity, muft have been called fo after him. And
thus 'tis almoft perpetually called by the He
brew Writers, the moft antient Authors in the
World, But the learned Philofopher thinks otherwife.
Philiftia, he fays, was the original Name of it.
But he fhould have proved it, as well as faid it.
I think, on the contrary, this is not at all pro
bable, becaufe the Philiftines were not the ori
ginal, and moft antient Inhabitants of this Coun-
* XvA' OvTu; tl iman skaKsito' to J'e s^-y/xoy ravn!, yvAoi.
Ih voce. , ^
¦\ A^pci(M»(—f/.sr 'u m\vv XP'I""' e^avaTits ^ etTro Tuvntn;
XPptK avy ra tripirifv >.tLa, s/j rt\v tots [m X'tva.vD.ia.y Asyo.
IJ.ivnv, nv J'thJ'ctfay. (Mrmmi. Jofeph. j^^ntiq. J, i. c. 7.
fine. try,

( ^5 )
try,' nor ever poffeffed but a fmall Part of it.
They were not fo much as the Pofterity of Gz-
naan, the youngeft Son of Ham, but of Miz-
raim his fecond Son, the Father and Founder
of the Egyptians. * Mizraim, fays the He
brew Hiftoria,n, begot Cafluhim, out of whom
came Philiftim. And as the Philiftines are
elfewhere ii\d to t come from the Caphtorim ;
¦the Cafiuhiin and Caphtorim muft have joined
together in the fame Settlement. Their Coun
try was the Ifie o/'Caphtor, from whence came
the Philiftines. t Have I not brought the Phi
liftines from Caphtor ? And they are therefore
exprefsly called, || The Remnant of § the Ifie of
Caphtor, or that was poffeffed by Caphtor and
his Pofterity. Now 'tis well known that the
Pofterity of Mizraim inhabited Egypt, and that
therefore the Ifie of Caphtor muft have been in
that Country ; and its being called an Ifie di
rects to the Situation of it. And as the Phi
liftines came out of this Ifle into Canaan, it muft
¦have been an Ifle in Egypt, near to the Land of
ffanaan, the better to favour and fecure their
Efcape into it ; a{id therefore I think muft have
been that Ifle, formed by the two different Divi-
fions of the Nile, in which the antient Sin, Tin
,^ * Gen. X. 14.
t Ex Scriptura conftet, conjunftos foifle populos, quia modo
ad hos, modo ad illos refertur origo Phililteorum. Bochart.
Geogi 1. 4. c. 32. p. 292.
J Amos ix. 7. II Jerem. xlvii. 4.
§ '^inflD 'N Thus the Vulgar Latin, the Chaldee Paraphraft,
and Syriack Verfion render, what in our Tranflation is ihe Country
^Caphtor ; tho' they have put Ijie in the Margin. or

( i6 )
pr Pelufium was built, which was by the Tarn-
tick Oftium, or Mouth of the Nile. And that
the Philiftines came originally from hence, feems
plain enough from the very Name, cna^^D
Pelifistim, from nty^D Pelufium, and this from
t/Vs Palafh, which in Hiphil fignifies to roll, or
befmear, with Dirt and Afhes ; agreeable to its
odier Name vvi. Tin, which in the Chaldee fig*-
nifies. Dirt or Mud; and both which well de-
fcribe its fenny or muddy Situation. Thn^* Stra
bo defcribes it : Between the Tanitick and Pelu^
fiac Mouths, there are Lakes and great Fens ad
joining to each otber. The City alfo of Pelufium
is encompafied with Fens or lakes. It hath
its Names from the Fens about it, and Mud,
whicb the Greeks call tm'^os Pelofh ; a Word
which comes unqueftionably from the Phenician,
oxHebrew mb'^i, Palafh. This Account is confirmed
by the Reverend and Learned Mr. Shaw, in his
Travels, f who fays : That all that Portion par-
.ticdarly, which lies betwixt Tineh, the antient
Pelufium, and the Branch of Damiata, is ex
ceeding lo^v, and full of Lakes and Morales,
agreeing jo far, even to this Day, with the Ety
mology of the Name. And that Philiftia, or
Palefiine, is derived imm'Pelufium, is confirmed
* KiTa^v ^Te TK Ta.viKt j^ tk Yl'iiKvina.Kii Kti/.Vd!,t, ^ zKn y.i-
ya.hit «5 auvix^, — ^4 *'^'''' "^^ ''"o T[s?.\s(riop ilvkAo) 'TnpiKiHn.iva, s^S'
sAit —^ riK^Mrc/.^avoiui^Ai /j avo tk otmAk kJ rsov rihuAToi.
Strab. 1, 17. p. 1 154, ,155. Edit. Amftel.
t Page 336. Chap, z, by

( ^7 )
ly a remarkable Paffage in * Plutarch, who fays :
That Melcander';f Son was according to fome called
Palaeftinus, or Pelufius, and that the City bear
ing his Name, viz. Pelufium, was built by the
Goddefs Ifis : According, to which Account, Pa-
laftinus and Pelufius, are Names of the fame
Import, and both relate to the Egyptian City
Pekfium. And 'tis very probable, that 'tis on
this Account of the Philiftines heingEgyptians by
Original, that they are called by the LXX Inter
preters, Foreigners, t The five Satrapies of the
Foreigners, in the Hebrew, The five Lords of
the Phihftines ; to denote they were not the ori
ginal Inhabitants of this Country. From all
thefe Paffages 'tis evident, that the Caphtorim
and Philiftim were the fame People, or rather
that the Philiftim were the Remnant nnxt^, the
Word generally denotes, the Remains of a Peo
ple faved from Deftruftion ; the Remains of
the Caphtorim, who had efcaped fome very fig-
nal Calamity, and who having been forced to
leave their own Country, procured themfelves
a new Settlement in the neighbouring Land of
Canaan ; where they either took themfelves, or
received from the Inhabitants of the Country
where they came, the Name CD>nwb2 Peliftim,
from Pelufium, the City from whence they made
their Efcape. And the Account of this very
* "Viva /s ray y^y 'jtAii'A KAhu^ai Iltt^.At^tvov » TlnhK^toVi
jfj THc 5roA/c sTaj'i/f/oi' A'TTAim yivi&Af, Kri(Q'Sia'aiy viro rtit ^su.
Plato de If. et Ofir. p. 357.
¦ f Tas 'TiVTi %AT'pA7TiAf TW? AKKoifvKaf. Jud. iii. 3. & xvi. 5.
Migration,

. ( ^8 )
Migration, is, I think, happily preferved to usi
by Mofes himfelf ; who tells us : That the Avim
which dwelt in Hazerim even unto Azzah, the
Caphtorim, which came forth out of * Caphtor,
dejiroyed them, and dwelt in their Stead. The
Caphtorim, which came out of Caphtor, in this
Place, axe ]exemiah' s Remnant of Ca'^htor, and
the Avim, which they deftroyed, and in whofe
Stead they dwelt, dwelt in Hazerim, even unto
Azzah, n\}}, the fame with Gaza-, and generally
tranflated fo, and which is well known to haye
been one of the five principal Cities of thefe
Philiftines. So that as thefe Caphtorim poffeffed
the very Country of the Philiftines, they muft
be the fame People under different Names ; "
called Caphtorim, from Caphtor, the Country where
they dwelt ; and Philiftim, from Pelufium, the
principal City of it, from whence they made
their Efcape. Thefe Obfervations put together,
I think make it clear, beyond all reafonable
Doubt, that the Caphtorim, or Philiftim, were
originally Egyptians, forced out of their own
Country by fome Misfortune that befel them,
and that they feized on the Lands of the Avim,
putting many of them to the Sword, driving
others of them out of their Town^, and dwelU
ing in their room. And this is more than in
timated in Jeremiah, calling them t the Rem
nant of the Ifie of Caphtor, the Remnant that
had efcaped fome fignal Deftrudtion j and by
what Amos declares of them : X Have I not
* Deut. ii. 23. "t- Jerem. xlvii, 4, J Am. ix. 7.
brought

( 29 )
brought Ifrael up out of the Land of Egypt, and
the Philiftines yro»2 Caphtor ? /. e. faved both of
them from Deftrudtion, and brought them into
a Land originally not their own. And I think
this will amount to full Proof, that Philiftia
could not be the original Name of the whole
Country promifed to the .^^W/to, except we fup
pofe it had no Name before thefe Philiftines in
vaded it; oxihatCanaan'^ Pofterity, who originally
pofleffed it, named their own Land from the
Egyptians, who deftroyed Part of them, pof
feffed but a fmall Part of the Country, and did
not belong to their Family : Suppofitions which
I am perfuaded no Man, who confiders the
Names originally given to Countries, which
were generally taken from the firft Poffeffors of
them, will ever allow the Probability of. How
ever To do the Philofopher Juftice, he offers at
fome Proof of this critical Remark, that Phi
liftia was the original Name of the Land of
Canaan. It was, feys he, * called Philiftiayro^z
the Philiftines, who firft tookPofieffion of it. And
in anpther Place: Becaufe the Sidonians and Phi-
liftines f made the firft Settlements in this Part of
Afia. This is very confidently faid, but not at
tempted to be proved, with Regard to the Phi
liftines. The Sidonians I allow were fome of the
-firft that made Settlements in this Country;
for Sidon was the Son of Canaan, who gave
Nkme to the City Sidon built by his Family.
* Vol. IH. Pag. 236. t Vol. HI. p. z8. So

'So alfo were Heth, Jebufi, Emori and G/r^
gafii. Brethren of Sidon, one of whom, Je-
bus or Jebufihad a City called after his Name,
like Sidon, viz. Jebus, afterwards named Jeru^
falem. Hamath mentioned iV/^w. xiii. 21. was
the principal City of Hamathi, another of
Canaan'^ Sons, retaining its ISlame, X El Ham
mah even to this Day. Aradus, now called
Rou-wadde, was the principal Seat oi Arva-
di, another of his Family. The Ruines, ftill
known hy the Name of II Sumrah, appear to be-
the Remains of the antient Simyra, the Seat
formerly of Zemari, another of his Sons ; and
there are ftill Ruines oi Area, the City of
Arki, the Offspring likewife of Canaan.
The fame Arguments that will prove the *S'/-
donians to be the firft Inhabitants of this Part
of Afia, will prove the Settlements of all . the
other Sons of Canaan to be as early ; and indeed
the Thing is fo plain from the Hebrew and 0-
ther Hiftorians, and the Remains Pf thofe an
tient Names to this Day, as to be really indif-
putable. And as thefe feveral Sons of Canaan,
named their Towns and feveral Diftrldls they
poffeffed, from their own Names, 'tis reafona
ble to think they called the whole Country,
Canaan from the Name of their common Fa
ther, as the Egyptians did the Country where
they fettled, rather than that it fhould take
its Name from the Philiftim, who were Egyp-^
tians by Birth, poffeffed but a very fmall Part
% Sbata's Travels, p. 325. ' |t Id. p. 327, of

Mill

(31)
fef the whole, and-feized on what they did pof-
fefs by Force of Arms. For 'tis not true that
they made the firft Settlements in this Part of
Afia, fince, as hath been proved, the Avim
dwelt in their Diftridt before them, and were
partly deftroyed by them, and pardy expelled
into other Places; for there were fome Re
mains of them in the Days of * Jofhua -, and
therefore 'tis not true that the original Name of
the whole Country was Philiftia, unlefs . our
Author can prove it had no Name, till their
Settlement in it, or that 'tis probable the Sons
of Canaan, fhould call their Country by the
Name of the Philiftines their Enemies, and
who were of a quite different Family from them
felves. But he adds farther, that t the Plains or Sea-
Coafis of the Mediterranean, from Sidon to the
River Sihor, on the Borders of Egypt, were in
habited, in the Time of Abram, by the Sido
nians and Phihftines. This he repeats with
great Affurance elfewhere, X affirming that Phi
liftia and Sidonia contained all the Sea-coafis of
the Mediterranean from Sidon to the River Si
don, it fhou'd have been Sihor, or one Hundred
eighty Miles, the whole Length e/" Canaan. But
whatever thefe Paffages were brought to prove,
they will not prove that Philifiia was the ori
ginal Name of this Country ; for he might as
well prove from hence that 'twas called Sidonia.
* Jo(h. xiii. 3. t Vol, III. Pag. 28.
X Ver. 3. Pag. 347.
Nor

(3^ )
Nor is the Obfervation itfelf true. " That Part
of the Sea-coafts, that was poffeffed by the
Philifiines, is exprefsly marked out, fo that it.
cannot well be miftaken : Their * Borders^ axe
particularly faid to be ffrom Sihor, which is be
fore Egypt even unto the Borders of Ekxon North
wards, which is counted to the Canaanite : Or
as the original Words '^J/^d^ nJisv :3»nn maybe
more plainly and literally rendred : Northwards^,
i. e. North from Ekron, is counted to the Qa-
naamte; five Lords o^if/6£' Philiftines, the Gfara-
thites, the Afhdothites, the Efhkalonites, the
Gittites, and the Ekronites. And originally the
Name Philiftia belonged only to that Part
which they inhabited. Thus '^^'^^ Philifiia,
«' LXX, ^viisteoip., is by X Mofis exprefsly di-
ftinguifhed from Edom, Moab, and Canaan,
II Ifaiah and § Joel fpeak of it, and prophefy a-
gainft it, as a quite different Country from Zion,,
or Judea; and 'tis reprefented in the ** Pfalms,
as peculiarly the Country of the Philifiines, in
Contradiftindlion to that of other Nations; nor
is there the leaft Intimation in the facred Writ-:
ings that It ever extended Northvvards up to
Sidon, or much beyond their five Satrapies'" or
Lordfliips mentioned by Jofioua, the Norther-,
moft Boundary of which he declares to be E-
kron ; nor one Inftance to be produced, in which
that Name is applied to fignify the whole Coun-
* Exod. xiii. 17. f Jofli. xiii. 3. J Exod. xv. 14, 1 J.
I Kai. xiv. 29, 31. , § Joel. iii. 4, ** Pf. Ix, 8.—
Ixxxvii. 4, cviii. 9, try

( 33 )
try denoted by the Lartd of Canaan. The
Name Philifiia, changed by the Greeks and
Romans into Palafiina, yi^as only ufed to de
note this whole Country, in later Agesj and by
them transferred from a Partj viz. the fingte
Country, or Diftridt of the Philiftines, to the
whole ; for as * Jofephus affures us, the Greeks
called that TraB of Land from Gaza down to
Egyptj by the Name (fPiXe^me-, a Name gi
ven by them to other Placesj as hath been
fhewn by the learned t Reland.
And as the Northermoft Boundary of the
Philiftines was Ekron, io from thenct farther
North was counted to the Canaanite. And ac
cordingly we fhall find, that the Situation of
the Canaanites is as particularly and fully de-*
feribed, as the Borders of the Philiftines, and
exprefsly placed between Sidon and Philiftia.
t The Border of the Canaanite, fays the Hebrew
Hiftorian, was from Sidon, as thou comefi unto
Gerar unto Gaza 5 as thou comefi unto Sodom
and Gomorrah, i. e. as one travels, one Way,
from Sidon by Gerar down to Gaza^ and on
the other^ as one travels from Sidon down to
Sodom and Gomorrah. Their Southern Borders
extended to Gaza, exclufive of it^ their North
Border to Sidon, alfo exclufively, their eaftern
to Sodom and Gomorrah, and was bounded on
the Weft by the great Sea, or Mediterranean.
* O/ iraxnt rm dmo Vd^m tat AiyvTTv yw MriX'^l
TiAhAi^tynv yap ot EAAoi'Sf Avjts thc ^o/ptti" tt*AK«. Jof. 1. i.
c. 6. J. 2.
t Pal«ft. p. 74, X Gen. x. 19.
D And

(34) . .
And accordingly we find them in this Situation
afterwards by the Sea-coafts, in the Times of
Mofes and Jofiua. * The Canaanite, faith the
Hiftorian, dwell by the Sea. And t the Kings of
^i6^ Canaanites which were by the Sea. So that
the Canaanites poffeffed all the Sea-coafts from
Sidon down to the Philiftines Country, and
parted the two Diftrias. So that 'tis not true,
that the Sea-coafts of the Mediterranean from
Sidon to Sihor on the Borders of Egypt, were
inhabited hythe Sidonians and Philiftines ; and
ii it had been, 'twould not have followed from
thence, that the original Name of the whole
Country was Philiftia.
2. The Philofopher afferts, that tho' the ori
ginal Name of the Land of Canaan was Phi
liftia, yet it was X afterwards called Canaan,
when the Canaanites came to fettle there. And
how it came to be called fo, jj he intimates to
us by a. very fhrewd Guefs : Mofes might call
it Canaan, becaufe the Canaanites, whom he in
tended to deftroy, and drive out, had been • then
fettled there, and had well peopled and cultivated
the Country. Mofes might call it Canaan. Exr
tremely cautious: How lucky the Conjedture!
What Difcoveries would fuch a philofophical
Genius make, if he were to write upon the Ori
gines Gentium I Mofes might do fo and fo. Ex
cellent Reafoning againft fkong Facts ! And
why might not Mofes do otherwife? Did, not
* Num. xiii. 29, f Jofh. v. i . t Vol. III. p, 27.
II Pag. '236. "^ ;
' ¦ Mofei

( 35 )
Mofes intend to drive out and deftroy the Hittites,
and Aniorites, and Perizzites and Hivites and
Jebufites as well as thefe fame Canaanites? And
why zw/j'A/ /&^ «o/ have called it by one of their
Names, as well as by that of the Canaanites .?
Yea, why might he not have called it fo from
Canaan, the Father of all the Canaanites, rather
than from the Canaanites the Children oi Canaan;
as well as call Egypt, Mizraim from Mizraim,
the Father of the Egyptians, Afiur from Affur,
Edom from Edom, Moab, Ammon, for the fame
Reafons ? I leave every honeft Man, that is Jn
the leaft acquainted with the Mojaic Writings,
to judge whofe might be is th^ more probable.
The People particularly diftinguifhed by the
Name of Canaanites, were not originally fet
tled in this Country, a,s the Philofopher allows j
who places their Entrance into it about the Birth
of Mofes. Now what might be the Name of
this Country before the Settlement of thefe Ca
naanites? Philifiia I have proved it was not,
zndCanaan our Philofopher will not let it be. If
fo, how came the general Name of the Inha
bitants to be that of Canaanites, even in the
Time oi Abraham himfelf? And certainly that
was the Name of them, ii Abraham, or Mofes
his Account of him may be believ'd, and till
the Philofopher can produce more antient or
authentick Vouchers, to the contrary. For thus
he made his Servant fwear : * Thou fhalt not
take a Wife unto my Son, of the Daughters of the
• Gen, xxiv. 3.
D 2 Canaanites,

( 36 )
Canaanites, amongft whom I divell. . And when;
Abraham's Servant repeated this Chai^e^of. his
Mafter to Laban, 'tis In thefe Words: Thou
fhalt not take a Wtfe to my Son of the Daugh
ters of the Canaanites in whofe Land I dwell. As
I am willing to oblige my Philofopher as far
as I can, by thefe Canaanites fhall be nieant. If
he pleafes, either in general the Inhabitants of
this Country, or the particular People of the
Canaanites, as diftlnguiftied from the other Na
tions who dwelt in it. If the firft, he will be
fo good as to allow me, for my Civility, that
the Land oiCanaan might not have its Name
from his Canaanites, that came into the Coun
try,' according to him, iohng aiter Abraham's
Time, but from my Canaanites, amongft whom
Abraham liv'd, and they from their Father Ca
naan. Or if he choofes the latter, he will al
low thefe Canaanites to have been in this Coun- .
try before the Time oi Mofes, and that the
Name Canaan was not given to it from them
by him, I leave him to his own Meditations
on thefe Heads. But I would beg him to con
fider, how the Title of the Land of Canaafi
came to be fo well known in Egypt, many Years
before the Time of Mofes his Birth, if Mofes
was the firft Perfon who gave it this Name ?
For thus -when Jofeph fternly asked his Brethren:
+ Whence come ye ? They anfwered him, From
^he Land of Canaan to buy Food, and told him
* XJen. xxiv, 37. , f Gen, xlii, 7,;T3. they

(37)
th?y were the Sons of one Man in the Land of
Capaan, and that they brought their Money out
of the Land of Canaan, and * Pharaoh ordered
Jofeph to bid his Brethren lade iheir Beafis,
and go into the Land of Canaan, and bring their
Father into the Land of Egypt. How came
Jofeph and Pharaoh to be fo vyell acquainted
with this Name, if the Country had never been
called by it tlU many Years after ? Or hath the
Hebrew Hiftorian falfified the Account, by put
ting Words they did not fay Into their Mouths ?
I will believe it, when he hath proved It, but
not upon the Solemnity and Credit of his bare
Affirmatlpn. I would alfo put him in Mind on
this Article, t that the Daughters of "Heth are cal
led by the Hiftorian the Daughters o/" Canaan ;
of whom Ifaac commanded Jacob not to take
a Wife, And the Wives of Efau were daughters
of Canaah, one of which was an Hivite and the
other an Ilittite. Now the Reafon of their be
ing called Daughters o/" Canaan can be no other,
but becaufe the Hivite and Hittite were both
Defcendants of Canaan ; and when the Hifto
rian Immediately adds, that Efau had feveral
Children by thefe two Daughters of Canaan In
the Land of Canaan, would any mortal Man
but our Philofopher imagin, that there fhould
be two different Origins of this very Name of
Canaan ? I fliould really think myfelf unpar
donable In infiftlhg fo long on fo evident a Point,
* 47, 27. i" Gen. xxviii. i.
D 3 which

( 38 )
which was yet * never called in Queftion by any
Man of Learning, had I not been urged to it by
the Impertlnept Affurance of this Philofopher.
But, 3. He afferts with equal Knowledge and
Truth, that t the Settlement of the Canaanites in
the Land of Canaan, was not till after the Times
f/ Abram : Yea, what is ftill more wonderful,
X that they were not fettled in it, whilft Joieph
kept his Intereft in the Egyptian Court. And a-
gain : |[ This Settlement rf theirs, the Canaanites,
in that Part of the World, had not, probably, been
long before the Birth ofbAoies. 'Tis pity a Man
who loves to deal thus in Conjedhires and Pro-^
babilities, fhould not favour the World with
the Reafpns of them, that his Probables ma/
Icem as probable to others as himfelf. But hes
feems to think, that for him to affert Is the fame
Thing as io prove. He is forced to acknow
ledge, that thefe Canaanites were not originally
fettled in this Country ; and the Reafon why
he places them here fo late as about the Birth
of Mofes is obvious enough. Should we find
them here in the Times of Abram and Ifadc^
we may poffibly find Canaanitifii Shepherds gOr
ing down into, and returning out of E^pt, '
before the going down pf the Ifraelites i}nexe,\
and their Expulfion from it, and fo endan
ger his Romance about the Hebrewi Pafiots. But
Regiones de nominibus illius ve! illornin, qnj primi eas in-
coluerunt, appellare in facris literis eft ufitatiflimum ; uti, quoi
rnilhn negat, terram Canaan a Canaan. Reland. Palaft. p. 64.
t Vol. III. Pag. 27, 23 J. :!:Pag. 24, 25, II Pag, 236.
rather

( 39 >
rather than fo fine aiprought Fable fliould fail
of fome Probability; he Is determined to deny
Fadl« th^t he can't dlfpirove, and to Introduce
his own Conjedlures, that he hath neither Learn
ing nor Alignment to fupport. > 'Tis I am furc
prpbalblfe from ifneHebrenb Hiftorian, that thefe
Cdnadnifei were in Canaan in the Days of Abra
ham himfelf. For 'tis jiarticularly remarked,
n^h' Abraham's ^xik coming into Canaan, that
* the Canaanite was then in the Land. In like
Manner after his Returt^ out oi Egypt, 'tis faid :
+ The' Canaanite and the Perizzlte dwelled then
in the Ldnd. And both the Samaritan and
LXX Veirfions confirm this Account of the pre
fent Hebrew Copies. But the Philofopher' by
ah eafy Remark, can at once deftroy the Force
of this Evidence; and will tell us, X that infhorf,
there were no fuch People in the Country as the
Amoi'Ite, or Canaanite Mountaineers in Abram 's
97wi?, and that therefore the placing them here
fo foon mufi have been a Forgery, or Interpola
tion of 'later Ages. But he fhould tell us why
it muft have been a Forgery or Interpolation,
and fhew when, and by whom, and for what
Keafons the Interpoktion was made. That thefe
Paflages from Qenefis' are no Interpolations feems
plain, in that all the Verfions acknowledge
them, and becaufe they are agreeable to the
whole Series of the Hiftory. As the Hifto
rian had, ifter the Account of Canaan' sYoite-
rity, that were oFiginally fettled in the Land
* Gen. xii. 6. f xifi. 7. X Vol. HI. Pagl 337^
D 4 of

( 40 ) . ^ ^
of Qanaan, remarked j that • the Families of the
Canaanites were afterwards fpread abroad in iti
i. e. that the Families of that particular Peo
ple, called Canaanites, were fetded in this Coun
try not till a confider^ble while after the other
Sons of Canaan there mentioned had taken Pof
fefiion of it, it was hut natural for him to drop
fome Hint concerning the Time of their being
there j efpecially as they were included amongft
the People, whof? Pqffeffions were to be given
to Abram's Poft^qty, And therefore -^Antece
dent to God's Promife to him, the Hiftorian af-
fuires us, that when he firft came into Canaan,
thefe very Canaanites were then fettled in the
Land. And accordingly in the Covenant God
m^de with .^^ran^, he exprefsly promifes him :
f Unto thy Seed have J given this Land, the Ke-
nites, the Canaanites, the Girgafhites aad Jebu
fites; fo that the Canaanites, as a diftindt Peo
ple, were then as certainly in the Land, as any
other of the Nations mention'd. Jacob, in his
Complaints oi Simeon and Levi, tells them : Te
have made me tofiink amongft the Inhabitants of
the X Land, amongft the Canaanites and the Periz-
¦ suites ; where the Canaanite being join'd with the
II Perizzite determines them to be the particu
lar Families of the Canaanites fo called, as a di
ftindt People from the other Nations of this
Country, who in a few Places only are in ge
neral called Canaanites. So that the Canaanites,
* Gen. X. 1 8. *f Gen. xv. i8, 21.
J Gen. xxxiv. 50. || Gen. ^iii. 7, dwelt

(41 )
dwelt in the Land in Abraham\ Ifaac'% and Ja
cob's Time, by the Account of the H^/^r^-rt; Hif
torian J and our Moral Hiftorian honeftly and
pieafantly brings them into this Countiy, above
two hundred Years after they had already pof.,-
feffed it, — Scire tuum nihil efi^ nifi te fcire "hoc
fciat alter, ? But
4. Our Author, goes on, in his Philofophical
Heveries, to aKext,^atwhen Abraham firft came
into this Country of Canaan, * the inland Moun-
iainqus Parts, and the Plains of Jordan next
Arabia, were, in a Manner open and uninhabited,
and that it was a f very barren defert Country,
but little inhabited, very fubjeSl to Drought and
Scarcity. This he affirms of the whole Country
in general, and that it was not worth conquer
ing, purchafing orpofiefftng. j And to heighten
this lamentable Account he adds, that thefe
Hebrew Shepherds had fufiered great Hardfhips,
and many Droughts andt)earths in Canaan. Poor
Shepherds ! One would imagin by this piteous
Story, that thefe unfortunate Men were almoft
always hungry and thirfty, thro' the Poverty and
Barrennefs of fo miferable a Country; for he fays
they fitff ered many Droughts and Dearths in Ca
naan ; and that their Cattle were frequently de-
ftrpyed, and that they were forced to innu
merable Shifts for their Prefervation and Sup
port ; for they fuffered great Hardfhips. But
jyilfreprefentation afide, the Cafe Is not really
quite fo compaffionable. From Abraham's De-
* Vol, III. p. 27. -{• Page 25. J Page"3©. parture

( 4i )
parture out oiHaran, to Jacobs gdmg doWfl'-
with his Family imo Egypt, weretWo hundred
and fifteen Years, according to the Hebrew Hif-
torlan's Account. During thdfe' two hnndfedl
and fifteen Years- we read but of three Famifi^-?
in Cmman ; one ifi Abraham's Time, whoUv^d
one hundred Years in Canaan, foon after he
came into it; one in Ifaack's time, who
lived there one hundred and eighty Years j aftd^
one in Jacob's Time,, who fi^d there the great-
effePart of one hundred and thirty Years. The
Famine in Ifaack's Time doth nor appear to be
gfesa: or univerfal, for he ab(l)de in the' Land of
the' Philiftines, where he had plenty for himfelf
and Cattle. The'Famine in Jacob' s Time was
fevere, but no more an Argumeiit of the Land
of Canaan's being a barren Country, or fubjedl
to Drought and Scarcity, thaft it was oi Egypt's
being fo, the Famine being equally fevere in
both Countries. So that in two hundred and-
fifteen Years, there were two Scarcities peculiar'
to this Land, one of them only hapning in a Part-
of it. Thefe are all' the Scarcities that the fa
cred Hiftorian mentlonsduring the Lives of thefe'
Patriarchs ; nor Is it any where, I think faid,
that even thefe were occafioned by Drought.^
So that his affirming that Canetan was very fub-^
jedt to Drought, is a mere Fidtion, unlefs he
can prove that a Famine could happen there
from no other Caufe. Nor is there more Truth
in his faying 'twas ve^y fubjeSl to Scarcity, un
lefs a fmall Scarcity's hapning once in one hun dred

( 43 )
dred and eighty Years, in one Part of a Coun
try, or a fevere Scarcity's hapning in two hun-f
dred and fifteen Years, be an Argument of a
Countries being very liable tp fuch Scarcity,
Nor is there the kaft Shadow of Proof that Ca
naan was naturally a barren Country. 'Tis e-
vident fi-om the whole Hiftory and Travels of
thefe Patriarchs, that its Ptodtice was fufficlent
for the Native Inhabitants,, and themfelves who
were Stranlgers in it, and the numerous Flocks
of Cattle that they fed. * When Abraham took
the'; Hills, as bur Author tells^ us, did he ima
gine them to be barren? Howthen did he hope
to feed his Flocks, thofe numerous Flocks with
which he abounded ? Or did he drive them to
the Hills with a Refolution to ftarve them?
No, he knew them to be fit for Pafturage, and
fufficlent to maintain his Cattle; an evident
Prpof that even the hilly Country was far from
being barren, as the Moral Philofopher very falfe-
ly afferts. And as for the great Hardfhips he
and Ifaack and Jacob fuffered, as they are to be
found no where but in our Author's fertile Ima
gination, the Reahty of them may be juftly
queftlon'd and denied. And whereas he is plea-
fed farther to tell us, that it was a Land to?
worth conquering, purchafing orpofiefftng ; how did
he come to know the Value of it in thofe Times ?
Abraham thought otherwife. When God pro
mifed It to him, inftead of refufing It, as a
Country not worth having, he cries out:
« Vol. in. Page 27. * Whereby

( 44 )
• Wherfby fijall' I know that I fhall inherit it:
Give me fome Proof that I ftiall obtain it.
Ifaack iiked it fo well, that I think, he never
went out of it ; and Jacob was forced from it
by Neceffity, and an extraordinary Providehcer
into Egypt. And tho' he had been many Years
with Laban his Father-in-Law, and was well
acquainted with the .Frultftiinefs of that Coun
try where he dweh, yet he., chofe to leave It,
and poor and barrel^ as the Land of Canaafi
was, according tg this Author's Account of it,
he gladly return'd to it, with all his numerous ,
Flocks ar\d Herds, and the large Family that
was. born to him ; which Jacob had too much
P;-udence ever tp have done, had the Country
bemin that Condition in whi^i the Philofo-
ibpher would, reprefent it. The Truth is that
the L^nd of Canaan was a fertile Soil, the Val
leys fit for Tillage, and the Hills for Pafturage
of Catde, as is evident from the whole Hiftory
oi Abraham, Let, Ifaack and Jacob; and that
thefe antient Patriarchs were expofed to no more
I)Ifficul ties and Hardfhips from the Country, in
which they dwelt, than what their manner of
Eving expofed them to ; which was a Method
common In thofe. early Ages ; Agriculture and
Fafto^-age being the moft ancient and honourably
Employ merits of Mankind.
I cannot help here inferting the Account of
the learned Mr. t Shaw, who hath himfelf tra
velled over thefe Countries, and bears Witnefs e-.
* Gen. XV. 8. f Shm\'Imyds, Page 368. ven

(45)
ven to the prefent Fertility of them. ¦ " The
mountainous Parts even of the Holy Land,
were fo far from being inhofpitable, unfruit
ful, or the Refufe of the Land of Canaan,
that in the Divifion of this Country, the
Mountain of Hebron was granted to Caleb
as a particular Favour. Even at Prefont,
notwithftanding the Want there hath been
for many Ages of a proper Culture and Im
provement, yet the Plains and Valleys, tho'
as fruitful as ever, lie almoft intirely negledt-
ed ; whilft every little Hill is crowded with
Inhabitants. If this Part therefore of the Holy
Land v^ras made up only of naked Rocks and
Precipices; how comes it to pafs, that it
fhou'd be more frequented, than the Plains of
Efdraelon, Ramah, Zebulon or Acre ; whiph
is a Country very delightful and fertile be
yond Imagination. "The Reafon is this,
that they find fufficlent Conveniencies for
themfelves, and much greater for their Cat
tle. For here, they themfelves have Bread to
the full, whilft their Cattle brooze upon a
richer Herbage, and both of them are re-
frefhei ly Springs of excellent Water, too much
wanted in the Summer Seafon, not only in
the Plains of this, but of other Countries In
the fame Climates." Thus this excellent
Writer. But our Philofopher gives an Account
iuft the Reverfe of all this. * The mountainous
Parts of the Country ivere then defert and un-
* Page 235, - , ,. J
mmbttea,

inhabited, and lay all open to Abram andhdti
and not having yet been tilled and cultivated, nor
fcarce any Wells dug, or Conveniencies for Water,
' made it veryfubjeB to Dearths and Scarcity, whicb
often drove the Patriarchs into the Plains amongft
the Philiftines. How Magifterially and Phil®-
fophlcally faid ! An Eye- witnefs could not have
been more pofitive,— fl>/« I Nova res orta efi--
Wells dug In the Mountains, and the Patn-^
archs driven into the Plains for Water, are dif
coveries in the Holy Land juft now found out
by this learned Writer. Let him peaceably en
joy them. 'Tis Pity to rob him of the Glory
of thefe curious Obfervations. I will however
add one or two Paffages more, from the a-
bove judicious Author, to fet my Philofopher a
little upon RecoUedtlon. * " 'The Mountains
•• of this Country abound in fome Places with
*' Thyme, Rofemary, Sage, and fuch like A-
" romatic Plants, as the Bee chiefly looks' af-
*' ter; fo they are no lefs ftocked in others,
*' with fhriiby and a delicate fliort Grafs.
" The Soil Is of a light loamy Nature, rarely
" requiring more than one Pair of Oxen to
*' plow it, both in the maritime and inland
•' Parts oi Syria and Phenice. The Holy Land,
*' were it as well peopled and cultivated as in
'* former Time, would ftill be more fruitful
" than the very beft Part of the Coaft of Syria
" and Phenice ; for the Soil itfelf is generally
" much richer ; neither is it poffible for Pulfe,
• Page 364, 365, 366. Wheat

(47 )
*' Wheat or any Sort of Grain to be more ex-
*' cellent, than what is common^ fold at Je^
" rufalem. The Barrennefs or Scarcity which
** fome Authors may either ignorantly or ma-
" licioufiy complain of, doth not proceed from
'* the Incapacity or naturalUnfruitftdnefs of the
*• Country, but from the Want of Inmbltants,
** and the great Averfion there is to labour in
*' thofe few who poffefs it. The Land is a
" good Land, and ftill capable of affording its
*' Neighbours the like Supplies of Corn and
" Oil, which it is known to have done in the
*• Time of Solomon." The Soil and Frultful-
nefs, the delicate fhort Grafs, the aromatick
Plants, the Springs of excellent Water, and the
like natural Bounties of ProvIdisnCe!, were I pre
fume the fame in Abraham's Time, when thefe
Hills were inhabited partly by the Canaanites
and Amorites ; and therefore were it not for
the Wells, that our Philofopher complains for
the Want of, were a Country well worth con
quering, poffefling and inhabiting. And from
thefe Obfervations it farther follows :
5. That the Philofopher's Affertion, that
Paleftine * feemed a very unlikely Place for the Ac-
complifiment of God's Promife, to give Ahxaham
a rich and fertile Coimtry ; or, as he elfewhere
expreffes It : Canaan t was now a deflate and
barren Coimtry, and not likely to be the promifed
Land ; deferves the fame Credit, and is a Truth
equally with the reft. 'Tis true,, that fome
• Page 26. t Page 88. ^.
^ Time

(48)
Time after Abram had been in Canaan, iUt
Country laboured under a grievous Fammfe.
What was the Occafion of it is not faid. But
'tis no where afferted, nor in the leaft probabfe,
that 'twas owing to the natural Barrennefs of
the Land ; nor was there any 'Thing like it that
ever happened afterwards, during the hundred
Years that he lived in it* He was fo well
pleafed with it, that he doth not appear ever to
have formed a Defign of leaving it, or ever to
have gone out of it, after his Return into it out
of Egypt. And indeed his Profperity in it was
fo great, as that he could have np poffible Temp
tation to form any fuch Defign, and could not
but think that this was a very likely Place for the
Accomplifhment of God's Promife to give him a
rich and fertile Country. And I hope the learn
ed Dodtor will give me leave to prefs. even the
Moral Philofopher into this Service^ and allow
me to ufe his Judgment in Confirmation of this
Truth. Now this learned Philofopher affures us, that
Abram * being driven out of Egypt, goes back
into Canaan, and was now exceeding rich in Flocks
and Herds, Silver and Gold, numerous Servants,
and all the Wealth of thofe Times. Herein' he
agrees with the Hebrew Hiftorian. t But how
were all thefe Flocks, and Herds, and numerous
Servants to be maintained, in fo barren and de
fert a Country, as the Philofopher tells us, Ca
naan was ? Was the Country able to afford fuf*
* Page 27. f Gen. xiii. 2. ficktlt

( 40 )
ficient Maintenance aiid Pafture fdr fo numerous
a Company ? If It was, no more Complaints I
hope of Dearths, and Famines, and Scarcities.
If not, whence did Abram provide for them ?
How came he to fojourn a full hundred Years
in fo miferable a Country ? Or did he out-live
his Profperity, and fee all his Flocks and Family
die for Want before him ? The Philofopher
will not chufe to affert this. What then could
induce Abram to forfake a Country, that was
able to maintain him; and in which he had ex
perienced fuch uninterrupted and perpetual Pro
fperity ? What could make him doubt, whether
this was the Land of Promife, In which, tho' a
Stranger and a Foreigner ^ without any confiderable
Poffeffions of LandSj Towns and Cities^ he had
acquired fuch immenfe Riches, as to leave an
ample Inheritance to Ifaack his Son, and Heir,
and provide proper Portions for his numerous
Pofterity by his Wife Keturah ?
Efpecially if what he farther tells us of A-
bram, be true : That * Abram in his Time,
might eafily have conquered the whole Land of
Canaan, and driven out all the former Inhabi
tants then fettled in the Country ^ had be thought
jit ; for he had a Force fuperiour to any or all of
them. My Reader will, I am confident, im
mediately fufpedt, that this Account Is a phi-
lofophico-^moral Romance, and not the Scripture
Hiftory. We will examine the Truth of It here^
after. . Let us try to fir etch our Faith, and for
• Page 94.
E once,

once, if we can, believe that Abram was aWe
to have conquered the whole Land of Canaan,
¦having a Force fuperiour to any or all the Inha
bitants then fetded in the Country. Now this
Country was inhabited in Abram's Time by
the People properly called -^Canaanites, by thofe
called Perizzites, by the Sidonians, by the Ke-
nites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Re-
phaim, Amorites, Girgajhites, Jebufites^ Phi
liftines, and others mentioned X elfewhere.
Amongft thefe People there were Cities, Kir"
jath Arba, or Hebron, Salem, Gerar, Sidm,
and others. They alfo had fome of them their
Kings, Melchizedeck, Abimelech, with others not
mentioned by the Hiftorians. Now how doth
this aggrandize the Account our Author gives of
^i^r^w's Power and Wealth 1 whom, as tho'
he had lived In his Time, he makes fuperior to
thefe twelve different People, or Nations j fome
of them unqueftionably numerous and powerful,
fuch as the Sidonians., the Philifiines, and Ca
naanites, who had their Kings and Cities, which
two laft Nations were Colonies from Egypt, and
fetded themfelves by Force of Arms in the Lanii
of Canaan. From the Flood to Abram's En
trance into Canaan was confidcrably above three
hundred Years. Now allowing, thefe twelve
Nations to have encreafed in this Space of Time,
each of them to one Thoufand grown. Men,
the Inhabitants of the Land of Canaan in A'^
brain's Days, will be twelve Thoufand. I know
* Gen. xii, 6. xiii. 7. \ Gen. xiv, learned

( 51 )
learned Men will be apt to laugh at me for
fetting the Number fo low ; but they will ex-
cufe me, when I affure them 'tis in Compafi
fion tp the Philofopher. Now if Abram had
a Force fuperior to all thefe ; his Family, I
fhould rather fay his Troops, were at leafi twelve
Thoufand and one ftrong j and by their Bravery
and Courage we are to fuppofe him able, had
he thought fit, to conquer all the Kings, take all
the Cities, and deftroy or drive away all the \^t
habitants of the whole Land of Canaan. $0
that King Abram is now morally made, hy
this learned Philofopher, the moft potent King
of all Palefiine-^^anti eft Sapere-^l am not
now difpos d to difpute with him, this Account of
the Princely Patriarch. But he will allow me
to inquire, how Canaan could fupport thefe nu
merous Troops of Abram, befides the other
Lihdbitants of the Land, with all their Fami
lies, Flpcks, Herds and Servants, if it was fuch
a poor, barren, defert, beggarly Country as he
reprefents it ? Or, that if it was abundantly able
to maintain and provide for thqm, and that
if Abram could maintain all his Grandeur,
"Wealth and Power, whilft he fojourned in it ;
how he could think it an unlikely Place for the
Accomplifiiment of God's Promife, to give him a
rich and fertile Country ? The reconciling thefe
Difficulties will requir^ all our Author's philo
fophical .§kiU, and try the utmoft Extent of his
Capacities.
E a SECT.

X 5^ )
SECT IIL
Of Abram'j Denial of his Wife in Egypt* , i
However, he will have it, that * Egypt
feem'd the mofi promifing Place, ior Abram's
Settlement, and therefore - he tells us^ that
down he goes with his Wife, Strk^ants,' Flocks,
Herds, and whole Subfiance into Egypt, with a
Defign, as is evident, of fettling there ; tho' the
Scriptures evidently fay, only to fojourn there.
Here he prevails with Sarai, he affures us, to deny
her. being his Wife, and to jay fie was his Sifier •
and fo fond was this Patriarch o/" Egypt, fowell
perfuaded, that this was the Country God had gi
ven him, that he was readv to proftitute his own
Wife, and facrifice her Chaftity, to fecure him
felf a Settlement there. . I fhall not take on me
to affign the Reafons of Abram's Condudt in
all the Tranfadtions of his Life, much lefs to
affirm, that his whole Condudt was free from
Blame, But, I think, this Reprefentation of
Abram's Behaviour in this Affair, hath a very
great Appearance of 111- Nature in it, and looks
like fuch a Readinefs to place the Adtlons of great
and good Men, long deceas'd, in the moft odi
ous and Infamous Point of View, as is incon-
fiftent with all Candour, Morahty, Philofophy,
and even Humanity Itfelf, The Particulars of
this Account are thefe :
f Page 26, I. That.

( 55 )
1. That he prevailed on Sarai to deny her
bebg his Wife, and to fay fhe was his Sifter.
2. That he was ready to facrifice her Chaftity,
and proftitute his own Wife. And
3. That he did this from a Fondnefs for
Egypt, a Perfwafion 'twas the Country God had
given him, and In order to fecure himfelf a
Settlement there.
I . He afferts that Abram prevail'd on Sarai
to deny her being his Wife. The Hebrew Hifto
rian affirms nothing like It ; but only that he
perfuaded her to fay, fhe was his Sifter. Say, 1
pray thee, thou art my Sifter; * and this was a real
¦ Truth, fhe having the fame Father, tho' a dif
ferent Mother from himfelf. She ftood in this
two-fold Relation to him, of a half Sifter and
Wife ; and Abram chofe, that as they tra
velled from Place to Place, fhe fhould rather
take on her the Charadler of a Sifter. But
doth the afferting one Truth, imply the Denial ,
of another ? Or, the owning her in the Rela
tion of a Sifter, imply that he difowned and de
nied her to be his Wife? Or, fuppofing that
Abram had told Pharaoh fhe was his Wife,
was this denying flie was his Sifter ? Should I,
upon any one's asking me, what Dr. Morgan
was, fay he was a Moral Philofopher, fhould I
thereby deny him to be a PraBitioner in Phy-
fick, or Dealer in Divinity ? Ridiculous. I
fhould Indeed conceal a Truth, but not deny
it ; and this Cafuift, that hath fixed on Abram
* Gen. xii. 13, 20.
E ^ fo

( 54 )
fo ungrounded a Charge, hath ufed the Patri
arch ill, and not confulted his own Reputation.
WhethexAbram's Concealment In this Affair was
right, or not, is another Queftion. What I af
fert is, that the Moral Philofopher hath unjtftly
accus' d Abram, by faying, he prevailed on Sa
rai to deny her being his Wife. He never de
fired her to do it, by any Thing that appears
from the Hiftorian ; nor did fhe by faying flie
was his Sifter, deny her being his Wife, fo
much as by Implication ; efpecially amongft the
Egyptians, amongft whom the Marriage of Bro
thers and wholeSifters wasaveryantlentCuftom,
derived even fitim Ifis herfelf ; who was Wife,
and as the Egyptians themfelves believed. Sifter
to Ofiris, or Mizraim, the Son of Ham, Noah\
youngeft Son. Thus * Diodorus Siculus : They
fay there was a Law amongft the Egyptians, con
trary to the common Cuftom of others, that Per
fons might marry their Sifters, becaufe this fuc-
ceeded profperoiifiy to Ifis amongft them, ivho had,
married Oliris her Brother. And this Is con
firm'd by the Account of Mofes, who, when
forbidding the Marriage of Brothers and Sifters,
thus introduces It : t After the Doings of the
Land of Egypt, wherein y'e dwelt, fiall ye not
do; plainly implying, that incejiuous Marriages
* T<iofx.o^ilmAi Si (pA7t TMi Aiyv^rUi ifASA ro mvoy i^ix
ray AhKuv av^^wTtm, yA[/.%iy aS'ihipAi, J'lAro y^yoyof 'y tav
lois TMf WiS-oi iTi-nuyiAct. TavIw yAS nvoiKn^AffAv Oaiiih
ru Ai'iK(pu. l>10d. SlC. 1. I. p. 23. ¦
\ Lev. xviii. 3. ' were

( 55 )
Were too frequently pradtifed by that cdrrupted'
People. 2. 'Tis with as littleTruth and Humanity that
he afferts, that Abram was ready to proftitute his
Wife, and facrifice her Chaftity. He could fcarce
have given a worfe Charadter of the moft profli
gate Wretch that Hiftory makes mention of,
than to fay, He was ready to proftitute his
own Wife, and facrifice her Chaftity. The Man
that can do this, on any Occafion, Is mean and
infamous to the moft abfolute Contempt; but
the Man that is ready to do this, that carries In
him a Mind and Difpofition prepared for fuch a
Villany, Is execrable beyond Defer iption. And
the Man, that can deliberately and cooly thus
rake into the Afties of the Dead, and cruelly
ftab their Memories; that can firft give the worft
Conftrudtion to their Word', and upon thlsFoun-
. dation blacken their Names with Crimes of the
vlleft Nature, to which their whole Charadter is
a Contradidtion ; the Man that can do this, may
perfonate a Moral Philofopher, but fhould be told,
that he Is defedtlve even in Humanity itfelf. Had
he only blamed the Patriarch for hisConcealment,
or feeming DIftruft of Providence, or thro' Fear
expofing his Wife to Danger, I fhould have faid
little on this Subjedt. But his fixing- on him a
Defign to proftitute his Wife, and a Readinefs of
Mind to do this, hath the Appearance oi inch an
unreafonable Malice, as a truly Moral Philofo
pher would be afhamed of. I hope my Reader
will forgive me, if I have expreffed an undue
E 4 Warmth

(56)
Warmth on this Occafion, when he remembers
that 'tis the Caufe of the Dead, the injured Dead,
the venerable Dead, that I am pleading. With
caufelefs Fury to affaflinate their Charadlefs, and
ralfe them from their Graves, only with a Defigii
barbaroufly to Infult and deftroy them, is aCrime
of the higheft Aggravation. The Truth of the
Fadt is this:
Abram being called out of his own Coun..
try, by the Order of God, was of Courfe a
Stranger and Sojourner in every Land where he
went. His own Family that he left were Ido,
laters, and fo were the Inhabitants of the Land
oiCanaan where he went to refide, and ready,
many of them, to commit the worft of Crimes,
This is evident from what God tells Abram,
* The Iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full;
plainly intimating, that their Iniquities were al
ready very great, but not fo univerfal as to reh^
der their Deftrudtion yet abfolutely neceffary,
We know the Crimes and the Fate of the Cities
oi Sodom and Gomorrah. And what th? In pie
ties and Vices of the Lands oiCanaan and Egypt
were, we have a full Account by the Sacred
Hiftorian, Levit. xvii. And in particular, that
they were given to the moft abominable and un,
reftrained Lewdneffes, As Abram was, by
the Providence of God, obliged to fojourn
amongft thefe corrupt and profligate Nations,
he had a Conceni for his own Life, and to pre-='
ferve his Wife's Honour and Chaftity. As flie
was g fair and handfome Woman, he had Rea^
* Gen. XV. 16. ' fofl

( 57 )
fon toftilpedt,from the Manners of thofe amojigft
whom he dwelt, that they would endeavour to
gain her from him, and accomplifli their infer
mous Defires by any Methods that were In their
Power : And therefore, that If they knew him
to be her Husband, they would deftroy him, as
their grand Obftacle to fuch a Defign, and then
have his Wife abfolutely at their Difpofal, to
do with her as they pleafed, the only Impedi
ment to the gratifying fuch an infamous Inten
tion being then renioved. * It fiall come to pafs,
fays Abram, that they will fay. This is his
Wife ; and they will kill me, but they will fave
thee alive, viz. for the Purppfes of their Luft,
when Iam removed out of their Way. To
prevent both thefe Intentions, to fave himfelf
and preferve her, he refolved on this Expedient ;
and fays to her : + This is thy Kindnefs which
thou fhalt fhew unto me ; at every Place whither
we fiall come, fay of me. He is my Brother. This
fhe could fay with the ftridteft Truth, and if
this was a proper Method to preferve her Hus
band's Life, and could be done with Safety to
herfelf, and with equal Safety to herfelf, as tho'
fhe had faid fhe was his Wife ; yea, with a
greater Probability of Safety, I think, the faying
fhe was his Sifter was not only lawful, but her
Duty. And, I apprehend, fhe could fay this
with equal, or greater Safety to herfelf. If the
Inhabitants of the Places, where they came,
were vicious enough to refolve on enjoying her,
* Gen. xii. 12, t Gen. xx. 13. merely

(58)
merely becaufe fhe was a fair Woman j I fe^
no Reafon to think, but that they might have
deftroy 'd him, to obtain her ; if they had imme
diately known him to have been her Husband ;
the Confequence of which muft have been, that
flie muft have been an irredeemable Sacrifice to
their Luft. And this was evidently what A*
bram imagined and feared might be the Cafe,
and which he intimated to his Wife, in thqfe
Words : Thee they will fave alive ; an Expreffioii"
that fhe well underftood the Meaning of, and
that plainly dIfeoVers his Uneafinefs on her Ac
count. But the owning herfelf his Sifter was a
natural Means oi faving his Life, and, I think,
no more endangered her Chaftity, than if fhe had
faid he was her Husband. "Tis true, that by
affirming herfelf hig Sifter, fhe ky open to SoU
Ilcitation, and Courtfhip. But artful, prudent
Women know, by a thoufand Methods, how to
probng an Affair of this Nature, and to recelva
Addrefies without giving too much Encourage
ment ; and even fometimes to encourage and
prolong Expedtations that they never intend to
gratify. And 'tis well known that Men of
ftrong Paffions and Lufts can much more pa
tiently bear delafd ExpeBations in fuch Cafes,
than CIrcumftances that cut off all Hope, and
render the Attainment of their Defires impoffi
ble i and that fuch CIrcumftances often make
them refolve on the moft defperate and criminal
Methods to remove thofe Obftacles that render
the Accompllfliment of their Wifhes impradl- cablsi

(59)
€dfele. Such a Circumftance was Abrarris be
ing Hushand to Sarai ; and as the owning this
would have endanger'd his Life, and might
therefore have occafioned her being for ever de*
tain'd as a Sacrifice to the Luft of thofe amongft
whom they fojourned j Abram prudently de
fires his Wife to affume her other Charadter of
a Sifter, that lippn Suppofition of her being fo-
licited by any Perfons, amopgft whom fhe fo
journed, fhe might delay the Affair till Provi
dence fhould fihd out a Way for their Removal
elfewhere. All that the Patriarch wanted, was.
/Delay. He was but a Stranger, and continually
removing from Place to Place. And this Delay
he was moft likely to gain by this innocent De
ception. The only Sufpicion of any Fault, that I can
fee, was hlsgreat Confidence in his Wife's Ho
nour; and this unqueftionably arofe from his full
Knowledge of her Difpofition and Worth. Be
fides, fhe had now paffed, the Youth of Life;
fhe was at leaft fixty five Years of Age, when
the Warmth of Inclination, and the Heat of
Defire were well over ; and therefore her Pru
dence and Experience and Refolution might
well be trufted ; and the Confidence her Huf-
band placed in her was nothing more than
was due to her paft Fidelity and Merit.
But what a Wretch doth this Philofopher
make of Sarai, as well as of Abram hef
JIusband. We find &r^/ confenting to this
Propofal of her Husband, and adting according
. ^ to

(-60 )
to it both in Egypt and Philifiia, Yea, the
Agreement between them was,.* 7^/V is thy
Kindnefs thou fhalt fhew unto me, at every Place
whither we fhaU come, fay of me. He is my Bro^,
ther. What did Abram intend to proftitute
her, and fecure himfelf a Setdement in every
Place where he came, by fuch a Proftitution |
Did fhe believe her' Husband was as ready, as-
this Moral Philofopher fays he was, to profii-
tute her every where, and facrifice her Chaftity ?
And did ftie as readily cpi;ifent to this Pro
pofal of being every where proftituted and facrl-
ficed,'? If fhe did, fhe was the Reproach of her
Sex, and let her Name henceforward never
be mentioned without Deteftation. Bi,it if fhe:
did not believe, and had no Reafon to thinkj^
tliat Abram could harbour fuch an infamous
Defign, whence did this Moral Philofopher get '
this Knowledge, and how infamous is his Con
dudt, in thus proftituting the Charadter of two
of tbe moft venerable Perfonages in all facred
and profain Hiftory I The Agreement between
them^ as foon confented to by Sarai, as pro-
pofed by Abram, evidently demonfirates that
they made it merely upon prudential Views,
and thought It neceffary to -their Safety, and
a proper Expedient to fecure It; efpecially as 'twas,
to be an Expedient made ufe of at every Place ;
unlefs we make them, with this Moral Philo
fopher, two of the moft execrable and aban-
don'd Charadters then living on the Earth. Audi
* Gen. XX 30. fuch

(61)
fuch I will affirm they were, iS Abram ^ai to
ready every where to proftitute her, and fhe
as ready to proftitute herfelf every where, as the
Philofopher tells us they were. And yet infa-
inous and vile, and ready to enter into all the
bafe and accurfed Methods of Proftitutlon, as
he here reprefents him, yet elfewhere we are
told, that Abram * fought only a peaceable Set
tlement, where Providence Jhoidd caft him, and
he feems to reckon him amongft thofe Men,
who lived with an abfolute, intire Trufi in and
Reliance upon God, and kept a careful Scrutiny
of their Lives and AM ions, f andaftriSt Regard
to God' s providential Difpofal of them. So that
we have here the fame Perfon, feeking a Set
tlement in Egypt, by a Readintfs to proftitute
and facrifice bis own Wife to Luft, and yet
feeking only a peaceable Settlement where Pro
vidence fiou'd caft him. So that feeking a Set
tlement under the Condudt of Providence, and
the Proftitutlon of a Man's Wife Is It feems the
fame Thing. He lived with an intire Truft
in God; and ajtriSt Regard to his providential
Difpenfations; and manlfefted this Truft in
God and Regard to his Difpenfations, by a Rea
dinefs to commit fuch Villanles, as no Man
would ever allow himfelf to harbour, that be
lieved ferloufly either a God or Providence. A
good Man may fee guilty of Errours, and may
vary In particular Inftances from his habitual
Temper and Pradtice. But a Readinefs to per-
* Page 94. t Page 96. petrate

(6^)
petrate the meaneft and inoft fcandalous Crime*
can be the Difpofition only of a finifh' d Wretch,
whofe Heart is hardned againft all the Appr^*
henfions of Deity and Regards of Providence,
Such a Man hath this truly Moral Philofopher,
made Abram, and that for a Reafon as con
trary to Truth, as theChaitge is ungenerous aiicj
t:ruel. For
i 3. He afferts with the utmoft Confidence^
that *fofond was this Patriarch of Egypt, f§
well perfuaded that this was the Country God had
given him, that he was ready to proftitute his ow^
Wife, and facrifice her Chafiity, to fee we himfelf
a Settlement there. I am almoft tired already
with a Controverfy, in which I have little elfe
to oppofe, but Confidence and Affertion, in the
Room of Reafon and Argument. ,_ It will be ob-
ferved, from what I have already faid, that
thefe Reafons which this Philofopher immor4^
ly affigns for Abram's Proftitutlon of his Wife,
are drawn from a notorious Mifreprefentatlon,
as I have already fhewn ; viz. that God did
not tell Abram whaf the Land was that he
had promifed him till after his Return out pf E-
gypt. If God did exprefsly tell him 'twas the
Land of Canaan by Name, then here are three
more diredt Falfehoods with which this immo
ral Writer is chargeable :
I. Tis falfe that Abram would have pro
ftituted his Wife, thro' his Fondnefs for Egypt %
for of this there is not one Word iji the Hiftory.
• Page 26. 2. Ti3

(63)
fi. *Tis as falfe that he would have facrificcd
her Chaftity, thro' a full Perfuafion that Egypt
was the Country God had given him. For he
knew God had given him the Land of Canaan.
3. 'Tis as notorioufly falfe, that this Readi
nefs to facrifice his Wife to the Luft of Egypt,
proceeded from a Defire to fecure himfelf a Set
tlement there. For the Hiftory is exprefs, that
he went only to fojourn there upon Account of
the Famine in Egypt, and he could not defire
a Settlement there, becaufe God himfelf had
fixed it elfewhere. So far was he from defiring
a Settlement there, or having a full Perfua
fion, that Egypt was the Country God had
given him, that he was not even perfuaded that
he could fojourn there but for a little While,
with Safety to himfelf or Wife, without the
utmoft Prudence and Caution. If he thought
God had giyen him this Country, how came
he fo very ready to proftitute his Wife to pro
cure a Settlement? Did he think that God would
..give it him as a Reward of fuch an infamous
Condudt ? No, the evident Reafon of his Proce
dure was, to fecure himfelf from their Cruelty,
and his Wife from their Inconrinence and Luft.
Nor were the Sufpicions oi Abram on this
Head at all ill founded. For as foon as he
came into JE^f, the Egyptians admired the Falr-
jiefs of the Womah, and being commended be
fore Pharaoh ihe was taken into his Houfe.
In what Manner fhe was taken is not defcribed;
but with Reludtance enough unqueftionably on.
their

( 64 )
their Parts, ahd with at leaft a Degree bf Vio
lence on the Part of the Egyptians. But asoifr
Philofopher expreffes it, * by fome Means or o-
iher, the Thing came known to Pharaoh before
he had taken to this Hebrew Woman as his own
Wife. Upon which the King fent for Abram,
expofiulated the Matter with him, reprefented how
¦great a Sin he had like to have drawn him into,
¦and ordered his Servants to fend away theP-atn-
arch out of the Country. What the Means yv^ere
by which Pharaoh came to know that Sarai
was not only Sifter but Wife to Abram, the Phi
lofopher doth not care to mention, and therefore
I will. The Hiftorian tells us, that f God in
fixed fome grievous Punifiment on Phaxaoh and
his Houfe, becaufe of Sarai ; in the Hebrew,
firuck him with, or Inflidted on him great Strokes.
And I think this CIrcumfbnce Is greatly in Fa
vour of the Patriarch ; fince had he and his
Wife been two fuch abandoned Wretches^^he
as ready to proftitute her, and (he as ready
to be proftituted, as our Moralifl reprefents
them, I cannot perfuade myfelf to think, thai
the Providence of God would ever have Inter-
jjofed for her Prefervation, or his Honour.
However the Difpofition of the Egyptian
Court and Prince Is abundantly difcoverd by this
Incident. A fine Woman becomes immediately
the Objedt of their Defires. The Princes com
mend her to Pharaoh, and Pharaoh as foon
orders her into his Houfe, and for what Intent
,» Page 26. t Gen. xii. 17. he

( 65 )
he himfelf tells the Patriarch, viz. to. mMke her
Us Wife, i. e. his Concubine. 'Tis a juft Re
mark, of yix,* Le Gierke, in this Place: tt
was an Argument of very intemperate Lufi, to
defire and feize on a ft ranger Woman, merely be
caufe fhe was commended for her Beauty. Such
a 'Temper and Condudt can never be juftified,
unlefs our Moralift imagines, that Pharaoh had
a Right to enjoy every agreeable Woman that
entered into Egypt. However 'tis plain that
Sarai , Jcept herfelf on the Defence, and did
not fubmit to the luflful Monarch's Inclinations;
wbich 'tis highly probable fhe would have done,
to be revenged on her Husband, had fhe known
him to be as ready to proftitute her, as our
Moralift tells us he was j efpecially as fhe had
the King of Egypt for her Admirer. But as fhe
knew her Husband's Defign too well, fhe had
too much Honour herfelf, to ppmmit fuch a
Wickednefs, a,nd the Providence of God, t)n
which Abram relied, took care to punlfh the
Incontinence and leud Intention of Pharaoh ;
that when Sarai% Excufes for not complying
with Pharaoh fliould be no longer able to fe
cure her, the Secret of her hexngj^ram's Wife
might refcue her from the Injury intended her,
without endangering, his Life or Liberty.
Biit it feems all this whole Condudt in the
Hebrew Patriarch was Craft and Defign, and the
* "Libidinis indomits fuit peregrihani mulierem, eo tantum
qucJd forma ejus jaftaretur, appetere & rapere. C^r. in Gem
xii. 17. ¦ '¦ -. ^ ,.
F Egyptiah

( 65 )
Egyptian * King was a Prince of flriSl Virtue^
Honour and Clerhency, and the Egyptians, '//
plain, at this Time were Worfiipers of the trm,
God The Craft and Defign of die Patriarch,
as far as appears from the Hiftory, was only tc
preferve his own Life, and his Wife's Honour j
two Defigns that no Man but one of our Philo
fopher's Morality would ever cenfure. But
* whence doth the firiSl Virtue of the Egyptian
King appear? From no other Inftance in this
Hiftosy, but his immediately feifing on an agree
able Woman for his own Purpofes, upon the
Commendation of her Beauty; or parting with
her, when the Providence of God would not
fuffer him to keep her any longer. Where was
his Honour ? Why taking away from a Stranger
his fuppofed Sifter, to make her his Conpublne,
and thus violating, all the f facred Lavy^s of Hof-
pitality. Where was his Clemency ? WJiy in
fending away the Patriarch with his W\ie, $c,
out of the Country. But this was the leafi Re
paration he could make him, . for his Intention
to debauch his Sifter. Nor even was this done
voluntarily. He felfed on her thro' Inclination,
but he parted with her thro' Force, and thro'
the Compulfion of divine Judgments ; and I am
firmly perfuaded, that notwithftanding the
boafted Virtue and Clemency of this King,
* Page 27.
f 'BfAxv <Pfovriirits ttiS'nf, ^ vo(jLay, ray tm rnai fswc
^pt&ivruy, evJ'is; aiipAiriA, J^nyotiro. /^oyu (Atv, avtw Ayn-
>£<&«/ wpof 3/ttf{8C,' TO «P'«cA«,J«, e,ig(vyuy. Phil, de Abrah.
p. 284. ^ , >
Abraham

( 67)
Abram had felt his Indignation, had not^,
fome peculiar Providence extricated him from
this Danger ; and that without fome fpecial di
vine Protedtlon, fuch a Difappointment of a
luftful Prince would have drawn after it a fe
vere Revenge. So that here is no Appearance
of Clemency, any more than there is of Virtue
or Honour. But fuch is the Morality of our
Philofopher, that intemperate Luft, Violence,
and the Breach of Hofpitality, fhall be confiftent
with ftrldt Virtue, Honour and Clemency in
the Egyptian King; whilft the mere Con
cealment of one 'Truth, by the affirming of
another, for the Prefervation of Life and Ho
nour, fhall be cenfured as a crafty Lye, and a
Readinefs to proftitute his Wife, andfacrifiee her
Chaftity, in the Hebrew Patriarch.
But every Thing is extraordinary and mar
vellous in this Philofophical Writer. This, fays
he, * is a plain Proof, that the Egyptians at
this Time were Worfhipers of the true God. This :
What? Why, that the Egyptians admired the
Beauty of the Woman, and mentioned her to Pha
raoh: for this is the only Thing that he hath
affirmed of the Egyptians in the whole Para
graph; and if it be a Reafon, is the acuteft
one that ever was given by a Philofopher be
fore. Or elfe, Phaxaoh came to know tbat Saxax
was Abram'i Wife, and then expofiulated with
Abram, told him how great a Sin he had like^
to have drawn him into, ay^d ordered his Ser-
* Page 27.
F 2 vanti

( 68 ) ,
vants to fend him out of the Country. Ergo, the
Egyptians were at thisTime Worfiipers ofthefrui
God? Was there ever fuch a Conclufioii from
fuch Premlfes before? Tlie only Thing that
looks likely to fupport fuch an Inference is, that
he told him how great a Sih he had like to have
drawn him into. But it unluckily happens, that
all this is Interpolation by the Philofopher'sl
Hand, and that there is hothing about great
Sins, In the Mouth of Pharaoh, in the original
Hiftory. This is a Speech that the Philofo
pher /»<z/i6 fwW. for him. A,nd if it had been
really Part of what Pharaoh had faid to hira,
how will it prove that the Egyptians were Wor-
ftilpers of the true God ? Is hot Adultery kndwn
to be a Crime even by the worft Idolaters? Or
doth it follow, that becaufe Pharaoh, our Au
thor's Hero, was In his Account, a Man offiriB
Virtue and Honour, 'that thefefore the Egyptians
were no Idolaters ? The Argument is abfurd,
and the Tfaiiig itfelf is highly improbable, and
incapable of all poffible Proof. There is mdeed
every Appearance to the contrary. * Abraham's
Father and Family we khoW were IdolatetS ;
fo that this Superftition was anclenter than
the tixxves oi Abraham, and had unquefliioria-
bly fpread itfelf into Egypt ; there being no Rea
fon to fuppofe the Pofterity of Cham Weie freef
from this Wickednefs than the Family of Shem.
Whilft the Children of Ifrael dwelt amongft
them in Egypt, 'tis certain that Idolatry pre-
,s * Jolh. xxiv. 2. vailed

(69)
vailed amongft them, and even that of the
moft ftupid Kind, the Worfliip of Beafts ; and
that this is fpoken of not as a Novelty, but as an
ancient eftablSih'd common Pradtice amongft
them. We fiall foerifice, fays, Mofes the Abomi
nation of the Egyptians ; * an Ox or Calf, or
fpme^ other Creature which the Egyptians hold
facred, ajnd abominated the Sacrifice of; from
y/hence nothing can be more evident, than that
even this ftppid Idolatry had been of long ftand-
ing ampngft them. And 'tis agreed by all
Writers, that Idolatry had the moft early Foot
ing in E^pt, and was from thence prPpagated
into tfmxy pther Nations of the World. But
whatever be the Truth of this* Fadt, our Au
thor's Reafons to prove the Egyptians no Ido
laters arediildifh and impertinent, andean carry
ijp Weight with any one, but juft fuch ano
ther Philofopher as himfelf. The Fadt itfelf,
fhall he hereafter, God willing, more particu
larly inquired into.
lije conpludes this whole Account with an
Affertion, t that could fall from no Man's Pen,
but one of his extreme Modefty and Veracity.
The Reader will find this whole Story as I have
here reprefented it, in Gen. xa. whereas Got, xii.
doth not reprefent one fingle Circumftance as he
hath told It, but demonftrates his .whole Ac
count to be Forgery and Romance.
* Exod. viii. 26, f Vol. Ill, Page 27,
F 3 SECT,

(70)
SECT. IV.
Of the Promifes made by God to Abraham of the
Land of Canaan.
ABRAM * being thus driven out p/Egypt,
t goes back againinto Canaan, and being, as
oar learned Audior tells \xs,upon the Mountains of
Philiftia, afterwards called the Amoxite Mountains,
from the Canaanites, God ordered him to look round
the whole Country then in View, from the River
Jordan io the great Sea, and promifed io fettle his
Pofterity after him in the everlafting peaceable ¦
Poffeffton of the whole Land, which Promife iiias
afterwards repeated feveral Times to Abraham,
Ifaack and ]acoh under an Oath, as the Hebrew
Hifiorian afiiires us. But, fays he, the Truth
of it may be very well doubted, fince no fuch Pro
mife or Prophecy was ever made good, and God
muft have known very well that he never intended
any fuch Thing : And 'tis plain enough, that
whatever was afterwards trumpt up about Canaan,
the real Defign of this Hebrew Nation from firft
to laft was upon Egypt.
I have been looking a long while in my
Bible, iox thefe Mountains o/"PhIlIftia, afterwards
called the , j^xnoxite Mountains from the Canaa
nites, and for this fame Promife of God, that
the Philofopher here talks of; but I cannot for
my Life find one or other of them. We find
, * Page 27. f Page 28- indeed

( 71 )
Ipdeed Abram, fometime after his coming
out of Egypt, fettled in the Land of Canaan, *
but in what Part of it the Hiftorian doth not
relate ; and that he had there an Affurance from
God, that he would give to him andto his Seed
all the Land that he could Jee, North and South,
Eaft and Weft, for ever. But not one Word
about Jordan and the great Sea, nor about the
peaceable Poffeffion of that Land forever ; nor can
t find one Paffage in the whole Bible, where
God promifed in thefe Terms, with or without
an Oath, to Abraham, Ifaack or Jacob, the
Land from this fame Jordan to the Great Sea.
I fhall be obliged to the Philofopher for this
Information, f I know very well the Amorites
are faid to dwell in the Mountains, and parti
cularly at Hebron, and Eaft and' Weft of j^or^w.^
But where about this Amorite Mountain in Phi
lifiia was, where Abram could fee the whole
Land, from Jordqm to the great or Mediterra
nean Sea, will be a PIfcovery worthy of this
j)hIlofophical Genius. He might with equal
Exadtnefs have fent his Reader to look for the.
Wrekin amongft the Hills in Cornwall, and when
challenged for the Blunder, vindicate himfelf by
faying, he means Shropfiire or England hy Corn
wall. Could any fuch Amorite Philiftian Hill
be found, I would not difpute with him the
Poffiblllty of Abram's feeing the Country from
Jordan to the Great or Mediterranean Sea, tho'
not one Word of any fuch Profpedt is in the
* Gen, xjii. 14. + Numb, xiii, 29.
F 4 Original

(7^)
Original Hiftory, But fo Well acquainted is
the Philofopher with the Profpedls^ of Canaan,
and particularly with his fevourite Amorite Hill
In Philifiia; that not content to ^ne Abram
the Profpedt from it from Jordan to the Me^
diterranean%e^, he tells us, * that he could fee
the whole Country, /row? Sidon to Sin or the River
of Egypt, that vafi Ckatrttry, as he calls it, from
Sidon to the Nile, which is the River of E^t,
pne hundred eighty Miles, the whole Length
oiCanaan. And for this the lear-ned Author
quotes Gen. xill. where yet there is -not one Word
about Sidon or Sin, nor of the Limits of the
Profpedt that was before him. A notable Pro f-
peSi this for an 'old Man of eighty or ninety ;
who could fee ferther than ever was ieen before
or fince, over Hills andMountalrfS, Vales, Dales,
Plains and Deferts, without any Thing to bound
or intercept his View. ' But not to difturb the
Philofopher in his Contemplations from this
•yoonderfiil Hilloi miraculous Vlfion ;
He muft be allowed to intrench himfelf In
a Kind of t impenetrable Darknefs in the learned
Ilemark, that the Mountains of Philiftia were
afterwards called Amprite Mountains from the
Canaanites, X He hath the fame hypercriticalNote
again, according to his ufual Cuftom of repeating
twice or thrice almoft every Thing that is pe
culiarly curious. Abraham took the Mountain^
ofPaleftlne, afterwards called the AmoxAe MouA-»
tains, when the Canaanites had fettled there. But
f Page 23 1. f Page 28, $ Page 251,1
how

( 73 )
how were thefe Mountains called Amorite from
the Canaanites ? What doth the N'axne Amorite
come from Canaanite ? By what Sort of Con
juration do^ he make this 'Etymology ? Or were
they called Amorite Mountains from the Ca
naanites calling them fo ? This is falfe, becaufe,
the * Emorite or Amorite .were fome of the
original Inhabitants of Canaan, and the Pofte
rity oiCanaanhcivniAi, and therefore could not
derive their Name from a People that came Into
the Land of Canaan after them, t Our Au
thor indeed, with an u'nparalkd Affurance tells
us : t .^ fhort there were no fuch People as the
Amorites or Canaanite Mountaineers in Abra-
ham's Time, nor for a long Time after ; and
therefore the Pretence of not driving them out,
muft have been a Forgery or Interpolation of later
Ages. Would one not have expedted fome
Proof of a Charge of this Nature ? He hath none,
and can 'bring none. He might as well have
queftlpned the Truth of Canaan's being the Son
of Ham^ <^x of the Emorite or Amorite being
defcended from Canaan, and have charged this
Account with being Forgery and Interpolation.
The Promife of God to .<4/^fl;/», in which that
Pafliige Is Included, becaufe the Iniquity of the
Amorites is not yet full, if there can be proof
of any Thing, certainly proves that ike Amo
rites were then in Canaan, and that they were
a very wicked People too, unlefs this Author
* Gen. X. 1 6. t Page 236. X P^S^ '¦'¦iS' can

(74)
can prove \i\s Merpohmn., But I know he
can't. For before, this, the Hiftorian informs
us, * that Chedorlaomer, and the Kings with him,
fmote the A.xnoxites that dwelt in Hazezon "Tamer,
t which is Engedi, fituated in the Tribe of
Judah, whzte the Amorites dwelt. Yea Abram
at this very Time, • X dwelt in tbe Plain of
Mamre the Amorite, Brother of Efhcol, and
Brother of Anex, who were confederate with
him. Is this Forgery and Interpolation too ?
After Abraham, we read of them in the Time
oi Jacob; II for he before his Defcent into Egypt,
took a Portion from the Amorite with his Sword,
and his Bow. ' And as the Name Amorite can
never be derived from the Canaanite, but is the
very fame with the Emorite mentioned as the
Son of Canaan, the Emorites muft have been
fome of the original Inhabitants of Canaan,
and fettled there fome Ages before Abram,
When our Critick calls the Amorites, Canaanite
Mountaineers, 'tis juft as gcx)d Senfe as if he
fhould call the Highlanders o/" Scotland, Welch
Mountaineers. § For tho' their Countries were
not quite fo far diftant, yet were the Amorites
as different from the Canaanites, **and ever
fpoken> of as a diftindt People from them.
He intrenches himfelf in fomething worfe
than Darknefs, when he aflerts, that no fuch
Promife or Prophecy, viz. that God would give
the whole Country, from the River Jordan to
* Gen. xiv. 7. \ z Chron. xx. 2. X Gen. xiv. 13,
I Gen. xliii. 22. 5 Gen. x. 16, i8, ** Gen. xv. 21. &c,
the

( 75 .)
?he Great Sea, to his Pofterity, was ever made
^pod, and that God muft have known he never
' ntended any fuch Thing. For God I think did
intendit, becaufe, tho' he never made any Pro
mife in our Author's Termsto Abram, yet he did
tn much larger ones, and adtually made it good.
But as our Philofopher lays great Strefs on this
Affair, and takes God Almighty, according
to his ufual Freedom, roundly to task, puts
Words into his Mouth, and tells him what * he
mufi know, and what he ' mufi intend; as, with
n Politenefs peculiar to himfelf, he tells us, the
Appearances of God to Abraham were only Dreams,
md fhat the Event proved them to be Dreams,
and that t the whole was a trumpt up Story :
yea, as he fo far debafes the Dignity of Con-
itroverfy, as to defcend to the opprobrious, foul-
muth'd Language of X Liar and Impoftor, up
on this Article : It will be proper to fet thefe
Promifes in as clear a Light, as we can, and
then particularly to compare them with the
Account given by this learned and moral Writer,
as farther Specimens of his great Modefty, un
tainted Integrity, and peculiar Regard to and
Love of Truth.
The firft Promife God gave to Abram,
was Immediately on his coming into the Land
oiCanaan, and is only couched In general Teirms:
II Unto thy Seed will I give this Land. The next
Promife was. more explicit. § Lift up now thine
Eyes, and look from the Place where thou art,
• Page 90. f Page 28. J Page 234,
JI Gen. xii. 7. § Gen xiii. 14. &c.
North,

i:76 )
J<forth, South, Eafi, and Weft ; for all the Land
which thou feeft, to thee will I give it, and to thy
Seed forever. Arife, walk thro' the iMnd in the
Length of it, and in the Breadth (f it; for 1
'{Dill give it unto thee. After this, the Promife
fe renewed with farther Particulars. * Knoi& of
a Surety, that thy Seed ftsall be a Stranger in a
Land that is not mirs, and fiall ferve them, and
they fiall afiliSi them four hundred Tears, after
wards they fiall come out with great Subftame,
hutin the fourth Generation they Jhall come hi
ther again. Vnto thy Seed have 1 given this
Land, from the fHver of Egypt mto the great
River Euphrates : The Kenites, the Kenizjsltes,
/^r- Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the
Rephaims, /^i? Amonites, the Canaanites, (/^
Girgafhites, and the ]ehu.iites. Tis repeated af
terwards in thefe Terms : 1 1 will give unto thee,
andto thy Seed after thee, the Land wherein thou
art a Stranger, all the Land of Canaan, for an
everlafting Pofi'efpan. Tis alfo with Relation to
the fame Promife, X that God fays to Abraham
with an Oath: Thy Seed fiall pofiefs the Gate of
his Enemies. I think thefe are all the Promifes
of the Land of Canaan, that the Hiftorian re
cords, that God made to this venerable Patriarch.
Ifaack after him had a Confirmation of this Grant,
in thefe Words : If Sojourn in this Land, for un
to thee, and unto thy Seed, I will give all thefe
Countries. The Promife was afterwards renewed

Gen. XV. 13. &c.
xxvi. 3.

f xvii.

8.

X xxii.

«7-

to

( 77 >
to Jacob : • The Land *mh^f eon thou liefi, fo thee.
^illlgiveit, and to tbf keed. And again: The
Land which Iga^e Abraham, andliaac, + to th^,
^illlgive it : And to thy Seed after thee will 1
givie the Land. , And laftly, npon Jacob's going
down to Egypi, God appeared to him in a Vi-
lion, ahd faid, XI will go down with thee into
Egypt, and Infill alfo furely bring thee up again.
Thefe are all the Paffages I think that relate to
this Affair; and from them thus put together I
beg leave to make the following Obfervations.
I. Concerning the Ea^tent of the Country pro
mifed. Particularly as far as Abram could fee,
% from one of the Hills of CaHdan, North and
^mth, Eaft andW0. Hpw. far that Was,hobody
flC|W knows, but theMoralPhildfopher, who, with
fi^reat Sagacity, hath defcribed fhe Profpedt to
ELii Inch, and nam'd the Mountaifi from whence
he took the View^. The Country is however
mPre particularly defcribed in another Place,
viz. thehknd''* from the River of Egypt untothe
Great River Euphrates. Whether by this River
is meant the Nile,, as fome learned Writers think,
or as others, a Torrent or River at Rimcolura,
a great Way northward of M/f", that feparateci
j^^f from Canaan, I will hot difpute; but leave
the Ph1It)fo|)her to take his Choice. 'Tis evi
dent by this Defcriptlon, that this River of
B^pt is here defcribed, as the utmoft South
Boundary of the Land, the Ifraelites were
* Gen. xxviii, 13. f xiexv, 12, % xM. 4.
HGen, xiii, 14, &c, § Page 231. •* xv. 18. to

• ( 78 ) . ¦ .
,^ to poffefs; f and that from henee their Domi^
nions W'ere to extend Northwtirds towardiS the
Euphratei. This fixes the utnioft Ximits, beyond
Whichthey were not allowed to make Settle
ments or attempt any Conquefls. And what Part,
and howmuch of the Count? y withlh thefe Bounds'
they were to poffefs, is Immediately defcribed and
determined by the original Promife. The Ke
nites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Periz
zites, Rephaim, Amqrltes, Canaanites, Girgafiites,
and Jebufites. Hence when the Promife is next
renewed to .Abram, 'tis in thefe Terms: XI
will give unto thee, andto thy ,Seed after thee^
the Land wherein thou art a Stranger, all the
Land of Canaan for an everlafting Poffefiion.; a-
greeable to the firft Promife; || unto thy Seed will
I give this Land, viz. the Land of Canaan. So
that Abraham could not poflibly underftand any
"rhlngelfe, by that Affurance of the Land, from
the River oi Egypt to the Euphrates, but the
Country of Canaan properly fo called, fituated
between thofe two Rivers, and inhabited by
thofe Nations that are particularly mentioned to
him. The very Terms, in which this Promife
is cphyey'd, abfolutely confine us to this.3enfe^'
'j»pn-DK cD'-ivo nnjD nN^n p^n tk ?nni- Iwill
give thee this Land from the River 0/ Egypt, &c.
even the Kenite &c. Fox this Land ^nd the Kenite
axe put In Appofition to each other: And there
fore, the Kenite, the Kenizzite &c. muft de-
t XV. 47. . X Gen. xvii 8. |i x. 7. termine

( n )
termine the particular Land, between the Nik
and Euphrates, that was meant by the Words :
This Land ^viU I give thee. If then it can fairly
be: proved, that the Ifraelites pofleffed, and had
under their Dominion, the whole Country ot
thefe ten Nations, which they inhabited betweea
Sihor and the Euphrates, I prefume every rea
fonable Perfon will allow, that this Promife of
God to Abram, was literally and abundantly
made good; for thefe ten Nations, and the Land
of Canaan determine and fix down the Grant.
But I would farther obferve,
2; That thefe Promifes did convey a Right
of Poffeffion, • Dominion or Property In this
Country, from Sihor to the River Euphrates,
fo much of it as thefe Nations inhabited, to Abram
Ifaack and Jacob, and their Pofterity after
them. Thus much muft be included in the
Words fo often repealed: Iwill give to thee, and
/ have given to thy Seed after thee; which un
queftionably imply a full Grant of Inheritance,
or a Conveyance of the Property to them. Our
Philofopher may difpute this Grant of God if
he fees fit, and exclaim againft it as abfurd and
contradidtory. I allow the Thing, and leave
him here to make the beft of it. But
3. Farther, thefe Promifes do alfo imply, not
only a mere Right of Inheritance and Poffeffion,
that might or might not take place; but alfo
^at Abram ^ and' If (lack and Jacob and their
• Vid. Kttand, Faltjl. p. 20. Pofterity

( So )
Pofterity fhould adtually dwell, and be fettl^ In
this Country, in Virtue of thefe Grants. Tiius
much Is unqueftionably intended, in the Words
I will give; efpecially as joined with: They. fiall
come hither again. And thefe promifes were a-
"hijndantly fulfilled. Abraham, tho' without a
fingle Field iri the ; whole Country, fave one
that he purchafed of tjie Children oiHeth, y^t
pieaceably poffeffed it for an hundred Year?,
maintaining himfelf, large Family, ^ and nume
rous Flocks in it without Interruption^ died ixA.
was buried in it, and left Ifaack his Son, in
quiet Poffeffion df itv. He dwelt in It one hun
dred ^nd eighty Years without -mueh . Dlftur-
banee, tho' ehtied for his" Profperity by the
Philftines * in vfhbie Land he fojourned, chang
ing his Situation^ and choofing out what Pafto-
rages he pleafed. To him fucceeded Jacob axA
his Family, who maintai/ied their Station Init
till the going down into Egypt ; and tho' Simesn
and Levi by the Muf ther of the Hivites, gave
Jacob too much Reafon to complain : -)• Te have
troubled me to ntake me fink amongft the Fihor
bit ants of the Land, amongft the Canaanites W
Perizzites, and I bei^g few in Number, they fiall
gather themfelves together againfi me, and fiai
me, andl fiall be deftroyed I and my Houfe ; yet
after fo cruel and treacherous an Adtion, Jacoh
ftill kept Poffeffion of Cfl«^tf«, andas he fojourn
ed from Place to, Place, x thi Terrour of God
was upon the Cities that were ,^roi;ind. about them,
* Geiii- xxxiv, 30. t xxxv. 5,
. ' and

( 8i )
imdthey did not perfue after the Sons o^ Jacob.
And ,1 think every impardal Perfon muft ac
knowledge fomething very extraordinary in the
Cafe of thefe three Patriarchs, who for confidera-
bly above two hundred Vears freely maintained
themfelves and numerous Families and Flocks
in this Country, where they were abfolute
Strangers, and could pretend to no Right of
Inheritance, without meeting any interruption
from the inhabitants or Cities round about them^
This fhews the Promife of God was made gocid
to them Perfonally, to give them this Land for an
everlafting Inheritance. In like Manner, he
brought their Pofterity out of Egypt, and not
withftanding the Oppofition of all the Nations
pf Canaan, introduced them into the Country,
and fettled them in the Poffeffion of it ; where
they became a ftrong and powerful Nation, and
from whence the original Poffeflbrs could never
after poffihly expel them. And as the Countries
they held were abundantly fufficlent for the
whole Hebrew Nation, the Promifes of God to
give them this Land were fulfilled, not in. a
Dream only, but in Reality, and according to
their true Meaning, even tho' they did not
adtually occupy every Field from Sihor to Eu
phrates. 4. For thefe Promifes cannot, in their natural
or literal Senfe, be fo underftood^ as to imply,
that they fhould poffefs fo as aSlually to inhabit
and occupy, the whole Land from the River of
O Egypt
* Cien« XV. if*

. ( 8a )
Egypt to the Euphrates. For the Promife was
in thefe Terms: i^t\\I have '^ven unto thy
Seed this Land from the River off Egypt, to the
great River Euphrates ; Words that can be un
derftood In np other poffible Senfe than Pf the
Grant of the Right of inheritance and Domi
nion ; otherwife 'twould be a Promife that his
Seed fliould poffefs and inhabit it before they
Were born, 'The original Word Tini Is frequent
ly ufed In this double Senfe j either to give any
Thing into a'Perfon's immediate Ufe. Abrahiih
gave Gifts to his Sons, Gen. xxv. 6. Or elfe,
to' put any Places or I^rfons under another's Do
minion and Power. + Te fiall be deiivei^d, giV'eln,
into the Hand of ihe Enemy-; i. e. as the Everft
fhew'd, deliver'd, given itito the Hands of the
Kings of the Lands, to the Sword, Captivity,
Spoil, ^nd Confufion of Face. Thus Rabfta-
keh to the Jews; II Let not t^ezeViahmake jott
trufi in the Lord, faying, this City fiall not k
deliver'd lnin,glven into the Hand of the King
o/" Affyria ; /. e. reduced under his Power, and
made tributary to him. Which of thefe two
Senfes, or whether both of them, werelnclude|
in the Promife, Abraham himfelf could not tell^
and nothing but the Event could deterrH|ie.
And If they did poffefs themfelves as mUcnof
this Country as they needed, If they dWelt
peaceably ahd quietly, as their Forefathers did,
in many or all the Parts of it, and hpld the reft
.as tributary, and fubjea to their Power ; God
t Levit. xxvi. 25. Ezr. ix. 7. ll Ifai. xxxvi, 15. did

( 83 )
did properly give this Country to Abrahanfs -
Seed, In as fuU and ample a Manner, as thefe
Promifes foretold he - would. The River of
Egypt to the South, and Euphrates to the North,
were the utmoft Boundaries of their Poffeffions
and Dominion, beyond which they were not
to attempt any Settlements or Conquefts. Thus^
far, and no farther their Grant reached, and all
that can be meant by this Defcriptlon is, not to
point out what they adtually fhould occupy, but
what they jufiifiably, and agreeable to the Di
vine Grant, ¦ might endeavour to occupy ; and
fhould, fooner or later, poffefs, or extend their
Dominion oyer.
It fhould alfo be obferved, that w^hatever the
Grant of the promifed Land implied, that. Grant
was made to Abraham, and Ifaack, and Jacoby
as well as to their Pofterity. To thee will. I give
the Land wherein thou art a Stranger, fays God
to Abraham ; and accordingly, Ifaack defcribes.
it • as the Land which God adtually gave to
Abraham. Ifaack himfelf had the fame Grant.
Sojourn in this Land, for unto thee will I give all
thefe Countries, f And Jacob : The Land whereon
thou Heft, to thee will I give it.x The Grant
was to them equally with their Pofterity. And
yet thefe Patriarchs had not fo much as any
aSlual Property In this Country, fave of a Field
or two which they purchafed. How then did
God adtually give it them ? Why, by Grant as
their Right, and for their adtual Ufe and Con-
? Gen. xxviii. 4, •}• Gen. xxvi. 3. + Gen, xxviii. 13.
G 2 venlency.

(84)
venlency, as much of it as they needed and de
fired, even whilft they were Strangers in it. So
that they were the rightfiil Proprietprs of it,,
aud went from Place to Place, enjoying the
Fruits of it, as proper Lords of the Country,
even tho' it never came into their adlual Poffef
fion. In like Manner, their Pofterity had the
fame Grant from the fame Boundaries, were in
troduced into it, and fixed in it as their own
Poffeffion ; enjoy 'd as much of it as their Num
bers required, and were proper Ldrds of the
Whole of it 5 and therefore had the Divine Pro
mifes abfolutely fulfilled to them, in the true
and proper Meaning of them ; and that in a
fuller and more ample Senfe, than the Patriarchs,
their Forefathers, had, who yet were as truly
interefted in the Grant as themfelves'^ and had
as really the Benefit of It.
5, I would remark farther, that this Grant
of God ©eceffarily fuppofed, that the Perfons
favoured with it fhould ufe their own Endea
vours to fecure it ; and that the Ifraelites not
enjoying this Land in its full Extent, if it hap
pened thro' their own Indolence and Negledt,
cannot in Reafon and Equity be conftrued as a
Breach of Promife in God. Should this learned
Phyficlan, to compare great Things with very
fmall Ones, promife to cure a poor Patient with
a Pill ; would his Credit fuffer, or his Veraci^
be queftioned, if tbe Patient fhould die thro'
jRefufal to take It ? When the Ifraelites came
into Canaan, and had enlarged tiheir Conquefls ¦
fo

( 85 )
fo fer, as to procure for themfelves a fufficlent
Settlement ; tired out with the Fatigues of War,
they were glad to fit down quietly, and enjoy
the Fruit? of Peace, without any Inclination to
make unneceflary Acquifitions, or purfue their
Rights to the utmoft Boundaries of their Grant ;
yea, before the whole Nation had procured fuf
ficlent Settlements. This appears from Jofiua's
rebuking the Ifraelites : * How long are yefiack
io go to poffefs the Land which the Lord God of
your Fathers hath given you ? And when after
wards they fell' into the Idolatries of the Nations
around them, 'tis evident they loft all Spirit and
Courage, had no Thoughts of driving out the
Nations that dwelt in their Country, and were
fcarce able to maintain themfelves in their own
Poffeffions. But was the Grant of God ever
the lefs real, becaufe they negledted to affert it;
or by falling into the Corruptions of the Nations
around them, rendered themfelves incapable of
obtaining it ? The Grant remained what it ori
ginally was, and they might have enjoy'd it in
its largeft Extent, had it not been for their own
Obftinacy and Folly. It fhould not however be
forgotten, that David, by fubduing the Phi
liftines on' the South, and Hadadezar, t King of
Zobah, at the River Euphrates, obtaln'd this
Promife in its full Extent. And of Solomon 'tis
exprefly remark'd ; that X he reigned over all the
Kifigs, from the River, that is Euphrates, even
* Jo(h. xviii. 3. t 2 Sam. viii. i, 3, & x, 18, 19.
X 2 Chron. ix. 26.
G 3^ imt9

( 86 )
unto the Land of the Philiftines, and to the Bor^
der of Egypt. Of this Extent of Country they
had a perpetual Grant, but that they fliould have
the continual Poffeffion of it. Is no where faid,
no 'nor fo much as intimated. Befides, there
were certain Conditions on which the Profperi^
of ^e Ifraelites, and particularly their Success
over their Enemies greatly depended ; and: thefe
were, their conftant Acknowledgment of the
God of Abraham, and their keeping his Statutes
and Commandments. This is more than inti
mated by God himfelf, * Abraham fiall furely
become a great and mighty Nation ; for I knmfy
him that he will command ^his Children and his
Houfiold after him ; and thej fiall keep, or as the'
prefix 1 is render'd in many Places, that they keep
the Way of the Lord, to do Jufiice and Judg
ment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham,
that wbich he hath fpoken of him ; in which Words,
the very Accompllfliment of the PromlfeS to
Abraham, are made to depend on his own good
ConducS ; and the Profperity of his Houfe, on
their keeping the Way of the Lord, to do Jufiict
and Judgment. And therefore, God tells the
People at Mount Sinai, that t if they would keep
his Covenant, they fiould be a peculiar Treafun
to him above all People. And with this Limita
tion all thefe Promifes were underftood by the
Jews themfelves, as might be fliewn by many
Paffages from the Sacred Writings, I would
ferther add,
* Gen. xviii, 19, f Exod. xix. i.
6. That

( 87 )¦
.6. That the Ifraelites themfelves were abun
dantly convinced, that God had fulfilled all his
Promifes to them, and that long before they had
extended their Pominion from Sihor, or Nile,
to Euphrates; viz. by thfir Introdudtion into, and
Settlement in the Land oiCanaan, .in Oppofition
to their Enemies. Thus the Author of the Book
oijqfiua: * The Lqrd gave unto Ifrael all the
Lam which he Jware to give unto their Fathers,
y^tXrh'2 ^^?, the iphole Country, and they poffeffed
it, and dwelt therein. And the. Lord gave them
Refi round about, .according to all that he fware
unto their Fathers, and there fiood not a Man of
all their Enemies before them : The Lord deliver'd
all their Enemies into their Hands. There failed
not ought of any good Thing, which the Lord had
fppken uiito the Houfe of Ifrael : All came to pafs.
And X Jofiua, juft before his Death, appeals to
the Ifraelites themfelves : Behold this Day I am
going the Way of all the Earth, and ye know in
alj, your , Hearts, and in all your Souls, that not
cne Thing hath failed of all the good Things which
the Lord your Godfpqke concerning you : All are
come to pafs unto you, and not one Thing hath
failed thereof. And in particular, as the Pro
mife to Abraham, that God would give unto his
Seed the Land, from the River of Egy^t unto
the River Euphrates, is Immediately explained,
by the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hit
tites, Perizzites, Rephaim, Amorites, Canaanites^
' Girgafiites and Jebufites ; fo + Jofhua particu-
* Jolh. xxi. 43,44, 45. X ]°^- ^*'"- '4' + J°^' ^"^v. II.
Nehem. ix. 8. "
G 4 larly

( 88 )
larly takes Notice, that the Amorites, Periz.,
zites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgafiites, Hivites,
and Jebufites, God deliver'd into their Hand,
and gave them a Land for which they did not la-,
hour, and Cities which they built not, and they
dwelt jn them. As for the other Names men
tion'd in the Grant to ./Graham, that are omit'-
ted by Jofiua, the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kad
monites and Rephaim, they feem to have been
fmaller Tribes, intermixt with the larger Na.,
tions, and who therefore are included under
them, and fhared the fame Fate in commoii
with them, upon the Conqueft of Canaan.
Thus the Rephaim * were mixed with the Periz-
' zites, and their City Afiteroth t ppffeffed by the
Faniily oiMachir, the Son oiManqffeh ; X tho' a
great Part of them had been before deftroy'd by
Chedorlaomer, and the Kiqgs confederate with
him. The § Kenites were ^mongft the Amalekites,
who were made fubjedl to Ifrael by Saul, and
partly deftroy'd by ** David after, him, when
he invaded the Amalekites, and who thereby
enlarged the Conquefts of Ifrael down to
E^pt. The Kadmonites fignify the Eaftern Peo
ple, and probably denote thofe fituated on the
Eaft of Jordan, whofe Land was conquered
and poffeffed by the Ifraelites. The Kenizzites
axe no where elfe mention'd but in this Grant to
Abraham, and were either deftroy'd between the
* Jofh. xvii. 15. + Joili. xiii. 31. J Gen. xiv. j.
\ 1 bam. xv^ 6. •* I S^m, xxvii. 8, 10.
Tim?

(8?)
Time pf this Promife to him, as the learned
Bochart X conjedtures, and the Jews Entrance
into Canaan, or too inconfiderable to be men
tion'd in the Account of their Copquefts.
7. I would obferve, that thefe original Pro
mifes of God to the Patriarchs, mention not one
fingle "Word of the Deftrudtion and utter Extir
pation pf the People, whofe Land was given to
them J nor whether they, or their Pofterity,
were to be put ipto Poffeffion of it all at once,
or gradually : And that therefore if any Part of
thefe Natioiis remained in it, after the Ifraelites
took Poffeffion of it, 'tis not at all Inconfiftent
with the Qx&nX, which thefe Promifes convey'd.
And therefore I ackiiowledge, that as thefe dif
ferent Nations were all in Canaan, during the
Lives of the Patriarchs j fo alfo after the Con
queft by their Pofterity, the Philifiines, Jebu
fites, Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites
and Hivites, dwelt amongft them. But then,
'tis plain from the Hiftory, that the Ifraelites
made thepi Tributaries, and put them as con
quered Nations to fervile Employments. And
tho' they oftentimes rofe up in Arms againft
their Mafters, and were made ufe of bv the Pro
vidence of God to punifli them for their Apo-
ftacy, and idolatrous Pradtices ; yet could they
never either deftroy or difpoffefs them from their
Conquefts. And 'tis as certain, that as foon as
ever they repented and turned unto God, they
livere crowned with Succefs, and brought their
X Phafeg. 1.4. c, 36. Enemies

( 90 )
Enemies into thoraw Sijbjedtion ; till at length
under their Kings, from David and Solomon,
thro' a long Succeflioh of them, 'tis partlci^larly
remarked by the Writers of the Sopks pf King^
and Chronicles, tbat * as for all the Peqpk, that
were left of the Hittites, and i(he Amorites, and
fhe Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebufites,
which were not of Ifrael, but of tkeir Children
who were left after them in the ILand, , whoni the
Children qflixael confumedmt, them /^^Splomon
make to pay Tribute unto this Day. , And of the
Extent of his Kingdom, 'tis, particularly re?
mark'd, that he t reigned over , all the Kings,
from the River, viz. the Euphr.a,tes, even unto
the Land of the Phillfllnes, and tq the Border, of
Egypt. And !tis a Circumftange peculiarly re-
mai-kable, that after David and Solomon, thefe
Nations never opce, .as I remember, gave the
Jews any Difturbance by rifing in Rebellion
againft them. The Philifiines indeed once or
twice join'd the Arabians and Edomites, who lay
near to them, and invaded the Cities of Iftael,
tinder the Reigns of thofe idolatrous Princes,
' Jehoram and Ahaz : But as this Nation was
never mentioned in the original Grants to the
Patriarchs, fo they were foon reduced into Obe
dience again by Uzziah, j who took from them
Gath^ and Jabneh, and Afidod, and built Cities
in their Territories to curb them ; and by Her
zekiah, upon his Reformation from the Idola-
* I Kin. ix. 21. 2 Chron. viii. 7, S. f z Chron, ix. 2$.
X 2 Chron. xxvi, 6, 7. tries

{ 91 )
tries of his Father : Yea, this Country of Phi
liftia was not only tributary to the Jews, and
fome pf their Cities in their Poffeffion ; but they
were fpread over the Land, even to its utmoft
Limits,, and. had peaceable Poffeffions and Ha
bitations throughout it. Thus Solomon, at the
Time of the Dedication of the * Temple, held
a Feaft, and all Ifrael with him, from the En
tering in o/'Hemath, unto the River of Egypt.
And David before him, even before he had
made any confiderable Conquefts, thus fpeaks
to the Congregation : + Let us fend abroad to our
Brethren every where, that are left in all the
Land of Ifrael, that they may gather themfelves
unto us. And David gathered all Ifrael together,
from Sihor of Egypt, even unto the Entering of
Hemath, And when David X numbered the
People, Joab and the Captains came to Dan-
Jaan, and about to -Zldon, and came to th£
firong Hold of Tyre, and to all the Cities of the
Hivites, and of the Canaanites, and to the South
of Judah, to Beerfhebah ; and having thus
gone thro' all the Land, returned to Jerufalem.
Thefe are Paffages that evidently prove, that
the Ifraelites, before David's Time; had thuTs
fpread themfelves thro' the utmoft Bounds of
the Land of Canaan, to Zidon, Tyre, and § He-
math, being the uttermoft Limits of that Coun
try Northward, as Sihor was to the South.
* I Kin. viii. 65. \ 1 Chron. xiii. 5. J 2 Sam,
xxxiv. 6, 7, 8, S Numb. xiii. 21. -Siifsw's Travels, p. 325.
Nor

{9^ )
Nor will the Philofopher ever get nd of thefe
Paffages, without meanly infinuating Interpo
lations and Forgeries, which I am fure he
hath neither Learning nor Authority fufli-
cient to fupport. So entire was their Con^
queft and Sovereignty over this Land, even
from the utm«ft Boundaries of it, the River
cf E^t from the South, up to Lebanon
towards Euphrates on the North, as that the
whole Country was adtually in their Poffeffion
for many Ages j either as inhabited by theni-
felves, or tributary to their Power. And upon
the Whole, I appeal to the unprejudiced Part
of Mankind, the Moral Philofopher, and bis Re
tailers I always' except out of this Number,
whetheir the Promifes of God to Abraham, Unto
thee, and to thy Seed after thee, will I give all
this Land, were not literally made good, - by his
Pofterity 's being brought into it, fettled in It,
enjoying as large a Portion of it as their nu
merous Tribes could Occupy, and by their re
taining all the Remains of the conquered Na^
tions as their Dependants and Tributaries. .
8. The Promifes of God to Abram point out
the Perlodj when the Beginning of their Ac- ,
complifhment was to take Place, with Refpedt
to his Pofterity, and before which they were
not to expedt, as a Nation, to make any Ad
vances towards the Land of Canaan. Kno^v of
a Surety, that thjy Seed fioall be a Stranger in a
Land that is not theirs, and fiall ferve them, and
they fiall affiiSl them four Hundred Tears; and, alfo

{93)
"o^o that Nation whom they fiall ferve will I judge.
Afterwards they fiall come out with great mb-
fiance, but in the fourth Generation they fiall come
hither again. Unto thy Seed have I given this
land. Or, as the Hebrew Woxds are literally
rendered. But ihe fourth Generation fiall return
hither. The Reader will remark, that accord
ing to this Predidlion Abraham's Seed were to be
Strangers in a Land that was not theirs ; they
were to ferve a People, and tp be afflldted by
them full four hundred Years ; /. e. four hun
dred Years were to be compleated, during which
Period, thefe three Things were to happen :
That his Pofterity were to be Strangers, in a
foreign Land, they were to ferve the People of
a foreign Land, and to fuffer great Hardfliip and
Oppreffion frpm them j and befides this, the Na
tion that particularly oppreffed them were to be
judged, i. e. punlfhed by God. Thefe four hundred
Yeirs were dated from the Birth of Ifaack, who
with- Jacob and his Pofterity continued Stran
gers in the Land where they fojourned, till the
Deliverance from Egypt. When thefe four
hundred Years were compleated, their Afflic
tion and Servitude were to be entirely at an
End, by the Punlfliment of their Oppreffors, and
they were to come out, viz. from the Land of
their Oppreffion, with great Subfiance ; but not
fo be brought immediately into the Land of
Canaan. Of this there is neither Word, nor
Intimation In the Promife. Neverthelefs, the
Jbtirth Generation were to be brought up into it :

( 94 )
J? the fourth Generation they fiall come hither
again ; mn ;rir' '3?»1*1 in. The literal Rend-
ring is : And the fourth Generation fiall return
Either ; i. e. come out of the Land pf theit Op^
preffioh, and return to this Country. Not one
Word of being fettled in .it, and enjoying the
Whole of it from Sihor to Euphrates. The
fourth Generation here unqueftionably means
the Pofterity of Jacob, In their fourth Defceht
after their going down Into Egypt. And this Is
the natural and general Senfe of the original
Word "in, which denotes ftridtly and properly
that Period and Revolution of Years, by which
the Life of Man is circumfcrlbed, or a Genera
tion and Succeffion of Men from Father to Son,
and is fo ufed in many Places ; and the Place is
thus underftood by the beft Jewifi Interpreters^
Jonathan, Jarchi, and others. And the Ex-
preffion of coming again^ or returning hither,
fixes the Date of this fourth Generation, to
commence frOm the Time of Abraham' s^eed
going out of it. , Now Abraham's Seed never
went out of It, to dwell in a Land and ferve
Strangers, till Jacob and his Pofterity went,
down Into Egypt. And therefore the fourth
Generation muft mean, his Pofterity in the
fourth Defcent, after their leaving the Land of
Canaan. And this Is farther . evident, becaufe
otherwife the Prophecy would contradidt itfelf > '
the Seed of Abram not being to come out from '
the Land of their Oppreffion till after four
hundred Tears; and therefore, in the fourth Ge-
neratiorL

( 95 )
neration can never mean, within four hundred
Tears, unlefs the Philofopher imagines, they
could enter into Canaan^^ before ever they came
out of Egypt. Two diftindt Things are here
fpoken of, their coming out oi Egypt, and their
coming Into the Land oiCanaan ; and two dif
tindt Periods of Time fixed. In which each of
thefe Events fliould take place. They were to
come Put of Egypt four hundred Years from
the Time Abram and his Seed were Stran
gers in a Land not theirs ; and they were to re
turn into Canaan In the fourth Generation- or
Succeffion of Meh from their going into Egypt.
And all this exadtly happened according to
the Predldtion. For fr^m the Birth of Ifaack
to the Deliverance ixovn Egypt, were juft four
hundred Years. At Jacob's Birth Ifaack was
fixty Years old. When Jacob went into Egypt
he Was one hundred and thirty, which make
one hundred ninety Years. And they were in
Egypt two hundred and ten, which together
make exadtly four hundred. And the, fourth
Generation of Perfons from this Defcent returned
to, and fome of them entered into. Canaan. Ko-
hath entered into Egypt, Amran his Son was Fa
ther of Aaron, whofe Son Eleazar entered into
Canaan, and who with Jofiua divided the
Country to the Ifraelites. Again, Judah entered
with Jacob Into E^pt, His Son Pharez was
Father lo Hefron, whofe Son Caleb had a Pof
feffion in Canaan amongft the Children of Ju^
dah. So fully verified was every Part of this
antient

( 9^ )
antient Prophecy. And agreeably hereto the
facred Hiftorian takes Notice: ''That it came to
pafs, that at the End of four hundred and thirty
Tears even the felf -fame Day it came to pafs, that
all the Hojis of the , Lord went outfroni the Land
of Egypt. From the Birth oi Ifaack to the com
ing out of E^pt was exadtly four hundred
Years. From Abrams Entrance into the Land
of Canaan to Ifaack's Birth was twenty five. And
therefore from his leaving Ur oi the Chaldees,
to his coming into Ci3!«^«» muft be five, which
tocrether make up the four hundred and thirty.
9. The Promifes of God to Abraham de-
dare, tliat he would give the Land of Canaan
to him, and to his Seed forever, 2Xidfor an, ever
lafting Poffefiion. To Abraham himfelf D^Tiyiy
forever, i. e. during his Life, in which Senfe
the Words are + frequently ufed. And to his Seed
X±/\V T\\XSit>. for a Pofieffion of Age, i. e. a
long and durable Poffeffion, without any fixing
or Limitation of the Time ; tho' the Condition
of their continuing to poffefs it, is plainly e-
nough intimated by God himfelf, vizi if they
would X keep the Way of the Lord, to do Juftice
and Judgment. And in this Senfe the Je'ws
themfelves underftood the Promife, as appears
from II Mofes, § Jofiua, and the Writings of
almoft all the Prophets. The Accomplifhment
of this Part of the Promifes is too plain to every
Reader, to need any farther Explication.
• Exod. xii. 41. f Pf. cxix. 44. X Geo. xviii. 19.
i Deut, viii. 19, zo. $ Joih, xxiii. 15. Having

(97)
Itiaving thus remarked the Particulars con
tained in thefe Promifes of God to Abraham^
Jfaack and Jacob, I fhould now examine what
¦ this Moral Dr. fays to the contrary, and the
^Reprefentation he hath given of this Affair.
And the Reader will find him of a Piece with
himfelfj and that he hath not departed one Jot,
from his ufual Veracity, Modefty and Polite
nefs. But I fhall referve the particular Con
fideration of this till I come to the Time of
Mofes and Jofiua^ and the Settiement of the
Jews in this Country, under them; and only
confider now, the Reprefentation he hath given
of the Promifes themfelves. And
I. He tells us, God * promifed to fettle hit
pofterity in the Pofieffion of the whole Land from
the River Jordan to the great Sea; dr as he elfe
where expreffes it, ffrom Jordan to the Medi
terranean in Breadth, and from Sidon to the Bor
ders of Egypt in Length. In another Place 'tis
that X vaft Country from the River ^ Egypt to
Euphrates. In another Place, II 'tis as jar as
Abram could fee from the Paleftine Amorite
Mountain, Elfewhere, 'tis § the Land in which
Abram had fojourned, who, he tells us, tra-
'velledfrom Place to Place, and dwelt and fo
journed in all Parts of the Land, while he was
there. And finally, ** there is not one Word in
Exod. xxiii. 29, 30. nor in any of the Books of
•Mofes, of any Nation or Country, which the \i-
*Pag. i3. +i»ag. 3^. t Page 23d,
II Page 23 J. $ Page 234. ** Page 240.
I-I raeliteS

(98)
tsiditsswere to drive out, and take their Pofiefk,
fons, but the Canaanites only. And if this be,
true, as I think it is, meaning by the Canada
nites, the Pofterity of Canaan, the Promife to
Abram of the Land from Sihor to Euphrates,
can only mean, as I have already explain'd it,
fo much of the Country between thefe two
Rivers, its South and North Boundaries, as was
poffeffed by thefe different Clans or Nations
And hence it . follows, that his Obfervatibri|j;
* that the Plains o/" Philiftia iijpre included in this
Country, is not true; and his Remark,' that
David could not pofiefs himfelf of the Plains of tbe
Sea Coafts /;? Philiftia, is nothing to the Pur
pofe, becaufe the Philiftines were not Canaa-i
nites but Egyptians, and therefore could not be,
'upon his own Scheme, that Nation or Country|
which the Ifraelites were to drive out and<ake'
Poffeffion of. But that they did poffefs the
Land oi the Canaanites, either as Inhabitants or
J^ords, is abundantly plain from what has been
already obferved. Nor doth it appear from
the Accounts of Abraham's Travels, that he
ever went fo far North as the Euphrates, or that
he ever. Taut once, went out of the Land oiCa
naan properly fo called ; nor will our Philofophfeil
I prefume, tho' he hath enlarged Abram' sEy%
Sight fo far as to take a View of a Country,
full of Hills, for one hundred eighty Miles in
Length, fo far ftretch them, as to make them
capable of feeing thxo' ' Libanus and Antilibanus,
* Pag. 232. . into

( 99 )
into Syria, quite up to the Euphrates. This
will be heaping Miracle on Miracle, quite Con
trary to his Judgment and Inclination. In
Truth, the whole Account and Series of thefe
Promifes determine the Grant to be properly
and peculiarly of the Land of Canaan, inha
bited by his Pofterity. And that they did pof
fefs fo much of this Tradt of Land between
Sihor and Euphrates, either as Inhabitants or
Lords, hath I think been proved beyond Ex
ception. Our Author's Obfervation therefore, from
the Promife to Abram, Gen. Xv. l8, 21,
,.* That One would think, that in this Promife,
{there mufi have been fome Mifiake of the Hifto-
\rian, fince the Ifraelites were not in Poffeffion of a
\tenth Part of this large Tra6l from Sihor to the
¦Euphrates, and that it is not much to be infified
on, becaufe made only in a Dream ; is fomewhat
worfe. than a Dream in him. What, were not
the Ifraelites in Poffeffion of a tenth Part of it,
when they were gathered from Sihor to He-
math', and when they were muftered from
Berfiebah in Philiftia up to Sidon and Tyre ?
The Man knows nothing of what he writes,
that afferts this, but betrays his own Blunders,
and not the Miftakes of the Hebrew Hiftorian.
When in order to evade this, he afferts, that
David I could never fubdue or pofiefs himfelf of the
, Plains of the Sea-Coajts, Philiftia and Sidonia,
^' 'which contained at leaft a third Part of Canaan ;
• Page 230, 231. f Page 233,
. Hz tts

( IOO )
'tis partly falfe, and partly nothing to the Pur
pofe. 'Tis partly falfe, for David jinote the
Philiftines * and fubdued them : Or as the Author
of the Chronicles relates It : t He fmote theP\i\-
llftlnes and fubdued them, and took Gath and her
Towns out of the Land of the Philiftines. And '
tho' they rofe again feveral Times in his Reign,
yet he fo intirely humbled and reduced them,
that we have Kttleor no mention of them after.^
wards, except of one or two fmall Infurredtl-
ons, which were foon quelled, and the' Coun
try reduced to its former Obedience. Thus in
the Reign oi Uzziah, he warr-ed againft the
Philiftines, X broke down the Wall of Ga^, and
the Wall of Jahneh, and the Wall i^Aflidod,.
and built Cities about Afhdod, and amongft the
Philiftines. And tho' they rofe again Ih the
Days oiAhab, that Idolatrous Prince, II yet He
zekiah his Son, fo intirely fubdued them, as
that I think we never read of any Infurrediofi.
6i them afterwards. But if the Fadt had been
as he reprefents It, 'tis nothing to the Purpofe,,
becaufe God promifed the ifraelites no other
Country but that of the Canaanites, and there
fore not that of the Philijii?ies, who were E- 1
gyptians and not Canaanites. What he means]
by the Plains of the Sea-Coafis, I know, not.
If thofe, that were between Sidon and Philiftia, \
he cannot prove that they were unfubdued! If
the Sea- Coafts of Sidonia and Tyre, I anfwer,

«

2 Sam. viii. i. f i Chron. xviii. i. J 2 Chron, xxvi: 6.
2 Kings .xviii. 8, ^
there

( .^°I )
^ there is no need of Conqueft to prove the Ac
complifhment of God's Promife to Abram.
I have already fhewn, that the Ifraelites lived
unmolefted in' Tyre and Sidon, and enjoy'd all
the Privileges of thofe Cities and Countries, And
as this was owing to the Power and Influence
of their owri Kings, and the good Providence
of God that followed them, God gave them
Tyre and Sidon for their Habitation Ufe and
Conveniency, tho' they never conquered them 5
as really as he gave the Land of Canaan to the
Patriarchs their Fathers, whereby the Promifes
were equally fulfilled with' Re^iedt to both.
But 2. He farther, with great Confidence affures
us, that Abram being on the Mountains of
•Phlhftia, * God promifed to fettle his Pofterity
after him, in the everlafting peaceable Pofiefiian of
the whole Land, t And again : God had pro
mifed and fworn to fettle their Pofterity quietly
and peaceably in the Land of Canaan. And what
he means by this peaceably he fully explains:
X That after the bloody Fight with the Amale
kites, the People faw, they were not to be put peace
ably into Poffeffton of Canaan, and the Lord was
not fo far with them, as to fettle them there in a
miraculous Way, II viz. as he expreffes It, by a
miraculous Conqueft, and the Lord's doing every
Thing for them, in Confequence of his Promife and
Oath to Abraham. This it muft be confeffed
* Page 28. t Page 38. J Page 63.
II Page 64- .,._
H 3 IS

( 102, )
is<* very extraordinary Engagment of God, was
it true, and I think we fhould be hard put to
it to find out the Accompllfliment. But luck
ily thefe Words, Peaceably, ^ietly, axe in none
of the original Promifes to Abraham; no, not in
that made upon our Author'^ Philiftine Amo
rite Mountain. They are Woxds forged by this
Moral Writer, and added to the Promife of
God without his Leave, and contrary to his In-
tention. Nor did Mofes give them any , En
couragement to expedt fuch a peaceable/ and
quiet Settlement in the Country, /. e. a Set^
tlement in it by the Lord's doing every Thing.
for them ; as fliall hereafter be fhewn at
large. The Promifes of God to Abraham de
termined nothing pofitively and in exprefs Terms
about the Manner, how they were to be brought
into Canaan; whether by the Ceffion, or Con
queft of the former ^ Inhabitants, whether peace
ably or by War. This could be determined
only by the Event ; and I here publickly call
on this Philofopher, as he would avoid the
Charge of Forgery and Falfhood, and oi corrupt
ing and belying the Promifes of God, to prove
that God promifed, particularly on the Amorite
Mountains, to iettle Abrams Pofterity in fhepeace-
ple Pofieffion of the whole Land, as he hath ex
plained the Word, or in any other Place what-
foever, either In Terms, or by fair Implication
or Confequence. The Expreffion, the Mquity
of the Amorites is not yet full, feems plainly and
ftrongly to intimgte the contrary. For what ever

( I03 )
ever might be the Numbers of this People at
this Time) under whom as a principal and very
corrupted JPart, all the Branches of Canaan's Fa
mily feem to be included, yet the fparing them
for four hundred Years longer muft unqueftio
nably add both to their Number and Strength,
and render the expelling them from their Coun
tries proportionably more difficult. Not to add
that the Words, Their Iniquities are not yet full,
feem to Imply that at the End of thefe four hun
dred Years, their Iniquities would arrive to their
juft Meafure, and that they fhould in due
Time reap the Vengeance juftly due to their
aggravated Crimes, and that this Punifhment
fhould come on them by God's giving their
Country to the Seed of Abraham. This venera
ble Patriarch could fcarce help having fome fuch
Thoughts as thefe, from the very Nature of
the Promife ; and the Philofopher can never
evade the Force of thefe CIrcumftances, with
out ridiculoufly crying ont Forgery and Impofiure,
in an Affair that is almoft as evident and certain,
as any one Fadt that can be produced in Hif
tory. The mean Subterfuge this of a Man,
that Is refolved to deny or affirm any Thing
without Shame or Modefty, that he thinks may
promote and keep up the Credit of his Caufe.
3. 'Tis yet more extraordinary what he af
firms, that Mofes * revives an antient Grant of
Go^ /o Abraham &c, \ in which God had promifed
and fworn to jet tie their Pofterity quietly and peace -
»' Page 38, t Page 63. H 4 ably

( I04)
ably in the Land of Canaan, as an everlafting Hi^
heritancefor them, at the End of four hundred
Tears; and that at the End of thefe four hundred
Tears, they were upon the Solemn Oath and
Promife of God to be put into the Poffeffion of the
whole Land fo far as Abram could fee. And
the Refledtion he makes on it is this : This was
the Promife and Oath from God, which Mofes as
a Politician fet out upon. But as God never
made good his Promife and Oath, as they could'
never fet a Foot upon, or could make themjelvei\
Mafters bf any one Town in it, till forty Tears
after the four hundred Tears of Promife were ex
pired; as all this is very clear and undeniable^ it
may reafonably be prejitmed, that this was now
only trumpt up to ferve a Turn : And finally to
clofe this * horrid Account, as this Promife was
never made good, we make God a Liar, or he af
ferts Mofes was an Impoftor. Reader, I befeech
thee obferve the Particulars this incautiqusWxitet
here afferts, I, He reprefents God as promifing to
Abram, that at the End of four hmdred
Tears, he would fettle his Pofterity iii
the Land of Canaan.
?. That at this Period they were to be,
put into Poffeffion of the whole Land, io
far as Abram could fee from one of
the higheft Mountains oi Palefiine, viz,
frqm the River Jordan to the Medlter-
i^. ' ^ Yo!. IIJ, Pag, 234. ranean.

