of St. Catharine stands on the spot of the burning bush; and the stone, said to be the smitten rock, is on this side of the mountain; so that, on the whole, there is no inducement to seek the place of the Israelitish camp to the southward and though we find Dr. Shaw in his map has traced the passage of the Israelites on the south of the mountain, or rather, over the mountain, yet that must be considered as an incorrectness in the Dr. who has marked his own passage in like manner; yet his account says, he entered from the northeast. He has also placed as many rocks and hills to the south, as elsewhere around mount Sinai, so that there is no supposable opening there, of greater extent, and fitter to contain a numerous host, than the parts north of the mountain.

It is to be observed, that one of the peaks into which Sinai is divided, is called Sinai, that to the left, in our Plate; another is called Horeb, that adjacent to it, to the right, in our Plate; so that sometimes what is said to have been done at Sinai, is said to have been done at Horeb; at other times, a distinction is observed, and one or other is specifically intended. We have not thought the distinction important; our Plate includes both; but may sometimes put each for either. We shall observe some particular histories, in which this mountain has been singularly distinguished by Providence: and which become much more intelligible by a competent understanding of its geography and appearance.

There seem to have been, in the instance of the giving of the law, three distinctions of place observed by Divine appointment: 1st, that occupied by the people at large, the furthest from the mountain: 2dly, that occupied by the seventy elders, and Joshua, probably that valley at the further end of which stands the convent of St. Catharine: 3dly, that more elevated part of the mountain, where Moses only was admitted. If this be just, then we have here the principles of the court of the people, the court of the priests, and the Holy Place itself, in after ages; all preparatory to the Holy of Holies, the understood residence of the Deity. [This seems to be confirmed by the mode of expression, Exod. xix. 12. "Take heed, 1st, go not up into the mount, 2dly, nor touch [approach] the border of it, lest ye die;" the exterior base of the mountain, that at the furthest distance from the peak.]

Moreover, it is certain, that the camp of Israel could not have been stationed where now stands the convent of St. Catharine, not only from want of space to contain it, but from the circumstance, that Moses being so near it on the mount must have seen all that passed in it: whereas, Moses is divinely informed, being ignorant himself, of the errors of the people, Exod. xxxii. 7. Yet Moses is described as coming down to Joshua; and Joshua as not distinguishing, by reason of distance, I suppose, whether the noise in the camp was that of war, or of festivity, verse 17.

and afterward Moses's coming nigh to the camp, verse 19. which implies that he had walked some distance after his joining company with Joshua. When Moses is called "into the mountain, he is directed to come up with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy elders, to worship afar off," Exod. xxiv. 1. but Moses only was to come nigh the Lord, and, verse 15. he went up into the mount, i.e. to the higher parts, away from this company. Now if these elders were stationed half way up the mountain, say at B. the station of Niebuhr, when he took his second view of Sinai, they might be said to have come up the mountain, from the camp, yet to be afar off from the summit, or peak of it, to which Moses went, when he came nigh the Lord. Also, when it is said, verse 11. that God "laid not his hand on the seventy elders," it should seem to import their reverential distance from his immediate presence, and at such a distance they might "eat and drink," not merely without danger, but without impropriety. Thus the two phrases whose use has embarrassed commentators are reconciled by the geography of the place: for, the elders did not break any prohibition by advancing from the camp to this part of the mountain, therefore God laid not his hand of punishment on them: Moreover, they did not fast, as Moses did, when admitted to near communication with the Divine power, but ate and drank as usual, without restriction: while at the same time they were so placed, as to see the summit of the mountain without impediment, and from this distance, I suppose, could discern the evident appearances of the God of Israel, yet were too far off to gase, or to be intrusive; in which sense "no man hath seen God, at any time.”

We see that peculiar veneration has been paid to a certain spot on mount Sinai, where has been a convent, time out of mind; for, it is well understood that the present convent is only a successor to one more ancient. I would ask, whether it be credible, that an institution of a similar nature was here in the days of Elijah? 1 Kings, xix. 8. if so, when that prophet intended to visit Horeb, the mount of God, he did not mean absolutely to withdraw to a mere solitary desert, but he proposed to take shelter in the remotest establishment of the kind, and probably the meanest, which he knew of, where sons of the prophets were associated; as far removed from the power of Jezebel as personal safety required; and, it may be, beyond the dominion of that idolatrous queen of Israel. As to his "lodging there in a cave," verse 9. as rendered in our translation, this he might do constantly, notwithstanding better accommodations, or, he might occasionally visit the summit of the mountain, and on one of these visits he might sleep on the rock, in some station, not unlike the sleeping place of Baumgarten and his companions.

