to whom the Apostles preached, the fame with the
disobedient, who lived in Noah's days, who were
not only men of another age, but, by an interval of
many ages, men of another world. Indeed, Grotius
refers us to his book de jure B. and P. Lib. 2, c. 9.
Sect. 3, where he proves, that a people is accounted
to be the fame at this day, which they were a hun-
dred years back, as long as that community subfifts,
which constitutes a people, and binds them together
by mutual ties. : Tho' this be true, it is nothing to
the purpose: for, the Gentiles, to whom the Apostles
preachert, were knit by no tie of mutual union to
the same fociety with the cotemporaries of Noah.
They who were disobedient, when the ark was a
preparing, were all of them entirely destroyed by the
deluge, nor fro u any of them did any of the Gentiles
derwe their origin'; fo that it is inconceivabl, how
they could coaleice into one people with the Gentiles.
And Peter is so far from making the unbelievers of
his time to be one body with those, who lived in
the time of Noab, that, on the contrary, he calls the
old world the world of the ungodly, 2 Pet. 2. 5. and
chap. 3. 6.-7, opposes the world that then was, to the
world which is now. A fimilitude of manners is not
enough to make them the fame people. Who, that
trembles at the word of God, can ascribe such a
weak and foolish speech to the divine Apostle, as to
thiok he could fay; that when the Apostles, preached
to the men of their time, they preached to those, who
were disobedient in the time of Noah? Be it far from
us thus to tridle with facred writ. The reader may
be pleased to see a very folid defence of this passage
in Difputat. Placæi, Disput 15.

XII: Memorable also is that blefling, with which Shem's
Noob blessed his pious fons, containing many doc- blefsing
trimes of the true religion, Gen. 9. 26, 27, blessed be explained.
Jehovah the God of Shem, and Canaan Mall be his servant
God Mall enlarge (or allure) Japheth, and be hall
dwell in the tents of Skem. When he calls Jehovah,

the

For,

the God of Shem, he gives an intimation of that covenant, which was to lubist between the Supreme being and the pofierity of Sheni, above other men. Abraham and all Iirael were descended from Shem. Tbese God had cholen to himself for a peculiar people. Whence, with a remarkable compellation, Sbem is called the father of all the children of Heter, Gen. 10. 21. that is, of the Hebrews. He alio publithes the piety of Shem, who was constantly to adhere to the worihip of the true God, and to oppose, to the utmost, the spreading of idolatry, teaching, both by chis doctrine and example, that he acknowledged none to be God but Jehovah. Generally interpreters also obferve, that these words set forth, that the Mediah should descend from the posterity of Sbem, since he does not celebrate so much Shem himself, on the account of his piety, as he transfers the whole praise to God, saying, blessed be Jehovah, be shews, that God is the author of every good inclination of the fool, and pious action of the life, to whom therefore all the glory of them is due. He had denounced a curle on the guilty in his own person, on account of the criine he had committed ; because the fuel and fource of evil is in man himself. But being pleased with the piety of Shem, he was willing rather to bless God; that he might not seem to ascribe too much to his fon, or to facrifịce to his own net, and atipibute any thing to his good education. He gives thanks to God, who had heard his vows, anci, had rabundanily blessed the pains he had taken in forming the morals of his son. Nor is it without a mystery, that tho' Japheth was the first born of his three ions, yet Noah should, by the spirit of prophely, prefer Shem before him ; to teach us, that, in election, God has no respect to age, and that the order of grace is not the same with the order of nature. He was therefore juftly called BV, that is, famous and of a great name, because he was eminent for so many and so great privileges above his brethren ; , and especially

becaule

.שם יהוה את שמו becaufe with him and his pofterity

whether

. Jehovah put bis name, as it is, Deut. 12. 5. Noab adds, and Canaan Shall te bis fervant : providing him with a servant, after he had provided him with a Lord. This prophecy was rot fulfilled till eight hundred years after, when the Ifraelites, who descended from Sben, invading the land of Canaan, vanquished above thirty kings of the Canaanites, and having utterly destroyed the greatest part of the inhabitants, made flaves of the rest, laying a heavy tribute upon them.

them. And they employed the Gibeonites in cutting wood, and drawing water for the service of the cabernacle, down to the days of David, who changing their name called them ???, Netbinim, that is, dedititious, or perfons given or offered, Ezr. 8. 20, because they willingly surrendred them-felves. See Bochart. Phaleg lib. 2. c. 1.

XII: What is said to Japhetb is variously explained. Japhet, The verb ing, from whence Japheth is derived, as

so called -alfo the term Japhst, which Noah here uses by an from enelegant paronomasa, or allusion, signifies in Chaldee larging or "to enlarge. Hence in the Chaldee paraphrafe, Pf. alluring. . 104. 25, \'ND*?3', is the wide sea; and 1 Kings 4.