( I05 )
ranean, and from TX^on to the Borders
rf Egypt-
3. That he promifed fo fettle his Pofte
rity quietly and peaceably In this Land,
4. That at the End of thefe four hundred
Years, they were upon the folemn Pro-
mije and Oath of God lo be put irito Pof
feffion of this whole Land. And
^. That Mofes revives this antient Grant
from God tP Abram.
I befeech thee once more. Reader, be thou
Deifi or Chrifiian, be thou Mahometan or Jew,
whofoever thou beefi, fo that thou haft but a
Love for Truth and Honefty, judge between
the God of Abraham, and this prejicmptuous.
Moral Philofopher ; and either impartially con
demn me for this Reprefentation of him, ot
let thy generous Pity reft on him, vv^ho hath
thus'mifreprefented the Promifes of God, and
the Condudt of Man. For every one of
thtfe five Particulars are contrary to Truth,
and have not one fingle Word in the Writings
of Mofis to fupport them.
The only Pnffage In the Old Teftariient,
where theje jour hundred Tears axe meritiohed
is that before quo.ed; which I muft t)eg leave
tp repeat. The Words are thefe. * He, God,
faid uhto Abram, know of a Surety^ that thy
Seed fhall be a Stranger in a Land that , is not
theirs, and fiall ferve fhem, and they fiall afiliSt
* Gen. XV. « 3 . &c, them.

( io6 )
them, four hundred Tears. And alfo that Na
tion whom they fiall ferve, will I judge; and after
wards they fiall come out with great Subfiance,
viz, after this four hundred Years, and God's
judging the nation that afflldted them. But in
the fourth Generation they fiall come hither again,
for the Iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
All therefore that Is afferted in this Promife to
Abram, Is : That at the End of four hundred
Tears Abram'i' Seed fiould come out of the
Ijand that affiiSied them with great Subfiance,
and that the fourth Generation oi thofe who
'went Into this ftranger Land fiould come again
into the Land o/' Canaan, or that it fhould be
hwtfour ordinary Generations of Men before God
would caufe them to return to Canaan, Not
one Word, that they fhould poffefs the Land
of Canaan exaSily at the End of four hundred
Years, not an Intimation that they fhould pof
fefs ii peaceably and quietly, not the leaft Shadow
oian Oath or folemn Oath from God to this Pur
pofe ; no Promife to put them into Poffeffion
from Jordan to the Mediterranean, or from
Sidon to Egypt, only that they fiould come up
hither. Nor Is there any other Promife to
Abraham recorded, that mentions thefe four
hundred Years : nor did Mofes ever revive fuch
a Promife or Grant, never affured the Ifraelites
of poffeffing Canaan peaceably, nor of bringing
them Into it at the End of four hundred Years,
All this is Philofophical Dream, Invention and
Forgery, and an imrighteous chargingGod andMan with

( I07 )
with Affurances and Promifes and Oaths they
never made. The facred Hiftorian well knew
the Meaning of this Promife of the four hun
dred Years, and underftood it in the fame Man
ner I have explain'd it, when he makes this
•Refledtion on the Time of the Ifradites Deli
verance from Egypt, at the End of the four
hundred and thirty Years from Abram's coming
out of Ur, or four hundred Years from the
Birth oi Ifaack, who was the firft of his proper
Seed, that was a Stranger in the Land that was
not theirs-: * It is a Night much to be obferved
unto th^ Lord, for bringing- them out, DK^iflrl*?.
the very Word made ufe of in the Promife
Gen,, XV. 14. 1K>^» Te fiall come out with great
Subftance, viz. from the Land of Egypt. This is
that. Night of the Lord to be obferved of all the
Children of Ifrael in their Generations ; to be ob
ferved by them Indeed with the higheft Reafon,
becaufe it was the Accompllfliment of the Pro
mife to a Day. And yet wonderful as this
Day was, as a fignal Proof of * the Fidelity of
God In accomplifhlng this important Prophecy,
this Moral Philofopher tells us, this Promife
of the four hujidred Years was never made
good, and that if we fuppofe it f abfolute we
mufl make God a Liar, and affirms that if 'twas
conditional Mofes was an Impofior. But he is
too hafty in imagining he can reduce us to thefe
Straits. For
» Exod. xii. 4J. + Page 229. Fin. and 234.- J. God

( IP8 )
' 1. God never made any fuch Promife at all,
as he reprefents, either abfolute or conditional,
viz. to fettle Abram's Pofterity peaceably in the
Land of Canaan, in the whole or any Part of
it, exaaiy at the End of four hundred Years j
but only that they fliould come from Egypt,
at the Expiration of that Term : This Promife
was abfolute, and God proved himfelf no Liar,
becaufe he exadtly fulfilled it. When he adds
2. That the Ifraelites could never fet a Foot
upon, or make themfelves Mafters of any one Town
in it till forty Tears after the four hundred, 'tis
a pitiful Obfervation. For had it been eighty
Years 'twould have been nothing to the Pur
pofe ; and fhews only his Want of Care In read
ing the Hebrew Hiftory, or his determined Pur
pofe malicloufly to mifreprefent it. For neither
God nor Man promifed them that they fhould
fet Foot on it, or make themfelves Mafters of
one Town in it, till after the four hundred
Years. The Promife as made by God, and re
vived by Mofes, was in every Circumftance of
it the moft exadtly verified, in full Jufiification
of the Truth of God, and the Authority and
Commlflion oi Mofes. And yet as tho' he had
been wxiiing the plainefi and moft certain Truths,
and giving us the Mofaick Hiftory, exadtly as
the Hiftorian had delivered it ; he concludes
this monftrous palpable Mifreprefentatlon of the
Promife of the four hundred Years, with thefe
very Words : * All this is very clear andundeni-
* Page 38. able.

( 109 )
nble : And then prefumes * this Promife was
trumpt up to ferve a Turn, and that Mofes wai
a falfe Prsphet and his Commiffton forged. But
where is the Morality of the Philofopher, In
felling his Reader, that his Account of 'the
Promife, is clear and undeniable, when every
Word of it is Mifreprefentatlon and Falfehood >
And when the very contrary to what he hath af
ferted, is clear and undeniable, if the plaineft
Words can make it fo \ Nor will Mofes his Com-
miffion ever be proved forged, nor the Prophe
cies he adted by, falfe, by fuch impotent Pen as
his;, which feems to difcover only the fixed. Inve
terate Malice of the Writer ; and to take Pleafure
in attempting to blaft all the moft venerable Cha-
rasters of Antiquity. But to proceed.

S E C t V.
Of the original Defign of the Patriarchs iofettk
in Canaan.
WHatever might be the Senfe arid Mean-
ing'and Accomplifhment of thefe and
other Promife's to Abraham, Ifaack arid Jacob;
our Philofopher farther obferves : That f who
foever will confider the Nature and Confequence of
this Story from firft tq laft, muft I think fee,
that thefe Hebrew Patriarchs had never any
original D^h'-ofefeftlingin PaleMne-; and it
appears very plain that Ahxa^vn' s firfi Attempt
* 'Page 39. f Page 28, 29. for

( '10 )
for a Settlement was in Egypt,, and that being
driven from thence, it is plain that in his Re-^
turn to Canaan, he made no Provifion for a Set
tlement there, or ever defigned it for his Pofie-
rity. He built no Towns or Cities, nor culti
vated any Lands more than was neceffary for
Corn and a prefent Supply ; * and that tho' Abra
ham in his Time might eafily have conquer d the,
whole Land of Canaan, and driven out all the,
former Inhabitants had he thought fit, \ having a
Force fuperiour to any or all of them; and tho'
Ifaack and Jacob might afterwards have done
the fame, being vaftly rich, andfuperiqr in Force-,
and Power to any Nation or Colony then in Ca
naan, yet all this Time they made, no Purchafes,
attempted no Conquefts, nor dij'covered the leaft
Defign or Inclination of ever making it their
Country, or any fixed fettled Habitation for them"
felves or Pofierity, X becaufe 'twas a Land not
worth conquering, purchafing or pqffeffing ; and
therefore farther II 'tis plain that the real Defign
of this Hebrew Nation from firft to laft was
upon EgyT^t.
Here are two Things our Author imagines
he hath laboured with great Succefs, and fet
in the cleareft and moft evident Point, of View.
This is plain, and that is very plain, and every
one muji fee it, viz,
1 . That the Hebrew Patriarchs had never
any original Defign of fetding in Paleftine. And
" Page 94. t Page 29. % Page 30.
jj Page 28.
2. that

( III )
2. That the real Defign from firft to laft was
upon Egypt.
I. That the Hebrew Patriarchs had never any
real Defign of fetling in Paleftine. This, fays
he, every Man muft jee who confiders the Nature
efthe Story from firft to laft. If he means the
Nature and Confequence of the Story he hath
invented and cooked up from firft to Laft, a
Man may fee many wonderful Things from
it. If he means the plain and artlefs Story as
reprefented by the Hebrew Hiftorian, 'tis im
poffible that any Man who can fee at all, can
fee that the Hebrew Patriarchs had never any
{original Defign oi fetling in Paleftine, for he
muft fee abfolutely the contrary. It will be
neceflary here a littie to review the Hiftory of
thefe venerable Patriarchs, to fet this Affair In
a clear Light. When Abram firft came out
of Ur, he travelled, not knowing where the Land
of Promife was to be\ but going to the Land
* that God fiewed him, he came diredtly to the
Land of Canaan ; and there God promifed him :
To thy Seed will I give this Land. Here he con
tinued, till a Famine forced him Into the neigh
bouring Country oi Egypt, where he went t only
to fojourn till the Famine was over. From
hence he returned into the South Parts oiCana
an, X to dwell in it. Here he continued, fome
times dwelling on the Hills, at other Times In
the Plain oi Mamre amongft the Amorites, [j In
• Gen. xii. i, 5, 6, + Gen. xii. 10.
, X Gen.xjii. 12, iJ "V^er, i*. this

( 112 ) . .
this Country he had the Promife of the Lan J
renewed to him. And fo pleafed was he wit^
this Promife of God, that -he requefted fome
folemn Confirmation of the Grant tliatwa^^
made him. ".* Whereby fiall I know that I fiall
inherit it ? Accordingly God gave him th? Sa^
tisfaaion he defired, by a Vifion exprefsly, de-
termihlng the TIrne when his Pofterity ftio.uld
be brought up to It, and reprefenting to him
feveral remarkable CIrcumftances that fliould
preceed it; and in the fame Day made- a Co
venant with him, confirming all the former
Grants, and particularly fetting forth the ut
moft Boundaries of the Country, and the People
that inhabited it. The fame Promife was fe^
veral Times after renewed to him for his Satis*-
fadtlon ; nor Is there the leaft Intimation, thai
he ever thought ©f, or attempted to go into
Egypt after his firft Return froni it. No, in
Candan was his conftant Habitation ; and fo
well affured was he, that this was to he the
Land of his and his Pofteritles Poffeffion, t that
when giving his head Servant a Charge con
cerning the Marriage of his Son Ijdack, he
makes mention of God under this very Charac
ter': The Lord God of Heaven, which fpoke unto
me, and f'wore unto me, faying. Unto thy Seed
will I give this Land. And fo ftrongly Was he
Perfuaded of the Truth of this Grant, that he
would ' not permit Ifaack ever to return to the
Land from whence he himfelf originally came,
* Gen. XV. 8, &c. \ Gen. xxiv. 5, 6, 7> 8. urging

( "^ ) .
•^fling this very Reafon for it, tbat the Lord
^od^ Heaven had promifed Canaan to his Seed.
And tho' he had feveral other Children by
Keturah, yet in his Life-time he fent * them out
c/" Canaan to the Eafiward from. Ifaack his Sori,
as having no Share in the Promifes of Canaan,
nOr Right of Inheritance there j arid dying was
buried in the Cave oj Mackpelah his Purchafe.
yiiack never appears to have once gorie out of
the Land of Canaan, t and th6* he Went upon
Account of a leffer Famine into Philiftia the
neareft Part of Canaan to Egypt, yet there he
was warned of God not to go down into Egypt,
and received the Promife from God, that had
been given to his Father Abraham, oi a nu
merous Pofterity, and of the Poffeffion of the
fame Country, and Was diredtly commanded!
Dwell in the Land which I fiall tell thee oft
Sojourn in this Land, and I will be with thee
and blefs thee. And when he gave his Sort
Jacob a very folemn Bleffing, 'tis iri thefe re
markable Words : j God Almighty blefs thee, and
make thee fruitful, and give thee the Bleffing of
Abraham, to thee, and to thy Seed with thee,
that thou may ft inherit the Land wherein thou art
a Stranger, which God gav? to Abraham. 'Twas
Canaan, Philofopher, and not Egypt, that was
the Objedt of thefe holy Patriarchs Faith and
Prayers, and theHope of which was tranfmlttedr
firom Father to Son. And when Jacob travel-^'
• Gen. xxv. 6. f Gen. xxvi. 1, 3, 4,
1 Gen. xxviii. 3, 4. I led

, ( "4 )
led towards, ff^r^;?, he received ^he fam? PrQ,
mife from God. * The Land whereon thou lieji,
to thee will I give it and to thy Sped. And be-,
hold Iam with thee and will keep thee, in all
Places which thougoeft, and will bring thee again
into this Land; for IwiU not leave thee, untill
I have done thai which I have fpqken to, thee
of. And accordingly Jacob makes this folema ,
"Vow, If God will be with me and keep me in
this Way that Igo, fo that I come agt^in to my
Father's House in Peace, then jhall the[
lard be my God. All this hapned at Bethel.
near Jericho. When he had been many Years -
a Servant with Laban, he fays to him : \ Send. -.
me away, that, I may go unto my own Place, and
to my Country ; X foon, after which God fays, to
him. Return to the Land of thy Fathers, and to thy.
Kindred, i-and I will be with thee; § and when
he adtually came into it, he built him art Hmfej,
and purchafed a Field ; upon, God's Qxdpx dwells
iri Bethel, and- at Length returns to his Father
Ifaack in Hebron, and after his Death continued
to dwell in the Land wherein his Father was
a Stranger, in the Land 0/ Canaan. Upon the
feven Years Famine in Canaan,^ being fent for
into E^pt. by. his Son Jofeph, tt he feems at
firft afraid *^f §oi"g <^own into that Country.
But God. orders and encourages him. to go,
fear not to go down into Egypt ; and affures him.
* Gen, xxviii. 13, &c. f Gen. xxx. 25,
J Gen. xxxi, 3,. 13, || xxxii. 9. § xxxiii. 17, 19.'
•* xxxvn. I. ff Gen- xlvi. 3, 4, of

( 115 )
of being brought up again after he had feen
Jofeph, and his own Deceafe in Egypt. / will
alfo furely bring thee up, and }oie^ fioall put his
Hand upon thine Eyes. And when the good
old Patriarch gave his Bleffing to his Children,
not one fingle Word of Egypt, tho' in the befi
Part of the Country. No, Zabulon's Bleffing
plainly declares his Hope and Faith was in the
Land of Canaan : * Zabulon fiall dwell at the
¦ Haven of the Sea, and hefioall be for an Haven
'¦ of Ships, and hl^ Border fiall be unto f Zidon.
And in Confidence that God would bring his
Family out of Egypt into Canaan, he makes
Jofeph fwear, and charges all his Cliildren, X
'not to bury him in E^pt, but to carry him
into Canaan, and bury him with his Fathers.
And upon a Vlfit that Jofeph made to him, he
repeats to him the Promife God Almighty made
him at Bethel, when he faid to him, II ./ will
give this Land to thy Seed after thee, for an
everlafting Poffeffton. And leaft Jofeph fhould
entertain any Thought of fettling his own
Pofterity by Ephraim and Manafteh in Egypt,
¦ Jacob tells him : And now thy two Sons Ephraim
- and Manaffeh, which were born unto thee in the
Land of Egypt, before I came unto thee into E-
gypt, are mine : As Reuben ^W Simeon they are
mine; and thy Iffue which thou begetteft after
them fiall be thine, and fiall be called after the
Name of their Brethren in their Inheritance ;
hereby \ plainly declaring they fhould be two
* Gen.xlix. 13. f Gen. xlvii. 29- &c. J xlix. 29.
11 Gen. xlviii. 5, 6. I 2 diftindt

( ii6 )
diftlndi Tribes, a.nd receive their Ipjieritaiice gs
fuch, with the reft of his Sons, In the Land
of Canaan. And when he had bleffed theni,
he fays to Jofeph : * Behofd I die, but God fiall
be with you, and bring you again unto the Lar\d
of your ' Fathers, f And to concl,ude, even
Jofeph himfelf dies in the fame F^Ith and Hope,
tellins: his Brethren: X I die: And God will
jiirely vifit you, and bring you oi^t oj' this Land
unto the Land which he jware to Abraham, to
Ifaack andto Jacob ; and accordingly he tpok qn
Oath of his Brethren, frying: God w.ill furely
vifit you, and ye fiMlll cqrry up my Bones fropi
hence. Thefe Paffages put together difcover In
the cleareft Light the original conftant unlntef-
rupted View of thefe Patriarchs living and dy
ing ; that Egypt vvas abfolutely out of their
Thoughts, and that the Land of Canaan v\^as the
foleObjedt of thefr Ambiflpn and Defire; found
ed iipon the repealed Promifes of the Almighty
God, whom they knew could and would a<^-
compllfh every Thing he ha,d fpoken. An,d I
doubt not but my Reader will now fufficientjy
wonder at the amafing Ignorance, and unfuffefa-
ble AfTurance of this carelefs unthinking Phi
lofopher, who in fpite of fo much Evidence to the
contrary, hath the Front to affert; "Cnat whoever
will confider the Nature and Confequence of thjs
Story from firft to lafi mufi fee: That thefe FJ^-
brew Patriarchs had never any original Deffgn
* Gen. xlviii. 21, f Gen. 1. 24, 25.
X Hcb. xi. 23.

f 117 )
of fettling in Paleftine, that Abraham never de^
figned it for his Pofierity, and that Ifaack and
Jacob did not difcover the leafi Defign or Incli
nation of ever making it their Country, or any
fixed fettled Habitation for themfelves and Pofie
rity. Not difcover the leaft Defign! Not the
leaft Inclination ! I leave every Reader to pafs
his Cenfure on fuch a grofs Mifreprefentatlon of
the Hebrew Patriarchs, and fcandalous Endea
vour to impofe on his Underftanding, and mif^"
lead his Judgment. But he produces his Rea
fons. Wonderful Philofopher, to pretend toRea-
fon away Fadts 1 Was there ever fo dangerous
an Enemy to Revelation before him ? He is the
Goliah oi the Philifiines, and promifes himfelf
certain Vidtory over all his Adverfaries.
I . Abraham never defigned the Land of Ca
naan iox his Pofterity, "and made no Provifi
on for a Settlement there, becaufe he built no
Towns or Cities. Incomparable ! Abraham had
one Son who was to be his Heir to Canaan.
For whom fhould he build Towns and Cities .?
To be fure, for his Son Ijaack. How many
Towns and Cities did this Son Ifaack need ?
Was he fo very large a Man, as that nothing
but Towns and Cities would content him ?
The Philofopher is in a Dream here. Softly,
Reader, difturb him not. Well but
2. \ He cultivated no more Lands than was
neceffary for Corn, and a prefent Supply. Ergo,
he made no Provifion for himfelf, nor defign'd
• Page 29. ^ f Ibid. I 3 it

( "8)
, it for his Ppfterity. Turn this Propofitlon, an^
fee the Philofopher's Acutenefs. Abraham cair
tivatcd as much Land as was necefiary for Corn
and a prefent Supply. Ergo, he made no Pro-,
vifion for a Settiement here. How nervous is th^
Reafoning ! Nor did he for the fame Reafonde*
fign it for his Pofterity. Should he then have
cultivated as many Lands, as were neceffary for
Corn, and a future Supply for all his Pofterity?
There is no Reply to be made to fuch Argu-
hientations. None but Phiiofophers and Ma
thematicians can pretend to fuchDemonftrations.
3. Abraham * might eafily have poffeffed him
felf of Canaan, and in his i Time have conquered
the whole Land, and driven out all the former
Inhabitants then fettled in the Country, had he
thought fit, for he had a Force fuperiour to any
or all oj them ; and therefore, becaufe he did not
make this Conqueft, he made no Provifioii for
a Settiement, nor defigned the Land of Canaan
for his Pofterity.— iV^, ifia herfle magno jam
conatu magnas nugas dixerit.- — We have in one
Place a particular Account oi Abraham's Forces ;
^Vhen he purfued Chedorlaomer, he armed his
trained Sefvarits that were born iti his own Houfe,
three hundred and eighteen. , But I prefume I
fhall be told that 'tis improbable that Abrai^.
fhould purfue thefe four Kings with only three
Hundred and eighteen Men, and that therefore
Abram muft have an unfpeakably larger
Number, I will, if it will pleafe him, allow
.? Page 236. t Page 54. the

{ 119 )
ihe Improbability ; but then I muft derty his
Confequence, becaufe 1 can bring him the
Other Men that went with Abram : Men that
I know he muft dread like Apparitions, becaufe
he hath pofitively affirmed they did not dwell
at this Time in Canaan ; and thefe are the Amo
rites, who were confederate with Abram, the
Families of Aner, Efhcol and Mamre, who af-
fifted Abram in this Expedition. Now, if
Abram had at this Time a Force fuperiour to
any or ^11 the Canaanites, 'tis plain that all the
then Inhabltarits of the Land oi ^Canaan could
not be above three Hundred eighteen Men, elfe
Abram could not be fuperiour to them. Now,
befides all the Sons of Canaan who were the
original Poffeffeirs of the Land, ahere were at
this very Time in it, the diftindt Nations of the
Canaanites, the Perizzites, and the Philifiines,
There were feveral Towns built in it, Abime
lech Kingoi Philifiia had an Hoft, and a Captain
of his Hoft. Now how will this Philofopher
divide thefe three Hundred eighteen People in
the Land oiCanaan ? How many to each 'Tribe .?
How many to inhabit each City ? And how
many had Captain Pichol undex him, this mighty
General of the Hoft of Abimelech, ii Abram's
three hundred eighteen Men wexe a Force fu
periour to all the Inhabitants of that Country ?
For the Philofopher can prove no more from
the Hebrew Hiftorian. He may dream of
more. But his Dreams are not Hiftory. But
what contemptible Stttff is all this to palm upon
I 4 the

( '^o )
the World? What no more than three hundred
and eighteen Men at this Time in all the Land
pf Canaan ? Yea, I'll ^ive him leave to encreafe
Abram's Family to twenty times that Num
ber, and his Account of Abram's Superiority
will be ftupid and incredible. When Jacob's,
Family went down into Egypt, all the Souls of
the Houfe of Jacob were but threefcore and
ten, and during the two hundred and ten Years
they were in that Country, they multiplied to
about fix hundred thpufand Perfons, befides
Children. From the * Flood to the Birth of
Ifaack were near four hundred Years, and can
any reafonable Perfon imagine, that Ham's
Pdlerity by Canaan, who had eleven Sons,
fhould not, during this Period of four hundred
Years, amount to more than the fingle Family
of Abraham, who never lived one hundred
Years in that Country, and who had no Child
for feveral Years ^ after his coming into it; and
efpecially confidering that his, Pofterity encreafed.
to fix hundred thoufand Perfons, befides Chil-?

* From the Flood

to Arfhaxad\

^irth

were

2

\m. xi.

ToSelah's ¦

.

.

35

ToEier's -

.

.' .

30

To Ptlrg's

.

. .

34

To Reu's -

.

.

30

To Strug's
•
. -
32
ToNabir'i
.
.
¦ 30
To Terab's -
.
_
29
Tq Ahram'%
-
• .
70
Tq IfiaiiCi
- -
-
IOO
352 dfcn,
( "O
dren, in the much lefs Period of two hundred
and ten Years ? And when to this vve add far
ther, that befides the Pofterity of Canaan,- both
the Philifiines, and the People pairticularly called
Canaanites, and the Perizzites, had large Set
tlements in it. So far in Truth was Abram from
being fuperiour to any or all the Inhabitants of
theLand oiCanaan, that he a|^ars to have been
inferiour to one fingle Tribe of them, even the
Philifiines. For a little before his Offering up
Gi Ijaack, he * r proved Abimelech, becaufe of a
Well of Water, which Abimelech'j Servants had
violently taken away ; which I prefume Abram
would not have fuffer'd them to have done, could
he have prevented that Violence, by the Superiority
of his own Forces. And indeed this Superiority
of Abraham to any or all the Inhabitants of
Canaan, is mere Rhodomantade and ^ixotifin^
forged by our Author's fruitful Invention, and
may ferve as a Specimen of the Quicknefi of
his Imagination, and the Depth of his Penetra
tion and Judgment. I know of no poffible
Method to give the leafi Air of Probability to
this phihfbpbical Rant of Abram's Troops and
Conquefts, but fuppofing that our Author
reckons Abram's M^d Servants, Oxen, Affes,
Sheep and Goats, amongft his Forces ; and
with this Reinforcement, I will not pretend to
fay, what wonderful Exploits he might have
happily perform*d. • Gen. xxi. 25.
4. With

( 122 )
4. With reipe&: to Ifaack and Jacob after
him, our Philofopher lovvers the Account a
little : They ipere fitperiour in For-ee-and Power
to any Nation or Qdony then in Canaan ; not like
Abram * fuperiour to any or all of them. And
yet Ifaack, with all his Superiority, was not abld
to prevent the Philifiines from fitting up thk
Wells which his Father's Servants Iiad digged,
nor to. preferve thofe which his own Servants
had made, from being feized on by the Herdi*
men of Gerar ; who forced him to leave the
Country where he had fojourned. And, if
Jacob himfelf may be believed, * he was but fena
in Number in Comparifon of the Canaanites, and
Perizzites, and was afraid leaft they fiould de
fine both him and his Family.
But it feems t they poffeffed and oect^ied as muck
as they pleafed of Canaan for two Huridred and
ninety Years, and yet all this Time made no Pur
chafes, nor attempted any Conquefts. But how
doth this Mathematician conipute this two
hundred and ninety Years ? I cannot make fo
much of them by a great many.
From Abrahanis going out of Ha-l
ran, to IfaacKs^\x^,wa& - - \ ^^
From Ifaack's Birth to Jacob's, - - 60
Jacob, when he came into E^pt, was 130
In all but 215

* Gen. x^vi. 15, &c. f Gen. xxxiv. 30. J Page 29.
What

( 123 )
^Vhat dotfi 'every Tiling mult^ly in this Phi-
.lofophff's Aocount ? . Can. he jep^fent nothing
true ? Well, but they attempted no Conquefts.
And what fliould they attempt Conquefts for,
when the Philbfc^her allows, they poffeffed and
occupied as much as they pleafed of tbe Land for
two Hundred. and ninety Tears ? They could have
poffeffed and occupied no more than they pleafed,
had they made ever fo many Conquefts. But
they mads na Purchafes. Why ' fhould they
throw away their Money upon Purchafes, when
they poffeffed as much as they would without
being obliged to purchafe ? Would he have
had them fuch Fools as to give Money for what
they enjoy'd without it ? However, the Fadt is
not true. Abraham did make a Purchafe, and
a very important one too. He purchafed the
Field of Mackpelah for a Burying-place amongft
the Hittites ; a Circumftance, that plainly inti
mates Abraham looked on this Land as his own,
and believed that it fhould one Day be the
Poffeffion of his Family and Pofterity j and to
engage his Sonlfaack to fix in this Country, by
remembering that his Father's venerable Remains
lay buried in it, Tis wellknown the * Ancients efteem'd
* IIoAAPi' *w' It«^/W KitflAt ^StOVOS, iK TS T«ftfJ'Tef
H«Tf »f , TUTO tPs (Ml mUfOTi^OV d'dva.TtS-
Anthol, ]. 2. c, z6. Ep. 75.
20/ To<l\i Aieysvi( &a\a§«( y,v»iJ!.tnov jjjSmj
'Slovre iv Eu^tivu SniKctro (fsv^ yiViTiK-
iiuvrArpfit iKcti offffov I Id. Ibid. c. 23. Ep. 12.
Sep^lchrorum Sanftitas in ipfo folo eft, quod nulla vi moveri ne
que
2

( IM )
efteem'd it a.i a peculiar Unhappinefs to be burieS
in a foreign Country, and not to lie amongft
their Family and Friends. And 'twas for this,
Reafon unqueftionably, that Jacob znd JJoft^h^
were fo extreamly foUicitous to have their own
Bodies brought out oi Egypt, which they looked
on as a firange foreign Land; and depofited in
the Sepulchre of their Parents va Canaan, which
they efteemcd as their own Country and proper
Inheritance. Nor was there any Punifhment:
more fevere and infamous, : that the Ancients
thought they could inflidt, than to deprive Per
fons of being laid in the Monuments of their
Anccftors. Thus we read in die Old Tefta
ment, that this was threatned by God hinifelf >
as a Punifhment to the difobedient Prophet;
t Thy Carcafs fiall not come to the Sepulchre of
fhy Fathers.' And of Joafif'tis remarked as a
Circumftance of Difhonour, That tbey buried
him not in the Sepulchre of the Kings. When
t Horatius, the Roman, after his Viftory over
theCuriatii, had flain his Sifter, for reproach
ing him with the Death of her Lover, the Fa-
qoe deleri poteft, atque ut cztera extingauntur, fie Septtlchn
fiuht Sandiora Tctuftate, Cicer. Pliilip.'g. c. 6.
Magnam eft eadeni habere Monumenta majorum, iifdem iiti
Sacris, Sepulchra habere communia. Id, deOffic. 1. i.e. 17.
f I Kin. xiii. 22, .
t Opire vf rm ommr timnv tiaiftx^mvu tw vttLgev TVf^vyah
rfv, HT^v T»« <r«Tf«o« TedMi^*/ (ivnfMnv vmr^i^v, kts xb-
J'itdLf, BT6 TiiifaKin ^rav *AABy.w^i(x«if nireLfMfitw- Ahk' u
vTAfioiTTit tUTW tfti(tfiivnv iv a i'nj^gn&n X^V**' ^'^*f **'"
tsfKCTK J^ >m', tfuiJ'tvrdaf «( <!^uijut tfniiMV XB/of(8i<«>f. . IXion,
ialic. Rom, Antiq, p; 15?. Edit. Oxon. ther

{ 1^5 )
ther not only vindicated his Son, but in Re-
fcntment of her Condudt, would not permit her
dead Body to be buried with her Family ; as
one of the higheft Inftances of Reproach he
could thraw upon her. Other Inftances of this
Nature might be mentioned. But befides this
Sepulchral Field purchafed by Abraham, his
Gx&ndion Jacob bought another Field for three
hundred Pieces of Money ; and by thefe Pur-
dia:fes the Patriarchs difcovcred that they had a
real Defigri and Inclination of making it their
own Country, and a fettled fixed Habitation for
themfelves and their Pofier-ity. The Sepulchral
purchafe is a Demonftration of this j and Jacob
exprefly calls it* his own Place and Country i
and God himfelf, ^ the Land of his Kindred.
What ftroriger Demonftration can the Philofo- '
pher de/ire ?
.But .thpy, the Patriarchs, X contented them
felves to be voluntary free Sojourners, whilfi they
might have been Mafters of the whole Country had
tl^ thought fit. Very good. Would the Phi*
lofopher have had them contented to be involun
tary, arid enflaved Sojourners ? Or, 'voluntary and
free Sojourner^, without Contentment? Either of
the.two would have- been an extraordinary Cu-
liojity. But they might have been Mafters of the
wbql^ Country had they thought fit ; i. e. they
might have garrifon'^ the ToWris of ^1 the Iri-
habitarits oi Canaanviiih Oxen, ' arid Affes. And
* J Gen. XXX, -sji f Cen. xxxi.'jj. X P^S^ s9- what

(, 126: )'f
VKhat thfnf Codd they h^i^rferbeeri more tha^
content^ voluntary, and fx^eb iOr could thsa^
have polteffed, and- pceuf^d moBe- thaiii fce^
pleafed? What, doth the Mgn mean ?^ If thsjD
were- fuperiour to any or aiUrthe Inhabitdntfep :a)s>
he tells us they wer^, they wereslVfafters of da^
wi^le Country whil^ they livpd in iti 5 and-zllw^sfi
in it, not by Permiffion only, but in Defian«^
of gil the Powep and Strength of the wholalLandi
oidanaan; and the Inhabitants: were behoiidi^J
to- the Patriarchs for their quiet Continuadeelifti
the- Country, ^nd not the Patriarchsto them;: ''
But it feems that * /»&^v Hebrew Clans of
ftroling Shepherds '] aiid' Herdftnen' waited' fw^^ '^d^
more favourable Opportunity ittill Providence jl^fSlj^
direB them to fome Country (k otfoer,'mher e'^ihr&^>
aJidCities had been built, the- Lands ciff,tivated^fih^
them, and all the Conveniences of Life ready p'ro^ 1
videdio their Hands, without any Labour, anddk^
fequentlywiifioiiit-any natural Right 0}?T.itl& qftbeit^'.
own: And all this, he tells us, .fcaais -very plain.^.
— ^codcunque ojiendismifsi fie,: incredulus. odi-^^^'
Clans of firoling Shepherds and Her dfmen 1 The- ^
Manners of the Man ! How .many Hekfews--'
were there in , thefe feveral iCiap^ ? Three- in -
Abraham's, four In, Ifaack's,' andcf^nty vc^Ja-^ '
fo^'Svji for of their S?ryants hescanhot prove one ¦
to-he-an Hebrew. \W^^, t^ waited tillPr-O^'-
vidence fiould- direB i them t^ (Towns and-Gitihi^''
How many Towns and Cities. did^Abrahatd,'
with his Son ffaack, wait to be diredted to t
''¦' ^ * Page 30. ¦ "
;s:J.^.- Or.

( 1^7 )
Or Ifaacit, with has two Sons ? JJncorifcioriable
Men, not to be content with one Town and
cne City each, Jacob indeed had a larger Fa
mily, and the leajft he could wait for, to be
fure, were feventy TownS, and feventy Cities..
And befides this, they waitedf or Lands culti'va-
ted for themy and all thje Qfiveniences of Life
ready provided to their Hands, without Labour ;
fo that they expeded. to live without cultivating
their own Lands, or labouring themfelves for the
Conveniences of Life. But where did, the
Philofopher pick up iihis fifty. Account of the Pa
triarchs Waitings and Expedtations ? Who re
vealed to him this hitherto unheard of Myftery ?
What is Morgan too amongft the Prophets?
The Patriarchs cultiyated themfelves the Land
of Canaan, as much as th^-had-need of. Whe
ther it was defert, ppffefled, droughty, or not,
here they fixed their Hope, here they pur
chafed their Sepulchres. Towns and Cities they
needed none, fought none. The Conveniences
of Life they had in their own Pofl[effion, by
their Labour and Induftry. They trufted in
the Promifes of God, and in the Protedtlon of
Providence, vvhilft they were Strangers in this
Country, knew that God^ v^oUld give it to their
Seed, but that they fliould not inherit it till
many Years after their own Death, and left It
to God Almighty to introduce them, when,
and by whatfoever Methods, he fhould- pleaft,
without 'limiting his Power; or prefcrlbing to
his Wifdom. This is the Truth of the Hiftory, as

(,ii8 )
as Mofes hath given it, and our Author's Ad* '
count' is Romance, F^dlion, and Forgery, froin
one End of it to the other. And from herice
2.C Appears the Falfehood of his fecoiklAf*
fertlon, that their real Defign from firft to lafi
was upon Egypt. I think the largeft Charity-
can never fuppofe this to be any other than a
wilful Mifreprefentatlon ; there being not one
fingle Pafiage in the whole Old Teftament, that
cKfcovers the leaft Footfteps of fuch a Defign.
The Paf&ges before put together demonftratc '
the contrary, that all their Hopes and Promifes
ceriter'd in Canaan, and that they had neither'
Defire or Defign to fix themfelves, or their
Pofterity, in £^//.

i;l

^•-'
-.'*; \

SECT VL

Of the lidrtous Appearances of God to Abrahanl, "
BU T were there In Reality any Promifes of
God made to thefe Patriarchs at all ? Is
not the whole Account related of them mere
Illufion and Dream ? Our Philofopher is of this
Opinion, and thinks * it well that it may be ex-
cttjed as a Dream. He tells us : t That befort
Abram'^ Name was changed into Abraham, the
AM>earances of Jehovah to him, and converfing
With him, feem to have been only in a Dream.
* Page 89^ 90. f Page 88. . And

( 129 )
'And hitherto Abraham'; Dreams are recorded—-
Somniat ta qua vigilans voluit — If any Man
reads the Hebrew^ Hiftory, he will not find that
Abram's Dreams only are recorded during this Pe
riod ; nor Is any one of the Revelations, that
are faid to be made to him, from the firft he
received, to the Time of theChangeof hIsName,
intimated to have been made wholly In a Dream.
The firft Is Gen. xii. i, 2, 3, where the Manner
hpw ,God fpoke to Abram is not mention'd.
The fecond. Gen. xii. 7, feems very plainly to
have been given by jome vifible Appearance of
God to hjm, out of a Dream. Jehovah appear
ed unto Ahxaxn, and faid. Unto thy Seed will 1 give
this Land. As to the third, Gen. xiii. 14, — 17.
Lijt up now thine Eyes, &c. cannot be Language to
a Man In a Dream. This Dreamer goes on to affert :
That juft before the great Promife '(viz. Gen.
XV. 13,-21.^ * was made to Abram, the
Word of Jehovah came to Abram in a Vifion,
er a Dream, by which he was encourag'd not to
fear, fince he fiould certainly have a Son and Heir
by Sarai his Wife, notwithjianding her great Age.,
But Sarai'.f Pregnancy, the Birth of Ifaack, and
the Inheritance of Canaan, had been yet only
dream' d oj'. One would think 'twas Impoffible
for this Author to write Truth In any Thing, '
but that he takes Pleafure in mifreprefenting and
falfifying the Hiftory, For in this t Vifion, or
Dream, that he refers to, there is not one Word
of a Promife about Sarai, and her great Age,
« Page 88, 89. f Gen. xv. 1,-5,
K and

( 130 )
and the Birth oi Ifaack; only in general, * He
that ffoall come forth out offhine own Bowels fiaU
be thine Heir. Sarai 'tis plain did not under
ftand this Promife as relating to herfelf; and
therefore fhe gave Abram her Maid, with
this very Hope: t It may be that I may obtain
Children by her: A Thing fhe would never have
done, had fhe imagln'd that fhe herfelf was to
have been the Mother of a Child by him. Yea,
fo far was fhe from any fuch Imagination, that
when fhe heard afterwards the Promife, that
fhe fhould have a Son, X fie laughed within her
felf at '\t, as a Thing highly Irnprobdble, if not
abfolutely impoffible. Nor doth it appear that
Abram ever imagined, from the Promife,
Gen. XV. 4. that he fhould have an Heir- by his
Wife. For when God affured him : || / will
blefs Sarah, and give thee a Son alfo of her; the
Patriarch laughed at the great UnUkellhood; of
the Thing, when himfelf was an hundred,
and his Wife ninety Years old; and believing
that the Promife of an Heir was already . ac-
complifh'd In the Birth of Ijhmael, cries oiit:
* Oh that Ifimael might live before thee. So
true Is It, what the Philofopher afferts : That
Sarai's Pregnancy and Ifaack's Birth, had been
yet only dream' d of; not indeed by Abram and
Sarai, but by the fleepy Philofopher himfelf.
*• When he reprefents the whole Tranfac-,
tion between God and Abram recorded in' the
* Ver. 4. f Gen xvi. ^. J Gen. xviii. 12.
II Gen. xvii, 16, § Gen. xvii. 18. •*' Vol. III. p. 89.
fifteenth

( '31 )
fifteenth of Ge^^.f, to have been carried on in
a Vifton or Dream j he either fhews his Ig
norance, or difcovers his uniform Difpofition , to
mifreprefent and falfify his Hiftory. * All that
is recorded in the firft Part of this Chapter
is exprefsly declared to be in a Vifion, and not
in a Dream ; and the CIrcumftances of the
Thing itfelf are fuch as demonftrate diat A-
bram was full awake. The original Words may
alfo be more literally rendred : The Word of
Jehovah came ^i? Abram r\\TO'2.by a Vifton,
by fome vifible external Appearance to him.
And agreeably hereto, the Hiftory exprefly
tells us, that t He, Jehovah, brought him, A-
bram, forth, and jaid to him : Look now towards
¦ Heaven, and tell the Stars. And when he faid to
Jehovah, Wherel)y jhall I know thai I fiall inherit
this Land, God commands him to prepare cer
tain Creatures, for entring Into a folemn Co
venant with him. Abram accordingly pro
vides them, and lays them in their proper Or
der, tlie Pieces and the Birds over againft each
other. Thefe are CIrcumftances, I fay, that
demonftrate, that whatever this Vifion or Ap
pearance was, Abram was abfolutely awake,
and in no kind of Trance, or Sleep, or Dream;
not to add, that the whole Tranfadtion was In
the Day-Time, before the Sun had fet.
And even with Refpeft to X the great Pro-
mij'e, as he calls it, in Gen. xv, 1 2, 2 1, of the
* Gen. XV, 1. f Ver. 5. J Page 8g.
K 2 peaceable

( U'- )
peaceable Inheritance ^Canaan after four hun
dred Years, tho' he tells us, this was given in
a deep Sleep or Dream ; yet if was thus given,
all that the Promife contains hath been made
appear to have been pundlually verified, and
his Account of it fhewn to be downright Mif
reprefentatlon and Falfehood, And the Infe
rence to be made from it is, that God can as
truly fpeak to Men by Dreams, as by Vifions,
or any other Methods whatfoever ; and that
Abraham's Dreams as recorded in Scripture were
truly koxsy:,%Tci, fent by God himfelf; becaufe efta-
bliihed by the Event. \- '
But it doth not appear to me that the
whole Tranfadtion was carried on whilft Abram
was under this deep Sleep. 'Tis true, that
the Revelation to Abram, that his Seed fiould
be a Stranger in a Land that was not theirs, and
that thev jhould ferve them, and that they fiould
be aJliBed, four hundred Tears, and that they
fiould not poffefs the Land //// the Iniquity
of the Amorites was full, feems to be given
him in this Sleep; and to be partly /i6^ Reafon
of that Iforrour that came upon him, whilft
he continued In It. But then all the fub-
fequent Tranfadtion feems to have been carried
on whilft Abram was fully awake'; becaufe
it was defign'd as a folemn Ratification of the
Covenant God made with Abram to give him
&.x}A his Pofterity the Land of Canaan for their
Inheritance. The

( 135 )
The * antient Method of confirming Cove
nants and folemn Engagements, was by prepar
ing a Sacrifice, and dividing it into two Parts,
and the Perfon or Perfons covenanting paffing
between thofe Parts. This is evident from
Jerem. xxxiv. i8, 19, 1 will give the Men,
which have not performed the Words of the Co
venant, which they had made before me, when
they had cut the Calf in twain, and pafted be
tween the Parts thereof, the Princes of Judah
and the Princes o/' Jerufalem, the Eunuchs and
the Priefts, and all the People of the Land, which
paffed between the Parts of the Calf ': I will even
give them into .the Hands of their Enemies. And
there are feveral Traces of this Cuftom to-be
found In the profane Hiftorians. God was plea
fed to make ufe of the fame Method, to con
firm his Promife .to Abram, in anfwer to his
Requeft, Whereby fiall I know that I fiall in
herit it ? Abram by God's Order provides the
Sacrifice, cuts the Beafts In two, and lays them
in Order one over againft another. After this
Pihxaxnfell into a deep Sleep, and the Time of
it Is particularly remarked: Nn*? ti'--tt'*7 'n^l» when
* Aw Tof/«f ^aav bvofMivav oi tvi (iiyA^oK ofxoA iyivovro^
Euftath. in Hom. p. 191. Edit. Rom, And in another Place,
To J\i (piKnnrti ^ ofx/« Trtf/ts/c, avti th fi\iav ly opxnf fcmsAt
^M iVToyLm, nywi ^vaiav. p. 385. Hence comes the Expref
fion of osK/« TAiMiiiv ufed by Homer II. y. v. 94. and
Herodotus 4. 70. agreeable to, the Hebrew Manner of fpeak
ing in this very Promife to Abram, at v; 18. JH^ mn* i^H^
nni C31I1K"- The Lord cut, or di-vided or made * Caaenant
teitb Ahmm, evidently alluding to the Divifion of ihe Beafts.
Yid. Bochart. Hieroz. 1. 2. c. 33. ,
K 3 the

( 134 )
the Sun f was about to go d(nm, i. e. before
it had adtually fet; and at this Seafon and durr,
ing this Sleep, he received the Revelation of
the fojourning fuifering State of his Pofterity,
But yet all this Time the Covenant, and fo^
lemn Ratification of it, iox Abram' sSAti^aOiion,
was wanting. And this fucceeded Abram's.
Dream, and Is exprefsly declared to be at-
a' different Time, and introduced In fuch
a Manner as befpeaks a diffeient Manner,
of Tranfadtion. And It came to pafs, f.
n'nnDSj?in«a r?:ti'n»nn. that the Sun was.
gone down, and it was dark. This muft have
been at l^aft a full Hour after the former Reve
lation In the Dream. During this Darknefe,
the fmoaking Furnace, and the Lamp of Fire,
the Emblems of the divine Prefence and Glory,
paffed between thofe Pieces, as God's folemn
Confirmation of his Covenant, to give Ah^am
and his Seed the Land of Canaan for an Inhe
ritance, But to what End would all this.
Apparatus of a Sacrifice, and the Divifion of
it into Pieces, and the paffing of the Lamp of
Fire and fmoaking Furnace between them be,.
if Abram was not to be a real, an eye, a
waking Witnefs to this Confirmation pf God's,
Covenant with him ? If Abram faw the Em
blem of God pafling between them only in
a Dream, the Sacrifice needed not to have beeii
prepared, and the real Confirmation Abram de
fired would have been ftill wanting. And therefore;
f Ver. iz. f Ver. 17, I think

( 155 )
I think it muft be fuppofed, that he was now
awake, faw the Tokens of God's Prefence paf
fing between the Pieces, and had hereby that
folemn Ratification of the Promife that he ask
ed; the folemneft thas Men ufed to give when
they plighted their Faith to each other, and
therefore the moft facred that the Patriarch
himfelf could ask from God. At this Time,
during the paffing of the Lamp and Furnace
between the Sacrifice, in the Prefence and Sight
of Abram, God made ahd pronounced this
Covenant with him : Unto thy Seed have I given
this Land from the River o/^ Egypt unto the great
River Euphrates : * The Kenites, (Sc. Our Au
thor here Interpolates the original Text, and
adds: At the fame Time whilfi Abram was
under this heavy Sleep and fearful Darknefs.; of
which there is not one Word in the Original.
In that fame Day, or at that fame Time, ftands
in immediate Connexion with the Paffing of the
Lamp and Furnace ; and the Senfe requires it
fhould do fo. For when fhould the Covenant
itfelf be adtually pronounced and made, but at
the very Moment when the Ceremony of Ra
tification was tranfadted. And when the Phi
lofopher adds: 'Tis well it may be excufed as a
Dream, fince nothing of it ever came to pafs,
relating to all or any of the Countries they were to
pofiefs at the End of four hundred Tears; he
could not but know, that no fuch Promife
was ever made In the Paffage he cites, and
* Pag. 89.
K 4 therefore

therefore will not eafily be excufed without a
much feverer Cenfure than merely tbat of a
Dreamer. Having thus bleffed his Readers, * by telliftg
them his own Dreams about the Appearances
of God to Abram, he next takes notice of
Gen, xvi, where, as he thinks fit to allow, we
have fomething of true Hifiory, or Matter of
FaSi, befides mere Dreams. But even in telling
this Part of the Hiftory, the Philofopher ap
pears to be but half awake, and can't find out
whether the Angel of the Lord that appearecf tp
Hagar, appeared to her in a Dream or in Rea
lity; I.e. as hcelfewhere explains himfelf, wfie- -
ther flie only dreamt of an Angel, or adtually
faw one. But could he have reprefented the
Fadt as he found It, or had he underftood any
Thing of the original Hebrew, he would not
have introduced any of his Dreams here. - For
the whole Narration evidently proves, that the
Hiftorian intended a real Appearance, nor are
Hagar's Refledtions on it capable of any other
Interpretation, if the Senfe of them be rightly
attended tO; For flie thus called the Name <f
Jehovah that ipoke to he i, viz. by the Angel:
»Kn 'tk nnj^ Thou art th God of Vifion, i. e. who
appeare fl vifible to me ; ^^-\ being here ^ Sub-
f^ntive, as Jarchi on the Place obferves, as
being pointed with a Chatefh Kametz ; In like
Manner as ^^y2b'^ the God of Glory , means the
glorious God. She adds ; as In our Tranflation j
Vol. III. Page 90. Have

( 1.57 )
Have I alfo here looked after him that feethmef
A Verfion, that I fcarce know what Senfe tp
make of. The Words In the Original are:
*Hn 'nnK 'iTKn Dbn. and the literal Verfion is:
What, do I fee after the Vifton ? In which Senfe,
the Word *K"l. with the fame Pundtuation as Is
here ufed, is found i Sam. xvi. 12. She had
feen Jehovah, or his Angel, and wondred that
fhe faw and lived after fuch an heavenly Vifion ;
it being an Opinion as antient as thefe Times,
that fueh Appearances were attended with Death,
or abfolute Lofs of Sight. Thus Jacob : * /
have feen God Face to Face, and my Life is
preferved; an Opinion that prevailed In the t
Heathen World alfo, as may be made appear
by feveral unqueftionable Inftances,. And to
perpetuate the Remembrance of this celeftial
Vifion, fhe called the Name of the Well where
flie faw it, ?Kn 'hS nKlS- The Well of the living
Vifion, to pqjnt out both the Appearance,
and the Prefervation of her own Sight or
Life after It.
* Gen. xxxii. 30. Exod. xxxiii. ^o. Jud. yi. 22, 23;"
xiii. 22.
f Thus Tirelias is faid to be flruck blind after Jiaving be
held Pallas. A (/.if iipa,, TTaii^Of S^'omnctTdt. VV^ iSaf^iV-
A n(f/9* tT'sf oMtrs" T/ fxoi rov xapoc ip^^et(,
UoTVia, i 70iv7ett J'a.iiJioH! sr/ p/^ot/ i
Ofj.iJ.a,Tci fjLoi TH 'TraiS'ot a,tfsi\io' Tiwov ethafs,
EiJ'iS A^a.va.i<t( s-m3s* ly hAyovcK- Callim. Hymn.'
in Lavacr. Pal. v. 82. &c. Ubi Vid. lUuftriff. Spanheim,
Notas. ,
The

( ij8 )
The Appearances recorded in the J7th Chap
ter, this * learned Philofopher hath no curious.'
Remarks to make on ; only that we have an
Account of a long Conference, and many Things,,
thai pafied between God and the Patriarch, ilg;
paffeth on to the i Sth, on which he beftows
fome few RefiedtionSi The firft remarkable.
one, which fhews his Learning and Reading, is :
That Abraham ran to meet the three Men, and .
then addrefies himfelf to Jehovah, and to them j
grounding this profound Obfervation upon thof#
Words of the Hiftorian, as he gives them : Lor d,
if Ihanx now found Favour in thy Si^ht, go mt,
I pray thee, from thy Servant ; imagining, that"
the Word we render. My Lard, was In the Original,
Jehovah, ox Lord; whereas, the Word is, »31}{
ASnai ; which, to fhew his own Ignorance, or
impofe on his Reader, he renders. Lord, which
he fhould have tranflated, as In our Verfion,
My Lord; and which Is ufed In many Places,,
as an honourable AppeUation of Perfons of Dif-;
tindlion ; and Is evidently fo here ufed by Abra".
ham., who at firft thought them to be real Men,
and treated them as fuch ; as appears from
Verfes 3 — 10. Abraham -therefore addreffed
himfelf, not as to Jehovah, but to one'of the
Men that appear'd to him, as he at firft thought -
them to be ; who probably appear'd fuperiour
to the other two, or was the neareft of the
^iree, when he firft addreffed himfelf to him.
f-Iis Defire to wafi^ their Feet^ and give thera
* P.ige 91.
aa

( 139 )
an hofpitable Entertainment, evidently proves
he took them all three for Travellers ; tho' the
. Title of My Lord, fliews he took them for
Travellers of Diftindtion. And therefore when
the Philofopher, citing thofe Paffages : He faid
I will certainly return to thee according to the
Time of Life, and Sarah heard it iri the Tent
Door, which was behind him ; explains the
Words, / and him of Jehovah, he hath no
Foundation for it In the Hiftory ; if he Intended
hereby to intimate, that Abraham apprehended
that it was Jehovah who was then fpeakins to
him. For tho' Jehovah did then fpeak to him
by his Angel, yet when the Men went from
him towards Sodom, Abraham accompanied them
as Travellers only ; and It doth not appear that
the Angel difcover'd himfelf to him, till thev
were on their Way thither. Then Jehovah,
viz. by the Angel, faid : Shall I hide from
Abraham that Thing which I do ; after which
follows the Interceffion oiAbraha?n; than which
there is not to be found a finer Incident or
more affedting Paffage in all the Writings of
Antiquity ; whether we confider the great Con-
defcenfion and Compaffion of God or the Be
nevolence oi Abraham, the Friend of God. Our
Philofopher's Refledtion on It Is rude and un
mannerly : * Abraham brought down Jehovah
from Fifty to Ten, and got a Promife that the
City fhoidd not be'defiroyd, if only ten righteous
Perfons could be found there. But no Righteous
* Page 92, eould

( MQ )
could be found there, but Lot, his Wife, and tim
Daughters. The Expreffions, brought down ]e-
hovah, and got a Promife, favour of the Polite
nefs, and Reverence to Deity, that is peculiar
to this Writer; and the fenfelefe Sneer npon Lot
and his Family, and the Angel's faving them
from the common Deftrudtion, is too obvious,
not to be feen by any careful Reader. ;'
He tells us t farther, in Reference to thi^^
Paffage of Sacred Hiftory, that tbe Names and
Characters of the three Men, and of Jehovah,'
ere here fo confounded, and interchanged, as ij
they were the fame Perfons, and whatfeiid by one
was fpoken by the other. But the Confufion Is
in his Head, and not in the Hiftory; for what
are thefe Names and Charadters of the three Men
that are thus confounded with Jehovah ? In my
Bible they have neither Names nor Charadters
affigned them. The three Men, are called three
Men, and their Names never interchanged, be
caufe never mention'd; and the Difcourfe be
tween Abraham and them Is clear and Intelligi
ble, if our Philofopher had a Mind to have un
derftood them. And tho' one of them Is call'd
Jehovah, yet the Hiftorian had prepar'd us for
this, in the Beginning of the Chapter, by tell
ing us, that Jehovah appeared to him, that we
might know that one of the three Perfons,
whom Abraham took for Men, was Jehovah
appearing by his Angel, And If at the loth
Verfe, inftead of, He faid. It had been, as it
* Page. 9 2, might

( 141 )
might have been render'd. And one of them faid;
or if, He faid, be taken as referring to him,
who appear'd the principal Perfon of the three,
and whom Abraham fainted with the Appella-
Itlon of Adonai, My Lord; the whole will be
clear and pertinent, for there is no apparent
Confufion of Difcourfe in the whole Pafiage,
but this ; and this a little Candour and Thought
l^ould have cleared up to the Philofopher him
felf, could he have perfuaded himfelf to deal by
the Hebrew Hiftorians, as all honefi Writers
think themfelves obliged to do, by every other
Author they treat of. >
But he hath a particular * Reafon for quot
ing this confufed Piece of Hiftory, viz. for the
•Peculiarity of the Phrafeology, and to fiew how
different it is from our Way of Speaking and
Thinking now. That his. Way of Speaking and
Thinking Is peculiar, I believe every Man who
reads him, will readily allow ; but in the Way
the Hebrew Hiftorians fpeak and think, there is
little or nothing peculiar, but what the Subjedts
they treat off neceffarily lead them to. When
they fpeak of Angelical Appearances, they muft
fpeak of them, and of Angels perfonating Je
hovah, they muft reprefent them in the Cha
radters they affumed. Our Philofopher, in a
deep Sleep, Imagines every Thing to be a Dream,
and then pieafantly wonders at their peculiar
Phrafeology, and kindly leads us Into the true
Solution and Interpretation of It ; and that by
* Page go. one

( 14^- )
one fingle Obfervation, viz. that the whole * is
a figurative Manner of Speech, and that this runs
throughout the Hebrew Writings from firfi to lafi,
Thanlis to him for the friendly^ learned Hint.
Jews and Chriffians axe infinitely Indebted to
him, for extricating us all out of fo- great a Dif
ficulty, and efpecially for guarding us agaiftft
that Superfiition, Enthuftafm, and the moft unna
tural and incredible Accounts of God and Provi-
.dence, into which this Manner and Figure of
Speech hath been turned. : ,
At firft indeed, it * had a very good moral
Senfe and ConftruSlion, and argued a* pious and
religious Trufi hi, and Dependance on God and
Providence, and fiews the great Piety of thoft
antient holy Patriarchs, and their j'triB Regard
to all the Difpenfations of God's Providence t&f
wards them, in the whole Courfe of their Lives.
But this Way of interpreting the Mind and Will
cf God to them, by the Difpenfations of his Pro
vidence, when they carried it too far, and made
too hafty Conclufions of this Kind, ran them into
Enthifiafm, and fometimes led them into Errour.
And of this he tells us, we have a remarkable
Infi,ance in Abraham himfelf, in the Cafe of his
offering up his Son Ifaack. But before I pro-.
eeed to confider what he hath faid on this Sub-
jedt, I muft juft acquaint my Reader, what
that Rule is which he gives us for the interpret
ing the figurative Phrafeology of the Old Tefta
ment ; for upon this depends all his Objedtlons,
* Vol. in. p. 93. f Ibid, p, 96. againft

( M3 )
againft this remarkable Piece pf ancient and fa
cred Hiftory. The Rule is this : * When ever
Jehovah, or the jupream God is faid to come
,^wn from Heaven to Earth, to walk about from
Placo to Place, and to converfe in a vifible audi
ble Manner with Men, we mufl underftand it of
God's jp£aking to them by fuch as he providentially
fent to them, whom they received and entertained
in their Houfes, and who were confidered as An
gels, or Meffengers from God. Thus alfo God de
clared his Will to them by the remarkable Occur
rences of his Providence towards them, and very
often by their Dreams. The Particulars of this
Account fhall be hereafter examin'd, if God
fpare ipe Health and Leifure. I would only
now obferve, that tho' the Philofopher deftroys
by this Obfervation the whole Hiftory of Mofes,
and turns it all into Allegory, Figure and Fa
ble, and Is become a perfedt Myftical Cabdliftical
Jew In his Way of InterpretatiPn, yet that he
brings us almoft into as many and great Diffi
culties upon his own Scheme, as we are brought
into by the Mofaick Account ; fuppofing It, as It
evidently appears to be, a Series of Hiftorical
Fadts ; and, I think, in fome Refpedts, Into
much greater Difficulties. For he explains
Jehovah's converfing with them in a vifible
Manner, of God's fpeaking to them by fuch as he
providentially jent to them ; and allows, that God
declared his Will to them by remarkable Occur
rences of Providence, and very often by their
* Page 98. Dreams.

( M4 )
Dreams. If he means, by Perfons providential'^
jent, Perfons that came without any Diredtioni
of Providence; by, God's fpeaking to them by
juch Perj'ons, thofe Perfons fpeaking to them,
without any Order or Inftrudlion of God ; and,
by God's declaring his Will by Dreams, Dreams
neither fent by God, nor Intended of- God to
convey the Notices of his Will to them ; he
abufes his Reader, and under a fpecious Shevir*,
of meaning fomething, hath no other Meaning,
but that God never fpoke to them, or convey'd
his Will to them at all. If he means, that God
really j'e?ittheie Perfons to deliver his Will to the
Patriarchs, he muft then allow, that the Per
fons thus fent had a Commlffion to go, and a
Revelation to deliver ; and that therefore the
Patriarchs were obliged to regard them as Mef
fengers of God, as really as if they had been
Angels, and not Men. And If, by God's de
claring his Will to them very often by their
Drernns, he means, that thefe Dreams were
fent by God, and fent on purpofe to declare his
Will ; then God's Will was as certainly and as
truly convey'd to Men in and by Dreams, as
by living Perfons when they were awake ; and
a divine Dream was as real a Rule of Adtion to
them, as a waking Information. If then God
inftrudted Abraham by living Mefiengers and
real Dreams, he hath brought us back by his
wonderful Clew into the fame Difficulties where .
he hath found us ; only with this Difference, ,
that the ufual and literal Way of Interpretation, and

( M5 )
and taking the Hiftory in the obvious Senfe of
it, gives Abraha?n a Rule of Condudt certain
and infallible, fb far as 'twas intended It fliould
go ; whereas he confeffes, that * in the Way
and Method of knowing and judging the Voice
and Will of God to them, which he hath laid
down, thev were liable to Errour, and fometimes
aBuallj miftaken : And I will venture to add,
that 'tis a Way infinitely more likely to be turn
ed into Superftition, Enthufiafm, and unnatural
and incredible Accounts of God and his Providence,
Jthan that which he exclaims againft, and loads
with thefe Abfurdities.

SECT. VIL
Of Abraham'^ offering up his Son.
TH E Philofopher In order to account for
the Appearances of God to Abraham tells
us, that t ivhen they were fuddainly andfirongly
impreffed with any Thing of great Confequence,
and which ferve d to fix and form their Refolu
tion for their future CoudiiEl, this was the Voice
and Motion of God to them, and fo they confider
and fpeak of it in ^^^ Hebrew DialeB. Thus
Abraham, he tells us, % was firongly perfuaded
in- his own Mind, that God would blefs and prof-
pcr him in Ilaack, and mah of him a great Na-
* Vol. IIL p. 98. t Page 95. X P^ge 96.
L tion ;

( 146 )
tion ; he firmly believed, that as God -was able,
fo he would certainly raife his only Son and Heir .
again from the Dead, tho' he fiould facrifice him,
and burn him to Afies; and he had ftrongly wrought
himfelf up into jiich a Perfuafion, that he con
cluded God, in Reality required it of him, and
expeSied it from him. Accordingly he refolved,
upon it, as m ASi of Obedience to G?d, and was
juft upon the Point of putting it in Execution,
had he -not been providentially prevented. This,
is the Account this moral Writer gives of the
Reafons oi Abraham^ s Condudt In this Affair..
He was moved to it only by the ftrong Perjjda-e
fion of his own Mind, and had enthufiafiicallyt
wrought himfelf up Into this Perfuafion thatj
God required it of him. Doth this Man think,
that there is one Perfon In the World, that
hath ever read the Bible, who doth not know
this Account of the Reafons of Abraham's Con
dudt, to be as diredtly contrary to the plain
Hiftory^ as Falfliood is to Truth ? The, whole
Narration confutes this Fidtion of the Moral
Philofopher, and which I therefore beg leave
to fet before my Reader, in the Order and
I/ight In which it ftands in the original Records,
And I . I would obferve that this whole Tranfac-
tion, from firft to laft, Is reprefented as appoint- ¦
ed, begun, and carried on by God himfelf, and
not taking its Rife from any enthufiaflical Per
fuafion, or ftrong Imagination of Abraham's Mind.

( H7 )
Mind. * God tempted Abraham, + and faid,
Take thy Son, and offer him for a burnt Offering.
The Mountain where he was to offer him was
particularly pointed out by God: One of the
Mountains which I will tell thee of; and to this
Place Abraham by his Condudt and Diredtion
Game. And God, even Jehovah, himfelf is
introduced as fwearing at the Conclufion of it :
X By myfelf have If%vorn,faith the Lord, becaufe
thou haji done this Thing, and haft not withheld
thy Son, thine only Son, that in Blejftng I will
blefs thee, becaufe thou haji obey' d my Voice. The
Hiftory is exprefs, that this Sacrifice of Ifaack
was the diredt Order and Appointment of God,
even oi Jehovah the moft high God, and that
Abraham's whole Condudt In this Affair was an
Adt of proper Obedience to him, and as fuch
highly acceptable and worthy of a Reward,
And herein the Author to the Hebrews agrees,
with the Hebrew \\ Hiftorian.
And In Truth upon the moft ferlous Review
that I am capable ofmaking of this Affair, Icann
ot fee any Tiling that could reconcile Abraham to
fuch an Adtion, but the ftrongeft Affurance of a
real Command from God. He appears from the
whole of his Condudt to have been a Man of
great Prudence and Integrity; of which his
living fo long in a foreign Country, almoft with
out Interruption, is an abundant Evidence : Of
great Compajfion and Benevolence, as appeared
* Gen. xxii. i, 2. f ' Ver. 2, 3, 9. X Ver. 16, 17, 18.;
I Heb. xi. 17, &c.
L 2 IT

( 148 )
in that kind Interceffion he made for Sodom and
Gomorrah : And of rational Principles, In Reli
gion j of which his Acknowledgment and Wor-^
fliip of the true God * the Pofteffbr of Heaven
and Earth, In Oppofition to the Idolatries of
the Times he lived In, Is a demonftratlve Proof;
and which farther appears from the frequent
Commendations given to his Faith by God
himfelf. Now what poffible Inducement could
there be, to a Man of fuch a Charadter, to fa
crifice an only Son, but the certain Affurance
of a divine Order for It ? He muft know, that
the taking away the Life of his Child without ,
a proper Reafon and Warrant for It, was Mur-
ther and not Religion, and therefore could not
be acceptable to the true God; that If he had
not the Command of God to do It, he could
have no poffible Expedtation of his Son's ever
reviving; that therefore his taking away his
Life would be Imploufly to fruftrate all the
Promifes of God that related to and center'd in
him, and to cut off aU his own Hopes of Pof
terity by him. The CIrcumftances of his being
a Son, an only Son, the Son of his old Age,
given ¦ him by Miracle, and therefore an ex
treamly beloved Son, were Arguments of Nature,
that muft prevail with a tender Father, againft
committing fuch an Adt, but upon Reafons of
the higheft Importance, The Superftitlons of.
the Times, in which he lived,, could never
prompt or" favour fuch a Thought, both be-
* Gen. xiv, 22, caufe

( 149 )
caufe he had renounced the Deities and Su
perftitlons of the Nations around him, and be
caufe the Sacrifice of Children was never prac-
tifed, but upon Occafions of utmoft Neceffity,
and to avert the moft extream Calamities; and
then not without the higheft Reludtance and
Horrour in thofe who offered them; Calami
ties that this Patriarch never felt or fear'd, and
which therefore could never prompt him to
fuch a Sacrifice. And therefore unlefs we fup
pofe him more fuperftitious and weak than all
the reft of Mankind, and to have entertaln'd
more unnatural Notions of the true God, than
they had of their falfe Deities, 'tis Impoffible
to imagine that Superftition could give rife to
this Refolution and Purpofe of Abraham to fa
crifice his Son ; fince I know of no one In
ftance, In facred or profane Hiftory, of Parents
facrificing their Children, as voluntary Offer
ings, much lefs an only Son, without the Appre-
henfion of fome dreadful Neceffity compelling
them to it.
The Philofopher Indeed very unphilofophically,
and contrary to all Appearances of Things,
tells us : Abraham * firmly believed, that as God
was able, fo he would certainly raij'e his only Son
and Heir again from the Dead, tho' he fiould
facrifice him, and burn him to Afies ; and he had
ftrongly wrought himfelf up into fuch a Perfiiafion,
that he concluded God in Reality required it of
him, and expeBed it' from him. Accordingly
be refolved on it as an AB of Obedience to God;
* Vol. iii. Page g&.
L 3 thus

( I50 )
thus refolving the whple oi Abraham^ ^ondudfe
into Enthifiafm ; or an Enthufiaftlcal * Way of
interpre fing the Mind and Will of God to him, by
the Difpenfations of his Providence towards him,
in the mofi remarkable Occurrences of his Life.
The Philofopher here is filent as to that re
markable Occurrence of Abraham's Life, by
which he wrought himfelf up Into this Perfua
fion ; and hath not Informed us, why he con
cluded, that God required him to facrifice his
Son, rather than himfelf, his Wife, Eliezar of
Damafcus his Steward, or any other of his
Houfehold ; the Reafon, of God's being able
to raife from the Dead , holding equally ftrong
in any one of them as It did to Ifaack ; and it
being natural to think, that he would choofe
firft to try the Experiment upon one of them,
rather than on his own Son ; Enthufiafm, amidft
all Its Follies and Extravagancies, being gene
rally extremely felfifh and partial, and not ea
fily perfuaded into fuch extraordinary Sacrifices
as thefe. Befides, how came Abraham's Enthufiam to
lead him into the Belief of a Notion of a Re-
furredlion from the Dead ? If Indeed the Con
ception and Birth of Ifaack were miraculous,
^d Abraham confidered it as a .Kind oi fuper
natural RejurreB'ion, I acknowledge he might
eafily be lead into the Thought oi a fecond Refur-
rcBion cf his Son, upon a Command of God to
ficrifxe him ; efpecially as God had promifed
Iv.vsi, that in Ifaack his Seed fi.ould be called.
* Page 96.. puf-

( 151 )
But will the Philofopher allow the extraordi
nary Birth of Ifaack, and the Reality of the
Promifes of God concerning him .? If he will,
Abraham's Notion of a Refurredtion is account
able for, upon the Principles of Reafon, with
out the Help of Enthufiafm ; and the Con
fequence will be, that a Perfon, who had re-
.eeived fuch Benefits from God, and who could
reafon fo juftly concerning his Perfedtions,
would not be very likely to reafon himfelf,
from thefe Perfedtions, into an Opinion that
fuch an Offering would be the moft acceptable
Sacrifice he could prefent him, or that the beft
Return he could make to the divine Goodnefs
for the Gift of a Son, was to deftroy him;
becaufe 'tis fuppofing that true Reafon would
become the immediate Caufe of the moft un
natural and unreafonable Superftition, and lead
Men to think that divine Favours were to be
repaid with the moft ungrateful Contempt of
them. Nor Is It eafy to conceive how a Fa
ther, who complained of his being Childlefs as
the higheft Infelicity, and had received a Son In
fuch an extraordinary Manner, and upon whofe
Life his Hopes of a genuine Pofterity depend
ed, fhou'd by any Kind of Enthufiafm be
wrought up to a Refolution of deftroying
him when he had him; nor prevailed on
by any Reafons to do it but by as good an
Affurance that God would raife him again, as
he had that' God miraculoufly gave him, A
Command from God to offer him would ne
ceffarily lead him to fuch an Affurance, be-
L 4 • caufe

( 15^ )
caufe he knew all the divine Promifes depend
ed on fuch a Refurrecllon ; but without this,
or .fome equally good Inducement to form fuch
a Conclufion, 'tis mere Enthufiafm to Imagine,
that becaufe Abraham believed God could raife
him from the Dead, therefore he farther be^
lieved God would raife him, if he himfelf be-.
came the Murtherer and Deftroyer of him, ,
No Inftance can be produced of the like
Effedts of Enthufiafm, there is nothing in A-
braham's Charadter that can lead us to fufpedt
it of him ; nor is it to be fuppofed that God,.
would give a Son, in fo miraculous a Manner,
to a Perfon, whom he knew to be weak and
. enthufiaftlcal enough to deftroy him by an un
natural Superftition ; or that if this was the
Cafe, God would have any more interpofed,
to have prevented the Fadt, than he did in
other Inftances of a like Nature ; efpecially as,
the Superftition of Abraham would not have
had the fame Appearance of Neceffity and
Conftfaint, which conftantly occafioned the
like Sacrifices amidft the Nations around him.
Bat if this Philofopher doth not allow the
extraordiiiary and miraculous Birth of Ifaack,
nor the Reality of any of the Promifes faid to
be made him by God, and can produce na
remarkable Occurrence in Abraham'?, Life, that
fhould lead hini to think of a Refurredtion from
the Dead; then his A.fl'ertion, that Abraham
firmly believed that God was able., and certainly
would raife his Hon again fr on tbe Dead, is an
Affertion

( 153 )
Affertion that hath no fliew of Probability to
fupport it ; fince Abraham could have had no
more Reafon ever to have thought of, or be
lieved the Strange, and what the wifeft Heathens
accounted theincredibleDodix'me of the Refurrec-
tlon, than any other Man then living in the Worlds
I think therefore from the Nature of the Thing,
and the CIrcumftances of Abraham, that the
Hiftory, which exprefsly declares that Godtifed
Abraham by the Command to facrifice his Son,
carries In it the higheft Probability, and that
the Patriarch's Condudt is never to be ac
counted for, but from the full Perfuafion and
certain Knowledge that he had, that what he
did was In adtual Obedience to the divine Com
mand. But
2. The End for which this extraordinary Sacri
fice was appointed, is declared to be for * the
Temptation ox Trial oi Abraham. Dnn.'^K'flK HDi
God tempted Abraham ; and particularly for the
Trial of his Obedience : t Thou haft obeyd my
Voice. The original Word HDJ fignifies fo to
try any Perfon, as to give him an Opportu
nity of difcovering his Abilities, Difpofition,
Piety and Virtue ; and fo as that the Perfon
trying him may be able to commend or difap-
prove him, and juftify his own Opinion of and
Condudt towards him. Thus the Queen of
Sheba came X to prove Solomon with hard^ef-
tions, that is to try his Abilities, and by fuch
Trial to know the Truth of the Report con
cerning him. And thus God tries or proves all
* Ver» I. f Ver. iS, i King, x. i.
Mankind,

( 154 )
Mankind, i. e. furnllhes them with the Op
portunities of difcovering their Tempers and
Difpofitions, and Regard to Virtue and Piety.
And thus he tried Abraham, not indeed for his
own Information. Poffibly the * Angel of
the Lord, whom God, Jehovah, employed to
convey his Will to this Holy Patriarch, did
not certainly know whether he could ftand
fuch a Trial. This feems to be intimated in
thofe. Words: Ver. 12. Now I know that thou
fear efi God; this is the fureft Demonftration of
the Truth of thy Piety towards him that can
be given, that thou haft not withheld thy only
Son from me, I. e. whom I by the Order of
God have commanded thee to offer. But
when the fame Angel calls to him a fecond"
Time, and delivers him a Meffage from Je
hovah, 'tis In quite other Language, more wor
thy of the moft high God : By myfelf have I
fworn, faith Jehovah, becaufe thou haft not with
held thine only Son, that in Bleffing, I will bie ft
thee, becaufe thou haft obef d my Voice ; in which
Words the Obedience of the Patriarch is the only
Thing taken Notice of and commended, with
out the leaft Intimation that Abraham was here-
* Ipfi (Angeli) de profeftu uniufcujufque noftrum dicunt,
quia nunc cognovi quia tu times Deum. Verbi caufa. Pro-
pofitum habeo Martyrium, non ex hoc dicere ad me Angelus
poterit, quia nunc cognovi quod tu times Deum. Deo enim
foli cognitum eft propofitum mentis. Si vero accelFero ad agones,
protulero bonam confeffionem, quas inferuntur conftanter cundla
fufcepero, tunc poteft dicere Angelus, velut confirmans me &'
corroborans : l<!unc ageovi quod tu times Deum. Origen. Homil.
in Gen. xxii. 12. by

( 155 )
by better known to God than before. Nor am
I in any Pain leaft our Philofopher fliould prove,
either that 'twas abfolutely unneceffary, orin the
leaft unfit, that fuch an high Inftance of hu
mane Obedience fliould be fhewn even to
Angels themfelves.
But the true and Immediate Ufe of this
Temptation or Trial was for the Benefit of
Abraham himfelf, that he might have the Op
portunity of approving himfelf to God by an
exemplary Inftance of Faith and Obedience,
and might thereby fecure a fignal Teftimony
from God himfelf In his Favour, and obtain
a Reward worthy his Piety and Virtue; and
that he might ftand as an illuftrious Example
to his Pofterity in all future Ages, and fhew
them the Neceffity of a fteady Adherence to
the God he worfhiped, and thatthe only Way
to fecure their Profperity In his Protedtlon and
Favour, was to Imitate the Faith and Piety of
this Father and Founder of their Nation, by
a conftant Obedience in all Things to ciie Au
thority and Will of God. And therefore be
caufe God knew his Integrity, that it would
ftand approved under the moft difficult Trials,
he proved him In this extraordinary and ten
der Inftance, that hereby he might appear to
deferve that fignal Honour he intended him,
of being as it were the Head and Father of all
faithful Men in all future Times, and ,to fhew
by hini, that Faith In God was the one great
acceptable Principle of Obedience, and the
only Method in all Ages by" which Men fliou'd be

( 156 ) I
be juftified and accepted In his Sight: An In
ference drawn by tli%Apoftle Paul in feveral
of his Epiftles. And I prefume that all. Men
have fome Trials or other of their FIdeUty and.
Obedience to God ; and if thefe Trials are or
dered to befall them, not for God's Informa-r
tion, but to teftify their ov»^n Sincerity, and for
the Benefit of others ; to render themfelves ca
pable of a Reward, and to fhew the Equity.
and Wifdom of God's Procedure In the dif- (
penfing Rewards and Punlfhments ; 'tis ridicu-i
ious to pretend that Abraham's Trial was for:
God's Information ; and uncandid, and an Ar
gument of Prejudice, not to affign as the Caufe.
of it, the general Reafons for thefe PermlffionS'
and Appointments of Providence to others.
I may add another, that is more than inti
mated in this Hiftory : viz. that whatever be
the Difficulties of Obedience to the true God,
there fhall be a fultable Provifion made by him
ibr the Deliverance and Support of thofe that
tear and truft In him. When Ifaack faid to
his Father, * Behold the Fire and the Wood, hut
where is the Lamb for a burnt Offering ? t A- ^
\ix^axn' anfwered him : My Son, I*? HKn* Din^K»
The Lord will provide for himfelf a Lamb. And
accordingly when the Angel called upon the Pa
triarch not to kill his Son, and diredted him
to the Ram that was to be offer'd up In the
Room of him ; Abraham, to perpetuate the
Remembrance of this Deliverance, and for the
Eilcouragement of all good Men undfer their
* Vet. ?. f Ver,«. greateft

( '57 )
^greateft Difficulties of Obedience toGodIn Time
to come, called the very Name of the Moun
tain, HK"!' mns Jehovah^ Jireh or, God will
provide ; and from hence it came to be a pro-
, verblal Form of Speech, with which good
Men encouraged themfelves and others, to
caft their Care on God under their greateft
Straits : nxi' T\'T\'> inn, In the Mount of the
Lord it fhall be provided, i, e, in the greateft
Extremities God himfelf will take care.
Yea I think one Thing farther was evidently
intended by this Name; viz. to prevent for
the Future all fuch Kind of Sacrifices as thefe,
by perpetuating the Remembrance of the Siib-
fiitute that God provided in the Room oi Ifa
ack. For as God would not fuffer him to be
offered up, the Acceptablenefs of fuch Sacri
fices to him, could never be colledted henfce,
but rather the contrary, and that no Extre
mities could ever be fo preffing as to put Men
upon fuch an Expedient as this ; for that good
Men might as certainly conclude that God
would extricate them from their Difficulties
without It, as he did Abraham upon the Mount
itfelf, when he had no Immediate Profpedt be
fore him of any Deliverance,
3, Abraham had many Reafons to convince
him, that this Command was really from God,
• and no Illufion or Deception, Had this in
deed been the firft Revelation, that he had re
ceived from him, the Cafe would have been
much more difficult ; tho' even had this been
the Fadt, I doubt not but God could have fo
revealed

( 158 ) ¦
revealed himfelf, as to have render'd him ab^
folutely certain that the Command proceeded
from himfelf. But 'twas quite otherwife. A^-
braham had had many Communications from
and Converfes with God. Divine Appearances
to him were no new or ftrange Things. He
left his native Country by divine Order, and
came Into Canaan under divine Diredtion, There
God appeared to him and promifed him Canaan,
afterwards repeated this Promife to him, con-
verfed with him as a Friend In a vifible Man
ner, and confirmed the Grant to him by a
folemn Sacrifice and Covenant. After this he
had another glorious Appearance from the fame
Jehovah, who talked with this holy Patriarch,
and before whofe Majefty he fell down proftrate ,
on his Face. He received from him the Pro
mife of a Son and Heir from Sarah, when
himfelf was near one hundred, and fhe ninety
Years old, and found that God who appeared
to him adtually perform'd It, He ftood he-
ioxe Jehovah, fome glorious Appearance of him,
'w^heji he made that folemn Interceffion for Sodom
and Gomorrah, and received from him the de
fired Anfwers to his friendly Prayers. So that
Abraham well knew the Voice and the Ap
pearances of God,, as a Friend knows the Voice
and Countenance of his Friend, and could ne
ver be deceived in the Judgment he formed of
them. The fame God was his Condudtor and
Guide in this whole Affair of Ifaack, com
manded the Sacrifice, told him the Place where
'tw.is to be offered, and adtually lead him to

( ^59 )
it; probably by the Shechinah of Glory that refted
on it ; for * he faw the Place afar of. And there
fore if he certainly knew that the Commaad pro
ceeded from the fame God, that brought him
out oi Mefopotamia, led him into Canaan, en
ter'd into Covenant with him, gave him Ifaack
in his old Age, and frequently appeared to and
converfed with him, he could not be hable to
any Impofition in this Matter, nor at a Lofs
how to form his own Condudt in Confequence
of the Command he received. The original
Order to leave his own Country was a Com
mand of a very extraordinary Kind, and con
trary tg all the natural Principles and Paffions of
the human Conftitution ; there being a Kind of
an Inftlndtlve Fondnefs for it in the Breafts of
all Men. And If Abram could be fure he had
a Command from God to forfake It, he might
equally be fure, by a like Kind of Revelation
and Appearance, of his Command in the Cafe
before us. And 'tis ridiculous to imagin that
God fhould give any Injundtion of this or any
other Kind, without at the fame Time mak
ing the Perfon, to whom he gave it, fure that
it adtually came from him. Abraham's whole
Condudt in this Affair plainly difcovers his full
Satis fadtlon in the Cafe ; for his Obedience to
it appears ready and immediate, without any
the leaft Hefitation or Difficulty, A Circum
ftance extremely remarkable ; fince in other
Cafes, of much lefs Importance, Abraham was
not fo eafily fatisfied ; but had his Objedtlons,
* Ver. 4. and

( 1*^° )
and defired a folemn Confirmation : Lord, What
nsilt thou give me ? Whereby ftiall I know that I
jhall inherit it f The Language not of an over-
credulous Man, and by every kind of Delufion
eafy to be impofed on.
4, The Command itfelf was to offer uphk
Son as a burnt Offering. rt)il inbvn^ O' LXX.
AveveyKov «utov £ic oXonapTwciv. Offer htm for a
whole burnt Ofierifig. Jarchi, and fome other
of the Jcii^ifi Interpreters here obferve : That
God did not fay to him. Kill him, for that,
fay they, was not the Intention of God ; but
only, cauft. Ifaack to afcend into the Mountain,
there offer him, and bring, him down again.
Tho' the original Word n^J? doth frequently
fignify to ajcend, yet this Obfervation will not -
clear up any Difficulty; for tho', as appears
by the Event, God did not Intend that ffaack
fhould be really offefd up, and therefore did not
intentionally command the putting him to Deathj
as a Sacrifice ; yet Abraham himfelf was not fure
of this, and therefore * Intended aBually to '
have flain him, had th^s appeared really to
have been the Will of God, However from
hence 'tis plain, that God defigned not to
command or countenance human Sacrifices;
much lefs human Sacrifices by Way of Expi
ation and Attonement for Sin ; f or as a Means
* Tam grave prreceptum, quod nee Domino perfici placebat,
patienter & sudivic, & fi Deus voluiffec, impleffet. Teitul.de
Patient, p. 163.
f OvcTs T/( <rvij<popst KoiTS/^s H,o/i'',i, »( iS'it TW S-ifa'Xita.'t
avajpiau ytn£ra,t d'oKHxanAin Td/Aj. Phil, de Abrahamo.
p. 294. of

( i6i )
of Deliverance from any extraordbary Cala
mities; of which there Is not the leaft Inti
mation In the Hiftory, and of which Abraham
could have no Need, as being already juftified
by his Faith, and In CIrcumftances of great Prof
perity, The Command is precifely this : * Of
fer him to mejor a Burnt (fering. Prefent him
as a Sacrifice to me ; To me, who gave him thee
by a miraculous Birth, and have promifed and
fworn to multiply thy Seed by him as the Stars of
Heaven. So that underftood in its utmoft Ex
tent, it was a Command to Abraham only to
yield up that Life to God for a Seafon, which
God had fworn to prolong ; to refign it to him
as an Adt of Obedience and Worfliip, which
he had received as an Inftance of peculiar and
dlftingulflilng Favour, and which he knew
muft be reftored by him, who demanded the
Sacrifite firom him, Abraham was not adept
enough In Moral Philofophy to difpute the Right
of God to give fuch a Command, nor too wife
to refufe Obedience to It, when given. And
from hence it follows,
5, That had Abraham adtually offered up his
Son, In Virtue of this divine Injundtion, the
Adtion of taking away Ifaack's Life would have
properly been the Adtion of God himfelf, as
really and truly as tho' God had taken away^
his Life, either in a natural Way, or by fome
extraordinary Method, Immediately diredted
by him for this very Purpofe ; and that Abra-
* Ver. 2.
M ham^

( i62 )
i&d:;« would have been only the Hand ox Inftru-
ment of God to bring about and accomplifh J:
his Pleafure; as truly as the Knife in his own
Hand was only the Inftrument employed by
him to execute his own Refolution. Abraham
knew the Life of his Son was abfolutely In the
Difpofal of him that gave him, and that he
had a Right to refume it in what Manner he
pleafed, and that whether Jie fell by Diftem-
per, or Accident, or by his own Hands, In
Obedience to God, It was ftill God that took
him from him. He might however juftly rea
fon, that God had pecuhar Ends to anfwer, by
giving him a Command of fo extraordinary a
Nature ; after having given him this very Son
in fo miraculous a Manner : Either to give him
an Opportunity of yielding a more illuftrious
Proof than ever of his Faith and Obedience;
or to be a Teftimony to the World, by pre
venting the adtual Sacrifice, that he did not de
light In any of them, and would never receive
them ; or to fhew, that there are no Difficulties
fo great, but that God can eafily extricate thofe
who fear him out of them ; or to be a more
glorious Inftance of his own Power, Goodnefs
and Falthfulnefs In reftoring him to Life, had
he peraiitted Abraham to have taken It away ;
or with other Views, which tho' the Patriarch
might not underftand, yet he well knew were
worthy of God, and would In the End be abuur,
dantly confiftent with all the foregoing Promi
fes God had made him. - And theref6re Abra ham.

( 1^3 )
ham readily confents in this Inftance to adt for
God, without fcrupling the Command, or cu-
rioufly entring Into the Reafons of It ; as one
that rightly judged God was to be obeyed In
all Things, and who had already experienced
the happy Effedts of Faith In him, and Sub-
mlffion to him ; and knew, that if he himfelf
refufed to offer his Son, that God had It in his
Power by a thoufand other Methods, to de
prive him of fo valuable Bleffing,
6. Let us obferve the Manner In which this
extraordinary Command was delivered to him ;
extreamly tender and moving, and yet fuch as
conveyed the very Reafons that ftrengthened his
Faith and Truft In God, Our Tranflation,
Take now thy Son, thine only Son Ifaack, whom
thoulovefi, loofes much of the Beauty and Force,
as the Words lie in the original Hebrew, which
run thus : Take now thy Son, ' thine only Son,
whom thou lovefi, even Ifaack. Every Cha
radter rifes higher and higher, ,and tended to
make ftronger Impreffions on the Mind of this
holy Man. . Take now thy Son. This was not
Defcriptlon enough to diftlnguifli him from
Ifinael. Therefore God adds, thine only Son,
born to thee of thine own Wife ; whom thou
kvefi, viz. with a peculiar Affedtion, as born
to be thine Heir, and given to thee by Miracle;
even Ifaack, to whom I my felf gave the Name,
and with whom I have efiablified my Covenant
for an everlafting Covenant, and with his Seed
after him; and in whom I have engaged thy
¦ M 2 , Seed

( i64 )
Seedftjall be called. The naming oi ffaack could
not blit bring to his Remembrance all the Pro*
mifes he had received from God concerning
him, and furnlfli to his Mind various Argu
ments to reconcile him to the Command that
was given him. And therefore
7. Abraham adted in this Affair upon fucli
Reafons and Motives as were rational in them
felves, and abundantly fufficlent to reconcilei
him to whatever fliould appear to be the Wilt
of God concerning It. He had three full Days
to deliberate concerning the Adtion, and no
doubt but he weighed it very ferloufly in his
own Mind, both in the Nature and Circum-w
ftances of It. And, I think, he could have but'
two Views before him : Either that God would
prevent the adtual facrificing him, or permit that
Sacrifice to take place. 'To Obey he was de
termined, let the Event be as it would ; tho' I
apprehend he appears to have been fomewhat
uncertain what that would really be. Probably
he might hope, that God did it only to try
him, and to give him a farther Opportunity of
difplaying his Faith In, and Refignatloh'to him;
and might fecretly reafon thus with himfelf :
If I readily comply with the Injundtion, God,
as he hadi In other Inftances dealt bountifully
with me, may In this alfo reward me, by fpar
ing that Life, which he finds me willing chear-
fully to refign to him. And even by this he
would have difcovcred a noble Confidence in,
and Reliance on the Divine Goodnefs, And, I
think.

( i65 )
think, th^ very Hiftory furnlflies this Remark.
Some fuch Hope furely muft have been in
Abrafoam's Mind, when he tells his Servants,
/ and the Lad will go yonder and worfiip, and
come again to you ; plainly difcovering, at leaft,
fome Profpedt of returning to them with his
Son. And, I think, this Intimation is much
ftronger In what he faid to Ifaack : My Soff,
God will provide himfelf a Lamb for a Burnt-
offering : Words, which tho' they don't imply
a Certainty that he fhould offer a Lamb in the
room of Ifaack ; yet, I think, evidently fhew,
that the Patriarch might hope and could not
tell, but that God might himfelf provide the
wiflied-for Exchange.
But, as this was an Uncertainty, he went
with a fixed Refolution to accompUfh whatever
fhould appear to be the Pleafure of God, and
therefore to facrifice his Son, If God fliould. In
Reality, demand it. And furely, he muft re
folve upon fuch Reafonings as thefe. Ifaack Is
the Son, upon whom all the Promifes of God
depend. If I lofe him, all thofe Promifes muft
fall without Accomplifhment. But this cannot
be, for the Promife and Oath of God are en
gaged for the Performance. How can the Com
mand then to offer him, and take away his Life,
be confiftent with thefe Promifes } Ifaack, I
Jcoow, muft live. Can he Jive, If I take away
his Life ? Can God reftore him after he Is dead ?
Yes ; I know he can, for he was born of two
Bodies dead by Age, created as it were out of
M a I^eath,

( i66 ) '
Death, ^nd therefore can and muft be reftored
to me from Death, by the fame Power that
gave him. It was In the very Nature of
Things Impoffible, that Abraham could Imagine
the Command to facrifice Ifaack, was a Com
mand abjohttely to deprive him for ever of Life.
This would have been inconfiftent with the
whole of God's Condudt towards him, and ab
folutely deftrudtlve of all his Faith and Confi
dence In God. He knew the Prefervation and
Continuance of IfaacKs Life was as certain as
the Promifes of God ; and therefore, he pofi
tively tells his Servants : We , will go yonder ani
worfiip, and come again unto you : Words not
fpoken to deceive his Servants, leaft they ffiould
prevent him In the Intended Sacrifice ; but ex-
preffivc of his Faith and full Affurance, that
he ffiould return to them with Ifaack, and there
fore whh Ifaack reftored from the Dead, If God:
fhould permit him to offer him as a real Sacri-;
fice. 'Thefe, or fuch hke, muft have been the
Sentiments of Abraham on this Subjedt, to whlell
his former Experience of God"s Power, In the
Conception and Birth of Ifaack, and his Per-|
fiiafion of the Impoffibility of God's fruftrating
his Promifes, muft neceffarily and naturally lead
him ; agreeable to the Account given by the
Author to the Hebrews: * By Faith Abraham,;
when he was tried, offer'd up Ifaack,- and he thdtl
had received the Promifes, offer'd up his only be
gotten Son, of whom it was jaid. That in Ifaacjk,:

* Heb. xi. 17, 1^, 19.

fi(}ll\

( 167 )
fijall thy Seed be called, accounting that God was
able to raij'e him up, even from the Dead.
And this Account of Abraham's Faith In the
Power of God to raife his Son, given by the
Author of this Epiftle, is founded, not on Tra-
••: dition and Authority, but on the Nature and
Reafon of the Thing. He that had received
the Promifes, offer'd up his only begotten Son ; that
very Son to whom thofe Promifes related, and
by whofe Life alone they could be accompllffi-
cd. He offer'd up his only begotten Son, of
:whom it was faid; That in Ifaack fiall thy Seed
be called ; i. e. His Pofterity ffiall be thy proper
Seed, and be called and accounted thy Family :
An Affurance that could be in no other poffible
Manner verified, but by his Refurredtion, if
God permitted hlr?i to be put to Death. And
therefore the Inference the Apoftle makes. He
, accounted that God was able to raife him from the
Dead, doth not depend merely on the Apoftle'*
own Authority, but upon the moft certain Evi
dence of Truth ; it being the moft obvious and
natural Inference the Patriarch could make fi-om
the Promife of a numerous Pofterity by him>^
and the Cpmmand to offer him for a Burnt-
offering, put together ; efpecially, as he had
had a Proof of the Divine Power in his Birth,
'^qual to what was neceflary to be exerted In
.fralfing him from the Dead. And confidering
the venerable good old Man in this. Situation,
how glorious an Inftanccwas he of Faith In, and
Reliance upon the Power and Goodnefs of God.
M 4. , If

( 168)
If he had fome diftant Hope that God might
fpare the Sacrifice, it was on this Perfuafion,
that God was a Rewarder of thofe that diligently
feek him, and that he would mitigate the Trial^j
when he had fufifered it to proceed fo far, as to
afcertain and difplay the Fidelity of his Servant.
If, on the other hand, It ffiould appear to be the
Pleafure of God, that the Sacrifice ffiould he
adlually offer'd, he trufted In his God, th?it his,
Obedience ffiould be rewarded by the Refur-ivJ',
redtlon of his Son ; and v^as abundantly a^ured,
that God was able to accompllffi it. So that;
tho' he might be fomewhat, dubious as to the
Event, yet It doth not dlmlnifh the Value of his
Faith, in the leaft alter the Nature of It, or
render It .lefs rewardable In the Eftlmatvpn and
Judgment of God. And from thefe Things It
follows :
8. That God neither commanded, nor Abra
ham ever intended to offer an Humane Sacrifice
to God, In th,e Senfe and Manner, in which
JIumane Sacrifices were offer'd up to their Idols,
by the Heathen Nations ; i. e. God never or*-
der'd Abraham to put his Son fo to Death, as
abfolutely to deftroy him, nor had the Patriarch
any the leaft Im.aginatlon or Appreh^nfiqn th?it
he was thus to die by his Hands. He had as,
njucli Affurance to the contrary, as the Promife,
?nd Oath, and Covenant of God could give him. ,
Whether he was to die or not, God had npt ab
folutely deterrained by the Command to facrifice
him, nor could Abraham, be fure. Flad be gi
ven

( 1^9 )
ven the Stroke^ he knew God could he^l him ;'
had he adtually taken away his Life, he was
aflfured God could recover it, and muft do It,
to be faithful to himfelf and him. The utmofi
therefore that Abraham thought of, was a mo
mentary Pain, a ffiprt Death to his beloved Son ;
not the total perpetual deprivliig him pf Life,
"which he knew God could not command con
fiftent with his Engagemepts ; and this fhort
Death, had it been permitted, he had abundant
Reafon to believe, as It would be no real Injury
tp his Heir, would fome how or other turn to
both their Advantage, as in the Eveut It adtually
did. And this very Confideration greatly alle
viated the Horrour of the Fadt, and was un
doubtedly one principal Regfon of the Readinef^
Abraham ffiewed to engage in it.
AU the Common-place Talk, therefore, of Un-
naturalnefs. Immorality, Barbapty, Murfher,
and the hke, which is ufually employ'd In de
claiming, againft this Adtion, js quite foreign to
jhe Purpofe, and fuppof^s a Faft, thaj: neither
enter'd into the Command of God, or the Ima
gination of Man. Humane Sacrifices, as they
were offer'd by the idojatrous Nations, was the
abfolute, and total, and perpetual depriving the
Perfon to be offer'd of his Life, and that by
Way of Attonement, and appeafing the offend
ed Deity ; not one fingle Circum ftanpe of all
which enter'd Into the Sacrifice of Jj flack ; and,
if the Thing be rightly confider'd, the Trial of
Abraham in this Affair, had the Child been
adtually

( 170 )
adtually to be killed, had been only this : Whe
ther he, who could truft in God to provide for
him a Country, when he left his own ; who
believed God, when he promifed him a nume
rous Pofterity ; who believed God could give
him a Son by Sarah, when both their Bodies
were dead by Age ; as incapable of producing a
Son thro' Age, In a natural Way, as tho' they
had been adtually dead ; and who had expe
rienced God was able to give him, contrary to
what was poffible by the Courfe of Nature ;
could alfo truft the fame God In one farther In
ftance, and believe that he was able to raife him
a fecond time, from another Kind of Death. God
tried him, the Patriarch obeyed him ; and hereby
fhewed a rational Dependance on, and fteady
Faith In God ; and juftly therefore ftands upon
Record as the Father of the Faithful, and as a no
ble Example of Fidelity and Obedience to God,
throughout all Ages of the World. It is alfo-
£irther generally obferved upon this Subjedt,
9, That as Abraham ffiewed himfelf willing
to execute God's Commands, fo Ifaack readily
confented to be offer'd up by the Hands of his
Father, The ancient Je%mfi Writers were of
this Opinion. The Jerufalem and Jonathan's
Targum both Intimate to us this very Circum
ftance. * Jofephus alfo gives the fame Account*
of it ; and thefe Teftimonies I mention, not as
Proofs of the Thing itfelf, but only to fhew the
4 TW fifxytiy. Jof Antiq. 1. i. c. 13. 4 4. Senfe

Senfe of the ancient Jews, and the Tradition
that had been conveyed down to them by their
Anceftors relating to this Circumftance ; and of
the fame Opinion are many of the modern Jews.
And this is favoured by the Confideration of the
Age of I/dack at this Time, who muft have
been well grown, as may be made appear by
'many CIrcumftances. , For between his Birth,
and the Command to facrifice him, he was
weaned ; and Ifimael, who was but fourteen
Years old atlfaack's Birth, was grown up, and
adtually married ; and after this Abraham fo
journed many Days in the Philifiines Land, be
fore he received this Order from God ; -which
probably was given him but a Httle before Sa^
rah's Death, fince the Account of that Event
follows in the next Chapter. Now from the
ISixUnoi Ijaack to Sarah's Death was thirty-feven
Years ; and therefore, I think, we may at leaft
allow him to be of the Age * Jofephus ' reports
him to have been, viz. twenty-five ; efpecially,
as he carried the Wood prepar'd for the Burnt-
offering, and therefore muft have been of an
Age and Strength fufficient to bear the Quantity
that Was neceflary for fuch a Purpofe. And if
he was of this Age, or near It, and able to carry
the Wood that was to burn the Sacrifice; he
appears to have been ftrong enough to have re-
iifted his Father, an old Man of an hundred
and twenty-five Years, and prevent the Execu-
* Id. Ibid. § 2. T» eTs Ifl-etstK* vri^itloy ^fiXorop iToi sxOFTSf,
TW Ti J3«f!oy Xc«T*«'X6t'sl^0l'T0Sj K T. A, tion

( i^2 )
tion of his Purpofe, And therefore, the fufter-
ing himfelf to be bound, and laid on the Altar
as a Vidtim, nxnA have been \yith his own Coi>-
fent ; which the Knowledge of his Father's In
tegrity and Piety, ^nd prc^bably the Appearance
of the very Glory on the IVIount, migh^ be the
Qccafipn of his chearfully giving. And thig,
Circumftance would naturally make the Thing
fomewhat eafjer to his Father ; and is: the more
^oJDabie, becaufe Children in thofe primitive
Times were more entirely fubjedt to their Far
ther's Power, thaii is now permitted by the
Laws of Society.
Tis vvell known, that amongft the ancient
.|?<^^^^thp Power of the* Father over theChIk ¦
dren was abfolute, fo that they might imprifonj
them, fcourge them, fell them, fend them to fer
vile Labours, or put tliem to Death, It was
pne of the Laws of the twelve t Tables : Let
$h.e Father hifW Power over tbe Son as to Life
£m4 Death, and the Liberty of thrice felling him..
The fame Cuftpm prevailed amongft the ancien|
i Egyptians, and amongft the Ilebrew Patriarchs*/
* 'S'tS'UMy i^lifiav •ITATft Kt/^y Vltty !^ 'Xet'pci TltVTA TOV TH /SiSH
3CPW*j I*" Ti'fifymt satf Ti (/.u^-iyvv, ic^v ts J'&.u'iim ea-/ Ta»
**'r' ffU^f^i'' Spy'?'' il-^'^iX^"'' *"'' ''¦? ti-ifox-Ttwuvtu 'TcpoatpyiTiu—i I
aJ>J\ai&<iral\to>i<pni!,i Toitviov TW wa.Tp^ Dionyf. Hal. Rom,''
Ant. 1.2. p. 94. Edit. Ifudfpn. V,id. etiam Ibi(d. p. 124.
f Hab,eat paterfamilias jus in eum vjts et necis, terque eum
ipem^hdan4i poteftatem.
§ KstTa (/.tv lay yontav tuv avoKTiWtiVTav to, Teitm SravtLTttt
rev 0ior Tali 'Jttbia'ij'iiS'eDKoTttf. Diodor. Sic. p. 70. Edit. W^-
fitel.
them-*

( 173 )
themfelves ; as is evident from the Cafe of t Ti'^
mar, V^'hom Juddh her Father-in-Law, upon
^h Accufation of Whoredom, order'd to be
'brought forth dnd burnt. So that 'tis riot at all
to be Vvonder'd at, that Ifadck, tho' of Age fuf-
fi!cieht to have refifted, fhoYild have readily con-
Tented in this refpedt to his Father's Reafure,
efpecially as he krievv' his Father adted by a Di
vine Comman'd.
Nor do I think, that the Circumftance of
Abraham's binding Ifaack, was any Argument,
as Mr. Le Clerc intimates, of ahy Violence of
fer'd to him ; but poffibly might be done itt
Conformity to the common Cuftom of binding
Sacrifices, or- to prevent hi's ftrugghng in the
Agonies of Death, If he vVas really to die. I
inight add, that the fame Argiirmeftts that made
Abraham ready to offer him, might, when fet
before Ifaack, make him the more willingly
fubmit to it. On thefe Accounts, had he been
offer'd, 'twould have been With lefs Appearance
of Violence and Injuftice ; and 'xi Abraham adted,
upon the whole, In Obedience to a Divine, Com
mand, as fhe Hiftory affirms ; if he knew the
Death of his Son, If God had permitted it, was
to be but for a fmall Seafon, if he thought he
had a natural Right over him thus to facrifice
him in Obedience to God ; and if, as feems ex
treamly probable, Ifaack himfelf voluntarily
fubmitted to God's Order, arid his Father's
Pleafure, the Adtion was fit and juftifiable in
t Gen. xx*viii. 24.
* its

( 174 )
its Nature, and contrary to no Law humaiie of
divine. This is the Light in which this Part
of the Scripture Hiftory appears to me, and in
which I can fee nothing unworthy of God, nor
any Thing inconfiftent with any moral Obliga
tions whatfoever. But 'twill be neceffary to
examine the Account given of it by our Phllo-»^
fopher, and his Objedtlons againft It. And
1. Whereas the Sacred Hiftory affirms, that
God tempted, or tried, or proved Abraham, ouf
Philofopher objedts : * Nothing can be more ab-
jiird, than to imagine that God would command
Abraham a Thing not fit to be done, only to try
what he would do, as if he did not know before,
without any fuch Trial. If he means by a Thing
not fit to be done, a Thing in its own Natural
contrary to Reafon, and morally unfit, the Ob-
jedtlon is nothing to the Purpofe ; becaufei as
ffiall be ffiewn, the Thing commanded was not
thus unfit to be done. If he means a Thing,
which, tho' the doing of it implied no natural''
or moral Unfitnefs, yet God did not, for wife
Reafons, permit to be done ; then 'tis not ab
furd that God ffiould command fuch a Thing
by way of Trial ; becaufe, if the Thing faid to
be commanded be not effentlally unfit to be*
done. It Is not effentlally unfit to be command
ed ; and if It be fit for God to make Trial of J
the Virtue and Fidelity of his Creatures, he
may make this Trial as well by a Command to
do a Thing, that he will not permit to be fully
* Vol. III. p. 97. and

( 175 )
and finally executed, as by any other way what
foever, if a proper Trial can be made of a rea
fonable Creature by fuch a Command ; and
efpecially, a Trial peculiarly remarkable and ex
emplary. The great Trial of all Men, with re
fpedt to God, is that of their Faith In, and Obe-
,,,,,., dience to him ; and the Command of God to
Abraham to offer his Son, was as fubftantial
and full a Trial of him In thefe refpedts, as could
be In the Nature of Things ; and by Confe
quence the Command, that carried in it this
'Tx'i2\, was not abjiird, but wifely given, becaufe
it fully anfwered the Defign. And as the End
of this Trial did not In the leaft depend on the
adtual Execution of this Command,God, when the
Trial of Abraham's Faith had been fully made,
might wifely and reafonably prevent fuch Exe
cution of it. And when the Philofopher adds :
As if God did not know before what he would do,
. without any fuch Trial; 'tis a mean and trifling
Cavil, unworthy of a Man that pretends to Rea
fon and Philofophy. Did any Man of Senfe
ever pretend to affirm, that the Trials, which
God fuffers to befal Mankind In the Courfe of
his Providence, are for the Divine Information ?
Or, that Abraham was tried, becaufe God did
. not know before what he would do, without
any fuch Trial .? Such abfurd Suppofitions be-
 i-long not to the Divines, but to the modern Mo-
 !• ral Phiiofophers. The Divines * know with-
• >. out
* Alo KiyiTAi mii^oJ^iSia.1 A^itaii., m ai tk ©s« J^iomvn
1 fiASsif Tilt auTi etsiTtiv, «m' w* Hp«f T» vTmftt conn ^ tou
 ff " SJJ/O/f

( 176 )
Put their inibu^aion, and knew long before this
Philofopher was bOrn, that God tries no Mari
for his own Ififor mation, but that he tries alt
Men, to afeertain and determine their Cha
radters, to give them Opportunities for their
excelling In Virtue and Piety, and to juftify his
own Condudt towards them, in the Diftribui.
tions of Rewards and Punlffiments, whether iri
the prefent or future Life. And this Was' the
View of Abraham's Trial, that God might af
ford him an illuftrious Occafion of ffiewing his
Faith In the Divine Power and Veracity, give
him the Honour of a fingular Commendation^
and make him happy in a dlftlngulffirng Reward.
If therefore there be any Abfurdity in this Trial,
it muft be becaufe 'tis abfurd for God to try
Men at all, or try them by different Methods,
and proportion their Trials to their Faith, or try
them in order to reward them, or reward them
in Confequence of their Trial, or juffify his own
Equity and Wifdom in the Rewards that he
confers. But what Is our Author's Morahty and
Philofophy, that thns take on them to cenfure
the Divine Benevolence and Equity, and charge;
the Difplay of them with Folly and Abfurdity ?
2. He reprefents Abraham as adting In this,
whole Affair, by * Fancy, Conceit, and mere ,
enthufiaflical Imagination, It may be probable
iSyoK ^A^tiyLiv TMC etpSTDf AVTi, ^itlKlOiflil i*i, OTI Tofn'tOV
aipiM(ioi 01 'TTeiptta'lxoi, a7S ^ eit/TO{ !r«p*^«, ivet <Po«/,M»T5f8r!
^it^ti. Theophil. in Heb. xi. 1 7. i
* Vol. I. p. 133. '
enough,

( ^^"7 )
'enoiigh, fays he, that Abraham had fuch a Be-
ihefor Conceit, viz. that he was commanded by
'God, And again: * He firmly believed, that as
God was able, fo he would certainly raij'e his only
Son and Heir, again j'rom the Dead, tho' he fiould
facrifice and burn him to Afies ; and he had
firongly wrought h'lmfelf up into fuch a Perfiiafion,
that he concluded God, in reality, required it of
him, and expeBed it from him. Accordingly, he
refolved upon it, as an AB of Obedience to God,
and was jufi upon the Point of putting it in Exe
cution. But this is not giving the Hiftory as he
found it, but forging a new one to fuit his own
Purpofes and Scheme. The Sacred Hiftorian
exprefly declares the whole Affair, from the
Beginning to the End, was condudted by God ;
and that Abraham's Behaviour was finally com
mended and juftified by Jehovah, and all the
former Promifes confirmed to him by the moft
folemn Oath of God, as the Reward of his
Obedience In this remarkable Inftance. In Op
pofition to this, to talk of Enthufiafm, and
Imagination, Conceit, and wrought up Perfua
fion, Is quite befides the Purpofe, and defraud
ing the Patriarch of the one great Circumftance
that is the true Vindication of his Condudt ; for
the Philofopher himfelf juftifies him upon this
Suppofition, when he tells us : t No doubt but
every pofitive Law, oj what Nature or Kind fo
ever, mufi be fufi and right, fuppofing it to be a
Command from God, how unreafonable or unfit fo-,,
* Vol. III. p. 96. t Vol. I. p. 134.
N ever.

( 178 )
ever it might appear to our weak, imperfcB, and
limited Underfianding ; and therefore, as Abra-^
ham is exprefly declared to adt by fuch a Law,
fo far his Condudt was juft and right. If the
Philofopher would do any Thing to the Pur
pofe, let him prove, that all that is faid of God,
and the Angel, and Jehovah, in this Hiftory,
is interpolated and forged ; and that his Words„;
Enthujiafm, Conceit, wrought up Perfuafion, and.
the like, were originally in the Text, and ffiould
be accordingly reftored to it. Or let him, ac
cording to his own mofi learned and critical Me
thod of explaining thefe Divine Appearances^'^
tell us how we are to underftand the Words :
God tempted f^xahan\ : The Angel of the Lord
called to him out' of Heaven : By myfelf have I
femrn, faith Jehovah : Whether of a Dream,
or a Traveller, the Death of a Relation, an Oc
currence, and the like. We have God, the
Angel of Jehovah, and Jehovah himfelf In this
Hiftory, and we will not part with them for
any Conceit, or Dream, or Traveller, or Oc
currence, that his philofophical Invention can
conjure up. To change real Appearances for
mere Dreams, Angels of God, fpeaking from
Heaven, for mere Travellers, the Voice of Je
hovah for Occurrences and Deaths of Relations,
opens the Door to ten thoufand Delufions and
Miftakes, and deftroys all Suppofition and
Reahty of the Voice and Will of God, and there
fore makes the Philofopher's Imagination, that
Abraham mifiook them, quite impertinent and
fenfelefs.

( ^79 )
fenfelefs. For hov/ could he mifiake the Voice
and Will of God, when, according to our Cri
tick, he never heard the one, nor had any real
Signification of the other ?
What he fays, that Abraham had ftrongly
wrought himfelf into a Perfuafion that God in
reality required him to put his Son to Death and
burn him to Afies, and that accordingly he re
folved on it as an AB of Obedience to God ; is
more than the Philofopher can prove, Abraham,
as I have ffiewn, appears to have been uncertain
as to the Nature ahd Extent of the Command,
whether Ijaack ffiould be really facrlficed, or a
, Lamb in his Room. All that he refolved on,
was to go as far in his Obedience to God, as
God ffiould dired: him, and even to facrifice
and burn his Son if he found It to be the Will
of God~t;hat he ffiou'd. If he ffiould find that
God would difpenfe with this Sacrifice, he ne
ver refolved to offer It ; and his Integrity and
Faith in God was equally virtuous and reward-
able, if he refolved only to proceed juft as far
as God diredted him, without ever adtually re
folving on what he was not fure was the Sub
jedt of the Command, viz. to flay his Son, and
reduce him to Aflies on the Altar. If at laft
it ffioa'4 appear, that God did in reality de
mand this Sacrifice, he was then determin'd to
offer It, for the very Reafon the Philofopher
mentions, becaufe he firmly believed, that as ,
God was able, fo he would certainly raife up
his Son again from the Dead. And I prefume
N z Abraham'^

( i8o)
'Abraham's Faith in the Power of God, was not
mere Conceit, Enthufiafm, and wrought up
Perfuafion ; no, nor his believing that God
would do it, confidering that this was ne
ceffary to vindicate his Truth and Faithful-
nefs. !» 3, He objedts farther, that* 'tis evident in
FaB, that Abraham had mifiaken the Mind and>
Will of God, becaufe God prevented him in the
Execution; and that we mufi fuppofe, either fir^,
that there are fome Circumfiances omitted in this
Story, that might have fet it in a clearer Light,
f or that Mofes mifiook the Cafe ; or elfe thai A-
braham was tinder a Delufion in this Cafe, and
had wrought himfelf into a wrong Perfuafion, and
mijtook the Voice and Will of God to him. But
I think we need not one of thefe Suppofitions to
clear up and vindicate this Hiftory ; and that
it may be much more rationally fuppofed, ei
ther that the Philofopher did not underftand it,
or did not care to reprefent it as he found it.
To talk oi mi flaking the Mind and Will of God,
when he allows nothing of God In the Affair,
but afcrlbes the whole of it to Delufion and
Conceit, Is to contradidt himfelf, and abufe his
Reader. And upon Suppofition that the Ac
count of the Hiftorian is true, that God com
manded him to offer his Son, yet the Philofo
pher's Affertion is far from being fo, viz. that
Abraham mifiook the Mind and Will oi God.
That Abraham did not fo fully underftand it,
* Vol. Ill, Pag, ^7. f Vol. I. Page 133. a!

