(i) The American languages, in general, are rich in words and grammatical forms; and in their complicated construction the greatest order, method, and regularity pre vail; (ii) These complicated forms appear to exist in all these languages from Greenland to Cape Horn; Serug, Terah, were living at the birth of Isaac; and Shem and Eber lived, the one during fifty, and the other during nearly eighty, years of the life of Jacob. Yet we do not find the slightest intimation that either Abra(iii) These forms differ essentially from ham, Isaac, or Jacob, paid any kind of those of the ancient and modern languages reverence or attention to any of their of the Old Hemisphere. We have no reason to believe that a race would ever lose its ancestors, more especially to their great language, if kept aloof from foreign influences. ancestor Shem, who had gone through It is a fact that in the little island of Great that wonderful event of the Deluge,— Britain the Welsh and the Erse are still spoken, although for 2,000 years pressed upon (except, indeed, on the strange suppoby the strongest influences, tending to exter-sition that Melchizedek was Shem),minate a tongue. So with the Basque in or that Abraham ever paid a visit to France, which can be traced back at least Noah, who, however, is supposed by 3,000 years, and is still spoken. Coptic was the speech of Egypt for at least 5,000 years, some (without the slightest warrant and still leaves its trace in the languages from Scripture) to have colonised the around. The Chinese has existed equally as extreme East, China, &c., and so to long, and is still undisturbed. The language of Homer lives in a state of purity, to have gone out of his reach. which, considering the extraordinary duration of its literary existence (2,500 years at least), there is no parallel, perhaps, on the face of the globe. Although the nations of Europe and Western Asia have been in constant turmoil for thousands of years, and their languages torn to pieces, yet they have been moulded into the great heterogeneous Indo-European mass, everywhere showing affinities among its own fragments, but no resemblance to American languages. 1311. This question, however, of the Plurality of Races, is independent of that of the reliance to be placed on the accounts here given of the Patriarchs after the Flood. And, that these are unhistorical, is sufficiently shown by the following Table, where the numbers express the years after the Flood of the respective events. 1313. Again, it will be found that at the time of Isaac's birth,-when Sarah is represented as 'bearing a son to Abraham in his old age,' G.xxi.2, when Abraham and Sarah were old and well-stricken in age,' G.xvii.17, and Abraham 'laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born to him that is a hundred years old?' as if that were an extraordinary and surprising age for a man to beget children,—there were actually living, as above, Shem, Arphaxad, Salah, Eber, Serug, Terah, aged 580, 390, 355, 325, 229, 170 years respectively, and Eber lived 139 Must we suppose that years longer. none of these had children at the age of a hundred? But of Shem himself we are told, G.xi.10,11— Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the Deluge; and Shem lived, after his begetting Arphaxad, five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters. 1314. It is plain, then, that Shem's children were all born after he was a hundred years old; and Shem himself, and, we may suppose, these children, or some of them, were still living at the birth of Isaac. As to the other patriarchs, we are only told their ages at the birth of the firstborn son in each case, and these ages range from 29 to 35 years, except in the case of Abraham's father, who appears to have begotten Abraham at the age of 70, G.xi.26. This last, however, is not certain; as the text may only mean that Terah's three sons were born be- | nations and countries had their kings; Egypt stine, and all the neighbouring countries, had many magnificent cities, and so had Paleyea, all that part of the world besides, as far as India, and these not built with sticks, but of burnt stone and with ramparts, which magnificence needed a parent of more antiquity than those other men have supposed.' In another place he forcibly observes, If we of the world, such as it was in Abraham's advisedly consider the state and countenance fore he was 70. In all the other cases it is merely said that they 'begat sons and daughters,' and it may be supposed that none, except Shem, had children at the age of a hundred, or near it. But this would involve the incongruity that Arphaxad, Salah, and Eber had no children born to them, during three-time, yea, before his birth, we shall find it fourths or even four-fifths of their lives, which is out of all proportion to the state of things in the present day, and conflicts with the notion, usually entertained, of a remarkable fecundity in those early times, by which the human race was replenished so soon after the Flood. ones. were very ill done, by following opinion without the guide of reason, to pare the times over-deeply between the Flood and Abraham; because, in cutting them too near the quick, the reputation of the whole story might perchance bleed.' CHAPTER XIII. SCRIPTURE REFERENCES TO THE CREA- 1317. It becomes now an interesting, and, for the supporters of the traditionary view, a very important, question to consider what notice has been taken by the later Scripture writers of these early portions of the Pentateuch. 