CH. XIV. that Noah confider'd his fon Cham's deriding of him, not only as contrary to the refpect which was due to him as his father, but also as the effect of a horrid impiety, which attack'd God himself, as making that promife, The feed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head, a subject of raillery.

This reflexion upon the action of Cham, and the curfe of Noah confequent to it, does appear very natural, if we confider that Noah could not but reflect upon the name his father had given him, and the special favour fhewed to him, in being alone preferved of all the pofterity of Adam, and confequently, the onely perfon in the world, by whom this promife was to be fulfill'd. At leaft, it can't be deny'd, but that this reflexion is as natural as it would have been juft in reference to the fact of cruel Afyages (p), if when he had (as he thought) fufficiently eluded his dream, which prefaged the glory of the fon of Mandane his daughter, he had found her indecently uncovered and had taken thence occafion, deridingly to reflect, with his other children, upon a dream which feem'd to promife to the fon of Mandane the throne of all Afia, and threaten the ruine of his own.

'Tis a thing worth our noting, that in the time of Ezra (q), the Samaritans had fo fresh a memory of Cham's fin, which they supposed to be generally preferv'd amongst other nations, that in their letter to king Artaxerxes against the Jews who rebuilt Jerufalem, they declare, they would not discover the king's nakedness; implying, that they could not confent to the injury he might receive from the Jews in fuffering Jerufalem to be rebuilt. It is not needful to repeat thofe other arguments which prove, that the children of Noah had reafon to be, and were actually as much convinced of the creation and firft' promife, as their anceftors were; for seeing that these arguments were the very fame which their fathers had to perfwade themselves of the truth of these things, we had better proceed to the enquiry, whether their posterity that follow'd them, had the fame perfwation they had? which may cafily be proved, in making fome reflexions on the following ages, and upon thofe who defcended from Noah and his children.

CHA P. XIV.

That the Pofterity of NOAH's Children were perfwaded of the Truth of the Creation, and first Promife.

OF Noah faw Methufalem, who had seen Adam and his pofterity beIfore the deluge; Abraham faw Shem and his children, who were unqueftionable witnesses of what had paffed before and fince the

Hood.

fp) Herod lib. 1. Jaflin Hift. lib. 1. (q) Ezra iy. 14.

Valer. Max. lib. 1.

Noah

Noah dying 350 years after the deluge, it appears, that his death happened in the year of the world 2006; fo that Noah died only two years before the birth of Abraham, he being born in the year 2008.

Abraham lived 150 years with Shem, who died in the year 2158, and 88 years with Arphaxad the fon of Shem, who died in the year 2096, he lived 118 years with Selah fon of Arphaxad, who died in the year 2126, and 179 years with Heber the fon of Selah, who died in the year 2187.

Ifaac being born in the year 2108, might fee Shem, Selah, and Heber, who for fome hundreds of years had converfed with Noah and his other children; I fay we may fuppofe him to have converfed with thofe patriarchs, or at least with those who being their contemporaries, difcourfed of Noah as a man but of yesterday, and from his relation, and his children's, were informed of the creation of Adam, his fall, the promise of the holy feed, the death of Abel, the miracle of Paradife, the preaching of Noah, the deluge, &c. And who, in obedience to the law of God, obferved by their ancestors, did meet together fifty two times every year, to celebrate the memorial of these wonders, and to teach them to their pofterity.

We may take notice of three things here which conduce much to the prefervation of a diftinct knowledge of these matters.

The first is, That the ark it self might be seen by all the world, as a certain monument of the deluge, and the faving of Noah and his fons (r). This monument continued very many ages after Abraham, and was a means to preserve the memory of the deluge amongst the Pagans, as Lucian, to name no more acquaints us.

The fecond is, That it was as eafie for any of Abraham's contemporaries, as for Abraham, to deduce his genealogy from Noah and his children.

And this was the more eafie, becaufe the firft divifion of the world amongst the three fons of Noah, was followed by another partition amongst their pofterity, in the year of the world 1758, a divifion which gave them a just title of poffeffion to that part of the earth, where they were feated, in defence of which, it seems probable, that the war of Chedorlaomer (mention'd the XIII of Genefis) was undertaken, the family of Cham having invaded the land of Canaan, which was part of the inhe ritance of Shem, as we shall make appear elsewhere.