( '8' )
as to be abfolutely fure of the Event, but left
the Decifion intirely to God, and refolved abr.
folutely to be governed by his Diredtion, this
I readily allow, and think L have proved. And
as he was in this Uncertainty, 'twas impoffi
ble he could be refolved on his own Condudt,
any farther than as to this general Point ; that
at all Hazards he would comply with the Will
of God, whatever it ffiould appear to be ; wbich
furely was not fuch an Enthufiafm and Delu
fion, as to be unworthy of Pardon, by a truly
Philofophical Mind. 'The Command was ex
prefs and plain : Offer him for a Burnt -Offering.
And Abraham underftood it as well, as if God
had faid : Offer me a Lamb for a Burnt-Offering.
He could not therefore be miftaken in the Na
ture of the Command, but was only uncer
tain how far God would, permit the Execu
tion of it. And this Uncertainty was neceffary,
to anfwer the Defign Intended by the Order^
viz, that Abraham fhould be put to a farffier
Trial of his Faith in the Power and Veracity
of God^ by being permitted to go fo far, as to
ffiew a determined Purpofe even to facrifice his
only Son, For this was giving the moft fubftan
tial Proof of the Strength and Excellencyof his
Faith. Nor is there any Omiffion of any neceffary
Circumftances In this Hiftory. We have the
Command of God exprefs and clear, the Rea
fon of giving it, the Obedience of Abraham to
it, and the Commendation of God to juftify
and approve it. The whole Story as it is told,
N 3 appears

( i82 )
appears a plain, artlefs, honeft Narration, needs
no Clrcupiftances to fet it in an intelligible
Light, and, perfedtly frees the Patriarch from,
all Sufpicion of Delufion, and if it fixes any
Blame, fixes it not on Abraham, but on that
God, to whofe Will he conformed himfelf.
Mofes evidently related it as he found it,; nor is
there a fingle Circumftance to create Sufpicion
either of Want of Fidelity or Care. But
4. Tho' he affigns the Reafons of Abrahanfs
Condudt In tfils Inftance to Conceit, and Enthur
fiafm, to Delufion and miftaking the Will of
God ; yet if this ffiould not do, he hath another
ready at Hand; viz, * that thej'e Hebrews al
ways looked upon human Sacrifices, from the very
Beginning, as the higheft and mofi acceptable ABs
of Devotion and Religion, when freely offered to
ihe true God, as is plain in the Cafe o/" Abraham.
And this, he adds, is a plain Proof of the com-r
mon Notion, or general received Opinion of that
Time, that human Sacrifices might be injoynd and
accepted of Qpd as the moft valuable and meri
torious Part of Obedience ; and that the Blood of
Man, for the Expiation, of Sin, and procuring
the divine Favour, was much more effcacious than
the Blood of Beafts. And again, t we muft fup
pofe, that humane Sacrifices are agreeable to the
Nature and PerfeBions of God, ' and may be
commanded. ; And this indeed is what Abraham,
feems to have believed, qnd been perfuaded of.
And the Author of the Epiftle to ^/j^ Hebrevy? :
* Vol, III. p. 132, 133. f Vol. III. p. 97, 98. .i
fuppojes

( i83 )
fuppofes the fame Thing, that Abraham'^ Faith
and Refolution upon it were good and meritorious
in this Cafe, and confequently that human Sacri
fices are agreeable to and confiftent with the Na
ture and PerfeBions of God, and may accord
ingly be commanded, and made a pofitive Duty by
Revelation. Humane Sacrifices I am very much Inclined
to believe, were very anciently In Ufe. Por
phyry as quoted by Eufebius, tells us, that fuch
Sacrifices were very ancient- in * Egypt ; and
particularly of the f Phenicians, that In any
great Calamities, whether of Wars, or Pefti-
lence, or exceffive Drought, they choofe one
of the deareft to them, and facrlficed him to
Saturn, and that the Phenician Hiftory Is full
of Inftances of Perfons who made thefe Sacri
fices. And X Sanchoniathon, in his Phenician
Hiftory, tranflated Into Greek by Philo Biblius,
* KttTif^Vffi tPe ^ sv HA.;k mfiil Ttlf AiyvtTV TOV Ttli AV-
S-^wroKTovtas voyioy Af/.ao'is, ai (M^tv^H Metiii&ai. Ed^voVTo
•Ts TO Hf «, >^ zS'oKiyiaZ,ov\a Kit^cVTif oi ^nlx[jLiyoi xii-3-«f 0/ {J.ao"X<)i
xj mtr^^nyt^oiisvoi. E^uov"o J'i tw tmi^ai Tfe« Eufeb.
Piasp. livang. 1. 4. c, 16.
+ idiviKii J*e iv TAii yLiyttKitK ffUfAipo^tiK tl iro\iU6>v, » Ao/-
/«w, H av^ixav, e&uoyTav (pif^Ti^av Tim i'7ri-\.wfi^ai/']ii t»
Ksova. ^ 13-AHf HJ Ti « ifoivium Ko^itt Tuv ^¦ua'AvJav- Id, Ibid.
Et Cyril" cont. Jul. 1. 4. p. 129. Et Philo. de Abr. p. 293.
X E'&of w Toii <!rttKAiaii, zv Tuif [nyithaii ^/^(pofciii TWt
x.ivi'vvav, twtli Tnt 'TtAvluv ©•S-ofas, to tiytfjrti^ivov tuv Tsaca?
TW Kfetjuc'?*? M -TroKiwi M i^i/m i'i <r(paytiy i'Ti^iJ'oya,!, Mfpov
7oii Tiy.«ipoii S'di,iyi.o<Ti. Ka,'/se'<pjt7<ii'7o S's ot J\iJ'<i[jt,ivoi [/.vtinas-
Kpovcf Totvuv 0ajrt\ivei!y th; %«?«, 6§ im-)(apiets Nwf,t(pi«
AyaCpil hsyo[/,iv»(, vtoy syud ^ovoyzn, VAvS'\ivav sk iroKzyut
(/.iyi^ay KttluhflipolayTtlV X^?*''' /SawAlKo Koc^MffoK 5^;W;.**J| tw
vioy, fwfioy'Ji KitTMKivet,ra,[Myog Kctjs^vsi. Id, Ibid,
N 4 tells

¦ ( i8,4 )
tells us it was ufual with the Ancients, in arty
great Calamities or Dangers for the Governours
of their Cities or Countries, to deliver their
favourite and beloved Child, to the Slaughter,
as aRanfom to the avenging Damons, to pre
vent the common Deftrudtion ; and that Chronus
or Saturn himfelf, who was King oi Phenicia,
having an only Son by Aiiobret, a Native of that
Country, dreffed him up in royal Habit, and
facrlficed him upon an Altar he built for the
Purpofe, becaufe his Country was endanger'd
by a bloody War, Chronus ox Saturn here is
unqueftionably Ham, to whom Phoenicia or
the Land of Canaan fell, and whofe Pofterity
peopled it ; fo that according to Sanchoniathon
humane Sacrifices were introduced by him,
and thence became frequent amongft his Po
fterity, And that thefe Sacrifices were in .Ufe
amongft thefe People is confirmed by Mofes In
that remarkable Prohibition, which I would
recommend to the Confideration of the Philofo
pher : * If'f^en the Lord thy God fiall cut off
the Nations from before thee, whither thou goeft
to poffefs them, atid thou fucceedeft them, and
dwelle ft in their Land: Take heed to thy felf that
thou be not fnared by following them,, after that
they be deftroyed from before thee; and that thoii
inquire not after their Gods, faying. How did
thefe Nations ferve their Gods ? Even jo will I
do likewife. Thou fi:all not do fo unto the Lord
thy God. For every Abomination to the Lord
* Deut. xii. 29^ 30, 31. <vohich

( iS5 ) •
'which he hat eth have they done unto their Gods.
¦For even their Sons and their Daughters have
they burnt in the Fire to their Gods. So that
according to facred and profane Hiftory, hu
man Sacrifices were both very ancient and fre
quent amongft the Inhabitants of Canaan ; and
I therefore perfedtly here agree with the Phi
lofopher, that it was a general received Opinion
in Abraham'^ Time, e^eclally amongll the
Egyptians and Canaanites, that human Sacri
fices might be accepted of the Gods. And I
will joyn with him In acknovi^ledging, that as
offer'd by them, they were contrary to all the
Principles of Nature, Reafon and true Religi
on, and argued the higheft Degeneracy and
Corruption in Mankind, and the moft miftaken
Sentiments of the Perfedtions of God, and the
Worffilp due to him. He acknowledges alfo
that before Abraham, * his Family worfhiped by
Images, and that this Sort of Worfinf ':.va> i e-
tained till the Time of ]acoh. But then I do not
fee how thefe Things are reconcilable with what
he afferts In another Place ; + where, fpeaking of
Enthufiafm, Superftition, and the moft unna
tural and incredible Accounts of God, and how
It prevailed in Egypt before the Days of Mofes;
he fays : But it cannot be fuppofed, that this
great Degeneracy, Corruption, and Inverft.on of
all Nature and Religion hapned jb early, as the
Di^y.? o/' Abraham. Why can't it be fuppofed,
when he allows that the two groffeft Corrupti-
* Vol. Ill-' p. 105- t Page 93,94. ons

• ( i86 )
cns of Religion in the whole World, viz. Image
Worffilp and human Sacrifices, were, the firf^
earlier than Abraham, and the latter agreea
ble to the general Opinion of his Times ? Hu
man Sacrifices he affirms, are * contrary to Na
ture and Reafon, and that to fuppofe theni a-
greeable to, or confifient with the Nature ani
PerjeBions of God, defiroys and j'ets afide the
whole. Law of Nature, and leaves us no prior''
Principle or Rule of Judgment in Reafon, con
cerning tbe Will and Law of God. If therefore
there is plain Proof, as he himfelf afferts, t of
the common Notion, or general received Opinion of
that, Abraham's, Time, that human Sacrifice^
might be enjoyn'd and accepted of God, as the
mofi valuable and meritorious Part of Obedience^
end that the Blood of Man for the Expiation of
Sin' and procuring the divine Favour was much
more effcacious than the Blood of Beafis: Then
it will follow, that this grofs Degeneracy, In-
verfion of Nature, and grofs Corruption, of Re
ligion, happened as early as the Days o/" Abraham, .
fince no Corruption of Religion oan hegroffer,
than that which is contrary to Nature' and Rea
fon, inconfiftent with the Nature and PerfeBions
of God, and fets afide the whole Law of Nature.
And yet this Moral Philofopher, who tells us,
*twas the common Notion of Abraham's Time that
fuch unnaturalSacrifices were the mofi valuaUeand
meritorious Part of Obedience, hath the Affu
rance and Front to tell the World, that this,
* Vol. III. p. 97, 38. tVoI. I. p. 13 a. [great

,( i87 )
great Degeneracy, Corruption, and Inverfion of
all Nature and Religion, can't be fuppofed to hap
pen fo early as the Days o/" Abraham. Clearly
to make thefe two Suppofitions confiftent, will
require the whole of this able Philofopher's In
vention and Critlcifm.
But tho' human Sacrifices were agreeable to
the general Opinion of the Inhabitants oi Egypt
and Canaan, I do not fee how 'twill follow
from thence, thatffiefe Hebrews always looked
upon them, from the very Beginning, as the
moft acceptable ABs of Devotion, when freely
offered to the true God ; and 'tis what I am
very fure he is not able to prove. The Ori
ginal Country whexe Abraham's Family dwelt was
Chaldaa, and there are no antient Autoritles to
prove that this Cuftom of facrificing Children had
fo early as this, or ever obtaln'd there. * Philo
exprefsly fays the contrary, viz. that the Cuf
tom of facrificing Children had not been re
ceived or approved in Babylon, nor in Mefopota
mia, nor amongft the Chaldceans, tho' he was
brought up, and fpent the greateft Part of his
Time amongft them ; and that therefore the
Frequency of thefe Things could not be that
which prevailed with him to look on fuch dread
ful Sights with Indifference. The Hebrews
therefore did not from the Beginning look on
* ErJoj V-iv xv TO iTTi TTAiS'oi^yia.t BaCv^ay ;^ Miff oir o%[jitii,
^ TO X'LtJ'cUuy i^voi B Ttt^etS'i^ilttl , 6V on {fscKpn ^ eCiaffi
Toy ¦zrAj/oc* XS""""'' "^ '"" 'f^Vi'Xii". Tav J\!fi>iJLivay a,yLCh,v\iptui
•ran tuv J'siyav (favlaffictif mnp^n^*! J^okuv. Phil, de Abr,
p. 294. . human

( '88 )
human Sacrifices as the moft acceptable Adts
of Devotion, fince they do appear from the Be
ginning never to have looked on or ufed them as
any Adts of Devotion at all. If he makes Abra-
hivm the Original of th€ Hebrews, yet I don't fee
even then how it will be plain from his Cafe, that
ihey thought fuch Sacrlfices^t'i?^ offered io very
acceptable Adts of Devotion. By freely, he means
voluntarily, and without Command from God ;
elfe his Inftance from Abraham is nothing to
the Purpofe, who he fays determined to offer
Ifaack thro' Con£eit, without any divine Com-
m iid= But then he knows this will never be
allow'd him, becaufe the Hiftory contradldts
this Conceit of bis, and declares that what A-
hraham did, and refolved to do, was by divine
Command. Now how it follows, from Abra-
lam's Intention to offer his Son Ifaack, upon
Suppofition God required it of him, that there
fore Abraham looked on human Sacrifices, yr^^^
ofer'd, I. e. without God's requiring them of
him, as the moft acceptable Adts of Devotion,
is another Myftery that needs this great Philo-
fsphical Genius to explain it. The Truth is
that there Is no one fingle Inftance, in all the
old Teftament Writings, of an human Sacrifice
offered to the true God freely, or otherwife;
and tho' the corrupted and idolatrous Jews
frequently made their Children pafs thro' the Fire
to the Gods of the Nations around them, yet
God exprefsly forbid all fuch Offerings to him
felf as an Abomination ; and therefore the He
brews

( i89 )' , .
iirews could not poffibly look on them as ac-
¦ceptable ABs of I)evotion to him, or as the mofi
valuable and meritorious ABs oj Obedience -, unlefs
the Philofopher thinks they could Imagine there
was any peculiar Merit In thofe Sacrifices, which
they well know to be his Abhorrence.
When he adds, that 'twas the general Opini
on of the Time when Abraham lived, that the
Blood of Man for the Expiation of Sin, and pro
curing the divine Favour, was much more effca
cious than the Blood of Beafis; this may be true,
for any , Thing I can prove to the contrary, of
the Egyptians and Canaanites, and other Idola
trous Nations : But how the Condudl of Abra
ham in the Cafe of Ijaack can prove this, is
paft my Comprehenfion. If Abraham had
adtually offered up his Son, or attempted to
offer him n^^ freely, or offered him for the Ex
piation of Sin, or" as a more effcacious Sacrifice
to procure the divine Favour than the Sacrifice
of a Reaft, the Philofopher's Inference would
have been more to the Purpofe. But he muft:
know that not one of thefe Circumftances can
be prov/ed of Abraham, but that lie adted upon
quite different Views ; and that what in him
was only a Readinefs to comply with a fup
pofed and poffible Command of God, without
any Regard to the Expiation of Sin, was in them
Superffition and Wickednefs ; becaufe they adt
ed without any Shadow or Pretence of a divine
Order, and for fuch Ends, as no Sacrifices,
whether of Men or Beafts, could In themfelves poffibly

( IPO )
poffibly anfwer ; fince no Sacrifices whatfoever
could, in the Nature of' things, be, on their
own Account, an Expiation for Sin, as it affedt-
ed the Confcience, and the Acceptance of Man
kind with God In a future State.
Another Inference he draws is, that the Au
thor oj the Epiftle to the Hehxews fuppofes that
human Sacrifices are agreeable to, and confifient
with the Nature and PerfeBions of God, and
may be accordingly aommanded, and made a pofi
tive Duty by Revelation, becaufe he fuppofes that
Abraham'^ Faith and Refolution upon it were
good and meritorious in this Cafe. Abraham'.?
Faith, according to the Author of the Epiftle
to the Hebrews, was only this; that he accounted
or believed that God was able to raife his Son
from the Dead, in Cafe he had adtually offered'
him up, in Obedience to him : A Faith I
ffiould think even ourPhilofopher ffiould not cen
fure as Superftition and Enthufiafm. In Con
fequence pf this Faith he tells us he did offer-
him, I. e. bound him, laid him on the Altar,
on the Wood, and ffiewed himfelf ready to flay
him, if God ffiould finally permit it. But he
neither adtually offered him, nor intentionally,
but upon Suppofition of God's adtually requiring
it. The Author therefore to the Hebrewsle^aves
the Fadt of the Sacrifice as the Hiftory records it,
without faying one Word about the Lawful*
nefs of human Sacrifices. The Thing he com
mends Abraham for Is fimply this ; his ready
Compliance with God's Method of trying his '
ObediencCj

( ipl )
Obedience, upon this Principle that God could
raife the Dead. He fuppofes more than Con
ceit in Abraham, * even a divine Order, as the
Hebrew Hiftorian doth ; and that therefore, as
the Philofopher himfelf allows, the Command
was juft and right, becaufe from God. Upon
Suppofition therefore of fuch a Command, the
Philofopher himfelf muft commend Abraham
as much as the Author to the Hebrews, be
caufe if the Command was from God, 'tvras
juft, and if juft, Abraham muft be obliged to
obey it, and his Faith in God, that fupported
him in this Inftance of Obedience, was, to
ufe our Author's Words, good and meritorious.
But if God did not command him, and if his
Faith, that God was able to raife the Dead,
was all Conceit and Enthufiafm; the Author
to the Hebrews doth not commend hita, and
raight therefore have efcaped the Philofopher's
Cenfure. It ffiould alfo be added, that the
Author to the Hebrews fuppofes that this Com
mand was only for Abraham's Trial : Abra
ham, when he was tried, offered up Ifaack ; and
that therefore Abraham's Faith was worthy of
Commendation, becaufe It enabled him to en
dure the Trial, and approve himfelf faithful to
God. Now how doth It appear, that the Au
thor to the Hebrews could ever fuppofe, that
Humane Sacrifices, not ordain'd by God by
Way of Trial, are agreeable to him, becaufe he
fuppofes, that God tried Abraham, by com-
* Vol. I. p. 134. manding

( 192 )
manding him to offer Ifaack f Or, that Hu
mane Sacrifices, aBually to be offered up, may
be made a pofitive, fianding Duty by Revelation;
becaufe God tried Abraham by a Command of
this Nature, that he never intended ffiould be
flioroughly executed? If this Author only
thought, that God Intended nothing more than'
a Trial of Abraham's Faith, he only thought.
that God had a Right to try him by fuch
a Method; a Right, that doth not in the
leaft infer that he thought there was a farther;
Right in God adtually to command Humane-
Sacrifices, as Inftances of WorffiJp agreeable to
his Perfedtions; the commanding a Thing merely
by Way of Trial, being quite, different from a
(inimand, intentionally given, for the adtually
doing the Thing ; as different, as a Command.
that Is given for Trial only, and not for Exe-:
cution, is from another Command, that Is given
to be finally executed, and not merely for "Trial,
But In reality the Philofopher Injures the Author
to the Hebrews, hy telling us, that he fuppofes'.
Humane Sacrifices to be agreeable to God, arid that'
they may be made a pofitive Dutv by Revelation ;
becaufe he commends Abraham'i Faith ; meaning
by liumane Sacrifices, Men abfolutely put to
Death, fo as never to recover Life; or offered
as Propitiations for Sin. For the Author to the*
Hebrews never fuppofed, that either of thofe
Circumftances were applicable to the Cafe of
Abraham ; becaufe he exprefsly tells us, that
Abraham

( 193 )
Abraham accounted that God was able to ralfe
liaack from the Dead : And therefore he muft
Jieceffarily fuppofe, that Abraham never once
thought of offering to God an Humane Sacrifice,
as that Implied the intire Deftrudtion of it ; but
-only of a .ffiort, temporary D;ath, that was to
be fucceeded by 'an immediate, or fpeedy Re
furredtion, by the Power of God. And there
fore the Author to .the Hebrews only fuppofes,
/that God may„command a Father to pat his
¦Son to Death for a fmall Period, in order to il-
luftrate his own Pov\fer and Falthfulnefs, by
-granting an immediate Refurredtion to a new
and durable Life ; and that Abraham's Faith
and Refolution were therefore good, becaufe as
he had received fuch a Command, he would
have executed It, had God Infifted on it, thro'
an intire Faith in the Divine Power and Fide
lity., And who would not adt as Abraham did,
in like CIrcumftances, and freely offer himfelf or
Son, that had Abraham's certain Affurance of the
¦Divine Power to reftore him ? Every Man
that had a becoming Faith in the Almighty
Being, and a due Difpofition to pleafe, and be
rewarded of him.
5. But the grand Queftion is, * How fuch a
Revelation could be .proved as coming from God?
X What Proof could he give, that he had any fuch
. Revelation or Command from God ? And will any
. of our prefent Clergy undertake to prove, that fuch
a Command frop God to Abraham can be now cre-
* Vol. iir. p. 98. X Vol. T. p. 133- ,.<,

( 194 )
dible or probable to us ? I think the Credibility'
of the Thing may be abundandy proved,, wheii
it is fairly confider'd what is, and what is not tQ
be proved.
It Is not neceffary to be proved, that Abraham,
was affured, or that he thought he had a Com*
mand from God, to put his Son to Death, fo
as intirely to deflroy him, and for ever deprive him
of Life ; or that he apprehended any fuch Thing
lawful or fit, becaufe God never intended fuch
a Command, and Abraham knew 'twas impof
fible God ffiould give it, becaufe Ifaack's Life
had been enfured to him by preceeding Pro
mifes, and a numerous Pofterity by him : No,
nor need It be proved, that'God gave him any
Command to put him aBually to Death at all,
or that Abraham fully and certainly underftood
the Command In fuch a Light ; becaufe, as the
Event ffiewed, God had no fuch Intention, nor
doth It appear that Abraham was ever abfolutely
perfuaded that It was. Much lefs need it be
proved, that Abraham thought Humane Sacri
fices for Sin were or could be acceptable to God,
or that he thought it lawful, and therefore in
tended to offer Ifaack as an Attonement, or ex
piatory Sacrifice ; becaufe of this there Is not one
fingle Word in the Hiftory.
However, I ffiall allow the Philofopher, that
as Abraham could not teU what the Event might
be, and whether or no God might not, permit
him adtually to flay his Son, fo he was deter
min'd to put him to Death, if that fhould at
laft

'( 195 )
laft appear to be the Intention of God ; and that
as Abrahatn might apprehend that poffibly this
might be the Cafe, fo he muft think it tit for
God to command, and therefore as fit for him
felf to pbjsy. And let him make the moft of
thjis Cpnceffion, that he can. I think die Thing
recpnclleable with all the Principles of Nature
and Religipii, and with all the Ends of the Di-
yjneProyide^ce and Government. If he can prove
it otherwife, I ffiall eafily change my Mind up
on Convidtion. I ffiall endeavour to illuflrate
and confirm this Matter, by the following Con-
fideratiotis :
I, Then, I lay It down asa certain Truth,
that God Is the ahioly^t^.^^'^d fovereign Difpofer of
Life and Death, and that he is under no Obli-
^atious to give, either Phiiofophers or others, an
Account of the Reafons pf his Condudt, either
in giving Life, or taking ii: away ; and that
neither Innocence, nor Age, is, in the common
Courfe of Providence, any Security of Life, or
Exemption from Death ; becaufe Perfons of all
Ages andCharadters may , and do die, in the Courfe
of Providence, either by the fixed Conftitution
and neceffary Operation of natural Laws, or by
Virtue of , fome peculiar Interpofidon and Dif
pofal, i. e, in either Cafe by Virtue of the Will
and Pleafure of God,. u And I therefore pre
fume, that Ifaack himfelf had originally and
naturally no more Security pf Life, than any
Other Child or Perfon whatfoever ; and that it
\vould have been no more cruel in .God to have
O 2 put

( '96 ) . ¦ ..
put him to Deadi, either in an ordinary or ex
traordinary Way, than It would to have put
any other Perfon to Death exadtly by the fame
Methods. If Ifaack's Life had been taken from
him, either by a lingering Fever, or by the ex
cruciating Torments of the Stone or Cholick,
or by a gradual, long protradted Phthifts, would
it have been demanded, how this could have
been confiftent with the Nature and Perfedtions
of God ? Or had God told Abraham, that he
would have caufed his Ifaack, his beloved Son^
to die, by one of thefe DIforders, or a Complica
tion of them, muftwehaveconcluded,that.^i$ra'-
ham was under a Delufion, and had wrought him
felf into a wrong Perfuafiop, or miftook the Voice
and Will of God to him ? Will this Philofopher
difpute the Will of God In this refpedt,' or take
on him to cenfure the Divine Condudt ?
Or, fuppofing that God had ordered Ifaack
to go amongft the Inhabitants of Canaan, to op
pofe the Idolatries and Impieties of thofe Na
tions, or coxnxnandtd Abraham to fend him on
this Errand, and affur'd both Father and Son,
that in this Service the Canaanites ffiould put
Ifaack to an ignominious and painful Death.
Could either of them have rightly refufed Obe
dience to this Command, Abraham to fend, or
Ijaack to go ? Ought they to have pleaded Na
ture, and the Paflions and Principles of the Hu
mane Conftitution, the one againft fending him,
the offier againft going to fuch a certain De
ftrudtion ? Will our Philofopher dare to cenfure fuch

( ^91 )
fuch a Command as a Diffolution of the whole
Law of Nature, and an unhinging the whole
Frame of Nature, and leaving no human Creatiire
any Rule of ABion at allf And yet there are no
Principles of Nature more ftrong, nor to which
all the Paffions of the Humane Conftitution
more powerfully lead, than that of Self-prefer-
vation In every one, and a Father's preferving
the Life of a beloved Son. But it was a much
lefs Thing than this that God required of Abra
ham, even if the Command had been really to
offer him : A Command indeed really to put his
Son to Death, but not to a ffiameful or exceed
ing painful one, but as an Offering to God, and
that by a fingle Stroke, that muft immediately
have deprived him of all poffible Senfatlon ; not
to a lafting and perpetual Death, but a Death
that was to be immediately abollffied, and fuc
ceeded by aRefurredtion to a long and profperous
Life : A Refurredtion that would have given the
Father a Pleafure equal to the Pain of having
deprived his Son of Life, hightned the Dignity
of his own Charadter, and greatly encreafed the
Moment of his Piety and Virtue : A Refurredtion
that muft have filled ffie Breaft of his Son with
a Joy unfpeakable and full of Glory, and rendred
his Name amongft all Generations truly venera
ble and facred. Abraham therefore, fuppofing
he underftood the Command of putting his Son
to Death, muft have adted upon thefe Principles,
of God's abfolute Property in his Son's Life, and
his immutable and indifputable Right to take^
away

( 198 )
away Life, either for a longer oi- a ffiorter Sea
fon, and by whatfoever Means his owhWifdoin
ffiould prefcribe ; and the Reafonablenefs of
Obedience to him, even in Circiimftahees where
the Paffions of Human Nature may iti fonie
Refpedts reludtate to the Conimand : Prihclpfes
of Condudt immutably reafonable and fit iii
themfelves, and which I challenge this Philo
fopher to prove irrational and abfurd. Abra^
ham therefore could be under rio Difficulty to
know whether this was a Command from God,
from the Nature of it, becaufe not Iri the leaft
inconfiftent with the Reafon of Things, nor fnb-
verfive of any real and immritable Law of Na
ture. , But farther,
. 2. 1 can fee no Abfurdity In the Suppofition,
that God may order a Father to put his Son ab
folutely to Death, if there be '^ny certain wife
and valuable Reafons to be anfwered by it, nor >
any bad Confequences that can follow from It,
I here utterly exclude the Confideration of be
ing put to Death as a propitiatory Sacrifice. For
I will allow this Author, as ftrongly as he
pleafes, that no Sacrifices of .Beafts or Men, can
in the Nature of Things, be /;z themfelves, and
abftradted from other Corifiderations, anv Kind
of Attonement v/hatfdever for the moral Guilt
of Sin, or be In the leaft available 'wdth God for
this Purpofe. But yet there may be Reafons
that may juftify Parerits -putting their Children
to Death, fo that the Thing Is not ftridlly, .ai«i
abfolutely, and in Itfelf, and always unlawful. Eli

{ ^99 )
Eli was High Prieft and Governour of the
Jews, but his Sons were Sons of Belial, who
¦knew not the Lord. Their Crimes were fuch as
II deferved Death, and the Father, in fpite of all
the Pleadings of natural Affedtion, ought to have
punlffied them with Death, and was extreamly
criminal in not doing it. Brutus, amongft the
Romans, ftands as a noble Inftance of a Father's
punlffiing his Children with Death ; * and
other Inftances are mention'd by Dionyfius Ha-
licamaffenfis. But how are fuch Inftances as
(thefe vindlcable upon the Principles of natural
Reafon and Affedtion ? What can juftify fuch a
fevere Procedure in a Father ? The Publiek
Good, t and
Ut arcendis fceleribus exemplum nobile efiet.
That they might ftand as an eminent Example by
their Punlffiment, for the DIfcouragement of
fuch Crimes as they had been guilty of. And
if this be agreeable to the Principles of Reafon,
it will follow ; that the Command to a Father
to put his Son to Death, is not a Command to
do a Thing effentlally and immutably unnatural,
and which may be known by the very Nature
of the Command to be always abfolutely unfit ;
but that 'tis a Command to do a Thing, that
may, and ought to be done, when Confidera-
tlons of the Publiek Welfare, the DIfcourage
ment of Vice, and the promoting of Virtue,
* Rom. Ant. p. 524. f Liv. 1. 2. c. 5.
O 4 do

( 200 )
"do really require fuch an extraordinary Condudt
of a Father tovs'ards his Spn.
But the Sons olf Eli, and of Brutus, were
Criminals, and fo don't at all anfwer to the Cafe
of Ifaack. True, not Intirely. But if M's
Sons deferved to die, and Brutus' s Sons were
-juftly puniflied with Death, for the Publiek
Good, /. e. if the Pubiick Good, the Encou-
•ragement of Virtue, and the putting a Stdp to
Vice, were the Reafons why fuch a Sacrifice
was neceflary, and the only Reafons that co'ald
juftify fuch a Proceedure, and Reafons that do
fully jifiify It ;"^then, I fay, that the Publiek
Good, in thefe Refpedts,' Is to be * preferred to
the Life of any fingle Perfon ; and that, there
fore God mayj confiftent with every real Law
of Nature, call out any particular Perfons, and
oblige them to yield themfelves to Death, when
he knows 'tis neceffary to anfwer this, or the like
valuable End. And, If they were perfedtly Inno
cent, the fame Reafon ought to^engage them vo
luntarily to facrifice themfelves, and chearfully to
yield up Life, when the Providence of God
thus calls thera to It ; and efpecially. If there
be a real Command of God, exprefs and pofi
tive, obliging them thus to give themfelves up
to Death. With Precepts of this Nature, I
• Sed cum omnia ritione animoque luftrarls, omnium Socie-
tatum nulla ell gr^vior, nulla car, or, quam ea quae cum Republ
Ilea eft unicuique noflrtim. Gari funt pat'entes, cari liberi, pra-
pinqui, familiares : Sed omnes omnium carltates patija una
complcxaefl: pro qOa, quis bonus' idubitet mortem oppc jere, li
¦ei fit fiofuiurub ? Cicer. de Oilic. I, i. c. 17.
acknowledge,

{ IOI )
acknowledge, Chriftianlty every where abounds,
and abfolutely obliges all its Profeffors to die,
voluntarily to die, and chearfully to facrifice
. themfelves, whenever it becomes neceffary for
the Pubiick Good, /. e. for the fake of Religion
and Virtue, as a Teftimony to the Truth of It, to
promote the Pradtice of It, and thereby dlfcou-
¦rage all private and pubiick Vice and Wicked
nefs. ^ And thefe Sacrifices, thefe Humane Sa
crifices, thefe voluntary Humane Sacrifices, which
the Perfons, who thus offer themfelves, may
eafily avoid the making of, are highly pleafing
and acceptable to God ; acceptable upon Ac
count of their very Innocence, Purity and In
tegrity ; however execrable the Wickednefs of
thofe may be, who put them under the Necef
fity of thus willingly yielding and facrificing
themfelves to God, Let the Philofopher make
the beft of thefe Conceffions ; I'll lland to all
the Inferences he can draw from them, let them
appear as formidable as they will.
Thus much farther therefore are we proceed
ed, viz. to acknowledge that Men may be
obliged to facrifice themfelves for the Pubiick
Good, without any diredt Forfeiture they have
made of Life to ' the Laws of God or Man ;
yea, upon Suppofition of the moft perfedt In
nocence and Virtue ; fo that Innocence and Vir
tue are not to be oppofed to the Will of Provi
dence, and the Command of God, nor to be
pleaded as Reafons for not fubmitting to Death
with the utmoft Chearfulnefs, when God, for
... thefe

( 2,02 )
ihefe Reafons, requires it. Had j^/^^rt^ there
fore lived in Times when fuch a Sacrifice had
been demanded of him, and when the before-
mention'd Ends could probably have been an-
fwer'd by his chearfully fubmitting to It, would
?iot fuch a Submlffion l)een his Duty, what
ever might have been the Manner in which that
Sacrifice might have been order'd to have been
made? Should the Good of Society, the Ends of Re
ligion, the promoting Virtue, -and the confe-
Quent Difcouragercient of Vice, depend on a
Faffier's employing his only Son in fuch an Ac
tion, as the Father knew would certainly In the
Event prove the Lofs of his Son's Life ; would
BOt the Father, by fending his Son on fuch an
Adtion, as properly facrifice his Son, as if he
adtuaily put him to Death with his own H.inds ;
efpecially if he could have prevented his going
031 the fatal Errand ? And would the Father''s
Confent, or Order, for his going be criminal
or unnatural ? Or, ffiould God, by exprefs and
immediate Revelation, appoint the Father to
fend his Son on fuch a Defign, and exprefsly
tell him the Confequence ffiould be the Death
of his Son, v/ould our Philofopher, In moving
and paihetick Terms, cry out : * That God, in
this, or any other Cafe, fioould difiolve the Law
ef Nature, and make it a Man's Duty, as a
Thing morally reafonable' and fit, to aB contrary
to ali the natural Principles and Paffions of the
* Vol. I. p. 133, 134.
Humane

( ^o3 )
Hitkane Confiittition, is abfolutely ine'redible, 'and
tanfiot poffibly be denied. 'And upon fuch a Suppo
fition I 'defy all the Clergy in England to prove,
thai any Thing can be jufi or unjufi, morally fit
tir unfit, aritecdera to a pdfitive Will? Would
hot all the Clergy in England laugh at his De-
jfiance, ind tell him, that he kheVv nothing of
ithe Law of Nature, "the Senfe of Nations, nor
the Foundations of Morality ; and that he talk
ed nelAer becoming a PhlMopher, nor a Mah
of Honour, to fet tip any Principles or Paffions
of Humahe Nature againft tbe Pubiick Good,
and in Oppofition to the Interefi of Religion and
Virtue? StichaOondndtas this ofa Father towards
his Son, and his thus fending him to certain Death,
* would be no Diffolution of the Law of Na
ture, buftcdling according to it in the nobleft
Manner ; and therefore fiich a Command for
a Father to facrifice his Son, may be given by
God, and certainly known to proceed from him,
and carry In it a certain Obligation to Obedl^
fence. 'Tis not an Inftance altogether unlike this,
which Cicero celebrates as an Adt of heroick
Virtue, When Mark Anthony was in Arms
againft the Roman Republick, the Senate or-
* Eft aut-sm jas naturale adeo immutabile, ut'ne a Deoqui-
denvifnutari quekt. Fit tamen interdum ut in his aftibns, de
quibus jus naturK aliquid conftituit, imago Quaedam. mutatlohis
fallat incautos, c6m revera non jus naturae mutetur, quod im-
niOtabile'eft, fed res, dequa jus naturs conftituit, qUaeque ttiu-
Haiiopem recipi t. Grot, de Jur. Bel. 1. i. c. i. >§ 5,' 6. ¦der'd

,{ ^.^4 )
der'd Ser. Sidpicius upon an Embaffy to him.
* Sidpicius would ,have excufed himfelf, by a
dangerous DIftemper 'he then laboured under,
which had emaciated him, and which + he'
knew would prove his Death, if he undertook
that Embaffy. The Senate, knowing his Wif
dom and Integrity, and that no Perfon was fo
fit. to be employ'd in the Affair, infifted on their
Choice, and the Conful Panfa urging it upon
him, he complied ; declaring, X that he pre
ferred the Authority of the Senate, and the C^od
pf the Republick, to his own Life. Sulpicius's
i Son did not oppofe the Senate's Requeft, and
hia Father's Purpofe. He accordingly went,
without any Hope of ever returning, but with
a certain ProfpeB of Death, which he might
have I avoided by remaining at home. And ac-
• QuEH* cum videfetis re magis morbum, quam oratione tx-
Cttfentein, non vos quidem criideles fuiftis, quid enim minus in
htmc ordinem convenit : Sed cum fperaretis nihil elle, quod non
fl-ltus auftoritate et fapientia effici poffet, vehemeniius excufa-
tioni ohftitiftis. Philip. 9... c. 4. Edit. Graev. . :
"t Ser. Sulpicius cum aliqua perveniendi ad M. Antonium fpe
ptofedlus eft, nulla reverteqdi. Ibid. c. I. Quis dubitat quin
«i vitani abftaterit ipfa legatio? Secum enim ille mortem excu-
Et. Ibid.e. 9.
X Difficillimo reipublicEetempore gravi periculofoque morba
a-ffe£hjs, audloritatem fenatus,- falutemque reipublicae vitx fuse
jprespofaerit, Ibid. c. 7.
§ Tum vero denique filium, meque feduxit — cujus nos vir-
ttitem admirati, non aufi fumus, adver&ri voluntati. Movebatuf
£ngulari pietate filius : Non multum ejus perturbation! meus do
lor qancedebat. Sed uterqu: noftrum cedere cpgebatur magni,;
tudini animi orationifque gravitati. Ibid. c. 4.
I ^ecum enim ille mortem extulit, quam fi nobifcura remaur
fiffet^ fua cura, optirai filiij fideliffimasque conjugis diligentia
vitare potuilTet. Ibid. c. j. cordingly

eprdingly he died in his Embaffy. And there
fore * Cicero gently reproaches the Senate with
their having deftroy'd this Excellent Man. Now
muft we fay, that the Senate, and Sulpicius his
Son, and Friends, who perfuaded him to under
take, or acqulefced in his undertaking this Em
baffy for -the Pubiick Good, in fuch Circum
ftances as 'twas well known muft prove his
Death, adied an unnatural: Part, in thus facri
ficing a Senator, a Father, and a Friend ; and
that Sulpicius was obliged, by the Principles and
f*^o«j of the Humane Conftitution, never to
have confented, and his Son obliged, by the fame
Principles and Paffions, to have done all he
¦could to have prevented It ? The Romans thought
him obliged thus to expofe himfelf to Death for
the Common Welfare, and t rewarded his he
roick Virtue with a pubiick Monument, and
with a brazen Statue, to perpetuate his exem
plary Merit. ¦ ,
• Once more ; ffiould there be any valuable
Ends of Religion and Virtue, of pubiick Wel
fare, and the Happinefs of Mankind to be
anfwer'd, by a Father's putting his Son to Death,
not by the Hands of other Perfons, biit by his
. * 'Vos enim,; P. C. grave diftu eft, fed oicendum tamen, vos
inquam Ser. Sulpicium vita privaftis. Ibid. c. 4.
¦(¦ Cum talis vir, ob rempublicam in legatione mortem obie
rit : Senatui placere ' Ser. Sulpicio ftatuam pedeftrem jeneara in
Jloftris, ex hujus ordinis fententii, ftatui — et cum ita de re
publica meritus . fit, fenatum cenfere, atque e republica exifti-
tnare, sdiles curules ed'iflum, quod de funeribus habeant, * Ser.'
Sulpicii Q;^F. Lemonia Rufi funeri remittere. Id. Ibid, c, 7.
own ;

(; lod )
own -; wp^ild he have hereby an pppprtjinlty
of difplaying, in a very furprifing Manr^r, th?
Power of the true God, in Oppofition to falfe
pn<es ; tii^e Mercy and Compaffiop pf this Godj
in Oppofition to the Cruelty and Barbarity ajr
lowed and fandtlfied by, pretended Deitie? ; and
the Veracity and, Falthfulnefs of the .true God^
by the Performance pf his Promifes, e^^qn when,
in a natural Way, that Performance became
impoffible : Should he hereby be called to givf
an exemplary Proof of his own Obedience tp
God, .and of his Truft and Faith in. his Power
^rjd Goodnefs, in order to fit him for as exemr
plary a Reward, and to, make him a Pattern of
Religion and Virtue to all fucceeding Genera?
tipns ; and cpuld this Sacrifice of a ^Qft by a Fa
ther: .be made, without any real pr confiderable
Injury done to the Son, yea, fo as. to feci^-e him
an everlafting Honour, and the moft fignal
Bleffing and Reward from God: Would the
Command of God, thus circumfianced, to put a
Son to Death, he rnordUy unreafonable a^vA unfit^
abfolutely incredible, and impt)ffible to be
proved ? Is here not every kind of moral FItnefs
to render ?he Command worthy of God, every
Circtimftance to engage the Father to a Com
pliance with it? And every one of thefe Cir
cumftances coiicurred.in the Cafe of ^^f^/^^.'
Had he adtually put his Son to Death oh the
Altar, he abfolutely l^new that Gpd m.uft raife
him from the Dead, to accpmpiifti the Pro
mifes relating to him, and that God w^j oMe t9

{ ^o7 )
to "raife him, becaufe ** «v ^aftct&i^^ aurov miimwt
m v«xf«jv, he had in like Manner, or comparative
ly, received him from the Dead ; reseived him
as a Reward, viz. of his Faith, as the Wocd
vioiL^itv frequently fignifies ; his own Body, and
that of his Wife, being naturally fo far dead, as
to be inca;pable Pf having a Son ; ajid that this
Refurredtion, of his Soru would have been a glo
rious Inftance of the fuperiour Power of the true
God, over all the Idols of the Nations around
him. Nor would the Mercy of God appeared
lefs illuftrious, in thus rewarding Ifaack with a
Refurredtion to Life, whereby the Cruelty of
the Heathen Gods muft have been fet in the
ftrongeft. View, who permitted Humane Sacri
fices to be offered to them, without any poflibfe
Hope of their Redemption from Death. How
ftrong a Confirmation would it alfo have been
of the Divine Falthfulnefs, In thus miraculoufly
ralfing up a dead Perfon, that none of ffie Pro
mifes of God raight fail concerning him. Abra
ham's Piety to the true God would hereby have
been greatly recommended, In thus parting with
fo valuable a Life, at the Order of God ; nor
would Ifaack himfelf have received any real In
jury from his Father ; the putting him to a Mo
ment's Pain being nothing in Comparifon of the
Bleffings enfured him by the renewed Promifes
to his Father, and of the Honour he would have
* Utipa^oM- 'npftyyLATvy oy.oiaffii. Hefych. ty iritpA^QM,
fimiliter ac, non • fecus ac. Sic sf atfparJfn- Stulte. p aotfia.-
"iSapienter. i,y t*X^i- Celeriter, &c. ¦ ^ .:
received

:( 2o8;)
' received by fo "miraculous a Refurredtion : AM
had he ever retain'd the Marks of the Wound
that took from him his Life, they would hav^
heen unfpeakably more glorious, than the Scars
of Conquerors, returning triumphantly from the
Dangers of Battle.
Thefe or the like muft have been the Reafon-
, in^s oi Abraham, that confirmed his Refolution
' to proceed In this Affair, as far as the Order of
God ffiould lead him ; even to the adtual fa
crificing, of his Son, if that ffiould appear at
laft to be the Will of God ; and his Procedure
ih It Is juftified by all the real Principles of Re-
-ligipn. Magnanimity, Courage, Regard to him
felf and Son and the Pubiick Good. And If he
- was fure, that the fame Being who promifed
and gave him his Son, did command the Sa
crifice of him, there was nothing in the Nature
of the Command, to one 'm Abraham's Circum-
' fiances,' that could give hiin any reafonable
- Sufpicion that It was not the Conimand of -the
true God, or that It was unfit or unnatural for
him to execute.
- What therefore ffiould ^hinder any of our
prefent Clergy from undertaking to prove, that
fuch a Command from God to Abraham can be
n(tJi) credible or probable to us, provided any of
us were in exadtly like Circumftances with him ?
If the CIrcumftances be different, . effentialtydif-
ferent, the prefent Clergy are not fo weak, as
to talk or think any Thing about fuch a Com
mand, or the Probability of it ; becaufe they
know

( 209 )
know the Credibility of it depends on the pe-.
culiar Circumftances attending it. Suppofe,
any Perfon, living in like Times as Abraham
did, as independent on all Society and civil Go
vernment as Abraham was, that received the
fame and as frequent Appearances of God, and
that had a Son born to him by the fame Kind
of miraculous Refurredtion, as Abraham had ;
a Son Heir to like Promifes, and who In Virtue
of fuch Promifes muft, if offered, have been
ralfed from the Dead ; and fuch a Command
will be as credible now as it was then. But if
thefe or any of the principle Circumftances, at
tending Abraham's Cafe, be now wanting, then
fuch a Command to any Perfon now living will
not, cannot be equally credible and probable.
And therefore If he means by his Queftion :
Will any of our prefent Clergy undertake to prove,
that fuch a Command from God to Abraham can
be now credible or probable to us ? Whether any
Man now living amongft us, can make it pro
bable to us, that he hath, like Abraham, a
Command to facrifice his Son ; I very freely
anfwer him, No : Becaufe he is not the Head
of an Independent Clan or Tribe, as the Pa
triarch was ; but Is a Meraber of a Society,
and under the Reftraint of civil Laws, and
is therefore refponfible to Government and
Society for his Condudt, and therefore hath no
private Independent Property In the Life of his
Children, which are as truly the Childen of So
ciety as his own, and whofe Lives therefore
P cannot

( 2IO )
cannot be taken from them without or contra
ry to the Leave of Society. And therefore no
Member of Society can make it now probable
Pr credible that he hath a private Command
from God to facrifice his Child, unlefs he caA
fatisfy the Society he belongs to that he hath
received fuch a Command; becaufe ffiat Is fup
pofing he hath a Right to do a Thing, which
Society hath a Right to hinder him from doing,
and for which they may puniffi him with death,
if he adtually doth it. And therefore as God
cannot be the Author pf contradidtory Com
mands, fo I believe he vvIU not give any Man
a. Right to do an Adtion, which he hath obliged
Society, as fuch, by all Means to prevent. If
.God fhould give any particular Member of
Society a Command to facrifice his Son, God
will Unqueftionably take care to fatisfy Society
In this Refpedt ; and unlefs they have full Sa
tisfaction herein, they have a Right, as the
Guardians of Life and Property, to hinder fuch
an 'Intended Adtiofi if ffiey can, or if they can't,
to puniffi the Adtor as a Criminal with Death*
And therefore no fuch private Command can
be now credible, becaufe nothing Is more in
credible than that God ffiould give a private
Man a Right to take away that Life, which
he hath given Society a Right to preferve j Or
make that a Man's Duty to himfelf which he
.obliges Society, as fuch, to puniffi as one of
the greateft Crimes againft them. Bat

( 211 )
But the Cafe of Abraham was quite diffe
rent, who Wis under no Obligation to the
Laws of any particular civil Society, to which
he was refponlible for the Life of Ifaack, but
was Lord and Governour of his own/ Family,
and as fuch invefted with f fupream Power
oyer them : Or was as the Hittites * ftiled him
p*/l'7N ^f*tyi a Prince of God, a mighty excel
lent Prince, as appeared from his numerous
Train of Servants, great Riches and exemplary
Piety. -'Twas therefore a Matter wholly to be
tranfadted between Father and Son, which the
Father had a Right to do when commanded,
and which no particular Nation or Society or
Goverfiment had a Right to prevent or puniffi ;
and for the doing of which therefore a private
perjbnal Command was ftifficient ; as fufficient
as a Command from God to Society, to permit
fuch an Adtion In any Father, would be a fuf
ficient Juftlfication and Warrant to them for
fuch Permlffioa And therefore take this Part
of Hiftory, as It lies in the Book of Mofes, and
+ Kegiminis PatriaTchalis feu Regii^ ejufque prffifefturaruni
fubftitutarum adtus ifl imperando, coercendo, irvjus vocando.
'fententiam ferendo, executioni mandando, reliquifque imperii
ac jurifdiaionis Appendicibus habebantur. Selden. de Syned.
j>. 1146. jind egin. Haad credibile videtur eos non tam fa«
.eras quam profaiias caulas, eafque omnimodas, pariter & e re
nata tradiafle ac definiviffe. Atque aequum fane eft ut de Pa-
.triardhis etiam anierioribus, Ada, Settio, Noacho, Melchize-
.dtko, AbraJia, aliis, hujus intervalli principibus fummis, eo
rum quae fuere prsefefluris minoribus tantundera admittamus.
Id. Ibid. p. 1 141. Edit. Londin.
* Geji. xxiii. 6-, P 2 . ftrip

( aia )
ftrip it of all Philofophical Conceits, Dreams,
Difguifes, and Mifreprefentations, and the
Command will appear as credible or probable,
as any other recorded In his Writings ; and to
cafry in it no Contradidtion to any Rights or
Claims of Society, any more than It doth to
any genuine Principles of Reafon and Nature,
6. When the Philofopher calls this command
* a diffolving the Law oj Nature, 'tis abfurd and
Impertinent ; unlefs he can prove, that a Fa
ther's putting a Son to death 'is fimply, in Itfelf,
at all Times, and Invariably unnatural ; or that
God hath not the abfolute Difpofal of human
Life; or that 'tis abfolutely impoffible that
God can ever have, in any fingle Inftance, any
Ends of Wifdom and Goodnefs to anfwer by
fuch an Order, or that there were no fuch
Ends to be anfwer'd in this ; or that God can
not raife the Dead, or that Abraham knew he
neither would nor could reftore Ijaack. The
Law of Nature in this Cafe Is this, and pre
cifely this : That no Father put his Son to
Death, fo as abfolutely to deprive him of Life,
without juft Reafon ; a Law of Nature that
extends to all Mankind without Exception.
But when there are Reafons, juft and fufficlent
Reafons, for the refigning and taking away
Life, the Law of Nature and Reafon then
requires a quite different Condudt; and I am
not afraid to affirm, that as Abraham had the
pofitive Command of that Being to facrifice his
.* 'Vol. I. p. 133. Son,

( ^13 )
Son, who gave him to him originally, as Ifa
ack's Death muft have been but for a little
Seafon, had he been adtually facrlnced, fo thefe
Circumftances raake it infinitely different from
all other Inftances of huraane Sacrifices, makes
the Command appear reafonable in itfelf, juf
tifies Abraham's Condudt, and renders it wor-
thy the Imitation of all good Men, when they
can be fure they are in Uke Circumftances with
him. Even this Author himfelf fays : 'Tis very
plain that Abraham, * however he came by it,
had a firong indubitable Perfuafion, that if he
'fiou'd facrifice his Son, as God was able, fo he
would certainly raife him again from the Dead,
and make good his Promife in him, after he had
been burnt to Afies. Methinks he need not have
been at a Lofs how Abraham came by this Per
fuafion, when he himfelf hath intimated the
very Reafon, viz. that this was neceffary to
make good ihe Promifes God hath made con
cerning him. But then this very Conceffion
deftroys one of the principle Objedtlons againft
the Condudt oi Abraham, viz, that in Abra
ham's Cafe, and theirs who offered humane
Sacrifices after hira, t the Nature and Reafon of
the Thing itfelf is the fame. How Is the j Na-
P 3 ture
* 'Vol, III. p. 271. t Itiid, p. 270.
X fav Kitja.^uovj&!V 'jrttiS'Ai, 01 cT/'a^KAwJay j^ ^iyaXAi utto-
Siffili 'TTOKSUy TS J^WflWC, s7sf»< lut\o^^KJ^a,l (XM S'WttlJJiVaV .
Civ 01 y.iv AVAyim tus avjav iiriS'iS'oa.ffiv, wo <hiva,Talisw
^tit^iVTir 01 S's ipoSa Ta 0.% tvi^paum' 01 /s /of«.;. 1^ suifyiiMat

( 2-14 )
ture of the Thing Itfelf the fame, when the
Nations who offered humane Sacrifices put them
abfolutely to Death, without any divine Order
or the leaft Imagination of an immediate Re
furredtion, or good and juftifiable Reafon vs^hat-
foever; and when Abraham had an abfolute
Order for doing it, and a ful iter tainty, that if
he had facrlficed his Son, he muft have been
immediately or foon reftored to Life, in order
to the Accompliffiment pf God's Promifes ?
Jiow Is the Reafon of the Thing tbe fame,
when the Cafes themfelves thus widely differ,
and when the Ilkiftration of the divine Power,
in the Refurredtion of a dead Perfon, may
be a fufficient Reafon for depriving him of
Life for a fmall Seafon, when the jabfolute De
ftrudtion of Perfons by offering them in Sa*
orifice intirely excludes the very Poffiblllty of
that Reafon's taking Place ?
7, The fame Confideration takes off the
Force of every ojher Objedtion alledged by the
Philofopher againft the Probability of this be
ing commanded by God ; fuch as, that 'twas
* a Thing not fit to be done, and contrary to
i^lilMVOl xj i\IK\SId,i (J.CV Til; ly Ta vretpoi^ls IVTHfilHi J^i rrti
ps-ipov—rTav J^'iviKd. .•i'iiK iTiJ'iI'ovlay STrAivoi v^eii — E/ S'i th
cTo^tK opiyojMVoi viov » .SvyajiSA Tsoiija,!, 4-iyoiT ay ivJ^iKai;
fjt.ithhov I) iTMVoiJo, ^c^iclIm Tav (pihlsCjljlV Oi^(jiiVO! T/My — To
vrn^tiS^tti-^ia tdfitL '!rcLai tou iv(pfo'jwi ei^vov ly TTipif/ji'vplov
Hmi 1/ofxiC^oiJ.iv. oiv TOI! (/.if^Kd, i-!ri%'iiviv, a'( ij.itj%vc( jay
fravon •Tf^o^iloi'yfiiviDv ctiAiKvi<ra,i, Kttv dnS'i^i i^ Ab-kAk*;,
xac 'jTovay Ts xj a/^yti'omv [iifoi' im. Phil, de Abr. p. ^04.
T/ J^ii rav ii^nuiviov vpcs iiipuswiycv ; Id. p. zqc.
* Ver. IIL- 97, z6s. '
Nature

( ai5 )
Nature and Reafon. What was a Thing not
fit to be done ? What, the abfolute Deftrudtion
of Abraham'^ Son ,? This Is no new Difcovery.
Abraham knew ffiis fome thoufand Years be
fore the Philofopher was born, and that God
never commanded It. But is It a Thing unfit
In its Nature, that God .ffiould take away a
Child's Life by his Father's Hands, for a fmall
Seafon, in order to raife him again, • to be a
Teftimpny of his own fuperiour Power, in the
midft of prevailing Superftition and Jdolatry ?
Abraham might judge the former to be con
trary to Nature and Reafon, and that God
would not command it ; but might eafily fee
the Reafonablenefs of his enjoyning the latter,
and reconcile it to all the Principles and Paf-r
fions of Nature ; becaufe the great Objedtion
pf Nature was abfolutely removed by the Cer
tainty he had of his Son's Refurredtion.
8. Again, he fays God could not command
k, * as being contrary to his own PerfeBions^
Command what ? The abfolute Deftrudtion of
Ifaack by his, Father, where there were no va
luable Reafons to require it? Who fays he
did .? Who juftifies fuch a Command ? The
Command at moft, as Abraham underftood
it, was only to take away his Son's Life for a
Seafon, in order to his receiving him again by
a miraculous Refurredtion. But what Perfedti-
on of God doth this contradidt ? Goodnefs ^
No. . The Refurredtion of Ifaack would have
* Vol. III. p. 269.
P 4 l)eesfc

( ai6 )
been a fufficient Vindication of this, and have
impreffed fuch a lafting Honour on him, and
might have been produdtive of fuch valuable
Effedts, as to have taken away all Sufpicion of
Severity and Cruelty In God ; even as the fu
ture Refurredtion of the ancient Martyrs for
the Caufe of Qod will abundantly free his Pro
vidence from the like Sufpicions and Charges ;
their, being no Cruelty in God's ordering or
permitting temporary Evils, in order to bring
out of them more fubfiantial and abundant
Good, Nor could Abraham think fuch a Com
mand contrary to Wifdom or Equity, be
caufe he knew the Refurredtion of his Son
would be a glorious Demonftration of the di
vine Power and Falthfulnefs, and a ftanding ,
Evidence of his being fuperiour in all Perfec
tion to the Idol Gods of the Nations around him,
and might therefore be a Means to prefervd
his own Pofterity frora ever falling into the
Worffilp of thofe Idols : Ends which this ve
nerable Patriarch knew worthy the Wifdom and
Equity of the divine Providence to promote,
even by the temporary Sufferings of his own
Son, If God ffiould think proper to appoint
them for thefe Reafons,
9. He urges farther the Suppofition that God
commanded this as a pofitive Duty, * defiroys
and j'ets afide the whole Law of Nature, and
leaves us no prior Principle or Rule oj' Judgment
in Reafin, t concerning the Will and Law of God
* Vol. III. p. 98, + Vol. I, p. 134. io

( 217 )
to us ; and-upon this Principle it is evident, 'that
nothing can be right or wrong, fit or unfit, in the
'Nature and Reafon oj Things ; but that God may
•command the moft unfit or unrighteous Things in
the World by mere arbitrary Will and Pleafure.
A Su^ppofition that mufi unhinge the whole Frame
of Nature, and leave, no human Creature any
Rule of ABion at all. The Queftion ftill re
turns, what Suppofition and Principle he means?
The appointing y^/^r(3:/6^;^ intirely to deprive his
Son of Life, by mere arbitrary Will and Plea
fure, without any wife and good Reafons for
fuch an Appointment .? The Philofopher knows
Abraham never adted upon fuch a Suppofition
and Principle, and he hath himfelf fully ac
quitted him fi-om It, by allowing that he was
indubitally <perfuaded that God both could and
would raife him from the Dead, How then
could Abraham ever Imagine, that God's com
manding hira to put his Son to Death, that God
might illuftrate his Power by raifing him ira
mediately or foon from the Dead, and in or
der to bring about fome wife Ends of his Pro
vidence, was fetting afide the Law of Nature,
which only commands us never wholly to de
ftroy Life without or contrary to Reafon? And
principally for this Reafon, becaufe when we
deftroy It, we can never poffibly reftore it?
Was it as truly in the Power of Man to raife
at his Pleafure frora the Dead, as it is to put a
Perfon to death, would not even the Law of
Nature, with Refpedt to the Prefervation of
Life,

( J.8 )
Life, be greatly different from vvhat It is now?
Will this Author ch- any reafpnabk Man, upoj?
this Suppofition, fay that the taking away of
Life would, in all Inftances, be the moft unr
righteous and unfit Thing in the World? True
it is, this Power of raifing the Dead is not i|i
Man, and therefore it becomes a mpft unrighJ
teous and unfit Thing in any pne to tak^
away the Life of another without juft Reafon;
becaufe 'tis a moft unrighteous and unfit Thing
in any one to deprive another of his Life, whjch
is the moft valuable Gift of God to him, be,-
caufe he knows he can never reftore it to him,
nor compenfate that Lofs with an equally va
luable, or more excellent Gift, But furely the'
ReftoratioB of Life is as much in the Power of
God as the Gift of it ; and when Abraham re
ceived the Command to offer up bis Son, 'tk
agreed that he knew God would and could raijfe
him immediately or foon. And therefore tho*
Abraham knew that the Law of Nature, that
he ffiould not abfolutely and without Reafb^
take away Life, becaufe he could not reftor?
it, was fixed and inviolable, and never to be
tranfgreied by him ; yet he as well knew, that
the Command to offer his Son, fuppofing it to
have been to put him to Death, was not a Com
mand to fet afide this eternal Law of Nature^
^aat no Man ftiall abfolutely deftroy the Life
cf another wkhout Reafon, becaufe he cannot
refloreit} but a Command of a quite different
Nature,, which the Law of Reafon and Na^- ture

( 2.19 )
ture doth not forbid, viz., to be the iramediat(^
Inftrument of God in talcing away Life for a
fhort Seafon, which he knew the fame God
could and would Immediately reftore him.
So that the Law of Nature ftands immove
able and unalterable upon its own eternal Foun
dation of Truth and Reafon, and the Comy
mand to Abraham was no Command to dif-
folve and fet it afide, or to confound the FItnefs
and Unfimefs of Things, Juft and Unjuft, Right
or Wrong, as our Philofopher fuppoles and con
fidently afferts ; , fince I may with the utmoft
Eafe difcern a Fitnefs, Reafon and Juftice in
a Command to take away Life for a fmall
Period, where I have an abfolute Certainty of
its Reftoratlon, and yet not difcern any Fitnefs
or Juftice In a Command abfolutely to de
ftroy It, when I know there is no Poffibility
of recovering It,
I am certain by my own Reafon, even ante*
cedent to Revektion, and pofitive Injundtion
from God, that Right or Wrong, Juft or Unjuft,
are in their own Natures, effentlally, and iiTC-
concilably different ; and as certain that a Be
ing of infinite Perfedtion can never command
me to do an Adtion that is thus effentlally and
immutably wrong, unjuft, and abfolutiy and
in all Refpedts and at all Times unfit to be
done. And frora hence I may with abfolute
Certainty conclude, that God never will com
mand human Sacrifices as ftanding Inftances of
Worffilp, or the abfolute or intire Deftrudtion of
human

( 2,20 )
human Life ; becaufe this feems to be Incon
fiftent with all the Didtatcs of my Reafon,
and Nature, and not reconcilable with the
acknowledged Perfedtions. of God, and the Ends
of his Moral Government, which Is the Pre
fervation and Happinefs, and not the MIfery
and Deftrudtion of Life.. But I cannot from
hence conclude with any Reafon, that God may
Tiot have wife Ends, to anfwer, by commanding
¦me to take away Life for a ffiort Seafon ; becaufe '
this is not in the leaft Inconfiftent with the Pre
fervation and Happinefs of Life; and there
fore not at all inconfiftent with the Ends of
God's Moral Government : Nor Is it deftruc-
tive of any or all the Didtates of Reafon and
Nature ; becaufe fuch a temporary Deprivation
of Life may greatly tend to the Honour of God,
and the Advancement of true Religion and Vir
tue, which true Reafon obliges rae to promote ;
and to the fingular Honour and Advantage of
the Perfon who 'fuffers this temporary Lofs,
againft which uncorrupted Nature will never be
reludtant. lo. And therefore the Philofopher's Quef
tion, which he fays our Divines never card to
'meddle with, and which he pertly tells them * is
the only Thing they ought to fpeak to, if they
'would fay any Ihing to the Purpofe, viz. How
God fiould command any fuch Thing, or what
Proof could be given of it, if he did ; i.e. hovy
God ffiould command any Thing that appeared-
*,VQl.I.p.J34, 135.
-I. tm-

( ^2.1 )
unreafonable and unfit to our weak, imperjeB\
and limited Underftanding ? I fay the Anfwer to
this Queftion is plain and eafy, and precifely
this: "That 'iis an impertinent ^efiion, and no
thing to the prefent Argument, or Purpofe.
For 'tis fuppofing, what will never be allow'd
him, that this Command itfelf was unreafona
ble and unfit in its Nature. I do not know
of any Perfons, who iraagin that God raay
coraraand them to do an Adtion, that Is really
and firiBly unrighteous and immutably unfit ; or
fuch a one as appears immutably unfit to them
whilft It appears fo, let their Underftanding
be ever fo weak or imperfedt. But then, I
prefume, the very Coramapd of God will in-
many Cafes be warrant enough for our Con
dudt, even in Adtlons that would imply a real
Iramorality and Unfitnefs, without fuch War
rant or equally good Reafon ; and that without
unhinging the whole Frame of Nature, and
making Things abfolutely and eternally and at
all Tiraes and Circuraftances unfit and unrigh
teous, righteous and fit ; becaufe God hath an
eternal and imrautable Right to do, and order
to be done, what no one elfe can do, or com
mand to be done.
The Difpofal of Life and Property is fo In
the Hands and Power of God, as it Is not in
the Power of any other Being whatfoever, and
there may be ".Reafons which will abundantly
jultify the Equity and Goodnefs of God, in
appointing ffie one to be taken away, and the
other

(,2 22 )
other to be transferred, neither of which Men
can be juftified in doing, without fuch a divine
, Com mand ; and if I receive fuch a Comffia'nd
fi'om God, and efpecially If at the fame Timt
I can oolledt, the probable Reafons of fuch a
divine Cpmmand, I have the higheft Reafon
.to adt In Obedience to it; unlefs any ortc will
affirm, that God hath a Right, which 'tis unr
.fit foi- him to exercife, or that 'tis unfit iii
Men to ,adt in fuch Cafes upon a divine Aufo-
rity and Order. If the Thing commanded me
to do, be only what I know God may certain
ly do himfelf, when ever he pleafes, without
any Injury to any: Yea if it be what God
frequendy, conftantly doth, , in the Courfe of
his Providence; I have then the utmoft Cer-'
tainty, that 'tis not morally and irarautably un
fit for him to command it to tie done; and there
fore not morally unfit for me to do in Obedi
ence to his Command ; becaufe in adting by
Virtue of fuch a Command I am only tlie In-
.ftruraent of God In accompliffiing his Will,
and fubferving the Purpofes of his Providence.
And thei-efore I know 'tis poffible. In the Na
ture of the Thing, that I may receive fuph a
Command fi'om God, and therefore can never
-coUedt, from the ¦ Nature of the Coraraand,
'tis .impoffible that God ffiould give It.
I know Indeed that Murtber and Thefe can
never be commanded by God, becaufe thefe
, Woi'ds imply Immoral and. criminal A(Si0ris.
But then if God takes away Life, and transfers Pro-

( ^23 )
PrPperty, who hath an abfolute and uncPntroul-
able Dominion over both, I prefume the Phi-
•lofopher will not accufe him as guilty of Mur-
ther and Theft: And I ffiould alfo imagine,
that if I take aWay Life, or another Man's Pro
perty^ by Virtue of God's Order; or in other
Words, if God doth the one or the other by my
Hands, he will not call God unjuft merely for
ufifig me as an Inftrument in thofe Inftances,
nor charge me with the Guilt of either of thefe
Crimes, for fubmitting to be an Inftrument in
his Hands. * Nor ffiould he I think cry out
here that Godunhjnges the whole Frame of Na
ture, and leaves no human Creature any Rule of
ABion at all. This dreadful Pannick is altoge
ther needlefs. Becaufe the Frame of Nature
will quietly turn upon the fame Hinges it did
before, and the Rule of Adtion be the fame as
5t ever was; becaufe the Command Is not to
murtber or to fteal, and therefore not to fub-
vert the Law of Nature, nor to make Injuf
tice Juftice, or Wrong Right, by arbitrary Will
and Pleafure; but precifely this, to do, what
God hath an unalienable Right to do without
heing guilty ot Mur ther or Theft, and to do
* Fit tamen interdum in his aflibus, de quibus jus Naturas
'aliquid conftituit,' imago qusdazq mutationis fallat incautos,
cum revera non jus nature mutetur, quod immutabile eft,
fed res, de qua jus nature conftituit, quseque mutationem re-
cipit. Si quem Deus occidi prxcipiat, fi res alicujus auferri,
non licitum fiet homicidium, aut furtum, quie voces vitium
involviint: fed non erit homicidium aut furtum, quod vitae &
rerum fupremo domino auAore fit. Grotius de Bel. 1. i . §. lo.
¦ ' by

( 2^4 )
by fuch Ways and Inftruraents, as he beft
knows will moft effedtually fubferve the Ends
of doing it, without any Neceffity of becom
ing accountable to this Moral Philofopher.
If therefore it be poffible for God to re
veal his Will in any Refpedt to Mankind, fo
as to render them abfolutely certain that he
hath revealed it, it is as poffible for God to con
vey fuch a Command to any Perfon, with as
full a Certainty that he hath coraraanded it, as
any other Coraraand whatfoever ; efpecially to
a Perfon in the Circumftances in which the fa
cred Hiftory reprefents Abraham to have been ;
becaufe the Thing commanded, was not one
of thofe Things which are effentlally and im
mutably unfit by the Law of Nature; but
which in certain Circumftances may be done,
and therefore coraraanded to be done, without
any Infringraent of, or Contradidtion to the
eternal and Irarautable Law of Nature.
1 1 . What the Philofopher fays, that this Com
mand * was contrary to all the natural Princi
ples and Pafftjons of the human Confiitution, Is
not I apprehend very philofophically urged.
Twould have been I confefs a ftronger Ob-
iedlion, had Abraham been commanded abfo
lutely to have taken away his Son's Life, fo as
for ever to have deprived hira of it. Nature
and Paffion rauft have reludlated, and I think
never have fubmitted to it, unlefs Abraham's
Circumftances and his Sons had been extream-
* Vol. I. p. 133.

( 2^5 )
ly different from what they appear to have been.
But the Reafons of this natural Reludtance of the
Paffions In a great Meafure ceafed, in the Cafe
of Abraham, becaufe he knew that if his Son
was to be deprived of Life, it was to be but for
a ffiort Seafon, and that even that temporary
Deprivation would redound to his unfpeakable
Honour and Advantage. But, are the Paffions
and Principles of the humane Conftitution to be
the proper Rules and Motives of Mens Condudt ?
Will not this In raany Inftances fubvert the
Law of Nature, and put Men upon doing the
moft unrighteous and immoral Adtlons? When
Abraham was commanded to go out of his
native Country, and from his Kindred, and
from his Father's Houfe; Things that Men
reckon amongft fome of the * deareft and moft
valuable Circumftances of their Being ; would
not the Principles and Paffions of the human
Conftitution objedt to the Reafonablenefs and
Fitnefs of fuch a Coraraand ? When our Sa
viour tells us : ^ If any Man. come to me, and
hate not his Father and Mother and Wife and
Children, and Brethren and Sifiers, yea and his
own Lije alfo, he cannot be my Dif ciple : i.e. doth
not give up and readily part with all thefe, ra-
* Aa-«r£fa (/.iv siJLS tm? •x'eij^iJ^cf, et-jrm^n J^i eaJloy n^av
i^ Offiav i^Tay n>,>,av, an^ i^LiyiTO, >ci •jrifi TAeirK stiv ef,ii-
&pwvai(. Antiphont. Or. 14. p. 118. Edit. Wechel.
'f Voluptas, vita, divitise : Quae quidem contemnere, & pro
nihilo ducere, comparantem cum utilitate communi, magni
animi, & excelfieft. Cicer. de Offic. 1. 3. c. 5. I,uke xiv, 26-
Q^ ther

{ 226 )
ther than renounce the Caufe of Righteouf
nefs and Truth ; were we to lake counfel from,
and follow**the mere Didtates of the Paffions of
the human Conftitution, I believe there would
be few If any Difclples to follow him ; and that
thefe Paffions would plead much more ftrongly
againft renouncing for ever all thefe neareft and
deareft Relations of our Being, and facrificing
Life Itfelf; than refigning the Life of a Child
for a ffiort Seafon to God, that I was fure
would be immediately or foon reftor'd meby
a miraculous and glorious Refurredtion. But
I did not know that the Paffions of the hu
man Conftitution were, according to the Dic
tates of Phildfophy, to determine us in thefe
Cafes ; but imagined that Reafon was to con
troul fhe Paffions, and reduce them intirely to
Obedience. And thus * Abraham thought, and
became hereby, I think, an heroick Example
of Piety, Virtue and Moderation.
12. He farther affirms, that ^^r^^^/w's Con
dudt" in this Affair t was an Example of the Ef
ficacy and Acceptablenefi of human Sacrifices with
God; becaiije God would not command Abraham,
as an Example to others, a thing unfit to be done ;
and becaufe if it was a Thing fo acceptable to
God and agreeable to his PerfeBions, to try A-
braham':; highefi Faith, how much more meri-
. * O J^s lyroi moba aHuTa tb ^a.iJ'o! nu^iiAtifjiStoi, « t(*
4tJX»v i!<.ai/.(p&si. yycjy.a/'a.nvJ'DTiii) )^ osffs-srs/ J'lei/.nviV (tKhmu
oiof j^ ¦jrfticS-ef Iw- i^xTi S'i ^aa i'iS'a.nwyi.ivoi; dvaK^ttToi iviicit
¦!ruvra, oaa. n-yyivew oyo\j.a.Ta. -^ p/Axfa. Phil, d? Abr. p. 292.
t Vol. III. p. 269. tor'iou

( -1^1 )
torious mufi it ha^e been in thofe who aBually did
it in after Ages, as taking Example and En
couragement from Abraham, and thereby going
farther than Abraham in the fame Sort of Faith
and Obedience. If he Intended hereby to in-
finuate, that after Ages took Example and En
couragement from Abraham to offer human Sa
crifices, I muft put him In Mind of what he
" afferts In his firft Volume, that X it was the
common Notion, or general received Opinion of
Abraham'i Time, that human Sacrifices might be
enjoyn'd and accepted oj God, as the moft valua
ble and meritorious Parts of Obedience ; and
that therefore the afcribing fuch a Perfuafion
and Pradtice to Abraham's Example, as the
Rife and Support of It, which had commonly
obtaln'd before this Example was given, is
¦ without any Colour of Reafon, or Shadow of
Equity and Truth,
But if he means, that Abraham's Example,
might. In common, with the Example of o-
thers, and the received Opinion and Pradtice of
that Time, help to countenance and eftabliffi
fuch a Pradtice .In After-ages, let us fee upon
this Suppofition, how the Philofopher's Reafon
ing will turn out. God coraraanded Abraham
to offer, his Son : Ergo^ after Ages might offer
their Sons without a Comraarid from God,
God commanded Abraham to take away his
Son's Life for a fmall Seafon : Ergo, After-ages
may take away their Sons Lives without any
* Vol. I. p. 133.
Q^ Command

( 228 )
Command abfolutely and forever. God com
manded Abraham to take away his Son's Life,
to prove him whether, he could depend on his
Power and Falthfulnefs imraediately or foon to
recover him from the Dead : Ergo, After-ages
may do the fame, when they are not tried at
all by God, and have neither the divine Power
or Falthfillnefs to fecure a Refurredtion of
ffiofe they offer, God did not permit Abra
ham to offer up his Son : Ergo, after Ages
may go farther, and adtually facrifice their
Children; /". e. go contrary to God's Permif
fion, and do what he never intended Abraham
ffiould do, and finally forbid him to do. I
envy not the Philofopher tfiefe Reafonings,
Let him triumph in them as unanfwerable,
and look down with Contempt on all who
will not own the glaring Demonftration, He
may as well argue, that becaufe God may take
away Life, and transfer Property, that there
fore Men may corarait Murtber and Theft,
and alledge the Exaraple of God as an En
couragement to thefe Crimes. I have nothing
to reply to thefe Kind of Arguraents, but leave
them to make all the Impreffions they are ca
pable of.
If Abraham had offered his Son, what would
have been the Efficacy of It ? What to expiate
the moral Guilt of Sin, or to extricate him
from any iraraediate Danger ? Ridiculous.
What fingle Intimation of this is there In th?
whole Hiftory? And yet 'twas In thefe Things the

( 229 )
the Nations placed the whole Efficacy of hu
man Sacrifices. The only Thing in Abraham's
Condudt that could have been acceptable to God,
was the Readinefs of his Obedience, and the
Strength of his Faith In the divine Promifes ;
neither of which Circuraftances could poffibly
ever take place in the human Sacrifices that
were made by others. They believed that the
very * Blood and abfolute Death of the Vic
tim, was that In which the whole Efficacy of
the Sacrifice confifted, and was the Thing In
which their Gods delighted. Abraham knew
that God neither intended, nor delighted In
the one or other ; and that the proper Reafon
of the Command to hira, was only either to
give him an Opportunity of difplaying the
Strength of his own Faith In the- divine Power
and Fidelity, or that God raight have an il
luftrious Occafion to difplay thofe Attributes in
the Refurredtion of his Son ; and therefore A-
braham's Faith and Obedience were as diffe
rent frora the Perfuafion and Principles upon
which others adted, in the huraan Sacrifices
they offer'd, as Truth from Falfehood, Cruelty
from Mercy, and the moft unnatural Super
ftition from the higheft Inftance of Piety and
Virtue. The Principles on which they adted, argued
the moft corrupt and degenerate Sentiments
* Sanguine placaftis ventos, & virgine czefa.
Cum primum Iliacas Danai veniltis ad oras :
Sanguine qusrendi reditus, animaqua litandura
Argolica. Virg. ..Sinead. i. v. 114.
0^3 concerning

( ^3o )
concerning God and the Nature of his Wor
ffilp; thofe by w\n.ch Abraham condudted him
felf were rational In themfelves, and agreeable
to all the natural Notions of God's Perfedtions,
and argued the fulleft Perfuafion In him of
the divine Goodnefs, Veracity and Power. So
that there Is not one fingle Circumftance fiml-
lar in thefe two Cafes, of Abraham's Intended
Sacrifice, and the human Sacrifices offered by
thofe who lived before or after him. And If
any reafonable Inference could be made from
his Condudt It muft be this : That human Sa
crifices will never be accepted of God, becaufe,
in the Senfe and Manner in which the Nations
offered them, they 'were never commanded by
God^ nor ever Intended to be offered by this
Holy and Venerable Patriarch.
And I really think, that one principal De
fign of this whole Affair was effedtually to
diicourage all human Sacrifices, and abfolutely
to prevent the Pofterity of this holy Patriarch
from every Attempt to offer thera. For what
could be a raore certain Inference from this
Hiftory, than that God would not accept them?
Abraham had received a Command to offer his
Son. In Obedience to God he refolves to com
ply with it in its utmoft Extent, from a firm
Dependence on the Power and Goodnefs of
God to refiore hira. So that If an human Sa
crifice could have been in any Inftance and en
any Accounts acceptable. It muft have been
fo in this of Abraham, which had the divineOrder

( ^31 )
Order to juftify it, and every Recommenda
tion, that the ftrongeft Faith, and the moft
rational and unqueftionable Piety to the true
God, could give it, and which, had it been
permitted, muft have been fucceeded by the
nobleft Difplay of the divine Power, Veracity
and Goodnefs' in the Refurredtion of the Sa
crifice offer'd. And yet rather than give any
Countenance, or poffible Encouragement to
fuch a Pradtice, God abfolutely prohibited the
Offering to be made ; thereby plainly declaring,
that no future Pretences to a divine Command,
no Profeffions of Piety to and Faith in the true
God, no Zeal for the Honour of Religion,
could ever juftify fuch Sacrifices, or recom
mend them to his Acceptance ; and that he had
rather difpenfe with the Illuftration of his own
Attributes and Perfedtions, than difplay them
by fuch Methods as might have any Tendency
to the MIfery and Deftrudtion of Mankind, And
that the Remembrance of God's determined
Purpofe never to accept fuch Sacrifices might
be perpetuated amongft Abraham's Pofterity,
the very Name of the Place, where the Lamb
was provided, was called. The Lord will provide ;
and from this miraculous Exchange It became
a common Form of Expreflion amongft good
Men: In the Mount of the Lorditfmll be pro^
vided. God v/ill miraculoufly provide a Lamb
in the Mount itfelf, where leaft expedted, ruther
than accept an huraan Sacrifice; or fuffer the
Life of Man to be taken away, tho' but for a
Q_4 Seafon,

( ^3^ )
Seafon, out of Devotion and Piety to himfelf!
And from hence it follows :
That this Command to Abraham, could ne
ver be any juft Encouragement to this Kind of
Superftition, of offering human Sacrifices, in
After-ages, but is Itfelf a ftanding Prohibi
tion of it. Men may indeed draw unreafona
ble Confequences from any Thing, and abufe
any particular Revelations from God to very
enthufiaftlcal Purpofes. Even the Reality of
divine Communications hath given rife to Im
pofture, on one Pland, and to many idle and
fanatical Pretences to Infpiration, on the other.
But will any Man fay that Revelation from
God Is an unfit Thing, becaufe defigning or
weak Men raay abufe it, or that God ought
not to have raade any Revelations to Mankind,
to have prevented fuch Effedts of their Wick
ed; -fs and Folly? It is poffible fome ill Ufe
might be raade of fuch a Coraraand of God
to Abraham as this to to offer his Son. But if
fuch an ill Ufe could not be raade of it with
any jufL Reafon, doth it therefore follow that
it v/as unworthy of God to give it ? Or are
the poffible, unreafonable Abufes of any divine
Older, the Thing that is to determine the Con-
d\\&. of God, and raake fuch an Order fit or
unfit to be given ? No Man of Senfe will af
fert this, or ftand to all the Confequences of
fuch ;;n Affertion,
''TiS a fufficient Vindication of the Provi
dence of the God in this Tranfadtion with A-
braham.

( ^33 )
Braham, if it can be proved, that this Com
mand could not give any the leaft reafonable En
couragement to human Saaifices. And this I
think may be proved to a Demonftration, For
as God, tho' he gave the Command, did not
permit it to be executed, it could never be a
juft Inference, that fuch an Offering would be
acceptable to hira, when adtually executed,
but never commanded. If this Sacrifice, which
had every Circumftance of Obedience, Piety,
and Faith In the true God, to recommend it,
was not permitted, it would be monftrous to
infer, that another fuch Kind of Sacrifice would
be accepted where there could be no Pretence
of any fuch Obedience, Piety, or Faith, If
the Coraraand to offer Ifaack, when under
ftood In the ftrongeft Senfe, was' only to put
him to a teraporary Death, could it be any
juft Conclufion, that another Man, without
Order, might abfolutely and irrecoverably take
away his Child's Life ? To prevent- any fuch
Mifapplication of the Command amongft the
Jews, God exprefsly forbid by Mofis every Of
fering of this Kind as an Abomination. * Thott
fialt not do j'o unto the Lord thy God. For all
Abominations which the Lord hateth have they
done unto their Gods. For they have burned both
their Sons and their Daughters with Fire to their
Gods. The Words, Thou fialt not do jb unto
the Lord thy God, are as exprefs a Prohibition
as Words can contain of any fuch Sacrifices to
* Deut. xii. 31, the

( ^34 )
tlie God oi Ifrael. Nor could any of Abraham^ s
Pofterity, when fettled In Canaan, ever be In
like Circumftances with him. For then they
became the private Members of Society, and
had no exclufive Right in their Children- They
were the Children of the * Commonwealth,^
which had at leaft an equal Property in them
with themfelves ; which prohibited by the
moft exprefs Laws all Kind of Murthers, and
which would have punlffied with Death the
Authors of fuch Sacrifices, how much foever
they might have pretended to fandtify them un-.
der Colour of Religion. Nor, do we read of
cne fingle Inftance of fuch a Sacrifice amongft'
tliem, juftified by this Command of God to
Abraham. In Truth, the Panick that fome Perfons are
in, leaft this Inftance ffiould encourage fuch
Kind of Sacrifices, is quite needlefs; fince Na
ture itfelf hath taken care that fuch a Pradtice
ffiall not become comraon. The Romans, tho'
they had originally the utmoft Power over their
Children, and though they frequently expofed
them, yet did not pradtice the favage Superfti
tion of formally facrificing them to their Gods ;
and tho' feveral Inftances of fuch Inhuman Of
ferings may be found amongft the Phenicians,
Greeks, and others, yet they don't appear to
have been Sicx'iiices freely made, but with the
* AhT^ir, TO Kiyci/.v;ov, 'jra.vr (tvS^pa. K^waiS'Ar »f THf wo'
hs.^i; ,'./.xA^tl)' M ray ytvmopay avTcK. Mat. • de Leg. 1. 7. p'
804 Edit. Sef. 'dtmoft

( ^35 )
utmoft Horrour and Reludtance, by the Order
©f their Priefts, or the fuppofed Command of
their Gods, or thro' the Compulfion of fome
extream Neceffity, and to avoid a more dread
ful Calamity. And as the Jews never were
guilty of thefe holy Barbarities in the Worffiip
of the true God, 'tis evident in Fadt that the
Cafe oi Abraham had no bad Effedl amongft
them, nor indeed poffibly could with any ffiew
of Reafon. And as this Cuftom had obtaln'd
amongft the idolatrous Nations before Abraham,
the fame Superftitlons and Reafons, that firft led
them to thefe inhuman Pradtices, would have on
fome Occafions continued them, whether A-
braham had ever been born or not ; tho' had
they rightly attended to his Cafe, they muft
neceffarily have inferred the Unlawfulnefs of
fuch Offerings, and that as God did not permit
him adtually to facrifice his Son, and deprive
liim for the ffiorteft Seafon of his Life, be
would be much lefs pleafed with Sacrifices from
them, that Implied the Intire and abfolute De
ftrudtion of the Lives of others. But laflly,
13. Our Philofopher tells us, that when
'tis pleaded, * that what Abraham did was at
the Command of God, but that they who after
wards offered Humane Sacrifices, had no fuch Au
thority for it, is gratis didtum : That they who
offered Humane Sacrifices thought they had Rea
fon for it, and that it would be highly acceptable
and pleafing to God, fince they could offer him no
* Vol, III. p. »69, 270. Thing

( ^36 )
i'hing elfe of fo great Value, nor more precious td
them. And this was Abraham'i Faith and Per
fuafion. But that he had better Authority for it
than others who adtually did it , is the -Thing- in
^leftion ; for 'tis certain, that the Nature and
Reajbn of the Thing itfelf is the fame in both. I
diink I'have proved, that there Is not one fin
gle Circumftance In the two Cafes fimilar, and
that therefore as the Nature and Reafon of the
Thing is effentlally different, Abraham mightj
and did, adt upon better Authority for It than
others : And that his paith and Perfuafion wa^
different from theirs, is as evident, as that his
Faith and Perfuafion .was, that God would raife
Ifaack from the Dead, which our Philofopher
doth not affert was the Faith and Perfuafion of
others. That Abraham was influenced to offer
his Son frora this Faith and Perfuafion, that
he could offer God nothing elfe of fb great Value,
or more precious to him, he afferts Indeed, but
doth not prove, nor is he able, with all his
Skill, to prov?. The Hiftory puts it upon
quite another Yound^&iion, the jble Authority and
Command of God ; and 'tis to this Point' he
ought to keep ; otherwife he doth not argue
againft the Hiftory of the Bible, but a new Fa
ble of his own Invention,
Nor indeed is there the ieaft Shadow or
Foundation of Reafon ox Probability, for ima
gining, that Abraham intended to offer his Son,
becaufe he could offer nothing that was fo va
luable or precious to himfelf. ' If this was his
grand

( ^37 )
grand Inducement, he was then a perfeB P'olun-
tier in the Adtion, and refolved to do it out of
the mere Wantonnefs of Superftition and Enthu
fiafm ; without any Calamity, or Diftrefs, or
•. Caufe whatfoever, to urge and force hini to
fuch a Condudt : A Thing never heard off be
fore or fince, .and contrary to the Reafons bf
this Pradtice amongft all the Inhabitants of Ca
naan, and other Nations ; who, as appears from
the before- mention'd Paffages out of Porphyry,
from the Teftimony of Fhilo, * and the In
ftance of the t King of Moab, in the Sacred
Hiftory, never came freely to this X dreadful Ex
pedient of facrificing their Children and neareft
Relations, but when preffed with forae very
great Calaraity, either of Wars, Peftllence, ex
ceffive Drought, or the like. But that Abra
ham, who had renounced Idolatry, and came
from his own Houfe and Family to keep him
felf clear of it, ffiould take it into his Head,
and work himfelf into a Perfuafion, § againft all
Nature
* IToAAiif yAp zj H'Kkii ^ttffl Tav wavv^ ((IhOIHe.'HV ^ tpiKOTiK-
vav soT/tTsimi rm ctVTay m'o.tS'a.i, risi fjnv vwi^ ita.rpiS'ay fffdi-
yiaS^yi(foiJLiv>s! Kvriiiiet,, » •zcMi^av, n A^XJ^iiiv, il iToiA-^pists,. V
Vo^t>iMray hoiuiKav yivn<roi/.iv>iS. Phil, dc Abrah. p. 293..
f 2 Kin. iii. 27.
j Ka.v vzip aar^icti 'JTct.T^t^m id) ^ptbTiVi^ATav imi'l^affl
(TMy la.S-turofj'.iyii! rti avrav. « cuot KArtt,(J.iVwiy, n f^awfac *?«-
^ietiTAAcLI lJ.n VfOlJiiVOVrsi olKKwi aVAipxi'TCOV.. Id. p. 295.
5 *i.fl"s/ yif- ¦»<¦ w^i TH. spyoy (Adxi^'^'- yvuffiov n vtov
m'TTomiMvos iMvoy tbtoi", iv^vi etxi 'y to 'Trct^at st' avra tim
ivyoidf yvn<rm, VTrs^^ttftf^ov rut saippvtti iparai . Kj tih (piAi*o
offeti cT/' oyoixATOf yiyoyecfft- ITfi/O-f) tPs rl itj j^M^iX-aritTOii ipiK-
xeiv, TO un xcttT' nhi^iiAV, aK}1 iV ynpn yiyivmiVM tov ma.ii'ti,:
' Toit

( 138 )
Nature and conftant Experience, that God re
quired him to facrifice his Son, his only Son, the
Son of his old Age, and that becaufe nothing Was
fo valuable to himfelf, therefore nothing could
be more acceptable to God ; and that becaufe
God could, therefore he would raife him from
the Dead, if he had burnt him to Affies, and
hereby out-run even all the Nations of Canaan
in Folly, Rafhnefs, and ira pious, unnatural
Superftition ; Is inconfiftent with the Reafon of
Things, and the whole Charadter of Abraham,
as related by the Hiftorian, and. as unnatural an
Imagination as could ever enter Into the Heart
of a Man, But that this fame Abraham ffiould
one Minute conceit that he had fuch a Com
mand frora God, and the next Minute, finding
.a Ram accidentally tied In a Buffi near him,
ffiould, juft as he was about to deftroy-his Son,
have a fecond Conceit, that God had not com
manded It, and a fudden Thought dart into his
Ij^ind, that this Ram would be more accepta
ble to God than his own Son, who juft before
he conceited would be more acceptable, becaufe
more valuable to him, than the Ram ; thefe
are fuch very ^pxetty delicate philofophical Conceits,
that I can't conceit In my Heart to fay any
Thing to put our Philofopher out of Conceit
with them, but leave him In full Poffeffion of all
that Pleafure and Happinefs which I am fure
they afford him. He may call this Reafoning,
'ToK yas e4-'y'>i">'f i^ty-i^MVafft '!ra( oi touyih, « to [mlkiov sm-
vtobmtu X?'"''"' ¦'""I' yivi(jiv avrav, » t« ftwxS'S'' STSfKf sf^wt^eiv
ifiSrai, riis (fvffiai iy tutu irinrew\JiivW> »f €« TiKiura-iov KJ
US'V.Tov Of 01'. Id. Ibid, I think

( ^39 )
I think It Trifiing, and t)eneath the Dignity of
a Philofopher, to bring in Mights, and May
Be's, t-^ deftroy Hiftory, and to account for
Things that are related, and have been univer-
fally underftood, as real Fadts,
¦«¦¦... .m. -'.-1.— •^, ¦ ..^i'a.i.---..^»i. ¦¦¦¦.:..-.., i»--i.t y.«»*ii.'r" ¦¦ .i.i ¦ <¦¦ ¦ i i» ¦ ^^..¦.l. i ¦— ¦' .r.^
SECT, Vill.
Of the Hebrew Idiom and Phrafeology.
MY Reader will obferve, that I have all along
argued upon the Suppofition of the Truth
of what the Hiftory afferts, that Abraham adted
by a Divine Coraraand, and been endeavouring to
juftify Abraham' sCond'aCt upon this Foundation.
But I might have faved myfelf, it feems, all
this Trouble, if I had had the Philofopher's
Skill In Languages ; and particularly underftood,
hke hira, the Hebrew Idio^n and Phrafeology.
I raight then have known, that to fay what
Abraham did, was at the Command of God, Is
gratis diBum; and I raight farther have known,
that God in thofe Days appeared and fpoke to Men
more Ways than one, I, e. according to this in-
co7nparable Unguifi, that God never fpok? to
them really at all. For thus our learned Orien-
talift Immediately explains it, God often ap
peared and fpoke to them in their Dreams, or they
dreamed that God appeared and fpoke to them, and
direBed them to aB and conduB themfelves in this
cr that Way ; and when any fuch Dream had made
a firong Imprefffion on them, they interpreted it as
the Voice and Will of God to them. And thus they
^ f Vol. III. p. 270. underfiood

( ^4° )
underfiood any remarkable or uncommon Incident of
Providence towards them, as the Voice of God to
them, and a DireBion or Command from him.
A moft judicious Remark this, and of fo great
Importance to the Caufe of Learning and Mo
rality, that he Is careful his Readers ffiall have
it twice or thrice repeated ! However, tho' he
hath been fo kind as to favour us with this ufe-
ful Obfervation, he hath forgot to make his
Application, and to let us know how we are to
underftand the Phrafeology made ufe of In the
Introdudtion to this Part of Abraham's Hiftpry :
It came to pafs, that God did tempt Abraham,
and jaid unto him. Take thy Son and ofi'er him for
aBurnt-ofi'ering : Whether Abraham only dreamt
that God thus fpoke to him, or there was any
remarkable or uncommon Indent of Providence,
towards hira, that he conceited was the Voice
of God. As the Hiftory mentions no fuch ex
traordinary Incident, I think we can't reafona
bly fuppofe it, efpecially as 'tis not eafy to ima
gine what Incident there could happen, that
ffiould bring It Into his Head, that God com
manded him to facrifice his Son.
Abraham therefore dreamt that God command
ed him ; and why may I not as well fuppofe, that
Abraham only dreamt that he facrlficed his Son?
And then, as the Philofopher hath cleared God, of
what he fuppofes an abfurd and Immoral Com
mand, I alfo will clear Abraham oi the Abfur
dity and Iramorality of the Fadt ; for I think I
have as much a Right to dream, and Introduce
a Dreain,

{ 2-41 )
a Dream, as this Philofopher ; and thus we have
got rid of the whole Difficulty attending this
Piece of Hiftory at once, and all his Declama
tions about It might have been entirely fpared.
For I hope he will not charge the Patriarch
with an Immorality for facrificing his Son in a
Dream ; and I am fure, that if he only dreamt
he had an Order to offer hira, he offered hira,
not In Reality, but a Dream only. For the
Hiftory abfolutely fuppofes both or neitiier.
But let us fee how our Philofopher's DoBrine
of Dreaming will fuit other Paffages of Sacred
Hiftory. He tells us, * Jehovah appeai'ed to
Abraham, and promijes him a Sonby^xa\, when
he was ninety nine, and fee eighty nine Tears old.
Let it pafs for true, that Abraham only drearaed
that Jehovah appeared to him. A ftrange
Dream this, for a Man of an hundred Years
old, but much ftranger that fuch a Dream
ffiould adtually come to pafs ! What did his
Wife conceive at ninety Years old, and become
with Child, by Virtue of her Husband's dream
ing too ? This Is one of the oddeft Ways of
Conception, and being with Child, that ever
was heard of; and if the Philofopher was Mafter
of this mighty Secret, and could convey fuch
prolifick Dreams, to certain Perfons that I could
name him, it would bs of more worth to him,
than all the Philofophical, or Medical Treatijes
he'll ever pubhffi to the End of his Life. And
if all that is recorded In the Hiftory, of God's
* Vol. nr. p. 90.
R appearing

( ^43 )
appearing to Abraham, and promifing him a
Child by Sarai, when ffie was ninety Years of
Age, be nothing but Abraham's Dream, I will
undertake to demonftrate, that Sarah was with
Child by a Dream only ; fince it could not be
by a Man, much lefs a Man of an hundred
Years old, without ah evident and Incoiiteftable
Miracle, The Philofopher's Method therefore
of Solution by Dreams, will not clear up all our
Difficulties, no nor quite account for the He
brew Idiom and Phrafeology,
'Tis an Obfervation Indeed quite new to me,
and I believe to the whole learned World, that
this fame Hebrew Phrafeology ffiould love to
exprefs Things by Contraries, and when it af
firms, that fuch and fuch Things were done and
faid, ffiould mean, that fuch Things were really
never done or faid ; or which is the fame Thing,
were only dreamed to have been done and faid.
In Uke manner, 'tis very critically obferved,
that God * fpoke by the accidental Entertainment
and Lodgment of Strangers and Travellers, that
brought them any Intelligence of great Moment,
and who were therefore confidered and fpoken of
as the Angels of the Lord, or Meffengers from God
to them. So that, ' by the Angels of the Lord, '
we are not to underftand Angels of the Lord, \
but Strangers confidered as Angels of the Lord,,
that brought great News and Intelligence! ']
'Twas great News to Abraham, that Sarah
fhould prove. with Child by him at ninety Years
* Vol. III. Pag. 95, old.

( 242 )
old. But, If I might be allowed, without Of
fence, to ask a Queftion here from fuch a
Mafter In Languages : How came the Angel,
the No- Angel, the Confidered-Angel, this Mef-
fenger of Intelligence, by this great News ? And
how came Sarah to be with Child In Virtue of
it ? The Age oi Sarah, very fortunately, prevents
the Sufpicion of Its being done by the Angelical
Strangers and Travellers that^^r^^'ia'wzentertain'd ;
otherwife, I doubt not, but the Philofopher would
immediately have called in one of their Affift
ance to have fupplied the Defedts of the aged Pa
triarch-^ as he hath, with an inhumane Cruelty,
brought In * Eli's Sons, to blaft the Reputation,
andfiab the CharaBer of Samuel's Mother, But,
as Sarah's Age fets her above this Scandal, the
Philofopher's DoBrine of Travelling will no
better account for this Part of Hiftory, than his
Arcanum of Dreaming ; and we muft be forced
to give fome other Turn to the Phrafeology, In
this, and fome other Inftances, to reconcile the
Hiftorian 's Account of Things to Nature and
Reafon. Perhaps, as Abraham had a very good Knack
at Conceiting, In the Philofopher's Opinion, Sa
rah might be as dextrous at it as himfelf, and
prove with Child, and bring forth a Son, by the
Strength of her Conceit ; and this is the raore
reconclleable to Nature and Reafon, becaufe 'tis
well known, or at leaft generally believed, that
the Conceit and Imagination of Women do
• Vol. III. Page 307.
R 2 fometimes

( ^44 )
fometimes produce very furprizing Effedts : And
why not therefore a Conception and real Birth?
A Differtatlon on this Subjed oj Conceiting, by
the Phllofspher, would be a moft wonderful
Curiofity. But to return to' the Hiftory oi Abraham's Sa
crifice ; let us fee how it will appear and read,
when ftript of the Hebrew Phrafeology and
Idiom, and expreffed In fuch Terms, as the PIS-
lofopher iraagincs, will reconcile it to Nature
and Reafon, It came to pafi, after thefe Things,
that God did tempt Abraham, and faid to him,
Abraham. And he faid. Behold, here am 1.
And he faid. Take now thy Son, thine only Son,
whom thou lovefi, even Ifaack, and get thee into
the Land of Morlah, and ofi'er him therefor a
Burnt-offering upon one of the Mountains, which
I will tell thee of, I, e. as the Philofopher ex
plains the Hebrew Phrafeology : After thefe
Things, it did not come to pafs^ that God did
tempt Abraham, but Abraham conceited, or
dreamt, that God tempted him f ox fome Travel
ler brought him the News, that God tempted
him, or the Death of forae Relation, or fome
remarkable Occurrence of Providence tempted
him, and faid, Abraham: And Akixa^naxn faid,
viz. to his Conceit, or his Dream, or the Tra
veller, or the Death of his Relation, or the re
markable Occurrence : Behold, here am L And
he faid, viz. the Conce't, the Dream, the Tra
veller, the Death, the Occurrence, faid: Take
.no^iV thy Son, and offer him upon one of the Moun tains

( ^45 )
tains which I, God, will not tell thee of; but
the Conceit, the Dream, the Traveller, &c,
fhall tell thee of. And Abraham rofe and went
unto the Place which God had not told him of, but.
the Conceit, the Dreara, the Traveller, &c.
had told him of. And Ifaack faid. Where is the
Lamb for a Burnt-offering ? And Ahxahzm jaid.
My Son, God will not provide himfelf a Lamb for
a Burnt-offering, but the Conceit, the Dream,
the Traveller, &c. will. And they came to the
Place which God had not told him of, but which
the Conceit, the Dream, the Traveller, told
him of. And as Abxahaxnfiretched forth his Hand
to fiay his Son, the Angel of the Lord, i. e. fome
Stranger or Traveller that he then accidentally
entertaln'd, and that brought him fome Intel-
' ligence of great Moment, and whom he there
fore confidered and fpoke of as an Angel of the
Lord, or a Meffenger from God ,to him, called
unto him out of Heaven, I. e, accidentally fi-om
behind a Bufh, where there was a Ram tied,
and faid, Abraham, Abraham. And Ahxahaxn
jiiid, to this accidental Traveller, whom he con
fidered as an Angel, or Meflenger of the Lord to
him. Here am I. And he, the accidental Tra
veller, faid to him : Lay not thy Hand upon the
Lad, for now I know that thou fear efi God; j'ee-
ing thou haft not with-held thy Son jrom me,
the accidental Traveller, whora thou heareft,
and whom thou takeft for the Angel or Meffen
ger of God to thee. And Abraham lift up his
Eyes, and behold, behind him a Ram caught in a
R 3 ' Thicket

( M6 )
Thicket by his Horns, which the Angel, or Mef-,
fenger Stranger, had tied in a Buffi juft by, and
Abraham offered him up inftead of his Son, i. e.
as die Philofopher explains It : He had a fudden
Thought darted into his Mind, that this was a
Declaration from God to him, that he ought mt
to facrifice the Child, but the Ram. And the An
gel of the Lord, i. e. the accidental Stranger
Meffenger, called unto Abraham, out of Heaven,
i, e, fi-om behind the Buffi, a fecond Time, and
faid : By mvfelf have I not fworn, faith Jehovah,
but by myfelf have I fworn, faith the Conceit, the
Dream, the Traveller, &c. that in Bleffing I,
the Conceit, &c. will blefs, thee, &c. becaufe thou
hajl obeyed my, ihe Conceit's, &c. Voice. Put
the Phrafeology into the Phllofopheir's plain
Language, and the Hiftory will run In the
Manner I have above reprefented it ; and, I am
fure, every one muft allow It to be. In this View,
the moft entertaining Piece of Hiftory that ever
was penned, and pay his Compliments to the
Philofopher, for the Light he hath thrown upon
the Hebrew Phrafeology and Idiom. 'Tis pity
he doth not favour the learned World with his
critical Remarks upon the whole Old Teftament,^
fpr he v^'^ould difcover, by fuch Kind of Crlti-
cifins,' more wonderful Wonders, than were ever
conceited, or dreamt of before ; and demon
ftrate, that all the Criticks who preceeded him
were diminutive Dwarfs, in Criticifra, who
* could not reach to the Sublimities of his fuper
natural and divine Genius.
* Vol HI. p. 271. And

( M7 )
And that this Account of the Hebrew Phrafe
ology muft be true, he endeavours to confirm,
by obferving : t That God did then really appear
and converj'e with Men, and that they were almofi
as familiar with Angels, as with one another, is
a Thing not to be proved by afiriB, literal Tran
flation of one Language into another, againft all
Nature and Reajbn, and all the general Laws of
Providence by which God governs the World.
I do not know, that any Man ever attempted
to prove one or other of thofe Propofitions, by
a ftrldt, fiteral Tranflation of one Language into
another : Nor do I apprehend, that a literal.
Tranflation proves any Thing, The Sentiments
conveyed by any Language, and a literal Tran
flation of that Language, are exadtly the fame ;
and whatever be the real Meaning of fuch a
Language, the fame will be precifely ffie Mean
ing of the literal Tranflation, If the Words
mn^ "^fh^ Malach Jehovdh, do mean In the He-^
brew, an Angel of the Lord, or a Stranger, con
fidered as a Meffenger of the Lord ; the Englifi
Words, An Angel of the Lord, which is the li
teral Taagflation of the Hebrew, will mean ex
adtly the fame Thing, and nothing elfe ; and if
the Enquiry is, what the Hebrew Words mean ?
'tis as truly to Inquire, what the Englifi Tran
flation fignifies ? and to determine the former,
is truly to determine the latter. And when the
Hebrew Language faith, God did appear and
converfe with Men, and that Angeb did appear
* Vol. III. p. 271.
R 4 to

( M8 )
to Men, the literal Tranflation of the Hebrew
into Englifi, fays and proves no more than what
the Hebrew doth; and the only Queftion is. What
thofe Propofitions mean, whether expreffed in
the original Language, or the Tranflation,
And if the Tranflation be ftrldt and literal, fuch
a Tranflation conveys as true an Idea of the Ge
nius and Nature of the original Hebrew, as the
Ilebrew Itfelf; becaufe tlie Ideas they convey
are precifely the fame. And, if Men are ca
pable, by Obfervation and Attention, of under
ftanding the Idiom and Phrafeologv of the ori
ginal Hebrew, they are juft as capable of under
ftanding It by an exadt literal Tri^nflation, by
the fame Obfervation and Attention, And
therefore. If the Hebrew Hiftorian doth affert,
that God did converfe with Men, and Angels
did appear to them, and the fiteral Englift
Trahflation afferts juft the fame ; the literal
Tranfiation will infallibly prove, that the Hebrew
Hiftorian did affert fuch Appearances and Con
verfes to be real. If the Words In the original
Hebrew do. In their plain and natural Senfe,
convey fuch a Meaning. Whether fuch Ap-
jpeararces are agreeable to Reafon and Nature
is another Thing, and depends neither on the
Hebrew, nor the Tranflation.
The Philofopher fays, * they are againft all
Nature, or Reafon, That God fioould be effen"
tially vifible, and this at one Time, or Place ^ more
truly than another, 1 allow to be fo. Nor is there'
* Vol. HI. p. 27f. any

( ^49 )
any Thing in theHebrew Idiom or Phrafeplogy
to countenance fuch a Suppofition. But that
there ffiould be forae external vifible Glory, as
an Erablem, or Symbol, of the invifible God,
immediately to draw the Attention of thofe to
whom It appears, to lead and condudt them on
particular Occafions, and to be a Proof of God's
peculiar Regard to, and Protedtlon over them,
is no more againft Reafon and Nature, in ray
Judgraent, than that he ffiould create an ex
ternal World to be a Witnefs of his Being and
Perfedtions, and exercife a real Providence over
that World, /. e. the Individuals of which it
confifts, when once. he hath made it. If God
can difcover his Mind and Will to Men, by im
mediate Voices for that Purpofe, by Impreffions
on their Minds, either when awake or afleep,
or by the Mediation and MIniftration of Angels ;
fuch Appearances of God will not be againfi
Nature, I, e, impoffible In the Nature of
Things ; and If there ffiould be any extraordi
nary Ends to anfwer, by fuch Appearances,
they will be as hv\e contrary to true Reajbn, as
real Nature, And If the Philofopher will prove
any Thing to the Purpofe, It muft not be by Af
fertions and quaint Obfervations, about Idioms
and Phrafeologies, of which he knows nothing,
but by diredtly ffiewing, that fuch Appearances
are Impoflible,, or that there were no worthy
and fultable Ends of Providence to be anfwered
by them. He himfelf fpeaks with great Con
tempt

( 250 )
tempt of thofe Gentlemen, who are * fo wife, as
to ftom any Communications jrom God. But how
muft thefe Communications be made to them,
if made, but in fome or other of the Ways, by
which the Hebrew Hiftorian affirms God com
municated himfelf under the Old Teftament ?
If he rejedts all Communications from God him
felf, as contrary to Nature and Reafon, why
fo much Contempt of thofe who profefs, with
himfelf, to fcorn them ? If he allows the Poffi
blllty and Reality of them, let him ffiew they
cannot be convey'd by the foregoing Methods,
and polut out others, more certain and agreeable
to Nature and Reafon.
What he fays, of ffieir being almofi as fami
liar with Angels, as with one another, is below
Notice ; fince there are but very few of the
Appearances of Angels recorded in the Old
Teftament, during the two hundred and ten
Years that Abraham, Ifaack and Jacob lived In
Canaan ; nor is diere any Familiarity fpoken of
unbecoming the Dignity of thofe fuperiour Be
ings, or the Importance of the Meflages they
delivered. And finally, when he adds, that thefe Ap
pearances are againft all the general Laws of Pro
vidence, by which God governs the World, I muft
obferve, that I know of no fuch general Laws
of Providence, as to exclude particular Interpo-
fi tions of God, when the wife Ends of Provi
dence require it. And In this Opinion I am
* Vol, I. p. igi. confirmed

( ^51 )
confirmed by what I have read, with great
Pleafure, In the Philofopher himfelf; who tells
us : * That when Men will be learned beyond the
Meafures of Sobriety, they mufi run into Schemes '
and Methods of phihfophizing equally abfurd and
irreligious. And that 'tis certain, that if God
governs moral Agents at all, he mufi govern them
by Hope and Fear^ or by fuch a wife and fultable
Application of Rewards and Punifiment s, as the
different Circumfiances of Perfons, and the Ends
oj Government require. And thefe Rewards and
P uni foments, mufi be fuch as are not the natural,
necefiary Confequences of the ABions themfelves ;
fince every one mufi fee, that this would be no Go
vernment at all, and that the Cafe, in this Re-
ppeB, mufi be the very fame, whether we fuppofe
any reBoral Jufiice, or any Prefence or Operation
of God in the World, or not. This is Part of
ffie Philofopher's Sermon to Theophanes ; and
the evident Defign of it Is to ffiew, that the
Providence and Governraent of God over the
moral World, is not tied up to any general
Laws, or the natural and neceflary Confe
quences of Things ; but left at Liberty to adt,
as the different Circuraftances of Perfons, and
the Ends of Government may require. And I
am abundantly convinced, that this Is the real
Truth of the Cafe. Now how it ffiould be an
Argument to difprove the Appearances of God
and his Angels, as recorded in the Old Tefta
ment Hiftory, that they are againfi all the gene-
* Vol. I. p. 189, IJD. ral

(2-5^ >
ral Laws of Providence, when he allows, that
Providence is not tied up to any general Rules,
but the Government of God muft be fuited to
the differtnt Circumfiances of Perfons, and the
Ends it propofes, I leave to him, at his Leifure,
to reconcile : And let him explain the Words,
contrary to the general Laws of Providence, in
what Senfe he pleafes ; yet it will follow, from
his own Account of Providence, that if the
different Circumftances of Perfons, and the
Ends of Government require fuch a Condudt of
God, In the Application of Rewards and Pu
nlffiments, as Is, In ffie ftridteft and ftrongeft
Senfe, againfi all the general Laws of Provi
dence ; I fay, It will undeniably follow, upon
this Suppofition, from his own Principles, that
the Providence and Government of God muft
be condudted. In thefe particular Inftances,
againft the general Laws of Providence ; and
that therefore 'tis no reafonable Objedtion againft
any particular Occurrences, afcrlbed to the
Providence and Government of God in the
facred Writings, that they are not condudted
by divine Providence, hecaufe they are, or ap
pear to be contrary to, or againft the general
Laws of Providence.
Thus have I finlffied my Obfervations upon
the Hiftory of Abraham. Whether I have thus
far made good my Charge againft the Philofopher
of Mifreprefentatlon, andfalfifying the Hebrew Hi
ftorian, I muft leave to the Judgment of the World.
The particular Mifreprefentations and Falfe hoods

( ^5i )
hoods I charge on the Philofopher, in this Period
of ffie Hebrew Hiftory, are thefe. He afferts :
I. That God pxoxniied Abram a rich and fertile
Country, without naming It, and that therefore
he thought Egypt the moft promifing Place,
2, That as Abram' could not think Palefiine
the Place defigned him, therefore he went down
to Egypt, as prefuming that muft be the pro
mifed Land,
3. That he went down Into Egypt with a
Defign to fetde there.
4. That he found Egypt was not the Coun
try God defigned him, by his being driven out
of It by the Egyptian King.
5. That the Appearance of God to Abram,
mention'd Gen. xii. Is the firft Inftance of the
fupream God, or Jehovah appearing and con
verfing with Men.
^. That the original Name of the Land of
Canaan was Philifiia.
7. That It was afterwards called Canaan by
Mofes when the Canaanite came to fettle there.
8. That whilft Jofeph kept his Intereft at
the Court of Egypi, the Canaanites were not
yet fettled In the Land of Canaan.
9, That when Abram firft came Into it, Pa
lefiine was a very barren defert Country, very
fubjedl to Drought and Scarcity, open, wafte,
and uncultivated.
10, That Palefiine feemed a very unlikely-
Place for the Accompliffiment of God's Pro
mife to give him a rich and fertile Country, II. That

( 254 )
II, That the Philiftines firft took Poffef
fion of the Land of Canaan.
12, That all the Sea-coafts of the Mediterra
nean, from Sidon to Sihor, On the Borders of
Egypt, were inhabited in the Time of Abram,
by the Sidonians and Philifiines.
13. That there were no fuch People as thfll
Amojites In Abranf-s Tirae.
14, That Abram prevailed on Sarai to deny
her being his Wife.
1 5. That he was ready to facrifice her Cha
ftity, and proftitute her to the Egyptian King.
1 6. That he was ready to proftitute her from
a Fondnefs for Egypt, a Perfuafion 'twas tho
Country God had given him, and to fecure
himfelf a Settlement there.
17. That God promifed to fettle Abr am' %
Pofterity in the everlafting peaceable Poffefiion
, oi Canaan, In a miraculous Way, and by do
ing every Thing for them.
18, That he promifed thus to fettle them in
that Country, at the End of four hundred
Years, from the Birth of Ifaack.
1 9. That at the End of this Period, they were
to be put into peaceable Pofieffion of the whole
Land, frora Sidon to the Borders oi Egypt.
20. That they were, upon the folemn Oath
of God, to be. thus put into Poffeffion of it.
21. That Mofes revives this ancient Grant
from God to Abram.
22. That the Ifraelites were not In Poffeffion
of a tenth Part of this large Tradt. 23. That

( 2,55 )
23- That as this Promife of the four hun
dred Years was never made good, 'tis to make
God a Liar, to fuppofe it abfolute ; and that
if 'twas conditional, Mofes was an Impoftor.
24. That the Hebrew Patriarchs, Abram,
Ifaack and Jacob, had never any original Defign
of fetthpg in Palefiine.
25. That Abram might eafily have poffeffed
himfelf of Canaan, in his Time, and conquered
the whole Land, and driven out all the former
Inhabitants then fettled in the Country, becaufe
he had a Force fuperiour to any, or all of them.
26. That Ifaack and Jacob were fuperiour In
Force and Power to any Nation, or Colony, then
in Canaan.
27. That they made no Purchafes therein.
28. That their real Defign, from firft to laft,
was upon Eg;ypt.
29. That juft before the Promife of the four
hundred Years, God promifed Abram he ffiould
certainly have .a Son and Heir by Sarai his Wife,
notwiffiftanding her great Age.
30. That when Abraham ran to meet the
three Men, he addreffed himfelf to Jehovah :
Lord, If I have found Favour in thy Sight.
3 1 . That Abraham had wrought himfelf up
to fuch a Perfuafion, as that he concluded,
God In reality required him to facrifice his Son,
and that accordingly he refolved upon It, as an
Adt of Obedience to God.
Thefe feveral Particulars I charge on the Philo
fopher, as downright — Falfehoods and Mifreprefen tations,

(256 )
tat ions, and as to moft of them, \exy fhameful and
fcandalous ones ; becaufe he tells us :, * Ifiall^ake
this Account from the Hebrew Hiftorians them
felves, as they have it in theii- own Books.
Whereas,- he hath not taken this Account, in
any Part of it, from the Hebrew Hiftorians.
And tho' he conftantly quotes Chapter and
Verfe, and with a Confidence, peculiar to hlm-
felf,> afferts, this is plain, and that is clear,
from the Hiftorian' s own Account ; yet the Places!
he cites, do not affert the Thing he cites thera-
for, but generally do affert the diredt contrary,
and that in the plaineft and ftrongeft Terms.'
And for this I now appeal to all the unprejug--
diced Part of Mankind, whether Delfts or
Chriftians ; and leave It to them, what to think
of the Morality or Philofophy of the Man,
who can falfify and Invent Hiftory, and, wiffi.
an unparalleled Affurance, tell the World, that
he'll take his Account frora the Hiftorians them- •
felves, as they have It in their own Books.
I ffiall next proceed. If God fpare me Life
and Leifure, to confider his Account of the De-
feent into Egypt, and the Conqueft of Canaan ;
in which the fame Accuracy and Care, the fame
Reading and Learning, the fame fteady Difpofi-'
tion of Candor and Integrity, the fame facred..
Attachment to Truth and Fadt, will appear, in
equally ftrong Charadters, and, if poffible, in a
much more glaring and convincing Light.
* Vol. III. p. 6.

VINDICATION ^ O F THE
HISTORY «
OF THE
OLD TESTAMENT Part. II.

DEFENCE O F T HE
PRIME MINISTRY
AND
Character of JOSEPH:
In A N s -w E R to the
Mifreprefentations and Calumnies
OF THE LATE
THOMAS. MORGAN,M.D.
and Moral Philosopher.
By SAMUEL CHANDLER.
LONDON:
Printed for J. Noon, at the White Hart, near Mer
cers Chapel, Cheapfide. Mdccxliii.

( 257 )

CAP. IL
The Hifiorjt and CharaSier of Jofeph
vindicated*
HAVING followed our learned Philofopher
in his Rambles thro' Paleftine, and exa
mined his Account of the Hiftory of thofe three
venerable Patriarchs, Abraham, Ifaack and Ja
cob ; I next proceed to confider his Charadter
of Jofeph, whom he plentifully loads with his
ufual Favours, ^nd treats with that Politenefs and
good Manners, which is peculiar to him, above
all other Writers in the World. Steady to him
felf, he is refolved , to continue to the End
^lalis ab incoepto procefferit  ¦
and to give no quarter to a fingle Perfon of Jew-
iffi Birth and Education.
I believe 'tis impoffible for any One in the
World, the Moral Philofopher only excepted, to
read the Hiftory of Jofeph, as related by the Sa
cred Hiftorian, without being prepoffeffed in
Favour of that great Man. The Occurrences of
his Life are fo very peculiar, the extraordinary
Providences that attend him fo remarkable, the
Moderation and Equity of his Condudt fo ap
parent, throughout the whole of his Behaviour,
as that no one of Humanity can help' fharing
S with

( ^-J8 )
with him in his Misfortunes, taking Pleafure
in his Profperity, and admiring the Life ind'
Charadter of a Perfon, who feemed the Favou
rite hothoi(^od and Man. And were there any
CIrcumftances in his Hiftory, that at firft View
appeared inconfiftent with the general Probity"
ofhis Charadter ; Humanity and Charity would
gladly find out fomewhat to foften and exte
nuate thera ; and either wholly pafs them over
in filence, or mention them with the greateft
Tendernefs, as Inftances of the Frailty of hu
man Nature In general, and to ffiew that the
moft exalted Charadters have their Allays and
Blemlffies ; rather than with a Defign wholly
to deftroy and blaft him, and fink him down,
with all his Virtues, under eternal Infamy and
Abhorrence. I have one Pleafure In the Controverfy with
this Philofopher, and It will be a Pleafure to me,
I truft In God, In the laft Moments of my Life,
that I ara eraploy'd in the benevolent and
friendly Work, of vindicating the - memories of
the Dead, who are not able to plead for them
felves, and who have been infulted, abufed,
wounded and mangled by this Philofopher.
Let him go on, and feed himfelf with Pleafures
of this Kind. . I thank God I dread the Difpo
fition, that can draw SatisfaBion and a Lively-
hcod, from fuch an Employment, worfe than Po
verty and Death, and had rather my Name
fliould be buried in eternal Qblivion, than gain
an imniortal Remembrance, by. becoming the
common

(259 )
common Reviler of others. All Antiquity, Sa
cred and Prophane, that fpeaks of Jofeph, doth
Honour to his Name, and mentions him with
Veneration and Efteem. The only Man that
treats him with Infolente and Contempt, and al
moft from his very Birth to his Death repre
fents him as a reftlefs ambitious Deftroyer,
without allowing him one fingle good Quali
fication, or real Virtue, is this Man ; who with
a Pen dipt in Bitternefs and Gall, and an Heart
that difcovers no Remorfe for the Ruin he is
creating, and the Defamation that he Is fpread-
ing, appears under the Guife of a Moral Philo
fopher. He hath held him up to the World as
¦* an ambitious Enterprij'er, cunning Politician,
Egyptian Landlord, Tafkmafier and Tyrant. And
to juftify this Account, contrary to the Faith of
all Hiftory, hath the Modefty to tell the World,
that he will -f- take ihe Account from i"^^ Hebrew
Hifiorians themfelves, as they have it in their own
Books ; and that he'll % keep clofe to the Hebrew
Hiftorian, and draw nothing into Confequence, but
what muft neceffarily arije from the Text. How
well he hath kept this Promife, the Reader will
foon judge. * Page 10. t Page 6. X P^ge S.

S 2 SECT.

( i6o )
SECT. L
Of Joieiph's early Difpofition.
THat he may make this great Man's Cha
radter Intirely and uniformly bad, the
Philofopher tells us, * that he dij'covered very
early his enterpriftng Genius, and afpifing Terfi-
per ; and it was this bbundlefs Ambition, and
Thirfi of Wealth and Dominion, which incurred
the Difpleafure of his Brethren, made him infuffe>-
rable in his Father's Houfe, and occafioned a Vaf
falage which turned upfq much to his Advantage,
This Is an urifortunate Beginning for the Philp-r
fopher, becaufe the Hebrew Hiftorian, to whom
he promifes he'll keep clofe, hath not one fingle
Syllable about boundlefs Ambition, and thirfi of
Wealth ; but exprefly afcrlbes the Hatred ofhis
Brethren to another Caufe. He tells us : -f- Nm
Ifrael loved Jofeph more than all his Children,
becaufe he was the Son ofhis old Age, and he made
him a Coat of many Colours : And when his Bre
thren faw, that their Father loved him more than
<ill his Brethren, they hated him, and could riot
fpeak peaceably unto him ; io that the Partiality,
Fondnefs, and Affedtion of old Jacob for him
was the true Reafon that made him "Incur his
Brethrens Difpleafure, and that occafioned his
Vaffalage. Other Writers afcrlbe It to another
Caufe that clears him Intirely from the Philo
fopher's Charge, and is much to Jofeph's Ho-
* Vol. III. Page 7. 8. f Gen. xxxvii. 3. 4.
nour.

