9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod, the mighty hunter before the LORD. A. M. eir. 1745 10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. A. M. eir. 1700. 11 Out of that land went forth Ashur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,

B. C. cir. 2304.

12 And Resen between Nineveh, and Calah: the same is a great city.

13 And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,

a Jer. 16. 16. Mic. 7. 2-b Ch. 6. 11.-c Mic. 5. 6-d Gr. Babylon,-e Or, he went out into Assyria.

Verse 3. Ashkenaz; probably gave his name to Sacagena, a very excellent province of Armenia. Pliny mentions a people called Ascanitici, who dwelt about the Tanaïs and the Palus Maoticus; and some suppose that from Ashkenaz, the Eurine sea derived its name; but others suppose that from him the Germans derived their origin. Riphath, or Diphath, the founder of the Paphlegonians, which were anciently called Riphatai.

Togarmah, the Sauromates, or inhabitants of Turcomania. See the reasons in Calmet.

Verse 4. Elishah; as Javan peopled a considerable part of Greece, it is in that region that we must seek for the settlements of his descendants; Elishah probably was the first who settled at Elis, in Peloponnesus.

Tarshish; he first inhabited Cilicia, whose capital anciently was the city of Tarsus, where the apostle Paul was born, Acts xxi. 39.

Kittim; we have already seen that this name was, probably, rather the name of a people than of an individual: some think by Kittim, Cyprus is meant; others, the isle of Chios, and others the Romans, and others the Macedonians. Dodanim, or Rodanim, for in Hebrew the and may be easily mistaken for each other, because of their great similarity. Some suppose that this family settled at Dodona, in Epirus; others at the isle of Rhodes; others at the Rhone, in France, the ancient name of which was Rhodanus, from the Scripture Rodanim.

Verse 5. Isles of the Gentiles] EUROPE, of which this is allowed to be a general epithet. Calmet supposes that it comprehends all those countries, to which the Hebrews were obliged to go by sea, such as Spain, Gaul, Italy, Greece, and Asia Minor.

Every one after his tongue] This refers to the time posterior to the confusion of tongues and dispersion from Babel. Verse 6. Cush: who peopled the Arabic nome, near the Red sea, in Lower Egypt.-Some think the Ethiopians descended from him.

Mizraim; this family certainly peopled Egypt; and both in the east and in the west Egypt is called Mezr and Mezraim.

Phut; who first peopled an Egyptian nome, or district bordering on Lybia.

Canaan; he who first peopled the land so called, known also by the name of the promised land.

Verse 7. Seba; the founder of the Sabans. There seems to be three different people of this name mentioned in this chapter, and a fourth in chap. xxv. 3.

Havilah; supposed by some to mean the inhabitants of the country included within the branch of the river Pison, which ran out of the Euphrates into the bay of Persia, and bounded Arabia Felix on the east.

Sabtah; supposed by some to have first peopled an isle, or peninsula, called Saphta in the Persian gulf. Raamah, or Ragmah, for the word is pronounced both ways because of the y din, which some make a vowel, and some a consonant.-Ptolemy mentions a city called Regma, near the Persian gulf: it probably received its name from the person in the text.

Sabtechah; from the river called Samidochus, in Caramania, Bochart conjectures that the person in the text fixed his residence in that part.

Sheba; supposed to have had his residence beyond the
Euphrates, in the environs of Charran, Eden, &c.
Dedan; supposed to have peopled a part of Arabia, on
the confines of Idumea.

Verse 8. Nimrod; of this person little is known, as he is not mentioned except here and in 1 Chron. i. 10. which is evidently a copy of the text in Genesis. He is called a mighty hunter before the Lord; and from ver. 10. we Aearn that he founded a kingdom, which included the cities Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calne, in the land of Shinar.

16 And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,

17 And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,

B. C. unknown.

18 And the Arvadite, and the Ze- A. M. unknown. marite, and the Hamathite; and af terward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.

