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 those 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 promise 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 Joseph was chief favourite, and minifter of Pharaoh.

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

For firft, it cannot be deny'd, that the heathens themselves have acknowledged Mofes for the most antient 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 moft antient law-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 our felves oblig'd to believe them; because naturally every nation is fuppos'd 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 thefe 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 averr'd, that he did fo? I fay, when all the Jews, who continue at this day, do in all places, where they are scatter'd throughout the world equally, and with one confent, maintain, that they received this book from him, together with the laws and worship therein contain'd? Nay, when it is notorious, that many of them have suffer'd martyrdom in confirmation of this truth?

I omit now to mention the consent of the Chriftians, who tho' they be not defcended of Abraham, and do not obferve the greateft part of the laws of Mofes, yet do not ceafe highly to defend this truth throughout the world, the Gospel in their fenfe being nothing else, but the literal accomplishment of that promife, The feed of the woman, fhall bruife the head of the ferpent. I fhall fhew in the fequel of these my Reflexions, with how much justice they affent to this truth; but at present I tie my felf only to the teftimonies of the Jews, and that which confirms the authority thereof.

CHAP. VI.

С НА 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 set down I all the observations which might be made in comparing this book of Genefis, with other hiftories, commonly known to the world; and whofe faithfulness is unquestionable. Without entring upon this comparison, we may boldly affert, that there is no hiftory in the world, whofe author we can be so sure of, as that Mofes was the pen. man 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 remarks.

The first is, That their obfervations both civil and religious, are at this day founded upon no other principles, than those 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 muscle which is in the hollow of the thigh, &c. The obfervation of which laws is indeed prescrib'd to them in the other books of Mofes, but the occafion and ground of them all, is no where 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 obferv'd 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 seventh year, as we know the Jews practice was according to the law of Mofes; the first 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 form'd 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 feventh 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, tho' 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 perfwaded by him, will eafily fubmit themselves to his laws; but it is abfolutely impoffible, that a whole people should all at once forget whatsoever they have learn'd,

or

or heard of their parents or fore-fathers, and instead thereof, admit of tales forged at pleasure.

Some nations have been fo ridiculous, to derive themselves from a fabulous original, but they never fell into fuch mistakes about those things which were at no great distance from the time in which they lived.

Befides, we know that these fabulous originals never made fo lively an impreffion upon the minds of a whole nation, especially the learned amongst them, as generally to be believed; but we rather find, that they have endeavoured to reconcile them to truth, by fhewing fomething elfe was hinted thereby, as we may fee by the explication the heathens themselves have given us of all their fables, and utterly rejected those which they could not reconcile to good fenfe.

But in this cafe we find a whole nation to this very day maintaining all the matters of fact related in Genefis, and in particular, that of the creation, as of matters whofe memorial they have conftantly celebrated every feventh day, fince the time they first happened.

Laftly, It cannot be deny'd, but that this book was conftantly used to be read amongst the Jews, especially on the fabbath day, and that under the name of Mofes for inftance, fince the time of Jefus Chrift, or fince that of David. Neither can it be denied, but this conftant reading was obferv'd by virtue of a law contain'd in the said book: Now if this law has always been in this book from the first appearing of it, which cannot be queftion'd; how was it poffible to forge and foift in this book under the name of Mofes the founder of the Jewish government. I fay, this book, which befides all this, contains fuch extraordinary matters, and is the very foundation of all their religion.

I will not repeat here what I mention'd in the third chapter, to make the vanity of thofe men appear, who imagine the book of Genefis, and the four that follow it, might have been forged by others, under Mofes his name yet I think I ought, before I proceed further, to remove a feeming difficulty, which is often alledg'd by this fort of people: for say they, it cannot be, that these books were ever read, with that care and conftancy we speak of, because a time can be pointed at, wherein the faid book was wholly unknown in the kingdom of Judah; and indeed, the history plainly informs us, that the book of the law was found again in the reign of fofias, from whence they infer, that if it were then unknown, it might as well be forged.

But indeed, they may conclude from hence, that which willingly we allow them, that there was a time wherein ungodlinefs did prevail, and idolatry was publickly establish'd in the kingdom of Judah it felf, yet can they not from this instance draw any other confequence which might fupport their pretenfions.