29, Nus nina, largenefs of beart. But in Hebrew, the fame verb signifies in kal to be allured, in piel to allure, and is generally taken in a bad fense, to denote an alluring or seducing into error ; tho' fometimes in a good fense, as Jer. 20. 7.

, persuaded me, and I was perfuaded, and Hos. 2. 14, or according to another division, V. 16. 17°ND :73A, behold, I will allure her or perfuade ber. Both fignifications are applied by great men to this paffage. 1. XIV. They who contend, that the fignification is Arguto enlarge, inaft.on the following arguments. First, ments for that Noah makes use of the conjugation bipbil, which

mer opiis never ufed to sign fy alluring; nor does it else where nion. occur in bipbil but in the Chalde, where "nox signifies to enlarge. Secondly, that mina is a verb of a common fignification, nevertheless it is almost always taken

thod bait ,פתיתני ואפת

event.

in a bad sense, excepting in one or two places. The Greeks generally render it ánærāv, by a manifest allufion, but which rightly expresses the force of the word. Thirdly, that ind, when t signifies to allure, always governs an accusative : but here it is joined to the dative, for lamed, prefixed to Japheth is the sign of the dative. Seeing therefore it cannot be said, God shall allure to Japheth, we must render it, God Shall enlarge to Japheth, place or habitation being to be understood. For, thus the Hebrews speak : as Gen. 26. 22, 133 17 3:1777, the Lord bath made room for us, and to the same purpose generally ellewhere. Moreover this explication is very consonant to the

For, in the division of the earth, the largest portion fell to be inhabited by Japheth. For, behdes Europe in all its extent, Asia the less belongs to the portion of Japhetb; and Media and a part of Armenia, and Iberia and Albania, and thofe vast regions towards the north, which the Scythians formerly occupied, and the Tartar's possess at this day - to say nothing about the new world, to which, it is not improbable, that the Scythians formerly passedi, over by the straits of Anian, as Fuller in bis Miscellana Sacr. lib. 2. c 4, has shewn at large.

Ou E XV. But others, who contend for the signification Reasons for the lat- to allure, can make use of these reasons. ift. That ter opi- Noah did not speak in Chaldee, but in Hebrew, in

which language and has scarce, if at all, any other signification, but to allure. 2dly. That not without reason he used the conjugation biphil, tho' occuring no where else in scripture; namely to render the paronomasia or allusion the more elegant, which in piel cannot come fo near to the name Japheth. And that a change of conjugation does not neceffarily infer a change of signification. 3dly. That froin the instances above alledged, it appears, on is also taken in a good sense; and that it is not to the purpose, whether more rarely or more frequently so. And indeed, the word, wéifw, used by the Apostle 2

Cor.

nion,

Cor. 5. u, when he speaks of the doctrine of the
Gospel has a greater affinity with ano, than the verb
anataw. 4thly Buxtorf shews, by many examples,
that the change of the dative, for the accusative, with
active verbs is frequent, Thesaur Grommat. lib. 2.

And more, espec ally, that tho' verbs of
commanding are indeed oftner construed with the
accusative, yet also fometimes with the dative, as
Numb. 9. 8, Dani?', Isa. 38. 1, 7'71'35 13. "As is
also avn, to seduce, conftrued sometimes with the
acculative, Jer. 49. 16; at other times with the
dative, Jer. 4. 10. And why not the same thing
hold in And ? 5thly; That, neither did the event
disagree with this explication : feeing upon rejecting
the Jews, the Gospel, by which they are allured to
the communion of God in Chrift, was more than to all
others revealed to the posterity of Japheth, and that in
their own language. And as this was a far greater
blefling than the possession of the whole earth, why
not rather think, that by those words was predicted
what they may most conveniently fignify ?

XVI. Now what follows, and let him dwell, or be How God Shall dwell in the tents of Sheni, may be applied either dwelled in to God, or to Japheth. They who apply it to God, as among the ancients Theodoret, in Gen. quæft. 58; among the moderns, Fuller in Miscellan. Sacr. lib. 2. C. 4, Musculus in commentar and others, have a regard to the word pw", whence ^777'JV, Shekinah ouýrwars ; by which words, the inhabitation of the divine majesty, is generally signified. The Shechinab was in the tabernacle of the Israelites, in mount Sion, and in the temple built there; of which God said, that he would dwell in the thick durkness, that is, in an amazing cloud, the sign of the divine glory, which filled the house, 1 Kings, 8. 11, 12. And the ciry, where either the tabernacle or temple stood, was called the place, which the Lord chose to place his name there; Deut. 14. 23." But above all the Shechinab is in Christ, in whom dwelleth all the fulness of the God

bead

the tents of Shem.