19 And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest_to_ Gerar, unto * Gaza; as thou goest unto Sodom, and Gof Or, the streets of the city 1 Chron. 1. 12-h Heb. Tridon.-i Ch. 13. 12, 14, 15, 17. & 15. 18-21. Num. 34.2-12. Josh. 12. 7, 8-k Heb. Azzah. Though the words are not definite, it is very likely he was a very bad man. His name Nimrod, comes from marad, he rebelled; and the Targum, on 1 Chron. i. 10. says, Nimrod began to be a mighty man in sin, a murderer of innocent men, and a rebel before the Lord. The Jerusalem Targum says, "He was mighty in hunting, (or in prey) and in sin before God; for he was a hunter of the children of men in their languages; and he said unto them, Depart from the religion of Shem; and cleave to the institutes of Nimrod.' The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel says, "From the foundation of the world none was ever found like Nimrod, powerful in hunting, and in rebellions against the Lord." The Syriac calls him a warlike giant. The word y tsaid, which we render hunter, signifies prey, and is applied in the Scriptures to the hunting of men, by persecution, oppression, and tyranny. See Jer. xvi. 16. Lam. iii. 52. iv. 18. Prov. i. 17, 18. Zeph. iii. 6. Hence it is likely, that Nimrod, having acquired power, used it in tyranny and oppression; and by rapine and violence founded that domination which was the first distinguished by the name of a kingdom on the face of the earth. How many kingdoms have been founded in the same way, in various ages and nations from that time to the present year 1810! From the Nimrods of the earth, God deliver the world!

Mr. Bryant, in his Mythology, vol. iii. p. 33-36. considers him as the principal instrument of the idolatry that afterward prevailed in the family of Cush; and treats him as an arch rebel and apostate. Mr. Richardson, who was the determined foe of Mr. Bryant's whole system, asks, Dissertation, p. 405.-"Where is the authority for these aspersions? they are nowhere to be discovered in the originals, in the versions, nor in the paraphrases of the Sacred Writings." If they are not to be found both in the versions and in the paraphrases of the Sacred Writings, the above quotations are all false. How strange that a man of Mr. Richardson's learning should have committed himself so egregiously as in this instance!

Verse 10. The beginning of his kingdom was Babel] Sa Babel, signifies confusion; and it seems to have been a very proper name for the commencement of a kingdom that appears to have been founded in apostasy from God, and to have been supported by tyranny, rapine, and oppression.

In the land of Shinar; the same as is mentioned, chap. xi. 2. It appears that as Babylon was built on the river Euphrates, and that the tower of Babel was in the land of Shinar, consequently, Shinar itself must have been in the southern part of Mesopotamia.

Verse 11. Out of that land went forth Ashur.] The marginal reading is to be preferred here. He, Nimrod, went out into Assyria and built Nineveh: and hence Assyria is called the land of Nimrod, Mic. v. 6. Thus did this mighty hunter extend his dominions in every possible way. The city of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, is supposed to have had its name from Ninus, the son of Nimrod; but probably Ninus and Nimrod are the same person. This city, which made so conspicuous a figure in the history of the world, is now called Mossul; it is an inconsiderable place, built out of the ruins of the ancient Nineveh.

Rehoboth, Calah, &c. Nothing certain is known concerning the situation of these places; conjecture is endless; and it has been amply indulged by learned men in seeking for Rehoboth, in the Birtha of Ptolemy, Calah, in Calachine, Resen, in Larissa, &c. &c.

Verse 13. Mizraim begat Ludim] Supposed to mean the inhabitants of the Mareotis, a canton in Egypt, for the name Ludim is evidently the name of a people.

Anamim; according to Bochart, the people who inhabited the district about the temple of Jupiter Ammon.

Lehabim; the Lybians, or a people who dwelt on the west of the Thebaïd, and were called Lybio-Egyptians. Naphtuhim; even the conjecturers can scarcely fix a place for these people. Bochart seems inclined to place them in Marmarica, or among the Troglodytes.

