children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.

We were near twelve hours in passing the many windings and difficult ways which lie betwixt the deserts of Sin and Sinai. The latter is a beautiful plain, more than a league in breadth, and nearly three in length, lying open towards the N.E., where we entered it, but is closed up to the southward by some of the lower eminences of Mount Sinai. in this direction, likewise, the higher parts of it make such encroachments on the plain, that they divide it into two, each of them capacious enough to receive the whole encampment of the Israelites. That which lieth to the eastward of the mount, may be the desert of Sinai, properly so called, where Moses saw the angel of the Lord in the burning bush, when he was guarding the flocks of Jethro. The convent of St. Catharine is built over the place of this divine appearance: it is near three hundred feet square, and more than forty in height, being partly built with stone, partly with mud only and mortar mixed together. The more immediate place of the Shekinah is honoured with a little chapel, which this old fraternity of St. Basil hath in -such esteem and veneration, that, in imitation of Moses, they put off their shoes from off their feet, when they enter or approach it. This, with several other chapels, dedicated to particular saints, are included within the church, as they call it, of the Transfiguration, which is a large beautiful structure, covered with lead, and supported by two rows of marble columns. The floor is very elegantly laid out in a variety of devices in Mosaic work; of the same workmanship, likewise, are both the floor and the walls of the presbyterium, upon the latter whereof is represented the figure of the Emperor Justinian, together with the history of the transfiguration. On the partition, which separates the presbyterium from the body of the church, there is placed a small marble shrine, whereon are preserved the scull and one of the hands of St. Catharine. Mount Sinai hangs over this convent, being called by the Arabs, Jebbel Mousa, the mountain of Moses, and sometimes only, by way of eminence, El Tor, the mountain. St. Helena was at the expense of the stone staircase, that was formerly carried up entirely to the top of it; but, at present, as most of these steps are either removed, washed out of their places, or defaced, the ascent up to it is very fatiguing, and entirely imposed on their votaries as a severe penance. However, at certain distances, the fathers have erected, as so many breathing places, several little chapels, dedicated to one or other of their saints, who are always invoked on these occasions; and, after some small oblation, are engaged to lend their assistance. The summit of Mount Sinai is somewhat conical, and not very spacious, where the Mohammedans, as well as the Christians, have a small chapel for public worship. Here we were shown the place where Moses fasted forty days; where he received the law; where he hid himself from the face of God; where his hand was supported by Aaron and Hur, at the battle with Amalek. After we had descended, with no small difficulty, down the western side of this mountain, we came into the other plain formed by it, which is Rephidim.-SHAW.

The Arabs call Jebbel Musa, the mount of Moses, all that range of mountains at the exterior extremity of the valley of Paran; and to that part of the range on which the convent of St. Catharine stands, they give the name of Tur Sina. This similarity of name, owing most probably to tradition, affords ground for presuming, that the hill which we had now reached was the Sinai of the Jews, on which Moses received the law. It is, indeed, not easy to comprehend how such a multitude of people as the Jews, who accompanied Moses out of Egypt, could encamp in those narrow gullies, amid frightful and precipitous rocks. But, perhaps, there are plains on the other side of the mountain, that we know not of. Two German miles and a half up the mountain stands the convent of St. Catharine. The body of this monastery is a building one hundred and twenty feet in length, and almost as many in breadth. Before it stands another small building, in which is the only gate of the convent, which remains always shut, except when the bishop is here. At other times, whatever is introduced within the convent, whether men or provisions, is drawn up to the roof, in a basket, with a cord and a pulley. The whole building is of hewn stone, which, in such a desert,

must have cost prodigious expense and pains. Next day our scheichs brought me an Arab, whom they qualified with the title of scheich of Mount Sinai. Under the conduct of this newly-created lord of Sinai, with our scheichs, I attempted to clamber to the summit of that mountain. It is so steep, that Moses cannot have ascended on the side which I viewed. The Greeks have cut a flight of steps up the rock. Pococke reckons three thousand of these steps to the top of the mountain, or, rather, bare-pointed rock. Five hundred steps above the convent we found a charming spring, which, by a little pains, might be improved into a very agreeable spot. A thousand steps higher, a chapel, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin; and five hundred above this, two other chapels, situated in a plain, which travellers enter by two small gates of mason work. Upon this plain are two trees, under which, at high festivals, the Arabs are regaled at the expense of the Greeks. My Mohammedan guides, imitating the practice which they had seen the pilgrims observe, kissed the images, and repeated their prayers in the chapels. They would accompany me no farther, but maintained this to be the highest accessible peak of the mountain; whereas, according to Pococke, I had yet a thousand steps to ascend. I was, therefore, obliged to return, and content myself with viewing the hill of St. Catharine at a distance.-NIEBUHR.