1315. It will be observed also that the more ancient progenitors, according to the above list, survived the later Thus Noah died ten years after Peleg, and therefore he was living at the time of the dispersion of tongues.' So also were Shem, Arphaxad, Salah, Eber, and, perhaps, also all the other forefathers of Abraham, viz. Reu, Serug, Do the Psalmists and Prophets refer Nahor, Terah, since Peleg died first of to the story of the First Man,-to that them all, and we are not told in what of the Garden, the Forbidden Fruit, the year of his life the dispersion took Serpent, the Fall, and the Deluge,-as place. It is impossible to say whether undoubted facts, the truth of which had the writer supposed that all these Pa-been attested by Divine authority? Do triarchs, or any of them, took part in they speak of these subjects, or any one the project of building the tower. of them, as if they were well-known and may suppose that Noah and Shem did familiar to their own thoughts, and to not: but, as to the others, the Scrip- the thoughts of all around them? Do ture only informs us that Terah and they quote them freely, as a modern his family were idolators a hundred devout poet or preacher would do,—as years before the death of Shem, Jo.xxiv. any earnest student of the Bible, hold2; see also Judith, v.6,7. ing the traditionary view, would do,as if they believed in them, as truths divinely revealed and infallibly certain? We 1316. The following remarks are quoted from Dr. HALES by KITTO, Hist. of the Jews, p.17 : Upon this supposition, idolatry must have begun and prevailed, and the patriarchal government have been overthrown by Nimrod and the builders of Babel, during the life time of Noah himself, and his three sons. If 1318. The reply is easy to be given. The They do nothing of the kind. story of the first man is scarcely even once referred to at all, and only, if at all,-which, as we shall presently see, Shem lived unto the 110th year of Isaac, and is exceedingly doubtful, with a slight the 50th year of Jacob, why was not he in-passing notice, enough just to show that cluded in the covenant of circumcision made the story was written (as we suppose it utterly unnoticed in their history? How was), and in some measure known to could the earth have been so populous in the writer and his readers. None of Abraham's days? Or how could the king-its details are ever mentioned. As doms of Assyria, Egypt, &c. have been LENGKERKE observes, Kenaan, p.xvii : established so soon after the Deluge? This last difficulty was strongly felt by Sir W. RALEIGH, who in his History of the World remarks,-- In this patriarch's time all the then parts of the world were peopled: all with Abraham and his family? Or why is he One single certain trace of the employment of the story of Adam's Fall is entirely wanting in the Hebrew Canon. Adam, Eve, the Serpent, the woman's seduction of her hus band, &c., are all images, to which the remaining words of the Israelites never again recur. At all events, there is not the slightest indication that, in the teaching of the Hebrew Prophets, the account of the Fall was quoted and dwelt upon, as we must certainly believe it would have been, at least, occasionally,—if they had believed in the Divine authority of the narrative. And as to Noah, his name is never once mentioned, nor is any reference made to the Deluge by any one of the Psalmists and Prophets, except in the latter part of the book of Isaiah, Is.liv. 9, and in Ez.xiv.14,20, by writers undoubtedly living after the Captivity. Dr. M'CAUL, however, says, p.176: We have here not only a reference to G.iii. D.xxxii.24. The Hebrew word for 'creeping14, but a quotation of certain words from things' occurs only here, in Deuteronomy, and in Job xxxii.6. find creeping-things of the dust,' and in Mic. Ans. That is to say, because in D.xxxii.24 we vii.17, 'creeping-things of the earth,' and the two phrases used in totally different connecquotation of certain words' (N.B. one word tions, therefore Micah has made a verbal at the most) from Deuteronomy! The allegation reminds one of the ingenious critic who adduced, as a proof of SHAKESPEARE'S acquaintance with Latin, the verbal agreement between the sentence, 1 præ, sequar,' to be found in TERENCE, and the corresponding sentence, 'Go before, I'll follow,' to be found the case, which appears to be most improbable, in SHAKESPEARE. If there is any copying in 6 we apprehend that it is the later Deuterono1319. KURTZ, however, i.p.87, endea-mist, who must have imitated his predecessor Micah. vours to prove that there is, at least, some reference to the story of the Fall in the later writings of the O.T., though he admits that (iii) Thou hidest Thy face, they are troubled; Thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. Ps.civ.29. (iv) His breath goeth forth; he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.' Ps. it is indeed remarkable that special references cxlvi.4. to these events occur so rarely. But the following are the only instances of this kind which he is able to produce, and they include all which Dr. M'CAUL has produced. (i) The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock, and dust shall be the serpent's meat.' Is.lxv.25. Ans. These words, instead of referring in any way to the curse pronounced in G.iii.14, express quite another idea. In the passage of Genesis, it