Verse 14. Pathrusim] The inhabitants of the Delta, in Egypt, according to the Chaldee paraphrase; but according to Bochart, the people who inhabited the Thebaid, called Pathros in Scripture.

Casluhim; the inhabitants of Colchis; for almost all authors allow that Colchis was peopled from Egypt. Philistim; the people called Philistines, the constant plagues and frequent oppressors of the Israelites, whose history may be seen at large in the books of Samuel, Kings, &c.

Caphtorim; the inhabitants of the isle of Cyprus, according to Calmet.

Verse 15. Sidon; who probably built the city of this name, and was the father of the Sidonians.

Heth; from whom came the Hittites, so remarkable among the Canaanitish nations.

Verse 16. The Jebusite, Amorite, &c.] Are well known as being the ancient inhabitants of Canaan, expelled by the children of Israel.

Verse 20. These are the sons of Ham after their families, &c.] No doubt all these were well known in the time of Moses, and for a long time after: but at this distance of time, when it is considered that the political state of the world has been undergoing almost incessant revolutions through all the intermediate portions of time, the impossibility of fixing their residences, or marking their descendants, must be evident, as both the names of the people, and the places of their residences, have been changed beyond the possibility of being recognised.

29 And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan.

30 And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar, a mount of the east. 31 These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.

32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations; hand by these were the nations divided in the earth, after the flood.

CHAPTER XI.

All the inhabitants of the earth, speaking one language, and dwelling in one place, 1, 2, purpose to build a city and a tower to prevent their dispersion, 3, 4. God confounds their language, and scatters them over the whole earth, 5-9. Account of the lives and families of the posuiiluvian patriarche. Shem, 10. 11. Arphaxad, 12, 13. Salah, 14, 15. Heber, 16, 17. Phaleg, 18, 19. Ragau or Ren, 20, 21. Serug, 22, 23. Nahor, 21, 25 Terah and his three sons, Haran, Nachor, and Abram, 26. 27. The death of Haran, 23. Abram marries Sarai, and Nachor marries Milcah, 29. Sarai is harren, 30. Terah, Abram, Sarai, and Lot, leave Ur of the Chaldees, and go to Haran, 31. Terah dies in Haran, aged two hundred and five years, 32.

ND the whole earth was of one

A. M. cir. 1757.
B. C. cir. 2247.

2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed

e 1 Chron. 1. 19.-f That is, division.-g Ver. 1.-h Ch. 9. 19.-i Heb. lip. k Heb. vords.

Verse 24. Salah; the founder of the people of Susiana. Eber, see verse 21. The Septuagint add Cainan here with one hundred and thirty to the chronology. Most think the addition spurious, both here and in St. Luke.

Verse 25. Peleg, from D palag, to divide, because in his days, which is supposed to be about one hundred years after the flood, the earth was divided among the sons of Noah. Though some are of opinion that a physical division, and not a political one, is what is intended here: viz. a separation of continents and islands from the main land; the earthy parts having been united in one great continent previous to the days of Peleg This opinion appears to me the most likely, for what is said ver. 5. is spoken by way of anticipation.

Verse 26, &c. Joktan had thirteen sons who had their dwelling from Mesha unto Sephar, a mount of the east, verse 30. which places Calmet supposes to be Mount Masius on the west, in Mesopotamia; and the mountains of the Saphirs on the east in Armenia; or of the Tapyrs, farther on in Media.

