¦ '" ' '¦'¦';¦ Costard, G. Some Observations Tending to Illustrate The Book of Job... Oxford, 1747. YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY This book was digitized by Microsoft Corporation in cooperation with Yale University Library, 2008. You may not reproduce this digitized copy of the book for any purpose other than for scholarship, research, educational, or, in limited quantity, personal use. You may not distribute or provide access to this digitized copy (or modified or partial versions of it) for commercial purposes. SOME OBSERVATIONS Tending to Illuftrate The BOOK of JOB, And in Particular the Words J know that my Redeemer liveth, &c. Job XIX. 25. By G. Costard, M. A, Fellow of Wadham College^ Nos qui fequitHur probabilia, nee ultra quant id quod vert fimiie occurrit progredi poffumus, & refeUere fine Per- tinacia, & refelli fine Iracundia parati fumus. Tull. Tufc. Difp. OXFORD, Printed at the Theatre, for R. Clements ; and Sold by J. and P. Knapton in Ludgate-Street, J. and J. Ri- •vlngton jn St. Paul's Church-Yard, and M. Cooper ia FMer-Nofter-RoWi London. 1747. tJ] SOME OBSERVATIONS, &c. THE World hath been lately obliged with fome Difcourfes on a very cu rious and interefting PaiTage in the Book of Job. It is not my inten tion to enter into a Controverfy with any one ; I fhall only confine myfelf to the laying together a few Obfervations, which might not fo well come within the Compafs ofthe Learn ed Authors Defign, the attending to which however will be ufeful towards forming a Judgment ofthe Force of any Argmnentar- tion upon the Subject. Job is faid to have liv'd in the Land of py 1)% But to know Where that was, it wi(l be neceffary to confider, that we meet with no lefs than Three Perfons of that Name '. One of I Vtz condidit Damafcum. Ex J* IV fa&am Arabi- cum TitfttJ Gouta, nomen Damafcenm vallis. Bochart. Geog. fact. L. 2. c. 8. A tribus illis, tres fuere Terras Vtz.. Prima circa Damafcum, fecunda in Ara bia Deferta, prope Ghald&am, tertia in Petna, in fini- A 2 bus [ + ] them was a Defcendant of Efau mention'd Gen. 36. 28, and from whom probably fome part of the Land of Edam is call'd the Land of 1)%, and is the fame perhaps that is in- bus Terras Chanaan: quae tres regiones, cum & Locis plurimum diftent, & habuerint Conditores diverfiffi- mos, ab Hieronymo tamen, & ab aliis paffim fumuntur promifcue, unde oritur mira Confufio. ibid. With regard to this Gouta, Abulfeda fpeaking of Damafcus adds ^Jic sdxaiJ) £>Ji\ t^Usl ^1 l^d^sj ox-Juij \ eAA y-Z-X-* * <£>\jyTo (EWifi;) Hus, & Lo cum primb muro cin&um vocafle Patris Nomine A- ram, quod & Jofepbus docet. — Circum urbem jacet Regio aeris falubritate, limpidiffimis optimifque a- quis, & pagorum Arciumque multitudine; nee non virore, fructuum florumque Copi& amcena, ut abfo lute $.)syxj\ Tempe did meruerit. Ejus Limites diei iter patent ab urbe ; & k (^ ;_k_)\ ol_j occ'i- dentali porta percurrit Vallis, milliaribus 3 in Latum 12 in longum, variorum generum arboribus confita - j^u»*Jm.31 tjO\j vallis violarum vulgo nuncupata. Gol, ZVbf. in Alftagan. p. 128. intended LT] tended by Jeremiah ', who diftinguifhes it from that of the Arabs and Edomites. The other is a Grandfon of Shem by Aram, recorded Gen. io. 23. and the laft is a Son of Nahor Brother to Abraham, mention'd Gen. 22. 21. If the Defendants of Nahor, as fome think, fettled in Arabia Deferta and near the Bor ders of the Euphrates % it may not be improba ble, that the Land of 1)% the Country of Job muft be fought for in that Neighbourhood. Tis certain that we muft look for it hot far from the Chaldeans ', Sab cans +, and Busies j-. Of this laft Tribe was Elihu 6 one of the Per fons concerned in the Debate, and who is pro perly enough faid to have been of the Kind red of J{am, or rather perhaps Aram, who from Gen. 22. 21. appears to have been Ne phew to Bu%, the founder of the Family. The Perfon that gave Name to the DHtJO Chajdim or Chaldeans, was ~\W2 Chafd or Chefed another Son of Nahor. Thefe fettled, no doubt of it, not far from the Busies, and are probably the very Chaldeans mention'd by Xe- 1 Jerem. 25. 20. . . . 24. 2 Alter (nempe y\y) filius Nahoris fratris Abraba- mi, cujus mentio fit Gen. 22. 21, & cujus fedes fuifle creduntur in Arabia Deferta ad Euphratem. Le Clerc. in Job. 1. 1. 3 Job. t. 17. 4 Job. 1. iy. y Job. 32. 2. 6 Ibid. nophon ', nophon ", allying on the North of Babylon to wards Armenia, and reprefented by him as living on Plunder. By the Sabeans in the next place muft be underftood, not the Poeple of that Name in habiting part of Arabia Felix, mentioned in the Pfalms * and other Authors. For thefe lay at too great a Diftance from the Chal deans above, and being feated in a rich and plentiful Country of their own, were not like ly to make Incurfions, and difturb the Peace of their Neighbours. Thefe therefore muft rather be fought for, I fuppofe, amongft the Defcendants of Sheba s a Grandfon of Abra- I K« W aK&r 7» eASaJy Xm^dta. riv Te^irn*, mi* etr m r Spew, t7m^iv oj Xa.hS'dJot %g.Ta$iotTtf Kufyr-m. De Cyr. In- fiitut. p. 191. Ed. Hutch. And again 'E/st ft vtts r x«\- vtwn, elSiojAsyoi km rmhipus @u>tv-mt, XOU 077 ouJ\tt(*0|>iSE67* WW » "W 'S.ttStUM }lt> «(W fASjifH, Ottp' Ott K4 'ZpuufVtt, kcu AiCeti®", ^ Y.iv&(iU[tav, ^ BiKoaptov. Eujlath. in Dionyf. Perieget. I'm. 954. 3 II y a plufieurs Peuples nommez Sabeens, comme il y a plufieurs hommes du Nom de Saba. Ceux dont il eft parle ici, etoient, k cc que nous croyons, des Defcendans de Seba, fils d' Abraham & de Cethura, qui habitoit L7] ham by Keturah, Gen. zf. 3. and who perhaps, with the other Children He had not born by Sarah, all went eaftward. v. 6. And what makes this the more probable is, that Bildad is call'd a ">TW ' Shuhite, and TV0 Shuh, or Shuah, is another of Abrahams Children by l&turah1, who might Himfelf become the Head of a Tribe or Family. That Job's Country lay near a River feems plain from His being acquainted with Boats or Shipping, as where he compares the fwift Decline of His Days rnK JTMR OP not with Ships of Def re as the Margin 3 of our Englifh habitait dans VAtzbie D6&xte,} a l'orient du pays de Hus. Gatmet on Jvb 1. 1 j, .1 pAker amicus fait .Bildad TIWH Shuchka, ex Re- gione -T\W .Shuach feu &fa*, i.Sd> Veffels (ot things made) of Bulrujhes ch. 18. 2. That this was one of the Ufes for which the Papyrus ferv'd, we learn from Theopbraflus. 