is pronounced, as part of the curse upon the serpent, that it should eat dust,' while the venomous creature itself was to retain all its power to sting and injure,-to bruise the heel' of man. But the Prophet's language implies that the Serpent then, in the Messianic time, like the wolf and lion, shall be no longer hostile and deadly to other creatures or to man, but shall feed contentedly on dust' as they upon straw. The Prophet merely refers to the common notion of those times, that the serpent lived partially, if not wholly, on the substance which it drew from the dust through which it wriggled. See the note of KALISCH quoted in (1065). (ii) They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like creeping things of the earth; they shall be afraid of Jehovah our Elohim, and shall fear because of Thee.' Mic.vii.17. Ans. The cause must have been a desperate one, indeed, which compelled Dr. KURTZ to quote this passage,-which merely describes men wriggling along in terror, like worms, upon the ground, (just as the Zulus used to do, when approaching their dreaded king Chaka, and as people still do, when appearing before an Oriental despot,) as having any reference whatever to the curse pronounced upon the serpent in G.iii.14. 'All go unto one place; all are of the dust. and all turn to dust again. Ecc.iii.20. 'Then shall the dust return to the earth as it Ans. There may be a reference in these verses to G.iii.19. But, surely, the sight or the burial of a corpse might suffice of itself to awaken in any pious mind such reflections as these,even, as we have seen (1074), in the mind of a heathen. And, in any case, Ps.civ,cxlvi, are two strongly Jehovistic Psalms, and were, perhaps, written long after the Captivity. And the book of Ecclesiastes does not contain the name Jehovah at all; which fact combines with other internal evidence to show that it was not written by Solomon, as is generally supposed, but composed (as most critics agree) in a much later age, long after the Captivity, when the name was disused altogether, it would seem, for superstitious reasons. There is no doubt that the present Pentateuch was in existence and well-known in those days, and therefore might have been referred to by any writer; but it cannot be pronounced with any confidence that there is actually any reference to it in the above pas sages. mortality of man. 1320. KURTZ, however, says :- In the first of the above texts, Job xxxi.33, the E.V. reads: 'If I covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding mine iniquity in my bosom.' In the second, Hos.vi.7, we find:'But they, like men, have transgressed the covenant.' With the limitation 'equally clear' the statement of KURTZ may be admitted; for neither in these passages, nor in the former, is there, as it appears to us, the slightest reference to the Fall, though, in the case of Hos.vi.7, we have Dr. M'CAUL'S opinion confirming that of Dr. KURTZ. 1321. The Hebrew is the same in both the expressions above italicised; though our translators have rendered it differently in the two cases. It is clear that in the second instance the word can hardly be translated 'Adam,' since Adam had not transgressed any covenant,' unless it be supposed (with some commentators) that he transgressed a 'covenant of works'; and, certainly, in any case, the sudden allusion to him would be very abrupt,--the more so, as the other Prophets do not refer to him freely in this way, nor, indeed, do they ever once mention his name at all under any circumstances. Our translators, therefore, have understood the phrase to mean 'like men,' after the manner of men,' as in Ps.lxxxii.7, But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.' And this is, no doubt, the meaning in the other passage also, as will be seen by the following instances of translation. 1322. Thus in Job xxxi.33 we have these: 'If I have hidden, as a man, my sin,' Vulg.; 'If I have concealed, as men, my faults,' Syr.; 'If, even sinning involuntarily, I concealed my sin,' Sept. ; If I have covered, as Adain, my fault,' Chald.; If, as men, I have concealed my faults,' French, (CAHEN); If as a man I have hid my sin.' Douay Vers. 'If, as a man, I have covered my roguery,' German, (LUTHER); 'If I have hidden my sin, as men are wont to do,' Italian, (DIODATI); 'If I have covered, as a man, my transgressions,' (SCHMIDT); If I have covered, after the fashion of men, my faults,' (JUNIUS, TREMELLIUS). 'Have I ever done any wicked deed, wherethorow I shamed myself before men?' WYCLIFFE. And in Hos.vi.7 we have: 'They, however, as Adam, have transgressed the covenant,' Vulg. ; "They, however, as a son of man, have transgressed my covenant,' Syr.; "They are as a man transgressing a covenant, Sept.; They are like a man breaking there a covenant,' Arab.; "They, as the generations of old, transgressed my covenant,' Targ. Jon.; They, as the common people, have transgressed the covenant,' French (CAHEN); They, as Adam, transgress the covenant,' German (LUTHER); They, like men, have transgressed a cove. nant,' (JUNIUS, TREMELLIUS). 