received circumcifion, as a part confecrated to religion, did by little and little take place in the land of Canaan, and gave occafion to the worship of Baal Peor, fo famous among the Moabites and Ammonites; a very furprifing and strange worship indeed, and yet celebrated with feftivals and hymns, and was the rife of that worship which the heathens afterwards gave to Priapus. What I have here obferved, hath been in part acknowledged by the Jews, where they speak of the worship of Baal Peor, and the reafon which made God prescribe to the priest the use of linen drawers, that their nakedness might not appear during the functions of their ministry.

After all that I have now faid, concerning those jealoufies which Mofes relates with so much care, it feems that the folidity of thefe obfervations cannot be difputed; especially if we confider, that it is thefe jealoufies, and these pretenfions to the promife of the Meffiah, that gave rife to the custom of calling God, the God of Abraham, the God of Ifaac, and the God of Jacob: for though he might as well have been called the God of Adam, the God of Enoch, and the God of Noah, forafmuch as all these Patriarchs were alfo depofitaries of the promife of the Meffiah; yet it is probable that God was called fo, because of the particular promises which had been made, firft to Abraham, fecondly to Ifaac, and lastly to Jacob, and in oppofition to the pretenfions of fome people near neighbours to the Ifraelites, and jealous of their hopes: the God of Abraham, and not of Lot, as the Ammonites and Moabites, Lot's pofterity, pretended; the God of Ifaac, and not of Ishmael, as the Ishmaelites pretended; the God of Jacob, and not of Efau, as the Edomites, who were the offspring of Efau, pretended.

That this very Perfuafion feems to have been kept up amongst the Pofterity of JACOB, until Moses's Time.

Tis yet eafier to fhew, that the diftinct knowledge of the creation, and of the promife of the Meffiah, did continue from Jacob to Jofeph, and fo on to Mofes

The following arguments will clearly demonftrate it.

First of all, we fee that Jacob (z) being poffeffed of the bleffing, and fo depofitary of the promife, obeyed Ifaac's command, who forbad him to take a wife, but out of his own family; and that accordingly he went to Padan-Aram, to feek and get a wife amongst those of his kindred, as Abraham had formerly fent for one of the fame country for his fon Ifaac.

We fee, in the fecond place, this Patriarch imitated Lamech (a) in fome refpect, by his falling into polygamy: for who can doubt but he who was confcious to himself of having furprised, as he thought, the bleffing defigned

(x) Genef. xxviäi.

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(a) Genef. xxix.

defigned for his elder brother, did act in this occafion by the fame prin ciple which Lamech had formerly acted by? Thus we fee that barren Rachel follows Sarah's example, and adopts the fon of that maid-fervant whom he gave to Jacob; wherein Leah followed her, and gave one of her maids to her husband: all this was evidently grounded upon the fame principle which afterwards bred thofe diffenfions betwixt Jacob's wives about the getting children by him; for it is very natural to believe, that Jacob did not conceal from his wives his advantages and hopes.

It appears that Jacob's children, which were born, for the most part, in Laban's houfe in Chaldea, where they had feen Abraham's native country, and thofe of their own kindred, from among whom God had commanded Abraham to depart, and to go into Canaan, did entertain very lively notions of those important truths, especially after they were ftrengthened and confirmed by the cares and inftructions of old Ifaac, to whom they were brought by Jacob; and after they began to practise in Canaan the worship and religion of their own family, and to compare it with the doctrine they had learnt in Chaldea.

Thofe feveral voyages which God obliged the Patriarchs to undertake, as that of Abrabam out of Ur of Chaldea, that of Jacob out of Canaan, (we ought to make the fame judgment of Mofes's forty years fojourning amongst the Midianites) did evidently oblige them to examine more carefully what was the tradition received in the feveral countries into which they travelled, and fo to imprint the more deeply into their minds the belief of thofe important truths which were the foundation of their religion, and the fole object of the meditations of the faithful,

One fees, in fhort, the effects of thefe impreffions,

1. By that custom which feems to have begun in Jacob's time, and which afterwards got the authority of a law; I mean, the custom of taking to wife one's own brother's widow, to raife him up feed.