'o mmeft aiejf aAwsa Jtpiwiftof, £ ya ¦nho7* mtvmr eg ttni. Hifi. Plant. Lib. 4. c. 11. And Pliny lays of the Egyptians, that ex ipfo quidem Papyro navigia texunt, & e Libro vela, Tegetefque, nee non & veftem, etiam ftragu- lam, & funes. Nafcitur & in Syria, circa quem, odoratus ille Calamus, Lacum. Neque aliis ufus eft quam inde funibus Rex Antigonus in navalibus rebus, nondum Sparto communicato. Nuper & in Euphrate nafcens circa Babylonem papyrum, intellectual eft eun- dem ufum habere Charta. Lib. 13. c. 11. And again etiam nunc in Britannico oceano, vitiles corio cir- cumfut32 fiunt, in Nile ex Papyro, & Scirpo, & A- rundine. L. 7. c. 56. And Herodotus affures us that the Boats on the Euphrates were made of WiUo-ws cover'd over with Hides, and which appear by His Defcription, to be much the fame with what are us'd at this time on the River Severn, and known by the Name of Coracles. His words are T* i&o?a tumla £J» w x^1 t1 nvm/MV mowi/m* Is ¥ Ba&Aai'et litim xvyCKoTefitt, ¦xwiti muwa.' \-7twi ya-i iv tuoi 'Affiirioioi run tyiumfil 'Aosu- exm uxMtmoim vojAaf emt lu^aivot Tmimaviiu, metTtitHgi ri~ •nan J)p$i$*f stjaseiJki %%a$tv, (Jii^iQf r&imr, in c. Pag. 79. Edit. Gronov. than [9] than Rafts of Green Reeds of Boughs*, pioper enough for crofling or carrying things down a Stream, call'd by the Greeks sxeaiai. But the Notion of Swiftnefs here joyned along with thefe Ships, naturally lSads our Thoughts to confider the Rapidity ofthe kiver on which they floated ; and what mtfrd likely then to be it than the Tigrhy fo calledj according to fome Adth&rs ', from this very Gircumftanee ? From all t&effe feveral Confiderations then laid together, we may COhcltfde^ I think, that the Land of "W^ W6 are now fearchirig for, lay neat the -Tigris, and to the North of Babylon, and in -&f£e& of Judeit to the Eafi, and from Whence $o£ is defetibed as Hther than all the: Sons ofthe Baft. The thing then to be next etiquifed after . i ; lEaqtfe \ celeritate qua defluit Tigris^ nomen eft inditum, quia Perfica Lingua, Tigr'im Sagittam appel lant. Quint: Curt. L. 4. And Dionyf. Pefieget. fpedk- ing of the Tigrii fays 'Ev ww TunafMin, Sridn&t a.t\or 'iJbio. v. ppl. And Euftatbius, on v. p7<5. fays,e»*/sBr JV pin inmftar (fee V. p8 3 . 1 0 T tyis, 19 «» Si* iiie'iv* Iv mm wmi/Ait Shsd7ipov, a SJiV 8|i'Hp(n' "tJbtt. Sib Q&ei K o l.airxpu.w Tvg$cvv(§h, Za*£ Tumn, Fir or, Felicitas. By the Author ofthe Fragment above quoted he is called uncuw&Amhws, as we have feen. The MwuMi are by Ptolemy 2 called pipe e9-^, and placed by Him in the Inland Part of Arabia Felix, in Long. 7j-°. Lat. 190. fomething to the Northward of Saba. By Stephanus 1 they are made to border on the Red Sea. They may perhaps be both of them in the right, but it will be difficult to bring gophar from any of thefe parts to Mefopotamia or far- 1 Notes on Peritz.. ut fup. 2 Hudf. Geogr. min. vol. 3. p. 1 j. 3 Mtrvcuot tSr@' fo 19 im&Kia. -nf Ept/3p£f Snthioavts. And fo Strnbo, K«7«/x» Ji to \J&ytsa 7n?(*f« tQv» thi i^eiTm >&$£• eaY J^opttv. Me-ivcuoi (Ay h ia G&f m> hqvSpciv f*sp«, 7KKif iL- vZy i (ttjisn KsSpy* (>i Kapavi,) i^yayn Ji li-ruv ^aSeuoi. Lib. 16. pag. J28. Ed. Cafaub. K<£pra is placed by Ptolemy in Long. 7^. 10. Lat. 23. if. Hudf. Geogr. min. vol. 3. B a ther L i* J ther upon this Occafion. Naama therefore, the Place of His Habitation, muft either be fought for nearer the Seat of Job's Country, or we muft fay that the whole of this meeting is a Poetical Invention, and that therefore the Author was at liberty to bring the Interlocu tors from what Places He thought proper, without ftri&ly confining Himfelf to Geogra phical Niceties. Having thus far confidered Job's Country, and thofe of His Friends, let us now examine what Age He lived in. But here every thing will be as uncertain as before. Abmlfaragity ' quotes one Arud a Canaanite, as placing thefe Misfortunes of Job in the zftb. year of Nahor's Life. But who this Arud Himfelf is, what time He lived in, and what Credit He deferves, are all of them Queftions not eafy to be re- folved2. That the thing is not fad, feems Hifl. Dynaft. pag. ip. 2 In a Note prefixed to ARp.Vfhers MS. ofthe Sy- riac Verfion of the Book oijob, He is quoted together with Afapb tlie Prieft contemporary with Ez.ro., and Jacob. Robenfis. &c. ,ojlj c&sSO Verba Arudi (fays the Author of that Note) tic fe habent; Fuit Vir quidam Dives de Genere familix Joktan, nomine Job, qui fepties cum Satana pugnans vicic. Dicit autem Afapb anno 2f Nahor, agonem hunc accidiflep. annis ante Mofem* ante ac-ventum Domini * vH- var. Left. Sjriac, in Polyglot^ Ang,. C 13 ] plain from hence, that the Founders of the Tribes here mentioned, were not fo old as Na- hor. The Author of the Greek Fragmen t, ah e#dy referred to, brings Him down lower, an$ makes Him the fame with Jobab Gen, 36th. and the f\ from Abraham, and adds that He was 248 years old when He died'. Ang. p. 2p. Whether this be Authority enough for placing Arud before Jacob Rohenfts I know not. This Jacob was a Chriftian Writer cited by Abulfarag. p.34. and by Him faid to be skilled in the Hebrew, Greeks and Syriac Languages, and called 0^4X3=* ] JlxsJjj Pr&cellentifimus Sudioforum. Father Ajfemannus fays, Jacobus co'gnomento Commentator, feu Interpres Libro- rum, labente Sxculo feptimo florere coepit. Adoler fcens, abdicatis Saeculi Honoribus ac Divitiis, mona- fticam vitam profeffus eft. Inde ad Epifcopatvyn Ec- clefiae Edejfena affumptus fuir, Anno Gr&corum 96%, Chrifii 651. Bibliotbec. Orient. Tom. 1. c. 40. 1 The Author ofthe Fragment above quoted gives His Genealogy thus. Kai tnvt o< Hanheis 0) EamMuovrns \* 'EJa(A, ms xai \ \ t>a**H oil J.*>}£^ c^ Annal. Alexand. pag. 8p. In the MS. of A-Bp. VJher quoted above Pag. 12. and another of Pocock'_s 'tis faid, Dicunt tamen fuiffe eum ex filiis Efau, Jobab, fi- Ymm Zarach,cai Mater BaforaabAbrahamo quin turn; fie Job filius Zarach, filii Efau, filii Ifaak, filii Abraham. This Genealogy is given fomething different by Chry- foflom. Tiym tkwi ?| 'AfoSiets o pttyyexts, mp-nlot &» 'Afpoa/t*, ajy H^tiXi tk zlgS£\H(Av\s ytvixhoyi/Asvae T6T0Ke y) o Waitii^f •mv Irai*, 0 Si -ny Hnw, yJ.xeitQ)' -riv Vdyxiih, y^ ajjiii # Sapa, s£ 5 0 uSC, Proem. Caten. Pat. in Job. &eiwvn yh t»* yjl- vts tS laS, fays Polychronius, 19 5 [Jt.iyoif l&v It/feny tS jap IkJIc ?»»