. ( i6i ))
nour. * Artapanus, cited by Eufebius, tells us,
that becaufe he excelled the refi ofhis Brethren in
Wif(km andUnderfiandikg, they laid Snares for
Um to betray him. And f Juj't'm In like Man
ner : His Brethren feared bis._ excellent Genius,
and furprifed andjbld him to Foreign Merchants.
What increafed their Rancour againft him was,
his telling his iFather of the J evil Behaviour of the
fioKi o/^BIlhah and 'Zilpah, his .Brothefs ; and
the /wo JDrm^M that he dreamt , and related to
his Brethren. Poffibly the Philofopher grounds
his Qhaigeoi Ambition, and thirji of Wealth,
on this Circiimftance. But with how little
Reafon ? . A Man's Dreams are not In his own
Power, and the. very Age of Jofeph, who was
qow a Lad but of Seventeen, is methiuks fuf
ficient to fcreen him from, fuch a premeditated
Defign of fubjedting his Father and Breffiren to
himfelf, as might in a natural Way occafion
ffiofe Dreams., The relating j[ them to his
Father and Brethren feems to argue great . Sim
plicity, and Want of Caution and Thought, and
adtually occafioned his Father to rebuke him ;
tho' they were fo extraordinary In themfelves,
as that they might naturally be thought to come
* ^ui'jo-s/xa/ pjoraa-s* 5!-«f«6TKf «A^Kf/';£('sy«o;'T«, xiitoa.S'ih'
^(BK ^it.i^thiii^ps.i. Apud Eufeb. Prie. Evang. 1: g. c. 23.
Jofeph. Ari't. L 2. c. z. §. i.
¦ f Cujus excellens ingenium verlti fratres, clam interceptain
pStegrinis Mefrcatoribus vendiderunt. Juft. 1. 36; c. z.
X Genu xxxvii* 8.
II Xpa^jipot KVAmKaTois ri^^trtimtrnv oiKis^iifftty sV'3-f«y ik
TWitithf^v ^ ffywsff. ovap tUmennoy ai if« ivycm, hvyuTiLt.
Phil, de Jofeph. p. 411. Edit. Colon.
S3 from

( 262 )
from fome fuperioiir Impreffion, and were fo
confidered by the good old Patriarch, who Is
faid to * have obferved the faying. And Indeed
as Dreams, In thofe early Ages of the World
made great Impreffions on Mens Minds, 'twas:
not to be wondered at, either that ^^foi ffiould
remark them, or that Jofeph ffiould relate them/
I believe any Lad of his Age would have done
the fame, that had never entertained the leaft-
Imaginatlon of being ever advanced above his
Father and Brethren, norglven, any Proofs of
a boundlefs Ambition, and thirft of Wealth..
And confidering the Charadler oi Jacob's other
Sons, 'twas nothing ftrange, that their Hatred
of him, becaufe of their Father's Fondnefs
for him, ffiould be encreafed by this Accident,
or that they ffiould refolve on the firft Opporr-
tunity to get rid of him, to prevent his Dreams
from ever being accompliffied. And this they
did, of which our Philofopher glves^ this Ac
count, SECT. IL
Oj Potiphar.
AiV Hebrevv Slave named Jofeph, having
feen fold into Egy^t, was there bought, and
taken into the Family of Potiphar, Pharaoh'j chief ^
Steward ; and it may be proper to remark,
that this Potiphar, Pharaoh 'j chief Steward^ was,
* Gen. xxxvii. ii. '

( ^63 )
an Eunuch; but what an Eunuch fiould do with
a Wife, or fuppofing he had one, how fie fiould
defile his Bed, or prove falfe to him, is hard to
conceive. I. * An Hebrew Slave named Jofeph, having
been fold into Egypt, was there bought, ana taken
into the Family o/'Potlphar, Pharaoh'.f chief Stew
ard. Would any one imagine by the Terms,
Hebrew Slave, that Jofeph was cruelly fold by his
Brethren, contrary to all Reafon and Juftice,
to the Midianites ? But 'twas a reproachful Cir
cumftance, and therefore beft fuited the Philofo
pher's Purpofe. However 'tis certain he was
fold as a Slave, firft by his Brethren to the Mi
dianites, and by them to Potiphar in Egypt;
whom our Author hath learnedly found out to
be Pharaoh's chief Steward, which Is a Difco
very, I think, hitherto unknown. The Origi
nal Words CZi»n:it: id are I confefs differently
rendred by Tranflators, but none of them have
found out my Lord Steward In It. The LXX
and Philo have cc;>%i(/.eiy£tiiu. Chief of the Cooks,
and -^ Jofephus, Av;ip e'Ki tuv 4>«p«m68 iLayu^uv, who
plainly follows the LXX. But Chief of the
Cooks and chief Steward are very different Of
fices. Onkelos, the Syriack and Arabick Ver
fions, and the Latin render them by Captain :|;
of the Soldiers or Guards, agreeable to our pwn
* Page 6. + Antiq. 1. z. c. 4. Init,
t 'Vendiderunt Joleph in Mgypto, Phutiphar eunucho, Pharo-
nis Archimagiro. Inplerifque locis Archimagiros, J^. e. coquo-
rum principes pro magiilris exercitus^ Scriptura comnr.emorat.
l/Uyifwim quippe Grxct interpretatur cccidere. Veii4itus eft igi-
S A Ver-

( a6, )
Verfion. And I think this muft b9 the true
Rend'ring. For thus Nebuzaradan was employed
by Nebuchadrezzar King oi Babylon, in burn
ing the City and Temple of Jerufalem, and
deftroying the Walls, and carrying away the
People Captives, who is exprefly called twenty
Times In Chronicles and Jeremiah by this very
Name that Is given to our Potiphar. And fo
alfo was * Arioch, whom Nebuchadrezzar i^nt
to deftroy the Wife Meri oi Babylon; very odd
Employments thefe for Cooks and Stewards,
In like Manner this fame Steward Potiphar was,
as our Author tells us -f- Governor, or Head-^
Keeper of the King's Prifon, and the State Pri^
foners ; an Employment fultable enough to a
3oldIer or Captain of the Guards : But how
he cpuld be Steward too, I do not very welj
apprehend, unlefs the Philofopher thinks that
Cook and Steward, and Jaylor were all one
Office, or at leaft all united in the Perfon of
Potiphar. He Is a Man of great Reading, or as
he fays of himfelf, J hath a pretty fair CharaBer
in the World for Learning, and may have fome
tur Jofeph principi exercitus & bellatorum. Hieron. QuJeft. Heb.
in Gen. Bat the learned Hottitigers, Remark is more to the
Purpofe, as Potiphar was an Egyptian Officer. He derives tbe
Word frora th.f JEtkicpick. D'n:n£3rl 'ItJ'. Prsfeftus. fatel^
litum. Volunt fie didlum,-quafi maftatorem hominum, quod in
fontes animadvertere foleat. In lipgua ./Ethiopipa nn,3^Ki
eft gladius. nUtO.Q, gladius. Hinc D*h^!D quafi gladiaui
Smeg. Orient, p, 8$. S6, Vid. etiam Johan. Cleric, in Gett,
c. 37. v. ult. , '
* Dan. ii. 14, f Page 7. J Defence of the Mor.
Phil, p, zg. , curiQua

( 265 ) ;
curious Anecdotes by him, to elucidate and clear
up this Affair. He adds :
2. * Here alfo it may be proper to remark,,
that this Potiphar, Pharaoh'j chief Steward,
was an Eunuch, but tuihat an Eunuch fiould da
with a Wife is hard to conceive. True. But if
Steward Potiphar was an Eunuch, and advanced
to this Office, becaufe it was the Cuftom of the
Egyptian Conxt at this Time to employ Eu
nuchs in the chief Pofts, then it mufl have-
been as well known that Potiphar was an Eu
nuch, as that he was-Steward ; and upon this
Suppofition, hard as it is to conceive what an
Eunuch fiould have to do with a Wife, 'twill- be
in my Judgment full as hard to conceive, what a
Woman fiould ha^eto do with a Creature that ffie
knew to he an Eunuch, and how Potiphar ffiould
perfuade any Woman to marry him. And yet
certainly Potiphar was xnaxm.d. But if it was
not known that Potiphar was an Eunuch, nor
the Cuftom to employ Eunuchs fo early as Jo
feph's Times in State Offices, then Potiphar xnay
ftill pafs for a found Man, unlefs our Philofopher
will affirm that he was prefent at his Birth, or
Cutting, and upon his own Knowledge can af
fure us of this Natural, or Artificial DefeB.
Befides, tho' Chamberlains and Keepers of Sera
glio's, and, the like Officers were frequently real
Eunuchs In the Eaftern Courts, both for Decen
cy and Safety, yet I cannot conceive why Eu
nuchs ffiould be employed as Cooks and Stew?
* Page 7.

ards.

( 266 )
ards J and much lefs that Potiphar, muft be one,
if he was an Officer in the Army, a Captain of
the Guards, or Head Keeper of the Royal Pri-
fons : Eunuchifm being a Qualification by no
Means neceflary for fuch an Employment.
'Tis true the Word D"1D doth frequentiy in
the facred Writings fignify a proper Eunuch, and
is rendred in this Place by the LXX, ffTaJflvVi,
and by the Latin Eunucho, and by a Word of
like Signification in fome of the Oriental Ver
fions. On the Contrary, Onkelos and Jonathan
render it Kl^, Great Man, or Prince, and
the Jerufalem Targum, Kt3l'7ti', Prince, or
Lord. And 'tis certain the Word Is frequently
ufed in the facred Writings, where there are no
Circumftances to prove that a proper Eunuch is
intended. Thus we * read of a DID who was
fet over the Men of War in the City «>/ Jerufalem.
They are alfo joyned with the mighty Men and
valiant Men In the Affembly called by -f* Da
vid. They are reckoned with the Princes and
Priefts of the Land by :|; Jeremiah, who ex
prefly calls the Princes of Judah and Jerufalem
by the Name D'DID, 111 rendred by our Tranf
lators, Eunuchs ; and which can mean nothing
but Officers of State, or the Army, nnleis we
are to fuppofe that all the Princes of Judah and
Jerufalem were proper Eunuchs, and therefore Is
tranflated here by the LXX, tss Suv«ir«j, Princes,
TheCaieoi Potiphar, who certainly had a Wife,
evidently proves that the Word Is ufed in a more
* z. Kin. XXV. 19. f i. Chron. xxviii. i.
X Jer. xxxiv. ly. gene^.

( 267 )
general Senfe, to denote an Officer of State,
without Including the particular Circumftance of
Eunuchifm. Even the Greek Word twaxos, Eu.-r
nuch, doth not in its Original and primitive
Senfe fignify a cafir ated Perfon, but -}- Cubicula-
rius, Cuftos leBi, a Chamberlain ; and becaufe
thefe Officers were In After-ages frequently ca-
firated, hence it came by Degrees to be after
wards appropriated, to denote an Eunuch, or
caft rated Perfon only. In like manner DID pro
perly denotes one caftrated ; and becaufe fuch
Perfons were often employed, as Chamberlains,
and In other Offices, by Princes ; hence It comes,
by an eafy Change, to. denpte an Officer of State
in general, tho' the Perfon himfelf had never un
dergone this Kind of Mutilation. But Potiphar
muft be an Eunuch with our Philofopher, that
he may have an Opportunity to reproach the
Jewifi Hiftorian, ' who affirms he had a Wlfe-
SECT. III.
Of Jofeph'.? Prifon, and his Behaviour during
his Confinement.
JO s E p H having been thus fold Into Egypt,
and taken into Potiphar's Family, the next
Thing that the Philofopher informs us of is,
that * he fofar ingratfhted himfelf with his Ma-
fier, that he intrufled him with his whole Interefi,
and made him chief Manager and DireBor of all
f Quafi qui st/ciii' ixonisi- '¦ '• le^i curam geront. Vid-
Etymolo^. Mag. & Sziligi Exercil. 22 J. _* Page 6. his

( 268 )
his Affairs, 'i^hisis true, but not the whole:
;>T'f uth, as the' Hiftorian, out of whom he pro*'
feffes to t^ke his account, relates it. For |j tho'
Jofeph fdund Grace in his Mafter 's Sight, fo that
he made him Overfeer over- his Houfe, and put all
that he had into his Hand, yet this Profperity.
of Jofeph was, hecaniethe Lord was with him;
and 'becaufe his Mafier j'aw that tbe , Lord was
with him, dnd that theLord made all that he did
to proffer in his Hand. '- -This was- what ingra
tiated Jofeph 'ivith his M-dfter,- becaufe he evi
dently faw that a Blefling attended Jo/^^^'s Ma
nagement pf the Affairs^/he had intrufled him
with. XThe Lord bleffed the Egyptian'^. Houfe
for Joie^h's Sake, and the Bleffing of the Lord:
was upon all that he- had, in the Houfe and iri
the Field. He found him by Experience, a
faithful and diligent Servant,' and that he him
felf vJ-as a Gainer by the Confidence repofed In
him. But tho' Jofeph was thus faithful to his Ma
fter, his Miftrefe was not equally fp to her Husr
band. For ffie folllcited yo/fi^j6 ' tP her Bed-,
and upon his Refufal fo comply with her, ffie
got him cpmmittedr a., clofe Prlfoner, in the
King's Prifon, and as the Philofopher will have
it, in Potiphar's pwp Houfe ; or, as he ob
ferves *, under the-^Qo'mrnour's Roof arid In-
fpeBion; to give fome Colour to the baj'e Infinua-
tion he mafces, that during ihis Confinement, Jo-
• feph might make up the Matter with his old Mi-^
II Gen. xxxix. 3, 4. J ibid, 5. * Page 9. firefii

( 269 )
ftrefs. I prefiime the Philofopher, in ord^r to
make poor Potiphar fome Amends for repre
fenting him as an Eunrich, hath chofen thus to
heap Preferments on hira, and to unite thePofts
of Chief Steward and Head Jaylor in his . Per
fon ; for If the Jayl was Potiphar's own Houfe,
to be fure he was the Head-Keeper or Mafter
of It, and the Philofopher exprefly calls him
the Governour II., But how doth the Philofo
pher prove that the King's Prifon was Potiphar's
Iwn Houfe ? Why thus. Jofeph was imprifon-
ed in the Houfe of the Captain of the Guards t.
But Potiphar was Captain of the Guards **.
Therefore Jofeph was imprifoned In Potiphar's
Houfe, And who can defire a better Demon
ftration .? But let us fee if 'twill hold. The
Hiftorian fays, that Jofeph's Mafter [Potiphar]
took him, and put him into the Prifon, a Place
where the King's Prifoners were bound t. This.
Way of Expreffion feems to intimate very plain
ly, that 'twas a different Place from Potiphar's
Houfe *. When he was In this Prifon, the
Lord was with Jofeph, and gave him Favour in
the Sight of-\rVDr\ iTn It!^ the Chief, or .Ruler
of the Hqufe of the Prifon ; or as the Philofo
pher expreffes It, the Keeper or Mafter of the
Prifon. In the fame Senfe therefore that Poti
phar was D*,i:i£On "Itf Chief, or Ruler, or Cap
tain of the Stewards or Guards, Jofeph's Jaylor
was ^HDn "t^ Chief, or Ruler or Governor of

II Page 7-

f Gen. xxxix. zo.

•* lb. xli. 10,

Jib.

xxxix. 20.

* Ver. 21.

the

( 2^0 )
the. Prifon-Houfe. If then the Prifon was Po
tiphar's own Houfe, 'tis plain, that tho' he
might be Captain or Mafter of the Cooks or
Stewards, yet that he was not Mafter or
Governor of his Own Houfe ; at leaft, of
that Part of It that was the Prifon, And that
therefore. If Jofeph was in Potiphar's own
Houfe, and under his Roof, yet that he
was riot under his Infpedtlon ; for as he was
in Cuftodyof the n*n njy or Governour of the
Prifon Houfe, who is exprefly declared to be
different from Potiphar, any Man but a Philo
fopher would Imagine him to be under the In
fpedtlon of this Governour, and not oi Potiphar.
Befides, not to mention the Abfurdity of
my Lord Steward's living In an Houfe ffiat
was a Jayl, 'tis extremely odd that this Chief
Steward and Chief Jaylor fliould have but one
Houfe between them ; and efpecially, that the
Jaylor ffiould be n^Il ^tt^ Chief Lord or Governor
of this Houfe, and of the Prifoners under Poti
phar's own Roof, as he Is exprefly faid to be.
But what quite fpoils this Demonftration is, that
this very Chief Jaylor was a D'rt-Dn "itJ^ Gover
nour oj the Cooks, or Captain of the Guards, or
in the learned Philofopher's Stile, Ch'iej Stenmrd,
as well as Potiphar. For 'tis exprefly faid *,
that Pharaoh put his Chief Butler and Baker in
ward in the Houfe of the D'n^tDn 1tJ> Captain of
the Guards, into the Prifon, the Place where Jo
feph was bound, and that this D'n^Dn "ItJ^ Cap-
* Gen. xl. 3, 4, tain

( 271 )
tain vf the Guards charged Jofeph with them ;
agreeable to what is before faid f of this very
Keeper of the Prifon, that he committed to Jo-
feph'i Hand ad the Prijbners that were in the
Prifon. So that ffiis Captain of the Guard,
and Keeper of the Prifon, was the felf-fame
Perfon, and is exprefly diftlnguiffied from Po
tiphar X, becaufe, when Potiphar put him Into
the Prifon, 'tis faid the Lord gave him Favour
in the Sight of the Keeper of the Prifon, who
therefore rauft be different frora Potiphar, un
lefs the Philofopher will fuppofe, that he had
Favour in the Sight of a Man, whofe Wrath
was kindled againft him ; and therefore Jofeph
might be, and was In the Prifon of one of the
Captains of the Guard, and yet not in the Houfe,
and under the Roof and InjpeBion of Potiphar.
So that the Philofopher's two parallel Places
prove nothing but his want of Care and Judg
ment : But he may be forgiven, for his great
Sin is not over Irapartlality or Exadtnefs, nor
will any fufpedt that his much Learning hath
made him mad. J may add, that as Jofeph was
imprifoned by his Mafter in very great Wrath,
upon 'a Suppofition that he Intended to debauch
his Wife, whoje * Feet they hurt with Fetters, he
was laid in Iron ; 'tis not likely, that if the Prifon
had been Potiphar's own Houfe, andunder hisown
Roof and Infpedtion, he would have permitted
him to be treated In that favourable Manner as
we find he was, or made Sub-Governour in it,
as the Philofopher once and again ftiles him.
+ Gen. xxxix. zz. "1 Ib, 20, 21, * Pf. cv. 18.
And

( ^^72 .)
And tho' he hath quite confounded the Story,
fometimes making Potiphar Governour, and
yet fuppofing another Maftfer or Keeper diftindt
from Potiphar, according to his ufual critical
Exadthfefs ; yet the Account of the Hebrew Hi
ftorian eviddntly fuppofes Potiphar's Houfe and
the State- Prifon to be two different Places, and
Poti^ar'and^ the Keeper of the Prifon two quite
different Perfons ; and this Keeper of the Prifon
to have the intire Irifpedtioh and Jurlfdldllon
over the Prifoners ; and that by virtue of his
fole Authority, he committed to Jofeph's Hand
all his Prifoners, and that for the very famd
Reafons for which Potiphar himfelf firft made
him Overfeer over his own Houfe, ' wa;. Be
caufe the Lord was with him, and that which, he
did tiie Lord made it to profper ||.
From hence I would obferve, that what the
Philofofiher farther affirms canriot be true X.
Here, iays he, in ihe Governour's [Potiphar'j]
own Houfe, or under his Roof and InjpeBion,
Jofeph had the fame Cbmmand and Authority over
the Prifoners, as he had been intrufled with be
fore, in the Houfe and Family at large. There
is no one Circumftance to fupport this Affertion,
for the contrary appears, that he was not In Po*
tiphar's Houfe, nor under his Infpedtion. But
what is more material. It fufficlently obviates
and abfolutely deftroys that bafe-born, infamous
Infinuation \, that during this Confinement in, the
King's Prifon, Jofeph had made up the Matter
II Gen. xxxix. zi, zz, 23. J Page.7, f Page 9. '
' with

, . , _ ( 273 )
hith his old Miftrefs, Fpr If Potiphar's Houfe
and the Prifon ¦were different Places, how
came the Reconciliation to be made ? What, did
my Lord Stewards Lady vifit Jofeph in his Pit ?
Or did they hold a Correfpondence by Letters ?
Or had they their Appointments and Aflignations
at a third Place ? And could all thefe Things be
carried on and mana'g'd without the Steward or
ffie Jaylour's Knowledge. My Philofopher hath
a fertile' Brain and a large Invention j and I
would fain han^e him explain the Manner of
this 'curious Correfpondence, and write the new
and entertaining Hifiory of Jofeph* J Amour with
the Lady of my Lord Steward o/" Pharaoh King
of Egypt, I am fure let him write what he
will upon the Subjedt, 'twill be as good and true
arid authentick Hiftoryi as moft that he hath
|vritten of the Jewiffi Patriarchs and People, ,
' However * during this Imprifonment;, Jofeph'
wrought himfelf as much into the Favour bf the
Keeper or Mafter of the Prifon, as he had before
in the Family at large ; for the Keeper of the Pri
fon committed the whole Charge of all the Pri
foners to Jofeph, without taking any farther Care
or Cognizance of them himfelf. Jofeph's Beha
viour in his Confinement ¦ and probably the Jay
lour's being perfuaded of his Innocence, might,
firft occafion him the friendly Treatment of
ills Keeper. Jofeph's Charadter was quite dif
ferent from thofe of common Prifoners, . He
feared God, he was of great Modefty and Cha-
* Page 7. _ ^ .,
T ftity^

( 274 ) _
ftlty, and by his whole Behaviour appears to be
a Perfon of excellent Abilities and diftinguifli'd
Senfe : QaaUfications, that muft neceffarily form
him Into a quite different Condudt from that bf
ordinary Prifoners, and could not but make him
taken notice of by his Keeper, If he was a Per
fon of any Obfervation and Humanity, And if
Jofeph wrought himfelf into the Keeper's Fa
vour by thefe Methods, 'tis to his Commenda
tion and Honour. I defy this Philofopher to
give any Shadow of Proof that It was by any
other Means.
He Indeed with his ufual Piety and Candour
tells us, that * this young Hebrew Politician had
always Fortune on his Side, that he was the Fa
vourite of Fortune, and that -j- he providentially
fucceeded as a bold Adventurer for Wealth and
Dominion : Doth the Philofopher think that
Providence and Fortune are fynonymous Terms ?
If not, then if he fucceeded by Fortune, 'twas
not by the Providence of God ; if by Providence,
not by Fortune ; and to fucceed providentially
by a Man's own good Fortune, is a Myftery ih
Divinity, for which the World is obliged to
this judicious Philofopher. The Hiftorian tells
us, 'twas by_ the Providence of God ; that + the
Lord was with Jofeph, and fiewed him Mercy,
and gave him Favour in the Sight of the Keeper
of the Prij'on, and the Philofopher will be hard
put to it to prove, that the various Turns of
Jofeph's Condition were intirely owing to Chance
* Page 7. f Page 8. Gen. xxix. 21. and

( 275 )
and Fortune, without any thing of the Interpo-
fal and Condudt of Providence.
There is not one Circumftance hitherto in
Jojeph's Cafe, that in the leaft argues him to be
an Adventurer either for Wealth or Dominon,
as this Writer reproachfully calls hira. An Ad
venturer is a bold Projedtpr, that lays Schemes
and runs Ventures and Hazards for Wealth and
Power. What, did Jofeph fell himfelf, or per
fuade his Brethren to fell hira to the Ij'maelites,
and then influence them to fell him to Potiphar,
in order to make trial of his Fortune in Egypt }
Did he lay the Scheme of his Miftreff^s accuf-
ing him, and projedt his own Imprifonment .?
What an Adventurer this for Power, firft to
lay Projedts for being enflaved, and then to be
corae a Prifoner, in hopes of rifing to become
Sub-governour oi'His y,y\\ Jofeph was the firft
and laft of his Kind, that ever thus adventured
for his future Advanceraent.
The Philofopher indeed fpeaks in high Terras
of this Poft of under Jayl-keeper, and tells us,
that during his being 'n this Office, * he grati
fied his Ambition and thirfi of Power, jb far as
that Station could afi'ord. 'Twas unqueftiona
bly a prodigious Gratification to a Man of an
afpiring, ambitious, covetous Teraper, to a bold
Adventurer for Wealth and Dominion^ to be kept
in a Jayl himfelf for many Years together, as a
Servant to the Governour, and as Turnkey to the
whole Herd oijaylbirds that was under his In-
* Page. 8. T 2 ' fpedlion.

( 17^ )
fpedtion. This the Philofopher, In the Biifkin
Stile calls, * the Great Power and Trufi there
committed to him. One would really Imagine
by this, that he was intrufted with the abfolute
Power of Life and Death over them, and that
he was now In a Poft of high Honour, andex-
tenfive Dominion and Authority, and had a Li-
.berty of doing whatfoever he pleafed with his
Prifoners, without being accountable to the
head Governour : And that he had this Liberty
the Philofopher Infinuates, when he tells us,
¦ -j- that the Keeper of the Prifon comrhitted the whole
Charge of all the Prifoners to Jofeph, without
¦ taking any farther Care or Cognizance of them
himfelf; citing for Proof thofe Words of the
Hiflorian : J The Keeper of the Prifon looked not
to any thing that was under his Hand. But he
ffiould have underftood the Original before he
.pretended to write of the Hebrew Hiftory ; for
the Hiftorian only fays, that the Keeper of the
Prifon did not infpedl nSIKQ b'2 DX, every thing
particularly that was /« Jofeph'.? Hand ; not, that
he infpedted nothing, and took no farther Care
of any thing relating to the Jayl. That the
Keeper did infpedl, and make proper Obferva
tions on Jofeph's Condudt, is evident from the
¦ very Reafon affigned why he did not more par
ticularly concern hirafelf in this Affair : Becaufe
, the Lord was with him, and that which he [Jofeph]
_.did, the Lord made it profper. So that the Go-
,-vernour, tho' he did not inquire into every par-
* Page 9. f Page 7. J Gen. xxxix. Z3. ticular

( ^y>j )
ficular Tranfadtion of Jofeph In reference to his
Charge, yet took fuch Notice as to fee every
thing was managed with Regularity, and fuc
ceeded as his own Heart could wiffi. And I
ffiould imagine ; that this is as much as Is ever
done by the head Governours of Royal Prifons,
and Indeed as rauch as can reafonably be ex
pedted from them.
SECT. IV-
Of Jofeph'j Deliverance from his Imprifonment,
AFter * Jofeph had been for fome confiderable
Time in the King's Prifon, and there in
our Philofopher's pompous Stile, gratified his
Ambition aiid Thirfi of Power, fofar as that Sta
tion coidd afford, there ha'ppened an Incident which
contributed to his farther Advancement, andraif-
ed him to a Degree of Wealth and Power in
Egypt, beyond what his Imagination could ever
have fuggefied, or his utmofi Ambition aimed at :
And yet but in the foregoing Page, -f* his Ambi-
tionwas boundlefs. So that Jofeph's boundlefs Ambi
tion had its Bounds, and he was exalted beyond
the utraoft Bounds of his boundlefs Arabition.
This Is the marvelous Kind of Writing, and fuits
as well a Romance as an Hiftory. This Inci
dent was the Imprifonment of Pharaoh's Butler
and Baker in the fame Prifon as Jofeph was,
'Vs^ho therefore could not belong unacquainted with
* Page 8. t Page 7.
T 3 them..

( ^78 )
them,and who, as the Philofopher affures us, was
a Man of -too much Policy and Penetration not to-
make his own Ufe of it. In this Prifon he tells
us, that thofe State Prifoners were * under the
Sub -governour's Management, and particularly
that the Butler was under the Hebrew Politi
cian's Comma-ad. But the Hebrew Hiftorian fays
diredtly the Contrary, -j- The Captain of the
Guard charged ]ok^h with them, tD~^ Tsyt:"],
and he miniftred to, or ferved them ; the Word
is often ufed to denote menial Services, which
a Servant performs to the Perfon of his Mafter,
and muft be fo underftood in this Place. And
this ffiews, what that great Power and Truft was
that was committed to Jofeph in this J^^yl, how
high the Poft of Honour that was here confer
red on him, and what a prodigious Ol^portunity
he had of gratifying his Arabition and Thirft
of Power. Our Philofopher will have it, that
he was Sub-Governour. But I will have It, that
this is impoffible. For in the firft Place, Sub-
Governours of Royal Prifons dont ufe to live in
Pits and Dungeons. And yet this was Jofeph's
Habitation. Let him fpeak for hirafelf % Here
aljo, fays Jofefh to the Butler, have I done no
thing that they ftiould put me'y\i'2. into this Pit,
or Dungeon. In the next Place, if we may be
allowed to conjedture what his Office in the
Jayl was, fiom the Orders he received with re
fpedt to thefe two Perfons, it could be no higher-
than that of Head Wardour or Turnkey, who
* P.ige 9. 10. t Gen. xl. 4. J Gen, xl. i;- had

( 279 )
had the Immediate Charge of the Prifoner's Per
fons, and was to take Care of thera and provide
for thera during their Confineraent, And tho'
this was an high Favour for one imprifoned as
a Slave and a Criminal, yet It doth not feem
to be any great Gratification to a bold Adven
turer for Wealth and Dominion, and I fancy
our Philofopher would find but little Gratifi
cation ofhis own Ambition, ftiould he at any
Time receive the Honour and Happinefs of fuch
a Kind of Advancement,
'* After thefe State Prifoners had been fome
Time under the Sub-Governour' s Cufiody, they
both happened to dream a Dream in one Night,
which Jofeph interpreted, and the Event hap
pened accordingly, I fliould have been extream
ly glad of fome Philofophical Solution how it
happened that they fliould both dream In one
Night, and how Jofeph happened to interpret
thefe Dreams right, and efpecially how it hap
pened that the Event fo exadtly verified his Solu
tion. But here the Philofopher is quite mute,
and his Learning, Invention and Philofophy can
fuggeft nothing elfe, but that it jb happened. But
whence will he prove that it fb happened^ that
Jofeph -j- engaged the Butler under a folemn Oath
or Promife, tbat as foon as he fijoiild be reftored to
his former Office and Favour with the King, he
fhould mention and recommend him to Pharaoh.
This the Philofopher afferts, and this I affirm
to be a folemn Falfioood, as to any one Intimation
* Page 9, Page 9.
T 4 that

( 28o )
that can be found of It In the Hebrew Hlftorlani,'
or any one Proof that hath been offered by the
Philofopher. Jofeph only made a bare Requefi-
to him, and that with, a Decency and Modefty
to which the Philofopher Is an utter Stranger.
See, Reader, If thou canft find any thing like
an Engageraent under an Oath or Promife in Jo
feph's Addrefs to the Butler. * Think on me
when it fhall be well with thee, and fiew Kindnefs
I pray thee unto me, and make mention of me unto
Pharaoh, and bring me out of this Houfe. -f" For
indeed I was ftolen away out of the. Land of the
Hebrews ; and here alfo have I done nothing that
they fimdd put me into the Dungeon,. If I could
imagine that this Writer had any Knowledge
pf Languages, of which he hath not given one
fingle Ground of Sufpicion in his Writings, I
ffiould think he refers to DJiJ "^ In the four
teenth Verfe, and fuppofes that the Oath, or
Promife was concealed under thofe Particles.
And that I may help hira out a little, I will
inform him that both of them are made ufe of
in Swearing. But this Information will do him
no good. For if there be any thing of an Oath
couched in thera, It was made not by the But
ler, but by Jofeph ; and they fignify, not that
he made the ^xxikex folemnly fwear or promife to
recoraraend him to Pharaoh, as the Philofo
pher fays ; but that Jofeph himfelf* earneftly.
befought, or even adjured the Butler to remem-.
ber him in his Profperity, and procure his Li-
*. Gen. xl. 14. \ I J. berty

( 28l )
berty frora Pharaoh. Nor will it be eafy to
produce out of all the Writings of Antiquity
a finer Paffage, than this before us. The Re
queft is made in the ftrongeft Manner, enforced
with the tendereft Motives, urged with the
greateft Modefty, and hath every Circumftance
in It that could affedl a generous, a grateful or
pompaflionate Mind. I conjure thee think on
me, remember me in thy Profperity, who have
fliewn thee thy certain Reftoratlon to thine Of
fice and Honour, and fiew Kindnefs to me I be-
jeech thee, who have delivered thee from thine
Anxiety by affuring thee of thy Liberty. Make
Mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of
this Houfe-. Thou knoweft the Miferies of this
Cor.iinement, and when enlarged thy felf, men
tion 7m to Pharaoh, and procure for me my Li
ber ..y. i ara In Reality no Slave, hntfiolen away
out cf the hand of the Hebrews, and even fince
I liave been Captive in Egypt have I done
nothing worthy, that they ffjould put me into this
Dungeon. One would imagine by the Philofo
pher's expreffing It, that he obliged the Butler
under an Oath to recommend him to fome Place
pf Honour and Profit under Pharaoh ; for fays
he, he engaged him under a folemn Oath or\Pro-
mife, that he fiould mention and recommend him to
Pharaoh. Recoraraend for what } If he raeans
any thing more than the Procurement ofhis Li
berty, 'tis falfe : For this was the only Favour
that Jofeph requefted of him.
• Well,

( 28a )
Well, * this the Butler promifed ; but it ajter-
wards fiipt his Memory for two Tears; jor what
ever Opinion this Courtier might have of Jpfeph,
whilfi he was in Prifon, and under the Hebrew
Politician's Command, it feems he had no fuch Re
gard to him, or ExpeBations jrom him, as to have
fet him much at Heart. What Proofs Jojeph
had hitherto given of his being fo confummate a
Politician as my Philofopher reprefents hira, no
Man living can tell but he, I think his Poli
ticks, if he had any, had thus far failed him.
His Brethrens Politicks were evidently too hard
for hira, when they fold hira as a Slave, tofpoil
his Drearaing. And our Philofopher feems to
condemn his Politicks In not confenting to de
bauch his Mafter's Wife. For as he afferts Po
tiphar to be an Eunuch, he tells us, 'tis hard to
conceive, fuppofing he had a Wife, how fie could
defile his Bed, or prove jdlj'e to him; and there
fore 'tis as hard to conceive the Prudence of
Jofeph's Politicks, in refufing to gratify her,
fince according to the Philofopher he might
have done it, without her doing any Injury to
her Lord and Hufoand. 'Tis not hard to con
ceive how our Philofopher would have adted had
he been In Jofeph's Cafe, and 'tis certain that
their Morality and Politicks were very different.
Jofeph's Morality was : -f- He refufed, andfaid
unto his Mafter's Wij'e : Behold my Mafter wot-
teth not what is with me in the Houfe, and he
hath committed ail that he hath to my Hand. There
* Page 10, f Gen. xxxix. 8. 9.-
I is

( ^83 )
is none greater in this Hcufe than I: neither
hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, be
caufe thou art his Wife : How then can I do this
great Wickednefs and Sin againft God? And his
Politicks were ; rather to incur the Danger of
a difappointed, luftful, revengeful Woraan's
Rage, and go into Imprifonment and a Dungeon,
than betray his Mafter, or injure his Wife ;
and to both thefe our young Hebrew's Politicks
brought him, from which probably he could ne
ver have been delivered, but by that extraordi
nary Providence which at laft enlarged him.
And as Jofeph's Politicks had hitherto failed
hira, fo 1 can not conceive what ExpeBations
'twas poffible for Pharaoh''^ Butler to have from
him. Jofefh, had now been eleven Years a
Slave in a Foreign Country, and a confiderable
Part of this Time in Jayl, without ever having
been conveifant in Courts, without Property,
Acquaintance, or Intereft, or any fingle Advan
tage that could give him Influence, or' render
hira ferviceable to Pharaoh's Butler ; and there
fore the Philofopher's Oblervation contains no
fuch ffirewd Difcovery, viz. that ¦* the Butler
had no fuch Regard to Jofeph, or ExpeBations
from him, as to have Jet him much at Heart.
True. But if Jofeph had engaged him under
a folemn Oath or promife to recommend him to
Pharaoh, then the Butler ungratefully and per-
iidioufly forgot this Oath or Promife which he
* Page lO.

ought

( 284 )
ought to have reraerabered, whether he had
any Expedtations frora him or not.
But * 'tis probable, fays the Philofopher, /to ¦
this Buder having had an Acquaintance with Jo
feph before, and knowing the enterprifing Genius,
and vafi Ambition of the Man, had refolved never
to have mentioned him, or brought him to Court ;
and that if he dreaded the Confequences of bring
ing fuch a Politician and ambitious Enterprizer
to Court, and feared the Eff'eBs oj his ingratiat
ing himj'elf with the King, the Event fioewed, that
he was not mifiaken in the Man. In the forego
ing Page the Philofopher had obferved, that
what the Butler promifed had fiipt his Memory
for two Years, herein agreeing with the Hebrew
Hiftorian, who tells us : -f- Tet did not the
chiej Butler remember Jofeph, but for gat Um.
But that there may not be one Sentence of Truth
in all his Account of Jofeph, he Immediately
retradls it, and tells nsftis probable that the Butler
had refolved never to mention him, dnd that his never
once thinking ojthe Hebrew, or his Promij'e to him,^
from that Time to this, is hardly credible. So that
he choofes to make the Butler a deliberate,
determin'd, perjur'd, perfidious Wretch, than
candidly afcrlbe the Failure of Performance to
Forgetfulnefs ; and palpably to forget himfelf In
a few Lines, rather than keep to the Account of
the Hiftorian before him. The Reafon he af
figns for this perjured Perfidy hath as little Foun
dation as the Charge itfelf, Jofeph's enterprifing
Page IO. f Gen. xl. 23. Genius^

( 285 )
Genius, his vafi Ambition, his being fuch a Po
litician, and ambitious Enterprifer, his own Dread
of bringing him to Court, ana his Fearof^oie^s
ingratiating himfelf- with the King. For what
Room for Enterprifing, Ambition, and Politicks
in a Slave in a Jayl ? What Apprehenfions ofhis
ever coming to Court, or Connedlion between
that and being delivered from Imprifonment ?
What apparent Poflibility of his ever ingratiat
ing himfelf, or becoming a Favourite with the
King ? What Fear could the Butler entertain
from fo mean a Perfon's Liberty as Jofeph's ?
One would really imagine the Philofopher to be
dreaming and not writing ; or that he was pre
fent in the Jayl with thefe two Prifoners, and
had been Witnefs to Jojeph's Schemes and Pro
jedts ; for of all thefe Things there is not one
Word in the Sacred Hiftory, nor fo much as the
moft diftant Infinuation,
Having thus falfely fixed the Charge of wilfull
Perfidy and Perjury on the poor Butler, he imme
diately brings him in as Apologifing for this his
Fault before Pharaoh. * However to excij} him
felf, and make the befi of the Matter, he now laid
the Blame on his own Memory, and pretended that
ke had never once thought of the Hebrevi^, or his
Promije to him, from tbat Time to this, which is
hardly credible. The Philofopher is as particu
lar in this Apology as tho' the Hiftorian had re
lated it, or as tho' he himfelf had adtually ftood
by and heard it. But can the Reader imagine

Page I o.

that

( 286 )
that the Whole of It is Invention, coined out ofhis
own Brain, without the leaft Authority in the
World to fupport It ? Where doth he find this
Pretence of the Butler, that he never once thought
of the Hebrew, or his Promije to him, from that
Time to this ? Or his excufing hirnfelf, by laying
the Blame on his Memory ? He doth indeed fay
to Pharaoh : I do remember my Faults this Day.
What Faults ? What his forgetting his Oath and
Promife to Jofeph .? Ridiculous. What Need
of an Apology for this to Pharaoh, when he
knew no more of Jofeph, than he did of this
Philofopher. The Butler hirafelf beft explains
his own Meaning. * 1 do remember my Faults
this Day. Pharaoh was wroth with his Servant,
and put me in Ward in the Captain of the Guards
Houfe, both me and the chief Baker. Nor was
it well poffible for hira, with any Decency or
Propriety, to introduce what paffed between
thera Dnd JoJ'eph in thfe Prifon, without fome
fuch Mention ofhis Offences, which Pharaoh
had gracioufly forgiven according to Jofeph's In
terpretation. The Butler's Faults therefore,
which he remembred, were thofe he had com
mitted againft Pharaoh ; and not thofe which
he had been guilty of againft Jofeph, in his for
getting his Oath and Promife to hira, which the
Philofopher tells us, 'tis hardly credible he did.
And yet in the very Beginning of this -j- Page,
he gives this as the Reafon to ffiew the Probabi
lity why his Oath or Promife might have flipt his
* Gen. xli. 9. 10. f Page 10.
Memo-

( 287 )
Memory for two Years ; for, fays he, whatever
Opinion this Courtier might have of '^oie^h, whilfl
he was in Prifon, and under the Hebrew Poli
ticians Command, it feems he had no fuch Regard
to him , or Appreherfionsfrom him, as to have fet
him much at Heart. Whence then is it incre
dible, that he ffiould never think of the Hebrew
or his Promife to him, when it feems he had
no ExpeBations from him, nor fet him much at
Heart f Or where is the Improbability, that a
Courtier, reftored to a Station of high Honour,
and Credit, with his Prince, ffiould forget his
Promife to a foreign Slave, that he had little or
no Regard to,or Opinion of.? But the Philofopher
is conftant to himfelf, and his good Manners,
Candour and Charity are ffilning Virtues. And
as he before makes the Butler guilty of a fober,
intentional Perfidy and Perjury, fo here he In
troduces him, as Apologifing for hirafelf before
the King oi Egypt, with a ftudied and deliberate
Lye ; and that contrary to the Faith of the Hif
tory, which he declares he will all along take for
his Guide, which exprefly fays : * Yet did not
the chief Butler remember Jofeph but forgat
him. * Gen. xl. 13,

SECT.

( 288 )
SECT. V.
Of Jofeph'j Advancement.
ALtho' the Buder, as is too frequent wItH
Perfons In Profperity, forgot his Fellov?
Prlfoner, who had foretold him his Liberty and
Reftoratlon, yet Pharaoh's Drearas brought
Jofeph to his Reraembrance, and the Account
he gave of hira introduced him into the King's
Prefence, and abundantly demonftrates that this
Butler had an high Opinion of his Sagacity and
Wifdom, and fecretly hoped, that he raight. be
able to do for Phdrdoh, what all his Magicians
and Wife men could not, viz. interpret his
Dreams; otherwife he would never have men
tioned him to the King, nor put It Into his
Thoughts to have fent for him. 'Tis proba
ble that this Incident recalled to his Mind his
Obligations to Jofeph,afid that Gratitude to him,
as well as Zeal to ferve his Prince, made him
now mention hira. But I think one thing may
be certainly concluded from hence, v'lz. that
the Butler had- no fuch Dread of Jofeph's Po
liticks, Enterprlfes and AmbltlPn, as the Phi
lofopher fuggefts ; for If he had, no Confide-
ratlons would, I believe, have prevailed with him
to have fpoken of hira to the Kirig with fo much
Honour, and In fuch a Juridture of Affairs, as
muft neceflarlly occafion his being brought tP
Court, and procure him Pharaoh's Favours, ifj
2 as

( 289 )
as the Butler apprehended, he ffiould find out
the Solution of his Dream. And the Matter
happened accordingly, for having interpreted the
Dreams, the Confequence was, his being .fet
over all the Land of Egypt, which the Philo- -
fopher thus learnedly reprefents.
'* And now the Hebrew Prophet and Politi-
clan had at once the whole Poiver, Force and
DireBion of the Kingdom fut into his Hands'l
And again : Here it is evident, that Pharaoh
had dive fied hirnfelf of all Regal Autor ity, and re
tained only the ISlame and Title of King ; for he
had put the whole Force of the Kingdom, and the
Nomination of all Offices and Places of Profit^
Power nnd Trufi, into Jofeph'.? Hand; and now
the while Land was in the Power and at the
full Difpofal of an Hebrew Stranger, who a few
Tears before, had been fold into the Country as a
Slave. And again : -f- Jofeph thus made him
felf Mafter of Egypt. A^id again : + We have
feen Jofeph fecured in the whole Management of
the Government, and put into Poffeffion of the
whole military Force of the Kingdom. And to
prove this, he cites feveral Paffages from the
Hebrew Hiftorian. j| Thou fioalt, fays Pharaoh,
be over my Houfe, and according unto thy Word
fiall all my People be ruled ; the Philofopher
more \eaxmdi,yj^^ thy Wordfiallallmy People
be armed. Only on the Throne will I be greater
than thou. And Fhaxaoh faid unto Jofeph : Be-
* Page 12. t Page 14.
T Page 17. II Gen. xli. 41. Sec.
U hold

'(290)
hold I have fet thee over all the Land of Egypt — "
And Vhaxaoh faid unto Jofeph : 1 am Pharaoh : :
And without thee fiall no Man lift up his Hand
or ^ootin all the Land of Egypt. . From thefe
Paffages our Philofopher draws the following
Inferences. I. That Pharaoh had divefted himfelf of all.
Regal Autority, and retained only the Name
and Tide of King.
2. That he put the whole Military Force of
the Kingdom iritq his Hand.
3. That he had given him the Nomination
of all Offices and Places of Profit, Power and
Truft, and that the whole Land was In his
Power, and at his full Difpofal.
I. He tells us, * 'tis evident, that Pharaoh jj
had divefied himfelf of all Regal Autority, and re
tained only the Name and Title of King. But
whence is this fo extreamly evident ? Had he
been a Man of any Reading or Learning, I
ffiould have Imagined he had taken this Obfer
vation from -|- Philo, who fays, " that Pha-
" raoh appointed him Viceroy, or rather, to
"fpeak the Truth, King; leaving to himfelf
" the Name of Empire, but in Reality yielding
" the Government to him, and doing whatever
" he cpuld In Honour to the young Man. "
But Philo's Encomiums are often ftretched, and
* Page IZ.
f s/t' tuiTov TW ^affH^ilaf Ka^tTWi S'tct,^e-)(oy, [laXKov J*', u
•}jn T'aAH^sf ifjruv, /Srtff/Ae*, to fxec ovofj^A tm? tip0ii wiroMifo-
!- siioi avTa, T»( J^'iv ifyoii nyiiMvim m^ni iKuva, ncu TeihM
¦jr^ctTTUv, 07(1 tTf TifJOi TV vtetviit. Phil, de jofeph. p. his

( 291 )
his Accounts enlarged beyond the Truth by
a warm Imagination,, as every one knows who
is acquainted with that Author. I think the
contrary to this is clearly evident, both, from
Pharaoh's Words and Adtlons, and from the
Nature of the Thing. Pharaoh exprefly fays :
Only on the Throne will I be greater than thou :
Or as 'tis In the Original Hebrew, ND^il p1> only
as to the Throne, i. e, as the Word * frequently
..fignifies, the Royal Autority, Power, and Ma
jefty, the Exercife of all properly regal Adts,
/ will be greater than thou. I retain my Royal,
my Supream Power and Dignity. Here I ad
mit of no Sharer, Again : Pharaoh made him
to ride in the fecond Chariot thaf he had, referving
to himfelf the State and Dignity of a King, , aftd
the proper Enfignsof Majefty, as well as the
Narae and Title of King. And accordingly the
People of Egypt, feveral Years after this Gpm-
miffion to Jofeph, looked on Pharaoh as really
and not only nominally King. For when the
Land of E^//* was famiffied, the People cried to
Pharaoh iox Bread, and 'twas Pharaoh's Order :
•f Go unto Jofeph. What he faith to you do ? It
was Pharaoh's Command, that Jofeph ffiould
fend Into Canaan for his Father and his Houfe
hold, and provide Carriages to bring them into
„ the Land of Egypt. % Now thou art commanded,
this do ye. And ]oieiph gave them Waggons ac
cording to the Commandment of Pharaoh, Their
* See Pfalm 8g. 29. 36  94. zo. f Gen, xli. 55.
xlvi. 31, &c. X Gen, xlv. 19.
U 2 Main-

( 292 )
¦ Maintenance In Egypt was Pharaoh's Genero-
fity and Grant. * Iwill give you the Good of
the Land of Egypt, and ye fhall eat the Fat of the
Land — --Regard not your Stuff, for the Good of
" all the Land of Egypt is yours. Jofeph's Ac-
- qualnting Pharaoh with the coming of his Fa-
' ther and Brethren, the Caution he advifed thera
' to ufe at their firft Appearance before him, and
the Ceremony of prefenting them in the Royal
-Prefence, to know the Pleafure of the King con
cerning, them, plainly intimates Pharaoh's fupe
riour State and Autority, The Setdement of
Jacob and his Family in the Land of Goffoen
i was by Pharaoh's fpecial Permiffion and Order,
¦f- The Land of Egypt is before thee. In the beft
- of the Land make thy Father and Brethren to
'^ dwell, in the Land of Goihen let them dwell. Jnd
'Jofeph placed his Father and his Brethren and
-'gave them a Pofieffion in the Land of Egypt as
"' Pharaoh had commanded. When Jofiph had ga
thered up the Money that was found In Egypt
' and In Canaan, for the Corn which they bought,
he acknowledged himfelf accountable to Pha-
'^-'raoh for it as his Lord and King, and accordlrig-
^ ly brought it into his Treafury, + ]oieph brought
~ the Money into Pharaoh's Houfe. It was Ph'a-
'J raoh, and riot jofeph, that excepted the Lands of
» the Priefts or Princes from the common Sale,
- and fed them during the Famine from the Pub- .
- lick Stores, Only the Land of the Priefis,, or
.Princes, bought he [Jofeph J not ; for the Priefts
* V. 1 8, 20. t Gen. xlvii. 6. n. J xlvii, 14, or

( 295 )
or Princes had a Portion affigned them o/" Pharaoh :
IWherefbre they fold not their Lands. When Jo
feph took the Refignation that the People made
of themfelves and their Lands, he tells them :
I * Behold I have bought you this Day and your
'''Land for Pharaoh ; and their Acknowledgraent
1 was : -f- Thou hafi faved our Lives, and we will be
iPharaoh'.5 Servants; a Deraonftratlon, that how
f much foever they knew themfelves beholden to
Jofeph's Care, they knew as well that the So- '
vereinty remained in Pharaoh. When Jofeph
had refolved to attend his Father's Funeral into
:; Canaan, he fpoke unto the Houfe of Pharaoh,
\ faying : '^ If now I have found Grace in your
Eyes, fpeak I pray you in the Ears of, Pharaoh,
i fryl^S — -^^^ ^^ &^ ^P Ip^'^y thee, and bury nry
'Father, and Iwill come again. And Pharaoh
faid: Go up and bury thy Father: But If Jofeph
had been poffeffed of all ffie Power of Egypt,
and Pharaoh had been no more than a nomi
nal King, would Jofeph have applied to the
Houfe of Pharaoh, or wanted their Interceffion
' to obtain a Grant, for what he could have
forced Pharaoh and them to have allowed him ?
There Is not indeed one fingle Inftance In the
whole Hiftory to prove, that Pharaoh divefted
himfelf of all, or any of the Regal Autority.
The Suppofition Itfelf is monftrous, that a King
ffiould refign" his Power into the Hands of his
Minlfter, fo as to become dependant on him ;
and Pharaoh's Referve, Only as to the Throne will
* Gen. xlvii. Z3. f v. z;. J 1. 4. &c,
V3 i

( 294 )
Ibe greater than thou. Is a Demonftration of the
Falffiood of It, Jofeph doth Indeed feem to
have been conftituted Superlntendant, as to the
Affair of gathering In the Corn, over the whole
Kingdom ; and was the head Officer over Pha
raoh's Houfehold. Thou fialt be over my Houfe,
and according unto thy Word fiall all my People
be ruled, i. e. the People of my Houfehold, the'
* Word OJ? being frequently reftrained to a
fmall Nuraber of Perfons, But the fupream
Power was ftill In Pharaoh ; and as all Princes
muft adt by their Minlfters, Pharaoh's adting
hy Jofeph in this Inftance, was not diverting
himfelf of any Regal Autority, and retaining
only the Name of King, but retaining the Regal
Autority and Power with the Name ; vvhilft
Jofeph was only Manager for and under Pha
raoh, to whom he was in all Things account
able, and without whofe fpecial Orders he doth
not feem to have adted, either in the Setdement
ofhis own Family, the Management of Afiairs
during the Famine, or In any confiderable Tranf
adtion whatfoever,
2. The next Thing Is, that Vh^xaoh put the
whole Force of his Kingdom into Jofeph's Hand.
And In order to prove this, he hath difcovcred
all his critical Skill, and given a Sample of his
profound Knowledge In the Languages. For
* Porro vocis Dj? ufus admodum liber eft. Multitudlnem
rotat, vel formacam, vel fine forma, armatam, inermem, imo
epulantera, adeoque non magnam, ut Reg. iv. 41, 42, 43.
Guffet, in voce ODJ?. what

( 295 ) '
what In our Tranflation runs : According unto
thy Word fiall all my People be ruled : He renders :
And at thy Word fiall all my People be armed ;
having with great Acutenefs and Depth of
Learning obferved in the Margin thefe Words :
Heb. be armed: Abare Hintisenough for a great
Genius to draw furprifing Difcoveries from ; and
accordingly on the FoundatMn of this margi
nal Autority, he pofitively affirms, as tho' it
were a thing paft all Difpute, that Yhaxaoh put
the whole military Force ofhis Kingdom into Jo
feph 'j Hands.
QuantUs, quantus, nihil nifi Sapientia eft !
One would Indeed have expedted, that this Cri
ticifra ffiould have been confirraed, and ffie
Senfe he hath affixed to the Word ffiould have
been fupported by him by fome parallel Place,
or fome proper Remark upon the Nature and
Ufe of the Word. But here his Skill and Ta
lents fail him, 'Tis enough for a Man of fuch a
CharaBer for learning to affirm. Let others
prove, 'tis too great a Condefcenfion in this Phi
lofopher to attempt it.
However, with due Submiffion I conceive,
that the Philofopher and his learned Author
the Margin, are both of them miftaken, in
affixing the Senfe of armed to this Word. For
there is not one fingle Place in the old Tefta
ment, in which pji>l in the Form in which it
ftands in Pharaoh's Order, p{j>>, is ever pre
tended to have the Signification of arming, and
U 4 but

( 296 )
but three Places where any Interpreters have
taken it, in any Form, in this Senfe ; and In
thofe three 'tis never ufed fimply, but with the
Addition of nwp the Bow. So that tho' In
thefe three Places it ffiould be allowed to be
ufed in this military Senfe, becaufe of the Word
joined with It, yet to affix the fame Senfe to It
in the Place before us, where no fuch Word is
annexed. Is perfedtly unreafonable, efpecially if
any other proper Senfe can be found to agree
to it. Even the Learned Guftetius, tho' he af
firms, that the Word Is evidently ufed in the
Senfe of Arming in two of thefe Places, viz.
I Chron. xii. 2. 2, Chron. xvii. 17, and that It
particularly fignifies /^^ »2///V^ry Habit, rather
than the Adt of Fighting ; and is inclined to
afxix the fame Signification to the third Place,
viz, Pf. Ixxviii, 9, yet interprets this Paffage
in Genefis, not oi Arming, but of Kiffing.
The Judgment of this able Critick I pay a
juft Regard to, but yet cannot help differing from
hira, as to each of the three Places. The
Words are in all of them nt^'p 'ptJ^J, which, if
we render them, armed with the Bow, are plain
ly defedlive, and want the Prefix n to compleat
the Senfe. Befides the Participle 'pti^^ Is Bemni
in Kal, and can never be proved to have a Paf-
five Signification ; and if the Senfe oi Arminghe
here intended, the Rendring muft be, not, arm
ed with the Bow, but arming the Bow and
Shield, which I leave the Philofopher to make
good Senfe of at his leifure. Farther, neither
I the

( 297 )
the LXX, nor Vulgate, nor any of the ancient
Verfions have rendred »p!J>i In any of the three
Places by armed. Pf. Ixxix. 9. 'tis rendred by
the LXX, evTswovTEf toEov. By the Vulgate, in
tendentes Arcum, and by the other Verfions in
a like Manner ; and as 'tis joined with ?di*), mit-
tentes, jacientes, throwing or ffiooting, it feems
to determine the Senfe, to that of handling,
.firetching or bending ; fince the Bow muft be
firft bent, before the Arrow can be ffiot out
of it. pti'i amongii the Arabians iigxni^es, Or-
dinavit, rem difpofuit, to order, and rightly dif-
pofe oi any thing, and the Original Hebrew
Word 'pZ'J, may therefore accordingly fignify
fuch as handle the Bow. Or what I rather think,
it retains the proper and ufual Senfe of Kiffing ;
it being impoffible for any one to draw a Bow
with full Strength of Arm, but he muft kifs
or touch his Face with the String of it. And
therefore nti^p 'pti'J. are Men, * mighty Men,
Helpers of the War, that kifs the Bow, or who fo
bend or draw the String of It, as to touch, or
kifs their Faces with It. And In this Senfe of
Kiffing, or in one fimilar to it, the Word is in
variably ufed in the Old Teftament ; and is fo
unqueftionably In the Place under Confideration.
'DJ^ ^'2 pB'^ "J'fl Wl' t^nd on thy Face, or, at thy
Wordfiallallmy People Kifs.
In the Eaflern Nations, the Kifs was a To
ken of Refpedt and Honour paid to great Per
fons by their Inferiors, -f* Kifs the Son lefi he
^* I Chron. xii. 2, f Pf. ii, 12. be

(, 298 )
be angry. When Samuel had anointed Saul King
oiljrpiel; he kiffed him as a Token of Homage,
exprefly declaring : * Is it not becaufe the Lord
hath anointed thee to be Captain over his Inheri-}
tance '^ When Mofes went out to meet his Fa
ther-in-Law, 'tis faid -f- he did Obeifance' and
kiffed him. And when Judas came to betray
our bleffed Saviour, % 'twas with rhe Treachery
of- a Kifs; as tho' he came to fliew his Affec
tion, and do him Reverence. In like Manner/
wheri the || Perfians met each other, the Comr
phraent between them was a Kifs on the Mouthy
if Equals ; and if one was a little Inferiour to
the other, he kiffed the Cheek of his Superiour.
Nor was this Cuftom of kiffing In Token of
Reverence wholly unknown to the Ancient
Greeks. When ** Eumceus firft faw Telemachiis
after his long Abfence, he ran to meet him,
and kiffed his Head, both his Eyes, and his
Hands. Tranjported from his Seat Enxnxnsff rung,
Dropt his full Bowl, and round his Bofom hung,
Itlffing his Cheek, his Hand, while from his Eye
The Tears rain'd copious in a Show'r of Joy . Pope.
* I Sam. X. I. f Exod. xviii. 7.
X Matt. xxvi. 49.
H O/ svyTvyy^oyTii J'^af^Kithourt iv twi oS'oiai.Ta^i <a tk
J^ntyvom no[ji,oioitiffi oiiVTvyx^-vovTii. AyTty»p th 'jrfojetytk',
fiViiV fllA^HABJ (flKiVS'l TOKTI ^oyMTl. He S'^ M tiTifOi VirtJ'ilfiPOf
ohjyu, Teti <!ra,(iMi ^thiovTAt. Herod. Cii. c. 134. 'Vid. Lucian,
in-Nigrin. p. 3z.
** Kvtrai i'l luv mifa^w ts km nfifa (fetio, iutha,,
XtifOK T'<e^ipoT«f « — — Hom. OdyflT. t. v. ij. j^.
And

( 299 )
And when after this the young Hero arrived at
his Palace, * the Servants embraced him, and
kiffed his Head and his Shoulders ; upon which
Places Euflathius obferves, the kiffing the Head
and Shoulders was the proper Salute of a Ser
vant or Slave, but that Iciffing the Head and
Eyes was proper to thofe who were related by
Blood, or looked on as fo related. Yea the Kifs
implied more in Ancient times than more civil
Adoration and Refpedt, and was a Token of
Religious Worffiip and Homage : God tells
Elijah he had -f- feven Thoufand in Iixae\, that had
not bowed the knee to, nor kiffed Baal. And the
Men of :|: Ephraim faid one to another, whilft
they were facrificing a Man : ^ Let them kifs the
Calves. And as the Kifs was thus a Token of
of great Refpedt and Submiffion, || hence the
Word comes to fignify that very Submiffion and
Obedience of which the Salute was the Evi
dence. And thus the Paffage In Difpute is ren
dred by the LXX, Et* tm e;o\i.ctTi 0-8 vicunsfferut.
•Xlii 0 huos. My People fhall obey thy Mouth or Com
mand. The Vulgate : Ad tui oris imperium cunc-
tus populus obediet. In like Manner the ancient
* A[iaAi OAiffatioi Ttthturiippwoi nytpi&ovTo,
Kecj Kvvioy etyetira^oniVM it,i(feth»v Ti KM a/jiisf. Id. OdylT.
p. V. 34. 35.
Kat sr/ J'vhiKov to ^iM^ tkto. nitceAowi) J^5 iwat [juv xs^eJAac
Ti Kcti a,iJL(pa <fcuia.iM.hii.. K«* Evuaioi i't fpoTO.VT'M o\i.oiaq, ui
"oMTieaJ'shifoi. Euftat. in loe. p. 181 1. 1. 18. Vid. & eund. in
Odyff. T. t/. 15. 16. p. lygz. I. 28. &c. Edit. Roman. Vid.
Lipfii Eleft. lib. z. c. 6.
+ I King. xix. 18. J Hos. xiii. 2.
II Hebrsei, juxta liogux fu£ proprietatem, deofculationem pro
veneratione ponunt. Hieron. advcrs. Ruffin. 1. j. p. 237.
I Ver-

- 0 300 )
Verfions and. //6^ Targum oi Onkelos. So that
the'tlue Meaning of the Place is : And all my
Piqple fhafi be obedient to thy Word, or Com
mand ; and thns-fjofeph himfelf explains It ! God
h'dthmade me Lord of all Pharaoh' j Houfe, and a
Ruler throughout the Land of Egypt.
That Pharaoh ffiould put the whole Force of
his Kingdora into a young Man's Hands, who
was an Intire Stranger to the Nation, wholly
unexperienced In Mihtary Affairs, and who had
f^ent fo many Years In a clofe Confinement In
a Jayl, is the moft incredible Suppofition, and
hath not one fingle Circumftance to render It
fo much as probable. The Truth Is, that Jo
feph feems only to be advanced fo far as to be
Chief over Pharaoh's Houfe, and the fupream
DIrfedlor In the Affair of the Corn, throughout
the whole Land oi Egypt ; fo that.wo Man could
ifi up Hand or Foot, I. e. In the leaft oppofe
h'ltn, or do any thing In thefe x^ffalrs, but under
^o/'^/»/6's Diredtion, and without his Leave. And .
accordingly when Jofeph went out from Pha
raoh, he went throughout all the Land of Egypt,
gathering up the Food, and treafuring It In the
Cities ; and in the Years of Famine he diftrl-
buted it out to the People, according to Pha
raoh's exprefs Command. Unqueftionably this
gave him great Autority throughout all the
Country, and was a Station both of Honour and
Influence; and therefore j^^/^/ty?; fpeaking of
himfelf to his Brethren, fays : * Goa bath made
* Gen. Ixv. 8. me

( 30I )
mea Father to Pharaoh, i. e. chief Diredtor under
Pharaoh of the Royal Houffiold, or as the likb Ex
preffion is explained In the Apocryphal £/?Mfd^
he wascalledour Father, and continually honour^sLof
all Men, as thenextPerjbn untothe iKing; andcda-
&.'ituted a Ruler throughout all the LandofE^pt;
becaufe he had Autority to take up the fifth Payt&f
the Corn throughoutall the Provinces of the King
dom, which he could not have done, unlefeohe
had been vefted with the Royal Autority. A4d
agreeably -f Jofephus gives this very Aceoiiiit
of the Patriarch's Advancement: " Phamoh
' ' admiring Jofeph, both for his Interpretation
" of thePream, and the Advice he had givfeti
" him, committed to him the Management of
" the Affair, -as fuppofing that he who had ad-
" vifed the Method, would, be the beft Direc-
" tor of It, " And this Is perfedtly fuitables-to
the Counfel given hy Jofeph hixnieii to Phambhn
+ Let Pharaoh provide a Man of Underftanding
and Wifdom, and fet him over the Land ^E^pti;
viz. for the Purpofe of taking up the fifth dPart
of the Land of E^/*/ In the feven plentecMUs
Years ; for to this was his Advice abfolutiy edil-
fined, nor can any candid Interpreter under
ftand It otherwife. ¦ :.-{
.itliiV
* Efther 16. II,
* ?rtpeta^Mj (Ts ayuipoTipay S'M^ffdf laovrov, tW TiKpifiui
TH ovetpoTOf. Keii 71)5 ffU(/^»A<etf , avTa tmc omovo^icty irApa.i'ii'^itl-'
Toc s^ivpovTct TW TK irptty t^tt\oi otToc x*/ •jrpoTttTW api^ov ai/fn^
vmhA^ay yinsi^ai. Jofefh. Antiq. 1. 2. c. 5. §. 3. .-. "t =
X Gen, 41. 33- I

( 302 )
I think therefore I may upon the whole con
clude, that the Philofopher's Affertion, that Jo
feph was put into Poffeffion of the whole Mili-
\tary Force of the Kingdom, isa mere unground-
-ed Affertion of his own, improbable in its Na
ture, and that hath npt one Circumftance In the
Sacred Hiftory to fupport it. I would only
mentionfartheron this Article, that In all the
Account that the Sacred Hiftorian gives us of
Jofeph's Advancement, there is not one fingle
: Word made Ufe of, that hath any proper and
peculiar Relation to the Military Power. He is
tiiot once called 1J1> or Captain. 'The higheft 'TI-
:tles that are given him, are ^Ttn Lord, ''^^D Go
vernour, Woxds of Refpedt, and that denote ci
vil Power, and which are frequently applied to
¦Perfons, whofe Autority is fubordlnate, and ex
treamly limited and dependent; and which
r'when given to Jofeph carry not the leaft Inti
mation of any military Power conferred on hira,
much lefs of his being invefted with the whole:
^3. His third Obfervation on this Article Is,
that Pharaoh gave him the Nomination of all
-Offices and Places of Profit, Power and Truft;
¦^li Affertion, that like the reft of his Account,
hath nothing but his own Imagination and In
vention to fupport It. This is a Power that the
moft arbitrary Prime Minijiers are not intrufted
with, nor is thexe any one Expreffion^ from
whence it can becolfeaed that Jofeph h^d it.
'Twas a Power, that in his Circumftances, he
could not poffibly exercife, had it been conferred on

( 3^y )
on him ; for he was an utter Stranger in JS^]^4
and wholly unacquainted either with the 'Nobi
lity or Priefts. He had neither Friends nof Re
lations, who could alk Places for themfelves, or
-diredt him to proper Perfons on whom to. he-
flow them. His very Employment,, as chief
-.t^iredtor in laying up the Corn, was Inconfiftent
with fuch a 'Truft; the Nature of the Office oblig
ing hixn yearly to travail through the'whol'&Coun-
try, to fee that' the Fifth was duly colledted,
and carefully depofited in the Granaries of the
refpedtive Cities of Egypt. Nor Is there any one
Inftance that the Philofopher can produce, of
any fingle Place of Profit or Truft tieftowedby
[Jojeph, during his whole •Adrhlniftration, ori his
Family, or any Perfon vs^hatfoever. 'Yea the
contrary appears, that he had not this Power
¦vefted in hira. Above nine Years after his Ad
vanceraent, towards the Beginning of the. Fa
mine, when his Intereft muft have been higheft,
he had not Power to raife his own Brethren to
any confiderable Pofts, and it was Pharaoh .who
exprefly commanded him, that if he * knew any
Man of ABivity amongfi them, that he fimuldmdke
them Rulers over his Cattle : An evident Demon.-
ftratlon, thatthe Noraination to Offices of great
er Dignity and, Importance was referved to Pha
raoh, who nominated even his chief Herdfmen
and Shepherds, and that Jpfeph's Power- was
extreamly limited, who thus needed Pharaoh's
Leave and Commlffion to place his Brethren in
* Gen. Ixvii. 6, thefe

(' 304 )
thefe- inferiour Pofts. Yea the very under Offi
cers, that were appointed to colledl and gatheir
in the Corn, fubjedt to j^o/f/^, were of PharaohS
Nomination. Thus Jofeph advlfes. * Provide
a Man of Underftanding andWiJdom, and fet him
over' the Land of. Egypt, Let Pharaoh appoirlt
Officers over the Land f and take up the fifth Part
of the Land of Egypt.: Jlnd the thing was good
in the Eyes of 'Phaxac^ and all his Servants, i. e.
jofeph's advice was complied with ; and Indeed
'ty^as impoffible j^o/^/i^ himfelf could provide fuch
Officers in the Cities oi Egypt, being an abfolute
Stranger there, but under the Diredtion, and by
the Advice of others. So that the Philofopher's
whole Account of P^^rao^'s unkinging hirafelf,
and putting all the civil and military Power into
Jofeph's Hands, Is neither countenanced by the
Hebrew Hiftorian, nor probable in itfelf; and
his Conclufion, that -|- now the whole Land
was in the Power and at the full Difpofiil of dn
Hebrew Stranger, who a jew Tears before had
been jold into the Country as a Slave, and that his
Commlffion was unlimited. Is without all Founda
tion. '"^ I might obferve, that though he here afferts
that Jofeph was fold into the Country as a Slave
a few Tears before, yet he elfewhere tells us,
that Jofeph muft have :|: probably continued Sub-
Governour of the King's Prifon for fome Courfe
of Tears : for when he was fold into Egypt, he
* Gen. xli. 33, 34, 37. f Page iz.
X Page 7. «'<;

' ( 3^5 )
was but an Touth, or a Lad, but when he was fent
for to Court by Pharaoh, he was thirty Tears old.
The Philofopher may probably reconcile this,
and make a Courfe of Years and a few Years juft
the fame ; for he can do many Things that no
Man In the World can do befides himfelf. But
whether a few, or a courfe of Years, I will in
form hira pretty exadtly how many they were.
For Jofeph was about feventeen Years old when
he was fold into Eg;ypt, and thirty when he ftood
before Pharaoh. * So that ifneiefew Tears were
a Courfe of Years of about twelve or thirteen
Years. SECT. VI.
Of]oiephiS ConduB in bis Miniftry.
THE Philofopher tells us, tliat ^Jofeph
having received this unlimited Commiffion,
appointed his own Officers. . And yet but two
Pa'ges before, this fame Philofopher informs us,
that under this Jupream InJpeBor, ihe King was to'
appoint Officers to gather in the Produce. So that
the King appointed Jofeph's Officers under him,,
and yet Jofeph appointed them under himfelf
without the King. This is in the Marvellous
'Taft. That the King appointed them Is by far
the more probable ; for Jofeph's Advice to Pha
raoh was : Let \ Pharaoh appoint Officers over
the Land ; nor is It well poffible that Jofeph
eould do It hirafelf, who was abfolutely unac
quainted with the Cities and Towns of Egypt.,
* Gen. xxvii. z. xli. 46. f Page 13. % Gen, xli. 34.
X and

( i°(> y
and wliO v/ere the propereft Perfons to entruft
with fuch an Affair, And if it was poffible,
and he had adtutilly appointed his own Officers,
yet this would not have put the Land of Egypt
into his Power ; becaufe as none of his own Fa
mily was then In Egypt, he could not conftltute
any of them his _ Officers, and therefore muft
have employed the Egyptians therafelves, , and
fuch of them too, if he was a Man of common
Prudence, as would be moft acceptable to Pha
raoh, his Court, and the Egyptian People, So
that Egypt was ftill in the Power of the Egyp
tians, unlefs the Philofopher is of Opinion, that
Jofeph opened ffie Doors of the Jayl, where he
was before confined, and brought out the Pri
foners, and conftituted thera his under Officers
throughout all Egypt. For Jofeph could have
no great Number of Acquaintance there, befides
thefe. And this Is a Point which I will not dif
pute with him.
After this we are told, that * Jofeph fettled
St ore -houfes and Magazines for Corn in every
City, and that 'tis evident that there was a Ne
ceffity to fortify and garifon the Towns wnd' Cities
where the Corn was kept, arid fecured in the King's
Magazines and Granaries : And that this per hef s >
is the firft Inftance of any fuch Fortfeffes and
ftrong Holds, as it is the firfi Inftance upon Re
cord of any fiich abfolute and arbitrary Poiver.
The Perhaps here comes in extreamly feafon-
able, for the whole of all this hath nothing but
* Page 13. 14. 2 the

( io7 )
jthe 'Phiioiophex's perhaps to fupport It, The fame
Reafons ffiat originally engaged Mankind to build
GIties, viz. their common Security, would lead
them alfo In fomeJVIeafure to guard and fortify
them. A Philofopher, || as remarkablein his Time
for Learning and good Senfe as our Modern ,one
can be, tells us, that in the early Ages after the
Flood, when Men began to build larger Cities,
they encorapaffed tfiera round with Enclofures
made of Thorns, or the Securities of Walls, to
guard themfelves from wild Beafts. Another and
that no contemptible |j || Writer afcrlbes the Rife
of Towers and Gates to the fame Inftindt im
planted In Men by the coraraon Creator, that
led them to provide for their own and the com
mon Safety ; and there is no Reafon to imagine,
that the Egyptians, who were always accounted a
very wife People, would ever fufter their prin-
cij^l Cities to remain open and expofed to their
-Enemies ; fuch of them efpecially as needed to be
well fortified and fecured ; and 'tis ftupid to iraa-
gine that the Fortification of Towns and Cities
took its rife frora Granaries and Magazines of
'Corn. The Philofopher I doubt not Iraagines this
Conje&ixxe firewdly hit, of, and that he hath made
II TSf /^0A« T£ euiMUTiaS'nt TlVai, TilX'^V ipO^ATtt, Tuy r^npiav
iViUtt, •Ttomv'tAi. Plat, de leg. 1. 2. p. 681.
Ill r  Misndi
Principio indulfit communis conditor illis
Tantum animas, nobis animum quoque, muiuus ut nos
1] Adfefius petere auxilium & prseftare juberet :
Communicare figna tuba,.defendier iifdem,
llTurribus, atque una portarum clave teneri. Juven. Sat. 15. v.
147 &c. Vid. & Horat. Sat. 1. i. Sat. 3. v. 100, i^c.
X 2 the

( 368 )
the firft, the very firft Difcovery of the Original
of this important Science. But we ffiall find that
the very Reafons he afligns for now fortifying the
Towns and Cities oi Egypt, (hew his utter want of
all Reading, and unluckily confute therafelves.'
* Without this Precaution, fays he, it had been
impoffible te have prevented the Egyptians them-^
felves, as well as other Nations, from feizing the
Corn, under fo general a Calamity and fb fevere a
Famine. As to other Nations feizing the Corn,
this is an abfurd Suppofition, if what he fays be
true of the Caufe of the Famine in Egyptiaidng
fo long, viz. Jofeph' J -f firft engroffing and mono
polizing all the Corn, and giving out no more than
was neceffary to fupport Lfe jrom Hcmd to Mouth,
but to let them have no Corn for Seed. If this
was true, the Faraine could reach no farther
than Jofeph's Province and Power, and by con
fequence only to Egypt ; and therefore the neighr
bouring Nations could be under no Tempta^
tion to come down to Egypt to feIze on the
Egyptian Corn, when' they had no Scarcity of
Corn amongft therafelves, Jofeph not being able
to prevent their having Corn for Seed ; and
therefore the Fear of their thus feizing tbe
Corn could never be a' Reafon for Jofeph's for
tifying and garifoning the Towns and Cities, be
caufe he could not poffibly be in any Fear on
this Account,
Befides Egypt was ftrongly fortified by Na
ture againft the Invafion of a Foreign Enemy,
* Page 13- t Page 20. Thus

^ 309 )
Thus Ifo.crafes : * 'Tis furrounded by an Im^
HKwtal Wall, viz. the Nile, which not only na
turally defends it, bat bountifully fupplies it ;
that therefore 'tis not to be taken, nor eafily
conquered by thofe who would furprife it.
Diodorus Siculus: -f Egypt excells all other'
Kingdoms by thePleafaninefs of theCountry, and
by being naturally fecured and fortified, having
on the Weft the Defarts of Lybia, on the South
the Cataradtsof the MZ?,and the high Mountains
of.^?fo'c^/aadjoyningtothera,on the Eaft being
defended partly by the Nile, by Defarts, and the
I^ake S'irbonis, and on the North by the Sea, that
hath no Por is orHavens for Ships. In this manner'
/i Egypt naturally fortified on every Side. Strabo :
% Egypt is very difficult of Accefs, on the Eaftern
Side towards Phenice and Judaea. As to the
Entrance into it from Arabia, the whole Way is
a Defart, and impaffable to an Army. Tacitus ||
calls it a Province difficult of Accefs ; fo that it
could have little to fear from its Neighbours, and
* h^miATco <r« T«;)(^« Ta Ns/Aai TiTmyj<ry.ivw, oi b y.ovov ?!/-
AtfX«r a.}<ha. Kai Tfoifw uavw avTti Tapsj^ai' '^nqtvKir. Ayctharoi
(Jlill ayKcti ifuff(/.axtiToi tou iTTi^^ihiminy Ifoc.Bufir.Laud.p.2?4..
•f- H yttp Aiyv/lcf  oyiifOTYiTi S'iifvatm x,cti ttAKKet '/apM
%%o't,iyw S'oKH "'poi-)(jHV Tav HffittinhiMv eKffiptffiMVav To'wav —
H ^liv AiyvTrfof 'jraMTtt'^o^iv ^vauat a^vpaTat tov eifni^ivov
Tpovov. Died. Sic. 1. 1. p. 26, Z7. At/s-wpoff/Ts "TravTiKat
)s.(n( AiyvTrju. Idem. 1. 15. p. 358.
X Ayo¦s/»¦;Sl!^o? i^iv n AiyoTrloi sx, Tav ea^iyav TO'Trav, Tav kata
^oivimv Kai THC Ix^citity ; kci ix, t»( Aqctfiiai S'i tms Na/3i«-
f^iav—— S'lct, TvTav ger/ tw Aiyuirlov n oS^of  Sf(tjM»J
ttrracTA sr/. Ktti ct,0ciTO( rfeiTOTecTa. Strab. Geog. 1. 17. p. 1 1'55.
iiiif, /Imftel.
\ Provinciam aditu difficilem. Tacit. Hiftor. I. p. 57.
Edit. Bkv- X3 Jofiph^^

( 3IO )
Jofeph'sCoxn would have been fafe enough from
them, without his fortifying all the Cities and
Towns of the Kingdom.
Befides, this Author betrays his intire Igno
rance of the Nature of Egypt, in thus making
the Fortification of the Egyptian Cities take its
rife from thefe Store-houfes and Granaries, and
the Neceffity of keeping and fecuring the Corn
in them. No Man, but a learned Philofopher
of our Author's deep Penetration and Sagacity,
and thorough Skill in the Antiquities and Hifto
ries of Nations, could ever have derived fo Im
portant a Science, as that of Fortification, from
fuch a Caufe, when a natural and more obvious
one was at Hand. Egypt '^ was a flat champion
Country, not originally Part of the Continent,
but of the Sea, and formed gradually by the
Mud left by the Nile after Its Inundation ; on
Avhlch Account 'tis juftly called by Herodotus -j-
the gained Country, and the Gift of tbe River.
And as the Nile + yearly overflowed this Coun
try, and covered the whole Face of it with its
Waters, .their Cities, Towns and Villages were
* Kit^oK'i yap TW vw nffay Aiyv7t]ov hiy^^iriv k X'^?"'^ '^^''¦
5(thcLTJav yiyovivat kcLtcl tw s§ "fX"* "'''' y-o<ry.t (rxj^autv.
UfSfOC ftSKTO/ TB N£(A8 XctT^ TAi AVcL^a(FM TW S» TW Al^^lOVl-
<ii iMiv KATcttpiiavTOf, ix, TK kat'' oKiyov ¦TT^off'/affdnvAi. For this
iveafdn he calls it, j^»f« VAfct, ¦yorof/nspj^as-os. A Country in
tirely heaped up by the River. Diod. Sic. 1. 3. p. 144. And
Ariftotle. XIasa « %«fa tu viota^v wso^airii WA th NriA,».
Meteor. 1. i. c. 14.
t ^¦yriKTmoiyti, iiAtJ^a^ovTismTA^\i. Merod. Euterp. c-j.
X Twf [/.iy ^a^ai am mS'iAj'os, Tav Je iroMoy, kai Tav KCD^lar
ZTifi Tuy ay^olKiay Xflftscai/ iVl xet?omi»Tay ¦xayi.ATav, » irp-
<r84« oiAoia yiyiTAi tai; mjx,KA(nvniroti. JDi'od. Sic. 1, i. p. 33,
built

built upon Hills, thrown up by human Art
and Induftry, and guarded with Mounds of
Earth, to fecure them againft the Overfpread of
the Watfers, into which they brought their Cat
tle to fave them from perifhing, and where all
the Inhabitants of the Country retired, during
the Time of the Nile's Increafe, 'till its Waters
retired again within its Banks. And as thefe |j
Mounds of Earth ferved to keep out the Waters
of the Nile, fo they ferved alfo, and were origi
nally intended, as Securities againft the Invafion
of Eneraies. So that the very Nature of the
Country, and the Neceffity of Self-prefervation,
gave rife to the Fortification of the Cities of
Egypt, and not the poor accidental Circum
ftance of Store-houfes and Granaries.
He thinks it, unqueftionably a very ffirewd
Obfervation, and profound Difcovery, that he
hath found out the firft Inftance of Fortreffes
and ftrong Holds that ever were in the World.
And I will allow him to be a Critical Star of the
firft Magnitude. He never had his Equal, and
I am confident never will have his Fellov^. But
great Criticks have fometimes tbe Misfortune to
be miftaken. Fortifications appear to be miich
older than the Times of Jojeph, and to have
been in Egypt, and other Countries before this.
The * City and Tower of Babel, made with
II FiOVTOf TK NbXbwSJ/ TW WOKIV, KAI KATA TStJ AVA^ACTeit
fTlKKV^OVTOS, AVO (J.ty TuNoTBITT^Off-e/SstASTO %«fX<« WA^^liyi^iS,
!rf Of fjLSv TW <rh>i^a(rty th ffoJa^B, w^o^^'ii^AToi, Wf of cOs Tsf atto
jm ym -TOASfA/K?, AKp'omhiai i'^ay ta^iv. Diod. Sic. 1. i.e. 46.
¦ ' * Gen. ix. 3
X 4 Prick

( 31^ )
Brick, and cemented with Lime, looks very much
iike a Fortrefs. Pelufium or Sin was built fome
hundred Years before Jofeph, and fortified by
the Egyptians for the Security of their own
Country, and to preferve a free Paffage into
Canaan ; It being the only Pafs from Canaan Into
Egypt ; for this Reafon called Abaris, or the
Pafs, from ^2J7- to pafs over, and by the Pro
phet Ezekiel, "{- the Strength o/"Egypt. Indeedal-r
raoft all the Towns and Cities oi Egypt were for
tified frora their very firft Original ; and there
fore * Juftin,'\n his Epitome of Tragus, Intro.-
duces the Scythians, who difputed with the
Egyptians for Antiquity, as allowing that Egypt
had been fortified by the Care and at the Ex-r
pence .of fo many Kings and fo many Ages paft,
had fiich large Moles eredted In it to defend it
againft the Violence of the Waters, that ran into
it, had been cut into fo raany Canals for the Re
ception of the Waters, that it appeared to bq
the lateft of all Countries, whether we confider
it as raifed up by their Kings, or by the Mud
carried along with It by the Nile. So that Egypt
had not only her Towns fortified at a vaft Ex-
pence, fpr raany Ages paft, by the great Heaps
of Earth that were thrown up, to defend them
againft tfie Waters, by her Kings ; but the
+ Ezefc, xxx. 15.
f ./Egyptum autem, qux tot regum tot feculorum cura impen-
faque munita fit, & adverfus_ yim incurrentium aquarum tantis
ftrufta molibus, tot foffis concifa, non polTe videri hominum ve-
tuflate ultimam, qua five ex aggerationibus regum, five Nili tra-,
hentis limum, terrarum' recentifilma videatur. Juftin Hift.
1. ' z. c, I Countrv

( 3^3 )
Country itfelf owed Its Being to them, and which
therefore were of equal Antiquity with the very
Lands and Cities themfelves, Sodom had its
Gate, In which Lot fat, -}- God promifed Abra
ham, that his Seed fiould poffefs the Gate of his
Enemies. + Kirjath-Arba or Hebron, had its
Gates fo early as the Death of Sarah, and the
II City in which Shechem dwelt had alfo its
Walls and Gates. We read alfo of the Tower
of Edar * in Jacob's Times. So that long be
fore Jofeph's Power in Egypt there were Cities,
and thefe. Cities bad their Walls, Towers, and
Gates, which look fo much like Fortifications,
that nothing in the World can look more fo.
I would therefore advife my learned Dpdtor to
revife a little his Dodtrlne concerning the Ori
ginal of fortifying Cities. I confefs it hath one
Thing to recoraraend it, viz. its Novelty, hav
ing never been before, fo much as thought of
by any of the ancient or modern Criticks. But
our Philofopher is an univerfal Theorifl, and no
thing coraes amifs to him relating either to War
or Peace.
The other Reafon alledged for the Neceffity
there was now to garifon the Towns and Ci
ties where the Corn was kept, viz. that -j- with
out this Precaution, it had been impofiible to have
prevented 'the Egyptians themfelves from feizing
the Corn,underJb fevere a Famine, is impertinent
and ftupid. For it ffiall be iraraediately prov
ed. In fpite of this Philofopher's Learning and
¦f Gen. xxiii i7- X ™"- •°- '^- H ''"^'v. zo. xlix. 6.
* Gen, xxxv. 21. + Page iJ- In ven-

( 314 )
Invention, that Jofeph tranfplanted all the^ Peo*
pie throughout the Country of Egypt into the
neighbouring Cities for the better Support of
them during the Famine, and therefore did not,
could not fortify thefe Cides againft the Egyp
tians, becaufe he admitted them into thefe Ci
ties. This profound Antiquarian ffiould have
gone farther, and told us, that thefe Magazines
and Granaries were all Citadels and Caftles, and
ftrong Towers, and then there would have been
another wonderful Difcovery, viz. of ffie Original
and firft Inftance of Citadels, Caftles and Towers.
When he adds, this * is the firft Inftance upon
Record of any fuch abfolute arbitrary Power, if
he means, that the garrlfoning Cities, and for-*
tifying them againft Enemies, Is always an Ar
gument of abfolute arbitrary Power, 'tis Non-
fenfe and Abfurdity. If he raeans, that this was
the firft Original of Garrifonsand Fortifications,
'tis falfe, as hath been fully ffiewn. Or if he
means, that this Is the firft Inftance of any fuch
Arbitrary Power exerclfed In Egypt, then I deny
that any fuch Power was there exercifed, or
that Jofeph did garrlfon the Towns and Cities
where the Corn was, or build Fortreffes and
ftrong Holds for Store-houfes, The Nature of
the Thing did not require ,it, and the facred
Hiftorian is abfolutely filent about it. And if he
hath any other Meaning 'tis not worth inquiring
after, and will I doubt not, when he difcovers
it, appear as true and pertinent as the others.
* Psge 13, 14. In

In high Spirits, for fo happy a Difcovery In
the Military Science, our Philofopher proceeds
to affare us, that Jofeph * thus made himfelf
Mafter of Egypt. This is marvellous indeed,
that Jofeph ffiould have thus made himfelf
Mafter of Egypt in fo ffiort a Space, and efpe
cially when the Philofopher himfelf tells us»
that -f- the Officers under him, as fupream Infpec-
tor, were by Jofeph'j Advice to be of the King's^
Appointment. What, were all the Nobles and
great Men and Inhabitants of Egypt afleep, or
•abfolute Slaves, that they ffiould thus fuffer their
King to be unkinged, their Cities and Towns to
be fortified and garrlfoned, Fortreffes and ftrong
Holds to be built all over the Country,- and
themfelves to be wholly at the Difpofal of a
Stranger? li Jofeph was thus fuffered to be
come Ma^exoi Egypt, the Egyptians were Slaves
to his Hands, and need not and could not be
made worfe Slaves, than they originally were,
by him. Befides how^ was Jojeph Mafter of
Egypt ? Who were the Perfons he employed to
keep Egypt 'm Subjedtion and Bondage? His Own
Family he allows were not yet come down.
Who then did he place In the Garrifons ; Na
tive Egyptians or Foreigners ? If the Latter, ffie
Philofopher will have more Queftions to an
fwer, than any Man of an ordinary Capacity will
be able to refolve. Who were they ? Whence
did they come ? How carae they to be Intro-
duced to Garrifons ? Was It with,- or without '
* Page II. t Page 14.
' , .. , Pharaoh's

( Si6 )
Pharaoh's Leave, and the Confent of the Egyp
tians? With many other of the Hke Kind.
If the Former, Eg^t was in the Hands of her
own Inhabitants, and had nothing to fear from
the Power of Jofeph. Or did the Egyptians,
that Jofeph ^aced in Garrifons, and the Officers-
appointed under him by the King, all confpire
with Jofeph to enflave their own Country to a
Foreigner, and to raife him to a Power fupe
riour to that of Pharaoh ? The Abfurdity and
Romance of this Account is fo monftrous, as to
need nothing elfe to expofe it, but to repre
fent It. SECT. VII.
^Jacob's Defcent, with his Family into Egypt.
Jofeph, it feems, made himfelf Mafter of
Egypt. WeU: What did he do then ? Why
he * had a good Opportunity of bringing down bis
Father and Brethren, and this he brought about
without a War, and by the Commiffion and Auto
rity of Phairaoh himfelf. True, but yet he could
not relate this Part of the Hiftory, without mix
ing a notorious Falffiood w^Ith It ; viz. that Jo
feph had a good Opportunity of difpofing amongft
his Father and Brethren and their Families the
chief Places of Power and Profit in the rich and
populous Country o/" Egypt. For of all this there
is not one Word in the Hebrew Hiftorian, but a
ftrongEvIdence.as ffiall be ffiewn,to theContrary.
However,' as the Philofopher will have It, that
* Page 14. they

they were all of them to be made Officers of
State, fo he appoints them a fplendid and mag
nificent Conveyance into Egypt ; for fays he,
Jofeph Xfent the King's own Coaches and Cha
riots to bring down Father, Brethren, Patriar
chy, Wives, Concubines, Servants and Subftanc^.
Methinks Waggons might have ferved the Con
cubines, and Servants, at leaft It was good enough
for the Subfiance, viz. Oxen, Affes, Sheep and
other Cattfe. But fueh was the Gallantnefs of
Jofeph's Soul, that the Subfiance muft ride in
Pharaoh's Chariots and Coaches, as well as the
Men and Women. And thus the facetious
Philofopher prefents his Reader with a Procef-
fion of Men, Women and Children, Princes
of Tribes, Servants, Shepherds and Herds-men
Oxen, Affes, Sheep and Camels, all marching
from Canaan Into Egypt, In the Coaches and
Chariots of King Pharaoh.
Tollent equites peditefque cachinnum.
Our 'Tranflation runs indeed in a lefs marvel
lous and rauch flatter Stile. ¦* Take you Wag
gons out of the Land of E^pt, for your little ones
and for your Wives, and bring your Father and
come. Not a Word of the Servants and Herdf
men riding either in Coaches or Waggons in
Pharaoh's Order ; and when the Sons of Jacob
began their Journey, the Hiftorian obferves,
that "j- the Sons of Ifrael carried Jacob their Fa
ther, and their little ones and their Wives in the
Waggons which Pharaoh had fent to carry him,
X Page 14. * Gen. xlv. 19. t xlvi. 5.
2 without

without mentioning any other. But 'our Phi
lofopher knows better than Pharaoh what his
Order to Jofeph was, and better than Jacob's
Sons, how they marched into Egypt.
It muft alfo be iiippo.fed, that an Author, of
our Philofopher's Learning and Integrity; hafch
fome peculiarly critical Remarks to prove the
original Word ni^jy in this Place fignifies Coach
es and Chinriots, and not Waggons, as our Tran
flators have rendred it. But this I know, that
the Word often fignifies Waggons properly fo
called, fiich as were drawn with Oxen, unlefs this
learned Author hath forae fecret Autoflties, ,'fuch
as I have never been fo fortunate as to. fee, to
prove, that It was the ancient Cuftom to draw
Coaches and Chariots with Oxen inftead of
Horfes. Thus in the Offering of the Princes,
they brought * fix covered Waggons and twelve
Oxen. The Philiftines fent back the Ark on
"f- a new Cart drawn by two milch-Kine. David
fetched the Ark from Kirjath-Jtarim Gn % a
new Cart drawn with Oxen. Yea we read of an
tby^\ or II Cart haden with and full of Sheaves.
Yea, I will venture to affirm, that tho' the Word
is uifed about thirty Times In the OldTeftament,
yet that ffiere Is not one Place where it appears
to denote any thing elfe but a Cart. The ufuaP
Word for Chariots In the Old Teftament Is
:3DT or nnD" J3 from nDI, Equitavit, he rode,
becaufe Chariots were drawn with Horfes. Thus
Pharaoh |||j made Jofeph nV^ PliSJ'Dn T\'2.T\'^'2.fn
* Numb. vii. 3, 6, 7. f i Sam. vi. 7, 10.
X 2. Sam. vi. 3. 6, || Amos ii. 13. |||| Gen. xli. 43, the

( 319 )
the fecond Chariot ; and when Pharaoh perfued
the Ifraelites, he made ready nS*! * his Chariot,
and took with him fix Hundred Tini ^y\ chofen
Chariots. So that I am apprehenfive, we muft -
take down the Patriarchy, Herdfmen, and Oxen
a Uttle lower, and the PhUofopher muft be con
tent to drive them into Egypt in Carts and Wag
gons inftead of Coaches and Chariots.
But not content thus to convey them in Cha
riots, he adds another Circumftance by way of
Garnifi to the Story, viz. that Jofeph fent the
King'5 -f- ouon Coaches and Chariots to bring them
down. This Is very ftrange^ confidering the
Number of Perfons, exclufive of the Sub
ftance, which he fays % was probably thirty
Times Seventy, or two Thoufand one Hundred.
This fame King Pharaoh was a moft opulent
Prince, thus to have Coaches and Chariots of
his own for fo large a Nuraber of Perfons, which
at the Rate of two In a Chariot corae to one
Thoufand and fifty, and at the Rate of four,
make five Hundred and twenty five. But pro
bably they were C;&(?r/o/i o/'^^r, and ffien 'tis
more eafily accounted for. Jofeph might be
afraid of the Dangers of the Journey, and fo
took Care to grant his Father a proper Guard
to efcourt him and his Subftance In Safety, as
well as Grandure, to the Land of Egypt. But
how comes my Philofopher to know that they
were Pharaoh's own Coaches and Chariots ? He
fpeaks as confident as if he had been prefent
* Exod, xiv. 6,7. t Page 14. X Page 15- at

( 3^o )
at the Order given by the King, or had beei^
employed by Jojeph in executing it ; whereas
the Hiftory fays nothing like It, but on the
Contrary reprefents Pharaoh as faying : * Take
you Waggons out oj the Landoj Egypt for your
Little ones, and for your Wives. Let the Coun
try furniffi you with Carriages for your Family;
Not a Syllable or Intimation of, Take my own
Coaches and Chariots. This comes frora the fame"
fertileMint oiPhilojbphical Brain, as the reft of the
Roraance that he hath drawn up, without any
Autority or Shadow of Colour and Probability,
I doubt not but ray Reader will be furprifed
at the large Number he makes Jacob's Family
to confift of, -f* Tho' the Number of Souls, whicb
came down into Egypt, including Jofeph and his
own Sons born inEgypt, are jaid to be Seventy, it
is evident, fays ray Philofopher, that thefe were
only the Heads and Princes of the Tribes, without
including their Servants, their Shepherds and
Herdfmen, with their Children, Wives and Con
cubines, which mufi have been at leafl, ten, or more
probably, thirty Times the Number, i. e. they
muft have been 700, or 2 100 at leaft. The Ac
count of the Hebrew Hiftorian Is : That Jacob
."X and all his Seed wilh him came into Egypt his
Sons, afidhis Sons Sons imth him, his Daughters^
and his Sons Daughters, and all his Seed brought
he with him into Egypt. After which are par
ticularly mentioned his Sons, his Sons Children,
and Grand-children, and the Number of each
* Gen. xlv. 19. f Page. 15, X Gen. xlvi. 6, 7.-

( 5^1 )
tis remarked : * All the Souls that came with
Jacob into Egypt which came out ofhis Loyns be
fides Jacob'.f Sons Wives, all the Souls were three
fcore and Six. f\- And the Sons o/" Jofeph which
were born him in Egypt were two Souls. All
the Souls of the HouJ'e of Jacob, which came
into Egypt were threefcore and ten, viz. in-
clufive of Jacob, Jofeph and his two Sons. Ja
cob's Family confifted therefore of his Sons and
Daughters, his Grand-children,and great Grand
children ; and thefe, by the Hiftorian, are
faid to be all the Souk which came out of his
Loyns. And therefore his Sons Wives are ex
prefly excluded out of the Account, becaufe not
his Pofterity,but his Daughters and Grand-daugh
ters are as exprefly mentioned, and their Names
recorded in the Lift. In Exodus they are reck
oned by the Naraes of Jacob's twelve Sons and
their Houffiold. % Theje are the Names of the
Children of Ifrael which came into Egypt every
Man and his Houjhold came with Jacob, all the
Souls that came out of the Loyns of Jacob were
feventy Souls. Again in Deuteronomy, Mofes ex
prefly tells them : || Thy Fathers went down.
into Egypt with Threefcore and ten Perfons.
Nothing can be raore plain from thefe Paffages,
than that all Jacob's Pofterity, Children, Grand-
chUdren and Great-grandchildren araounted to
no more than Seventy Perfons. What now fays
my Philofopher to this ? Why, with his ufual
Modefty and Veracity, 'tis evident that thofe
were only the Heads and Princes of the Tribes.
* Gen. xlyi. 26. f zj. lE.vod. i, i. 5- Ij Deut, x, 22.
Y 'Tis

( 3-^ )
'Tis evident. All he writes is Demonftration^
But frora whence Is it evident ? He hath not
fuggefted one Word to make itfo much aspro-^
bable. I will even demonftrate the contrary. For
amongft thefe Seventy there were fome Wo
men, particularly Dinah, Jacob's Daughter by
Leah, and Serah his Grand-daughter by After.
Excellent Philofopher, who can find out Heads
and Princes of Tribes amongft the Ladies \
Again, Jacob was about ioo Years old at
Benjamins Birth, at his Defcent Into Egypt he
¦was 130 ; fo that the Space of Time between
Benjamins Birth, and Jacob's Defcent Into £-
gypt was about thirty Years. And yet when
Benjamin went Into. Egypt he had ten Sojis, and
therefore they muft be all of them Children,
and feveral of them mere Infants. So that here
is another PhiloJ'ophical Problem, that the Heads
and Princes of the Tribes were Children and In
fants as well as Women. I ffiould be extreamly
glad to know what Tribes thefe Children, In
fants, and Women were Heads and Princes of,
I have often heard of the twelve Tribes oi Ifrael,
and at th's Time the very twelve Men, from
whom thefe Tribes were named, were living,
who one would think muft have then been the
only Heads and Princes of them. But feventy
Tribes, and feventy Heads and Princes of Tribes
in Ifrael Is a new Difcovery, for which the learn
ed World is Intirely beholden to this Philofo
phical Antiquary. But perhaps I ffiall be told that
Jacob's twelve Sons were the Princes of the Tribes and

f ^^3 )
andhlst)aughter, Grandfons, and Grand-daughter
Were Heads of Tribes under thefe Princes, Be it fo.
Reuben was Prince of his Tribe, which confifted
of the large Number of four Sons. And ^Zebulon
was Prince over three, and Jofeph over two, and
poor Prince Dan Was Prince over one. Illuftri
ous Princes thefe, worthy to ride In the Coaches
and Chariots of King Pharaoh 1 But how ffiall
we make out thefe other Heads of Tribes ? There
Was only two of the /Grandchildren that had
any Children at all, fo that ail the reft of thefe
Fleads were Heads without Bodies to themj
which is a moft marvellous and fagacious Difco
very, But how ridiculous muft the Creature
appear, that produceth fuch Stuff for Hiftory,
and makes Fathersof fmall Familles.to be Princes
and Heads of Tribes ; and aU to fupport an Idle
Hypothefis, that Is as falfe as Hiftory can raake it,.
For though he fays their Childreii were not in
cluded in this Number-, 'tis mere Fidlion contrary
to the plaineft Fad ; the Hiftorian exprefly
naming their Children and Grandchildren, and
pofitively affirming that Jacob, with all the
Souls that proceeded frora him, made up but
Threefcore and ten. He doth indeed exclude
their Wives and Servants, But who befides a
minute Phikjbpher would ever Imagine, that fe
venty Perfons, feveral of whom were Children,
ffiould have Wives and Servants attending them
to the Nuraber of fix Hundred and thirty, or
what he thinks more probable, two Thoufand
and thirty. What he talks of their Concubines
is a Piece ©f Scandal worthy of his Pen, and
y 2 what

( 3^4 )
what would have dropped from none but his.
The Hiftorian mentions only their Wives, and
'tis an infamous Calumny in him to charge them
with bringing down their Concubines. 'Tis
what he knows he Is not at all able to prove.
But Scandal is his Talent, and his fixed Enmity
is to Truth and Candour,
; The Reafon he afligns for thus multiplying
^e Family of Jacob Is Impertinent and abfurd.
Therejore, fays he, * a whole Province, the Land
o/Goffien, thefineft and riche fl Part of the lower
Egypt, was affigned them to live Jeparate by them
felves, and in their own Way, which could not fure
ly have been neceffary for feventy Souls, without
any farther Property or Dependence, for then a
very fmall Town had been more than fufficient.
Firft, 'tis not true, that a . whole Province, the
Land o/"Goffien, was affigned them ; the Thing
is not probable, nor doth the Hiftorian men
tion it. Jofeph fends Word by his Brethren to
Jacob', -j- Thou fialt dwell in the Land of Go-
ffien, and thou fialt be near to me, thou and thy
Children and thy Childrens Children, and thy Flocks
and thy Herds, and all that thou haft. Jofeph's
Brethrens Petition to Pharaoh was : j We pray
¦thee let thy Servants dwell in the Land of Goftien.
Pharaoh's Grant was : || In the Land of Goflien
let them dwelf. And accordingly |||| Jofeph gme
them a Poffeffion in the Land of Egypt in the
Land ofKaxneies as Pharaoh had commanded.
* Page ij. f Gen, xlv. lo. .t xlvii. 4.
II 6. mi ..J.

( 3^5 )
* TV'.na, Is a Property In a Country. Give us,
fay the Daughters oi Zelophehad r\}ni^, a Poffef-
fion amongfi the Brethren of our Father. And in '
other Places, -f And thus ]oieph placed his Fa
ther and his Brethren, and gave them TWHH
pKn onifD, a Poffefiion in the Land o/Egypt,
in the befl of the Land, in the Land ofKameies ;
plainly a different thing frora his giving them
the Poffefiion of that whole Province. 'Tis
pity, when his Hand was in, that the Philofo
pher had not given them the Poffeffion of ail
Egypt, as well as of all the Land of Gofien, for
the Text exprefly fays, that Jofeph gave them
a Poffeffion in the Land of Egypt, as well as in
the beft of the Land, in the Land of Ramefes.
But would any Man, but a ffiarp-fighted Phi
lofopher imagine, that a Permiffion to dweU in
a Land, was the fame thing as giving that whole
Land ? Or ffiould ray Author be placed In Si
beria, and allow'd a Poffeffion there, would any
one think that the whole Province was affigned
hira, to livefeparate by himfelf and in his own way ?
If this whole Province was given to Jacob, what,
muft we fuppofe that Gofien was uninhabited be*
fore ? Or were the former Inhabitants expelled,
with their Cattle, to raake way for Jacob and his
Faraily ? Your Vouchers, Philofopher, for this
Piece of Hiftory ? I take on me to fay 'tis falfe ;
for Pharaoh's Cattle and Servants were in Go-
flxn, after Jacob and his Faraily were placed
there, and pharaoh orders Jofeph, if thou know-
* Numb, xxvii. 4. f Gen. xlvii. 11.
Y3 eft

(. S^6 )
efi any Man 6f ABivity amongft thy Brethren^
make them Rulers over my Cattle, Gofien was a
fruitful Country, fit for Pafturage, where Pha
raoh's own Cattle were kept, and "^hich was
krge enough to receive the Hebrews and their!
(Jatde. And therefore Pharaoh not only per
mits Jofeph's Brethren to dwell there, but or
ders him to place them oyer his own Catde, if
any of them were ftrong and adtive enough to
be entrufted with the Care of them. When he
adds, that a fmall Town wouldbe more than fuf
ficient for them, if they had mt been more than
Seventy, this is only adding one Blunder to ano
ther. For whether they were more or lefs than
Seventy, neither one fmall Town nor two would
have been either fit or fufficient for them. For
they were Shepherds, who wanted the open
(Zlountry and not Towns, and who dwelt in
Tents rather than In Cities, nor can our Philo
fopher prove they wanted any Town, or had any
One afligned them.
But a Setdement they had, and what Marvel
doth the Philofopher's Invention fuggeft next t
Why, Jofeph * was ordered to make them Go-
njernours and Rulers in Egypt, and beftow on them
juch Places, as he thought them mojt capable of,
and fit for. And for this he cites Gen. xlvii, i.
"- vii. the only Words In which Paffage to his
Purpofe are : If thou knoweft any Man of ASii-
vity amongft them, then make them Riders over
fny Cattle, i. e. fays my Moral Philofopher, w^fe
* Page 1 6. • them

( 3^7 )
]^ them Governours and Rulers in Egypt. Was ever
J Truth fo glaring, or Deraonftratlon fo convinc-
j ing! If thou knoweft any Man of ABivity, b'T'Ji'JK,
I Men of Strength, ftout lufty Men, * make
them Rulers oj my Cattle, i. e. dijpofe amongfi
them the chief Places oj Power and Profit. This
is moft critically hit of : Becaufe they were
powerful Men fome of them, they muil have
Places of Power, and becaufe Pharaoh orders
Jofeph to make them Rulers of Cattle, they were
to be Governours and Rulers of Men too, and
have the chief Places of Profit in that rich and
populous Country. 'Tis true, the poor Men ima
gined nothing of all this. They owned them
felves Shepherds to Pharaoh : They told hiin
they were come only to j'ojourn in the Land, be
caufe of the Faraine in Canaan : They afl-:ed
pnly a Settleraent in, the Land of Goftien, be
caufe It was fit for Pafturage. Pharaoh makes
them the Grant of that Settleraent, and orders
them. If any of thera were ftrong enough, to be
fome of his chief Shepherds and Herdfmen. But
inftead of dwelling in Gofien, the Philofopher
in an Inftant fpreads thera through aU Egypt, and
brings thera Into the Court oi Pharaoh, and gives
them at once the chief Places of Power and
Profit In Egypt. So that one was Lord Chamber
lain, another Lord Steward, another Lord Cook,
another Lord Jaylour, another Captain General,
and others Governours of Towns and Provinces,
juft as my Lord Jofeph diought proper and fit ;
*^ Page 14. all

all without Cl War, even by the Commiffion and Au
tority of Pharaoh himfelf. And thus there was an
entire Change of -the Miniftry in Pharaoh's%^^
Court, and Jofeph who before this * had at once
the whole Power, Force, and DireBion of the
Kingdom put into hisHands. now turns out all he
then put in, and places In the room of them,his
Brethren, his Coufins, and other Relations. And
it muft be owned that Egypt was now hopefully
governed, when all her chief Places of Profit
and Truft were In the Hands of Shepherds and
Herdfmen ; and the Egyptians will be allowed
to be Men of Spirit, and great Politenefs and
Coraplaifance, andto be in full Poffeffion of their
Liberty, v/ho thus fubraitted to be turned out
of all their Eraployments In Court and Country,
to make way for Jofeph and his Brethren and
Kinfmen. This Is a moft diverting Hiftory of
our Philofopher, and only wants the fmall Cir
cumftances of Truth and Probability to recom
mend it. If he had added to his other Inven
tions, that of this -f Commiffion oj Pharaoh, which
he fpeaks of, 'twould have been a notable Curio
fity, and a very reverend Piece of Antiquity. But
as he hath denyed us this Inftrument, we muft
take the Fadl upon the Autority of his bare but
infallible Affertion.
* Page IZ. f Page 14.

SECT,

( 3^^") )
SECT. VIIL
Of Jofeph'i Management during the Famine^
HAving.thus brought down, by many mar
velous Narrations, the Patriarch and his
Family into Egypt, he next proceeds, after a
ffirewd Hint or two about the Paftors, to the
Hiftory of the Famine ; which he Introduces
with a Recapitulation of fome of the Won
ders he had before related ; fuch as Jo
feph's being put into Pofieffion of the whole mili
tary Force of the Kingdom, his jortifying and
guarding the Granaries of Corn ; to which he
now adds another Thing, as wonderful as any
of them, viz. that Pharaoh'.f * Coffers were
now Jofeph'.? own. The Hiftorian had obferv'd
that when Jofeph had -f- gathered up all the Money
that was found in the Land of Egypt, and in the
Land of Qanaan, for the Corn which they bought y
he brought the Money into Pharaoh'^ Houfe ; and
this very Place the Philofopher cites to prove,
that he laid it up in the King's Coffers, which
were now his own. So that there Is this Diffe
rence between the Hiftorian and the Philofo
pher, in that the Forraer raentlons Jofeph's
bringing the Money into the King's Houfe, as an
Argument of his great Fidelity and Integrity in
his Admlnlftratlon ; the Latter, his laying it up
in the King's Coffers, as a Reproach on him for
* Page I8. t Gen. xlvii. 14. having

(33^ )
having feized the King's Treafures, and con-r
verted all the Money that had been received for
Corn, froni Canaan and Egypt, to his own Ufes,
But how Pharaoh's Coffers could be Jofeph's,
unlefs Pharaoh's Houfe was Jofeph's too, or un
lefs he had fortified Pharaoh's Houfe, and fet a
Guard about Pharaoh's Houfe and ' Perfon and
Coffers, Is a Myftei'y which needs our Author's
farther Explication. He Is furely the moft fur
prizing Man living : He ralfes in an Inftant For
tifications, Caftles and Garrifons ; transforms
Shepherds In a Moment Into Officers of State ;
creates with a Word Prime Minlfters, Captaii)
-Generals, Lord Treafurers, and other high Pofts
and Dignities, and what is more, unkings Princes,
and divefts them In a trice of all their Royal
State and Power ; leaving them neither Men nor
Money, nor any fingle Circumftance of Royal
ty, the empty Name and Title only excepted.
But I ffiall leave the Proof, that the King's Cof
fers were now become Jofeph's, to our Author
at his leifure ; obferve only that when he
affirms, that the Hebrew Steward had drawn
in all the Money In the Land of Egyp and the
Land of Canaan, 'tis more than he can prove,
and than the Hiftorian affirms. The Hiftorian
only fays, that he * gathered up all the Money
that was found, or as the Word often fignifies,
-J" obtained ox procured, in the Land of Egypt
* Gen. xlvii, 14.
¦? KVOSn. Procured, obtainedreceived. So Ifaackio'weA in the
Land NVD'l and found, i. <r. received in the fame Year an
hundred Fold Gen. xxvi. iz.
3 ' and

( 33^ )
and Canaan, for the Corn which they bought ; a
quite different Circuraftance, from his gathering
up all the Money that was In thofe Countries.
He did gather up all that he got for the Corn,
but not all that the Inhabitants of thofe two
Countries had in poffeffion, which is not at all
probable. And though it be faid In the next
Verfe, that the Money failed in the Land of E^pt,
and in the Land oj Canaan, the Meaning is, not
that there was no more Money In thofe Coun
tries , but that it grew fcarce, and the Inhabi
tants refufed to bring any raore ; and in this
Senfe of partial Confuraption or Failure, the
original Word Is oftentimes ufed. Nor can there
be a raore Iraprobable Suppofition In the World,
than that all the Money in Egypt and Canaan
was expended upon the Purchafe of a Year or
two's Corn ; tho' if he had drained Canaan of
all Its Money, 1 fee no Crime that he would
have been guilty of, nor Obligation he was un
der to give them the Corn of E^ft without
paying for it. Andas the -providing Granaries
for the Corn, and eoUedting it In, In the Seven
Years of Plenty, muft have coft the King of
Egypt large Sums, 'twas no Injuftice to theEgyp-
iians to Infift on their paying for the Corn, which
had been laid up at fuch an Expence, for their
Benefit and Advantage, and even for the Pre
fervation of their Lives,
And it was with this View of faving their
Catde, that Jojeph demanded them, when their
Money failed. As they had no Corn for them felves.

C 33^ )
felves, much lefs had they for their Cattle ; nor
could their Lands feed them, becaufe the whole
Country was Impoveriffied ; the Confequence of
which would have been, the intire Deftrudtion
of thera by the Dearth,or by the Egyptians them
felves for iraraediate Supply ; either of which
would have been extrearaly detrlraental and even
ruinous to the whole Country, and what there
fore the generous Governour oi Egypt was oblig
ed to prevent. And therefore In this Cafe, he
did the Egyptians no Injury, but a real Benefit
to give thera Bread in the room of Cattle, fince
this was the only Way to preferve the Lives of
both, and to prevent that wafte of the Corn,
which muft have been made, if they had had
the keeping and feeding of the Cattle themfelves.
And even this Detention of their Cattle feems
only to be a temporary Thing, and to have laft-
ed no longer than the Misfortune that occa
fioned It. For as Mr, Chapman * juftly obferves,
" 'tis not to be doubted, but when Jofeph fixed
." all in their feveral Habitations and Poffeffions,
" that he alfo furniffied them with all proper
" Conveniences of Money, Cattle, &c. for fup-
*' porting their Families and carrying on their
" Bufinefs. " The fame is obferved by Origen, 4-
who tells us, that when Jofeph gave the Egyp-
' tians Bread for their Cattle, he did not do It out

*

Eufeb. 'V. z. Pref. p. lo
If T»To To/fc( lasm
IVA (XITA TAVTA ;
. Scleft, in Gen.'
I oi

f OvK aij.u( T»To To/w lasm, aKK' iva f/o KAi^airt t« ktuvh
TfSlpO!'T5f, KAI IVA IXSTA TAVTA X*?'^ '"'^^ '^i^aVTAI rTAfA TK
-PA^Aa. Orig. Scleft, in Gen. v.z. p. 51, Eitit. Ecnedtd.

( 333 )
of Cruelty to them, but to prevent their falUng
to feed them, and that they might afterwards
freely receive them again from Pharaoh ; other-
wife. Indeed, it would have been Impoffible for
them to have managed the Affairs of the Coun
try with any tolerable Corafort or Succefs.
Yea, his very giving them Seed to fow their
Lands, would have fignified nothing without
fome kind of Cattle, For tho' the Lands of
Egypt do not need that Cultivation which thofe
of other Countries do, to render them fit for
the Reception of the Seed ; yet, when once the
Seed is fown, they would want Cattle, either
to trample It Into the Soil, or gently to plow It
into the Ground : For * both of thefe Methods
were In Ufe amongft the ancient Egyptians.
Nor would the reftoring them their Lands, any
more than giving them Seed, have been of any
Benefit to them, had he kept from them all
their Cattle, For one -f Third Part of the
coramon People of Egypt were anciently Shep
herds, who were wholly employ'd In the Care
* Tbj [J-iv crMiT'if TUV yiUfyuy tok AVA^>ipaivo[AivoK TtfS
ywi Toiroii ipiiAyiViK, i^ to trvs^iJM CAKhovTAi, tvAyetv to.
CoO'KVf/.ATA, ^ TXTOli (TVfJl'TrATWAyTAf, f/.iTA TiT^ApAt M CTSfTg
fdaiAi ArTAVTAV ITl TOV ^ipKf^LOV- E^iKf /s K'i'poK ApOT^OIS i'TTA-
yAyoVTAi /2?t«%SB* THI' i-jrKpAVilAV TII( fii^^iyi^tni x,"'?*^' "^"^
gm AVAiqu&At TUV KAfTTay. Diodor. 1. i. p. 3Z. Via. etiam He
rod. 1. z. c. 14.
•f- Ef/ S^'iTi?AaVVtAyijUl,TAT«i'T0hn6IA(T^IA, TO, TS, T«?
VOfJiiay, :y to Tav yia^yav, er/ <ti to Tav Ti'xyiTnv — » eT' auro!
Kayoi er/ )^ vn^i Tav yoyituy, 01 tw Tav S§i^f/,ATav sT/fisAs/ai'
t» <!rATi^av air'TTi? KM^OVOIMAS yof/a VA^AhAll^AVOVTii-, iV fiift
KTWOTS0(fa J'lATi^VCt TAVTA TW TK iw XfCMl'. Diodor. 1, I.
p. 67.
and

( 334 )
and Manageraent of Cattle, and were bred ujj
to this Bufinefs by a continual Succeffion from
Father to Son. But what would their Pafture
Lands have been worth, without Cattle to con-
fume the Produce of them ? Or did Jofeph con
demn a Third Part of the Inhabitants of Egypi
to Idlenefs, by rendering them Incapable of all
manner of Eraployment ? Yea; did he force
them to ftarve, even, after the Years of Scarcity
were ended r The Philofopher feems to think
he kept all their live Stock, and not content
with this, that i
Whenthey had thus parted with their Money
and Cattle, and came again, as this candid Philofo
pher terms It, to the generous humane Steward, and
told myHebrew'Lord, that there was nothing
more left in the Sight of my Lord, but their Bo dies and
their Lands, both tvhich they were willing to part
with, and become Pharaoh' j Slaves and Vafialsfor
ever, he took them at their Word. The Reader vvill
obferve, that Slaves and Vaffals are philofophical
Terms, and not the Words of the Hiftorlaui
The original Word n:ij? by no Means fignifies
neceffarily a Slave, in that difgraceful Senfe In
which the Philofopher here ufes It, but Is ufed
frequcndy to denote the moft honourable Ser
vices. "Tis applied to Angels, to Men imme
diately employ'd by God, to Counfellors, Noblesj
and the principal Officers In a Court; ahd there
fore need not be underftood of the loweft De
gree of Servitude In the Place before us *. For
• Gen. xlvii, 19. the

{ 335 )
the Hiftorian fays, that we and our Lands will
be Servants to Pharaoh ; we will hold our Lands
of him, and yield him imraediate Service for
them. But tho' the Word ffiould be under
ftood In the lowefi Senfe, yet It ffiould be re
marked, that this was the Offer of the Egyp
tians themfelves, and not the Demand of Jo
feph ; Buy us and our Land for Bread, and we
and our Lands will be Servants unto Pharaoh ;
and as the Surrender was voluntary, from the
People themfelves, it was of fuch a Nature,
that no Minlfter durft have refufed it upon the
Peril of his Head ; for what Prince vvould re
fufe to be arbitrary. If his People fiould refign
to him their Liberties ; or what Minlfter would
be forgiven by a Prince, that ffiould refufe to
accept fuch a Refignation when made ? But we
ffiall find that Jofeph ufed it with the utmoft
Moderation that was poffible, and improved It
to the great Advantage of the Egyptians them
felves. However, having thus took Pofieffion of all the
Lands of Egypt for Pharaoh, he removed, as our
Philofopher goes on, ¦* the People from their for
mer Habitations, into the remoteft Cities, and
Parts of the Country, from one Side of Egypt to
the other, which was a Sort of E>;ile in their own
Country, and a great Aggravation of their Mi-
fery, ajter they had been flripped of all their Pro
perty and Pofieffion. This is a very lamentable
Story indeed; but the beft of it is, that there is
* P. 18. 19. not

( 336 )
not one fingle Word of it true. Remoteft Cities,^
and Parts of the Country, Is purb Philofophical
Invention, and not Hiftory. The Words of the
Hiftorian are : * As for the People, he removed
them to Cities, from one End .of the Borders of
Egypt, even to the other Erid thereof. The
Reader will obferve, that in the feven plenteous
Years, Jofeph -^ gathered up the Food, and laid
It up in the Cities ; the Food of the Field whicB^
was round about every City, laid he up in the fame.
When the People were become Pharaoh's Ser-^'
vants, what did this generous Hebrew do wltfi
them ? Why,, inftead of fuffering thera to live
in the Country, where it would have been dif
ficult to have taken the due Care of them, he
removed them into the Cities where the Corn
was laid up, for fhe better Conveniency of feed- ,
ing thera, and this he did throughout all Egypt;
not by traniplanting every Faraily into Cities and
Parts of the Country remoteft from their own
former Poffeffions, which 'twas Impoffible to do
in fo populous a Country as Egypt In an Year or
two, and of which there Is not one fingle Inti
mation in the original Hiftorian ; but by re
moving them from one End of the Borders of
Egypt, even to the other End thereof , i.e. through
out the whole Country, Into the Cities that were
neareft thera, where there was Corn fufficient to
fupport thera ; an Adt of the greateft Prudence,
Compaffion, and Generofity. Egypt was full
of Ciries and Towns, and extreamly populous )
* Gen. xlvii, zi. f Gen. xli, 48. and

( 337 )
and had there been fuch an univerfal Tranfplant-
ation of ffie Inhabitants, as the Philofopher fug
gefts, the fixing the refpedtive Places they ffiould
leverally be removed to, when they left their
own Habitations,- and the affigning them pro
per Dwellings in their new Settlements, muft
have been a Work of Imra9nfe Labour and
Thought, which not one Year, nor ten, would
have been fufficient to have brought to full
perfedtion. Not to add the [abfolute Improba
bility, that in an Year of Scarcity and Famine,
all Egypt ffiould have been put into Motion,
and Men, Women, and Children, with their
Houffiold- Goods, ffiould be forced to travel
from one End of Egypt to another. The Thing
muft have caufed infinite Confufions, and been
attended with infuperable Difficulties. But to
our philofophical Genius all is eafy. 'Tis faid,
'Tis done, and Egypt Is put In a Moment into
an univerfal Exile. But as this was not Jofeph's
Contrivance, we ffiall leave the philofophical
Hiftorian to his own Meditations on this won
derful Subjedt.
There is a Part, however, of this Hiftory,
which the Philofopher hath left untouched, for
which I can imagine fio other Reafon, but Its
doing Honour to the Charadter and Condudt of
Jofeph. The Hiftorian teUs us, that when^o-
jeph had bought them and their Land for Pha
raoh, he afterwards faid to them : * Behold I
have bought you this Day, and your Land, for
* Gen- xlvii. 24.
Z Pharaoh.

( 538).
Pharaoh. '—  It fiall come to pafs in the In-'
creaf'e, that you fiall give the fifth Part unto Pha
raoh, and four Parts fiall be your own, for Seed
of the Field, and for your Food, and for them of
your Houfiold, and for Food for your little Ones.
The Reader will obferve by this, that the Phi
lofopher's Story of the univerfal Exile of the
Egyptians, by tranfplanting thera from their
former Habitations into the remotefi Cities, and
Parts of the Country, and ftripping them of all
their Property and Poffefiion, appears now mere
Fidlion and Romance ; and that his Exclama
tion, that It was impoffible to reduce them lower, or
make fhem more miferable, is a Calumny contrary
to the Hiftory. When Jofeph had, after their
Refignation of their Lands, fuppofing thefe Lands
were originaUy their own Property, removed
them Into the Cities and Towns that were neareft
thera, Inftead of perpetually enflaving them, of
leaving them without Poffeffion and Property,
and reducing them to the loweft Degree of Mi-
fery, he, with a Generofity that few Prime Mi-
nifiers have ever ffiewn, foon after * rein-
ftates them, and takes no other Advantage of
t'neir Surrender, but to make thera raore fecure
in their Eftates, by a perpetual Law ; a Favour
which the People acknowledged with the ut
moft Gratitude, owning him as the very Savi-
* O lamroi s/f iKAwy rrAfAyivauivo; <!rohiy, ^ irvKhtyav iv
AVTAK TO TAw-S-oir, TW Ti yw AVTois, »v iKitvav 'TTA'iAya^'ivray
^AfflKiVi 5%Hy iihlVATO, li] KAfVadAI (AOVOi, ei; A'TTAV i-XA^I^itt,
jtj KntixA li'tornymM.yni (piM^ynv TcjfsaaAs/, -rm TSf/tT^Hi' ray
KA^'iraV TU $ATl\U TiKtVTAi V^iS'Ttli X,«f«f, W S't^ajiy AVTOK,
iifAv «yT».- Jofefh Antiq. 1, -. c. 7. § 7. our

. . , ^ 339 )
bur o^ their Lives : * They faid, thou hafi faved
bur Lives, let us find Grace in the Sight of my
JLord, I. e. we thankfully accept the generous
Grant, and we will be Pharaoh's Servants, i. e.
hold our Lands of him, and pay him the fifth
Part of the Produce. Iraraediately on this,
Jofeph raade It a perpetual Law, that the fifth
Part, and that only, ffiould be Pharaoh's; fo
that 'twas a Law made with the full Confent
bf the People, and not by any arbitrary Ap-
polnthient of Jojeph himfelf. But if Jofeph
had been that ungenerous, tyrannical, cruel Tijk-
mafler that our Philofopher hath made hira, he
'would have kept the Poffeffion of the Lands he
had taken, upon the Egyptians Refignation of
thera; and out of fo many fine Eftates that now
came into his Power, he would have kept forae
for himfelf, and diltiibuted the reft of thera a-
mongft MY 'Lo'Rns Zebulon , Muppim, Huppim,
Guni, and the reft of the Lords his Relations,
that he had brought down into Egypt. This
would have been extreamly politick, abfolutely
weakned the H..nds of the native Egyptians, and
brought all the Riches, Property and Sirength of
the Kingdora into his own Pi ands and his Fa
milies. But inftead of this, this ghierous He-
'brew returns all the Lands that had been re-
fighed to hira to their forraer Poffeffors, and
only lays a Tax on them after tb.e P.ate oi four
Shillings in the Pound, or the fifth Part of
the Produce of them, to be given to Pha-
* Gen. xlvii, t^.
Z 2 raoh,..