In confirmation that all men have been derived from one family, let it be observed; that there are many customs and usages, both sacred and civil, which have prevailed in all parts of the world, which could owe their origin to nothing but a general institution, which could never have existed had not mankind been of the same blood originally, and instructed in the same common notions before they were dispersed. Among these usages may be reckoned—Í. The numbering by tens. 2. Their computing time by a cycle of seven days. 3. Their setting apart the seventh day for religious purposes. 4. Their use of sacrifices, propitiatory, and eucharistical. 5. The consecration of temples and altars. 6. The institution of sanctuaries or places of refuge, and their privileges. 7. Their giving a tenth part Verse 21. Shem, father of all the children of Eber] of the produce of their fields, &c. for the use of the altar. It is generally supposed that the Hebrews derived their 8. The custom of worshipping the Deity barefooted. 9. name from Eber, or Heber, son of Shem, but it appears Abstinence of the men from all sensual gratifications premuch more likely that they had it from the circumstance vious to their offering sacrifice. 10. The order of priestof Abraham passing over (for so the word ay Aber sig-hood and its support. 11. The notion of legal pollutions, nifies) the river Euphrates, to come into the land of defilements, &c. 12. The universal tradition of a general Canaan. See the history of Abraham, chap. xiv. 13. deluge. 13. The universal opinion that the rainbow was Verse 22. Elam; from whom came the Elamites, near a divine sign or portent, &c. &c. see Dodd. to the Medes, and whose chief city was Elemaïs. Asshur; who gave his name to a vast province (after-played in repeopling the earth by means of three persons, ward a mighty empire) called Assyria.

Arphaxad; from whom Arrapachitis, in Assyria, was named, according to some; or Artarata, in Armenia, on the frontiers of Media, according to others.

Lud; the founder of the Lydians, in Asia Minor; or of the Ludim, who dwelt at the confluence of the Euphrates and Tigris, according to Arias Montanus.

Aram; the father of the Arameans, afterward called Syrians. On this point there is scarcely any difference of opinion among learned men.

Verse 23. Uz; who peopled Colosyria, and is supposed to have been the founder of Damascus.

Hul, who peopled a part of Armenia.

Gether; supposed by Calmet to be the founder of the Itureans, who dwelt beyond Jordan, having Arabia Deserta on the east, and Jordan on the west.

Mash; who inhabited Mount Masius in Mesopotamia, and from whom the river Mazeca, which has its source in that mountain, takes its name.

The wisdom and goodness of God are particularly dis

all of the same family, and who had witnessed that awful display of divine justice in the destruction of the world by the flood; while themselves were preserved in the ark. By this very means, the true religion was propagated over the earth; for the sons of Noah would certainly teach their children not only the precepts delivered to their father by God himself, but also how, in his justice, he had brought the flood on the world of the ungodly; and by his merciful providence, preserved them from the general ruin. It is on this ground alone, that we can account for the uniformity and universality of the above traditions; and for the grand outlines of religious truth, which are found in every quarter of the world. God has so done his marvellous works, that they may be had in everlasting remembrance.

NOTES ON CHAPTER XI.

Verse 1. The whole earth was of one language] The whole earth-All mankind was of one language, in all likelihood the HEBREW-and of one speech; articulating

the same words in the same way. It is generally supposed, that after the confusion mentioned in this chapter, the Hebrew language remained in the family of Heber. The proper names and their significations given in the Scripture, seem incontestable evidences that the Hebrew language was the original language of the earth-the language in which God spake to man, and in which he gave the revelation of his will to Moses and the prophets. It was used, says Mr. Ainsworth in all the world, for one thousand seven hundred and fifty-seven years, till Phaleg, the son of Heber, was born, and the tower of Babel was in building, one hundred years after the flood, Gen. x. 25. xi. 9. After this, it was used among the Hebrews or Jews, called therefore the Jews' language, Isa. xxxvi. 11. until they were carried captive into Babylon, where the holy tongue ceased from being commonly used, and the mixed Hebrew (or Chaldee) came in its place.