> *«tpsr, k Effpaju, I I«e- ffllfA )£ ApetjUi if' i ^H Toy EM*?, iiirf. I And fo, according to Polychronius, fome in His time feem to have thought. Ei* rfo SimSttrtr tS i»£, al^fopuif hiyfrnuwi o'l •WS!BlUl'Hi««775a), Of y) *3£$ |^K to^ ttvfpa. fbuaYTit, Ik «5t\o^/!ti', m(*.7?,w mat hiy&mt aJjiiy «7ro ACja*//' oJ eft' f$ r&fwv ^^¦¦^ipvjai [ If ] It might be expe&ed that in an Affair of this Kind, the Jewijh Commentators would lend us confiderable Affiftance. But the con trary is beft known to thofe that are moft acquainted with them. We are told by Mai- monides l however, that fome placed Him in the Times of the Patriarchs, others in that of Mofes, others of David, and laftly, that others brought Him down as low as the Cap tivity. All which variety of Opinions, adds He, confirms the Sufpicions of others, that there never was any fuch perfon as Job at all2. >xp t«v \y t$ 7tAtw ytnttKajtay, as (m l(Jt^o(Avny h tS ECpeukyi t« Si TE\«f mits'&yei t*i 19 vn^nnny laS afferfiimg*? 19 a*S- {»if,^ftepSr' «W>. \k-m.-mt yon ytvofAyxs, tin ws »(Myu/A»s th? it Ttvifti ft&ykvtis «'* 7>>y X?1 tiy Ho-aZ ytyioMy&y, \ySrn. (A(ivn-n» ladC, to to' » Toy vvis y^o^/opf«<*owto -m •a^yc^a^ivx. Proem. Caten. Patr.um in Job. 1 N6fti quofdam effe qui dicunt, Jobum nunquam fuiffe, neque creatum effe; fed Hiftoriam illius nihil aliud effe quam Parabolam. Qui afferunt ilium fuiffe, & creatum effe, omniaque quae commemorantur, vere: contigiffe, nullum ei certum vel Tempus vel Locum affignare queunt; fed quidam aiunt, ilium vixifie Temporibus Patriarcharum, alii Mofis, alii Davidis Tempore, alii denique ipfum ex Sapientibus Baby- lonis fuiffe autumant: quae incertitudo Sententiam il- lorum confirmat, qui dicunt, ilium nee fuiffe, nee creatum effe. More Nevoch. Part. 3. c. 25. 2 And in His Porta Mofis- He fays that this whole Book was by many looked upon as a figurative Dif- C9iirfe,and of an unknown meaning. 3VK 1SD "jViDT tiN stin "-jyj 'jya Pag. 57. Edit. TwtlU. 1 Le m&me Auteur (quoted above pag. 13.) Jul donne la qualitfc de Prophete, & dit, qu'il fut afligfe d'une grande Maladie, pendant trois Ans, ou felon quelques autres Ecrivains, pendant fept, au bout de- fquels, il recouvra une parfait Sante, a Tage de 80 Ans. II engendra pour lors un fils, qui fut nomme Bafch Ben Aiub. D'Herbel. Biblioth. Orient. X,. A-ft/j. [ 17] Suppofition, becaufe it may be intirely arbitra ry, and defigned to fhew (according to the ge neral Opinion in thofe Countries) that long Life is the Rervard of Piety and Virtue '. For though the Perfon of Job and the Sub- ftance of His Hiftory have in this manner been allowed to have been real; yet it cannot be de nied, I think, but that the whole (as we now have it) hath been heightened and ornament ed by Fancy and Poetry. That Satan really adted the part affigned Him at the Beginning, or that the Deity appeared and fpoke as at the Conclufion, will hardly be believed by any one. To imagine that the 3 Friends fat on the Ground 7 Days and 7 Nights without fpeak- ing a word, as they are reprefented to have done, ch. 2. 1 3 ; and that afterwards they main tained a Converfation, in the Manner and ftile that follows,- muft argue a Perfon unacquaint ed with the Difference of Language, and not fit to be reafoned with. Eaftern Figure and Hyperbole muft here have an undoubted Share; and as it was neceffary for the Author to ac count for the Manner how his Hero came to be fo affli&ed, he hath done it according to the Philofophy of his Time and Country. It will now be asked perhaps who was the 2 See Pf pi. 16. Exod. 20. 12* C Au- [18 J Author ofthe Piece under the form, in which we have it at prefent? A Queftion not eafily refolved. Some are of Opinion that, it was composed by Mofes l, but upon what Autho rity is hard to fay. We may perhaps be nearer the Truth, if we fay by Elihu, one ofthe Inter locutors, and who adts the part of a Modera tor in the Difpute. He interpofeth with great Diffidence and Modefty, excufeth His Youth, but fays nothing of Himfelf, when the Deity paffeth Sentence at laft on Job and His Three other Friends. But who then was Elihu ? To fay that He was a Bu^ite, is faying nothing at all; as we know not whether that might not be a. fi&itious Name ofthe Author's own choofing, I Un autre grand Point de Controverfe, eft de fa-. voir qui eft l'Auteur de cet ouvrage. On l'a attri- bufe i Job lui meme, ou a Elihu, ou a Job & a fes amis enfemble, ou & Moyfe, ou & Salomon, ou a Ifaie, ou a quelq' Ecrivain encore plus recent. Cal- met. Pref fur le Liv- dejob. The Syriac fragment al ready quoted pag. 12. and 14. fays ocbij JoiJo &c. i. e. Liber ifte Job, a Mofe Propheta jfcriptus eft : quem Libris fuis non immifcuit, quia ex Gentibus flat, non ex filiis Jacob. "Epaou* 3 077 i«u 0/ phm <& laS ioii&m ovyy'wttqmcu to @iGKtoy, tih - (7}if ovviX&4*7v ™ Bi£m'oi> lii&if 5 T -nahcuay IJbfy ¦S.cth.o- (wv-ns mat 7»f avyy^t, w £ 0 Na^eo^S Ae>« 0 Totiyhmf . who C 19 3 Who might think himfelf at liberty, to be of what Tribe He pleafed1. But if we are thus at a lofs to know Who was the Author, we are no lefs fo with regard to the Age He lived in. Mr. Warburton *, with great probability, fuppofes this Piece was compofed about the Captivity. The firft per fon that mentions Job is Ezekiel?, an Author that lived at that Time, and who places Him after Daniel, who Was then in Being, and an illuftrious Example of Piety and Virtue. 'Tis true indeed, if the Age affigned above to Job at his Death carries any weight with it, he could not be perfonally alive at that time, 180 or 190 years being no ways compatible with the Life of Man in thofe Days. But it may not be improbable, perhaps, from thence, that this Poem was then juft publiflied, and in great requeft. By this means the Character of Job was well known to the Jews, and therefore very properly alluded to by the Prophet. The Subject, 'tis certain, was very fit for that time. For by propofing to view a Great and Good 1 Ezekiel is called >?"G J3 the Son of Buz.i, ch. 1. £. and is as likely as any one to have been the Au thor of this Book. He was carried to Babylon with the firft Captivity under Jebojakim, and accordingly dates all his Prophecies from that time. 2 Div'm. Legat. vol. 2, pc. 2. p. 484. 3 Chap, 14. v. 14. 