After reposing in the convent and its delightful garden, the first duty of a pilgrim is, to climb the summit of the Djebel Mousa, or mountain of Moses, the road to which begins to ascend immediately behind the walls of the convent. Regular steps (it is said, to the number of 15,000) have been cut all the way up; but they are now either entirely destroyed, or so much damaged by the winter torrents, as to be of very little use. They are ascribed to the munificence of the Empress Helena. "After ascending for about twenty-five minutes," says Burckhardt, "we breathed a short time under a large impending rock, close by which is a small well of water, as cold as ice. At the end of three quarters of an hour's steep ascent, we came to a small plain, the entrance to which from below is through a stone gateway, which in former times was probably closed: a little beneath it, stands, amid the rocks, a small church dedicated to the Virgin. On the plain is a larger building of rude construction, which bears the name of the convent of St. Elias: it was lately inhabited, but is now abandoned, the monks repairing here only at certain times of the year to read mass. Pilgrims usually halt on this spot, where a tall cypress-tree grows by the side of a stone tank, which receives the winter rains. On a large rock in the plain are several Arabic inscriptions, engraved by pilgrims three or four hundred years ago; I saw one also in the Syriac language. According to the Koran and Moslem traditions, it was in this part of the mountain, which is called Djebel Oreb, or Horeb, that Moses communicated with the Lord. From hence a still steeper ascent of half an hour, the steps of which are also in ruins, leads to the summit of Djebel Mousa, where stands the church which forms the principal object of the pilgrimage: it is built on the very peak of the mountain, the plane of which is at most sixty paces in circumference. The church, though strongly built with granite, is now greatly dilapidated by the unremitted attempts of the Arabs to destroy it; the door, roof, and walls are greatly injured.

Some ruins round the church indicate that a much larger and more solid building once stood here; and the rock appears to have been cut perpendicularly with great labour, to prevent any other approach to it than by the southern side. The view from this summit must be very grand, but a thick fog prevented me from seeing even the nearest mountains. About thirty paces from the church, on a somewhat lower peak, stands a poor mosque, without any ornaments, held in great veneration by the Moslems, and the place of their pilgrimage. It is frequently visited by the Bedouins, who slaughter sheep in honour of Moses, and who make vows to him, and entreat his intercession in heaven in their favour. There is a feast-day on which the Bedouins come hither in a mass, and offer their sacrifices. I was told that formerly they never approached the place without being dressed in the Ihram, or sacred mantle, with which the Moslems cover their naked bodies on visiting Mecca, and which then consisted only of a napkin tied round the middle; but this custom has been abandoned for the last forty years. Foreign Moslem pilgrims often repair

to the spot; and even Mohammed Ali Pasha, and his son Tousoun Pasha, gave notice that they intended to visit it, but they did not keep their promise. Close by the footpath, in the ascent from St. Elias to this summit, and at a small distance from it, a place is shown in the rock, which somewhat resembles the print of the forepart of the foot; it is stated to have been made by Mohammed's foot when he visited the mountain. We found the adjacent part of the rock sprinkled with blood, in consequence of an accident which happened a few days before to a Turkish lady of rank, who was on her way from Cairo to Mecca, with her son, and who had resided for some weeks in the convent, during which she had made the tour of the sacred places, barefooted, although she was old and decrepit. In attempting to kiss the mark of Mohammed's foot, she fell, and wounded her head, but not so severely as to prevent her from pursuing her pilgrimage. Somewhat below the mosque is a fine reservoir, cut very deep in the granite rock, for the reception of rain-water.

