oracles by which God promised to Abraham the establishing his pofterity in the land of Canaan, was to reprefent to the Jews the right they had to that land, according to the defign and intent of the Divine wisdom.

But without making this particular reflexion, it is clear that the law took its beginning at the twelfth of Exodus, where God prescribes to his people the manner of celebrating the paffover; at leaft, this is the firft law which God gave them through the miniftry of Moses: but forafmuch as Mofes his end was to juftify in the minds of his people, the defign he had to make them leave Egypt, as well as their pretenfions to the land of Canaan, whither he was to lead them; it was natural for him to lay before them the ground of thofe pretenfions, which he could not do without relating the whole feries of the hiftory until the time of their bondage in Egypt, which we read in Genefis; the greateft part of which only concerns the ancestors of that people, after that Mofes had first laid down the grounds of religion, and that which was known to all nations.

Let us now imagine to ourselves a man endeavouring all of a fudden to introduce into the world the belief of things fo far diftant from common apprehenfion as thefe two points must needs be, viz. that of the creation, and the promife of Chrift, in cafe we fuppofe them generally unknown: let us yet further conceive a man not only relating those things, but making them the foundation of a new fort of laws never before heard of. Is there any wit or judgment in fuch an undertaking? Can we therefore fuppofe that Mofes, whofe writings teftify his great wifdom, fhould ever have entertained fuch unaccountable thoughts?

I dare aver that there was never any legiflator fo ftupid and inconfiderate, as to pretend to engage a whole people to fubmit themselves to the yoke of obedience, and to receive a great number of laws refpecting their civil government and religion, by declaring to them two fictions, of which they had never before had the leaft idea.

It is alfo very confiderable, that these things are not recited by Mofes as a preface to the Decalogue, as if then firft they had been propofed to Mofes, or the people by God; but Mofes fets them down as truths known to them all, and as principles univerfally admitted, and fuch as the mere mentioning of them could not but ftrongly engage the Jews to render a ready obedience to the laws which God gave to Mofes in their prefence of the Divine authority, of which their very fenfes were convinced.

Let us alfo confider the nature of those things, the relation of which Mofes has joined with these two general points, to make an impreffion on the minds of the Jews. Let us confider the account he gives them of their ancestors, nearer or farther off, whom he reprefents as equally informed of these matters, as having feverally delivered the knowledge of them to their children, and having joined to these first truths of the creation, and the promife of a Saviour, many other notions thereon depending, and which tied their hopes and expectations to the land of Canaan. And now judge whether Mofes were not to be accused of great folly and fenfelefsness, if he had proceeded to make such a vast people (all of the fudden) to receive for truths publicly and generally owned, what indeed was nothing but the moft ridiculous and ill-cohering ro mance that ever was broached,

Now, fince as it is vifible (taking in the circumftances I have hinted) that the authority of fuch on hiftorian and law-giver as Mofes was, relating fuch important matters, cannot be called in question; it follows, that the Atheist can have nothing to object against his teftimony, with the leaft fhadow or pretence of reafon. So that we may already affert, that there is nothing better attefted than the creation of the world, and the promise of Chrift, which are the immovable foundations of the Chriftian Religion.

Nevertheless, for a more evident conviction, we are willing, before we draw this conclufion, to make it appear how weak and inconfiderable all thofe objections are, which Atheists can poffibly frame against what Mojes relates concerning these matters.

What can they with reafon object? Perhaps they'll fay, that Mofes is not the author of Genefis, but that it was foifted in under his name, and confequently, that whatsoever is built upon the authority of Mofes and his evidence is all without ground; or they may object, that, if Mofes be indeed the author of Genefis, he lived at fuch a diftance of time from the things which he relates, that it makes void the authority of his writings. They may moreover alledge, that Mofes relates things impoffible, and of which therefore those that mentioned them before, the things themselves being fo long fince paft and done, could not be fully informed of, and that they may well be fuppofed greatly changed and altered by a tradition of fo many ages. They may also alledge, that according to the common opinion, Mofes penned not these things as an hiftorian, but as a prophet; and that the apprehenfion of most concerning his books are, that he wrote of things whereof the knowledge before his time was very obfcure and confused, or rather were generally unknown.