( 340 )
raoh, which he found by Trial, from what was:
taken up in the Seven Years of Plenty, the
Egyptians could well fpare, without any Da
mage to themfelves or Families. And as this
was made a perpetual Law, the Egyptians gained
this fingular Benefit ; that they were for the fu- ;
ture exempted from all arbitrary Impofitlons,
and by an unalterable Edldl, fecured in the full
and free Poffeffion of their Lands, upon paying
a reafonable and moderate and fetded Proportion
of the Produce, for the better Support of the
Egyptian Crown and Government *. i
By this wife Settlement, the Property and
Taxes of the Subjedt, and the Demands of the
Crown, were limited and fixed, and the E^-
tians, who had fold themfelves and their Lands,
were reftored to Property and Liberty ; and
I am apt to think, in a much more certain and
fecure Manner than before ; the Intention of
Jofeph, in accepting the Surrender, being only
by a perpetual Law, to fecure them againft all
future Invafion ; a Law that was in Force many
Years after ; the Hiftorian obferving, that Jo
feph made it a Law unto this Day, :{; or the Law
continued to the Time of the facred Author's
writing the Hiftory, Before Jofeph's Miniftry,
II Artapanus, an ancient Greek Writer, tell us,
that the Affair of Agriculture in Egypt was In
* Gett. xlvii. 26. X Gen. xlvii. z6.
II TpoTtpov cJTsSttTWf Tay Atyvirliay yzuyi,op\syTm, J*/« totW
j^wfiai' aJ'iaipiTOVii'VAt, )^ tuv sKAcrffoyay vzo Toy K^usffofiH
*^iKvi/.iyuy . Artap. apud Eufeb. Praep. Evang. 1, 9. c. z'i- great

( 341 )
great DIforder, and that the poorer Sort were
oppreffed by the higher. * Diodorus Siculus,
and -f- Plutarch, both relate, that the comraon
People of Egypt were greatly liable to revolt,
and Confpiracies againft their Governors, and
that they were prone to Changes and Innova
tions : Remarks, that further demonftrate the
confummate Prudence of this new Regulation of
the Hebrew Patriarch. For as the Comraonalty
now held their Lands immediately of the Crown,
and had a fetded Property In Four Fifths of the
Produce, they were hereby exempted from any
Dependence on, or Oppreffion by the Nobles
or Priefts ; and at the fame Time, fuch an
Union was eftabliffied between the Crown and
People, ahd fuch a mutual Dependence of each
on the other, as was the beft Security of the
Rights and Privileges of both ; freed the Crown
from its Apprehenfion of the People's revolt
ing, as they held all their Poffeffions by it, and
the People from all Fears of the Crown's in
vading their Property, as Jojeph's Law had
fettled and rendered It unalienable.
Our Philofopher, indeed, wIU not have It fo,
but tells us %, that in thefixth Tear of the Famine,
the People having nothing elfe to part with, fub
mitted themfelves to be Pharaoh'.? Servants or Vaf
fals for ever; and yet in the very Page before j|,
* Eiy/ Tay TAKAiay ^AniKiav, irohhAiLii aip/rtff.sj'K tk '7r\n^Hi,
J^ av[iippov!SVTO( KATA Tav ttyifjiovav. L'iodor. ,sic. i. i. p. 80.
•f Tkj Aiyv-^liovi. TM (jLiv ifvcii xb?:b?, ^ •xpof (mta0oKw ly
ViUTipKTiAoy o^vppovnf oi-Tttf. Plutarch, de Hid. et oiir, p. 380.
J Page 19. II Page i8'.
Z 3 ^s

( 34^ )
he had told us, that in the Beginning of the Fiftb.
Tear, they were willing to become Pharaoh'^
Slaves and Vaffals for ever, and that Jofeph took
them at their Word. But our Author z.f blind^
and cannot fee afar off. If Jofeph took thetn
at their Word in the Beginning of the Fifth .
Year, then the Bargain of Slavery and Vaffal-
lage was made the Beginning of that Year, and
not deferred 'till the Sixth ; and if, as he fays,
they fold tb9ir Bodies and Lands in the Begin
ning of the Fifth Yt rr, they could not be greater
Slaves and .Vaffals in the Sixth. The Truth is, I
Jofeph did not eriflave them at all, but made
them perpetually free. |
when he adds, that * now their Hebrew Lord, .,
Jt being impoffible to reduce them lower, or make
them more miferable, befides the Corn which was
abfolutely neceffary to preferve Life, gave them.
. Seed Corn to Jow their Land., which not having
been done 'till toward the End of the Sixth Tear,
they could have no Produce or Subfifience for them-
felves, 'till near the End of the Seventh and lafi
Tear, which terminated the Famine ; 'tis partly
falfe, and partjy more than he can prove. 'Tis
falfe when he fays, that Jofepli could not reduce
_ them lower, or make them more miferable ; . for
their Mifery was not owing to 'Jofeph, but a
providential Famine ; and in that Famine Jo
feph could have ftarved them, but he faved their
Lives. I-Je could have kept their Eftates, but
he generoufly reftored them. He could have
* Page 19. e^flave^

( 343 )
enflaved them, but he fettled them In their
Property and Liberty, by an irreverfible Law.
And that they and their Country were not ab
folutely deftroy'd, was owing to his Prudence
and Condudt. 'Tis more than he can prove,
that Jofeph gave them no Seed Corn 'till to
ward the End of the Sixth Year, For in the
Fifth Year, in which he fays they agreed with
Jofeph to become Vaffals and Slaves for ever, they
exprefsly demanded Seed for the Land, as well
as Bread for themfelves, ¦* Buy us and our Land
for Bread, and give us Seed, that the Land be
not defolate ; and ]oiephjaid to the People ; Lo,
here is Seed jor you, and you fiall fow the Land.
And when the Egyptians bought Corn with
their Money and Cattle, there is no Queftion
but they bought enough for Seed as well as
Bread, But when they faw the original Caufes '
of the Famine continue, we can fcarce fuppofe
them fuch Fools, as to throw away their Corri
by fowing it, when they knew It Impoffible to
p:roduce any Harveft. SECT. IX.
Cf the Caufes of the Famine in Egypt.
OU R Philofopher's Obfervation, that the
Egyptians had no Seed Corn 'till towards
the End of the Sixth Tear, is in order to infro-
duce a Remark, which is the mofi curioiis of all
y Gen. xlvii. 19, 23.
Z 4 Curl-

.( 344 )
Cur'iofities , and the moft wonderful of all Won
ders. Note here. Reader, a moft choice Dif
covery, never fo much as thought or heard of
in the World before ! Now here, fays he, * we
are let into fhe Secret how the Famine in Egypt
came to lafi fo long, and by what Means the He
brew Prophet and Landlord, the great Task-^
Mafter of the Egyptians, was enabled to fu0
his own PrediBions. Extreamly civil and po
lite this philofophical Language, of Prophet,
Landlord, and Tfljk-Mafier, all in a String.
Antiquam adeo tuam venufiatem obtiries,
Ut voluptati Obitus, Sermo, Adventus tuus,
quocunque adveneris.
Semper fiet 
WeU, what did this Prophet, Landlord, and
Egyptian Tafk-Mafter do ? Why, the Philofo
pher hath juft found out, that having at firft
engroffed and monopolized all the Corn, he was re
folved, for fuch a Time, to give out no more of it,
than what might be jufi necefiary to fupport Lije
from Hand to Mouth, but to let the Egyptians
have no Corn for Seed, 'till he hadfiripped them
of all their Property, abfolutely enfidved them,
and exhaufled all his own Stores. They^ might
have had Seed Corn, fown their Lands, and, raifed
afrefi Supply fooner, as well as now, had their
Landlord and Tafk-Mafier thought fit to have fuf
fer'd it. But this could mt have anfwer'd the
* Page ig, 20. Poll-

( 345 )
Politician's End, in perfeBly enfiaving the People ,
and making himj'elf Mafter of the Country, If
this extraordinary Account is true, and the Phi
lofopher gives It with an Air of fulleft Affurance,
I will venture to affirm, that Jofeph and he
were two of the archeft, cunnlngeft Fellows of
their Time ; Jofeph for his Invention, and the
Philofopher for difcovering it firft, above three
Thoufand Years after it took Place.
I remember when this Third Part of the
Moral PhUofopher firft came out, I paffed a
very fevere and pubiick Cenfure on this Paffage ;
affirming that 'twas a notorious and abominable
Falfehood, or Words to that Eftedt. This drew
on me the Philofopher's Indignation, who called
me to an Account for It by Letter, and de
manded I would retraB it, or afk Pardon for it,
cr prove it, and appoint my Time and Place for
doing it. . Denying myfelf the Pleafure of a pri
vate Converfatlon with him, I affured him T
would vindicate myfelf, and do him Juftice, In
a more pubUck Manner. And the Juftice I
ffiall do him, is now to renew the Charge in
the Face of the World, that his Account <S Jo
feph's engroffing all the Corn, and that this was
the Caufe of the Length of the Famine In Egypt,
Is a notorious and fenfeleft Falfehood, that hath
not the leaft Autority, or Shew of Probability
to fupport It. But as this Paffage hath feveral
philofophical Curiofities in it, I ffiall, in order to
treat of them with greater DIftindtnefs, reduce
them under feveral Heads. He afferts,
I , That

C 34<5 )
I, That Jofeph at firft engroffed and monoh
polized all the Corn,
II. That he was refolved, for fuch a Time,;
to give out no raore of it than what would
be juft neceffary to fupport Life from Hand
to Mouth, 'tUl he had ftrlpped them of aU
their Property, and exhaufled all his OWA
Stores.
Ill, That they might have had Seed Corn,
fown their Lands, and raifed a freffi Sup-
jply fooner, as well as now, had their
Landlord fuffered it; and that this engrof
fing and monopolifing all the Corn, was
the Caufe or Means of the Famine's laft
ing fo long.
I, I fay 'tis falfe, that Jofeph at fir ft engrofied
and monopolized all the Corn. By at firjt he
means, 1 prefume, during the Seven Years of
Plenty, when he took up the Fifth Part of the
Produce of the Country ; and by engroffing and
monopolizing, his criminally procuring or pur
chafing that Corn, in a Manner Inconfiftent
with the pubiick Welfare, and with a Defign
to raake his own private Advantage at the com
mon Coft, Now in this Senfe, I fay Jofeph
did not engrofs and monopolize all, or any Part
of the Corn. For according to the Hiftory, he
^ook up but the fifth Part of It. ¦* Let Pha-
* Gen. xli. 34. ?^ph

( 347 )
raoh appoint Officers over the Land, and take up
the fifth Part of the Land of Egypt, was Jo
feph's Advice to the Egyptian King, and fuch
Advice as was approved hy' Pharaoh, and all his
Court. '* And the Thing was good in the Eyes
cf Phaxaoh, and m the Eyes oj all his Servants.
Now this fifth Part was fuch a Proportion as
the Egyptians could well fpare, without any In
jury to themfelves, or the leaft endangering a
Scarcity amongft them ; for notwithftanding the
fifth Part of the Produce was laid up Yearly,
.throughout all the Cities of Egypt, in the pub-
lick Granaries, yet the Egyptians had Plenty
for themfelves, and for Seed Corn, aU the Se
ven Years of Plenty ; and if there had been no
extraordinary Famine enfued, this Condudl of
Jojeph's couid never have been called monopoliz
ing or engroffing, however he had difpofed of
his Filth, becaufe the Pubiick would have had
enough, and therefore he could not have mgde
his own private Advantage of it at the general
Coft. And that this taking up the fifth Part,
during the Years of Plenty, was an Irapoll that
the People could well bear, and that therefore
'twas reafonable in Itfelf, and a Proportion that
was wifely and equitably adjufted, appears to a
Pemonflration ; frora Jofeph's making it a per
petual Law, that this fiftii Part ffiould be the
Crown's, throughout all fucceeding Ages. Be
fides, ]o{eph'sJijih Part only, under his pru-
* Gen. xli. 37. dent

( 348 )
dent Regulation, was fufficlent to relieve, not
only the Egyptians during the Famine, but other
Countries alfo, that bought of him. Another
fifth Part, therefore, with the fame prudent
OEconomy, would have been equally fufficient
irt their Hands, to have fupplied themfelves for
the fame Term of Years, without their buying
of, or being beholden to Jofeph. But inflead
of one Fifth, they had four Fifths remaining in
their Poffeffion, i. e. Corn enough to maintain
them for Seven or Eight and Twenty Years to
gether, had there been no Seed-Time or Har
veft all that while. And therefore the Scarcity
they foon felt, muft be owing, fome how or
offier, to themfelves, but not to Jofeph's mono
polifing or Engroffment of the Corn. For how
could he monopolife, when he left them fuch
a large Abundance.'' How did he engrofs,
when they themfelves were In Poffeffion of fuch
esft'aordlnary Plenty ? 'Tis from hence evident
to a Demonftration, that Jofeph can never be
charged with monopolifing and engroffing all the
Corn, upon Account of the Quantity he laid up,
during each of the Seven Years of Plenty, in
the King's Magazines, becaufe this had no pof
fible Tendency to create any Scarcity in the
Country, and was no Caufe of Its Beginning or
Continuance. Nor did Jofeph do it from any private View
of making his own particular Advantage of It,
at the pubiick Coft. No, he adted from a Spi
rit of true Patriotlfin, and Regard to the Pro
fperity

* ( 349 )
fperity of Egypt. * That Food, fays he to Pha
raoh, fhall be for Store to the Land, agajnft the
Seven Teari of Famine, which fiall be in the Land
of Egypt, that the Land perifo not thro' the Fa
mine. "Twas to fave the Country from abfolute
Ruin, and not to impoveriffi it, that he gave
the Advice ; and as 'twas Irapoffible for hira to
forefee how far the giving it might turn out to
his own Advantage, and put him into a Condi
tion to make his Fortune by it, 'twas as impof
fible that his original View In it could be his
own particular Intereft. But ii Pharaoh's Dreams
had any Reality In them, and Jofeph was per
fuaded in his own Mind, that Seven fuch Years
of Famine ffiould come upon the Land oi Egypt,
his taking up the fifth Part of the Corn was fo
far from any criminal View of engroffing It, that
'twas an Adt of great Prudence and neceffary
Compaffion, and to which Egypt, and other
Countries, owed the Prefervation of their very
Beings ; or In the Words of Juftin, the Eplto-
mator of -f- Trogus Pompeius; all Egypt muft
have per ifie d by Famine, unlefs, by his Advice y
the King had ordered Corn to be kid up jor many
Tears. Had this been negledted by Jofeph,
when, as the foreraentlon'd J Writer ob
ferves, he Jorefaw the Barrennefs of the Coun
try many Tears before it happened, would he not
* Gen. xli. 36.
•f- Periiffet onmis iEgyptus fame, nifi monitu ejus rex Edifto
fervari per multos annos fruges juffiflet. Jujiin. 1. 36. c. 2.
X Sterilitatem agrorum ante multos annos provideret. Id. lb.
have

( ^5o )
have been juftly chargeable with all the RuinI
and Miferies that rauft have been the Confequen
ces of it, and would not every one have cout
demned fo fcandalous and criminal a Negligence?
And ffiall the Man be charged with monopo
lifing and engroffing all the Corn of Egypt, iox
a Condudt fo highly neceffary In Point of Pru
dence and juftice ; and forae Thoufand Years
after, be reproached with the Infamous Charac
ters of Foreftaller and Deftroyer o/Egypt, mere
ly for his Benevolence, to which the Egyptians
themfelves acknowledged that they owed the
very faving of their Lives ?
Probably it may be faid, that Jofeph ffiould
hot have taken up this fifth Part of the Corn^^
and put it in the King's Magazines, but left It
in the Hands of the original Poffeffors, and that
the Famine would have been as well* provided
againft, by this Means, as by the other. But
the Event ffiewed, that Jofeph's Advice was
good, and his Precaution abfolutely neceffary;
and that Egypt would have been undone with
out .it. For 'tis certain in Fadl, that the Egyp
tians Corn was all gone, either toward the lat
ter End of the fecond, or the Beginning of the
third Year of the Faraine, becaufe they then pur
chafed their Corn frora JoJ'eph. And Mr. Chap
man thinks, that this was owing to a very pro-
fuje and criminal Wafte of it, *" and to great
Careleffnefs and Riot, It may be fo ; but yet,
as Corn doth not afford, of itfelf, much Rooni
* Eufeb. 3d Vol. Pref. for

( 351 )
tor rioting, I think the fpeedy Confiimptibn of
it may be accounted for, In a' great Meafure, a
much better Way, and that is, by the vafi Ex
ports made of it to other Nations.
The * natural Fertility of Egypt was dlWays
peculiarly remarkable, and from the moft early
Times, they exported the Produce of their
Country, -f Ifocrates tells us, " That Egypt
" was fo eminently happy In the Nature and
*' Goodnefs of its Soil, and the Multitude of its
*' Fields, that they feemed to enjoy the Hap-
" pinefs of a Continent; and that by the Sale or
" Exportation of Its Produce, and the Impor-
" ration of what it wanted, by Means of the
*' River, they Inhabited an Ifland," And this
Account Is confirmed by a more unqueftionable
Autority, that oi' Ifaiah J, who In his Prophecy
againft Tyre, fays. And the Seed of Sichor by
many Waters, fhe Harveji oj the River is her
Revenue, i.e. The Corn of Eg-y/;/, produced by
the overflowing of the Nile, the Harveft caufed
hy the Waters of that River, ffie (Tyre) hath
in fuch Plenty, as tho' 'twas her own Produce,
or paid her as an Yearly Revenue.

* Solum ita fecundum, , ut alimentorum in ufum hominum nul
la terra feracior fuerit. Juftin. 1. z. c. I.
f E/« TOiTAVTW J^' V^ip^uMV Vji'AI^OVlAi WM7IV, OrS TH f/CW
ttpSTtl >y TM (fufftl TW X'^P^'i' 'y Ta '!rhn^i> Tay wsJ^iav, viapoy
Kapr/rnvTAi. th efs ¦lav ovrav S^tA^ian, >0j Ttl ray eAAs/TOCTwi'
KoyjiPn, J'lA T'W TK vr^ti(M tS'WAiJ.iv, vwov ofA^iSlV, licc, Laudat.
Bufir. p. Z24. Edit. E. ,Srefh.
J liai. xxiii, 3. 'Tis

{ 35^ )
'Tis well known, * that large Quantities of
Corn were yearly exported from Egypt to Rome,
which was a kind of Granary to that Imperial;.
City. Pliny -f, in his Panegyrick on Trajan,
fays, " 'Twas a very ancient Tradition, that
*' Rome could not be maintained and fupported,
*• but by the Riches of Egypt ; and that That
*' vain and infolent Nation boafted of their feed-
" Ing that conquering People ; and that their
" Plenty or Famine depended on their River,
*' and was in their Hands." :|: Auguflus Ceefar.,
when he reduced it Into a Province, cleanfed all
their Canals, that the Country might be more
fruitful, and better capable of fupplying Rome
with Provlfions. Many other Autoritles might ,
be produced on this Head, were it needful :r
But thefe are abundantly fufficlent to ffiew, that
the Egyptians were great Exporters of Corn, even
in the moft ancient Times. And as the Seven
Years of extraordinary Plenty enabled them to
make larger Exportatlons than ufual, there Is no
Room to doubt but they made their own Ad-
* Auguftus — fepofuit .^gyptum, ne fame urgeret Italiam,
quifquis eam provinciam, clauftraque terrae et maris, quamvis
levi pfsefidio adverfum ingentes exercitus infediffet. Cor. Tacit.
Annal. 1. 2. § 59. Edit. Gronov.
-|- Percrebuerat antiquitus, urbem ijoftram nifi opibus ./Egypt!
ali fuftentarjque non pofle. Superbiebat ventofa et infolens natio,
quod viftorem quidem populum pafceret tamen; quodque in fuo
flumine, in fuis manibus, vel abundantia nollra, vel fames effet,
Plin. Paneg. in Trajan, c. 31. Edit. Delph.
J iSgyptum, in provincis formam redadlam, ut feraciorem
habilioremque annona; urbi redderet, foffas omnes, in quasNilus
exseftuat, oblimatas longa vetulUte, militari opere deterfit. Suet.
Auguft. c, 18. Edit.Pitifc. vantage

{ 353 )
vahtage of it; efpecially as the Famine reached
to all the neighbouring Countries, and muft
have been much fooner felt in thera than in
Egypt, as there is, no Account that they had any
preceeding Years of extraordinary Plenty as
Egypt had, nor laid in any Stock againft the
Scarcity as Jofeph did. And this is abundant
ly Intimated by the facred Hiftorian^ who ob
ferves, that the feven Years of Dearth began to
corae, *• and the Dearth was in all Lands, but
in all the Land of Egypt there was -Bread, viz.
after the Famine was begun in other Countries.
This drew large Numbers of other Nations thi
ther to purchafe Corn ; and there is no Reafon
to doubt, but that the Egyptians took the Ad
vantage of felling their large Stocks to them,
whilft their own Plenty lafted, to enrich thera
felves at their Coft ; either knowing nothing
how long the Faraine was to laft, or without
troubling themfelves about It, making Ufe of
the prefent Opportunity, as the generality of
Men. In all Ages have done, without (y, due Re
gard to, or Provifion for Futurity. It was uo
Wonder that by fuch large Sales, the coraraon
Stock of Corn in Egypt ffiould be exhaufted in
about two Years, and the Egyptians therafelves
be In want of Bread ; nor is there any Reafon to
think but that they would have gone on felling,
or wafting It to- the End, had they been In pof
feffion of the whole Produce of the Country ;
efpecially as they would have had the Tempta-
* Gen. xli. 54. A a tion

( 354 )
tion of exhorbltant Prices for It from the neigh*
bouring Nations. And therefore it became a
neceffary Duty of the Egyptian King, and of
Jofeph under him, to guard againft the feveii
Years of Famine, that they knew were coming
on the Land, and to ky in fuch a Store as might
at aU Events be fufficient for the Peoples Supply
during the Continuance of it. WhUft it remain*
ed In their keeping, it was a certain Security
againft the People's periffiing ; in private Hands,
that Security muft be wanting. And as he was
provident enough to lay It In, he had Prudence
fufficient to diftribute it In fuch Propordons, as
the length of the Scarcity, and the People's Ne-
ceffitles required, and therefore his coUedting In
the Fifth for the pubiick Ufe, was fo far from
being In any View of It, a monopolizing or en
groffing of the Corn, that it was an Inftance of
great Prudence, and neceffary Concern for the
Good oi Egypt ; and if the Hiftory had Inform
ed us, that Jofeph, who foretold the Famine,
had not tllcen this Precaution againft It, but fuf
fered the whole Country to perlffi for want of
it, I doubt not but my Philofopher would have
exclaimed againft his Negligence, and reprefent
ed him as the Caufe of Its Deftrudtbn. •
How Je/eph colledted In this fifth Part of the
Corn, is not exprefly faid; though from the
Manner of his Advice to the King, it feems to
have been done iy the royal Authority, and col
lected as an Impoft or 'Tax by the King's Of-
I ficers,

( 355 )
ficers, on every Man's Eftate. * Let Pharaoh
bok out a Man difcreet and wife, and jet him over
the Land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh make and ap
point Officers over the Land, and take up the fifth
Part of the Land of Egypt, in the feven plenteous
Tears, and let them gather all the Food of thofe
good Tears that come, and lay up Corn under the
Hand o/'Pharaoh. The Words we render, take
Up the fifth Part, t^Dn, refers to Pharaoh, and
tbe lltteral Tranflation of it is : Let him (.Pha
raoh) Fifth theLand of Eg^pt.; exadt the fifth Part
of its Produce, -j- Thus "W^^ he will tythe, take
the tenth Part of the Sheep, or exadt every
Tenth from you, % ^m'' X^yiTs'ys DD'nn,
he will exaB the Tenth of the Vineyards and of
the Seed. So that it feems by the Form of the
Expreffion to have been an AB of the Preroga
tive, and that Jofeph adted in It only by virtue
of the royal Authority, And if the Egyptians
were thus under the Power of their Kings, as
by this Inftance they' feem to have been, the
Prerogative exerted In this Inftance. was wifely
exerted, and even neceffary to the Saving the
whole People. Or if Jofeph bought up the fifth
Part with the King's Money, during the Time
of fuch Immenfe Plenty, he did no Injury this
Way to the Proprietors, but a real Benefit ; fince
'twas a fair Purchafe, and purchafed for Money,
for their own Benefit and Prefervation ; and not by
way oimonopolizing or engroffing to create aScarcity,
but to prevent the dreadful Effedts ofa feven Years
* Gen. xli. 33, 34i 35- t i Sam. viii, 17. % i.Sam. viii_. 15.
A a 2 ¦ Famine,

( 556 )
Famine, that he knew frora God was coming on
the Country. And upon the whole, I appeal
to all the impartial and Unprejudiced Part of
Mankind, whether the Philofopher's Charge on
Jofeph, oi engroffing and monopolifing all the
Corn, be not inconfiftent with aU Candoiir,
and Humanity, fafe. in FaB, and contrary to
the exprefs Letter of the Hiftorian, t If the E-
gyptians had hufoanded their four Fifths as they
fhould have done, Egypt had enjoyed a perpetuall
Plenty throughout the Faraine, and would haye
had enough befides to have enriched themfelves
by the Spoils of their Neighbours ; and there- ,
fore the after Diftrefs of the Famine could be \
in no Senfe afcrlbed to hira, but to the People's
Condudt, which it doth not appear to have begn
in his Power to prevent. And as his buying
up the Corn did not produce the Scarcity, or
the Miferies that attended It, 'tis the higheft In
juftice, and argues the moft malevolent Difpo
fition, to traduce one of the nobleft Inftances
of Forecaft, Providence and Generofity that Is
recorded in Hiftory, with the odious and cri-
i minal Names of engroffing and monopolifing ; -in
a Word, to charge the Condudl, which facred
, and prophane Hiftory reprefents as the Salvation
of Egypt, to be the Means of its Impoverifhment,
^Slavery and Deftrudtion,
2. There is as Uttle Ground for his farther
^ Charge, that JoJ'eph was refolved for fuch. a Time,
to give out no more of the Corn, that what iwutd
be jufi neceffary to fupport Life jrom Hand to
^ Mouth, but to let the Egyptians have no Corn for
I Seed

^ 357 )
Seed, till he had ftript them of all their Property;
and exhaufted all his own Stores. This alfo pro
ceeds from the farae Stock of philofophical Ge
nerofity and Charity, that is not kind, tbat be
haves itfelf unf'eemly, that is eafily provoked, that
thinketh all Evil, that rejoiceth not in the Truth,
but rejoyceth in Iniquity, that bears nothing, be-
lieveth nothing, hopes nothing, endureth nothing,but
fufpeBs, inventeth, and chargeth all Things. For,
I , How carae this PhUofopher to be fo very
fure, that Jofeph was refolved to give them no
more Corn, than what would be jufi neceffary to
fupport Life from Hand to Mouth ? How carae
he fo certainly to know, how much Money the
Egyptians gave Jofeph, and how much Corn he
gave them in exchange for It .? This methinks
looks like a Piece of Knowledge above his Un
derftanding, and which I ara fure he can never
attain, without the Help of Pharaoh's Magi
cians. And yet this he rauft be perfedtly ac
quainted with to make good his Affertion, that
Jofeph would give no more but what would be jufi
neceffary to fupport Life from Hand to Mouth.
Jofeph might, for all that he can tell, give them
the full Value of their Money and Cattle in
Corn, and enough too with prudent Manage
ment for Seed, if the Seafon had proved fuch,
as would have allowed them to fow it. What
there Is relating to this Subjedt in the facred
Hiftory, carries no Refledtion on Jofeph's Con
dudt, 'Tis faid, that * he opened all the Store-
* Gen. xli. 56,  xlvii. 17.
A a 3 ^ houfes.

( 358 )
houfes, and fold unto the Egyptians, and when he
had gathered up the Money,, he gave them Bread
in exchange for their Cattle, as much as was ne
ceffary to feed them and their Cattle for a
whole Tear ; and as * Mr. Le Clerc juftly ob
ferves, there could not be a great Number of
their Cattle left, becaufe there was no Pafturage
for them, and therefore the Value of the Cat
tle was exceeded by that of the Corn. If therefore
they had the full Worth of their Money and
Catde in Provifion, Jofeph's Diftrlbutlon was
juft and equitable, whether what they had was
more or lefs. If they could purchafe a larger
Quantity they had It ; if they could not, enough
for Subfiftance was all they could defire or ex
pedt, Jofeph was unqueftionably provident
enough fo to hufoand his Corn, as to make it
laft during the whole feven Years of Famine,
and to fuffer as little of It as he could to be
wafted, by any Means whatfoever. The utmoft
Prudence and OEconomy In the Supplies he
diftributed was a Work both of Neceffity and
Mercy ; and If the Philofopher means, by Jo
feph's \etiingihe Egyptians have no more Corn, than
was necefiary to fupport Life from Hand to Mouth,
that he gave them only what was fufficlent fOr
their Support, but allowed them none to waft,
'tis a Commendarion of Jofeph's Prudence, In
ftead of what he defigns it, a reproach upon his
* Non multum potuit effe pecus reliquum — itaque fine dubio
pr< tium pecoris annona: pretio fuperabatui. Cleric, in Gen. xlvii.
Charadter.

{ 359 y
Charadter, Or If he raeans, that he gave them
enough for Bread only, but none for Seed, this
alfo may be true, though 'tis raore than he can
prove ; becaufe he certainly knew there would
be no Seed- dme for fuU feven Years, and that
therefore the giving them Seed would have been
no real Advantage to them. If he means that
he defrauded them of their Money and Cattle,
by giving them fmall Quantities of Corn, not
equal to the Value of either,' 'ds a falfe and un
righteous Calumny, which he himfelf knows he
is not capable of proving.
2, When he fays, that Jofeph was refolved
for SUCH A Time to give them no more Corn,
than was jufi neceffary to fupport Life from Hand
to Mouth, 'tis, beyond his ufual Prudence, ex-.
tremely cautious. For Juch a Time i 'Tis pity,
amongft his other notable Revelations, he could
not have bleffed the World with this Difcovery,
how long a Time, fuch a Time was. Was there
any Famine ? How long did It laft. If not feven
Years? But It unfortunately happens the whole
Secret was not whlfpered to him. Could he
have hit of this too, I ffiaould have been almoft
apt to have faid of him, like Pharaoh oi Jofeph:
Can we find fuch a one as this, a Man in whom is
the Spirit of the Gods f But where is the Man that
knows every Thing ? It is raore than any one
in the World befides himfelf could have told us,
that Jofeph engroffed and monopolized all the
Corn of Egypt, and thereby kept the Egyptians
in a ftarving Condition for any iTime.
A a 4 3. When

( 36o )
;. When he adds, that he was refolved to
kt them have no Corn jor Seed, till he hadfirip
ped them oj all their Property, and exhaufted all
his oivn Stores ; this alfo is, like the reft, mere
philofophical Conjedture and Calumny. It evi
dently appears from the Hiftory.^ that Jofeph
gave thera Corn for Seed as foon as they de
manded It,; and that the Reafon why he with
held it frora them before, was not that infamous
one which he fuggefts, a preraedltated Defign abr
folutely to Irapoveriffi them, but becaufe he *
knew that the Famine would abfolutely prevent
fowing or reaping for feven whole Years ; a
Circumftance of which every -j- Egyptian was
as good a Judge as Jofeph, becaufe the Nile it
felf rauft annuaUy determine It. If the Egyp
tians faw that the Nile did not overflow, ac
cording to its ufual Height, they knew that the
fowing their Lands would be either impoffible,
or to no manner of Purpofe. And therefore
why ffiould they demand Seed-Corn ? Or if
they had demanded it, Jofeph ought in Juftice
to the Kingdora to have withheld it frora them.
Whatever were the Profits in Money made by
the Sale of the Corn, 'tis evident from the Hif
tory, that Jofeph referved none of them to
hirafelf; for when he had gathered up aU the
..
* Gen. xlv. 6.
+ E^ctTcrsAAscr/c «? t*? -roi^ui iw^oKAf, S'uiirA(fw1ii 'troian
WH;)^«f >) 'ZOIT'ii J^Ak1vK^( AVAdCtlKiV 0 fnoJA^o;  TO A 5rA«9of
Tav eaoiAiray KA^-iirav iv^vi AiffAvlis -TT^oiyva'AAiri. Diodor. 1. 1.
p. 33-
Money,

( 36i )
Money, that was found In the Lands of Egypt
and Canaan, 'tis exprefly faid, that * he brought
the Money into Pharaoh's Houfe. -f Philo's Ac
count of this Is unqueftionably the Truth: " Thit
" though the Circumftances of the Time gave
" hira raany Opportunities to heap up Riches
*' for himfelf, fo that he might have been the
" moft wealthy Perfon of his Age ; yet all the
" Gold and Silver he coUedled, as the Price of
" the Corn, he brought Into the royal Treafury,
" without a'ny Refervatlons to himfelf, being
" contented with the Favours with which the
" King rewarded him ;" a Circumftance fo
much to Jojeph's Honour, and that fo intirely de
ftroys the Suggeftion, that he prolonged the
Faraine raerely to exhauft the Egyptians, and
enrich himfelf, that the Philofopher hath no
Way to prevent it, but by the filly Suppofition,
that the King's Coffers \ were now become Jo
feph's own ; for Proof of which he ffiaraelefly
cites, Gen. xlvu. 14.. though there be not one
Word in that Paffage, that gives the leaft Inti
mation of it, and though it is evidently added
by the Hiftorian, as a Demonftration oi Jofeph's
Honour and Fidelity.
* Gen, xlvii 14.
•f O /s fSttvectf ToffAvJri Ti'-ia^ iX^y^'^'ttJo u-srSf^oAM, ere Tay kai-
^ay itjir^AyiJi.A'lay «<• A^yv^itrf^ov '^Apix'vlav Thets-ai off as acoffistf,
J'u'jtih-eK J^i' of^iya '!rKv(Tia]a]os Tav ka]' au]ov yivid-ai — AisaJpiA
TOI' Apyvpov «J XJVSOV. OffOV iii, T'W TlaW tl&pOIJi TV <n']ii, iV Ton
^AClKiai iSnOTAvpi^clo TAjJilC-iOli, ^J^ijMAV J\pAX(MV VO<}(;illTa^iiV0i
aKKa /xovaii ApKih^M Tati eP^psa/si Ai; ay-e'^oi^iyoi skhvos tfcTs-
XAP'ffAJo. Piiil. cle Jofeph. p. 43^^439.
i Vol. 3-P- '8-
As

( 362 )
As to Jofeph's demanding their Cattle, upon
the Failure of their Money, I hope this Part of
his Condudl hath been abundantly vindicated
already ; and that It appears that this Demand
was made by him, not to ftrip them of this
Part of their Property, but to preferve it for
them ; and that therefore this could never be
any Reafon, why he withheld the Seed from
them for fo long a Time, viz. that he might
fecure to himfelf the Poffeffion of it. Nor could
he have any farther Views hereby to make him
felf Mafter of the Country, and to force the
Egyptians to alienate their Eftates in Land ; for
poffibly it may appear, that they ha,d no real
Eftates to alienate ; or if they had, Jofeph had
no Inclination to poffefs them. For had this
been his Intention, he would have kept thofe
Lands after they had been refigned to him, and
when he had made them Beggars, continued
thera fo, and not re-Invefted them In all their
former Poffeffions upon fo eafy and moderate
Terms, as we find he afterwards did ; a Cir
cumftance, which though candidly fupprefied by
this honeft moral Writer, yet will, I am per
fuaded, be thought by all impartial Readers a
full Confutation of this groundlefs philoj'ophical
Cjalumny, that Jofeph was refolved to let the
Egyptians have no Corn for Seed, till he had ftript
them of all their Property, and exhaufied all his
own Stores. But
3, 'Tis with equal Truth and ProbabiUty he
farther aflerts that the Egyptians might have had
Seed-

( i(>i )
Seed-Corn, fown their Lands, and raifed a frefi
Supply fooner, as well as now, had their Land
lord fufiered it ; and that this engroffing and mo
nopolizing at firft all the Corn, was the Caufe of
the Famines lafting in Egypt yo long. And this
he teUs us is the true Secret of this long Famine.
An admirable Difcovery this. If one could but
tell how the learned Dodtor carae by it ! But
that is another Secret, which he keeps clofe In
his own oracular Bofom ; and how much foever
he may pride himfelf in the Curlonfnefs of the
Hint, I have fome few Exceptions againft it,
which he muft give me leave humbly to pro
pofe to his Confideration. For
I. 'Tis expresfly contradidtory to his forraer
philofophical Self: For notwithftanding he now
aflerts, in order to murder the Charadter of Jo
feph, that the. Egyptians might have raifed a
frefi Supply of Corn fooner , had this Landlord and
Tafkmafier thought fit to have fuffered it ; yet in
order to fecure to himfef the Merit of another
Difcovery, that all- cur ious Difcovery of the Ori
ginal and Rife of Fortreffes and ftrong Holds, he
exprefly tells us ; * that from Pharaoh's Dream,
there was to follow feven Tears of great Plenty,
and ajter that, feven Tears fucceffively of great
Scarcity, Dearth and Famine in Egypt ; and that
•+• as this feven Tears Famine was to be /« Egypt,
it is evident, that there was a Neceffity to fortify
ana garrifon the Towns and Cities where the Corn
was kept ; without tins Precaution it had been
• V. 3- P-i"- -1 F-'3- .
impoffible

( 3^4 )
impoffible to have prevented the Egyptians them- ;
felvesfrom feizing the Corn under fb fevere a Fa
mine. Now it would be extremely kind if the,
Philofopher would tell the World, how there
were to be feven Years fucceflively of great,
Scarcity, Dearth and Famine '\n .Egypt from:
Pharaoh's Dream, if thefe fame feven Years of
Famine, or any of them proceeded only from;
Jofeph's Wickednefs and Tyranny, when If I^
reraeraber right, there Is not one Word aboute
Jofeph and his Roguery in Pharaoh's two.
Dreams. Again, if there were not to follow
frora Pharaoh's Drearas feven Years of Famine,
then 'tis evident that there was no Neceffity to
fortify and garrifon the Towns and Cities, where
the Corn was kept ; becaufe the Philofopher,,
draws this Neceffity of Fortifications and Gar-'
rifons, both frora the Severity and Continuance
of the Famine ; and therefore his Account of
the Rife of fuch Fortifications is impertinent and '
abfurd, becaufe the Occafion he affigns for It,
according to hira, never fubfifted. Or if that Oc
cafion was real, then 'tis raere Calurany and Falf-.
hood when he afcrlbes the Continuance of the Fa
mine to Jofeph's Ambition and Avarice. Again,
2. The Fliftorian obferves, that '* the Dearth
was in all Lands, and that it was fore in- all
Lands, and that all Countries came ' into Egypt
to Jofeph to buy Corn ; and particularly that ¦f the
Famine was in the Land of Canaan. And this
the PhUofopher allows, and argues from as a
* Gen. xli. 5,(5 57, f .xlii. 5. Principle.

( 365 )
Principle. * There was to follow, iays he, from
Pharaoh'.^ Dream feven Tears fucceffively of great
Scarcity, Dearth and Famine, both in Egypt,
and the Gauntries about it ; as this feven Tears
Famine fpread not only in Egypt, but through all
Countries who were Jupplied with Corn from E&ypt,
fofar as they could have any Communication, 'tis
evident there was a Neceffity to fortify and gar if bn
the Towns and Cities, where the Corn was kept.
Without this Precaution it fad been impoffible to
have prevented other Nations from feizing the
Corn, under fb general a Calamity,
Utor permifio  ,

Now may I be allowed to afk, how came the
Faraine to be In Canaan, and all the Countries
round about It ? What made the Calaraity fo
general ? What, was the Hebrew Prophet the
Landlord and Tafkmafier of the Canaanites, and
all the neighbouring Nations, as well as of the
Egyptians ? Did he engrofs and raonopolize all
their Corn too, and refolve to give them' for a
certain Time no more, than what would be
juft neceffary to fupport their Lives frora Hand
to Mouth .? This is new News from the Ma
gazine of Intelligence, more wonderful Wonders
of Difcovery In the oriental Antiquities, from
the philoj'ophical Mint of Invention. If he doth
not like this Account of the Caufes of the feven
Years Famine in all the Countries round Egypt,
* V, 3. p. II. let

( 366 )
let him teU the World how the Calamity be«i
came fo general In them, and I'll take on me to
demonftrate, that It was as real, and of as long
continuance in Egypt. Or if he choofes to deny,
that the Famine lafted feven Years in the Coun
tries bordering upon Egypt, let him at the fame
Time pull down his Fortreffes and ftrong Holds,
that he had conjured up, to defend the Corn,,
upon the Suppofition of a feven Years Famine,
and undergo the Mortificadon of not being the
DIfcoverer of the firft Inftance of them ; and
he will find me perfedtly eafy and content.-
Befides, ,
3. If the Faraine, or the long Continuance
of it In Egypt, and the neighbouring Countries,
was owing to Jofeph's engroffing the Corn, and
his Refolution to let the Egyptians have no Seed,
'till he had ftript them of all their Property,
what becomes of the Hebrew Hifiorian, which
fays he, / will all along take for my Guide, as
defigning to keep clofe to him, and to draw nothing
into Confequence, but what mufl necefiarily arife
from the Text. Let us fee then, how his Ac
count of the Continuance of the Famine agrees
with this Profeffion, and how we can reconcile
Pharaoh's Dreams, with all their Confequences,
upon Suppofition of the Truth of it. His
Dreams are well known, and Jofeph's Inter-^
pretation of them ; and according to both,
there were to be feven Years of Plenty, and
thefe to be followed by feven Years' of Famine.
Now If the Dreams did not foretel both, they
foretold

{ 3^7 )
foretold neither, and If the Event did not ex
adtly anfwer in one Cafe, It did not In the other.
If there were not really feven Years of Famine,
then were there not feven preceding ones of
Plenty. If fo, there can be no Proof, that Pha
raoh had any Dreara, or that Jofeph interpreted
his Dreams, or that there were any Years of
Famine, or any Years of Plenty, or diat there
was one fingle Word of Truth in this whole
Hiftory. And then the Philofopher hath not
let us Into the Secret, how the Famine lafted fo
long, but into the more curious Secret, that there
was in reality no Famine at all ; and thus hath
cleared Jofeph oi the Villainy he hath thrown
upon him, and proved againft himfelf, that all
his Charges are groundlefs Calumnies.
If any Thing was to follow from Pharaoh's
Dreams, it was feven Years of Plenty, and feven
Years of extraordinary Famine, and that * all
the Plenty fiould, be forgotten in the Land of E-
gypt, and that -j- the Faming fiould confume the
Land, and that the Plenty fiould not be known in
the Land, by Reajbn of the Famine following ;
t for it was to be very grievous. But If thefe
Things did foUow from Pharaoh's Dreams, and
if the Event exadtly anfwered to thera, then alfo
the Philofopher's Secret, into which he is let
himfelf, and Into which he hath let the World,
is an open Falftmd, and his charging the Con
tinuance of the Faraine upon Jofeph, Is In this
View, as irapotent and ffiamelefs an Inftance of
* Gen. xli. 30. f 3«- t 32- , , ,.
Mahce,

( 368 )
Malice, as In the other. For 'li Pharaoh dreamt
the Dreams afcrlbed to him, and '\i Jofeph's In
terpretation of thofe Dreams was right, then
neither the Plenty, nor the Faraine could have
any Dependance on Jofeph's Contrivance and
Management, but were both of them equally
Events, that were certainly to- come to pais
whether Jofeph would or no.
If the Dreams were both real, and yet fore
told nothing, and no correfpondent Event hap-
pehed, Jofeph would have eftedlually ruined his
Charadler, and muft have been inimediatly look
ed on as an Impofier ; for the Things he pre-
didted were, as himfelf declared, fibrtly to come
to paj's ; ai..'. "f they did not accordingly come to
pafs, this rauft have fpoiled his Credit with the
King and Court of Egypt, and probably have
fent hira back to the Jayl frora whence he had
been taken. If the feven Years of extraordinary
Plenty did happen according to.the Dreara, and
'Jofeph's Interpretation, but not feven Years of
Fa:raihe, how carae Jojeph to hit of the Mat
ter fo well in the one, and fo fadly to faU in the
other, as to be reduced to the Neceffity, of
fuch infaraous Craft and Villainy, as the Phi
lofopher imputes to hira, to fulfil his own Pre-
didtions ?
. Jofeph was according to all Accounts, facred
and prophane, a Perfon of great Sagacity and
Prudence, But he muft have been the greateft
of Fools, to have fixed exadtly the Years of
Plenty and thofe of Famine, and to declare that this

^ 3^9 I
this fijould fibrtly be brought to paft, if he had
not had fuch a Certainty of the Event, as he
knew could not deceive him. When he pre-
didted thefe Things, 'tis impoffible he could ever
iraagine, that his own Advancement in the
Egyptian Court ffiould be fd fudden or great as
it proved, or that he fliould ever have it in his
Power to fulfil his own Prophecy in the Senfe
the Philofopher hath reprefented, or be able tS
forefee, without a Spirit of real Prophecy, what
was to happen, or how he fliould be forced to
&dt, ten or a dozen Years to corae. And there
fore if he had any Intention or View of rifing
at the £)^_y^^/^/z Court, coramon Prudence would
diredt him, not to have predidlefl Things plain
ly and circuraftantially, as ira:mediat!y to come
to pafs, of which he knew nothing, whether'
ever, or in what Manner they ffiould happen.,
And therefore his afcertaining the Duration of
the Plenty and Famine can be accounted for oh
no Principals bf Prudence or Policy, but one,
viz. ^is abfolute Perfuafion, that both would
certainly corae to pafs by Caufes that he could
not over-rule, and that would leave nothine, for
hira to do, to fulfil his own Predidtions.
The Philofbpher feeras to apprehend, there
was a Faraine of fome Continuance in Egypt, for
the Secret he lets us into, is not, I think, that
there was no Dearth, but only how it came to
laft fo long, and that the Egyptians might have
had Seed-Corn,' and raiftd a frefi) Supply fooner.
Now here the Spirit of Divination fails him, and
B b how

how much fooner. they might have fown ther
Lands is a choice Secret into which he cannot or
wiU not let us. I rather fufpedt his will; for
what cannot fuch a Man as he difcover ? But ,
'tis Pity he hath denied us this Piece of Infor
mation, becaufe tiU we have It, we may rea
fonably heVxeve Mofes as well as Morgan, and
there wiU be as much ground to think that [even
poor, very illfavoured, lean-fiefied Kine, that
eat up the feven jat Kine ; and feven Ears, wi
thered, thin and blafted, that devoured the feven
good Ears, do as naturally denote feven Tears of
Famine, as j'even fat Kine and J'even good Ears,
ffiould denote /^*um Tears of extraordinary Plenty ;
and that therefore the Famine was as real and
lafting as the Plenty. And I iraagine that this
may be raade appear almoft to a Demonftration.
For, let it be obferved, that the firft Year o(
the Dearth, the Egyptians muft have had the
fame Plenty of Corn to fow, as they had during
any of the preceding Seven, becaufe they had
the Produce of the feventh plentiful Year, and
the Remaifis of the forraer Year's Stock, for
their Supply ; and therefore the firft Year of the
Dearth could only affedl and relate to theLand,-
and not the Inhabitants,- who might have fowed
tlieir Lands, and raifed a frefli Supply for the
enfuing Year, had It been poffible. So that the
Beginning of the Faraine could not be owing to
Jofeph's withholding the Corn, nor In the leaft
depend on any Contrivance or Manageraent of
his. And fuppofing they were prevented from
fowing.

( 371 )
fowing their Lands in OBober, the firft Year of
the Faraine, which is their Seed-time, yet there
muft be ftill left large Quantities of Corn In E-
gypt, at leaft in the Hands of the Farmers, viz.
all that would have otherwife been employed as
Sted, with large Remains befides from thefor
mer Years Stock, which confidering the Plenty
of the Crop, would have been abundandy fuf
ficient for the fowing the Lands, OBober the
fecond Year of Faraine, for a Supply againft the
third. Nor could Jofeph have prevented their
ibwing the Corn the fecond Year, had the E-
gyptians found it poflible to do it. Now Jofeph
exprefly tells his Brethren, * thefe two Tears
hath the Famine been in the Land, and vet there
are five Tears in which there ftoall be neither Ear
ing nor Harvefi. But could the Egyptians have
fowed their Seed at the End of the fecond Year
df Faraine, It would have been irapoffible for
Jofeph, by any Art or Management, to have
prevented their Earing or Sowing the five fol
lowing ; becaufe if the Country had been ca
pable of receiving the Seed, they would had
Seed In their own Hands to have fown every
Year, from the Produce of each ; for they might
reafonably have expedted a proportionable En
creafe; the farae Circuraftance that prepares the
Land for fowing, always in Egypt lecuring an
anfwerable Harveft,
The true Reafon of ffie Faraine therefore in
Egypt was, becaufe the Egyptians could not
* Gen. xlv. 6. B b 2 fow

( 37^ )
fow their Lands, not becaufe they wanted Seed
to do it. They had enough of this, as hath
been ffiewn, for the two firft Years ; and if it be
confidered, that every Egyptian In about four
Months after Harveft, certainly knows whether
there will be any Seed- tirae or not, 'tis not to
be imagined but thatthe Farmers, fome of them
at leaft, upon feeing each Year the Impoffibility ,
of fowing, would grow proportionably more
faving of their Corn, and that out of fuch Plenty
as the feven Years produced, there would have
been fome for Seed the fourth and fifth Year of
the Famine, had there been any Seafon for
fowing it ; a Suppofition not at all Incredible in
itfelf, nor inconfiftent with the Account of the
Severity of the Famine.' For though it be faid,'
that all the Land of Egypt was j'amified, the
moft which that Expreffion raeans is, that the
Dearth was general throughout the whole Coun
try ; not that no Perfon In all Egypt had any
Corn, which can never be proved to be the
Cafe from the Hiftory ; there being in all Scar^^
cities. Corn oftentira,es in the Hands of private
Perfons. And as thefe Perfons in Egypt would
keep up their Corn at a very high Price, or not
part with it at all, 'tis highly probable the Egyp-.
tians appUed to Jofeph, hoping, frora the Quan-'
tity he hadlaid up, that he would give It thera
upon cheaper Terms than othsrs, and fupply
them gratis when they had nothing left to pur
chafe more. And as thefe Suppofitions are built
upon Fadts and Experience In-all iike Cafes, they
render

{ 373 )
'jsender It more than probable, that had there been
:any Seed-time In Egypt, there would have been,
.at leaft for four or five Years of the Famine,
¦forae Corn for Seed, which rauft have ended or
mitigated the Dearth the fifth or fixth. And if,
•as it appears, the Faraine vs^as owing to natural or
providential Caufes for five or fix Years fuccef-
ffvely, no Man of Candour, I ara confident, wUl,
upon a Review of all the Clrciiraftances of the
Hiftory, objedl to the Continuance of it frora
the fame Caufes for feven.
Befides, if the Egyptians could have fown
their Seed before the Expiration of the ieven
Years, and had been prevented only by Jojeph's
Wickednefs and Cruelty in withholding from
them the Corn, this muft have been known to
all Orders and Degrees of Men In Egypt. But can
any one Imagine, that Pharaoh, and the Nobles,
and Priefts, and Souldiery of Egypt would aU
-have confplred with the Prime Minifter, a For-
- reigner, an Hebrew, with whom it was an Abo^
mination for an Egyptian to eat Bread, In fuch
an execrable Atterapt to Irapoveriffi the People,
ahd continue the Defolation of an univerfal Far-
mine all over the Kingdora ? Or would any
Nation in the Worid, had they been the raoft
abjeB Slaves ; would the Egyptians, who ac
cording to our Philofopher wexe the freej't Country
then in the World, have ever fuffered a Prirae
Minifter to flarve their Perfons, and impoveriffi
their Lands, and prevent their fowing them,
by a Monopoly of Corn, and refufing thera Seed
B b 3 when

( 374 )
when he had- Plenty of it, had there been any
PoffibiUty of fowing it ; would they haye -fufr
fered this, I fay, without rifing in univerfal Re
beUion, and deftroying the Contrivers and. Aur-
thors of fuch a Mifchief ? 'Tis the moft Incre
dible Suppofition In the World that they .would
have endured it, had not every one of the feven
Years of Famine convinced every Egyptian In
the Kingdom, that it was impoffible to ,fow
their Seed.
The Country of Egypt Is of fuch a Naturq,
as that they can have no Seed-time or Harveft,
without leave of their own River. Rains * they
feldom have any, and in forae Part of their
Country none, and therefore all their different
Sorts of Grain, Wheat, Barley, Rice, &c. axe
intirely indebted to the Waters of the Nile for
their Growth and Encreafe, which annually
overflowing Its Banks -f, waters the whole
Country, and leaves behind it great Quantities
of Mud, which enrich the Lands, and prepare
* Oy ^ctf cTm v^Iai Ta Ava tj)« Aiyvarjis to iTApA'srAV. Hert^.
1. 3. c. 10. Rari funt imbres. Columel. de re ruft. i. 2. c. 12.
\ -J. .  , Tellufque natans jEgyptia Nile
Lenius irriguis infii.fbat corpora campis.
Manil. I..4. v. 724, 725. et 1. 3. v. 272, 273.
OpyATAI 0 Ne|A,i3f, }ij rrcldifiog BiVAl kk «tl'£;^STjJ|, cjAA* KATi
^avitoJai tw o'X^W, >Lj ^AKA(T!}a(TAi TW Aiyw^rjay, lyi TctfOif*
yunpyti TAi rtjBjctf. Heliodor. .iEti.iop. i. a. p, no. Edit
far.. ; , then

( 315 )
them for Seed, When * the Inundation is over,
the Barley and Wheat are thrown upon the
Mud, in OBober, which the River every where
fpreads, and which was anciently trodden In by
their Cattle trampling on it, or gently plowed
into the Ground, witherat any farther Trouble
to the Huffiandman,; a Cuftom that Iri a great
Meafure prevails to this Day, If the Inunda
tion fafls thenij or doth not rife to Its ufual pro
per Height, a Dearth muft unavoidably follow,
and the fowing the Corn becomes irapoffible,
frora the Land's being unfit to receive it. Now
as the Famine was in other Countries befides
Egypt, 'tis highly probable 'twas occafioned by
an exceffive Drought ; and this is intimated by
j'^o/^/ii6's Brethren In their Anfwer to Pharaoh :
-f- Thy Servants have no Paft,ure for their Flocks,
for the Famine is fore in the Land of Canaan ; a
Circumftance that could not in Its Nature have
become general, but from an exceffive Drought.
The Famine iu E^yft was unqueftionaby owing
to the farae Caufe, For as the Rains which faU
* Tw \J.iv TA«rKf Tay ysu^yav ron AVA^xpA/vofi^on tyi;
yw T(r7roii ipi^Aj^i-iVisf, i^ 71 ff'Triff/.A ^AhhovTat, itiay^v -m ^oaiq\-
lj.Ara, >y tutxis a-f/z-ffl-aTna-tti'TOf — A'TTAVray znri -nv 3^s§itrf/.iiy.
Emf <ri nnipoii A^olpo.i tiTAyoviAi — o-<wf»f AVAijfi&ai Tav xotj-
w.ay. Diod. i. p. 32. Vid. etiam Herod. 1. z. c. 14.. 'Vulgo
credebatur, ab ejus decelTu ferere fclltos mox fues impellere vefti-
giis feraina, deprimentes in madido folo, et credo antiquitus fac-
titatum. Nunc quoque non mulco gravjora opera. Sed tamen
inarari certum eft abjefta prius femina in limo digrefli amnis, hoc
.ell, novembri menfe incipiente. Plin. Hill.' Nat. 1. 18. c. 18.
^ Gen. xlvii. 4.
B b 4 m

( 37(> 3
In f Ethiopia In the Months of June, July and
Augufi are known' to be the certain Caufes of
the annual Inundation of the Nile ; the Failure
of thofe Rains rauft hinder the. Inundation, and
thereby prevent the Seed-time In Egyptt and
. introduce a Scarcity, and even an abfolute Fa
mine, If the Inundation ffiould difcontlnuefor
two or three Years.
That this was the Caufe of this Famine, Is
plainly intimated in the Hifiory Iifelf ; For Jo
feph tells his Brethren : -^^ Thefe two Tears hath.
the Famine been in the Land, and yet there are
five Tears, in which there fiall, be neither Earing
nor Harvefi, neither Seed-time or Harveft ; a
Circumftance that cpuld fcarce poffibly have
happened in Egypt, on any other Account, but
the Failure of the ufual overflowing of the Nile.
For if this happens regularly, 'tis almoft necef
farily an enfuing. Year of Plenty, upon which
* ^wn ya^ [Agatharchide?] %£\'' iviavjov tv idi; kath -nv
hi^ioTTiAv cpiji yinSrAi axjvixM c^^^'di amo ^i?iyav Tfo^esy
f/.iX'!' "iii ii.inira!^ifw urnu.ip.'i. ^vAoyat xv -nv NeiKov ——
V-AlU, TO &i^oi S'ltt. TMi iK'KiO^.iVHi Ojj.C^Si KAyLSAVUV TUV AV^tlflV-
DilJ r..]. I. p. 39. j^t/^iTAl <Pi Ka^A TUV ^i^lVW <»f«C  ¦
'Tav A'jiij.av k-aJa T^o-miv mi/ ,$i^iyw atto lav A^intsav sot ¦rae, (is-
am^CpiAV Tiav vi(po( tXAVvoVToiv T5 hci,i a^avlav, lat jot -nv S'lA'
3l,iy,g.V[xiyw ^avw tTVVa^aai  -nif r^^oli^ov x^ r§.TA (.uK^py Ad-
^vSriTtm [ \fAQ?_oiSfn(m ] xj TAXJV^eicrni yojij*of £?*7(^/Q'ffM6l'i)«;.
niK t«1k hAQ'pav vijeny ^nyvv0ijay, o^yAiai O N^A®", Heliodor.
1. 2. p. 169, iio. Nearchus apud Strab. 1. 15. p. lozo. Arriari.
Kill. Ind. c. 5. Piln. N. H. 1. 5, c. 9. See thefe more ancient Ac
counts confirmed by later Obfervations, in Dr. Geddes Church
Hi!'., of Ethiop. p. 5. Dr, Shaw's Travels, p. 431, 432. '
' f Gen. xlv.' 6. A-Ccoupt

( 377 )
Account the Egyptians * anciently made great
Rejoicings, and continually feafted duringthe
Time the Inundation lafted ; and which they
do to this Da\' cryijig out, -f- God hath given
than alf they 'wa,-ited. And this is the Account
given of ffie .^uules of this Famine by almoft all
Writers I have ever feen, ancient and modern.
i J'fiP'-''^^ ^^^'^ ^^s: " Tbat the Famine en-
" creafed arr.ongft the Egyptians, the River
" neither rifing nor watering the Country, nor
"God fending any Rain." And || Philo:
f The firft feven Years ffiall come bringing
" with them an incredible Plenty, the River
« every Year ftagnating the Fields with its In-
f undations. After this ffiall come the feven
" contrary Years ; bringing on a grievous Want
" and Scarcity of all Neceffaries, the River nel-
" ther diffufing its Waters, nor the Country
*' being enriched by it ;" Accounts thefe exadtly
agreeable to that of the Hebrew Hiftorian, as
may be juftly colledted frora the Paffages before
mentioned. * O/ tT' ox^ol -navTA tov'tk <Z!M^a(fia( xe.f'""' A'SohiM/^S/Joi tuv
ieiav elf Avi^y T^i'novmi, aiimx"^ aiai^^ot, }y -mtvjay tosv
ip^o'f viJ^ovw AVMoi/iU'y AVS[*'!roJ'ira{ A-noKAVovlii. Diodor. 1. i-
p. 33.
f Dr. Shaws Travels, p. 437.
J O cTs f^i(i& Tt:ii AiyvTTJioii iirilnv^o  f^wTs tk
BB7af/« TW ytiv fi/raf/oy]©-, K jitf Mu^e, nAi vovl©- TU ^s».
Jofeph. Antiq. 1. 7. c. 7'.
II H^« iJt.iv w STt-miTtA nsr^oliiA, 'srohKw ^a^^ovoy iX^oA
-^VKA^TiAv, «3-Aii(/f/i^f*/« //svaca JTCti' i}@- Til 'wora/M Kii^yilov']©-
hai ApisgA!. Hf« /g fJ-iTA -javra iVAinjA ¦mhiv i'7r]AiT'iA J^S-
ww ivA-tAv ^ a wav IV Tav AVAy/^iav 4OTf«{s^*f (^a7s arA^o[Aivti
TK OT7«frt«, (^rfji Tni yw ^imvoinvw- Vh\l. de Jofeph- p. 4ZS'
r i . , Befides,

( 378 )
Befides, Jofeph In his Intei-pretatlon of Phar
raoh's Dreams, tells him, with refpedt to the
feven Years of Famine, as well as to thofe of
Plenty, that God was about to do this, and that
ihe Thing was eflablified by God ; plainly declar
ing the Famine ffiould be providential, and was
certainly determined by God himfelf. And ac
cordingly * Jufiin as Well as Mofes fpeaks of it
as a real, and not artificial Famine, a Famine
that lafted many Years, and that Jojeph was the
iPreferver of Egypt from Deftrudtion by laying
up fufficient Stores for thera ; not the Deftroyer
oi Egypt by bringing on them a Famine, by
Graft, and Violence and Villainy. And had not
the Caufes ,of it been founded In Nature and
Providence, Jofeph's fo exprefly iitmg the exadl
Continuance of it, rauft have been the Heigh th of
Folly, and for which there could be no poffible'
Inducement, but his Certainty that both thofe
Events would take Place , a Certainty he could
have no otherwife, but by Revelation from God,
who hath all Events abfolutely under his Dif
pofal. In a Word, every Circumflance of the Hif
tory confutes the Philofopher's Account of this
Famine ; nor ara I afraid to appeal to any Im
partial Perfon in the whole World, which de
ferves the greater Credit ; his Romance, which
hath no one Authority facred or prophane to
* Sterilitateiii agrorum prKviderit, peiiilTetque omnis iEgyp,-
tus fame, 'nifi monitu ejus rex edifto fervari per multos annos
ii:.igej juffifTet. Juftin. I. 2. c. 6. §.1. countenance

( 379 )
countenance It; or the Account oi Mofes, which
hath the concurrent Teftiraony of other Hiftory
JO confirra It. I need not add, that thefe pal
pable Falfifications of Fadls by this unhappy. Wri
ter, wUl raake every Reader conftantly upon his
Guard, how he trufts hira In any Thing for the
Future ; and as he hath forfeited all Credit as
an Hiftorian, he ought never to appear in Pub-
lick again, but in the humble Habit oi a penitent
Offender. *
'Tis a Circumftance fcarce worth taking no
tice of, only as it ffiows this Writer's Negligence,
and that he Is not to be trufted even in the
fmalleft Matters, when he afferts : * That in the
fixth Tear of the Famine their l^ehxew Lord gave
them Seed-Corn to fow their Lands, it being im
poffible to reduce them lower, or make them more
miferable ; but this not having been done till to
wards the End oj' the fixth Tear, they could have
no Produce or Subfiftance jor themfelves, tifi near
the End of the feventh and laft Tear, which ter
minated the Famine,. But this is contrary to the
Letter of the Hiftory, which affirras there were
to be feven Years of Dearth ; and to what Jo
feph tells his Brethren : -f- Thefe two Tears hath
'the Fa'0ine been in the Land, and yet there are
five Tears in which there fiall be neither Earing
nor Harvefi. So that the Egyptians could have no
Produce, nor freffi Subfiftence frora the Country,
jielther the Beginning nor End of the fixth or
feventh Year,unlefsthe Philofopher can find out an
* V. III. p. 19. t Gen, xlv. 6. Ari:

( 38o )
Art to make the Earth prodace without Earing
or Harveft. The firft Seed-time was not to be
'till OBober, nor their firft Harveft 'till March
and April in the Eight. But from hence we
may very ftrongly infer, that the Length of this
Famine was not owing to Jofeph's detaining the
Seed-Corn frora them. For if they could not
be more miferable than they were at the End of
the fixth Year, there could, be no poffible In
ducement R) raake hira continue the Famine
any longer ; and therefore, the Continuance of It
for the Seventh was not owing to hira, but to a
Caufe not In his Power to prevent. And upon
the whole, I think ^It muft appear evident, to
every unprejudiced Reader, from thefe Obfer-
¦vations, that our Philofopher's Secret, about the
Continuance of this Famine, inftead of being a
Difcovery to the learned World, turns out a
mere fenfeleft Tale, that ffiews nothing but want
of Genius, Learning, Integrity and Candour,
and that Jofeph is not in the leaft chargeable
with that Villainy which he fixes on hirn.
SECT. X.
Ofjoitph's enfiaving the Egyptians.
OU R PhUpfopher, determined to blefs the
prefent and future Ages with forae new
Difcoveries in every Subjedt he treats of, hath
given himfelf great Airs in fpeaking of the Li
berties and free Conftitution of the ancient Egyp tian^.:

( iSi )
tiarfs. He tells us, that the ]lncident of Jofeph's
Advancement * laid the Foundation of theRuine
of Egypt, and reduced the fineji, richeft,andfreeft
Country then in the World, to a State of Mifery,
Poverty and Vaffalage. It proved the intire Over
throw of a free Confiitution, and introduced fiub
an abfolute Power both in Church and State, as
had never been known in the World before. And
aU this he delivers with as much Confidence, as
if there -were unqueftionable Vouchers for this,
fecret Hifiory, and the Egyptian Conftitution in
Church and State at that Time was as well
known, as the Britifi'vs now; though at the
farae Tirae, his Learning furniffies hira with
no Authorities on this Head, and he. doth not
fo much as pretend to bring ©ven a Shadow of
an Argument In Proof of his Affertions.
But if his own Account of Jofeph's Condudl
be true, and the Intiraations given us by the
facred Hiftorian, and other Writers, be duly
confidered, his Encoraiums of the Egyptian li
berties wUl have no Foundation, nor deferve any
Credit. For If they were that ixee Nation he
reprefents, 'tis impoffible they ffiould have fuf
fered a Prime Minifier, a Foreigner, an Hebrew^
to have done, what he teUs us Jojeph did, and
what they in the Beginning might have eafily
prevented his doing. He affirms that he engroff
ed and monopolized all the Corn, and that he
ftarved the Country, and prolonged the Famine
by keeping the Seed from the Inhabitants ; Clr-
* 'V^ol. III. p. II. cumftances

( 38M
inftances that don't look very favourable, or
feera fo very confiftent with a perfedtly free
Conftitution. Let a Prirae Minifter in this'
Kingdora, who is a Frenchman, or one In France
who Is a Britain, engrofs the Corn in either bf
, thefe Kingdoras, and create or prolong a Famine
by fuch monopolizing, and hinder the Farmers
hereby frora fowing their Lands ih a good Sea
fon, and I can eafily forefee his Fate,' without
any Affiftance of the Spirit of Prophecy.
Again, he fays, that JoJ'eph fortified and gar
rlfoned the Towns and Cities, and ftrongly for
tified the Magazines and Storehoufes, and that'
thefe Fortreffes -and ftrong Holds was an Inftance'
of abfolute and arbitrary Power, and that by
t\yi.s Jofeph enflaved Egypt. And yet it feems
the People'and the Conftitutrpn were free under
the Exercife of this abfolute and arbitrary Power,'
and either did not preferve it, or made no Re-'
fillance to it. Let a Prime Minifter, or even'
a Prince, try to fortify Cities, eredl Citadels, and
fpread numerous Garrifons all over Great Britain;
by their arbitrary Power, without Leave of Par
hament, . and 1 hope I ffiall be able to read their
Deftlnies, long before the Work is half brought'
to its Conclufion, and the Nation fettled under
full Slavery by it. Again, Jojeph's Advice to
Pharaoh was : Let Pharaoh appoint Officers over.
the Land, and let him fij'th the Land of Egypt.
And the Thing was good in the Eyes of Pharaoh,
and Jofeph gathered up all the Food of the feven
Tears, and laid it up in the Cities. Doth the
Philofopher

Philofopher imagine that fuch a Piece of Ad
vice to a Britifi Prince would feem good in the
Eyes of all the good People oi Great Britain, or
that they would not fooner part with their Lives,.
than fubmit to fuch a wicked and arbitrary Im
poft, if a Prince or Prime Minlfter ffiould ar
bitrarily endeavour to levy It ? We almoft re
member the Time, when a much lefs Thing
than this coft one Prince and his Minifter their
Lives ; and well remember the Tirae, when it
coft another his Crown and Kingdom.
Again, Pharaoh, when he heard oi Jofeph's
Father and Brethren, commanded him to bid
his Brethren to bring * their Father and whole
Houfiold into Egypt, adding, I will give you the
good of the Land oJ Egypt, and ye flmll eat the
Fat of the Land. Alfo regard not their Stuff':
The good of all the Land o/'Egypt is yours. And
after their Defcent Pharaoh further Comraands:
The Land of Egypt is before thee : In the bej't of
the Land make thy Father and Brethren to dwell,
in the Land of Goffien let them dwell. This
furely looks like the Language of an arbitrary
Prince, who had an abfolute Dorainion over his
Subjedls and their Country. Our -f- Philofo
pher out of fpecial Grace to the Hebrew:;, very
bountifully enlarges this Grant, and tells us that
Very probably Jacob's whole Family was above
two ThouJ'and firong, and that therefore an whole
Province, and that the fine ft and richeft in all his
Dominions, was affigned them, to live fepar ate by
* Gen. xlv. iS. f V. III. p. 15.
theiri-

J 384) ,_
^heinfelves in their own Way. ExceUent free Con- '
ftitution this, in which the Prince by his owri
Prerogative cai> beftOvtr a w^hole Province, and
that the fineft and richeft In his Kingdom, ori
Foreigners, becaufe related to his Prime Mi-
. nifter 1 What would the free People of Greai
Britain think, or how would they behave them-^
^ felves, to fee the richeft County In the King
dom thus difpofed of, and two or three Thou- '
fand Foreigners, in Complalfancfe to forae Prime
Minlfter, introduced Into the Eftates of the
forraer Poffeffors. , 1
Pharaoh's feizing Abraham's Wife; was evl-
^dently the arbitrary Adlion of a tyrannical
Prince. His hanging up the chief Baker, and
reftoring the chief Butler, feem to be mere
Adls of Power, as well as his firft Imprifonraent
of thera in his Wrath. His advancing^o/^/'^ Iri
an Inftant, a raere Stranger, to the firft Dignity
of his Kingdom, and to a Power fuperior to aft
the Princes of Egypt, was a Thing that would
not have been endured in a free Conftitution,'
but was exactly fuitable to an arbitrary^ Govern
ment, and to the ufual Pradtice of the Tyrant^
in the Eaft, who raifed whom they pleafed, with
out Regard to Nation or Family. But ef
pecially, that royal Language to Jofeph : *lani
Pharaoh : And without thee fiodllno Man lift
up his Hand or Foot in all the Land o/'Egypt, and
according to thy Word fiall all my People be rul
ed; Is fiich a Demonftration of the Egyptian Li-
* Gen. xli, 46, 44. ¦. ,
i bertyy

¦ i 3'^5 )
berty, fuch a flagrant Proof of the Freedom of
their Conftitution, as renders all farther DeraOri-
ff ration unneceffary. In like raanher, when all
the Land of Egypt was faraiffied, and the Peo
ple cried to Pharaoh fOr Bread; the Monarch
•difraiffes thera in princely Stile : * Go to Jofeph,
"what he fays to you, do. Bleffed Country of
Liberty, where the Command of the Prince,
and the Word of the Prime Minifter, are the
only LaWs of Government ! If I raight therefore
be allowed to differ frora this learned Antiquarian,
I ffiould be apt to imagine from thefe Paffages,
that Egypt was in that State, which -f- Jufiin
teUs us, all Nations antiently were, who were
' 'governed by no Laws, I. e. by no ftated, certain or
Vrltten Laws, but to whom the Wills of their
Princes were inftead of all Laws ; and that Jo
feph did not raake the Egyptians Slaves, but
found thera fo ; and that his Charge, that Jo
feph kept the Seed-Corn from them, in order to
enflave them, '\s groundlefs Calumny, and hath no
other Foundation than philofophical Ignorance or
Confidence. The Acco.unt given by % Artapanus of the
Condition of tlie Egyptians before JoJ'eph's Cora--
iftg amongft thSm, icbcn the lower People were
* Gen. .xli. 55. ¦;,;..¦.;¦
•f- Principio rerum "-- —  — — Populus nuilis legibus tene
batar : Arbirria pruuipum pro legibus er.ant. Jullin, 1, 1, c. 1.
% Twr iKAiraovav wo ray XP^'^'^'vav AJ)K>s^ivay. Apud Eufeb.
Prap. Evang. 1. 9. c. 23. C c Oppreffed

( 38^5 )
oppreffed by the higher, is irreconcilable with a
free Conftitution and Government. ¦* Jojephm,
in anfwer to Apion's Boaft, that the Egyp
tians obtained this fingular Bounty from the
Gods, who were faved in Egypt, by transform
ing therafelves Into the Shapes of Brutes, thit
they were never In Subjedlion to the Kings of
Afid or Europe; Immediately fubjolns, that
they dont appear ever to have enjoyed their Libei'ty
in any pafi Ages for one fingle Day ; no, not under
their own Princes. The Truth Is, that In thefe
very early Times, there don't appear to be. any
fettled and fixed Conftitutlons by ftanding Laws,
bounding the Power of Princes, and afcertain
ing the Liberties of the People, amongft any.
Nations, -f Plato, in his Treatife of Laws, teUs
us ; that in thofe early Tiraes after the Floo^,
they needed no Lawgivers, nor was any fuch
kind of Thing in ufe amongft thera. For in
this Period they had no Letters or Writing,
but they lived in Conforraity to the Manners and
traditionary Laws of their Forefathers ; or they

* V^Allijoy yiiA,( VJpov]o TO fA.VlJiVl i^vKiVtlV Toy TW AaiAi »
Tils Et/fli)5r>)f KfATVI'^VTav, Ot (MAV tillis Ay ix, TV Tiavlof Aimo(i><iv-
Sii.e/As Si Tuxo^ilii PAivovlm, akk' kc/Ie Tracer, "jay oiwAffirilttf-
Joleph. cont. Ap;b;i. 1.2. § ii.
-|- Ap nv enHVoi (J.iv HT ii'iovlo yoi/.o^av, /ji 7m s?/A« ;^T5t
TbTis? -jiif yfioiif ¦^yviSmt TO TOKToy. Ot/tTe j«p ypAfjii/aia sr/
77J!> T0t4 jy TUTS) Ta (/SJSTMf 7npioJ\lt ¦yi^VAOIV, A\K' sd^iOt }^TOI(
J^eyowivoii mTfiXioti iwoij siw^eco/ ([ajiy. Plat, deljeg, l.z.p. bSo.

were

^ 3^7 )
were governed, as * Jofephus expreffes It, by the
beft Advices and Coraraands of their feveral
Kings, and had no other Laws but unwritten
Ciiftoms, continually changing thera according
to the different Circuraftances that arofe. This
was a Thing fo certain araongft the oldeft Greeks,
that as Jofephus rightly obferves the Word "of^oj,
fignlfylng a Law, was not anciently known
amongft them, and that Homer hath no where
once ufed It In his Poems, for that there was no
fuch Thing in his Time, He faith farther, that
Mofes was the moft ancient Lawgiver, and that
this was acknowledged by thofe who gave them
felves the utraoft Liberty in reproaching the y^w^
on other Accounts, And therefore the Philo
fopher, who talks of the free Conftitution of
Egypt, In the Times of Jofeph, fo long before
Mofes, talks of a Thing not in being In the
World, In aU probability, 'till raany Years after.
But then it muft be obferved to Jofeph's eter
nal Honour, that when he reftored their Lands
to the Egyptians, and ordered a perpetual prt
Statute, Ordinance or Law, that tneir Property
ffiould be abfolute in four Fifths of their Pro
duce, and that the King fliould have only the
reraaining One, he was the firft who limited
* OTnyi p.»<f A\j]o TBfojiiK 7M\a.t %-}fyya<rKilo T\s vofits «M£«
Toif EAAMCT' x^ (<af7t/f Oyjnfjf, isJk(A« Ttl', mninai At/ja xsn-
ou(^iv&: OvS'i ;af W y.3.ra Tsjoy, csAAa yvuyLAli AetToi; ia.
•!fKtl,^tl JitdKetlo, iC, isreyraff^sta-/ Tav /SauyAeac Ap' x ^ f/.iX°'
¦iroKhiiJ-iiiAeiyAVsd-smy afodpws %f»//.£Co;, ^ ttl^Ka Tnjay Aet tircpt
TO swlvfx'''V'>fi>i-nt--n^v%(- O •ft M^e7«a« vo^o^^WiA^X"-^^'^®''
K. T. h, Cont. ap. 1, z. c. 5.
Cer, the

( 388 )
the Power of their Princes, and fettled th^
Properties and Liberties of the People, upon the
certain Foundation of an irrepealable Law. And
this very Circuraftance feems to be confirmed by
* Diodorus Siculus, who amongft other Inftances
of the Happinefs and good Governraent of E-
"gypt, mentions this : That the People were not
opprefied with Taxes^ and that the Hufoandmen,
who were one of the three Claffes ot the com
mon People of Egypt, rented their -Lands at a
fmall Price of the King, the Priefts, and the Sol
diers, and thus were wholly employed in the Culture
of the Ground; thus perpetually holding their
Lands of the King and great Men, for a fmall
acknowledgment, agreeable to Joj'eph's Confti
tution. And though our Philofopher, to move
the Indignation of his Reader againft Jofeph,
in tragical Accents complains, th^i Jofeph rained
Egypt, overthrew their free Confiitution, and re
duced them to a State of Mijery, Poverty and
Vaffalage; yet the Egyptians themfelves, who
knew Jofeph's Condudl, and underftood the Na
ture of his Grant, at leaft full as well as the
Philotbpher, had quite other Sendments of the
Matter, and gratefully acknowledged his Care
of them, and generofity to them, -f Tbou haft
faved our Lives : Let us find Grace in the Sight
- Twf /e ij'iaTttf J'lA TW iK Tilay ib-noeiAV ti ^Avlt^tioj -mii
eiJ^ipoacgK  — .  , 
Oi |J^v MV ¦i'^a^yii /.idi^x tvc©- thc y^^Tco^ocov X^L^v TW TiAfcf
TK §,AinKiKi K.U TWV lipcoV K^ TWI' UAX'!^aV fJJ^tifAiVOI , i^A\ihxat
.¦''j' ATrav-ni yjirmv Tnex nv/ i^'jaaiAV ivla T«f ywgatf . Diodor.
I , p. 67.
> ~.n. xlvii. zj.
^ib oj

. ( 389 )
of my Lord, and we will be Pharaoh'i' Servants.
* Jofephus gives the true Explication of this Af
fair, " That when the Faraine ceafed, and,
" the River overflowed the Country, Jofeph
" went to the feveral Cities, and calling' to-
" gether the Muhitude, kindly reftored thera
" their Lands intirely, which they had yielded
" to the King, and which he raight have kept,
" and enjoyed the Fruits of; and exhorted them
" to look on it as their own, and therefore to
" tiU It with Chearfulnefs, paying as an Ac-
" knowledgmentforthem the Fifth of the Fruits
" to the King. And that the Egyptians, feeing
" therafelves beyond their Hopes reftored to
" the Property of their Land';, greatly rejoiced,
" and executed his Orders. And that by this
" Means Jofeph fecured to hirafelf greater Ef-'
" teem and. Authority amongft the People, and
" to the King greater Aftedlion and Good wiU."
"f- Ph'ilo alfo reraarks, that " the Country being
" reftored to Its forraer Abundance, the Peo-
" pie were glad, all of thera honoured Jofeph,
* Trw .^w avion, tw iKHVay 77«0!%«'f»i'7'»i' /Sji^'Asuf ix^^
tthiVA-r> iCj KAp-^aStAi i^ov©-, eii attav e%««-5((i^e]o, x.} )(\-/iyiA liiov
»ir»f/5»'«f ipiM^^nv ¦aa^iy^Kei-  Taj A ixA^ iX-mlAi meta TV\f
yvii KASrira^nx! Pj^a©! 7^sA«/il£'«t^s, y^ vpiTAifjo t« 'wc^aJij-o^a.
lOj ria Tm T^irra to Ti a^iu(/.a to <s!A^ tus ^lyu'Tfjiois Aula
(i^^^ov latniTioi ath^^a^JIai, iLj 'srAa© yi tMC ivvoiAV tw ^achKh
iBA^' Aulav- Jcfepn. Antiq. I. z. c. 7. §. 7.
t MiTA A TOI' A/f/tOI/ «t' iV&huUtA >^- iViltletA TK X'^O'^ '^'^''
yi^n^OjUV juy oiKtfjofay, ivy.A-jo i^^gji ATrAv']aV\ Aij.oiGa.i AVfix,-
¦nvovl^v vjip av iu -nri^ovSi'mv iv y^/£^/j-«i2aAM7e(f' H Si ^y:i) ¦
puHim TA( i^m mf H', K'/jiTTMn -m fm tmcTs tw AV^^et st/KA.«c45'.
i'nilo de Jol'eph. p. .^39.
C c 7 *' and

( 399 )
*' and thanked him for the Benefits conferee^
'* on them in the Tirae of their Difficulty, and
*' that his Farae was celebrated amongft for-
reign Cities." I hope from thefe Obfervations
every candid Reader will be convinced, that ffie
Hebrew Prophet was not that Tafkraafter, that
Tyrant, the Philofopher hath reprefented him to
be, that he did not ftrip the Egyptians of their
Property and Poffeffions, nor reduce them to a
State of Vaffalage and Servitude, And what the
Difpofition of the Philofopher's Mind was, how
great his Love of Morality, Juftice and Equity,
when he fecreted frora his Reader's View, and
fuppreffed a Paffage of the Hebrew Hiftorian,
that thus doffi Plonour to the Condudl and Cha
radler of Jojeph, I leave others to judge of, and
his own Concience to pafs the proper Refledlions
on.
SECT. XI.
Of the Egyptian Priefi-hood.
Mongft raany curiousand new Difcoveries,
that my Philofopher hath made in the
Egyptian Antiquities, there are fome that relate
t^ae ancient Priefts of thaf Country, which are
not the leaft confiderable. Pie hath found out
¦the Original and Introdudtion of Pr'ieficraft., as
well as of Tyranny and arbitrai^y Power ; both
it feems by Jofeph's Means, and particulariy by
his dexterous Manageraent qf this Faraine In
Egypt..

( 39^ )
Egypt. Attend to the Oracle himfelf. He
tells us, ffiat Jofeph'.? ingratiating himfelf with
the King-—^-— introduced jiich an abfolute Poiver,
* both in Church and State, as never had been
kno^vn in the Wor Id before ; -j- that in thefixth Tear
fff the Famine Jofeph had obtained a Decree or
Ordinance from Pharaoh, which made the Church
Lands unalienable and irrefumable by the Crown,
hy which Means the Prieflhood in Egypt became
hereditary and independent of the .Crown, thefe
Lands had been made unalienable andhereditary by
m irreverfible Decree, or perpetual Grdnt from
the Crown ; that upon the, Strength ofhis Alliance
with the High-Priefi he had managed Mafters fo
well as to have di'Uided the whole Power a^d Pro
perty of Egypt, between the Church and the Crown,
and this hid the Foundation of the vaft Power
and Infiuence oj the Priefts there in after Ages,
for they Were now ''invefted with a vaft Property
in Lands, and becaine incredibly rich.: Lie elfe
where alfo informs us, that %they were now ex
empted from all Offices and Employments civil ana
rmlitary, but that when Jofeph went 'into Egypt,
jl the Priefthood^ was abfolutely dependent on the
Crown, ' and the High-priejt or ChieJ'-'.Pontiff
had his daily Allowance, durante beneplacito,
from, the King, but he made thePriefthood inde-
pmdent, for which he had at leaft this private In
tereft, that lie had married the High-Priefi' s
Daughter. All thefe Things, he afl!erts with his
ufiiai lutrepidnefs and Confidence, as though
3f Vol. Ill, p. II. ¦\'p.?o,zi. t Vol. I. p. 241. lip. 239.
C c 4 there

( 39^3"
there were the moft fubftantial and convincing
Demonftratlons of them, Let us draw them,
ont Into Particulars and examine thern. He
afferts , ,
That when Jofeph went down into Egypt,
the Priefthood was' abfolutely dependent on
the Cro'wn.
That the High-Prieft or Chief- Pontiff had
his daily AllQwance durante beneplacito
from, the King. , ,, ,
That by Jojeph's Means the Prieftg were
invefted with a vaft Property in Lands,
and became incredjbly rich. , . .- ,
That he obtained a, Decree or Ordinance
ixoxn Pharaoh, which made the Church,
Lands unalienable or irrefumable by the
¦ Crown:. ¦
' That he .now,, exempted thera from all Of-^
fices and F.mployraents civil and mihtary.
Thlat he, made the Priefthood hereditary.
That he divided the whole. Power and JPro-
perty oi Egypt between the Church and
'^^^^^ the Cio^n. '¦ ¦ . f\f
.. . ','¦,',¦,.'¦ 7 ¦ ' ¦¦ *'
ff Thaflxe introduced fuchan abfolute Poyi^er
.^*' ;' in theO£;hurch and" State ,as/had neye,r
been known in tlie World before. \And
¦r 11 -ll,.' . ' ......ore- ¦ ¦. ¦¦ '.'.'^ - ¦ '
^finally^. , ^.,_ , „,,
¦'That the Priefthood being now hereditary
and independent, this, gave them>an Pp-
portunity and Power^.to work.,.up .the
People into the higheft and grolfelt De-,
grees of Superfiition. '
I, He

( 393 )
I. He pofitively affirras; that when Jofeph
W.ent down into Egypt, the Priefthood was abfo
lutely dependent, on the Crown. -This is a new Dif
covery, and might pafs for a very curious one,
qpuld he but fupport it. But he offers no Au
tority, nor atteraptsforauch as the Shadow of any
Proof. If by dependent on the Crown, he means that
the Priefts were of the Crown's choofing, that
they depended on the Crown for the exercife of
their Office', that ffiey could be removed frora It
at the Pleafure of the Crown, that their Stipends
and Incoraes depended, on the ICing's WiU, and
could be leffened or , wholly taken away, whenever
the King thought. fit ; there is not a fingle Paffage
ih Antiquity that he can produce to fupport any
onfe; of thefe. Affertions, hut there are raany that
fhall be alledged in Proof of- the contrary. A
noble and very polite Writer, ' who ha\h touched
on the fame Subjedl, and feems to be foraewhat
on the failie Side of the Queftion, had jufter Sen-
tiraents of this Matter,-whofays:*7o what height
of Power the efiablified Priefthood was arrived
afihat Time, yiz. of Joj'eph's Miniftry, may be
conjeBured hence :. That the Crown off'erednot to
meddle with the Church Lands, .-and that in this
grefit Revolution nothing was attempted fo much ds
by way of Purchafe^ or Exchange, in prejudice of
this landed Clergy ; plainly iatimating that they
were then arifen- to that Height 'of Pow;er_and
Independency, as thatthe Crown did not think,
it prudent or fafe to atterapt to alter or alieriate
* P- 57- S?- V" ¦
their

'( 394 )
their Property ;: or, what I will venture to add,
to lay that TaK on their Lands, to which all
the offier Lands lA ffie whole Kingdom were
fubjedl; And I think there can be no greater
Sign of any Clergy's Independency, than the'
Prince's not daring to levy on their Lands the-
common Taxes of the Country. The Accoiinf
that f)iodorus givey .of the ancient Kings and'
Priefts oi Egypt exadlly agrees with this Obfer
vation of the noble and polite Writer before men
tioned, who tells us : That " the * firft Kings
'.'of Egypt had. no Servants about them pur-
" chafed with Money or born In their Houfe,
'!: but that they were all of them Sons of the
**- moft eminent'.ErIeft&,. above* twenty Years old-,
" and who had the beft-Educatlon of any In^the
*'*^^Co.antryr; "j- that lof the three Orders of the
" Land, the firft was the Body of the Priefts,
'? who were had lathe higheft Veneration by the
'- Eeople, becaufe of their Piety iQ the Gods,
'\s and. becaufe by tlieir Education they were
" Perfons of the higheft Wifdom; + that they
'f were perpetually converfant with the King
*. ns£« (liv yAp tIw d-i^f.reiAV Avluy Kcf«f w ^'Apyv^av>iJ0',
¦^ wuoysi'H? cPbA'©', o6AA« Tay iiri^AVi^Aluv npiav vm ¦m.^ii,
¦.'Tep eMosi^v &!».'ysyovi3}^,,'!!riirAiS'iu{/,iyoi Jli y^\i^A 'r.at opta-
'M'ay. Diodor. 1. i. p. 63.
f T;i5 tTs- ^lagjif' rtwas-Hj Hi Tp/tt f/ejif cDipfAsfM?* tw y^iv
•Wi'fi/li!;', £%« [/.ip lit A. 70 (TtinijUa Tav itfiW, piy'TWi 6i'7po«<
TiJ^yAVoHrVii.^. TBii iyxapioii J\tA ts T-uif m( TMS hsui ivinCeiAVi
JtJ tfia TO '!Sr\c-i^W. aWiViy Tin AvJ^p^S TB^KJ 5K IttAlJ^eiAi ei<T<pipiSrAlf
Id i ibid-, p, 66.
X K<»3«K8-5(af> 'srsf/ rav (jtifii-av Jjo/ •mpaSuKivoiJi&yoi o-uci^W-'
-rpiSwi Ta ^Auihii, Tiiy f/.sv cunpfoi, Tay cPs eisrafnTOi x^ tT/ctoiT-
)i,A?^o* ysvo^H'oi.- Id. ibid. " as

( 395 )
*' as his CounfeUors in the gpeateft Affairs, adl-
*• ing with him, and being his Inftrudlors and
*' Mafters, and in Honour and Power are
*' next to ffie King; aijd * gave him daily
*• Ledtures how to form his own Life, and
" govern his Subjedls weU." This was ffie
Condidon of the firft Egyptian Kings, who ap^
pear to have been in fuch a Meafure dependent
on their Priefts, as that wiffiout their Advice and
Diredlion. they could not tranfadl any great Af
fairs of State, "f Plato alfo infcttrmsus of a Con
verfatlon of an Egyptian. Prieft with Solon, who
told hira, that " of the three Degrees or Orders
of Men In Egypt, the Priefts, were the firft ; "
or as % Diodorus, peaking of the fame Subjedl,
the Conformity between the Athenian and E^pr-
tian Polities, fays ; *' The Athenians were di-
*' vided into three Ranks, the firft of which
" were the Ejupattidce, or Nobles, who were
* ' principally brought up in Learning, and ad-
" vanced to. the hj^ieft Honours, exadlly like
" the Prleils in Egypt'.' \ They were fecond in
Rank and Dignity "to the King himfelf. Thefe
¦• O \j,m n^fgef(/i(jielkut TTA^piiyivufw nvAt ffviy.CvhtAt ^
irg^Hf oiffJLipe^iiaeK iK TUV lepay ^iChaV, -mv ^.TnaAViSsSlav AV-
j^say, ovrai o iwy ohay tuv nfifioyiAV iX°^' ""•* J(^AA/rrtf wfo*/-
ps«-«f TH J'lAyoiA ¦3^«fttJ«f, via "arjos mv TiTaf(/&vm -mv x^ta
fJAC^i T^vm-rAii'immaiy. Id. p. 64.
•f nffBTtc [xiv TO Tuy li^iav yiy& Aim Tav AKKay p^»f/f at^a-
Sifffiivoy. Plat. Tim. p. 24.
I Usaviy i^iv v-mc^^Ai f/tsf/efts t« iVTmjfiJki ys.^\mivit{, oiTiVii
ycrof^oi' iv TmiS'BA [^a.\i^ hAr^^iipoiii, ^ tm iM^is-Ai n^ia^Sfios
¦piiYii, TPA^irknsiai Toii y^T A/Jot^oc K^ivffi. Lib. i . p. zj,.
il Aivrt^ivovTi; {/stk tov /Sttf/As* tah ts Ji^Ais ^ T«ii sf as'/a/f ¦
Eliod- p. 66.
Accounts

( 39^^ )
Accounts all agree in giving a Very high Dig
nity and Autority to the ancient Egyptian,
Priefts, agreeable to the very Signification of the
original Word pD, which mdifferendy denotes
both Prince and Prieft'; and .plainly ffiew the
Reafon, why 'the Priefts fold not their Lands
like the reft of the Egyptians, In the general
Falmine, but w6re tak^n care of and raaintained
by the Cro'wn during the Continuance of It ;
becaufe their Autority was top great, and their
Perfons, and confequently their Eftates 'tod facred
to be taxed in common with others, or alienated
to the King. And herein profane and facred
Hiftory ftrengthen and confirm each other.
2. My Philofopher with equal Modefty and
Truth , afferts, that the High-Priefi or Chief-
Pontiff bad his daily Allowance, durante bet
neplacito, from the King,, ' when Jofeph went
down into Egypt. - Should I afk this learned
Antiquarian what High-Priefi' he means, ¦ I
know I ffiould puzzle the Dodlor, and he would
be at a Lofs for. an Anfwer. He feeras to thinli
there was one' Perfon High-Prieft, or Chief-
Pontiff over all the Priefts oi Egypt: But I can
bring him a very ancient a^d good Autority to
the contrary. * Herodotus tells us, that " every
" God in Egypt had his Priefts and his High-
" Prieft." They had vkrious Gods, and there-:
* If^.TK/ ^ K» «f S/aiSTK' TWI' ¦3-£«C, «M* TTOhhOl, IKV Bli eSJC
Ann^ivi. Herod. 1. 2. "c. 37. fore

( 397 )
fore * various Orders of Priefts to minifter to
them, each Order bearing fome proper diftln-
guiffilng Symbol or Mark, and therefore muft
each Order have their Head or Chief to prefide
over them. Indeed the Gods and Religions or
•f- Superftitlons of Egypt were fo extremely dif
ferent and contradidtory, and the rautual Hatreds
that prevaUed araongft thera upon Account of
them fo ftrong, as feems to render the Union of all
the different Orders of Priefts under one Head, a
Thing abfolutely Impoffible. \ They who be
long to the Temple of the Theban Jupiter, or
to the ThebanUxUx'iOiy aU abftain from Sheep, and
facrifice Goats ; for the Egyptians don't all wor
ffiip the fame Gods ; but thofe who belong to the
Temple oiMendes, or dwell in that Prasfedlure,
they abftain from Goats, and facrifice Sheep,
II Amongft forae of the Egyptians the Crocodile
is facred, to others not, but they perfue and
* ¦%vi/.CoKoy yi, w iHS-9i> Wf -m^eai ti^tpAvvm, ^ i^^^X^v iy
TOii ngjii, tirKtiVi yts nm,v ai ta^w, Porphyr, de ablhn. 1. 4.
c. 6.
•j- Ai-yantlioi kata tkj S-fHffxefa* Ttif ffipay etr'MJkvjAi' mSvSi A
Avla'y ZvWIT^l ipA^tfV /aV ^Jt^'"' fJ^'^ialw J^i, oi otAA©- k?®"
ip^,5i/f, 0/ TUV ^M^Avlivw oixwT.(. Oguf/fjjl7a/ TOV ^i^awixav
TUf X"S^-^ Au]ay ofjioias IX^'JV- Ev yi (/.W HqukAsoitoA/?*' 'X'
yiii(iovA. Sse/7*/ >h 1^ QnGAioi 'mP^Calov. Avxe-Hohnai J'i Au-
iccy. Kvvo'mhijAi <fi kuva. "Coy Awiv Msjuip/^st/. UivS-ASiot nv
T^Ayov. Clem. Alex. p. 34. Edit. Potter.
X Omi [jiiv cA) A/Of enCAioi iS'^WTKi ii?or, » t'o/^K th &i)Saiis
um, >s]oi [JLiv vw "mvlii oiav A-mx"!/-'-^'"' "-O'^f ^vncri. 0s»5 ya^
Jii « Tx( avIh oytotai ' AmvTii Aiyv/jloi tnCovlAi- Ocra/ J'»
TU MivJ^til©- hQwIai nav, n vo(x\i tu Uivh)<!f^ mi, -e-loi A
Aiyav A-Tn-yjy.ivoi, oh S-vxtn- Herod. 1. 2. c. 42
II ToiiTt fiv tS'Yi Tav Aiyv/jtav i^^i uaiv 01 npowS'ilT^ol, to.'u /
/£ \s, AhK An Tmhi^iovi mj/STBJ-/. Herod. 1, s ¦ c. 69. deltroy

( 39^ )
deftroy them as Enemies, and others even eat

them.

-Crocodilon adorat

Pars haec, Ula pavet faturara ferpentibus Ibln.
 ^— — . — Suramus utrlnque
Inde furor vulgo, quod nuraina viclnorum
Odit uterque locus, cura folos credat haibendos
Effe Deos quos Ipfe colit' ' "• Juven. Sat, 15.
In fuch a Slthatlon of GodS and Worfhippers^
a common High-Prieft could never be conftl^
tuted In Egypt.
Bat granting the Philofopher his Chief-Pon-
tifi\ virhence bad he that curious Information
about his daily Allowance from the King, during
Pleafure ? 'Tis the Imagination only of his own
ever fruitful Brain, The only Paffage that
could furniffi him ffiis ffirewd Hint, is that in
Genefis: * The Priefis had a Portion qfiigned
them o/' Pharaoh, and did eat their Portion which
Pharaoh gave them. But this Is fpoken of all
the Priefts In general, and not of the High-
Prieft in particular, and doth not refer to any
ftanding ordinary Allowance of .the PTiefts in ge
neral, or the High-Prieft feparately, but to the
fpecial Allowance fhat was made them during
the Faraine. For they are introduced as a
Reafon why Jofeph did not huy the Lands of
the Priefts, in that general Sale that was made
* Gen. xlvii, zi, of

( 399 )
of them by the reft of the People. Only the
Land of the Priefis bought he not, for the Priefts
had a Portion affigned them 0/ Pharaoh, where
fore they fold not their Lands ; a Demonftration
that before this they lived not on Pharaoh'sAWow-
ance, but on the Produce of their own Lands,
•and had as feparate and diftindt a Maintainance
as Pharaoh himfelf. And If this was the Con
dition of the Priefts in general, no Man in his
Senfes wUl ever Imagine, that the High- Prieft
was more dependent on the Crown than the
reft of his Brethren, or had a precarious Main
tenance at the King's Pleafure, when all the reft
had fettled and large Revenues for their own
Support. 3. Nor is there more Truth in the next Af
fertion, that ^^ Jofeph's Means the Priefis were
now invefted with a vaft Property in Lands, and
became incredibly rich. This is the Suggeftion
of Ignorance or Malice, and a. philofophical Slan
der on this great Man, groundlefs and contrary
to Evidence. They had Lands I allow, and
ample Revenues. But they had them before
any Eftabliffiment oi Jofeph, and Jofeph made
no Addition or Increafe to them. Only the Land
of the Priefts, fays the Sacred Hiftory, they fold
not, and Jofeph bought not ; which would have
been a moft wondrous Obfervation of the Hif
torian, if they had none to fell. * The. noble
Writer before mentioned had fo high an Opinion
of their Wealth, that he faith : Nor is it firange
* CharaG. V. III. p. 47. 48. that

( 400 )
that we fiould find the Property and Power ofth'e
Egyptian Priefthood in ancient Days arrived te
fuch an Height, as in a Manner to have Jwallow^
edup the State and Monarchy. And that he carries
theje ancient Days up as high as Jofeph Is evident;
from the before mentioned Paffage, In which
he fpeaks of them as * a landed Clergy, and of their
Church Lands, before Jofeph had, as he expref
fes himfelf, obtained in a Manner the whole
Property, and confequently the abfolute Dominion
of the Land fir Pharaoh, And Indeed the
Thing is indifputable. In the raoft ancient Efta
bliffiment oi Egypt the Priefts were very liberally
provided for, long before the Tirae of Jojeph ;
and the Intiraation of Scripture that they had
Lands antecedent to his Miniftry is abundantly
confirraed by ¦f' Diodorus, who tells us that
*' Jfis, willing to encourage the Priefts to per-
" forra the Cereraonies ffie had appointed In
" Honour of her Hufoand Ofiris, gave them
" the third Part of the Country for their Re-^
'' venues, to enable thera to fupport their fa--
" ered Services,- -and the Worfliip of the Gods,
" and that + out of their ftated Incorae, they
" provided, aU the Sacrifices throughout Egypt,
* Charaa. V. III. p. 57.
+ EKAoMSi'itc .Ts TMi' liriv ^ 7Y0 KvailiKei 'k^ol^i-lA&Al tw
npm im TAi rsrpoeripnu^Ai T/(*af, to 7-p/7oi' /"«£;« T»« X''&-^
A\j\oii eti tSf^(TOii'>si J^nVAi rirgyi TAi Tay ^lay d-iQ^.'TTaAi' TS i^
i^eiJu^yiAi Diod. 1. I . p. 1 8.
X E« (Tg Ts"«aC T»l' 'TS'^OtroJ'aV TAi TS ^(TlAi A-TTAffAi TAi KAT
AryV!r]oy ffvvTiKisiri, x) t«. yTOfsray Tpi(pwi, x}' tai; iJiitK
X'.'M^ii x^^'"^^"''  "¦''* THi mtvTav OTj'fisAsuo/.iseoyf ivS'i&i
tiVAi Tay AvafiAiav. Id. ibid, p- 66, " maintain

( 401 j
" maintain their Servants, and fupply their
" own Wants, and that the Egyptians did
" not think it fit, that they who were the
" coramon Counfellors of the Nadon, ffiould
" be themfelves deftitute of Neceffaries." So
that the Endowments of the Priefts, and their
large Share of Property in the Lands of Egypt,
was almoft from the very Foundation of the
Kingdom ; it was the Conftitution of Ifis her
felf. Sifter and Queen of Ofiris, who was the
Mitzraim of the Scripture, and the Grandfon
of Noah by Ham ; and for which Jojeph is not
in the leaft anfwerable,
• That the Egyptian Priefts gained any Accef-
fion of Land or Wealth from Jojeph's Miniftry,
there is not the leaft Hint of in facred or pro
fane Hiftory, They fold not their original
Lands 'tis true, becaufe Pharaoh otherwife pro
vided for them, but we read nothing of any new
ones granted them ; and by vefting the Lands
of the whole People In the Crown, Jofeph I
think effedlually prevented the Priefts engroffing
any more of them than they originally had,
into their own Hands ; for from henceforwards
both the royal Revenues and the Maintenance of
the People depended on the maintaining the
Settlement made by Jofeph, and both Prince and
People were equally concerned to prevent all
future Alienation of them to the Priefthood,
Whilft ^Jo/t^i^'s Law fubfifted, it was impoffible
thus to alienate them. It muft have impover
iffied both Prince and People, The Prince
D d could

( 4©^ ) • I
could riot affign them over, becaufe four Fifths
of the Produce were by a pubiick Law the Pro
perty of the People. Nor could the People
transfer them, becaufe they held them of thd
Crown, and the fifth Part of the Produce was
referved for the Ufe of it. So that by Jofeph's
Law It was impoffible that the Priefts could be
enriched, nor was there ever a more effedlual
Bar put by any Nation or Minifter, than Jojeph
put by his Settlement, to the ehcreafing the
Lands and temporal Revenues of the Priefthood.
It Was in truth a Law, that. at once fettled the
Demands of the Crown and the Properties and
Liberties of the People, and that curbed the
Avarice and Ambition of the Priefts, and made
it almoft Impoffible that either of them ffiould
make any Encroachments on the other.
The noble Author before mentioned having
obferved, that the Crown offered not to meddk
with fhe Church Lands, and that in this great
-Revolution nothing was attempted fo much as by
way of Purchafe or Exchange in Prejudice of this
landed Clergy ; Immediatly adds : * The Prime
Minifier himfelf having joined his Interefi with
''theirs, and entered by Marriage into their Al
liance. From him the Philofopher hath taken
up the Hint, and without any Thing of tbe
others Politenefs and Decency, but with a clunfy
Pudenefs peculiar to himfelf, fays : -f All 1 am
concerned to prove is, that he made the Priefihood
in Egypt independent, ¦wh'ich was not fo before,
* Charafl. p. 58. v. 3. V. I, p. 239,
I and

( 4^3 )
and that for exempting the whole priefily Order
from this common Slavery, he had at leafi this
private Interefi, that he had married the High"
Prieft's Daughter. Or as he elfewhere expref
fes himfelf, * upon the -Strength of his Alliance
with the High-Prieft by marrying his Daughter^
be had managed Matters fo well, as to have divid
ed the whole Power and Property of Egypt be-
tween the Church and the Crown. The true An
fwer to the Philofopher here Is,
Atque Ita mentltur^ fie verls falfa remlfcet,
Primo ne medium, medio ne difcrepet Imura.
'Tis true he did marry the Daughter of a Prieft,'
if our Verfion be better than the Marginal, but
whence came our Author by his Information
that It was the High-Priefi's Daughter? This,
like other of his Difcoveries, is bold Affertion
withoutProof Nordoth it appear that befought
this Marriage with a Prieft's Daughter, preferably
to any other; for the Hiftory obferves that_
f Pharaoh gave him to wife the Daughter of
Potlpherah Priefi of On ; a Match that In his
Situation he could not refufe, for the Priefts in
reality were the Nobles of Ezypt ; and though
the Priefts did not fell their Lands, yet 'tis not
true, as for any Thiflg that appears In Hiflory,
that it was owing to Joj'eph's Contrivance, from
any private Intereft he could have by his Al-
* V. 3- p. 21. + Gen. xli. 4;.
D d 2 hance

( 404 )
liance with the Priefts. For the facred Hifto
rian exprefly tells us, that It was owing to a
Provifion of Pharaoh hirafelf to the contrary.
They had a Portion affigned them of Pharaoh,
WHEREFORE they fold not their Lands. Nor
is there any Intimation that it washy,Jofoph'^
influence over Pharaoh, that this Provifion was
made for them. Malice and Prejudice may
fuggeft this. But I fufpedt every Thing that
coraes frora thefe Suggeftlons, and every Maq
hath a Right to deraand and Infift on the Proofs.
And though Jofiph had entered by marriage
into their Alliance, yet it doth not appear that
he fo far joined his Intereft with theirs, as to
give them any Affiftance to encreafe their Lands
and Revenues. And methinks the noble Author
ffiould not have reproached hira for this Alliance,
even In that tender and polite Manner In which
he hath done It, fince fo far was he from mak
ing any Addition to their Influence and Wealth,
that he effedlually barred them from all farther
Acquifitions, and by vefting the Lands of the
People in the Crown, and referving a fifth Part
of the Produce for the royal Revenues, he en
creafed the Power of the Prince and People by
the fame Law, by which he limited the Influ
ence of the Priefts. An Injury furely that may
be eafily forgiven hira. "The Philofopher's
Infults on Jojeph, as exempting the whole prieftly
Order from the common Slavery, from this private
htereji ofhis Mdrriage, and upon the Strength
of this Alliance, managing Matters fo well, &c; are

( 405 )
are rude and contemptible Falfehoods, that nei
ther require nor deferve an Anfwer.
I cannot help here obferving, though a little
out of Place, the Generofity of this great and
good Man, who upon the Refignation of the
Lands of Egypt Into his Hands, neither ad
ded to the Riches of the Priefts to whom
he was allied by Marriage, nor obtained the
Grant of any of thefe Lands from the King
for any of thofe to whom he was allied by
FamUy and Blood, A * fairer Opportunity
fure never oflfered itfelf to any Prime Mi
nifter to enrich himfelf, his Family and Friends:
He purchafes the whole Property of a King
dom, and hath the Eftates of the Common
alty adtually furrendred into his Hands, What
precious Gleanings here for a Minifter moderately
defirous I What rich Harvejts for one through^
ly greedy and rapacious ! 'This and the othdr
Eftate laid conveniently enough for his Fa
mily, and I prefume my Hebrew Lord, and
the Lords his Brethren and Kindred knew the
Worth of Lands, and knew that large Poffef
fions in the Country would greatly ftrengthen
their Intereft, and give thera a very confiderable
Acceffion of Power to maintain their Settlement,
if they had had any Intention to continue in
Egypt. What hindred this Prime Minijier from
feizing the favourable Opportunity f Fidelity to
* 'Tav KAipav iCj i^^^fXATav tii A^fufff'(jLov ^A^i^vjav wAflrstf
ami Afo^uAi, Jhvtld-^i JV ohiy^ laKMStaTzt]©- Tay kat' AVToy
yiViSnt.!, K T, A. Piiil. de Jol. v. 2. p. 77. Edit. Mang.
D d 3 his

( 4o6 )
his Prince, for whom he made the Purchafe.
Generofity to the People, from whom he receiv
ed their Lands, only to reftore them to them
again, upon a better Tenure, and under a re-
j'erved Tax, as their abfolute Inheritance. And
finally, Faith and Hope in the Promifes of God
to his pious Anceftors, that Canaan and not E-
gypt was to be the Place of their Settlement ahd
Inheritance. 4. Another Difcovery he makes Is, that Jo
feph obtained a Decree or Ordinance from Pha
raoh, which made the Church lands unalienaMe
or irrefumable by the Crown. 'Tis a thoufand
Pjties he had not produced a Copy of this Decree
or Ordinance. It would have been a very ve^
nerable Piece of Antiquity, and a great Curiofity
to the learned World, It would have done his
own Charadter no Hurt, and prevented all Suf
picion of Falfehood and Impofture in this Af-.
fair. With his good Leave I affirm there was
no fuch Decree, at leaft as for any Thing that
he Is able to produce In Proof of it. I am not
in the leaft concerned about any curious Anec
dotes he may have on this Subjedl. However to
do him Juftice, he hath a Critlcifm the moft
critical and fublime on this Subjedl, that ever
was or ever will be made. Attend Te Criticks
and give Earl
In the fifth Tear, fays he, * when all the reft
of the Lands were feized to the Ufe of the Crown,
the Priefts fold not their Lands, becaufo they were
* y. Ill, p. «9. 21. otherwife

( 40^7 )
otherwife provided for, * and had their ordinary
or ftated Allowance from the King. But at the
Endof the fixth, or beginning of the feventh Tear,
the Priefts Lands were not feized or taken too,
becaufe they were not Pharaoh'.?, -\- Therefore
thefe Lands had now been made unalienable and
hereditary by an irreverfoble Decree, or perpetual
Grant from the Crown, or otherwifo they mufi
have been as much Pharaoh'j, or as much in his
Power, as any oj" the reft. Or as he expreffes
himfelf in his firft Volume, % The Minifter
obtained a Grant from the King in perpetuity for
the Prieft's Lands, fo as to render them unalien
able or irrefumable by the Crown ; for after this
there is another Reafon given for the Priefis not
felling their Lands, becaufe the King could not re-
fume them ; they were not Pharaoh's, or alien
able to the Crown, like all other real and perfonal
Property. And that his Reader might not
queftion the Thing, he adds : This Story is plain
ly and fimply told, and fince it redounds not much
to the Credit of the Minifter, and the Hiftorian.
was certainly in Jofeph'.? Intereft, there can be
no Reafon to doubt of the Truth of it. How
plainly foever the Story be told by the Hiftorian,
it Is I am fure very fimply related by the PhUo
fopher, and it is not rauch to his Credit, that
he could not tell a plain and fimple Story, in the
plain and fimple Manner he found it.
Take the whole Account, Reader, as the
facred Hiftorian hath given It, and then judge
* Gen. xlvii. Z2. t v- 26, J p. 240.
D d 4 of

I 4o« }
of this PhUofopher's Acutenefs, and Dexterity
in Demonftration, 'Tis this : When yo/^/'i' had
bought all the Lands oi Egypt for Pharaoh, the.
Fliftorian expresfly excepts out of the Purchafe
the Lands D'JTOH of the Priefts, or as one of
thePhilofopher's principal Authors andAutorltles,
the Margin, hath it, The Princes. Only the
Land of the Priefis bought he not. And this
Reafon Is expresfly affigned for It: For. the.
PrieJ'ts had a Portion afiigned thsm of Pharaoh,.
and did eat their Portion which Pharaoh gave
them. Wherefore, adds the Hiftorian, they fold
not their Lands. , They were not neceffitatedto,
feU their Lands for Bread, like the reft of the
People, and .therefore Jofeph raade no Purchafe
of thera, becaufe they were fupplied during the
whole Famine by Pharaoh's Order, and there
fore theirLands remained as really and fully their
Property in and after the Faraine as before, it. But
^yhen Jofeph reftored their Lands to the People,
after they had fold them, he reftored them un
der the fixed Condition of an annual Tribute to
Pharaoh. He made it a Law over the Land oj
¦Egyptunto this Day ti^on^ ilV^Sbthat it fiould be
' Pharaoh'j as to the fifth Part. Only the Land oj
the Priefts alone n^^ifl*? nn H K*? was not Pha-
raoh'5, viz. e-'sn'? as to the fifth Part of it. The)
^ kept their Lands fre^ frora this Tax which wai
irapofed on all the reft of theni. This Is th(
plain and certain Conftrudtion of the Words
and I am not afraid to appeal to any one can
did Perfon's Judgment in the whole Worid oi
I th .

( 409 )
this Affair ; and the Meaning of them is eafy,
and the Connedlion natural. We were inform
ed before by the Hiftorian, that the Priefis fold
not their Lands, and therefore when he tells us,
that Jofeph made it a Law over the Land of
Egypt, that Pharaoh fiould have the Fifth, it
was neceffary to add this Exception of the Priefts
Lands ; becaufe the Priefts had never fold them
to the Crown as the reft of the Inhabitants had.
Pharaoh had no Property in them, and there
fore nO Right to levy on them this fifth Part,
to which aft the reft of Egypt was fubjedl.
Now what is there In all this, that affedls the
Credit of the Minifter, when the Hiftory tells
us, that it was he who reftored the People their
Lands, but that It was Pharaoh who prevented
the Sale, the Alienation and Taxing thofe of
the Priefts. As the Story is fimply told, it is to
Jofeph's Honour, but as it '\s philofophically i, e.
falfly told. It is to the Diflionour of the Re
later. For how Is it reported by him ? Ajter
this there is another Reajbn given for the Priefis
not jelling their Lands, becaufe the King could noi
refume them. But there is no Reafon at all
given but that at Verfe 2 2d, for their not feUing
their Land, and that is becaufe Pharaoh pro
vided for thera. Nor is there one Syllable about
the King's not beingable to refume them, nor are
the Words, theLand of the Priefis only became not
Pharaoh'j, any Reafon at all, nor intended as a
Reafon, nor introduced with a For, a Where
fore, or a Therefore ; but evidently brought in as

( 4IO )
as an Exception at Verfe 26. and an Exception
to a general Tax ; and can neither in their na
tural Conftrudlion or Connedlion denote any^
Thing elfe, but, that they were not Pharaoh's
as to the Fifth; but that they remained what
they originaUy were, intirely the Property- of
the Priefts, without being fubjedled to any Tax.
But fuppofing they are urged as a Reafon for
the Priefts not felling their Lands, yet how wiU
the Philofopher make out his Meaning ? They
were not Pharaoh'j, i. e. the King could not re
fume them ; or, ihey were not Pharaoh'j, i. e.
not alienable to the Crown, or, they were not Pha
raoh'j, I. e, they had been now made unalienable
and hereditary by an irreverfible Decree, or per
petual Grant from the Crown. You muft
pardon me. Sir, if I humbly conceive this to be
iinaliendble and irreverfible Nonfenfo. For what
Logick or Matheraaticks wiU prove, that what
ever Is not the King's Is not alienable to the
King ? Or, that what is not the King's is ren
dred unalienable by an irreverfible Decree, or
made hereditary by a perpetual Grant ? If our
Verfion of the Words was right, and needed no
Suppleraent, the plain firaple Meaning of them
would be, that as the Priefts had not fold them
to Pharaoh, therefore they were not his, and
therefore not Uable to be taxed; and nothing
can be more ftupidly faid, than faying, that the
Words, they were not Pharaoh'j Is another Rea
fon given for the Priefts not felling their Lands,
when on the contrary their not felling the Lands is

( 4I.I )
is the very Reafon why they were not, could
not be Pharaoh's. The Truth is, our Verflon
of the Paffage Is Injudicious, by which, what is
one plain Sentence in the Hebrew Is broken Into
two, by the Infertion of the Relative Which,
that is not in the Original ; and the exadl and li
teral Tranflation of the whole Paffage is : Only, or.
But the Land of the Priefts alone was Pharaoh'j,
viz. as to the fifth Part ; for the reft of the Lands
were now Pharaoh's only as to this ; but even
from this, the Prieft's Lands were exempted.:
I hope therefore this Philofopher will bring us
fome better Autority for this irreverfible Decree
or perpetual Grant, which he pofitively affirms
Jojeph obtained from Pharaoh In behalf of the
Egyptian Priefts ; for as yet that Proof Is abfo
lutely wanting. And yet It is upon this Decree
he hath eredled his whole Fabrick of that In
dependency of the Priefihood which he fays Jofeph
made, and that he himfelf is concerned to prove ;
and it is a Foundation worthy his Genius,
Learning and Veracity. He is Indeed deeply con
cerned to prove it, otherwife he wUl be looked
on by all who read his Moral Philofbpher, in fuch
a Light, as I would not defervedly appear in for
the World.
How fweetly he reafons, when he adds far^
ther upon this Head : Thej'e Lands had been made
unalienable by a perpetual Grant from the Crown,
otherwife they niufi have been as much Pharaoh'j,
or as much in his Power as any of the reft. In
com prehenfibly deep this.
^ Nihil

( 412. )
Nihil fupra.
•
Lands never fold to the King by their Pro
prietors, are as much In the King's Power, as
Lands actually J'old to and purchafed by hith!
Who can with ftand fuch Reafoning and De
monftration r If the Egyptian King had not as
much Property in the Prieft's Lands, as he had
in thofe of the reft of the People, becaufe the
Priefts had not Hke the reft of the People alien
ated or furrendred them ; then thofe Lands
might not have been unalienable by any perpe
tual Grant from the Crown, and yet there
mightbeavery good Reafon why they were not,
and could not be Pi'^r^o^'s; for In my poor Appre
henfion, Pharaoh's not buying them was as good
a Reafon why they could not be his, as his ren
dring them unalienable by a perpetual Grant,
Efpecially it was a good Reafon in a Land of Li
berty, and in that^r^^ Cmftitution which he tells
us was the peculiar Happinefs of Egypt. If my
Philofopher had a few Acres of Land, I doubt
not but he would exclaim againft it as high Ty
ranny and Injuftice, If the King or his Minifter
ffiould pretend to feize on them, merely becaufe
they had not been rendred unalienable by a per
petual Grant from the Crown ; and I fancy
there are but few Tenures of this kind amongft
our NobUity and Gentry, who yet imagine
themfelves extremely fafe in their Poffeffions,
and think their Property as unalienable .'m ffiis
free

( 413 )
free Conftitution, unlefs they themfelves alienate
them, as if they were made fo by a Grant frora
the Crown. The' Truth is, this Philofopher
hath forged, out of his own ever fertile Ima
gination a Decree that he cannot produce, for
making the Priefts Lands unalienable, in order
to reproach this venerable Patriarch, and with
great Morality and Philofophy hath omitted to
mention a Decree that he might have produced
for his Honour ; that humane, that generous,
that noble Decree, by which he reftored to the
Egyptians their Eftates in full Property and Pof
fefiion, after they had refigned them ; and there
by made the People's the Laity's Lands unalien
able to the Priefts, to whom he was allied by
Marriage, and irrefumable hy the King to whom
he was Prirae Minifter, without any other Bur
then but the Fifth of their Produce for the bet
ter Support of the Crown, which he knew by
the Experience of feveral Years they were well
able to bear. And this Conftitution of Jofeph
was found by Experience to be fo equitable and
good, as that it fubfifted for a long 'while after
his Death. For the Hiftorian obferves, that
Jofeph made it a Law over the Land of Egypt
io this Day, I, e. this Law, that was made by
him continued In Force to the Time when the
Hiftorian, who related It, wrote ; who if Mofes,
as is generally thought, could not have wrote
this Account tUl above two hundred Years after
Jofeph's Deceafe ; or if Samuel, as others think,
not tUl many hundred Years after the Death of
Mojes.