Mr. Fazakerley says, it is difficult to imagine a scene more desolate and terrific then that which is discovered from the summit of Sinai. A haze limited the prospect, and, except a glimpse of the sea in one direction, nothing was within sight but snow, and huge peaks and crags of naked granite. Sir F. Henniker describes it as a "sea of desolation." "It would seem," he says, "as if Arabia Petræa had once been an ocean of lava, and that while its waves were running literally mountains high, it was commanded suddenly to stand still." He did not ascend the Djebel Katerin; but the former traveller did, and speaks of it in the following terms: "The view from hence is of the same kind, only much more extensive than from the top of Sinai: it commands the two seas (gulfs) of Akaba and Suez; the island of Tiraan and the village of Tor were pointed out to us: Sinai was far below us; clouds prevented our seeing the high ground near Suez: all the rest, wherever the eye could reach, was a vast wilderness, and a confusion of granite mountains and valleys destitute of verdure." Burckhardt thus describes the country as seen from this same summit: "From this elevated peak, a very extensive view opened before us, and the direction of the different surrounding chains of mountains could be distinctly traced. The upper nucleus of the Sinai, composed almost entirely of granite, forms a rocky wilderness of an irregular circular shape, intersected by many narrow valleys, and from thirty to forty miles in diameter. It contains the highest mountains of the peninsula, whose shaggy and pointed peaks, and steep and shattered sides, render it clearly distinguishable from all the rest of the country in view. It is upon this highest region of the peninsula, that the fertile valleys are found, which produce fruittrées: they are principally to the west and southwest of the convent, at three or four hours' distance. Water, too, is always found in plenty in this district, on which account it is the place of refuge of all the Bedouins, when the low country is parched up."-MODERN TRAVELLER.

Ver. 13. There shall not a hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through.

"To be stoned to death was a most grievous and terrible infliction. When the offender came within four cubits of the place of execution, he was stripped naked, only leaving a covering before, and his hands being bound, he was led up to the fatal place, which was an eminence twice a man's height. The first executioners of the sentence were the witnesses, who generally pulled off their clothes for the purpose: one of them threw him down with great violence upon his loins: if he rolled upon his breast, he was turned upon his loins again, and if he died by the fall there was an end; but if not, the other witness took a great stone, and dashed upon his breast, as he lay upon his back; and then, if he was not despatched, all the people that stood by threw stones at him till he died."-LEWIS's Origines Hebræa.

CHAP. 20. ver. 5. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous Cod, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.

It is universally believed that children suffer for the iniquities of their ancestors, through many generations. "I wonder why Tamban's son was born a cripple ?”—“You wonder why, that is a strange thing; have you not heard what a vile man his grandfather was?" "Have you heard that Valen has had a son, and that he is born blind?"—" I did not hear of it, but this is another proof of the sins of a former birth." "What a wicked wretch that Venäsi is! alas for his posterity, great will be their sufferings." "Evil one, why are you going on in this way; have you no pity for your seed?" "Alas! alas! I am now suffering for the sins of my fathers." When men enjoy many blessings, it is common to say of them, "Yes, yes, they are enjoying the good deeds of their fathers." "The prosperity of my house arises from the virtues of my forefathers." In the Scanda Purana it is recorded, "The soul is subject to births, deaths, and sufferings. It may be born on the earth, or in the sea. It may also appear in ether, fire, or air. Souls may be born as men, as beasts or birds, as grass or trees, as mountains or gods." By these we are reminded of the question, "Who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents."-ROBERTS.

Ver. 18. And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed and stood afar off. Large splinters of wood, either of a resinous nature in themselves, or perhaps prepared in some cases by art, are made use of in the Levant instead of flambeaux; and if they are in use in these times, in which great improvements have been made in all the arts of life, it is natural to suppose they were in use anciently, particularly among the peasants, shepherds, and travellers of the lower class. Dr. Richard Chandler found lighted brands made use of in Asia Minor, by some villagers, instead of torches, and he refers to Virgil, representing the Roman peasants as preparing, in his days, the same sort of flambeaux, in winter time, for their use. If they still continue in use in the East, there is reason to believe they were used anciently, and indeed, it seems to be a torch of this kind, that is meant by the Hebrew words lappeed, which our translators sometimes render firebrand, sometimes lamp, thus confounding things that are very distinct, and which are expressed by different words. I would remark further, that as this word is made use of, Exod. xx. 18, and a very different word is used to express lightning in the Hebrew, it is unfortunate that our version should render it lightning there, when it is to be understood, I apprehend, of the flaming of the trees on Mount Sinai, on that memorable occasion, whole trees flaming around the Divine presence, bearing some resemblance to the torches made of splinters of wood, which were made use of on less august occasions: "All the people saw the thunderings, and the trees flaming like so many torches, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they removed and stood afar off." Lightning is understood here without doubt, and that the trees were set on fire by the lightning will hardly be contested; on the other hand, if the word directly meant lightning, still it is evidently supposed the trees and shrubs were fired by it; from whence else would have come the smoke? But as the word signifies torches, not flashes of lightning, it should not have been translated here lightning, differently from what it properly signifies. Agreeable to this account is the description given us, Exod. xix. 18, " And Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly."—HARMER.