2. The fin of Onan is reprefented fo odious, only becaufe by it he acted against the belief of the promise.

3. We fee the fame thing in the action of Thamar, Judah's daughterin-law; for having been deceived by Judah, the, in exchange, furprifed him into an inceft, the commiffion whereof, according to the obferva tion of a Greek commentator (b), fhe fought to perpetuate, only because fhe had a vehement defire to get children out of a family which the looked upon as folely intrufted with the promife of the Meffiah, and out of which he was accordingly to be born.

It is neceffary to make that obfervation, because we ought always to remember that he was formerly a Canaanite, and that confequently fhe left off and renounced the impiety and idolatry of her kindred, when the embraced the religion and hopes of Jacob's family. Therefore we fee that particular mention is made of her in our Saviour's genealogy, and of Ruth, who likewife gave over all the pretenfions of her own people, and fo forfook her religion to enter into the tribe of Judah, as well as of Bathshebab, who was wife to a Hittite; whereupon an ancient father hath very well obferved (c), according to the Jewish opinion, that Shime's (b) Theoph. in Mat. c. i.

) S. Hieronym. in Tradit, Heb. ad 1. Reg. 3

revilings

revilings against David, when he went out of Jerufalem, during Abfalom's rebellion, reflected upon his birth out of the pofterity of Ruth the Moabites, as the Jews even to this very day do understand it.

We may make the fame reflexion upon the confideration of that implacable jealoufy which Jofeph's dreams raifed in the minds of his

brethren.

1. We may reasonably conceive, that he being the first-born of Rachel, and the wife which Jacob his father had first made love to, he had been brought up with hopes of the birth-right, as well as Ifaac, who was but the second son of Abraham.

But, 2. He might befides very well fuppofe, that the crimes of his brethren born of Leah (whom in all likelihood he looked upon as the fole legitimate heirs, the others being born of maid- fervants) did rank them with Efau, whom God had rejected. That outrageous fury which Jofeph's brethren fhewed against him, because they looked upon him as preferred of God by thofe dreams to thofe that were born before him, is so like that of Cain, of Lot, of Ishmael, and of Efau, that it had, in all probability, the fame cause and original.

Do we not fee afterwards another effect of the fame jealoufy in the affectation that Jacob and his family fhewed in the land of Egypt, when they refused to live promiscuoudy with the Egyptians, which were the pofterity of Ham, and begged of them a country where they might live by themselves; as we fee, on the contrary, the Egyptians fhewing an extreme averfion against Jacob and his family, which was of Shem's posterity?

Certainly it cannot be denied, that as this feparation was an effect of the antipathy of those nations, fo it might alfo be in fome refpect the confequence of Jacob and his children's pretenfions upon the promise of the Meffiah, the execution and accomplishment whereof they ftood up for as belonging to themselves.

To all this we may add, that the perfecution of the Egyptians against the Ifraelites obliged them to make particular reflexions upon the promise which Jacob on his death-bed made to them from God: that perfecution was chiefly intended against the the male children, Pharaoh commanding the extirpation of them, because he was afraid of the Jews growing too ftrong for him, and of their joining with his enemies; and perhaps alfo, because the Jews entertaining a certain expectation of the Meffiah's coming, and fo boafting and glorying of it upon all occafions, the Egyptians defigned to fruftrate and cut off their hope thus, by hindering the accomplishment of the promise.

However, there was no real difficulty to keep up the diftin&t remembrance of thofe important facts. Jacob died in the year of the world 2315; Jofeph died in the year of the world 2428. There are then but 58 years between Jofeph's death and Mofes's birth: Mofes might have feen not only Amram his own father, who had feen Levi, but allo Kohath his grandfather, who had feen Jacob.

And it is for that reafon that Mofes feems to have obferved, that Jofeph faw his own children's children (d); that is to fay, the third ge

neration.

One cannot imagine any circumftances more conducible than these, to the preferving the diftinct knowledge of those important truths which were the foundations of religion.

That the Tradition which gives us an account of the Perfuafion which the Ancients had of the Truth of the Creation of the World, and of the Promife of the MESSIAH, before MOSES, cannot be fufpected.