They may object against thefe relations of Mofes, that which the most ancient people, fuch as the Egyptians, Chaldeans, and Chinefe, alledge for their antiquity, which far furpaffeth the date of the world according to Moses.

Thefe are the principal ways to affault the truths which Mofes relates; either by maintaining with the Atheists, on one hand, that the things which Mofes relates are indeed mentioned by the authors, but that they forged them themselves; or that Mofes, being an able and refined politician, defigned, by creating a belief of thefe matters in the Jews, to make them more fubmiffive and obedient to him.

In a word, it may be faid, that fuppofing the books of Genefis to be written by Mofes, it was an eafy matter for him to dictate whatfoever he pleased to a people who were under a law that made it capital to call in queftion the truth of his relations, or the authority of his laws.

This certainly is the fartheft to which the height of obftinacy can carry this matter, and the very laft refuge of the ftrongest prejudice. But it is an eafy matter to confound the Atheists and Libertines in every one of thefe articles, and to fhew that all their objections do in effect ferve for nothing else but to make a more lively impreffion of this argument taken from matter of fact, which I have undertaken to set forth in a full and clear light.

CHAP. V.

I

CHAP. V.

That MOSES is the Author of the Book of GENESIS.

SHALL in the fequel of this difcourfe make it appear, that we cannot with reafon conteft the authority of a tradition which hath thofe characters which we find in the relations contained in the book of Genefis: the only thing that can be queftioned in this matter is, whether Mofes, the great captain of the Ifraelites, and founder of their commonwealth, be the author of it. This therefore is the thing which we ought folidly to evince.

Though it feems that we might difpenfe with this trouble; forafmuch as it is easy to fhew, that the greateft part of the moft confiderable events, which are recorded in the book of Genefis, were generally believed by others as well as the Jews.

At least it must be granted, that these matters have given occafion to moft of their fables, viz. to that of the chaos; to that of the marriage of Peleus and Thetis; for the forming of man, to that of Prometheus; to that of Jupiter's continued laughter for the feven firft days of his life, which they looked upon as the original of the folemnity of the feventh day, known amongst the heathens; to that of the golden age, and of the deluge; to the name of Deucalion; to the fable of Janus, to that of the divifion of the world amongst Saturn's fons; to the name of Jupiter Hammon; to the fable of the Titans, and of the changing of women into ftatues of ftone; to the ftorics of the inceft the gods committed with their daughters; to that of the firing of the world by Phaeton; and to. a great number of other fictions, which cannot be otherwife explained, as the learned have fhewn at large.

Whosoever was the author of Genefis, whether Mofes or another, fure it is that he was exactly informed of the matters he relates, and that he lived foon after Jofeph.

Firft then I fay, that it appears he was fully informed of thofe matters of which he treats: he fets down the names of the heads or fathers of the feveral nations of the world, and does it fo, that what he faith doth very well agree with what the most ancient hiftorians have left us concerning that matter; he fpeaks of thefe nations, of the countries they poffeffed, and their kings, as of things he was perfectly informed of; he very carefully diftinguishes the original of these several nations: and the fame being at that time commonly known, no hiftorian could represent them otherwife than they were, without expofing himfelf to the laughter of all, by endeavouring to mix fables with relations of this nature.

In the fecond place, I fay, that this book was writ by a man that lived foon after Jofeph: he fpeaks very exactly of what Jofeph did in his place of chief minister to Pharaoh; in particular, he fets down the firft original of the fifth penny which the Egyptians, fo many ages after, continued to pay to their kings, being a thing which no Egyptian could be ignorant of.

P 4

And

And lastly, it is vifible, that this book ferves for an introduction to Exodus, and the following books, which have no other foundation but the truth of thofe things which are related to us there, and do throughout allude and refer to the feveral paffages of it; and that all matters of religion and worship contained in them, are founded upon the truth of the creation, and the promife of the Meffiah, which we find in Genefis ; and upon the truth of all thofe other fucceeding matters of fact, until the coming of the children of Ifrael into Egypt, when Jofeph was chief favourite and minifter of Pharaoh.