CHAP. 21. ver. 10. If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.

Though flesh meat is not wont to be eaten by these nations so frequently as with us in the West, or in such quantities, yet people of rank, who often have it in their repasts, are fond of it, and even those in lower life, when it can be procured. Our translation then does not express the spirit of the Mosaic precept, relating to the superinducing a second

wife in the lifetime of the first, Exod. xxi. 10. "Her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish; in the original it is, her flesh, her raiment, &c. meaning that he should not only afford her a sufficient quantity of food as before, but of the same quality The feeding her with bread, with herbs, with milk, &c. in quantities not only sufficient to maintain life, but as much as numbers of poor people contented themselves with, would not do, if he took away the flesh, and others of the more agreeable articles of food he had before been wont to allow her.HARMER.

Ver. 20. And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall surely be punished. 21. Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.

The people of Israel, like all the nations of antiquity, had the power of life and death over their slaves; for slavery proceeded from the right of conquest, when the victors, instead of putting their enemies to death, chose rather to give them their lives, that they might have the benefit of their services. Hence it was supposed that the conqueror always reserved the power of taking away their lives, if they committed any thing worthy of death; and that he acquired the same power over their children, because they had never been born, if he had not spared the father, and transmitted it when he alienated his slave. Such is the foundation of the absolute power claimed by the Orientals over the unhappy persons whom they detained in slavery. It must be granted, that such reasons never can justify the exorbitant power of a slaveholder, or even his right to deprive his fellow-creature of his liberty, who has been guilty of no adequate crime. The claims of Israel rested upon different grounds, the positive grant of Jehovah himself, who certainly has a right to dispose of his creatures as he pleases. But among that people, the power of the master was limited by laws, which secured the safety and comfort of the slave, perhaps as much as that condition could possibly admit. Though the Israelitish master had the power of life and death, it has been alleged by some writers, that he seldom abused it; for his interest obliged him to preserve his slave, who made a part of his riches. This is the reason of the law, That he should not be punished who had smitten a servant, if he continued alive a day or two after. He is his money, says the lawgiver, to show that the loss of his property was deemed a sufficient punishment; and it may be presumed, in this case, that the master only intended his correction. But if the slave died under the strokes, it was to be supposed the master had a real design to kill him, for which the law commanded him to be punished. But considerations of interest are too feeble a barrier to resist the impulse of passions, inflamed by the consciousness and exercise of absolute power over a fellowmortal. The wise and benevolent restraints imposed upon a master of slaves, by the law of Moses, clearly prove that he very often abused his power, or was in extreme danger of doing so; for laws are not made for the good, but for the evil-doer.-PAXTON.

CHAP. 22. ver. 5. If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall put in his beast, and shall feed in another man's field; of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution.

See on Gen. 49. 11.

Chandler observes, (Travels in Asia Minor,) that the tame cattle were very fond of vine leaves, and were permitted to eat them in the autumn. "We remarked," he says, "about Smyrna, the leaves were decayed, or stripped by the camels and herds of goats, which are admitted to browse after the vintage." If those animals are so fond of vine leaves, it is no wonder that Moses, by an express law, forbad a man's causing another man's vineyard to be eaten by putting in his beast. The turning any of them in before the fruit was gathered, must have occasioned much mischief; and even after it must have been an injury, as it would have been eating up another's feed.-HARMER.

Ver. 6. If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindleth the fire shall surely make restitution.