I

HAVE fhewed, I think, evidently enough, that both the Creation, and the Promife of the Meffiah, with all the other things depending upon them, might have been known certainly by Adam and his children, and fo afterwards be handed down to all his posterity till Mofes's

time.

From Adam to Noah there is but one man, viz. Methuselah, who joined hands with both.

From Noah to Abraham there is but one man, viz. Shem, who saw them both for a confiderable time.

From Abraham to Jofeph there is but one man, viz. Ifaac, Jofeph's grandfather.

From Jofeph to Mofes there is but one man, viz. Amram, who might have feen fofeph long enough.

Those characters of time which Mofes hath fo carefully obferved, do plainly evidence that the creation, and the promife of the Meffiah, might be diftinctly known for if we fuppofe a continued fucceffion of Adam's offspring, it was not eafy to impose upon men in that matter; and that, because every one of those who were contemporaries with Mofes, being able to run up his own pedigree as far as the flood, nay, even up to Adam, by as compendious a way as Mofes could do his own, they would have treated thofe with the utmoft degree of fcorn, who fhould have attempted to forge any thing contrary to what was publicly and univer fally known; and fo it was equally impoffible, that the truth of things fo important as the creation and the promise of the Meffiab were, fhould

be unknown.

Befides, I think I have plainly fhewed, that many actions recorded by Mofes, though very ftrange in themfelves, and which the Atheists look upon as abfurd and ridiculous, have proceeded from no other principle than fromthe strong perfuafion of the truth of thofe facts, according as, in a long feries of ages, every one of the ancients, following his own humour and prejudices, framed to himself a particular idea differing from the true fenfe of the promife of the Meffiah.

It cannot reasonably be objected, that all this is only grounded upon the uncertain authority of tradition; for though I grant that tradition, as to facts of another nature, be dubious and uncertain, and not to be

too

too much relied upon in matter of belief, yet this hath such very particular characters as keep up its own authority.

First, it fuppofeth a small number of perfons from Adam to Mofes, who put it in writing.

Secondly, it fuppofeth, that those who have preferved this tradition, lived very long, and for the moft part for many centuries of years.

Thirdly, it relates to fuch facts as every one is defirous to be rightly informed of, and which he is particularly concerned to examine, as relating to his own private intereft, because they are the principles of his actions, and the rules of his conduct both in civil and religious

matters.

Fourthly, it fuppofeth fuch real marks as ferved to keep it up; fuch as, the pains of child-bearing, the paradife before the flood, the duration of the ark after the flood.

Fifthly, it fuppofeth a public service and worship, whofe celebration is repeated fifty-two times a year, that the remembrance of it should be preferved by all posterity.

Sixthly, it was preferved entire by paffing from father to fon; and we know that fathers or mothers do not naturally engage in a defign of deceiving their children.

Seventhly, it fuppofeth ftrange controverfies betwixt brothers, the elder having almoft been excluded, and the younger, as Abel, Seth, Abraham, Ifaac, Jacob, Judah, chofen to accomplish the promife of the Meffiah, which bred great jealoufies, and tended much to preserve those ideas of the truth.

Laftly, it fuppofeth great contefts betwixt whole nations, who all ftrove one with another for the advantage of being the heirs of the promife, and depofitaries of thofe verities; as the Moabites, for inftance, the Ammonites, the Ishmaelites, the Edomites, and the Jews: each of them pretending to a preference before the others, by God himself, and fo making it a matter of credit and honour to themselves. All these characters contribute to the diftinct prefervation of the knowledge of any truth.

С Н А Р. XVIII.

An Explication of Moses's Way of Writing; where it is fhewed, that in writing the Book of GENESIS he mentioned nothing but what was then generally known.

on.

HIS is a truth which at first I took for granted, and afterwards proved it, the reafons whereof I explained particularly as I went But it ought to be fixed as folidly as the matter will bear, because it often happens, that those who do not foresee the confequences which may be drawn from the contrary opinion, do contradict it before they are aware of it; and that too, under pretence of exalting the Divine

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authority