20. C 2 Man, [«>] Man, ftruggling under the Weight of Mif- fortunes, yet bearing them with Patience, it taught them either fingly, or collectively as a People, what was their Duty, under Hardfhips brought upon themfelves by their Sins and Re bellion againft God. If Job, on account of his Virtue, was reftored to his former flourilhing Condition j what was it but to keep alive their Hopes, that, agreeable to the Predictions of their Prophets, they fhould upon their Repen tance be reftored to their own Land ? A point that feems to be inculcated with great Addrefs, where 'tis faid, that " God will "not revive the Wicked, but will do Juftice " to the Afflicted. He will not (fays this Wri ter in the perfon of Elihu1) withdraw his "Eyes from off the Juft, but will replace Kings "upon their Throne, from whence they have "been dragged, and will reftore them to them "for ever, and raife them to Power and Ho- "nour. Notwithftanding they have been bound "in Fetters, and held faft in Bands of Sorrow. "He will tell them however what they have "done, and their Crime, in behaving them- "felves infolently towards Him." A pretty lively Defcription this of ManaJjTeh's Cafe, and fuggefting to them in their own, that " God opened their Ears by Corre&ion, T Ch, $6, 7. • t , 9, and [« ] « and bade them return from Folly '. Telling " them, that if they would hearken, as they ought " £o <&, they fliould end their Days in Happi- " nefs, and their Years in Profperity." No won der then that this is called Job's Captivity*, when the Writer had his Eyes fo ftrongly fixt on that of his Country and Himfelf'. One Argument that this piece cannot be fo old as Mofes at leaft, might be taken from the Author's fpeaking of writing upon Lead*-, pro vided that it could be made appear, that this is a proper Tranflation of the Words. The Vulgate renders the word mflV by Plumbi Lamina, from whence it is apparent what O- pinion the Authors of that Verfion were of. The LXX, and our Englijh, have only mo'a«£- (JV Lead. But indeed, if fnfly be rightly tranflated Lead, it muft mean the Materials on which the Writing was made. For Lead is too foft a Subftance to be ufed in the Nature of a Style. What Time-the Cuftom of Writing upon Lead began is uncertain, but 'tis proba ble not 'till late. The oldeft Infcriptions were i Ch. 3d. v. io. ii. 2 Ch. 42. 10. 3 There feem to be other Paffages interfperfed throughout this Book that allude to the Captivity. The word t&jfU Noges Job. 3. 18. and cb. 39. 7. is ufed of the Chaldeans, lfai. 14. 2. 4. 4 Ch. 19. 24, .; on ["] on Stones, as the Law at Mount Sinai'1; or on Stones plaiftered over, as Were thofe in Gilgal z. Lead and Brafs, and the like, may be fuppofed not to have come into ufe, 'till Commerce, and Literature, and the politer Arts of Life, made Writing more frequent and Neceffary. That Lead was in ufe in the Auguflan Age, appears from Tacitus 3 ; and that it continued fome little Time after is afferted by other Authors*; but how long before that it had been introduced, is not fo clear. Pau- I Exod. 24. 12. 2 Deut. 27.2. 3 Nomen Germanici Plumbeis Tabulis infculptum. Annal. Lib. 2. c. 69. Prius tamen quam digredia- mur ab Aigypto, (fays Pliny) & Papyri natura dice- tur, cum Charts ufu maxime Humanitas vitae Conftet & memoria. Et hanc Alexandra Magni vi&oria re- pertam, autor eft M. Varro, condita in ALgypto A- lexandria, ante non fuiffe Chartarum ufum. Palma- rum Foliis primo fcriptitatum, deinde quarundam Arborum Libris. Poflea publica Monumenta, plum beis Voluminibus, mox & privata, Linteis confici ccepta aut Ceris. Nat. Hifi. L. 13. c. 11. 4 Pineda, on this Pkce of Job, mentions fome lead-. en Books oiCtefipbon and Cacilim Difciples of Stjames, found in one of the Hills of Granada A.D. ijpy. and wrote with an Iron Style. And Eutycbitis fpeak- ing of the feven Sleepers, as they are commonly call ed, fays the Governour wrote an Account of them in Lead. I— 4-A-* l^'Mj &-Ae\.*oj %£>\yi (of-* l><-iX-S (j=^J **/ao* Ann. Alex. p. 390. fanias ' [13 ] fanias ' fays that He faw in Bceotia Hefiods "fyy* wrote on Leady but greatly injured by Time. Paufaniar lived under the Emperour Adrian, 4- bout 117 Years after Chrift. So that the Wri ting might not have been much older than Au- guftus Cafar; the very Dampnefs ofthe Place, where he defcribes it to have been, contributing not a little to its Decay. 'Tis true indeed the Cuftom of writing up on Lead might have been of more ancient Date in the Eajt, at leaft for any thing that we know to the Contrary, could we be certain that the Country thereabouts produceth any Lead. Jt may not be improbable therefore, that mSJ? in this place, may fignifie the In- ftrurrtent, or Style made ufe of; and that the 1 vaw joined to it fhould be rendred or, the Rock being the Thing, on which Job wiflies his Words to be wrote. That mflV was fome heavy Subftance, ap pears from Exod. if. 10. where Pharaoh and his Army are faid to have funk to the bot tom of the Red Sea mfilJO. But in order to this being Lead, 'tis neceffary that it fhould be not only heavy but duUile, properties very diftind. In gecbariab jr. 8. we meet with I K*< .W (Mk£Jbt \$HMVOV.V t'3* S Tmyv, 7H W&Wu* inm Ttt %jt'w* tetvfjuwpUtt. •y-.yp&ai 3 o*t™ tb "Efj*. pag. 306. [ ** ] mfliyn pK the Stone ofOphereth. By this one would be apt to think, that it means fome hard Stone, fliarpened either by Nature or Art, and fo fit for engraving on a Rock. That msiy Ophereth included under it the Notion of Hard- nefs or Strength, appears yet in the Arabic Verb j-is Aphar ; and that fuch Stones were ufed by the Ancients inftead of IQiives, and Tools for engraving, may be learnt from Mo- fes', Jeremiah1 and Herodotus ?. But in which of thefe Senfes foever we take the Word, 'tis plain that our Author was ac quainted with the Manner of writing upon Wax or Skins, or other materials at leaft, more manageable than Stones or Lead, but not fo Iafting. For he wifhes in the firft place for a Book, ~\$Q Sepher, to write his Words in. But as if that was not fufficient, or like to be du rable enough, he wants farther an Iron or Stone Style to engrave them on a Rock. It might now perhaps be expected, that I fhould proceed to the next Words, which make i Exod.if.%^. 2 Cb.17.1. 3 Speaking of the Egyptian manner of embalming, he fays, they took out the Bowels $ jj A/Sai AiSjomxtji o£« &&.%9nvTts mt&. jh Tietjwpw' pag. up. Edit. Gronov. And in his Account of the Ethiopians, that ferved in Xerxes's Army, he fays they had ng*.&(Mv*s oiVw /mk$s, i.rn Si nShfv, \my tibos hfe mmwytxtts, Tii g ms 8] throughout this Compofition, is it not to pre- ferve the Characters of the Speakers? 'Twas under this Stile that he was particularly known to the Houfe of Jacob; but as the perfons here Concerned were the collateral Branches of Abraham's Family, it would have been highly improper to have made them ufe a word, with which they were not to be fuppofed to have been acquainted. At the Beginning and the Conclufion, where the Author had no foreign Chara&er to maintain, the word Jehovah is conftantly ufed. But all this looks like art and contrivance; and was not at all attended to by thofe, that thought Mofis the Author of this Piece. When the Author fpeaks of hanging the Earth upon nothing, ch.2(J. 7- doth it not feem to imply as if he was, in fome fort at leaft, acquainted with the Spherical Figure of the Earth? But this could hardly have been be fore long Voyages were undertaken by fea, and whe'n by failing down the Arabian Gulph upon the fame Meridian, men had art Opportunity of difcoVering fome Stars towards the South Pole, and lofing others towards the North, which would appear and difappear in a contrary or der as they were returning homewards. But long Voyages were not thought of 'till many Ages after Mofis- and confequently, as far as this C*9 3 this Argument can be depended on, it proves the Compofition before us to have been of a much later Date than the Time of that Lawgiver. 