It is a common management in the East, to set the dry herbage on fire before the autumnal rains, which fires, for want of care, often do great damage. Moses has taken notice of fires of this kind, and by an express law has provided, that reparation shall be made for the damage done by those who either maliciously or negligently occasioned it. Chandler, speaking of the neighbourhood of Smyrna, says, south; the air was repeatedly cooled by showers which had "In the latter end of July, clouds began to appear from the fallen elsewhere, and it was easy to foretell the approaching rain. This was the season for consuming the dry herbage and undergrowth on the mountains: and we often saw the fire blazing in the wind, and spreading a thick smoke along their sides." He also relates an incident to which he was an eyewitness. Having been employed the latter end of August, in taking a plan at Troas, one day after dinner, says he, a Turk coming to us, "emptied the ashes from his pipe, and a spark of fire fell unobserved in the grass, which was long, parched by the sun, and inflammable like tinder. A brisk wind soon kindled a blaze, which withered in an instant the leaves of the bushes and trees in its way, seized the branches and roots, and devoured all before it with prodigious crackling and noise. We were much alarmed, as a general conflagration of the country seemed likely to ensue." After exerting themselves for an hour, they at length extinguished it. It is an impropriety worth correcting in this passage, where the word stacks of corn is used rather than shocks, which is more conformable to custom, as the heaps of the East are only the disposing of corn into a proper form to be immediately trodden out. The stacking of corn, in our agricultural language means, the collecting corn in the straw into heaps, larger or smaller as it happens, designed to continue for some considerable space of time. They are not wont to stack corn, in our sense of the word, in those countries. The term shock, by which the word gadeesh is translated in two other places, is less exceptionable, but not perfectly expressive of the original idea. We put together, or heap up our corn, not fully ripe, in parcels which are called shocks, that it may more perfectly ripen after being cut, but the original word gadeesh, means a heap of corn, fully ripe, see Job v. 26; means, in a word, the heaps of the eastern threshing-floors, ready to be trodden out.-HARMER. Ver. 26. If thou at all take thy neighbour's raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down: 27. For that is his covering only; it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear : for I am gracious.

The clothes which the Orientals wear by day, serve them as bed-clothes for the night. Does a man wish to retire to rest, he needs not to trouble himself about the curtains, he requires not the bed-steps, he does not examine whether his bolsters or pillows are in order, he is not very particular about the adjustment of his sheets and counterpane; he throws a mat on the floor, places his little travelling bag or turban for a pillow, takes off his cloth, (which is generally about nine yards long,) puts one end under him; then covers his feet, and folds the rest round his body, leaving the upper end to cover his face. Thus may be seen coolies in the morning, stretched side by side, having, during the night, defied all the stings of their foes, the moschetoes. -ROBERTS.

The upper garment of the Israelites was a large square cloth which folded round the whole body, and served the poor as a bed-covering during the night. Less alteration than could have been expected has taken place in the dress of the eastern people. This garment was still found by Shaw in the eighteenth century, among the Bedouin Arabs in the north of Africa, under the Arabian name of Hyke, i. e. texture, covering. In fair weather this cloth is therefore mostly worn on the shoulders, as

Niebuhr observes in his Description of Arabia. "It will not, perhaps, be imagined," says he, "that the above-mentioned little clothing constitutes the whole bedding of a common Arab. He spreads out his great girdle, and so he has a bed to lie down upon: with the cloth which he wears on his shoulders, he covers his whole body and face, and sleeps naked between these two cloths, quite happy and contented."-ROSENMULLER.

In all parts of Southern Africa, the skin cloak is the covering of males and females by day, and that in which they sleep by night: they have no other bed-clothes. The Hottentot cloak is composed of sheep skins, retaining the wool on the inside of it, in which he sleeps comfortably under a bush or tree wherever he goes. Deprive him of that covering, and he would find himself most uncomfortably placed. It would be a cruel act. The nations farther in the interior, have cloaks made from hides of oxen or cows, which they have a method of rendering soft and pliable, and use exactly for the same purposes as the others, viz. for clothing and for sleeping in. The Israelites sleeping in the wilderness in this simple manner, would be always ready to remove when the trumpet intimated the moving of the pillar of fire; like the dogs, when they shook themselves, they might be said to be dressed and ready to march. The God who gave such a humane, considerate law to the Israelites, might well be called a gracious God. -AFRICAN LIGHT.