The third and last thing is, That it was not eafie to impofe a forgery upon those times, because their lives were yet of a great extent, tho' inferiour to those who lived before the flood.

To these we may add this further confideration, that as the jealoufie which was between the family of Seth and of Cain, was a great means to preserve inviolably the important truths of the creation and firft promife; a like jealoufie now being rifen amongst the fons of Noah, Cham being accurfed of his own father in the perfon of Canaan, and the fame being propagated to their posterity, it could not but effectually contribute to refcue these important truths from oblivion, and particularly the promise of the Meffiah, conceived in these words, The feed of the woman fhall bruise the ferpent's head.

(r) De Dea Syra, p. 106a,

In

In a word, we may not only in reference to the, matter in hand, take notice of what Lucian relates concerning the religion of the Affyrians (s), which did fo lively preferve the memory of the deluge, and of what was done to Noah by his fon Cham, when he fcoffed at the nakedness of his father (t); but alfo, that the god of the Sichemites was called Baalberith, whofe fymbol was the figure of the privy parts of a man, which feems a manifeft allufion to their descent from the family of Cham, the Sichemites being some of the pofterity of Canaan.

It is alfo very natural to conceive, first of all, that it was from those old pretenfions that the Canaanites took occafion to prophane the most holy things, with fuch fhameful idea's.

Secondly, That it was in deteftation of these idea's, that God ordered the killing of the priests of Baal.

And,

Thirdly, That it was for the fame reason, that the Jews were commanded to destroy them utterly.

Fourthly, This was alfo the reason why the Ifraelites were so often defirous of imitating their crimes.

In the fifth place, As we fee that upon the like account the Moabites. and Ammonites took Chemofh for their god, and that the women of those nations were very zealous to propagate their religion, of which we have an instance in Jezabel the wife of Ahab, fo God was alfo willing to infpire his people with horrour and detestation, for their religion or any alliance with them.

Laftly, As there does appear a very great conformity and refemblance, between the firft birth of the world from the firft chaos, and its being born again after the deluge; between Adam the first man, and Noah the fecond, and between the jealoufies fprung up in both their families upon the account of the promife of the Meffiah: So this conformity could not but very naturally contribute, to preferve the memory of those ancient events which Noah and his children had delivered to their pofterity with all the care which is taken to preferve the tradition of the fundamentals of religion.

4

i

CHA P. XV.

That we find the Family of ABRAHAM and his Pofterity till JACOB fully perfwaded of thofe Truths.

T is no lefs eafie to conceive how the diftinct knowledge of these truths, was in procefs of time handed down to Jacob and his

xx pofterity. This I fhall briefly explain.

I need

(s) Judg. viii. 23. & ix. 8. Talm. Hier. fol. 11. col. 4. & gloss, in b. 1.

Avodazara c. iii. fol. 43. col, 1.

(t) De Dea Syr. p. 1069.

I need not take notice here, that the religion practis'd by Abraham and his pofterity fuppofe thefe matters as conftantly owned and

known.

It cannot be deny'd, but that Lot having followed Terah and Abraham, when God called the latter out of Chaldea, might thence fuppofe, that this heavenly call did separate and distinguish him from the reft of the pofterity of Shem, and gave him a right as well as Abraham, to pretend to the priviledge of fulfilling the promise of the Meffiah, or at least to see it fulfill'd in his pofterity. This we may infer from the inceft of Lot's daughters; their crime, which in another view appears very monftrous, doth clearly prove, that they were ftrongly poffefs'd with this hope which their father had raised in them.

I know that fome interpreters fuppofe (u), that they were moved to commit this incest from a pious intention of preferving mankind, as imagining to themselves, that as the deluge had drowned all men, befides Noah and his family, fo the flåmes which deftroy'd Sodom, had confumed all mankind; which they were the more ready to believe, because they might have heard from their father, that the world one day was to perish by fire. But indeed, it may be confider'd as proceeding from a very different motive, the Jewish Doctors (x) plainly averring, that this was done by them in hopes of bringing forth the promised Redeemer.

