making them serious and considerate betimes. Abraham lived more than a hundred years with Shem, and no doubt learned from him the state of the world before the deluge. He never left his father Terah; and was at least seventy years old when he lost him. Isaac was seventy-five when Abraham died; and, as far as we know, never went from him all that time. It was the same with respect to the other Patriarchs. Living so long with their fathers, they had the benefit of their experience and inventions. They prosecuted their designs, adhered firmly to their maxims, and became constant and uniform in their conduct. For it was a difficult matter to change what had been settled by men who were still alive; especially as the old men kept up their authority, not only over the youth, but also the elders that were not so old as themselves.

The remembrance of things past might be easily preserved by the bare relation of old men, who naturally love to tell stories of antient times, and had so much leisure for it. By this means they had no great use for writing; and it is certain we find no mention of it before Moses. However difficult it may seem to conceive that so many calculations as he recites should have been preserved in the me

The author here follows the chronology of Archbishop Ussher, who supposes that Shem did not die till 150 years after the birth of Abraham. But Ussher leaves the second Cainan out of his chronology, whom the Septuagint and St. Luke place between Arphaxad and Salah. This second Cainan throws the birth of Abraham much farther forward.

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mory of men, as the ages of all the Patriarchs, the exact dates of the beginning and end of the Flood," the dimensions of the Ark, &c.; yet there is no necessity for recurring to miracle and revelation. For it is probable that writing was found out before the deluge; as we are sure musical instruments were, though not so necessary. But though Moses might have learned, in the common way, most of the facts which he has written, I believe, nevertheless, that he was influenced by the Holy Spirit to record these facts, rather than others, and express them in terms most proper for the purpose.

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Besides, the Patriarchs took care to preserve the memory of considerable events by setting up altars and pillars, and other lasting monuments. Thus, Abraham erected altars in the different places where God had appeared to him." Jacob consecrated the stone which served him for a pillow while he had the mysterious dream of the ladder;" and the heap of stones, which was witness to his covenant with Laban, he called Galeed. Of this kind was the sepulchre of Rachel; the well called Beersheba; and all the other wells mentioned in the history of Isaac. Sometimes they gave new names to places. The Greeks and Romans relate the same of their heroes, the oldest of whom lived near the times of the Patriarchs.' Greece was

• Gen. v.

Gen. vi. 15.

Gen. xii. 8, xiii. 18.

'Gen. xxxi. 48.

Gen. vii. 11, viii. 13. "Gen. iv. 21.

Gen. xxviii. 18.

* Gen. xxvi. 33.

Pausan. passim. Dion. Hal. lib. 1.

full of their monuments: Æneas, to mention no others, left some in every place that he passed through in Greece, Sicily, and Italy."

The very names of the Patriarchs were besides a sort of more simple and familiar monuments. They signified some remarkable circumstance of their birth, or particular favour received from GOD. So they were in effect a short history. For they took care to explain the reason of these names to. their children, and it was hardly possible to pronounce them without refreshing the memory with it. This care for posterity, and providence for the future, was an argument of true generosity and greatness of mind.

The Patriarchs enjoyed perfect freedom; and their family was a little state, of which the father was, in a manner, king. For what did Abraham

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Virgil. Æneid. passim.

"Such for instance as ABRAM, from a ab, a father, and ram, high; called afterwards Abraham, ¬ a father of multitudes, then being inserted before; for n ham, is a contraction for a hamon, a multitude.

PELEG, from palag, he divided; for in his days, says the text, Gen. x. 2, the earth (naba nipilogah) was divided.

MANASSES, the son of Joseph, signifies forgetting, from n nashah, he was forgetful; for, said he, (Gen. xli. 51.) God hath made me forget (w nashshani) all my labours, and my father's house.

EPHRAIM, fruitful, from 5 pharah, he was fruitful; for, said Joseph his father, on hiphrani, God hath made me fruitful in the land of my affliction. Gen. xli. 51, 52.

JOSEPH, addition, or increase, from Yasaph, he added, or increased; because, said his mother, no" Yoseph Jehovah, the Lord shall add to me another son. Gen. xxx. 25.

want of the power of sovereigns, but their vain titles and inconvenient ceremonies? He was subject to nobody; kings concluded alliances with him he made war and peace when he pleased. Princes sought the alliance of Isaac. Ishmael, Jacob, and Esau, were likewise independent. We must not then suffer ourselves to be misled by names; nor think Abraham inferior to Amraphel or Abimelech, because the Scripture does not call him king as well as them. He was certainiy equal to one of those four kings, whom he defeated with his domestic forces, and the assistance of his three allies. The greatest difference was, that he did not shut himself up within walls as they did, and that his whole family followed him to any place whither he had a mind to move his tents. All authentic history testifies that kingdoms were very small, even in the east, at that early period; and we find them so in other countries a great while after.

CHAP. III.

Their Riches and Employments.

THE riches of the Patriarchs consisted chiefly in cattle. Abraham must have had a vast stock when he was obliged to part from his nephew Lot, be

cause the land was not able to bear them together. Jacob had a great number when he came back from Mesopotamia, since the present that he made to his brother Esau was five hundred and eighty head of different sorts. From which we may likewise learn what sort of beasts they bred, viz. goats, sheep, camels, horned cattle, and asses. There were no horses nor swine among them. It was such plenty of cattle which made them set so great a value upon wells and cisterns, in a country where there was no river but Jordan, and rain very seldom.

They had slaves too: and Abraham must have had abundance of them, since he armed three hundred and eighteen men of those that were born in his house, and trained up by himself. In proportion, he must have had plenty of children, old men, women and slaves, that were bought with money. When he returned from Egypt, it is said he was rich in gold and silver. The bracelets and 'ear-rings, which his servant Eliezer made a present of to Rebecca from his master, weighed six ounces of gold; and the purchase of his buryingplace shews that money was in use at that time.' We see likewise that perfumes and costly raiment were made use of," by Esau's clothes, which Jacob wore to obtain his father's blessing.

Gen. xxvii. 27. But does not this rather intimate that odoriferous plants or herbs were laid up with the clothes in the chests or coffers where they were kept? A custom that prevails among the inhabitants of some countries to the present day.