CHAP. 23. ver. 4. If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.

Among the Hindoos, malice often finds its victim in a dumb animal. If the wretch cannot revenge himself on the man, he will on his beast. The misereant watches till the caule go astray, or the owner shall be out of the way, when he pounces upon the innocent ox or cow, and cuts off the tail. Hence may be seen, in every village, cattle which thus proclaim the diabolical passions of man.-ROBERTS.

Ver. 17. Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the LORD God,

To those that may wonder how Jerusalem could receive such multitudes, as were obliged by the Jewish law to attend there three times a-year, and as we know did sometimes actually appear in it, I would recite the account that Pitts gives of Mecca, the sacred city of the Mohammedans, and the number he found collected together there, for the celebration of their religions solemnities, in the close of the 17th century. This city, he tells us, he thought he might safely say, had not one thousand families in it of constant inhabitants, and the buildings very mean and ordinary. That four caravans arrive there every year, with great numbers of people in each, and the Mohammedans say, there meet not fewer than seventy thousand souls at these and that though he could not think the numsolemnities; ber quite so large, yet that it is very great. How such numbers of people, with their beasts, could be lodged and entertained in such a little town as Mecca, is a question he thus answers. "As for house-room, the inhabitants do straiten themselves very much, in order at this time to make their market. As for such as come last, after the town is filled, they pitch their tents without the town, and there abide until they remove towards home. As for provision, they all bring sufficient with them, except it be of flesh, which they may have at Mecca; but all other provisions, as butter, honey, oil, olives, rice, biscuit, &c. they bring with them, as much as will last through the wilderness, forward and backward, as well as the time they stay at Mecca; and so for their camels they bring store of provender, &c. with them." The number of Jews that assembled at Jerusalem at their passover was much greater: but had not Jerusalem been a much larger city than Mecca is, as in truth it was, yet the present Mohammedan practice of abiding under tents, and carrying their provisions and bedding with them, will easily explain how they might be accommodated.-BURDER.

Ver. 19. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.

The Jewish legislator three times forbids his people to

"seethe a kid in his mother's milk." The meaning of this law has been greatly disputed, although the terms in which it is couched, are sufficiently clear and precise. It is the opinion of some writers, that the prohibition refers to a kid in the womb of its mother, which in that state is nourished only with milk; but the opinion of Clemens, that the people of Israel had been in the practice of eating the fœtus of a goat, which this precept was intended to prohibit, is supported by no proof. The disgusting custom of eating the foetus of a sow, is indeed mentioned by Plutarch; but we have no proof that it was known to epicures in the times of Moses. Other expositors imagine, that the Jews were by this precept forbidden to take away the life of a kid, before it was eight days old, when, according to them, it may subsist without the aid of its mother's milk. This exposition is supposed to be confirmed by another precept: "When a bullock, or a sheep, or a goat is brought forth, then it shall be seven days under the dam; and from the eighth day, and thenceforth, it shall be accepted for an offering made by fire unto the Lord." But since the law, which prohibited the people of Israel to offer in sacrifice," the young of the herd, or of the flock," before the eighth day, is immediately subjoined to the precept concerning the oblation of the first ripe fruits, and the first-born, in the twenty-second chapter of Exodus; so, in the twenty-third and thirty-fourth chapters, the law which forbids to seethe a kid in his mother's milk, follows the same precept; and by consequence, not only the sacred, but also the common use of the kid, is prohibited before the eighth day. Such is the opinion, and the reasoning by which it is supported; but it must be evident to every reader, that a kid is as much in his mother's milk all the time he is suckled, as during the first eight days; nor can any reason be imagined, why he may not be said to be in his mother's milk on the seventh day from his birth, rather than on the eighth or the ninth. Others are of opinion, that, according to this precept, a sucking kid was at no time to be slain, either for sacred or common use. The she-goat suckles her young about three months; and till this period, it was not to be subjected to the sacrificing knife. But it is very improbable, that the Jews were forbidden the use of a kid for so long a time; for that which the law permits to be offered in sacrifice to God, may surely be eaten by his people. Nor was any species of food prohibited by the law, but for ceremonial impurity. But that cannot be reckoned legally unclean, which the law permits to be offered in sacrifice at the altar. He permitted a sucking kid or lamb, to be offered on the eighth day; a sure proof they were not reckoned unclean, while they remained under the dam. The prophet Samuel offered a sucking lamb as a burnt-offering to the Lord on a day of public humiliation; and God condescended to give them a strong Proof of his acceptance, in utterly discomfiting their eneinies, by a furious tempest of thunder and lightning. If, therefore, a sucking kid might be offered in sacrifice to God, it might be used as food by his people. Nor is their opinion more tenable, who say, that by this law the dam and her suckling were not to be slain at the same time. To cherish kind and humane feelings among the chosen seed, Jehovah forbade them to kill a cow, a sheep, or a goat, on the same day with their young; but the precept under consideration cannot naturally bear such a meaning. Had this been the design of Moses, why did he not say in plain terms, Thou shalt not seethe a kid and his mother at the same time? He must, therefore, have meant what the words naturally suggest, that a kid is not to be seethed in the milk of his mother. The barbarous custom to which the lawgiver alludes, probably existed in some neighbouring countries, and particularly in Egypt, from whose iron yoke they had just been delivered; either because the flesh dressed in this manner was more tender and juicy, than when roasted with fire, or boiled in water; or, which is more probable, while at the feast of ingathering, they gave thanks to God for the mercies they had received, and ex