It cannot be reasonably imagined that the Jews lost the Hebrew tongue entirely in the seventy years of their captivity in Babylon; yet, as they were mixed with the Chaldeans, their children would of course learn that dialect, and to them the pure Hebrew would be unintelligible; and this probably gave rise to the necessity of explaining the Hebrew Scriptures in the Chaldee tongue, that the children might understand as well as their fathers. As we may safely presume the parents could not have forgotten the Hebrew, so we may conclude the children in general could not have learnt it, as they did not live in an insulated state, but were mixed with the Babylonians. This conjecture removes the difficulty with which many have been embarrassed: one party supposing that the knowledge of the Hebrew language was lost during the Babylonish captivity; and hence the necessity of the Chaldee Targums to explain the Scriptures; another party insisting that this was impossible in so short a period as seventy years.

Verse 2. As they journeyed from the east] Assyria, Mesopotamia, and the country on the borders, and beyond the Euphrates, are called the east in the Sacred Writings. Balaam said that the king of Moab had brought him from the mountains of the east, Num. xxiii. 7. Now it appears, from chap. xxii. 5. that Balaam dwelt at Pethor, on the river Euphrates. And it is very probable that it was from this country that the wise men came to adore Christ; for it is said they came from the east to Jerusalem, Matt. ii. 1. Abraham is said to have come from the east to Canaan, Isa. xli. 2. but it is well known that he came from Mesopotamia and Chaldea. Isa. ch. xlvi. 11. represents Cyrus as coming from the east against Babylon. And the same prophet represents the Syrians as dwelling eastward of Jerusalem, ch. ix. 12. The Syrian before po mikkedem, from the east, the same word which Moses uses here. Daniel, ch. ix. 44. represents Antiochus as troubled at news received from the east; i. e. of a revolt in the eastern provinces, beyond the Euphrates.

Noah and his family landing, after the flood, on one of the mountains of Armenia, would doubtless descend and cultivate the valleys: as they increased, they appear to have passed along the banks of the Euphrates, till, at the time specified here, they came to the plains of Shinar, allowed to be the most fertile country in the east. See Calmet. That Babel was built in the land of Shinar, we have the authority of the sacred text to prove and that Babylon was built in the same country, we have the testimony of Eusebius. Præp. Evang. 1. ix. c. 15. and Josephus, Antiq. 1. i. c. 5.

Verse 3. Let us make brick] It appears they were obliged to make use of brick, as there was an utter scarcity of stones in that district; and on the same account they were obliged to use slime, that is, bitumen, (Vulg.) arakros, (Septuagint) for mortar: so it appears they had neither common stone, nor lime-stone; hence they had brick for stone, and asphaltus, or bitumen, instead of

mortar.

Verse 4. Let us build a city and a tower] On this subject there have been various conjectures. Mr. Hutchinson supposed that the design of the builders was to erect a emple to the host of heaven, the sun, moon, planets, &c.

and to support this interpretation, he says, Diva in ve rosho bashamayim, should be translated, not whose top may reach unto hearen, for there is nothing for may reach in the Hebrew; but its head, or summit, to the heavens, i. e. to the heavenly bodies; and to make this interpretation the more probable, he says, that previously to this time, the descendants of Noah were all agreed in one form of religious worship; for so he understands n DWI De sapah achath, (and of one lip) i. e. according to him, they had one litany; and as God confounded their litany, they began to disagree in their religious opinions, and branched out into sects and parties, each associating with those of his own sentiment; and thus their tower, or temple, was left unfinished.

say

It is probable that their being of one language, and of one speech, implies not only a sameness of language, but also a unity of sentiment and design, as seems pretty clearly intimated in ver. 6. Being therefore strictly united in all things, coming to the fertile plains of Shinar, they proposed to settle themselves there, instead of spreading themselves over all the countries of the earth, according to the design of God: and in reference to this purpose they encouraged one another to build a city and a tower, probably a temple, to prevent their separation-"Lest," they, "we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth;" but God miraculously interposing, confounded or frustrated their rebellious design, which was inconsistent with his will. See Deut. xxxii. 8. Acts xvii. 26. And partly by confounding their language, and disturbing their counsels, they could no longer keep in an united state; so that, agreeing in nothing but the necessity of separating, they went off in different directions, and thus became scattered abroad upon the face of the earth. The Targums, both of Jonathan ben Uzziel, and of Jerusalem, assert that the tower was for idolatrous worship; and that they intended to place an image on the top of the tower with a sword in its hand, probably to act as a talisman against their enemies. Whatever their design might have been, it is certain that this temple or tower was afterward devoted to idolatrous purposes. Nebuchadnezzar repaired and beautified this tower; and it was dedicated to Bel, or the sun. See Prideaux, vol. i. part 1. b. 2.

