ed him to Eleazar and the whole assembly, and laying his hands upon him, Moses resigned the charge which the Lord God had entrusted unto him.

The book of Deuteronomy, the last of the five books called the Pentateuch, containeth the admirable last address of Moses to the children of Israel, being a recapitulation of the law, and a commentary upon the ten commandments; it gives, also, an account of the death of that illustrious lawgiver. And when Moses had spoken all these words, he went up from the plains of Moab, unto the top of mount Nebo, called also Pisgah, or Abarim. And thence he beheld all the land, from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates, and to the farther sea. And the Lord said unto him, "That is the land of which to your forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I covenanted, saying, To your posterity will 1 give it. With thine eyes have I made thee see it, but over unto it thou shalt not go." So Moses, the servant of Jehovah, died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. He was one hundred and twenty years old when he died; yet his eyes were not dim, nor his vigour gone. But there has not since arisen in Israel, such a prophet as Moses, with whom the Lord held such immediate communication, in regard to all the signal prodigies which Jehovah sent him to work in the land of Egypt, against Pharaoh, and all his servants, and the mighty and tremendous deeds which he did in the sight of all Israel. Moses died about 1451 years before the birth of Christ.

QUESTIONS.

Whence is derived the name of the book of Numbers, and what does that book contain? When did the two numberings of the children of Israel take place; and what was the number of males above twenty found to be, at the first mustering? What men were sent to explore the land of Canaan, what was their report, and what was the effect of that report? What was the fate of the explorers, and which of them, being faithful, were saved and rewarded? Upon what occasion did Moses and Aaron sin against the Lord, and what sentence was passed upon them? Where did Aaron die? Who succeeded Aaron in the priesthood? What was the method appointed by God for healing the Israelites who were bitten by the fiery serpents? What did Balak, king of Moab, do to fortify himself against the Israelites? Who was chosen of God to be the successor of Moses? What is the meaning of the word Deuteronomy, and what does that book contain? What was the nature of the last address of Moses to the children of Israel? What was the manner of the death of Moses? When did Moses die?

CHAP. X.

THE death of Moses, and the arrival of the Israelites at the end of their wanderings through the wilderness, terminates the fourth epocha of sacred history. The book of Joshua relates the manner in which the children of Israel took possession of the land of Canaan, and the allotment of that region among the tribes. generally supposed, that Joshua wrote the greater part of this narrative; the other part is attributed to Ezra. Joshua succeeded Moses

It is

about the year of the world 2553, and before Christ 1451.

After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, the Eternal said unto Joshua, the son of Nun, "Moses, my servant, is dead. Prepare thou, and all the people, to pass the river Jordan, and to enter that land which I give unto them. No man shall be able to resist thee all the days of thy life; for, as I was with Moses, so will I be with thee; I will not forsake thee. Only be thou firm in the observance of the law which Moses, my servant, gave thee in charge. Let the book of that law never be out of thy sight, out meditate thereon by day and by night. Fear not; for Jehovah, thy God, is with thee." And Joshua led the children of Israel unto the Jordan, in battle array, according to their several tribes. And, lo, by the power of the Almighty, the waters divided, to give a passage to the Israelites, as soon as the feet of the priests, who bore the ark, or sacred chest, containing the tablets of stone, on which were engraved the ten commandments, touched the surface of the river, which, at that season, overflowed its banks. And the city called Jericho, which Joshua besieged after the passage of the Jordan, was taken by the Israelites. For the Lord God had commanded Joshua to cause the host to march round Jericho for six days successively; while the priests bore the ark in their front, and sounded their trumpets before the host. But on the seventh day, they encompassed the city seven times; and, at the seventh time, when the priests' blew their trumpets, and all the people

shouted with a great shout, behold, the walls of Jericho fell down. And the Lord was with Joshua as he had promised; for the princes and tribes of the Canaanites fell before him. But Adoni-tzedek, king of Jerusalem, made a league with four other rulers of the land, and with their united armies, came they to attack the children of Israel. And Joshua marched to meet them, and they joined battle near Gibeon. But the kings fled from before the face of Israel, for the Eternal had scattered terror among them. And a dreadful tempest of wind and hail fell upon them in their flight; and the sun and moon appeared to stand still; the light was miraculously prolonged, for their destruction, and to perfect the victory of Joshua, the captain of the Lord's people. And the Israelites, led on by Joshua, subdued all the land; the south country and the plain, and the mountainous region. And when Joshua had conquered the promised land, he divided it, according to the divine direction, into twelve portions according to the number of the tribes of Israel. To nine of the tribes he assigned their portions by lot. The descendants of Manasseh and Ephraim, sons of Joseph, formed two tribes. But the tribe of Levi received no allotment of the conquered lands; for, as unto the Levites was intrusted the care of the tabernacle and its services, they were to be supported by the sacrifices and offerings; and to them were given only cities in which to dwell, and the pastures around those cities for their flocks. But unto Caleb, the son of Jephunna, who, with Joshua, made a faithful

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report, when Moses, the man of God, sent the chiefs of the tribes to explore the land of Canaan, did Joshua give Mount Hebron, the portion he required, agreeably to the promise of Moses. Many days had now passed after that the Lord had given rest to the Israelites from their surrounding enemies. Joshua was far advanced in years when he called the assembly of the Israelites together; their elders, chiefs, and judges, to whom he said, "Behold, I am far advanced in age; but ye have seen all that the Lord your God hath done for you; how he hath settled you in the land which he promised unto your fathers. Take heed that ye love the Lord your God; for if ye disobey him, he will inflict upon you all manner of evil, until he have destroyed you off this good land." And Joshua reminded the whole assembly of the wonders which God had wrought in their behalf. he said unto them, "Reject the gods whom your forefathers served on the other side of the river, and in Egypt, and serve the Lord; or, if it seem unfit for you to serve the Lord, choose, yourselves, this day, whom ye will serve; but, as for me, and my house, we will serve Jehovah.' And they replied, "The Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey." Then Joshua caused a large stone to be set up there, under an oak, and said to all the people, "Lo, this stone shall be a testimony against you, if ye deny your God." Thus, that day, Joshua made a covenant with the people; and he sent back the people, each man to his own habitation. After that, Joshua, the servant of the Lord, died, aged

And