pressed their dependance upon him for future blessings, they were not to expect his favour by imitating the superstitious rites of the heathens, among whom they had lived so long, who at the end of their harvest seethed a kid in his mother's milk, and sprinkled the broth in a magical way upon their gardens and fields, to render them more fruitful next season.-PAXTON.

CHAP. 24. ver. 28. And I will send hornets be

fore thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.

Another insect which Heaven has sometimes employed to avenge the quarrel of his covenant, is the hornet; which is a larger species of wasp. The irascible temper and poisonons sting of the wasp, are too well known to require description; they have been mentioned by the natural historians, and celebrated by the poets of every age and country. In three parallel places of scripture, the sacred writer mentions the hornet which Jehovah sent before his people, to expel the Canaanites from their habitations: And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before thee." This promise was afterward renewed a short time before that people passed the Jordan: "Moreover, the Lord thy God will send the hornet among them, till they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed." Both these promises, we learn from Joshua, were punctually fulfilled: "And I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites, but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow." At what particular time during the wars of Joshua, the Lord, in fulfilment of his promise, sent the hornet against the inhabitants of Canaan, and what impression its attack made upon the enemies of Israel, we are nowhere informed in scripture. On this account, several writers of great eminence consider the words of Moses as a metaphor, denoting the terror of the Lord, or some remarkable disease which he commissioned to lay waste the country before the armies of Israel. But neither the words of Moses nor Joshua, betray the smallest indication of metaphor: and in a plain narration, we are never, without the most obvious necessity, to depart from the literal sense. The inspired historian could not mean the terror of the Lord, as Augustine is inclined to suppose; for he had mentioned this in the verse immediately preceding: "I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee." Upon which it is added, "And I will send hornets before thee." Nor could any particular disease be intended; for no disease was ever called by this name. Junius gives a different version: I will send before thee fear or disease as a hornet; but the comparative particle as, is not in the text, and must not be supplied by the caprice of translators. The words of Joshua are express, without either metaphor or comparison: "I have sent the hornet before you." It is no valid objection to the literal sense, that the circumstances of time and place are not mentioned by the sacred writer, for this is by no means an unusual omission in the rapid narrative of an inspired historian. To mention but one example: the patriarch Jacob gave to his son Joseph a portion of land, which he took from the Amorite by force of arms; but when or in what place this battle was fought, we are not informed. The hornet, it is probable, marched before the armies of Israel, till the five nations that had been doomed for their numerons and long-continued crimes to destruction, were subdued; which rendered such a circumstantial detail unnecessary and improper. But who can believe, say they, that the hornets of Canaan were so vexatious to the inhab itants, that they were forced to abandon their dwellings, and seek for other habitations? The testimony of an inspired writer ought to silence all such objections; but, in reality, the same thing has not unfrequently happened in the history of the world. Both Athenæus and Eustatheus inform us, that the people about Pæonia and Dardania were compelled by frogs to forsake their native country, and fix their abode in a distant region. If Pliny may be credited, the ancient city of Troy was forced to open her gates, after a war of ten years, not so much by the victorious arms of the Greeks, as by an innumerable host of mice, which compelled the Trojans to desert their houses, and retire to the neighbouring mountains; and in Italy, whole nations were driven from their possession by the same destructive creature, which in immense numbers overran their fields, devoured every green thing, and, grubbing up the roots, converted some of the fairest regions of that country into an inhospitable waste. The Myusians, according to Pausanias, were forced, by swarms of gnats, to desert their city; and the Scythians beyond the Ister, are recorded to have been expelled from their country by countless my