An account of this tower, and of the confusion of tongues, is given by several ancient authors. Herodotus saw the tower, and described it. A Sybil, whose oracle is yet extant, spoke both of it and of the confusion of tongues; so did Eopolemus and Abydenus. See Bochart, Geogr. Sacr. lib. i. c. 13. Edit. 1692. On this point Bochart observes that these things are taken from the Chaldeans, who preserve many remains of ancient facts; and though they often add circumstances, yet they are, in general, in some sort dependent on the text; 1. They say, Babel was builded by the giants; because Nimrod, one of the builders, is called in the Hebrew text 2 gibbor, a mighty man; or, as the Septuagint, yes, a giant. 2. These giants, they say, sprang from the earth; because, in Gen. x. 11. it is said, he went on pap min haarets hahiv, out of that earth; but this is rather spoken of Ashur, who was another of the Babel-builders. 3. These giants are said to have waged war with the gods; because it is said of Nimrod, Gen. x. 9. he was a mighty hunter before the Lord; or, as others have rendered it, a warrior and a rebel against the Lord. See Jarchi in loco. 4. These giants are said to have raised a tower up to heaven, as if they had intended to have ascended thither. This appears to have been founded on, and its top shall reach to hearen, which has been already explained. 5. It is said that the gods sent strong winds against them, which dispersed both them and their work. This appears to have been taken from the Chaldean history, in which it is said their dispersion was made to the four winds of heaven, y

O be arbâ ruchey shemyia, i. e. to the four quarters of the world. 6. And because the verb PD phuts, or PD naphets, used by Moses, signifies not only to scatter, but also to break to pieces; whence thunder, Ísa. xxx. 30. is called PD nephets, a breaking to pieces: hence they supposed the whole work was broken to pieces, and overtured. It was probably from this disguised representation of the

15 And Salah lived after he begat Eber, four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.

A. M. 1757.

B. C. 2247.

16 And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg:

a Ps. 2 1-b Ch. 1. 26. Ps. 2 4. Acts 3. 4, 5, 6.- Ch. 42. B. Deut. 28. 49. Jer. 5. 15. 1 Cor. 14. 2, 11- Luke 1. 51.-e Ch. 10. 25, 32.- That is, confusion.g Wisd. 10. 5. 1 Cor. 14. 23.

Hebrew text that the Greek and Roman poets took their fable of the giants waging war with the gods and piling mountain upon mountain in order to scale heaven. See Bochart as above.

Verse 5. And the Lord came down] A lesson, says an ancient Jewish commentator, to magistrates to examine every evidence before they decree judgment and execute Justice.