But I incline to the strictest sense of the words, "And he went unto the [sacred] place, to THE cave,

:

or cavity, [with the demonstrative] q. that where Moses had been screened by Divine power? Exod. xxxiii. 22. "and passed a night in the [sacred] place." Here, as he hoped, and expected, the word of the Lord came to him and from hence he went forth to stand on the mount before the Lord, verse 11. We make no account of the idle tales of the Greek monks told on the spot; our remarks dismiss the whole of them, and indeed they are unworthy serious notice, as is hinted by Dr. Shaw.

It is probable, that trees of some kinds, for instance palms bearing dates, grew on this mountain, &c. in the days of Elijah, as fruits do at present; but, whether any Jewish, religious, establishment might have been supported by them, alone, we cannot say. We cannot help observing the very frugal fare of the present inhabitants of this convent, who yet are numerous, 150; we know, too, that ancient fare was no less abstemious than modern, and such would coincide with the views of Elijah in his retirement, as it would with those of whoever made this spot their residence. The prophet, who had been supported by the casual bounties of a rookery, might now be content with the wild fare of mount Horeb, whose bushes yielded him fruit and whose springs yielded him water.

The following thoughts, on another subject, are submitted with great deference.

It is well known that neither critic, commentator, nor version, has been able correctly to explain the phraseology, Deut. xxxiii. 3. Whoever doubts this will be convinced on consulting the long note of Dr. Geddes, in loc. As the subject is geographical, let us try the effect of geography on it. Comparing the Deity to the sun, the poet says, "JEHOVAH over Sinai dawned; Sinai is the mountain of that name: And he rose like the sun over Seir, taken as the general name of the promontory, to us, [Sep. Onk. Syr. Vulg.] He shone over mount Paran, taken for the mountains at the extremity of the base of Sinai, where the camp of Israel was in the valley of Paran [or, those on the

other side of the valley of Paran] He came [i.e. his rays] over Meribah Kadesh, the waters of strife, where he shewed his [rectitude] holiness, by supplying the thirst of his people; over the waters of Ashdoth, or copious flowing spring, to us." This last verse seems to contrast with the torrent of Paran, in whose bed the camp of Israel stood, which had [and has] water in it only at certain times, being otherwise constantly dry: whereas, these springs, says the poet, were copious and permanent. Thus understood every word in the passage is correct; every place is in the neighbourhood of Sinai, and the metaphor of the sun, progressively advancing from its dawn to its rise, from its rise to its strength, is strictly supported. It is even possible, that the metaphor is drawn from actual observation of nature itself. 1st, In the morning the lofty peak of Sinai receives the earliest inflections of light; then the light spreads over the surrounding mountains of Seir, of which Sinai is the highest: 2dly, at noon it diffuses itself over mount Paran ; being south, it shines on the opposite hills, those beyond the valley of Paran: in the afternoon it illuminates the waters of Meribah; and lastly it visits the permanent springs. [i.e. Ashdoth.] Compare the course of historical events with this course of the sun; Sinai, Exod. xix. 20. Seir and Paran, the subsequent events in the station and camp: Meribah Kadesh, copious streams, Numb. xx. 2, ‍14.

Plate 1. Is a view of mounts Sinai and Horeb, taken at a considerable distance up mount Sinai. It shews the peaks of those mountains; the convent of St. Catharine over the place of the burning bush; the garden of the monks, &c.

Plate 2. Is another view of mount Sinai, from a further distance, shewing its appearance as seen from the valley wherein the convent stands.

The upper figure is a map of Sinai, as actually walked over by Niebuhr; whose track is marked on it. A. the station from whence he delineated the first view. B. the station of the second view.

EVERY naturalist must arrange those animals which he professes to study according to the peculiarities of their formation; and among the most conspicuous of their members he will always reckon those which are adapted to motion, the legs and feet. These appear to have been the medium of distinction adopted no less by Moses of old than by Linnæus of late; for indeed the Mosaic line of permission and exclusion of animals for food, &c. is drawn by means of those divisions which nature has appointed to their feet.

Solipedes, or animals of one hoof, such as the

horse and the ass, are unclean: Fissipedes, or animals of hoofs divided into two parts, are clean; but then this division must be entire not partial, effective not apparent; and besides its external construction, its internal, its anatomical construction, must also be correctly correspondent to this formation. Moreover, animals whose feet are divided into more than two parts are unclean; so that the number of their toes, as three, four, or five, is an entire rejection of them, whatever other quality they may possess.

Such appears to me to be the principle of the Levitical distinction of animals clean and unclean, so far