riads of bees. But, since the wasp is more vexatious than the bee, its sting more severe, and its hostility more virulent-it is by no means incredible, that many of the Canaanites were forced, by so formidable an enemy, to remove beyond the reach of their attack.-PAXTON.

CHAP. 25. ver. 5. And rams' skins died red, and badgers' skins, and shittim-wood.

To enter into the history of this animal is unnecessary, as it is mentioned in scripture only on account of its skin. This part of the animal seems to have been in great request among the people of Israel, for it is mentioned among the valuable articles which they were permitted to offer for the tabernacle: "Rams' skins died red, and badgers' skins." These last formed the exterior covering of that splendid structure, and of all the sacred utensils, which the Levites were commanded to spread over them during their march, Of these also the shoes of the mystical bride were formed, when, according to the representation of the prophet, she was richly adorned for the marriage. Jehovah had chosen Israel to be his peculiar people, and had bestowed upon them innumerable favours, but they had become ungrateful and perfidious, like a woman who proves inconstant and unfaithful to her husband, who had raised her from the meanest condition, to the greatest affluence and splendour: "Thou becamest mine. Then I washed thee with water; yes, I thoroughly washed away thy blood from thee, and. I anointed thee with oil. I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers' skin; and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk." In this passage, badgers' skin is mentioned as a very precious and splendid substance, such as might be made into shoes for ladies of the highest rank, and worn on their marriage day; while, in the book of Exodus, it is represented as very coarse and homely, fit only to be made a covering for the tabernacle, and its furniture, during the journeys of the tribes. These very different representations cannot easily be reconciled, and involve the subject in doubt and uncertainty. And indeed the original word (nn) tahash, which our translators render badgers' skins, is of very uncertain meaning. It is evident from scripture, that it was a kind of skin which, being capable of resisting rain, was manufactured by the people of Israel into coverings for the tabernacle and its furniture, and into shoes for persons of the highest rank in the state. But the inspired writers furnish no details from which it can be inferred, to what animal it originally belonged; it is even extremely doubtful, whether the word rendered badger, denotes an animal at all. The Seventy interpreters considered it merely as the name of a colour, and uniformly translate it hyacinth, or hyacinthine. In this opinion, they were followed by all the ancient translators of the scripture, without one exception; and the same idea has been adopted by the learned Bochart, and other eminent moderns. The reasons on which their interpretation is founded, seem to be quite conclusive. In the first place, no evidence can be found that the badger ever existed in Palestine, Arabia, or Egypt. Dr. Shaw made particular inquiry, but could hear of no such animal in Barbary. Harmer was unable to discover in modern travellers, the smallest traces of the badger in Egypt, or in any of the adjacent countries; Buffon represents it as unknown in that part of Asia. So little was the badger known to the ancients, that the Greeks had not a word in their language by which to express it; and the Latin term which is supposed to denote this animal, is extremely doubtful. But if the badger is not a native of the East, if it is not to be found in those countries, from whence could the people of Israel in the wilderness, procure its skin to cover the tabernacle? It is an animal of small size, and is nowhere found in great numbers; and, by consequence, its skin could not, in remote times, more than at present, constitute an article of commerce in the ports of Egypt, and come at last into the possession of that people. The exterior covering of the tabernacle, and its bulky utensils, must have required a greater number of skins than could be procured even in the native country of the badger; and therefore, it must have been formed of leather, fabricated from the skin of some other animai, which not only existed, but also abounded in Egypt, and the adjacent countries. The coarseness of the leather, fabricated of badgers' skin, which in the East is reluctantly