'Twas about the Captivity only at fat-theft perhaps, that the Jews began to pay that Scru pulous, and I had almoft faid Supcrftitious, re gard to the Tetragrammaton, that 'tis known they did in after- times. If this was any rea fon for fuppreffing it in the Compofition be fore us, it will be a farther Proof of the Age where we are to fix it. And that we are not much out in this, will appear from feveral other Circumftances. The Word Satan, for an Evil Principle, occurrs no where I believe earlier than i Ch.r0n.2r. i. But the Author of that Book, 'tis evident, lived as low as the Captivity. The word v\T\ Ruach is ufed Job 4.1 5. for a feparate Exiftence, or what we now properly underftand by the word Spirit. But here and 1 Kings 22. 21. are, I think, the only places where we meet with the Word in that Sen.fe. But the Author of the Book of Kings lived as late as the 37th Year of Jehojachim's Captivity at leaft, or 3 3 Years be fore the Return under Eya. The word D't^H-p I(edujbim, Holy ones, Job y. 1. and Ch.15.x5. is exa&ly in the Stile of Dan. 4.23; as the No tion of Guardian Angels, Job 3 3.22, feems bor rowed [30] rowed from the fame Country. 'Twas to liv ing and converfing here, or to keep up to the Characters of the Speakers perhaps, that we meet with fuch a number of Synac and Chaldee fignifications of words interfperfed throughout- this Poem, fcarce, if at all, to be met with in the other Books of the old Tefta- nient. 'Tis faid that about 35 years after the Death of Alexander the Great ', or about 243 years af ter the return of the Jews to their own Land, was the firft time that the Greeks became ac quainted with Aftrology, Berofus the Chaldean* then fettling and teaching it in the Ifle of 1 Anni cccclxxx. & Nabonajfaro funt anni lvi k morte Alexandra, circa quod Tempus Berofus floruit, quod congruit xn. plus minus anno Antiocbi m 2«7»- gof. Dicavit autem tres Libros r f.*.CvKa>na.wy Antiocho ia QtZ qui Soteri fucceflit. Auttor Tatianus. Seal, de Emend. Temp. p. 369. 2 Caetera ex Aftrologia quos effe&us habeant Si'gna duodecim, Stellae quinque, Sol, Luna, ad humanae vitae Ratiortem, Cbaldaorum Ratiocination ibus eft con- cedendum, quod propria eft eorum Genethliologix Ratio, ubi poffint antefa&a & futura ex Ratiocina- tionibus aftrorum explicare. Eorum autem Inventio- nes, quas fcriptas reliquerunt, qua Solertia, quibuf- que acuminibus, & quam magni fuerint, qui ab ipfa Natione Chaldeorum profluxerunt, oftendunt. Pri- mufque Berofus in Infula & Civitate Coo confedit, ibique aperuit Difciplinam. Vitruv. Architect. L. p. c. 7. See a curious Differtation againft Aftrology in Aul. Gell. Noft. Attic. L. 14. a, Coos [ 31 ] Coos. Is it then at all to be wondred at, that this Author, in or near the Country from whence Berofus came, fhould introduce the Deity asking Job, if he knew "the Statutes of "Heaven ', or appointed its Government over the " Earth?" A queftion natural enough to be asked at a Time, and in a Country, when and where it was the received Opinion, that there were fuch Influences. It may be faid indeed that the Government or Influences here fpoken of may not be A- jlrological but Phyjical, and refpe<5t the open ing of the Seafons, or the alterations of Wea ther, caufed, or fuppofed to be caufed, by the Heliacal ri/ings or fittings of particular Stars. But even allowing this to be the Cafe, it will be a pretty ftrong Argument, that we are not much out in fixing the Date of this Piece where we have done. I have elfewhere ob ferved2, that the oldeft mention we find made of Conftellations, is in the Prophets Ifaiah and Amos. The firft of thefe writers fpeaks only of Chcfils, the laft adds another, Chimah; and in the Piece we are now confidering, the Ca talogue is enlarged with Aijb and the Crooked Serpent. i Job 38. 33- 2 Letter to M. Folkes Efq; &c. It [ 3^ ] It is not my intention to enquire in this place ', what Stars in particular are here meant. 'Tis fufficient to obferve, that the Chaldeans had by this time very much improved this part of their AJlronomy-, infomuch that the Author of Pf. 147th, who feems to have lived about that Time, in allufion to this practice, defcribeth the Deity as telling the Number ofthe Stars, and calling them all by their Names. And now, upon a review of what hath been faid, let it be confidered, whether a Poem of this Kind, compofed at this Time, and con ducted in the manner we have feen it is; let it be confidered I fay, how improbable it is that we fhould here meet with fo ftrong, fo exprefs a Declaration of a RefurreUion, as fome perfons apprehend we do. Whether the Jews had any Notion of a State after Death, or not, would be an Enquiry we are not here con cerned with. This was an Opinion univerfally prevailing, as appears both from Greek and Roman Authors 2. Whether this was owing to Tradition 3 or otherwife, is not much to 1 1 This is referved for a Treadle by itfelf. 2 Upon this Notion is founded the whole Story of Vlyfes's vifit to the Shades, in Homer. Odyff. n*. and the like Journey of Mneas, in Virg. Mneid. 6th- 3 This feems probably enough to have been the Caie; the Dodrine being difputed, or abfolutely de nied, [33 ] the Purpofe; that the Jews alone fhould be unacquainted with what every one elfe in fome fort knew, would be fnrprifing indeed T. But furely there is a wide difference between this, and a RefurreUion, in the Chriftian Senfe of that word. The Athenians, 'tis probable, be lieved readily enough the former-, though up^. on St. Paul's mentioning the latter, 'tis faid they mocked-. That our Tranflators of the Book of Job imagined the ChriJUan Rcfurreblion was intend- nied, when men came to reafon upon it. Juvenal fays, that in his time, Effe aliquos Manes, & fubterranea Regna, Et Contum, & Stygio ranas in gurgite nigras; Atque una tranfire vadum tot millia Cymba, Nee Pueri credunt Sat. z. v. 14.9. 1 For the Opinions of the Jews fince the Times of Chriftianity concerning a Refurre&ion, fee Pocock. Not. Mifcel. in Port. Mofis; c. 6. where the Reader will find enough of what is by that great Man juftly call ed Ineptia Judeorum ; ibid. c. 7. 