But we have yet a more eafy way to make out that Mofes, whofe history is contained in Exodus and the following books, is the author of Genefis.

For first, it cannot be denied that the heathens themselves have acknowledged Mofes for the most ancient law-giver: for this, we have the teftimonies of Plato, Polemus, Artapanus, Pythagoras, Theopompus, and Diodorus Siculus, who places Mofes in the front of fix of the most ancient Jaw-givers thus; Mofes, Sauchnis, Sefonchofis, Bachoris, Amafis, and Darius father of Xerxes.

But further, if, when the Lacedemonians tell us of the laws of their law-giver Lycurgus, and the Athenians of those of their Solon, we think ourselves obliged to believe them, because naturally every nation is fuppofed to be a faithful depofitary of the laws of him who first founded their government; yea, if we do not in the leaft doubt of these relations, though there be no people at this day who live according to the laws of Lycurgus or Solon; can any valuable reafon be imagined, for us to doubt whether Mofes wrote the book of Genefis, when an entire nation have conftantly averred that he did fo? I fay, when all the Jews, who continue at this day, do in all places, where they are fcattered throughout the world equally, and with one confent, maintain that they received this book from him, together with the laws and worship therein contained? nay, when it is notorious that many of them have fuffered martyrdom in confirmation of this truth?

I omit now to mention the confent of the Chriftians, who, though they be not defcended of Abraham, and do not obferve the greatest part of the laws of Mofes, yet do not ceafe highly to defend this truth throughout the world, the Gofpel in their fenfe being nothing else but the literal accomplishment of that promife, The feed of the woman shall bruife the heat of the ferpent. I fhall fhew, in the fequel of these my Reflexions, with how much juftice they affent to this truth; but at prefent I tie myfelf only to the teftimonies of the Jews, and that which confirms the authority thereof.

CHAP. VI.

I

СНА Р. VI.

That the Book of GENESIS could not be forged under the name of Moses.

SHOULD never have done, fhould I go about to fet down all the obfervations which might be made in comparing this book of Genefis with other hiftories commonly known to the world, and whose faithfulness is unquestionable. Without entering upon this comparison, we may boldly affert, that there is no hiftory in the world whofe author we can be fo fure of, as that Mofes was the penman of Genefis.

But I go further, and affert, that the Jews could not be mistaken in the teftimonies they give to this truth; which I prove by these two re

marks.

The firft is, That their obfervations, both civil and religious, are at this day founded upon no other principles than thofe which we find in Genefis as, for inftance, they compute the beginning of their day from the preceding evening, they keep the fabbath, they obferve circumcifion, they abstain from eating the mufcle which is in the hollow of the thigh, &c. The obfervation of which laws is indeed prefcribed to them in the other books of Mofes; but the occafion and ground of them all is nowhere to be found but in Genefis, to which all these laws have a natural relation.

The fecond is, That the book of Genefis taking for granted, that the pofterity of Abraham, as well as his ancestors, had always obferved the fabbath and circumcifion; and the books of Mofes ordering the fame to be conftantly read in every family, to which the fabbath-day was more peculiarly appropriated, and the whole to be read over every feventh year, as we know the Jews practice was, according to the law of Mofes; the firft of which injunctions they practice ftill in all places, and have left off the other, only because they cannot do it now they are out of their own land; I fay, fuppofing all this, it is abfolutely impoffible that any other than Mofes could have made this book to be received.

The forgery, at the beginning, would have been palpable, even to children themselves: as, for example, let us fuppofe that Solomon had formed a defign of deceiving the people, in publifhing the book of Genefis for a book of Mofes; is it poffible he fhould fo far impofe on his people, as to make them to receive the faid book all at once, as that which had been conftantly read in their families every seventh day, and year, and that for 600 years before his time? and therefore, as a book that had been fo long in all their families, though indeed it was never heard of by them before that time.

If an impoftor can create a belief in others, that he hath fome fecret communication with the Deity, thofe who are thus perfuaded by him, will eafily fubmit themselves to his laws; but it is abfolutely impoffible that a whole people fhould all at once forget whatsoever they have learned

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