( 414 )
Mofes. And accordingly * Diodorus reprefents it as
Part ofthe ancient Felicity of E^y^iC, that " their
" Kings did not burthen their People with Tri-
" butes, and -f-that the Farmers held their Lands
" ata very low Rent from the King, thePriefts
" and the Soldiers ; and that % many of the
*' ancient excellent Laws of the Egyptians con-
" tinned till the Macedonians feized the Coun-
*' try, and abollffied the old Kingdom and
" Cuftoras of Egypt; and fpeaks of them as in
" Force when Orpheus, Mufaus, Homer and
" other Grecians travelled into that Country,"
in order to learn, and carry back with them into
Greece their Arts and religious Principles and
Ceremonies, I think therefore, I may upon the whole
venture to affirm, that Jofeph obtained no fuch
Grant from Pharaoh to make the Church Lands
unalienable as the PhUofopher dreams of, nor
ever invefted the Priefts with any large Property
in Land, And the Improbability of this will far*
ther appear, if his Dodlrine be true, that the .^<2^/-
ites were the ancient Shepherds, who invaded and
conquered Egypt; fince upon their firft feizing
that Country they did fuch Things as are in-
* TiiC S't J'iuTi^.v (y.oi^AV ol jSas'/A«f Tra^HM^Ariv et! nttfoiTo-
J'k! — — Tui Tl iJ)aTAi J)a nv tK TuTuy tvm&iAV « ^Airjii^ifi
TO/? eio'ipo^Ati. Diod. 1. I . p. 66, 67.
f O* ^-151' 81' yia^[ol lAIK^'d TIV&- TJjV KA^WOipo^OV JfftlfSI' TW
tmAiA TiS /2c(,a-/As«f x^ Tay n^iuy ^ tuv fji.Ax>f-t,'^v ^Qn^uyot i'lA-
TsAaa-/, id. ibid.
X ^v cTj Tzi! vrsfoi' p^fowij TTBAAet tuv KAKat sj^efi' iPoKUVToy
ybiMfjunv ^Aut KiyndviVAi, MAKiJhvav iTUK^ATncrnvTav x^ KAnKv-
rnvTav eii 71A©- tav ^asikuav t«c e5'Pc«e<»;', Id. ibi^. p. 85.
confiftent

( 415 ) .
confiftent with this fuppofed Eftabliffiment of
Jofeph In favour of the Egyptian Priefthood.
For Manetho, the Egyptian Prieft, with whom
our Philofopher falfiy pretends a very intimate
Acquaintance, exprefly affures us ; that thefe *
Eaftern Shepherds fuddenly invaded Egypt, took
it by Force without the Hazard ofa Battle, j'ub-..
dued their Princes, cruelly" burnt their Cities, and
threw down the Temples of their Gods. That they
fiewed the utmofi Hatred to the native Inha
bitants, killing feme, and enfiaving the Chil
dren and Wives oj others ; that their firfi fix Kings,
during the Space two hundred and fixty Tears,
were perpetually at War with the Egyptians, or
rather endeavoured to extirpate them out of the
Country. Now can any one Imagine, that tfiefe
Hebrews, If they were In reality the fame Per
fons with the Eafiern Shepherds, who deftroyed
the Temples of the Egyptian Gods, upon their
firft Invading the Country ,and ufed all the Inha
bitants with fuch' mercilefs Cruelty, would ffiew
fuch Profufion of Bounty to the Priefts, and
endow them fo liberally with hereditary Ho
nours and Revenues ? The Deftrudtion of the
Egyptian ITemples by thefe Shepherds, ffiews
their Contempt for fhe Gods and Priefts and Su-
* Touj yi\vt^.oyivitAVTAi v) tfi/Ji) x^i^aOAiSfioi, to Koiitov TAi Ti
, mhea a/jtai iVivpriauy, )^ T* /e{« r ^m KAJiaKA-^-'t-v- Haiti
' tfe TO/J i'Tux'-Jexoii iX^SOTATA taai iXPWAv]o, THi lJ.iV S((iAJ^<lV-
TAi,. Tav i'i yi^TA 7^«Fa ;t) yvvAiy^i eti J'kA««c .ajoi/j*?  «5 ^ol
fl.iV i^iV Avion i^iVn^WfO-V IH'S^Jol A^.^PTii, •aoKifMV'tii Ail ^ '!S0-
QvVTli \J.AKhov Tin Aifyrm a^a^ai tw J'C'^c- Maneth. ,apud
Jofeph. cont. Apion, 1. i. §. '4- perftitions

( 4i6 )
perftitions of Egypt, and therefore the utter Im-
probabUity of that peculiar Favour which the
Philofopher. afferts, was ffiewn them by Jofeph.
Manetho knew nothing of Jofeph's Bounty In,
this Article, and if the Jews were Manetho' s
Shepherds, and deftroyed the Egyptian Temples
upon their firft Entrance into Egypt, 'tis Impof
fible to fuppofe they could at the farae tirae ag-
grandife their Priefts. For this very Decree of
Jofeph to raake the Priefts independent, was
obtained frora Pharaoh, according to our Au
thor, in the fourth or fifth Year of the Famine,
i. e. In the third and fourth Year after the Paf
tors Defcent.
I might farther argue this from the Principles
and Religion of Jofeph, who evidently appears
to have kept himfelf quite free from the Cor
ruptions of the Egyptian Superftitlons. One
Reafon probably why Jofeph did not eat at the
fame Table with the Egyptians, was the Dif
ference of his Religion frora theirs. The Names
of his two Sons, Manaffeh and Ephraim, and
the Reafons he gives for them, '* God hath made
me forget all my Toil, God hath caufed me to be
fruitful in the Land of my AffliSlion, ffiew his
abiding Senfe of Providence, and his Regard for
the true God, In the midft of his Profperity.
And this he more plainly declares to his Bre
thren, before , he difcovcred hirafelf to them,
in thofe remarkable Words : -f- This do dnd live,
for I fear God. Now It Is fcarce probable, that
* Gen. xli. 51, 52. f Gen. xlii. 18.
a Man

( 417 )
a Man of his Religion, one with whom the
Egyptians, even when he was Prime Minlfter,
would not fo much as eat, ffiould ffiow fuch
Favours to an Idolatrous Priefthood, as to inveft
them with large Revenues in Lands, raake their
Eftates unalienable, render thera Independent of
the Crown itfelf, and thus aflift thera in efta-
bliffiing and encreafing the Idolatries of that
Country. As he could not but defpife their
Gods, he rauft have a proportionable Conterapt
for their Priefts, and could fcarce ever, one
would think, be prevailed with to fet himfelf
up as their Head and Patron, This ^londam Di
'oine, now metarabrphofed into a PhUofopher,
may call this preaching if' he pleafes, and for
that Reafon treat It with Scorn as ufual, from a
Confcioufnefs, I fuppofe, oi what his own preach
ing formerly was. But I believe no one, except
himfelf, who confiders j^o/(?^^'s Education, and
the Principles he carried into Egypt, and main
tained there, wUl eafily imagine, that he would
becorae at once fo abjblutely devoted to fuch a
fuperftitious Clergy, and ' heap on thera more
extraordinary PrivUeges and Iraraunities, than
were ever conferred on thera before by any
of their own Princes; efpecially as it is not
pretended that he had any other Intereft for
this but his marrying the High-Priefi's
Daughter. And even this is partly falfe, fince
there is no Proof that it was the Mi gh -Prieft's
Daughter ; and raay not be true in any Senfe,
for it raight poffibly be a Daughter of one of the
E e Princes

(418 )
Princes of On, for any Thing that appears, or
the Philofopher can prove to the Contrary.
But even fuppofing he had married the
Daughter oi an Egyptian Pxleik, was the private
Intereft attending fuch a Match fo very extraor
dinary, as to overbalance all other Interefts of
Religion, Family, and Birth ? This Grant from
the Crown in Favour of the Priefts, if obtained
by Jofeph at the Time our Philofopher places
it, was obtained foon after his Father and Bre
thren's Defcent Into Egypt, who therefore muft
have been Witneffes to his Condudl, and could
not but have been extremely grieved to fee him
thus enter into all the Interefts of that wretch^
ed Priellhood, and ufing his Intereft with Pha- ,
raoh, for ever to enflave the Egyptians to the
Superftitlons they pradtifed. ^ Such a Condudl
could no more be reconcilable with the Regards
he owed to his own Family, than with the Cha
radler of one who worffilpped the true God, and
is' abfolutely Inconfiftent with the whole of Jo
jeph's Charadler as reprefented by the Hiftorian,
And therefore the Philofopher's Tale of the royal
Decree or Ordinance obtained hy Jofeph ixoxn
Pharaoh, may pafs for an Inftance of his peculiar
good Will to this great Man, and of his Integrity
in writing Hiftory, and will be regarded by all
"the impartial Part of Mankind as Speclmlens of
his diftlnguiffied Veracity and Charity.
5, He afferts, that Jofeph now exempted the
Priejis from all Offices and Employments civil and
military ; but as to Proqfsj^ he is as deficient here as

( 419 )
as in the former Articles, and the Reader h to
believe him merely upon his own Autority and
Affirmation. But I think there Is exceeding
good Reafon to believe, that Jofeph was not the
Author of any fuch Exemption, but that If
they Were thus exempted. It was done long be
fore the Times of Jofeph. But I greafly doubt
the Fadl Itfelf, viz. that they were ever ex
empted from all civil Offices. I know well they
were wholy freed from all military Services ; and ,
I am apt to think that If the Clergy In the Phi
lofopher's own Time were to put on the Sword,
and take on them military Dignities, he would
be one of the firft to reproach thera, with adting
unfultably to their Charadler and Profeffion. I
believe too the Egyptian Clergy were exempted
from all the lower civil Offices oi the State, as
unfultable to their Dignity and Station ; but I
think they were originally and principally em
ployed in all Offices of the State of an higher
and more honourable Kind. They were in
Egypt what the Eupatridce or Nobles were in
Greece, brought up In Learning, and advanced
to the higheft Honours ; they were always at
tendant on the King as his * Companions and
CounfeUors, adling with him In the greateft Af
fairs of State, as hath been proved before, and\
-|- the proper Judges of the People. So that
* O/ .T' /sf«t j^ oi\omipiAy tUTKiv ^ A^£}ve^iAy, oy./Xii7a« Tl Tar
^AOifAav noav. Strab. p. 1135.
t AlKAmi J'i TO A^^ioy tfA^' Al^ti'jfllOl! 01 lifeti noAv. Bf
Si Tvlay Af^y o rT?s«lft'7«7©'» 19 iSlKAnv Am^Ai. iEIian.
Var. Hillor, 1. 14. c. 3^- Edit. Gronov.
E e 2 they

( 420 )
they were perpetually converfant in civil Mat
ters ; and this feeras to be iraplied by the very
original Word irO. which fignifies both Prince
and Priefi, tp denote that both Charadters were
frequently united in the fame Perfon, audi that
their Priefts were In Jofeph's. Time araongft the
Nobles of Egy^if.
And indeed, in the raoft ancient Periods of
the World, civil and religious Dignities wer^
not always feparated, but often poffeffed by one
and the fame Perfon. Melchizedek was King
and Prieft oi Salem, and the Jewijh High-Priefts
were frequently their Governors, both before
and after the Captivity. And long before either
of thefe, the ancient Patriarchs adled' as the
Priefts of God, offering themfelves their Sacri
fices, and not by another ; thofe of the higheft
Dignity not thinking it beneath thera to be em
ployed in facred Services, at the farae Time
that they raanaged all the temporal Concerns
relating to themfelves and their Families. - And
as to the raoft ancient Egyptians In partlculac, fo
far were their Priefts, as this Author ignorantly
affirms, exempted from all civil Employments,
that they managed the greateft and moft im
portant of thera. ," The Priefts and the Prpr
•'phets, fays ^ Plato, are filled with an height
* To yAS JV Tav US'.aV ^UA >^ to tuv [/.Av%ay iV (iAHa
f^)/vij.A\®- -sTAaji/Jy^ iCf J'o^Av niivw J^aijlQavm S'ia to tJ.i\i^®-
Tay if^i^YliMlay. Hr/ -srsei fAiV AifvTrJov gj^' i^igl ^AHihiA
Jt^etf li^.T}Vl\i Ag^iv. AAA' iAV A^ xj Tuy^ fsruTiSoy s| aAAs
yivni Bia/iA^.iy©; vfi^cy AVAfKAtpy eii TiOo wlif^Sni av'Iov to
5'SP©-. Pl.it, inPolit.p. 290.
-, .,: " of

( 42-1 )
" of Spirit, and received folemn Honours, be-
" caiife of the greatnefs of the Things in which
" they engage, jlifomuch that in Egypt it Is not
" lawful for any one to rule as King, without
" he be of thePriefthood, And if any one,
" who was originally of another Stock ffiould
" feize on the Kingdom, it is neceffary he
" ffiould afterwards he- confecrated Into that
" Order." The farae Thing, though in a forae
what different M^fnner is related by * Plutarch,
who tells us, that "the Kings of Egypt were
*' cholenout of the Priefts or Soldiers, the lat*-
" ter having Dignity and Honour upon account
"'of their Fortitude, the forraer upon account
" of thdr Wifdom ; and that if the King waS
" chofen frora the Soldiery he becarae one of
" the Priefts, and was iraraediately initiated
" into their hidden Philofophy." The faiiie
Thing is mentioned by -f Synefius : In ancient
Times, fays he, " the fame Perfons were Kings
*^Vand Judges, for the Egyptians and Hebrews
" #ere governed by their Priefts'." The farae
Cuftora prevailed amOhgft other Nations. " The
" chief % Maglftrates oi Greece, and particularly
* O/ cTs ^Aaiheii e/TiiS'emvv\o (/.iV iK Tav h^iay ji ttdv (J-Ayl-^
[J.ay, TS l^iV J\l^ AvS'tiAv, TB J'i i'lA mii'.A.v. yiv-cr, e^'.c:[.:ci., X>
Tiy.n^ epjfll'?®-. O i't iK (M-^U-av ATToS'€<S'eifiJ.H"a- if&uJ l\0ila
Tay tifiav. Ifid. et ''-tilir. p. 554.
t O toAcU >fOf©- Wifni TKi Aljjui ^AfflMAi y^ Kpf]Ai. Ol
yAp Aifv/Jioi xffc/Sfrt/o/ vnfo rav <5fe«t'C iCAffiAiuSmcmv. S-ynle;.
j Etj J'i EaAkpw TTSAAa;)/!! ran ^e><sa/r a?;<,«''5 tV' /^5>^5a
Trae TTiet 7a txicivIa SnjfiiA'n. sv(yi th aV- '^r^.-ca'/ r/.t«'-cf, Sni eiv i , '>tj
iPti y^ isrAf v^iv ux ^Ki<^ cfKAof 0 A«f«». Ta ^a^ Kay^.m ^atnKn
<paoi Ws Ttt tnyLVOTa-ra «^ [j.a>.i<^ ¦na/rsj.A tkv ctfp^^a.ac Ssxxnav
AinH<^o^.i. Plat. Polit. p. 290.
E e 3 ''at

( 4^2. )
" at y^/^^«j, appointed all the principal Sacrifices,
" In which City the Perfon created B«^/^eu^ of
" King had committed to his Care all the moft
*' venerable Rites and Sacrifices they derived
" from their Anceftors." Anius King oi Dehs
was Prieft oi Apollo.
Rex Anius, rex idem hominum, Phoebique
Sacerdos. Virg. Mn. 3. 280.
Where the Remark of * Servius is: " This
" was the Cuftom of the Ancients, that the
•' King was Prieft and Chief-Pontiff, whence
*' alfo In our Times the Emperors are Pontiffs."
This Is well known to have been the Confti*
tution of ancient Rome. " When -f Romulus
" divided the Inhabli;ants of the City into, the
" Patricii and Plebeii, the Nobles and Commons,
" he appointed each of them their refpedllve
" Offices, The Nobles he ordered to adminlfter
" in holy Things, to bear Magiftracy, to admi-
" nifter Juftice, to manage the Commonwealth
*' with himfelf, and to apply themfelves to the
* Sane majorum hasc erat confuetudo, ut rex effet etiam Sacer
dos & Pontifex, Unde hodie quoque imperatores dicimus Pon-
tifices. Serv. ad lon. Omg i-n kai vw ¦mtgys Ttn Aoj/«7it7t/< Tav
^<t^6Asay Bto^iTui, tb ii£giTiKoy j«c©- «f ^abiKhav •sre^cafoVTW.
Clem. Alex. p. 85 z.
+ O tPe Va^wkQ- i'jreih I)iKpivi Tui K^errjui ann Tav miovm,
eC0fM3tT« fXiTA TKTO ;i^ c'lsTatT?^!' A J^fll iSTiAjTHV i'iATti^C TW
l^iv sura7f/c&< ii£ASut Ti 1^ t^X^v, ». T. A. Dionyf. Hal.
Antiq. Rom. p. 81. " Service

^ 4^3 )
" Service of the City. * To the King hlm-
" felf he annexed many Dignities, and pecu-
" liarly this, that he fliould prefide over all the
" facred Rites and Sacrifices, and that all holy
" Services to the Gods ffiould be performed by
" him ;" and accordingly -f- Romulus himfelf
officiated as Prieft, and offered folemn Sacrifices
to the Gods. And when Rome became Imperial,
her Emperors did not difdain to wear the Title
of Pontifices Maximi, nor to adl accordingly.
" Amongft the ancient + Gaids, their Druids
' ' prefided over all divine Affairs and procured
*' the pubiick and private Sacrifices, And befides
" this they determined in all pubiick and private
" Controverfies in reference to Murthers, In-
" heritances, the Boundaries of Eftates, Rewards
" and Punlffiments." Egyptians, Greeks, Ro
mans, and others in ancient Tiraes, had their
Priefts In fuch high Honour, as that they not
only coramltted to their Care the facred Rites
of their refpedtive Religions, but eraployed them
in the moft honourable Services of the State,
and confulted thera as beft able to advife them
in all their civil Affairs of the utraoft Iraport
ance and Confeauence. J.
* 'EiAmhei iJiiv w s^tifH?" T*J*5 TA >4£9!. Tlga]oy iiiv li^av !^
SuiTlaV nyt[40VIAV iX^V, xj TIAvIa <Pi iKeiViS 'U'^AJTi^l TA •srjof
THi 3t« offiA. Id. ibid. p. 84.
f Id. ibid. p. 78.
j Ilii [Druides] rebus divinis interfunt, facrificia publica ac
privata procurant, religiones interpretantur — — fete de omnibus
controverfiis publicis privatifque conftituunt  fi casdes fafta, fi
de hareditate, de finibus controverfia eft, iidem decernunt. CaEf.
de Bel. Gai. 1. 6. p, 224, 225. Ed. var.
E e 4 'Tis

( 4M )"' •
^.'Tis true the Priefts of Egypt Were exemp
from Taxes, and fromiyaU; lower ^Fmployraenti, s
iriconfifteat w;ith, fheir RanJ^'and Dignity, But
even this Exemption was rauch raore ancient
than Jofeph. * Diodorm tells us, that BeluSi
who lived Ages before JoJ'eph, " brought a Co-
" lony frora E^pt into Babylon and that heex-
" era pted the Priefts froiii aU Taxes and Bur-
'' thens, or burthenfome Offices, in Confor-
•', mity to the Conftitution oi Egypt ," hereby
plainly intimating that the moft ancient Egyp'-
tians had made tiiis SettlqineuL in reference to
the Priefts, -r^And elfewhere fpeaking of .the
Priefthood, as it ftood in the raoft early Ages
amongft the Egyptians, aftep having mentioned
how they attended on the King as his Coun-
xil, he a.dds ¦...•\' Thefe are free from all Bur
thens, or from; all kind , of /Taxes , and Oflices;
viz. thofe honourable Employments of, prime
Dignity, of Senate, Counfel, and Advifers.tothe
King, whichh? had juft before, raentioned,; ex
cepted. Nor -was this Exemption frora Offices
and Taxes peculiar to the Priefts. % The Cala-
firies and Hermotybies, wliich were the two Or
ders of Soldiery araongft the ancient Egyptians,
were wholly confined to military Affairs, -and
* r
. .«¦
* Tm T5 li^m yslA^cA&Ai '^A^ATMJtai tou fj^' Aijlivlov
ATih&!( itj 'sracnii A65]8pj<ct; a-7oAsAyf/.5Hiif. ¦ Lib. i. p. 24,
¦f: fLiat S'i k\oi tirAv']uv A-nhni- Id. 1. i, p. 66.
¦"'- X Ta'JJa i^iiv J\i Toio'i A'TTAffi W,i^A^.t^}llxiyA. Herod. feulerp,
C. 16R. rSfSa cf-£ (Tip/ W TAJ'S i^A£^.l§tl/JfiA (iHVOtO'lV Aifv'tliav
-^Afi^ Tav li^iay, tfjis^;/ e^AtSijoi J'va<Pi)& ir^qu stTsXsJf . Id.
-ibid. I ' had

C 4^5 )
had each of them in their Turrts this fingular
Honour allowed them, of having twelve Arura
©f Lands, each Arura containing an hundred
Egyptian Cubits every way, exempt frora all
Duty or Impoft whatfoever. » Was this too the
Conftitution of Jofeph f Whence he will ptovfe
that the Exemption of the Priefts was made by
'Jofeph, I am not able to devlfe : Yea I know
he cannot do It. The facred Hiftory is I ara
fure filent about it, and as to all other Autorities
ffie can fetch frora profane Hiftory, his Learning
and Reading: give me no Pain or Concern about
them. ^^ .^f
Ingenlofus eft, et bono filo. " ' '
and he may probably fupply the Want of Au
tority with Invention. But I will now produce
.fomething that looks extremely like diredl Proof
to the contrary, to confront all his Inventions
in this Article ; which Is : That there was no
Alteration made In the Priefts Lands by Jofeph's
• Law, that laid a Tax of the Fifth upon all the
other Lands of Egypt ; for as they did not alien
ate thera to the Crown, they could not becorae
'fubjedl to the common Impoft, The Confe
quence of which is, that they were never fub
jedt to this Irapoft, neither before nor after Jo
J'eph's Laws ; for if they had been fubjedl to it
before, the Exception that they became not Pha
raoh'j would have been impertinent, fince they
adluallv were his as to the Fifth, upon this Sup
pofition 1

( 4^<5 )
pofitlon ; and If they had been fubjedl to it after,
the farae Exception, that they became not Pha
raoh'j as to this Fifth, would have been abfurd
and contradidtory.
6. Another extremely curious Difcovery that
he hath made is, thatthe Priefthood now became
hereditary, viz. /by Jofeph's Management, and
the Ordinance he obtained from the Egyptian
King. And here alfo the Proof Is juft the fame
as under the foregoing Articles, the Philofopher's
own fimple Word, without a fingle Teftimony. to
confirm it. All the Intimations of ancient Hif
tory make the contrary extremely probable, I
think I may fay abfolutely certain, viz. that the
Priefthood in Egypt was from the moft early
Times hereditary, defcending by a lineal Suc
ceffion from Father to Son. * Diodorus,
fpeaking of the moft ancient Conftitution of the
Egyptian Priefthood, under their firft Kings,
tells us, " that It was not amongft them as
" araongft the Greeks, with whom one Man
" or Woman obtained the Priefthood, but that
" raany were eraployed In the Sacrifices and
" Worffiip of the Gods, and that they tranf-
" mitted the fame Employment of Life to their
" Pofterity." -f- Herodotus, who was feveral
Ages before him, exprefly fays the fame, that
* Ot; ;af 6)?T6f -nA^ tou 'EWwiV, «5 sf|/«j « (ilA ¦y/vn tW
ii^a(rvvw WAfeihripiv, a^Acs vmKKoi imiet TAi Tav Stac Sutf-/*; k^
TJflAi JiAJeiBlSfl, K^ Titi iyfoVOli TW 0(AOlAy TK ^K 'H'QpAl^iinV
'B-A^J^tJhAg'i- Diod. 1. 1. p. 66.
1 IgcfjAi J'i KK eii 5;airK Tav ^av aAAa otaAo/ — — i-TtiAv Si
Tti A'wo^vn ti/Jk 0 zvji ailiy^fJi^A:, Herod. Euterp. c. 37.
" there

( 42.7 )
** there is not only one Prieft to each God, but
" many, of which one is Chief, and that when
" any one of them dies, his Son fucceeds in lus
" Room." As to their holy Beafts he * fays :
" They had each Beaft feparately Perfons ap-
" pointed to take care of their Feeding, both
" Men and Women, and that this Honour de-
" fcended frora Father to Child." ThlsConffi-
tution was as ancient as the Religion of Egypt,
and that their brute Worffilp was anclenter than
Jofeph, will be made abundantly appear under
the next Sedllon.
And Indeed this hereditary Succeffion of the
Priefthood was nothing peculiar in Egypt, where
almoft all Employraents of Life defcended fuc
ceffively frora Father to Son. In this manner
-j- " the mUitary Order was tranfmitted down,
** that the Children confidering the Valour of
" their Forefathers, might be excited to a noble
" Imitation of them." Their % Hufoandraen
alfo were " bred up to Hufoandry frora their
" Infancy, and thus had the Benefit of their
*' Forefather's Obfervations as well as their own
" Experience to inforra them." It was the
* MiAeJlaro/ ATtoS'iS'i-i^Ai tw to'^m p^ae/* s»«?z»c, ^ anvM
Xj 5nKiAi Tay Aiyvvrjiay Tay <sra/s 7W£j{ (arci]?®" iiiJix^Al tW
Tiiwv. Id. ibid. c. 65.
t OftMt tfs KTOI TVIV TA^IV TAUTKV iK TWV •Sr^.tfoVaV S'tAA'i-)^-
\moi, TAii \i.iv Tay la^^ovay AVit^AyAbiAli vefl^i'^rovlAi 'nr^s
TDf AVJ'ieiAV, iK -BAiAw Jii Z^nKifiAi yivoi/.ivoi Tav mhi[iiKay if-
'\aiy. Diodor. 1. p. 67.
' J EKVtymnJ'i ffvviiS(lio(iiVoi TAK j'iafyiKAii SOT^sA«tf/f— —
Trt IJLiV iK Ttii TOV 'wfoycvav '^AfjUtl^'Uffiai [M^flU, TOt tT iX.
TVi iS'iAi <a»ey.( S'iJax^vIh. Id. ib.d,
I fame

( 4^3 )
fame with regard to their * Sheipherds, " who
"received their C^ftflngs by an hereditary La\v
*' frora their Progenitors." Yea their very
-f- Artificers and Trkdefmen ". ¦vvere not allowed
" to be of any other Employment" or Order,
" but what ^vas determined by' ]paw and'.-re-
*' ceived from their Anceftors. In this m'an-
¦" ner, fays Diodorus, Was the Egyptian Po-
*' lity divided or diftinguiflied into Claffes, fo
*' that the ancient Inhabitants of £^/iif follow-
*' ed every one the Bufinefs of' his own Order
" as they had it from their Progenitors." This
Account is alfo connffned by '^ Plato, who 'Was
many Years elder ffian DiodoVui, who relates
the fame Things of , the Egyptian Conftitutitin

*

,0- J^' Av]®- hoy©- «s7 Kj Tn^i Tay yo.y,iW, oi tw rav ^pif/t,-
(j.cO.av i'WiiJ.iheiAV iK 'nA\ipav affirip Kf^^poVofJ-lAi ^i'lxa /»^A(tJ/.-
CAniiii, iv 0ni) KTWiT^oipa.S'iA\it,.v<ri .3r6fti7a t r {8f Xf'^^'^' ^^•
ibid .
\ tlA^ (J.OyOli yip Tisjol! 0/ JVt^/»?fa/ K^ TiXVII'"'! i^ti.VTi{ k-jt'
i^yuflAi AKhm, -xti *roA/TteMf TA^iai ft,iTAKAp.€AVHV iaVTAi
•shw TW iK Tay voiJ.ay ae.tiJ'.'J'Sptli , ^ ^'p^Tav yiynsv n^^JiJa-
(j5pi\i  TMI' (XiV. tv JlAl^iCrtV Ttli 'SroAllHii, >y TW TKilJ'tAi
'TA^iai i7!1.fJ.lkcHAV S'lA CS^yVay TOIAVTIIV i'X'^V 01 TO tSAKAlOV
TW Aiyj'/lov ¦AATOIKtvlii. Id. ibid. p. 6-»i.' - Ar to/{ aJjIoIs T'dt
AUTAi <sr^.^eii iJ.irAsi^t^i?^iSui <s!fi}<mA^iy. liocr. Bufir. Laudat.
p. 224 VIC. etiam Jjicaearch. apud "Scholiaff . in Apol. Rhod.
1. 4. V. 27Z.
X Ttsa']ov [JLiv, TO Tay npjiay -jav^ ^ t»i' etWva'i'' ^^li S.^a-
flfflAiVOV yLilA Ji T8T0, TO Tav Jii(itsf^y^ Oti XaS-' avto tK&,?W,
AhKa Ji UK i'mjj.tyniiivoy Jii[ji.ix^ye{. To, Te Tav rof/iSBf xj
Tay SKfewTfflf, TO, Ti Tav yia^feiiy ^ J'n to yLA-\4jMV ysc©-
snSnsAi mx TnJi "ih' mAVTav Tav yivav yji^piff(/.iyov, oif sJiV
«AA» <!B-A11C Tse <!^ T8C 'T^Ohif/.OV "ClSiV TH VOIM (Zfj^fl-ST*J^i9lI
fJ.iKaV ¦  0(yi( IOX TOV VOfJl-OV T»Ji OUnV i7niJ.iKeidV iTOlMATO
eb^i KAT a^-^i, -afee t5 tov M<r[i.ov a-tta^a, i*9Xpt iiAt]i*ti z)
laf^iKm <c^( vyiBAV, iK THTay S^eivv ovTav en ta AvhpaTrlvA
i^AVivpay, eoa ts ctAAcS TKTOIJ i'TTlTAI y.A^ilfJiAlA ¦mAVTA KTWrA-
l^ivQ-- Tim. p. 24. from

•( 4^90
from Its firft, Original, as it ftood fome tIiou|a!j4
Years befor(?. his own Tirae, according to the
Relation of, the Egy/i/rt^j themfelves. He In
troduces Critias as giving an Account ofa Con
verfatlon between Solon and an "Egyptian Prieft,
in which the Prieft teUs Solon what was the State
P^f^gypiy eight or nine thoufand Years before,
viz. firft, that ¦'''•the Race of the Priefts were
V feparated and diftlnguiffied from the others,
" i. e. the Pfieftfiood was made fucceffive and
" hereditary ; after this that of the Artlzans each
'' was diftindt by itfelf without intermixing
" with another ; then that of the Shepherds,
" Hunters and Hufoandraen ; then that of the
Soldiers is feparated from. <ither Kinds, who
are obliged by Law to raind no other Con
cerns, but thofe relating to War. Thus you
fee how wifely the Law regulated every Thing
immediately from the Beginning, even to Divi-
*' nation and Phyfick, fpr the Prefervation of
"Healthy beginning frora facred Things, and
" going on to human, and difcovering and
" adding what related to all other kind of Sci-
" ences and Profeffions whatfoever." This is
an Evidence which is of the greateft Antiquity,
and though the carrying this Hiftory fo far back
as eight or nine thoufand Years, may carry the
Appearance of Fable, though there are proba
ble Ways of reconciling even this to Truth,
.yet as given by an Egyptian Prieft, and taken
.from the facred Records of Egypt themfelves,
renders the Teftimony oi Diodorus heioxe re
lated

( 430 )
lated Indifputable; and Is a Demonftration, if Irt
an Affair of fuch a 'Nature there can be fuch a
Thing, that in the moft ancient Times oi Egypt,
and its original Conftitution, and firft Settlement
of its Kingdora and Government, the Priefts,
Tradefmen, Shepherds, Hunters, Hufoandraen,
Soldiers, Phyficians, and all other Conditions
and Employment of Life, were hereditary, and
kept by Law from all Intermixture with each
other ; and that therefore the Priefthood was
not made, as for any Thing the Philofopher can
prove, hereditary hy Jofeph, but that long before
his Birth they were in this refpedi abfolutely in
dependent of the Crown, and held neither their
Profeffion nor Eftates by his Leave, or at his
Pleafure. But our PhUofopher, equal only to
himfelf, defpifes Probabilities, Autoritles, and all
other fuch Kind of Things. He Is himfelf the
very Mint of Hiftory, the Oracle of Intelligence,
and the Depth of his Learning is his own In
vention, and reaches no farther than to the
mere Creatures of his own Imagination.
Some of my Readers poffibly may not be
difpleafed to be farther informed, that odd as
this ancient Conftitution of Egypt may feem to
them, yet that it was by no means peculiar to the
Egyptians. * There was fomewhat refembling it
in the ancient State -of Athens, whofe Inhabi
tants were divided into the Eupatridce or Nobles,
who were capable of the higheft Honours'; the
Countrymen or Farmers, who were to bear
* D. S. p. 25. Arms

( 431 )
Arms and go to War for the City ; the Artlzans
or Tradefmen, employed in Manufadlurles, and
the lower civil Offices and Affairs of the Com
monwealth ; and this Refemblance is taken no
tice of boffi by Diodorus and Plato. * The
Egyptian Prieft in his Difcourfe to Solon tells
hun: " Compare the Laws with ours here,
" for you will find many Inftances of the an-
" cient Cuftoras In ufe amongft us at prefent
•' here." And then mentions the Settleraent
and Divifion of the Inhabitants, as before re
lated. And after the Account immediately
adds : ", You who inhabit this Country now
*' make ufe of the fame Laws." They had alfo
^eix facred Families, fuch as the -f Eumolpi da
who prefided over the Myfterles, the % Hefy-
chides, who prefided over the Sacrifices to the
Eumenides, the Ceryces, § a kind of Mefiengers
and Servants, who were employed In rainifterial
'Offices, and were called Meffengers of Jove,
becaufe their Service was neceffary in all Sacri
fices, and in all Councils and Afferablies of
Men; and others, whofe Honours were fuccef
five. . Among the ancient Indians, their Phiio
fophers, Hufoandraen, Shepherds, Tradefraen,
Soldiers, Queftmen and Hunters, were all dlf-
tlndl and feparate Claffes, who were confined.
* T»f f/tSC ty VOfMS SKO'TTfi "BTf Of TW TnJi, "STOAA* J<»f l^^JetffjtAJA
Tay To7s -arrtp' vu.iy ovlay, ivSntJi vvv AVivpns'tti  Oruin xy Jn
VO^Oti Ti Toulon XF'^f'^'"- ^'^^' "'''''
t Suid. in voc. Y.v^i.oh'mJAi, Scholiaf. ad Sophoc. Oed. Col.
V. 1107.
X Schol. ad Oedip. Colon, ad ver. 502, Callim. Fiag. Bent.
1 23. § Hefych. et Phavorin.. in Voce. to

( 43^- )
to their proper Profeffions and Bufineffes with
out Intermixing with each other., * Between
thefe Orders it was unlawful to intermarry, nor
was any one allowed to exerdife or carry on
two Trades, nor to tranflate himfelf out of one
Profeffion to another. 'Twas thus alfo araongft
the Arabians, who were divided into five Claf
fes, the Soldiers, the Hufoandraen, the Artl-
ficprs, the Dealers in Myrrh, and the Traders in
Frankincenfe, whofe Eraployments were not
transferred frora one to another, but -f- who '
remained, each Clafs, in the Profeffion they re-r
ceived from their Forefathei^. And ¦ finally,
+ Herodotus relates much the fame of the La-^
cedemonians,^ that " they herein agree with, the
" Egyptians, that Heralds, Mufielans and Cooks
" are aU fucceffively brought up to the Em-t
" ploy ments of their Fathers. So tbat a Mu-
" fician hath a Muficlan for his Son, a Cook a
" Cook, and an Herald an Herald, no other
, " Perfon for the Clearnefs of his Voice being
" fubftituted In the room of an Herald; but
" all perfevering In the family Employraents," or
receiving their refpedtive Bufinefs by hereditary
* TA[j.ifriv A 6? S7?p« yivi©" ^ ^y.i{, oiov Toiat ytap-ytici i%
T<s Jn/Mxp-^Kii, ri i(jt,7niKtv, vJi Jno TiyyoA i-^nyiJivmy tov autov,
'•-iii Tisjo dtiJ-lii, nJ'i A^eiCetv sf iTipx yiVi®- eii iTi^V, OIOV yi-
ap}tKov iK yoijiia! -f/^i^i, tl vofjLig, iK Jvi^tvp^}iK'i. Arrian. Hilior.
¦Judic. p.- 525. '3^6. ¦ Edit. Gronov. 'Vid. etiam Strab. Geog.
1. 15. p. 1029.
t Ou IM-mipaiTtt 7tt i-^iwJiVliATV AhK' iv tois 7mvlp,ioiS JlA-
Hevxffiv ii^a^i. Strab. 1. 16. p. 11 29. ' - y.
X ExJiKo/lai: TAi 'ItdlpWAi TiXVttS ——. ^TA 7* IgAl^lA iM-
TsAsiT/' Herod, 1. 6. c, 60. Succeffion ;

( 43i )
Succeffion; andas * he alfo tells us, the ^gyp-
Hans were .divided into feveral Claffes, Priefts,
Soldiers and others, whofe feveral FaraUies by
a perpetual Succeffion Inherited the Employ
ments they were brought up to frora Father to
Son ; a Conftitution this as did as tbe original
Settleraent of the Kingdom, aind which ffiews
the Impertinence and Falfehood of the Philo
fopher's Remark, that the Egyptian Priefthood
was firft made hereditary by Jofeph.
•J. Another Curiofity he prefents us with is, that
Jofeph, upon the Strength of his Alliance with the
High-Priefi, had managed Matters fo well, as ta
have divided the whole Power and ' Property oj
Egypt between the Church and the Crown: -f The
Lands of.E^j'/'if were divided under their firft Kings
into three Parts. The firft belonged to the Priejis^
for the procufing Sacrifices and maintaining thd
Perfons employed In their facred Ceremonies j-
the fecond Divifion belonged to the Kings, for'
their Revenues, for the Expences of 'War, and
to maintain, their Splendor ;¦ to enable thera to*
diftribute Rewards to Merit, and to prevent
their loading their Subjedls with Taxes. The
third and laft- Part was' apportioned to ihe Sol
diers, to encourage thera the better to defend
their Country, by the large Share of Property
in it with Which they Were invefted.- And as
* Lib. i. c. r63-, &c.
f Tm Ji'^^^i Amtmi minA i^ipn J)«pyiu.iv''fii, tdc «V «?«;'-
l^C ix^ iJ.HjJho TO cn/?»)f4se Tay n^iay  '¦ Tw Ji Jivn^'^
^i^.v 01 ^ASi'Keti mse.f^n<^A<ri  Thi' Ji (^i^iJh. TMi" TsAei^ra/;
*y i^sffiv « i^AxiiMi y^Asfifi'o/- Diod.l. i. p. 66, 67.
F f

(434 ) ,
the whole Country was thus divided, and thfS
Property lodged originally in the King, the
Priefts and Soldiery, what Property could re
main for the reft of the People ? The Truth of
the Cafe feeras to be, that the Hufoandraen and
Shepherds rented thefe Lands of the Klng^ the
Priefts, and the Soldiers at certain annual Rents,
by which they provided for therafelves and Fa
milies. 'Tis probable, that before Jofeph's
'irirae thefe Rents were not fiated and fettled,
and that the Farraers were frequently oppreffed
by the Soldiers, or thofe who eoUedled the royal
Revenues. However upon the Faraine they
willingly refigned them all, as having no Foodi,
tor Corn to fow, nor Rent to pay. And 1
think this Circumftance Is the only one that
can account for the Readinefs of the Egyptians
to refign their Eftates to the Crown ; becaufe
they had originally no abfolute Property in them^
but held them of the Crown and others, only as
Tenants, and for which they paid certain an
nual Rents. But being now abfolutely difabledf'
from l^aying thera, becaufe they could not fow
their Lands, they were glad wholly to reftore
thera to the Crown of whom they rented them.
Thefe Eftates were Indeed a kind of Inheritance
to them, as they poffeffed and cultivated them
frora Father, to Son, and raaintained their Fa
milies by the Produce of thera. And therefore
they 'feid to Jofeph, Buy us and our Land, and
the Hiftorian fays, they fold every Man his Field;:
becaufe cliey made this Surrender of the Land^ they

¦¦¦{ 435f)
they had long fucceffively occupied, through
immediate Want of Bread, But It is not in
the leaft intimated, that thefe Lands were ab
folutely their own, fo as to be a freehold Pofief
fion, and void of the Incumbrance of all Rents
foitheir fuperiour Lords. If the Egyptians had
been thus free, and invefted with this abfolute
Property In their Eftates^ I imagine they would,
-like other free Men, have had Spirit and Re
folution enough to have opened the Granaries in
the Time of a general Faraine for their Relief,
without meanly fubraitting to fell in a Body
ffieir Freeholds, their patrimonial Eftates, for
Bread ; or at leaft that they would have bravely
iperiffied in the Attempt, had they failed in It.
But it was natural for Men, who were only
Tenants to others, and paid an yearly Price for
iheir Lands, .gladly to refign them in inch a
dong continued Dearth, and thankfully to .ac
cept a Maintenance frora the Crown, and pro
mife to becorae the Servants of it iraraediately
¦upon granting It, Now In this View of the
Cafe, what becomes of our Philofopher's Charge
againft Jojeph, that he divided tbe whole Pro
perty o/" Egypt between the Church and the Crown?
In realltv he made no Alteration of Property, He
left the Crown and Church only what they each
had before. He did Indeed kindly eafe the Peo
ple of a Burthen they could not fuftain, took
back the Eftates they rented into his Hands be-
£aufe they eould not pay thofe Rents, fupplied
them liberally with Food ai Free-,cofi, whilft
F f 2 the

(436)
the Scarcity kfted, gave them as freely Seed fO'
fow their Lands, when the Lands becarae ca-*
pable of receiving It,, reftored each to his pa-'
ternal Inheritance, and to prevent all future
Burthens and Oppreffions of tbe People, fixed
their Rents to a fifth Part of the Produce,
whereby thofe Rents becarae for the future equally
eafy in 'Tirae of Scarcity or Plenty ; fince whether
they produced more or lefs, it was only a pro'-r
portionable Fifth that could . be demanded of the
Occupiers. In fpite therefore of this Philofo^
pher, Jofeph's Glory ffiall remain unhurt, and
his Moderation, Equity and Compaffion appear
illuftrious to aU fucceeding Generations. TBe
Archers have forely grieved him,andfiot at him and
hated him, but his Bow fiall abide in Strength,
and the Arms of his Hands be made firong by the
Hands oj the mighty God of Jacob. The Bleffing-
of 'Heaven fiall be on the Head of joieph, arid oh
the Crown of the Head of him thai was feparate
from his Brethren. Once raore
8, Our Philofopher charges him with w/roj-
ducing fuch anabjblute Power in Church and State
into Egypt, as never had been known in tpe
World hejore. Non poteft effe preclofior Homo.
This Writer furely Is the wifeft and mofi learned
Man, and the beft verfed in Antiquity of any
one living this Day in the whole World. For
he can tell, it- feems, what no one elfe I, am
a fure

[437)
fore can do, what .were the Conftitutlons In
Church and State araongft all Nations of the
Earth, and particularly what it was in Egypt,
' frora the Beginning, and even frora the very
Foundation of tbe World, to the Time of Jo
jeph's Advanceraent by Pharaoh ; elfe he would
not haVe ventured wlthya^^ Affurance and Pofi-
tlvenefs to have affirraed, in the Face of all
Mankind, and under the venerable and facred
Charadler of a moral Philofopher, that JoJ'eph's
Favour with the King of Egypt Introduced there
fuch an abfolute Power in Church and State, as
had never been know In the World before. If
he be that raoral PhUofopher he pretends, he
muft not only be acquainted with the Hiftory
and Conftitutlons of all the feveral States and
Kingdoms, that ever exjfted frora the Founda
tion of the World to Jofeph's Tirae, but he
muft have critically compared thera all with the
Egyptian Government as altered and fettled by
Jojeph; otherwife it will be great Immorality,
Falfehood and Impofture publickly to throw out
fuch an Affertion as this ; merely to calumniate
the Meraory of one of the greateft and beft
Men that ever lived, * and to vilify and de
ftroy one of the fairefi and mofi excellent Cha-
raSters, that Hiflory tranfralts to us. If he
hath this Knowledge, let him ffiew it to the
World; If. he hath made the Cora parifon, let
hlra lay It before his Readers, that they raay
judge of It as well as hirafelf. But he knows
himfelf that he hath not thjs Knowlege, and
Ff3 that

- ( 4-?8 )
that he Is an Incorapetent Judge of the Affali:
in which he takes on hira to affert with fqmuch
Confidence. If one may judge of Nimrods
Charadter by the little that is faid of hira in
Scripture, he appears td have been a very ty
rannical Prince. His very Narae fignifies * the
Rebel. He began lo be a mighty one in the^Earth ;
raifed hirafelf to great Power by War and Con.-
queft. He was a mighty Hunter, he became
mighty by hunting before the Lord, or raifed
himfelf 1,0 Power and Erapire by Violence and
Oppreffion ; for in this Senfe of hunting the ori
ginal Word Tilf Is frequently ufed. And had
Jofeph in reality rendred -the Governraent of E-
gypt intirely arbitrary, the PhUofopher would
be hard put to It to prove, that he ^raade It raore
arbitrary then Nimrod's. But enough hath been
faid under the foregoing Articles to deftroy the
very Foundation of this Charge. Laftly
9. He afferts, that the Priefthood being now
hereditary and independent, this gave the Priefis
an Opportunity and Power to work up the Peo
ple into the highefi and grofiefi Degrees of Super
fiition ; as though it were abfolutely in the
Power of the Priefts of Egypt to introduce what
Superftitlons they pleafed araongft the People.
But this alfo happens' tp hefaife in faSl, as far
as the Remains of Antiquity can/guide us. As
the Superftitlons of Egypt were of aijcient Date,
and originally introduced by their Gods, their
|Cings and Princes, the ancient Priefts looked on
* Geri. X. 8. them-

( 439 )
ffiemfelves as inviolably bound to maintain thof^
ancient Prefcrlptlons. They thought It, fays
* Diodorus, unlawful to change the Worfisip of
the Gods, but that ffieir Honours ffiould always
be performed by the fame Perfons and In the
fame Manner. They alfo -j- efteeraed It a moft
wicked Thing to fail frora Egypt into a foreign
Country, being afraid of introducing foreign
Luxury and Manners ; and they thought this
only lawful for thofe, who were forced to It by
the King's Affairs. They ufed frequently to
difcourfe with one another, about adhering to
tfieir Ameftor's Cufioms, and if any of thera were
convidled of tranfgreffing thera in the fraalleft
Matter, they were expelled frora the Prieft
hood. And the People were In this refpedi as
tenacious as their Priefts. They refufe, fays
% Herodotus, all Greek Cuftoras, and to fay all
at once, they will by no means conform to the
Laws and Ufages of any other Men ; and being
contented with the Laws they derive frora their
Forefathers, they will admit of no Addition to
* OoT? yap TSi 77»c St»c 77jU«f aovTo </l«c a>J^at']hv, oAA' ^Jffl^^
Tay A»)Tav «« «J vAg^.'TAnoiai avVTihH&mi. Diod. 1. i . p. 66.
•I Ofyi iv Toii AtnCssATOK ivSrivIo wAsv av Aiyj'/ju, Jiiv-
hACvfimVOI ^iVIKAi T§V^Ai KJ i'mnJiVf^iATA. MoVOli )a.p ooioy iJhKet
TOH l(ATtt TAi ^ACtKlllg,i J^fa** A'7n/IVAyi(^JUiV0Ji, lloAl/f e/V Itj
tk7o/< tiv hoyoi <aiej. tk sf*^«C£U tou TmizMii' ^uKgy. J' a, KetjAyv^
SifiiV 'S^SAivovTii, ATtnhAvyovlo. Porphyr. de abilin. 1. 4. §. 8,
X '^y^wiKoip Jt voi^Aioiai (Sivyxm xe^-^"^- "^^ ^ (^^['.¦nAv
weiv, (i«J' AM\av fMiJAixA imJAuuiV AvSfayTay vouAloiri' Lib. 2.
c. 9 1 . TIaIuokh <Ji x^-f^l^ivoi voiwKn, Ah^oy iiJiVA t';:tti.Tiuy]A4
•ntiri. Ibid, c, 78.
Ff..4 be

( 440 ) ^
l3e made to them.. So that it Is no fmaU * Dif.
ficulty to perfuade an Egyptian to have a mean
Opinion oi vvhaf he hath received frora his
Forefathers, and not to think this or the other
irrational Aniraal not to be a God, or to refufe
to die rather than to eat pf their ^\eih; ox a%
rj- Porphyry expreffes It, the Egyptians thought
animals Gods,' and therefore abftained from them
equally as from huraan Fleffi. Such a DIlpo-
fition in Priefts and People was the greateft
Hiodrance to all Innovations and Changes.
Nor do I ^ink uppn the old Egyptian CoUr
ftitution, that it was in the leaft probable that
the Priefts had a Power of Introducing what
Kind of Superftitlons they pleafed ; for orlgl^
nally the King X was chofen, either from a-,
mongft the Priefts themfelves, or the Soldiei;y,
If from the Soldiery, he immediately entered
hirafelf into the Nuraber pf the Priefts, and
was § Initiated into all their fecret Myfterles,
By this Means, the Prince knew all the Secrets
pf the Priefthood, and was in raany Things,
able to controul them, and, If a. Prince of Spir
« * Ov TA^fi yw Aiyy-jfliov •aam.i av th ysTA(pPSV«mi uv at,
i^TEffaf !Wf&(Aij^ec, a^^nti voiMou^Ai ^ov ToJt To,^AKoyoy (^aov,
H l^iX^ bAVATX <pV^«i,AStAl "inO TnJi TK ^«« K^tUtr O/my^tAI .
jOrigen, coiit. Ccls. '1. i. p. 36S.
^ t E? rtuTwc ef /o-B «J TTiiy Av^pajnav ath-^iiIo. De abftin,
5.3. p. 119.
X Plutarch, de Ifid. et Ofir. p. 354.
§ AiyuTrlioi « To'i iimuxxsi tu -nu^ inpiai AViTibivIo iw^siA,
?  *AA' « (Mvoii yi Toii fz-sAABfl-/ SOT ^a(Tihei<Xv 'ts^nveu, ^
nav li^ifoy TO/f  JbiufuoTalois. Clem. Alex. p. 670; £dit.
Potter. ¦ ',• '• , r < --

( 441 )
rit and Refolution, unqueftionably would dp It,
whenever his own Intereft, or that of his Peo
ple required it ; whereby the Priefthood became,
if not In a great Meafure dependent on the
Crown In all their priefily Operations, yet at leaft
.greatly reftrained and limited in th^Exercife of
their Power.
Indeed the Egyptians feemed to have guarded
againft all Kind of Innovations by their Laws,
both In Spirituals and Temporals, and to have
tied down every Thing as unalterably as they
could. There was, as we have already feen,
no Change allowed In the Conditions and Em-.
ployraents of their feveral Claffes of Men; but
what they once were, their Famil.'es always con
tinued to be. Egypt was not only * remarkable
for the Number oi hex fpiritual Phyficians, but
of her temporal ones too, which being divided
into feveral Claffes, were each appropriated to
the Cure ' of partlculaf Dilorders. They had
one Set of Podlors for the Head, another for
the Eyes, another for the Teeth, another for the
Belfyj and another for occult Difeafes. Every.
Place fwarmed with Phyficians-|-, and they were
* H cTs lATpixin ys,TA tkcTs ffipi JiJk^i. M/ik yoffx iKA^i
IMTfijJ £S7) XjX trf^mpvay. TIavta J' iHT^av i^ ituKtA. Ot fjny
yap of.S»A(/ftv itlTCPt KATi^iASl, ot Ji u^Ahm, 01 Ji oJhVTav, oi
Ji ^-w vnJhv, oi Ji Tay AifAViWV vvaay. Herod. Euterp. c. 84.
¦j- O/ yAp IAT£fl TAi //.iV TO^Ai iK TK XflViS Aaf/^aCSf/, TAi
jfs ^£ai7niAi TTg^aAyv'^ xstTa vo/mv S^/fgjipoi/, &b ¦mhKay tCf Ji-
Jh^Aanivav lAJ^av irijyl'iyg^^iJi.iyoy. Kac Toti zk THi ii^.i fiiCf^n
¦ VOfMli AVAyivatfyjifJiiVOli AWKi&tloarni AJyi'Al^lifOin aaauiToy kA[/.-
yOv]A, AbaOl Tmv'l^ «5/XA«f«7©- A'TTOhVivJAI. iAV Ji <^^ TA
yiy^.y.{mA ispnimm, Stavat^ miffiv -liimi^iVWiy- Diod. Sic.
•'¦'' ¦' -.maintained

( 442 ) .
maintained by the Pubiick, and obliged to ap^
ply only fuch Methods of Cure as were accord
ing to Law efiablified, and which had been pre-
fcribed by the ancient Sages . pf Phyfick. If
they could*, not fave the poor Patient by the
old orthodox Difpenfatory , they incurred no
blame by his dying ; but if they innovated and
ufed any heterodox Prefcriptions, the Dodlors
were put to death themfelves as Hereticks in
Phyfick, if the Patient died under them. , Befides
this, there was an e^ah\\{hed pubiick Orthodoxy
as to Painting end Mufick in Egypi, which had
been always kept inviolable, as far as it regarded.
the Religion of the Country, and froni which
jio, Deviations were , ever allowed. ~ The Egyp
tians * imagined that the Youth in their Cities
ffiould
* K<icA« (t&v ^nuntlA, KAKA Ji ,M=A« Jel (liTAXel^t^i^l TAU
CVVijhlAli THi iV TAU sreASW ViHi. TA^AfJLiVOI Ji Tetu]*, i«t7« SJJ,
J^ O-tSOl' AtIa, ATiapWAV iV TOIHi^li. KAI i^^^ TAvIa XK i^W K7E
i[ay(!ci,(poii UT AKKoti, omi ^/mJa >y oni/' (itT7a Amfya^^ovlAi,
XMiyalo{i.BV, isJ' i-mvoeiv «aa' atIa m t* TiuTeiA. OvJi yw sfssji'
kt' iV TUTOIi, UT iVU.HS'DU) iTOft-TaiTO. 'S.KCTTaV J' iV^Wtii AujoSt
TA {ivpiCCOV iTOi ¦yi,y^A(^y,iVA, H TiVJTra^VA, HX ai iTlOi ei^fiV
luipio^v, aAA'ci-TOf, Tav pvv JiJuiMvpytlfift>av ^Ti t> kaKKiova, vt^
Ai^eo, TW AVTW JijTix.''^v ATnipyaaiJuvA. DoSfrfJimus Serranus nott,
niideiw cepijfe fenfiim hujus loci. Ita wertit. Decere nimirum ut
adolefcentes, in bene moratis civitatibus, fufcipiant confuetudine
atque induant prsclaros habitus, praeclaramque quandam confo-
nantiam. Hsdc in hunc modum, quacunque tandemratione funt
conilituta, in ipfis facrificiis fignificantur — Quod fl ea obfervares
illis in locis, comperires a decern annorum millibus retro vel
icripta vel exprelTa, -ftc. Sed, ni fallor, ^y,ATA et f<6Ait non funt
prasclari habitus, ei prccclara confonantia, ut putamt mr doBuS, .
fed omnino referenda fuHt ad Tui ^ay^^jfxf et TMf fjUKTIKIHv, ut patet
ex tota contextu. Licum integrum fie njerto. Decere nimirum, ut
adolefcentes in civitatibus fefe ufu continuo exerceant in pulchria
quibafdam figuris et pulcTiris quibufdam carminibus. Quaaetqua-
lia hasc funt lignificarunt in facris, vel in facris libris, hi qui primp,
' a ' inftitu*

( 443 )
ffiould be Inured and accuftbmed to exercife
themfelves In forming certain Pldlutes, and fing-
ing certain Songs, which were adjudged by the
Pubiick to be good and right, even fuch as were
exhibited and' ufed In their facred Rites. And
befides ffiefe it was not lawful for Painters or
others, who raade any kind of Draughts what
foever, to raake any Innovations, or invent any
other kind than what their Country had ap
pointed. Neither, fays Plato, is it lawful to this
Day to do it, neither in thefp Things, nor in
any Part of their Mufick. And if you confider
. it, you wUl find that here, viz. in Egppt, their
Paintings and Figures for * ten thoufend Years
paft are neither better nor worfe than thofe
which are now made, but that they are all
finlffied exadtly according to the farae 'Art. And
as to their Mufick, he fays, * that the Egyp
tians affirra, that the facred Songs which haye
been preferved for fo long a Time, were the
.Very Poems of Ifis herfelf; and that It feemed
there abfolutely Impoffible to corrupt them, and
that every Appearance was to the Contrary.
ihflituerunt. Et praeter hsec non licet neque pi£loribus, neque qui
figuras quaflibet effingunt, novi aliquidjin medium proferre, neque
aliud quidquam excog tire, quam quod patriae legibus comprobatur.
Neque in hunc ufque diem licet vel in his, vel in univerfa Mufica.
Quod fi ea obftrv.ires illis in locis comperies, a decern ^nnorum
mdlilpus retro, non ut ita dicam, fed revera decem millibus, vel
pifturas vel figuras, iis quse nunc ab artificibus fiunt, neque pul-
chriores, neque turpiores, fed eadem ilia arte omnino efformatas.
Sed de his doffiores Judicent. Plat, de Leg. 1. 2. p. 656.
* Ex« (pASi T«t Toc TntJuv TVTov moufff^iVA xe.9Vov fXSAM, THJ
' UiJhi 7nii)i[^dlA yi^viVAi. Tw ynv iKU nJAfMi ioiyk JuvaIh yi-
•'yyiVAi J>A(!:3'eiiAi. Uav Ji twavIioV- Id. ibid. p. 657.
- ' ' For

( 444 )
For thus I render ihe lafi Words of this Pafiag^^
Agreeable to this * Herodotus tells us, that they
had a Song made on Occafion of the Death of
the only Son of the firft Egyptian King, which
they conftantly fing, and that this was the" firft
and only one they made ufe of on this Occafion.
Plato himfelf had been In Egypt, and curloufly
obferved thefe Things ; and there can be np
ftronger Teftimony. to the lo.ng Immutability of
the Egyptian Rites and Ceremonies of Religion,
As it was not lawful to make any Inno^ratIons
in them, fo neither had there been any made for
fome thoufand Years paft ; ahd therefore the
Egyptian PrIeftsVneiffier could, nor did intro
duce thefe grofs Superftitlons, which the Phi
lofopher imagines they- did, by the Conftitution
of Jofeph. And as Jojeph prevented their
making any farther Acquifitions in Land, he
dried up the Source of thofe Gains they raight
otherwife have tfjade, and thereby cut off one
main Induceraent to encreafe their original Su
perftitlons, If they had had It ever fo rauch ir|
their Power to have done. it.

»

iAivovlai Ji AH -MJe tktoc AeukyTH  ^ aoiJm cTs
vaulw '0palm >^ (Aww apiirt yivi^i. 1. 2. c. 79',

CHAP.

( ,445 )

CHAP. XII.
Of Chffmijiry^ Natural Magick and
ExpermeMal Philofophy.
JOSEPH having, according to our Philo^
fopher's Imagination, made the Priefihood
independent, and hereditary, and the Priefts being
now incredibly rich, and having all the Means of
Knowledge and natural Experiments in iheir
Power, they Jet themfelves to the Study of Cby
mifiry, natural Magick, and occult experimhtaH
Philojbphy ; all which they kept as deep Secrets,
and facred Myfieries, to themfelves, and made it
all pafs with ihe ignorant e'nfiaved Vulgar for
Miracles, Revelation, Prophecy, and immediate
divine Power.* This is extreamly curious, and
judicioufly obferved. They kept all thefe Things
as deep Secrets to themfelves, and made them pafs
'with the Vulgar jor Revelation ; or they kept
them as Myfterles to themfelves, and made them
pafs with the' Vulgar for Prophecies. This is
truly rayfterious and oracular. What did they
make pafs for Revelation and Prophecy ? Why,
Chyraiftry, natural Magick, and occult expe-
rlraental Philofophy. Happy Invention! that
could fuggeft thefe new Species of Prophecy,
thefe fecret, occult Kinds of Revelation ! What
* Vol, III. p. 21, 22. confuramate

( 446 )
confummate Knowledge and Learning Is here;
ffius to let us into the Original and Date of all
Arts and Sciences, even thofe that are the moft
wonderful and curious ! What Thanks would
not the learned World have paid hira, had he
produced either his Reafons, or Autoritles?
They fet ffierafelves to the Study of Chy-
mlftry. It raay be fo ; but as I cannot prove
abfolutely they did not, io I underftand ihe
Depth ai our Author's Abilities fo well, as to be
abfolutely fure that he cannot provp they did.
However, as he -makes the Invention of Chy
raiftry as old as about the Tiraes of Jofeph, I
can tell him of a very celebrated Author, that
makes it much older ; one whofe Judgment in
Chyraiftry and Phyfick wias at leaft almoft equal
to that of our Author's : I raean the very learned
Dx. Boerhaave. He teUs us*, tbat 'tis of fo
ancient a Date, that 'tis fuppofed to have been
in Ufe before the Flood, and to have been re
vealed to the Daughters of .Men by Daemons, as
an Acknowledgment of their Favours. Ac
cording to this Account, Chyraiftry was of
demoniacal, and female, and not ^r/f/?/); Original,
The farae Author farther tells* us, that 'twas
firft cultivated in Afia, and next carried Into
Egypt, and there pradlifed with a vaft deal of
Application i and that, as Plutarch obferves,
the very Country itfelf was called. In the facred
Language of the Priefts, x^t-m. Chemia. I ffiaU
not take on me to confute this Opinion of the
'* Boeth. Chemift. init. learned

( 447 )
learned Boerhaave ; I ffiall leave that to* ffie,
more learned Philofopher, and only obferve,
that Egypt is called Chemia, from DH Cham, the
youngeft Son of Noah, which fignifies hot, or
black, by the fcorching df the Sun; whereas
N'D'D Chemia, as It fignifies Cbymifiry, Is quite
another Word, and coraes frora -'/DD which fig
nifies to cover and conceal; and that therefore
as the Words and their Roots are diflferent, no
thing can be colledted frora the Name Chemia,
by which Egypt was caUed, to prove that Chy
raiftry was anciently in Ufe amongft the Egyp
tians. As Chyraiftry includes -Metallurgy, or the
Art of working in Metals, this indeed was an
clenter than the Flood ; for Tubal Cain, or Vul
can, was hirafelf an Artificer, and the InfiruSlor
of every Artificer in Brqf's and Iron-f, and
ffierefore knew how to feparate thefe Subftances
frora their Ore, and to reduce and corapofe
them' Into folld Bodies, agreeable to j Sanchonia-
tho's Fragment ; that frora Venator and Pifcator
defcended two Brothers, the Inventors of Iron,
and the manufadluring it, of whom one was
called Chryjbr, and that this Is Vulcan'. And
there is no Doubt but that the Knowledge of
Chyraiftry, in this Senfe, was as ancient as the
firft Foundation of the Egyptian Empire, fome
hundred Years before Jojeph was born. " .
f Gen- iv. 22.
X i^ay yiviSiAi Juu AJihifai, inJ^^n Wii\A{, ^Ttii tk7««?-
Jttojaf, OV SaIs^ov top Xjt/aop — — eiVAi Ji T^iot Toy Hif a/jsi'.
Apud. Eufeb. Prsp. Evang. 1. i. c. lo.
As

. , , (448)
As ^hyralftry denotes the Art by which the'
jjureft Gold raight be procured from any Sort
of Metal, hy a real Tranj'mutation, or fome fe
cret' myftical Kind pf Alteration ; this appear?
to have been a comparatively kte Dodlrine, and
of an uncertain Original, as 'tis a very Idle and
irapradlicable one. Suidas *, Indeed, raakes thp
Art to be older than the Argonautick Expedition,^
and tells us, that they engaged in it not iox the
golden Fleece, as the Poets fabulpufly relate it^
but to get a certain Book that was written In
Skins, containing the Art how Gold raight be
made by Chyraiftry. In this Manner, fays Bo
chart, an unknown Author trifles in Suidas.;
where the learned Editor fubjolns In a Note, that
Charax, cited by Eufiathius in his Notes on
Dionyfius, was of the farae Opinion. If I raay
be allowed to pafs the Cenfure on that learned
Author, I think he was mifiaken in the Obfer
vation. Eufiathius •f'hii&'W.oxds axe: Charax iays
that the golden Fleece was a Treatife of wri
ting in gold Letters contained In Parchraent,
upon Account of which, as worthy Regard,
the Argonautick Expedltipn was undertaken.
Xpuo-oypaj^/a, is ffie Art of writing iii gold Let
ters, and not of making Gold ; and therefore this
Teftiraony . is no Confirmation of Suidas^i nor
is there any Probability that there was any fuch
* In voce l\iPg.t. Edit. KuH.
+ O;^foi$ TO x^^^'^^ Ji^fiA ^i^oJhv eivAi Kiye-t x^vnf^A^iAi
(^ijj.G^AVAi! S/t^-^teiriAu/itjuecHi/,' Ji w, ai Aof» a^ia;', toc th; a^-'.
fm HS-TASTiSmvAi ^Koy, Euftat. ad Dionyf. I'ericg. v. 689. p. rzjk
Edit. Hudlbn.

( 449 )
liind . of Treatife 'of fo ancient a Date, The
fame * Author tells us alfo, that Dioclefian got
together all the Books that were written by the
ane\^c&\Egyptians concerning the chemical Pre
parations of Gold and Silver, and- burnt ffiera,
that the Egyptians raight no longer grow rich
by this Arti nor. any raore rebel againft the
Romans through Confidence in their Riches.
But the ridiculous Reafon affigned for' Diocfe-
fiari.i. deftroying thefe chemical i^ooks, deftrdjfs
the . Prohablllty of the Thing itfelf For as
Chemiftry Is in this Refpedi a raoft idle Cheat,
the Roman Empire could be in, no Danger of
i!ne',Egyptvans rebelfing from any. Riches they
could pi-ocure by this Art. Nor is Suidas his
Authority fufficient sto confirm the Fa<9:, Con
cerning, .the Art it felf, -f Bochart doth not.
fcruple to affirm, that It is a late Invention, and
that there is no Author who fo much as men
tions it before Julius Firmicus, who was Con
temporary with the Eraperor Conjiantine ; and
though there is a Paffage in ,the Chronicon, of
Eifebius, which raay feera to favour the An
tiquity of this Art, yet Bochart hath proved
from Scaliger, that It :3 an Interpolation by Rea
fons that are unanfwerable, J To this I will
add the Teftiraony of another raodern learned
Writer, cited by Fabricius, La Croze, vir jii-
pra laudes, as Fabricius ftiles hira, who in a
*l Vocib. A/c«A«77«l'(&- ct X(i^.«a.
f Geog. Sac p. 2o6. ?o7.
' X Fab.ic. Bibl. Grac, Vol. VI, p.. Sc3.
G ? Letter

( 450 )
Letter to J. C. Wolfius-, containing Reraarks cM
a fuppofititious Writing afcrlbed to Athenagorai,
in which there is an allegorical Account of a
chemical Procefs^ hath thefe Words : " Lam not
" ignorant; of the manufcript Books afcrlbed to
" Democritus, Zofimus, Synefius, Olympiodorus
" and others,, which are cried up as wohder-
'* fully aucieat, in ¦which' are contained the
" Secrets of the cheraical Art. I find learned
" Men have proved the Latenefs of thefe Books,
'' by the Corruptions of the Greek Laiiguag^
" with which- they abound. ' One I know; a
" httle older,K^/7i?(7J Gaza, a Writer at the
" end of the^th Century, who feem"s to have
." raen tioned' foraewhat of the Tranfmutation
¦' of Metals. This fingle Teftiraony is the only
" one that occurs to mein all Antiquity, which
" the Cheraifts; can produce in fupport of their
Art ; unlefs any one iraagines that that Paf-
" fage of * Plato may be applied in favour of
" it, where he fays : That if we could make
" golden Stones, it would be an ufelefs Art. For
-" unlej's we kriow how to ufe Gold, ii would be of
{.'j no manner of Advantage to iis. I have indeed
" found that raoft of th.'^ Adepts In Chemiftry
"are fo credulous, as that I doubt not but fome
" of them may think, that Plato pointed at
" their Art." Had this gold-finding Chemiftry
been of any great Antiquity amongft the Egypr
fiss KcT ft TAi 7nl^.i x^'"'-t emsaz/KsS* -mioiv, tsJivQ- Ar
«;/« H s-OTSDW) «M" « >af ;«*< xiXV^^Smi S';n0iaofii9A tw yft/«7«,
nAv ooeA©- cti^u i$Ai'n ay. Plat, in Euthyd. p. 2S8.
tians

((

*

( 45t )
fidns. It is impoffible but that Herodotus, whd'
wrote 'his Hiftory near four hundred and fifty
Years before Chrift, travelled into Egypi, was
Intimate With the Egyptian Priefts, and very
inquifitive as to the peculiar Cuftoras and Man
ners of the Country, muft have known forae-' ¦
thing of it, and related it ; and his utter filence
on this Article, and the leaft raention not being
made of It by Diodorus Siculus, or Strabo, will
be allowed by all candid Perfons to carry a
ftrong Probability, that this Species ofCheraiftry
was a Thing wholly unknown to the Egyptian
Priefts in their Tirae, or at leaft that they were
not remarkable Adepts arid Proficients In it; As
rny Philofopher ']o\ns Chemiftry with natural
Magick, and oCcult experlraental PhUofophy,
one would be aipt to underftand hira of this
kind. And it would be extremely obliging, if
he would point out fome one Treatife of the
ancient EgyptianPx\e9is, In which they treat of
the Phiiofophers Stone ; efpecially if he could give
,us that very curious Sight of one of their Pro-
Ceffes for. tranfmutihg Metals into Gold.
But yet there is another kind of Chemiftry
ufed, viz. iox medicinal Purpofes ; by which the
mbre pure andufeful f^rts of Bodies, and prin
cipaUy mineral, are by Fire and a great deal of
Art, feparated from the raore grofs and ufelefs ;
in oppofition to the Galenick Method of cure by
Herbs and Roots corapounded, and made into
Decodlions. As by the former kind of GhemUlry
iome Perfons were weak enough to imagine
G g 2 they

( 45^ }
they could find out a Method to tranfmut^
other Mefals into Gold, fo others pretended
that by applying Chemiftry to Medlcinie tfiey^
could find out anuniverfal Remedy for curing aU
Sorts of Diftempers. I ffiould be glad to know
of the Philofopher, whether any of the Egyp
tian Priefts boafted of this Skill, whether they
lived before or after the Tirae oi Jofepli, and his
Sefojiris, in what Age of the World they flourift.-
. ed, what were their Names, what Works they
left, what Authdrs raake raention of thera; in
a Word, who they were, and where they are
to be found i^ I humbly conceive that this
chemical Panacea is a late Invention, as indeed
is almoft the whole Procefs of chemical Prepa
rations in Phyfick, which neiihex Hippocrates,
nor CelfiiSj .nox Galen, nor any of the raoft an
cient Phy ficians, . knew or pradliced much; of
Preparations of this kind, as a diftindl Part: of
the Materia Medica, and as now ufed- in, Phy
fick, and reduced into a proper Art and Science
by It felf, are of no great Anriqulty, but com
paratively ot modern Date. And if I ara here
miftaken, this learned Phyficlan, who is fo in-
tiraately acquainted with aU the ancient Sages
and Writers of the Profeflion, and who to be
fure can't be lefs verfed in thera, than he Is in
the Egyptian Antiquities,, will have an araple
Field to ffiew his Reading and Learning,, and
check ray Prefumption for daring to interpofe
my Judgraent in an Aflfair that doth not im
mediately belong to m.e. I affure him I wiU..
yield

( 453 )
yield to Convidlion, and endeavour to profit by
his Admonitions. Upon the whole, as Che
miftry is thus In Its nature fo extenfive an Art,
and as the PhUofopher hath kept it, in Imita
tion of his Egyptian Priefts, a deep Secret and
Myftery to himjelf which kind of it he means,
fo I prophecy when ever he reveals it to the
World, it will turn out like the reft of his Dif
coveries, an abfurd and idle Tale. -^
2. But though this Philofopher knows no
thing abput the Antiquity and original of Che
miftry, hath he not hit of the affair of natural
Magick, aud occult experimental Philofophy ? I
ffiould be able to give a better Anfwer to fuch
a'Queft'Ion, If I could be fure what he intended
by his Magick, and occult Philojbphy. But this
It felf Is as yet occult. Natural Magick is. If
I underftand It, fuch a Knowledge and Appli
cation of natural and raaterial Principles and
Caufes, whereby wonderful and furprifing Ef^
fedls, though altogether natural, are produced ;
and In this View of it is exadlly the farae with
natural experimental Philofophy, which may be
called occult, becaufe the Methods of making
thefe Experiments and producing thefe Effedts
are known, comparatively, but to a very few
People. Now If he raeans this by his natural
Magick, and occult experimental Philofophy ;
then we have another quite new Difcovery from
this Oracle of Sciences for the Viriuofi oi the
prefent Age, viz. that the Knowledge of na
tural and experimental Philofophy, was the Ef-
G g 3 ' fodi

( 454 )
fedl of yo/2^;&''S Prime Miniftry, becaufe invent-,
ed In or foon after his Tirae, and was firft cul
tivated, upon the Foundation that, he had laid,
by the Priefts of Egypt. I am, not In an. Hu
mour to deny this, becaufe it wUl be fomewhat;
to Jojeph's Qredit, as it makes him the Mecanas
of that Age,, and the great Patron of Literature
and. Knowledge in Egypt. Nor do I think the
Riches, which our Philofopher fays he beftow
ed on the Priefis, would have been very, '"^ he<-
ftowed, had they employed them in promoting
this exceeding ufeful Branch of Science and
Learning. - But though I am difpofed to aUpw
every Thing that can make for the Credit of
*^o/e/>i»'s Charadler, yet I ffiould be glad of fome
Proof of the Thing, and hop^ he can trace out
this Affair in the- Writings of the Ancients.
Nay, I defpair not fi'praya fagacious a Philofo-;
,pher, that we ffiall have forae few of thefe, ma
gical Tricks, and Egyptian Experiments them
felves laid before the World, to enrich ffie Re-
publiqk of Learning, It will immortalize his
Name, and add fomewhat to the'MpraUty of
his Charadler.
If by natm-al Magick he raeans that kind of
Magick for which the Egyptians and the Eafiern
Nations were forraeriy famous, he calls it very
improperly natural Magick. For the ancient
Magicians dealt oftentimes in fuch kind of
Tricks as had no dependence on natural Caufes,;
and the Knowledge of natural Philofophy, ^" Their

f 455 )
* Their Magick promifed wonderful and even
divine Difcoveries from Water, frora the Spheres,
from the Air, from the Stars, from Lamps,
from Platters, Axes and the like Things. They
pretended alfo to commune with Ghofts and
Spirits. Their Art and Power confifted in the
Interpetation of Dreams, foretelling the Events
of Mens Lives, as to the Good and Evil that
Ihould happen to them, whether the Harveft
ffiould- be good or bad, what Difeafes ffiould
happen to Men and Cattle, with other Things
of the like Nature, Maimonides -f reckons three
Species of this fort of Magick ; the firft relat
ing to Plants, Animals and Metals, The fe
cond determining the Tirae when their Opera
tions were to be done, i. e. what were lucky or
unlucky Days, or Hours or Seafons, The third
confifled In certain Geftures and Adlions, fuch
as dancing, clapping the Hands together, crying
out, laughing, lying flat on the Earth, burning
•of any 'Thing, raifing of Sraoke, and ra utter
ing certain Words and Expreffions. Thefe fays
he are the Species of Magick. He farther adds,
ffiat no raagick Operation can be perforraed
without the Confideration of, and Refpedi had
to the Stars ; for that they Imagined every Plant,
Aniraal and Metal peculiarly belonged and re
lated to forae certain Star ; and that the Opera-
* Namque et ex aqua et ex fphseris et ex aere et ftellis et lu-
cernis ac pelvibus, fecuribufque et multis aliis modis divina pro-
jnittit. Praeterea umbrarum inferorumque colloquia. Plin.
Nat. Hiilor. 1. 30. c. z.
t M, Nev. p. 444.
G g 4 tions

(. 456 )
tions they perforraed were Inftances of Worffiip.
to thefe Stars, and that they were delighted
with fuch, an -Adlion, Word or Snioke, and for
the Sake pf it- gave whatever was defired, And;
therefore h^ lays it down as a Rule univer-
fally true, that every Magician is undoubteMy an
Idflater.
;i; ¦ And agreeably we read In the facred Writings.
that thefe Magicians were In all the idolatrous
Nations of Canaan, and' that; their Pradtices are
reckoned araongft thofe Abominations, ¦ for
which God., was pleafed to difpoffefs thera of
their Country,' * When, thou ari . come into the
Land which • the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou
fialt not, learn io do ajter ike Abominations of thofe
Nations. There fhall noi ^ be found amongfi. you,
any one that maketh his Son or his Daughter' to
pafs through the Fire, \hy which Rite -they
were confecrated to- Mokch, and as the fuper
ftitious Obfervers of , that Gereraony imagined,
preferved fr.pm Death ; or that ufeth Divination ;
the origiMl Word J3Dp fignifies, as the learned
Schidten's remarks, f'agittis: fortibuffue diremit.
He determined it by Lots .or Arrows^ and fo
denotes the ancient ^aojxKyTs/K, or D'mmation.by
Arrows, an Inftance of which we have in the
King oi Babylon, Ezek. xxi 21, 22. Or an Ob-
ftrver of Times :; the Word : fignifies that kind
of Divination that was raade hy obferving the
Face of the Heaven, the Motion or Figure of
the Clouds, the Pafiage and Appearance of Me-
* Deut. xviii, 9.-13, f \l. Ney. p. 44s, 449. .
teors,

( 457 )
teofs, Thunders, Lightnings and the like ; br an
'Enchanter, the Word feems tP poIi^t oiirt one
who foreto'ld lucky or unlucky Days ; or a
•Witch, or a Charmer, or a Confiilter with fami
liar ' Spirits, properly the s^yaq-pif^uQaj of the
Greeks ; or a Wizard, or a Necromancer, Heb.
he, that enquires of the Dead, an Inftance of
which we have in the Witch of Endor. All
fhat 'do thefe Things are an Abomination io the
Lord , and becaufe ofthefo Abominations the. Lord
thy God doth drive them out before thee.
* Pliny tells us, it had its firft rife undoubt
edly In Perfia, and It is certain that it was very
anciently in Egypt, In one or raore of the dif
ferent Species of it, and in high Repute even
before Jojeph's Tirae,, or his Appearance at the
Egypti^in Court, For when Pharaoh had dreamt
his two Dreams, it came to pafs in the Morning,
that his Spirit'-was troubled, aiid he Jent and call
ed for all the Magicians of Egypt, and all ihe
wife Men thereof'^. The Word D tpn"|n we ren
der Mdgiciatis is of an uncertain Original. Mr,
jRJ/fr 4". thinks It comes ixoxn t'^X^Sculpftt , He
carved or engraved, becaufe thefe Magicians
made ufe of certain fuperftitipiisCharaclers, Fi
gures or Images, in perforraing their Operations;
though If the Word coraes from ED'ih the en
graving Tool, I ffiould rather think that '^thefe
'CCtP^n point out the ancient Hierbglyphifis of
•Egypt, who ufed to reprefent Gods, and Men,
and Things by emblematical Figures, and raade
^ L, 30. c. 1. t Gen. xli. 8, % A^ifcel. Sac. I. 5. c. 11.
ufe

( 45S )
life of thefe kind of Draughts in their magical
Operations to raake them appear the more won
derful. And I think there Is little doubt but
that the monftrous Figures of the EgyptianGods,
and great Part of their ftupid Idolatry and beafl
Worffilp, took Its rife frora thefe hieroglyphical
Charadlers, I ffiould rather make the Word a
a compofit one, and derive it frora the two
Cdldee ones "lin ' videre, intueri, and K'X:D ca-
davera, ofia, to denote thofe kind of Magicians
that confulted the Bones and Bodies of the Dead,
and who are faid In Scripture, * QTlDl ^K tJ^'IT
to Inquire and ofi Counfel of the Dead. How
ever, whatfoever raay be the Original of tlie
Name, their Company and their Eraploymerit
abundantly prove, they are rightly termed Ma
gicians. They'are joined with wife Men^ A-
ftrologers, Southjayers, Sorcerers, and others of
the like Cattle in many Places. They had their
ty^), theix fecret hidden Tricks and PraSlices.
•f They were ufed to difcover fecret Things and
to interpret Dreams. They were employed by
Phdraoh, not only to interpret his Dreams, but
to counter-adl the Miracles of MoJ'es, which,
they did by producing Serpents, turning Water
into Blood, and bringing up Frogs ; and after
wards confeffed them to be mere magical Tricks
and Deceptions, when finding themfelves unable
to produce Lice, as Mofes had done, they cried
out : % This is the Finger oj God ; an evident

* Deut. xviii. ii.

t Gen, xli. 8.

Dan. iv. 7.

J Exod. viii. 19.

Acknow-

( 459 )
Acknowledgeraent, that what they had before
done, were mere Tricks of Delufion, Subtlety
and Craft.
Thefe kind of Perfons were In Egypi before
foP'eph's Time, and In great repute too, other-
wife Pharaoh had never fent for them on the
Occafion of his Dream, and are joyned with
the wife Men, as Perfons themfelves highly re-
fpedled for their Wifdom. * The Author pf
the Apocryphal Book oj Enoch, feveral Reraains
pf which are preferved by G. Syncelliis., and put
tPgether by the learned Fabricius, carries up the
Invention of magick Arts to the antediluvian
Times, and gives a fabulous Account of their
Original. Several of the Father^, fuch as Jufiin,
Clemens Alexandrinus, Tertullian, LaStantius,
and others were pf the iaxne Opinion, -f- San-
(honiatho carries up Incantations and the Art of
divining higher than the Flood, and afcrlbes
ffiera to Chryfar or Vulcan. The + Author of
the Recognitions oi St. Clement fays, that Cham
taught the Magick Arts to Mefraim his Son, and
that Nimrod, the Grcec'ian Ninus, learned it
frora hira.
Aftrology orDivInatipn by obferving the Mo
tions and Situarions pf the Stars feeras to be one
* Cod. Pfeud. 'V^et. Teft. p. 183 185.
f ni" hATifsv Tr,v X^^'^i ^oyvi'Aa'Pimi >^ iT^Jki ^ {^avtbi«{,.
Apad Pjsp. E. 1. I. c. 10,
X Ex quibus unus Cham nomine, cuidam ex filiis fuis, qui
Mefraim appellabatur, a quo jEgyptiorum et Perfarum ducitur
cenus, male compertam magics ards tradidit difciplinam. L. 4.
f, 27. 29. Cotel. apud Edit. Cleric.
of

( 4<5o )
of the moft ancient kinds of Magick ; for as
they thought thera* Gods, It was but natur^
for one Superf]:ition to lead Into another, and
lb conclude that they governed the Affairs
of the World, and that their Pofitions and va
rious AfpeiSs on^ towards another, and this
Earth, might prognofticate this and the other
Event. *¦ Diodorus Sieulus tells us from the
Egyptian Priefts, that Belus the Son of Neptune
led a Colony oi Egyptians into Babylon, araongft
whora' he appointed Priefts like thofe in Egypt, \
caUed by the Babylonians, Chaldeans, who raade
Obfervations on the Stars, in Iraitation of the
Egyptian Priefts, Naturalifts and Aftrologets;
thereby making thefe aftrological Magicians
fome hundred Years older than Jofiph. -And
elfewhere he teUs us, •f' that they have pre
ferved Accounts of the Situadon and Motions
--* ^ f4,-^
* 'Elt T>ACvhavA [JLiV jaf AyA-yiiy AimiMi BnKOV  THi fi
tifmi Hg-rd^imi  TAi -n tS^vifMtii Tav Ai'sav T/lm-miyisui,
lM,fiii(J/)xi TSf TiAs' AiyjTrlioi! li^ei! )^ (fvmxxi, i-n Ji «?-£.»Aofi(f«
i. I. p. 24.
t "tm^ihui yi^ — TA^ Ai-yjii\ioii i^^TunnfOi mfyMvisaiy ot
TUV AT^ay TA^m TS K^ KAVWHi. KcM TAi Tnu i}(ff^<^V AVAyftHpitf
4§ iimv, A-mgav ra> wAD-S-^, tpvhATlxo] iK TiaXAiut xs^vav^iQn^a-
fxivm 'O'A^ Ai/joii TKi a^ TAvJA (fjniJMh TAi Ti Tav wk&vnmy
Aif^av. KiPHireti H^ ijsrisjoJui x!^ 0ieiyiMi, iv Ji TAi m^TV Juva-
(J,eti "STg^s Toi Tay i^aav yiViSHi, Tivav eicriv A'}Adav n rs-Ktcy
(fTti^yi^KAi, oiholifjioTATM TTAgalin^mAai- K*/ TmhKAKii yay
Toii Ay^^aTToii , iisieji Tav fj.iKKov\av AmvTtm&Ai ka'Ja.^iov wc?.-
Ki-^evlsi haniy^vum-, hk oUyiKii Ji y.g.^7ruv i^^fAi » t^vavvov
WDAy^ytfTnaf, ill Ji yO(7«f vj>ivAi AV^^araon H ^oOK'fiuASi isoh^fiAi
's^&vipAivvifi, ceiO'litsi Ti X.] y^.TAK'h.vsfi.'ii, )y KOfAtilav A^^ay sw-
lohAii i^.TTAViA TA.jnti lasoKKoii AJuyntlov ix^v JbKny'lA ThV i'^y-
vwiv, ' s« OTAAa xej^'^ ^^Jtff Offiaif yiyiVVii'^.ivni, i^^n-jnaj^vtr-i.
Id. ibid, p, 73.
'^ ' of

( 4^1 )
of the Stars through an incredible Number of
Years, and that from ancient Times they have
been extremely diUgent and exadl In thefe
Things, obferving the Motions, Periods and
S^tlons of the Planets, and the refpedtive Powers
off each In the Generation of Animals, and
how they operate in the Produdllon of Good
or Evil ; that they oftentimes foretel the feveral
Events of Mens Lives that ffiall happen to
tliem, and fignify before-hand the Corruption
or enfuing Plenty of the Fruits of the Earth,
and the Difeafes that fliall happen in coraraon
to Men and Catde ; that they foreknow by the
Obfervation of a long Series of Tirae, Earth
quakes, Inundations, the Rife of Coraets, and
manv other Things, that feems to the Genera-
Uty to furpafs huraan Knowledge. The Reader
wUl obferve. how exadlly thefe Things agree
with the Scripture Account of the ancient Ma
gicians, Obfervers of Tiraes, Wizards, Witches
and the like, and that by the Account of the
Egyptians therafelves they are near as ancient as
the Foundation of their Kingdom, long before
Jofiph was born. And there is nothing more
evident from the Scripture Hiftory, than that
aU the feveral Kinds of Magick had fpread thera
felves over Egypt, Canaan and the neighbouring
Nations, long before the Ifraelites coming out
of Egypt, and did not owe their great fpread to
Jofeph, or the Conquefts of Sejofiris after the
Times oi Solomon.
I ffiall

i ffiall only add on this Artlcfe, ; that wherd-i-
as he fays : AU which, viz. Chemifl:ry, natural
Magick, and occult experimental Philofophy,
, they kept as deep Secrets to themfelves, and made
them pafs with the Vulgar for Miracles, Revela
tion, Prophecy, and immediate divine Difcovery i
'Tis not altogether true, They vvere indeed
pretty clofe and retentive of their Knowledge,
and npt over- fond of telling all they knew to
others. And this refervednefs they ffievved not
only to the Vulgar of their pwn Country, but
even to the learned Foreigners, that came to
them for Inftrudlion. 'Tis well knoWn that
Pythagoras went through a Courfe of Probation
in Egypt * of twenty two Years long, -f that
he endured there great Severities, "went through
all their DifcipUne ; that upon receiving Letters
frora Amafis the Egyptian King, at the Inftances
of Polycrates Tyrant of Samos, to the Egyp
tian Priefts, to be admitted to their Dodlrine^
thofe of Heliopolis fent hira to Memphis, thofe
of Memphis to Diofpolis, who through Fear of
the King with great- Difficulty at laft adraitted
him to their Sacrifices and Studies ; ,but not 'till
they had made him undergo a very fevere Pe'j
* Avo Jn -i^ ti'Atxnv i\n »ct7<* tw Ar^vTrjof iv mn aJi/iut Jti-
Tihinv,. lartihl. de vit.Pytiiag. c. 4. Edit. Kufter.
-j- T«f KAflifiAV aJIxtw iV Aiyjnrla Jiny^Al  Tay J^ z
JUVA/JLiVaV <a^i')^bAI AlTlAi, JiA 7B J'iOi TK ^Afflhiai, VOfJUCAV-
Tav Ji iv ra pnyi^i tm KAyjovA^iAi Awoinniv aJI'V t«5 i'm-
foMif, OTfosztff^a'jet (TKnKQi xj Kjiy^^iiriJiiVA Ti/ii EAA[u/«iWf «2«7rf
•^iMvoai UTrojj.el'/Ai Avjoy- 'roi" cAs TAifJA iKlihitravla <zs^^iiai,
arai ^vixaStavai, ai i^airiAV haCuv — — r^gysnvAi tah t»t«I*^-
eiwp.»A«a({. PorphjT. de vit. Pyihag. c 7. S. Edit. ead. nance^

( 4^5 )
fl^rice, and fubmit to fuch Hardffilps and
Cuftoras, contrary to all the Inftltutlons of
Greece, as they Imagined would have deterred
him from his Purpofe. I raentipn this to ob
ferve, that the Egyptian Priefts kept their My
fterles not only from the Vulgar of their own
Kingdom, but were with great Difficulty pre
vailed on to comraunlcate them to the mofi
confiderable Perfons of other Nations; and the
Reafons were evident, partly becaufe they
thought it unlawful to difclofe their facred My
fterles to comraon Obfervation ; and partly be
caufe as Foreigners could have no Claira , to
their Inftrudlions, fo their own comraon People
\Vere too rauch engaged In the Affairs of Huf^
haridry, Pafturage and Trade to attend to the
Speculations and Dodlrlnes of the Priefts, and
feera to have been excluded by Law from Cora-:
merce and Cprrefpon dence with thera. The
Colleges of the Priefts were properly Colleges oj
Learning, in which the Wifdora of E^pt
did not think It proper that the People of the
lower Claffes ffiould have their Education ; not
fo much to keep up in them a Notion of prieftly
Miracles, Revelation and Prophecy, as to pre
ferve them from negledling their refpedtive Pro-
feflions, to which the Law of that Country had
confined them. So that It was the civU Con
ftitution that confined knowledge within the
Cloyfters and Temples of the Priefts, which
abfolutely forbid the Intermixture of one Clafs
of Men with another, and tranflating Men from the

( 4^4 )
the Plow, the Fi^Jd* and thq paechaaical Art;? , p^
the Study of their JVlyfteries .and Philofophy-.
And therefore ,* the Children In Egypt received
fuch an Education as was, fuitable to the; Pro
feflion and Condition of thq Parents, and very
few araong.fl thera 'were taught the Vi^e of Let
ters, the Children Pf the Priefts. and thofe. of
the'ATtifts only excepted; , a'^d therefprei- it
was, not In the Priefts PoweTj ^had they be^n
ever fp williiig, by the Conftltqdon of iig-_y^/, to
communicate their Knowledge and..Afts. to l;^e
common People.. ,„. . -
Npt . that the . Egyptian Priefts were always
thus uncomr/funicative to ForeignerSi Many, of
the principal Greeks, moft remarkable for Wif-
.dora and Learning- travelled into Egypt, to be
inftrudted in their Cuftoras, Laws, and Leajn-
ing. Orpheus, Mufaus, Mdampm, DadaJits^
Homer, Lycurgus, .Solon, Plato, Pythagoras, E}^r
doxus, Democritus oi Abdera, Qenopides and others,
fojpurned araongft thera, le.arijed rnany of their
Laws, were informed of their, religious Rite^ ajicj
Cereraonies, learnt Aftrology" ,and Aftronomy,
and brought away with thera into Greece raany
ufeful Difcoveries. A.nd indeed raoft of the Re
ligions and Myfterles pradticed by the Greeks
were originally from Egypt, and introduced
either by native Egyptians, ox by. Greeks who
^ To J' AKKO 'S-At)9©- Tav Aiyu-Zjiay cy, ifAlJav /J.Av,^vetV
/&^ wajifav tl myfivav Toie <afe« iKAizv (ilov imJiiJiVfffH , ka-
fla-ysf 'nr^oeiptlKA^.i]/. r£9!f«f/i»h* ef'' «t' o^iTj!y J)JkffK\f(l'i> «« AfAV,-
Tii, ctAA' 01 TAi nyvAi (/i57*X'^?'C*M<-'?*fo'A/s». Diod. Lib. i.
P' 73 • " -' ,
had

( 465 ) ,
had been in Egypt for Inftrudlion ; a large Ad-
count of which may be feen in * Diodorus and
other Writers,
And as they fometimes communicated their
Knowledge to Foreigners, fo neither did .they
make it aU pafs for Revelation and Prophecy.
with their own coramon People at home.
^Herodotus tells us, that with regard to Divi
nation, it was an Art that they affirmed could
be attributed to no Man, but belonged to cer
tain of the Gods ; a plain Intimation, that they
allowed that their Skill In other 'Things was
owing to other Caufes than divine Revelation
and Difcovery. And accordingly % he tells us,
that thofe who dealt In Prodigies araongft them,
obferved and wrote down what Events happened
after any of them; and that whenever there
was a Prodigy of like nature, they prefently
judged that a like Event would fucceed it. And
Diodorus in the Paffage before cited exprefly af
fures us, that great Part of the Skill of the E-
gyptian Magicians was derived, not from the
Gods, or any pretended Revelation from them j
but from the Motions, Periods, _ and Stations of
the Stars ; and that from hence they were able

* Biodor. 1. i. p. 86, 87, 88. Herod. I, 2. c. 49, 50, 51.
Clem. Alexand. Strom. 1. i. c. 16.
t UAV^IKtl J^ AvjoitFI aJe JiOKidAI' Av^^aTTUy (iiV isJ'iyi
Wfofl-Kse?*/ X TSX>'l'> '''*"' ^^ ^ioy liili^ilsiOKfi. Herod. Euterp.
c. 83.
t Tiyoy,iv» yAf T-e£«1©" ifv><,et3'a'ts9'i y^.<^oiMVoi Ta' i^oSaivov.
i^ w K»]i tm^ov •m^ifMHiov K^a -ytynlAi, jm;7*-t«v,-to vofu^virt
MTKCnft^h Id. ibid. c. 8z,
Hh to

( 4^6 )
to calculate Nativities, and to foretell mat>y^
Things that would happen to Fruits, and Ga^n^ i i i
tfe, and Meh. Aftrology was their avo\y^d,
Profeffion, to their SkUl in which they exprefly
attributed thefe and the like Difcoveries.
Agreeable to this is the Anfwer made by the
Magicians, Aftrologers, Sorcerers and Chaldeansr
to Nebuchadnezzar, demanding of them to ffiew.
him his Dreara which he liad forgotten, and
the Interpretation of It : * The Chaldeans an
fwered before ihe King and faid, there is not a
Man upon the. Earth, that can fiew the King'i
Matter ; therefore there is no King, Lord^ nor
Ruler that ajkecljiicb Things at any Magician, or
Afl'rologer, or Chaldean. And it is a rare Thing
that the King requireth, and there is none othet^]
that canfioew it bej'ore the King^ except the Go4s,
whofe DwelHng is not with Fleflo : Plainly hereby
declaring, that they pretended to no Divine Re
velation and Difcovery, and that their SkiU,
whatever it was, In Dream-% was derived from
quite different Caufes. i^nd Indeed aU ancient
Writers, that fpeak of the Egyptian Priefts, ce-^
lebrate them for -f- their Wifdom, and Learning,
and Piety to their Gods, and afcrlbe their Pre- ,
didlions of future Events, not to Immediate di
vine Difcoveries, but to Aftrplogy, Infpedllpn of
Sacrifices, long Obfervation and Experience. And
therefore it wiU be in<Jumbent on this Philofo^
* Dan. ii, lo, 1 1.
•f- A/a (iSV TSli rt5-f0A0JY«r )L, TmiSlOfKll-rtAi T« lAiKhavlA 1?f»-
,^-'il/Mvoi^ii. Diodor. 1. j, p. '6j.

' (467)
^er to juftify his Charadler, and clear hjpafetf
from the Reproach of Invention, Mifreprefen-
tation, and Ig^lor•ance, to produce fome good
and authentick Proofs, that the Egyptian Priefts
taade their SkUl in Chemiftry, natural IV^gick,
and occult experimental PhUofophy, allpajs with
tbe Yulgar for Miracles, Revelation, Prophecy,
arid immediate divine Dijcovery.
SEC T. XIIL
(Qf the Antiquity of the Egyptian Superfiitions.
Farffier Crime, with which the Phllofo-
 pher charges Jofeph Is, that by enriching
the Priefts of Egypt, he was the Occafion of
thofe Siiperftitlons, which the Egyptians after
wards fpread and propagated throughout their
conquered Nations. His Words are : " He
" had managed Matters fo well, as io have divided
" the whole Power arid Property of Egypt be-
" tween ihe Church and the Crown. And this
" kid the Foundation of all ihe Superfiition in
" Egypt, and of the vafi Power and Infiuence
" of the Priefis there in ajter Ages. lor ibe
" Priefthood being now hereditary, and the Priefis
** invefied with a vafi Property in Lands, inde-
" pendent of ihe Crown ; this gave them an Op-
" portunity and Power io ipork up ihe People into

nation to themfelves."
H h 2 The

1
The, Reader wUl obfelrVethat he here^afprib^s .;
the Origin of the Egyptian Superftltiohs to'tliefe-
Caufes ; Jofeph's dividing the whole Power and
Property of Egypt between the Church ' and the
Crown, his making the Priefthood hereditary, and
' inveft fng thePriefts with a vaft Property in L^J^nds,
independent on ihe Crown. Now it hath beeji'
already prooved; that the Priefthood was here
ditary before Jofeph's Time", that he invefted the
Priefts with no Lands which they had not be
fore, and that by fetding- the Lands between the
Crown and People, he rendred It Irapofliblethat
the Priefts Property in Lands ffiould ever "be
encreafed : And therefore as Jofeph did jione^pf
thefe Things which this PhUofopher charges him
with, he did not, could not lay the Foundatioft
of .all the Superftitlons '¦in: Egypt, nor of that
blind Refignationto their Priefts, which he affirms
tixy had wrought'the People into. Nay, if Super
ftition encreal?^ in proportion to the Lands and
Riches of the Priefts, Jofeph took the moft ef
fedlual Method in the World to prevent the pror
grefs of Superftition, by drying up the .Sources
of it, and fo tying up the Lands of Egypt, as.
that during the Continuance of the Law which'
he procured, they could never be alienated from
the Prince and People, And fuppofing it true,
that the Priefts independent Property andincre-r
dible Riches gave them an Opportunity to work
up the People into the highefi and groffejt Degrees
of Superftition, it will then follow, that if the
Priefts had this Frvpehy ahd thefe Riches i^veral
¦ Ages

( 4^9 )
Ages before Jofiph, they had alfo this Power
and Opportunity to work up the People Into
thefe grofs Degrees of Superftition, juft fo many
Ages before his Time, The former I have al-.
ready proved, and therefore the latter follows
from his own Way of arguing by neceffary and
undeniable Confequence. But not to infift on
this, I would farther obferve :
That his Suppofition, that the Superftitlons
oi Egypt took their Rife from this fuppofed Set
tlement of Jofeph, appears tp be without any
Foundation, and argues his want of Obfervation,
Reading, and all kind of Learning ; for that it
may be made appear, extremely probable at leaft,
if not abfolutely certain, that the Superftitions
oi Egypt were raany of thera. much more
ancient that the Times of Jofeph. Let us at
tend to the Account both of facred and profane

We find that the Corruptions of Mankind
began early after the very Creation, and that
in particular In the Days of Enoch, the Son of
^eth, th^ Ppfterity of Cain began to affurae to
themfelves divine Qhafadlers and Appellations.
For thus I underftand the Text : * Then began
Men to call upon the Narne of the Lord: Oras
the Margin renders it : To call themfelves by ihe
Nan^e of ihe Lord,^ I. e. to affume to them.felves
the Name oixyrbifi,%lohim, ox Gods ; h^kEl^'
or El AH' being one of the 'Naxne^oijehovah^
\vho. was a^rl'"?Kn ' rha' God of Gods, And- that'
*- Gen, iv, z6.
Hh 3^ this.

( 470 )
This Is the true Meafling qf this Pafiage appears
to me from the fixth Chapter, which is eyidenitly
a Continuation of what was faid in- this laft
fclaufe of the Fourth ; the fifth Chapter, con^
taining the Genjealogy, interrupting the Seriies of
^e Hiftory. Then began Men to- call themjelveslby.
the Name of Jehovah^ viz. Elohira. ^ And it came
to pafs when Men began to mtfitiply on the Earthy
and Daughters were born to them, that the Sons
cf God D»nW!l *J3, The Sons of theje E l o»im,
of thefe Perfons who firft called theaffelves,
Elohim, took them Wives of all which they
chofe: Or rather, took by Violence jrom every,' Ma^
the Wives which they choje. Theie Elohirn were
Men. of great Strength, and a gigantick Stature.
For thus it follows : -f- In thofe Days there were
Giants in the Earth ; if the Word D'b'^QJn is tq.
be rendred. Giants. I rather think it fignifies^
Men of Rapine and Violence. '703 properly fig-
ijifies tofaU ; and from hence in a figuratiye Senfe
to fall on any Perfon, or In an hoftUe Manner tp
invade him. Thus it is ufed Jofij. xi. 7- ^
that the Sons of thefe Elohim were lawlefs. Men,
who invaded the Property of others, and | filler
the Earth with Violence. Thefe were the mighty
Men, THE Heroes of great Strength^ /row of
old. Men of lienown, famous in thefe ancient
Times for their Authority and Power. -
This Interpretation of ffie Words, I think tq
be the true one ; and it is favoured by Jonathan'^
Paraphrafe, who gives this , turn to the EJxpref-:

Geij. vi. 1,2. -^ Gen. vi. 4. X Gen. vi. li

Tion^

( 47i )
fion. Then began Men to call fhen^lves by the
Name of the Lord, " In thofe Days they began
*' to err, and make themfelv^^ldols, and named
" their Idols by the Name of the Word of the
« Lord ;" and * St. Jero/^ tells us,that moft of
the Hebrews give this turn to it, that then fj"rft.
Mils were framed in the 'Name and Likenefi of
the Lord. Amopgft the modern Jewifh Inter
preters, Kimchi„ Jarchi, and others, give the
fame Senfe of the Text ; aqd I do not fee \^vr
we are to underftand the common Verfion :
Then began Men to call on the Name of the Lord ;
forfutely it can never be true, tfiatat the Birth
oi Enoch, or 23 5 Years after the Creation, Men
began firfi to call on ihe Name of the Lard; for
we may reafonably fuppofe, that Adam, Abel,
and Seth were long before this the Worffiipers
oi the true God. The true Meaning therefore
I think ISji Then began Men to call themfelves,
Elohim, a Name oi Jehovah, oi wMv^v^e
ffiall foon find there was a Tradition preferved
.amongft the Heathen themfelves ; and thus ihe
Sgm sffheEfLoniH wiU be the immediate De-?
feendents of thefe Elohim. Apd this will ex
adlly fuit the Time and Circumftances of the
Hiftory, the Thread of which is refumed at the
fixth Chapter. Aid it came to pa,fs when Mea
began fo multiply on the Face of the Earth, when
the comraon Race of Mankind began to grow
numerous, and .Daughters were born to them,
the Sfins oj the Elohim or Gods took by Violence
* Qu«ft, iflGen. p. 453. Edit. Plant.
H h 4 the

,( 47^ )
the Daughters of Men jor Wives, jron^ every Man
juft as iioef chofe or fancied them. Now Men
muft have begun to grow numerous about this
Time, that the Sons of the Gods married ; for
this will bring' us down to the fourth Genera
tion, or better than 4^0 Years after the Creation;
and by this Means the Worid became corrupted
by Violence and Leudnefs. And I think that
the Account given pf them by the Hiftorian,
that they were the mighty Men from, of old,, M^n
efthe Name, as the Hebrew expreffes it, famou^
and reraarkable from ancient Ages, points th^m
out as the mofi ancient Gods and Heroes ; a fupr
pofitlon that we ffiall fee prefently confirmed by
the Teftimony of profane Pllftoryl
How foon Idolatry came into the "V^orld after
the Flood, Is not eafy to determine. If It was
pradliced before jt, fyoah and his Ppfterity, that
were with him in the Ark, cpuld not be ignoi-ant
of It ; and it Is probable that fome ofhis. Famlljf
mfght bring too much of the Idolatrous Dlfpo-;
fition out of the old World into the new. The
Jews plaee the Beginning of Idolatry after the
Flood in the Days of Peleg, and It is highly
probable, that whUft Mankind continued one
Family, under the Cpndudl of Noah, who was
a righteous Man, there was no open Separatioa
frora the Worfbip of the one triie God. But
foon after the Difperlion, Superftition publickly
appeared, and bewitched the generality of Man-
l^ind with her Sorceries. 'Tis

( 473 )
*Tis a conftant Tradition amongft the Jews^
that when Abraham lived 'm Chaldea, he op
pofed the Idolatries of that Country, and was
for that Reafon forced to leave It, under the
Diredlion of Providence, v He determined, fays
* Jofephus to Innovate, and alter the common re
ceived Opinloij of God, and firft dared publickly
to declare, that God was the only Creator of the
Univerfe, and on this Account the Chaldeans
and other Inhabitants of Mefopotamia moved a
Sedition againft him, on which he thought pro
per to remove from them, and poffeffed Canaan
by the WIU and Affiftance of God, -f- Philo alfo
tells us, that the moft ancient Perfon of Jewifh
Nation was by birth a Chaldean, his Father an
Aftronoraer,one of thofe who were converfant in
the mathematical Science, who thought the Stars,
and the whole Heaven and the World to be Gods,
Ij^ Maimonides fpeaks of It as an univerfally known
"Thing, that Abraham was educated in the Za-
bian Behef, which held that there w^as no God
befides the Stars. He farther tells us from the
*Tw <aiat. TV 5» Jo^av, «c t(.irA9( cvviCAiviv nvai, yuuviaAt
ybj ^le7«f«6^«K sfi'*'- nf«7©" ^v ToAftst .S^soc ATToipwASnt Jit-
[j.Ksyoy Tay ohay gfat — J'l' rtTSf ;)(;aAc/^«/a'i' TS ;^ T/ac rtAA*ji»
M.idOTTo^Ayi.flav ^AaiAffiolav wf of Atllay, (JLi]olKHV J^OKIf^AO'AS, Jt*7*
^nMm x^ ^on^eiAy t« &is tUju ^aVetfa/ac «^s yw. Jofeph^
Antiq. I," I . c. 7. § r.
i Kaio th IxJ^Aiuv i&m izr^iirCvJA}®; yive* ynv w x*^^"-'®'*
ip^foi Ji A9iovo(iiK\s, Tav (i^TA ^la^jaaIa JiAl^tCov\ay, 01 Tue
A.h(y.i •^iui vefAi^no'i J^ toc (rt/ftwac?* «F*'''"' "^^ ^ '"'"' '"«'/^«f-
fhil, de mund. p. 602. V^id. etiam de wt. Abrah. p. 11. 12.
X Notum eft, Abrahamum patrem noftruth educatum effe in
fide Zabiorum, qui ftatueriint, nullunj elTe Denm prxter ilellas,
j^or. Nev. p. 4* i .
' " ancient

( 474 )
ancient Annals, and from the Books of the Zabit,
a Tranflation of which into Arabick was extant
in his own Time, that they exprefly affirm, that
th? Stars were divine,' that the Sun was the
great God, that the five Planets were Deities,
but the two Luminaries the greater ones, and
that Abraham differed from them, and affirmed
there was another Creator befides the Sun, and
thai therefore * the King imprifoned him, and
at -length baniffied^ him into the utmoft Parts
of the Eaft, after having confifcated all his'
Effedts. II He adds, that thofe ancient Zabii
eredled Images to the Stars, golden Images to
the Sun, and filver ones to the Moon. The
-j- Mahameims alfo have the fame Tradition that
Abraham was an Idolater, but that being con
verted he broke the Idols of the Chal'deam in
Pieces, and was for this Reafo^ caft into the
Fife, where he miraculoufly efcaped burning*
This is alfo taken notice of by the learned: MjP.
Hde, % that Abraham was educated in Idolatry,
and thrown by N/wro^s/intoaFurnaiceof Fire, for
preaching againft it, after his Converfion from
it» And indeed the Thing is certaip, that Ar-
* Rex ipfum incarceraverit ; fed hoc nihil obftante ipfe per-
exerit in earcere fefe illis oppanere. Quocirca regem, cum tJ-
meret ne regno fuo detrimentuin .inferret, homine^fque a religiofle
fua abduee;Fet, ipfatn in fines u%ue oriencis, connf(^tis (»mnibut
ejus bonis, relegafie. Id,- ibid,
il P- 423-
f Koran, c. 6. p. 106, Not. d. Sales Ed.
X Be Relig. Perf, p. 59. 73. Vid, Fabric, Cod, V. Teft,
p. 344. &c. Vid. Hotting, de Ufa Ling, Oiient, p..z6z.
braham

( 4)f5 )
fmdiam was fjrought up in Superftition, becaufe
his ^nceftors were Idolaters; as appears from
the Author pf the Book oijofiuq, whp tells us,
that Jofiua a little before his Death faid unto
aU the Pfeople : * Tour Fathers dwelt on the^oiher,
fide the Plo<o4 in oldTiMe, everi Tetah the Father
^Abraham, and the father of Nahpr, and they
firved other Gods ; and therefore he exhorts them;
Put away the Gods, which your Fa^h^rs ferved,
on the other Side- of the Fl&odand i/i Egypt. And
indeed no Reafon can be affigned-, for Abm-
ham's being commanded of God to leave his na
tive Country, fo piobable, as that it was uppn
Account pf the prevailing Idolatries there, ahd
to prej^ryp him froni the growing Infedllon
pf them.
'Tis alfo certain, that in the Time of y^ra-
ham's Grand-Son Jacob, the Chaldeans had their
Images, fince Rctchei, "ff upon her leaving her
Father LabfU'^ took away with her the Family
• Gods and Images, 'which Jacob afterwards purged
out of his Family, and bttrkd pnder an Qak^y
Shechem. It plainly appears from thefe Ac
counts, that Idolatry was feveral Ages before
the Time qf Jofeph in Chaldcea-, and had ^eatly
prevailed atmongft the Pofterity oi Sem. And
pqnfidering the knmvn Difpofition oiCham, and
of the Egyptians his Pofterity, ffiere Is not the
leaft Reafon to imagine they were more free
^om this Impiety, than the Defcendents of the
pther Sons of AZ(7<r/&^. And thatCS^^-'s Pofterity
f Jolh. xxiv. 2;, If -f Gea xxJO. 34'?5'

by Canaan were much -infedled .with Jt, ap^
pears extremely probable, from the DeclaratI-,'
on of God to Abraham, in that celebrated'
Promife : * In the fourth Geadration they fiall
come hither again, for the Iniquity of the Amo
rites is not full; plainly inrimating that their
. iniquities were now, many j one principal one
of which was, as we find by their after Hiftory,
theii^ many and foul Idolatries^ the fruitful and
conflant Source of the greateft and moft profli
gate Immoralities; according, to the excellent;
Obfervation of the Author.ofthe Book of /^^
dom : 't' The worfiiping of Idols noi to be named,
r or mean Idols, is t})e Beginning, the Caufe ^and^
the Enid of all Evil.
But to come nearer to the Egyptians. When-*
.4^raham caxx\e Into, the Country of the Phi
lifiines, who were of ¦£_g'y/>?/r2«,. Original, he
teUs Abimelech their King, that the Reafon
of his concealing" his Wife un,der the Cha
radler of his Sifter >yas :, || Becaufo Ithoiight
furely the Fear of God iinptjn this Place ; or
that they did not worffiip, the true God. Nor .
is there any one Circumftance in their Hiftory
tp Induce us to beheve they did ; Dagon, the
God whom they principally worfhipped, being
as ancient as Cronus, and his own Brother,
As to the Egyptians, the Je^vifi Writings,
facred and -f- profane, reprefent them as a very
powerful and flourlfi^ing People, and as in-
fedted with Idolatry and Superfiition before.
* Gen. XV. i6, fWifd. pf Sol. xiv. 27. || Gen.xx.u*.
t Vid. Hotting, de ufu Ling. 'Orient; p. 322. 323. " ' th«-

( 477 3
the Prime Miniftry of Jofefib. As eariy aa
.^raham's Time Pharaoh had his Princes. f
aqd when Jofiph was firft brought downintdi
Egypt, we read of his Guards and Captains,
his fi;/^ JSz///(?r and Baker, , the Celebratloii
of his Birth-day, and of the wife Men and
Ififlgicians of Egypt, the, Priefts and theiif
landed Eftates, numerous Citiesj and in par
ticular that of On, rendered by the feventy
Heliopolis, or the City of the Suri, becaufe of
the Worffiip there paid him. -fjofephus tells
us, that Abraham on his going ,down to E-
gypt found the Egyptians ufed very different
Cuftoras from one another, tfiat they def-
pifed each others eftabUffied Rites, and were
Fneraies to one another on this Account ; and
that in his Conferences with thera he ffiewed
great Contempt of what they faid about their
particular Cuftoras, and ffiewed them to be
vain, and to have nothing of Truth In them j
plainly referring to their different religious
Opinions, the DIverfity of their Gods, and
facred Ceremonies. * Philo, In his Life of
Jofeph, relates, that when Jacob faw the
Waggons that were come from Egypt, to cat-
^ ¦\ Tav -yAq Aiytr/jiav J)aao£^it AfiffKO/j^ilav t^oi, xj ta
<BAi ccAAHAo/; iK^lAuKllovTav yoyu\xa., xj Jia tstb aXxTyAVUfr
i.'y(Vi\ay ts^i otAAMABj, auiJiCAhay Aifjav iKAroii, i^ JiATrJvay
THi Aojsf Hi i-TtOHSvlo «&i TUV iJlUV,- KiVISi )y fMl/iy i^^Ai
cV^n^i A'JTifAfVi. Antiq. 1, I. c. 8. §.2. ,
¦* H Ji ;t«e^ >^ (poSov ivdvi iyivynsi t« •^v-'/f, <aSy TVii
Tav 'o-ATf lay JiAfltlinai' «Jip yof i^ VioltijA, iuOf^lkiV (pwa, J^
^iVlleiAi TW eii to «j«aj7tl>'eO' iKiX^ip'AV' l^ lAAKl<pt TH! sr
AlftlTla ^(^.i 7I/ipAe)T7«3'«f <5fe« TOC AKriSv StOC, iHK* T»
yivynJA >^ ^vnJA ^iowl^Arav. i)e Jofepli. V, 2. p. 76. ry

f 47^ )
ry hithiit^ his Family 'CloWB into that OoirS.s.
try,, his Joy wais ^ted thro' Fear leaft th^
fliould depart i^csm their ahoient Principfes
and CofeolttSj feecistufe he ktiew the Slippery
Ifeture of Yauth, and the Difpofition m
Sttangers to Vice 5 "dpecially as Egypt' was
bfed with Refpedi to the true God, becau;fe
diey had formed -created tod m-ortal Things
inlo Gods. This is ia^eeable to ^ Account
6f Sacned Hiftoty, which affures us, that
when J^ph entertainfed ihis Brethren in E-
g^, 'rwas^at three feparate Tables, one foi*
litmfelf, otiie for his Brethren, and one for
the Egyptians ; * becaufe //fe -Egyptians might
not eat Bread wi^h the Hdbfews, for that is
en Abominati&K to the Egyptians. And after"
the Defcentof his(Pather and Brethren, he or
ders them upon their Appearance before Pha^
raoh, If he ffioiild ask them what Occupation
they were of, to anfwer him, that -f- their
Trade had been -about Cattle, becaufe every
Shepherd is an Abomination to the Egyptian?.
litynyn ^3 e^ery Shepherd ef <hat and Sheep;
for |N5f is never I ihiiik ufed of the larger
Cattle, fuch as Horfes, Neat, Affes, Camels,
and the Uke. And as thefe Sort of Shepherds
fed on the Sheep and Goats of their Flocks,
hence they are faid to be an Abomination to
the Egyptians, in like Maimer, as Sacrifices of-
* Gen, xliii. 32, 'f G|^n. ^vi, 34, fered

( 47? r
fered of thofe Beafts are exprefly daUed the-
Abomination of the Egyptians : % We fiiaU
foprifice, fays Mofis to Pharaoh ^ the Abomi
nation of the Egyptians before their Eyes, and
mil they noi ftone usf i. e. as Sir Ifoac New
ton § obferves, they ffiould facrifice Sheep or
Oxen contrary to the Religion oi Egypt. For
as Diodorus affures us, the Sheep and the Goat
were amongft the facred Beafts of the Egyp^
tians; and * Herodotus tells us, that the.
Sheep was facred to fome of the Egyptians,
and the Goat to others ; who therefore did
not kiU them, and that 'twas unlawful to fa
crifice a Cow as being facred to Ifis, and that
tbey wprihip them with peculiar Veneration j
and that therefore no Egyptian Man or Wo
man wiU falute a Greek on the Mouth, or
ufe a Knife, a Spit, or Pot, that hath been
made ufe of by them.
And agreeable to this early Account of
Idolatry, Mofes fpeaks of it as an old invete
rate Cuftom araongft ffie Egy^ians,, and not
as a late Invention, that ffiiey pradliced all
kind, of Superftitions. -f Te know, iays he,
how we have dwelt in the Land of Egypt, and
/
X Exod. viii. 26. § Chronol. p. 2*4. __
* TAi J'i 3nA5« B «-©/ e^sr/ Sv«c, «aa* i(^i eim w« I<r/-
Jof—)i^ tai ^vt TAi ^ihiAi 'Aiyo'}f]ioi 'wAyjif oi/,oiMi aiCoyjcih
T^oSe^lavsTAvlav nAMwt [iAKfa-Tav etviy^ vt av»^ Aiyv/ltof
xli ynyn ojiJg^ 'E.h.MVA pthmm av tw ?ouav, aJi^iz-A^i^n av-
Jfi?{i\fiwQ- jcfutrel*/, xJi oCiKoia-i, >sJi nSnli, >iJi Xl-*''
y^Sujii (8oo« JiAli'iiAtniiyis EaaV/«« iJM^^m yivrilAi. L. 2,
c, 41. 42. •}• Deut- xxix, 16, 17. came

( 480 )
came thro' the Nations we have pafied by ^ And
ye have feen their Abominations and their Idols ^
Wood, Stone, Silver and Geld. And therefore
he cautions them : *Take good Heed unto you^^
felves, leafi ye corrupt yourfelves^ and make you
a Graven Image, the Similitude of any- Fi
gure, the Likenefi of Male - or Female, ihe
Likenefo ofanyBeafi that is on the Earth, the
Likenejs of .any Fowl thai fiieth in the Air^
the Likenefo of any Thing that creepeth on the
Ground, theLikenefos of any Fifi that is in the
Waters beneath 'the Earth; and leaft when^
thou Hjt up thine Eyes unto Heaven, and when^
thou fee ft the Sun,, and Moon, and Stars, even
all ihe Hofi of Heaven, thou fiouldfoi be driven^
to worfiip and ferve them. The very PIdlure this
oiJEgypt, which had their Gods, dead Per
fons- deified, Male and Female, and nume
rous Images of them, and worffilpped as
Deities, jBiills, Cows, Sheep, Goats, Dogs,
Cats, Birds, the Ibis and Hawk, Serpents,
Crocodiles, River Horfes, together with the
Sun and Moon, and Stars of Heaven. 'And
therefore Mofes adds: But the Lord hath
taken you, and brought you forth out of the
. Iron Furnace, even cut 'Of Egypt, to be unto
hint a r copie of Inheritance, as ye are this
Day ; Plainly intimating their Redemption
frora thefe Egyptian Idolatries, to be a pecu
liar Kingdora to' hirafelf. And in Truth,
tha.t worffiip of all Sorts almoft of Brute
* Deut. iv, 15, 20.
3 Beafts

(48i )
Beafts, Birds, Fiffies and Reptiles, which was
fo peculiar to Egypt, was fo horridly abfurd and
ftupid, as that it could never enter into the
Heart of a Legiflator to forbid it, unlefs he had
been hirafelf a Witnef? to thefe mean and mon
ftrous Impieties, Hence with great Propriety
ffie Preface to the Ten Commandmants runs :
* Iam the Lord thy God, which brought thee out
of the Land oj Egypt, out of the Houfe oj Bondage.
Then is imraediately fubjoin'd : f Thou fialt
have no other Gods before me. Thou fhalt not
make unto thee any graven Image, or any Likenefs
of any Thing that is in Heaven above, or that is
in the Earth beneath, or that is in the Waters
under the Earth. Thou fialt not bo^v down thyfeff
to them nor ferve them. The Reraark of + Phtlo
here is juft: That God rightly lead the Jews
into the WUdernefs, from the midft of thefe per
nicious Cuftoras, that obtaln'd in the Cities of £-
gypt. And after having given a particular Account
of their abominable and ridiculous Idolatries, he
adds : || That God took away thefe Kinds of Dei
fication by the Holy Laws that he gave, and
called Men to the Worffiip of himfelf, who
alone Is the true God.
* Exod. XX, 2, f Exod. XX. 3,4,;.
X tlKOTUi KV iK Tay KATA WOA/C ^f^A^ifUTATaV aUVtl^itm il!
ifnfjLiv ATTAyayav, iva r.waan TAi 4i'X** «//»»f4itT«>', De
JJcCdl. p. 182.
II Avi\eY xv tK Ttit li^Ai vo^iLo^iS'iAi TmmV tmc To/siuTd)'
ta^iiaaii, i-m TW TK <zs-f9{ AM\^iiAv ovroi ka ti^w ii'ji.Hsiy.
Id, Ibid. p. 194. I i There

( 4^i )
There is atfo an excellent Paffage of * Mdi^
mnides to the fame Purpofe, who teUs us^ from
an ancient Book of the Zabian Superftition;' in
tituled, De Agricultura Mgypttofum, that theit
ancient Wife- men and Prophets commanded;
that they ffiould play on their Feftivals with
certain mufical Inftruments before their Images,
becaufe the Gods do good to thofe who adl In tfils
Manner, and largely reward them with Ipn^
Life, fey curing their Difeafes, by giving them
a good Encreafe of the Earth,- and Plenty of
Fruits from' their Trees. After which he makes
this juft Obfervation: When thefe Opinions
began to obtain and fpread amongft the Ifraelitei
in Egypt, it pleafed God flirough his great Mer
cies towards us, to root out thefe Errors out of
our Minds, and to take away thefe Labours
from our Bodies, by aboliffiing thefe painful
and unprofitable Adlions. He gave us his Law
by the Hand of Mofes, who fhewed us In the
Name of God, that if we worffiipped the StairS
and other heavenly Bodies, the Rain ffiould ceafe,
* Dicunt, fapientes, et prophetas ipfonim antiques pra^gpilfe
ut diebus feftis certis inftriimentis muficis coram imaginibus ludant,
eo quod Dii illis, qui hjec faciunt, benefaciaiit, et implas'reniu-
nerationes largiantur — Cum igitur tantopere opiniones iftae dir
vulgrfri et obtinere ccepiffent, placuit Deo O. M. pro immenfa
fua erga nos miferecordia, errores iftos ex animis noftris evellere,
ct tantos labores a corporibus noftris, per laboriofarurii et iiftitjU
•lium iftarum adiionum abolitionem, auferrc j ded;tque nobis
legem fuam per manum Mofis P. M. qui nobis in Dei nomine
•indieavit, ft aftra aliaque corpora caleflia coluerimus, Pluviam
cefiaturam, &e, . Jundamentum enim legis eft, opinionem- illam
ex animis hominum tollere, memoriamque ejus estirpare, Mor.
Nevoc. p. 428, 429. the

''' the Earth ffiould be barren, the Trees ffiould not
1 yield their Fruits, and befides other various
' EvUs, that Life itfelf ffiould be cut of; contrary
I to What thefe Worffiippers of Idols preached to
I Men, ^to perfwade others to worffiip them.
I', Jbr It i^ the Fotfndatlon of the Law, to extir
pate this Opinion Put of Men's Minds, and abo-
Uffi the Meraory of it, .
'^And indeed the Nature of the JewifiLaW Is
i fuch, that It plainly appears to have been prini
r cipally calculated in bppofitloH to the reigning
Idohtties the Jews liad ieen, ahd raany of them
pradticed, during their continuance in Eg^p/.
The very Sacrifrces they offered of Bullocks,
Sheep, and Goats, which were Holy amongft
the Egyptians, and the Objedls of their Adora
tion, were appointed unqueftionably as a Means
to preferve thera frora ever faUing into thofe
Superftitlons, and In diredl Oppofitioti to thera.
And as the Law Was in its whole Fi-arae a very
wife PrPvIfipn and Guard agaiiift thefe Zabian
Idolatries, as the appointing RIteS in diredl Op
pofition to them, was a more likely Method to
prevent their relapfing into thera, than a meer ,
Prohibition of them would have been ; it was an
Inftance of great Wifdom and Goodnefs In God
to Inftitute thefe Kind of Ceremonies, and efta
bliffi them by Law, For they are in their Na*-
ture worldly Ordinances belonging v/hoUy to an
External civil Polity, are certainly capable of an
¦Eftabliffiment by Law, and were neceffary to that
Period, and in the Circumftances of thofe Times',
112 i;o

/ 484 )
to prevent more fubftantial and fatal Evils, And
if my Reader wiU reraeraber, thataU thefe KLind
of Injundlions In the Mofaick Law related to the
external political Governrnent of the Jewifi Na
tion, he wUl eafily fee, , that they are as con
fiftent with the Wlfdon:^ and Goodnefs of Cpd'^
confidered as %eir Legifiator, ^nd thc;, Former
of their Republick, as any other Kind of goijd
and neceffary- Laws, that; are fuited tp the State
and Tiraes of any other particular Nation or
KIngdprn whatfoever, depipnil rate the Care and
Wifdom of the Prince or Government that or
dains them.
Indeed the Antiquity of the Egyptian Super
ftitlons may be abundantly proved from the
Circumftances of the Hebrews themfelves, who,
as * Eufebius juftly obferves, as they encreafed
in Number, forgot the Principles of their Forq-.
fathers, and by converfing with the Egyptians,
forgotjhe, Piety and Virtue of their Anceftors,
and grew Into fuch a Refemblance and Likene/s
of Manners with the Egyptians, as that ffiey
feemed In reahty In nothing to differ frora them.
And this Corruption by their Converfe with, the
Egyptians Is frequently Intiraated in the facred
* EvaJn eti 'woKuAvd-paTiiAv nnJiJv to tuv A'Ttoyoyavyiv®-—
TW ^/.iv T«i ivaiCm Ayafm Tav 'srpoTnKAl d'ioifiKay rsgomiTipav
¦r^TA a-ftiKpov Avloii i^vSiy^t x) (itTM/,tffAi;V57o' Ta, Ji rm taAp
Aiyximlioii J\iATe£«i tos^ov tm Tay JtiKxfiLivay i^vayjJi -b-Ah-
•S-uof, ai T«i (/.iV m^ejx Aps])H et A»)5»c ihd-c-tV, TU ^s <ar«p'
Aiyviflioii ofuiioJd^A TW Um wieayix^ivai, at y^TA (xtiJiv
¦Aiyvwjiay toc t£9Tov JiAppeiV JoKtiV. l^r^p, Evang. 1. 7. c. 8.
p. 312. Writings.