'Tis obfervable, that thefe words in the Book of Job are no where cited by the Jews in Proof of a Refurredion. 2 AtJ. Apoft,. c. 17. 32. Pliny hath a remarkable Paffage upon this Subjedt, which he concludes thus; Malique ipfa Dementia eft iterari vitam Mortemque. Qua? genitis quies unquam, fi in fublimi Senfus Ani- mae manet, inter Inferos Umbra? Perdit profeclo ifta dulcedo credulitafque praecipuum Nature Bonum, Mortem, ac duplificat obitus, fi dolere etiam poft futuri seftimationem evenit. Etenim fi dulce vivere, cui poteft eflevixiffe? At quantb facilius certiufque, fibi quemque credere, ac fpecimen fecuritatis ante- genitali fumere experimento? Nat. Hlft. L.7. c.55. E ed [ 34 J ed in this pafTage, is plain from the turn and caft they have given it, and by inferting the words Day and Worms, not to be found in the original. But one would have thought the very clearnefs, with which this Do&tine is here made to be taught, fhould have led others to fuf- £edt at leaft, the Place not to have been du ly rendred. Would the Author, who hath ob ferved the Characters of the Perfons fpeaking in other Inftances, have put fo fublime a Do ctrine as this into the Mouth of one that was not of the Family of Jacob ? Had the Deity faid fomething of this Kind at the End, would it not have been a much fhorter, and more pertinent Anfwer to any thing that could have been alledged againft the unequal Dijpenfations of Providence, than appealing only to inftan ces of His Power? 'Tis true indeed, they might colled: that an omnipotent Being could lie under no Temptation to do wrong; but His exprefsly affuring, that He would, at the eonfummation of all things, openly and vijibly appear, and do Juftice to the Virtuous and af* Sidled, would have been more fatisfacl:ory. To fpeak the truth, the words feem to in tend any thing rather than a RefurreUion-, they have another very eafy and natural Meaning, and perfectly confiftent with the carrying on of the Drama. 'Tis many times difficult, it muft [ 3r 3 » muft be owned, to conned: the Courfe of the Argument; and whoever will attempt a Tranf- lation of this Book, will find, 1 fear, feveral Diflocations, Mutilations, and Corruptions '. And yet notwithstanding this, we may gather in general, that in order to account for Job's Misfortunes, his Friends charge him with Guilt and the Breach of his Duty. Having juftified his Innocence with regard to this Article, they ftill infift upon it, that if he is clear from any open and notorious Commiffions, yet he muft i Amongft feveral other Examples that might be produced, the following Emendations are humbly fubmitted to the Judgment of the Learned. They are offered only as Conjectures, which every one may admit or reject as he thinks proper. The laft Verfe of Ch. 13. feems to have no fort of Connection with what goes before, but comes in very well after verfe 2d. in the next Chapter. In the Original the word "U/&> ch. 18. 20. hath no very obvious meaning. Per haps the word r~tfO is dropped. If we read >"!);$ ma the whole will be confiftent. To make Senfe of Ch. 20. 3. infte*ad of >PqSd muft be read perhaps TlT^D my Reins. Again Ch. 31. 34. hath no very clear meaning where it ftands, and therefore feems to be long to fome other place. Inftead of m^JD & »jVl.J & >12X ch. 31. 18. mould be read perhaps VTiyja & vnSlJ & "IOX- The p. 10. 11. & 12. verfes Ch. 35-. mould be read perhaps in this order 11. p. 12. 10. Laftly ; He taketh it with his Eyes, ch. 40. 24. hath hardly any meaning at all. If then inftead of vyj? we read VJtJJ, we may tranflate the verfe thus. Can one take hold of him by the Teeth, can one bore hi s Nofe through with afnare. This makes the whole intelligi ble and noble. E 2 have [3^] have been guilty of Hypocrify, Forgetfulnefs of God, or fome other latent Impiety. In fo miferable a Cafe as this, afflided by Provi dence, fufpeded and wrongfully accufed by thofe that fhould have pitied him, and poured Oil into his Wounds ; what remained for him but to appeal from their injurious Surmifes to God Himfelf? Not at the General Refurreblion, which was unknown, I fuppofe, before the Publication of the Gofpel ; but at the Conclu- fion of this Debate, when the Poet intended the Deity to appear and filence all their Rea- fonings, and for which the Reader was in fome meafure to be prepared before hand. In this Senfe Job might with great Propriety fay, j know that my Deliverer l [out of thefe Cala- i The word ^SU here made ufe of, is by the LXX rendred "hy%wis 7 times, 'hy%S^"J is rendred by >p>~)3, and in the Syriac Verfion u._ooi.S which word in the New Teftament anfwers to the Greek^Au^mw, Acl. 7. 3J. and Swriif, Luc. 2. 11. and Act. 13. 23. and may have been the chief reafon at firft for explain ing the word Goel here, of an Eternal Redeemer. But in this, and other Cafes ofthe like Nature, it will be highly proper to remember, that though Chriftianity introduced new. Knowledge, and confequently new I- [ 38] latter1 End [of this Debate,] he will ftand, fas we find he doth] upon the Duft [of the Earth, and decide the Caufe in my Favour.] Nay after this Skin of mine is confumed away* [through Grief and Sores,] yet in 3 my Flefh, deas into the world, yet it retained Words and Phrafes that were well known and in ufe before. i The word pTJN here rendred by our Tranfia- tors latter day, is by the LXX. tranflated «'f ™ cuava, lfai.^&. 12. %^-ms 3 j" times, and $ nun*. J/4J.44. 6. ¦ 2 The literal Translation of thefe words is, after they have wafted away &c. Where they is ufed imper sonally, as I believe it is in feveral other parts of this Book. The verb *p2 nakaph in Smew/ fignifies excidit, concidit, from whence he explains the words 13PP D'jn fefta excidant, Ifai. 2p. i. by facrificia feftorum maclent, & intranfitive juxta Aben Ezjram (fays he) excidentur hoc ell 1pD3' ceffabunt. The Targum there explains it by p"?£03' abolebuntur, but the Syriac Verfion renders it 1i csy ~\v. \ i celebrentur. In Schindler spj is cecidit, de- cidit, decuftit, excupt, percujftt, jugulavit, truncavit. In the Arab. Language, i_j.ia nakaph fignifies, in Golius, gravi/fimo ictu, haftl, fufte, percuflit; from whence cju.i:> nakiph fignifies exehis & teredine Caudex trun- cufve palma, and might perhaps give occafion to our Tranfiators to infert the word worms as the nomina tive Cafe to the verb. But the general Notion of the verb feems to be to wear away, whether by cut ting, mincing, bruifing, or by any other manner what ever. And hence in Golius <3y\X* mankupb is graci lis pauca carne Vir; and in the Ethiopic Language the verb h^J. fignifies decorticav'it Baculum, cortic'is parte relic~la,fic ut varius videretur, in Cafiell. All which Senfes agree very well with Job's Cafe, he being undoubt edly wafted away with Sores and Grief. 