And if we look upon this action of theirs in this view, with reference to the promise of the Meffiah, which was the grand object of the hopes of all thofe that fear'd God; it is natural to conceive, that confidering their father, as one whom God had peculiarly chofen from amongst the pofterity of Shem, to execute the promise of the Meffiah, and feeing that their mother was changed into a ftatue of falt, they conceived themselves in fome fort authoriz'd to furprize their father in that manner; and the rather, because they conceived on the one hand, that none of the Canaanites (upon whom God had now begun to pour forth fo hideous a ven geance, as a beginning of the execution of the curfe againft Cham) having any part in this chiefeft of bleffings, could ever marry them, after that God had fo manifeftly separated and call'd forth their father from amongst them; and on the other hand, fuppofing that God would difpence with the irregularity of this action, by reason of their being reduced to an extremity.

There be three circumstances which greatly confirm this my remark upon the motive of their incest.

The first is, That they are represented to us as those who had behaved themselves very chaftly, in the midst of the impurities of Sodom; and that befides we find they defign'd no fuch thing, till after the death of their mother.

The other is, That we see them contriving the thing together, and that in a matter which naturally is apt to feparate the greatest friends, where the motive proceeds from a spirit of uncleanness: nor indeed, do we find that they continued in this inceft.

The third is, That they were fo far from being asham'd of an action, in it self so criminal, or concealing the knowledge of it from pofterity, that they gave those names to the children born of this their inceft, that might

(u) Lyra in Genef. xix.

(x) Beref, Rab. part 23.

might perpetuate and divulge the memory of this their action, the one calling her fon Moab, as much as to fay, born of my father, and the other hers Benammi; a name of a like fignification with the former.

This observation is very neceffary, because these two sons became the heads of two great people, the Moabites, and the Ammonites, whofe kingdoms lafted above 1300 years, and lived on the borders of the holy land, and were jealous of Abraham and his pofterity, as pretending that Abraham could not be chofen before Lot their father, who being the fon of Abraham's elder brother, was to be confider'd as the firft-born of Terah and who were apt, without doubt, to take it for granted, that if God had brought Abraham out of Chaldea, and refcued him from Ur, he had in a more peculiar manner, faved Lot alone from the conflagration of Sodom, by the ministry of Angels, and that Abraham and Lot being equally defcended from Terah, the right of accomplishing the promife, did equally belong to them.

And indeed, we find that in all fucceeding times, thefe thoughts did predominate with them, as may easily be made out from the hiftory of Balaam.

We fee therefore, that the Moabites who were descended from the eldest daughter of Lot, look'd upon the pretenfions of the Ifraelites, that the Meffiah was to be born of their feed, in exclufion to all others, with great impatience, and it was for this reason, that they sent for Balaam, to decide (by Divine authority) the difference between them, concerning the right or the promised bleffing.

be

We may make very near the fame reflexions upon the calling of Ruth the Moabitefs, when the faith to Naomi her mother-in-law, Thy God fhall my God, and thy people shall be my people; which fignifies a renouncing of the pretenfions of her own people, and an acquiescing in the justice of thofe of the Ifraelites, and it was upon this occafion, that Ruth is more. particularly taken notice of in the genealogy of our Saviour, as I fhall have occafion to fhew hereafter.

That which I have hinted concerning the intention and aim of the daughters of Lot, hath been obferved before by the Jewish Rabbins, as we may fee in the most ancient of their Commentaries upon thefe words of Genefis, Chap. XIX. v. 32. Come let us make our father drink wine, &c. Upon which words, R. Tanchumah following the footsteps of R. Samuel, makes this reflexion, That we may preferve feed of our father; it is not faid, that we may preserve a fon from our father, but that we may renew the pofterity of our father, becaufe (faith he) they had regard to that feed, which was to proceed from a strange place, and what feed is that? It is the King Meffiah.

After this obfervation upon this action of Lot's daughters, it can no longer rationally be doubted, but that the violent paffion which Sarah had for a fon, proceeded from the very fame impreffion which made her contrary to the inclinations of that fex, to deliver her fervant into her husband's bofom, especially if we join to this the particular promife God had made to Abraham, which fhe could not be ignorant

of.

Sarah fees her felf deftitute of children, and her barrennefs having cortinued fo long a time, fhe had no hopes of ever being a mother, what

remain'd