( 485 )
Writings. Thus Ezekiel: * Th^ committed
Whoredoms in Egypt, ihey committed Whoredoms
in their Touth. Neither left fie her Whoredoms
brought from Egypt, for in their Touth — ihey
pour'd their Whoredoms on her. She multiplied her
Whoredoms in calling to remembrance the Days of
her Touth, wherein fioe plaid ihe Harlot in the
Land oj Egypt. And .foon - after i}ne\x Exodus
frora "Egypt, God coraraands them- by Mofes :
•f They fiall no ^ more ofi'er their Sacrifices unto.
Devils ; the Word properly fignifies to Goats,
and hence denotes thofe deified dead Men, who
were'worffiipped under the Symbol of Goats, and
who Were themfelves' reprefented with the Heads
and Feet of Goats ; they fiall no more offer their
Sacrifices unto thefe Devils, ajter which they have
gohe a Whoreing. Thefe are Expreffions, that
can denote nothing elfe, but their faUing Into
the Idolatries and Impieties of Egypt, almoft as
foon as they were fettled there, and which by
Confequence deraonftrate, that thefe Idolatries
were eftabhffied at this Tirae In - that Country ;
and not Novelties, that took their Rife from
Jofeph. 'Tis highly pj-obable, that araongft other In
ftances of the Tyranny of the Egyptians, they
forced"'^ the Ifraelites to worfhip ffieir Gods.
This feeras to be plainly intiraated in that Paf
fage of Hofea : X When Ifrael was a little Child,
"tben I loved, him, and called hiin my Son out of
Egypt. -They called them, viz, the Egyptians
* Ezek. xxiii, 3, 8, '19. \ Levit,. xvii, 7, X Hof. xi. 1, 2.
ri' 3 ' commanded

( 4§6 )
commanded them to appear before ffiem- . Til?0
they^ went oui from them. The IJr-aelites after their
Appearance before them went , away. They fa^
crificed to Baalim, and burnt Incenfe to Gra-
ven-Jmages. During Jofeph's Ppwer ahd In?
tereft in Egypt, they were preferved from this
Violence, but afterwards ¦compelled pto facrifice
to all the Images and Gods oi Egypt. Npr^wUl
this Suppofition feera attaU improbable,v\vhen
we confider that Heathen Writers attribute their
very -Expulfion 'out of Egypt, amongft Pther
Caufes tp''thls, viz. their differing from ^ the
eftabliffied Eates of Egypt; ]uP Diodorm, jn tbfi^
ExtraSis preferved by Photius, and which are
publiffied at the End oi .Wechel's Edit-JSh , pf
Dietbrus, ^te\h us: " That ithe Jews only-will
not unite and mix with any other Nation, and
that their Aaceftors -were driven out of all
Egypt, as impious Perfons, and hated ,by the
Gods," .-.I And in another -f- Place :,, Anciently
'nn Egypt, there being fome kind of peftilential
Diforder in the Country, many of the Egyptians
* Moym ¦yi'p ATravlay i^-yhv AKoivavxIti eiVAi rm tr^i aAAs
S'3-yo? i'mfn^iAi, 1^ 'uoKi(/.iv! vjroXAjj.CAvety 7iac7«8f» A'^^Juff.^py
Ji Xj TV! wg^yoym Av\av «> a^iCtti >y [4,i(TviJ.iy>ii (^^ ^iay e§
A7ia.^t\i Tili Aiyvvf\x <sri(pu-)aJivi/.lViSi. Ex lib. 34.. apud Phot,
p. 1 149. ., . -'< - , ;
f KrtTtf TUI' A^iyi^w\oy to ¦inK<^i,f hoiumvii ^?a,^ei<,yiyo(Amf.,
AVi-^^HTny 01 <aroAAo/ t!)? ajvav t^v y^yMv i-m to Sai\mviov. IToV
A«y ^«j ;{J iSFAl^ojA-rrav if^loiuwlav ^ivay, Hj tP/HAAstJ/ftSW/^ £-3-s'»l
XSPt^ivav isfei Tl, ncsf ^ TUi bvm^i, pj^-raAsAt/iSa/ avViCitiyi t^tip'
Aujoii TAi iBAlet'isi Tay hiav v^Ai. Or^ri^ bi jtii ^£s^l iyyivm
WTifiACoy, iAV {/.tt TXi A^>iO(pvKV<'[AilAi-»lffaiflAI, KeKTIV ««¦ i(nSm,t
Tav KAKXiv. "Ek&vi nv l^ivnhftloi^tiiav Tav AKKoi^vaif- — f 0 'voh.ys
Mai e^swia-sc «; Taf—J.^fJiu^. HyeiJi^ J'i to; oito/wsm or.goaUvi-
^iu<iHin,i Ueiimf, ' Id. ex lib, ,40, apud eund, p. 1153-'
I ¦ imputed

(487 )
imputed to their Gods the Caufe of the EvU. For
as there were raany Strangers inhabiting amongft
^m, ufing very different Cuftoms in the facred
Rites and Ceremonies, the ancient traditionary
Jlonours , paid to the Gods hereby grew into
Negledl. The-. Inhabitants of : the Country
therefore fuppofed, that there would be no End
of the Misfortune, . unlefs they drove out thefe
Foreigners ; and upon their Expulfion raoft of
them went into Judea under Mofes. The
Reader wUl obferve here a reraarkable Tefti
mony to the Truth of the facred Hiftory ; th«
Plague here fpoken of, the Reraembrance of
which had been kept up even to the Times of
Diodorus, relating unqueftionably to the De
ftrudtion of the Cattie, and theFirft-born In all
the Families of the Kingdom, which was ih
reality the immediate Caufe of tiielr Difmiffion
from Egypt, as both Mcfes and Diodorus re
prefent it. * Manetho alio xeptoaches thera, for
their being ofa difierent Religion from the Egyp
tians, as neither adoring their Gods, nor ab-
ftalning from thofe Animals which the Egyptians
counted facred, but killing and eating them all
indifferently. And I think It is not to be doubt
ed, but that as many of the Hebrews, amidft
the general Corruptions of their Brethren, kept
ffie Religion of their pious Anceftors, they were
in comraon on this Account ufed .wiffi great
* O Ji <srfa1o9 (AiV a,^Oii voyLov iUlo, unji <ae9trKvvay ^mi*
(MTi Tav fttsA/sa, iV Aiyu^/ja .3-5(//??uo/xsw> ii^av (aav A^m^bAi
luiJiy&. Apud. Jofeph. Cont. ap. 1. i. p. 460.
I I 4 ' Severity ;

( 488 )
Severity ; the Eigyptims being moft tenacious
of their facred Rites, and maintaining, as *Iam-
blicus deciaxes, iraraoveably the Traditions they
had received frora their Anceftors, The Body
of the People however feera, partly by Force,
partly by Iraitation, and perhaps many of them
through Badnefs of Difpofition, to have there*
by entered in to\ all the Superftitions of the
Country where, they fojourned. Hence foon
after theif Deliverance from it, they eredled //i^
Golden-Calf In imitation of the Egyptian. Apis,
built an Altar to It, proclaimed a folemn Fefti-
val in honour of it, offered Sacrifices before it,fung
and danced, eat and got drunk, and comraitted
Adls of Leudnefs In the Madnefs of their Mirth ;
¦fjor Aaron had made them naked to their Shame.
And thefe Extravagances and Impieties were
exadlly agreeable to thofe Superftitions that were
made ufe of by the Egyptians, in ffie Worffiip
of their Apis, as hath been ffiewn by learned
Men, X who have wrote on this Subjedl.
. And as Magicians, WIfemen, Interpreters of
Drearas, and the like Kliid of Cattle, were in
high Reputation amongft all the idolati-ous Na
tions, and rofe naturaUy out of Idolatry and Su
perftition,, we find Pharaoh^ Kxn^oi Egypi, im-
me;diately applying to them' for the Interpreta
tion of his Dreams, before ever he had heard
'.'¦•,'.,., ^
* Amn\ov J^ATtipviav JiV(j ah tov ,^ijyioy vii n^Jonwi.
Iamb, de Myfter. •§. 7, c. 5. Edit. Gale. •
' + Exod, xxxii. 25. X Selden De Diis Syr. 1. i.e. 4.-
of

( 489 )
tijofoph. * He fent and called for all ihe Magi
cians of Egypt, and all the Wife-men thereof, but.
there was none thai could interpret his Dreams. But
when JoJ'eph had given the Solution of them,
he cries out : '-|- Can we find fiich a one as this is,
a Man in whom is the 'Spirit- of t vie GoiJ's ?
His dealing with the Maglcianfwas proof erioiigh
of his -Idolatry ; for as MaimOnides obferves,
% every Magician is an Idolater.
V Nay, Reader,' ffiat thou raay ft have no farther
Doubt, I wiU how, to crown all, produce a
Teftimony, that the PhUofopher himfelf ffiould
not be able to g-ainfay ; ' no lefs a Man than this
very PhUofopher. He himfelf thus magifterially
pronounces : || The People during their longStay
?« -Egypt, for fix or feven fucceffive Generations,
had been perfedtly Egyptianized, they had been
wrought into all tbe Mdnners, Cufioms and Ufages,
and efpecially into the falfe Religion and grofiefi
Superftitions of that enfiaved dnd ruined Nation.
As they had 'feen nothing for two hundred Tears
together, but Miracles and Prodigies wrought by
thofe priefily Magicians, they coidd conceive of no
other Way oj receiving Information and InJtruSlibn
from God, and might have been more properly
called Egyptians than Ifraelites, fince they were
Egyptians in every refpeSi. Not to take notice
of the Blunder oi fix or feven J'uccejfive Gene
rations, for in the jour th Generation the Ifraelites
came out oi Eg^pt Into Canaan, I would ob-
* Gen. xli, 8, f xli, 38. J 'Mor. Nev. p. 445.
II Mor. Phil. 'V^ol. i.p! 246. ferve

( 490 )
ferve that he afferts, that during l^r long Stay
in Egypt, they had been wrought into the falfe;
Religion and groffeft Superftitipns of the Egyp^
tians. If then the length of their Stay in Egypf
was the Occafion of their being* thus perfe^jy
Egyptianized, the falfe Religion and Superftl^
tions of Egypt muft have been eftabliffied ther?
antecedent to theii; coming down into it. The
Ifraelites furely did not bring down thefe Super
ftitions with them, but found them there ready
prepared to their Hands ; for their long Stay in
Egypt could be jio Reafon for their entering Into
the falfe Religion and Superftitions of It, had not
that falfe Religiop and thpfe Superftitions beep
pradliced by the Egyptians, during the Ifraelites
\o^g Stay amongft them. He * puts this Mat
ter out of doubt by adding : That they had feen
nothing jor two hundred Tears together but Mira
cles and Prodigies wrought by their priefily Ma
gicians ; or as he expreffes It elfewhere : For.
"•above two himdred Tears after the Efiablifiment
of the Hierarchy there was a land of Miracles
and Prodigies continually wrought by thefe holy
Magicians, which had fich an Effect upon the
Ifraelites in t^c Courfe of two hundred and ten
Tears,, whilfi they remained m Egypt,, that no
thing could infiuence them but Miracles. Now if
if\e Ifraelites. had ieen thefe prieftly magical
Wonders wrought in Egypt for the Space of
2 1 o Years, the Time of their Continuance there,
they faw them wrought before what the Phllo-
•- * Vol, I. p. 242, , . ,,
' i;i ** fopher

fopher calls the Eftabliffiment of the HIera1*?hy.
Per they came down in the fecond Year of the
Famine, and their Continuance in Egypt was
but 2 1 o Year?" in all ; whereas according to the
PhUofopher, It Was not till the fixth Year of ihe
Famine that" the Priefthood was made heredi-'
tary, -'and independent, and the Hierarchy efta
bUffied. So that we have four Years Space, in
w\nch the Ifraelites were accuftomed to fee no-
ffiing elfe but'prieftljr Prodigies before Jofeph's
Eftabliffiment of the Hierarchy, and therefore
ffiat Eftabliffiment could not be the Reafoii of
theii: feeing thofe wonderful Sights. And if yo-
f eph, as I hope hath been abundandy ffiewn, never
did make any fuch EftabUffiment, but the
Bftabliffiraent was raade long before his coming
down 'into Egypt, tben that prieftly Magick,
which the Philofopher fpeaks of, was practiced
teng before the Defcent of JoJ'eph and his Bre
ffiren thither, if thofe prieftly Wonders took
their Rife from fuch Eftabliffiment. Had Jo-
foph Indeed been the Author of It, it might pro-
tiably have gradually helped Superftition for
wards ; but 'tis an impoffible Suppofition, that
ft- ^Nation^ ffiould be at once and in ah Infknt
brought Into Subjedlion to a falfe Religion,
prieftly Delufions, and unnatural Superftitions j
and therefore the PhUofopher's Conceffion,
which for once maybe aUowed to he fomewhat
agreeable to Truth and Fadl, that the Ifraelites
had heard oj nothing elfi but Prodigies and Won-
^ers, during the .210 Tears of their Abode i^
y.i Egypt,

((49-* ) '
Egyptj evidently 'demonftrates that a falfe Re-'i i
ligion and gro{s Superftition had been an old and
inveterate 'Evil araongft them, long before the
Ifraelites Defcent into that Country. ^ '^ -^ |
,1 hope the Reader will be abundantly con
vinced by thefe Obfervations, how unjuft the'
Charge againft Jofeph is, that the Rife of the
Egyptian Superftitions was owing to any Settle
ment raade by hira, when there is the ftrongeft
Evidence to prove; that many of the moft ab
furd and ftupid of them,' all the remarkable ones
they, were known to pradtice In after Ages,
were certainly pradliced before bis Time. ' It Is
with as littie Reafon and Truth, what is farther
added : That thus Egypt became the Mother and
Nurfe of Superfiition^ which, aff/r ihe great E-
gyptia.n Empire arofe about Solpmon^j Time, , they
jpread and propagated to all their conquered Na
tions ; as though the Spread of IdolatrJ^ was fp
late as aitex Solomon's Reign, -when there are
the ftrongeft Evidences to prove that Spread was
rauch raore ancient. I ffiall therefore perfue
this Subjedl a little farther, to ffiew how utterly
groundlefs this Suppofition is. ;.: :i< ^'
J,, From Jofeph's Time to Solomons, under whom
the Philolbpher places the great Spread of Idolatry
by the Egyptiatis,, were about 700 Years, during
which it feeras Superftition had been almoft con
fined to, Egypt, and made but little Progrefs in
the World, the Egyptians not having had any
Opportunity of fpreading It by their Conquefts.
Amongft other Countries, faid to bs conquered
>.». ' ""by

{ 493 )
by Sefofiris, Palefiine Is named as one. % He con
quered aU Afia, fays * Diodorus ; andf Hero
dotus aHaxes us, that he himfelf faw in Paleftine
fome of the Pillars eredled by Sefoftris,^ with the
Infcrlptlons and Figures on them declaring his
jConquefts.v Now what the ancient State.of this
Country was ^ye know by the .mpft authentick
Evidence. Npt long after the ^eUverance of
the Ifraelites frora Egypt, God tells- thera : J
Mine Angel fiall go before thee, and bring thee
in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the
Perizzites, and ihe Canaaqlte% and the Hivites,
and the Jebufites. Thou fhalt not. bow down to
fheir Gods, nor ferve them, bp.t thou fi^ali utterly
overthrow them, and quite break doton their Al
tars. 11 Te fhall defiroy their Altars and cut down
their Groves. § Te fiall defiroy all their PiBures,
and all their Molten-Images, and quite pluck
down all their high Places. Whofoever he be of
the Children of Ifrael, or of the Strangers that
fojourn in Ifrael, that giveth any ofhis Seed unto
Molech, he fi-Mll furely be put to death. And the
Soul that turneth after fiich as have familiar
Spirits, and after Wizards I i^i 11 cut him off' jrom
amongfi his People. Te fiall not ,walk in the
Manners of the Nations •which I cafi out before
you, jor they committed till thefe Things, and there-
* KAJii'ii'i^o iffAOAVViv AaiAV. Lib. i. p. ;o.
, t Er Ji TH n«A(t/5iytl Swe/W av]©- u^^oy SKoa; [sDAetf] J^ ""^
y^liyLAlA T* 'upn^fiA sceocTa, xj yivAiMi Mifii*. Euterp.
c. io6.
X Exod. xxiii, 23. 24. H Exid. xxxiv. 13.
J Num. xxxiii. 52. Levit, xx. 2. 6. 23. jore

( 494 )
therefore I abhorred them. Knd Mofes tfclls them :
* Te -know how ¦we came through the Nations, and
ye have feen their Abominations, and their Idols',
Wood and Sfsne, Silver and Gold, -which were
-dtti&a^fi them. And therefore he commattds
thera : Te jhall utterly deftroy allihePlaces, where
in the Nations wibich ye fioall pofiefs ferved their
Gods, upon the high Mountains and the Hills, and
tinder every green Tree, attd you fiall overthrow
their Altars, and break their Pillars, and bum
theit Groves, hew down the Images of their Godi^
und deftroy the Names of them out of their Plate.
See here. Reader, the State of Palefiine abovd
fix hundred Years before the Egyptians con
quered It, uiider Sefofiris or Sefoc, and fpread
their Superftitions in it. They had numerous
Gods, they had made Pidlures of them, they
had their Images of Wood, Stone, SUver and
Gold, they facrlficed their Children to them,
they ^orfhipped thera on Hills, Mountains and
high Places, and confecrated Trees to them,
planted Groves that were facred to thera, they
built Altars, and eredled Pillars in honour of
thera ; and in a Word, were fallen into the raoft
abfurd, iraplous, and unnatural Superftitions and
Idolatries, Befides thefe Gods and Iraages, and
all the Follies, Leudneffefs and Barbarities prac
ticed in their Worffiip, they had other execra
ble Pradtices amongft thera, Inchantraents,
Divinations and Sorceries of all Sorts. Mof^
exprefly charges them : -f- There fiall noi be found
* Deut. xii. a. 3. f Deut. xviii. 10, 11.12. amongfi

( 495 )
mrmgfi you, any one that maketh his Sm, or his
Daughter io pafi through the Fire, or thai ufeth
¦Divination, or an Obforver of Times, Or an En^
thanter, or a Witch, or a Charmer, Or a Confulter
with familiar Spirits, or a Wissard, or a Necro
mancer : For all thai do thefo Things are an Abo
mination to the Lord, and'bkaufe of thefe Abo"
minaiions the Lord thy God doth drive them out
before thee. All thefe monftrohs Superftitions
and Iniquities are the natural Effedls of Idol
Worffiip, and invariably attendant on Idolatry,
and evidently demonffiate that Canaan's whole
Family In Palefiine was thus early fallen Into
the vlleft Corruptions, Their Iniquities were
great In Abraham's Time, but during the 400
Years Trial that God granted them, from the
Promife to Afbraham to his Pofteritles taking
poffeffion of Canaan, their Iniquities gradually
rofe to their full Meafure, and they were ripen
ed for that exemplary Vengeance, that was juftly
brought on them by the Ifraelites, under the
Condudl of Mofes.
We have alfo the Naraes of the particular
Gods that were Worffiipped by the Nations long
before the Tiraes of Solomon, and the Offices
that were affigned thera. Chemofi was the
common God of the Moabites and Ammonites.
The Syrians and Phenicians worffiipped Baalim,
feveral Gods ; Gods male and famale, * Baalim
* K(^va Ji s'yivovio Anto Ajaflflf Suy^ifif s-rj* — — Tmc J)6
A^{lnv ^oiyiK&i Tiiv Aip^JHw eiveu Aspr/. Ssnchon. apud Eufeb.
Prsep. Evang. p, 37- S^- and

( 496 )
and Afisiaroth, or Afiarte, who was a deilie^
Woman, and the ^///oa/flw Venus. Dagon wa&
the God of the Philifiines, the Prefident of Corn.
Molech, to whorn the Children were burnt Iq
Sacrifice, was, the God of the Ammonites. They
were the Guardians of Hflls, where they had
Temples. * Baal-Peor was the Lord oiPeor
where he was worffiipped. They had their
Dii mhsxo'. Guardians of Cities^ Baal-Meon,
the Habitation ox City confecrated io Baal. They
had their particular Offices affigne4, thera'. Paal-
Berith, Jupiter Feretrius a foe der e ferendo y was
theGod that prefided over Leagues. They were
naraed from particular Circumfiances. Bat^r
Zebub, Jupiter airoi/^viog^ J\fuftifuga, the fly
Driver. Other Things of like Nature might
be mentioned. So that Canaan and all the
neighbouring Nations, the Moabites, Ammonite^,
Syrians and others, had run into all Sorts of Su
perftitions and Idolatries long before the Settle^
ment of the Ifraelites In the proraifed Land ;
and there Is no Circumftance to prove, that thefp
Nations owed their Superftitions to the Influence
oiEgyptian^owtx;and demonftratlve Evidence to
prove, that they were univerfally fallen Into them
many Centuries before the Times of Sefac, who
¦was Cotemporary with Solomon and Rehoboam. .
Befides allowing, what is not true, that the
great Egyptian Empire arofe abput Solomon's
Time, yet It Is not probable that the Egyptians
fpread and propagated their Superftitlons to all
* Num. xxiii, 28, f Num. xxxii. 38, ' "•,"
I or

( 497 )
or any of their conquered Nations, The Settie--
ment of Religion and Superftition is the Work
of Peace, and not of War ; and accordingly
Sefofiris did not apply himfelf to religious Af
fairs, even iri Egypt', till his nine Years Expedi-'
tion and Wars were ended. Nor is there any
Thing in Herodotus ox Diodorus that gives the
leaft Intiraation, that Sefofiris went on this re
ligious Knight Errantry, or made any Attempts
to prdfelite the conquered Nations to the Gods
and Ceremonies of Egy/'^', Palefiine that bor
dered on his Kingdom muft have been the firft
Nation on whora this Attempt would probably
have been made. But the facred Hiftorian men
tions not one SyUable of it, but on the contrary
allures us, that Sefoc' s Invafion had a quite con
trary Effedl, and produced a Reforraation from
Idolatry in the Kingdora of Juda. For though
before the Invafion , the Jews * built them high
Places, and Images and Groves on every high Hill,
and under every Green-Tree ; yet after the In
vafion, Rehoboam -f- humbled himfelf, and the
Wrath of the Lord turned from him, and alfo in
Judah things weni well.
Ancient Writers give a very different Ac-
.count, and a much more probable one of the
•Spread of the Egyptian Superftitions, The E-
'^gyptians claim the Honour of having fpread their
Colonies through different Parts of the World.
Ofiris his Expedition feeras to be in reality no
thing more than an Account of the ancient Set-
* Kings xiv. 23. + II Chron xii 12.
K k tlements

( 498 )
tlements of his Family in the feveral Parts of thc
World.. Cham's Pofterity fpread themfelves ex
tremely vs^-ide., Egypt, all Africa, great Part df
Syria, Arabia, Babylonia, Sufiana, Afiyria and.
other Provinces fell to them, or were feized by
them. From Mizraim certainly proceeded the
Egyptians, Ethiopians, many of the Libyans, the
ancient Colchi in Pontus, the Philifiines, and
others. They fay * Belus led a Colony to Ba
bylon, Cufid and Mizraim being both Defcendants
oi'Ham. Danaus was an Egyptian born, came
into Greece, and built Argos one of Its raoft -aur
cient Cities. The Athenians therafelves were
probably a Colony frora the Egyptian SaiSy
whexe,asPlato affures us,Minerva was worflilped,
the arraed Iraage of whora was exadlly 'the fame
araongft both People. Cecrops, Petes, Ereciheus^
Ericthonius, Erificihon, Athenian Princes and
Captains, were originally Egyptians, and brought
with thera their religious Rites, and eftabliffied
thera, like the reft of the Egyptian Captains and
Colonies, in the refpedlive Places where they
fettled. Particularly EreSlheus when raade KIi^
* E/5 ^A^vKavA (liV ya( A'yi.'yiiv ATtoiwi BtjAo:' ¦— — Asjiw Jt
X) Tti rseA i^AVAOV O^/MlSriVTAi OfMIUi iKH^.V, UUVOIIVDOAl TIIV
a^-^ioIaI-w ayiJov Tav <srAf ^hMiri raoKiav A^y'Q-, to Ti Tay
KoA^V i&V@- iV T5) rioCTW, ;^ TKS f^^VOJUi h (flAtTlV ATtOIKti
avAi ¦S.AtTOiy Tav i^ Aiyj-Zjn  Tcv Tlnw — (pAVi^ai fiiyj-^iov
Vm>.{^AVTA TlJXl>IVVTi(yV AdwtlOJ mrOf,llHAi Ti ^ ^ACthmAi — —
Ofioia; Ji Tina x^ tov Efgpj^&sct ?iiyisiri to j'ii'®- Aiyj'^rjiov oc7*
0A(TlKiV^l Tav h^WAlay  y£,TtlJn^AI TAi TiMTAi TJti
AiiiAtfJ£p< iv ^\ivtnvi, y^ tk iw^t^A •aro/yicui, (iiliVify,ov]A to iStt
TiTT^ac voiM^y =5 Aiy,i7/]is. Diodor. 1. i, p, 24. 25. Vid. et
Platon. Crit. p. i to.
of

( 499 )
of Athens, Is exprefly faid to have taught the
Myfteriesof the Elufinidn C^r^-j, borrowing them
frora the eftabliffied Cuftoras of Egypt ; upon
which Account there could not but be a great
Conforraity between the Antiquities and Myfte
rles oi Greece and Egypt.
Befides this, 'tis well known, that raany of
the ancient Phiiofophers and Lawgivers either
went down Into Egypt, or converfed with E-~
^ptian Priefts, raoved to it by the great Farae
bf their Learning, Wifdora and Myfterles, ira-
porting the facred Ware of that Country Into
their own ; and hereby fpread and eftabliffied
the Superftitions drawn frora thence : fuch as
* Orpheus, Muf/tus, Melampus, Daedalus, Homer,
Lycurgus the Spartan. Solon the Athenian, Plato
the PhUofopher, Pythagoras oi SamoS, Eudoxm
the Matheraatician, Democritus oi Abdera, Oe-
napides of Chius and others, -f- Orpheus brought
frora thence raoft of the Myfterles and holy
Rites, and his whole Mythology of Hades;
whence the Myfterles oi Ofiris and Bacchus, and
thofe of Ifis and Ceres were the farae, without
any other Difference but the Naraes of the Per
fons to whom they related. Frora hence Me
lampus brought the Hiftory of Saturn and the
* Diodor. 1. i. p. 86. 87. 88. Plutarch, de Ifid. etOfir,'
J OsitiA f/t4v jaj TWI' fjnifijoay T!As7af' ta wA«sa  «) Tjy
Tav iv aJu iM}&o?yo}iAV ATriVi^i(g,SAr TUV (AiV yap OineiJoi Tihi^w th
Aiovvim THC AVTW eiVAIf tw ts tmj lo'iJoi TH Ttli AnlfMIT/yi
oiJUiiOTiltiy VTTApyeiV} Tav oyoiJ.ATay ^ovoy ivnf.^Ay^tvay. Diodor.
p. 86.
K k 2 Wars

( 500 )
Wars of the Titans. Lycurgus and Sohn had
raany of their Laws frora the farae Original.
'* Pythagoras learnt there their holy Language*
Geometry, Arkhmetick, his Dodlrine of the
Tranfmigration of Souls, and. the facred; Cere
monies relating to the Gods. To this Caufe
was' owing' -a great deal of the Spread of the
Egyptian Ceremonies and Superftitions.'
1 may add alfo, that Chaldea and Phenicit^had
both their Share In propagating the Idolatries
and Irapieties araongft the Nations; efpecially
the Phenicians by their Navigations and Colonies
into India, Africa, and almoft all Parts of Eu
rope ; araongft whora were thofe who fled from
Jofiua ; where they built ^ raany Cities, and
eftabliffied their own Gods and Forms of Wor
fliip, different frora thefe ufed by the Egyptians,
as may be feen abundantly proved by the raoft
learned -j- Bochart. But I believe ray Reader
wUl by this Time fee himfelf abundantly con
vinced, that the Philofopher's whole Scheme
about the Rife and Propagation of Superftition
is abfolutely Chimerical ; anjl •. will not need I
hope more Arguraents to convince him, that
Jofeph Was, neither the real nor the accidental
.Caufe of the Prevalence and Spread of It. He
will however plainly difcern, what an Ineftl-
mable Bleffing. the Law of MoJ'es was to the
* Xlv^-ii>g^.v TS TA )({t7a TiV ncfV Ko)j>y, }y ta i(g,TA ytafxi-
TtiAV Sna^-/if/.AJ-A, £i Ttt -afc/ THi Aeji.S(i.\iii s7/ Ji tw H{ mAv l^aov
TYii ¦\v^i (AilaSoKw fiA^cHV ^Af Aiyj'^iav. Id. p. 88. Vid'.
Diog. Lacrt. 1. 8. §. 2. 3. lamblic. de Vit. Pythag. c. 4,
Forphyi, deVit. Pyth; 5. 12. '
f D; Colon, et Sermone Phoenjcum.
Jews,

-. . ^ 501 )
Jews, which refcued them from all the Im
pieties and Superftltiohs of Egypt, Canaan, and
the Nations around thera ; and if I ara not rail^
taken will, upori a ferlous Confideration, con
clude Mofes to have been the greateft and wifeft
Lawgiver of all Antiquity, OSte only excepted ;
who in the raidft of the Ignorance and Darknefs
which prevaildd araongft all Nations in his
'Tirae, raade it a fundamental Principle in his
Republick, that the one only God, the Creator
bf 'Heaven^ and Earth, was their God, their
King, their Lawgiver and their Judge ; and
'ordained a large Ritual of pubiick Worffiip In
honour of him, which though fuitable to the
Genius of the People he brought out of Egypi,
and the Circumftances of the Times in which
he lived, ' and having In many Inftances a great
refemblance to the pubiick Forms and Cererao
nies of other Nations, yet was abfolutely free
fromall the Impieties, Cruelties, Leudneffes, raean
and fordid Superftitions, and vUe Aborainations,
which were raixed with the Rites which then
Miverfally obtained, and were pradliced as In
ftances of Religion and Devotion to thofe falfe
Gods, they had fet up in Oppofition to the True.
And here I might fairly reft this Matter : But
I think it will not be araifs to confider what
Light prophane Hiftory throws on this Subjedl,
as ft wUl on one Hand be a great Confirraation
of the Mofaick Account ; and on the other wUl
ffiew , that the^Scherae of fome great Men, to
bring down the Antiquities, Gods and Super-
10.!! -'\ K k 3 ftitlons

( 502, )
ftitlons of Egypt fo low as the Time oi Sefac and,
Solomon, Is without any Reafon or ProbabUity
of Truth.
The facred Writings, as I have obferved,
place the Corruptions of Mankind long before
the Flood, and feera to reprefent many Perfonp
in that Period of Time, as rifen to that Heighth
of Irapiety, as to ufurp to themfelves the Name
of Gods. And this Account Is confirmed by the
Phenician Hiftory of Sanchoniatho ; who carry^
ing his Account up to the Original of aU Things,
or the Beginning of the World, tells us ; that
forae of the firft Mortals called therafelves
* Mv)/;(.p8/xoff and T-ispav/Of, or as ¦f- Bochart reads it
Sa/AiifAp8f<,of , /, e. Perfons of heavenly Heighth and
Dignity ; that another of thera was called Ayporvif,
a Word which Philo hath wrong tranflated from
theHebrew ''''\ti^,Saddai,wh\ch fignifies, The Om
nipotent or Almighty:^ others of thera, Cabiri, the
powerful Gods, another of thera Eliun, the high
One, one of the Naraes of God In Scripture, ano
ther of thera llus, I, e, Sk El, the mightv God;
and the Affociates and Affiftants of this El,
were called Ehueifi^ .Elohim or Gods.
As thefe AntedUuvians thus iraploufly affumed
to therafelves the Names of God, fo the fame
* 'Ex, Ttsjav, ifyiiriv, iyivvn^mv MH;/f!f/Ko{ xj o T4icsf-i"&'-
Sanchon. apud Euleb. Pijep. Evang. p. 34. &r» tk]*)!' i'yivovra
iTi(yi, av 0 [MV  Ay^istipfi n AyffTVi — ^iav 0 yn^y^i. Id.
ibid. p. 35. Ek Ji TH ."SvJuK, AiofKHg^i, n Ka^«£;/ — ^;^7W
TUTHi yiViTAI Tii EA/aC y^KKf/iVOi T-vpStlS  01 Ji OUjJLyiA'M
Iak, ts KejPK Ef.utifj.i'mKKVi^aa.y. Id. ibid. p. 36. 37.
f De Sanchon.
Author

( 503 )
Author reprefents them as degenerated Into great
Idolatries ; and tells us that the Deification of
dead Men, for beneficial Inventions, then began ;
that * Vulcan or Tubal-Cain was worffiipped as
a God, as the Inventor of Iron, and for his Elo
quence and SkUl in Incantations and Divinations;
that -f Agrotes or Saddai had an Iraage eredled
to hira that was extreraely venerable, and that
in the facred Books he was ftUed the greateft of
the Gods. Others of thera, ¦\. he relates, lift up
their Hands towards the Heavens to the Sun,
as thinking this God the only Lord of Heaven,
whora therefore^ they called Beelfamen, the farae
who Is called Jupiter by the Greeks. |j Others
of thera eredted PUlars to the Fire and Wind,
and worffiipped thera, and raade Libations to
thera of the Blood of the Beafts which they took
in Hunting, .§ Others of thera, he fays, confe
crated the Plants pf the Ground, and efteeraed
* E| av yiViSm,! Joo AJzhtpm o-/c/Vf« ei/fs-zaj, Xj th; tutu Sf j*-
^lAi' ay awTSfjc Toy Xfua-fti? hoyxi AirKnmi x^ iTTwJki ty uav-
THAi i-IVAl Ji TKT5I' TOC Hipa/5t!C  </)o )djUi ^iOV AVTOV fXiTA
^VATOV iaiCA^cAV. Apud Eufeb. Prsep. Evang. p. 34.
¦f O Ji Ay^tsngpi » Aygp-m, « kj ^oavov eiVAl I'aKa (TiGAf-
fllOV  <S^^ Ji BvC^IOli i^AliiTUi ^iaV 0 [Jii'JA^Oi OVO(iA^ilAI.
Apud eund. p. 35-
X TAi %«£;?!< o^ifmv tii vfptsf <ug^i top »A(oi/, Tktoc ><«j
f'Affl S-iOV iVOjill^OV (MVOV xeolViS XJUffV, BiihCAUMV KAhaVTii, 0 igi
<aj^ io'Vi^i »uf«@" K0!i'is, Ziui Js tsAi E)^n(7i. Apud eund.
P- 34-
II Ayii^aCTAt JiJuO i^KAi TTV^I Ti )tj 'SrVlVfJiAll, X^'Tl-^yirKVVniAl,
AI/.A 'rt ffinyJeiv *U7a/f s§ av aysivi 'iiwpimv. Apud eund. 35.
§ OuTOI >4 <sr^TOi Aipii^MTay ta TIH "^5 ^KA^VIXATA Kj d-ivf
iVOfjLioAV, x5 ir&tnitvviiV tavtu et?' ay AUTOf t5 Jh'/'.vovto >^ 0/
iToy-ivoi >C) 01 -Bef AVTay rnvni, x^ ^Ai y^ im'bvj^eti iitoiw-
Apud eund. p- 34.
K k 4 them

( 504)
them vGods, and worffiiped thofe Things by
which they therafelves, their -Anceftors and Pof
terity were raaintained, and raade Libations and
Offerings in honpur of thera. Thus eariy was
the Rife of Idolatry, and thus fordid and varioas •
the Species of It, according to the Phenician Ac-
counts. Many other Things cf Uke Nature are
mentioned by this Author, vyiiich are related 'at
krge by Eufebius In^ his Extradl frora him.-
And this Account of the antediluvian Idolatry'
is the more probable, becaufe the Periodof 1556
Years was,much longer than that in which Idola^-:
try confeffedly began after the Flood; and becaufe
of the univerfal Corruption that had fpread in
thofe Days in the World ,; It being almoft im-'
poffible that fo general a Wickednefs could have
prevailed araongft Mankind, had they retained.
the Knowledge and Worffiip of the only Uving
and true God, or that Idolatry ffiould fo foon-
, comraence in the new World, if it had been
'\vhoUy unknown to the old. Nor Is It at all
itp.probable, that they who affuraed to thera
felves the Narae of Elohim or Gods, ffiould be
acknowledged and worffiipped as fuch, by their
equally degenerate and wicked Pofterity.
'Tis what many * learned Men feera tp be
agreed In, that' the Egyptian Theology reached,

«

Crediderim illos Reges, Deos et Semideos, quos ipfi jac-
tant, ortos efl'e ex traditione qu-ilicunque de hominibus, qui ante'
diluvium vixerunt per tempu,s finguli longiiTinnum, et de homini
bus qui prox'ime po-il diluvium vixerunt, ac prioribus.- quidem
mirus, at pofteriorib-is a tempo-e Mofis vel jam Jacobi, magis--
lor,ga?vi lir-re. Pcrizon, A' gypt. Orig. p. Z2. to

( 505 j
to the antedUuvian Times, and that fome of
their Gods were the ancient Heroes of the old
World. * Diodorus Siculus frora the ancient
Records of Egypt teUs us, that the firft Men
exifted In Egypt, and that being furprifed with
Wonder at beholding the frame of t1ie Uni
verfe, they Imagined that the two eternal and
principal Gods were the Sun and the Moon, and
called him Ofiris, and her Ifis. That befides
thefe, certain Perfons on Earth, who were na
turally mortal, for their Wifdom and the Be
nefits tl;iey conferred on Men, had obtained Im
mortality; fome of whom had reigned over
thera In Egypt. That forae of thera had the
farae Naraes with the heavenly Gods. That
Sol was the firft King araongft them, who had
his Name from that Star In Heaven ; though
fome of the Priefts affirm, fhat Vulcan was their
firft King, who was the Inventor of Fire, and,
that he obtained the Kingdom for this ufeful
Difcovery ; and that he was fucceeded by Sa
turn ; exadlly agreeable to the Sacred Hiftory,
* $(*«•/ TOiyvv Af/iwltol, kaJa tw 6§ Af^i ray ohuy yiViriv
tBC9>T'ii Avd-^ainsi yiviSui ka\a tw Aiyjr/joV ¦  rm Ji kat'
Aiyw/jov avb-^aarvi to 7ia\aioy yiyoi/,iv\ti , a.tASM-\,AvlAi eti tov
XOff-f/OC, i^ tw Tav OKay Ifum KATAnr^Afiv'JAi, 'kj dAV(XAaAv'} ai, wo-
fjtCeiV (rlVAl Juo ^Zti AlJoVi Ti 'Zj •IS^cSl'ii, TOV Ti WA/OC 'Zj TW ffSAil-
VW, av TOC \>.iV OmziV THC Ji laiyoVOflAg-AI — .AfiAm J' iK TUTUV SOT-
J««f yiVi&Al (pA7lV.V^Ap^Av}Ai /JLiV &ytlTlli,J>AJi SVVl<nv 1^ yjllVW
Av6§a7mV IVifJiiriAV Ti]v^yjo]A( Ti)i A&AVASlAi, aV iVIHi X^ ^A-
C'l\Hi yiy>ViVAI Ka]a tw Alyi'TrloV^  TlVAi /JiiV 0[iaVV(/,>li VTA^-
XHV Tcii a^^vioii — *^ is-gujov [jliv Ha/oi/ ^A(nhivijA.v, Tav kat
AiyvTrlov, oytrnv^ov ocra t« kat spcf.vov arf«. Ec;c/ Ji ray
Uptay ipAirl 'TT^aTcy K(pAI?OV ^A<7lKiV(TAl  f/STSt Ji TAVTA TOI/
Kootoy A§^Ai. Lib. i. p. g. lo. 12. 13.
which

( 5o6 )
which places Tubal-Cain, or the Egyptian Vul-,^
can, as the laft of Cain's Race before the Flood;
aud tells us, that he was the * InfiriiBor of every
Artificer in Brafos and Iron ; and therefore he
immediately preceded Saturn, or the Scripture
Nrnb who furvlved the Flood. And to him we
may add, as of antedUuvian Original, Minerva,
or the Goddefs of Wifdom, and War, or the
Scripture Naamah; there faid to be the Sifter
of Tubal-Cain; and exprefly -f- declared to 'be
the Sifter of Vulcan by profane Hiftory, J and'
the moft ancient of all the Gods, a few only
excepted. Her Narae fignifies, ihe excellent or
lovely One, and was || a proper Charadler of the
Goddefs oj Wifdom, Nor do I in the leaft doubt,
but that the true and raoft ancient Apollo was
the stntediluvian Jabal, who was § the Father
ef fuch as dwell in Tents and have Cattle ; or
Jobal,whowas^* theFather of all fuch ashandled
the Harp or Organ ; or rather that the Naraes
of thefe two Brothers being rauch alike, Apolloh
Charadler and Attributes were form'd from both;
* Gen. iv, 24,
t H?«istj Ji xeivw K^ ASwc* ipvm i^vra, a(ia yi/iv ett^Apti*
iK TUVTH TTATg^i, AfM Ji ^lXsaO(tllA ipiKoTiKVIA leg. ^«A07?J^C/«
Tii'^ TA AVTA iKd-oyJii, HTU (UAf AfMpt Kti^iv eiKtiy^Ttv. Plat.
Crit. p. leg. ^
J 'Ao*« Ji f/.ot ]^ la^iirCvTAVi ^ay ipwAi, n xtfuJii wav tv*-
ei&miTav, ic^ Tav vir^aTav oVTav ev tib-tbt?. Atiftid. Orat. in
Minerv. p. 10. £^;;. Jebb.
II TIav^a ivtv ay Tec :(g,Mi?A tifei ASxcatc te ^ 4^ ASwcotf. Id.
ibid. p. 9.
¦———Ah }ig.Koy oyLjjLA to TWAi- Callim. Hymn, in Lavacr.
Pal. V. 17.
§ Gen. iv. 20. ** Gen. iv. 21.
2 it

( 507 )
it being well known that he Is ftiled * Ciiha-
radus and Nomius the Harpifi and Shepherd, and
that he was the God both of Muficians and
Shepherds. That the Egyptian Gods were An
tedUuvians is alfo evident, frora what -f Dio
dorus farther relates concerning them from the
Egyptian Priefts, that the raoft ancient of their
Gods reigned twelve hundred Years, and thofe
who fucceeded them, three hundred at leaft ;
Accounts which agree with the Longevity of
the Antediluvians, and thofe who lived imrae
diately after the Flood. This will alfo account
for the Paffage In J Herodotus, who tells us,
that the twelve Gods defcended frora the eight
Gods , the eight Perfons raentioned in the Sa
cred Hiftory as the principal Defcendentsof/f^^^z
by Cain, viz. Cain, Enoch, Irad, Mehujael,
Methufciel, Lamech^ Jubal and TubaUCain.
This might be- confirmed by many other Ob
fervations ; but I ffiaU only reraark farther, that
it feems to me, that the antediluvian Elohim,
and the Sons of thefe Gods were not, as hath
been generally fuppofed, the Pofterity of Seth,
but the Race of Ca'in ; who treated the Pofte
rity of Seth as mere Sons of Men, vile and con-
* Vid. Illuftrif. Spanhem. Not, in Callim. Hymn, in Apol.
V- 47-
f Mt).3BAcy«ej Ji ^ Tav Snav tw juiv A^'^irrATMi /gctojAswsa/
•ztAha) Tay ^May xj J\iAKO^ay iTav, rm Ji [J-iTAyiViTiS^i vK
iXArla Tav rexAKfisiay. L. i, p. 22.
X Tov XIava rav oktu St»c fiOyi^ovTAt w'ai MivJtiinol. Tui
J'i oKTCo ^i\si rvTVi <ffOTiivi Tuy Ji^uJiy^ ^iay (pxtri j«cg<&a/.
Euterp. (;. 46, temptlble

( 5o8 )
temptlble PerfPns, and violently feized on their
Daughters for Wives and Concubines ;* and' that
the Egyptian antediluvian Gods were alfo the
principal Heads and Defcendants of Cain' sFaxmfy,
as appears frora their Vulcan and Apollo, the
Tubal-Cain and Jabal of the Scriptures.
'Tis evident frora this Account, that Super
ftition and the Rife of Idolatry amongft the
Egyptians were according to thera very ancient,
inafrauch as thefe antediluvian Heroes, the ,
mighty Men of old, the Men of the Name ap- |
pear to be forae of their principal Gods ; and it
is reafonable to believe th'it Hdm propagated
their Worffiip araongft his Pofterity, and took
himfelf and his Affociates the Name of Elohim^
with a View to be acknowledged asGods them-i ,
felves after their Decea'fe. * Sanchoniathon gives
an exceeding bad Account of Ham under the
"^Narae of Cronus, and tells us thit he raurthered
his Father, and confecrated hira upon the Spot
where he kiUed hira ; that -j- he afterwards of
fered up to his Father his only Son by thc
Nyraph Anobret, to put a Stop to a raging Pef
tllence ; that he confecrated his Son Muih Into
a God after his Death, and was hirafelf wor
ffiipped as a Deity. He alfo farther informs us, .
thdt j Taautus or Thooth, whom Cronus c6x^\-
tu ted King of Egypt, reduced Religion Into a
. * Apud Eufeb. P. Evan. p. 38. f- Id. ibid, p 40.
1 Tacuit©-, oy Aiyvwlioi Qa^ isrcPd'A-^piinsffi, tmpiA Juvi^Kav
r^^ TOli ^OlVI^I, imCSl>T& T« KATA TW 'hionCeiAV iK THi TUV
X/J^tav ATfieMii c-iii'm^(ti>vmy i[/.'iret^iAy JliTA^iV.' Id, ibid.
p. .^0. .,-.,, i
" proper

( 509 )
proper Scheme ;[ that * In Imltatlpn of Coelus,
vvho deified his Parents, he formed the Images
pf the Gods Cronus and Dagon ^ sind the facred
Charadlers or Refemblances of the other Gods,;
who had the Naraes of the Elements, and raade
many fyrabolical, Reprefen-tatlOns of Cronus, and
that hp attributed a kind of Divinity to Dra
gons and Serpents, and that therefore thefe
kind of Animals were ufed In their Sacred Rites
and Myfterles. And his very Name feeras to
Intiraate his great fondnefs for thefe kind pf Ex
travagances, as It coraes frora, nVtO exorbitavit,
whence In the Arabian Language + piyt^tO Ta-
auton fignifies an Idol, a Southfayer, and the Au
thor and Leader of any exorbitant Pradtice
whatfoever. Philo II Byblius in his Preface to his Tranfla-,
tion of Sanchoniathon tells us : That 'tis necef
fary, to a right and particular Knowledge of
thefe Things, firft to lay this as a Foundation :
That the raoft ancient of the Barbarians, and
particulariy the Phenicians and Egyptians, frora
whom the reft of Mankind have received the
• n£? J'i Txjay ^ioi TAAVT©r niiAMilAii.iy©- TOC ^estcoc, T»C
^iav o4,««, KpoCit Ti K^AA-^m©-, KJ TUV Konrav JmvTianVrovi
lifni rav ?tixei«v ;y*£S!«TH£5!f. Apud eund. p. 39.
-f Id, ibid, p, 40. X ^°'' '" ^°'^^-
II O; ttaKaiotatoi ray BApCApav, i^AipiTui Ji 90/c/wf ri f^
Aiyv/jioi, '5r«p' av ly 0/ Ao/wo/ attf sAa^oc Av^gaTioi, ^ixi scof^/^oc
j!/e><r»f Txi TA incsi TW ^laTWlv x?«'*'' i''?^v%i, M ^ ««7* Tt
iV TaOIYITAyioLi Ta i&VYI, iVi^-^iTAi TS TKTSJ, )dj IJOhhaV AljlAi
*j«,3&)V «>Kfc-J^o/ ai &iiii ct^m'/juviiv  i^Ai^irai Ji ^ am
rav SifiTi^ay /Say/Asac, Ton yj>cr{/.i-M!i scixi^on ;(J rlsi Tav co^/-
tof^ay d-iay TAi ovoy.Amii iTTcSuffAV. Apud eund. p. 32, 33.
Dodlrine,

( 5IO )
Dodlrine, thought thofe to be their greateft
Gods, who firfi found out the Neceffaries of
Life, or who in any Inftances had conferred
Benefits on Nations ; and thinking them their
Benefadtors, and" the Caufes of great Good to
them, tbey worffilpped them as Gods ; and that
applying their Temples to this Ufe, they confe
crated PUlars and wooden Statues to their Name,
paid them great Adoration, and kept folemn
Feftivals in Honour of thera ; and that they Im
pofed the Names of fome of their Kings on the
Mements of the World, and forae other Things
which they efteeraed Gods, But that the Sun
and Moon, and the reft of the Planets, and the
Elements, and other. Things like thefe, they
efteeraed the only phyfical or natural Gods. 'Tis
evident frora thefe Accounts that both Phenici
ans and Egyptians agree as to the Original and
Caufes of thofe Superftitions that prevailed a-
mongft them ; that they were introduced by the
moft ancient of Men, that the Pofterity of
Ham were tfte great Spreaders of them, that
their Gods were of the fame kind ; either na^
turnl, the Sun, Moon and Stars; and the Ele
ments of the Worid ; or mortal Men, their firft
and earlieft Kings, to whom they were indebted
for forraing thera Into Societies, and for the
many and ufeful Difcoveries they raade for the
Affiftance andSupport of huraan Life ; and that
by impofing the Naraes of their Kings on thofb
other phyfical or natural Gods, the Worfliip
paid to either related to both ; whereby fidereal
Worfiip,

( 511 )
Worfiip, and that of moral Men along with it,
gradually fpread itfelf frora Egypt, and princi
pally from Phenicia, by means of its Trade and
Colonies, in a few hundred Years after the Flood,
amongft all ffie Pofterity of the three Sons of
Noah ; an Account this fo natural, and car
rying fo much ProbabUity on the Face of* it,
that I cannot but wonder, that the Original of
the great Gods of the Gentiles ffiould be placed
• by any fo low as the Times of Sefac or So-
iomon.
Plato * Informs us, that an Egyptian Prieft
from the facred Records informed Solon, that
their Country efcaped the Deluge, and that their
Laws "f relating to their Priefts and the Affairs
of Religion were above eight thoufand Years
old. That the Gods J nine thoufand Years ago
divided the World between thera, and that
Vulcan and Minerva obtained Attica by Lot ;
that Minerva, who was an Egyptian as well as
Grecian Goddefs, had the farae Forra and Fi
gure then as In thofe ancient Tiraes, and that
the religious Rites of Egypt had undergone no
Alteration for near || ten thoufand Years to
gether. * Ka7<» J^S TWJi TOC ^gAV ¦in tots KTS rtAAoT^ AVaSiV S-SJ
TAi Al^t^i vJas SWffB, ¦TO J' iVAVTJoy, KATad-iv inayiiVAl Tfi'^VWI'
e^iV Ki Jl' Ai AlTlAi TAVS/AJi O-ftJ^OftSCSt. TimS. p. 22.
t Tuy Ji ivS^Ji JiAKotrfMianai '^ap miv iv roii nepn yw^-
(iAoi oKTAKi^^iav irav Aex&(,coi yiy^AvlAi. Id. ibid, p. 22.
t To yui^AhAiov wivvAKJi «T« xi^"^  " ¦S'ss/ ;*j ATPAffAv yty
mji KATA TW 70TW Jli\Ay^VOV  xj TA TUV yJVADm ^
Titl/Trt, KJ'Jn xi TO Ttli ^SX X^IM, )^. A}A^IM. Id. Crit. p. io8..
109. IIO.
-11 De Leg. p, 657, -cr j .
Herodotus

( 512 )
Herodotus * informs us, that the Egyptians
firft ufed the Names of the twelve Gods, and
that the Greeks received thera from them ; that
they firft diftributed Altars^ Images and Temples
to them, and engraved Animals in Stone; that It
was ^ above feventeen thoufand Years, as the
Priefts informed hira, frora the Tiraes of King
Amafis up to thofe twelve Gods, who proceed
ed frora the eight forraer Gods, and tha^
Menes, who was the firft Man that reigned
nraongft thera, buUt a large and magnificent
Temple In Ij^jVlemphis to Vulcan ; which Menes
was, as II Jofephus\ teUs us, many Years before
Abraham. , In tfie fame City there was alfo a
moft ancient Temple built to Sarapis,^ as Pau-
janias § exprefly affirms.
Diodorus Siculus carries up the Invention of
the Egyptian Superftitions, as we have already
feen, to the Gods therafelves, or tp their firft
Princes, who were deified after their Deceafe, and
to whora Teraples were buUt, and divine Ho-;
nours decreed. * ^Ofiris ox Mizraim,Gxandionto
* AvaJivJln -S-Sfiic iwawiMAi ihiyiV<:p£y>Tiii Aiyv'/}im vofJUffai
Xj EAAMCctf (zj^ (Tifiay AVAKACeiV- L. 2. c, 4.
-\ Q.i J\i AVTOl hiynai iriA SS7 i'TrJAXJ^hlA K, (WexAii A(IASIV
^Att'KiviXAyTA, i'nti TS iK Tuy oKTa ^iav 01 JvaJiKA ¦S'so/ iyivovlo.
Id. ibid. c. 43.
X C. 99-
II 0( iTiSI 'UOlhOli S(X*£pi3lC iyiViTO TK lUAITITV H/uaf A"
Cg^lJ.«. Jofeph. Antiq. 1. 8. c. 6. §. 2. .
§ Aiyj'/jioii Ji li^. S,Agiy.7!iJhi, immvi^Tiv yLiv sfjc AasJ^c-
J^ivffiv, a^'^ioIaIov Ji iv Mi^(pH. Paufan, 1. i.' p. 42, Edit.
Kuhn.
¦ *« L. I. p. 14. ,
2 Noah,

( 513 )
Noah, confecrated his Parents, Ham and bis
Wife Into Gods, and built for their Worffiip a
very, magnificent Temple. Mercury or Thoth
appointed what related to the Honours and
Sacrifices of the Gods, The Worffiip of the
Dog and Wolf took its rife frora two of the
Corapanions of Ofiris, and the very worft and
groffeft of their Superftitlons were the Inven
tions of Ifis his Sifter and Queen, Having dei
fied her Hufoand * ffie decreed to him divine
Honours, and coraraanded each diftindl Tribe
of the Priefts to confccrate to hira one certain
favourite Aniraal araongft thera, and to worffiip
this Aniraal as long as it lived, in the farae man
ner as they did Ofiris before ; and when it died
to ffiew the farae Care and Honours at its Fu
neral, as they did at his. Hence, fays -\- Diodorus,
they worffiip even to this Tirae the Aniraals
originally confecrated, and whenever they die
renew their Grief for Ofiris his Death at their
Funerals. It was + ffie alfo ordered the exe
crable Confecration and Worffiip of the Phallus,
* JlA^KAhitfAl ^.^AVTAi iV TOli lAlOli TO'mli TO aaf/ctjT/f^oM' ««
Stor to;/ Ouieiv. YiASSK^asAi Ji «^ Tay yivou^Cay «raj' auToh ^aay
tc, oTTo/oc ay ^uAmSbi?/, k^ tkto iV y.iv tw }!iy\y T/f^ac, «a,&aTSf
xj -etOTiepv TOC Oir/j/c, '(hIa Ji tw n'Kivlw rm o^iAi sjchcs
'tXiJuAi A^iw. Lib. 1. p. 1 8. n r
t A/0 )^ yUiX?l t*i vvv  TA TS i^A^yAi AZIi^a^vJA C,aA
Ti/JiAv. Jt) TiKivlesAvlav Avrav sc tah TAqiAti accccss^i to t»
Ofl-/f.'cO®- wsp-S-©-. Id. ibid. p. 19.
X To Ji AiJhiov-  MsroTtIi IfflJoi nJiV nrlov rav tfAAac
a^iaSmvAi Tl/uav m^iiov. Ec ts >a? tou li^oii aJ^hoy at/TB ka-
TAIKiVAmffAVnilAVKAlAje^AI, K, KaIa TAi TiAiW KjTAi^-
ffiAi, ra ^5»> Ts7« yiy:(/^Ai, tvTiiAjo1ct]ov •sroiYiffAi, ly -nhnfts
inGA^lM ny^niv- I'L »J"!'- '^^ i'''-"^''- '^- ^^- " ^'¦'''- P' Ss"'
L I *-'^

( 514 )
or Image in Reprefentation of her Hufoand's
genital Member, placing it in his Temple,
and commanding the higheft divine Honours to
be paid it.
Plutarch ¦f in his Ifis and Ofiris, \n the Account
he gives of the Latter, makes him one of the
moft early Egyptian Kings, contemporary with
Cronus j and tells us he recovered the Egyptians
ixoxn their fordid and brutal raanner of living,
that he ffiewed thera the Ufe of Fruits, gave
them Laws, and , diredted thera how to wor
ffiip the Gods ; hereby making him the Foun
der of their Conftitution and Government, Of
Ifis his Queen and Sifter * he relates, that after
ffie had extlngulffied the Madnefs and Rage of
Typho, ffie did not fuffer the Labours and
Struggles ffie endured to be buried in 'ObUvIon,
but dreffed up. In the moft holy Rites, Repre-
fentatlons, Defcrlptlons and Imitations of the
Events that happened to her, and thus confe
crated them into Documents of Piety and Con*
folation for the Benefit of thofe who might be
fubjedl to the like Calamities.
J Luci an informs us, that the Egyptians axe
faid to be the firft of all Mankind who receiv-
f B«e»-/Ast/ocTa Ji Offi^iv Aiyw/jim (jLiv st/9uj ato^h ^tv Xf
SmpiaJisi Ava^h.AZAi,' KA^TTKi n Ju^avta, xJ vt^i.'iiQiyi.iyov A\j\tii
3^ Qiai Ju^avIa Ti[My. p. 356, A.
* P. 369.
X Ylparoi [AiV w Av&^airuv, tuv tij/in iJ^fjuy kiyvTflioi Al-
yv'JAi &iay n ivvoniv AaCe/c, ^ /£« iKTA^i, *J TiiJpiA, xj
tTAvn^vpiAi' A'jnJii^Ai. Usolqi J\i ^ ovo^ATA i£J. syvWAV. x)
Aoj/Kf /jKf iKi^AV,- De Dea Syr. p. 657. ed

( 515 )
ed ffie Knowledge of the Gods, bnUt Temples
and Groves, appointed facred Solemnities, firft
knew the facred Names, and taught the facred
Stories ; and that in Egypi there are very won
derful Things to be feen, Jove with a Ram's
Head, Mercury with a Dog's Face, Pan In
tirely a Goat, and the Gods Ibis, the Chroco-
dlle, and the Ape. And if you would under
ftand what all this means, their Sophifts, Scribes
and ffiaven Prophets will explain it ; which Ex
plications are written and preferved in their
Sandluarles from Innumerable Years paft.
To thefe Teftimonies I may add that of the
Philofopher's old Friend Manetho, who -f- affures
us, that when the Shepherds came down into
' Egypt, amongft othe^ Things they cruelly burnt
the Cities, and deftroyed the 'Temples of the
Gpds. So that before the Defcent of the, Paf
tors, i. e. according to the PhUofopher, before
the Hebrews came doWn into Egypt, the Egyp
tians had their Gods and their Teraples ; and I
may, I hope have liberty to add, that thefe
Gods and ifemples had their Priefis, and that
.ffiefe Priefts pradliced feveral Superftitions in
thefe Temples, and in honour of thefe Gods.
Thefe feveral Accounts put together clearly
ftiew us the Rife and Progrefs of Superftition
and falfe Worffiip In the World. It began, as
\ Trtt/T* yif AyLiKa iV TOli Aj)j\oii AiroKeiTtti yejtpecji* ^-f/c
» wj;? ilav iw^iav. De Sacri. p. 369.
X TAi Ti woAftf afum ivivsmav, ^ 7* n^ twF Stac nfji-
CKA-Iav- Jof. cont. Apion. 1. i- §• 14-
L I 2 It

C 516 )
It was natural to imagine it ffiould, in the Ado
ration of the heavenly Luminaries, the Sun,
Moon and Stars, who were fuppofed' to pre--
fide over the Day and Night, and the various
Seafons of the Year, and to^whom the earlieft
Natbns were taught to afcribe the Origin and
Diffolution of all Things. Next after thefe the
Earth, and the feveral Eleraents of which the
World was fuppofed to confift, had imaginary
Deity afcrlbed to thera, and carae In for their
Share of Adoration. Andas theGlory of the
celeftial Bodies, and the conftant Benefit Men
received by their Light, Warrath and continual
Influences on the Earth, firft Impreffed Men
with Wonder, drew them Into Adoration, ex
cited their Gratitude, and created in them an
Imagination of their being Gods ; they were
afterwards led Into an high Veneration for
their Princes, whora they adraired for their
Power, '-Prudence, Strength and Knowledge;
confidering thera as their Benefactors, who firft
taught them the Ufe of fuch Things, as greatly
tended to the Prefervation, Security, good Order,
and Conveniences of Life ; and from an Opi
nion of the Immortality of the Soul, and Senfe
of their great Merit, honoured them after Death,
and built them Sepulchres, eredled to theni
Pillars and Monuments, and appointed annual
Solemnities to thera, to perpetuate their Names
and Honours to the raoft diftant Pofterity,
And as Heaven and the ftarry Regions were
with thsra " the , f^ime Things, they gave them, after

((517 ),
after^eir Removal by Death, their-I^abitatlon.in
fome or othef of the heavenly Bodies, and;caUed
tjipfe Stars by the Naraes of their deceafed,
Princes and Benefadtors, and paid them one com
mon Adoration;
. It would be eafy to ffiew that almoft all the,
ancient. Gods of], Egypt, Phenicia, Greece and,
Rome, were dead Men and Women, deified for
particular Reafpn?, whofe Names ;were given
to the Stars and Elements, or who were fup
pofed to dwell in or prefide over thefe Things,
and efpeciaUy to have the care pf, fuch as they
were -the firft Inventors of,' Ofiris and Ifis wexe.
the Sun, and Moon, Tubal-Cain ox Vulcan, who
firft found .out-the, working MetaJs,, denoted the,
Element of Fire, and prefided over, all Artificers
iq Metal, Jpbal the Inventor of Mufic}c ; before^
the Flood, was:, Apollo the God of JVtufick after
it. The Gods, according to the Phenician and
^ Egyptian Accounts were mortat,Men, who
for their Wifdora and great Beoefadlions to
Marikind had been highly reverenced and loved
whUft living ; .raany of whom were Kings, and
thpught worthy of an eternal Habitation in the
Stars after their Death. This is acknowledged
by raoft of thofe who have given an Account
of the Hiftories of ancient Nations, and -f- Eue-
merus
* €li TH (pvo'ei'yipyoTas Ay^arrm. Plutarch, de If. etO.ir.
P- 3S9- ^ ^^
f AA\Mr^y Ji Tin El/H^SfK tk MiVffWIH (fiVAKiaryLOli WalffM-
fflAV JtJbVTAi, Oi AUTOi AVTjy^^lfA (rvvS-6ti A-m^V, )Cj AWnapKTIt
(MlSoAo^^tf, ¦mtOAV ct3*87»7tt yjfiTAffKiJkvufl Vii OlKHf/^m, TK«
L 1 3 yofM^^a-

f 518 )
ffierus the Mefienian publiffied a Treatife to proV^^''
that all thofe who were reputed to be Gddfe;'-
videre In reahty nothing more than ancient Gene^
rals. Admirals and Kingsj
Ancient Authors give various Accbuhts of the
Origin of BeafiWdrfiip in Egypt, and the Egyp
tians therafelves- make it as early as their Gods,
or firft Kings and Princes. The . mofi jabuhus
Account v^^hich the Egyptians axe faid to h^ve!
preferved In their Temples for above ten thou
fand Years',- and which ffiews their Senfe of the
high Antiquity of the Thing Is : * That at thfe-
beginning the Gods being few, and oppreffed by
ffie Number arid Impiety of the earth -bom SonS'
of Men or Giants, changed themfelves Into the
Shape of thefe' irrational Aniraals, and thus
efcaped their Eneraies ; and that out of Grati
tude tP them for the Safety they hereby obtained,
they confecrated thefe Animals, Into which
they had transformed themfelves, to be their
fkcred Symbols for futurity ; a Reafon which
the Egypiiahs'xixge,, why their Nation was never
VofjiiQ>[j.iyvi 5iiii -nAVTAi oyutXai eftay^jt^aic, ai oyo(M, i'ptCjti'ytv
«5 csK/stjip^c ^ ^AffiKsav, ai Jn aaAoj yiyivoliay: Apud Plutarch.
ibid, p. 360. ,Sext. Empir; cont. Phyf. 1. g. §. 17.
* *st3-/ yA^ jvi ilAf'jfAq- yivoiiiVni, -5-SS5, oKiytii eVrAi, 4
ytf,v^oiJ.iy\si •\sssoTS 'zsrAnSisf Kj vnAVOfiiAirav ytfyiva'v ctc-5fffl?wc,
o(Aota^V(u TKTi rav htay, ^ Jia tk tiiiav% rg^mt JiAtpvyav viy
ofAMTViTA ^ ?>iAy Av\oy. r^gjv Ji  To/{ aJ\ioi{ rm s^apppf
variieiAi ¦jfAuv A7ioJiy%i, ap/sp^?«t Tttj ^vffeii aulay on i^a-
funa^rm^AV, ^ x3,TaJiu^Ai ron AV^parroti 71 Tpspsc (juv imfiiKaf
CavTA, ^Ttlm Ji TiXiVTWAvlA; Diod. 1. i . p, 77. Lucian.'
tii Sacrif. p. 369, Jofeph. cont. Apion. 1, i, 5. Ovid. Metam.
1. 5. V. 325 — 331. Pluta?. it If, ct Ofir, p, 379. fubjedled

( 519 )
fubjedled to any of the Afiatick or European
Princes, And though the Thing appears ex-
ittetinely abfurd and ridiculous,yet probably when
reduced to plain Truth, It means no more,
than that, as others * fay, thefe firft Princes of
Egypt, in their Engageraents with their Ene
mies had the Images of thefe Animals wrought
in their Enfigns and Standards, or on the Caps
¦which they wore on their Heads as Badges of
Coraraand, and that when they had overcome
their Enemies, they confecrated them as Caufes
and Embleras of their Vidtory ; or which I ra
ther think, they clothed therafelves with the
Spoils and Skins of thefe Beafts which they had
killed In hunting, and appeared with thera in
their Wars, to raake therafelves look the raore
terrible, and ftrike a greater Panick Into their
Enemies. Thus -f- two of the Companions of
Ofiris, Anubis and Macedo, were Men of re
markable-Strength, who wore as a Kind of Ar
mour the Skins of Beafts ; Anubis that of a Dog,
and Macedo that ofa Wolf; for which Reafon,
fays Diodorus, thefe two Animals were honoured
* E-TSCoi)a-«c (wc5«f/t« «of«v i-m rev TAy/AATav: iAoiv kv
;(g.Ttt,CKiv'AaAVTAi UKOVAi TUV I^UaV aV VVV TUMKTI, iL-^ril^AVTaf i7n
auvviay [leg. ff«i/c/»c3 ip?f«i/ Tssf nyVifuyAi. Diod. 1. i. p. 77.
Plutarch, ibid, p, 380,
•f Ta J'w OgjetJi mvii'^^^iv^i Juo hiyvaiv viovi AvuCiv
Ti i^MAKiJoyA, J>iifS£?c7i*« AvJpelA' a^lfa\i^%i Ji x?>l<f't.^i TOti
tOTO7if<oTaT0/f OTAo/y &B Tivav l^aay  rav (MV AynCiy met-
iS-s<5«« yjuvw. Toy Ji 'MamJIiVa Kvkh luf/JofMiv, Ap »i edliAi 1^ tk
^»A TAUJA TlfW^VAl lOJ^ TOli AiyuwllOli. Djodori 1. I. p. I 6.
L I 4 by

( 520 )
by the Egyptians. The ancient.. * Hercules
clothed himfelf with a Lion's Skin,/ becaufe be
fore the Invention of Armour they made ufe e«f
the Skins of Beafts for their Defence. :
Others affign as the Reafon, of this Pradlide
-the great Xlfefukiefs of thefe Beafts, and the Be
nefits they; /received frora thera. The Egyp
tians, fays ffie -f- 'Roman Orator, whora/ we laugh
at, have confecrated no Beaft, but on Account
of the Advantage which they received frora it.
They honoured the Cow, becaufe ufeful in
plowing ; the Sheep, becaufe it both , clothed
and fed them ; the Dog for its Hunting and
Fidelity^, and ihexeioxe. Anubis hath. .a Dog's
:Head, by which was fyrabolically denoted,
that he was the.- Body-guard of Ofirjs. and Jfis ;
the Bird Ibis, beeaufe it deftroyed Serpents ; and
¦Crocodiles, Cats, Scorpions, Havi«ks and other
Things for Uke good ReafonSi X Prodicus Ceus,
tells us, tbat the Ancients thought the Sun and
Moon, Rivers and Fountains, and In a Word
every Thing that was ufeful In huraan Life, to
* FowAoc y^ ViV Kiovlm ra -nAKAia 'apiTHlV Kg^Kfid, JiA
.TO — tMTTU jav oTiKay, iii§ni,^ay rm AV^^^amm roii idp^vhoK
Ai-W.i&Kt THi Av'jilATlof/^iijTA'i-Ji Jo^.ii TUV dniiay (TKimn-
ev.ii xf'<^S!Ai,, Diod. 1. 1. p. z\.'
-j- Ae-gyptii, nuliam bel'uam', nl'fi ob aliquanii utilitatem
qu.irn ex ea capeient, confecraverunt. Cicer. de Nat, Deor. 1. i .
t. 36. Eufeb. Prjep. Evang. 1. 2. c. i.p. 49 50. Diodor, Sic.
1. I. p, 77. 78.
X. Tl(yJ:K<Q- 0 Kg*©- DA/oc ffim )y ct!?.hcmc )^ TzolAymi Kj K^WAi,
Kj iKt^Aii viuvIata aQihuv^A Toy ^m ny.av, 0/ TmXAioi^m iVoy.l-
(jAi, JiA TW att' 'Aiilav »5)sAaotc. Apud Sext, Empir, cont. Phys.
i.. 9. p. 5^2. Cicer. de Nat. Teor. 1. i. c. 42. be

( 521 )
-be, Gods, becai^fe of their Utility. Porphyry,
who was a, great Adept in this Part of Science,
affigns varipus other Reafons for this Pradtice,
as he had b?en inforraed by the Egyptian Priefts.
,He tells us, * that by their abundant Wifdom,
and perpetual Converfe with divine Things,
they had found out, that fome of the Gods had
a greater Affedtion for certain Aniraals than for
Men, and who thofe Gods were. The Sun
delighted in the Hawl?;, bqcaufehe was a long-
lived Bird", and for other Reafpns. An unlearned
iMan, and one ignorant in divine Things, he
tells us, would i^hox the Scarabceus or Beetle.;
but that the good People of £§-]>;/>/ worffiiped
it as a living Image of the Sun, becaufe eyery
'^arabaus is , Male, and becaufe it hath forae
,Kind of Motion with its Legs that, referables
the Motion of the Sun. Thus alfo they philo^
fophize concerning the Rara, and the Crocodile,
.the Vultur, the Ibis, and every one of the fa-
:cred Aniraals. So that by their Wifdora and
high Knowledge of divine Ifhlngs, they carae at
^laft tp the Worffilp of the brute Aniraals. Thus
Porphyry and his Egyptian Priefts, But I ara
much miftaken. If this Beaft Worffiip was not^
more ancient than thefe Reafons for it, and
* Et/ J' iK meiTltii ao^lAi, k^ rm -sfei to S-mv avyJe^pAi,
'^¦rijfCoy riai Tay Stay a^o'ipiKii rav ^aav tiva ^Khov av-
&§a7mv—KAyMe^v Ji AfiA^Ai /Sc/lsAt/pj^^eoi av A^vafiav vna^-^ar
ray &nav. Aiyj-!r]iol Ji intp^ffAv ai hkova hA/k «(^4'^;;(0c —
(BTTj-gf iK (f^yntnai Kj rui A-yiy &ioin>i(.iAi i-rn to nQAi iKd-etv Kj
TUV laay. A(Ml^ni Ji Avd-pa^,oi tsJi ejt/jo T«7o vaa'Trhvcnv,
K T. A, De Abftin. 1. 4- §• 9- , ^
V . thefe

( 5^2, )
thefe Reafons invented afterwards, in fome fort
to paUiateand juftify fo fordid and fOul a Super
ftition. But notwithftanding all Porphyry's En«-
deavohrs to vindicate it, fuch Pradllces want,
as * Lucian wittily obferves, a Democritus' to
laugh at their Madnefs, and an Heraclitus' to
lament and weep over their Ignorance.
-But there is another Reafon affigned by Lu
cian, that to me is the moft probable of all.
He tells -f- us, that the Egyptians found out ho\)*'
to meafure the Motions of the heavenly Bodies,
and how to compute Years, and Months and
Soifons. They meafured the Month by the Re
volutions of the Moon, and the Year by that of
tbeSun ; they divided that Part of the Heavenisf,
and the fixed Stars ftationed ih it, through
which the moveable Stars or Planets pafs. Into
twelve Parts, and reprefented each Part by fome
proper different Animal of their own ; partly by
* Tav\a MTU ¦ycVOfSfjA, ^ UTo ray TraAAai/ -m^vouSiJA, JeiSnt
¦fiOl JoKc-i TK /i/tec i'Tnji/MiiroyTOf KcTgc©-, Hg^t^etjn Js t/c®-, it
AtifioKellv TV (Sfi, yihttaof^v rnv avoiav avtuv, th Ji, tw
ttyvoiAv oJu^ij.iv\i. Lucian. 3e Saer. in Fin.
+ Ai-yjTtllol Ji — l^iTg^ Ti TMf S;(str» KlVWilt infJtmAVTfi X^
mav a,s;i^fiovi ^ (lUuiav, «J apiav J'lilA^AvJo. K*/ luivay t^
aficn ^irg^y m nhWAiti, ly n TAv\vi rtcttrfo^n gjtcsjo- Etsos /s
IfeA/®- )^ W TK mXlv isti^l^opoi. Ol Ji Kj tfAA* ifi-MAVTO <BOKKi»
¦i*siZ.a Tiiliav. Ejt jaf Jvi tk <iirA^&- MSf©-, k^ An^av ray aK-
A»c, A7r?MViuy T£ ^ iv^^iuy, ^ aJ' ajjla KiViouSjiuv, JuuJtyg,
l/.0l£^i i^.AfiOvIo iV TOISI luViOfjLiVOIffl, ^ OtiUHA i^UA 10v\a tV.g.'^V
attjay a ctAA«c /M^tpw ^s;/|(/5i*t«H. Tet /^o, ivAhiA, t« Ji,
AvQ^aymV, T:i Ji, Smpuv, Tas Ji, 'srlwav, ra, Ji, ^mittil-
Atjb t5s)C Ju «) /ggj! Tee Al-yj'Tr'jiA <iSOKvmJiA motiilAi — ;^ Kejov
i^ diCuffi, cyjocnii a Keiov ATnQhiimv, ix^i-i Ji « oiIiovIai oxjoaot
fXPvAi iTTttmiJMVAvltl, isji T£Cty)V KJbiVISlTl 003/ AI^PKi^aV yiJiffAV,
xj 0/ AAAoi T«AAa, a{ iKtLsot iKASKovTAh Luclan. de Aflrolog.
p. 848. 849, .¦'¦-'¦ '.. thofe

( 54? )
thofe of the Sea, partly by Men, partly by
wUd Beafts, by Birds and by Cattle. And from
hence arofe many Sorts of facred Rites in Egypt ;
for that in their Divinations they did not all of
them regard every one of thefe twelve Parts,
but fome one, and forae another. Hence they,.
who principally regarded the Ram, worffiiped
him 5 they who remarked the celeftial FifJies^
aibftained frora FIffi, nor would they who de
lighted in Capricorn kUl the Goat, and fo-with
refpedi to the reft of the Signs, as they feverally
worffiiped thera ; and finally the'Egyptian Apis
was worffiiped In honour of the celeftial Bull,
In like raanner the ancient * Chaldeans reckoned
twelve principal Gods, each of which had his
Month dedicated to him, and one of the Signs
of the Zodiack. The Divifion of the Zodiack
into thefe twelve Parts, affigning a particular
God to prefide over them, and reprefenting each
of them by feveral Aniraals, was a Kind of
Confecration of thera, and gave probably tbe
firft Rife to the Veneration and Worffiip that was
paid to them. Now the Divifion of Time Into
Years and Months was very ancient, both In
Egypt and an\ong^ the, Jews. The Year, the
Month, and the Day of the Month, of the
fieglnning of the Flood, of the Refting of the
Ark, of the Appearance of the Tops of the
Mountains, and the drying up the Waters, are
• Tay ^iuy <Ji XJU^W eiVAt tpASl JioJtKA toc Apid'fiov, av iKA-
fu mva, ^ ray JhiAna Myifiiyuy ^aJia ty '!!^(jffyii/.is(n. Dio-
dor, 1. 2. p. 117, ' particularly

( 5M )
particularly recorded. The Years of Abrahamiy. 
Ifimael and Ifaack, not to add tfiofe of the Pa-:
trlarchs before, and thofe who iraraediately fuc
ceeded them after the Flood, down to Abraham,
are exprefly taken notice oi. ^Jacob's Abode with
Laban a-Month, and contradling to ferve him^ " " "
two feven Years, proves that the Month and the
Year wdre well known in Mefopotamia. Pha
raoh's .Dreams' and Jofeph's Interpretation of
thera, as demoting feven Years of Plenty, and
feven ,of Faraine, neceffarily. fuppofe that the
Year was at that Tirae well known In Egypt.
Mofes was hid ffiree Months. God's altering the
Beginning of the Year arapngft the Jews, from
what they had before obferved in Egypi, and
ordering the Month Abib to be obferved as the
Beginning of their Months, and the firft Month
of the Year to thera for the future, ffiews that the
Divifion of Tirae into Months and Years, and
the Divifion of the Year into. proper Months,
were well underftood by the Egyptians and ffie
Jews. And if the Brute Worfhip of the E-
gyptians had its Rife in any Meafure from thofe
Aniraals which reprefented the twelve Divlfions
of the Zodiack, and to which Divlfions the
twelve Months of the Year v^ere correfpondent,
this Worffiip of Aniraals muft have been of thc
moft early Original and Pradtice.
¦&: However, It was certainly aWeed oi Egyptim
Growth, which that Soil very eafily produced,
having fprang up, as hath •?« been before ob
ferved, and as is acknowledged even by Sir^.
Newton,

( 5^5 )
Newton, before the Defcent of Jacob Into -that
Country. And frora thefe Accounts of facred
and profine Hiftory, which have been thus laid
together, the Reader I think cannot but be con
vinced that Superftition and Idolatry, In all
the Kinds of it, in the Worffiip of the celeftial
Bodies, dead Men, and brute Beafts, were
very early pradticed araongft the Egyptians, and
that both thefe Kinds of Hiftory receive Light
and Confirmation from each other. It is not
indeed to be imagined that all thefe' Superftitlons
carae in all at once. Even the Egyptian * Tera
ples were originally without Statues and Iraa-
'ges, and thofe -f of the Theban Diftrldl are faid
'anciently to have held, that lio God was mortal,
and that he whora they worffiiped, and called
Cneph, was unbegotten and eternal. The
heavenly Bodied cbiild properly have no Iraages
to reprefent thera, and It is probable that the
Egyptian Cneph was the Univerfe It felf, which
they held ftridtly everlafting. But when Noah's
'Pbfterity were divided into their feveral Coun
tries, they gradually loft the Knowledge of the
true God ; and their feveral Leaders, who con
dudted their feveral Difperfions, had Opportu
nities of inftUling into the Minds of thofe who
foUowed thera, what Superftitlons they pleafed,
* To Ji ts^KAioy 1^ /srAi' Aiyj-/lioi(Ti a^oavoi vnoi mav. Lu
cian. de Dea Syr. p. 656. Eu,eb. Prxp. Evang. 1. i. p. 29.
f Tm @>i0AiJk KAJoiKuvlAi ai .Sco'ioc dsoc xAvA roiA,i(oy'JAi,
jtAA' oV KAKwiv Au]oi KcMp Ayiviflov 0)1 A )^ A,'iA''A}ov. Plutar. de
If. etOfir. p, 339. ' and

( 5^6 )
and of improving them to fuch Purpofes, as,
their own Ambition, and the keeping the fe
veral Cpionies in fubjedlion to their own Power
and Authority didlated ; efpecially as In thofe
^arly Times the Means of a better Education
were greatly wanted, as there was no ftanding
written Revelation to diredl them, no Writings
or Books in comraon Ufe for their Information,
and as they were too much employed In fettling
themfelves In their new Habltatiofis, and pro
viding for thC; Neceffaries of Life, to attend to
thofe Confiderations, which might have led
them to better Sentiments and Pradtices in Re
ligion. This was properly that Seafon of the
World wheri Superftition was moft likely to
thrive, when Princes had greater Power and Op
portunity to eftabliffi it, and when it was ac
tually introduced and fettied amongft the Na
tions. Araongft the Egyptians Ofiris or Miz
raim is almoft univerfally agreed, to have been
the Father and Beginner of thefe Superftitions,
which afterwards fo plentifully encreafed, and
xofe to fuch an enormous Height amongft his
Pofterity. SECT. XIV;
Of the Age o/'Sefoftiis.
OU R PhUofopher having affigned the
Original, of Superftition to an imaginary
Edidl, procured by Jofeph from Pharaoh the
2 Egyptian

( s^^ )
l^yptian King, for enriching the Priefts, adds
with his ufual Affurance : *ThusEgypt became ihe
Mother and Nurfe oj Superfiition, and which after
the great Egyptian Empire arofe about Solpmon',y
Time ihey jpread and propagated io all their con
quered Nations. By the Great Egyptian Empire
that arofe about Soloraon'i Time, 1 fuppofe he
means that of Sefofiris, whom Sir I. Marfoam,
Le Clerc, Sir I. Newton, and others, make to
be the farae Perfon with the Scripture Shifac or
Sefac, who Invaded the Kingdora of Judea, in
the fifth Year of Rehoboam the Son of Solomon.
But there are I think very ftrong Arguraents to
prove that Sefofiris and Sefac were two very dif
ferent Perfons, and lived at very different Periods.
If the Voice of Antiquity is to be regarded,
it is wholly fubverfive of Sir John Marfiam's
Scherae, and without very full Proof to the
contrary, I apprehend that Teftimony will de
ferve great Credit. \ Diodorus S. tells us, that
Sefofiris was fucceeded By his Son, who affuraed
his Father's Narae; that raany Generations after
his Death Amafis was -. raade King, that he
was fucceeded by ABifoanes' the Ethiopian, he by
Mendes or Marus, five Generations after whom
reigned one Proteus, who was conteraporary
with the Trojan War, was of ignoble Birth, and
raifed to the Crown after a long Anarchy ; and
by X Herodotus his Manner of Expreffion, he
* P. 2z, t Lib. I. p. 53. &c.
X Tvjis J'i tKji^A^I TW ^AflKtllW iKipV AVj'e^ MSf/p/TWC
L. 2. C. 112. feems

(5^8 )
feeras to Intiraate fomewhat llke^It, by fayingi
that a certain Man of Memphis fucceeded Pheron
the Son oi Sefofiris, called hy the Greeks Prp-
teiis ; a Kind of Expreffion that points him- out
as one of an obfcure Original, who therefore it
is not likely would have fucceeded the Son of
the Uluftrlous .S^/iJy^m, -but in confequence of
forae , doraeftick Difturbances and Confufions.
But thie will not fuit the Tirae when Sir 7.
places Sefofiris ; for he makes feventy Years froml
Sejac's facking Jerufalem, and fifty, two from^
Sej'ac's Death, to the taking of Troy; thereby
making Sefac reign before the Trojan War j
whereas Diodorus makes five Generations^' or
1 66 Years ixovn Mendes to Proteus, and raany
more Generations from Sefofiris to Mendes ; and
accordingly Sir I. Marfiam tells '* us, that Era-
tofihenes places the End ofhis Table of Kings
at the taking of Troy, becaufe he well knew
that Sefofiris was feveral Ages later than this
Tranfadtion, - . >
Again Sir /, Newton makes Minos King of
Crete, Contemporary with Sejac. But -j- Arifo-
totle exprefly fays, that Sefofiris reighed a long
while before Minos. Diceearchus before mention
ed makes Sefofiris or Sefonchofis to have fucceed
ed Orus the Son of Ofiris and Ifis, and makes
2936 Yearsrfrom Sejojiris his Reign to the firft
Olympiad. But frora Sefac's Invafion to the
firft Olympiad, In about the thirty fourth Year
* P. 249.
- i XloKv ja? vmilavu ron j^joco/; thc M/c» CAirihsiAv « 2s-
eu^SiQ'- Politic, lib. 7. c. 10.
2 according

( 529 )
ci Uzziah King oi Judah, were but 2oi Years,
according to the Scripture Chronology. Again,
* Apollodorus tells us, that frora the Trojan War
to the firft Olyrapiad, were 408 Years; but
from Sefac's Reign tp the firft Olyrapiad
were according to the Scripture, as hath been
ffiewn, but 201 Years; and by confequence
the taking of Tfoy rauft be 207 Years before
Sefiic, and therefore Sir Ifaac's Coraputation
can't be true, who places Sefac or Sefofiris his
Invafion but 70 Years prior to the Trojan War.
Manetho, as yo/^^to -f. reprefents hira, affirras,
that from the Expulfion of the Shepherds or
Jetvs out of Egypt under Tethmofis to Danaus,
and Se.thofis or Sefofiris, were 393 Years. But
the Scriptures exprefly affirra, that frora this
Exodus frora Egypt, to the fourth Year of So-
hmon's Reign were 480 Years, which with the
36 Years reraainder of his Reign, and the five
firft oi Rehoboam, Shijac'mvad'mg hira In the fifth,
make up 521 Years; fo that frora the Reign
oi Sefofiris to that of Shifac were 293 Years
DIftance. Thucydides + tells us, that Homer was
* A^o J'i TUV Tf»/Wi)C, AK'o^M^i AwoWoJa^a TU A^VAItt,
Ti5i[j.iy oyJofiKovIa, sth wpo; thc KA^Jhy tuv 'R^AKhetJav. Awa
Ji TAurm i-m TW iT^arw oKvjA'mAjA JutTi h.tmw\A rav t^iako-
fftav K^rpiAKov'JA. 'Diodor. in Prooem. p. 5.6.
f AhAoc Ji i^v iK ray iHfHftecoc STuy ru ;)^f sea (rv\Ko}i^y}@',
oti 01 KU,KlSl/.iVOl'milf,^ii, fly.i]ifOl Ji "ZTfOjol/OI, Tf/ir/«J iViVtlKOvlA
)yT?iAyj>7ioii iiresSfy irseriy iKTVH Aiy/Tlti A-mMA^ivfii, thc
^g^.V TAvlw A7T0tf.*iSAV , H AaVAOV 6ii A^-yii AJflM^I- Cont-
Apion. 1. I. §. 16.
X OujiACji, inKKa vf^f®- «T/ >^ TwyTpuiKuy yivo(S/J'§-. P. 3.
Ed.Kuds. M m born

( 5.?o )
born much later than the TrojaPiV^iir, -whiGl*
can never be reconciled with Sir Ifaac's Account,
that he flouriffied but 3 4 Years after that Event,
and who cofifequentiy muft have been h<mi at
the taking that City. And therefore the Times
of the Trojan Wax ^ndoi Sefofiris muft be rauG'h
earlier than that learned Writer places them,
and which therefore can never fall jq with the
Times of the Scripture Sefoc. Jofepkuih'isTei-
tlmony is I knPw dUputed, and by fome pro
duced to prove tbat Sefofiris and Sefac were the
fame Perfon, Pmsjomz^i ¦f- -hatih I think unan-
fwerably confuted this Opipion, and I cannot
indeed but -wonder how fuch a Notion coul-d h?
entertained by Sir. 7, Marfham., and other learned
Writers, fince Jofephus certainly maizes them
tvi^o as different Perfons as Words can make
them. His Words ar-e thefe. '* God fent Sou-
fac the King 0/* Egypt to avenge the ImfiietUs
Rehoboam had committed againfi him-, cmeerning
whom (Soufac) Herodotus being m/fiaken^,' at
tributes, his AB'ions to Sefofiris. The Miftake
therefore of Henodotus was not caUaig Smtfae by
a wrong Narae, but attributing the Adions of
Soufac a later Prinze to Sefofiris who Uved long
before hira.: And it is impoffible to Imagiiie
that Jofephus. could intend this Abftjrdity, that
God fent Soufac tp_ puniffi ffie Jews, and that
Herodotus being miftaken as. to Soufac afcrlbed
f ^gypt. Orig. cap. 8.
T((z/^'^y Ji,Tay eii, Avnv vSpiav o Stof swOTftTH t^c vac
Aiyj-Zliav '^AjnKiA ^niuKTV, <5fe/ a tr^AVtl^eii Hfo'A7#- T^i 1!^-
^Hi «V7¥Sesar^« jtss'^^Ih- De Antiq. 1. 8. c, lo, §.2.
• " 2 the

.- ( 53'i )
Ih^' AdHons, -^ his Mhie to the Name of 5^-
fdftHsl' Nd. The Eh-Pr 'evidently was, the
Jtittln^ one King for another, arid afcribing that
Ihvafipn to SeJbJ'tris which -v^as made by Sdiijac.
And this wUl explain what 'jof'e.phiis f fiirther
fedds: Herodotus ineniioni aljo his Expedition,
bei'iig ikiftaken only hi the Name of the King, aid
Bat he invaded ntany other Nation's; and Jubdlied
Pdleftihe ih Syria, redkcing the People in it w'ltk-
wt iz Battle: i, e.^Tferodofus wis miftaken only
in^ Name of thfe King, j^uftihg the Name of
Ohe Kirig foi the iVTarae of another Kirig, arid
in faying th^t'- he irivadfed filany other Natiorjs
arid fubdued Palefiine Without a Batde, Fof ^
the King he ffioiild have naraed Was Sefac and..;
hpi Sfoftris ; hox did Sef 'dc invade other 'Na
tions, xibx fubdud all Paleftine Without a Bat-
fte,' but only Rehbboain and Jerufalem, and when
he had dorie this, returried as * Jofephus ex-
plbfly iays, Irito Ms oXvn Country," And that
the Expedition defcribed by Herodotus, was this
ifrtder Sefac, a!nd not under Sefofiris, he en-
dfeaVours to ptbVe by two Afgurhents ; v'lz. be
caufe HeroiotiiS ftys,' that Sefofiris left Pillars on
which were Ihfcribfed the kiSoiix, fvmmuv, in thofe
¦[ T!Ai(tviWi.t Ji vAt/'i^ ij\t i-e/JMAi k^ a Ahiv^^vAffjiVi Hf6jl)7©'s
Ofel ftOfOC TO T» ^A(Tlhiai ^KAVtf^iii Ov'ofM,, Kj OTI AKhOli TS Q-JA-
Ao/« £*i)K,J«C i^ViSl, >L, Tliv liAkAlsivW "ZV^IAV iJvKaTATt, t.A-
i^FSpidytHl TXi AvSt^UTKi rm iv dtvln. Id. ibid. ^.3. Ocb//«^ de-
pajei^ifPerfon and Name of the King. Thus Diodorus tells u>
the^Mj^lleries of IJis were like thofe of Ceres, ray oeoiJATav fioV:V
WtthK^uMyy i tiie -Names'lif tlis Prifons only diffei'ing, L. i.
p. 88. i. zz , .
', * Kai TK?" Titmmi AVa-^i-Xm eti ta oiyaia. Id. ibid.
"'"'' -'* M m 3 Countries

{ 53^)
Countries who" furrendred without a Battle; and
affirms that the Phenicians and Syrians in Pa
leftine own that they learnt Circumclfion from
the Egyptians. Now fays Jofephus it is plain
frora thefe two, Circumftances, that Herodotus
intended to defcribe the Cpnqueft of our Nation
by the Egyptians ; becaufe Rehoboam furrendred
the City without a Battle, and becaufe It Is
certain that no other Perfons were circumcifcd
in the Syrian Paleftine biit the Je%m only. And
therefore the great Error ox Herodotus, accord
ing to Jofephus, was not, as * Sir IJ'aac explains it,
his calling Sejac, by a Corruption of his Name,
Sefofiris, but in attributing Sefac's Adions to iSi?-
f oliris, and in affirra Ing that Sefcic invaded other
'Nations, and conquered all paleftine, whereas
after the Conqueft oi Rehoboam, he iraraediately
returned home. Jofephus well enough knew,
that Sefoforis Invaded and fubdued all Afia, and
gives frora Manetho a particular. Account of his
Expedition .and Conqueft, under the Narae of
Sethofis, and places it, , from the farae Author,
above 256 Years before the Expedition of Sefac.
I have carefully looked' over Sir /. Marfiam's
Account of thefe two Princes, and find that ffie
principal, I may fay the only Argument he
raakes ufe of tO' prove them to be one and the
fame, are the Paffages he cites out of Jofephus.
But how littie can be concluded ftom thence
hath been already fliewn. That learned Gen
tleman was well aware, that It would be an
* Sir I. N, p. 70. Objedion

( 533 )
Objedion againft his Scheme, that thofe He
roick Adions of Sefoofotris were taken no Notice
of by the Greek Poets, Hefiod, Homer and other
Writers ; apd therefore he hath very properly
endeavoured to obviate it. * If, fays he, Sefof
iris had gone into Greece, as the Perfians after
wards did, he would have obtained a more illuf-
., trious Fame amongft Pofierity. For 'Phorbas
then reigned at Athens, and the Succefiors of the
Heraclida3 in ihe fourth Defcent at Lacasdemon
and Coxinth, who would have preferved the Me
mory either of his; Valour or Misfortune. The
Grecian Affairs were jb low, that they took but
little .Notice oj them, and had no' Acquaintance
.with thofe of foreign Countries, i^dxnex was not
yet born, who lived long before the Gxeeks at
tempted the Writing of Hiftory. But as it is allow
ed that Sefofiris reduced not only Afia, but the
Cyclades lilajids, which lye between Greece and
Afia, and In which the Greeks had fo 'great an
Intereft, and that he penetrated into Thracia In
Europe, where he had like to have loft his
Army, and where he put a Stop to his farther
Progrefs; it Is impoffible thefe Tranfadions could
have been wholly unknown to the Greeks,
which were tranfaded in their NeighboLlrhood,
pr wholly paffed over in Silence by them, had this '
Expedition been fo late as Sir /. Marfham puts
it. This learned Writer -j- makes Hoi^r to
have flouriffied 302 Years after the peftrudion
of Troy, and places the taking of this City fe-
*P. 380. "C t P.'437--
M lift ^3 veral

'' 53.4 >
veraj Ages before Sefofiris. And therei^re- thpV
he tells us that; ^p.mgr wq.s., m^ y^f^ born^ ylzk a(:
the ITime of Sefofiris. his Exp^dltiPP^ 5^_^ %
maPc have been bprn not long after it. Ar^.i^ h&
had fuch Plenty of Materials to celebrate, \W
Expedition toTroy '\n Afia, though, 30,2. Yeg^s^
before his, owi;i Birth, and feveral Ag^s, bigfo-irip.
Sejofiris ; his. not. being bor^^ at, th? Tia?;^, of th^
Expeditipfi^ of Sefofiris caii npVQT he* m^ged, as. a„
food Reafon foi; his taking np. notice off that;
\'\xvze^, who was by Sir I Marfiam's owy^Cox^-
feinon feveral A^s latqr than ffie Xrojai.'^yf.ii:^.
_^ix. LNewtQif^' on the c:0Dtrary, maizes, ffip>
Trojan, War to ^ he> later than, ^foflrjs,^ and, places .
i^ fifty two TC^i's after the Death of that Prince,^
aqd tells -j; us, that .Hefiofi. anq. Honker floujrilJi^j
but thirty four, '^ars after th^ Trojm, War, and-
but eighty, fix after the Death. of. Sefac pr iS^-.
J'oj'tris ; and therefore ^either Tfefoiofi npi; Homer-
can be fiippofed Strangers to this Expedition,
had^ it been, fq near ^pijr TJinjp a?r,Sir -^^?^/
reprefen,ts 'li^'. Hefiod % fpeajis bptii^ of tjie-
Argonautick a,n^ Trojan Expeditiorja,'thq former,
c^v/hich was according to Sir 1. bu;t. feventeen-
l^ears after the Death of Sefoftd^^ He raentions
Japetuf, whoni Sir j^-j-rzi- fays was, his. Brother,
¦^hdProtnetheii^ whom he, calls l:|^s. General, apd..
\yho he fays was, left by him.qn Mou,!;!;;,-^^;//;^-
j'us, anfi. Atlas, the Son ofi Japetus as fuftaining
tlie Heavens. The Dift^nce therp,fpr,eo|,Tim.CT:
between 3'^^m,arid ^f^ji/jCputd-be, no Reafon !
* Chron, p. 23. 29. f ,P. Wp^- % ©p. et Dfv. 162.. &c. .

( 5S5 )
fox his taking no notice of Kim:, becaufe he. men-;
tioSs his Contemporaries, and papticulafly the
the Fads Immediately fucceeding ffie^Death of
Sefofiris ; viV. the Battle of the Gods ; -which,
aceordlrig to Sir I. Was nothing more than the
Invafion of Egypt under Japetus and his Sori
Atlas, the Brother and Nephew of Sefofiris,
andnvhich by hi& Chronology muft- have happen
ed but a little before, or in- the Tirae pf Hefiod.
Now that Japetits and Prometheus and Atlas
ffiould bfe celebrated 'm Hefiod' sVotxns, and Sefof-
/Wj their King, ahd the Conqueror of the World',)
ffiould be wholly omitted' by him, is to me an
incledible Suppofitibn; arid efpecially that he
ffiould be omifted In the Theogony,> if Sefofiris
was, as Sir Ifaac tells * Us, the Bacchus and Mars
and Hercules o? the Ancients ; and who, if
ereded'into thefe Deities fonear Hefiod'sTixne,
as Sir I^Oac foppofes, rauft, as to his Original ^
have, been 'wdH known- to Hefiodywho hath a
whole Poera In hohonxdi Hercules, arid often
fpeaks of A//3r5;fliid who rauft havebeen acquaint-
ed'wlth his Invafion of Thrace, if he was, aSSir /,
affirms, the' Tracian' Ma-- forsy Mavoi's, ox Mars.
Hbmer is faid by the farae learned f Writer
to be Conteraporary with Hefiod. Now Homer
makes mention of Egypt in both his Poems,-
and particulariy of Thebes with her- hundred.
Gates, and two hundred Men with their Horfes
and Chariots going out of every Gate, and of
, ¦ -^ * P. 23. 24. -f P- 32-
*¦ M m 4 Pans,

( 53M
Paris, Menelaui and Helena, having been In
that Country ; and of the Ethiopians and Ly-
bians, and feveral Egyptian Perfons. Now It Is
I think highly improbable that Homer ffiould
not once introduce this Egyptian Hero Sefofiris
into his Poems, If his Reign and Adions had
been fo near Homer's Time, as Sir Ifaac places
thera ; efpecially as he had fubdued all Afia,
fet up his Pillars near Ephefus in Ionia, a Pro
vince bordering on Phrygia Itfelf where Troy
ftood, and which therefore he muft have re
duced araongft- other Afiatick Cities. Sejofiris
his Expedition into Afia, upon Sir .^^f's Scheme-
muft have happened in the Time oi Laomedon,
Father of Priamus ; and accordingly he * tells
us, that Sefofiris goes through Afia and Syria
inio Egypt, with innumerable Captives, amongft
whora Was Tithonus, Son of Laomedon King of
Troy. Troy therefore was taken by Sefofiris,
and Homer exprefly raentions the taking of it
under Laomedon by Hercules. Now had this
Hercules been the farae with Sefofiris, here was
the faireft Opportunity to have celebrated his -
Conqueft of Afia, and iramortalized his Name
by a few Verfes In honour of him. But how
different Is Tiomer's Account from that of a tri
umphant Conqueror ? All that he puts into the
Mouth of Tlepolemus, the Son of Hercules, is

*P. zt. * that

( hZl )
* ffiat his Father came to Troy for the Horfes
oi .Laomedon, with fix Ships only, and a fmall
Number of Men, and took and depopulated
the City ; an Account that I believe nP Man
will fay can belong to SefojtriSy or be a Defcrip
tlon of his.' taking Troy. Homer therefore-
knew nothing of Sefoforis, nor of his Afiatick
Conqueft, nor of his reducing Troy ; and I think
this a ftrong Probability that Sefoofotris did not
live fo late as Sir 7. places hira, and could not
be therefore the Scripture Sefac.
But I fhall leave all farther Arguments from
foreign Hiftory to another Place, and confider
what Light the facred Hiftory will give us into
this Affair ; and I think many Circumftances
may be colleded from hence to prove, that iS^-
joftris could not be the Scripture Sefoac. The
Account of his Invafion Is this : That -j- Sefac
King o/^ Egypt came up againfi Jerufalem, be
caufe they had tranfgrefied againfi the Lord, with
j'20o Chariots, 60,000 Horfomen, and the Peo
ple were without Number that came with him out
o/Egypt, ^j6^,XubIms, ihe Sukklras and the
Ethiopians. And he took the fenced Cities of
• Oi "mm ^ivfihSs^, scs;;^' iTnmv AAofiiJovloi,
E^ oim mv yiivffi xj AViPpAO'i ¦mvg/lipoiajy
lA/« f^AfiATlA^i OT/A/C, ^paffl J' A-^IAi. II. s- V. 64Q, &c.
Troy felt his Arm, and yon proud Ramparts ftand
Rais'd on the Ruins ofhis vengeful Hand.
With fix fmall Ships, and but a flender Train
He left the Town a wide deferted Plain. Pope.
f 2 Chron. xii. z, &c. Judah,

f 5l8 )
Judah, and (^mer to Jerufalem ; md took iPtvd^
ihe Treaffitfes^ of theHOufooftheLord^ andth
Treafures- of the Ming's Houfe, he took a/Hi,, and
carried awofp dfi the&hiields\ofG6ld^ which 3o\<U
rxion, had made;, The Account oi Sejfaftri^ hw
F6rGes> diffeps- greatly firisfmf thisj as relktediby
Diodorus, who makes-, thera 27,000^ Chaiaoe^
2*4,000 Horfe, and«6oo,fflDaiffdot'ii Bhtirotetd
infift on thisi, itv appears ftduali: the' manner! of the
Relation- bys the facred- HiftoriaMi, that!. thii^vraS
only a particular Expfeditloir againft Jixdtiii, and
Jerufalem. The Yik\g.oi,'E<^i^tca)ne' up Ogdnft'
Jeruialem. becastf0\ they- ha:d triinfymffM a^^i
the Lordt^ Pfobably the ImirtedMe^Mbfliver to
Shifac wm,, the iraraenfeE"icHesJwhIcbheJknB#
Sdomm hadi amaffedi. and left . his Son Rehoboam
inipoffeffion'.of, And^ffiereifoid a© Godmade-Uife
of him' to puniffi ffie Iniquities; df " Jtidtb]. he
feems to^ hav« confined his* Invafion' to'Judbk.
and Jerufalem- on\y, and'^ wHenhe; had faofeed
the' City to have retUrrtedthack-.agaaiiuntti).^^^
For the facred Hiftory; tates no farther notic^J^
thamthat; he:took aWay, aflfthe' Trfeafiwes-; and.
Garried\ aw-ay Solomods Shields- of Gddj. Ahd
accordingly yo/?/y^z« exprefly fays,, that when
he had dbnrtiti^'Herelurwed ifftb bis OWh" Coun
try, There Is • not, thes IsafivIntimatioiJ of his
making any ^f&ther Progrefs, not fo much of
one fingleMkrch beyohd'yf«<'/s/^;«, or IhVading
any of the Cities of I/rael nndtv< Jerobusram,
though Sir Ifaar N^wton fays- *f J eroboam Was
.* P- 235. in

i 539 )
InfobjedlpntQ hlm^ and.-thQugh^itwas ablo-
Iqtely im.poffible that he cpqld pafa 'mitOf-Afoa.
wijhput. matching thrp' the greateft Part of his
ppminipng,,aod.h}ghly ImprpbabJe that he- would
«mit fectiriB^ thera, before he. made ajtyrfarffiec
]^j;ogrefs In hif Expedition . Bqftdies,, Sefiic ia- his
return tpS^i^nJpe Years after muft: pais 'trough
Jud/^a.,„ and Sir I allows h^tdidifp j aud yet there
^, .npt th.e? le.a.ft latiroatiohipf It. h the. faccedl
Writings; a. Circumftance that cpidd fcarce bs
Qn^i^ed,, had. tb^s Kxpeditipn of SefiK been, the
f^mis.wlth that oi Sefofiris, ox Sefac ever b,^jea-.a.
fecpud Timie in , Judea.ox: at Jerufalem. But S.er.
/oftr-is, even. as. Jofephus. biwfeff affures, us. fi-pm^
Manetho, Jimde his Expedition, Into- Cyp-us,mdt
P-henicia, iRyaded tht 4fiyriam and Medes,^ and
fiibdued.aJlof thera; ffioneby Conqpeftln Battle,,
and^ pthers.a|Wf»:^'^'> bya^furiender to his Power
through. Fe,ar,, without ther Hazard, and. Exr
ge.uce of ar fingle Ai^ipn. H^.rodoius and Dio-
dprus agfe.e..miich In the fame Account, and af
fign nine Years for.the Perlpd .of this Expedition ;
Circumftances that- do npt In the leali. appear
tp.belpng to the.Hiftory of the Scripture Sefac.
When' Sefac had finlffied his Expedition, the,
facred Hiftprian pbforves, that uponRehoboara's
-f. humbling hjpujelf, the Wrath of God turned,
j'fcm- himi and. alf'Qin.'^\xd^.Things,went.,well,
4?^tRehp.bpam ftrengthened himjelf /», Jerufalem^
SinriS the. Word is ufed in a. raiUtary, Saife to:
fnpte. wa.riike Preparations,, and, the Security.
ofa Country or City by Forces and Fortifications.
f V, 12, 13.
¦/ And

( 54° )
And this muft be the Meahing of It here, for
the Hiftorian adds : * There 'were Wars between
Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually, or as it is
expreffed In -f^ the Kings, all their Days. But
JS It a Thing to be fuppofed, that if the taking'
iii Jerufalem had been but the Beginning of
iS^f's Expedition, and he had gone on con
quering Afia^ that Rehoboam could thus have
ftrengthned himfelf in Jerufalem, or that he and
Jeroboam would have been permitted to have
raifed Forces, ahd carried on a perpetual War
againft one another even- whilft Sefac w^s In
his Expedition, and when thofe Princes knew
that he rauft return back to £gy^^ through their
Country ? Coriqiferors. don't ufe, to allbw fuch a
Power to their conquered Provinces ; npr is it
in the leaft probable that Whilft Sefac was In
Arms, the Jewifi Princes wtiuld have dared to
have taken any fuch Liberties, And this Is the
lefs' probable, that Rehoboam could have thus
&xengthexied'\\wnie\i 'in Jerufalem, or haraffed
-^i?7-oteff? with a perpetual War, if Jeroboam.
had been; what Sir Ijirac Calls hira, the Friend
'"'and Ally oi Sefac. Nodoubt but he would have'
~: tifed his Intereft with- -the- Egyptians to have
"¦' kept Rehoboam in awe,'' and fecured to himfelf
ffie J)eaceable PPffeffiPn of his Kingdom, Re-
f' hobo'arti'\ Son arid ^ncdeHox Abijah was in fo little
Apprehehfion of- the Power of Egypt, and fo
ftitirely free from all G9ntrDul, as that he raifed
ah Army of 40c,PoP'Ment, beat J^ro^^o^OT, took
* V. 15. ¦ ft Kings xiV. 30.- ' X2 Chron, xiii. 3. from

( 541 )
from him many of his Cities and Towns, and
as the Hiftorian fays, waxed mighty, or as the
Word fignifies, ftrengthened himjelf , viz, by de-
preffing his Enemy, and extending his Con*
qucfts ; and all this, upon ^ix Ifaac's Scheme^
whUft Se foftris was yet alive, and in aU his
Glory In Egypt.
It. is raore reraarkable yet, what Is faid of the
firft ten Years of Afa's Reign. .* In his Days
the Land was quiet ten Tears, and he built fenced
Cities in Judah, becaufe the Lord had given hiin
Refit; therefore he faid to Judah, let us build
Cities, and make about them Walls, and Towert^
¦Qates and Bars, whilfi the Land is yet before lit,
i, ,e. whilft, we are free from Enemies, and In
full Poffeffion of our Liberty. And they built and
¦profpered. His Army confifted of 580,000 Men.
If therefore the Land was free before them, they
Vi^ere no tributary Nation or fubjed Province ;
and therefore there was no Egyptian Erapire, with
Sefofiris or Sefac at the Head of it, at this Tirae ;
and yet Sefofiris muft have been now alive ac
cording to the Account that all Hiftorians give
of the Length of his Reign. , -J- Sir 7. Newton
was aware of this Objedion, and therefore In
order to get clear of It, fuppofes that the Land
of Judah did not recover its Liberty till the fifth
oi Afa, when he imagines Ofiris, or Sefofiris
ox Sefac, was flain by his Brother, and Egypt fell
into civil Wars fpr ten Years ; during which
Time Afa fecured his Country by fortifying the
* 2 Chton. xi/. 1, 5, 6, 7, t P- =35- Citle§

( H^ )
Cities of It. -Bwt there is he Appeatanee ¦
Abijah, .^^'^'Btti^eMbrj W&s iti ^ny aWfe ^
Egyft; and the liipred Hifterlih places ^^s f^'ft
ten. Yeatfs as the YearS pf qUiet, Wheh the LMi,
,W3S free before th^m, Afd, fays lie, reigfied%
Msfiead^ inMsDajMhe Landidas-ciuiet Hen T^W;
which, in the^ Cbnnedion in whidh S fti^^,
plainly intimates the fifft ten Years after his- cora
ing to theCrefwn; tbe five firft of which, lipbft'Siir
Ifaac's, Scheme, were during tM Life oiSeJdftfii'.
But I think Sijofkis ¦ xnud have beefi alive lofi^
after eke E'lith oi Afa, if he was the Serip^uffe
Sefac. • Sir Ifoac pkdes the Beglh*iing &iSe^t'l
Reign in the Y^f before Chrift iooS*, artdthfe
Beginning of hiS EdfierM Expedlfioh ki the Yfeat
974 f / raakilig tweWPf' eight Years ffpm -thfe
BeginniEg ofhis Reign to the Begiifiiing 6f fhfe
Expedition. This' lafted nine '^ears,- Whie'h'ad^
ded to thefea-fliea- ^8, makes 37.- Bu^ decb?*-.,
ing to Diodorus, Sefofiris reigned Ift the ¦^hiM.
but 33 Years, <Si|- Ifaac gives- him'' a Relgi^ 6f
45 Yeass, % Jofephus, ^(^ ; Mmetho, as cU^d
by ||;G. Sync€llm, 48. Sir Ifiinc'i m'akiiig 2'8
^ Years fromi ffi'e Beginning 6i Sefac's Meign tti-'th^
Beginning of his Eaftern or IndiaH E?^p'ddi?idML
isf without all Foundation of ProbabUity. 'TH-^^
dorus tells us, that WhUft he was very yburtgy AS
and his Companions were fent by His Fathei*
upon ail Expedition I-ntp Arabiti: Put thi^ at-
18 or 20 Years of Age, ahd fooner 'k is not
* F- 18. t P, 20. X Cont, Apion. 1. i. p. 460.
I) Chren. p. 60. ' ¦» hkely

( 543 )¦
lifcdy that his Father would have entrttfted him
with the Management of fuch an Af^ir, or
ventured all the Flower of the Egyptian Ybutfi-
U'nder his Command, Frora hence to his fac-
eeedlng.hls Father Sir /, makes eight Years, -and
from his coming to the Crown to the Beginning
ofhis Afiatick Ej^dition 28 : Ih all 56 Years.
* And therefore Sir /, upon his own Calculation
muft be miftaken, when he fays, he raight be
aboat 46 Years old when he came out oi Egypt
wiffi a great Army to invade tbe Eaft, unlefs
his Father fent him oa the j^ahian Expedition
at ten Years ei Age. He could riot be much
lefs than I have fixed it. But is it fikely, that
Wefo^ris at this Time of Life would have f^t out
©H the Conqueft of the Woi'ld, when the Heat
ef Youth was quite fubfided, and the Love of
Peace a«d Reft beeora'cs niatoral ? -f- Disdoms
telfe us, that iramediately on the Death of his
Father, being elated- with the Succefs of his
former Exploits, he entertained Thoughts of
conquering the World, and Iramediately ^upon
J his being grown Man, began to prepare for
his Expedition, In order to it he firft divided
the whole Land of Egypt into thirty fix Pro
vinces or Nomi,_ and over each of thefe he plac^
a'^Governor, to take Care of his Revenues, and
* P. 98.
^ TAii la^y^Ti^-^a&iipaii' i^^i.n (MTiaetSrM, ^tuCaMio t0
U%v^m yis.TA^Y^otLSsM:~ L. I. p. 49.
X Av\oy '^' AvSrqa^vlA  y^TiViyfinvAt »£?* tw «r£?«fii-
MSCMi' r£je?e«tc, Jd. ibid. _
-¦" adminifter

(; 544 )
adminlfter the Affairs of it during his Abfehce'^
and did not make this Divifion after his Return,
as Sir/, places It. ; At the fame tirae he, gave
Commlflipns tP others of thofe who. had been
educated with hira to ralfe an Army fuitable to
the Largenefs of his Defign, and made them
Commanders and Captains over his Forces' to
the Number of 1700, and affigned them the
moft fertUe Fields of Egypt for their Support.
Allowing therefore Sefofiris to be thirty Years of
Age, when he fat out on his Expedition, and
that he reigned, according to Sir Ifaac, forty five
Years, this wUl carry us to the twentieth of
Afa. * Sir I. Marfiam, interprets Diodorus,
who fays, he reigned but thirty three Years, , a§
meaning thirty three Years after his Return froni
this Expedition, which wiU bring us to the
eighteenth oi Afa. And this will make Diodorus
his Accounts better agree with that of other Au
thors. But It Is evident that Judea was a free
Country from the Beginning oi Afa' sReign, and
therefore could not be fubjed\to any King of
Egypt ; and that therefore Sofofiris, could not be
the Scripture Sefac, becaufe he muft have been
hoxd oi Judea iox the firft eighteen or twenty
jjjears of Afa's Reign.
In the fourteenth or fifteenth Year of Afa
we read, -f that there came' out againft Judah,
Zera the Ethiopianw'iih an Hoft of i ,006,000 of
Men and 3 00 Chariots. His Army was cbmpofed
oi Ethiopians and LubimSy an Array fuperior- to
* P. 403. f Chron. xiv, 9. xxi. 10.
2 that

( 545 )
that by wh\cK* Sefofiris conquered the World,
which araounted to no more than 620,000,
Recording to the .above Calculation, this alfd
muft have happened in the latter Part of 5'^-
fiftris his Reign. > Zerah is expresfly called an
Ethiopian, 't^Dn, a Cufiite.., Sir 7, Marfham
calls hira, Rex Cufi, Arabia, King of Arabia.
But confidering his Array is faid to confift of
the Lubim or Libyans as well, as of the Cufoiies,
It is moft probable he was properly an Ethiopian
iPrince ; the Ethiopians, Egyptians and Libyans
being contiguous Nations, and having joined
together before this In the Invafion oi Judea
nndex Sefac. -But whether: Ethiopians, ox jfra-
bians, they could not be now fubjed to an E-
gyptian Prince, and therefore there was no E-
gyptian ^.Exs\pixe fubfiftlng at this Tirae. (If
Sir /. Marfiam's Scherae be right, -who raakes
Zerah an Arabian, and Sefofiris to feign thirty
three Years after his return frora his Afiatick
Expedition, this Invafion of Zerah muft have
been in Sejofiris his Life. Nor hath that learn
ed Writer attempted to account for this Diffi-
-ciilty, how an Arabian Prince in the Life of
Sefofiris ffiould raife fo numerous an Army,
when it is certain from Diodorus, that ArabM
was one Part of his Conquefts and Dominion.
Sir /. Newton faw the Difficulty, and hath by
many Suppofitions, vv'Ithout the leaft Intimation
from Hiftory, and with an acknowledged Suf
picion of the Truth of them, endeavoured to
N n folve

( 546 )
folve It. I feem to gather, fays ffie *, thc^ Ofiris
{or Sefoftiis or^Sefac) was fia'iii in the fif th Tear
of Afa, and thereupon Egypt fell into Civil Waris^
being-invaded by the L^yans^ofjd defefided bythe
Ethiopians./flr<7 Time ; andaft4r ten Tearsmore
being invaded by the Ethiopians, who fiew' Oritje
the Son o/" Ofiris and feized his Kingdom. ' Then
the Ethiopians became free, and Lords fl/'EgyjA
under Zera. Suppofitions will do great Things,
and form excellent Schemes. But the death oF
Ofiris or Sefofiris by his Brother, and juft at
this Inftaht, to folve what would otherwife ap*-
pear a very great Objedion, the Civil Wars of
Egypt, the Ethiopians defending It, and then
prefently conquering It, and the Death of Se
fofiris his Son, are meer HypOth«fes, that have
flp Claim to hiftorical Teftimony. Herodotus
and Diodorus make no Mention of thc Murtber
of Sefofir^'^hy his Brother, nor of the Civil
Wars that enfued under his Son and Succeflor,
nor of his being drowned by the Ethiopians, n,or
of their defending and invading Egypt. Ma
netho as cited by Syncellus -f*, makes the Pofte
rity of SeJ'ofiris to have fucceeded him to the
Number of Forty Three, and to have reigned
253 Years. I think therefore a Scheme that
needs fo many ungrouhded Suppofitions to re-
eoncHe and ftipport it, can carry but litde
Credit and Authority with it. li Sefac was not
the great Sefofiris, and there was no Egyptian
' * Chron. p. 236. -f Chron, p, 69, Empire .