3 So the Particle 23 fignifies, Gen. j . 2p. Levit. 27. 17. [39] [which I fhall recover again] fhall I fee God '.1| 17. Deut. 33. 2. 1 Sam. 2 y. 28. Ez.ecb.3.26. SeeNold. de Part. Hebr. 1 The feeing God, whatever it means, is propofed Matt. y. 8. as the Reward of thofe that are pure in Heart. Among the Ancients, the feeing the Divine Beings was fuppofed to be followed with inftant Death , or at leaft lofs of Sight. Mofes hid his Face for he was afraid to look.upon God. Exod. 3. 6. And when he requefted that he might fee his Glory, Exod. 33. 18. he was anfwered v. 26. thou canft not fee my face, for there fhall no man fee me and live. Again Manoah faid to his Wife, we fhall furely die, becaufe we have fe en God. Judg. 13.22. Heathen Authors are full of the fame Seadment. The Story of Aft&on in Ovid. Met. L. 3. torn to pieces by his Dogs, for feeing Diana naked, is well known. And Tirefias loft his Eyes for feeing Minerva in the like Circumftances. Tufinai S~' in fxivos Ifxtu yjuny, 01577 yim* T\f^K3^ay, hfoy ygifoy kvisptyiTQ. &l*\a.aa.S w$ -n>t*TQ (Mh.cLH.ai a.h.tihiy.iiivm, tf % "?x*py 2/«p 77v« ¦tfa.ipeiK m.KYKp. Pag. 1710.. Edit. Rom. ¦y '- S>< Isjv Hwy %ci(/.(*aTif)ov JiSni^ov, « Tex-muyoy, » xt» ¦7&.eKvav tiuyw. Lib. io. cap. 14. Hefycblm likewife men tions SiSv&v 7?a(A(MiiJ)i>y. The Atticks, he fays, called their writing Tables QwSu. e^tfj 'At77wi -ms r x«m* [ 4tr% a-pbihvis oAxaf, KrjpvKott eptuv (jti%Q-wv. Thefe by degrees, I fuppofe, gave way to Skins; but at what time is uncertain. Thus much we may be fure of, that they had been introduced long before Arijlophanes. This Poet flourifhed about Olymp. xci. or 41 . 307. Hippocrates wrote His Works on the fame Materials. ' iltuhiyyi-m ya? %* US* &, ttw-n nrdUm Qurautov Tnv 'lirimfavs tjov, m (Ay suutS tk n«T«* ec AI- 4-0EPAI2 vmi AEATOI2 'nvm h^ri^ora. Grffew. *ro Amisi, £tf. 3. f^, x, ^^4, Je Imper. J^fiin. [+3] that too &re t* mXcuS. How far this Expr^f- fion is to be extended, is hard to fay. But if PL" the 40th. be David's, Rolls or Skins were in ufe among the Jews 600 years before the time of Herodotus; for the Author there fpeaks of writing nSD rhifil. in a Roll of a Book. But from fome paffages in that Pfalm, it may ra ther feem to belong to Jeremiah ', in whofe time we are certain this was the pradtifes But Jeremiah flourifhed 3 about the year before Chrift y87> or almoft 200 years before Herodotus. pag. 66. Ed. Par. 1660. mentions Bawi^'ssf AupSiw, and in Gelafius, the Laics were prohibited *viiyeu h r$ *(/.- Caw, idwt ray Tvnty(Ayay ivzyrcinttv, » ^ihhuy it reus cOfSt- feus. Concil. Nican. Diaty, pag. 172. The Inhabitants of the Ifle- of Cyprus feem to have covered the Skins they wrote on with foft wax &c. Hence a School- mafter amongft them was called A/p^tpaAoipor, as we learn from Hefychius; and what by others was called PI«?hov a Style, was by them, he fays, termed 'hKevmaw. I And fo Mr Mudge on that Pfalm feems to think. 2 See Jerem. ch. 3d. But befides this, in his time they wrote likewife on Tablets of Wood, Brafs, Lead or the like. For ch. 17. 1. He fpeaks of the Sin of Judah being wrote Sna ttJ/S "with a pen or Style of Iron, and engraven on the Tablets of their Hearts, and the Horns of their Atars "POP f")32f3 With the point of a Diamond, according to our Tranflators. But Bocbart thinks it is the Stone called Z^eis by Dio- fcorides, Hefychius, and others, Hierozoic. Lib. 6. cap. ir. the fame that feems to have been meant by Hero dotus in the Paffage quoted above pag. 24th. 3 Jerufalem was taken Olymp. XLVII. 3. or An. Mund. 3yiy. and Jeremiah began to prophecy 43 years before that, or An, Mund. 3472. Proleg. Bib. Pvlyglott. p. !$• F 2 We [ 44- ] We find frequent mention made by Authors of Sheets of Lead applied to other ufes than writing upon. Diofcorides a Phyfician of Ana- qarba * in Nero's time, fpeaks of 'Exd.)) Cp>-Tts x&Tttsa.- SivTtts 'Tjmrxs tura w T Buffihiay ng.-mh.umy tip ay mv'tSti ngft- itqaStiyeu i&f 70 7« A/o? hgfv Kct7n70th.ms- 710/70. S~ Z£i rr&npa •? Siftts S^£a/nas hs t 'Efto'Jk T&tfKofT' stsoi KHiriun Suoiv. Lib. 3. c. 22. This Expedition of Xerxes into Europe is placed in Mr Selden's Comment on the Marble Olymp. lxxiv. 4. and before Chrift 481. and 28 years before that is the year before Chrift yop. 2 TxTav Si 7oii-mv umpxpyTay 1^ TjfX(Avav 7ay ZtwStiitav tn n,y h Xxh.nd/Miji saois syivtn isfet ris 'H}t(Mvia(, Pag. ySd. But Alexandria was begun Olymp. cxii. 2. />^. pyy. and Chrift was born about Olymp. cxciv. 2. on [4-6] on a confiderable Trade with it ; but for how long doth not very well appear. Diofcorides fpeaks of it as well known in his time ', and Pliny defcribes the manner of making it*; but Eujlathius fays the Art was loft in his days'. Appendix II. I ufe the word Jehovah, pag. 27. according to the uf ual manner of pronouncing it ; but I muft add here, that if n* be the contraction of nin* as it appears to have been from Pf. 68.4, no rules of Grammar, I apprehend, will form J A H from JEHOVAH. The word mpp therefore muft be pronounced, and pro bably was pronounced YAH OH, from whence comes naturally YAH or J AH. And to con- I XliTrvys yvdetysts Ss* mtiVi ip' Sf o %*(tiis Kcirttmzvdfy- •nu. Lib. 1. c. 116. 2 Erat autem Papyrus planta Mgyptta bicubitalis, quas pejleas Tunicas habebat multas. Eas autem acu feparabantur. Duze fimul jungebantur, & turbida Nili aqua intingebantur. Premitur deinde Prxlis, & fic- cantur Sole Plagula;. Nat. Hift. Lib. 13. c. 12. Tho' at firft the Water of the Nile alone ferved the pur- pofe, yet afterwards, as Father Montfaucon obferves, Glutino illini cceperunt ut firmius confifterent. Pa' Uograph. Grac. pag. 14. 3 — ijiyoyro j«p piny &a $'&h.uy 'Aiyj^iay as olm n«77iip»F uSfo%a.£av , K«Sa. o'i v>n fudatjcvoy, imniifKva. tus ^apzAJin >«?• •met*- cmia "urns 19 to t/fepov ISlavms Kiyd/^ytt £uha%i,m&- at » -nyy* apv S.^fiTr-m. In Odyff. *. pag. IPI3. firm [47] firm this, it may be obferved from Diodoru* Siculus, that Mofis affirmed that he confulted in the framing his Laws nr iaq cJfaK*Xxpivo» ©eoi/, pag. 48. Edit. Hanov. 1604. And Apollo Clarius being confulted who this God \cm was, returned for anfwer, *g^s* t nwnm vistem 9sw iptpttv 'iAfl, Xsip47J (W> t"m AHN, 2^' ^' «*§«? apxfiptimo, HEAION ^ %?