in the formation of tongues, by their influence on the organs of speech. The invention of new arts and trades must give birth to a variety of terms and expressions. Merchandise, commerce, and the cultivation of the sciences, would produce their share; and different forms of government, modes of life, and means of instruction, also contribute their quota. The Arabic, Chaldee, Syriae, and Ethiopic, still bear the most striking resemblance to their parent, the Verse 6. The people is one, &c.] From this, as before Hebrew. Many others might be reduced to a common observed, we may infer, that as the people had the same source; yet every where there is sufficient evidence of this language, so they had a unity of design and sentiment. It confusion. The anomalies even in the most regular lanis very likely that the original language was composed of guages sufficiently prove this. Every language is confounded monosyllables, that each had a distinct ideal meaning, and less or more, but that of Eternal Truth. This is ever only one meaning; as different acceptations of the same the same: in all countries, climates, and ages, the language word would undoubtedly arise, either from compounding of Truth, like that God from whom it sprang, is unchangeterms, or when there were but few words in a language, able and incorruptible. It speaks in all tongues to all using them by a different mode of pronunciation, to ex- nations, and in all hearts: "tliere is one God, the Fountain press a variety of things. Where this simple monosyllabic of goodness, justice, and truth.-MAN, thou art his crealanguage prevailed, and it must have prevailed in the first ture, ignorant, weak, and dependent; but He is all-sufficient ages of the world, men would necessarily have simple-hates nothing that he has made-loves thee-is able and ideas, and a corresponding simplicity of manners. The willing to save thee: return to and depend on Him-take Chinese language is exactly such as this; and the Hebrew, his revealed will for thy law, submit to his authority, and if stripped of its vowel points, and its prefixes, suilixes, accept eternal life on the terms proposed in his word; and postfixes, separated from their combinations, so that and thou shalt never perish, nor be wretched." This lanthey might stand by themselves, it would nearly answer guage of truth all the ancient and modern Babel-builders to this character, even in its present state. In order, there- have not been able to confound, notwithstanding their fore, to remove this unity of sentiment and design, which I repeated attempts. How have men toiled to make this suppose to be the necessary consequence of such a language, language clothe their own ideas; and thus cause God to God confounded their language caused them to articulate speak according to the pride, prejudice, and worst passiona the same word differently, to affix different ideas to the of men! But through a just judgment of God, the lansame term, and, perhaps, by transposing of syllables and guage of all those who have attempted to do this, has been interchanging of letters, form new terms and compounds, confounded! and the word of the Lord abideth for ever. so that the mind of the speaker was apprehended by the hearer in a contrary sense to what was intended. This idea is not ill expressed by an ancient French poet, Du Barlas, and not badly, though rather quaintly, inetaphrased by our countryman, Mr. Sylvester.

Some speak between the teeth, some in the nose,
Some in the throat their words do ill dispose→→

"Bring me," quoth one, a "trowel, quickly! quick!"
One brings him up a hammer. "Hew this brick,"
Another bids; and then they cleave a tree.
"Make fast this rope;" and then they let it flee.
One calls for planks; another mortar lacks:
They bear the first a stone; the last an are.
One would have spikes; and him a spade they give:
Another asks a saic, and gets a sieve.

Thus crossly croat, they prate and point in vain;
What one hath made, another mars again.

These masons, then, seeing the storm arriv'd'
Of God's Just wrath, all weak and heart-depriv'd,
Forsake their purpose; and, like frantic fools,
Scatter their stuff, and tumble down their tools.
Du Bartas-Babylon.

I shall not examine how the different languages of the earth were formed. It certainly was not a work of the moment-different climates must have a considerable share

Verse 7. Goto] A form of speech, which, whatever it might have signified formerly, now means nothing. The Hebrew nan habah, signifies come, make preparation, as it were, for a journey, the execution of a purpose, &c. Almost all the versions understand the word in this way: the Septuagint have deurs, the Vulgate venite, both signifying come, or come ye. This makes a very good sense: Come, let us go down, &c. For the meaning of these latter words, sea chap. i. 26. and xviii. 21.

Verse 9. Therefore is the name of it called Babel] babal, from bal, to mingle, confound, destroy; hence Babel, from the mingling together, and confounding of the projects and language of these descendants of Noah; and this confounding did not so much imply the producing new languages, as giving them a different method of pronouneing the same words, and leading them to affix different ideas to them. See before, ver. 6.

Besides Mr. Hutchinson's opinion, (see on verse 4.) there have been various conjectures concerning the purpose for which this tower was built. Some suppose it was intended to prevent the effects of another flood, by affording an

of Nahor's wife Milcah, the daughter of Hara God calls Abram to leave Haran, and go into Canaan, 1; promises to bless him the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah. 30 But Sarai was barren; she had no child. A. M. cir. 2073 31 And Terah d took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land