{ 547 )
Empire at this Time, comprehending Eihopia,
Arabia, and Afia, Zera's Invafion may be eafily
accounted for. "The Egyptians had feveral £-
ihiopian Princes, and if Zerah was properly an
Ethiopian, he might be at this Time King of
Egypt ; for his Way from Ethiopia lay through
Egypt ; and the Ftiftory tells us he came to
f}darefia, and that Afii beat him there, and
perfued him to Gerar, z. City between E|[y//
and Judea. But it Is poffible after all, that
Zerah might be, though an Ethiopian, only the
General of the Scripture Sefofi, fent by him to
reduce the Jews to their former Obedience,
who foon after Sefac's return to E^pt had ffioolc
off their Dependence, and had grown profperous
and rich under Afii ; reafon enough to tbe E-
gypiian fox invading them, as the Riches left by
Solomon feem to .have been the principal Motive^
ofhis former Expedition agmAJerufaJem.
S'lx I. Newton doth not feem to me quite con
fiftent in his Account of the Ethiopians. For
in * one Place he tells us, that Sefofiris invaded
Ethiopia and conquered it ; and yet a little aftejr
he tells us -f*, that the Thebans and Ethiopians,
in the Days o/" Samuel, David, Soloraon, and
Rehoboam conquered Egypt, and the Nations
round' about, and erected a great Empire. He
makes S£fojflris conteraporary 'with Rehoboam,
and to have ereded a great .Era^Ire In his Reign ;
and If the Ethiopians then alfo conquered Egypt,
and ereded a great Empire too, then the Ethi-
* p, 214. ' + p- 226,
N n 2 opians

( 548 )
opians muft have conquered Egypt at the iaxjit
Time that Sefofiris conquered the Ethiopianslthe
.great Empire of both being contemporary, and
each Lords pf, and fubjed tP the others. But
befides this Empire of Sefofiris, it doth not ap
pear, that there was ever any great Egyptian or
Ethiopian Empire raifed, and how long this con
tinued Is uncertain. Sir ^aac puts an End to
the Egyptian Empire In the Death of Sefofiris
hlmfe|lf, after which he fays *, E^pt fell into
Civil Wars and was invaded by ihe Libyans ; and
that ten Tears after the Ethiopians became Lords
c/Egypt, under Zerah, and that his Son -f Ame-
nophis or Memnon reigned over all Egypt, built
a Palace at Abidus, and ihe Meranonia at Sufa
in Perfia ; and that his Son Ramfes or RamefJes
had an Army oj y 00,000 Men, and reigned over
Lybia, Ethiopia, Media, Perfia, Badria, Scy-
thia, Armenia, Cappadocia, Bythlnia and Syria,
who was a very long lived King ; thus making
the Egyptian Erapire under Sejofiris to be con
tinued hy the Ethiopians under Zerah and A-
menophis his Son. With Sir I, N. agrees Sir
John Marfiam %, In the Extent and Continu
ance of this Erapire ; but differs with him as
to the Order and Original of the Princes ; tell
ing us from Manetho, that Sefofiris was fuc
ceeded by his eldeft Son Rhampfos, who reigned
fixty fix Years, who held tributary aU his Fa
ther's Conquefts ; and that j| after him fucceeded
Amenophis or Memnon, who alfo reigned a long
* P. 236. f p. 247, 2^8, X P- 416- II p- 42-3-
Courfe

( 549 )
Courfe of ¦ Years, went to Sufa In Perfia, re
duced the BaSirians, and triumphed over Afia
when he had fettled it, and thus re-eftabllffied
the Empire of Sefofiris. But both thefe learned
Men muft certainly be miftaken as to the
Time of thefe Princes and their Empire. For
thiswUl carry us through the Reigns of y^y6o-
fophat, Jehoram, Ahaziah, and Joafi Kings of
Judah. But during the Time of all thefe
Princes, though we read of the Invafions of
the Amorites, Moabites, Philifiines, Arabians,
Syrians, and others, yet we have not one Word
of any Egyptian Expedition into Judcea and
Phenicia, though the Kings of £^^/ rauft have
paffed through It In their Way to j^a, and
can never be fuppofed to have been the Con
querors oiAfia, and at the farae Time not Lords
oi Judea, without being Mafters of which they
could neither have conquered, nor kept Afia in
Subjedion. The Hiftory and Circuraftances of
thefe Times moft certainly render the Suppo
fition of any fuch Egyptian or Ethiopian Empire
abfolutely incredible. Sefofiris is fuppofed by
Sir Ifaac to be killed in the Fifth oiAfa; reckon
the Reraainder of Agfa's Reign, thirty fix Years,
and Jehofaphat's twenty five, in all fixty one ;
which both together 'wiU not araount to
the length of Ramefies ftngle Reign, whofe
Empire extended over all Afuz. And yet during
Jehojaphat's Reign we are exprefly told, that
^ he placed Forces in all ihe fenced Cities, and fet
* Chron. xvii. 2, lo, ii, 12, 14. &c,
N n 3 Garrifons

^ 550 )
Garrifons in the Laiid of ]ndah, and in the Cities
oj Ephraim ; and the Fear oj the Lord felt upon
all ihe Kingdoms of the Lands that were round
about Judah, fo that they made no War' againfi
Jehofaphat. He built Caftles and Cities of Store.
The Philifiines and Arabians were tributary to
to him. His Soldiers, that waited on hum were
960,000 Men, befides thofe who wereia Gar
rifon. Can there be more evident Marks of a
free Kingdom ; or can thefe CIrcumftances be
confiftent with their being tributary to the .E-
gyptianEmp'ixe .? The feveral Invafions of tlie
j4inmoniies, Moabites, Philifiines, and Idumeans,
all of theni States bordering upon Egypt, ffiew
ffiey ws.xe now independent, and had no Su
perior to controul them. The Syrian Kingdom
was ndw arifen to a great Height, Afa '* was
in league with Benhadad, who fent his Captains
and took and deftroyed feveral of the Cities of
the Kingdom of Ifrael. In the -f- Reign oi Je
hofaphat, Benhadad had thirty two Kings In hig
Camp, that 'vyere his Tributaries, and in, his
i^trmy above 127,000 Men, and his Meffage
fo Ahab looks Uke that of,, a Sovereign Prince,
who had no Superiour to controul him : 'Thy
Silver and thy Gold is mine ; thy Wives alfo and
thy Children, even ihe -gqodliefi are mjne. Nay
if Demonftration and exprefs Teftimony be de
manded, Jo prove that there was no Egyptian
Empire at this Time in Afia, It may certainly
be found : For during the "Kexgn oi Benhadad,
* 2 Chron. xvi, z, &c, ¦[ i Kings, xx. i. 2, 3,
who

( 551 )
who was Contemporary with Afa and Jehofa
phat, and with the Iraraediate Son and Succeffor
oi Sefofiris, aS Sir John' Marfiam fuppofes, or
with Amenophis or Memnon according to Sir Ifijacj,
we have this reraarkable Paffage ; That the
Syrians befieging Samaria, raifed the Siege,
'upon a Suppofition that the King oi Ifrael had
hked the Kings of the Hittites and the Rings of
the Egyptians to'come out againft thera : * They
faid one to another, Lo, the King of 'Lfxael hath
'hired againfi us the Kings of the Hittites, <.^nd
the Kings of the Egyptians to come upon uii faA
'Demonftration, if there can be one. In an Af-
faii'of this Nature, that the Ifraelites, Hittites
-and Syrians wfere all at this.,>TIme Independent
on E.gypt, and that the Syrians looked on the
'Egyptians, net as' Lords of the Ifoaelites, but as
their AuxUiaries only, and hired with Mbney
to their Affifiance."
It is, I think, pbin frora thefe Obfervations,
and many other Arguments ffiat I intend to
mention elfewhere, that there was no great E-
gyptian or Ethiopian Erapire, that arofo about
Solomon's Reign, and continued under Sefac and
his Succeffiors, and that made all Afia tributary^
to it. And it Is worthy our Obfervation, that
after this Invafion of the J:ews by Sefac, in
the fifth Year of Rehoboam, we read nothing
more of the Egyptians in the Sacred* Hiftory, as,
having any the' leaft Concern w'lth Judea, till the
-Time oiJofiahfitv^xA, Ages after ; though we
* 2 Kings vii. 6.
N, n 4 are

( 551 )
are Informed of, many other Invafions frora all
the neighbouringCountries and Kingdoms around
it ; and though the Egyptians muft have fre
quently paffed .through it, as their readleft Way
to. their Afiatick Conquefts, and though Tacitus
tells, us, from the Infcription of the ancient
Theban ObeUfk, that the Syrian^ were amoiigft
their conquered Nations ; a Circumftano^-*t-
felf fufficlent to deftroy this Imagination of any
great Egyptian or •'Ethiopian Erapire, during
this Interval. And Indeed the whole Hiftory
oif''the Kings of Judah and Ifiael, and the
neighbouring Nations contiguous to Egypt, as
delivered by the Sacred Hiftorian, will I think
make the Suppofition incredible- to any -i careful
and Impartial Reader.', _ . -:, fe--- .'.^'r-i-f "
; But there is one Obfervation I cannot help
making frora the whole,. That Sejofiris was a
great and fucccfsful Warrior, and conquered y^^^
and that his Succeffor Ramefies fucceeded to his
Power and Erapire, cannot be weft doubted,
¦There is the concurrent Teftiraony of all an
tiquity as to Sefofiris, and Herodotus faw forae
of the very PUlars he ereded to perpetuate his
Fame and VIdories, And as to Ramefies *, upon
an Obellflc ereded by this King in Heliopolis,
and fent tP Rome by the Empexox ^Confiantius,
were feveral Infcrlptlons, interpreted hy .Her-
mapion an Egyptian Prieft, fignifying his being
Lord of the whole Earth, and King oi Egypt,
and that the Gods had given him a long Life.
* Ainnjian. Mar. 1, 17. c. 4; .^-.^ ;S>
Strabo

( 553 )
Strabo * himfelf faw above the Memnonium at
Thebes in the Royal Sepulchres,, Infcrlptlons, up
on certain Obeliflcs, expreffipg the Riches of
ffieir former Princes, and ffiat ffieir Dominions
extended to the Scythians and BaSirians and In
dians and lonians. Tacitus .¦f aSxsxes us, that
when Qefar Germanicus vlfited the Ruins of
Thebes, he faw an.Jtpfcriptionj in the Egyptian
Letters on an Obehfk, which being interpreted
by one of the Egyptian Priefts fignified,. that
King- Rhamfis had an Army of 700,000 Men,
that he reigned over Libya, Ethiop{a, the Medes
axidPerfians, the BaSirians and Scythians, the' Sy^-
rians, Armenians ax^Cappadoeians, the By thinians
and Lycians. Thefe ^nfcriptions on -the'Obelifks
may pafs for fufficient Proof pf the. Extent of
the ancient Egyptian Empire j and the Mem
nonium, at Sufa in Perfia, faid to be buU|:'
by Tithonus, Memnon' s Father, or the Royal
Palace there bearing M'ww/i's Name raentioned
by + Herodotus^ || Diodorus, and ^,Sirabo, raay
* Twsf J'i TH MsfjtcarftK ^wjj^j fiAai?\iav——iy /s tsk buK^it
tm way oSihiaxjay AyAy£^(fAi thhuaai mv 'srAsTiy ray ron $Aai-
Mav, jg TW £OTKf5t7««f «i I'.iX^ 2«u3i»i' )^j 'EAKJeJtay ^ hJ^v
fi^ TV! vvy luviAi Ji^avfUAV, ^ iposay ^Kn^Q- xj T^fftcui ^fei
iv^tv IwetAJki. Lib, i,'7; p. 1171.
¦f -Mox vifit veterum Thebarum magna veftfgia, et manebant
{IrufVis molibus Literse .^gyptise, priorem opulentiam complexs ;
jaffufque e fenioribus Sacerdotum patrium Sewnonem interpretari,
referebat habitafle quondam feptuaginta millia aetate militari, atque
eo ,cum exercitu r^em Rhamfen Libya, ^Ethiopia, Medifque
et Perfis et Badlriano ac Scytha potitum, quafque terras, Surj,
Armeniique et contigui Cappadoces colunt, inde Bithynum hinc
Lycium ad mare imperio tenuiffe. Annal. I. z. cap. 60.
X Lib. 5. c. 53. 11 Lib. i. p, 109. § Lib, ij. p. lojS.
be

/( 554 )
be looked on as a ieroditrmation cif it. And from
hence I would infer, that if this ^ent Egyptit^
Empire is not to be found in any of the Tiiries
after Sefac, and is inconfift<ent with the known
Circumftances of them j it muft be looked for
and placed in fSTme Period preeedir^ ,S^<f'S
Reign, where aU ancient Writers have f^aCed
it;' and where- ^lone I thmk it is poffiBfe to
find it. ' '* ^ , -j
I had almoft forgot to take notice of an Ar
gument urged by Sir ^a^" 'out of ScripttJF^, to
prove Sefofiris to be, th© Scripture Sefac. Sefac
and Sefofiris, fays he, * agree mi only in the Time,
but alfo in their ASfionsy and Conquefis. God gives
Sefac min«ri' no'^DQ the kingdoms of the- Lands;
and in andthei* Placer He went on conquering,
firfi- Eaflwafd tozmrdf Jndiaf,'-' tj^ich he invatkd,
and- then Wefiwdrd as far dr Thrace; for God
had given him the Kingdoms of the Courtif let ;
^btingin both Places 2 Chron. xii, and in the
laft Place, the Werfos 2, 3,. 8. I wa^ much
difappointed when I came to fearch for this
Vemarkable Hffage In the Chronicles, lyhich
-would have been, gready to hisPUrpofe, becaufe
I could not find it; the Pfece he refers to at
Ver. 8th, being quite of another Nature, with
out the leaft Intiraation of the Proof for which
he produces it. The Words are : Neverthelefs
ih^. fhall be his, Sefac's Servants., that they^rnay
[know my Service, and the Service mVIKii nO^::,2
*f-'6S.. fp. 2,., 7. ... ;.... i'l of

( 555 )
of the Kingdoms of the Countries. Jofephus * hath -
given the, true Interpretation of this Pkf%e :
God, fays he-, told the Jews by the Prophet,
that they ffiould become fubjed to the B^p-
tians, that they might learn, which was the
more eafy, to ferve God or Man ;. or that they
might underftand the Difference between, being
theSubjeds of God, and Vaffals to ffie King
doras of the Countries roUnd them. How
it can be inferired from hence, that God gave
Sefac thefe Kingdoms of the' Countries, is be
yond my Comprehenfion. ' ' If during the Reign
oi Sefac ^ Judea was in fubjedioa to him, he
certainly very- badly proteded it, aftd gave it
Liberties, which Conquerors feldom care tP do ;
allowing the Princes of *hat Country, which
bordered oi;i his Own, tp bring into the Field at
once 1,200,000 Men, which joined ^together
would have been fufficient for the Conqueft of
¦a\\ Egypt. Befiijes, the Sacred Hlftoriin takes
notice -f-, that Ifrael, i. e. the Kingdom, of .^
rael under Jeroboam, as diftlnguiffied from the
Kingdom of Rehoboam^ vvas for a limg Seafdn
without the true God^ and. without a teaching
Priefi., and without the ,Law. And in thofe
Times, there was no Peace io him that went out^
nor to him that came in, i. e. no fafety in tra
velling, but great Vexations were upon alftheln-
heibitants of tbe Countries; or great Difturoances
* iloinmiv MiVToiyi TOI! Aiyiii^ioii'v;Fax6iei>if, iva ym^ai "m-
Ti£$v Aiv&g.aTm i'uHvm ew ctTrwaJ-sepc ^ &sa. Antiij. 1. 8.
c. \o. §. 3.
f i Chron. xv. 3, ;, 6.
/TT^ and

( 5.56 )
and Commotions amongft all the Inhabitants of
thofe two Kingdoms; and Nation was defiroyed
qf Nation, ana City -of City, becaufe God did veic
them:, with great Adverfity ; relating to the per
petual Wars between this novv divided People,
the frequent Plunders of their Cities, as either
Nation prevailed, and the mutual Slaughters of
their Inhabitants ; Circumftances ' that are the
fti^pngeft Proof of their intire Freedom from the
Controul of Egypt, and of the full Liberty of
their Princes to ad as they pleafed without any
interruption, and vvhlch therefore I apprehend
deftroy the Notion of Sefac's, being the Con
queror and Lo£d oi Afia, or the fame with »SV-
fofiris the real Conqueror of the Eafiern World.
And from hencq it appears how groundlefs the
PhUofopher's Affertion is, that after the great
Egyptian Empire, whic^ arofe about Solomon's
Time, the E^pixans fpread and propagated Su-
perfi'ition to all their conquered Nations. The
Philpfppher was Incapable of offe^Iiig any Proof
of the Fad, and therefore contented himfelf
¦with a mere dogmatical Affertion of It,
SECT. XV:
SuPERSTiTioKTof Z//5?y Invention and
Original.
Lthough the moral PhUofopher ferved
many Years of his Life in the Office
and Capacity of a Priefi, and received by im
pofition of Hands the indelible CharaSler, yet
after he had truly defecrated himfelf, and taken
the Name of a Philofopher, he immediately fet
himfelf

( 557 )
himfelf to vilify the whole Priefthood in general,
ancient and Modern ; and without Manneirs and
Compaffion reprefents them under all the odious
Charaders that his Invention and Malice could
fuggeft. I have ever Imagined that the flander-
ing whole Bodies of Men, and imputing to all
in general the Crimes with which fome, or
many of them may be chargeable, is a very ini
quitous Condud, and Inconfiftent with all Prin
ciples of MoraUty, and comraon Honefty.
The Priefts and Clergy have been many of
them bad. But have the Laity as a Body been
lefs criminal ? If the Prophets have prophefied
falfiy, and the Priefis have born Rule by their
Means, hath not the People loved to have itfo ?
Have not their Stupidity and Vices been the
very Rife of the exorbitant Power and extra
vagant Claims of the Hierarchy ? Have not
Impieties and Imraoralitles of all kinds been
pradiced, at leaft with as much Freedom, by
'the Former as the Latter .?
Amongft other Caufes of the Corruptions df
Mankind, it is allowed that Superfiition hath
been one, and no inconfiderable one. But hath
this been wholly owing to Prieficrafi, hath there
been nothing oi Lay Subiiliy and Fraud in theln-
'ventlon and Introdudion of It .? The Man knows
nothing of Hiftory and huraan Nature that wUl
affert this, and the Records of all Nations and
Ages are a Demonftration of the contrary.
Egypt was famous for her Improvements in this
Science, and carried it to the greateft Heighth ;
and

( 5S8 )
and our Philofoipher with his wfual Modefty
roundly afferts, that Jofeph* j ¦* invefting the
priefts with a vafi Property in Lands, independent
oj the Crown, gave them an O^ortunity and Po^acf
to work up the PSple into the highefi and' grofiefi
Degrees of Superftition, and that keeping their na
tural Experiments, their Chimifiry, iloeir natural
Magick, and ocailt experimental Philofophy as deep
Secrets and Sacred Myfieries to ihertifelves, they
made it all pafs with the ignorant enfiaved Vulgar,
for Miracles, Revelation, Prophecy, aBdimmediate
divpne Power ; and thus Egypt became ihe Mother
and Nurje of Super jiition ; hereby imputing all
the Superftitions oi Egypt to the Craft and Con
trivance of the Priefts. But aU this is philofo
phical Invention and Guefs, contrary to Hiftory
and Fad; and it will be certainly found, that the
Egyptian Superftitions have the Honour, moft of
them, oi Lay Original, and that whatever Im
provements the Priefts made in them, it was
upon the Foundation and Plan that the Laity
had kindly and generoufly prepared for them.
Tlie .Egyptian Idolatry may be divided into
three Parts, the Worffiip of the heavenly Bodies,
of dead Men, and of their facred Beafts. The
Worffiip of the heavenly Bodies was unquefti
onably the moft ancient, and topk Flace even
before the Inftitution of any feparate and diftin^*
Prieflhood whatfoever ; and had its Rife, not
from any facerdotal Contrivance and Craft, but
firom an filmoft univerfal OpiniPn that obtained
* V. III., p. 21.12.
3 amongift

( 559 )
amongft Mankind, in favoui: of,- their dmne
Itewers and Influences. Natural > and eafy as
ffie 'Belief of one eternal and invifible, all-perfed
and all-dlfpofing Mind may feem, to Men who
have been cultivated by Education, true Phi
lofophy, and divine Revelation, yet I fee no
Reafon to believe that the Bulk of Mankind
would eafily faU into fuch a rational and fub
lime Sentiment of Deity, without thefe Ad
vantages, They are moftly affeded and ftruck
by fenfible Objeds, and naturally fall into an
Admiration of thofe Things which appear moft
wonderful and glorious in the material Syftem.
Hence, as Eufebius * obferves," beholding with
their bodUy Eyes the Lights of Heaven, they
were feized with Admiration, proclaimed them
Gods, looked on them as the Authors -and
Caufes of the Qeneralion and Corruption of alJ
Things, and honoured them with Adoratidn
and Sacrifices., The Phenicians ..and Egyptians
were amongft the earlieft and firft of Mankind,
who fell into ffiis Error and Superftition, which
aifterwards fpread itfelf throughout almoft aU
Nations of the Earth. And this was the moft
natiural andisbvious Kind of Idolatry that could
obtain amongfi Mankind, and Into which they
fell by an univerfal Approbation and Confent.
Thefe were the Gods of the moft ancient Greeks,
' * 0< JA Koiini im -mi&iUifW "mah (tavu ^ a^'vi Aim-m-
c^K ivnCmAi, 7a (gve<fB£cit tuv »£aviay, Qapmi ^^K{mk, om
mmi TAi 4"^^' yji.'mWf^ix^T^t 3*« 'n AMe^mv, >^ ^biak ly
iB^KUviiiTioiv iYi(y.iefv. l^e Praep. Evan. p. 17. Mow 7?
UVAt TAi Tav oKay YiVitnai 7? ;!^-?3p©tf at[i*i'. Id. ibid.

as

( 56o )
as weU as Barbarians, as Plato -f* exprefly affirms,.
and the only Gpds they originaUy worffiipped.
And the Worffilp they at firft paid them was
plain and fimple, fuch as needed no Intervention
or Mediation of Priefts, they * built no Temples
in honour of them, they- made no Statues and
Images of them that had any Refemblance of
mortal Beings ; but when they beheld them,
contented themfelves either with the inward
Veneration of them, or with fome plain and
eafy Adion expreffive of that internal Homage
they paid them. When. they .J beheld the Sun
fiining in iis Glory, and ihe Moon walking in
her Brightnefi, their Hearts were fecretly inticed,
and -their Mouth kiffed their Hand in token of
Adoration. In thefe earlier Times there feems to have
been no diftind Order of Priefts, either amongft.
the Worfhippers of the true God, or many, of
thofe who adored the Hoft of Heaven as Gods.
The Heads of Families were Priefts in their
own Houfes, and offered their Sacrifice with
their own Hands. ]oh janSlified his Children
and offered Burnt-Offerings for them according to
their Number. The Hebrew Patriarchs aded
in the fame manner, and the Kipg of Salem vf as
¦f liAtvovloj (Ml 01 iragojTB/ Ttav Av^fa-mov Tav ilai tuv EAXa/et
Tit]isi (MVH! ^is( nyetSiAi, uffynp vvy ticWoi tuv ^a^Ca^ot,,. tiKiov
3^ iriKww K^fynv >^ as-gjs x^ vpavov. Cratyl. p. 397.
* Ov vi»i </W/w*/nsyoi, uJ' Afii'^vprnrt i^ !^oavoi! &yii}ay
BMVAi vr^Aottiiiyoi,. <B^{ euSn^ef Ji Xj isuTiy vg^vov avoCasiiw-
'Tifj ^ t^^X^ T^" ^i>'^i osaiMtar TAU 4^^'! tpKHsi^ivot.
Eufeb. p. 17.
J Job xxxi, 26. zj , i, ,
2 Prieft

jRrjeft alfo of the moft high God j and the flrfl
Worffiip that was, paid to the heavenly Bodies
feems to have been principally a Kind of Inward
Veneration, expreffed by kiffing their Hand in
Honour of them, and Sacrifices to have been
offered only on fome very folemn and fpecial
Occafions. The Egyptians and Phenicians ap
pear to have been the firft who enlarged and
altered this original Worffiip, and to have con
ftituted a diftind and feparate Order of Priefts
to perform their Sacred Rites and Ceremonies.
And this they did, as hath been ffiewn, from the
earlieft Times of their Conftitution and Govern
ment. So that there are no Appearances of
Priefteraft In this original Superfiition; which
took its Rife from the natural Weaknefs of
human Minds, confining their Contemplations
to material and vifible Objeds ; and from the
conftant Effeds which they faw, or imagined
tp be produced by the Influence of the Sun and
Moon and Stars ; eafily perfuading themfelves
that the Caufes of them muft be real Deities,
and aS fuch prefide over the World, and manage
all things by their perpetual Influences and
Power. The Origin of the Priefthood, as a diftind
Order, fet apart from others to be folely em
ployed in the Ceremonies of Religion amongft
¦the Heathens, arofe I doubt not from the Dei
fication of dead Men, and the Superftltiohs ap
pointed in Honour of them. There was fo
natural'a Prepofli;ffipn in Favour of the heavenly
O o Luminaries,

( 561 )
Luminaries, as that there needed no Art to keep
up any Reverence for theni, * and the Regi*-
larity and Gonftancy of their Motions, and thfe
perpetual Benefits they were imagined to be the
great Caufes of, were fufficient to fecure the
high Veneration paid ffiem. But the Worffiip
of dead Men was a Superftition not quite fo
natural, and that needed more Art to pro
pagate and eftabUffi. In order to this, thefe
two Methods were early invented j the one,
the tranflating the Souls of dead Men into fome
of the heavenly Bodies, raaking them prefide
oVer particular deified Powers of Nature, and
giving them the fame Name with the Stars
into which they tranfplanted them, and the
Elements and Powers of Nature over which
ichey placed them, or -f- giving the Names of
their Kings to them ; that thus the Worfhip
paid to the one might alfo affed the other, and
he perpetuated along with it. Thus :|; Diodorus :
• nft>7oi' )«f 0/ af3«/o/ 3'ivs v»tKA(j£AVoveiVAi, «* ivefV aJ\i»r-
/•Iw ^tef/jf/}ii!'»tmi, Avjvf fofuaAVTK eivAi Tm th qtey©- (/e«-
jSohay, ^ rm aalnexAi twf thny. Phurnut. de Nat. Deor, c. i.
p. 1 41. Edit, Amftel.
t EgeiifETOif S't-K^ TO a«a ittv fffiTifW fiiwiKmy rou Kovfu-
*tii S5X«"*' ^ '"<" 'W vofu^onivw ^a» TAi ovofmetAi vr&^m,!/
fuaimi- Cyril, cont. Julian, p. 205. Edit. Span.
• t T« /fe r^av (XBfH <inv1i t* >irepeip»i/,'gvA, to rt <myiV(M, Xf
ro <mii, Xj TO fagjc, stj ^t ro vyg^v. Xj to nK&IlAKv to asfi-
.J'li —— Tilluy J*' *«jtsoi» ^07 voiiimi, j^ isio<r»'>taiA¥ iIi«M
'tll3.?ti StIVAi —,  TO f/teP tSV ItKVfiA AlA ©-JOOKJCf £l/oa/ -•— TO
A «vp (AtSs^t^iuof^SfJov HipaisBi' ovo^asai  T«r/s <ji«i * — ^
,/*«TS0! 'B^cAyi^iva'Ai', ^ nt EAADVd; </*£ Taxnviy i^^g^Kiiat»t
A«*ti)7gjt Kdhav  TO J' vyesv eVB(*AffAt f^iyvai tu! ¦ynha.nt
Kitwtcof  Toy Jl' Aiggt isr^offAyi^tvirAt ipAffiv A^vav — Ahhii
•<r SX rilay emywaf j«vg^< zAsn — — vvAi i/,sf ofiowfiKS vjaf
XHf TOli H£ff.yioii. Diodor. 1. i, p. ii, 12,
Some

( S63 )
Some of thefe mortal Men obtained the fame
Name with the heavenly Gods. Sol was the
Name of one of the Egyptian Kings, fb called
from the Sun, and Vulcan another of them was
the Element of Fire, Ceres the Earth, Minerva
the Air, and . the fame might be ffiewn of al
moft all the other deified Perfons worffiiped by
the Nations. But tfiat which was the moft
effedual Method of fupporting this Worffiip,
ordered to be given to dead Men, and of per
petuating their Claims of Divinity, was the
eredlng magnificent Sepulchres and Temples
in Honour of them, appointing Perfons whofe
Office it ffiould peculiarly be, to prefide over
and perform the facred Ceremonies prefcribed
in their Adoration, and making it their Intereft,
by large Endowments and Emoluments, to
piaintain the Dignity and Credit of them.
This was a, fure Way to immortalize them, and
to tranfmit their Worffiip to the lateft Pofterity.
And of all thefe EvUs we ffiall iindLay Impiety y
Pride and Superftition to have been the true
Sources. We have feen already, that Ham and his
Pofterity affumed the Name oi Elohim ox Gods.
Ofiris * his Son deified him after his Death,
* IJ^fVffASat J*e lO<Tiety] ^ itefV rav yivioy A/®- n H0!#
fO^lokoyiV Ta Ti (M'yifet, 1. f/S)4-3-s<» ^ t» Koitta <soKvn'SuA, )^
lAt! 5^j(;ff-tf5 ePwo A«®-, TW (it.ey uai^ovA th ng^vu, rov /e
tiMrlovA TH ^iCAffiKiVKo'JQ-, 1^ W/p©- Aviay, 1. au% oy mit
A(iiAavA KAhHirf KetlaffKiUAirAi j*i 1^ ray Al^uy ^iuv rav ttefst-
Sm/jffav VAH! p^^vo-k;, ay |%ets» Tiyi.A( ATroyei(Ji.Ai, ^ mtloKtlfttt
T« futiK^vfi^iit liieit. W- it)'<J- P- i4'
O o 2 built

( 564 ) . . ,„
buUt Temples and m^de golden Shrines in ho-|r
hour of him, appointed the religious Ceremb-.
nies with which he was to be worffilpped, anc]|
appointed Priefts, whofe Care and Bufinefs it
ffiould be to perform them ; and when Ofiris
was dead, * Ifis his Quacn confecrated him
in his turn, and gave the Priefts the third Part '
of the Lands of Egypt to maintain and. propagate
the Superftitions decreed him. Thoth or Mer-'
cury his Secretary invented many rayfterious
Rights that were to be obferved In his Worffiip,
to render it the more folemn and venerable.
Menes \ their firft King after the Gods, is faid
to have taught the People the Worffiip of thofe
Gods, and to perform Sacrifices to them. Bu-
firis and his Succeffors built fumptuous Temples,
and magnificently adorned them. Sefofiris \
enriched them with the SpoUs of his VIdories,
and in all the Cities oi Egypt built a Temple to
that God, which the Inhabitants of each par,-
tlcularly worffiipped. Hero Gods, Worfhip,
Temples and Priefts, are all of Lay Original
and Propagation araongft the Egyptians, and
could not in the Nature of the Thing have
been introduced or eftabliffied but by the Civil
Authority. The Pride of Princes, who were
the Founders of Kingdoms, grafted upon the
Refped of the People, to whom they had been
Benefadors, was the true Original of thefe Im-
* Id.-^ibid, p,,i8. tP-42-
% Aro ¦&s«c Ap^A(jiiv@-, axaJbtMiinv iv wAtrAH tah k«t*
Ai-yjifjov 7nKi7iv li^oy ^its th (jlaM^ creej' «x«sb/j riftu^ivv. Id,
ibid. p. 50,
^ pieties ;

( 565, ) .
pieties ; whilft the Priefts were only Introduced
as Auxiliaries to fupport what the other began,
and carry on the Superftitlons they invented.
With this Deification of dead Men came in
all the more ftupid Worffilp paid to Pidures,
Images and Idols. The heavenly Bodies and
Elements of Nature could not be reprefented
by any particular Forms, and needed no fuch Re-
prefentations, being ever to be perceived by the
bodily Senfes. But the Portraits of dead Men
were capable of being drawn, and * the repre
fenting them by Pidures and Iraages was a natural
Method of keeping up the Reraerabrance of
thqm, when they therafelves could be no longer
vifible to the bodily Eye. Hence Pidures and
Iraages were introduced into their Temples,
Offerings made to them, and Adoration paid
before them, as -f- Symbols and Reprefentatives
of the Gods themfelves, and In which certain
divine Powers were fuppofed to be perpetuaUy
J refident, by the Indwelling or Influences pf
thofe whom they were made to reprefent. But
• Deinde ipfi reges, cum chari fuiflent iis, quorum vitam
compofuerant, magnum fui defiderium reliquerunt. Itaque ho
mines eorum fimulachra finxerunt, ut haberent aliquod ex ima-
gintim contemplatione folatium ; progreffique longius per amo-
rem mariti, memoriam defunftorum colere ceperunt, ut et gra
tiam referre bene mecitis viderentur, et fuccelTores eorubi alli-
cerent ad bene imperandi cupiditatem, Laftan, de ial. Relig,
Lib, 1, c, 15. \ fl
f AyAh[MJA ytti ^ ^afjesi i^ TWf©- enrfsrK (fuKAKW, x, OTtrJa
AltKW! 7a TOIAVTA, l!Vy£oKA 01 ¦TrATipii l^iV^O TSli TIA^HSlAi TaV
l^iay. Julian, p. 293. , ,¦ • • r .
J Eos in his colimus, eofque veneramur, quos dedicatio infert
facra et fabrilibus efficit inhabitare fimulachrif. ' Arnob, 1- 6.
p. 203, Edit. Lug. Bat. , ,
^ O o 3 • this

( 566 )
this exqulfite Contrivarfce was alfo of Lay Ori
ginal. Various * Writers afcribe the firfi Ori
ginal of them to different Perfons, Some to
Telchines the Rhodian, fome to the Tufc&nsf
others to Cadmus.^ others to Armodius and Arif-
togiton, and others to the Kings and Princes
, of Egypt. Diodorus tells us -f-, that Ofir-it
introduced thefe Images of his deified Gods into
Egypt. Thoth J or Mercury drbw the Images
oi Saturn, Dagon, and the reft of the Gods,
and invented the fymbollcal Reprefentatlons of
them. Jl In procefs of Time, an ungodly Cuftorh,
grown firong, was kept as a Law^ and graven
Images were worfiipped by the Oofnmandmertts of
Kings. They owe their original, pardy to the
Pride of Princes, to perpetuate themfelves, and
the Honours they were fond of whilft living
and after Death, partly to the Flattery of Cour*
tiers, partly to Affedion and Gratitude, and
partly to Slate Policy, that by thefe Monuments
others might be encouraged and excited to pub-
lick Ufefulnefs and Merit, and to keep § the
People in awe by an imaginary Prefence of the
Gods with them. Vea
* Gyrald. Syn. p. 476, f L. i, p, 14.
ttlef A ruTtav tt©- tAAv^@^ (umoAftny®- m Ovg^Wi
tmv &iav t-Jfett, 'Rgpn; Tt J^ Aiiyw®- 3^ Wj* Koi-nw J)^-ni7mnP
rm nw ray SB/%«»c .;\«£5txwe5tf . Sanchon, apud Eufeb. Prsp.
E. p- 39-
I Wifd. of Sol, xiv, 16,
4 Melius Grseci atque noftri, qdi utaugererit pietatem in Deos;
eadem illos, qua nos, urbes incolere voluerunt. Affert enim
hsc opinio religionem utilem civitatibus, Cicer. de Leg. lib. '2.
Cv u . AojtBoj ^ fui Xj 01 yoiM^ta, #&twsp mt -miM ti'^Mi,

(56?)
Yea, the very meaneft and vUeft of thc
Egyptian Superftitions^ their Worffiip of their
Beafts, appears to have been the Appointment
of Lay Wifoom, and the Reafons of thofe Ap*
pointmentijire yet preferved, not much to the
Credit of thofe who ordained them. One Rea
fon affigned for it is their UtUity. Thus * the
facred Bulls of Egypt, Apis and Mnevis, were
worffiipped as Gods, at thc Command oi Ofiris^
becaufe of their Ufe in Agriculture, and that
the Glory of thofe who firft taught the Me
thod of raifing the Fruits of the Earth, might,
for their Benefedions On thefe Accounts, be de
livered down to Pofterity through all fucceeding
Ages. Menas -f-, one of their moft anciei^
Kings, out of Gratitude for a Favour he had
reeelved from a certain Crocodile, is faid to have
built a City, and called it Crocodile, and to have
ordered the People of the Place to worffiip thofe
Beafts as Gods, and to have confecrated the
Lajce, In which this famp Crocodile was, for
their Maintenance and Habitation.
(tj^H, i^ivfeiy TOK ajfdgmpiii nm tk ayaXiMiu, nfUi* rtis
fSQ! TO ^etov TifMif, 3^ aamf X^^y^V"-* ''"'* ^ ^^ "f^
AVA(/)Him. Max. Tyr, Differt, 8, p. 8i. Edit, J. Ward. Ad
incutiendas fprmidines vulgo Deorum inftituta fimulacra. Arnob.
cont. 4. Gent. 1. 6, p, 208. 209,
* Toui J'i rAupm rwi nf»t, f^tju Jit rov n Awiv ^ Uvtvwt
rtyM&Ai tsf^Mffiuf roii &ioif, btipiS'®- iu£\iiJ'e^m&-' Ayut
Hiv S'tA rm T« J yioiyA! XH***"' "¥* ^^ ^ //« to tw et/f oi?/»c t«
x*fT«f rm Jh^«r t*« rvlav aitfj^ffiuii t^^/JhrifMV yi'yiviVAi
rois (iijayivi^tcfis us <uirml<i rov Aim*' Diodor. 1, i. p. 79.
•j- Diodor. 1, 1. p. 80,
O o 4. The

( 568 )
. The Worffilp of Beafts in general in Egypt Is
accounted for by feveral ancient Authors in fuch a
Manner, as ffiews It to have been, in their Opi
nion, ffie Effed of Lay Craft, and Kingly Policy.-
Ifocrates * afcrlbes the Origfn of ipto Bufiris,
and tells us, that he ordained the Worffiip of
them, not being ignorantof their Nature and Pro
perties, but as thinking he hadaRightto habituate
the Multitude conftantly to obey what was com
manded them by their Governors, and withal
to make a Trial by thefe outward Adions what
were their inward Sentiments ; for he thought
that thofe who difobeyed fuch Coraraands,
would probably be difobedient In greater Things ;
but that fuch who were difpofed to a conftant
^Obfervance of their Duty in their Rank and
Station,, vvould confirm it by ffie v«^ Ing their
Piety Ih ffiefe Inftances.' Diodorus -f- tells us
• TioK^jts yip Avloii j^ yrAv'\oJkm,s ASKmeii rm Se/ow?®"
saw®- i(g,n?ii(nv' op! i^ Tav .(^aav rm OTtf' yiyuy y^TA^g^yn^-
yay, i^y a, oidSiAi i^ thhav ivofna^ivrnv^ hk Ay voay tuv Jiiva-
fUV A\JlaViA>,K' A(Ml,yLiV sSt^HC OIO/J^©- S'eiV TOV ox>^ov ATiaOIV i(JLf/&
Vhv tois vtto Tay A^^^'vlay laS^jcfs/vAo^o/f, *f<« J^ &isKof/^@r
Crel£Siy hAlJ^AVHV TOli (fAVigfli, wliVA «fe< Tay A<pAvav J)avoia»
i^fft. Eyoi/.i^i yap ru! (liv Ttfjay oKiya^WTAi, TV^v Ay ^ ray
fitii^ovav i(^TA(p(yvtiireiy THi J^' ivn niFAvlay ofMiiii i(/,(jLiVoyiAS tu
¦rolrij ^iCiian^i TW avIw ivtnSeiAy imJ'tJ'eiyiitvvs. Bufir.
Laudat. p. 226.
-f- Ew» ray isAXAiay ^Aai^iay, imKKAXJi Aipi^AfjiiVH th wAH'&xf,
Xj (n>f/,(f(fVHVroi i(g.Tu rav ray nynii&Vav, ray ^AmKiav^ rtVAS
ei/viffH JiA^jroy-wi </)s^e^^a/ (AiV TW ^£5ty et! <sKiia fxgjM, i(g.^*
«)»9ii' J^" fti^y latTa/rt^tt* TOli iy^otm ffiCiSai ti ^aov, it
rgoftii Tiy&-ftYi yiOiStii, ottu! hca'^v to (Ksr w*?' asjIois TZ/txai^e-
vov n5afj^aV',-tav Jii^^TOH AKXols Apiifa(jiivuy XATuipg^yHvlm,.
imS*f!m\i oytvoneAi A/va/jAi nMttjiS 01 kat AtyvTrtov. Kai tkJo
tK rav A7nm?\.i<r{AAlay qiAtfc^y hvai. TlAvlAi jAg rovi <isKwi»yffpiS
<^f AfMfihHi S'lA^qi&ni, <a^rxff/loVTA{ TAii eti 7a 'sr^ennfMvei
tS^OfUAIS. L. l.p, 80. that

(569 )
that under the ancient Kings, the common
People of Egypt were greatly liable to Revolts,
and to con^Ire againft their" Governours ; and
that therefore one of their wifeft Kings divided
their whole Country into feveral Parts or Dlf-
trlds, and that in each of thefe he ordered the
Inhabitants to worffiip fome one Animal, or to
abftain from one particular Kind of Food, that
each worffilpping the Beaft they had confecrated,
and delplfing what had been deified by others,
the Inhabitants of Egypt might never be able
to unite. And that this is plain frora the Ef
feds ; for all the neighbouring Inhabitants are
at variance with each other, and offend one ano
ther -by their Trahfgreffibns in the aforefald
Particulars. Plutarch * gives the fame Ac
count in the main, though differing In fome
Particulars. He tells us, that fome Authors
affirm, that one of their wifeft and moft fubtle
Princes, underftanding the Levity of the Difpo-
fitipn of the Egyptians, and that they were very
prone to Innovation and Change, and that their
* Aaao/ tPs ravSt ray S^avav tiva i^ isAVtpyiiiy ^ASi'Kiav
KopHSI, THS Aiyu';rllHi KATttiiAbovlA tui (/.iy ipvffei kh^h!, ^ ciiejf
fji,{}ACohw J^ yiojeeta'fMy o^vg^ovni oi/Tar, aiia^v J'i ^ Jv^ka-
•^utlov VJTO whn^Hi JlyA(uy iV ratmif^yeiV ^ KoiyoriA/yetv i^v-
Ia!, AlJiov Atljoi! iy XetJAff1W£^.Ja^AvjAJeifflJkl(tHIHAV,JlAfO£Sf.i
AVOiii^H (p^ifASlv. Tay yap ^e.iay, a <B^a{lA^iV,..A}.,Kols oA^oS
Tt{J.AV X^ mCi^h JilfffJLiVai x^ mihilllxeil! AhMhOli <!Feiff<fi^(Sf>ay,
;^ Tgopw ijies^v s7sfw irgoaii&Ai mpvuaJAi, aixaivovIa! ¦«« roit
iiiuiois iKA?oi, X^ y^M'Tmi aJikhi^hvoi (pte^vja, ihAv^AVoy tais
rav dti^iay e.3^-S-©'-« ouviKxpyLivoi ^ nviKtithi^vyisvoi ttga a\.
Mfi.ovs. Poftrema fere verba corrupta, quae fie legenda putarem :
X) TgOlfW tjiSay ilif^ <srjO«Ji3«/ mtfVMlQ-tAfWtQlJli Ael H. r. A.
De If, et Oiir. p, 3 So.
Number

( syo )
Number being very large, their Power wais
unconquerable, and impoffible to be reftrained-,
whilft they aded fbberly and in concert;
difperfed them into feveral Diftrlds, and ap
pointed amongft them an eternal Superftition,
in order to occafion an irreconcilable Animofity
amongft them. For as the Beafts, which he
commanded them feverally to honour and wor-i
fhip, were in a natural State of Enmity and
War with each other, and led by Inftind each
to devour the other ; the Egyptians, each de-i.
fending their own, and not enduring to be in^
jured on this Account, were drawn beforie they
were aware, by thefe mutual Antipathies of
their Beafts, into a State of War with one
another. From thefe Accounts it appears, that
the Superftitions of E^t arofe, at leaft in a
great Meafure, from Lay Craft, the Policies of
Kings, and the Subtiety of Princes, to difunite
the Egyptians amongft themfelves, and fo to
fecure themfelves againft the united Power and
Force of the People. The Priefts, if, what doth
not appear, they had any Hand in thefe Things,
were no more originally than Seconds to the
Princes, taken from the Laity, and raifed to
their Offices, the mo^ fuccefsfully to carry or»
their Defigns upon the Liberties of Mankind.
I have already mentioned one more Deity,
that was ffibught to be of great Confequencp
in the Egyptim Divinity, and that was the P«*
dendum Virile^ or, Phallus, which was after-
Wards adopted info the Grm^« Myfieries. And
I now

( 571 )
I how add that this hath alfo the Honour to
be of Lay Invention. For Ofiris being killed by
Typho his Brother, and his Body divided into
twenty fix Pieces, Ifis after long Search found
ihem all ; the Pudendum only excepted. Every
one of thefe Parts ffie encompaffes round with
a mixture of Spice and Wax, and forms it into
an human Figure of the Bignefs of Ofiris, and
gives them, one to each Tribe of Priefts, and
(commands them to dedicate to each Figure
one certain Beaft, juft as they pleafal, and
when it died to pay it the fame Honours as they
did to Ofiris. And recolledlng the many and
^eat Obligations ffie was under to the Part loft,
file * ordered it to be Worffiipped with divine
Hohours,and commanded an Idol or Image of It
to be placed in the Temple, and adored , and in
the Myfteries and Sacrifices performed in honour
oi Ofiris, to pay the greateft Reverence to this
God, and ffiew it the higheft Veneration. And
frora Egypt the Greeks introduced it into their
Dionyfiack Myfieries, and paid gteat Adoration
to this Part, under the Narae of the Phallus.
It is no difficult Talk to ffiew, that araongft
other Nations Superftitloh was alfo of Lay Ori
ginal. The firft Kings and Princes of Greece
were moftly of Phenician and Egyptian Original ;
fuch as Cadmus.^ Cecrcpi., Danaus, Petes, Erec-
theus, and many others, and brought the Super-
* ^iJiahtv aur* ttmitAaKimaamv, rt^v Kt^aJii^Ah ^ ka-
7« T*f nhi%{ «j TAi ^(TiAi ra -S-ga rt^a yaofd^i ivli/MjAJoii
yifiSai, ^ •B-Asra «f«WfM< tvyx^vof- Diod. lib. i. p- 19.
ftitlons

( 57^ )
ftitlons of their own Country and planted them
in Greece. And that their Lawgivers and Princes
might create a greater Authority , to their Re
ligions and Civil Eftabliffiraents, they knew
as weU as any Priefts could inform thera, how
to feign, Miracles, Revelation, Prophecies, and
immediate Divine Powers, pretending alhtheir
Laws were given by immediate Divine Com^
municatlons. * Minos had his by Revelation
from Jove, and Lycurgus the Lacedemonian, and
Solon the Athenian theirs from Apollo. When
Thefeus -f- fettled the Polity and Government of
the Athenians, he commanded them to acknow
ledge and Worffiip as Gods, Jupiter, Neptune^
Apollo, Vulcan, Mercury, Juno, Ceres, Minerva^
and Diana, and J committed the Care of reli
gious Affairs to the Eupatrida or Nobles. In a
Word, all || Things relating to the Sacred Rites
and Sacrifices were amongft theGr(?^>^5^derthe
Management, and fubjed to the Controul of
the principal Magiftrates, as they were originally
introduced by their Princes and Lawgivers, and
* Ec TOl! TK A/Of Kiy»J/)on vo(t/)ti, roii n TlyStK AtsoK-
lay©-, m Uivui n «5 AvKvgy©- i^ilw, ivigi n vav% taJIa.
Plat de Leg. 1. i, p. 632. Diodor. Sic p. 48. *"
f i-frt* yag 01 tsA'KAi ntAi ^.J^hMfJiASiQiVit^oi ^t»i, Zivs ^
UoS'itJav 1^ AmohKav x^ H(fAIS0! x^ Ef^«y, t^ iy 5-«A««/f HgJ! 1^
A«i/.t(j(^ x, AbiiVA iij AgTifMi, TAi'i ®n<nai th ©^ to/j Ehhiiffiv
ifogH/^H JiaJAym iK»eibtiimv ?^eyiSiui S-ioi. Athanf. cont, Gent.
p. 1 1. Edit. Paris.
t'^V'iri^piJIy.ii (iivytyexTKeiVTA d-HA — AmJivi, x^ vo/uav JiJkff-
KAKHi eiVAl, x^ bffiav x^ ligay i^tiryrJAS- Plutar. Thcf p. 11,
tl En Js ^ rav -Ehhway imoKhAX* TAI! ui'yimii AgyAit ta
i^iyiSA ray 1:^ ra TO/ay]* 3v//«7=t et/£j/ rii av {a^saTlousc*
Srueiy. Plat. Polit, p, 293. confirmed

. ( ^11 )
confirmed by the People. All || Matters of
Religion, Blafphemy againft the Gods, and Con
tempt of the Holy Myfteries, all Sorts of Im
piety, the Confecration of new Gods, and the
Eredion of Temples and Altars, and the In
trodudion of new Ceremonies into Divine Wor
ffiip, were referred to the Judgment of the
Lay Court or Senate of Areopagus ; whence St.
Paul was arraigned before them, as a Setier-
forth of firange Gods, when he preached unto
them Jejiis and the RefurreSlion. The Multi
tude of Gods that were worffiipped by the an
cient Greeks were in reahty no more, as to the
far greater Part of them, than dead Men, whom
* Lay Superftition had confecrated into Deities,
either upon Account of fome intelledual or
bodily Excellencies, or through Flattery of their
Power, or becaufe of fome fignal Benefits they
had received from their Government, -j- Hence
II Potter's Antiq, "V. i, p. 105.
* Non eft dubium, quin illis temporibus Moraines regem ipfum,
totamque gentem fummis laudibus ac novis honoribus jaftare
ceoperint, ut etiam Deos appellarent, fivp ob miraculum virtutis
(hoc, vere putabant rudes adhuc et fimplices) five ut fieri folet in
adulationem prsefentis potentise ; five ob beneficia quibus erant
ad humanitatem compofiti. Laftan. de falf, Relig. c. iS-
+ Sufcepit autem vita hominum, confuetudoque communis,
ut beneficiis excellentis viros in coelum fama et voluntate tollereoc.
Hinc Hercules, hinc Caftor et Pollux, hinc Aefculapms, hmc
Liber etiam. Cicer, de Nat. Deor. 1. 2. c. 24.
Hac arte Pollux et vagus Hercules
Innixus arces attigit igneas. Hor. Carm, 1. 3. Od, 3.
Hercules,

( 574 )
Hercules, Ccfior, PoUux, Efoulapius, Bacchus^
and others. Nor is there any Queftion but.
that State Policy had a great Share in thefe Dei
fications, and that ancient Lawgivers, and
Princes and States introduced them as an * En^
couragement to what they accounted public^
Virtue, and the more effedvially to excite Per
fons chearfully to undergo all Labours and Ha
zards for the pubiick Good. The Greek Ppets
helped on ffiefe Superftitions, complementing
even bad Princes into Deities, and by the
Charms of Poetry confirming the Minds of th;e
People in all the ancient Gods and Rites they
had received by Tradition from their Anceftor?.
And of this Lay Artifice and Craft many of the
ancient Greek Phiiofophers were abundantly
fenfible, who J taught that their Gods were
created by. Ari and certain Laws, and not fuch
by Nature, and that therefore they were different
amongft different States, as they agreed to efta
bliffi them by Law. This was the Dodrine of
many of the Greek Phiiofophers and Poets,
which they inftUled into thc Mihds of the Youth j

* Atqui in plerifque civitatibus intelligi poteft, augenda?
(apud Laftant. loe, eit. acuenda;) virtutis gratia, quo libentius
reipublicse caufa periculum adiret optumus quifque, virorum for-
tium memoriam honore Deorum immortalium confecratam,
Cicer, de Nat, Deor. 1. 3. c. 19,
t ©iw, n (Mi&m, etVAi tzcynv (pAoi ovloi nxyvit 9V pvta,
CtAAee 77(7 VOlMli, xj TKTW Ahf.,\!f'A\hOli, 07n illg.S'OI lAXt\oiffl «/•
vunoho^ftny vo^t^H\nyot. Plat, de Leg. 1. 10. p. 889.
whence

( 57S )
whence Plato fays 1|, they many of them fell
into impious Notions, becaufe they thought
thofe to be no Gods, whom the Lavv com
manded to believe and confider as Gods. This
Superftition and pohtical Introdudion of many
Gods, by ancient Lawgivers and States, was ne
ceflarlly followed by numberlefs Rites and Cere
monies, appointed in Honour of them; appointed
by thofe who firft ereded them into Deities, and
confirmed and eftabUffied, not only by com
mon Ufage, but by the Autority of pubiick
Laws, and by thofe Laws rendred unalterable.
We ffiaU alfo find that the Superftitions of
Pome were of Lay Original. In the Begmning
pf that Common- Wealth, their Temples and
Ceremonies of Religion were but few. Ro
mulus himfelf is faid, by fome Writers to have
buUtbuttwo, nor were there for many * Years
any fuch Things as Statues and Images amongft
them. Numa f their fecond King, from a
fuU Perfuafion of the invifible and incorruptible Nature
I TetUTK S57C, « ?I>«/J ^t-TMVTA ttvS^pm ffOfttV ©^ vioii at-
fo»7!B«, tJiiSim 71 x5 -sroitflw, <(iA(rx,oitlav eiVAi to J>y^o\Alor
Vri Tlf nv VUA 0IA^OfjSfi®:- O^V AmSetAI Ti. AV^samii £//-
wifl7a« veois, ai «» ovV ^m eins o yofA©- ogytf'7aT7« Jim/oeiSiAt
i^ett. Ibid. p. 690,
• Dicit etiam antiques Romanos plus quam annos centum et
feptuaginta deos fine fimulachro coluifle; quod fi adhuc, m-
¦quit, manfiffet. caftius Dii obfervarentur. Varro apud S. Auguft.
de ciwit, Dei.' 1. 4. c. 31. Alex, ab Alex. 1. 6. c. 26.
folvvS^CAViv etvA, ro i^roy. Our&J'^ J^^m^^^ *r^?«:
ZoZ^TtaoiAomv eimA ^e« Vai^ioii vofii^eiy. Ov J W rt»*e
Ivro« friy^A, »« ^A«.o. eiJ& ^*« -fi?r.e;K, «aa' e»«-

(576)
Nature of God, forbad the Romans to aforlbe to
God any Likenefs or Form of Man or Beaft j nor
was any Image of the Deity painted or made
amongfi them, nor any Statue to reprefent him
for the firft 170 Years of the City. Numa -f
however was Chief Pontiff himfelf as well as
King, and finding * that he was to govern a
fierce and martial People, who would very
difficultly be reduced within the Obedience of
LawSj he cunningly made ufe of Religion to
molUfy and fubdue them, ordaining various
Saprlfices and folemn Prdceffions, which by a
Mixture of the grave and agreeable were pro
per to foften and civilize them. Befides this J ;
he terrified them with the Gods, and by telling
I0V iSJhfMiyuiVTA TOIS nsf^roit iTiffi vans hj^ tixaJhiA-ii^tt Jk-
ll'KovV, Xj KAKlAJitS li^i iguVTii, A-yAX\M. Ji nJiV ijilMgZOV
fSrOIHI/^Ol JliTif^OVV. flj HTi OfflOV ApOfJLOlaV T* /SjAT/OV* T«/J
J^eig^ff/, !(Tg i^ifliStAl ^IH JljveCjov A\f^a! H VOWH- Plut. vit.
Num, p. 65. Vid, etiam Clem. Alex. Strom, 1, i.p. 358,359.
citat, ab Eufeb. Praep. Evang. 1, 9. p, 410.
+ *««c at/TOf iVA Tilay Toy ite^rov yiipVivtt'i. Plut. ibid,
* Ovra Ji [liriwgfy i^ ri\^xfiJLivoy J^fMy « (iiK^ nJe
?«tuA(K o/of^sf®- eivAi i7p&:,y(iA\mai jMeTot^aeeoa^i ;g (xirAXOff-
(MOAt , aigf J eigww, tijajin Ttiv arm ray ,3-gac ^ovAeiAi, ta (lev
•woAAes ^aiAti yi) <arof«3a/j ^ ^pnAn, At our®- apyiAn, ly ka-
7e5T)ow, A^ut ffifxyoTUTt JiA-^uynv i-m^exy ^ 9ihM>^pairov uJhytiif
s%»a-a«, fniAA^aytv Xj ri^tTSiveay ro ^[/.oaJei jg p/AowoAefsoi'.
Flutar, ibid. p. 64. Quid Numa religiofius ? Ita res popofcit,
ut ferox populus deorum metu mitigaretUr, Flor. !. i.e. 8. Ut
populum ferum religiCne moUiret facra plurima inftituit, Aurel.
"Vift. de vir. illuftr, c. 3,
t E5J ef*' OTS X^ IPoChS TIVA! WXAyfihhay <S^ T« -S-SK, )&
9A<F(,i,AtA Jkif^ovav oAKoKOTA, 1^ (favAi KX evfiiveu, tJnhH xj
TATeitw ii-oiei TW JiAVoiAv Avray vwo JeiviJitiiAoyiA!. Plutar.
p)id, ,
them

( 577 )
,^em of horrible Apparitions of Demons, arid
direful Voices, on purpofe to tame them> and
render them hurable and tradable by fuch Su
perftitions ; and as other Lawgivers bad dorte
before him, he feigned * heavenly Vifions and
Indrudioris to add Authority to his Conftitu-
tions. He had alfo the Art -f- of taming Eagles,
fo that he could ftop fhem by his Word, anii
eould bring them down from the Heavens as
they were flying over his Head ; and, like Py-
thagoras, boafted of his golden Thigh, that h^
People might look on him to be fomething
fealfy Divine. And many other Inftances of
this Legerdemain are dfcTlbed to him, which
he made ufe of to fecure his Dominion, and
render the Roman Nation governable. The
:|: Appointments of the Priefts to each God, the
DIftindlon of the Dies faufti ei nefafii, thfe
Vefial-Virgins, their Sacred Fire, and their Sti
pend frora the Pubiick, the Salii with their
Ancilia or Shields, in Iraitation of a certain
Shield which Numa told them fell down from
Heaven, and which Egeria and the Mufos told
him was fent for the Prefervation of the City,
• Qai quum defcendere ad aniraos fine ailiquo commento m»-
raculi non pofiet, fimulat fibi cum Dea Egeria congreffus noc-
turnosefle: Ejus fe monitu, qua accepfiffima Diis effent, facra
iaftituere, facerdotes fuos cuique Deorum. prsficere. Liv. 1. i.
c, 19.
f Km j«f iKiiv©- ailov 7? Mn 'o&vyai favAH miv imytioai,
^ Hg.TAyii.yw vrreoLirTAuSfioy, tov n MiefV tTtoipwAi XfUffw Oaw;*-
mAot J)Amsivo(/,iy®- tuv imynyjeiv. Aaask n TsgjSTWcftif
mvty*! avIh ii v^'^BS Aviy^i^hHsi,. Id. ibid. p. 65.
1 Vid. Liv. Hilt, L. 1. c. 19- zo. Plutarc. Num, p. 65. Set.
* p p their

< 578 )
their painted Garments, their Songs and Dances,
the Sacred Rites the Pontiff was to obferve, the
Worffiip of the Manes, the Dodrines of Thun
ders and Prodigies, Altars, Purgings and Luftra-
tlons, the Temples of Fides and Terminus, the
Pomp of Sacrifices, and a Thoufand other
Things of like Nature, were the Inftitutions of
Numa, for which he pretended Divine Revela
tion and Autority. In truth the whole of the
firft Religion of the Romans was of Royal and
Lay Original, hyfiate not priefily Policy fuited
to the Tempers of the People, and wholly
adapted to bring them into, and keep them
under fubmiffion to their Superiors. Tullus
Hoftilius * their next King was originally, of a'
very naartial Difpofition, but- at length became
the mofi perjeSl Enihijiafi, feU into aU Kinds of
Superftition, and filled the City with innumer
able Ceremonies of Religion. But yet during
all this Space of Time their Temples were free
from Statues and Images, becaufe it was thought
impious to liken what was more exceUent, to
that which was meaner, and impoffible to com
prehend God any other Way than by. the Un
derftanding. Tarquinius Prifcus was the firft
that introduced thefe Symbols of the Gods, and
corrupted the Siraplicity of the old Roman Wor
ffiip, by mixing with it all the Superftitions of
* Tunc adeo frafti fimul cum corpore funt fpiritus ilii feroces,
ut qui nihil ante ratus effet minus regium, quam facris dedere
animum ; repente omnibus magnis parvifque fuperftitit>nibu! ob>-
noxius degeret, religionibufque etiam populum implerec, Liv,
Lib. I. c. 31.
Tufcany

( 579 )
Tufoahy and Greece^ from both ¦which he Was
defcended. This is confirmed by Floras -f in
his Epitorae, who tells us pf Tarquin^ that he
mixed the Greek Difpofition with the Arts of
Italy ; and Is intimated by Tertullian % , who
fays, that though Numa was fuperftitioufly
curious, yet that hitherto the Roman Religion
fubfifted without Images or Temples; that
their Religion was frugal, their Rites plain, no
Capitols arifing up to Heaven, that their Altars
were of Turf, their holy Veffels were earthen
Ware, the SraeU of their Sacrifices fmall, and
God himfelf no where to be feen ; for till this
Time the Greeks and Tufcan Artifts had not
overvvhelraed Italy with their Iraages. Thefe
ffierefore carae in with Tarquinius Prifcus, who
though originally of Grecian Extrad, yet was
born at Tarquinii a Tufcan City, and who having
imbibed the Superftitions of both, tranfplanted
them into Rome, and brought his Tufcan Artifts
along with him to promote the holy Trade of
Image- making ; which gave rife to Innumerable
Impieties, and filled the Pjoman ?mpire with
the moft ftupid Idolatries. Tarquin lived to
above the hundred and feventieth Year after the
f Gr*cum ingenium Italicis artibus mifcniffet. Flor. Epitj
L, I. c. 5.
X Nam etfi a Numa coftcepta eft curiofitas fuperftitiofa, non
dum tamen aut fimulachris aut templis res divina apud Roimands
conftabat. Frugi. religio et paupfires ritus, et nulla Gapitolia
certahtia Ccelo, fed temeraria de cefpite altaria, et vafa adhuc
Samia, et nidor exilis, ^ Deus ipfe nufquam. Nondum eniih
tunc ingenia Grseeorum atque Tufcotum fingendis fimOlacris
urbem inundaverant. Apolog, -*. 21;. , .
P p i Foundatioa

( 58o )
Foundation of Rome, and Tamquill his Queen
appears from many Inftances to have been well
fkilled in all the religious Arts of her native
Country* In a Word , -(- the whole religious
Conftitution of Rome was originaUy the Efla-
bliffiraent of her firft Kings and Princes. Some
Parts of It were forraed hy Numa, others hy Tullus
Hofiilius, otheis.by all the Kings that fucceeded
him ; and Romulus himfelf fovired tbe firft Seeds
and Beginnings of all their facred Rites, which laid
the Foundations for all after Inniprovements.
And io intirely was Religion under the IVfo-
nageraeht of the Civil Power, that by Romulus^
his Appointment, the King was Supreme over
all the Sacred Rites and Ceremonies, and no
thing was to be done in reference to the Gods
wiffiout him ; nor Was any one * allowed to have
hisown feparate Gdds, nor privately to worffiip
any new Or foreign Gods, befides thofe who were
introduced by pubiick Authority. Under him the
Senate J had the Management of all Sacred Af
fairs, and none originally but Men of fenatorial
Dignity were admitted into the Chief-priefthoods
¦\ %^[i.iy Hv A x^Vte[iA! TloiJfmii®-  r^foTiAATt {AVit/ml
m^ut ly heyv  ;^ Tt/AA®- ChtKi&—— id) miVTii oifur' exeittv
yivo[Kvoi ^ABjheii. Aaa' o ta cwsy/za-TW )^ T«f otp^fis *ot9/4 aa-
£OL^v, *§ Ti« )Mfe<s)T«T!t >&Tariiatt(4iy^ tuv <aSy ta <3-«« wfM-
(Miv, PafwKos W- Dion. Hal, A. R. 1. 2, p- 91,
. + BasjAej (Aiy HV i^ti^nro taJs ta ytf^. ITfWTM' /jny, nsuv
liiPueimtiyrfiQViAyixuVji^TnyrAJt iKtivn la&'tlitMrA ns^s
rui^isiotfiA. Id. ibid. p.. 84.,
* iS^paiatimnemo habefiit Deos : neve novos, fedne advenas,
nifi publiee adfcitos, privatinv colunto. Cicei*, de Leg, 1. z, §,8.,
.JO JiVafwsoi — ivoiAo^iTet — TH! (MvUumreAJ^i '60!-
c^Ai T5 x5 A^x^v ^ JuA^eiv, j^ Ms5-'.e«yT« r* koha igMfltit.
Dionyf. H. A, R. 1. 2. pi 8-i , °
of

( 58i )
of the Commonwealth ; as Livy * exprefly afr
fures us, when he tells us, that in the Confulffiips
bf M. Valerius and ^ Appuleius, the Plebeians
partook of aU the Honours of the City, ex
cept the Priefthoods, which as yet were not
become promlfcuous ; and when four Plebeians
were added tp ' the Number of Pontiffs, they
were Men of confular Dignity, and who con
tinued to be employed in the moft honour
able Offices of the State. So that Religion
1X1 Rome was intirely under the CIvjl Power,
?ind nothing could be eftabliffied In reference to
it without the Leave of 'the Magiftrate and
(Commonwealth. Their Superftitions were of
Law Introdudion, and often applied to politi
cal Purpofes, as might be made appear by ma
nifold Inftances.
I may alfo add on this Head, that the De
viations from true Religion, and the Intrpduc-
,tlon of Idolatry and Superftition into the two
Kingdoms of Judah and Ifrael, were owing
either to the wicked Policy or Weaknefs of their
Princes, and in which the eftabliffied Jeisiifh
Priefthood had, as far as any thing appears, ho
Hand. Solomon built an 'High-place jor Che-
moffi the God of Moah, and for Molech the God
«/" Ammon. And when Jeroboam had drawn
©fften Tribes from the Houfe oi David, and
got himfelf eleded King over ffiem, his Policy
* Qsoram honoribus nihi', prasfer Sacerdotia, qua nondum
promifcaa erant, deelTet. Lib, lo. c. 6. 9.
P p 3 fuggefted

( 58^)
fuggefted to him : * If this People go up to da
Sacrifices in the Houfe of the Lorain Jerufalem,
then fiall the Heart of this People turn 'again
unto their Lord, even unto Rehoboam King of
Judah, and they fiall kill me, and go again to
Rehoboam King of Judah, Whereupon the
King took counfel and made two Calves ofGold!^
and faid unto theW; Ji is too much jor you to go
Vp to Jerufalem, behold thy Gods, 0 Ifrael, whicf>
brouet thee up out of the Land of Egypt. And
when he had thus eftabliffied his Idol-Gods, he
foon found Lay- men profligate enough to be
converted into Priefts to mlplften'to them. Ile^
made Priefis of the hweft of the People, which
were not pj the Sons o/'Levi. " The whole Hif
tory of thofe two Kingdoms is a Pemonftratloh
that it was Lay Wickednefs and Policy, and
not Priefteraft, that' gave rife to .thofe Impieties
and Corruptions, that at length ended in their
intire Subverfion and Diffolution,
It is eafy to fhew that Lay Craft hath alfo
had a principal Share in the great Corruptions
that have been Introduced into the Chrifiian
Chiirch. But the Subjed is tpp large to be
here diftindly treated ; and enough I imagihe
hath been already faid, to ftop the Mouths^ of
thofe Ignorant and noijy Gentlemen, who call all
Superfiition by the Name oi Prieficr aft, and
refolve all thofe Corruptions of Religion into
the Arts pf the Priefts, whjch have really the
Jlonour of L^;; Original and Invention. Politicly
f 1 King. xii. 27. 28, Princes

( 583 )
Princes and Statefmen have almoft always con
fidered Religion as a mere Engine of State,
and applied it to their own fecular Interefts
and Purpofes, and have introduced Innumer
able Rites and Pradlces, under the Colour
and Pretext of Religion, only, to keep their
People in Ignorance and Subjedion. Pride and
Tyranny, and Impatience of Contradidlon, and
the Luft of ruling over die Souls as Well as
Bodies of Men, have been the Sources of many
other religious Abufes. And as Kings and
Princes, the Rich and Great, have their Vices
and Paffions to gratify, Paffions proportionably
ftrong to the Means and Opportunities they have
of indulging them ; if they have not been able
wholly to throw off all Senfe of Deity, and re
gard to Religion ; they have been generally for
forming a Religion fuitable to their own Tafte,
and confiften^ with their Vices ; a merely ex
ternal, ffiewy, pompous Religion ; that by
certain bodily Exercifes will allow them to com
pound for their Crimes, and help them to * ap-
peafe the Deity without forfaking their Vices j
a Difpofition that muft in its Nature lead to
the groffeft Corruptions of Things J&cred, and
in fad hath occafioned many of the moft re
markable of them, and been one of the prin
cipal Means of their Eftabliffiment and Con
tinuance in the World.
t * Ua£^iv(l>i{ «u THi S-ew e*VAi nieiv aJmwi, Ji-^nivm Ju^.
Plat, de Leg. 1, lo, p. 905.
Pp4 I

( 5H )
I write riot this out of any Fondnefs for (hi
Name of Priefis, and am as far as any Man
living from vindicating their Condud in general*
or affirming that they have not greatly helped
forwards the Superftitions of Mankind. I knpw
they have. But then let all Parties, who have
contributed to the Work^ , have their Share of
Blame, and let not the ridiculous Cant sind Cry
of Priefteraft be allowed to (hsAter and wip§
away all the Craft and Rogueries of the L^lty ;
who have been, to fay the leaft, equally deep
in the Guilt; who, to fay the Truth, have
been the Leaders in jt, and even to thk Day
are the grand Supports and principal Defenders .
of It. The Philofopher indeed would have pees
quite undone If he had his Mouth ftopped in
this refped. He is eternally barking out Prieft-
praft, and his three Voluraes of the Moral
Philofopher, if ftrlpped of this Article, and
confined to Truth and Reafon, would fcarce
have arifen to the Price of ^ 7 W-u^ Penny Pam->
phlet. But Equity and Candor were Virtues
never to be expeded from him ; and his Writ
ings, the little while they are fated to live
smongft Mankind, will ffiew his true Cha^
rader in a ftronger Light, than I have ;Inclin8-
tion or Power to reprefent it.

SECT.

( 585 )
SECT. XVI.
TheComlufim g^ Jofeph's Hifiory,
FTER thefe notable Obfervations relating
_^ to the Egyptian Priefthood, the Philo
lbpher tells us, * that in the Courfo oj 126
X^arSf or from tbe lafi Tear oj the Famine to the
'Birth g/' Mofes, the Hifiorian mentions hut two '
remarkable Incidents which haff ened in Egypt,
The firft is the Death oj Jkcob the Father cfthe
Nation^ feventeen Tears after the Defcent into
Pgypt ; and the other I fuppofe is, for the
Philofopher doth not diftindfy mention it, his
magnificent Funeral. But he is miftaken in
this ; for there are feveral very remarkable In-
events taken notice of in, this Period 3 and par
ticularly one, which, becaufe it makes for
Jojeph's Honour, would have been out of
Charader for the Philofopher to have related;
'Tis this : -f* When Joieph' s Brethren faw that
their Father was dead, they faid, Jofeph will
peradventure hate us, and mil certainly requite
us all the Evil which we did unto him ; and they
fent Meffengers unto ]oieph, faying. Thy Father
did command before he died, faying, fo fiall ye
fay unto Jofeph : Forgive I pray thee now the
Trefpafs of thy Brethren, and their Sin, for they
did mto thee Evil. And now we pray theefor^
give the Trefpafs of the Servants of the God of
* V. HI. P- 23- t Gen. 1. is,»::^2o. thy

( 586 )
thy Father. What was this Politician's Con- ,
dud at this moving Mefiage ? Jofeph wept when\
¦i.bey thus fpoke to him. A .thoufand tender'
Thoughts crowded intb his Mind, and his
Tears difcovcred the Compaffion and Genero
fity of his Heart. But his Brethren, not content .
with the Meflige they had fent, weni and fell
down before his Face, and they j'aid behold we be
thy Servants. Did my Hebrew Lord take thern
at their Word ? Did he reproach them for their
Perfidy and Cruelty to. him ? Np, Obferve,
Reader, the Anfwer, and if thou canft read it
without a warm Eraotion in thy Breaft, thou
art made of very difierent Materials from what I
am. Jofeph faid to them: Fear not. Am 1
in the Place oj God? Can I counter-ad his
Providence or oppofe his WUl? As for you, you
thought Evil againfi me, but God meant it unto
Good to bring io pafi as 'tis this Day, to jave
much People alive. Now therefore fear ye not.
I will nourifi you and your little ones. ^ And he
comforted them, andfpake kindly to them.
So far was the PhUofopher from commend
ing this brotherly Affedion in Jofeph, that he
choofes to cenfure him for his Piety and Fide
lity to his own Father ; for he tells us * that
Jacob was buried with the greatefi funeral Pomp
and magnificent Mourning, that ever had been
known in Egypt, even for the befi of their own
Kings ; but that Jofeph was jo far wifo enough
to do nothing without confitlting the King, and -

I. . , . .( 587 )
obtaining his Confent, as he did in this magnificent
^Interment ofhis Father. 'Tis pity this Gentleman
%ad not produced the Ceremonial obferved In the
Funeral df the Egyptian Kings, that we might
have compared it with that of Jacob, fince he
Is fo very pofitive that Jacob had been honoured
with * the mofi pubiick and magnificent Funeral
that ever had been before known. But the
Philofopher, for all his Confidence, knew no
thing of the Matter. The Hiftorian ob
ferves that -f- Jofeph commanded his Servants
to' embalm his Father, and that forty Days
were fulfilled for Jacob, for fo are fulfilled the
Day s^ of thofe who are embalmed, and the E-
Egyptians mourned for" him threefcore and ten
Days. In all this there is nothing extraPrdlnary,
for forty Days was the ufual Time allotted for
embalraing dead Bodies amongft the Egyptians.
Thus Diodorus % : They firft cure the whole
Body with a Waffi, or Oil of Cedar, and fome
other Ingredients for the Space of more than
thirty Days, afterwards mixing Myrrh and Cinna
mon, not only to preferve it for a long WhUe,
but to make it fend forth an agreeable Smell :
Nor was there any thing uncommon In the Em
balming hira,whlch was in frequent ufe araongft
the Egyptians, and pradiced by the Rich and
* Ibid, p. 31. + (^en. 1. 2.3.
t KaSoAa Ji TiAv ca/M ro (^ mres^oy KjtJ'eta. i^ naiv aKKois
t-nyLihfMi A^lnaiP m' «lli£^.! -S-Aftlif Trat" rexAVfivlA, iirelTA «-fXUfC»
^ XAVVAfMlfM, ^ TOli JlJVAl>.iVOI! (Ml fMVOV 'UTOKVy X^VOV TOf«r,
«tAA« x^ TVV tvaJiAV isfA^i^^it ^esemvovliS. Diod, Sic. 1. i .
Popr,

( 588. )
Poor, though in * different Methods and for
different Prices; nor In the Days fpent iq
mourning for him, which were ufually three
fcore and Ten. This feems to be intimatedby
Herodotus -f-, who fays : They fcafon, or pickl^
the Body with Nitre, and keep it in ffiis Piclds
feventy E3iays, beyond which it is not lawful to
keep them in it. Though the Embalmisg
was properly finlffied in forty Days, according
to the Old Teftament and Diodorus, yet it re
mained in the Pickle feventy- Days, as He
rodotus tells us, till It was throughly feafon-
ed J which were the fet Days allowed for the
Mourning. And more exprefly % Diodor^:
When any one of their Kings dies, ail the
Egyptians in common mourn, rent their Gar
ments, ffiut up the Temples, forbid all Sacri
fices, and keep no Feftivals for threefcore and
twelve, or rather, ten Days ; which Number
of Days was alfo obferved in the embalming
Perfons of lower Rank and Fortune, as Hero
dotus II tells us. So that the only extraordinary
* Ttli' fa%; avvJAioTArm wJliuv ^Affi eivai — rnv rt H\i-
n^itv' J'emvvAn vrnJii^^iiiy 7? Taty7«* «J epJsAessfi??* tdi' Jk
retlw sunhisajw. Herod, 1. a. c, a6, Diodor. 1, 1. p. 81,
t T«£/;^t/K<r< A/Tp», Kpv4Alflit «/!«£5!J iejkfMiMfl*. UKtv
VA! Ji risliay hh. e^ssi TA^i^^mv- Euterp. c. 86.
X OottS jaf iKKsvmt TJS TOV ^m -my ^AVtKiUV, -TtAVTiS ot
X3-TA rm Aiyi'Trjov swivcv avushi^o mv.^@-, t^ ta! f/ff) iStnns
j&lsSgnT'joy'lty 7« Ji li^ mviiLhmov, t^ tas ^ituu eirei}av„ ^
TAi io(\Ai m tf^v, «?' «/xS(jj!f iQJifivim^A 1^ Juo. 1. i . p. 65."
II nJi TflTK TAfiyffJiri! i^ tlh, » THi xp»fMiri aStVi^iHS
Jfxswet^w. "StUifMHi Jind'HmytiS ttiv MtKmv, rAqiymwi T««
iSjhlMlMVTA il[ll.i£Slf-
2 Pomp

( 589 )
pomp in Jacob's Funeral, that can be pretended,
B the March into Canaan, where they buried the
good old Patriarch in the Sepulchre of his Fore-
ifethers, in reference to which it is faid: f Jofeph
went up to bury his Father, and with him went
up all the Servants of Pharaoh, the Elders of
his Houfe, and aU the Elders of the Land of E-
gypt, and all the Houfe of Jo&ph, and his, Bre
thren, and their Father s Houfe, and there went
isp with him both Chariots and Horfomen, and it
was a very great Company. And he made a
Mourning for his Father feven Days. The Pro-
ceffion from Egypt into Canaan was a Thing
purely accidental in Jacob's Funeral, and its
ibeing attended by Jofeph and Jacob's FamUy
was a Circumftance of Etecency that could not
well be avoided. And as Jofeph himfelf could
not have gone into Canaan to bury his Father,
without Pharaolfs Leave, much lefs could
Pharaoh's houffiold Servants and the Elders
of Egypt. So that their being in the funeral
Proceffion was by the King's Command, in order
to do the more Honour to him, who by his
Counfel and prudent Management, had been
the Saviour of the Nation. So that the Gran
dure of this Proceffion was partly neceffary, and
partly by royal Appointment. But all this
Pomp and Magnificence was nothing to what
was made ufe of at the Funeral of their moft
ancient Princes, who were confecrated and
deified" after their Deaths, as * Diodorus Siculus
t Gen. 1. 7, 8, 9. 'o« ! ^- '• P- >8, i_9- informs

( 59<^ )
informs us. Yea all their good J Princes wei^e
burled in the moft fplendid Manner, with the
moft extravagant Tokens of .Mournings, many
MiUions of the People* attending their dead
Bodies when carried to their Interment, as may
be feen in Diodorus.
What he adds on this Head, that though
Jofeph had now the whole Power of the Kingdom,
in his Hands, yet he was fo far wife enough to
do nothing without confuliing the Kingj and ob
taining his Confent, as he did in this magnificent
Interment of his Father ; ffiews at leaft Jofeph's
great Moderation in the Ufe of his Power, if it
was really as great as the Philofopher makes it.
But Jofeph'sKec^e^ recorded by the Hiftorian,,
ffiews the Philofopher to be in a Dream, as
ufifal, and that he had not the whole Power of
the Kingdora of Egypt now In his Hands. Let
Jofeph witnefs for himfelf: '* ~]oieph fpoke unto
the Houfe of Pharaoh, faying. If now I have
found Grace in your Eyes, fpeak I pray you in ihe
Ears of "Phaxaoh, let me go up I pray, thee, and
bury my Father, and I will come again. Likely
Language this, for a Man that was Mafter of
the whole Kingdom of Egypt I Had be been
poffeffed of this Power, would he have applied
inyo very humble a Manner to Pharaoh's Houfe^
or Servants, If now I have found Grace in your
X Ta C3gj{ TJIl' TA^W A*/*Bgji)f moifJ-Afff^iVoi —— IU Ji tsifjt
rnv iKipopAV ovvnyi/^vAt fAAj^iAJu tw ox^ay. Diod. Sic. 1, i.
p. 65. 66. '
' * Gen. 1. 4, s. Eyes J

( 591 )
Eyes, fpeak I pray you in the Ears o/" Pharaoh ?
If he had the King himfelf under his Controul,
and ftript him of aU his Power, and left him
^nothing but the Name of King, what need of
the Interceffion of Pharaoh's Houfe to obtain a
Favour he could have commanded without
their Affiftance, or even whether the King him
felf would have permitted It or not ? He had,
if we are to believe the Philofopher, Poffeffion
of the whole mUitary Force of the Kingdom,
had difpofed amongft his Brethren the chief
Places of Power and Profit in the Country, and
made them Governors and Rulers in Egypt ;
and by Confequence Pharaoh's Houffiold muft
have been his Creatures, and abfolutely un
der his Diredion, and hirafelf their Head
and Governor in aU Things. But had this been
the Cafe, would he, who was Prirae Minifter,
and more than Prime Minifter, even King as
to Reality and Power, have raade fuch Sub
miffion to his Inferiors and Dependents, and
fought by the leffer Intereft of the Houffiold
what his own fuperior Authority could more
immediately and diredly have procured him ?
The Thing is incredible in its Nature, and the
Philofopher muft not imagine to impofe fuch
Fidlons as thefe on the Belief of any, but fuch
who, like himfelf, have Faith enough to believe
,the greateft Abfurdities, provided they are in
jurious to the Accounts given by the facred
Writers. i . 'Tis

( 59^ ) '
'TIsPf a Piece with the reft of his Dif
coveries, and equally agt*eeable to Truth and
Fad, when he adds : * While Joieph kept his hu
terefi at Court, we find no Talk or the leafi Dep
fign or Intention of leaving Egyptj or fettling in
Canaan ; not one Word rf the Promife and Oath
ef God to Ahtah&iti, Ifaac and Jacoh, rf giving
ihem the everlafting peaceable Poffejfian of that
whole Land. Would any one imagine this couM
ever have fallen from the Pen. of a Man, who^
but in the foregoing Page, had afterted, tbat
Jacob had lefi it in Charge on his Death-Bed,
that he ffiould be carried out g/ Egypt and buried
in Canaan, and that this was accordingly done
with the greatefi FuneraUPomp that had ever
been known in Egypt ? This was pointing out to
the whole Family of Jacob, that Canaan was
their proper Country, and that they were to
look for a Settlement, not in "^gypt, but there,
where they had depofited the Remains of their
venerable Anceftors. Befides let any one read
the 48th and 49th Chapters of Genefis, and he
will fPPn be convinced that the Philofopher'«
Affertion is a downright Falffiood. But this
whole Matter the Reader will fee fully bandied
in the foregoing Part, Chajp. i. §. 5. to which
I refer him.
But to do the Philofopher juftice, he en
deavours to prove as well as affert ; and tells us,
•J- had this been any Part of the Defign, whilfi
Joieph had ihe chief Government, and direBed
* V, in. p. 24, t Ibid. all

( 593 )
^ttAff-atrs at the Egyptian Court, and' while this
Prime Mmij'ter had the Power <Egvpt at his
Command, that not a Man could have lifted up
his Hand or Foot without him, how eafily might
he have pettled his Nation in Canaan, while there
could loave been no oppofition againft the whole Force
of Egypt, All Things are eafy to a Romance
Writer^ He can create and deftroy, enflave, de
liver and conquer Nations, and build Caftles
and- deraoliffi them in a Moment. JoJ'eph, as
the PhUofopher thinks, could do this, and that
eafily. But with all his Philofophy he knows
nothing about It. Jofiph, and the reft of the
Jewifi:) Patriarchs knew, that though they were
to pofiefs Canaan, yet that it was not to be till
long 'after his Tirae, and that when they were
to poffefs it. It was to be the Gift of God. And
therefore if Jofeph could have fettled his Nation
in Canaan by the Force of Egypt, he had too
much Virtue and Piety to do it, fince he knew
that was no Part of the Oath and Promife of
God ; but even contrary to his Order and Ap
pointraent. Nor doth this Writer know any
Thing about the Force of Egypi, at this Tirae,
nor the Oppofition that could have been raade
againft It by the Inhabitants of Canaan. He
hath not raade it appear, and I know he could
not, that ,all Egypt was at' this Tirae united
under the Governraent of one King. I think I
can make it appear extreraely probable, that it
ivas 'under the Governraent of raany, and
;ontinued io feveral Years after. Thus faith
Qjj Manetho

f 594 )
* Manetho the 'Writer of the JSg;;^if/y^ Anti
quities. The aforenaraed Kings of ffiofe Peo
ple called the Shepherds^ and their Pofterity,
ruled Egypt five hundred and eleven Years.
After thefe Things, the Kings of Thebais, and of
the other Part of Egypi, rofe againft them. So
that according to this Teftiraony, there were
feveral Kings in Egypt, fome in the upper, fome
in the lower Egypt, at this Time, and for near
one hundred and fifty Years after the Death of
Jofeph^ for there were about fo many Years
from his Deceafe to the Expulfion of the Jews
out of Egypt. This is acknowledged by Mar
fiam; and by Scaliger as cited by hira ; who
fays it is plain, that there were feveral Kings at
the fame time in Egypt, who reigned in dif
ferent Parts, -f Artapanus, alfo, cited by Eu
febius, tells us, that after Abraham's Death, and
the King of Egypi, who was conteraporary
with hira, Palmanothes fucceeded his Father in
the Kingdom oi Egypt, and III treated the Jews,
built Cefi^ii and a Temple in it, and afterwards
* ThTH{ Ji TH! <9O>iS'T«V0l»,A(riMVHS ^AdlKiAi THi TUV •mifltVUV
»^KH}J.ivay, iij THi e§ avtwv ¦yiVoyuiyH! K^vtaai tH! Aiyj^rln (pnoiy
i\n /acfi TOIS ¦arscTMKcflJo/f ivJiitgi- Mstk 7ttt/7a Ji, Tay iX, i^i
QiSAiJhi j^ Tfii AKhtii AiyjfjrJH ^AoiKiay yivtSai qimiv i'ni th!
vnif^iVA! i?7AyA?A7iy. Maneth, apud Jofeph. Cont. Apion, 1. i.
t A^£5fet^ TiMVTtimifjQ- — — oiMiwi Ji x^ th Bsta-iAsaj rav
Ai-^w]iav, rW Juvatbiav t^^ha^mv toc viov ai/Tn TlAi^^vw-
SkI'' thtov Ji TOli Ujkioii (pAVhai <a^a<(igi^t  TutoI' Ji
•ycvvnoai d-V)aTi£cr, Mgfaji/, w XscspfM nvi H^iy-yuviaAi tuv vmf
MSfto/i' TOTray ^AffiKiVovrt. llol^hHi jap ron tK! Ai-^nfln fi*-
viMvtff. Artap. apud Edgb. Prjepar. Lvang. 1. g. c. 27. the

( 595 )
the Temple in HeliopoHs; that his Daughter
Merris was betrothed to Chenephres, King of*
that Part of Egypt that lay beyond Memphis;
fpr at ^ that Tirae many Kings governed Egypt. '
And indeed this is agreeable to the Simplicity
of thofe ancient Tiraes, wheu each Country
had feveral Kings, and alrapft every larger
Tbwn was fubjed to its own Prince ; nor can
the Accounts we have of the feveral Egyptian
Dyriafties, particularly thofe of upper and lowei;
Egypt, poffibly adralt of any other Suppofition.
And if this be true, as unquefllonably It is,
our Author's Account of the whole Power of
Efgy^t being at Jofeph's Coraraand, Is xnexe phi
lofophical Vapour, and hath no Foundation but
in his own fruitful Invention. And though
poffibly the Canaanites could have raade no Op
pofition againft the whole Force of Egypt, yet
this is an irapertinent Remark, becaufe the
whole Force oi Egypt was not in Jofeph's Hand ;
and it is more than probable that the Inhabi
tants of Canaan could have made fufficient Re-
fiftance againft the Forces of Ijiwer Egypi only,
where Jofeph aded as Prirae Minifter ; efpecially
as the People peculiarly called Canaanites, who
were a Very powerful Nation, were then In the
Land j though our Author, with aModefty pe
culiar to hirafelf, denies it, in oppofition to the
moft exprefs Evidence, as I have already ffiewn
Chap. 1. §. 2. p. 38, ^c.
Qj\ ^ The

( 596.)
The laft Thing remarkable In his Account of
Jofeph is, that * when Jofeph died, he had only
a private Interment, being embalmed and laid up
in a Chefi in Egypt, without any Solemnity of a
pubiick Mourning, or national Concern difcovcred
about it; and for this he cites Gen. h 26,* Or
as he elfewhere eXpreffes It : -f- We find that he
died obfcurely , and had only a private Flier ment,
without any pubiick Notice taken of it. We
•find that he died obfcurely I It would have been
extreraely civil to have told us, where we could
find this. I have been looking for it, and I
have the Misfortune to be able to find it no
where. Gen. 1, 26, proves no fuch Thing, but
rather the contrary. For the Text exprefly
fays, they embalmed him ; and by confequence
there muft have been 'X forty Days fulfilled-for
him, jor fo are fulfilled the T>ays of thofe whicb .
are embalmed ; and therefore he was moft cer
tainly mourned for the ufual feventy Days, ac
cording to the Cuftora of the jj Egyptians, be
caufe the whole Erabalraing was not fully finlffi
ed In lefs than feventy Days. And this Is raore
than intimated by an ancient § Writer, who
fays ; that all Iji'ael and all Egypt mourned for
him with a great Mourning, for that he had
* V.IIL p, 24. + p. 81. + Gen. 1. 3.
II Herod. 1; 20. p. 119.
§ EotcSkw Aviot ¦mi Is-£^.MA, «J -moA n Ai-yjTrlos, . mv^s
(iiyc. Kai yap Toii Aiyj'Tr'jioii ai iJim (^iKiiTi ffvyimtfA, x^ .
evnyy4jei Trnvri is-yo, 1^ /Jka« ^ ist^yiMLli^^^niv©-. TeJiam,
J.)!.- apud Fabnc. Cud. Preud. V. T. p, 726, quoted by Mr.
Chapman; V, 2. Pref. p. 15. an

( 597 )
an equal Compaffion for them as for hlmfelfi
and was in all Things their Benefador both by
Counfel and Condud. Jofephus * fays of hira,
that he died, no Years old, being a Perfon
wonderful for his Virtue, and raanaging all
Things and difpenfing his Power with Reafon
and Wifdora ; making his Power In Egypi of
.equal Continuance with his Life. And -f Philo
raore exprefly : He died in a good or profperous
old Age, having fpent feventeen Years in his
Father's Houfe, thirteen in unexpeded Mif-
fortunes, being enfnared, fold, in Bondage,
falfely accufed, and bound In Jayl, The re
maining eighty he fpent In the Government,
viz. of Egypt, and In all Profperity, being the
Superintendent and Diftributor of the Famine
and Plenty, and one abundantly capable of
rightly managing in either Seafon, His dying ob
fcurely Is mere Surmife and Invention, without
either Ground or Probability ; and the Expref
fion, that, + after the Death of Jofeph, and all
his Brethren and all that Gerieration, there arofe
up a new King over Egypt, which knew not Jo-
.feph; is a very plain Intiraation, that Jofeph
* TiKivJA Js BT©- «TM 0ia(FAi in^Toy yi) Ji>4, dAvy.A!Tt&-
TW afSTdv yivo[/,iy@-, ^ }.,a-yiaiJ.a tiavta Jioixaiy, ty tmi' itfisiAV
TA\JtJHVo\uiy©-. Jofeph. Ani.l z. c. 8. 5-2-
¦\ ETSAet/-7«0-SC iVyt^Ui — i'/JAHg.lJiV^ AX?' (J-He^X-IH JiiT^I-^-iV
tv Ttl iZS-AT^eiA OIXJA- T^IITKAlJiX.A J' iV TAIS aShMTOIS mVTU^Al!,
fmCHKiVoyi.iv©-,'sri'!r^A<TKOiJLivoi iv Jiff/M>T»^ia x,ATii,JHi/,iV@-. Ih!
J*' Af'^Hi oyJhtiKoyTa iv nyi/M.iA i^ iV'ts^^iA rn ^An, A/^s Xj
ivSmviAi iipogfii ti, 0(iA^iVT»i aj/SDf , -ra izr^ SWtTS£;^j' KAl^fV
tsr^VTAViVc-iV iKAvaTAT©- Phil, de Jofeph. in hne.
X Exod, i. 6, 8. Q^q 3 held

( 598 )
held his Reputation during Life, and was in
great Credit and Efteeni IPng after his Death.
As tP what he adds, pf Jofeph'i having onfy
a private. Interment, here alfo we have only
mere phUofophical Affertion, without fo much
as one Authority, or the very Attempt of Evi
dence or Proof The Egyptians had a dpuble
Way of difpofing the embalmed Bodies of their
Dead ; either keeping "f* them In little kind of
Chapels, or Houfes, built on purpofe for their
Reception, in or near their DwelUng-Houfes,
where their furviving Relations might have the
Pleafure of frequently beholding them. Or elfe
they tranfported them into a certain Ifle, which
was the more general Receptacle for the De
ceafed where they burled thera in their proper
Sepulchres. As ^^o/^/)^ obliged the Children of
Ifrael by an Oath * io carry up his Bones oui of
Egypt into Canaan, it is very probable they
would not put his dead Body araongft thofe of
the Princes and Nobles of Egypt ; left this ffiould
have prevented their carrying his Reraains with
thera from thence ; but that they difpofed pf
hira In a more private way, keeping him
araongft therafelves In Gofien, In a patlcular
Chapel or Sepulchre, as was fometiraes cuf-
tomary in Egypt, that whenever the Tirae carae
for their return to Canaan, they raight the more
f A/0 x^TtohKol Tav ^lyjTrliuviy OiWtiyiA(ri <sroAUT£Ae(r/ pvA*''''
jovTii TA aa^iATtt Tav (m^j-^^vav kat' o-^^c oea^ THi yiViAK "aroA-
A*/f T»i iAVTay yivinai 'z^ioriTiHVTtiKoJAi, •  Ta Ji fJ-ih.
f^oVT©- da.'/liiiAt aalM,T@-, ol Qvyfiveis  JiASiCAiHVTAA,'
hi'isvTti o'ji JiAQAnvmv y-ihh/H rw i\i\mviv. Diodor, p, 82.
*'Gen. 1. 25. eafily

( 599 )
eafily convey him along with them, according to
the Oath he had exaded of them. If this was the
Cafe, it might make his funeral Solemnity the
lefs pompous ; though the Philofopher is per-
fedly ignorant how It was perforraed, and hath
nothing but his ufual Confidence to fupport the
Affertion, that It was a private Interment, with
out any pubiick Notice taken oj it.
I ara perfuaded, that no Reader of Candor
and Huraanity can look over the Account which
he hath given of this illuftrious Patriarch, with
out detefting the Malice that appears through-
out^the whole of it, and defplfing the Ignorance
he betrays in every Thing of Learning and An
tiquity. It Is true, what he wants this way, he
makes up in Confidence, and afferts Things of
which he knows nothing, without Fear or
Remorfe. He blafpheraes the Charaders of
Men, without Decency, without DIftindlon,
without Shadow of Truth,and feeras determined,
as far as his Influence can go, that there ffiall not
be one Perfon of Honour and Integrity in the
whole Jewifi Nation. Such a defperate and
unmerciful Attempt to blacken fo many Gene
rations, and to rob even the illuftrious Dead of
all the Reputation and Honour, that they have
born through fuch a long Series of fucceeding
Ages, never I believe had its equal, and I pray
God never may to the End of Tirae, Let this-
Moral Philofopher ftand therefore on Record,
as the only one of the huraan Race that ever
lived, that hath declared open War and irrecon-
Qq 4 cilable

( 6oo )
cilable Enralty againft the Kings, Patriarchs,
Priefts and Prophets of forraer Ages; who hath
raifed up ^the bittereft Inquifition and Perfecu
tion againft thera, forae thoufand Years after'
their Death ; and under the Guife of Morality
and Philofophy, hath fpread in the World the
crueleft Invedives, the raoft furious Charges,
and the moft iraplous Criraes concernmg them,
without betraying one fingle Sign of Compaffion
for the Worthies he atterapts to ruin, or having
the Courage, the Honour or the Integrity, to
retrad thofe Charges on thera, that have been
proved to be falfe, and therefore infaraous and
bafe. There is that Candor due to the Naraes
of the Living, and the Meraories of the Dead,
as that if any of their Adions are capable of a
double Conftrudion, they ought to be conftrued
in the raoft favourable Senfe ; efpecially If It be
agreeable to the general Courfe of their Behaviour.
But what Is the Condud of this Writer ? He
turns every thing to Gall and Bitternefs, he o-
verlooks their Virtues, gives the raoft invidious
turn to dubious Paffages, perverts the plaineft
that have any Thing In their Favour, racks his
Invention for Matter of Defaraation and Scandal,
and introduces the raoft notorious Falffioods to
blacken and revile thera, with Probability, or
the Appearance of Authority to countenance'
and juftify thera ; yea, contrary to the plaineft
Evidence of all Hiftory facred and prophane.
Let us put together in a few Words his Hiftory
of Jofeph as an Evidence of this.
He

( 6ol )
He was an Hebrew Slaye, a young Hebrew
Politician, who had always Fortune on his Side,
a rifing Favourite of Fortune, who early dif
covcred his enterprifing Genius and afpiring
Temper, whefe boundlefs Ambition and Thirft
of Wealth and Dominion incurred the Difplea
fure of his Brethren, and made hira Infufferable
in his Father's Houfe; but yet who providentially
fucceeded as a bold Adventurer for Wealth and
Dorainion ; who though he refufed the araorous
SoUicItations of his Miftrefs, and was iraprlfon'd
on that Account, yet feeras to have made up
Matters with his old Miftrefs even In his Im
prifonraent ; who whilft in Jayl difcovcred fuch
an enterprifing Genius and vaft Arabition,
ffiewed hirafelf fuch a Politician and arabitious
Enterprifer, as that one of Pharaoh's chief Of
ficers, whofe Deliverance and Reftoratlon to the
royal Favour he foretold, dreaded the Confe
quences of bringing hira to Court, and feared
thc Effeds of his ingratiating hirafelf with the
King : Who, having the whole Power, Force,
and Dorainion oi Egypi put Into his Hands, for
tified and garrifoned the Towns and Cities of the
Kingdom, becaufe he found that this was ne
ceffary to enflave it : Who having thus made
himfelf Mafter of Egypt, brought down his
Father and Brethren thither, and difpofed a-
mongft them the chief Places of Power and
Profit In that rich and populous Country, and
made them Governors and Rulers therein ;
whe exhaufl:ed the Egyptians of aU their Money, their

( 602 )
their live Stock, aU their Lands, and having
ftrlpped them of all their Property and Poffef
fion made them eternal Slaves and Vaflals to
Pharaoh, and as a great Aggravation of their
MIfery banlffied them in their own Country;
after he had thus impoveriffied and plundred
them, and who made them fo wretched, as
that it was irapoffible to reducethem lower, or
make them more miferable : Whoj as the great
Tafk-Mafter of the Egyptians, ^groffed and
monopolized all their Corn, and thereby length-
ned out a deftrudlve Famine in the Land, being
refplved to give out no more of it than what
might be juft neceffary to fupport Life from
Hand to Mouth, till he had perfedly enflaved
the People, and made himfelf Mafter of the
Country : Who made the Priefthood in Egypt
hereditary and Independent of the Crown, and
the Church Lands unalienable and irrefumable
by the Crown by an irreverfible Decree, and
laid the Foundation of all the Superftition in
in Egypi, and of the vaft Power and Influence
of the Priefts there in after Ages : In a Word,
who ruined Egypt, and reduced the fineft,
richeft, freeft Country then in the World to a
State of Mifery, Poverty and Vaffalage, and
intirely overthrew that free Conftitution, and
introduced fuch an abfolute Power, both in
Church and State, as had never been knovvn
in the World before : Who buried his Father
with greater funeral Pomp and magnificent
Mourning than had ever been known in Egypt, even

( 6o3 )
even for the beft of their Kings; and yet at laft
himfelf died obfcurely, and had a private Inter
ment, Avithout any pubiick Notice taken of it.
This is his Cha,rader of yo/^/>/6, without mention
ing one fingle Virtue either of private or pubiick
Life belonging to him, and which he pretends
to draw from the Hebrew Hiftorian, to whom
he tells us he defigns to keep clofe. So that
according to the Hebrew Hiftorian, Jofoeph was
infufferably Proud, Ambitious and Covetous,
Crafty and Infinuating, without Mercy and
.Compaffion, Perfidious and Falfe, a Tafk-
Mafter and a Tyrant, the Rulner of his own
Country, and the Deftroyer of Egypi, the En
slaver of that People, the Friend of arbitrary
Power, the Eftablifher of the prieftly Hierarchy,
Independency, Riches and Power, and the great
•Original of aU thofe Superftitions, that the Egyp
tians afterwards fpread throughout the World :
A Charader this, which if true, would be ex
ecrable beyond aU Comparifon, and condemn
his Name and Memory to the juft Abhorrence
of all Ages of the World. "
Would one imagine after all this Account,
pretended to be taken from the Hebrew Hif
torian, that that Hiftorian fpeaks of hira with
the higheft Honour, as a * Perfon greatly in the
Favour of God, and profpered by hira where-
oever he went, even in fo extraordinary a
Manner, as to become the Obfervation of others ;
as one of the ftrideft Fidelity in every Truft
* Gen, xxxix, 2, 3. committed

( 6o4 )
committed to him, of the moft exemplary
Chaftity and Honour, that no SoUicItations could
overcome, of the moft fixed Reverence for
God in the midft of all the Corruptions of an
idolatrous Court and Kingdom, of the nobleft
Refolution and Fortitude that the ftrongeft
Temptations could never fubdue, of the moft
admirable Sagacity and Wifdom, Prudence and
DIfcretion, that made even a Prince and his
Nobles look upon him as under divine Infplra-
.tion, of that Indefatigable Induftry and Diligence
as made him foccefsful in the moft arduous At
tempts, of the moft generous Compaffion and
Forgivenefs of Spirit, ffiat the moft malicious
and cruel injuries could never weaken or deftroy,
as ffiePreferver of Egypt and the neighbouring
Nations, and as the Stay and Support of his
own Faffier and Family j as one patient and
humble in Adverfity, moderate in the Ufe of
Power and the Height of Profperity, faithful as
a Servant, dutiful as a Son, affedlonate as a
Broffier, juft and generous as a Prince and Ru
ler ; in a Word, as one of the beft and moft
finlffied Charader, and as an Inftance of the
moft exemplary and profperous Piety and Virtue.
And I promife my felf that this Charader will
ftUl appear to be true, to every one who reads
wiffi Candor the foregoing Pages, and confults
his Hiftory wiffi that human Difpofition and
friendly Spirit, which I think ffiould guide all
Perfons in the Judgment they form of the
Charaders of offiers. And

( 6o5 )
And agreeable to this Account he is fpoken ,
of with the greateft Honour and Refped, by
other ancient Writers, who cannot be fuppofed
to have any partial Attachment to the Jewifh
Nation. * Artapanus, an ancient Greek Wri
ter, reprefents him as a Perfon who excelled
his other Brethren in Wifdora and Prudence,
and therefore betrayed and fold by thera, and
that when he. carae Into Egypt, and was pre-
fented to the King, he was raade by hira Ad-
mlniftrator of the whole Kingdom ; that where
as before his Time, the Affair of Agriculture
was in great DIforder, becaufe the Country was
not rightly divided, and the pooreft Sort were
oppreffed hy the higher, Jofeph firft of all di
vided the Lands, diftlnguiffied them by pro
per Marks and Bounds, recovered a good Part
of them frora the Waters, and made them fit
for Cultivation and TiUage ; that he divided
fome of them by Lot to the Priefts ; found out
the Art of Meafurement, and that he was
greatly beloved by the Egyptians on thefe Ac
counts, This Is a noble Teftimony in favour of
t\ns Hebrew Patriarch, as. it ffiews how bene
ficial his Admlnlftratlon was to Egypt, and how
* Sui'ea'w J'i >y (pe^vmei <a^ mi dAAw JnviyKovTA vtto
AJihipav imCHMv^VAl. EASti'Ta Ji ai/TOC ai tw Ai-yjirlov.
ii <ws»3t»"r» ra ^Airihtt, JioiWtw tk ohm yiviSni ¦^e^i, xj
«^TS£?l' ATAKTai Tay Aiy^Ttliav yiafte^HyTav. Jia to tw ya-
ea.y AJlAi%iTov eiVAi, }y rat ihAUSovay vro rav^ Xi^'^'^of"" «'^'-
KHUivay tHToy (jaejoToi/ tmi' t4 T^.j- Jnheiv^ li, o^u JiAmifmV-
aSiai, X, TW 'srohhW ^^nvoi/.iynv, yiapynri^av omTiMmi,
ii. TIVA! ray A^npay roii npivsiv Anronhn^atmi thtov Ji ^ (A-ile^
wpuv, «J ;«?j<«A«f <»-v1ov -wa™ t«i' A/juVJ/w/ J>a TtftT* AyA'm-
-Smm- 'Artapan. apud E»fcb. Pr«p. Evan. 1, 9. c. 23.
defervedly

( 6o6 )
defervedly dear he was for theie Reafons to the
Nation, and wUl go at leaft as far as the fingle
Authority of our modern Philofopher. Eufebius
alfo, who hath preferved to us this Fragment
of Antiquity, gives us another Teftimony' from
^ Philo an ancient Poet, in Favour of this
PatrlarchjVvho makes honourable mention of hini
as the Son of Jacob, an Interpreter of Dreams,
as Lord in Egypt, and as converfant in the Se
crets of Time, under the various Fluduatlons of
Fate. •\' Alexander Polyhifior, whiO made large
Extrads out of other Authors, relating to the
Jewifi hSaiXS, cites one Demetrius as giving the
Charader of the ' ancient Jewifi Patriarchs.
He fpeaks honourably oi Abraham, Ifaac, Ja
cob, and Jofeph, oi whom he fays that he was
fold to the Egyptians at feventeen Years of Age^
that he interpreted the King's Dreams, that he
was Governor of aU Eg^pt^ with other Circum
ftances agreeable to the Sacred Hiftory, with
out one fingle Word to his Prejudice, or Re-
flediori on his Memory ; Circumftances that
will be allowed at leaft as a Proof, that the
WritlngSjfrom whence thefe Authors took' their
Extrads, agree In their Accounts of this venerable
Patriarch, and had none of thofe flagitious
Crimes to lay to his Charge, which this moral

¦ lani<^. Of oveiftiv

&i<T'miti{, QmiwIh^! iv Aiyv'jrjoio ^gfyqidi,
AiViVSAiKA^^AIAX'i^VH, '2;fM[/,(AVplJi [iOlgtlf. .
Phil, apud Eufeb. ibid. c. 24.
See alfo the Revd Mr. Chapman, Eufeb. Vol. ILPr^f, p, 6. i^'c
-jr Eufeb, ibid. c. 17, 18, 19, 21. i
I Philofopher

( 6o7 )
PhUofopher hath immorally invented, and en
deavoured to faften on his Name and Memory.
Trogus Pompeius, who wrote under Augufius
Ce&j'ar, makes like honourable mention of him,
as * Jufiin his Epitomator reprefents it ; fay
ing, he was @f excellent Abilities, becarae very
dear to the Egyptian King, that he underftood
Prodigies, and firft found out the Art of In
terpreting Drearas, and that nothing either In
divine or human Things feemed unknown to
him ; mfomuch that he forfaw the Barrennefs
of the Country many Years before It happened,
and that all Egypt muft have periffied by Fa
mine, unlefs by his Advice the King had ordered
Corn to be laid up for raany Years, being con
feffedly the Saviour of the People, as Jofephus
juftly fays -f-, and that from many Experiments
raade of him, his Anfwers feemed to proceed
not from a Man but from God. The Accounts
of thefe Authors agree in the main with each
other, and all of them confirm the Scripture
Charader of Jofeph.
The Revd Mr. Chapman % juftly takes' notice,
that Alexander Polyhifior cites one Demetrius,
* Excellens ingeniuni veriti fratres  brevi ipfi regi per-
carus fuit. Nam et prodigiorumfagaciffittius erat, et fomniorum
primus intelligentiara eondidit, nihilque divini juris humanique
ei incognitum videbatur 5 adeo uc etiam fterilitatem agrorum
ante multos annos providerit, periiffetque omnis .^gyptus fame,
nifi monitu ejus rex, edifto fervari per multos annos fruges juC-
fillet. Tantaque experimenta ejus fuerunt, ut non ab homine,
fed a Deo refponfa dari viderentur. Juftin. lib. 36. cap. 2.
+ Tiyivyii^iV©- oarvip o/MhoyH^iyuf tk OTAw-S-ttf, Antiq. I. z,
c, 6. §. I.
X Eufeb. Vol. II. Prsef, p. 6. with

( 6o8 )
with an elder Philo, as fpeaking oi Jofeph agree-:,
able to Scripture, without the leaft Refledlon.
But it is I think much more worthy of Obfer
vation, that II Manetho,' who was himfelf an
Egyptian Prieft, and wrote of the Egyptian Af-
fairs, and pretended to take his Hiftory from
the Sacred Books of the Egyptians^ though he
reproaches the Jews * as infeded with the
Leprofy, and charges them with deftroying the ,
Cities of E^jy/i/, burning tRelr Temples, and,
murdering their Horfemen, and that they ab-'
ftalned frora no kind of Wickednefs and Cruelty;
and though he fpeaks conteraptuoufly of Mofes^
as Infeded with the Leprofy, an Heliopolitan by
blrth,and fays that he was firft called Ofarfiph from
the Heliopolitan Ofiris, and afterwards changed
his Narae into Mofes; yet he makes no meur
tion of Jofeph, nor hath the leaft Syllable to
alledge againft hira. An abundant Deraonftra
tlon this, that the Sacred Books oi Egypt con
tained nothing in them Injurious to the Cha
rader of this venerable Patriarch, and that even •
the Malice oi Manetho could find nothing, either
from the Sacred Records . of his Country, or
frora the Tradition of his Nation, that he could
urge as a juft Reproach againft him. But this
no Ma-n will eafily believe, if Jofeph was fuch
a cruel Tafkraafter of the Egyptians as this Phi
lofopher reprefents him', -I* 'arid had reduced
them fo low" as that it was ImppfhlJle to reduce
11 O rav AiyvT^iAKW i^plAV iK rav ii^avypA[/.(ji.ATav /usS^j-
tMlViveiV wri^ixtvoi. Joreph. cont. Apion. 1. i, §. 26.
* Joftpti. ibid, et §. 28, f V. UI. p. 19. 20.
2 them

( 6°9 )
them lower, or make them more miferable,
had perfedly enflaved thc People, was * the
Ruin of Egypt,, and had reduced the fineft,
richeft and freeft Country then in the Worid, to
a State of MIfery, Poverty and Vaffallagc, had
Jntirely overthrown their free Conftitution, and
tntroduced fuch an abfolute Power, both in
'Church and State, as had never been known
in. the V/orld before. • In , like manner alfo
Apion, againft whom Jofephus wrote, who was
an Egyptian by Original, and wrote of the Affairs
of Egypt, though his Invention fupplied him
with many Slanders againft Mofes and the Jews,
yet leaves the Charader of Jofeph untouched,
without one fingle Calumny to affed hira.
Thefe Remarks wUl I hope be thought
a fufficlent Vindication of Jofeph's Cha-
radeV, from the Reproaches thrown on him by
our Philofopher, as they do greatly confirm
the honourable- Account given of him by the
Sacred Hiftorian. I ftiaU. only add, -that his
Name is venerable in the Eafiern World, and
mentioned with great Dignity and Efteem.
'The Arabian f Writers, from ancient Tradition
give, in many Refpeds, the farae Hiftory of
him asMofesdoth, and farther particularly afcribe
to him the ufeful Invention of raeafuring the M/<?
upon the Encreafe of the Waters, the cutting
fome of the principal Canals, and other Works
of great Ufe and Advantage in Egypt. The Koran
oi Mohammed is very liberal in his Coraraen-
* P II + Apud Hotting, de ufu Ling. Orient, c, 8,
R r dation,

(6io )
dation, and the Eafiern Tradition of him is,
that he not only caufed Juftice to be impartially
adrainlftred, and encouraged the People to In
duftry, and the Improvement of Agrlcultuire
during the feven Years of Plenty, but began
and perfeded feveral Works of , great Benefit.
And the Natives at this Day, as Mr. Sale ob
ferves *, afcrlbe to him almoft all the ancient
Works of pubiick Utility throughout the King
dom, and particularly the rendring the Province
of Al Teyyum, from a ftanding Pool or Marffi.,
the moft fertile and beft Cultivated Land in all
Egypt J agreeable to the forementionfed Account
oi Artapanus, that he made a good Part of
Egypt Ground, and rendred It fit for Tillage,
¦viz. "f- by cutting Canals, and raaking Drains,
^nd' banking them, to prevent the return of
the Waters, I have only to add, that as moft
•of thefe Sheets were printed off before the Phi
lofopher's Death, I could not make any Alter
ation In thera after it, and that I hope my
Readers wfll forgive my Length on this Subjed.
Jofeph- was with me ever a favorite Charader,
and I promife my felf I have not been alto
gether unfuccefsful in my Endeavours to prove
it an honourable ahd amiable One. I will en
deavour not to be tedious in what remains.
* Koran, p. 194. Not. 6. f Elmacin. a^ud Hotting,
loe. eit
The End of the Firft Volume.

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