&> fjcvmruoa ^'«6got> 'iAU. Macrob. Saturnal. L.i.c.iS. And &/aferc obferves,Tetragrammaton autem k Grsecis 'i*£ & 'i« tpptoptpov mixpiAm hirixuv. Vit. Numce. Appendix to Note i. p. 37. Amongft other Inftances of things faid in the Poetical and Figurative Stile, to be feen by a perfon, though the tranfa&ion be fuch as he could not pofiibly have been a Eye-Witnefs of, may be reckoned the Paffage, Habakkuk 3. 7. But that whole Chapter having fome- thing in it uncommonly fublime and noble, it will not be thought amifs perhaps, if I fubjoyn a paraphraftical Verfion of it, attempted fome years ago for my own Amufement, The [ 49 3 The Third Chapter of Habakkuk, paraphrajlicallf tranjlated in En glifh Verfe. LORD, when my lab'ring Bofom fwell'd With the fad Truth, in myftick Words reveal'dj I fank beneath th' oppreffive Load, And felt within the heaving God. Oh! when the Meafure of our Sin's compleat, And drives us wandring from our native Seat ; When fainting Nature fickens at the Doom, Long tedious Years of Vengeance yet to come ; Cut fhort the Date, and change our Song, O fave a wretched exil'd Throng. Let fov'reign Pity hear the Captive's Cries, Bend to his Suit, and liften to his Sighs. II. When God from Teman came, {Paran witnefs'd to the fame) The Skies His awful Train beheld, The Earth was with His Splendour fill'd ; His Brightnefs far eclips'd the Light, Too ftrong for mortal Eyes,, too bright. III. High on each hand a fiery Beam was rear'd, And all the Glory of the God appear'd. Confirming Plagues and burning Winds Before Him ftalk'd in dreadful Bands, Vindidive Sores and livid Deaths To fcatter o'er the guilty Lands. G IV. He [ *>]IV. He frown'd; Then took His dreadful Stand, And firft the trembling Nations fpann'd, Then made them ftart around. The trembling Nations fled for Fear, Cbnfhfion mix'd with wild Defpair Appear'd in ev'ry Fate; The everlafting Hills did bow, The rifted Mountains trembled too, And fprtttig from off their Bafe. V. To Thee they bow'd, Whofe mighty Nod, Coritroll'd the World from boundieis ages paft| And whofe diread Sway Created Beings all obey, And which fhall ever ever laft. VI. I faw, when eating Care Sat brooding in each Look; When penfive Thoughts for tb* Chance of War The ftotiteft Arab fhook. VII. I faiv their baffled harrafs'd Troops Scour o'er the dufty Plain j While barren Sands grew fat with Blood Of Midian Cohorts flain. VIII. How Lsi ] VIII. How could the Waves thy Wrath provoke, That they no fooner felt thy Stroke, Than back the refluent Flood At reverend Diftance flood ! Confounded at the ftern Command, Amaz'd, The crouding Waters gaz'd, Whilft the triumphant People pafs'd j But wondred more, To fee how Horfe and Chariot bore Deliverance towards the Promis'd Land. IX. Thy Bow performs whate'er thy Ifrael wills; Thy Grace did promife, and thy Truth fulfils. The murmuring Tribes complain, When Io! to fave a thirfty Flock, From out the ftricken Rock, Leap falient Streams from ev'ry Vein. The Mountains trembled at thy Sight, , And down the rufhing Torrents pour'd; The Deep confefs'd its ftrange Affright, Extended wide its Hands, and roar'd. X. The Sun unrein'd his fiery Steeds, The Moon all pale withdrew; As confcious of their feebler Beams, When from Thy Shafts immortal Gleams Of Heav'nly Lightnings flew. G 2 XI. When XI. When Thou didft march in Anger thro' the Land, The Heathen felt the Weight of Thy feverer Hand. By Thee fupported in th' adventurous Road, In War's tumultuous Field, a prefent God Thee at each need Thy People found. 'Twas hence an eafy Prey Their Foes became, their Cities lay In afhes fmoaking on the Ground. XII. To Thee in mournful Strains we cry'd, O'er-fpent with Fear; Thy pitying Ear Accorded to our Prayer, And crufh'd the mighty Madmen's Pride. XIII. Th' obdurate Lands thro' all their Towns With frantick Rage infpir'd, Flew fwift as Wind to flop our March, But fwifter ftill retir'd. XIV. The harnefs'd Storms Thy Chariot bore, And plung'd upon the Main; The harnefs'd Storms with hideous Roar Defpis'd the curbing Rein. XV. But when I heard my Nation's Fate, Compaffion mov'd me for the falling State : At [« ] At the fad mournful Tale, My fault'ring Speech began to fail, My brittle Limbs their former ufe deny'd, And all the purple Streams of Life were dry'd. Oh may my Hairs to dull defcend in Peace, E'er wild Deftru&ion fhall my Country feize! XVI. But tho' the Fig- Tree fhall no Bloffoms yeild, Nor nodding Harvefts crown the joyful Field; Tho' the prefs'd Olive fhall afford no Oil, But with falfe Hopes delude the Owner's Toil j Tho' in the Stalls no lowing Herds be found, Nor neighboring Hills with bleating Flocks refound j XVII. Yet on the Lord will I rely ; He's my Deliverance, Strength and Joy; Thro' Him my nimble Feet Shall far out ftrip the fleeteft Hind, And leave the lowly Vales behind, Bound o'er the Hills, and feek a fafe Retreat. FINIS, Lately Publifh'd, by the fame Author. A Letter to Martin Fofkes, Efqj Prefident of the Royal Society, concerning the Rife and Progrefs of Aftronomy amongft the An- tients. BOOKS Printed and Sold by Richard Cle ments Bookfeller in Oxford. i T70ur Sermons, by the Rev. George Fothergill,' r B.D. Fellow of Queen's College, Oxon. on •publick occafions, preached at Oxford: i At the Affizes held there, March 6. 1734-?. 2. On the Martyrdom of K» Charles I. 1744-5. 3 On a Gene ral Faft-Day, Jan. 9. 1744-y. 4 And on the General Thankfgiving, O&. 9. 1746. a The Four Gofpels in the Malayan Tongue, with a Preface, &c. by Dr Hyde. 3 Rogeri Afchami Epiftolarum, Libri Quatuor. Acceflit Joannis Sturmii, aliorumque ad Afchamum, anglofque alios eruditos Epiftolarum Liber unus. 8vo. 4 Euclidis Elementorum Libri Priores Sex, item Unde- cimus & Duodecimus. Ex Verfione Latina Frederici Commandini. QuibuS accedunt Trigonometriae Planae & Sphsericae Elements. Item Tractatus de Natura & Arithmetica Logarithmolum. In ufum Juventutis Aca- demicae. Editio Quanta, Audfcior & Emendatior. y Inftitutio Logic* ad Communes Ufus aroomrnodata,' per Johannem Wallis, S.T.D. Geometric Profeflbrem Savilianum. Oxoaias Editio Quimta, auclior & emen datior. 8vo. 6 De Antiquitiate^ Elegantia, Utilitate Linguae Arabicse,' Oratio habita Oxcmii, inScfaola Linguarum vii Kalend. Augufti, 1758. A Thoma Hunt, D. D. ex Aula Cer- vi-na, Linguse Arabics; ProfefTpre. 7 A Diflertation on Proverbs VII. az, a^. being a Spe cimen of Critical DiiFertations on the Proverbs of Solomon : Addrefs'd to the Students in Arabic, aWl the other Oriental Languages, in the Univerfity of Ox ford. By Thomas Hunt, D.D. of Hertford College, Profeflbr of Arabic. Price