They muft needs acknowledge first, that the books of Mofes were not only amongst the three tribes, but also amongst the ten, fince the time of their revolt under Rehoboam; that they who were carried by Salmanaffar, into the land of Affyria, had the faid books amongst them, as well as thofe of the ten tribes, who were left in their own countrey. Thus we fee, that when the king of Affyria fent fome of the priests of

Samaria

Samaria to inftruct the colony which he had fetled in their countrey, in the law of God; it is not faid, that those pricfts went to borrow the law of Mofes from them of Judah, nor that the faid laws was altogether unknown in that countrey; but only that they had formerly violated the law of God, in ferving ftrange Gods, as they ftill did, but that withal, they kept the law of God, which to this day is yet found among their pofterity,

Secondly, It is evident that tho' the wickedness and violence of Manaffeh, caufed a great change in matters of religion, yet not so great, but that his fubjects notwithstanding, had ftill the books of Mofes amongst them; the blood which he shed in Jerufalem, was an evident fign, that there were fome godly men left amongst them, who continued true to their religion, and obferved the laws of God. Befides, if we confider his repentance, we must conclude, that towards the end of his reign, he did in fome degree, re-establish the purity of that religion he had before prophaned, a main part of which, was the expounding and reading of the books of Mofes, according to those laws before mention'd.

In the third place it is vifible, that the reason why Hilkiah, having found the book of the law in the temple as they were cleanfing and repairing it, fent the fame to Jofiah, was not because there was no other fuch book left in Judah, but because the faid book being written by the hand of Mofes himself, there feem'd to be fomething very extraordinary in the finding of it at that very time, when they were endeavouring a reformation; and it was this circumftance which did in a more particular manner excite the zeal of this good prince. And indeed, if we fuppofe that Jofiah had never before feen the book of the law, how could he have apply'd himself to the reforming of his countrey, his people, and the temple, in the manner which is recorded in the book of Kings? How could a fufficient number of copies of it be difperfed over all his kingdom in an inftant, to inform the people about the ceremonials of the paffover, which foon after was fo folemnly celebrated by them? Or, how is it poffible, that the Levites, the priests, and people, could have been all of the fuddain inftructed in all the points to be observed in the performing of that holy folemnity.

It is apparent, that the facred Hiftorian did for no other reafon take notice of this circumftance, that the book found, was of Mofes own hand writing, but to make it appear, that their devout refpect for this book, was not wholly ftifled, as having been by them carefully hid from the fury of their idolatrous kings, and laid up in fome fecret place of the temple, where now they had fo happily found it again.

Over and above what hath been faid already, we are to obferve, that how great foever the wickedness of the kings of Juda and Ifrael was, as well as that of their fubjects, yet the fame generally confifted in nothing elfe, but the imitation of the worship of their neighbour nations, as to fome particulars, which tho' they were forbid by the law, yet they left the far greater part of their religion in full force. This we have an inftance of in the time of Ahab, where we find Elijah reproaching the Ifraelites with the monftrous alliance they had made betwixt the worship of God, and that of Baal, which queen Jefabel had introduc'd.

All

All this clearly proves, that the book of Genefis, which is the first of the books of Mofes, was never forged under his name, fince it was always owned as the writing of that famous author, and is still so acknowledged by the Jews at this day.

That it appears from GENESIS, that the Sabbath was conftantly observed from the Beginning of the World until Moses.

T

HE other objection of the Atheists (fuppofing that Mofes was the author of Genefis, as we have now proved) is this, that it feems abfurd to give credit to the relations of a person who lived fo many ages diftant from the things he recites. To answer this objection we muft firft of all declare to them, by what means the memory of the fact which Mofes relates was preferv'd fo lively and entire, as to give Moses so distinct a knowledge of them, and that it was not in his power to forge or add any thing of his own, it being a thing known to the whole world, as well as himself.

There is no way whereby we can more folidly evince, that it is impoffible the creation of the world fhould be forged by Mofes, than by making it appear, that the law of the fabbath hath a natural relation to the creation of the world, and that it hath been always conftantly observed from that time until Mofes. The fame alfo will help us clearly to conceive after what manner the memory of the promise of the Meffiah hath been preferv'd fo diftinct amongst thofe that lived fince the creation until Mofes. We are no fooner inform'd that the fabbath is a folemn day, ordain'd at first to celebrate and perpetuate the memory of the creation, but we judge it impoffible, that fo important an event commemorated every feventh day, by vertue of a Divine law, fhould be an imposture. But forafmuch as this impoffibility is grounded on these two propofitions; the one, that God gave this law of the fabbath to the first man; the other, that the fame was obferved by his pofterity ever fince, till the time of Mofes; and that God only renew'd it in the law given from mount Sinai these are the truths I am now to clear, and it is of more importance to be proved, because, tho' the generality of authors, ancient and modern, Jews as well as Chriftians, are of this opinion, yet there are fome of the Chriftian fathers, who feem to deny that the fabbath was ever obferv'd by the Patriarchs. But it will be an easie matter to prove from Mofes, that the antiquity of the fabbath is such as I affert, and at the fame time to demonftrate the truth of the creation, as well as of the promise of the Meffiah, which in a manner immediately follow'd it.

Mofes in the fecond chapter of Genefis, expreffes himself thus: And God bleffed the feventh day and fanctified it, because that in it, he had refted

from