1323. KURTZ further proceeds to say: The same remark applies to Is.xliii.27, where the expression, 'thy first father hath sinned,' can only refer to Adam, as the best commentators have shown. However, HOFMAN views the latter passage as an allusion to Abraham. But if we consider the whole verse, Thy first father hath sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against me,'it is clear that the reference cannot possibly be to Adam, whoever may be meant by it. What had Adam to do particularly with the people of Israel? The reference is manifestly to the people of Israel itself, when on its march out of Egypt, which is here personified as the first father' of the present generation. And, accordingly, the LXX has 'your first fathers,' which LUTHER follows, Deine voreltern haben gesundiget,' = Thy ancestors have sinned. 1324. KURTZ adds: Let it also be remembered that all the sacrificial services of the O.T. are based on G.iii. (!). Nor can we be mistaken in finding in the expression surely die,' which so frequently occurs in the Mosaic criminal legisla tion, a reference to the 'surely die' of the first legislation in G.ii.17(!). If any inference could be drawn from the occurrence of such a phrase both in Leviticus and in G.ii.17, it would only be this, that the same writer was concerned in both cases. 1325. Finally, KURTZ sums up, as follows: If any doubt should still remain, we submit that the facts, recorded in these chapters, are chronicled with a childlike simplicity, and that hence the manifold deep bearing of this narrative required a lengthened training, before it could be perfectly apprehended in the consciousness of the individual, [even of such a Prophet as Isaiah or Jeremiah, or of any one of the Psalmists, after a 'lengthened and of the fountain of life' in four training' of so many centuries!] So rich and others :deep is always the commencement of a development, that the continuation of it is not sufficient fully to bring its treasures to light. only at its completion that all which had lain concealed in it appears. It is 'The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,' x.11; "The law of the wise is a fountain of life, xiii.14; The fear of Jehovah is a fountain of life,' xiv.27; 'Understanding is a fountain of life unto him that hath it,' xvi.22 :— and so, too, we read, Ps.xxxvi. 9:— "With Thee is the fountain of life.' 1326. We thus see how very slight, if any, is the reference to this part of the Pentateuch, in the writings of the most devout men of latter days; though we find distinct references to the Fall in the apocryphal book of Wisdom,ii. 24, where also the 'Serpent' is for the first time identified with the Evil Spirit, after the Hebrews had come into close contact with the later Persian mythology :Through the envy of the Devil came death this silence on the traditionary view, as it is stated by Dr. M'CAUL, Examination, &c., p.208, viz. that into the world.' And so we read in Ecclus.xxv.24 :— 'Of the woman came the beginning of sin, and through her we all die.' 1327. TUCH observes, p.54 : This later revival [of the ancient myth in G.iii] explains itself through the acquaintance, which, while in exile, the Israelites made with the religion of the Parsees, the influence of which shows itself plainly in this, that the serpent is explained to mean Satan, now incorporated into the Jehovahworship. Thus the old Hebrew form of the myth is brought nearer to the Persian (1087). The essential difference of the two myths ought to be a sufficient proof against the derivation of the Hebrew from the Persian, maintained by Von BOHLEN and others, who deduce from this the later [rather, very late] origin of G.iii. For why should not, in that case, Satan appear in action [i.e. in person, not in the form of a serpent,] which the later form of the Hebrew religion allowed? Certainly, however, these myths stand in a sisterly relation, having proceeded from one primary legend, which in different forms has spread itself over the whole Orient. But these expressions are evidently proverbial, and drawn at all events from some other source than G.ii,iii, which makes no mention at all of the 'fountain of life.' 1329. It is very difficult to explain there never was a time in Israel, from the days of Moses on, when the Pentateuch was unknown. It seems, in fact, with only the above evidence before us, impossible to believe, that the devout Prophets, Priests, and Kings, and pious people all along, were thoroughly conversant with the written Law, were deep in the study of it, and practising its precepts daily, -were reminded annually of its existence by the sacred ordinances, which the more religious minds among them faithfully observed, and were also summoned once in seven years to hear the whole Law read at the Feast of Tabernacles, D.xxxi.9–13. 1330. But it is easy to account for this phenomenon, if we suppose that the story of the Fall was, as we have 1328. But in the older Canonical written by the Jehovist, not earlier seen already some reason to believe, Scriptures we find no such references, than the latter part of David's reign, -no allusion of any kind to the story and was known to the great and good of Adam and Eve and the Fall, or to of that time as only a narrative, written that of Noah and the Deluge, except, for the edification of the people, by as we have said, in Is.liv.9, Ez.xiv.14,20. Mention, indeed, is made in the Pro- some distinguished man of the age. verbs of the tree of life' in four pas-been made of it, or, perhaps, only one, Probably, one or two copies may have sages: which remained in the charge of the Priests, and may have been added to from time to time. But the existence of this was so little known in after days, in other words the book, in the form which it had then assumed, was allowed, even by the best Kings, |